Subscribe:
RSS feed
Separating the Grain from the Chaff in Agriculture & Food
Browsing All Posts filed under »Agriculture«
Feeding the World: Beyond the GMO/Organic Dichotomy
We should all recognize by now that “feeding the world” is much more a logistical and political challenge than an agricultural one. As a farmer, however, I spend a lot of time thinking about producing food economically, efficiently, and ecologically. Conventional wisdom dictates that genetically-engineered crops are a vital part of the overall solution, while organic […]
Organic Farming and Modern Technology: Friend or Foe?
June 27, 2014
I just listened to a recent interview with Julie Borlaug, associate director for external relations for the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M. Julie is the daughter of the scientist who is often referred to as the ‘father of the Green Revolution,” which saw the introduction, beginning in the late 1950s, of […]
Academics Review: Selling the Fear of Organic Marketing
June 6, 2014
It’s been a little over four years since I joined Twitter and a year since I started blogging. What I originally considered a way to share information about my farm has evolved into something that feeds my passion for informed discussion and logical debate. The farmers, scientists and bloggers I’ve encountered have radically altered the […]
Walmart and Organic Food: Help or Hype?
April 10, 2014
According to a news release published yesterday and widely parroted around the web, Walmart is poised to take its “lowest price is the law” approach to some of its organic offerings, promising to make organic food “affordable” to all. According to their own research, 91% of its shoppers would buy organic food if the price […]
Want to Move the GMO Discussion Forward? Label Them!
March 26, 2014
If your views tend toward the “pro-GMO” perspective, you’re the audience I had in mind when writing this piece. Here’s my thesis: I believe mandatory labels would be the best tool to provide clear, accurate and consistent information to consumers about foods containing, or derived from, genetically engineered crops and animals, and they would also […]
Deconstructing Don Huber – A Tale of Two Talks
January 10, 2014
This is a story of two talks, both of which are almost identical. It’s also the story of two people, both of whom are also the same person. What separates both are a couple of years, perspective gained, and perspective lost. I first heard Dr. Don M. Huber, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology at Purdue […]
Better Beef? A Retro Perspective on Market Differentiation
January 8, 2014
I noticed this certificate posted on the wall of an Ottawa diner we visited last weekend, and I couldn’t resist capturing the image. Issued in 1994, the faded print assures consumers that the restaurant uses Alberta Beef: “A Sign of Superior Quality” and it’s signed by representatives of the Alberta goverment, the Alberta Cattle Commission, […]
An Organic Farmer Walks into Monsanto…
December 13, 2013
The story of how I came to be touring Monsanto starts back in late April and a blog post where I questioned the current tenor of the GMO debate. It caught the attention of Janice Person, a Social Media Director for Monsanto, who commented, “if you ever want to see what we do at Monsanto, I would love […]
We’re a Tossed Salad, Not a Smoothie: Time to Embrace Agricultural Diversity
November 19, 2013
Time to be truthful – which do you find more appetizing, the tossed salad pictured to the left, or the vegetable smoothie featured below? They both likely contain similar levels of vitamins and nutrients, probably many of the same ingredients (although it’s impossible to tell exactly what’s in that smoothie, apart from it being predominantly […]
Bridging the Organic-Conventional Divide
October 31, 2013
Recently, I’ve been engaging in a lot of Twitter discussions and sharing some blog posts about attitudes in agriculture, the future of farming, and overcoming the divisions that seem to exist between organic and conventional farmers. I could go into a long discussion here about the causes of this problem, apportioning blame to farmers and […]
The Blog of Rob Wallbridge
Occasional posts on food, farming, and related topics from an organic farm in Western Quebec, Canada.
The Fanning Mill 
August 19, 2014
2