To Pollanate a Berry

by: citisven

Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 14:50:16 PM PST

This was Wendell Berry's night, the 75-year old agrarian, author and voice of stewardship who had traveled all the way from his Kentucky farm to share his eloquence, humor, and wisdom with an appreciative audience at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco. It's impossible to list all the books, essays and poems Mr. Berry has written or to do justice in words to the impact he has had on the current renaissance of agrarian awakenings from budding farmers markets to a White House garden, so I will just relay some choice quotes that I hastily scribbled in the dark theater.    

Why are (some) farmers afraid of Michael Pollan?

by: jgoodman

Wed Sep 30, 2009 at 19:34:31 PM PDT

Advocates of large scale agriculture see Pollan as the enemy, they believe he stands against everything they see as the future of agriculture. Pollan however is not an absolutist, his basic premise is that people need to think more about their food; where it was grown, how it was grown, was the farmer paid fairly, is it good for you?

Pollan wants people to think about cooking, about food freshness and flavor, about the dinner table as more than a "filling station".

Happy 75th Birthday Wendell Berry

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Aug 05, 2009 at 22:21:18 PM PDT

Wendell Berry was born on this summer day in 1934 in Henry County, Kentucky.

Perhaps you'd like to spend a few minutes with him today!

Here's a link to the commencement address he gave earlier this year at
Northern Kentucky University.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Here's a link to his essay The Idea of a Local Economy:
http://www.relocalize.net/node...

I would like to think that I'll be raising as much hell as Wendell Berry when I'm 75. Happy birthday, Wendell Berry!!!

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM PDT

• As the earth heats up, fish are shrinking.

• This is HUGE. A study found that there's not much convenience in convenience foods. So if you're eating crappier food and you're not even saving time from it, then what's the benefit?

• The Obamas will be dining on perennial wheat flour from the Land Institute. When Wes Jackson met with politicians in DC last week, he showed them the 20-foot-long roots of perennials. They were impressed with the roots but much more lukewarm about his (and Wendell Berry & Fred Kirschenmann's) requests for a 50 year farm bill.

• Vermont's Ag Secretary called our milk pricing system "antiquated" and pressured DC to take more drastic action to help the current crisis. Meanwhile, Vermont's Bernie Sanders blames monopolies for much of the current problems. Are Vermonters the only ones who get it?

• Hehehehe, Wendell Berry says "hogwash" to the idea that we need GMOs to feed the world. I love that man.

• The USDA says that the Waxman-Markey bill will benefit farmers. I wonder if that's a good thing (because sane emissions policy is good for farmers) or a bad thing (because Collin Peterson and big ag interested watered down the bill until it was toothless but profitable to them).

• Wow. Want a few reasons to avoid eating farmed Chilean salmon? They use a TON of antibiotics, including some that aren't legal in the U.S. And yet - Americans gobble up Chilean farmed salmon. Gross. For more info, go here.

• Farmers markets are a ton of fun for us eaters, but what are they like for the farmers?

• Whole Foods is trying to independently verify that its 365 brand products are GMO-free. If they contain corn, soy, or canola, even if they are organic, it's doubtful they are 100% GMO-free. Nearly nothing is anymore.

• We humans are so stupid sometimes. First, we try to set a new world record for largest cupcake. Then we feed the cupcake to pigs. Then, presumably, we eat the pigs. There's no way that's good for anybody.

• Cruises can be fun, but I cringe at the thought of their unsustainability. Here's what it takes to feed a cruise ship of 4000 people.

• When we ban trans fats, do we just replace them with other bad fats? This article says no. However, we do use an awful lot of palm oil in our trans-fat-free foods, and palm oil is pure badness (especially for orangutans, who are losing habitat for palm oil production).

• Will the recession make us healthy? That's what I want to know! Are we going to cook more, eat less meat, and grow our own food? Or will we turn to Spam and McDonalds to get by? From this article, it looks like that we Americans are so confused and illiterate about our food that it's going to be a little of both.

• AAF, this one's for you: How Americans killed French cuisine. Turns out we did more than turning croissants into croissandwiches. The French are actually eating crappier food now, thanks to us.

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Sat Jul 25, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

• What happens when a cropduster gets too close to an organic farm? Nothing good.

• Wanna take some action against NAIS? Click on the link and send an email to the USDA.

• Why are artisan producers so important? Read this article on a local salumi company and you'll begin to understand. From the age, breed, and feed of the pigs to the lack of nitrates to the unique recipes, Knight Salumi produces a product that just cannot be obtained through our corporate food system.

• "Three wise men" made a pilgrimage to DC last week: Wes Jackson, Wendell Berry, and Fred Kirschanmann. Here's a Q&A with the trio. I sure hope the politicians who met with them valued their input.

• Organics grew 118% (by acreage) worldwide between 2000 and 2007. Organics are still less than 1% of global agriculture, however. 97% of spending on organics occurs in the U.S. and E.U. I think this is probably only looking at CERTIFIED organics - who knows how much uncertified land is managed organically in developing countries by people who never converted to industrial techniques.

• ACTION: Re-examine our trade agreements. The TRADE Act looks like a great bill to support.

• A Pennsylvania school board didn't want to hear the consequences of allowing a CAFO to locate near where the school buses are parked. You can see the presentation they WOULD have seen at the link.

• Here's a great article on bogus "local" campaigns by major corporations who are anything but.

• Hillary Clinton thinks Indian farmer suicides are due to a need for loans. Well, sort of. If you want to take a really shallow view of it, then yes. But there's a lot more to the story than just that, and I doubt Hillary wants to "go there" because it might involve questioning free trade and industrial agriculture.

• Food stamps are getting easier to use at farmers' markets, says the NYT. GOOD. This is a very hot topic near where I live. We had no markets that took food stamps a little over a year ago. Now we have several, and it really wasn't that difficult to set up (so I'm told). Yet, most markets around here STILL don't take food stamps, because those in charge haven't taken the steps to do so (and presumably either haven't thought about it or don't want to).

• What's going on in California's Central Valley? Well, it's not good. As the water dried up, so did the paychecks. This article calls Fresno "California's Detroit."

• A new study smacks down Monsanto. From the abstract:

  Chronic health effects are increasing in the world such as cancers, hormonal, reproductive, nervous, or immune diseases, even in young people. During regulatory toxicological subchronic tests to prevent these on mammalian health, prior commercialization of chemicals, including pesticides and drugs, or GMOs, some statistically significant findings may be revealed. This discussion is about the need to investigate the relevant criteria to consider those as biologically significant. The sex differences and the non linear dose or time related effects should be considered in contrast to the claims of a Monsanto-supported expert panel about a GMO, the MON 863 Bt maize, but also for pesticides or drugs, in particular to reveal hormone-dependent diseases and first signs of toxicities.

USDA Brings Armed Guards To Protect Itself From Wendell Berry

by: Jill Richardson

Thu May 28, 2009 at 12:00:00 PM PDT

All I'm saying is: You don't need armed guards to protect yourself from this man. Unless you are so afraid of the power of his words and their ability to incite a riot. And now that I think about it, that might be a valid fear.

Here's what happened when the USDA went to Louisville, KY for a NAIS (National Animal ID System) Listening session and Wendell Berry showed up...

News from Other Food Blogs

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jan 01, 2009 at 19:15:39 PM PST

• Former Kansas Governor: Factory Farms are a Danger to Us All - Amen to that! Quite frankly I do not see why factory farms are still legal (other than the fact that Bush has about 20 days left in office, and intends to use each of them to screw the American people and all sentient beings on this planet).
• More U.S. Land Devoted to Organic Cotton - This is GREAT news, considering that cotton is such an environmentally harmful crop when grown using pesticides AND considering how much of our growing demand for organics is being satisfied by imports. It's good to know that more of our own land is being used for organic cotton!

From Grist: Tom Philpott recommends Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil. I heartily second his recommendation, even though I'm only halfway through the book!

From The Ethicurean: A fantastic news digest including details on a breaking scandal! Apparently a large California fertilizer company secretly included non-organic ingredients and then sold its fertilizer as organic to farms.

From Yale Sustainable Food Project: Wendell Berry calls for civil disobedience to protest coal! Mr. Berry, I am with you. Tell me where to show up and I'll bring the protest signs and bail money!