Civil Eats

Over the last year, in towns around the country, thousands of farmers, ranchers, and concerned citizens have packed auditoriums to overflow capacity–not for a rock concert or even a farm auction, but for the leaders of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the USDA. The departments have been on a listening tour, taking them from Iowa to Alabama and Wisconsin to Colorado, to hear from food producers about how corporate consolidation in food and agriculture markets has affected their livelihoods. Next stop? Washington, DC, this Wednesday, December 8. Read More

Appropriately, the evening began with a picnic featuring local cheese and ended with an ice cream social under a yellow moon. In between, dairy farmers, consumer advocates, professors, labor union representatives, faith communities, antihunger advocates, an aspiring cheesemaker, and even a Certified Public Accountant spoke out forcefully about the widespread injustices in the dairy industry.

The main event was a Dairy Town Hall Forum in Madison, Wisconsin, sponsored by Family Farm Defenders, National Family Farm Coalition, and Food and Water Watch, and timed to coincide with Friday’s Department of Justice and USDA workshop examining corporate concentration in the dairy industry. The workshop today is part of the ongoing investigation (which I reported on here) by the two departments to determine whether food and agriculture companies have become too concentrated. Read More

There are those of us who may have the best of intentions, but wish we had a little more knowledge under our belt as the growing season kicks off. The number of urban garden neophytes seems to be off the charts this year, with the National Gardening Association reporting a 20% increase in first-time household food gardens.

Here in New York City, signs of spring are fast approaching, and with them a slew of workshops catering to the most challenged (space-wise) of growers—that of the rooftop, fire escape, and street tree bed-planting variety. Here is the round up of free classes in April and May to get you growing: Read More