The Watsonville Files: Everyone is trapped in a vicious cycle of failed immigration and farm policy

by: citisven

Fri Nov 25, 2011 at 13:12:32 PM PST

There are tens of thousands of children and young people in America who came to the United States as babies of parents who worked in the fields, or on construction sites, or in hotels or restaurants. These kids have grown up as Americans, they are culturally American, and they have American dreams, but they have no future. In the thirty years that I've worked on farms and ranches around California and Oregon I've gotten to know some of them well. I listen to the radio and read the news and I understand the complexity and frustrations of the immigration situation as well as most, and I'm probably more familiar with the intestinal workings of immigration enforcement better than many, but I think that it is cruel, unworkable, and actually insane to talk about deporting these young "aliens" back to countries they barely know. My wish is that we Americans summon up the integrity for an honest debate what a real and comprehensive immigration policy should be, and my dream is that we welcome these kids in before we have a huge toxic permanent underclass that brings out the worst in everybody.

- California organic farmer

By now you're probably familiar with the story of SF Kossacks' Farmworker Reality Tour a couple of Sundays ago to Watsonville, CA, organized by Dr. Ann López, founder of the Center for Farmworker Families and author of The Farmworkers' Journey. Inspired by Jill (we were all bummed she couldn't make it) and organized by navajo, it was Glen the Plumber, remembrance,  BentLiberal, catilinus, Norm, Meteor Blades and myself who made the journey to the heart of one of California's major agricultural centers to visit four different homes and "challenge us to better understand the conditions of Mexican farmworkers in Northern California by sharing in their lives, food, and living quarters."

60 Minutes: Hard Times for American Children

by: Eddie C

Sun Mar 06, 2011 at 19:10:44 PM PST

"The Hidden America" is the name given to the follow up to tonight's 60 Minutes segment, Homeless children: the hard times generation.

It's hard to watch Scott Pelley's "60 Minutes" report on homeless kids without being moved. It was even harder, as Pelley and his producer explain, to stay composed as they reported this story.

It certainly was hard to hear eleven year olds discussing going to bed hungry and teenagers dropping out of high school to help pay the bills so the family can stay together off the streets and out of homeless shelters. Probably the hardest part is that there are children in this story who think their situation is because of something they did wrong.

"I kind of feel like it's my fault that we don't have enough money. I feel like it's my fault that they have to pay for me. And the clothes that they buy for me."

Scott Pelley's report Homeless children: the hard times generation describes a new Great Depression that the government and media seems totally unaware of.

Nationwide, 14 million children were in poverty before the Great Recession. Now, the U.S. Census tells us its 16 million - up two million in two years. That is the fastest fall for the middle class since the government started counting 51 years ago.

State of the World 2011 Symposium in Washington DC and Live Streaming Online

by: NourishingthePlanet

Wed Jan 19, 2011 at 06:16:24 AM PST

State of the World 2011 Launches in NYC Today

by: NourishingthePlanet

Wed Jan 12, 2011 at 08:51:07 AM PST

Today the Worldwatch Institute launches its flagship publication, State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet in New York City. The report spotlights successful agricultural innovations and unearths major successes in preventing food waste, building resilience to climate change, and strengthening farming in cities. The press launch-the first of several release events being held in New York and DC this month-will feature remarks from Nourishing the Planet co-Directors Brian Halweil and Danielle Nierenberg; contributing authors Stephanie Hanson  of the One Acre Fund and the  Small Planet Institute's Anna Lappé; as well as Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin.

It's nearly a half-century since the Green Revolution and yet a large share of the human family is still chronically hungry. Since the mid 1980s when agricultural funding was at its height, the share of global development aid has fallen from over 16 percent to just 4 percent today. Drawing from the world's leading agricultural experts and from hundreds of innovations that are already working on the ground, State of the World 2011 will help serve as a road map for the funding and development communities.

Southwest Community Center Soup Kitchen Fire Diary - HELP!

by: Ellinorianne

Tue Dec 29, 2009 at 19:18:17 PM PST

I've already written two diaries about the Annie Mae Tripp Southwest Community Center fire that happened on December 15th the same week of their Annual Christmas party for the needy of Orange County, Ca.

Both received little attention but raised some money for the Center in its hour of need.  Unfortunately there is still much to do and I promised to lend some of my own time to help with clean up and to write more, hoping to continue to raise money.

Woman In Labor Won't Leave Food Line

by: JayinPortland

Fri Nov 27, 2009 at 16:03:54 PM PST

Anchorage -  On a day when hundreds of people flocked to Central Lutheran Church in Anchorage for all the Thanksgiving fixings, one woman in line stood out: She was pregnant, in labor and wasn't leaving without her turkey.

[...]

Budahl told him to bring the pregnant woman inside. She was breathing through contractions, he said.

"Shouldn't you be in the hospital?" Budahl asked.

"She said, 'I need this Thanksgiving basket. I do. I do. I do. If you don't get it today, you don't get it.'"

There's really nothing else to add, is there?

Sampler Platter 10.30.09

by: JayinPortland

Fri Oct 30, 2009 at 11:36:06 AM PDT

• A new Oregon State University study looks at the obstacles faced by rural Oregonians, many of whom are newly poor, in accessing better food.  Quite a few interesting points in the study re: the social stigma considerations affecting families who are no longer actually middle class, but continue to feel they must put up appearances (reluctance to accept government assistance, new computers and cars over good food, etc...).  The findings obviously apply to many American families these days, not just those in Benton County.

• Willamette Week takes us for a look around Salt, Fire and Time, our city's first Community Supported Kitchen, here in Southeast Portland.

• An infamous migrant farmworkers' camp in Washington County, Oregon, now under new ownership, will soon be reformed into a community for impoverished farmers to be able to live off of their own plots via sales of their produce through an on-site farm store.

• As Jill would say, file this one under "duh": the state of Indiana's "ambitious welfare privatization efforts" are failing, this time regarding massive delays in decisions on food stamp applications by the private vendor contracted to do same.  Gee, you mean private companies whose only concerns are profit aren't better equipped to handle public services than government?  Who'da thunk it!

• In case you missed it, check out RiaD's diary from yesterday on the new FDA oyster guidelines, which are causing a stir in Louisiana.

• The New York Times brings us a piece on fresh hop ales, which are still in season for a few more weeks and can be found mostly in the Pacific Northwest and in the Northeast.  I had a Victory (Downington, PA) fresh hop ale when I was back in NJ the other week, but I forgot to take notes on it.  Crap!  Not to worry though, I'm gonna bring back my old Drinking Oregon series for a spin next week sometime, to do a round-up on the Portland-area wet hops I've had here over the past month or so.  Here's another couple of pieces on this year's Hop Harvest.

• Here's a piece on the algal bloom which is stripping sea birds of their waterproofing, and washing up thousands of them, dead or just barely alive, on Oregon and Washington beaches.

Portland-Area Farmers' Markets Seek to Draw in More Poor

by: JayinPortland

Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 05:24:12 AM PDT

So the Lents International Farmers' Market in Portland has commissioned a bus to offer free rides to residents of four low-income housing projects. The Forest Grove Farmers' Market is offering a class on how to shop at the market on a budget.

The manager of the Oregon City Farmers' Market goes door to door in a low-income public housing project, trying to persuade residents to give the market a try. And this fall, a "micro market" will open in Portland's Cully neighborhood, run by market officials from wealthier Hollywood.

It's a long process, and the article goes on to mention some of the early struggles and setbacks encountered thus far, but it's still encouraging to see these efforts and ideas spreading, and that those involved are maintaining their enthusiasm.  It's especially important to reach out and disabuse people of the false notion that farmers' markets are some preserve of the elite, and it's great to see that some markets are literally taking that message door-to-door.  

Despite the fact that we still have a ways to go, here's one sign that these efforts are already paying off: Oregon Trail (EBT) card usage is up over 100% from last year at many markets in the region, and the article claims that usage is up 1,000% at the Oregon City market alone this year.  I'd be interested to see how the opinions of food stamp recipients towards farmers' markets have changed since (pdf) this 2005 OFMA study, which came out just one year after the first Portland farmers' market EBT pilot program launched in 2004.  Since then almost two-thirds of Portland-area farmers' markets now have the machines required to accept the cards, and new markets are receiving them every year.

Sampler Platter 07.16.09

by: JayinPortland

Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 17:22:04 PM PDT

• Boo!  California's Developmental and Reproductive Toxicant Identification Committee, the board charged under that state's Proposition 65 with identifying and listing substances that can cause birth defects, developmental or reproductive harm, quivered and kneeled down before NAMPA and their other BPA industry chronies, voting 7-0 against listing BPA as a chemical believed to cause reproductive harm.  The difference between the US and the EU's approach to the public health was clearly on display here - the board members "voiced concerns over the growing scientific research", yet ignored their own concerns because human lives have always taken a back seat to corporate profits in America.

• Beware of stealth Starbucks stores posing as local independent coffee shops, coming soon to a neighborhood near you...

• A massive, jellyfish-entangling mystery blob has been found floating off the Alaskan Coast.  The US Coast Guard has ruled out any manmade explanations (i.e. - oil spill); although it may be an algae bloom, none of the researchers have ever before seen anything quite like this.

• A second breeding pair of wolves have now taken up residence in Eastern Washington.

• A Bush Administration-era bull trout protection plan was just tossed by a judge in Montana, now giving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service six months to come up with a new plan to protect the endangered fish's habitat.  Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie MacDonald was found in December 2008 to have taken "actions that potentially jeopardized the Endangered Species Act decisional process in 13 of the 20" decisions investigated by the Office of the Inspector General, and this (bull trout habitat protection) plan was deemed "too illogical to withstand legal review" by the court.

• From the Christian Science Monitor, another article on urban beekeeping.

• Homeless advocacy groups, after reviewing policy and practices in 273 US cities, have released a report this week naming Los Angeles as the American city which most criminalizes homelessness; other cities on the "Top 10 Meanest" list include Orlando, Atlanta, Honolulu, San Francisco and Berkeley, CA.

What a Summer with My Little Sis Taught Me about Big Ag

by: wide eyed lib

Wed May 20, 2009 at 14:41:09 PM PDT

I typed a long response to Joanne then decided to make it a diary instead. Ergo...

Sampler Platter 05.08.09

by: JayinPortland

Fri May 08, 2009 at 17:07:34 PM PDT

• Tomorrow, May 9 is the National Association of Letter Carriers' annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive, the largest annual single-day food drive in the US.  I don't have much myself these days, but I'm going to leave out my little bag with a couple cans of Eden Organic kidney beans by my mailbox for tomorrow morning.  You can find out how to help here; and as always, Feeding America can use your donations or help you find a local volunteer opportunity here.

• Over at Civil Eats, Kerry Trueman interviews James Howard Kunstler.

• Deborah Lehmann takes a look at the school food bills currently in the US House and Senate.

• The Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project, a local foods project here in Oregon started up in 2008 by Harry MacCormack, a long-time Corvallis organic farmer and co-founder of Oregon Tilth, is working towards convincing conventional large-scale grass-seed growers to transition towards growing beans and grains organically for local markets.

• Not quite sure what to make of this, but Oprah's KFC promotion didn't quite seem to work out well for anybody involved...

• Wow - the Texas State Legislature has joined New York and California in banning the use of trans fats by restaurants.  Also, Minnesota today officially banned the use of BPA in plastic baby bottles and cups.

• Cognitive dissonance reigns in Ken Salazar's Interior Department, at least regarding the now-officially-listed-as-threatened polar bear.  The American Petroleum Institute is cheered by today's ruling, however...

First Lady Leads Food Bank Effort on 100th Day

by: JayinPortland

Wed Apr 29, 2009 at 15:00:29 PM PDT

The first lady said she hoped the bipartisan effort - which is expected to help feed 1,000 school children - would inspire Americans to volunteer and support the needy during these difficult economic times.

"It's important for America to see you all here doing this,'' said Mrs. Obama, who was joined by Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

[...]

The volunteers - most of them wives, but some of them husbands - said they had never gotten together on such a massive scale. Shuttle buses carried them to the food bank, which sits in a predominantly black neighborhood of Washington that rarely receives celebrity visitors.

Of course, hungry people in America need much more than just a one day feelgood photo-op.  Let's hope these efforts translate into long-term policy.

In a country that insists on breaking its arms to constantly pat its back about its wealth and 'leadership', it's truly disgusting just how many people go to bed hungry each night in America.  It's long past time to change that, and government needs to play the leading role there.  Private charity certainly helps, but it can't handle the massive need that currently exists.  Keep writing, and keep fighting.

Feeding America has a great tool on their website to help you find a local volunteer opportunity no matter where you are, and the National Association of Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, the largest annual single-day food drive in the nation, is on May 9th and can use your help now.

Mistaken Causality

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Apr 08, 2009 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

Of course, if you look at who in this country is rich and who is poor, you'll see disparities due to race. But I think it's important to be clear about causality. Poverty makes you more likely to be fat. Being a minority makes you more likely to be poor. Therefore, being a minority makes you more likely to be fat.

However, simply assuming race corresponds to prevalence of childhood obesity might lead to an assumption that certain races are more genetically predetermined to obesity. But consider this: "Hispanic" is not a genetic classification - it's based on language. There's a very diverse pool of genes among people who we call "Hispanic." There's also quite a bit of genetic diversity among those we call "black" because we lump many people born to mixed couples together by calling them all black (Barack Obama, for example).

Furthermore, if you assume the disparities in childhood obesity might come from genetic differences, would you then be less likely to try to help minority children eat well and stay fit because you'd assume obesity is genetic and therefore impossible to change? But poverty, on the other hand, IS something that we can change - and should change. And poverty leads to poor diets and less opportunities for exercise and - thus - obesity.

UPDATE: Really good point from the comments that culture plays a role too.

Seven Beaten To Death For 'Raiding' Garden

by: JayinPortland

Sun Feb 22, 2009 at 17:00:00 PM PST

An excellent piece in The Sunday (UK) Times touches upon the current food situation in Zimbabwe, as Robert Mugabe and his disgusting little minions feast at a luxury hotel as part of a week long birthday celebration for the man who turned Africa's breadbasket into Africa's basketcase...

A crowd of 2,000 was expected to feast on beef in sauce or roast chicken, rice and vegetables last night, with serenades from a variety of musical acts at the Rainbow Towers in Harare.

...here's a glimpse at how bad the situation is for the rest of the people of Zimbabwe -

So desperate is Zimbabwe's food crisis that seven thieves were recently beaten to death for raiding neighbours' vegetable patches, according to the state-run Herald newspaper.

More below the fold...

Let Them Eat Cholera

by: JayinPortland

Fri Feb 20, 2009 at 18:17:30 PM PST

If you're Zimbabwe's 'President' Robert Mugabe, you throw yourself a $100,000 feast of which Marie Antoniette would have been proud -

Johannesburg/Harare - More than 100,000 US dollars is expected to be spent on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe's 85th birthday party next week - while more than half his country's population lives in dire poverty.

Africa's oldest leader turns 85 this Saturday, with a lavish party to follow on February 28.

Meanwhile, on that same day across the rest of the country, millions of Zimbabweans will be subsisting mostly upon sadza, the same nutritionally bankrupt, imported, highly-processed cornmeal porridge they subsist on every day, if they can get anything to eat at all.

Here's to the day (which can't come soon enough) that Robert Mugabe is no longer making life a living hell for the good and proud people of Zimbabwe.  If only they had oil, eh?