Big Soda Is The New Big Tobacco

by Shaniece Alexander and Anna Lappé, East Bay Express Extortion. That’s what people called it—and that’s certainly what it was. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other beverage giants just held California hostage and won. The American Beverage Association, whose largest contributors include those two companies, raised most of the $8 million dollars backing a November ballot measure that […]

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Hawaii Just Made a Brilliant End Run Around Scott Pruitt’s EPA

by Anna Lappé, The Nation When Scott Pruitt took over the top spot at the Environmental Protection Agency last year, one of his first formal actions was to reject the recommendation of his agency’s own scientists and refuse to ban the brain-damaging pesticide chlorpyrifos. The move came just 20 days after Pruitt had met with the CEO […]

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Drops in the Bucket

by Anna Lappé, Earth Island Journal  Coral reef die offs; “bomb cyclones” and historic wildfire blazes from the easternmost United States to the Pacific coast; Arctic ice melting faster than models predicted. Persistent bigotry in the highest halls of government; rampant sexual harassment and abuse – the list of dismal news goes on and on. […]

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Hope’s Edge

Originally published in Earth Island Journal Nearly two decades ago, I stood on a train platform in the city of Bhatinda in the north Indian state of Punjab at sunrise. Flies buzzed. Young men dozed nearby with legs curled up for warmth. Next to me stood Afsar Jafri, an organic farming advocate who had been […]

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100+ FOOD AND AG GROUPS STAND WITH LABOR AND TELL SENATORS TO VOTE NO ON ANDY PUZDER NOMINATION

Add Your Organization to the Sign-On Letter United States Senate Washington, DC 20510 January 30, 2017 RE: Nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor Dear Senators: Our organizations urge you to oppose the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor. This nomination represents another in a string of Trump administration appointments that betrays […]

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School Lunches Across the U.S. May Be Moving Towards Healthy Organic Food

Schools are beginning to explore sustainable procurement policies. Originally posted on Alternet By Anna Lappé January 18, 2017 When you picture school lunch what comes to mind? Gooey pizza and floppy French fries, or fresh organic produce and chicken raised without routine antibiotics? My guess is the former. But thanks to advocates around the country, […]

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For Our Food Systems Sake, Let’s Say “No” to Corporate Consolidation

When you look to the year ahead, what do you see? Ensia recently invited eight global thought leaders to share their thoughts. In this interview with Ensia contributor Lisa Palmer for Ensia’s 2017 print annual, I responded to three questions: What will be the biggest challenge to address or opportunity to grasp in your field in 2017? Why? […]

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