Future of Food

Beef burgers, veggie burgers, and now… lab-grown meat? You may have heard rumblings that cultured meat — made from animal stem cells — may become a mainstream consumer option soon. Is it true? And if so, is it a good thing? What is lab-grown food? And should we be preparing for it to change the food system as we know it?

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.

BigAg’s influence on seeds isn’t limited to the United States; their hybrid seeds have also pushed out traditional seed varieties across Africa. But many Africans are fighting back by forming seed collectives and practicing seed saving of indigenous seeds, recognizing that the continuation of these seeds is integral to their own stories of survival.

The pandemic has revealed deep flaws in our industrial food supply chain, leading many people to take an expanded interest in local farms. One of the most popular and fastest-growing models of farm-community commerce is the Community Supported Agriculture program, or CSA. In this article, you’ll find all about what CSAs are, their benefits and flaws, and how you might want to use this innovative model in your life.

Modern grains produced by the industrialized food system are highly processed, tainted with pesticides and GMOs, and often relatively devoid of nutrition. But farmers and everyday people are beginning to diversify their grain sources, rejecting modern variations in favor of local, heritage, or ancient grains. As a result, communities are reclaiming their heritage — and their health.

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.

Thinking about growing your own food? Figure out what to plant and when, by using a planting calendar.

With our current food supply chain in disarray, and many people struggling to make ends meet, it’s time to bring back home gardening to take up the slack. In this article, you’ll find out the patriotic history of food gardens, and discover how to start growing food no matter where you live or how much land you have.

More and more people are interested in a whole foods, plant-based diet. Some are motivated by specific health concerns. Others by interest in disease prevention, peak performance, sustainability, or ethical concerns. And documentary films are playing a huge part in fueling this growing movement. They’re a great way to learn more, get inspired, and also to spread the word and inspire friends, coworkers, classmates, and even family! This article explains why — and shares 10 of our favorite whole foods, vegan, and plant-based food documentaries.

The Impossible Burger and its parent company, Impossible Foods, are taking the plant-based meat alternative world by storm. Their products are helping to cut down on factory-farmed meat consumption, which is good for fans of animal rights and of the planet. But is there a hidden dark side to the Impossible Burger’s environmental impact?

Funders and proponents say vertical farming is the future. But consumer demand may change the nature of what it means to "grow."

Once a self-reliant agriculture-dependent economy, Puerto Rico now imports the majority of its food (including, unfortunately, fast food). But some residents in a rural Puerto Rican community are reviving a historic botanical garden to serve as an example of and inspiration for bringing back local and sustainable farming — and for the purposes of cultural and historical preservation.