Bring in the mycorrhiza fungi to help crops grow in the desert, suggests new study for the Middle East. Image via DGSgardening Oil rich Persian Gulf states do not have enough arable land suitable for growing food and animal fodder crops; but they at least have the money available to find ways to improve the […]
Chickens won’t cluck at this: Aside from making life more comfortable for the hens, Agrotop’s henhouse incorporates wind and solar power, recycles wastewater, and even processes chicken waste into biofuel. Chicken is a consumer favorite all over the world, but many people aren’t happy with the way chicken arrives at their table – both from […]
Negev farmer Doron Akiva, grows organic olives for Negev Nectars. His piece of land has reputedly been farmed since the time of David and Solomon. “A land flowing with milk and honey” – that’s one of the most well-known passages from Exodus describing the Land of Israel and one of the first biblical expressions to […]
Noah Dan has not forgotten the tastes of his childhood. He remembers eating brara, the fruits and vegetables bursting with incredible flavor but too “ugly” to package for sale in the cities, on Kibbutz Givat Brenner, where he was born and raised. He also remembers eating creamy, homemade gelato in Trieste, Italy where he spent […]
Afghan farmers get “burned out” as government tows to US pressure. But for poppy farmers, it’s poppies or starvation. Wheat crops, or biofuel crops cannot compare in value. Molar (not his real name) is an Afghan farmer living in the central Hazzrajat Province of Afghanistan. His 60 hectare farm along the Helmand River has been […]
(Monsoons in India channel pollution to potable water sources, contaminating water everywhere.) Monsoons in India are both a blessing and a curse. As the heavy rains pour down, they provide the season’s much-needed water for irrigating crops. But monsoons also wipe out entire villages. They cause mudslides, and contaminate potable water. Diseases fester and spread […]
There is only one nation in the world that has a net gain of trees over the past 100 years. While other countries, developing and developed, have been actively harvesting and lobbing trees down in the name of progress, Israel’s national organization the KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund) has made it a […]
Our resourceful friends at the Bedouin NGO Bustan are refusing to allow the current tension in the South of Israel affect them. Despite having to cancel some tree planting dates due to the war and the related school closures, they have upped sticks to Tel Aviv and are organising a benefit evening this coming wednesday […]
I went to see Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s documentary film, “The Garden,” at Tribeca Cinemas in Manhattan, part of docs on the shortlist for the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. I went with a group of farmers living in New York, some of whom work on urban farming projects in and around the City. The film tells […]
For the most part it’s usually better to buy local. This cuts out the emissions created as a result of shipping, getting the product to your door. This is an important question: Is it better to buy biodegradable garbage bags that are manufactured in China? Or go with the one’s made a block away, that […]
(Image credit: Corbis) It’s bad for the environment, but you know you want it. You want those strawberries in the dead of winter. You know you should be eating local produce year round to avoid all of the carbon emissions associated with flying in food from distant places or using energy guzzling greenhouses to grow […]
How many shades of green can a Jaffa orange be? Israeli fruit and vegetable grower and supplier Mehadrin (owned by Hadarim, a property and building group, and a succession of other parent companies) is working with British supermarket chain Tesco in a bid to mark all its Jaffa oranges with the Carbon Trust label, a […]
It’s not every day that you can party with a group of farmers in the middle of a city. Even rarer, it’s not every day that you can party with urban Israeli farmers on the rooftop of a historic building in the center of Tel Aviv and learn about some green goodness to boot. Which […]
Green Prophet recently reported on the growing popularity of organic food in Israel, and the trend towards small farms who are delivering straight to people’s front doors to maximise freshness and reduce costs. Organic farming produces high quality food using natural processes instead of depending on synthetic chemicals, so it’s music to our ears that […]