Regenerative agricultural strategies can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from food production, restore local ecosystems and enhance community well-being.
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In the face of growing social and environmental challenges, organizations in the food and agriculture sector are increasingly turning to nature for inspiration.
Small-scale farmers, organic producers and local markets receive a tiny fraction of farm bill funding.
Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group/Getty Images
The new State of the Environment report shows Australia’s soil and the life it holds is in poor condition. We need to protect our underground biodiversity.
An organic food market in Berlin.
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An expert on organic agriculture argues that the US is missing an economic and environmental opportunity by not working to scale up organic production.
Federal organic regulations require outdoor access for livestock – but don’t specify how much.
US Dept. of Agriculture/flickr
US federal regulations say little about how animals on organic farms should be treated. So if you’re planning to serve an ethical holiday dinner, you’ll have to do some research.
School children in India celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.
AP Photo/Altaf Qadri
Regenerative agriculture has the potential to build production and reducing pollution, but it needs a clearer definition.
Whitlanders in the 1940s. Established in 1941 near the base of Victoria’s Mount Buffalo, this Catholic community celebrated the ‘dignity of manual labour’ and was led by a charismatic athlete and former judge’s associate, Ray Triado.
Joe Pisani
Long before 70s hippies and hipster artisans, Australians were seeking solace by going back to the land. They ranged from anarchists to suffragists to Catholic agrarians.
Organic farmers are entrepreneurs who are sensitive to ecology, yet their convictions can sometimes seem counter-intuitive. New research indicates some surprising motivations.
Workers spray pesticides on strawberry fields. Most of the studies that examine the effects of pesticides are funded by the chemical’s producer.
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Most studies on the use of pesticides are funded by those that produce the chemicals but only independent research can inform us about the best agricultural practices.
CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology is being used in field from agriculture to medicine to food security and disease control.
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You may not agree with using the gene-editing tool, CRISPR, to alter the DNA of human babies. But what about using it to engineer plants? Or wipe out one of the world’s most dangerous creatures?
Many farmers cultivating organic crops believe that genetically modified crops pose threats to human health.
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Is gene editing compatible with organic farming? A scholar explains the differences between old genetic engineering and CRISPR methods, and why the latter is similar to tradition plant breeding.
‘Silent Spring’ author Rachel Carson testifies before a Senate Government Operations Subcommittee in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 1963. Carson urged Congress to curb the sale of chemical pesticides and aerial spraying.
AP
Did Rachel Carson catalyze the organic farming movement, as many advocates claim? Or would she reject their ban on synthetic fertilizer and see organic as an inefficient way to feed the world?
Lacewings are fantastic predators and are easy to rear and release.
Dan Papacek & Tony Meredith (Bugs for Bugs)
A proposal that all imported vegetable seeds be treated with fungicide has drawn outrage from Australia’s organic producers, who fear losing their certification.
Suspected infestation of Macrophomina phaseolina, a “novel” soil pathogen, in the non-fumigated buffer zone of a strawberry field.
Julie Guthman
California produces 90 percent of the US strawberry crop, but growers face curbs on toxic chemicals that have helped their industry expand. Can a system centered on mass production become more sustainable?
The roots of organic farming in the United Kingdom can be traced to the fascism movement that began after the First World War.
Rick Barrett/ambitious creative co
Conventional wisdom says we need industrial agriculture to feed the world. Not so, says geologist David Montgomery: Practices that focus on creating healthy soil can transform agriculture.
Looks good, tastes good, but can it feed the world?