Christopher D. Cook
Christopher D. Cook
 

Articles

 

Christopher has written for dozens of major national magazines and newspapers, including reports for Harper's, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Columbia Journalism Review, Mother Jones, The Nation, The American Prospect, Salon.com, The Progressive, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Seattle Times, Tampa Bay Times, and In These Times. Here are some samples of his work, and fuller archives below.

 
ife is getting even tougher for poor people in America. As poverty rates soar — due in part to policies such as cutting pandemic aid for poor and working-class people — new rules that kicked in September 1 only add to the suffering.

Life is getting even tougher for poor people in America. As poverty rates soar — due in part to policies such as cutting pandemic aid for poor and working-class people — new rules that kicked in September 1 only add to the suffering…

Labor Day’s forgotten older workers

the Seattle Times

When we think of workers on Labor Day, who comes to mind? Chances are, it’s not the millions of older workers still toiling in our nation’s home care and nursing facilities, cleaning our office buildings, hustling around carrying boxes in big corporate warehouses, driving long-haul trucks or sweating in the fields to produce our food…

Fear & Loathing in San Francisco

The Nation

After just two years in office, Chesa Boudin, the district attorney of San Francisco, gets blamed for every crime in the book—even offenses committed before he took office and beyond the city limits…

These Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Often Act More Like Corporate Centrists—And Many Deserve Primary Challenges…

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recessions have hit older workers especially hard.

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recessions have hit older workers especially hard.

As we celebrate Labor Day and “essential workers” amid a viciously resurgent pandemic, we ought to match our rhetoric with some concrete protections for these workers — you know, all those warehouse employees, meatpackers, farmworkers and supermarket staff that industry groups love to thank online while doing little, if anything, for them in the real world.

As we celebrate Labor Day and “essential workers” amid a viciously resurgent pandemic, we ought to match our rhetoric with some concrete protections for these workers — you know, all those warehouse employees, meatpackers, farmworkers and supermarket staff that industry groups love to thank online while doing little, if anything, for them in the real world.

Biden’s much-anticipated workplace safety rule excludes most workers—and some in the labor movement are not happy.

Biden’s much-anticipated workplace safety rule excludes most workers—and some in the labor movement are not happy.

 

Food & Agriculture 

Crises tend to expose pre-existing societal malfunctions, and the Covid-19 pandemic has provided a bleak view into our political and economic soul. This March and April, even as an astounding 30 million Americans plunged into unemployment and food b…

Crises tend to expose pre-existing societal malfunctions, and the Covid-19 pandemic has provided a bleak view into our political and economic soul. This March and April, even as an astounding 30 million Americans plunged into unemployment and food bank needs soared, farmers across the US destroyed heartbreaking amounts of food to stem mounting financial losses.

Joey Klein bounces around me like a boxer, hurling verbal enticements. Wiry, strong, and ruddy from long days in the sun, the Long Island native turned radical farmer invites me to “come on up the hill, come check out the chickens and goats!” 

Joey Klein bounces around me like a boxer, hurling verbal enticements. Wiry, strong, and ruddy from long days in the sun, the Long Island native turned radical farmer invites me to “come on up the hill, come check out the chickens and goats!” 

As Cuba-US relations gradually warm, with President Barack Obama heading to the island this weekend for the first US presidential visit in 90 years, American agribusiness is seeing green — specifically, lucrative pastures of export opportunities. Wh…

As Cuba-US relations gradually warm, with President Barack Obama heading to the island this weekend for the first US presidential visit in 90 years, American agribusiness is seeing green — specifically, lucrative pastures of export opportunities. While still a relatively small market, Cuba represents potentially billions of dollars of US commodity exports, just a 90-mile flight or cargo ship ride away.

The clock on cli­mate upheaval is tick­ing fast with lit­tle time to lose, as the Inter­gov­ern­men­tal Pan­el on Cli­mate Change (IPCC) made fright­en­ing­ly clear last week. ​“Lim­it­ing glob­al warm­ing to 1.5ºC would require rapid, far-reach­ing…

The clock on cli­mate upheaval is tick­ing fast with lit­tle time to lose, as the Inter­gov­ern­men­tal Pan­el on Cli­mate Change (IPCC) made fright­en­ing­ly clear last week. ​“Lim­it­ing glob­al warm­ing to 1.5ºC would require rapid, far-reach­ing and unprece­dent­ed changes in all aspects of soci­ety,” the Octo­ber 8 report warned. Yet just one month ear­li­er, the Glob­al Cli­mate Action Sum­mit (GCAS) brushed over what may be the most crit­i­cal ​“aspect of soci­ety,” mak­ing only mar­gin­al men­tion of the crisis’s top cause.

Remember the great 2016 presidential campaign debate about food and agriculture, the backbone of human nourishment and survival? Remember when the candidates were forced to articulate their stances on soil regeneration, farm subsidy inequities, labo…

Remember the great 2016 presidential campaign debate about food and agriculture, the backbone of human nourishment and survival? Remember when the candidates were forced to articulate their stances on soil regeneration, farm subsidy inequities, labor abuse in the food industry, and how to rein in pesticides and GMOs while expanding organic diversified farming? Remember when the media pressed candidates to explain how they would make food and farming equitable, truly sustainable, and deeply healthful for generations to come?

You didn’t forget—it never happened.

Every day in America, as we consume whatever food we can access and aford, the system that supplies our sustenance is engaged in its own form of consumption. It feasts on human toil, commodifed animals, natural resources, and our…

Every day in America, as we consume whatever food we can access and aford, the system that supplies our sustenance is engaged in its own form of consumption. It feasts on human toil, commodifed animals, natural resources, and our own bodies. Food, one of the foundations of life, has become a hub of sufering and struggle.

FOOD SHIFT 

CRAFTSMANSHIP.NET

In perennially water-starved Patagonia, Arizona, just 18 miles from the Mexico border, Gary Nabhan, well known as an author and ethnobotanist, farms a worldly array of desert crops that could make any food lover salivate. His harvest, more than 120 …

In perennially water-starved Patagonia, Arizona, just 18 miles from the Mexico border, Gary Nabhan, well known as an author and ethnobotanist, farms a worldly array of desert crops that could make any food lover salivate. His harvest, more than 120 varieties strong, includes Sonoran pomegranates, Baja California Mission guavas, Winter Banana apples, amaranth, asparagus, globe artichokes, and even an arid-friendly Texas Mission variety of the infamously thirsty almond. The 5-acre farm, which he manages with his wife Laurie Monti, a medical anthropologist and professor of indigenous studies, grows these foods on precious little water—about 17 inches of rainfall a year, a dollop compared with the US-wide average of 28 inches.

BIG SODA’S FALSE POPULISM 

LOS ANGELES TIMES

In its $10.5-million spending binge to defeat soda tax measures in Berkeley and San Francisco in November — and to stem the nationwide push to hold Big Soda accountable for epidemic diseases related to sugar overconsumption — the soda industry has p…

In its $10.5-million spending binge to defeat soda tax measures in Berkeley and San Francisco in November — and to stem the nationwide push to hold Big Soda accountable for epidemic diseases related to sugar overconsumption — the soda industry has positioned itself as a populist defender of poor people’s access to supposedly cheap soda.

NUTRITION, INC. 

THE PROGRESSIVE

When thousands of the nation’s nutritionists gathered in Philadelphia for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2012 annual conference, they plunked down $300 apiece to hear the latest thinking on food and health. Many were surprised to find that …

When thousands of the nation’s nutritionists gathered in Philadelphia for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ 2012 annual conference, they plunked down $300 apiece to hear the latest thinking on food and health. Many were surprised to find that this thinking included a hefty portion of nutritional advice from food corporations that were major sponsors of the event.

Large biotech agribusinesses like Monsanto control much of the global seed market with genetically modified (GM) crops. This centralization of GM seeds threatens food safety, food security, biodiversity, and democratic ideals.

Large biotech agribusinesses like Monsanto control much of the global seed market with genetically modified (GM) crops. This centralization of GM seeds threatens food safety, food security, biodiversity, and democratic ideals.

Antonia Williams is part of a slow, quiet food revolution. After battling obesity for much of her adult life, the 26-year-old lifelong Bayview resident did some research. “I realized it had a lot to do with the food I consumed,” she told us. “As a r…

Antonia Williams is part of a slow, quiet food revolution. After battling obesity for much of her adult life, the 26-year-old lifelong Bayview resident did some research. “I realized it had a lot to do with the food I consumed,” she told us. “As a result of growing up in the neighborhood, I suffer from obesity. I’m overweight because of the lack of options for good healthy food.”

At a time of soaring food prices, America's grocery bill is about to balloon. Congress is staggering toward completion of a nearly $300 billion farm bill that upholds subsidies for big farmers and food corporations – undermining vital efforts t…

At a time of soaring food prices, America's grocery bill is about to balloon. Congress is staggering toward completion of a nearly $300 billion farm bill that upholds subsidies for big farmers and food corporations – undermining vital efforts to make our food supply more healthful and sustainable, both environmentally and economically.

MEAT ROULETTE 

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Nauseating as it was, last week’s record-setting beef recall and the apparent feeding of meat from crippled “downer” cattle to our nation’s children and others should come as little surprise. Although egregious to the point of obscenity, this latest…

Nauseating as it was, last week’s record-setting beef recall and the apparent feeding of meat from crippled “downer” cattle to our nation’s children and others should come as little surprise. Although egregious to the point of obscenity, this latest meat scandal fits a pattern of regulatory anemia -- the byproduct of a decades-long bipartisan assault on “big government” -- that has opened the floodgates to all sorts of contamination shenanigans. The deregulated chickens, cows and pigs have come home to roost.

 
 

Labor & Workers

Despite growing pressure from labor groups and worker advocates on Capitol Hill, the Biden Administration continues to delay an emergency COVID-19 worker safety protection that was supposed to launch March 15—and it’s still unclear when (or even if)…

Despite growing pressure from labor groups and worker advocates on Capitol Hill, the Biden Administration continues to delay an emergency COVID-19 worker safety protection that was supposed to launch March 15—and it’s still unclear when (or even if) the measure will be enacted…

More than a year into a pandemic that has killed nearly half a million Americans, millions of workers still toil in dangerous infection-spreading conditions, in hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, factories, supermarkets, and fields—perilously providing America’s food and health care in hazardous conditions.

More than a year into a pandemic that has killed nearly half a million Americans, millions of workers still toil in dangerous infection-spreading conditions, in hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, factories, supermarkets, and fields—perilously providing America’s food and health care in hazardous conditions.

KILLING WORKER SAFETY 

THE PROGRESSIVE

For at least ten hours a day and “sometimes twelve hours or more,” Maria Ramirez packed hamburgers at the Strauss Brands meatpacking plant in Franklin, Wisconsin. The job, which she held for thirteen years, was tough. Then came COVID-19, which made …

For at least ten hours a day and “sometimes twelve hours or more,” Maria Ramirez packed hamburgers at the Strauss Brands meatpacking plant in Franklin, Wisconsin. The job, which she held for thirteen years, was tough. Then came COVID-19, which made her work “more dangerous,” says the forty-one-year-old single mother of four, originally from Mexico.

Amputations, fractured fingers, second-degree burns and head trauma are just some of the serious injuries suffered by US meat plant workers every week, according to data seen by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Amputations, fractured fingers, second-degree burns and head trauma are just some of the serious injuries suffered by US meat plant workers every week, according to data seen by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

Overshadowed by the high-octane wars over the Affordable Care Act and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, the confirmation of Labor Secretary nominee Alexander Acosta is cruising toward a March 30 Senate committee vote with little fanfare. Yet Acost…

Overshadowed by the high-octane wars over the Affordable Care Act and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, the confirmation of Labor Secretary nominee Alexander Acosta is cruising toward a March 30 Senate committee vote with little fanfare. Yet Acosta’s acquiescence to President Trump’s labor agenda holds frightful if unheralded consequences for America’s workers, millions of them Trump supporters.

In 1989, during the transition from Presidents Reagan to George H.W. Bush, the rightwing Heritage Foundation expressed dismay that “free market” reforms were not moving fast enough. The group weighed in with a burly 900-plus page “Mandate for Leader…

In 1989, during the transition from Presidents Reagan to George H.W. Bush, the rightwing Heritage Foundation expressed dismay that “free market” reforms were not moving fast enough. The group weighed in with a burly 900-plus page “Mandate for Leadership,” urging Reagan Revolutionaries to more aggressively dismantle government regulations.

Providing workers to do the dirtiest, riskiest jobs has become a big business. One corporation has cornered the market and is squeezing millions from its day-labor temps.

Providing workers to do the dirtiest, riskiest jobs has become a big business. One corporation has cornered the market and is squeezing millions from its day-labor temps.

Amid Silicon Valley’s torrid dot-com boom, stories abound of peach-fuzzed college graduates pulling down six-figure salaries and, in short order, securing their American dream. For them there is no shortage of opportunity–for new business ventures, …

Amid Silicon Valley’s torrid dot-com boom, stories abound of peach-fuzzed college graduates pulling down six-figure salaries and, in short order, securing their American dream. For them there is no shortage of opportunity–for new business ventures, luxury cars and seven-figure homes. Yet beneath this gilded veneer a class war is brewing.

LOSING LIFE AND LIMB ON THE JOB 

THE PROGRESSIVE (AWARD WINNER)

The doctors “had to go down to the second knuckle,” says Terry Feeny. They cut off the tops of three of his fingers, leaving quarter-inch stubs with nerves so tender they reacts as if they are twenty degrees colder that the actual temperature. Even …

The doctors “had to go down to the second knuckle,” says Terry Feeny. They cut off the tops of three of his fingers, leaving quarter-inch stubs with nerves so tender they reacts as if they are twenty degrees colder that the actual temperature. Even with special Neosporin gloves, “I can’t go outside in the cold for more than five minutes of my hands turn blue,” he says. “I can’t really hold nothing or grip nothing.”

In the nation’s poultry plans, brutality to workers as well as to bird.

In the nation’s poultry plans, brutality to workers as well as to bird.

REVOLT OVER CONDITIONS AT POULTRY PLANTS 

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

When Michelle Galvan heard the radio announcing job openings at a Case Farms' poultry plant in Ohio, she rushed to meet with recruiters in her hometown - McAllen, in southern Texas. The deal sounded good: She would pack boneless chicken breasts for …

When Michelle Galvan heard the radio announcing job openings at a Case Farms' poultry plant in Ohio, she rushed to meet with recruiters in her hometown - McAllen, in southern Texas. The deal sounded good: She would pack boneless chicken breasts for $5.50 an hour, and the company would provide free furnished housing and transportation.

After five days of cutting pig fat in northern Missouri, Sergio Rivera is ready to go home. So is his sixty-year-old father, who joined him on the Greyhound from El Paso in a desperate sojourn for work. Now they are broke in Missouri—financially and…

After five days of cutting pig fat in northern Missouri, Sergio Rivera is ready to go home. So is his sixty-year-old father, who joined him on the Greyhound from El Paso in a desperate sojourn for work. Now they are broke in Missouri—financially and physically—and as eager to leave as they ever were to cut up pigs for Premium Standard Foods.

Government and business officials in Missouri have developed an efficient way to slash the welfare rolls: order recipients to gut chickens or pigs for Tyson Foods, ConAgra, or Premium Standard Farms, or else lose their benefits. Under an initiative …

Government and business officials in Missouri have developed an efficient way to slash the welfare rolls: order recipients to gut chickens or pigs for Tyson Foods, ConAgra, or Premium Standard Farms, or else lose their benefits. Under an initiative called Direct Job Placement, the companies have hired hundreds of former welfare recipients. But turnover has been high, and many—balking at the prospect of gutting fifty chickens per minute—have disappeared or been dropped from the welfare rolls by the state.

 
 

 Environment & Climate

Today, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) released their much-anticipated Green New Deal with the goal of creating millions of jobs by expanding renewable energy and de-carbonizing the economy over …

Today, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) released their much-anticipated Green New Deal with the goal of creating millions of jobs by expanding renewable energy and de-carbonizing the economy over the next 10 years. It’s a sweeping attempt to reorient energy production and shift public resources in an urgent bid to make the U.S. carbon-neutral by 2030. And it comes at a crucial moment, as dire scientific evidence shows the world needs to act fast over the next 12 years to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Amid raging California wildfires, rising sea levels, and a sudden wave of Democratic power in Congress, the idea of a Green New Deal to create millions of new jobs combating the climate crisis is surging.

Amid raging California wildfires, rising sea levels, and a sudden wave of Democratic power in Congress, the idea of a Green New Deal to create millions of new jobs combating the climate crisis is surging.

Beauty and Plunder in Wyoming  

The Progressive 

Each night, during four viciously cold, wind-throttled months in Cheyenne, Wyoming, this past winter, I gazed out my window at a hideous beauty: a hissing tongue of oil fire erupting from a refinery, flaring like a devil’s flame, licking eastern Wyo…

Each night, during four viciously cold, wind-throttled months in Cheyenne, Wyoming, this past winter, I gazed out my window at a hideous beauty: a hissing tongue
of oil fire erupting from a refinery, flaring like a devil’s flame, licking eastern Wyoming’s towering high plains sky. Above the gaseous bursts, the night subsumed everything beneath it with an all-consuming hugeness, pockmarked by cold-shined moon and stars.

Living a half-mile downwind from 12,000 hogs has been hard on Sharlene Merk, of Audubon, Iowa. It's beyond smelly; it's a health hazard, says Mrs. Merk, a longtime farmer who, with her husband, once raised hogs. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide fumes ar…

Living a half-mile downwind from 12,000 hogs has been hard on Sharlene Merk, of Audubon, Iowa. It's beyond smelly; it's a health hazard, says Mrs. Merk, a longtime farmer who, with her husband, once raised hogs. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide fumes are a natural byproduct of the animal farms that supply America's meat. But as farms expand - some housing close to 100,000 livestock - so have concerns about air quality and the impact on people nearby. Studies near bigger farms, for example, have documented high rates of respiratory illness in the human population.

The sun-seared Movaje Desert serves up some of the Earth’s hottest summer days, firing the mercury above 120 degrees; just four inches of rain trickle from these unforgiving skies each year. In this parches beige moonscape there’s not much room for …

The sun-seared Movaje Desert serves up some of the Earth’s hottest summer days, firing the mercury above 120 degrees; just four inches of rain trickle from these unforgiving skies each year. In this parches beige moonscape there’s not much room for error. A troll in the wrong direction without enough water can spell death.

High-Tech's Toxic Toll 

SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN (award winner) 

On April 16, in Building Three of MMC Technology’s CD-ROM plant in San Jose, the lid exploded off a 55-gallon drum, sending up a cloud of toxic chemicals and a splash of nitric acid. The San Jose Fire Department’s Hazardous Incident Team evacuated t…

On April 16, in Building Three of MMC Technology’s CD-ROM plant in San Jose, the lid exploded off a 55-gallon drum, sending up a cloud of toxic chemicals and a splash of nitric acid. The San Jose Fire Department’s Hazardous Incident Team evacuated the building and cordoned off the area. Workers, dressed like surgeons in head-to-toe sterile suits, filed out of the plant as the ambulances arrived.

 

 Politics & Opinion Essays

In a surreal year that has spiraled from surging hopes for a Bernie Sanders presidency to today’s pandemic-hemmed fear and a tight election between centrist Democrats and fascistic Republicans, now may be just the right time for a new political part…

In a surreal year that has spiraled from surging hopes for a Bernie Sanders presidency to today’s pandemic-hemmed fear and a tight election between centrist Democrats and fascistic Republicans, now may be just the right time for a new political party.

ELECTION MUST FOCUS ON VOTER NEEDS AND FUTURE 

TRIBUNE CONTENT SYNDICATES

One of the few things most voters agree on is that political campaigns too commonly devolve into personality feuds rather than substantive, issue-driven debates. That's unfortunate, because most voters have concrete needs and issues propelling their…

One of the few things most voters agree on is that political campaigns too commonly devolve into personality feuds rather than substantive, issue-driven debates. That's unfortunate, because most voters have concrete needs and issues propelling their votes in 2020.

With a deep sigh opening his “Thank you” video to supporters on April 8, following a brutally bizarre Wisconsin primary clouded by voter suppression and endangerment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Bernie Sanders ended his once mightily promisin…

With a deep sigh opening his “Thank you” video to supporters on April 8, following a brutally bizarre Wisconsin primary clouded by voter suppression and endangerment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Bernie Sanders ended his once mightily promising bid for the presidency.

Political campaigns open and break hearts, then disappear. In the end, signs come down, campaign offices empty out, voter and volunteer lists coated with coffee and sweat are shredded. The moment and the movement dissolve.

Political campaigns open and break hearts, then disappear. In the end, signs come down, campaign offices empty out, voter and volunteer lists coated with coffee and sweat are shredded. The moment and the movement dissolve.

Whether he wins the Democratic Party nomination or not—and his chances are increasingly viable—the candidacy of Bernie Sanders has already won, by vastly enlarging America’s political conversation and possibilities.

Whether he wins the Democratic Party nomination or not—and his chances are increasingly viable—the candidacy of Bernie Sanders has already won, by vastly enlarging America’s political conversation and possibilities.

As Bernie Sanders defies expectations with a resounding New Hampshire victory and a virtual tie in Iowa, Democratic Party leaders still insist Hillary Clinton is the pragmatic choice to beat Republicans and bring effective leadership and change—if i…

As Bernie Sanders defies expectations with a resounding New Hampshire victory and a virtual tie in Iowa, Democratic Party leaders still insist Hillary Clinton is the pragmatic choice to beat Republicans and bring effective leadership and change—if incremental—to Washington. Clinton and her supporters frame the race, and her appeal, as a matter of “ready on day one” leadership and “get things done” practicality. But what does the record show, and what do leadership and pragmatism really mean?

INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT REICH

THE PROGRESSIVE

Robert Reich entered the national stage, moderately left, when President Bill Clinton appointed him Labor Secre- tary in 1992. But after some bruising battles with Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who wanted to ban the phrase “corporate welfare” in …

Robert Reich entered the national stage, moderately left, when President Bill Clinton appointed him Labor Secre- tary in 1992. But after some bruising battles with Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, who wanted to ban the phrase “corporate welfare” in the White House, Reich left the Administration at the end of the first term—an experience he describes in his book Locked in the Cabinet. He has written more than a dozen books, most of them about the U.S. econo- my or the future of liberalism in America. His latest, Beyond Outrage, accompa- nied by his own whimsical political cartoons and dedicated to “the Occupiers,” is a clarion call for progressive change.

 
 

 Poverty, Inequality, Media, & more…

What Crowding Looks Like During a Pandemic 

San Francisco Public Press

The sidewalk on Hyde Street was jam-packed with people hustling for survival. A wiry young man in cutoff shorts, his legs pockmarked by needle wounds, barreled through the crowd. A tall slender middle-aged man clutched a wad of bills, eyes alert.

The sidewalk on Hyde Street was jam-packed with people hustling for survival. A wiry young man in cutoff shorts, his legs pockmarked by needle wounds, barreled through the crowd. A tall slender middle-aged man clutched a wad of bills, eyes alert.

While Koch Industries snared headlines last fall for its partial acquisition of Time, Inc. (including Fortune, Sports Illustrated, and other holdings), the business empire’s nonprofit Koch Foundation made a smaller, little-noticed investment—grantin…

While Koch Industries snared headlines last fall for its partial acquisition of Time, Inc. (including Fortune, Sports Illustrated, and other holdings), the business empire’s nonprofit Koch Foundation made a smaller, little-noticed investment—granting $80,000 to the American Society of News Editors for its freedom of information hotline program.

The Hidden Benefits of Food Stamps 

Mother Jones/Food & Environment Reporting Network 

In September, just two days after a Census Bureau report showed that food stamps helped keep 4 million Americans out of poverty last year, the US House of Representatives approved a $39 billion cut to the program (known…

In September, just two days after a Census Bureau report showed that food stamps helped keep 4 million Americans out of poverty last year, the US House of Representatives approved a $39 billion cut to the program (known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) over the next decade.

The Case for Food Stamps

Los Angeles Times 

To hear Republicans — and some Democrats — in Congress talk, you’d think food-stamp dollars just disappear into a black hole. The prevailing debate in the Senate and House versions of the farm bill, which contains funding for food sta…

To hear Republicans — and some Democrats — in Congress talk, you’d think food-stamp dollars just disappear into a black hole. The prevailing debate in the Senate and House versions of the farm bill, which contains funding for food stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), is over how much to cut. But when more than 15% of Americans remain impoverished, slashing food assistance for the poor makes no sense in humanitarian, economic or public health terms.

A Tale of Two Zip Codes 

Race, Poverty & the Environment

At the corner of Turk and Hyde Streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, just a few blocks from the glittering commerce and bustling tourism of Union Square, lies a little slice of the Third World that visitors rarely see — unless they go to India or A…

At the corner of Turk and Hyde Streets in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, just a few blocks from the glittering commerce and bustling tourism of Union Square, lies a little slice of the Third World that visitors rarely see — unless they go to India or Africa.

The documents are ugly and embarrassing. In e-mails riddled with terms like “gasoline slops” and “caustic washing,” officials with Trafigura, a major global commodities trading firm, described plans to clean and re-sell contaminated oil from Mexico …


The documents are ugly and embarrassing. In e-mails riddled with terms like “gasoline slops” and “caustic washing,” officials with Trafigura, a major global commodities trading firm, described plans to clean and re-sell contaminated oil from Mexico and deposit the wastes in Africa, since they were too toxic for regulators in Europe or the U.S. In one 2005 e-mail discussing oil-cleaning profits, Trafigura staffer James McNicol wrote, “This is as cheap as anyone can imagine and should make serious dollars.”

One issue largely absent from the agenda of this January’s global commons conference in Hyderabad, India was the idea of limits to consumption and material accumulation. There were presentations aplenty on how commons are being limited and threatene…

One issue largely absent from the agenda of this January’s global commons conference in Hyderabad, India was the idea of limits to consumption and material accumulation. There were presentations aplenty on how commons are being limited and threatened by development, land-grabbing, and ecological decay, but little discussion of how global consumption, notions of material ‘progress,’ and ‘development’ factor into the evolving equation of how humans and the planet will survive.

America’s bitterly divided discourse about government and the public sector is all but absent here at the global commons conference in Hyderabad, India where criticisms of government seem driven more by an impulse to protect communities from state-c…

America’s bitterly divided discourse about government and the public sector is all but absent here at the global commons conference in Hyderabad, India where criticisms of government seem driven more by an impulse to protect communities from state-corporate takings of common lands than by the urge to eliminate taxes and regulation.

In 2006, things were looking good for Lennar, America’s second-biggest homebuilder. That year, before the U.S. housing market’s epic collapse, the Miami-based giant pulled down $15.6 billion in revenues and closed sales on 29,568 homes. The ink was …

In 2006, things were looking good for Lennar, America’s second-biggest homebuilder. That year, before the U.S. housing market’s epic collapse, the Miami-based giant pulled down $15.6 billion in revenues and closed sales on 29,568 homes. The ink was just drying on a massive and potentially lucrative deal to transform Treasure Island with new housing complexes, and the well-connected Lennar already had secured a deal to develop the Hunters Point Shipyard that the Navy was turning over to San Francisco.

 Archives

2020

BIDEN’S AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: WHY HEITKAMP IS THE WRONG CHOICE  FOODTANK

TRUMP IS THE ANTI-WORKER PRESIDENT  COMMON DREAMS

KILLING WORKER SAFETY  THE PROGRESSIVE

TRUMP’S ANSWER TO STRUCTURAL RACISM? POLICE STATE FACISM  IN THESE TIMES

FARMERS ARE DESTROYING MOUNTAINS OF FOOD  THE GUARDIAN

NEW PEOPLE’S PARTY RISES AMID GRIM ELECTION OPTIONS  THE PROGRESSIVE

COOK: ELECTION MUST FOCUS ON VOTER NEEDS AND FUTURE  TRIBUNE CONTENT SYNDICATES

GET READY FOR MASS STRIKES ACROSS THE U.S.  IN THESE TIMES

WHY BERNIE MUST KEEP GOING  IN THESE TIMES

WHERE’S THE MONEY FOR HEALTHCARE AND SAVING THE PLANET?  48 HILLS


2019

RADICAL ROOTS: HARVESTING LEGACIES FROM VERMONT'S BACK-TO-THE-LAND MOVEMENT  THE PROGRESSIVE

WHAT THE GREEN NEW DEAL MEANS FOR THE FOOD ON YOUR PLATE  CIVIL EATS

CENTRISTS DON’T WANT PARTY UNITY  IN THESE TIMES

ONLY BERNIE’S GREEN NEW DEAL ANSWER GRETA’S CALL TO ACTION  IN THESE TIMES

THE PROBLEM WITH THE BLUE ANGELS  48 HILLS

AS AMAZON BURNS, DEMOCRATIC LEADERS DENY CLIMATE CHANGE DEBATE  48 HILLS


2018

TWO AMPUTATIONS A WEEK: THE COST OF WORKING IN A MEATPACKING PLANT  THE GUARDIAN

WE CAN’T AFFORD TO LET NANCY PELOSI BURY THE GREEN NEW DEAL  IN THESE TIMES

A GREEN NEW DEAL PROTEST AT PELOSI’S OFFICE  48 HILLS

PROTESTERS DEMAND A GREEN NEW DEAL  48 HILLS

THE DEMOCRATS NEED A CLEAR VISION  IN THESE TIMES

BROWN, BLOOMBERG FACE PROTESTS AT CLIMATE SUMMIT  48 HILLS

TO ADDRESS THE CLIMATE CRISIS, WE MUST COMPLETELY RETHINK HOW WE PRODUCE AND CONSUME FOOD  IN THESE TIMES


2017

TRUMP'S LABOR NOMINEE IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN YOU THINK  THE NATION

TRUMPING LABOR: THE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO GUT WORKERS' RIGHTS  THE PROGRESSIVE

THE SCHOOL LUNCH RECIPE FOR CLIMATE ACTION  SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

SEED LIBRARIES FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO SHARE, SHAREABLE.NET

CUBA’S HARVEST OF SURPRISES  CRAFTSMANSHIP.NET

HOMEBUILDER LENNAR USES FEDERAL TAXPAYER FUNDS TO BALANCE ITS BOOKS  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

FISCAL FIGHTBACK  THE PROGRESSIVE

EARTH TO DEMOCRATS—ANYBODY HOME?  THE PROGRESSIVE

CAN THE DEMOCRATS SAVE THEMSELVES? THE PROGRESSIVE

HOW TRUMP CAN UNITE THE LEFT  THE PROGRESSIVE

 

2016

WHAT'S NEXT FOR BERNIE'S REVOLUTION?  THE PROGRESSIVE

BERNIE’S RAGE AGAINST THE DEMOCRATIC MACHINE  THE ATLANTIC

THE PRAGMATIC CASE FOR BERNIE SANDERS  THE ATLANTIC

HOW FREELANCERS ARE REINVENTING WORK THROUGH NEW COLLECTIVE ENTERPRISES  SHAREABLE.NET

THE GREAT FOOD BLACKOUT OF 2016  FOOD FIRST

US AGRIBUSINESS IS SEEING GREEN IN CUBA  VICE NEWS

 

2015

THE HORRORS BEHIND AMERICA'S MOST POPULAR MEAT  SALON.COM

HARVESTING PROFITS: THE ROOTS OF OUR FOOD CRISIS  THE PROGRESSIVE

FOOD SHIFT  CRAFTSMANSHIP.NET

DIGNITY AND DEMOCRACY: INTERVIEW WITH FRANCES MOORE LAPPE  SHAREABLE.NET

MISSION FIGHTS TO SAVE CANCER SUPPORT NONPROFIT FROM EVICTION  48 HILLS

“PEOPLE-POWERED” COALITION AIMS TO REPLACE MAYOR LEE  PEOPLE POWER MEDIA

 

2014

BIG SODA’S FALSE POPULISM  LOS ANGELES TIMES

BEAUTY AND PLUNDER IN WYOMING  THE PROGRESSIVE

SAN FRANCISCO’S CRUEL DAY  PEOPLE POWER MEDIA

 

2013

THE CASE FOR FOOD STAMPS  LOS ANGELES TIMES 

NUTRITION, INC.  THE PROGRESSIVE

THE HIDDEN BENEFITS OF FOOD STAMPS  MOTHER JONES/FOOD & ENVIRONMENT REPORTING NETWORK 

FARM BILL FIASCO  THE PROGRESSIVE

ECONOMISTS SAY CITY MINIMUM WAGE MEANS BOOST FOR WORKING CLASS  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

“I DON’T THINK I CAN SURVIVE IN THIS CITY ON THE MINIMUM WAGE”  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

OUSTER OF SF BAY GUARDIAN EDITOR  THE PROGRESSIVE

ELDERLY FAMILY’S EVICTION FUELS HOUSING RIGHTS MOVEMENT  PEOPLE POWER MEDIA

 

2012

MEET A ROMNEY EXTREMIST IN VIRGINIA  THE PROGRESSIVE

THE SHAME AND PRIDE OF JOINING FOOD STAMP NATION  SALON.COM

 

2011

CONTROL OVER YOUR FOOD: WHY MONSANTO'S GM SEEDS ARE UNDEMOCRATIC  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

THE FOOD DIVIDE: SAN FRANCISCO IS A CITY OF HAVES AND HAVE-NOTS WHEN IT COMES TO NUTRITION  SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN

BEHIND THE PROTEST SIGNS: THE VOICES OF OCCUPY SAN FRANCISCO  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

INDIA'S RURAL COMMONS AT ODDS WITH SURGING INDUSTRIALIZATION  SHAREABLE.NET

GLOBAL COMMONS IDEA NAVIGATES PUBLIC PRIVATE SPLIT  SHAREABLE.NET

OAKLAND’S DAY: A FOCUSED GENERAL STRIKE  THE PROGRESSIVE

2010

BANNED IN BRITAIN: ACROSS THE POND, NEW PERILS—AND POSSIBILITIES—FOR PRESS FREEDOM  COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW

HAS BARBARA BOXER MET HER MATCH?  IN THESE TIMES

RIVAL UNION VOWS FIGHT AFTER SEIU WINS VERDICT  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

PROTESTERS URGE FEINSTEIN TO LEAD ON IMMIGRATION REFORM  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

CITY WORKERS DECRY LAYOFFS, DEMAND ALTERNATIVES  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

PRIOR TO 2010

A FOOD AGENDA FOR OBAMA  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

SF BUDGET CUTS TEST CITY'S LIBERAL IMAGE  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

STATE CUTS SET TO SLAM SAN FRANCISCO’S SENIORS, POOR  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

THE SAN FRANCISCO BUDGET: A USER’S GUIDE  SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC PRESS

A FOOD AGENDA FOR OBAMA  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

FARM BILL: MAKING AMERICA FAT AND POLLUTED, ONE SUBSIDY AT A TIME  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

MEAT ROULETTE  LOS ANGELES TIMES

JUST FOOD NATION  SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN

BEYOND THE FARM BILL  GRIST MAGAZINE

COAL MINERS SLAUGHTER  IN THESE TIMES

BUSINESS, AS USUAL?  THE AMERICAN PROSPECT 

CORN RUSH: ETHANOL FEVER NEEDS REALITY CHECK  NEW AMERICA MEDIA

PLOWING FOR PROFITS  IN THESE TIMES

NEW RULES TO STEM POLLUTION FROM FACTORY FARMS DRAW FIRE  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

ENVIRONMENTAL HOGWASH  IN THESE TIMES

THE SPRAYING OF AMERICA  EARTH ISLAND JOURNAL

THE NEXT CAMPAIGN: IDEAS  IN THESE TIMES

STREETCORNER, INCORPORATED  MOTHER JONES

IN A DITCH: AMERICA'S BLUE-COLLAR TEMPS  THE ECONOMIST

THE BINGO CONNECTION  MOTHER JONES (AWARD FINALIST)

DRILLING FOR WATER IN THE MOJAVE  THE PROGRESSIVE

HIGH-TECH'S TOXIC TOLL  SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN (AWARD WINNER)

TEMPS DEMAND A NEW DEAL  THE NATION

LOSING LIFE AND LIMB ON THE JOB  THE PROGRESSIVE (AWARD WINNER)

FOWL TROUBLE: IN THE NATION'S POULTRY PLANTS, BRUTALITY TO WORKER AS WELL AS TO BIRD  HARPER'S

REVOLT OVER CONDITIONS AT POULTRY PLANTS  THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

HOG-TIED: MIGRANT WORKERS TRAPPED ON THE PORK ASSEMBLY LINE  THE PROGRESSIVE

PLUCKING WORKERS: TYSON LOOKS FOR A CAPTIVE LABOR FORCE  THE PROGRESSIVE (AWARD WINNER)