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Protecting Iowa’s Farmland: The Importance of Local Food

SILT

At Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT), we believe that protecting Iowa’s farmland is essential to promoting sustainable and just food systems. Local food requires less transportation and storage, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and helping to mitigate climate change. Local food also offers health benefits for consumers.

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Can Agriculture Kick Its Plastic Addiction?

Civil Eats

These synthetic polymer products have often been used to help boost yields up to 60 percent and make water and pesticide use more efficient. Yet their pervasive use—along with farmland, plastics cover everything from individual seeds to bales of hay and packaged produce—has allowed them to plant themselves deeply in our food supply.

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Repurposing Cropland Can Bring Environmental, Socioeconomic, and Water Justice to California

The Equation

Hard truth: we have to use farmland differently Strategic cropland repurposing is the change in land use from an economic activity that produces negative side effects (such as harming people’s health and the environment) to new land uses that produce positive side effects. I believe there is: strategic cropland repurposing.

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How the Next Generation of Farmers is Getting Creative with Land Access

Modern Farmer

Backyard farms may need infrastructure for things ranging from drip lines and irrigation systems to hoop houses or greenhouses. Tenants agree to not use any pesticides and allow the Wicklers access to the yard. It had contracts in place, and it would pay homeowners for city water use by comparing bills to previous years.

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Are Next-Gen Synthetic Fibers the Future of Sustainable Textiles?

Modern Farmer

Both durable and efficient, with no need for farmland or vast amounts of water, it threatened to leave natural fibers like cotton in the dust. Fashion contributes around 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, second only to big oil. percent of the world’s farmland but uses 4.7 Another big factor is end of life.

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Opinion: To Make a Real Impact on Climate Change, We Must Move Beyond the Carbon Footprint

Modern Farmer

The research from the University of Michigan-led study seems to show that fruit and vegetables grown in urban ag have a carbon footprint six times larger than that of “conventionally grown” food (meaning, on rural farmland). However, when you divide a large number (i.e.,

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Vineyards Are Laying the Groundwork for a Regenerative Farm Future

Civil Eats

Compared to staple crops like corn and rice, wine grapes barely occupy a speck of the world’s farmland, at about 18 million acres. As a result, carbon stored in vineyard soils won’t ever add up to a meaningful reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. “Soil carbon sequestration is one indicator that we’re on the right track.”

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