Organic Transitions
We are fast approaching a tipping point in terms of climate disruption, food production, financial meltdown, and Peak Oil. To survive and thrive in turbulent times we will need to organize ourselves at the grassroots level to carry out a series of Organic Transitions - not only in terms of food and farming, but also in transportation, housing, health, and education.
2015 has been declared the International Year of Soils, and few topics could be more important at this time. One of the objectives of the International Year of Soils is to "create full awareness of civil society and decision makers about the fundamental roles of soils for human's life."
Another is to "achieve full recognition of the prominent contributions of soils to food security [and] climate change adaptation." Rarely do you hear climate activists address the issue of soil and land regeneration, yet it is perhaps the most comprehensive solution to everyone's concerns.
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The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is behind a new strategy to double organic farming and serve more organic food in the nation's public institutions.
The Danish government on Friday announced plans to make the country more organic.
The government announced a 67-point plan, Økologiplan Danmark, that focuses heavily on a more organic public sector.
“In order to achieve our goals, which are the most ambitious in the West, the public sector needs to lead the way.
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We usually talk about sequestering carbon in plants, and we know how trees do it. When plants die, many of their parts break down and enter the soil as carbon. But what most people don’t realize is that the roots do it, too, and may do it in a more permanent way. It all has to do with the plant’s production of sugar, much of which leaks into the soil through the roots. What happens is when grasses grow they feed sugar to beneficial microbes that live around the rhizosphere, or root zone. In exchange the microbes supply other nutrients, minerals in particular, to the plant. This is how
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What does it mean to participate in a democracy? Does the answer change when it comes to the food system? After all, as IATP’s latest report, Deepening Food Democracy, illustrates, for every corporate lobbyist exercising control in Washington, there is a food movement participant changing the food landscape in their local community.
This past November was in many ways a typical one for American politics—although the turnout rate of just 36 percent of eligible voters was a low not reached since 1942.
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Coral reefs cover just 0.1 percent of the ocean floor, but provide habitat to 25 percent of sea-dwelling fish species. That's why coral scientist C. Mark Eakin, who coordinates the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch program, is surprised that the warning he has been sounding since last year (PDF)—that the globe's reefs appear to be on the verge of a mass-scale bleaching event—hasn't drawn more media attention.
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Benefits Of A Home Permaculture Food Garden
Starting a permaculture garden at home is possible even if you don’t have much space. Even a relatively small plot of land can produce a variety of foods to help feed you and your family. If you are wondering whether to establish your own kitchen garden, here are some reasons why you should go ahead.
Provides Food Safety
By growing your own food, and knowing what you are inputting into the ecosystem on which it grows, you can feel secure knowing that you can feed yourself and your family with
I have been researching and writing about anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD) for Truthout for the past year, because I have long been deeply troubled by how fast the planet has been emitting its obvious distress signals.
On a nearly daily basis, I've sought out the most recent scientific studies, interviewed the top researchers and scientists penning those studies, and connected the dots to give readers as clear a picture as possible about the magnitude of the emergency we are in.
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Essential oils often evoke thoughts of scented candles and day spas, but their benefits beyond relaxation are less well-known.
Essential oils are ultimately just plant extracts — and those are used in countless cleaning and personal-careproducts, and are the main ingredient in some pest-control products and some over-the-counter medications, like Vick’s VapoRub and some lice sprays.
They’re used in the food industry because of their preservative potency against food-borne pathogens — thanks to their antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal properties.
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On a windy hillside just a few miles from Maine’s rocky mid-coast, it’s 10 degrees; snow is crunching underfoot. Hairy highland cattle munch on flakes of hay and native Katahdin sheep are mustered in a white pool just outside the fence. Not far away, heritage chickens scuttle about a mobile poultry house that looks a bit like a Conestoga wagon.
Marya Gelvosa majored in English literature and has never lived out in the country before. “Just a few years ago, if you’d told me that I was going to be a farmer, I would have probably laughed at you,” she says.
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