And We Thought GMOs Were Bad; Pentagon Draws Plans For Immortal ’Synthetic Organisms’

February 5, 2010 What's Growing

The Raw Story is reporting,
The Pentagon’s advanced research division has set aside $6 million from its next budget for research on the creation of “synthetic organisms” whose DNA can be altered to make them live forever, or die on command, and even keep a genetic record of what they have been doing.
In its 2011 budget [...]

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Was 2009 The Year The World Turned Against GMOs?

February 5, 2010 Farm/Garden Politics

Claire Robinson and Jonathan Matthews write on theecologist.org,
2009 was a year in which the biotech industry, Gates and their US Administration allies did everything in their power to drive the world down the GM road, but it was also a year marked by remarkable global resistance.
It was a year too in which the truth emerged [...]

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USDA Report: Organic Produce Sales Topped $1 Billion

February 5, 2010 Farming & Agriculture

The nation’s organic farms and ranches have higher average sales and higher average production expenses than U.S. farms overall, according to results of the 2008 Organic Production Survey released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
“This was USDA’s first wide-scale survey of organic producers, and it was undertaken in direct response to [...]

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Fish Bowl Farm—Simple DIY Aquaponics

February 5, 2010 Aquaponics

The Fish Bowl Farm is an exhibit tool for introducing to interested persons what aquaponics is: a portable ecosystem that supports fish and plants, while offering new directions for healthy food production.  Kids really enjoy it when they see it.
The Fish Bowl Farm is the simplest demonstration of aquaponics, the sustainable growing system that produces fish [...]

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Integrating Hydroponics Into The Agricultural Curriculum While Promoting Entrepreneurial Skills

February 5, 2010 Farming & Agriculture

Students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute submit partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science with a report on a science project. WPI publishes the reports on their web site.
The goal of this project was to design and construct a hydroponic system for the Mahasarakham University Demonstration School in Thailand that [...]

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Rain Garden Guide

February 5, 2010 Farming & Agriculture

The Oregon Sea Grant Extension’s new publication The Oregon Rain Garden Guide, A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO Landscaping FOR Clean Water AND Healthy Streams is information geared to those that live in Oregon but can be utilized in any area of the country.
Rob Emanuel, one of the authors of the publication, writes about the new publication [...]

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Food Security

February 5, 2010 Farming & Agriculture

Even though this opinion piece is on the Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) site, it has relevance for anywhere and everywhere in the world. SGA reports on Food Security,

You know, when I was first asked to write an article on food security, I thought I would be explaining the intricacies of pantry locks or the finer [...]

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Eat The Chips, Compost The Bag

February 5, 2010 Compost

Martin Mittelstaedt reports in The Globe and Mail,

The lowly chip bag is getting a green makeover, the latest salvo by snack-food companies trying to improve their environmental image.
Starting next month, Frito Lay Canada will sell its Sun Chips in bags that can be thrown into the backyard composter or municipal green bins. The food giant [...]

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Portland, Oregon May Start Curbside Compost Pickup

February 5, 2010 Compost

Television station KGW.com reports on the city of Portland’s proposal of starting curbside pickup of compostable food scraps,
The city estimates it could reduce about 30 percent of what’s trucked to area landfills by having people recycle table scraps at the curb.
The scraps are considered a missed opportunity because they can be converted into compost. [...]

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Old Time Sweet Potato King Of Idaho

February 5, 2010 Farming & Agriculture

Edwards Greenhouse has a long history in the Boise, Idaho area. Thomas Edwards started growing vegetables both in soil and geothermal heated greenhouses in the late 1920s, continuing on to today with the third generation (managed by Edwards’ grand daughter Garnette) of the family owned business. In those days, Edwards delivered  his vegetables to area [...]

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