Toxic Taters on the road
Last Tuesday, I spent the evening in Bemidji, Minnesota with the Toxic Taters Coalition. Under the lofty wood ceilings of the Rail River Folk School, a group of local residents gathered, seated in a...
View ArticleTouring organic 'taters
Last Saturday morning, I started my day ushering traffic down a dirt road into a potato field. The Toxic Taters Coalition was hosting a field day at Larry Heitkamp’s Yellow Rose Organic Farm outside of...
View ArticleNeonics? Not much help to farmers.
Independent scientists have been saying it for a while now: neonicotinoid pesticides aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. And finally, scientists and economists at the Environmental Protection Agency...
View ArticleSpotlight on McDonald's pesticide problem
Eight months and counting after the Toxic Taters Coalition kicked off its campaign, McDonald’s is still dodging the issue of pesticide drift. The corporation has made plenty of public promises to cut...
View ArticleTTIP: Free trade for pesticides?
In this week's State of the Union address, President Obama clearly signaled his renewed commitment to push free trade agreements through Congress. But civil society organizations across the world are...
View ArticleWho's building the new food system? Farmers.
When more than 3,000 sustainable and organic farmers get together in one place, amazing things can happen.I spent last weekend at the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service conference — aka...
View ArticleMinnesota bees poised for relief from neonics
A few months into the Minnesota legislative session, things are starting to get exciting. In the midst of the flurry of hearings, amendments and hallway conversations that make Minnesota politics...
View ArticleCatching the drift in Iowa
What does it take to recruit a group of Iowa farmers and rural residents to an all-day, indoor training on one of the first beautiful days of spring? An issue as serious as pesticide drift.A few weeks...
View ArticleEPA, bees need more
Last month, on the heels of the rollout of the White House’s plan to protect honey bees and other pollinators, EPA announced its own piece of the plan: a new rule that would limit the use of some...
View ArticleWin some, lose some for Minnesota bees
It’s been quite a roller coaster. After a series of gubernatorial vetoes and late-night negotiations, the Minnesota legislative session came to a close on June 13. This time around, our legislators...
View ArticleTime to turn around McDonald’s pesticide problem
It’s been a rough year for McDonald’s. Everyone — from the company’s top executives to mainstream press — agrees that the fast food giant is struggling. The company’s sales have fallen for the past six...
View ArticleToxic Taters on the road
Last Tuesday, I spent the evening in Bemidji, Minnesota with the Toxic Taters Coalition. Under the lofty wood ceilings of the Rail River Folk School, a group of local residents gathered, seated in a...
View ArticleCatching the drift in Iowa
What does it take to recruit a group of Iowa farmers and rural residents to an all-day, indoor training on one of the first beautiful days of spring? An issue as serious as pesticide drift.A few weeks...
View ArticleEPA, bees need more help – now
Last month, on the heels of the rollout of the White House’s plan to protect honey bees and other pollinators, EPA announced its own piece of the plan: a new rule that would limit the use of some...
View ArticleWin some, lose some for Minnesota bees
It’s been quite a roller coaster. After a series of gubernatorial vetoes and late-night negotiations, the Minnesota legislative session came to a close on June 13. This time around, our legislators...
View ArticleTime to turn around McDonald’s pesticide problem
It’s been a rough year for McDonald’s. Everyone — from the company’s top executives to mainstream press — agrees that the fast food giant is struggling. The company’s sales have fallen for the past six...
View ArticlePotatoes, pesticides and courage
Crop dusters flying overhead, irrigators pumping, and chemical odors in the air. For people who live near RD Offutt’s pesticide-intensive potato fields in Minnesota, these are characteristics of...
View ArticleTurning up the heat on McDonald's
Last Tuesday at lunchtime, I stood on the sidewalk outside a McDonald’s in St. Paul, facing the busy traffic on University Avenue with a colorful sign that said “Stop the Drift.” I was with a group of...
View ArticleUSDA suppressing bee science?
Earlier this week, a top researcher for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) filed a complaint alleging that the agency retaliated against him for his research on bee-harming neonicotinoid...
View ArticleA tale of corporate capture in Minnesota
What do you call it when the nation’s largest potato company, with strong ties to the pesticide industry, digs in its deep pockets to dodge accountability for its impacts on local communities? Here at...
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