Paraquat, the Deadliest Chemical in US Agriculture, Goes on Trial
Amid lawsuits filed by thousands of farmers linking the herbicide to Parkinson’s disease, the EPA is reconsidering its analysis of paraquat’s risks.
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Jeff Burtka
I am a freelance writer based in metro Detroit. I have written for The Guardian, Outside, FindLaw, Crain's Detroit Business, Civil Eats, Global Sport Matters, and more. My main areas …
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Latest Articles
A Contested Election Is Fracturing a Farmworkers’ Union
Baldemar Velasquez has presided over the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, the nation’s second-largest farmworker union, for its entire 55-year history. This year, he faced a challenger in a contested election for the first time. Chaos ensued.
Inside the Brooklyn Packers’ Vision for a Community-Based Micro Food Hub
The worker-owned, Black-led food cooperative quickly shifted their operation to provide emergency food during the height of the pandemic.
Farmers Trial Climate-Friendly Chickpeas in Upstate New York
Only a third of factory farms have permits to discharge waste into water, soil, and air. A new legal effort from environmental groups seeks enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
NYC Community Gardeners Might Have New Protection in the Fight Against Development
“I’ve often said, ‘You bulldoze a community garden, you bulldoze a community,’” said Raymond Figueroa, Jr., a Bronx-based community organizer.
Beginning Farmers, Farmers of Color Outbid as Farmland Prices Soar
The pandemic-fueled land rush has brought wealthier buyers to rural areas, making land even harder to access—a crisis that has become especially acute in the Northeast.
Our 2021 Food and Farming Holiday Book Gift Guide
We read, reviewed, and recommend more than 40 food and farming books for your gift-giving pleasure.
The Resurgence of Waffle Gardens Is Helping Indigenous Farmers Grow Food with Less Water
In the face of climate change and persistent droughts, a growing number of people from Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico and elsewhere are adopting the traditional farming practice.
Don Lewis Is Reviving the Grain Economy in New York's Hudson Valley
Only a third of factory farms have permits to discharge waste into water, soil, and air. A new legal effort from environmental groups seeks enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
Could Climate Change Put an End to Arizona's Alfalfa Heyday?
As the Colorado River drops to new lows, the future of the water-intensive cattle feed crop in the state—and the dairy industry it makes possible—are in question.
As the Climate Emergency Grows, Farmworkers Lack Protection from Deadly Heat
A majority migrant and undocumented workforce, farmworkers are especially vulnerable to extreme heat, not only because of their direct exposure, but also because of a lack of other social and labor protections.
As Food Scrap Collection Peaks, NYC Community Compost Sites Face Evictions
Big questions remain about the future of food waste disposal in a city of 8 million that committed to sending zero waste to the landfill by 2030.
Questions Remain about Big Food's Influence on the New Dietary Guidelines
Advocates and experts point to a long-standing pattern of corporate influence on the nation’s ‘go-to source of nutrition advice.’
Get Out the Vote Efforts in Farm Country Are Reaching Young, Latinx, and Rural Voters
“After the caucuses, I feel like there was definitely a consensus that we need to rally together to defeat Donald Trump,” said Jeanina Messerly, a district field director for the Progressive Turnout Project, a PAC working to drive Democratic voter turnout with field offices across the U.S. “So much has …
Rediscovering Detroit’s Roots Through Indigenous Food
On a frigid mid-February Saturday, a small crowd gathers in a silent, snow-covered clearing in the woods. The atmosphere was more reminiscent of a far-off forest in northern Michigan than urban Detroit’s Rouge Park.
High Plains Farmers Race to Save the Ogallala Aquifer
About a decade ago, Chris Grotegut realized that he had to start pumping much less groundwater out of his wells. It dawned on the cattle rancher and grain farmer that if he didn’t act soon, there may not be enough water to sustain his 11,000-acre farm in Hereford, Texas—much less …
Indigenous Youth Reboot Acorns to Revive Food Sovereignty
In late fall, the parched hills of Northern California are wilting hot, but relief can be found in the dark patches of shade cast by towering native oaks. Some are hundreds of years old, with spreading limbs as thick as human torsos. This is the season Indigenous people once harvested …
Environmental Defenders—Often Fighting Agribusiness—Are Being Violently Silenced Around the World
When armed gold miners in military uniforms last week invaded protected land in Northern Brazil and murdered Emyra Wajãpi, a 68-year-old activist and leader of the Wajãpi indigenous community, it was not an isolated incident.