The compost of humanity.

The farm of humanity.

Farming Discovered By Separate Groups

A new analysis suggests that the rudiments of agriculture were developed independently by two different cultures in the Middle East, eventually merged, and spread from there, rather than a single diffusion from the southern Levant.

Humanity Got High After The Fall

Some of the most recent studies included in the database suggest that the herb entered the archaeological record of Japan and Eastern Europe at almost exactly the same time, between about 11,500 and 10,200 years ago.

Industrial Farming Unsustainable

Better paid farm workers would do more to feed the world than bigger machines and stronger pesticides.  When the current higher yield of industrial farming is weighed against environmental, economic, and social considerations, organic farming comes out as superior in the long run.

Academic Apostate Doesn't Hate His Roots

“I could see the same pattern in the many failed left-wing revolutions of Latin America and elsewhere. By combining actual travel with the historical study of socialism and revolution, I succeeded in disabusing myself of the utopian notions that fatally attract people to leftist ideas.”

Gardens Unconstitutional

In Miami Shores, "Aesthetics and uniformity are legitimate government purposes."  That's why your front yard must consist of inedible grass, sod, or "living ground cover," but absolutely no vegetables.  The government thinks they're ugly and messy, so you'll pay a fine or be made to dig up your unsightly nutrition!  Shamefully put that garden behind your house where no one will have to see the awful thing.

Climate Change Spurred De-Urbanisation

The Indus Valley Civilisation has been pushed back at least 2500 years, with evidence of a pre-Harappan civilisation going back a thousand years more--enough time to develop bustling cities with basic amenities, trade, and a written language, and then lose them.

"Emotional Fever" of "Loser Fish" Demonstrates Consciousness

The stress and depression experienced by confined and farmed fish has prompted the first glimmer of awareness in their farmers that our dinner has feelings too.  We can only hope that humanity's farmers will reach the same conclusion.

How Bill Gates Is Causing the Collapse of Traditional Farming and Local Food Economies

I want you to reimagine Africa as a vibrant continent where farmers are in control of their seed systems, are proud of their knowledge systems, share seeds from generation to generation through the age-old practice of exchange where they are self-reliant on a huge diversity of seeds under their control, where women play an important role in production decisions, seed selection, and breeding — and where our local food economies find their roots.

Meet the woman leading China's new organic farming army

"I don't think there's anything low about being a farmer," muses Wang. "It's not like we don't have any pressure to do well, it's just a different kind of pressure. Working in other jobs, you might be staying up late and having a lot of anxiety. Here, it's about solving problems. For example, 'Are the chickens laying enough eggs? Is there an issue with the tomatoes?' This is the kind of stress I can deal with, and the work feels positive overall."

One fifth of young adults think fish fingers actually are the fingers of fish

More than a fifth of mothers and fathers (22 per cent) admit they have lied to their children about the origin of some food because they didn’t know the answer.

Syngenta Now Patenting Natural Foods with No GM Biotechnology

There is nothing about this process that is proprietary to Syngenta. It has been used by farmers for millennia through the simple observation of their crops. Certain strains of plants are known to adapt to the region in which they are grown over time. It has been happening for millennia.

Farming the sea: Prize-winning model to restore ecosystems

The ocean covers seventy per cent of the earth and produces less than two per cent of our food. To grow the rest, we use almost forty per cent of the world's land and nearly three-quarters of our fresh water.

Biodiversity reduces human, wildlife diseases and crop pests

"Their findings not only contribute substantially to a debate in ecology research, said the authors, but also have implications for public health and make a case for better management of natural systems, such as forests and croplands. The researchers suggest that biodiversity conservation programs might provide a strategy to minimize pests and mitigate disease outbreaks that are the consequence of human-induced decreases to biodiversity."

Clam gardens call into question hunter-gatherer past of B.C. First Nations

"Lepofsky said the 'pervasive' idea that First Nations were hunter-gatherers made it easier for colonists to justify taking over the land because the resource management differed from traditional European methods."

Police Seize 10 Children From ‘Off-Grid’ Homeschool Family

"Friends reported no concerns about how the children were being treated by the parents, who follow an educational model called 'unschooling' where the children decide their own curriculum based on the subjects that interest them and what their strengths are."

"Let’s be very clear about this – Joe and Nicole had done nothing to violate the law whatsoever.  All of their kids were happy, healthy and very intelligent.  But because the control freaks running things in Kentucky got wind of their 'off the grid lifestyle', they have now had all of their children unlawfully abducted from them."

Is Genetically Engineered Food A Fraud?

"I never use the term 'frankenfood.' I’d rather not throw around names. The other side throws names around, branding people who have concerns about GMOs as 'anti-science' or 'Luddites.' Instead of talking about middle ground, I think it's important to talk about the scientific ground and the evidence-based ground. Too many of the proponents of GMOs are not speaking as scientists, but as spin-doctors."

Avoiding Gluten Good For More Than Just Celiacs, Study Confirms

"This is why the gluten free movement is so popular: most people who opt out of eating gluten feel better when they abstain, worse when they partake.  But medical professionals, wheat industry spokespersons and even some friendly to advocating for natural, evidence-based alternatives like Dr. Greger, think the case against eating wheat is overblown, if not downright fraudulent."

Have You Ever Wondered Why Gardening Feels so Good?

"It’s safe to say that modern life has done more than just separate us from mother nature. It has also removed us from an environment that is essential to our well-being, and done so without us even realizing it. While the modern world claims to provide all the solutions to our problems (in this case, stress and anxiety) it neglects to tell us that sometimes, it is the source of our problems."