When Earth Day began in 1970 as a massive protest against industrial pollution, it galvanized 10 percent of the U.S. population in nationwide demonstrations. Today, the environmental situation is arguably more dire than it was a half-century ago. And although some genuine commitment to Earth-friendly action remains, much of the talk around Earth Day—especially from corporations—is merely lip service. Mainstream food companies often make empty or misleading claims about their products or tout small changes to their practices while failing to take larger steps. For the public, it’s often hard to discern what is true.

At Civil Eats, we are committed to reporting how the food system impacts the planet we live on (and vice versa)—and not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year. Our stories interrogate the effects of government policy and company behavior on our air, soil, water, biodiversity, and climate—and examine efforts by farmers, other food producers, and advocates at the state and national level to increase community and climate resilience.

Here, we offer a collection of some of our most important environment and climate reporting from the last few years.

Can Seaweed Save American Shellfish?
Seaweed farms on both coasts are beginning to take hold, tapping into decades of painstaking science, and could help shellfish thrive in waters affected by climate change and pollution.

Beyond Farm to Table: How Chefs Can Support Climate-Friendly Food SystemsAs global warming bears down, some restaurants are forging stronger bonds with regional food systems and regenerative farms.
Southern Black Farmers Sow Rice and ReconciliationJubilee Justice grows rice regeneratively while reclaiming the past.

Farmers Say Climate-Smart Commodities Projects Are CrumblingThousands of farmers across the country were enrolled in dozens of projects and expecting USDA payments to implement conservation practices. Now contracts are being cancelled, and farmers face uncertainty.

Op-ed: Black Producers Have Farmed Sustainably in Kansas for Generations. Let’s Not Erase Our Progress.Increased federal funding for Black farmers—not less—will help US agriculture become more resilient as our climate changes.

Op-ed: The Food System Cannot Become Another Fossil-Fuel Industry Escape HatchOil and gas companies, with new federal support, are ramping up production within every aspect of the food chain. If we are to protect ourselves from cataclysmic climate change, we must stop them.

Acequia de los Vallejos in southern Colorado. (Photo courtesy of the Acequia Institute)

An Ancient Irrigation System May Help Farmers Face Climate ChangeThe arid Southwest has a proven model, the acequia, for water use that is local, democratic, and resilient to heat and drought.

How Big Ag Lobbyists Perpetuate Climate InequityIndustry groups spend hundreds of millions to cultivate political favor, excluding most Americans from critical decisions about food and climate.

Can This Baltimore Academy Continue to Train Urban Farmers?At Black Butterfly Teaching Farm, locals learn to build a climate-resilient food system with economic potential in the midst of an industrial city. Funding cuts now jeopardize that mission.

A crew at Hedgerow Farms hand harvests Lasthenia californica in Winters, CA. (Photo credit: Joshua Scoggin/Hedgerow Farms).

Farmworkers Heal Climate-Scarred Land With Native SeedsAt California’s Hedgerow Farms, specialists produce seeds to revegetate burned areas, reestablish wetlands, and transform drought-prone farmland.

The EPA Canceled These 21 Climate Justice ProjectsFrom solar-powered greenhouses to wild rice initiatives, the Trump administration cut funding for nearly two dozen farm and food resilience projects.

EPA Proposes Eliminating Its Own Ability to Regulate Greenhouse Gas EmissionsThe repeal of the ‘endangerment finding’ has profound implications for farmers and the entire food system.

The MAHA Movement’s Climate ConundrumMake America Healthy Again wants farmers to produce healthier food, but the climate crisis and Trump’s energy policies are making that harder to do.

Chickens forage between the solar arrays at Jack’s Solar Garden. (Photo credit: Jack’s Solar Garden)

As Federal Support for On-Farm Solar Declines, Is Community Agrivoltaics the Future?While the Trump administration disincentivizes solar developments on farms, agrivoltaics continue anyway, with local and state support.

Denver’s Food Forests Provide Free Fruit While Greening the EnvironmentDespite federal roadblocks, an ambitious agroforestry program is feeding people, cleaning the air, and helping offset climate change.

The Industry Ties Within Trump’s Food and Ag LeadershipMany of the president’s top officials at the USDA, EPA, HHS, and FDA have connections to chemical, agribusiness, or fossil fuel interests.

Op-ed: The New Food Pyramid Is a Climate DisasterThe new dietary guidelines are a boon for industrial beef and dairy, but both generate methane, an especially potent greenhouse gas.

As Louisiana’s Wetlands Erode, A Fishing Culture Fights to SurviveShell Beach, where generations have made a living from the marshes, is battling rising waters and environmental degradation. That doesn’t stop efforts to save it.

How a Tiny Farm County Is Fighting Against a Data CenterTalen Energy wanted 800 acres of Pennsylvania farmland rezoned to develop the center with Amazon. The community fought it.

USDA Finalizes Rollback of Environmental Permitting RegulationsSecretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says the changes will mean faster permitting, but critics warn it will lead to ‘rubber stamping’ projects that fall under NEPA review.

Deep Soils Could Hold Keys to Climate ResilienceA new research center is investigating how ancient soils could help farmers adapt to a warmer future.

The post Happy Earth Day (Which Is Every Day) appeared first on Civil Eats.

From Civil Eats via This RSS Feed.