writer, editor, traveler, nerd
This story originally appeared on Civil Eats on August 20, 2015. The menu at the Scottish Bakehouse bakery and café on Martha’s Vineyard is a veritable map of the island’s farms. The chicken comes, mostly, from The Good Farm, a 10-acre poultry operation across the street. The greens come from neighboring Blackwater Farm and the yogurt … Continue reading How Martha’s Vineyard Has Become a Local Food Haven
The new public market opening this summer in Boston will never sell a banana or an avocado. In the winter and spring, when there are fewer vegetables in the fields, there will be fewer vegetables in the market’s stalls. And if local fishermen can’t catch it, it won’t be on offer. The Boston Public Market … Continue reading Boston to launch the nation’s first ‘all-local’ public market
When clean technology incubator Greentown Labs moved from South Boston, Massachusetts, to the neighboring city of Somerville in 2013, the sprawling new facility was a little daunting, said chief executive Emily Reichert. With 18 member companies – all small startups – the organization filled less than half the 33,000 square feet in the building. “At … Continue reading When startups collide: Greentown Labs hopes working elbow to elbow can create innovation
For 42 years, Don Villwock has grown soybeans and corn on 4,000 acres in southwest Indiana. He has endured low prices, bad weather and trade embargoes. This year, however, he’s facing a new challenge: China. In March, China’s authorities stopped accepting exports of corn that contained a specific, very common genetic modification intended to make … Continue reading Is China’s GMO corn ban protecting consumers or protecting markets?
Cookie Monster wants your children to cut down on his namesake treats and start snacking on baby carrots and clementines instead. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind the children’s TV show, and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) have partnered to create Eat Brighter, an initiative aimed at curbing childhood obesity. Sunkist, one of the country’s largest … Continue reading Me eat vegetable
Many shoppers like the idea of buying local. After all, it can mean fresher and healthier foods, stronger local economies, direct contact with food producers and in some cases — but not always — lower carbon emissions. But most of us have only a few options for participating in the local food movement: visiting the … Continue reading Next-gen urban farms: 10 innovative projects from around the world
By many measures, the publishing world has a gender problem. Major magazines, newspapers and literary journals overwhelmingly review more books by men than by women, and more men are writing those reviews, according to the VIDA Count, an annual tally of women's representation in major publications. For example, just 20 percent of the books reviewed … Continue reading How many women authors do you read?
The GMO Inside campaign wants to get genetically modified organisms out of the US food system. So it's starting where we all start: breakfast. The campaign, a coalition of businesses and nonprofit organizations, is taking aim at the popular breakfast cereal Honey Nut Cheerios, pressing producer General Mills to remove anything that could even potentially … Continue reading Why are food activists targeting Honey Nut Cheerios?
LEXINGTON — When Amanda Bosh goes grocery shopping, it’s all about super fresh apples, artisan cheese, free-range chicken, and organic Brussels sprouts. But Bosh doesn’t get these products at an upscale supermarket. Instead, she heads to a local private school, where she will pick up the best quality meat, dairy, fruit, and vegetables. Bosh’s bounty, … Continue reading Latest in farm fresh products: We deliver
On Thanksgiving, my parents will set up chairs for the usual crowd: immediate family, my aunt, a handful of cousins. And if this year is like most others, there will also be an extra place or two set for the annual itinerants: an out-of-town visitor, a family friend without other plans, a college roommate far … Continue reading From tragedy, a holiday tradition
Sarah Shemkus 