As we roared downstream through the River of No Return Wilderness via jet boat, skipping off rapids and dodging just-submerged boulders, I decided my imaginary movie version of this adventure should be titled Indiana Appleseed in the Canyon of Lost Treasure. Naturally it would be packed with whitewater action, pioneer spirit, hungry black bears...
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Three years ago, Alma Hasse walked purposely, head down, toward a red brick building. The Jerome County Courthouse held a mountain of files on the county’s dairy CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations, and Hasse wanted a look at them. She and her agricultural watchdog group, Idaho Concerned Area Residents for the Environment believed...
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I remember seeing them along the roadside. As a kid growing up in rural Idaho, those orphaned gray lumps were a common sight. I even kicked one once, then picked it up, dusted it off and bit into it. That was a mistake. I hadn’t thought much about sugar beets since, at least until they...
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This from Barry Estabrook, former contributing editor at Gourmet magazine and now regular contributor to the the New York Times, the Washington Post, and TheAtlantic.com: “On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) had approved the unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa sold by Monsanto Co. and Forge...
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The local food movement is growing in popularity. Back in 2007, the Oxford English Dictionary declared “locavore” the word of the year. In 2009 and 10, the National Restaurant Association called local food “America’s No.1 restaurant trend.” But popularity breeds polarization. A series of articles and at least one upcoming book have...
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(GH) As mentioned in a previous post, Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” spoke at Washinton State University on Wednesday, January 13th. Here, from the agricultural weekly Capital Press, is an article on what Pollan had to say. By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press PULLMAN, Wash. — Michael Pollan believes farmers may eventually solve three of...
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SEATTLE — Steve Brown of Capital Press quotes president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Bob Stallman as issuing a call to arms to counter criticism of conventional agriculture: “It is up to us to share the strength of our character and the tradition of our values with our fellow citizens,” Stallman said at...
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