FanFare

Somerset, England, 2006. Young Oscar Harding's family discovers a mysterious VHS tape made by their neighbor Charles Carson, shutting it, alarmed, off just ten minutes in. Years later, Harding finds the tape and goes down an obsessive rabbit hole upon viewing its bizarre content, including scenes of Carson and his farm, explicit footage of calves being born, comic bits of horses stealing his hat, and footage of deceased loved ones. [more inside]
posted by DirtyOldTown on May 12, 2023 - 2 comments

This week.... Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota spoke at a NRA forum, claiming that it wasn't just a bunch of old white guys, to a crowd composed almost entirely of old white guys. Texas judge Kacsmaryk suspended the FDA's approval of a key component of medication abortions 23 years after the fact, using terrible reasoning to do so (MeFi). And Now: Did You Know Action News' Robert Grant Has A Fucking Dairy Allergy? Main story: Farm workers (Youtube, 25 minutes), most of whom in the US are foreign-born and undocumented, are badly treated, work in dangerous conditions, are woefully paid, and can legally be as young as twelve, and yet are incredibly essential to agriculture, which is messed up. The closing segment (of a parody "Farming Simulator 2023") was narrated by Nick Offerman. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Apr 17, 2023 - 2 comments

The avocado's rise from culinary fad to must-have superfood has made it a lucrative crop - and a magnet for money-hungry cartels.
posted by lesser weasel on Oct 9, 2019 - 1 comment

The IPBES Global Assessment summary is out and we're digging in to all 39 pages this week. The report lays out a grim picture of our current world in terms of life on earth, the ecosystems they create, and our relationship with them that our civilization as we know it depends upon. While not the full 1500+ page report due out later this year, this study is perhaps the most important look at the state of our world that we've ever seen - and if we don't act quickly to fix the problems it so clearly exposes, then nothing less than very the future of humanity may be at risk. [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns on Jun 19, 2019 - 1 comment

“Stewarding our own land, growing our own food, educating our own youth, participating in our own healthcare and justice systems,” Penniman writes, “this is the source of real power and dignity.” [more inside]
posted by aniola on Mar 1, 2019 - 4 comments

Douglas Rushkoff hosts the podcast, and begins this episode with a monologue about the idealism and reality of bitcoin and blockchain technology. The second part of the podcast is a discussion with Vermont baker and farmer Suzanne Slomin. They discuss the challenges of maintaining integrity and stewardship of the community in an increasingly extractive economy. [more inside]
posted by SteveInMaine on Apr 2, 2018 - 0 comments

A new 4-part Netflix documentary series on food, cooking, sustainability, and our relationships with what we eat and how it is prepared. Hosted and produced by Michael Pollan, inspired by his book of the same name.
posted by jbickers on Apr 9, 2016 - 6 comments

King Ecbert visits the developing Viking settlement as the first harvest is sown. [more inside]
posted by porpoise on Mar 6, 2015 - 7 comments