This week, the Department of Agriculture released a report confirming what EWG has argued for years: Farm subsidies overwhelmingly go to the largest and most successful farm businesses, as opposed to struggling family farms that need them the most. Civil Eats uncovered the number of hardships many farmers face, while the New York Times explored how the soil beneath our feet can mitigate climate change. Also this week, President Trump shuttered a scientific panel that, according to its chairman, was “one of the last federal bodies that openly talked about climate change in public.” This holiday season Nature’s Path encourages us to bring the outdoors inside, in order to buy buy less and waste less. Some decorations can be completely composted when you’re done with them. Decorate sustainably this year! Finally, Amazon recently received a patent for a new service that will let users upload photos of their vegetable gardens, then receive a variety of recommendations from the service, including recipes for the specific veggies they’ve planted, gardening tools they might need and even advice on what else to plant and exactly where in your garden it should go.

Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet

The last great hope of avoiding catastrophic climate change may lie in a substance so commonplace that we typically ignore it or else walk all over it: the soil beneath our feet.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/opinion/sunday/soil-power-the-dirty-way-to-a-green-planet.html

Locally available crops across the country.

We rounded up the locally available crops across the country, plus favorite ways to cook with them.

Trump Disbands Panel That Helped Cities Respond to Climate Threat.

The president shutters group that, according to its chairman, was “one of the last federal bodies that openly talked about climate change in public”

11 Sustainable Holiday Decorations That Are Good For The Planet.

When you bring the outdoors in, you will buy less and waste less. Some decorations can be used all year, but they can all be composted when you’re done with them. Decorate sustainably this year!

USDA Confirms Subsidies Overwhelmingly Flow to Wealthiest Farmers.

A new report from the Department of Agriculture confirmed what EWG has been saying for years: Farm subsidies overwhelmingly go to the largest and most successful farm businesses, instead of to struggling family farms that need them the most.

Amazon Has a Patent For a Garden Service That Would Help You Grow Food.

Amazon has a new frontier it’s looking to tackle: your garden. The tech company recently received a patent for a new service that would let users upload photos of their vegetable gardens then receive a variety of recommendations from Amazon including recipes for the specific veggies they’ve planted, gardening tools they might need, and even advice on what else to plant and exactly where in your plot it should go.

Becoming (and Remaining) a Farmer is Hard.

Education and training can help new farmers succeed, but new research points to systemic challenges that also need to be addressed.