A study released last week by Stanford scientists, which claims organic foods are no more healthy than non-organic foods, was funded by corporate agriculture and biotechnology giants, according to a new report by the Cornucopia Institute.

In today’s post by Charlotte Kellogg, she explores the public health threats caused by inner-city food deserts as well as the new and innovative approaches to solving this problem. In communities that lack access to healthy food choices and fresh produce, the job of a public health advocate is often to combat and treat the afflictions that accompany food deserts, namely obesity and diabetes. Here, Madison expands on Mark Bittman’s suggestions for promoting fresh food in inner-city food deserts, as reported in a Carolyn Baker post, arguing that simple changes and plans can make significant differences.

Using its own survey data, the group found that millennials like supermarkets, processed foods, and brands less than boomers, and specialty stores and fresh food more. The report also concludes that “natural and organic products look to be quite important to the Millennials.”

About feeding 9 billion people: first of all, we should be working hard to curb population growth, for all kinds of good reasons. We know we’ve gone beyond the carrying capacity of our planet, and we shouldn’t be deluding ourselves that we can techno-fix our way out of the problem. Industrial agriculture is a big part of the problem. It will never be part of the solution. Agriculture must be relocalized and brought back into harmony with the natural, organic cycles of the planet. If this doesn’t happen, and soon, all the GMO seed and fertilizers in the world won’t help us survive the climate cataclysm that awaits.

Yet in their best form hubs are more than economic catalysts and efficient truck routes. They are community organizers. And this second innovation is where the praise should be louder. As much as they pioneer the replacement of lost distribution infrastructure, food hubs are civic leaders, entities that operate educational farms, address food deserts, attend to the socio-economic barriers to going organic, promote philanthropic aims, and provide job training. It’s this civic community-building character of food hubs that truly shows their forward thinking.

Today, communities around the country are finding innovative ways to expand the agricultural economy into this important new space. These efforts strengthen the producer-consumer connection and bring new jobs and economic benefits to rural communities. To further expand regional food systems will take work: the development of innovative production techniques, utilization of new and repurposed infrastructure, and creative marketing tactics. The USDA has resources to support these efforts. We’ve built the Compass. We are waiting for people to come and see what we have to offer.

In reality, though, the study in some places makes a strong case for organic—though you’d barely know it from the language the authors use. And in places where it finds organic wanting, key information gets left out. To assess the state of science on organic food and its health benefits, the authors performed what’s known among academics as a “meta-analysis”—they gathered all the research papers they could find on the topic dating back decades, eliminated ones that didn’t meet their criteria for scientific rigor, and summarized the results.

A new report released Wednesday says that the full impact of climate change and extreme weather events on global food prices is being underestimated and warns that without a more acute understanding of how global warming threatens agricultural systems and economies, governments will be unable to prepare for future disasters.