Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
@theneaptide.com
Business. All business. I think?
📍43°24'17"N 79°47'42"W
📍43°24'17"N 79°47'42"W
Monocultures optimize for efficiency under stable conditions. Climate breakdown removes that assumption. The transition challenge is redesigning systems for resilience without collapsing productivity.
🌍 #Climate breakdown is already disrupting food production.
📉 Yields are falling. Key crops could soon plateau, then decline.
Monocultures leave us exposed. We need deep agro-diversity – in seeds, crops & landscapes – to adapt & build resilient #foodsystems.
📊 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
📉 Yields are falling. Key crops could soon plateau, then decline.
Monocultures leave us exposed. We need deep agro-diversity – in seeds, crops & landscapes – to adapt & build resilient #foodsystems.
📊 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
How climate breakdown is putting the world’s food in peril - in maps and charts
From floods to droughts, erratic weather patterns are affecting food security, with crop yields projected to fall if changes are not made
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Monocultures optimize for efficiency under stable conditions. Climate breakdown removes that assumption. The transition challenge is redesigning systems for resilience without collapsing productivity.
Interesting findings. Worth noting these outcomes tend to work best where labor, knowledge transfer, and local pest ecology align. Agroecology isn’t “no inputs,” it’s different inputs—often information- and management-heavy rather than chemical.
Once again, a study shows that #agroecology works. Ethiopian vegetable farmers were able to eliminate or drastically reduce pesticide use through agroecological farming www.africanfarming.com/2025/12/18/a...
Agroecological farming reduces pesticide poisoning among Ethiopian farmers by 73%
A new study published in Frontiers in Agronomy has found that training farmers in agroecological practices helps to protect them from the
www.africanfarming.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Interesting findings. Worth noting these outcomes tend to work best where labor, knowledge transfer, and local pest ecology align. Agroecology isn’t “no inputs,” it’s different inputs—often information- and management-heavy rather than chemical.
Reposted by Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
“Whether religious or not, Americans can be grateful for genuinely religious voices who reiterate that faith without deeds is useless and remind us that silence in the face of hateful actions and words is abhorrent.”
Undaunted in Faith
Three religious leaders provide inspiration: Pope Leo XIV; Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde; and Pastor Jamal Bryant
contrarian.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
“Whether religious or not, Americans can be grateful for genuinely religious voices who reiterate that faith without deeds is useless and remind us that silence in the face of hateful actions and words is abhorrent.”
Reposted by Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
NEW: The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead.
Use information from your prescription label to locate the factory and see if the plant has a history of inspection violations.
Use information from your prescription label to locate the factory and see if the plant has a history of inspection violations.
Where Was My Generic Prescription Drug Made? - Rx Inspector - ProPublica
The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead. Use information on your prescription label to locate the factory and see inspection reports.
projects.propublica.org
December 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
NEW: The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica did it instead.
Use information from your prescription label to locate the factory and see if the plant has a history of inspection violations.
Use information from your prescription label to locate the factory and see if the plant has a history of inspection violations.
Decoupling prosperity from land loss, not just emissions. Food + transport are massive efficiency sinks. The challenge isn’t the math — it’s infrastructure, governance, and managing transition costs without pretending land “frees itself.”
#FoodSystems #LandUse #Climate
@futureperfect.bsky.social
#FoodSystems #LandUse #Climate
@futureperfect.bsky.social
We need to grow the economy. We need to stop torching the planet. Here’s how we do both.
Let’s fix the two massive efficiency sinks in American life.
www.vox.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Decoupling prosperity from land loss, not just emissions. Food + transport are massive efficiency sinks. The challenge isn’t the math — it’s infrastructure, governance, and managing transition costs without pretending land “frees itself.”
#FoodSystems #LandUse #Climate
@futureperfect.bsky.social
#FoodSystems #LandUse #Climate
@futureperfect.bsky.social
Dynamic pricing might make sense for flights—not food. If AI is used to cut waste and improve logistics, great. If it quietly tests what each shopper will tolerate for essentials, that breaks trust. Transparency + guardrails are the minimum.
#cndpoli #costofliving #AI
#cndpoli #costofliving #AI
When Your Grocery Bill Starts Pricing You
Food prices should reflect costs and competition—not what an algorithm thinks you are willing to pay.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Dynamic pricing might make sense for flights—not food. If AI is used to cut waste and improve logistics, great. If it quietly tests what each shopper will tolerate for essentials, that breaks trust. Transparency + guardrails are the minimum.
#cndpoli #costofliving #AI
#cndpoli #costofliving #AI
Not sure this specific Walmart/Pepsi mechanism maps 1:1 to Canada, but the incentive does: concentrated retail = outsized buyer leverage + opaque trade terms. Difference is tools: Canada dropped explicit price-discrimination rules in 2009; the Grocery Code is filling part of that gap.
#FoodSystems
#FoodSystems
Grocery Update #125: How Pepsico and Walmart Rigged Grocery Prices.
And What To Do About It.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Not sure this specific Walmart/Pepsi mechanism maps 1:1 to Canada, but the incentive does: concentrated retail = outsized buyer leverage + opaque trade terms. Difference is tools: Canada dropped explicit price-discrimination rules in 2009; the Grocery Code is filling part of that gap.
#FoodSystems
#FoodSystems
The obsession isn’t chaos, it’s nostalgia—for an America run by tycoons, monopolies, and brute force abroad. Railroads then, platforms now. The Gilded Age wasn’t “great”; it was unstable, unequal, and combustible.
Was That a Speech or a Breakdown?
A stark look at the speech that blurred the line between leadership and losing control on the world stage…
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:51 AM
The obsession isn’t chaos, it’s nostalgia—for an America run by tycoons, monopolies, and brute force abroad. Railroads then, platforms now. The Gilded Age wasn’t “great”; it was unstable, unequal, and combustible.
Serious claims here, but worth separating what’s verified (precursor seizures, port vulnerabilities) from what’s inferred (scale, routes). The policy signal is still clear: port inspection capacity + bonded-warehouse oversight need real upgrades—fast.
#cndpoli
#cndpoli
Inside China’s New Fentanyl Pipeline: From Mazatlán Through Vancouver to Los Angeles
U.S. officials believe Canada’s prime minister has minimized Canada’s role in global fentanyl markets as China shifts precursor and pill flows from Mexico.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Serious claims here, but worth separating what’s verified (precursor seizures, port vulnerabilities) from what’s inferred (scale, routes). The policy signal is still clear: port inspection capacity + bonded-warehouse oversight need real upgrades—fast.
#cndpoli
#cndpoli
Salmon is a useful case study in food systems at scale. Aquaculture brought stability and access, but also new ecological trade-offs. The future isn’t nostalgia or rejection — it’s better system design that reduces impact without shrinking supply.
#FoodSystems #Aquaculture #SustainableProtein
#FoodSystems #Aquaculture #SustainableProtein
The Past and Complicated Future of Salmon
Plus, European farmers are mad, and California is supporting diverse protein sources
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Salmon is a useful case study in food systems at scale. Aquaculture brought stability and access, but also new ecological trade-offs. The future isn’t nostalgia or rejection — it’s better system design that reduces impact without shrinking supply.
#FoodSystems #Aquaculture #SustainableProtein
#FoodSystems #Aquaculture #SustainableProtein
Seasonal food price pressure isn’t just a holiday anomaly — it reveals structural supply constraints in our food system. When demand spikes meet tight inventories and logistics stress, we see upward pressure that doesn’t go away just because the season ends. #FoodSystems #AgTech #SupplyChain
A Food Fight for the Holidays
This post is about a thought-provoking new book that would make a nice gift. It is not about family discontent during Christmas dinner.
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Seasonal food price pressure isn’t just a holiday anomaly — it reveals structural supply constraints in our food system. When demand spikes meet tight inventories and logistics stress, we see upward pressure that doesn’t go away just because the season ends. #FoodSystems #AgTech #SupplyChain
Great analysis on the energy accounting from electric power to edible biomass. When only ~1% of input ends up in the lettuce head, the physics matters. Understanding where the losses are is the only way we move from hype to real engineering improvements.
#AgTech #CEA #FoodSystems
#AgTech #CEA #FoodSystems
Kilowatts to kilograms: How efficiently can LEDs turn energy into lettuce?
Less than 1% of the energy powering the LEDs ends up in the lettuce head.
open.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Great analysis on the energy accounting from electric power to edible biomass. When only ~1% of input ends up in the lettuce head, the physics matters. Understanding where the losses are is the only way we move from hype to real engineering improvements.
#AgTech #CEA #FoodSystems
#AgTech #CEA #FoodSystems
Reposted by Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
McDonald’s USA
— Employee: $15/hr, no benefits
— Big Mac: $5.79
McDonald’s Denmark
— Employee: $22/hr, 6 weeks vacation, 1 year paid maternity leave, life insurance, pension
— Big Mac: $5.49
Tell us more about how raising the minimum wage would affect the cost of hamburgers.
— Employee: $15/hr, no benefits
— Big Mac: $5.79
McDonald’s Denmark
— Employee: $22/hr, 6 weeks vacation, 1 year paid maternity leave, life insurance, pension
— Big Mac: $5.49
Tell us more about how raising the minimum wage would affect the cost of hamburgers.
December 17, 2025 at 8:59 PM
McDonald’s USA
— Employee: $15/hr, no benefits
— Big Mac: $5.79
McDonald’s Denmark
— Employee: $22/hr, 6 weeks vacation, 1 year paid maternity leave, life insurance, pension
— Big Mac: $5.49
Tell us more about how raising the minimum wage would affect the cost of hamburgers.
— Employee: $15/hr, no benefits
— Big Mac: $5.79
McDonald’s Denmark
— Employee: $22/hr, 6 weeks vacation, 1 year paid maternity leave, life insurance, pension
— Big Mac: $5.49
Tell us more about how raising the minimum wage would affect the cost of hamburgers.
Interesting read: the gap looks less like “tech comfort” and more like risk calculus + incentives. If harms are asymmetric and accountability is weak, adoption will be asymmetric too.
#AI #Governance
#AI #Governance
There's a Reason Women Aren't Swooning Over AI Like Men Are
Or rather, a great many reasons
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Interesting read: the gap looks less like “tech comfort” and more like risk calculus + incentives. If harms are asymmetric and accountability is weak, adoption will be asymmetric too.
#AI #Governance
#AI #Governance
Midlife note: fewer goals, more contentment, lower tolerance for nonsense. If this keeps compounding into your 60s, that seems… efficient.
The Joy No One Warns You About in Your Late 60s
This morning I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and had the familiar thought every man of sixty-seven eventually has.
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Midlife note: fewer goals, more contentment, lower tolerance for nonsense. If this keeps compounding into your 60s, that seems… efficient.
What stands out is how broad-based the inflation is. That’s usually a signal of structural limits rather than bad behavior. The “missing middle” point is especially important—without scale and redundancy, shocks just pass straight through to consumers.
The Checkout Line at the Grocery Store Is Not the Crime Scene
You can’t regulate your way out of food inflation you designed into the system. That is the government’s inconvenient truth.
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:35 PM
What stands out is how broad-based the inflation is. That’s usually a signal of structural limits rather than bad behavior. The “missing middle” point is especially important—without scale and redundancy, shocks just pass straight through to consumers.
This isn’t just about thresholds—it’s a test of civic resilience. When a small group can trigger a referendum, the question becomes whether Canadians can resist influence campaigns and still decide plainly if they want to remain part of Canada.
#Bill54
#truenorth
#cndpoli
#Bill54
#truenorth
#cndpoli
Alberta Should Not Repeat the Brexit Disaster
Alberta’s Bill 54 paves the way for separatist referenda echoing Brexit’s chaos while inviting foreign interference and national division.
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:20 PM
This isn’t just about thresholds—it’s a test of civic resilience. When a small group can trigger a referendum, the question becomes whether Canadians can resist influence campaigns and still decide plainly if they want to remain part of Canada.
#Bill54
#truenorth
#cndpoli
#Bill54
#truenorth
#cndpoli
Sometimes it’s not escapism — it’s just choosing quieter inputs. Interesting look at why “cozy lit” is having a moment.
@thewalrus.ca thanks.
#cozylit
@thewalrus.ca thanks.
#cozylit
How “Cozy Lit” Became the Latest and Most Shameless Form of Digital Escapism
Think cats. Tea. Rain. The seaside. More cats
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Sometimes it’s not escapism — it’s just choosing quieter inputs. Interesting look at why “cozy lit” is having a moment.
@thewalrus.ca thanks.
#cozylit
@thewalrus.ca thanks.
#cozylit
This gets the land-use math right: we can’t solve climate while expanding agriculture. Where the conversation still needs to go is how we increase output without doubling down on open-field fragility. Yield matters — but so does control, predictability, and resilience.
#futureoffood #AgTech #CEA
#futureoffood #AgTech #CEA
The Race to Grow More Food on Less Land | Atmos
Food has been left out of the climate conversation for far too long despite its oversized impact, argues author Michael Grunwald.
atmos.earth
December 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This gets the land-use math right: we can’t solve climate while expanding agriculture. Where the conversation still needs to go is how we increase output without doubling down on open-field fragility. Yield matters — but so does control, predictability, and resilience.
#futureoffood #AgTech #CEA
#futureoffood #AgTech #CEA
A fantastic explanation of an issue most people never see: medicinal plants can’t be standardized if the environments producing them aren’t. The variability challenge is real, and controlled environments are quickly becoming the missing infrastructure. Excited to see this field grow.
Beyond lettuce: The future of plant medicine is in vertical farms
Medicinal plants are vertical farmings next frontier.
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 10:37 PM
A fantastic explanation of an issue most people never see: medicinal plants can’t be standardized if the environments producing them aren’t. The variability challenge is real, and controlled environments are quickly becoming the missing infrastructure. Excited to see this field grow.
Reposted by Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
Denmark just mapped its entire environmental microbiome. More than 10,000 samples revealing hidden, dominant nitrifiers that shape fertilizer use, water quality, and climate impact. A national microbiome atlas could transform sustainable agriculture across Europe.
#AMR
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#AMR
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The Microflora Danica atlas of Danish environmental microbiomes - Nature
Microflora Danica—an atlas of Danish environmental microbiomes—reveals that although human-disturbed habitats have high alpha diversity, species reoccur, revealing hidden homogeneity.
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Denmark just mapped its entire environmental microbiome. More than 10,000 samples revealing hidden, dominant nitrifiers that shape fertilizer use, water quality, and climate impact. A national microbiome atlas could transform sustainable agriculture across Europe.
#AMR
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#AMR
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Some of the best ideas really do start over a drink. In our case, it was space research turning into commercial controlled-environment farming through @intravision.ca Different paths, same pattern: good science meets the real world when conversation turns into action
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
Over a pint in Oxford, we may have stumbled upon the holy grail of agriculture | George Monbiot
I knew that a revolution in our understanding of soil could change the world. Then came a eureka moment – and the birth of the Earth Rover Program, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Some of the best ideas really do start over a drink. In our case, it was space research turning into commercial controlled-environment farming through @intravision.ca Different paths, same pattern: good science meets the real world when conversation turns into action
Canada’s food economy is showing structural gaps — rising prices, supply-chain stress, affordability squeezed. That fragility makes controlled-environment production more than climate-smart: it’s supply-chain critical infrastructure.
#AgTech #FoodSecurity #molecularfarming #SupplyChainResilience
#AgTech #FoodSecurity #molecularfarming #SupplyChainResilience
Canada’s Food Economy Has a Hole in the Middle — And We’re Paying for It
We treat food inflation like a storm that will pass. The truth is, it moved in years ago and we’ve been paying rent ever since.
open.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Canada’s food economy is showing structural gaps — rising prices, supply-chain stress, affordability squeezed. That fragility makes controlled-environment production more than climate-smart: it’s supply-chain critical infrastructure.
#AgTech #FoodSecurity #molecularfarming #SupplyChainResilience
#AgTech #FoodSecurity #molecularfarming #SupplyChainResilience
Reshoring, supply chains, strategic independence — all of this quietly includes food, whether policymakers say it out loud yet or not. Climate, pathogens, geopolitics: open-field agriculture is now a national risk surface. Controlled environments aren’t optional anymore. They’re infrastructure.
Why confidence in our country matters
This week the US released its National Security Strategy.
open.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Reshoring, supply chains, strategic independence — all of this quietly includes food, whether policymakers say it out loud yet or not. Climate, pathogens, geopolitics: open-field agriculture is now a national risk surface. Controlled environments aren’t optional anymore. They’re infrastructure.
Reposted by Josh Siteman 🇨🇦
This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.
December 3, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This composition had eluded me for nearly a decade, but yesterday I was finally able to capture it. A train rolled through just as the Duquesne Incline was crossing over the tracks in #Pittsburgh, creating a picture perfect winter scene. It was worth the hours and hours I've waited over the years.