Friends of the Food Revolution: Last weekend I traveled to Spring Valley, WI for a meeting of the Midwestern Organic and Sustainable Education Service Board. When I returned home, I felt compelled to write to IA Governor Culver. Here's why:
While driving north of Des Moines on I-35 I became increasingly angry over the repulsive stench from hog manure.
I wondered: How could IA's political leaders and citizens allow hog confinement operations (also called CAFOs) to destroy the common good -- IA's clean air and water?
Surely this can't be good for tourism, property values, and public health.
The MO Rural Crisis Center has calculated that just as much pork can be produced on smaller, more bio-diverse farms that naturally incorporate animal waste back into the land without the stench and pollution.
I don't believe we can afford the "cheap" meat that the owners of these hog confinement facilities promise.
Consumers: if you can, buy directly from independent family farmers. Know where your food comes from and how it was produced.
Your food dollars are votes for true sustainability.
Think critically and eat well.
Melinda
Food is Medicine - Farmers Need Healthcare
Ironic isn't it? The very people who produce our most healthful foods can't afford health insurance.
Whenever I interview farmers, I ask: Do you have health insurance?
Most shrug and say "no" as if I'm crazy to ask. They frequently force a laugh, and say that they "pray a lot." Or, either they or a spouse works off the farm, for the sole purpose of providing health insurance.
At the MO Governor's Summit on Food Safety this summer, one of the presenters (a farmer and now state inspector) took the podium and announced: "frankly, I took this job for the health benefits."
A farmer I interviewed for my farm hands calendar project last year said that "in a way they were lucky" -- LUCKY because her husband was disabled from the military -- that meant at least he got health benefits through the VA system.
Needing off-farm employment for health insurance also makes GMO crops and their "illusion of easy" -- all the more appealing. A sentiment I heard from several farmers at the MO Farmers' Union meeting last winter.
If we are to enjoy a safe and healthful food system, then our nation must have affordable public health insurance. It is vital to the growth of family farms, strong rural communities and our democracy.
Eat well and think critically,
Melinda
Whenever I interview farmers, I ask: Do you have health insurance?
Most shrug and say "no" as if I'm crazy to ask. They frequently force a laugh, and say that they "pray a lot." Or, either they or a spouse works off the farm, for the sole purpose of providing health insurance.
At the MO Governor's Summit on Food Safety this summer, one of the presenters (a farmer and now state inspector) took the podium and announced: "frankly, I took this job for the health benefits."
A farmer I interviewed for my farm hands calendar project last year said that "in a way they were lucky" -- LUCKY because her husband was disabled from the military -- that meant at least he got health benefits through the VA system.
Needing off-farm employment for health insurance also makes GMO crops and their "illusion of easy" -- all the more appealing. A sentiment I heard from several farmers at the MO Farmers' Union meeting last winter.
If we are to enjoy a safe and healthful food system, then our nation must have affordable public health insurance. It is vital to the growth of family farms, strong rural communities and our democracy.
Eat well and think critically,
Melinda
Sustainable Speak
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Washington DC and stopping at the farmers' market at the Foggy Bottom metro stop.
A farmer there had tempting peaches -- the first I'd seen this season. My mouth was watering. I asked if the peaches were organic.
He replied: "they're not organic, ma'am. We farm sustainably."
Huh? Clearly my definition of sustainble differed from his.
So I asked another question: Do you know what the peaches are sprayed with?
The young farmer referred me to an older farmer to his right. He asked if I had 30 minutes.
I had as long as he wanted to take to explain his growing methods. But it turned out he only needed about 30 seconds to tick off four (FOUR!) pesticides and a fungicide. Needless to say, I passed on the peaches.
Sustainable has no legal definition. It sounds good, but if you want peaches without harmful synthetic pesticides, choose those from a farmer you know and trust who can assure you they haven't been sprayed. Or, look for those bearing the organic label.
Too many farmers tell me they can't grow peaches without spray. But have they really tried?
Thankfully, I found ONE farmer at my local market in Missouri who doesn't spray his peaches. He was delightfully surprised by how well they did.
When I saw him this year I shook his hand and thanked him for not spraying. Then I purchased 3 baskets -- one to eat and share, the other two to freeze for dark and dreary winter days ahead.
As consumers we have to help farmers know that we'll happily purchase less than "perfect" peaches if it means avoiding a dose of pesticide residue.
Farmers will deliver what their customers want.
I've got a new article posted on Organic Valley's website on pesticides. Read it and you'll know why I'd sooner do without peaches, than eat those that have been sprayed.
Eat well and think critically.
Melinda
A farmer there had tempting peaches -- the first I'd seen this season. My mouth was watering. I asked if the peaches were organic.
He replied: "they're not organic, ma'am. We farm sustainably."
Huh? Clearly my definition of sustainble differed from his.
So I asked another question: Do you know what the peaches are sprayed with?
The young farmer referred me to an older farmer to his right. He asked if I had 30 minutes.
I had as long as he wanted to take to explain his growing methods. But it turned out he only needed about 30 seconds to tick off four (FOUR!) pesticides and a fungicide. Needless to say, I passed on the peaches.
Sustainable has no legal definition. It sounds good, but if you want peaches without harmful synthetic pesticides, choose those from a farmer you know and trust who can assure you they haven't been sprayed. Or, look for those bearing the organic label.
Too many farmers tell me they can't grow peaches without spray. But have they really tried?
Thankfully, I found ONE farmer at my local market in Missouri who doesn't spray his peaches. He was delightfully surprised by how well they did.
When I saw him this year I shook his hand and thanked him for not spraying. Then I purchased 3 baskets -- one to eat and share, the other two to freeze for dark and dreary winter days ahead.
As consumers we have to help farmers know that we'll happily purchase less than "perfect" peaches if it means avoiding a dose of pesticide residue.
Farmers will deliver what their customers want.
I've got a new article posted on Organic Valley's website on pesticides. Read it and you'll know why I'd sooner do without peaches, than eat those that have been sprayed.
Eat well and think critically.
Melinda
Nothing Natural about GMOs
Are you ever confused by natural labels on meats? When I shop at my local farmers' market I typically find farmers touting their "naturally raised" beef, pork and chicken. But what does "natural" mean exactly?
Not much!
Only the organic label assures you that your meat comes from an animal that has not been fed GMO grain (or antibiotics and hormones).
When I shop at my local market I like to ask the farmer what he/she feeds their animals.
Is it organic feed? Pasture? or Conventional grain?
Conventional feed or grain is a red flag because it typically means GMO corn and/or soy.
Too often the farmer tells me that the price of non GMO grain is cost prohibitive, or may not even be available!
To me, purchasing meat from an animal that has been fed GMO grain is a vote for the corporations who limit seed choice and put GMOs on our plates, like it or not.
Buyer be informed.
Eat well and think critically.
Melinda
Not much!
Only the organic label assures you that your meat comes from an animal that has not been fed GMO grain (or antibiotics and hormones).
When I shop at my local market I like to ask the farmer what he/she feeds their animals.
Is it organic feed? Pasture? or Conventional grain?
Conventional feed or grain is a red flag because it typically means GMO corn and/or soy.
Too often the farmer tells me that the price of non GMO grain is cost prohibitive, or may not even be available!
To me, purchasing meat from an animal that has been fed GMO grain is a vote for the corporations who limit seed choice and put GMOs on our plates, like it or not.
Buyer be informed.
Eat well and think critically.
Melinda
Hungry for Connections
Just back from Vermont where I presented two workshops on word-working and critical thinking at Amanda Archibald's "Food Dialogs" event. Her gatherings move our discussion about food and health way beyond the Pyramid. Plus, the fresh, local food (including maple syrup and organic dairy) nourished body and soul.
Archibald's Field to Plate events include explorations of ourselves and surroundings, and reveal the deep hunger we share to reconnect to our food, natural environment and people. Oh, and did I mention the additional pleasures of kitchen conversations over fresh, local food?
Wild Crafter Nova Kim describes "wild" food as the "original organic." She says many of us "suffer under illusions" about our planet and food system -- that it's safe, secure and sustainable, for example.
Connecticut farmer and dietitian, Jean Crum Jones, sees small family farmers as "the ants among the elephants."
She explains that "quarterly profits do not equal sustainability," and implores us to join efforts to preserve farmland. Especially important is the land located at the "urban edge" which can most sustainably feed urban populations.
"It shouldn't be so hard," Jones says, to get healthy food to hungry people.
Think critically and eat well,
Melinda
Archibald's Field to Plate events include explorations of ourselves and surroundings, and reveal the deep hunger we share to reconnect to our food, natural environment and people. Oh, and did I mention the additional pleasures of kitchen conversations over fresh, local food?
Wild Crafter Nova Kim describes "wild" food as the "original organic." She says many of us "suffer under illusions" about our planet and food system -- that it's safe, secure and sustainable, for example.
Connecticut farmer and dietitian, Jean Crum Jones, sees small family farmers as "the ants among the elephants."
She explains that "quarterly profits do not equal sustainability," and implores us to join efforts to preserve farmland. Especially important is the land located at the "urban edge" which can most sustainably feed urban populations.
"It shouldn't be so hard," Jones says, to get healthy food to hungry people.
Think critically and eat well,
Melinda
Everything's Connected
Thomas Jefferson said: "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom."
But how can we have eternal vigilance without a strong, independent press?
According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, Americans seem not to realize the importance of the press in keeping those in power accountable. However, David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist, explains the relationship between our democracy and a strong press at a recent meeting of the National Press Club. Simon says unpaid bloggers and citizen journalists cannot fill the void. We must find a way to fund the rigorous type of local reporting that professional journalists deliver.
The demise of our press means citizens will be less likely to learn about revolving doors and financially-influenced government that affect our food system at the core.
Lots of food for thought.
Think critically and eat well,
Melinda
But how can we have eternal vigilance without a strong, independent press?
According to the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, Americans seem not to realize the importance of the press in keeping those in power accountable. However, David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist, explains the relationship between our democracy and a strong press at a recent meeting of the National Press Club. Simon says unpaid bloggers and citizen journalists cannot fill the void. We must find a way to fund the rigorous type of local reporting that professional journalists deliver.
The demise of our press means citizens will be less likely to learn about revolving doors and financially-influenced government that affect our food system at the core.
Lots of food for thought.
Think critically and eat well,
Melinda
It's NOT the Onion. It's Mid-America Crop Life
In response to Mrs. Obama's organic garden on the White House lawn, the Mid-America Crop Life Association wrote her a letter reminding her of the importance of "crop protection technologies" (READ: pesticides). Yet real crop protection depends on the preservation of biodiversity. Mono-cropping and genetically engineered seed that depends on costly industrial agricultural chemicals hurts small family farmers, harms pollinators, and makes us all more vulnerable to famine. As citizens, it's our responsibility to be involved in policy. Let USDA's Tom Vilsack know that all children deserve organic food in their public schools, and we want genetically modified foods labeled, so that we can better avoid them and track their affects on public health. We have a right to know.
Learn more about pesticides: Read Will Allen's "The War on Bugs," and understand the history and consequences of genetically engineered seed in Claire Hope Cummings' "Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds." And don't miss these two great new documentaries: FRESH, and Food Inc.
Think critically and eat WELL.
Melinda
Learn more about pesticides: Read Will Allen's "The War on Bugs," and understand the history and consequences of genetically engineered seed in Claire Hope Cummings' "Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds." And don't miss these two great new documentaries: FRESH, and Food Inc.
Think critically and eat WELL.
Melinda
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