Skyscrapers full of lettuce promise an eco-friendly alternative to outdoor farming. There’s just one problem.

It seems like a great idea: Hang some lights, build some shelves, grow some produce in abandoned buildings. Indoor farming holds the promise of bringing fresh food to city groceries, retailers and farmers markets. What could be the downside? How about the massive amount of energy it takes to replace the sunshine and rain that outdoor plants receive? Read more at Mother Jones …

Everything’s bigger in Texas—except its support for small farmers

Judith McGeary wanted to sell the meat she butcher at a local farmers market, but Texas authorities couldn’t give her a straight answer about what permits she needed, or if she needed any at all. Unfortunately for Texas, McGeary was a lawyer as well as a farmer. She founded the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance to support independent farmers and lobby for farmer-friendly state regulations. Read more at Civil Eats …

China’s push to export traditional medicine may doom the magical pangolin

China wants to expand its export of traditional medicines, but the move puts the pangolin—the world’s most trafficked mammal—in real danger of extinction. Many practitioners,  believing the pangolin’s scales have magical properties, prescribe its scales, its blood and even its fetuses to cure every possible ailment. Read more at The Washington Post …

This man rewrites the genetic code of animals

Ranchers nearly always remove cows’ horns as a safety measure: Without horns, the animals can’t gore other cattle or even the farmers who raise them. But removing those horns causes pain. Dan Carlson of the biotech startup Recombinetics sought a solution: Trimming the genetic code so cows don’t grow horns in the first place. Read more at Bloomberg …

Memo from the boss: You’re a vegetarian now

WeWork, a global network of co-working spaces, will no longer serve meat at company functions or even reimburse employees’ costs if they choose to eat meat during a lunch or dinner meeting. The company’s chief culture officer said concern for the environment prompted the decision; the company could save more than 15 million animals in the next five years, he said. The company employs nearly 6,000 people. Read more at The New York Times …