On the myth of feeding the world, land reform, and the pitfalls of productivism with the 'In a Nutshell' podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/2RWe...

I really struggle with this argument from pragmatism: "Yes, the principles of environmental justice are correct and moral, but they are difficult to achieve, therefore we must abandon and dneigrate them." It is a self fullfiling prophecy. From: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

“This is not gray. Glyphosate is in the black - it is definitely harmful to human populations.”

The warning that crop diversification will compromise food security continues to lose its legitimacy. "Our analysis shows no trade-off between functionally rich rotations and food production or agricultural land expansion." www.nature.com/articles/s43...

“the New Food Writing that so riles Dutkiewicz and Rosenberg has evolved well beyond the Pollan of 20 years past. If, say, Raj Patel, or Leah Penniman, or Julie Guthman are your core writers, the dominant questions for a future food system look different and more justice-oriented. “

The “marvel” of the industrial food system is really a story of input dependence.

NEW: Bayer has warned for years it might be forced to leave the US market for glyphosate if it doesn't get regulatory assurance. Here's how they made they successfully made their case to the White House, winning Trump's support even as MAHA revolted. w/ Cheyenne Haslett for @politico.com

Arguments to consider for those who laud fertilizer as an uncontested miracle.

“Hand wave”? I believe the point Adam (and I) are trying to make is that empirical evidence doesn’t back up yield increases as a necessary or sufficient condition to decrease deforestation.

1/Feel like this #thread is useful enough to lift from replies to Grunwald and re-post for all those curious about #landsparing / #landsharing aka the “do we need to grow more food to save biodiversity & fight climate change” debate. Turns out it’s neither necessary nor sufficient. #sparesharethread

👀This comment on the Civil Eats essay from a “12th generation rancher” civileats.com/2026/03/03/t...

In case you missed it. Op-ed scrutinizing the letter of warning sent to the California Governor from the USDA Secretary.

“Modern, intensive farming practices have caused substantial biodiversity losses across the globe. Yet, our Black Death findings, in combination with numerous other examples, show us that humans and nature do not always have to be kept separate to conserve and promote biodiversity.”

“Rollins is … neglecting the incredible diversity of small farmers, farmhands, fruit pickers, beginning farmers, and small business owners who ... make California’s agriculture the powerhouse that it is,” write professors Adam Calo and Madeleine Fairbairn in an op-ed.

California produced a report proposing policies that would foster more equitable access to farmland. The Trump USDA freaked out and threatened legal action. Adam Calo and I wrote an op-ed on why these policies are EXACTLY what the state needs to make our food system stronger and more sustainable.

Brooke Rollins' panic over Land Equity Task Force report is a badge of honor.

“[Newsom] can choose to abandon principles of equity in favor of appealing to an imagined mainstream voter. Or, he can ... present a vision for an alternative future,” write Radboud University professor @adamcalo.bsky.social and @ucsantacruz.bsky.social professor @landstuff.bsky.social in an op-ed.

An agressive warning from the USDA is a sign that creative land governance has political power. Latest with @landstuff.bsky.social in @civileats.com civileats.com/2026/03/03/t...

"surprisingly little attention has been paid to land in relation to pesticides—to the point of dismissiveness" Exploring the Pesticide-Land Nexus onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

I was recently told “efficiency = sustainability“ as if it were a great wisdom of how we ought to organize production.

There’s something happening here, But what it is ain’t exactly clear.

Major soy traders including Cargill, ADM and Bunge are exiting the Amazon Soy Moratorium — a move that could raise deforestation by 30% by 2045. Observers warn it sends a “green light” to land speculators, even as forest loss threatens rainfall, yields and long-term market stability.

“farmers’ in-difference also troubles a more fundamental paradigm of ‘technology adoption,’ which inevitably assumes technologies to be at the center of analysis, rather than the farm, good working conditions …” link.springer.com/article/10.1...

This is exactly right. In MG's view, if high productivity = sustainability, then the range of potential limitations to intensive agriculture is smothered. Being beholden to a Global Food Equation produces many such distorted policy formulations.

THREAD: Recently, some colleagues and I including @keevenachman.bsky.social published a critique of some recent work of @mikegrunwald.bsky.social. clf.jhsph.edu/viewpoints/n...

Is it really "fine" that US farmers use 250 million pounds of Roundup on crops, per @mikegrunwald.bsky.social? Some colleagues at @livablefuture.bsky.social and I dig in. clf.jhsph.edu/viewpoints/n...

Excited to share my first CfP for @rgsibg.bsky.social annual conference. Working with the fantastic @veronicaawhite.bsky.social and Alex Heffron, we're interested in hearing about the research around ongoing contestations of Green Transitions in UK agriculture. Deadline is 20th February

Ciska Ulug and I are thrilled to be hosting the summer school for the food commons @w-u-r.bsky.social from June 15-19. We have some amazing lecturers @adamcalo.bsky.social , and inspiring site visits to food commons around the Netherlands wass.crs.wur.nl/courses/deta...

"How do people push back on fossil fuel permitting? These concerns were shrugged off by groups like the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and the American Clean Power Association, and “abundance” advocates like Ezra Klein, the Institute for Progress, and the Breakthrough Institute ..."

Another study shows intensification increases demand for land. “Models used to justify intensification as an environmental strategy typically rest on restrictive assumptions.” www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“US-style land reform must include not only a more expansive and imaginative view of how property law can operate, but it must also tackle the root causes of land concentration …”

Some useful back and forth on food system reform priorities stemming from:

Flachs knows about this.

Interesting podcast... You state: "It is true that we eat a lot of shit in the US...but it’s not shit because it’s grown industrially." Disagree...main goal is maximising profit which means UPFs which are the least healthy for people and planet. Quality, health, politics strangely absent in pod.

There is abundant empirical evidence that refutes the production /land equation. Whereas the belief in intensification tends to rely on modelling of optimal scenarios along limited variables.

A leftist academic wrote an essay titled "Useful Idiot" about...me! So I did his podcast, and it's kind of interesting. I like how he introduces me by explaining that usually his guests are insightful, but he decided to make an exception. landscapes.libsyn.com/more-is-less...

Advancing Agricultural Equity in California. New state mandated report from the Califonria Land Equity Task Force. sgc.ca.gov/wp-content/u...

If anyone is around Boston January 8th, drop by the Tufts Future of Food Innovation Day. I'll be talking/maybe productively disagreeing with Dan Rejto and Mike Grunwald about an abundance agenda for food and ag.

Great conversation between two people who don’t agree about the solution to a shared problem - no gotchas or barbs, but we see value of deconstructing simple stories of tech and progress, and pushing us past talking points to see ag as political

@mikegrunwald.bsky.social brings fresh energy to an everlasting idea: To reduce agriculture's environmental impact, we need to make "more with less." New episode of Landscapes: "More with Less" plinkhq.com/i/1552882054

Having spent approximately 20 years in this debate (www.researchgate.net/publication/... ; www.researchgate.net/publication/...; researchgate.net/publication/... ; researchgate.net/publication/... ) I'm less excited to listen than I shld be. But knowing Adam, I'm sure it will be a productive listen!

Recent presentation about the role of land reform on sustainable food transformation.

Coming soon on the next episode of Landscapes landscapes.libsyn.com

Tomorrow Webinar: Land Reform in Scotland: Challenges and Opportunities to Drive a Just Transition and Food System Resilience (send msg for link) ukfoodsystems.ukri.org

“Land is about the relations between the material aspects some people might think of as landscapes—water, soil, air, plants, stars—and histories, spirits, events, kinships, accountabilities, and other people that aren’t human.” — Max Liboiron

Open positon for a cutting edge community-engaged agroecology project in California: recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF02013

20000km on the cargo bike. Do I get Dutch citizenship for this?

With COP 30 winding down, we're reposting some of critiques of Green Capitalism and productivism from the previous year. By @kaibosworth.bsky.social , @andrewonearth.bsky.social , @beniuliano.bsky.social , @alastairiles.bsky.social , @adamcalo.bsky.social , and Maywa Montenegro. Links 👇🏽

City regions may turn to urban agriculture to solve a variety of problems. How can we ensure this action centers justice alongside production?🧪