Food Politics

Sales of organically grown food are booming. But in the US, organic agriculture still lags far behind where it could be. Many farmers are struggling to make the transition to organic as they face a challenging certification process and short-term financial hardship. Fortunately, there are solutions that could make a huge difference.

Internal company records show both Monsanto and BASF knew crop damage from their weed killer would be extensive. They sold it anyway. Read on to find out about their alarming campaign of denial and greed, all at the expense of farmers, food, animals, the environment, and consumers like you.

Ocean sits down with Peggy Liu, chairperson of the Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, for a conversation about the global impacts of our food choices — and how what we eat impacts our health and our climate. They also look at how we can reclaim our relationship with food to make it a source of beauty and meaning in our lives.

Soy is celebrated as a superfood by some who claim it can fight heart disease, hormone-related cancers, and osteoporosis while providing a potent plant-based protein source. But others tell us that it’s a central driver of breast cancer, thyroid problems, dementia, and environmental problems like deforestation. So what’s the truth? Is soy good for you? And what are the health and environmental consequences of consuming it? Here’s what you need to know about soy.

At Food Revolution Network, our mission is healthy, ethical and sustainable food for all. As the US presidential election approaches, our President and CEO, John and Ocean Robbins, respectively, have joined together with other health and wellness leaders to take a prominent stand for policies that support our mission, and that contribute to healthy people and a healthy planet. Find out why these health leaders think this election is critical to the future of food and the health of the nation.

Millions of people in the US and around the world live in “food deserts”: areas where it’s hard or even impossible to find healthy food. These food deserts promote poor health outcomes, are a drag on our economy, and reinforce the worst effects of racism. How did food deserts come to be? What do they cost all of us? And what can we do to make healthy food available for all?

In this video interview, New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker, sits down with John Robbins for a look at the powerful impact our food choices and food policies have on our health and world. Senator Booker gives his candid take on how our food system got so broken and what we can do as individuals, and as a society, to work toward an end to factory farms, food deserts, climate change, hunger, and extreme poverty. Despite the enormity of the problems we’re all faced with today, this interview will fill you with hope and empower you to take action for a healthier, more equitable, and more compassionate world.

Ocean Robbins sits down with Leah Penniman, food justice activist and the co-founder and co-director of Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, NY. Hear Leah’s take on racism in the US food and agricultural system, what’s being done about it, and how you can take action to build a healthier and more sustainable world for everyone.

COVID-19 doesn’t affect everyone equally. The main risk factors discussed by scientists have been age and pre-existing chronic disease. But the coronavirus has been especially lethal to people of color in the United States. What are the causes of this inequality, and are there things we can do about it?

Recent events have been heartbreaking, and they have exposed more widely, how pervasive and painful racism is in our world. Our hearts go out to everyone who’s hurting, to everyone who’s frightened, and particularly to the communities of color that are bearing the terrible brunt of systemic racism, as they have been for centuries.

Categorized as essential workers, farmworkers continue to help provide the nation with food. But their lack of basic protections puts them uniquely at risk for exposure to COVID-19, threatening their livelihoods, their families, and those of us that rely on them to get food from fields to plates.

Although the U.S. food system is plagued with problems, heroic people have devoted themselves to improving the quality and accessibility of good, healthy food. Among these changemakers are a group of African American female entrepreneurs whose initiatives are inspiring examples of hope in action.