In honor of National Farmers Market Week, a staffer who used to work at the market tells us why farmers markets are valuable community resources.

Scientists at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society are studying how much climate plays a role in the global food supply, identifying food system vulnerabilities in specific areas, using new kinds of climate information in agricultural modeling, and more.

A sound strategy to secure the nation’s food supply and reduce its vulnerability within and beyond our borders will be a major step towards making America and the world more resilient in the face of increasing uncertainty.

A new summer study program will focus on agricultural ecosystems in and around New York City.

The Earth Institute’s Urban Design Lab and MIT Collaborative Initiatives joined to investigate the issue of obesity through the prism of design. Their conclusion: “No single effort to curb childhood obesity will be sustainable or effective on a broad scale if the larger food system is not addressed.”

As seductive as it is, depleting non-renewable aquifers to grow food is fundamentally unsustainable for the long term, as Saudi Arabia and other nations are finding out. According to a recent article by Lester Brown, in the 1970s the world’s largest oil producer realized it could use oil-drilling technology to tap deep underwater aquifers and—amazingly,… read more

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation continued to support the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), with grants totaling over a half million dollars, to further progress on optimizing nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production while minimizing nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and… read more

Often referred to as the granary of India, Punjab is now slowly drying out. And though many farmers are deeply worried over the prospects of producing enough food, some of the more entrepreneurial ones are adopting new ways to conserve water while bracing for what will be a drier future. Back in the 1970s India… read more

We were thrilled to welcome Bill Gates recently to the Earth Institute for a wide-ranging informational meeting led by director Jeff Sachs. The half-day visit was a lively, frank and open exchange of ideas between Mr. Gates and Earth Institute faculty members debating the challenges and immense opportunities for human development in the areas of… read more