Civil Eats
14 May 2020
Multi-Media / 1500-3000 Words
United States
Supply chains have been disrupted with the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, and farmers are suffering from a lack of buying customers. Meanwhile, food banks are in dire straits as more and more people seek support after losing jobs to the pandemic. What's needed? A middle man. This article looks at a range of solutions across the United States in which organizations and community groups are stepping up to fill the gap between the two needs. They largely do this by purchasing, packaging, and distributing surplus product to local food banks who need more donations for the community.
http://www.psmag.com/business-economics/from-our-prison-to-your-dinner-table
Graeme Wood
Pacific Standard
3 March 2015
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In prison, most inmates are alienated from social practices and can be a tax burden for the states. The Colorado Correctional Industries is a program that positions inmates in different forms of labor such as making stuffed toys, farming fish, picking fruit, tending livestock, and creating crafts to be sold at grocery stores. The program makes inmates into taxpayers instead of tax burdens and offers skills that are useful for future employment once they leave prison.
https://web.archive.org/web/20171017065949/http://futurefood2050.com/greener-pastures-for-cattle-ranching
Lisa Palmer
Future Food
18 November 2014
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Colombia, traditional cattle pastures have caused soil degradation, deforestation, and desertification. To reconcile this, several thousand acres of land in Latin America have been transformed into a silvo-pastoral system of grazing and raising cattle with agro-forestry. The Colombia-based Center for Research in Sustainable Systems of Agriculture seeks to reduce pasture land by 26 million acres while increasing cattle numbers by 2019.
http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/home_on_the_range
Benjamin Goldfarb
Earth Island
1 April 2014
Text / Over 3000 Words
A robust population of grizzly bears can be an indicator of healthy land; however, the bears also can destroy grain bins, consume vegetation, and kill livestock. Ranchers work with the Canadian government and local conservation groups to protect their resources with bear-proof grain bins and electric fences.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/in-tanzania-farmers-reap-the-benefits-of-radio
Sarika Bansal
The New York Times
27 November 2013
Text / 1500-3000 Words
In Tanzania, a country that has yet to fully embrace mobile phones and whose road infrastructure remains weak, farmers have embraced radio as a means of receiving pricing and planting information. The reach and relatively low expense of radio afford the medium its popularity.
http://www.voanews.com/content/in-bangladesh-floating-farms-overcome-monsoon-rains/2529049.html
Amy Yee
Voice of America (VOA)
21 November 2014
Text / Under 800 Words
During rain seasons in Bangladesh, rivers flooded villages and their agriculture so that local economies and food supplies were in jeopardy. A Bangladeshi non-profit Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha introduced small floating farms designed to be run by women. Consequently, the organization has initiated 40 floating farms that serve 300 rural women and save local agriculture.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/in-famine-vouchers-can-be-tickets-to-survival
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
27 October 2011
Text / 1500-3000 Words
World Concern, a Seattle-based Christian humanitarian group, provides people around the world with vouchers they can use in select markets, rather than the traditional emergency food aid of rice and other grains. In Dhobley, Somalia, the solution of vouchers quickens the process of receiving the food and contributes to the local economy.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/allying-choice-and-nutrition-at-food-pantries
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
22 May 2015
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Even with all available help, New Yorkers miss about 100 million meals each year - food stamps are not enough. But some New York food banks allow for the homeless to choose their own food products, making healthy choices easier.
http://ensia.com/features/suburban-sprawl-doesnt-have-to-be-ecologically-devastating
Sarah Jane Keller
Ensia
5 January 2015
Text / 800-1500 Words
In Fort Collins, Colorado, developments and shopping malls are eating away at farm fields, ranches, and forests. One development company is protecting biodiversity by putting houses clustered along a single access road leaving large areas untouched, a practice known as conservation development.
http://cattle-drive.com
Matt Hansen
Cattle Drive
1 July 2014
Text / Under 800 Words
Historically, open land conservationists and cattle ranchers in California were rivals but with new research, which praises controlled cattle grazing habits, cows are being welcomed back to open land grasslands, regenerating the habitat and agricultural economy.
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/06/04/408297353/climate-change-ready-rice-keeps-farmers-fields-green
Amy Yee
NPR
4 June 2015
Text / Under 800 Words
Soil in Bangladesh is becoming increasingly saline and infertile due to climate change. Bangladeshi farmers have begun using a saline-tolerant rice seed in order to produce an abundant crop despite salty soil.
Our issue area taxonomy was adapted from the PCS Taxonomy with definitions by the Foundation Center, which is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International License.
Photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license / Desaturated from original, and are credited to the following photographers:
Fondriest Environmental, David De Wit / Community Eye Health, Linda Steil / Herald Post, John Amis / UGA College of Ag & Environmental Sciences – OCCS, Andy B, Peter Garnhum, Thomas Hawk, 7ty9, Isriya Paireepairit, David Berger, UnLtd The Foundation For Social Entrepreneurs, Michael Dunne, Burak Kebapci, and Forrest Berkshire / U.S. Army Cadet Command public affairs
Photos are licensed under Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 2.0 Generic Creative Commons license, and are credited to the following photographers:
Ra'ed Qutena, 段 文慶, Fabio Campo, City Clock Magazine, Justin Norman, scarlatti2004, Gary Simmons, Kathryn McCallum, and Nearsoft Inc
Photos are licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license / Desaturated from original, and are credited to the following photographers:
Burak Kebapci and SCY.
Photos are licensed under Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) and are credited to the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Conference attendee listening to speaker, Jenifer Daniels / Colorstock getcolorstock.com.
Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian via Getty Images
Photo Credit: Sonia Narang