Health

Agri-food in Brisbane

I spent three days at the end of November in Brisbane, a booming but still small-ish city, some 930 km North of Sydney, on Australia's east coast.

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.

No Free Lunch?

An important report that has received surprisingly little attention from the media and Members of Congress writing a new Farm Bill comes from the Organic Center and Brian Halweil of Worldwatch Institute. Still No Free Lunch: Nutrient Levels in U.S.

Got organic milk?

The power of organic food is that it forces consumers to think about how their food is grown. Organic food presents consumers with a choice about whether they care about the use of pesticides, genetically engineered crops, or antibiotics in food production. And consumers are welcoming that choice.

Rachel Carson's Legacy

One hundred years ago on May 27, Rachel Carson was born. Considered by many to be the mother of the environmental movement in the U.S., Carson's seminal book Silent Spring was published in 1962 and changed the way we think about toxic chemicals in the environment.

Mercury Free Product Alternatives

Viable non-mercury alternatives for mercury containing products are not only available, but also considerably more cost effective when the downstream costs are considered.

Protecting Public Health from Toxic Flame Retardants

Flame retardants are widely used in a variety of products to prevent and slow the spread of fire. While fire retardancy is important, some flame retardants, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs, used in electronics and other products are leaving a lasting toxic legacy in the environment and in human beings. The good news is safer alternatives