From Our Prison to Your Dinner Table

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.

Greener Pastures for Cattle Ranching

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.

Home on the range

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.

In Tanzania, Farmers Reap the Benefits of Radio

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.

In Bangladesh, 'Floating Farms' Overcome Monsoon Rains

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.

In Famine, Vouchers Can Be Tickets to Survival

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.

To Feed More, Food Pantries Learn From Supermarkets

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.

Suburban sprawl doesn't have to be ecologically devastating

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.

The Search for Land, Food, and Open Space on Silicon Valley's Coast

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.

Climate Change-Ready Rice Keeps Farmers' Fields Fertile

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.