Over the winter holidays, I spent a few days with my father and stepmother on the small farm where I grew up in Butte Creek Canyon. The canyon — and their farm — were nearly destroyed in the Camp Fire, the most destructive wildfire in California history.
A new paper comparing the assessments of glyphosate’s carcinogenicity by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) analyzed the kinds of studies used by both agencies — and found some glaring differences. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Bayer’s (merged with Monsanto) widely used flagship herbicide Roundup.
A week after the inauguration of Governor Gavin Newsom and a few days into the legislative session, the California Food and Farming Network (CFFN) and the California Food Policy Council (CAFPC) have released the 2018 Food & Farm Scorecard — a report revealing the policy votes of California’s 120 elected state legislators on food and farming issues. Pesticide Action Network is a member of CFFN.
This is the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. With no federal food safety inspections, limited access to USDA loan programs for farmers, and climate and environmental research at a standstill, our food system — and all of us — are at risk.
Meanwhile, over 800,000 federal workers are expecting a second missed paycheck this week, and the president’s State of the Union address has been cancelled because, well . . . the state of the union is shut down.
Stopping the use of Bayer’s (Monsanto) flagship herbicide Roundup might be perceived as a David and Goliath fight against a multi-billion dollar company, but when your local water department defends its use, the issue becomes personal and contentious in a small community. Chris Moran shares the story of how she and a dedicated group of community members fought back against glyphosate use in their community — and won!
Mai Nguyen (they/them) is a grain farmer, the California Organizer with the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), and a founding member of the California Farmer Justice Collaborative (CFJC). PAN’s Farmer Justice Fellow Moretta Browne recently talked with Mai about co-organizing the California Farmer Justice Collaborative.
I’m feeling unexpectedly hopeful as 2018 winds down. Though the national political landscape remains tumultuous, we’re seeing some powerful, energizing trends in the world of food and farming.
When it comes to cannabis, California is often perceived by many as “chill” and “radical” with the state’s recent legalization policies. But Jordan, a transplant to the state, sheds light on what it’s really like being a cannabis farmer in rural Northern California. Like many farmers, Jordan faces challenges of isolation while farming, but the inconsistencies of state and federal cannabis laws add another layer of difficulty to this work.
After months of negotiations, the 2018 Farm Bill was just passed by the U.S. House and Senate. Next up? The bill is expected to be signed into law by the end of the week.
Christina Perez is a Latinx woman urban farmer working with in the Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) in Inglewood, Los Angeles. In addition to digging, planting and harvesting across seven different community and school garden project sites, Christina also puts together community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes for weekly and biweekly subscribers. The contents of each box are influenced by community member input, in an effort to ensure cultural relevance of the food. Christina uses a survey system to “see what [participants] need and try to match what we have to their needs.”
