The Back 40

A recent article, by William R. Wootton, linked below, argues that too many American colleges, especially liberal arts institutions, which typically advocate for issues like sustainability, environmentalism, and social justice, often turn to large corporate agribusiness to handle their food service. In fact 50-60% of college food service is handled by large corporations and three [...]

A recent report states that agricultural producers in the United States are capable of meeting the world’s growing need for food, as well as enhance natural resources, by 2050. But, the authors stress that changes must be made in our nation’s approach to land management. The report, titled Developing a New Vision for United States [...]

Beverly Bell and Tory Field recently wrote an interesting piece for the Huffington Post about the global food market and the impact it has on producers and consumers at the local level. They write that food is a great unifier for the world’s citizens, but control of food production and distribution is increasingly being taken [...]

The United States has been experiencing an anti-meat movement as of late. Critics have deemed meat to be a contributor to obesity, illness, and negative environmental impacts. However, as the article below points out, rarely do we hear about the meat producers across the nation who care deeply about their animals, products, and the effects [...]

In a movement that’s being dubbed, “bean to bar,” some chocolatiers are joining the farm-to-table agricultural movement by being more transparent about how their products are sourced and made. According to the article, linked below, the chocolate industry has experienced a history of exploitation, so chocolatiers are hoping to turn this around by being more [...]

As the debate rages on over the use of genetically engineered (GE) crops, Greg Jaffe, a writer for “The Atlantic,” addresses some common myths about this phenomenon. His bottom line is that genetically modified foods have the potential to reduce hunger and improve the environment but several factors need to be taken into consideration before [...]