Farm Issues

Fair Trade USA released a new “Fair Trade Dairy” label in partnership with Chobani. It’s a program that has been opposed by farmworker and human rights organizations since it was first announced. Now that there is yogurt on the shelf, but still no final standard released, this report looks at the label claims and evaluates “Fair Trade Dairy” based on the available standards.

Biden administration environmental officials say they will consider restrictions on the world’s most widely used herbicide because of concerns about potential harm to monarch butterflies and other species. The manufacturer of the weedkiller Roundup, Monsanto, has been hit with multimillion-dollar jury verdicts in suits by cancer victims. 

There are proven and profitable agricultural practices that have the power to draw excess carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

But, before agriculture can be a climate change solution, it has to deal with its own greenhouse gas pollution.

Synthetic fertilizers and factory farms must be phased out, while regenerative organic practices that sequester carbon are ramped up.

There’s certainly a lot of potential, especially on grasslands where ruminant animals can forage for the entirety of their lives instead of being fattened on synthetic-

This week Switzerland’s small farmers announced their support for a nationwide ban on synthetic pesticide use. Switzerland’s association of small farmers, which represents around 8,000 farmers, says that it is possible to farm profitably without pesticides in a way that protects public health and the environment.