tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-103558252024-03-23T14:16:01.572-04:00Four SeasonsLocal food & farms, sustainable agriculture & the environment, nutrition & healthNoahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-955927697870616242007-11-17T22:16:00.000-05:002007-11-17T22:19:17.856-05:00A new blog at Farm Fresh Rhode IslandIf anyone is still following – it sure has been awhile! – venture with me to a new blog. More focused on Rhode Island farms and food. Much, much less comment spam. [<a href="http://www.farmfreshri.org/blog">Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog</a>]Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com208tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1112755855624950172005-04-06T10:18:00.000-04:002005-08-02T10:26:03.146-04:00Four Seasons will be in hiatus mode for the next week or so while we devote our lives to searching <a href="http://scholar.google.com/">Google Scholar</a>. So many journal articles, so little time. But we'll try to spread the joy with some links sifted from our e-mail and web procrastination...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/04/international/africa/04village.html">Agricultural empowerment</a> and food security in impoverished areas of Kenya. It's part of <a href="http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/about/director/">Jeffrey Sachs'</a> ambitious plans at the <a href="http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/">UN Millennium Project</a> discussed in yesterday's <i>NY Times</i>. There was also a great <a href="http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/oda/2004/1107sachs.htm">write-up</a> on the project in last November's <i>NY Times Magazine</i>.<br /><br />With oil prices climbing, is local ag the hot stock to own? James Kunstler gives the A to Z on our coming <a href="http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/032505I.shtml">energy conundrum</a> and places some bets in an adaptation from his new book, <i>The Long Emergency</i>.<br /><br />The energy cost issue is given a look in yesterday's notes from <i>Farm Policy</i>. Keith also delineates the latest talk about increased farm subsidies for <a href="http://farmpolicy.typepad.com/farmpolicy/2005/04/a_greener_more_.html">enviro stewardship</a>, though it seems there may be more <a href="http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2504">politicking</a> to it than follow-through. Show me the money.<br /><br />It's finally that time of year. Time for the <a href="http://www.oklahomafood.coop/bobsblog/?postid=36">Feast of the First Asparagus</a>. But even if you don't appreciate the after-smell of asparagus, there's some really nifty stuff going on at <a href="http://www.oklahomafood.coop/bobsblog/"><i>Gettin' the Right Eats</i></a>.<br /><br />'Tis also the season for <a href="http://seattlebonvivant.typepad.com/seattle_bon_vivant/2005/03/in_seattle_rhub.html">rhubarb</a>. And a hotel in Scotland sure knows how to <a href="http://www.isleoferiska.com/2005/03/first_rhubarb_o.html">celebrate the occasion</a>. The plant is <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/glenfinlas/archives/date-posted/2005/03/27/detail/">gorgeous</a>.<br /><br />In a followup to a post on <a href="http://locallygrown.blogspot.com/2005/03/health-food-industry-web-kraft.html">Kraft's family of "organic" brands</a>, there's a great article out there by Phil Howard from 2003. <a href="http://www.agribusinessaccountability.org/page/271/1">"Consolidation in Food and Agriculture: Implications for Farmers and Consumers"</a> has a nifty web of the major corporate mamas and papas of organic brands. Jen of <a href="http://fogcity.blogs.com/"><i>life begins @ thirty</i></a> also noted that <i>Green Digit</i> has its own <a href="http://www.greendigit.com/who-owns-what/">little black book</a>.<br /><br />It's not noted in those articles, but I find it very twisted that Dean owns <a href="http://www.mindfully.org/Farm/2005/Dean-Horizon-NOT-Organic16feb05.htm">Horizon</a>, Silk, and most of the <a href="http://www.deanfoods.com/brands/brandnames.asp">"regional" milk brands</a> in the country.<br /><br />If you haven't discovered Google Maps' <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35+Pippin+Orchard+Road,cranston,+ri&ll=41.79182052612305,-71.55459880828857&spn=0.02639293670654297,0.02742290496826172&t=k&hl=en">satellite photos</a>, it's the time waster you've been waiting for. There are probably some pretty impressive farmland views-from-above waiting to be discussed. Don't know how often they'll be updating the photos, but it would be neat to see seasonal change. (via <a href="http://www.kottke.org/remainder/05/04/8050.html">kottke</a>)<br /><br />And there are some great <a href="http://www.farmfreshri.org/learn/events.php">local food /sustainable agriculture events</a> going on in the Northeast over the next month...Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1112468845073765242005-04-02T14:11:00.000-05:002005-04-02T14:07:25.076-05:00All together now: mapping local foodsheds<a href="http://hood.theory.org/">The Neighborhood Project</a> is using data from <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/">craigslist</a> housing postings to generate neighborhood lines in San Francisco. A script builds a map that color-codes the street address of the house in a listing with the neighborhood as defined by the poster. The results are <a href="http://hood.theory.org/zoom_map.html">here</a> and pretty nifty. Neighborhood dynamics are notoriously social constructed. Areas often shift in identity in response to demographics changes (i.e. et voila, presenting Greenwich Village's long lost cousin, the East Village) and real estate marketing strategies (i.e. whatever Columbia touches magically becomes Morningside Heights instead of Harlem). Anyway, the map offers an interesting glimpse of how SFers self-identify. (via <a href="http://www.girardin.org/fabien/blog/2005/03/23/the-neighborhood-project/">fab</a> via <a href="http://www.cnewmark.com/archives/000375.html">craigblog</a>)<br /><br />Sure, it's great to look at how community is performed in our post-modern world, you say, but how does it relate to food? Outside of the Neighborhood Project's neighborhood focus, it's a really great example of leveraging distributed computing to better organize the otherwise overwhelmingly information of the web. The map depends of the collective work of thousands of people who each put up a housing listing, though they contributed without any extra effort (or intention, for that matter).<br /><br />Now think of a website like <a href="http://www.localharvest.org">Local Harvest</a> that has listings from hundreds of small farmers across the US, or even the world. If those farmers posted what they were growing and when it was in season on the site, local foodsheds could be easily mapped. A local foodshed is marked by by the flow of a food item from where it is grown to its point of consumption and varies by the season. Sure, the information is out there as text across many different webpages, but the visuals of a map that makes it more compelling. From the <a href="http://www.cias.wisc.edu/foodshed/index.html">Wisconsin Foodshed Research Project</a>:<blockquote>How might alternatives to our existing food system be organized at the local and community levels? How much food can a given region provide? Can local food systems meet nutritional needs and provide food security for everyone?</blockquote>People living in the same foodshed can become a community for change that can collectively support and sustain the producers most local to it, as well as cultivate new producers to match demand. Bostonian to Providencian: "Wow, look! We're in the same foodshed for organic carrots in March. Let's work with a regional farm to start a buying co-op or winter CSA!" There are oodles of possibilities.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com61tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1112156542625236842005-03-30T10:45:00.000-05:002005-03-30T10:46:24.493-05:00Hump-day et ceterasI've been pretty busy with work lately. Here are some of the fruits of my productive procrastination:<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.buckscountycoffee.com/tarrazu/part1/index.html">slideshow</a> of the lifecycle of coffee bushes at a Costa Rican coffee plantation in the Tarrazu River Valley<br /><br />Not enough farmers to keep up with the demand for farmers' markets, says USDA radio (<a href="http://audioarchives.oc.usda.gov/audio/newsline/mp3/RCN5F2.MP3">mp3 audio</a>)<br /><br />An anecdotal look at Bette Midler's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/29/opinion/29tue3.html">financial rescue</a> of NYC community gardens and her continued engagement in greening the city through the <a href="http://www.nyrp.org/"><i>New York Restoration Project</i></a><br /><br />Spring has sprung: there were fiddleheads at <a href="http://www.deliciousorchardsnj.com/"><i>Delicious Orchards</i></a> yesterday, and apparently they've hit NYC <a href="http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/03/29/in_the_market_fiddlehead_ferns.php">too</a><br /><br />Invasive fungi and aphids have shaped <a href="http://www.nj.com/living/ledger/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1112165292230450.xml">wine</a> as we know it<br /><br />An Earth Dinner on Earth Day, with <a href="http://www.earthdinner.org/index.html?view=1">50 creativity cards</a> to spark conservation and contemplation. The cards get at our connection with the food we eat in a playful wayNoahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1112111889509527542005-03-29T10:58:00.000-05:002005-03-29T10:58:09.516-05:00Et cetera: Bread, GMOs, and the FrenchBread is without a doubt our Achilles heal, and so our ears perked up when <a href="http://www.thefreshloaf.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=30"><i>The Fresh Loaf</i></a> mentioned the new math that a new <a href="http://www.cascadebaking.com/">bakery</a> in Oregon is doing:<blockquote><a href="http://www.capitalpress.info/Main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=792&ArticleID=15283">Local Pinot Noir + Local Wheat = Salem Sourdough</a></blockquote>Chef Frank Stitt of <a href="http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/">Highlands Bar and Grill</a> in Birmingham, AL <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4561398">talked</a> on Sunday with NPR's <i>All Things Considered</i> about fresh ingredients, farmers' markets, food as community-building, and the art of Southern cuisine<br /><br />Yesterday, <i>US Farm Policy</i> discussed the <a href="http://farmpolicy.typepad.com/farmpolicy/2005/03/biotech_crops.html">latest on GMOs</a>, focusing on a recent debate in Missouri over pharmaceutical rice and Syngenta's admission of releasing unapproved biotech corn into the wild. <i>Resource Insights</i> also recently made mention of the related <a href="http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2005/03/butterflies-bees-and-secrets.html">USDA coverup</a>, via <a href="http://sustainablog.blogspot.com/2005/03/secrets-lies-and-gmos.html">sustainablog</a>)<br /><br />If you're looking for an interesting read on GMOs, check out <a href="http://www.critical-art.net/books/molecular/index.html">Molecular Invasion</a> by <i>Critical Art Ensemble</i>. It's a worthwhile manifesto that navigates between unaffected academics and radical activism in its tone. The authors argue for less corporate hush-hush and anti-biotech fear-mongering, and instead for more research transparency and public involvement. Their goal is informed debate and a populace that can differentiate between cases of unwarranted GMO fears and unjustifiable GMO risks. A good read, available online in PDF, though my eyes preferred its paper form. Also check out CAE's "<a href="http://www.critical-art.net/biotech/free/index.html"><i>Free Range Grain</i></a>" project<br /><br />Josh Friedland of <a href="http://www.thefoodsection.com/foodsection/2005/03/the_french_para.html"><i>The Food Section</i></a> <a href="http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/personalities/roundtable_the_french_paradox.php">interviews</a> four French food bloggers in an attempt to demystify American's latest intrigue with the Franco-food lifestyle. A few of the recurring themes are portion size, discipline, processed foods, exercise, being picky about freshness, and that we're not all so different<br /><br />Meanwhile, <i>On Healthy Living</i> dispenses advice on <a href="http://onhealthyliving.com/archives/2005/03/27/eatin-in-season">seasonal eating</a><br /><br />A <a href="http://redneckmother.blogspot.com/2005/03/victory-garden-update-ladybug-love.html">victory garden</a> in Texas to reduce our dependence on foreign oil<br /><br />A blog to keep an eye on: <a href="http://www.sustainabletable.org/blog/"><i>Sustainable Table</i></a>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111802745013379302005-03-27T15:07:00.000-05:002005-08-02T10:25:21.346-04:00Local Food Forum in Providence, RI - April 13-16<img src="http://envstudies.brown.edu/locallygrownfood/img/about/lff_sm.jpg" align="right">There's a lot up <i>Farm Fresh Rhode Island's</i> sleeve:<ul><li><b><a href="http://www.farmfreshri.org/about/localfoodforum.php">Local Food Forum</a></b> at Brown University in Providence on April 13-16. Strategies for improved community food security in southern New England. Featuring Anna Lappé, co-author of <i>Hope's Edge</i> and co-founder of the <a href="http://www.smallplanetinstitute.org/"><i>Small Planet Institute</i></a>, and workshops on everything from local wine to farm-to-school programs to grassfed beef. It's free and open to the public.</li><img src="http://envstudies.brown.edu/locallygrownfood/img/about/mm_sm.jpg" align="right"><li><b><a href="http://www.farmfreshri.org/about/mondaymarket.php">Monday Market</a></b> opens June 20 next to the central bus station in downtown Providence and promises to make local foods accessible to the thousands of commuters and government workers who pass by every day. This farmers' market is going to become a destination!</li></ul>PS- A happy, hopefully pastel-less holiday to everyone celebrating!Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111804711097091582005-03-26T08:52:00.000-05:002005-03-26T08:50:32.853-05:00Child Nutrition Act gets at obesity and small farmsPiggybacking on <i>US Food Policy's</i> coverage of <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2005/03/ncsl-summarizes-proposals-to-address.html">childhood obesity</a> and the on-going federal budget debates that have legislators looking at <a href="http://locallygrown.blogspot.com/2005/03/congress-tries-to-cut-sustainable-ag_24.html">other farm-related programs</a> to cut instead of subsidies...<br /><br />When Congress passed the <a href="http://frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/cnreauthor/cnrc.htm">Child Nutrition Act</a> in 2004, it passed a Farm to Cafeteria program under the name "Access to Local Foods and School Gardens" (Section 122). According to the <a href="http://www.foodsecurity.org/"><i>Community Food Security Coalition</i></a>, the program would provide seed grant funds to schools to facilitate the purchase of locally grown food for school meals:<blockquote>Section 122 authorizes a grant program for schools to receive funds of up to $100,000 to assist with the start-up costs of a farm to school project. These competitive, one-time grants will allow schools to purchase adequate equipment to store and prepare fresh foods, develop vendor relationships with nearby farmers, plan seasonal menus and promotional materials, and develop experiential nutrition education related to agriculture.</blockquote>Sounds <a href="http://sustainablog.blogspot.com/2005/03/school-dinner-revolution.html">exactly</a> like what we should be encouraging in our schools.<br /><br />It's estimated that about $5 million would be needed to get it off the ground, but Congress has yet to fund the program. Here are the obligatory links about how to contact your <a href="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm">senators</a> and <a href="http://www.house.gov/writerep/">representative</a>.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111725251415578722005-03-25T08:45:00.000-05:002005-03-25T08:44:34.510-05:00A stew to drag out winter by its feet<img src="http://www.brown.edu/Students/BEC/food/chili.jpg" alt="Chili" width="300" height="226" align="right">I'm definitely growing impatient with winter. Yesterday was windy and bitter in Providence, and we got a fresh coat of slush on the ground. But yet another gray day was a great excuse for chili. Armed with MA-grown rutabagas from the latest <a href="http://www.urbangreens.com">Urban Greens</a> order, an orange fresh from a friend just-returned from her family's California grove, and 7 different kinds of beans, I set off to make a hearty, slow-cooked meal. Plus, it didn't hurt that there were stewed tomatoes waiting patiently in my freezer from last fall.<br /><br />This chili is like a red raincoat, protective against the elements and visually catchy, and its citrus flavor offers the hint of a wonderful spring in the making. The recipe is pretty simple, go-with-the-flow-ish. I made a huge pot, but I've tried to adjust down the portion sizes:<blockquote>1.5 cups dried beans of as many kinds as you can get your hands on (kidney, garbanzo, adzuki, black, black-eyed, pinto, navy, green lentils) -- go wild, it will look prettier for it<br />1 decent rutabaga<br />1 onion<br />1 orange<br />1-2 cloves of garlic<br />1.5 cups stewed tomatoes (with parsley, rosemary, basil)<br />salt and pepper to taste</blockquote>1. Soak whatever mix of beans you'd like in 3x the amount of water for a couple of hours or overnight.<br /><br />2. When you're ready to cook, drain the beans (reduces later flatulence) and add another 2-3x the water. Then set atop the stove so it barely simmers.<br /><br />3. Add onions, anywhere between diced and sliced depending on your preference.<br /><br />4. Add minced or thinly sliced garlic.<br /><br />5. Add rutabagas. I sliced them into thin 1/2"-ish squares and I left the skin on (washed) because it all gets real soft. Also I like a chili full of different textures and chunk sizes.<br /><br />6. After 30-40 minutes, when the beans are fairly tender, add chunks of orange peel. They'll add a wonderful zesty flavor (it's almost spring after all) and float to the top so they're easy to scoop out after. Et voila you now have an orange to snack on. You can also add a bit of lemon juice (to the chili) to stem any color bleeding.<br /><br />7. Add frozen tomato stew and mix around while it dethaws. (To make tomato stew, slice fresh tomatoes with fresh parsley, basil, and rosemary and add the same amount of water. Let it all lightly simmer for 5-6 hours, stirring every hour or so until you have a semi-liquidy, mostly-tomato... stew! A great way to make summer last into the colder months!) You probably wouldn't be disqualified for using canned tomatoes and dried spices, but it might be worth waiting 'til tomato season.<br /><br />8. Let the stew-to-be continue on a low heat (depending on your patience) until it's as thick as you desire. If you're in a rush, you can also add green lentils at almost any point and they'll absorb a bunch of the water.<br /><br />9. Add salt and pepper to taste. The flavor punch of the chili really comes from the vegetables as they slow-cook. Not particularly spicy, but if that's what you prefer it's just a few jalapenos away!Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111699242599918682005-03-24T16:23:00.000-05:002005-03-24T16:20:42.603-05:00Congress tries to cut sustainable ag programsInstead of cutting farm subsidies to ag giants, Congress is looking to save money by eliminating funding aimed at sustainable farming. From Roger Doiron of the <a href="http://www.smallfarm.org/nesawg/index.php">Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group</a>:<blockquote>The <a href="http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/">Conservation Security Program</a> (CSP) is a promising new federal program that rewards farmers for their conservation efforts. Its passage in the 2002 Farm Bill represents one of the sustainable agriculture movement’s greatest victories in recent memory. CSP also happens to be a great program for the Northeast in that, over time, it will become available to all farms including the small, diversified ones that tend to characterize our region. As it’s a new program, there’s some concern that it offers the easiest target for cuts in the 2006 budget.</blockquote>It looks to be a <a href="http://www.agriculture.com/ag/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/ag/story/data/agNews_050323jwCSP.xml&catref=ag1001">promising</a> <a href="http://www.austindailyherald.com/articles/2005/03/18/news/news4.txt">program</a>, if it's not nipped in the bud.<br /><br />Your Congressperson (or their diligent staffers, more likely) is only a call away... the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture has made some <a href="http://sustainableagriculture.net/CSP-BudgetAlert-Mar23-05.php">quick facts about the budget cuts</a> availableNoahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111420610382021842005-03-23T11:11:00.000-05:002005-03-23T11:21:03.626-05:00Hump day et ceteras<a href="http://bittergreensgazette.blogspot.com/"><i>Bitter Greens Journal</i></a>, a superb and belated addition to our bookmarks, points to an article back from when government organic standards were <a href="http://www.newfarm.org/depts/nf_classics/0604/logsdon.shtml">wee babes</a>. It brings up many of the same issues that are relevant to sustainable food systems today.<br /><br />Tropical envy: <a href="http://karen.mychronicles.net/index.php?p=50">Countdown to mango season in the Philippines</a><br /><br /><a href="http://papgren.blogspot.com/2005/03/local-foods-support-small-farms-by-k.html"><i>Authentic foods</i></a> are all the buzz. "People now want food with a place, a face and a taste."<br /><br />A Chattanooga, TN <a href="http://civicforum.chattablogs.com/archives/elections/021785.html">mayoral candidate</a> (who has the misfortune of sharing an infamous name) has a vision of local foods and a walkable city<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/11159514.htm">Eco-friendly weddings</a> with locally grown vittles. Yet another reason, at least in the Northeast, that summer is the season for weddings (<a href="http://wedding-dress-guide.com/blog/index.php?p=2">via Wedding-Dress-Guide</a>) <br /><br />Locally grown <a href="http://pambike.blogspot.com/2005/03/journey-begins.html">strawberries</a> nourish bikers cross-country trip from San Diego to Florida (They're in Texas now)<br /><br />Taco Bell boycott ends after 4 years: Yum Brands agrees to pay <a href="http://www.jwj.org/updates/2005/03-05.htm#ciw">1 cent more</a> per pound of tomatoesNoahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com140tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111531136789324622005-03-22T17:41:00.000-05:002005-03-22T19:36:46.933-05:00The gender roles of the land<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:wNMyZsfW5xwJ:www.bcma.co.uk/images/Nurture_Nature.jpg" width="108" height="81" alt="Nature=Nurture?" align="right">After describing rock dust as <a href="http://locallygrown.blogspot.com/2005/03/future-is-rock-dust.html">Viagra for plants</a> in the last post, I came to ponder the gender roles that we assign to farmland and how it affects discourse and perceptions of the corporate vs. local debate. It's no giant leap to see that land is usually given feminine qualities: virgin, fertile, barren, nurturing. It is big ag, the farmers, and [his] machines that are workhorses, plowers, industrial. (Leave the nurturing to the gardeners.) The patriarchal powers that be (TPPTB), society at large included, are comfortable with the male dominating the female, with big ag dominating the fields.<br /><br />So would turning the current gender roles discourse on its head simultaneously produce a stronger public backing for sustainability and family farming? "Land once virile is now being castrated by the pesticides and monoculture that nurture corporate agriculture's profit scheming." Or perhaps, "needy monoculture practices and dramatic pesticide use by corporate ag have really been a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/22/arts/television/22chie.html?ex=1269147600&en=65c17482a36e9f94&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland">bitch</a> for the virility of the land." If it sounds funny, maybe there's just too much momentum going for the current gender roles our culture has assigned to nature and industry?Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111505826152923882005-03-22T10:46:00.000-05:002005-03-22T10:47:42.093-05:00The future is rock dust<a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=622128">Can the byproduct of quarrying be nature's own super-fertilizer?</a> Two Australians think so:<blockquote>"By spreading the dust we are doing in minutes what the earth takes thousands of years to do - putting essential minerals in the rocks back into the earth."</blockquote> Like Viagra for plants. Anyhoo, if any North American farmer out there has had success with rock dust, Billie Best of the <a href="http://www.farmandfood.org/">Regional Farm and Food Project</a> wants to hear from you.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111382919897770502005-03-21T10:45:00.000-05:002005-03-21T10:57:12.243-05:00Food and environmental justiceEnvironmental Justice (EJ) is the right of every community to a healthful quality of life. If you look at the disparities between poor/minority communities and monied/white communities when it comes to obesity incidence and access to fresh/nutritional foods, it is clear the food is an EJ issue. There has been a lot of excellent writing in the past weeks on various food-related pieces of the very vast EJ puzzle.<br /><br />Even before a study came out this past week suggesting that <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2005/03/will-shortened-life-expectancy-caused.html">obesity could shave 2-5 years off</a> of the average American lifespan, <i>US Food Policy</i> was cooking up a storm on the obesity issue. He's been looking at the <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2005/03/commercialism-and-children.html">marketing</a> of processed foods to children, the lack of nutritional food <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2005/03/school-nutrition-association-and.html">options</a> in schools, and the <a href="http://usfoodpolicy.blogspot.com/2005/03/ncsl-summarizes-proposals-to-address.html">inadequacy</a> of public health preventions or insurance coverage.<br /><br />Meanwhile, <i>life @ thirty</i> pointed us in the direction of an article that describes <a href="http://fogcity.blogs.com/jen/2005/03/food_redlining_.html">redlining</a> practices that create food insecure communities. Many neighborhoods are devoid of supermarkets, and others have a miniscule selection of the produce that was not up to par for supermarkets in wealthier areas.<br /><br />She also has written about the pitfalls of <a href="http://fogcity.blogs.com/jen/2005/03/beyond_organic.html">industrial organic</a>. Formed in response to high profit margins, big organic ag tends to have a lack of concern for affordability -- not exactly a future with an organic carrot on every dinner plate. Patronizing the organic label without concern for whether it's coming from a sustainable local farms (most of the produce in the Northeast is from California or beyond) also has EJ consequences. It means fewer <a href="http://www.southsideclt.org/about/broadst.php">farmers' markets</a> in food insecure neighborhoods and fewer donations of fresh produce to local food pantries. The dented boxes of fruit rollups and expired Cheetos bags that are often donated en masse to soup kitchens are not exactly... well you get the idea. But great ideas are being put into motion, the folks at <a href="http://www.elijahspromise.org/newsletter.htm">Elijah's Promise</a> more-than-a-soup-kitchen in New Brunswick, NJ get it and I'd surmise they're not the only ones.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111258508588688542005-03-19T13:53:00.000-05:002005-03-19T14:03:16.646-05:00Weekend reads: Local across the globe<a href="http://www.eveningstar.co.uk/Content/news/story.asp?datetime=12+Mar+2005+23%3A00&tbrand=ESTOnline&tCategory=News&category=News&brand=ESTOnline&itemid=IPED11+Mar+2005+15%3A01%3A16%3A233">Wow</a>. You might be sick of all of the <a href="http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100localnews/tm_objectid=15248561&method=full&siteid=50002&headline=encores-for-local-food-at-theatre-name_page.html">good news</a> coming out of the UK. But this new <a href="http://www.eatanglia.co.uk/">Eat Anglia</a> site is really amazing, tackling the inconvenience factor by delivering local foods directly to homes within a <a href="http://www.eatanglia.co.uk/pages/delivery.html">20-mile radius</a> of the East Anglia region's center.<br /><br />Gothamist reminds us that springtime means <a href="http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/03/17/time_to_get_sappy.php">maple syrup time</a> in northern New England and confesses their love for the <a href="http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/03/17/can_fast_food_be_good_food.php">organic side of McDonald's</a> -- "would you like local yogurt with that?"<br /><br />Making the connection between local foods, transportation, and <a href="http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=feature&id=860">CO2 emissions in Japan</a><br /><br />Bringing the <a href="http://www.mcot.org/query.php?nid=36521">local Malaysian food culture</a> onboard a Russian space mission<br /><br /><a href="http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=2&story_id=31044&col=40">Sustainable farming models in the Philippines</a>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111250280268352012005-03-19T13:15:00.000-05:002005-03-19T13:17:53.186-05:00Weekend reads: Whole Foods watchPositive reaction to Whole Foods' move into Union Square this week: <a href="http://www.wnyc.com/news/articles/45104">WNYC radio</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/dining/16unio.html">NY Times</a><br /><br />900 underground parking spots and 80,000 square feet later, a flagship <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2005-03-08-wholefoods-cover-usat_x.htm">Whole Foods themepark</a> opens in Austin: A local TV station did <a href="http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/?SecID=278&ArID=132282">before</a> and <a href="http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=132357&SecID=2">after opening</a> videos. The press is eating up and printing ridiculous quotes like their VP saying, "We have... over a hundred people cooking <i>literally from every culture in the world.</i>" But if you can't laugh at that, there's always <a href="http://lonestartimes.com/index.php?p=267">this</a>. In all seriousness though, the high prices and elitist image that Whole Foods cultivates, in combo with media attention like this, do create a perception that organic ag can/should never be accessible to the masses.<br /><br />Watch out Europe, here they come: <a href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-03-02T195021Z_01_SIN271220_RTRUKOC_0_RETAIL-WHOLEFOODS.xml">a British invasion</a>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1111161473112037922005-03-18T10:58:00.000-05:002005-03-18T10:57:53.116-05:00Small farms redux and America's food fearsLast week we mentioned a <a href="http://locallygrown.blogspot.com/2005/03/farm-subsidy-cuts-may-destabilize.html">NYT op-ed by agricultural economist Bruce Gardner</a> that argued that small farms in America are vibrant and healthy. Since then, there have been several <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/opinion/l13farm.html?">letters to the editor</a> suggesting that the op-ed was an exercise in selective statistics. Many "farms" may be inactive but classified as such for tax benefits. Horse farms now count as farms in NY, which has padded the numbers. And another letter argues that it is the loss of medium-sized farms to consolidation that we should be worried about.<br /><br />And speaking of worry, one of Gardner's papers from last year is entitled, <a href="http://www.arec.umd.edu/bgardner/papers/USDA%20in%20Food%20Markets%202004.doc"><i>U.S. Food Regulation and Product Differentiation: Historical Perspective</i></a>. He chronicles America's food fears and the government regulations that have resulted, which he notes have often intersected with the economic interests of certain industries. He also describes the fiscal inefficiencies that have resulted from many regulatory efforts.<br /><br />But he seems to overlook many of the inefficiencies of the "efficient" industrial food system. It is very true that fear of pesticides is what often drives people to spend "whole paychecks" on organic food items. However, the public has good reason to scrutinize what they're eating (he notes the past use of lead to preserve peppers). Government standards, though imperfect, are often the only (though limited) assurance in a transnational food economy. Industrial production increases the use of chemicals for growing, processing and transport. And just as important, it means that consumers don't form a relationship with the person who grew/raised their food. That relationship would otherwise foster a personal trust in the quality of their food and help govern what they choose to buy. Without it, the fear and cynicism abound.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110989204856805472005-03-16T11:10:00.000-05:002005-03-16T11:06:44.856-05:00Health food industry web: KraftLate last year, I remember walking through a supermarket and noticing a new brand of macaroni and cheese sitting next to Annie's on the shelf. I later found "Back to Nature" products all over the health food section of the store. Then, seemingly overnight, the brand popped up at other supermarkets in the area. With such a huge product line and such a strong distribution link, it seemed like some huge food co had to be behind the brand. And it is! It's a much smaller world out there than the supermarket shelves make it seem. We'll start with Kraft, <a href="http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=KFT&script=1801#25">majority owned</a> by Philip Morris (AKA Altria), and there's enough ownership consolidation in the industry out there to make this an ongoing feature.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kraft.com/brands/namerica/us.html">Kraft brands</a><ul><br /><li>Back to Nature - pasta, grains, cookies, cheese</li><br /><li>Boca - burgers, fake meat</li><br /><li>Starbucks - coffees in grocery stores (distributor)</li><br /><li>Tazo teas - lattes, bottled drinks (distributor)</li><br /><li>Balance - energy bars</li></ul>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110859748932872852005-03-15T12:20:00.000-05:002005-03-15T12:17:59.530-05:00Biodiversity threatened as pesticides flourish<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:pMgAQ9YgtFsJ:www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/pub/surveyreports/sep-oct99/monarch.gif" align="right" width="121" height="91"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/14/international/americas/14mexico.html?ex=1268456400&en=5b861ddf1d60ec6e&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland">Monarch butterfly populations are at their lowest levels</a> since records were first taken in the 1970s. As reported in the NY Times, it's partially due to industrial ag:<blockquote>Hardier genetically altered corn and soybean crops in the United States and Canada, in the breadbasket areas that are the monarch's main summer conjugal grounds, have enabled farmers to use stronger herbicides to eliminate weeds. That has drastically depleted the supply of flowers on which the butterflies feed, as well as common milkweed, on which the monarch lays its eggs in the spring and summer and on which its larvae feed, several biologists say.</blockquote>It's a slippery slope. The pesticides kill the flowers that are the monarch's main food supplies. That leads to lower monarch populations, which in turn results in fewer plant offspring due to the reduced availability of monarch pollinators. It's been happening for awhile now, but it's depressing nonetheless.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110860935649226182005-03-15T10:20:00.000-05:002005-03-15T10:17:17.543-05:00Seed swap photos<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57364646@N00/archives/date-posted/2005/03/13/detail/" title="Photo Sharing"><img align="right" src="http://photos4.flickr.com/6490322_cdf787db65_t.jpg" width="100" height="75" alt="Bean-tastic" border="0" /></a>Pictures are up from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57364646@N00/archives/date-posted/2005/03/13/detail/">Sunday night's seed swap</a> in Providence. Talk abounded about upcoming swaps in Worcester, MA. Seeds of all shapes and sizes found their way into eager new hands, but I'll let the pictures do the talking (sorry about the photo quality).<br /><br />PS- <a href="http://www.victoryseeds.com/catalog/vegetable/beans/images/bean_scarlletrunnerseed.jpg">Pics</a> on the web don't do the <a href="http://www.nativeseeds.org/v2/prod.php?prodID=FD039">scarlet runner beans</a> justice. Their patterns and color are incredible.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110750752991953712005-03-14T13:22:00.000-05:002005-03-14T18:05:15.176-05:00Supermarket critiqueThe Stop and Shop flier came late this week. They must have wanted to build up suspense for their weekly specials. I've seen low prices, but they're really going all out for St. Patrick's Day:<ul><li>Green Cabbage: 19¢ per pound</li><li>Potatoes: 10 pounds for $3</li></ul>Is it any wonder that small local farms can't compete?<br /><br />On that note, another springtime idea I missed yesteday is <b>joining a co-op or bulk buying club</b> in your area. They're probably under the radar of many folks, but United Northeast's <a href="http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/RESOURCES/FABC/FABC_Home.htm">buying club list</a> has locations practically everywhere in the Northeast and Midwest. And if there's not one by you, <a href="http://www.assocbuyers.com/aboutus/buyingclub.shtml">starting one is easy</a>.<br /><br />If you're looking for rants about corporate grocery stores, there's a <a href="http://fuckcorporategroceries.net/">pro small/indy food market blog</a> calling your name.<br /><br />(PS- For people in Providence, <a href="http://www.urbangreens.com/">Urban Green buying club's</a> next order is due this Thursday - local organic veggies and bulk staples await in just a few clicks of the mouse!)Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110733798485043892005-03-13T12:15:00.000-05:002005-03-14T08:25:23.143-05:00Springtime ideas and projects<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:xPExOh0dtasJ:www.extension.iastate.edu/newsrel/reiman/seeds.jpg" align="right" width="104" height="150"><b>Stock up on organic/heirloom seeds:</b> Huge swap/potluck in Providence tonight at 6:30-8:30pm. Or search through online catalog: <a href="http://www.seedsavers.org/Home.asp">Seed Savers</a> or <a href="http://www.seedsofchange.com/">Seeds of Change</a> or <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/hgindex.html?ct=hg">Johnny's</a>. Or ask a local farmer where they get theirs<br /><br /><b>Start a compost:</b> <a href="http://www.mastercomposter.com/">Master Composter Guide</a> (your town may even have free classes and bins)<br /><br /><b>Join a CSA:</b> <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/">Local Harvest</a><br /><br /><b>Donate old garden tools</b> and plastic 4 inch and gallon pots for transplanting to your local garden club.<br /><br /><b>Start a farmers' market:</b> <a href="http://www.pps.org/info/ppsnews/markets_training_course">Workshops May 19-20 in NYC</a>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110503979535230382005-03-11T11:05:00.000-05:002005-03-11T11:18:14.490-05:00In the name of fiber, eat your stalks and skins!<img src="http://images.google.com/images?q=tbn:gXOy0vtHD5kJ:http://chandelierdining.hhsweb.com/fd00714_.gif" align="right" width="97" height="116">I'm the kind of foodie that munches on a raw kale stalk until I can't chew through it anymore. And I discovered last night just how tasty the skins of boiled beets are (washed... not that a little dirt ever hurt anyone). And let's not get started on how <a href="http://www.medicinalfoodnews.com/vol05/issue3/fiber.htm">healthful</a> broccoli stalks and potato skins are. I like to explore the flavor nuances in every nook of the vegetable -- though some families like Solanaceae (nightshades), Rosaceae (not all almond-looking pits are almonds), and Apiaceae (carrot greens) do have no-trespassing areas.<br /><br />However, it has come to my attention (mostly through jokes made on my behalf) that this is not normal. Just a few weeks ago a letter to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/pages/magazine/columns/index.html"><i>The Ethicist</i></a> asked, "can I break off and pay for only the mushroom caps," implying that the stem is unfit to bring home to the family. But there is hope for "extraneous" food. If you're one of those people not currently into the tops of leeks or squash skins, then perhaps the <a href="http://www.expendableedibles.com/webpages/stems_skins_stalks.htm">recipes at Expendable Edibles</a> (via <a href="http://www.tastingmenu.com/archive/2005/03-march/20050305.htm"><i>TastingMenu</i></a>) may offer you some motivation.<br /><br />Where we draw the boundary of edibility seems somewhat arbitrary. Beet greens are thought inedible, until you call them <a href="http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/foods_view/1,1523,140,00.html">chard</a>. My friend Adi took me by surprise two nights ago when she neglected to peel her kiwi and bit right in. Who knew? I suppose it's naive to think of this situation as arbitrary, though. In most cases it comes back to how sugary or effortless a bite is to chew, a great example being the watermelon's crisp white layer -- my layer of choice. And since it hasn't killed me yet, I think I'll continue my informal exploration of forbidden foods.<br /><br />On the flip side, your compost is probably much better fed, and there's nothing wrong with giving some of what we reap back to the earth.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110464195804244472005-03-10T17:02:00.000-05:002005-03-10T16:58:34.523-05:00Compost as metaphor<img src="http://www.as220.org/images/index_images/booking.gif" width="141" height="141" align="right">The March/April 2005 newsletter from AS220 <a href="http://www.as220.org/as220/weblog/news/maraprnewsletter.html">compares artist communities to a compost heap</a>, arguing for the crucial role of the collective group in each story of individual success:<blockquote>They are places of cultural ferment. One can think of the conditions that produce art as akin to a compost pile. Compost contains a little bit of everything, all mixed up, and decidedly not neat. But everything in the pile contributes to the final product: rich soil in which to grow your vegetables.</blockquote>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110485908159528812005-03-10T15:16:00.000-05:002005-03-10T18:21:43.036-05:00Farming and conservationThe most recent FoodNews e-newsletter points to a <i>Minneapolis Star Tribune</i> <a href="http://www.startribune.com/stories/533/5249894.html">interview with Professor Richard A. Levins</a> about the impact of farming policy [in Minnesota] on biodiversity and conservation. Not quite slash and burn but not exactly well planned.<blockquote>Q: Certain farmers today who own land that traditionally has been untillable, can -- through the use of chemicals and genetically modified crops -- plant that land with the reasonable expectation it will be profitable relatively quickly, assuming that government support payments are made. This puts at risk some of the relatively few remaining unbroken wild lands we have.<br /><br />A: Correct. What we have are situations that sometimes make sense for individuals but might not make any sense at all in the larger picture. That individual farmer you speak of, expanding his or her production of grain crops, today is not competing so much with a neighbor as with a farmer, say, in South America. The only way that battle can be won is by being the absolute lowest-cost producer in the world, which -- by the way -- is unlikely for an American farmer, or by depending on continued government supports -- which is also appearing to be less and less likely. Unfortunately, that farmer oftentimes does not have the option of government supports to use the land in ways that would meet some of our environmental goals. That's where the problem lies.</blockquote>Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10355825.post-1110396319326154762005-03-09T14:18:00.000-05:002005-03-09T14:25:19.330-05:00Fruit trees in public spaces<a href="http://urbanwild.diary-x.com/journal.cgi?entry=20050207">Lucky Vancouverites</a> will soon be seeing more apple, pear, chestnut, and hazelnut trees in public spaces. Besides just increasing access to deliciously fresh foods, the <a href="http://www.vcn.bc.ca/fruit/home.html">fruit tree project</a> will also encourage chemical-free growing, food bank donations, exercise (and walking to get food also equals fewer emissions), and cold storage for year-round community food security. Wow, it sounds like a win-win-win...<br /><br />Yesterday, <i>WorldChanging</i> noted a <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002291.html">related effort</a> by a group called Village Harvest in Santa Clara Valley, CA. And if you've been missing out on the other <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002277.html">wonderful</a> <a href="http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002293.html">conversations</a> at <i>WorldChanging</i> recently, then, well, you've been missing out.Noahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09191464763447127982noreply@blogger.com6