“THE FLU PUT THE BAN ON UNION MEETINGS” By Tom Giessel At first glance, one might suspect the title of this article to be a directive by Kansas Farmers Union president Donn Teske, or National Farmers Union president Rob Larew of a temporary halt to all Farmers Union gatherings. As a matter of fact, the…

Comparative Resilience: 8 Principles for Post-COVID Reconstruction This past weekend, a bright Georgetown undergraduate asked me how I squared my passion for localization with the theory of comparative advantage. For economics newbies, he was referring to David Ricardo’s argument that every community should find one product to specialize in and trade for everything else. I…

Iowa JBS workers tell advocates they’re packed in too tight to stay safe from coronavirus Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register Published 5:53 p.m. CT March 31, 2020 A Latino advocacy group is questioning whether meatpacking giant JBS is doing enough to protect the 2,700 workers at its Marshalltown pork processing plant, saying employees are crowded…

INTERVIEW by C.J. Polychroniou, of World-renowned dissident and philosopher Noam Chomsky Truthout April 1, 2020 Chomsky: Ventilator Shortage Exposes the Cruelty of Neoliberal Capitalism But scientific understanding is not enough. There has to be someone to pick up the ball and run with it. That option was barred by the pathology of the contemporary socioeconomic…

U.S. senators scrutinize meat packers’ big profits during pandemic Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. senators are calling for investigations of record profit margins for beef processors like Tyson Foods (TSN.N) and Cargill, after ranchers complained surging meat prices due to coronavirus hoarding did not translate into higher cattle prices. FILE PHOTO: A shopper picks…

by Marion Nestle Mar 31 2020 What does $2 Trillion do for US Food Systems? (Not much, alas) President Trump’s $2 Trillion relief package is the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020.’’ This 880-page (!) bill addresses food systems in several ways, most of them in “Title I Agricultural Programs” which…

Overnight, his business vanished: Farmers reliant on restaurants suffer during pandemic Sarah Bowman and London Gibson, Indianapolis Star Published 6:00 a.m. ET March 31, 2020 Indianapolis residents clear grocery store shelves amid coronavirus pandemic. Wochit Greg Gunthorp works in one of the professions deemed essential by the state and federal government as the coronavirus outbreak…

Cattle graze in a field at Arrowvale Farm and Campground on Hector Road near Port Alberni, B.C. (MIKE YOUDS/ Special to the News) Vancouver Island farmers demand on-site slaughter COVID-19 pandemic puts supply chains at risk, says group Mar. 30, 2020 6:00 a.m. Together with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District (ACRD), local farmers have been asking…

Pastured Meat Producers are Facing Catastrophic Losses. These Efforts Could Help Them Weather the Pandemic. Community-based initiatives have sprung up to support independent livestock producers shift to new markets. By Lynne Curry Animal Ag, Coronavirus, FARMING Posted on: March 31, 2020 | Leave a Comment Every spring, Prodigal Farm in Rougement, North Carolina, hosts Baby…

Our Monoculture Food Supply is a Potential Coronavirus Calamity The highly consolidated system is fragile, and this is where local farming can step in. (ovknhr/shutterstock) March 25, 2020 Gracy Olmstead Grocery stores across the United States emptied out this past week, after news regarding the rampant spread of Covid-19 frightened consumers and urged them to…