Agriculture

Sustainability in the Farm Bill

This week, the Senate will vote on 40 final amendments to the Farm Bill. One amendment the Senate should support comes from Senators Wyden and Harkin. The amendment would restore sustainable production criteria to the Bioenergy Crop Transition Assistance Program (BCTAP) within the Farm Bill's Energy Title.

First concentrate on the farm

The Nov. 24 commentary by pro-irradiation advocate Michael Osterholm ignores a number of unresolved health concerns with respect to irradiating food (e.g. possible vitamin depletion, threats to public safety from introducing additional radiation sources into communities, etc.).

Following up with Cargill

This is a quick follow-up to our posting on a meeting with Rainforest Action Network and representatives from Paraguay, Brazil and Papau New Guinea.

Biofuels and Development

As IATP's Sophia Murphy wrote this week, assessing the biofuel sector is complicated.

Local Foods: a Global Idea

IATP has always had a strong local dimension to its work. The Institute was founded during the U.S. farm crisis of the 1980s, with a vision toward strengthening local action with an understanding of global pressures. Twenty years later, IATP's work on local food systems has taken on a new level of importance.

Searching for clarity on biofuels

IATP finds itself in an interesting place in the recent tidal wave of interest around biofuels. Our initial interest came from our work with local farmers and rural communities in Minnesota and surrounding states. These farmers and their communities were looking for a way to add value to their crops when prices were at record lows. The debate was far from today's discussion of food scarcity.