Stories by Jill Richardson

Jill Richardson is the founder of the blog La Vida Locavore and a member of the Organic Consumers Association policy advisory board. She is the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System Is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It.. subscribe to Jill Richardson's feed

Why Do Americans Die Younger Than Citizens of Most Other Rich Countries?

Posted on: Jul 18, 2013, Source: Other Words

What do people in other countries do differently that makes them live so much longer?

Research Shows that Monsanto's Big Claims for GMO Food Are Probably Wrong

Posted on: Jun 25, 2013, Source: AlterNet

It's going to be a tough row to hoe, from here on out for Monsanto.

It's Not Just Monsanto's Genetically Engineered Wheat: You May Already Be Eating Rogue GE Crops

Posted on: Jun 6, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Can humans control and contain genetically engineered crops? The answer appears to be no.

Paranoia About Fats Is Driven by Junk Science

Posted on: May 23, 2013, Source: AlterNet

When it comes to fats such as omega-3s and omega-6s, it's not just a matter of the right fats, but the right ratio.

How Coca-Cola's Ruthless Business Tactics Created a Despicable Global Powerhouse

Posted on: May 20, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Mark Pendergast's book, "For God, Country, and Coca-Cola" guides readers through decades of shrewd marketing campaigns and the company's ugly history.

6 Ways Scientific Studies Can Trick You

Posted on: May 9, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Scientific studies with phony findings are not as uncommon as they should be.

Michael Pollan: Americans Cook Less Than Ever, But Love Watching It on TV -- New Book Takes Food Revolution into the Kitchen

Posted on: Apr 29, 2013, Source: AlterNet

An interview with the acclaimed writer about his new book, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation."

How Monsanto Went From Selling Aspirin to Controlling Our Food Supply

Posted on: Apr 18, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Monsanto controls our food, poisons our land, and influences all three branches of government.

Is the Popular 'Paleo Diet' a Bunch of Baloney?

Posted on: Mar 22, 2013, Source: AlterNet

The Paleo diet might be more successful in generating profit for its proponents than producing health for its followers.

How We Could Prevent Massive Bee Deaths and Save Our Food

Posted on: Mar 18, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Despite scientific evidence indicting certain common pesticides, the EPA continues to allow their use.

Monsanto Likely to Score Supreme Court Win with Far-Reaching Benefits for Corporate Farming

Posted on: Feb 20, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Why a legal dispute over soybeans could be a major win for corporate food producers.

Why You Can Thank Our War on Drugs For Roses Grown by Exploited Labor and Toxic Chemicals

Posted on: Feb 14, 2013, Source: AlterNet

You may want to think twice about buying roses this Valentine's Day.

The Nefarious Ways Junk Food Marketers are Trying to Buy Off Dietitians

Posted on: Jan 25, 2013, Source: AlterNet

A new report exposes the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics as a pay-for-play scheme that provides junk food manufacturers endless opportunities to influence registered dietitians.

What's Behind New Findings That It's Healthy to Be Overweight?

Posted on: Jan 17, 2013, Source: AlterNet

With so much profit to be made from keeping people overweight, the public is not hearing the truth about obesity.

Are Detox Diets and Cleanses Dangerous?

Posted on: Jan 7, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Advocates of detox diets, cleanses and flushes swear they purge the body of toxins. But do they actually work?

Yuck: Our Seafood Is Loaded with Unspeakably Gross Pollutants

Posted on: Nov 30, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Some of our most popular seafood treats come to us from filthy operations in other countries.

Why Fracking May Ruin Your Thanksgiving

Posted on: Nov 19, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Cranberry growers and the fracking industry are fighting for the same resources and tearing one state apart in the process.

If America Only Knew How Much Arsenic Ends Up on the Average Dinner Plate

Posted on: Oct 5, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Our government is perversely protecting the industries that release the killer chemical into society.

Are Parks Like SeaWorld Harming or Helping Killer Whales?

Posted on: Oct 3, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The new book "Death at SeaWorld" and a serious recent injury to an orca at one of the parks is raising concern.

The Most Absurd (and Expensive) Eco-Gadgets

Posted on: Sep 18, 2012, Source: AlterNet

These products drive home a question: can we consume ourselves to sustainability?

Why Are Some of the Most Popular Organic Brands Trying to Take Down Consumer Labeling Efforts?

Posted on: Sep 12, 2012, Source: AlterNet

You may be surprised by the companies siding with the likes of Monsanto, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Dow and other behemoths over the right to know what foods are genetically modified.

How Huge Food Corporations Will Make Upcoming Food Price Hikes Even Worse

Posted on: Aug 7, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The entire American food system is built on one crop -- corn. And that is really bad news.

6 Bogus Economic Arguments Used to Trash Local Food

Posted on: Jul 5, 2012, Source: AlterNet

A critique of local food proves that the models used in neoliberal economics do not accurately apply to food and agriculture.

It's a Safe Health-Food Wonder, Agricultural Dream and Economic Jackpot: It's Time to End our Government's Insane Hemp Prohibition

Posted on: Jul 1, 2012, Source: AlterNet

If it's legal to use in soaps – and even to eat – then why is it illegal to grow here?

The History of Supersizing: How We've Become a Nation Hooked on Bigger Is Better

Posted on: Jun 18, 2012, Source: AlterNet

NYC's recent ruling limiting the size of sugary drinks has spurred a lot of controversy. Is it stupid? Not if you know the history of supersizing.

Health Dangers in Your Hose: Are You Watering Your Garden With Endocrine Disruptors and Toxic Chemicals?

Posted on: Jun 4, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Your garden hose may contain high levels of lead, flame retardants, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting phthalates and BPA.

How the US Sold Africa to Multinationals Like Monsanto, Cargill, DuPont, PepsiCo and Others

Posted on: May 23, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The G8 scheme does nothing to address the problems that are at the core of hunger and malnutrition but will serve only to further poverty and inequality.

How Corporations Like Monsanto Have Hijacked Higher Education

Posted on: May 11, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Academic research is often dictated by corporations that endow professorships, give money to universities, and put their executives on education boards.

Forget the Farm Bill: Where We Should Set Our Sights This Year For Real Change

Posted on: Mar 29, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Focusing on the farm bill will use up endless resources and result in relatively little gain.

How America Is Making the Whole World Fat and Unhealthy

Posted on: Mar 7, 2012, Source: AlterNet

We've exported the worst of our food to developing countries and we've imported the best of their food -- making poorer countries even more worse off.

Have Bees Become Canaries In the Coal Mine? Why Massive Bee Dieoffs May Be a Warning About Our Own Health

Posted on: Feb 11, 2012, Source: AlterNet

What scientists are beginning to understand about the cause of colony collapse could be a message for all of us.

Sugar High: The Dark History and Nasty Methods Used to Feed Our Sweet Tooth

Posted on: Jan 20, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Sugar is now 20 percent of the American diet, but it's not just our health that suffers from its pervasiveness.

We've Lost Nearly All of Our Wild Foods -- What Happened? And What Are We Missing?

Posted on: Dec 29, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Fish are the last wild food that most of us will eat.

5 Ridiculous Myths People Use to Trash Local Food -- And Why They're Wrong

Posted on: Nov 18, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Articles "debunking" the local food movement are stale, shallow and often incorrect.

Why the Most Important Fish We Need to Save Is One You've Never Heard Of

Posted on: Nov 6, 2011, Source: AlterNet

You don't hear about menhaden because they don't show up in fish markets or on dinner menus, but they're in everything.

Why Is the State Department Using Our Money to Pimp for Monsanto?

Posted on: Oct 31, 2011, Source: AlterNet

The State Department is using taxpayer money to help force genetically modified crops on other countries.

Worst Food Additive Ever? It's in Half of All Foods We Eat and Its Production Destroys Rainforests and Enslaves Children

Posted on: Oct 24, 2011, Source: AlterNet

The production of this ingredient causes jaw-dropping amounts of deforestation (and with it, carbon emissions) and human rights abuses.

Factory Farms Produce 100 Times More Waste Than All People In the US Combined and It's Killing Our Drinking Water

Posted on: May 23, 2011, Source: AlterNet

"Factory farms are dangerous to the environment; they are ticking time bombs of manure just waiting to be spilled into public waters."

Why Is Damning New Evidence About Monsanto's Most Widely Used Herbicide Being Silenced?

Posted on: Apr 27, 2011, Source: AlterNet

It turns out that Monsanto's Roundup herbicide might not be nearly as safe as people have thought, but the media is staying mum on the revelation.

Are All Farm Subsidies Giveaways to Corporate Farmers? Nope, Here's a Rundown on Both Good and Bad Subsidies

Posted on: Apr 15, 2011, Source: AlterNet

While many subsidies seem like baseless giveaways to corporate farmers, others can actually help improve the sustainability of our food system.

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