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ROC and ROC Projects in the News

ROC in print and on radio, TV, and the web.

Voting One Way, Eating Another

June 27, 2013 Roots of Change

Research has shown that a majority of people, when asked, would like to improve the lives of farm animals. Yet only a fraction of the country will pay for products from those animals, when presented with cheaper options.

Food, Farms, and Fracking in California: A Panel Discussion

June 25, 2013 Roots of Change

In California, fracking has been taking place for decades with little public awareness. California has the largest oil shale reserves in the country, and in the Monterey Shale alone, there are some 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil, noted Siegel. 

Small Farmers Tap Creative Projects To Survive

June 22, 2013 Roots of Change

Small-scale growers throughout the U.S. are looking for creative ways to set themselves apart as they find that survival requires more than just selling crops. Experts say these practices are shifting notions of how small farms operate. Since the little guys can't beat corporate giants on price or production, they're cashing in on something the big shots can't provide: an intimate, personal experience.

A River Runs Through It

May 22, 2013 Roots of Change

 Everyone agrees that the only way to fix the Gulf of Mexico dead zone—the largest off the United States—is to fix the Mississippi, but not everyone agrees how. 

Sonoma County Farm Uses Social Media to Cut Food Waste and Increase Profits

May 12, 2013 Roots of Change

 One family farm in Sonoma County is using social media to try to [increase profits] that and reduce food waste at the same time.

Tasty, and Subversive, Too

May 11, 2013 Roots of Change

 Now a cheeky trio of artists have turned fruit trees into cultural symbols as well. The group, known as Fallen Fruit, recently planted what is being billed as the state’s first public fruit park in an unincorporated community with neatly clipped lawns outside Los Angeles.

Why An Immigration Deal WonÕt Solve The Farmworker Shortage

April 30, 2013 Roots of Change

The Salinas Valley in Northern California grows about 80 percent of the country’s lettuce, and it takes a lot of people to pick and pack it.

The Diet-Climate Connection: How the Foods We Eat Affect the Planet

January 11, 2013 Roots of Change

A new public radio project, called “The Diet-Climate Connection” examines how the environment is affected by the foods we eat and the food system that produces them, in some cases emitting substantial greenhouse gases.

California relaxes laws so entrepreneurs can sell homemade food

January 8, 2013 Roots of Change

Food is a less-talked-about but equally thriving avenue of entrepreneurship in the city. To support “entrepreneur development” and the budding slow-food (as opposed to fast-food) movement, new legislation approved in September and effective from the start of 2013, allows chefs to sell food cooked in a home kitchen.

California rice ahead of curve on reducing greenhouse gases

January 7, 2013 Roots of Change

California rice grower Tom Butler is on a fact-finding mission. For four years, he has been applying two new practices to his Sacramento Valley fields.