Agriculture
No, Corporate Greed Didn't Cause the 2023 Egg Price Shock
A much more plausible explanation is the avian flu outbreak that devastated the poultry industry last year.
Review: Egg Is a Theory of Everything
The book's 12 thematic chapters are dense and rich—like flan, but good.
Police Traveled 500 Miles To Seize Girl's Pet Goat for Slaughter
A 9-year-old backed out of a deal to sell her pet goat for slaughter. Local officials and sheriff's deputies used the power of the state to force her to go through with it.
This Year's Farm Bill Threatens To Be a Bigger Monster Than Ever
The massive piece of legislation embodies all that is wrong with American lawmaking.
A Town Without Zoning Fights To Stay Free
In Caroline, New York, officials are trying to impose the city's first zoning code. These residents won't have it.
FDA Says Lab-Grown Chicken Is Safe To Eat
"The future of our planet depends on how we feed ourselves…and we have a responsibility to look beyond the horizon for smarter, sustainable ways to eat," says GOOD Meat's CEO.
China's Purchases of U.S. Land Stoke Bipartisan Panic, Just Like Japan's Did In the 1980s
People panicked in the 1980s that Japan's economic largesse posed a grave threat to American interests. Then the market reined it in.
America Needs a Better Kind of Capitalism
Big corporations and entire industries constantly use their connections in Congress to get favors, no matter which party is in power.
State Lawmakers Help Farmers by Improving Consumer Access to Raw Milk
The raw milk restoration is underway.
The USDA Can't Stop Organic Food Fraud
It's time to return oversight to industry groups and the states.
Robert Reich Is Wrong: 'Corporate Greed' Isn't To Blame for Egg Prices
The former labor secretary ignores the avian flu epidemic that devastated the supply of egg-laying hens.
You Can Eat Better Than King Henry VIII, Thanks to Globalization and Burger King
Thanks to globalization, we plebes can pay just $6.49 for a whole Whopper meal fit for a 16th-century king.
New York City's Foie Gras Ban Once Again Deemed Illegal by New York State
The city has not yet announced whether it will fight the order in court.
Come Next Thanksgiving, We Might Be Giving Thanks for Government-Approved, Lab-Grown Turkey
Regulators are beginning to smile on the sci-fi project of creating real meat products without the typical death and environmental destruction.
The Pilgrims Dreamed of Socialism. Then Socialism Almost Killed Them.
Private property was the solution to their failed experiment. But people keep repeating the Pilgrims' mistakes.
Republicans Need an Actual Plan To Grow the Economy
The biggest beneficiaries of economic growth are poor people. But the deepest case for economic growth is a moral one.
Why We Should Terraform the Galaxy
One critic calls it "arrogant vandalism," but advocates say it might be a necessary form of self-preservation.
Farm Subsidies and Food Stamps Won't Fix High Grocery Prices. Innovation Will.
With government meddling, many farmers end up doing less with more, and people end up paying more for less.
Lawsuits Keep Rolling Back Unconstitutional Vegan 'Meat' Bans
No one is confused about whether Tofurky is turkey.
Marco Rubio Wants To Make Your Groceries More Expensive
The senator from Florida calls for tariffs on imported fruits and vegetables.
Louisiana Sheriff Loses Tax Lawsuit Targeting Smith Angus Farm
Multiple state agencies told Sheriff Randy ‘Country’ Seal that he had no right to collect taxes from a rancher in his parish. He sued anyway.
The Next Farm Bill Will Probably Stink Worse and Cost More
Asking America's agriculture industry to stand on its own two feet remains a third rail in American politics.
America's Meat Shortage Is Self-Inflicted and Fixable
How can it be that with so much cattle in America, we sometimes can't buy meat?
Better Immigration Laws Could Help Lower Food Prices
The Senate is considering legislation that would improve the visa program for temporary agricultural workers and help relieve labor shortages that push food prices higher.
New York City Sued Over Illegal Foie Gras Ban
Hudson Valley foie gras producers are not taking New York City's guff sitting down.
Britain Finally Relaxes GMO Rules, but Advocates Want More Deregulation
New GMO rules are a good break from the E.U., but they don't go far enough.
California's Terrible Price-Gouging Law Puts Markets at Mercy of Ambitious Prosecutors
Higher egg prices are not a crisis in the middle of a pandemic full of supply problems.
Supreme Court Takes Up California's Attempt To Control How Other States' Farmers Treat Pigs
Do California's rules violate the dormant commerce clause?
Connecticut Should Let Small Farmers Slaughter Their Rabbits on Their Farms
A cost-efficient and humane method for processing rabbit meat is preferable to the state's current system.
How Drug Cartels and Federal Import Restrictions May Cancel Your Guacamole Plans
Almost all of America’s avocados come from a single Mexican state. A threatening message threw it into disarray.
The Real-World Conflicts in Yellowstone Can Be Solved by Markets, Not Drama
Media elites ignore the heartland-themed show, and the real issues behind it, at their own peril.
Backyard Chickens Make Headway in Iowa, Stall Out in New York
Fowl regulations are improving in some places, ruffling feathers in others.
It's Time To Kill the Mandatory Beef Tax That Underwrites "Beef, It's What's for Dinner"
The beef checkoff problem raises prices without benefiting ranchers
Environmentalists Pan Unintended Environmental Consequences of Flawed Agricultural Laws
Here and abroad, laws and policies meant to protect sustainability aren't delivering and cost a fortune.
Memphis Gave IKEA $9.5 Million While Several Smaller Furniture Stores Went Under
Corporate welfare hurts the people who actually need help.
Author Steven Johnson on the Good News of the Century
Innovations in epidemiological statistics, artificial fertilizer, toilets, sanitation systems, and vaccines have allowed billions of people to flourish until old age.
California Court Rules Vegan Creamery Has First Amendment Right To Call Products 'Butter' and 'Cheese'
Who thought it was a good idea to give the government control over marketing?
Maine Voters To Decide on Constitutional 'Right to Food'
Language regarding seed exchanges could violate contracts.
Manufactured Meats Coming to a Grocery Store Near You Next Year?
The process uses 99 percent less land and 96 percent less freshwater than traditional meat production.
Corporations Are Getting Rich off Government Aid
"I don't understand why money is leaving my pocket and going into the pocket of somebody who is wealthy."
The Government Is Making Us Fat and Susceptible to Viruses
The vast majority of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are overweight. Why won’t the government stop subsidizing junk food?