A comprehensive paper on the nutritional quality and safety of conventional versus organic food was published in the September 4, 2012 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine (Smith-Spangler et al., Vol. 157, Number 5: pages 349–369). The Stanford University Medical School team concluded that: “The published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are […]
How many customers do we have? What do customers care about most? How much do they spend? And how do you answer these questions with no turnstiles, barcodes, or cash registers to be found? The very charms of shopping a farmers market – a weekly intimacy with the product and producer; low-tech, hand-crafted displays; and […]
I am extremely excited to announce that Dr. Chuck Benbrook will be joining WSU CSANR as a research faculty member in August of 2012. Chuck is well-known in organic food and farming circles nationally and internationally and brings a tremendous amount of capacity to the Center and to WSU’s overall organic and sustainable agriculture efforts. […]
August is peak season for Washington State’s 160 farmers markets. With the rain in check and days long, farmers are out in full force with their tree-ripened peaches, corn picked that day, heirloom tomatoes, farmstead cheeses, grass-fed meats, and more. We estimate that farmers markets support around 1,400 unique farms. Some of these farms have […]
In the United States, there is a storied tradition of connectivity between the agriculture industry and land grant university science. While that connection has been both praised and criticized, there is no question that it has been massively influential in the development of both commercial agriculture and agricultural science. Over the past couple of decades […]
Are cows really worse for the climate than cars? The impetus for this question can usually be traced back to a 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow”. Actually, the controversy usually traces back to the FAO’s news release for the study entitled “livestock a major threat to environment” […]
In February, I was invited by CSANR-affiliated WSU alum and good friend Jason Streubel to visit Haiti for an agricultural summit he was hosting on behalf of his new organization, Convoy of Hope (CoH). Jason was hired immediately after graduating WSU with his Ph.D. in soil science last year to help CoH “build a sustainable […]
To get you up to speed, here are the first two questions: 1.The EPA says agriculture only accounts for 6% of US greenhouse gas emissions (2009). Shouldn’t we focus our efforts on bigger problems such as coal fired power plants and automobile emissions instead? 2. Do “food miles” – the distance that food travels from […]
Last week I introduced a series of frequently asked questions and began by addressing the first: The EPA says agriculture only accounts for 6% of US greenhouse gas emissions. Shouldn’t we focus our efforts on bigger problems such as coal fired power plants and automobile emissions instead? Today I’ll address the following: Do “food miles” […]
The most important function of CSANR is to catalyze and incentivize new scientific activity in support of improving the sustainability of farm and food systems. In recent years, the most crucial tool we have had to do this is the BIOAg Grants Program (Biologically Intensive and Organic Agriculture). Over the past decade, CSANR has provided […]