more than 30% of crops and livestock produced in the u.s. come from the ogallala region, according to the ogallala aquifer coordinated agriculture project. this puts a large burden on the region’s freshwater supply. watch this video to find out how some farmers like steve norman in graza county, tx, are implementing new irrigation technology to protect this valuable natural resource and make growing cotton more sustainable.

despite its villainous talon and fierce claws, a delectable meat, laden with protein and nutrients lies beneath the scorpion’s segmented shell. the scorpion isn’t the villain of desert nightmares but potentially a hero in our agricultural future.

the path to sustainable food production in an increasingly resource-constrained world appears unpopular but revolutionary: insects and arachnids, eight-legged creatures such as scorpions and spiders. while just about everyone calls spiders, “insects,” this idea isn’t exactly correct. insects and arachnids are both arthropods, but insects have six legs and three body parts, while arachnids have eight legs and two body parts, with no antennae or wings.

the problem “at steak”

our current agricultural system, particularly the meat industry, is facing a crisis of sustainability. according to the food and agriculture organization, livestock production and grazing occupies approximately 30% of the earth’s ice-free land surface and accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. a single pound of beef requires up to 1,800 gallons of water to produce — a staggering figure when compared to other protein sources.

“we’ve been raising cattle for thousands of years, and (edible) insects for only the past decade commercially,” said nathan laurenz, an entomologist and edible insect enthusiast based in singapore. “there’s a lot of learning left to do.”

the uncomfortable truth is that our appetite for traditional meat is putting immense pressure on planetary resources. as the global population rises toward 10 billion by 2050, our current agricultural model simply cannot scale without devastating environmental consequences. deforestation, water scarcity, and climate change are already accelerating due to conventional livestock farming.

according to the un’s food and agriculture organization, meat production is expected to double by 2050, growing from 258 million tons in 2006 to around 455 million tons. this projected growth comes at a time when we desperately need to reduce, not increase, our environmental footprint.

“in time, we’re going to run out of land for cattle, and we’re going to have to replace that protein with something. insects are a good replacement,” said jim louderman, assistant collector at the field museum and a beetle enthusiast with over 70 years of experience studying insects.

insects: a historical delicacy

what many westerners don’t realize is that insect consumption, known as entomophagy, has been a normal part of human diets throughout history and across cultures.

“all sorts of indigenous cultures around the world have been eating insects for as long as humans have been around. it’s probably one of our first meat sources as a species,” laurenz said. the selection is wide and diverse. in thailand, grasshoppers, giant water bugs, and bamboo worms are a common street food. for mexico, it’s aphids and beetles. in china, silkworms are the traditional rage. 

cultural norms have a lot to do with what we label a good meal. consider the lobster, now a luxury seafood. in colonial america, lobsters were so abundant they were considered “poor man’s food,” often fed to prisoners and servants. massachusetts servants famously complained about being eating lobster too frequently. today, we pay premium prices for the same crustacean.

the 2021 emergence of brood x cicadas in the eastern united states provided a recent glimpse into the potential for insect cuisine in western contexts. restaurants and home cooks experimented with cicada tacos, tempura, and even desserts – demonstrating that with the right preparation, insects can appeal to modern palates.

the cultural hurdle

the “yuck factor” remains the biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of insect protein in western diets. this aversion is entirely cultural, not biological: a learned response rather than an innate rejection.

“people in big cities tend not to be fans,” laurenz said about insect consumption in southeast asia. “there’s some stigma attached to it that it’s like a poor person’s food or a village food.”

louderman echoed this sentiment. “how do you convince people who are scared of insects or think insects are nasty to eat, something they don’t even want to touch?”

the challenge becomes as much about marketing as it is about production. companies like cricket energy bars target specific demographics, from environmentally conscious consumers to fitness enthusiasts seeking alternative proteins. by segmenting the market and addressing specific communities, these products can gradually normalize insect consumption.

interestingly, most people already consume insects unknowingly. the fda allows certain levels of insect fragments in common foods. chocolate, for instance, can legally contain up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams.

the average person consumes about one to two pounds of insects annually through these trace amounts, according to the fda’s food defect levels handbook. it doesn’t stop there. for the regular grocer, insects are consumed through daily necessities: canned tomatoes (up to 10 fly eggs per 500g), ground cinnamon (up to 400 insect fragments per 50g), or wheat flour (up to 75 insect fragments per 50g), also per the fda handbook.

the production challenge

beyond cultural acceptance, the practical challenge of scaling insect production remains significant. the industry has gone through several boom-and-bust cycles, starting with crickets, then mealworms, and now black soldier flies. laurenz works at the core of the industry, at the startup named karang foodie. their mission is to raise black soldier flies for aquaculture feed. 

“you need to be importing tens or hundreds of tons of raw material every day and then exporting tens or dozens of tons of insect protein every day,” laurenz said, highlighting the scale required to compete with conventional agriculture.

louderman adds that crickets and mealworms are currently the most viable insect protein sources because they can be dried and ground into protein powder, making them more palatable to western consumers. when cooked, he explains, insects congeal to a texture similar to lobster or shrimp and usually have a nutty flavor. larger insects and arachnids such as  scorpions, tarantulas, and beetles are often peeled like shrimp in cultures where entomophagy is common.

“it’s so expensive because most people in the united states won’t do it. it’s not being done on a big enough scale to bring the price down,” louderman said, highlighting the chicken-and-egg problem of cost and adoption.

environmental benefits: the advantage of insects

despite these challenges, insects offer remarkable advantages as protein sources. black soldier flies, for instance, can convert food waste into protein with noteworthy efficiency, growing to harvestable size in just two to three weeks while consuming “whatever slop you have lying around,” laurenz said.

their environmental footprint is minimal compared to traditional livestock according to agronomy for sustainable development:

• insects require significantly less land and water.
• they produce fewer greenhouse gases.
• they can convert feed to protein much more efficiently.
• select species can be raised on monitored organic waste streams, creating circular economic opportunities while adhering to strict food safety protocols.

“without insects, our food wouldn’t get pollinated. when things die in the forest, they don’t decompose, and the soil becomes infertile. without insects, the trees die, we run out of oxygen, and we run out of food,” louderman said, highlighting insects’ crucial role in our ecosystems beyond just being a food source themselves.

the path forward

however, louderman cautions that there are some health considerations. people allergic to shellfish may also be allergic to insects and arachnids that have exoskeletons or shells (arthropods). he also emphasizes the importance of consuming farm-raised rather than wild-caught insects to avoid potential contamination issues.

the best chance for mainstream acceptance in western countries, according to louderman, is through products like cricket flour in familiar foods such as cookies, chips, and protein bars, rather than whole insects. this gradual introduction of insects, which would have to be included on product labels, could help overcome the cultural barriers while delivering the environmental benefits of insect protein.

even committed vegans like northwestern sophomore mia el-yafi offer nuanced views on insect consumption. “if there was bug powder in something, that would bother me less than if there was lard or gelatin,” she said, suggesting insects occupy a different ethical category for some plant-based eaters. 

non-vegetarians like casey bond exhibit cautious curiosity about insect protein. “i would support it, but i’ve never eaten insects… if they were made like a bug burger, maybe i’d eat it,” he said, drawing a comparison to more familiar food presentations: “it’s like eating fish versus when fish is served whole with the head on.” in the future, presentation may be crucial for mainstream adoption.

as we face the dual challenges of feeding a growing population and mitigating climate change, entomophagy offers a solution that’s been hiding in plain sight, buzzing and crawling around us all along. the question is not whether insects will become part of our dietary future but when and how we’ll embrace this sustainable  and substantial protein source. 

amonette, who lives in rural southwestern montana as a full time technical writer, has volunteered with the citizens climate lobby (ccl) since 2013, working to promote bipartisan climate policies to congress. her passion for climate change began during an internship in washington, d.c. where a conversation about climate change and listening to dr. james hansens’s warnings pushed her towards advocating for solutions.

read the interview with amonette below.

editor’s note: this interview has been edited for length and clarity.

maggie rhoads: how do you connect with farmers on climate change?

alex amonette: i help get columns written in local newspapers through the media. there are little rural towns across the state of montana, and they each have a newspaper. that’s a good place to tell stories about how climate impacts farmers and ranchers. my job is to make friends with many of the editors of these newspapers and submit our articles to them. 

mr: how do farmers feel about climate change? 

aa: it varies. some people don’t want to talk about it. you get a lot of farmers and ranchers who want to put solar panels up and nobody has talked to them about climate change. they are just trying to cut their electric bills in half.

mr: i’m assuming these farmers who put renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind onto their properties just to save money are getting any benefits from the inflation reduction act or the bipartisan infrastructure law.

aa: the inflation reduction act helped fund a program administered by the usda called reap, or the rural energy for america program. until the trump administration, that program was going into full force. now it’s frozen, and many of these ranchers and farmers were counting on reap funding that was funded by the inflation reduction act to put solar panels on their barns and things like that. 

mr: what policies should be implemented to address climate change concerning farmers? 

aa: we’re advocating for preserving clean energy tax credits from the inflation reduction act. no republicans voted for the inflation reduction act. however, many states like texas took advantage of the clean energy tax credits and they’ve got many windmills. they’re not doing it for renewable energy because they believe in climate change. they’re doing it because it’s a great opportunity to have more of a diversified renewable energy source. 

mr: does your status as a rural citizen make it easier for you to connect with people like farmers about climate change?

aa: oh yeah, i’m surrounded by ranchers and farmers. i’m talking to ranchers and farmers all the time. there are some people, a dear friend passed away from covid-19 a few years ago, but she and her husband deliver eggs. he is a fox news listener and never wanted to discuss climate change with me, but i really enjoyed them. they were my good friends, and i could count on them as neighbors. the fact that we disagreed on climate change never came between us, not as an issue. 

mr: is he a believer in climate change? 

aa: no.

mr: no? he doesn’t believe in it. 

aa: no, he followed rush limbaugh for years. and, you know, climate change was a hoax, and you can’t talk to him about it. he says, oh, that’s for the birds. 

mr: so he shuts down the conversation.

aa: yeah. it’s like, you’re joking, alex, get out of here. however, i also want to tell you that it’s getting easier to talk to people who their whole life have voted republican. maybe they don’t believe in climate change. and that’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of republicans who know that climate change is happening. my senator knows that climate change is happening. he’s seen the data. he can tell it’s happening. he may not want to talk about it because he doesn’t want to lose a chance of getting re-elected, and a large part of his base doesn’t believe in climate change. it was a taboo topic to talk about, but that doesn’t matter anymore. 

mr: so people would rather talk about the economics behind climate change benefiting them. 

aa: some people don’t want to talk about it. i want to tell you a little anecdote. one time, i was at a farmer’s market. i had some leaflets, talking about the carbon fee and cash back policy. i handed one to these guys, and they looked a bit, and both of them just started ranting at me.

“you know, girly, carbon dioxide has been around forever. it’s part of the carbon cycle.” they went on for 20 minutes, talking at me instead of with me about climate change. and i relax. it was a hot day. i had lemonade. i just sipped my lemonade, listened to them, and nodded, just listened to them. and after a while, they got tired of talking to me and said, “well, thank you for listening.” i said it was my pleasure. i learned a lot talking to you guys. would you like me to explain why i’m standing here with this leaflet about this policy? and they said, well, ok.

and i think that part of the problem is that people don’t feel listened to. so listen to people, let them rant. give them the time of day. let them tell you what their concerns are, you know, and then, when it’s appropriate, talk with them. 

for balinese people, water is the site where the seen and the unseen worlds meet.

for a thousand years, bali’s sustainable subak water irrigation system has embodied spiritual harmony with nature. these days however, tourism to the island soaks up 65% of its water supply, threatening subak and local livelihoods.

in this photo-essay, balinese-american devin santikarma captures a meditation on this quickly disappearing cultural heritage site and paints a portrait of the community keeping subak alive.

read the full story below.

editor’s note: this story was funded in part by the planet forward experiential learning award with support from the walton family foundation. all editorial content is created independently.

students at planet forward pillar schools are eligible to pitch stories for travel funding here.

the cranberry industry has surrounded me throughout my life. the bogs of bright red plants roll past my windows on all my drives home to southeast massachusetts. in 2010, the north and south rivers watershed association reported that massachusetts was home to over 900 cranberry bogs covering 14,000+ acres, spanning from mattapoisett up to plymouth and out to orleans on cape cod. as of 2023, the number of functioning bogs were reportedly producing 2 million barrels of crop per year, decreasing 12% from numbers reported in 2022 according to the packer.

when i was growing up, the bogs and water reservoirs would completely freeze over during the winter. the neighborhood kids would run outside after the snow had fallen, ice skates in hand, to chase each other around above the frozen berries. according to reports from the boston magazine, in 2012 over 300 of the 415 cranberry farms in massachusetts were in plymouth county, with my childhood home sitting in the center.  

while large companies like ocean spray, located in carver, ma have established farms in the area, most of the farms are family-run and passed down through generations. these family farms have been suffering greatly with the recent rise in temperatures across massachusetts.

the massachusetts wildlife climate action tool reported that the state should expect an annual increase in average temperature of 5°f under a high emissions scenario. with better resources and manpower, the larger corporations have been much more successful in adapting to this new climate. but warming winters are causing cranberry farmers to significantly alter the systems they use throughout harvest; systems they have spent decades fine-tuning and establishing.

crimson cranberry farm

isabella correia, a good friend of mine from high school, has spent most of her life on a set of bogs created and sustained by her grandfather.  

crimson cranberry farms is nestled deep in rochester ma, the family house rising from the middle of their three large bogs. off to the side, their man-made pond holds all the rainfall throughout the year to utilize when it’s time to flood the bogs come harvest and winter.  

this past harvest was not an easy one for crimson cranberry. despite its once-a-year harvest, cranberry production is a yearlong process. starting in spring, from april to november the berries take time to grow into the full red berries we see in supermarkets.

during this time, the plants are fertilized either through sprinkler systems or by hand if needed to help maintain nutrients. cranberries are native wetland plants, allowing the vines to live on very minimal nutrient supplements, so established beds need to be fertilized only once during the growing season.

come mid-september, farmers will start to harvest the berries through one of two methods; wet-harvesting and dry-harvesting. wet-harvesting entails flooding the cranberry bog with freshwater from a nearby reservoir. cranberries have air pockets that allow them to float in water and rise to the top of the flooded bog once they’re knocked loose off the vine.

water reels, also referred to as “egg beaters” because of their whisking motion, are used to churn the water and remove the berries from the vine. wooden or plastic “booms” are then used to gather the loose cranberries and scoop them out of the water to be inspected and cleaned.

cape cod cranberry growers association (cccga) reports that almost 95% of the cranberry crop in massachusetts is harvested through wet-harvesting. this harvest is used for dried cranberries and those used in juices, sauces, and as ingredients in other processed foods. 

dry-harvesting is a more meticulous process of combining the plants, using a large walk-behind machine, to free the berries into a burlap bag. the vines must be completely dry at harvest; any amount of moisture can delay the process until the right conditions are met. once the berries are gathered, they are pulled out of the bogs with trucks or by hand.

the berries are then hand-checked for freshness, looking at the color and imperfections and testing the berries’ ability to bounce. a fresh, ripe berry will bounce similarly to a rubber ball. dry-harvested berries are the only cranberries that can be sold fresh. 

warming winters means bitter berries

to protect the plants from overnight frost during the colder months, farmers spray the vines down with water through an irrigation system. as the water freezes on the vines, heat is released, protecting the plants throughout the night. the ice insulates the plants helping them survive through the dormant state that they are sent into by the cold temperatures.

according to reports by the university of maine, cranberry vines need to have at least 62 days in temperatures under 45°f in the winter to properly go into dormancy. without dormancy, plants have less fruit yield the next harvest, abnormal growth patterns, and face significant frost damage, especially if the plant is younger and less developed.  

warmer winters and falls greatly affect a cranberry’s ability to mature and the plant to remain healthy. a mature cranberry is bright red in color, plump and crisp, with a tart flavor that most people have come to love. immature cranberries are light pink and white in color with a very tart, astringent taste and quality.

when i visited isabella this fall, she walked me through the poor fertilization of one of their bogs. due to a mild winter the year before, their back right bog did not get the chance to freeze and reach a dormancy period, compromising the plants and crop yields. when it came time to fertilize the plants in early fall, isabella shared concerns about the process.  

“i tried to help fertilize the bogs,” correia said. but, she adds, her grandfather is really the only one who knows how to properly do it. “[isabella’s grandfather] is getting older so he can’t be out in the field so much, [so] i’m trying to learn.”

the dangers of decreased rainfall

but the most important aspect in this process is the water — more specifically, rain water. this rainfall is crucial to maintaining the water reservoirs used to flood and freeze the bogs. isabella expressed how depleted their water has become this season, significantly impacting their ability to harvest. “we barely had any water to flood our third bog… [the bog] was diseased anyway so the harvest wasn’t good.” 

rainfall is the main source of freshwater used to flood the bogs for harvest. it takes over 300,000 gallons of water per acre to properly flood a bog, and in typical conditions rainfall produces enough to last through the harvest with some left over for the next year. however, in the fall of 2024, massachusetts reached a critical drought level and the rainfall was well under the typical 44 inches a year. 

due to rising temperatures in massachusetts, residents are also experiencing dry, hot summers and falls. less snowfall and earlier snowmelt is leading to low water levels throughout the spring and summer. with little to no precipitation and lack of access to proper resources, family-built farms like crimson cranberry will gradually cease to exist.

from cranberry bogs to wetlands

family farms have also begun to lose their efficiency in growing when competing with the large industrial cranberry marshes in wisconsin. as these bogs die out, federal programs have begun to convert them back to wetlands.  

wetlands help prevent the coastal erosion along cape cod occurring due to the declining climate. the cranberry bog program is a massachusetts-based federal program that focuses on buying farms that are deemed inefficient and converting the bogs back into wetlands. recently, a historical cranberry bog once on the mattapoisett river reserve in mattapoisett named the bogs was converted back to wetlands after the plants had become diseased and it was retired from commercial production. 

wetland restoration has become a complicated topic in buzzards bay, an area comprising the southern coast of massachusetts and the western coast of cape cod. this area is home to most of the bogs within plymouth county, however they stretch down the arm of the cape and up north to plymouth.  

farmers who have given their whole lives to their bogs and creating the systems that run them are watching their plants die without any control. while at first, farmers across cape cod were hesitant to give up their bogs to restoration, the financial incentive has become undeniable.

with cranberry farms now expanding across wisconsin, washington, and oregon, the smaller family-run bogs in massachusetts simply cannot keep up with production. especially now that the warming climate is stunting growth across the bogs leading to smaller crop yields.  

when i moved to chicago for college, missing the cranberry bogs was the last thing on my mind. they have always been here, growing and changing with me as i got older. i still remember watching isabella slip on her waders every fall in high school, scooping the weightless cranberries into her hands.

i would tell my college friends from the midwest about the bogs and the bright red color that would blossom in the fall. i would boast and brag about them, my own sliver of agriculture that i was proud of, the way my friends were of corn and soybeans.  

but when they came to visit massachusetts, gabbing about wanting to see a cranberry still on its vine, i had so little to show them. i drove them to the bogs, and we watched the restoration team remove the bits of farming material that were still left that summer of 2024. we stared at the farms tucked behind my hometown’s famous seafood restaurant, turk’s seafood, the berries still clinging to their plants. 

when i see these bogs and remember isabella’s grandfather staring out at his farm, his life’s work ahead of him, i realise that it is about so much more than just cranberries. 

this video is a creative informational video about how food quality and diversity has decreased over time. prior to the 1900s, people ate a greater diversity of plants and animals. but as farming practices changed, monocultures and modifying plants to increase food supply for the growing populations significantly decreased the number of different plant and animal species that we eat and the nutritional value of the plants.

overall, this resulted in more people with nutrient deficiency disorders and weaker immune systems. we wanted to share this information with the world in hopes to spread awareness and encourage people to make changes to their diet and improve their health.

the wilting bush is right in front of a sitting area, a tupperware full of homemade cookies in the shapes of trees on the table. a pitcher of iced tea, minty and fresh, made just for us on a small plot of land adjacent to the embarras river. it reminds me of my grandparents’ farm. the colorful set of wind chimes strumming chords into the air carries the same cadence of those hung from the trees around my grandmother’s vegetable garden.

this is someone’s backyard, someone’s home, but the greenery that makes this place so vibrant is dying because of herbicide drift. patsy hopper is one of many farmers living in the rural midwest. she’s angry about what she sees, yet approaches anyone who will listen with kindness and hospitality.

hopper’s story calls into question the experiences of people who make their way on small farms, like many of my family members, the many that aren’t aware of the dangers under their noses, and the corporations behind mass herbicide misuse. 

we see firsthand the damages of herbicide drift. the curling, dehydrated leaves are evidence of attempts to bolster crop output for higher profits. according to prairie rivers network, farmers and corporations in the row crop industry have oversaturated their fields with herbicides, often disregarding the scarcely enforced regulatory guidelines. 

in a six-year comprehensive study, prairie rivers network showed that herbicides are drifting more than a mile from the source, threatening human health, trees, crops, and pollinators, with ripple impacts through the ecosystem. this affects the environment and people, like hopper, their livelihoods, health, and quality of life.

hopper tells us that she used to use herbicides like most farmers in central illinois, but went organic after learning more about the dangers and seeing the effects firsthand. this puts her in a minority. only 1% of farms in the united states are certified organic. 

as a descendant of many generations of family farmers, on both my mother and father’s sides, i consider my ties to this damage. how much of my own family uses herbicides? misuses herbicides? have bushes like patsy’s, dying and brittle, in their backyards? 

if you know a farmer, you know what it means to them, to be in touch with the land. however, the nature of farming in illinois has changed dramatically over the years. according to the illinois department of agriculture, since 1959 the average farm size has more than doubled. more than 49% of illinois farmers hold other jobs, treating farming as their secondary occupation. large scale family farms and non-family farms account for the bulk of farm production. for most, farming alone is no longer a sustainable way to support a family.

yet these small farms, scattered between the sterilized sites of the larger industry, are personal. there are the rows of hay bales we would climb and run along as kids, the corn fields we would weave through in a game of hide and seek, the trees we learned to climb. there are the backyards where the tired farmer takes a breath after a long day amongst the corn, the vegetable garden that feeds a family. these places are under threat, and the threat is largely invisible, “hidden in plain sight,” as prairie rivers network says in their 2024 report. 

greenpeace international’s “4 myths about industrial agriculture” discusses how industrial agriculture pushes the idea of “feeding the people,” using the narratives of the actual farmers who earn their livelihood from the land. however, the reality of corn production in the u.s. tells a different story.

according to the usda, 45% of corn grown in the united states is used for ethanol. in illinois alone, the department of agriculture records that 274 million bushels of illinois corn are used each year to produce about 678 million gallons of ethanol– more than any other state.

beyond diverting crops from food production, ethanol contributes to environmental damage. the us energy information administration states that ethanol and ethanol-gasoline mixtures burn have higher evaporative emissions from fuel tanks, contributing to smog formation and air pollution. rather than feed the people, the crop industry is growing gasoline, and increasing pollution while they’re at it.

hopper tells us how heavy branches drop out of her trees on a windless day. the dull thud of a rotted life plucked from something once beautiful and full. she grieves the ghostly falling limbs, whole trees dying from the chemical infection. i consider this as we say goodbye to her. she insists we take tea and cookies for the road. hopper’s humanity stands in contrast to the detached systems of corporations, illustrating their distance from the individuals impacted. individuals, kind, good people, are affected. 

who is responsible for herbicide drift — the individual or the institution, the absentee land-owner farmer or the hired hand? many farmers may not even know the impact of herbicide drift. does my family? blame moves in circles — from the government to the corporation, to the individual, and back again — but proximity to the damage is often closer than we realize.

after all, patsy hopper, a dedicated and informed organic farmer, is the outlier. we need to heed the message, the warning, of the echo of limbs falling from trees on a still afternoon.

rondell pooler, one of the three community garden specialists of the department of parks and recreation (dpr) in washington, d.c., helps oversee lederer gardens, one of the 50 dpr community gardens in the district.

i toured lederer gardens in the middle of his weekday, which, at this cold time of year, is not too busy. pooler and the other garden specialists plan for the coming planting season, including waiting for the supply list and germinating seeds.

as they wait for wintertime to end, pooler witnesses the effect of climate change on the bee population as they decrease from fluctuations in temperature that confuse the bees as they search for nectar.

he also waits to hear back from a professional development agricultural program funded by the us government that might end due to the recent rollbacks in federal funding. in the meantime, pooler looks forward to working outside again in the spring and enjoys talking with students and visitors about his farm-to-table philosophy tied to strong family and community values. 

click on the image below to read the full story!

east of the anacostia river in washington, d.c., residents have only one grocery store to feed themselves and their families. but just a short walk from the congress heights metro station lies an effort to alleviate food insecurity in the area. thearc farm, one out of a network of farms owned by nonprofit building bridges across the river, produces nearly 60 crops to give out to community members for free.

powered by grants, collaboration with other organizations and a team of two farmers, thearc farm is entering its fifteenth year of serving ward 8. in this story, meet carrie vaughn, the farm’s director, as she walks through how the organization feeds, teaches, and uplifts the community.

click on the presentation below to read the full story!

on the eastern shore of maryland, sea levels are rising faster than the global average, bringing the invisible flood of saltwater intrusion. as salt moves landward with sea level rise, coastal farmers experience yield declines, profit loss, and marsh migration onto their fields.

farmers can enroll these saltwater-intruded properties in conservation easements, or voluntary, legal agreements to limit land use and/or development for present and future landowners. this film explores the decision-making of a farmer enrolled in a conservation easement and the economic and ecological benefits of doing so.