Op-ed: What Affordability Really Means for Families and Farmers This Holiday Season

Ahead of the guidelines’ release, RFK Jr. and the #MAHA movement consider changes that could go against science-based research.

Looking for a last-minute gift for the newshound, foodie in your life? We’ve got you covered. ⬇️🎁✨

Congress has adjourned for the year without extending key subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, threatening health care access for farmers and rural communities.

Lawmakers have left the capital without extending Affordable Care Act credits, leaving many Americans, including farmers, facing significantly higher premiums in the new year.

The Senate confirmed Douglas Troutman—an industry insider who lobbied against the regulation of chemicals—as the assistant administrator of the EPA office that oversees the safety of chemicals, including pesticides.

Ahead of the guidelines’ release, RFK Jr. and the MAHA movement consider changes that could go against science-based research.

Minnesota SNAP administrators have less than 30 days to recertify eligibility for roughly 100,000 households, or risk the state’s ability to participate in federal food assistance.

The legislation would direct the federal government to create a national strategy and fund the research and development of plant- and lab-based meats.

With control over the Dietary Guidelines for Americans now in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hands, nutrition experts are concerned that Trump administration officials will disregard decades of science and, in turn, create confusion and distrust in the document.

The USDA is ordering Minnesota to conduct more administrative oversight of its federal food assistance, threatening the state’s ability to participate in the program.

At 91, former Congresswoman Eva Clayton continues to make her voice heard on gerrymandering, hunger relief, and more. “Freedom requires us collectively to walk forward.”

EXCLUSIVE: Senator Adam Schiff will introduce legislation today to direct more than $500 million in federal support over the next five years toward research and development for “alternative proteins.”

The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are now in the hands of the Trump administration. Nutrition experts are worried that the upcoming report will go against established science and erode the public’s trust.

Former Congresswoman Eva Clayton is a towering figure in food politics. Today, at 91, she continues to make her voice heard on issues like gerrymandering, hunger relief, and more.

Op-ed: Tariffs, immigration policies, SNAP cuts, and more are raising food prices and grocery bills. Americans deserve better.

Bird flu transmission to humans is still a rare event, but that could change. The virus now circulates among hundreds of bird and mammal species. We spoke with an animal health researcher to help backyard bird raisers protect their flocks and themselves.

Eva Clayton, the first Black woman to represent North Carolina in Congress, first found her calling during the Civil Rights era in 1963, organizing farmers. At 91, she continues to make her voice heard on gerrymandering, hunger relief, and more. @christina-cooke.bsky.social reports. ⬇️

"As we gather this season, it is worth remembering that affordability is not an abstract economic construct or the result of some political ideology. It is a lived experience." Read the op-ed by David L. Ortega, a food economics and policy professor at Michigan State University. ⬇️

"We focus so much on the coop, but it’s not an island, and we need to think more holistically, or geographically, about what’s going on within a kilometer or so of our backyard flock." Read the Q&A with Maurice Pitesky, associate specialist in cooperative extension at U.C. Davis. ⬇️

Previously, the National School Lunch Program’s standards only allowed fat-free and reduced-fat cow’s milk; the new ruling lets public schools continue to serve these as well as whole and non-dairy milks.

The Imperial Valley might be the best place in the world to grow beets. What went wrong?

“An agenda that Americans were told would lower prices has instead pushed them higher, creating an affordability crisis just in time for the holidays,” writes @dlortega.bsky.social, a food economics and policy professor at @michiganstateu.bsky.social, in an op-ed.

In a Q&A with Contributor @megwilcox.bsky.social, @ucdavis.bsky.social’s Maurice Pitesky discusses how backyard bird raisers can protect their flocks and themselves from avian influenza.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said efforts intended to address historic discrimination, including the return of land to Native nations, would be unconstitutional.

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The elderberry is a sacred Indigenous plant. Should it be monetized?

The Imperial Valley might be the best place in the world to grow beets. What went wrong?

Transforming a culturally significant native plant into a commercial crop presents unique complexities, including how to ensure that the process benefits Indigenous communities.

Here’s what you need to know about PFAS in pesticides. ⬇️

An exclusive book club with renowned nutritionist @marionnestle.bsky.social? Yes, please! For $60, you can join the Civil Eats community and secure your invite, plus a year of so much more.

Anti-hunger advocates and grocers warn that the growing patchwork of state waivers could create disruptions for stores and customers.

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said efforts intended to address historic discrimination, including the return of land to Native nations, would be unconstitutional.

Conservation experts say the initiative will succeed only if the administration similarly invests in conservation technical assistance and staff.

The agency quietly posted an analysis of the comments it received on its plan to relocate employees and restructure regional offices.

The EPA refutes that several of its recently approved pesticides are "forever chemicals." Here’s what the science says about these complicated substances. ⬇️

The Trump administration will allow six more states to restrict “junk food” purchases using federal food assistance funds, which anti-hunger advocates argue threatens food security.

Top health and agriculture officials announced that the Trump administration will direct $700 million into a voluntary regenerative agriculture pilot program that builds on existing conservation programs.

Really very special to be included in @civileats.com 2025 Winter Holiday Book Gift Guide! The true story of Miss White & her incredible, innovative women farmers of the 40s & 50s would be delighted! @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social

According to a summary of the feedback the USDA received in response to its plan to significantly reorganize its operations, the “overwhelming majority” of comments were negative.

Entrepreneurs, farmers, and nonprofits in the West are trying to create a market for the local blue elderberry, while small Midwestern farmers have cultivated the American black elderberry for nearly 30 years.

Researchers and regulators have identified three ways that PFAS get into weedkillers and insecticides: Plastic containers, additive ingredients, or the active chemical itself. @lisaelaineh.bsky.social reports. ⬇️

As demand increases in the US, some producers are exploring whether and how to commercialize a Native staple. “How can we take something that we regard as so sacred and put a price tag on it?”

California’s Imperial County declared a state of emergency due to the economic impact of the loss of sugar beet production, and local leaders are looking for ways to bring the industry back.

The Trump administration announced it will provide $12 billion in economic aid for farmers, with the bulk of the funds reserved for commodity crop farmers.

What a wonderful list! 🎁💚 Ghosts of the Farm by @nicolawriting.bsky.social The Accidental Seed Heroes by @theseeddetective.bsky.social Wildcrafted Seeds and Grains by Pascal Baudar The Self-Fed Farm and Garden by Eliot Coleman Finding Lights in a Dark Age by @chrissmaje.bsky.social

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Indigenous communities have tended and used elderberries as a sacred plant and medicine for centuries. Elderberries are traditionally shared within tribal communities, not commercialized. civileats.com/2025/12/09/e...

California's Imperial Valley might be the best place in the world to grow sugar beets. What went wrong?

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Saturday directing the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate anticompetitive behavior in “food-related industries.”