Old World Meats Make a Comeback as a Sustainable Choice

Are bunnies the new chickens? Is bison the new beef? Will goat nudge lamb off the menu? While bison, goat, and rabbit aren’t new, per se, they are garnering fresh interest among chefs and home cooks (and media) eager for sustainable options.

Grow Heirlooms

I have four gorgeous new raised beds in the back yard (thanks, honey!) filled with rich organic soil, and I’m hankering to get some seedlings in the ground. If you are too, I urge you to take a look at heirlooms.

Earth-Friendly Fare: 3 Ways to Eat Lower on the Food Chain

When I think of a food chain, I always picture a giant whale swimming through the ocean gobbling up smaller sea creatures in his path. But food chains are part of a broader ecosystem, and, as humans, our place at the top carries awesome responsibility. Sure, we could go through our lives eating whatever suits our fancy, but doing so without a thought to future generations would be reckless. Here on Nourish Network, there has been much written about sustainability, and at its core, that’s what eating lower on the food chain is intended to promote: sustainable food systems that take the long view rather than satisfying our immediate cravings. With Earth Day upon us, the time is right to consider how eating lower on the food chain benefits not only us, but the planet at large.

USDA Steering Organics to the Center of the Plate

In a radical departure from no-questions-asked support of giant agribusiness, USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announces a direction that will steer organics to the center of the plate. Here's our say on the matter, by Kurt Michael Friese.

Label Lingo: A Guide to Eggs

Buying eggs used to be so simple: Grab a carton off the shelf, open it to check for any cracked shells and go on your merry way. These days, however, you need to interpret a myriad of claims before deciding which carton goes into your cart. What do they all mean? Find out here.

Distinguish Between Farmer and Food Producer

As I was working on the first installment of our Food Policy series (nothing like trying to wrap-up agricultural policy in 500 words when the Farm Bill itself is 1,770 pages), a clear distinction stood out between "farmers" and “food producers.”

Understand Ecosystems

In this age of green, the term ecosystem gets tossed around quite a bit--from technology to tide pools. But it’s an important concept to grasp, as in really understand, when talking about creating a sustainable food system.

Heritage Meat and Poultry: Eat it to Save it!

I dined on a Mulefoot pork chop at Cochon restaurant in New Orleans with a rush of pleasure, anxiety, and guilt. If this hog breed is endangered, should I be enjoying it so much? I thought. But in truth, the pork is what brought me to the restaurant. By eating the endangered breed, I might be helping to save it.

Food Policy in Four Parts: An Introduction

For most, choosing what to eat seems as simple an affair as browsing the grocery store aisles. But in reality, there is an incredibly complex—and some might argue supremely ineffective—system governing what gets put before us and how it came to be.

Slow Movement

The most profound benefit to joining Slow Food is becoming part of the growing movement that is actively leading the way in changing how America eats.