A few weeks back, we got a chance to have a long chat with Ann Wright, Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Wright was speaking at the Family Farmed Expo, promoting a new USDA initiative, "Know your Farmer, Know your Food" that works to promote local and regional innovations in American agriculture. Wright was an advocate for organic and sustainable agriculture and an agriculture advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before she was appointed to her current post, and has been at the USDA for almost two years. We talked with Wright about what the federal government can do to promote sustainable agriculture, the USDA's sometimes-troubled history with small farms and her belief that large-scale change in the way we farm and eat has already begun. more ›

There may only be one plane in the fleet, but new airline start-up Jet America jump passengers between inconvenient regional hotspots starting July 13. According to the Chicago Tribune, Jet America is modeled after the British airline Ryan Air, which provides cheap flights on a sliding scale all over Europe. According to its press release, the airline will offer 34 flights per week on its full-sized jet, a Boeing 737-800. The first 9 seats will go for $9 starting today; cities served include Lansing, Mich.; Melbourne-Vero Beach, Fla.; South Bend, Ind.; Toledo, Ohio and New York-Newark, N.J. more ›