Monthly Archives: November 2011

economics of standards (wonkish)

The discussions of the organic food standard and fair trade certification over the past week led me to think of the vast economics literature that examines standards. The research – particularly that from economic history – provides a useful framework … Continue reading

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lessons from fair trade and organic?

I know that many people who share some combination of my politics, interest in seeing the food system reshaped, and economics differ with me in one important area: the role of government regulation.  I am a supporter of  government regulation … Continue reading

Posted in fair trade, organic food | 2 Comments

will fair trade still be fair in the US?

Today’s New York Times (A Question of Fairness) discusses changes that are coming to the certification system for fair trade products sold in the USA. Some background on fair trade: Fairly traded products sell for higher prices, but have been … Continue reading

Posted in fair trade, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

what’s wrong with “big organic?”

In the food movement, big is not better. People tend to look fondly upon small farms and small businesses. And for some reason that I don’t understand, there is an assumption that organic farms and organic businesses should be small. … Continue reading

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tension in the food movement?

I’ve been thinking about two aspects of the food movement that appear contradictory, and I haven’t yet reconciled the two. On the one hand, we seek to farm in a way that minimizes  environmental degradation. After all, there is no … Continue reading

Posted in cost of food, food availability, sustainable agriculture | 3 Comments

food access on the ground: shopping in a food desert

Back to the food access assignments just completed by my food systems students, where today’s topic is what they observed in the stores in food deserts. They shopped in food deserts in Harlem (Manhattan) and different parts of Brooklyn. Common … Continue reading

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Investigating food access on the ground: dollars and cents

My Food Systems students just turned in their assignments on food access in New York City (ahem, I meant to say they turned the assignments in 2 weeks ago, and I am finally able to synthesize what they found). There … Continue reading

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Access to healthy food in Manhattan, NY

I am attending the American Public Health Association conference, where yesterday I presented some early findings of my research on access to healthy food in Manhattan. While the work is preliminary, it shows there is clustering in the availability of … Continue reading

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