Environmental News Network

Organic Farming - The Way Forward
Sustainable agriculture was far from farmer Peter Desistoâ€™s mind when he went to an organic farming seminar organised by the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) ten years ago. He and other farmers attended because they heard that PRRM was giving out loans. >> Read the Full Article
Saltwater solution to save crops
Technology under development at the University of New South Wales could offer new hope to farmers in drought-affected and marginal areas by enabling crops to grow using salty groundwater. >> Read the Full Article
Tell Congress to Protect Funding for Organic Ag Research
After months of your letters, phone calls and hard work, organic farmers and activists won a much-needed boost to the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative >> Read the Full Article
California revives program to buy water from farmers
SACRAMENTO -- -- Saying California's water reserves are all but gone, state officials on Thursday announced the revival of a dormant 17-year-old program to buy water from Sacramento Valley farmers and sell it to the thirstiest Southern California agencies in case this winter brings a third year of skimpy precipitation. >> Read the Full Article
What Does a Sustainable Can of Beans Look Like?
Two years ago Truitt Brothers decided to figure that out, and added two products, green beans and pears,sourced and prepared sustainably, to their more traditionally packaged goods which they had been producing for over 30 years. While the sustainability-focused line is still less than 5% of their whole business it has quadrupled in growth in those two years, and that growth is projected to continue. In fact, they have already doubled their offerings by adding kidney and garbanzo beans. >> Read the Full Article
Slow Food Movement Picks Up Momentum in the USA
A lush, under-the-stars spread of handmade bread, gourmet olives and fine wine makes an unlikely launch for a weekend dedicated to ending hunger, empowering poor nations and transforming farming as we know it. A sign points the way to a display of apples at a farmer's market during Slow Food Nation in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. >> Read the Full Article
Drought in Australia food bowl worsens
Drought in Australia's main food growing region of the Murray-Darling river system has worsened, with water inflows over the past two years at an all-time low, the government's top water official said on Tuesday. The drought will hit irrigated crops such as rice, grapes and horticulture the hardest, but would have less impact on output of wheat, which depends largely on rainfall during specific periods and is on track to double after two years of shrunken crops. >> Read the Full Article
Small farmers to join Brazil sustainable cane move
Dozens of small and medium-scale farmers in Brazil's Sao Paulo state will grow sugar cane certified as meeting strict social and environmental standards, the region's cane producers association said late on Thursday. Several ethanol companies like Cosan and Louis Dreyfus signed deals to produce and export verified sustainable ethanol in the last couple of months to address consumers' concerns over the impact of ethanol which powers almost all the country's new cars. >> Read the Full Article
Water Corruption Prevents Progress
Africa's largest water transfer effort, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, plans to supply water to the industrial heartland of South Africa and to generate energy for impoverished Lesotho. The multi-billion dollar investment offers economic growth and greater water security for underserved communities in the region. >> Read the Full Article
'Best Hope At Sustainable Fisheries' Short-changed By Conservation Efforts, Researchers Argue
Small scale fisheries produce as much annual catch for human consumption and use less than one-eighth the fuel as their industrial counterparts, but they are dealt a double-whammy by well-intentioned eco-labelling initiatives and ill-conceived fuel subsidies, according to a University of British Columbia study. >> Read the Full Article