Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America from Monsanto to Wal-Mart + The Monsanto Protection Act

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democracynow·Apr 2, 2013

www.democracynow.org – Wenonah Hauter, the executive director of Food & Water Watch, joins us to discuss her new book, “Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America.” Hauter tackles the corporations behind the meat, vegetables, grains and milk consumed by millions every day — including some of the most popular organic brands.

The Global Water Grab by Shiney Varghese

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by Shiney Varghese
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
January 18, 2013

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Writing in National Geographic in December 2012 about “small-scale irrigation techniques with simple buckets, affordable pumps, drip lines, and other equipment” that “are enabling farm families to weather dry seasons, raise yields, diversify their crops, and lift themselves out of poverty” water expert Sandra Postel of the Global Water Policy Project cautioned against reckless land and water-related investments in Africa.

Organic Farmers Beat US Droughts

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Sep 30, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

The recent drought in the United States has damaged crops and driven up food prices.

However, organic farmers say that they have fared better, thanks to alternative growing methods.

Al Jazeera’s John Hendren reports from Ottawa, Illiois.

Internet of food: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland

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Jun 25, 2012 by kirstendirksen

The land in West Oakland where Eric Maundu is trying to farm is covered with freeways, roads, light rail and parking lots so there’s not much arable land and the soil is contaminated. So Maundu doesn’t use soil. Instead he’s growing plants using fish and circulating water.

It’s called aquaponics- a gardening system that combines hydroponics (water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish farming). It’s been hailed as the future of farming: it uses less water (up to 90% less than traditional gardening), doesn’t attract soil-based bugs and produces two types of produce (both plants and fish).

A Farm for the Future (must-see; repost)

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In case you missed this when it was first posted.

BBC
2009

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Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key. With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca.

Jim Gerritsen at #OWS: Taking on Monsanto

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fooddemocracynow on Dec 11, 2011

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On December 4, 2011, farmers and activists from across the country joined the Occupy Wall Street Farmers March for “a celebration of community power to regain control over the most basic element to human well-being: food.” Maine organic farmer Jim Gerritsen spoke to a crowd of more than 500 farmers, food workers and sustainable food and agriculture activists about his role in the Public Patent Foundation lawsuit against biotech seed and chemical giant Monsanto.

Crops for the Future

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NottmUniversity on Jun 27, 2011

The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus is to co- host the first ever Crops for the Future Research Centre in partnership with the Government of Malaysia.

Learning from the Community of the Land By Shepherd Bliss

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By Shepherd Bliss
Guest Writer
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http://www.vowvop.org
June 18, 2011

While recently shoveling aged horse manure around berry vines on my small organic farm to fertilize them, which gives me great pleasure, I thought about what I have learned about the community of the land by farming over the last two decades. I noticed how spreading brown gold–to which I add the green manure of decaying plants–utilizes waste to transform plants and help them grow. The animal-plant connection is essential to life.

Hemp, The Great Green Hope by Rand Clifford

by Rand Clifford
Featured Writer
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June 11, 2011

Image via Wikipedia

“It has something to do with something called marijuana. I believe it is a narcotic of some kind.”

So said congressman Rayburn to congressman Snell’s question: “What is this bill about?”

That was way back in the summer of 1937, when congress was being asked to essentially outlaw a drug they knew nothing about, marijuana.

The Harvest: Farming Sustainably in New York

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lauraflanders | November 24, 2010

Eating less meat might be better for the world, but it can definitely be delicious. Buckwheat is actually a fruit, a grain substitute that can be excellent for those with gluten sensitivities, or just a nice alternative to the usual. GRITtv’s Danya Abt and Zac Halberd took a trip up to Ithaca, NY to visit the buckwheat fields, where Erick Smith, Greg Mol and Shane Hardy of Cayuga Organics took her from the field to the flour mill, introducing us to the challenges of sustainable farming and its many rewards.

King Corn (2007)

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Replaced videos Sept. 3, 2012

photo from Dandelion Salad

http://www.kingcorn.net/

May 8, 2012 by docurama

Behind America’s dollar hamburgers and 72-ounce sodas is a key ingredient that quietly fuels our fast-food nation: corn. In KING CORN, recent college graduates Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis leave the east coast for rural Iowa, where they decide to grow an acre of the nation’s most powerful crop.

Born Of The Sun – Egypt (no longer available)

Note: video no longer available; added a trailer below

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journeymanpictures | July 07, 2010

September 2009

At Sekem Farm a delicately balanced relationship between workers and nature exists which, in a world suffering from rapidly increasing population, may lead the way for the future of farming.

Born of Dr Abouleish’s ambitious vision, the Sekem Farm is an ecological paradise in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Both a thriving business and a close-knit community. In this oasis, nothing is lost, and a delicately balanced relationship between workers and nature is established. With predictions of the world’s population rising to 9 billion by 2050, the Sekem community may well be the future of farming.

Turning “a Blind Eye” to the Afghan Opium Problem by Jeremy R. Hammond

by Jeremy R. Hammond
Featured Writer
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Foreign Policy Journal
22 March, 2010

The New York Times has an illuminating article regarding the opium trade in Afghanistan. The title is “U.S. Turns a Blind Eye to Opium in Afghan Town“, and it begins (emphasis added):

The effort to win over Afghans on former Taliban turf in Marja has put American and NATO commanders in the unusual position of arguing against opium eradication, pitting them against some Afghan officials who are pushing to destroy the harvest.

See, this is “unusual” because the U.S. had until this summer made eradication the principle means by which they ostensibly combated the drug problem. This had been U.S. policy despite the fact that pretty much every expert in the field (such as from the UNODC and World Bank) agrees that eradication is useless at best and counterproductive at worst, with the general consensus being that it is actually harmful since it targets the farmers who simply grow poppies in an attempt to alleviate poverty instead of targeting the drug lords responsible for the actual trade, and because it can (and is) actually used as a means by which to eliminate competition and thus help the major drug lords even further corner the market.

The Golf War (1999)

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linktv
February 02, 2010

“The Golf War” documentary tells the story of Filipino peasants being violently and illegally kicked off their ancestral land to make way for one of Asias largest golf resorts. Filmmakers Jen Schradie and Matt DeVries interviewed developers and politicians, as well as armed guerrillas and peasants fighting the development. They even caught Tiger Woods promoting golf in the Philippines.