Tom Philpott

Tom Philpott

Food and Ag Blogger

Tom Philpott is the cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. He was formerly a columnist and editor for the online environmental site Grist and his work on food politics has appeared in Newsweek, Gastronomica, and the Guardian.

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For five years, Tom Philpott served as a columnist, food editor, and senior food writer for the online environmental site Grist. He's a cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. Before moving to the farm in 2004, Philpott worked as a financial journalist in Mexico City and New York, most recently writing daily dispatches on the stock market as equity research editor for Reuters.com. His work on food politics has appeared in Newsweek, Gastronomica, and the Guardian. Maverick Farms has been featured in Gourmet and the New York Times, and in September 2008, Food & Wine named Philpott one of "ten innovators" who "will continue to shape the culinary consciousness of our country for the next 30 years." In 2011, he was a finalist for a James Beard Foundation Journalism Award—the "Oscars of the food world," as Time put it—in the "Food-Related Columns and Commentary" category.

What Does Biofuel Have to Do With the Price of Tortillas in Guatemala?
Wed Jan. 9, 2013 4:06 AM PST

Drought Lingers, Winter Wheat Crop Withers
Tue Jan. 8, 2013 4:01 AM PST

Fiscal Cliff Drama Produces an Awful Farm Bill Extension
Fri Jan. 4, 2013 4:02 AM PST

My Four Favorite Cookbooks of 2012
Sat Dec. 29, 2012 9:31 AM PST

Tom's Bar: a Cocktail Worthy of New Year's Eve
Wed Dec. 26, 2012 4:01 AM PST

Meet the Weeds That Monsanto Can't Beat
Thu Dec. 20, 2012 4:06 AM PST

Tom's Kitchen: Holiday Biscotti
Wed Dec. 19, 2012 4:01 AM PST

Is Factory Farm Poop Giving Fish a Sex Change?
Mon Dec. 17, 2012 12:57 PM PST

Oz Isn't the Only Doctor Who Doesn't Get Pesticides
Wed Dec. 12, 2012 2:55 PM PST

Mark Bittman's Smart Take on Kids and Pesticides
Wed Dec. 12, 2012 1:55 PM PST

Side Order of Toxic Blue Algae With Your Burger?
Wed Dec. 12, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Only Obama Can Revive the Tattered FDA
Sat Dec. 8, 2012 4:03 AM PST

How Dr. Oz Got It Wrong on Organics
Wed Dec. 5, 2012 4:03 AM PST

DOJ Mysteriously Quits Monsanto Antitrust Investigation
Sat Dec. 1, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Are We Heading Toward Peak Fertilizer?
Wed Nov. 28, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Thoughts on Our National Feast Day, With 6 Recipes
Wed Nov. 21, 2012 4:13 AM PST

Tom's Kitchen: Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Chili Pepper
Fri Nov. 16, 2012 1:23 PM PST

The Coming Threat to Your Craft Brew
Fri Nov. 16, 2012 10:44 AM PST

The 5 Unfinished Items That Will Shape Obama's Food and Ag Legacy
Wed Nov. 14, 2012 4:03 AM PST

Charts: How Big Pork Screws Small Towns
Mon Nov. 12, 2012 4:08 AM PST

Did California Voters Defeat the Food Movement Along With Prop. 37?
Wed Nov. 7, 2012 8:00 AM PST

What Would "President Romney" Mean for Food and Agriculture?
Sat Nov. 3, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Why I Disagree With Kevin Drum on California's GMO Labeling Proposition
Thu Nov. 1, 2012 10:34 AM PDT

Is the Junk Food Industry Buying the WHO?
Thu Nov. 1, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Can Farms Bounce Back from Superstorms Like Sandy?
Wed Oct. 31, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

What We Can Learn from the Greek-Island Diet—and What We Already Know
Fri Oct. 26, 2012 4:03 AM PDT

VIDEO: Michael Pollan Talks GMO Labeling
Thu Oct. 25, 2012 3:13 AM PDT

Do Bayer's Pesticides Make Worker Bees Lazy?
Wed Oct. 24, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Why Is the FDA Inspecting So Little Imported Seafood?
Mon Oct. 22, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Paul Ryan's Brother is a Cargill Exec in China
Fri Oct. 19, 2012 7:49 AM PDT

Conservatives Bravely Defend Kids' Right to Junky Lunch
Wed Oct. 17, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

Some GMO Cheerleaders Also Deny Climate Change
Mon Oct. 15, 2012 3:03 AM PDT

How Not to "Feed the World"
Wed Oct. 10, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Tom's Kitchen: Udon Noodles With Eggplant, Greens, and Beans
Wed Oct. 10, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Historic Food Market Gets Torched in Syria's Civil War
Thu Oct. 4, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

How GMOs Unleashed a Pesticide Gusher
Wed Oct. 3, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Forget Baconpocalypse—Fishageddon Will Be Worse
Mon Oct. 1, 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Tom's Kitchen: Quick and Easy Zucchini Fritters
Fri Sep. 28, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

BPA From Cans Messes With Your Ovaries
Thu Sep. 27, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

My SXSW Eco Panel: the Future of Organic
Wed Sep. 26, 2012 8:20 PM PDT

Does Monsanto Man Mitt Romney Secretly Eat Organic?
Wed Sep. 26, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Does GMO Corn Really Cause Tumors in Rats?
Fri Sep. 21, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Waiter, There's Arsenic in My Rice
Wed Sep. 19, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

"Pink Slime": Back, With a $1.2 Billion Lawsuit
Sat Sep. 15, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

How Mitt Romney Helped Monsanto Take Over the World
Fri Sep. 14, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

The Sugar and Alzheimer's Connection
Thu Sep. 13, 2012 10:10 AM PDT

Can Eating Your Veggies Save You From Cancer?
Wed Sep. 12, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Debating Organics in The New York Times
Tue Sep. 11, 2012 12:47 PM PDT

5 Ways the Stanford Study Sells Organics Short
Wed Sep. 5, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Want to Avoid a Thirsty Future? Eat Less Meat
Wed Aug. 29, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

You Need Phosphorous to Live—and We're Running Out

Industrial farming has played a part in sucking this critical element out of our soil.

March/April 2013 Issue

Today's Seafood Special: Pig Manure, Antibiotics, and Diarrhea Bugs

Imported seafood is full of dirt and chemicals. So why is the FDA inspecting practically none of it?

January/February 2013 Issue

Can Antibiotics Make You Fat?

Factory animals are pumped full of antibiotics to make them gain weight. What does that mean for our waistlines?

Wed Jan. 2, 2013 4:01 AM PST

Your Bacon Is Full of Sardines

Forage fish like sardines and anchovies keep our oceans healthy. So why are we feeding them all to chickens and pigs?

September/October 2012 Issue

Could Prop. 37 Kill Monsanto's GM Seeds?

Big Ag is spending millions to keep labels off genetically modified foods in California—and with good reason.

Wed Oct. 10, 2012 3:00 AM PDT

Are Your Skinny Jeans Starving the World?

The cotton that feeds our appetite for fast fashion is taking up room that could be used for food crops.

July/August 2012 Issue

How Veggie Co-Ops and Ice Cream Collaboratives Could Save the Economy

Local food really could bring down the jobless rate—if we can figure out how to do it right.

May/June 2012 Issue

Is Walmart Really Going Organic and Local?

Well, define local.

March/April 2012 Issue

Foodies, Get Thee to Occupy Wall Street

Because Big Food makes Big Finance look like amateurs.

Fri Oct. 14, 2011 3:00 AM PDT

Wait, Did the USDA Just Deregulate All New Genetically Modified Crops?

In a surprise move, the agency green-lights Roundup Ready lawn grass—and perhaps much, much more.

Fri Jul. 8, 2011 12:23 PM PDT