Posts by Mike Smith
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Might Republicans Join Sustainable Food Fight to Woo Graduate Voters?
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Bacon Will Save The World: Lab Grown Pork Could Slash Carbon Emissions
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More and More Young People Take To Sustainable Farming
Brits Launch Twenty Year Sustainable Food Effort
Published January 06, 2010 @ 12:39PM PT
Shoppers in Britain sure love free-range eggs and fairtrade food. Consumer campaigns and changing shopping habits have led three of the biggest grocery stores to ban cage and barn laid eggs, whilst the biggest chocolate companies are gradually moving to fair trade. Now, the UK government is hoping that Brits will do the same for all sustainable food in a big twenty year campaign, called the Food 2030 plan, to revolutionize agriculture.
The Labour government wants a consumer-driven campaign to reward farms that use less water and produce less carbon emissions. The environment secretary is also hoping to build on the one in three people in the UK who already grow their own fruit and vegetables by setting up "land banks" to allow communities to lease land from private landholders. (Urban farming has been popular in Britain since World War II mobilized millions to grow their own food.) The hope for the new plan is that encouraging people to grow their own food will "foster community spirit and skills as well as physical and mental health," reports the Guardian.
The campaign is largely concerned with shoring up food security -- having enough food as well as having healthy and sustainable foodin other words and so-called "revolutionary" methods such as GM crops have not been ruled out. Of course, it looks like the Labour government won't survive the next election so these plans may not come to fruition, but the likely victors will be the Conservative party who have their own plan to help farmers: They have outlined plans to establish a regulatory body that would ensure big grocery stores don't exploit small farmers.
Brits already have an appetite for healthy, ethical food, and building a better infrastructure and better supporting farmers, they could put on a path to join organic, fair trade, and free range as the next green movement led by consumers putting their money where their mouth is.
Tell the DoJ To Roll Back Corporate Control of Agriculture
Published December 30, 2009 @ 01:33PM PT
In an unprecedented move, the Department of Justice is asking for your opinion on corporate control of agriculture, and whether big corporations have too much power over the food system. This is a fantastic time to make your voice heard, but do it quickly! Where ever you fall on the Monsanto debate, you must agree that having one big company controlling things isn't good for anyone's interests, and that this is prime time for Obama's anti-trust chief to focus on Monsanto.
You've got until Dec 31st to make your voice heard. The Pesticide Action Network is asking that you email the DoJ and spell out exactly how "you've been affected by corporate consolidation in the food industry." They want better labels, less of a 'revolving door' between corporations and government, and they ask that farmers be better compensated following record profits by big food companies. It seems the bigger the corporations get, the more unwieldy and less sustainable they become. You haven't got much time so go and help roll back corporate control of food.
Use of Food Stamps in Farmers Markets Doubles
Published November 24, 2009 @ 07:26AM PT
Sales of farmers markets produce paid for using food stamps doubled this year in New York City. Though it still only comprises 0.1 per cent of total food stamp purchases the increase indicates an eagerness for fresh food and good produce. City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn explained to the Times that “I would like the goal over my next term to get it to $1 million per year.”
The program only runs at 23 markets, and only for part of the year, but two markets alone accounted for one third of the sales. Farmers markets are not an elitist indulgence, but a desired and often affordable source of food. The two markets did so well because they were located in communities that have a severe lack of supermarkets and grocery stores. This a problem we've encountered and discussed before: the shameful "Food Deserts": a situation often found in poor neighborhoods that lack access to reasonably priced healthy food.
The United States Department of Agriculture is so pleased with the food stamp and markets scheme that it will be expanding the scheme nationwide. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene meanwhile will give a bonus of $2 for every $5 spent at some markets to encourage more people to eat fruit and veg. Food deserts may yet become oases of fresh and healthy produce.
Yoko Ono, 50 Cent, Hard Rock Cafe Join to 'Imagine There's No Hunger'
Published November 23, 2009 @ 07:04AM PT
Yoko Ono and 50 Cent have teamed up to fight hunger asking us to Imagine There's No Hunger. Yoko Ono explains "By imagining there’s no hunger, like what John sang in his song, we express our strong desire to bring a world in which children will never again suffer from hunger or poverty." Through a campaign being run with Hard Rock Cafe, the Hungerthon is hoping to raise money for WHY Hunger, which will help benefit people across the world from China to Haiti, Lesotho to Nicaragua. 50 Cent is doing his part by wearing the bracelet the reads "Imagine There's No Hunger."
WHY was founded to attack the root causes of hunger. We often forget in this fight for a complete and international sustainable food system that we must engender social change, not just grow crops better, and solely advocate sustainable farming methods — we must share expertise, educate, and create efficient and fair markets. WHY work to create self-reliance and provide economic justice. WHY also works to help America's poor and hungry, reminding us that we needn't look as far as Uganda to find people effected by food insecurity.
Harvest Boon: Satellites Help Farmers Boost Yield
Published November 12, 2009 @ 05:15PM PT
Farmers have long looked to the sky to predict the weather, the chance of a good harvest, and the likelihood of rain. Now, the skies are looking back, and talking back, with satellites helping farmers boost crop yields. Satellites are able to give quick and relatively cheap analysis of what the optimal amount of seed, fertilizer, pesticide and water is. Even those opposed to use of industrial pesticide must agree that using a little as possible is a good thing. It's the same with water: this advance will reduce the need of water, or increase it where water is necessary to guarantee a good harvest, and avoid wasting a crop.
The satellite provides an analysis of the spectrum of radiation which can help reveal properties of the soil, levels of minerals and moisture, and by adding weather patterns, indicate "how, where and when crops should be grown." The cost is as low as $15 a hectare, and by improving yields by up to 10% it's just another way that science can help farming without destroying the environment or using genetic modification to increase yields. France leads the way in the use of this technology, and governments in Canada are even getting in on the act, using the information to see where farmers are creating too much nitrate fertilizer. It'll soon help developing countries too, with African soil samples being taken to build and initial digital map that will be given free to farmers and supplemented with satellite imagery.
Are SUVs More Eco-Friendly Than Dogs?
Published November 04, 2009 @ 12:50PM PT
Is it time to chew on the chihuahua? Robert and Brenda Vale think it might be in their new book "Time To Eat The Dog." They consider the eco-impact of pets, and determine that when you look at the emissions data of an animal's consumption of both cereals and meats, it show that an SUV is twice as eco-friendly as owning a dog. This is largely down to the amount of meat that dogs eat; you'd need to feed your dog a vegetarian diet to be absolved of some of your sins, but the eco-pawprint is still a big one.
Michael Pollan weighed it to a similar debate recently, explaining that "A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius." He later retracted that statement, but it's a statement that, like "Time to eat the dog," questions how much we are prepared to change our lives, and how many sacreds cows we will slaughter in order to cut the damaging and unsustainable aspects of our lifestyle.
Cuba Cracks Down on Capitalist Farmers Markets
Published October 30, 2009 @ 09:56AM PT
Cuban leaders aren't embracing farmers markets, free market "agros" where vendors control prices rather than national authorities. The communist authorities are ending that capitalistic experiment and cracking down on those profiting from the enterprise. At a market where state workers appeared for an inspection, police had to be called when customers began a shouting match with them, the AP reports.
Farmers markets take control of food supplies out of government hands, but at least it allows a variety of food to reach those who need it. After an outcry by citizens, changes to farmers markets were pushed back to the new year. It's in the interest of farmers to sell directly to sellers rather than the government because they make more money. Cuban leaders aren't happy about farmers or sellers becoming rich, so the markets are closing.
This news comes despite Raul Castro's minor reforms towards so called 'socialism lite.' Castro is restructuring parts of the country's agricultural system, allowing farmers to own land previously left idle, hoping to make the country's agricultural system more efficient. Not permitting farmers to profit from their work is no way to encourage efficiency. At the farmers markets that have been scrutinized, many sellers stay away — it simply doesn't make sense to sell produce at a loss.
A UN project aims to increase food security through decentralization initiatives, production stimulation, and increasing the involvement of the private sector, but I imagine this will become unhinged should the Cuban government remained opposed to farmers markets.
