The Aggregate Aggregation V3
Agroecology in the News (Week of February 17, 2025)
Welcome back to The Aggregate Aggregation, our weekly roundup of news and publications that caught our eyes over the last week or so. You can read Volume 2 here.
In this issue, Digging Deep once again offers our readers ideas on how to stay active in our agroecological world without becoming overwhelmed by current events. Surface Level explores continued uncertainty generated by the federal administration transition, Indigenous foodways reporting, and some cool research that made it to the headlines this week. Thanks for joining us!
Let’s make it a conversation! Please share your reflections - we’d love to continue the discussion in the comments.
Digging Deep
The headlines this week were once again dominated by bird flu and changes to federal government policy and personnel. A spotlight is also being shone on the federal response to bird flu, especially after several key USDA employees working on the issue were let go during the DOGE firing spree - employees the USDA is now trying to rehire.
For the second week in a row, we’re offering our readers ideas on how to stay active in our agroecological world without becoming overwhelmed by current events.
Spring is in the air! Ok ok, if you’re somewhere up north, like most of our editors are, it is still very cold, snowy, and icy. But Spring comes at you fast and there’s also nothing quite as nice as daydreaming about the change in seasons and upcoming spring produce at the farmer’s market while hunkering down through the last of winter. And planning for spring gardens is beginning to pop up in the headlines and on our podcasts.
Whether you have a house with a yard, a small deck, or just a balcony or window box, you can absolutely grow your own produce or flowers with a little bit of planning. Check out these recent releases from the Royal Horticultural Society in the UK and the Beginner’s Gardening Podcast based in Arkansas for tips on planning your garden now to make your Spring dreams a reality. Even if you’re new to gardening or have a small space, any little bit you can plant, especially if you’re replacing lawn or growing in an urban environment, can help support wildlife and general biodiversity in your area.
Now is also the time to start revisiting your local CSA and farmer’s markets social media pages and websites to see when they’re starting up again. As we highlight below, foodborne illness and deaths in the U.S. are rapidly increasing. While many industrial scale farms that are tied to these outbreaks hide their practices behind the veil of anonymity, your local farmer will likely be transparent about how they grow, and you can even visit their farm to put your mind at ease.
Another timely notice. The USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum takes place next week, February 27 - 28. There’s a free, virtual option, for those interested. If you’ll be there in person, let us know! One of our editors will also be attending.
How are you preparing for Spring? What are you most looking forward to about the changing seasons? Tell us in a comment!
Surface Level
Uncertainty still reigns at the federal level, as the global farming - and food safety - world are forced to wait and see. Civil Eats published a great series on Indigenous foodways this week, and “everything else” is a beautiful range of topics from novel sustainability research to a deep dive on food labeling to a look at hornworts and photosynthesis boosting.
🇺🇸Uncertainty at the federal level still dominates above the fold
So Far, USDA and EPA Fail to Share Details on Canceled Contracts (Civil Eats Policy Tracker). “As farmers and nonprofits across the country continue to wait for payments that have been frozen across a wide spectrum of conservation, local food, and climate grants, the big question many are asking is: Will the pause be temporary, or are the contracts permanently canceled?”
Check out the DOGE website for an incomplete list of which contracts have been cancelled by this new office.
Later: Secretary Rollins Releases the First Tranche of Funding Under Review (Morning Ag Clips). “In alignment with White House directives, Secretary Rollins will honor contracts that were already made directly to farmers. Specifically, USDA is releasing approximately $20 million in contracts for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.”
Cuts at FDA Include Staff Working on Food Safety (Civil Eats Policy Tracker). “According to The Guardian, 5,200 “probationary” employees were cut across the larger agency, including members of FDA’s staff working on the safety of food additives. As the cuts came down, Jim Jones, the director of the FDA’s food division, resigned…. Advocacy groups including the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) said the cuts would undermine food safety.”
Meanwhile… Hospitalizations, Deaths Caused by Foodborne Illnesses More Than Doubled in 2024 (Food Safety). “According to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group’s (PIRG’s) Food for Thought 2025 report, hospitalizations and deaths linked to foodborne illnesses doubled in 2024, and 98 percent of illnesses were attributed to just 13 outbreaks. … The year saw an unusual number of high-profile, multistate foodborne illness outbreaks involving well-known brands and/or a large proportion of severe health outcomes.”
Records show how DOGE planned Trump’s DEI purge — and who gets fired next (Washington Post). “A DOGE team plans to fire federal workers who are not in DEI roles and employees in offices that protect equal rights, internal documents show.”
🌏A series on Indigenous foodways from Civil Eats
Civil Eats has been absolutely on top of the agriculture and food policy reporting game recently, with hard hitting deep dives and their helpful food policy tracker (and op-eds like Egg Prices Are Soaring. Are Backyard Chickens the Answer?). This week they also packaged a series of stories as an introduction to Indigenous foodways.
Growing Corn in the Desert, No Irrigation Required (Civil Eats). “Dry farming has been a Hopi tradition for several millennia. Kotutwa Johnson might build some protection for his crops with desert brush or cans to shield them from the wind, but his plants thrive without any fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, mulch, or irrigation. This is all the more impressive since his area usually gets less than 10 inches of rain per year.”
The Mashpee Wampanoag Work With a Cape Cod Town to Restore Their Fishing Grounds (Civil Eats). “Increased advocacy from Wampanoags has helped shift the town’s official stance on the “Aboriginal right to fish” from what are now private access points. The harbor management plan represents a chance for the tribe to continue this advocacy in a more formal capacity.”
In Brazil, a Powerful Law Protects Biodiversity and Blocks Corporate Piracy (Civil Eats). “The country’s genetic heritage law aims to compensate Indigenous peoples for their knowledge of the plants and seeds that many US food and agribusiness companies use to develop profitable products.”
🔄Everything else that caught our eyes
Can Fish Farms Sequester Carbon Permanently? (Ambrook Research). “A new aquaculture model using iron sulfide shows high promise in sinking CO₂. Some fear the environmental and health impacts.”
Richest nations ‘exporting extinction’ with demand for beef, palm oil and timber (The Guardian). “Consumption in wealthy countries including US and UK is responsible for 13% of global forest loss beyond their borders, study finds.”
Can climate-friendly food labels transform eaters into environmentalists? (Food Print). “When the idea of carbon labeling food was first introduced to North America half a decade ago, it was touted as an inspiring — and clear — way for consumers to cut through the noise and easily make climate-conscious food choices. However, progress on the mainstream implementation of the labels has been slow and reaction as to their effectiveness has, at times, been mixed.”
How the Food Industry’s Main Lobbyist Became a Top Nuisance (The Wall Street Journal). “Scott Faber campaigns against food chemicals, and his push is finding its moment with the rise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Texas County Declares an Emergency Over Toxic Fertilizer (The New York Times). Texas County is seeking federal funds to be “put toward testing and monitoring of drinking water, cleanup as well as euthanization of cattle contaminated from the soil, crops and water.”
The Funny Little Plant That Could Upend Agriculture (Ambrook Research). “Hornworts, an otherwise unremarkable bit of flora, has a unique photosynthesis booster. New research finds this booster has the potential to increase crop yields up to 50%.”
What did we miss? Drop a link to your favorite story of the week (or month, or year) in the comments. Tell us why it resonated with you!
What we’re reading
A list of sources the editors at The Aggregate check regularly for our agroecology+ news.