Agriculture Sector

Composting Is in Our Future, Part Two

Composting is an intimidating and rather off-putting task that must be done if we want to survive and live sustainably. We need to be responsible and understand that soil is one of the most important things on this planet, and recycling food waste to build soil is vital. Our soil down here in Sout ... More >>

Are GMOs to Blame for Decline in Florida Honeybees?

A lot of people have an intense fear of bees. Whether you were stung as a child or just traumatized from young Macaulay Culkin's death in My Girl, the buzzing little insect has picked up a bad rep. And yet, the prolific pollinators are integral to our food supply. Without bees, most of the plants w ... More >>

Raw Milk: "Real" Milk? Or Real Bad?

Nowadays, everything is a polarizing issue from abortion to gun rights to fiscal cliffs. Next on the list is food. In a way, it seems crazy that something as basic as food should be so contentious, but then again what could be more personal than the food that keeps us alive? Once upon a ti ... More >>

Mercy for Animals Unveils Brutal New Anti-Dairy Video

Need some extra motivation to stick to that vegan diet you resolved to follow in the new year? Mercy For Animals, a nonprofit animal welfare organization known for its hard-to-watch undercover video exposés of factory farm conditions, can help you with that. The group on Friday released a bummer of ... More >>

Chef Dean James Max of 3030 Ocean: A Q&A About PB Food & Wine Fest and Women in the Kitchen ("I Try Not to Let Them Escape")

In south Florida, there are few names that have made a long-lasting impact on the culinary industry. Chef Dean James Max is one. His name comes up not just for his talent in terms of churning out beautifully prepared sustainable seafood dishes, but for his impact on the next generation of south Flor ... More >>

Chef Allen Susser: A Q&A on Flavors of Fort Lauderdale, GMOs, and Robot Fish

Chef Allen Susser has made a bit of a name for himself in south Florida. Okay, that might be a bit of an understatement. The New York native and longtime South Florida resident has won numerous awards and accolades: James Beard Foundation's Best Chef 1994, southeast region; one of the top ten in Fo ... More >>

Flavors of Fort Lauderdale: New Food Festival Launches Next Week

This year has seen an influx of new culinary events for Fort Lauderdale. Cheers for Charity was a great success. Now it's almost time for Flavors of Fort Lauderdale. The next four-day culinary event, which kicks off Tuesday, November 8. The event is meant to showcase the culinary talent and lif ... More >>

Bettencourt Dairies: Burger King Supplier Exposed Abusing Cows (Grueling Video)

Over the past few years, consumers have become increasingly aware of the abuse that takes place in the industrial food system. Public outrage has reached a fever-pitch. Due to consumer demand, many corporations and state governments (including Florida) have even begun banning gestation crates--those ... More >>

Overfishing Deals Severe Blow To Local Economy, Pew Environment Group Says

Scientists tend to frame the consequences of overfishing in esoteric ecological terms that seem frightening but are difficult to comprehend. A new study commissioned by the Pew Environment Group, however, translates the consequences into dollars and cents, making it all too clear that ... More >>

Want to Start a Goat Farm? JoJo Milano of Delilah's Dairy Tells Us How

Amongst foodies, interest in farming seems to have reached epic proportions. Aside from the growing number of farm-to-table restaurants, it seems as though you cannot dine with any well-known chef and not hear about the organic gardener that grew your tomato, the ethical farmer that reared your meat ... More >>

Skip the Doc; Bomb Some Seeds

Farm-Raised Salmon? Not on This Yacht

Chef Sara Ventiera is setting off on a three-week trip to the Bahamas, manning the kitchen on a 91-foot yacht. She will file regular updates from the waters about what it's like to work on a yacht, from pre-trip provisioning to seaplane produce delivery.As soon I saw the "Norwegian Atlantic Salmon" ... More >>

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" Overwhelms With Lightweight Heavy-Handedness

Florida Law Makes Serving Local Fish an Increasing Challenge

Bee Killer Snuffs Thousands of Florida Hives

treehugger.com​If it's not colony collapse disorder, it's a crazy bee killer. Hundreds of thousands of bees in Brevard County died this past September, tied to a tainted food supply that contained an insecticide used to kill roaches, ticks, and fleas, county agriculture officials determined yester ... More >>

Truck Farm: Join the Fleet

Think you can't grow your own produce if you're not living out on a farm? Well, maybe you should consider getting a truck. No joke! Truck Farm is a mobile farm where you plant into the bed of a truck. That means you are growing your own produce even if you have limited space and live in the city. Im ... More >>

Real Cattle Drive on Clematis Thursday at High Noon

Florida cattle ​Cattle and the cowboys who herd them aren't your everyday downtown sight, but on Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, a herd (abeit a small one) will be tromped down the middle of the road at noon Thursday.The Florida Cattlemen's Association is calling attention to Florida's history ... More >>

Mango Farm Tour at Erickson Farms Sunday -- a Family Day Out

​The 99-year-old Erickson Farms in Canal Point opens its gates to the public on Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., for its annual Farm Tour. The free tour features rides among the mango groves -- 40 acres of them -- and around the other tropical trees growing on the other 20 acres.Kim Erickson, one of the ... More >>

Whole Foods Offers Sustainable Swordfish for Summer

​It was less than six months ago that national retailer Target completely ditched farm-raised salmon in favor of the environmentally conscious wild-caught variety. Now Whole Foods is getting in on the action. The national retailer has announced it will carry only Marine Stewardship Council-certifi ... More >>

Animal Rights Group Asks Miss Florida USA Contestants to Donate Fur "Prizes"

C. Stiles​We live in South Florida, one of the warmest climates in the country. And on top of that, this one of the hottest summers we've had in years. So why would anyone ever need a fur coat down here?That's what the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida was thinking when members emailed more than ... More >>

The Humane Society's Battle With Farmers Began Right Here in Florida

Immokalee Workers Plan Major Push on Publix This Weekend

Pressure mounts on Publix.​Thirty-year-old Romeo Ramirez has worked on Florida farms for his "whole life," he says. And despite the conditions he's seen -- stagnant wages, no benefits, and even migrant farm workers forced to work against their will -- he still seems to see the state he lives in as ... More >>

Two Florida Farmers Opt Out of Animal Rights Battles

Matt Thomas' little pigs range freely.​This week's feature story details the escalating battle between Big Agriculture and the Humane Society, the organization behind a nationwide campaign to legislate the safety and comfort of farm animals. The Humane Society helped push through Florida's "pregna ... More >>

Target Stores to Stop Selling Farm-Raised Salmon, Will Now Carry Wild-Caught Only

​That's right: the retail mega-chain will no longer be selling any farm raised salmon at its grocery outlets. Instead, all salmon sold at Target stores will now be wild-caught Alaskan salmon only.Pretty conscientious for a national retailer.Now, all the frozen, fresh, and smoked salmon you find at ... More >>

Panning for Gold: Impoverished People Can Be Useful Props for Protesters

Flickr: HD Action PhotographyA boatload of amberjacks caught by a charter fishing boat off the Panhandle coast.​It's been a discouraging week to be a South Floridian, so it's high time we renew our Panning for Gold series, in which we attempt to prove that ours is the (slightly) superior civilizat ... More >>

The World According to Harry

g.shepherdHarry's Banana Farm, 10.17.09​Harry's Banana Farm in Lake Worth has long been famous for its stuffed alligator, its paperback "lending library," its Penthouse designation as one of the ten sleaziest bars in America, and for the philosophical musings posted on its outdoor sign. But this w ... More >>

Greenpeace Attacks Publix, Winn-Dixie

flickr user: wharmanIf only Publix cared this much about REAL fish.The website for Publix supermarkets states, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, but not all of them are good enough for Publix." According to the environmental organization Greenpeace, that statement is all sorts of wrong. First, t ... More >>

Oyster Lovers, Unite

This Valentine's may be your best chance for years to come to eat oysters.

Slow Foods Glades to Coast Dinner at Cafe Boulud

(sturgeon: It's what's for dinner)The Slow Foods Glades to Coast Chapter, which covers roughly the Palm Beach and Broward areas, is hosting a 5-course Growers' Discovery gourmet dinner at Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach this Thursday, December 11, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The dinner, overseen by chef Zach Bell ... More >>

Florida Citrus Growers Switch to Organic

Letters for July 12-18, 2007

The Corn Convention

Radio Free Haiti

Jonathan Demme's documentary brings a joyful revolutionary to the screen

Battle of the Bugs

The blood runs pink as biowarfare is waged against insect pests

Man Overboard

Behind South Florida's golden crab industry is the story of a family proud but divided

Poison Pill

Florida's first law to protect farm workers from pesticides died a quiet death, but now it's back

Indian War

A Hollywood man has spent the past decade trying to pry open the Seminoles' accounting books -- without much success

Sustained Interest

Zemi's chef is the real attraction at this class for culinary do-gooders

Best Fresh-Squeezed Orange Juice

Alex's Flamingo Groves

Best Farmer's Market

Delray Green Market in the Park

Best Sun-Sentinel Writer

David Fleshler

Taco Heaven

At Avila's, the tortilla is more than half full

Foodstuff

Shore to Door Seafood

Good Grind

The authors of The Birth of Coffee appear in West Palm Beach

Crustacean Disputation

A shrimpy Ecuadorian company wants DuPont to stop spoiling its H20

Citrus Tree Removers Leave Sour Taste

Letters for July 20, 2000

Canker Sore

State workers are cutting down homeowners' citrus trees to save Florida's fruit industry. It's a South Florida chain saw massacre.

A Natural Alliance

Buck Island Ranch is home to the threatened caracara, and it's a laboratory where ranchers and conservationists are learning to work together

Best Fresh Produce

West McNab U-Pick

Bait and Shackle

For years Everett Hobby has net-fished offshore for ballyhoo. Only recently has he been considered a criminal for doing so.