Food Policy

A tractor spraying paraquat on the Cox ranch. (Photo courtesy of Shirley Cox)

Paraquat, the Deadliest Chemical in US Agriculture, Goes on Trial

March 22, 2023

Amid lawsuits filed by thousands of farmers linking the herbicide to Parkinson’s disease, the EPA is reconsidering its analysis of paraquat’s risks.

This Farm Bill Really Matters. We Explain Why.

March 20, 2023

a trio of illustrations showing a black farmer, corn growing in front of the US Capitol Building, and a white woman with a baby paying for groceries with a SNAP-enabled card

Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Indigenous Water Rights in the Southwest

By Virginia Gewin

March 15, 2023

A close-up view of center-pivot irrigation watering corn on NAPI farmland. (Photo courtesy of NAPI)

All Eyes on California as Fast-Food Worker Rights Land on the 2024 Ballot

March 14, 2023

Fast-food workers and activists protest McDonald's labor practices outside a McDonald's restaurant on March 18, 2014 in Oakland, California. (Photo credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

How the Long Shadow of Racism at USDA Impacts Black Farmers in Arkansas—and Beyond

By Wesley Brown

March 8, 2023

Arkansas farmer Clem Edmonds sits on his riding mower in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Brown)

As the US Pressures Mexico to Import GM Corn, Can It Preserve Its Traditional Varieties?

February 23, 2023

A Mexican farmer holds a basket of corn to sell.

Congress Killed a Bill to Give Farmworkers a Path to Citizenship. What Comes Next?

February 22, 2023

A farmworker in a broccoli field in Calexico, California. (Photo credit: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)

Farmworkers Finally Won Overtime Pay. Now the Industry Wants to Repeal It.

February 21, 2023

Farm workers harvest zucchini on the Sam Accursio & Son's Farm in Florida City, Florida. (Photo credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Edges Matter: Hedgerows Are Bringing Life Back to Farms

By Anne Marshall-Chalmers

February 14, 2023

Op-ed: Maryland’s New Governor Has His Sights Set on Ending Food Insecurity

By Anthony Nicome

February 2, 2023

The Field Report: The Future of Organic Food Is Taking Shape at the USDA—and Beyond

January 25, 2023

A grower at City Roots Farm in Columbia, S.C., waters the microgreens at the family-owned local organic vegetable farm.

The Farm Credit Administration’s First Indigenous Chairman Wants to Level the Playing Field

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

January 12, 2023

Eldrige Hoy, left, and Bryson Sam, members of the Choctaw Nation, seed a high tunnel with Iron Clay peas as a cover crop to improve soil quality. (USDA photo by Bob Nichols)

The Field Report: Reflecting on a Big Year for Food News

December 21, 2022

Goverment Capitol building in Washington DC with autumn park and green floor and blue sky , USA, United States of America

Medicaid Is a New Tool to Expand Healthy Food Access

December 15, 2022

Shot of healthy food as medicine groceries delivered to a SNAP recipient's door.

‘It’s Not Enough.’ SNAP Recipients Struggle Amid High Food Prices.

December 12, 2022

An older woman looks worried while waiting to pay for her food purchases at a supermarket.

Young Fishermen Are Struggling to Stay Afloat

By Tilde Herrera

November 23, 2022

Lucas Raymond holding a halibut. (Photo courtesy of the New England Young Fishermen's Alliance)

New Mexico Farmers Face a Choice: Pray for Rain or Get Paid Not to Plant

By Virginia Gewin

November 8, 2022

Glen Duggins farms chiles and alfalfa in Socorro, New Mexico. (Photo credit: Virginia Gewen)

How the Midterm Elections Will Impact Food and Agriculture

November 3, 2022

Sunrise over the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

With New Federal Funding, Has Agroforestry’s Moment Arrived?

By Erik Hoffner, Mongabay

November 3, 2022

A handful of hazelnuts harvested by Nutwood Farm co-owner Kalyan Water. (Photo credit: Erik Hoffner/Mongabay)

Native Farmers Push for More Equitable Training and Support in the Farm Bill

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

November 1, 2022

Nakai Clearwater Northup stands behind three traditional ethnobotany gardens, which he manages at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. At one time, his people solely relied on them to maintain their cultural connections to food before the founding of Meechooôk Farm. (Photo by Gabriel Pietrorazio)

Year-Round Farming in Massachusetts? How the State Is Investing in Solutions.

October 31, 2022

Eastie Farm's geothermal greenhouse, built with funds from a food security infrastructure grant from the state. (Photo credit: Meg Wilcox)

Can a Court Compel the EPA to Protect Communities of Color From CAFO Pollution?

October 26, 2022

During Hurricane Florence, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) like this one in Warsaw, North Carolina, flooded the surrounding community with hog waste. (Photo credit: Justin Cook for Earthjustice)

After 60 Years, ‘Silent Spring’ Is Still Changing the World

October 19, 2022

Rachel Carson and the original cover of Silent Spring

A US Farmer Was Accused of Abusing His Workers. Then Big Tobacco Backed His Election

By Victoria Bouloubasis and Ben Stockton, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

October 14, 2022

Farm workers' efforts to organise have been impeded by Brent Jackson's political ventures

Ex-USDA Official Defends Pandemic Efforts to Keep Meatpacking Plants Running

By Mary Norkol, Investigate Midwest

October 13, 2022