The local food movement made a very large friend last week, when Wal-Mart announced a sustainable agriculture program that includes a plan to double the amount of locally grown produce sold at its stores by the end of 2015. The company says the goals will enable small- and medium-sized farm owners around the world to increase revenues, improve local economies and reduce their impact on the......read more
We are in the midst of a food revolution. Urban farms are popping up all over the place. Wal-Mart is buying local, sustainable produce. Even the White House growing its own vegetables. Organic is the new conventional. This week, our friends at NRDC announced the winners of their 2011 Growing Green Awards, recognizing the incredible work being done to transform the future of our food system. The......read more
In theory, there aren't too many people opposed to the idea of sustainability -- especially as it relates to food. But for all the people who agree that sustainable food is a good thing, there are just as many definitions of what it means. "Sustainability" is as ambiguous as it is appealing. That issue was addressed by a panel of experts at last week's Food Summit hosted by The Atlantic.......read more
Some U.S. farmers are paid to leave their land wild; others are compensated when weather devastates their cultivated land. Still others receive money when crop prices drop -- all from the same federal funds set aside through the current Farm Bill. To call it the "Farm Bill," however, is something of a misnomer. The federal government's primary agricultural and food policy legislation......read more
NRDC President Frances Beinecke for Huffington Post: Today NRDC announced the winners of the 2013 Growing Green Awards. These awards celebrate the farmers, business owners, and bold thinkers who are transforming America's food system. Each one of them has pioneered ways to provide food that nourishes our families and restores our environment at the same time. This is the fifth year NRDC has......read more
For people born since the mid '80s, environmental consciousness is second nature. And as the Millenial Generation begins to take on a power position in society, the "environment" will assume an even greater role in the politics of the age. That's the central tenet of a recent HuffPo piece by Steven Cohen, Executive Director of the Earth Institute, who further argues that current methods of......read more
Mark Tercek for Huffington Post: This week, I was asked an interesting question as part of the Q&A session following a talk I gave at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference in California. To paraphrase journalist Marc Gunther, who moderated the evening: "You are a vegan. You also lead the world's largest conservation organization. Why doesn't The Nature Conservancy make changing people's......read more
London's Eco Age is a store, showroom and consultancy that acts as a hub for all things green. Founder Nicola Giuggioli doesn't think "sustainable design" should infer any particular aesthetic. Neither do we. Here, Giuggioli discusses the concept....read more
We could get used to working here. Designed by FLOAT architecture, 'Watershed' is a 100 square foot writer's studio that reveals the complex ecology around it. Little tunnels under the structure bring reptiles and amphibians into view through the floor-level window. A water collection basin, doubling as the front step, attracts birds and deer. All of the structure's parts are......read more
As part of its footprint reduction project, Puma commissioned Yves Behar of fuseproject to create a new packaging system for Puma shoes. The result is a revolution in showbox design. Using 65% less paper than a traditional shoebox, the "Clever Little Bag" is a cardboard stock frame wrapped in reusable shoe bag. The packaging has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, requies less space......read more