Why Methane Is Bad for Climate Change, and What the Government Is Doing About It
We talk a lot about carbon emissions in the context of climate change, but some of the most dangerous emissions aren’t carbon at all. They’re methane — a colorless, odorless glass that’s primarily...
View Article‘Climate Smart’ Policies Might Not Actually Be Helping the Climate
Over the last couple of years, the US Department of Agriculture has been funding various agricultural initiatives that it calls “climate-smart.” These are farming practices that, in the USDA’s...
View ArticleWhy ‘Food Apartheid’ Is a Better Term Than ‘Food Desert’
Across the United States, about 40 million people don’t have easy access to a grocery store. In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people experienced food insecurity in 2023. Despite the...
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For Opponents of Factory Farms, Election Night Was a Mixed Bag
In the recent election, three localities in the U.S. voted on ballot propositions to outlaw factory farms or slaughterhouses within their borders. The results were decidedly mixed, with the two most...
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How Microplastics Get Into Meat — and Everything Else We Eat
Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic less than 5mm in size. Small and ubiquitous — they are only about as thick as a paperclip — microplastics have been detected in our water supply, agricultural...
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Your Thanksgiving Meal’s Climate Impact, in 4 Charts
No matter what you serve on Thanksgiving, food is at the heart of the holiday. But perhaps especially on Thanksgiving, the meal is about more than sustenance. It’s a place for conversations of all...
View ArticleWho Is Brooke Rollins, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary Pick?
President-elect Donald Trump has picked long-term ally Brooke Rollins to lead the Department of Agriculture. Her nomination is somewhat of a surprise; Kelly Loeffler, former U.S. senator, was rumored...
View ArticleTurkey Lifespan: How Long Do Turkeys Live Before Slaughter?
Each year, around 218 million turkeys are produced in the U.S., with 46 million alone killed just for Thanksgiving. Turkeys are intelligent, social creatures capable of forming strong bonds. But in...
View Article10 Reasons Not To Eat Turkey This Thanksgiving
Historians are still unsure if turkey meat was served at the first Thanksgiving, but nonetheless, these affectionate and social birds have been considered a Thanksgiving staple for centuries. The...
View ArticleE. Coli Outbreaks & Factory Farms in the U.S. Are Largely Inextricable
Another day, another E. coli outbreak. In the last half of 2024 alone, E. coli has been found in ground beef, carrots, onions, walnuts and cheese, causing at least 186 illnesses, one death and several...
View ArticleHow Good People Do Bad Things to Animals
Livestock auctions exist all across North America. They serve as a stop between the farms where animals are born, and the farms where they will be “fattened” or “finished;” the stop between life and...
View ArticleHow Trump’s USDA, EPA & HHS Appointees Will Affect Food Systems
Donald Trump is in the process of filling out his second-term cabinet, and he recently announced appointees to lead the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Health And Human Services...
View ArticleHow Revolving Door Politics Corrupt Food Systems
The revolving door isn’t just something you get stuck in while attempting to enter a hotel. It’s also a political phenomenon that creates all sorts of conflicts of interest throughout the American...
View ArticleIs Prop 12 Under Threat With Republicans in Control?
In 2018, California passed one of the strongest animal welfare laws in the country — and it’s been under threat ever since. Proposition 12 forbids the extreme confinement of certain farm animals, and...
View ArticleFarm Bill’s Fate Hangs in the Balance as Congress Returns
In case you missed it amidst the New Year’s revelry, Congress failed again last year to pass a new Farm Bill, the critical piece of ongoing legislation that facilitates American farming and...
View ArticleVeganuary Challenge Continues To See Growth in 2025
For the last few years, hundreds of thousands of people around the world have taken part in Veganuary, a challenge to give veganism a try for the month of January. What began as a small campaign in...
View ArticleWhat To Expect from Congress on Ag & Climate Now That Republicans Are in Control
Republicans won control of Congress and the White House in the last election, and their victories will have major ramifications for the future of climate and agriculture policy in the United States....
View ArticleUnderstanding Climate Change’s Toll on Nature and Animals
A tiny flying fox, cheery yellow warbler, and freshwater mosquitofish recently lost protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and not for good reason. They’d been declared extinct.They are...
View ArticleHow Overconsumption Affects the Environment and Health, Explained
Of all the human practices that are gradually destroying the environment, overconsumption is one of the most significant and least discussed. We are using up our planet’s resources faster than they...
View ArticleFarmers Are Feeding Candy to Animals, and It’s a Symptom of Larger Issues
American shoppers spend roughly $4 billion on chocolate and other types of candy for Valentine’s Day each year, but even at that rate, candy companies end up with a surplus. Those leftovers end up in...
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