News & Commentary

Health Experts to New York: Beware of Neonic Pesticides

April 14, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkDaniel Raichel

Let’s hope that Albany legislators and Governor Hochul listen to the doctors’ orders.

How Regenerative Agriculture Can Mitigate Drought

March 22, 2022 Expert BlogCaliforniaArohi Sharma

This is how we can help California farms and ranches be part of a drought mitigation strategy.

Learning about CA's Water Rights is the First Step to Reform

March 8, 2022 Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

There is a growing recognition of the need to reform California’s water rights system, which is deeply inequitable, unsustainable, and all but broken.

New CA Program Can Deliver Organic School Lunches

February 25, 2022 Expert BlogCaliforniaLena Brook

By prioritizing procurement from organic farmers that avoid all or most pesticide use, our state’s farm-to-school program will also help reduce health risks faced by these especially vulnerable children. 

Students Intro Bill to Combat Food Waste in Virginia

February 24, 2022 Expert BlogVirginiaNina Sevilla

Students in Virginia wrote a bill that would extend liability protection to businesses, restaurants, and any food donation group who would like to donate food past the “best by” date. 

NYC Must Enact a Universal Food Waste Composting Law, Part II

February 18, 2022 Expert BlogNew York CityEric A. Goldstein

The time has arrived for the nation’s largest city to implement a universal, curbside organics collection program for all residents.

Can NY Protect Bees, Birds, People from Toxic Pesticides?

February 9, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkDaniel Raichel

The Birds and Bees Protection Act would eliminate 80-90 percent of the neonics entering New York’s environment every year by prohibiting only those uses that provide little-to-no benefit to users or are easily replaced with safer alternatives.

NYC Must Enact a Universal Food Waste Composting Law

February 1, 2022 Expert BlogNew York CityEric A. Goldstein

One of the top environmental challenges for Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council is to establish a sensible program for collecting and sustainably disposing of household organics—food scraps, yard waste, and food soiled paper.

Food Waste Generators Now Required to Recycle in New York

January 13, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkMargaret Brown, Yvette Cabrera

New York's law adds to the growing drumbeat of adoption of these laws, and we look forward to seeing similarly robust programs in other states in the years to come.

Proposed Newsom Budget Doubles Down on Climate, Food, and Ag

January 12, 2022 Expert BlogCaliforniaLena Brook, Arohi Sharma

Governor Newsom’s newly released proposal rightfully recognizes the profound impact of climate change on our state’s food and agriculture system and the need for significant investment.

Albany Environmental Roundup: 2021 Victories and 2022 Agenda

December 14, 2021 Expert BlogNew YorkMarisa Guerrero, Rich Schrader

New York State secured several key environmental and public health victories in 2021—and that momentum is continuing into 2022, as we push for bills to expand the use of electric vehicles, improve energy efficiency, promote food security, and reduce toxic…

California Must Close Big Pesticide Loophole

December 3, 2021 Expert BlogCaliforniaDaniel Raichel

When is a pesticide not a pesticide?

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

Latina Farmworkers Speak Out about the Hazards of Life in California’s Fields

October 4, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

From farms to public hearings, the women of Líderes Campesinas are standing up against the pesticide exposure, COVID-19 risk, and other threats disproportionately impacting their community.

The Chlorpyrifos Ban Is a Win for Science—and Children

September 17, 2021 NRDC in ActionCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

NRDC advocates and our partners spent decades fighting against a highly toxic pesticide that harms kids, farmworkers, and their families. In August, the EPA finally banned it.

Celebrating Year One of the Food Matters Regional Initiative

August 30, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Madison, Ohio, Baltimore, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, North Carolina, Memphis, OrlandoMadeline Keating, Darby Hoover

A year after the launch of the Food Matters Regional Initiative, we are pleased to report considerable progress and accomplishments from the 15 regional initiative participants.

Washington State Adds Emergency Rules to Protect Workers from Heat and Wildfire Smoke

August 13, 2021 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

But many advocates point out that to fully address our new climate reality, we also need national solutions.

Fighting Climate Change Through Farming

August 12, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

In Central California, small ranches and farms are growing their connections—to the land, to the past, and to each other.

Blackfeet Nation Is Taking Back the Food System

June 21, 2021 DispatchMontanaNicole Greenfield

A tribal-led plan to build a meat-processing facility on the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Montana will help invigorate the local economy, safeguard cultural traditions, and protect community health and the environment.

JBS' Workers Paid the Ultimate Price, While Profits Surged

May 25, 2021 Expert BlogUnited States, ColoradoJessica Carey-Webb, David Wallinga, MD

As an industry, meatpackers seem to operate according to their own set of rules, often reprehensible and sometimes deadly. Among its global peers JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, is exceptional. The extent and documentation of its corporate irresponsibility is…