Healthy Systems Need Good Feedback
by Elizabeth Sawin
— June 2, 2002 —
Friends of mine tell me that their daughter will only eat meat if she knows the name of the animal that died to produce it. She’ll eat the pork roast from pigs grown on our farm — but not the anonymous bacon offered up in the college dining hall. Adherence to this one guideline [...]
If We Want Farmers, We’ll Have to Pay
by Hal Hamilton
— April 1, 2002 —
We all know that farming is both important and endangered. It doesn’t have to be endangered.
From our farm in Hartland, VT we sell vegetables, “Ascutney Mountain Cheese” from the milk of our small herd of Jerseys, and maple syrup. The vegetable operation employs 3-4 people full time in the summer; the dairy and cheese [...]
A World Food Production Quiz
by Donella Meadows
— August 10, 2000 —
In some ways the world food situation hasn’t changed for decades. There are still millions of starving people. There are still places where so much food is grown that it has to be thrown away. Fertilizers and pesticides pollute the countryside; soil erodes; groundwater tables drop. Every year when the new statistics come out, [...]
A Nasty Campaign Against Organic Food
by Donella Meadows
— March 9, 2000 —
The strangest news items about organic food have been popping up. It isn’t good for you after all. It’s full of bacteria and insect parts. You folks who pay a high price for it are not only suckers, you’re risking your health.
ABC’s John Stossel recently interviewed Dennis Avery, “a leading critic of organic produce,” [...]
If the Government Says It’s Safe, It’s Safe. Right?
by Donella Meadows
— September 16, 1999 —
The folks who bring us gene-spliced soybeans, corn, potatoes, and other foods like to make a point of the U.S. government’s approval of their products. The feds OK’d it. That must mean biotech foods are safe, right?
Right. Sure. This is the government that declared DDT safe and thalidomide and DES and dozens of other [...]
