Farming | Reason Archives (original) (raw)
Brickbat: Down on the Farm
Charles Oliver | 9.17.2024 4:00 AM
When the Government Came for Florida's Orange Trees
The state cut down private fruit trees and offered gift cards as compensation. It didn't solve the citrus canker problem.
Alyssa Martinez | 6.27.2024 6:00 AM
The Government Wants To Track Your Steak
A proposed USDA rule would require RFID tagging of all cattle and bison that move across state lines.
C. Jarrett Dieterle | 6.22.2024 7:00 AM
Government Subsidies Keep Your Food Boring
The feds’ focus on large-scale crops hinders the resurgence of heritage grains and results in less food diversity.
C. Jarrett Dieterle | 6.15.2024 7:00 AM
How the Media Manufactured Panic Over Bees
About 20 years ago, many American bees did die. Then that steadily diminished—but hysteria in the press continued.
John Stossel | 5.22.2024 10:30 AM
Alabama Governor Signs Bill Banning Lab-Grown Meat
Lab-grown meat bans don't protect consumers, but they do protect ranchers and farmers from competition.
Emma Camp | 5.14.2024 10:56 AM
Trump Promised To 'Drain the Swamp.' He Did the Opposite.
Total spending under Trump nearly doubled. New programs filled Washington with more bureaucrats.
John Stossel | 5.8.2024 1:20 AM
Trump and Biden Both Get Globalization Wrong
Free trade brings us more stuff at lower prices.
John Stossel | 4.3.2024 12:30 AM
Ron DeSantis Supports Legislation Banning Lab-Grown Meat
"You need meat, OK? We're going to have meat in Florida," DeSantis said during a press conference.
Emma Camp | 2.5.2024 2:10 PM
How John Deere Hijacked Copyright Law To Keep You From Tinkering With Your Tractor
Hackers are helping tractor owners “jailbreak” their equipment in order to repair it.
Luke Hogg | 1.8.2024 3:00 PM
Socialism Is Bad for the Environment
"All the time we hear socialists say, 'Next time, we'll get it right.' How many next times do you get?"
John Stossel | 6.7.2023 12:30 AM
No, Corporate Greed Didn't Cause the 2023 Egg Price Shock
A much more plausible explanation is the avian flu outbreak that devastated the poultry industry last year.
Joe Lancaster | 6.4.2023 7:00 AM
China's Purchases of U.S. Land Stoke Bipartisan Panic, Just Like Japan's Did In the 1980s
People panicked in the 1980s that Japan's economic largesse posed a grave threat to American interests. Then the market reined it in.
Joe Lancaster | 3.17.2023 2:05 PM
America Needs a Better Kind of Capitalism
Big corporations and entire industries constantly use their connections in Congress to get favors, no matter which party is in power.
Veronique de Rugy | 3.9.2023 3:30 PM
State Lawmakers Help Farmers by Improving Consumer Access to Raw Milk
The raw milk restoration is underway.
Baylen Linnekin | 2.25.2023 7:00 AM
Russia's War in Ukraine Threatens Starvation for the World's Poor
Global hunger declined for decades before pandemic policies and Russia’s invasion broke the world.
J.D. Tuccille | 2.20.2023 7:00 AM
The USDA Can't Stop Organic Food Fraud
It's time to return oversight to industry groups and the states.
Baylen Linnekin | 2.4.2023 8:30 AM
No, the World Is Not Heading Toward 'Mass Extinction'
Despite an apocalyptic media narrative, the modern era has brought much longer lives and the greatest decline in poverty ever.
John Stossel | 1.25.2023 12:30 AM
Brickbat: Buying the Farm
Charles Oliver | 12.8.2022 4:00 AM
The Pilgrims Dreamed of Socialism. Then Socialism Almost Killed Them.
Private property was the solution to their failed experiment. But people keep repeating the Pilgrims' mistakes.
John Stossel | 11.23.2022 12:30 AM
Why We Should Terraform the Galaxy
One critic calls it "arrogant vandalism," but advocates say it might be a necessary form of self-preservation.
Ronald Bailey | 11.15.2022 8:00 AM
1st Amendment Protects Activist Recordings of Factory Farms, Rules Federal Judge
While animal-rights activists still risk trespassing charges, the state of Iowa cannot make it illegal to record while trespassing on private property.
Emma Camp | 9.28.2022 5:11 PM
Counting Neurons and the Moral Standing of People vs. Animals
Total human neurons outweigh all farmed animals by a factor of 30–1.
Ronald Bailey | 9.22.2022 5:10 PM
When Sri Lanka Banned Synthetic Fertilizers, the Country Imploded
Green activists have some good points. But the pursuit of a chemical-free world hurts vulnerable people the most.
John Stossel | 9.7.2022 5:05 PM
Vegan Animal Sanctuary Owner Charged With Stealing Cows From Neighboring Farm
Animals are property, and property rights matter.
Baylen Linnekin | 8.27.2022 8:30 AM
The Slaughter-Free Future of Cultured Meats
Real factories are beginning to replace factory farms.
Ronald Bailey | 5.26.2022 3:30 PM
Supreme Court Takes Up California's Attempt To Control How Other States' Farmers Treat Pigs
Do California's rules violate the dormant commerce clause?
Scott Shackford | 3.28.2022 1:15 PM
Connecticut Should Let Small Farmers Slaughter Their Rabbits on Their Farms
A cost-efficient and humane method for processing rabbit meat is preferable to the state's current system.
Baylen Linnekin | 3.26.2022 8:30 AM
California Court Rules Vegan Creamery Has First Amendment Right To Call Products 'Butter' and 'Cheese'
Who thought it was a good idea to give the government control over marketing?
Rikki Schlott | 8.30.2021 1:00 PM
Manufactured Meats Coming to a Grocery Store Near You Next Year?
The process uses 99 percent less land and 96 percent less freshwater than traditional meat production.
Ronald Bailey | 6.28.2021 5:00 PM
Michigan Farmer Rescued Injured Animals Without the Proper Permits. State Officials Have Charged Her With a Misdemeanor and Euthanized the Animals.
State officials euthanized six of Julie Hall's animals, including Sassy, a blind raccoon, and Po, a one-legged crow.
Christian Britschgi | 3.2.2021 4:25 PM
Some Local Governments Are Still Punishing People for Having a Few Chickens
A Pennsylvania couple is fighting an inane local ban on raising a handful of ducks and chickens in their backyard.
Baylen Linnekin | 1.23.2021 7:45 AM
Federal Payments to Farmers Have Tripled Since 2017, and Trump Just Promised Even More
Trump's farm bailouts have cost taxpayers more than 28billionalready,andhejustannouncedanother28 billion already, and he just announced another 28billionalready,andhejustannouncedanother14 billion in payments as part of his reelection pitch to farm-heavy states.
Eric Boehm | 9.23.2020 11:15 AM
Did Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention Forget About Trump's Tariffs?
The last time an incumbent president was defeated, the fact that he'd raised taxes on Americans played a major role. Trump's done the same thing, but the DNC didn't talk about it.
Eric Boehm | 8.21.2020 12:15 AM
House Judiciary Committee Members Ask USDA To Empower Small Ranchers and Meat Processors
Anti-competitive regulations have made Americans far too reliant on mega meat processors. It's time to level the playing field.
Baylen Linnekin | 6.20.2020 8:30 AM
China Is Not Coming Close To Meeting Its Import Goals Under the 'Phase One' Trade Deal
That's probably because those goals were always completely unrealistic. Less than six months after the deal was signed, it's already coming apart.
Eric Boehm | 6.8.2020 11:50 AM
It's Possible To Cut Cropland Use in Half and Produce the Same Amount of Food, Says New Study
Restoring up to 2.2 million square miles to nature
Ronald Bailey | 4.17.2020 3:04 PM
COVID-19 Is Coming for Your Burgers
Plus: sensitive cellphone data swept up in coronavirus containment efforts, and more...
Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 4.17.2020 9:30 AM
Purple Haze
Arizonans were treated to an aurora stoneralis this past January.
Mike Riggs | 3.10.2020 6:00 AM
Is Farm-Free Food the Future?
The end of agriculture draws nigh.
Ronald Bailey | 1.16.2020 4:00 PM
Bipartisan House Agriculture Bill Is a Win for Both Farmers and Immigrants
The reform could help formalize immigrant farm labor.
Billy Binion | 12.12.2019 2:35 PM
Trump's Farm Bailout Has Cost Over $10 Billion This Year
Trump has authorized up to 16billioninbailoutspendingthisyear,ontopof16 billion in bailout spending this year, on top of 16billioninbailoutspendingthisyear,ontopof12 billion spent in 2018.
Eric Boehm | 11.27.2019 2:30 PM
Stossel: No Filming on Farms
Farm groups get politicians to pass laws against secret filming on farms.
Maxim Lott and John Stossel | 7.16.2019 8:50 AM
Brickbat: Not Exactly 'High Speed'
Charles Oliver | 6.18.2019 4:00 AM
Let's Move More Federal Agencies Out of Washington
There's no need for most federal agencies to be stationed in the nation's capital, one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Alex Muresianu | 6.17.2019 11:31 AM
Trump's Claim That Mexico Will Buy More American Agricultural Goods Is Fake News
And it reveals the major blind spot in Trump's view of how international trade works.
Eric Boehm | 6.10.2019 10:30 AM
Stung by Tariffs, Farmers Seek Bailouts and More Protectionism
While Trump prepares another round of aid payments for farmers, Marco Rubio is pushing for tariffs on Mexican fruits and vegetables that will send prices soaring.
Eric Boehm | 5.14.2019 1:15 PM
The Feds Have Been Warehousing Wild Horses in Efforts to Preserve Them
A wild-animal preservation program has become a scheme for corralling captive beasts that bother cattle ranchers.
J.D. Tuccille | 4.30.2019 6:00 AM