Great Podcasts for Farmers, Gardeners, and Landscapers

Michael Phillips

Biodynamics Now!, The International Biodynamic Food and Farming Discussion Group, is a great resource for anyone interested in farming, gardening, or land care.  In a series of podcasts, Biodynamics Now! interviews some of the movers and shakers in the sustainable and organic food movement, highlighting many of the key components to living a healthier, happier life.  Recent interviews include Michael Phillips, a holistic orchardist who taught Growing Fruit in a Healthy Orchard Ecosystem, a recent workshop for our Organic Land Care Program, and Dr. Rob Dunn, author of The Wild Life of Our Bodies, a wonderful book that explains how "our mind’s recent requirement for ‘cleanliness’ is denying our old fashion bodies of many of the synergies we co-evolved with" (and a book that is currently making its rounds around our office).

Dr. Rob Dun and his book, The Wild Life of Our Bodies

As the name of the website would suggest, Biodynamics Now! focuses its material around the concept of biodynamic agriculture, an approach that "emphasizes life processes which have potent organisational (syntropic) effects to engage minerals and chemical reactions...In large part, biodynamics involves getting a dynamic interplay going between what goes on above ground and what goes on below."   Understanding the relationships between different life processes and organisms is very important in developing a sustainable way of life.

Check out the Biodynamics Now! website to learn more about how biodynamics relates to food, farming, and your life.

The Fallacy of Efficiency - Why Organic Can Feed the World

When engaged in an organic versus conventional agricultural debate, proponents of conventional methods often use the "organic can't feed the world" argument.  The reasons why vary depending on who you're talking to, but some possibilities are that there's not enough land, or organic agriculture doesn't produce high enough yields, or the local and organic farm system is too disorganized and inefficient.  To that I ask, who said that conventional farms are efficient, have high yields, or use less land than organic methods?  What studies provide that information?

A recent article by The Atlantic provides a comprehensive set of resources to prove that organic agriculture can not only feed the world, but that conventional can't.  Under our current, largely conventional system, 1 billion people worldwide are undernourished.  Dozens of studies have been compiled over the last few decades to show that conventional agriculture has generally failed in its long-term efforts to increase crop yields, and organic methods in fact equal and often surpass conventional yields, requiring less land as a result.  I have written in the past about the Rodale Institute's 30 year study that supports such claims, and would also like to note the Iowa study that drew similar conclusions.  The idea that conventional farming somehow produces more food on less land is a lie, and the fact that it is still widely accepted doesn't make it less of a lie. 

Additionally, as The Atlantic mentions, there exists a notable lack of studies that provide hard evidence that organic farming can't feed the world.  An excerpt from the article reads " In an exhaustive review using Google and several academic search engines of all the scientific literature published between 1999 and 2007 addressing the question of whether or not organic agriculture could feed the world, the British Soil Association, which supports and certifies organic farms, found (PDF) that there had been 98 papers published in the previous eight years addressing the question of whether organic could feed the world. Every one of the papers showed that organic farming had that potential. Not one argued otherwise."  Extensive marketing, lobbying, and misinformation has kept the public in the dark about the truth behind conventional ag for some time, but those barriers are slowly dissolving.

Lastly,  I want to take a moment to talk about efficiency.  Conventional agriculture has led our society to believe that bigger is better - that is to say that when you industrialize agriculture on a large scale, you are able to streamline your production system as you would in a factory, and thus produce higher yields with lower costs and less waste.  The studies noted above as well as many others like them, along with the current global climate and ecological problems we are facing point to the illegitimacy of this belief.  A network of small, local, organic farms is much more efficient than large scale conventional farming in terms of yield, waste, transportation costs, economic potential, ecological viability, and public health, to only name a few.  One of the biggest hurdles the organic movement must jump today is breaking down that reputation of efficiency and plenty that conventional agriculture has made for itself.

If you want to start down the path toward true efficiency, check out your local farmer's market.  Farmers markets and CSA programs exist even in winter, and are a great way to boost your local economy while enjoying fresh, local, whole foods.  Check out our Winter Food Project to learn more.

Have a great evening!
-Melissa

A Look at the Broader Spectrum of Sustainability

Russell Libby really nailed the organic and sustainable message in his keynote speech at the MOFGA Common Ground Country Fair this past September.  His speech was featured in this quarter's Organic Farmer and Gardener Magazine, which can be read here.  The speech, Putting the Pieces Together - Our Next Food System, gives a comprehensive outlook of the global sustainable movement, highlighting many factors that must be addressed in order to make real lasting change in our environment and in our society.  Libby not only speaks about large-scale global change, but also about what we can do as individuals and groups to address growing sustainability concerns in our communities.  Our Executive Director, Bill Duesing, describes Russell Libby as "one of my heroes", and for all of us here at CT NOFA that really speaks to the value and importance of Libby's message.  Please take a few minutes to read through his speech - I doubt you will be disappointed. 

Thanks!
-Melissa

A Demonstration to Promote Agroforestry

Gloria Flora walks through her forest garden.

In keeping with this year's United Nations designation as "The International Year of Forests", the New York Times reported recently on "the quiet push for agroforestry", highlighting a farm in Helena, MT that operates under a canopy of pine and spruce.  Gloria Flora's forest farm boasts over 300 smaller fruit trees - apple, pear, black walnut, and chestnut to name a few - nestled amongst the larger forest trees, as well as crops like raspberries, grapes, and medicinal plants, and turkeys and chickens.  The idea of producing food near or beneath a forest canopy may sound strange as we have been brought up under the assumption that farms need wide open spaces in order to flourish, but the truth of the matter is that a buffer of trees amongst crops serves many beneficial purposes.

Agroforestry, the science of incorporating trees into traditional agriculture, is not the same as converting farmland to forest.  Agroforestry represents a collaborative attempt on the part of the farmer to harness the ecological services that trees provide and incorporate them into a farm.  The Times writes, "Depending on the species, trees make all sorts of contributions to agriculture, experts say. Trees in a shelter belt reduce wind and water erosion. Some trees serve as fertilizers - they take in nitrogen from the atmosphere, or pump it from deep underground and, when they drop their leaves, make it available upon decomposition.  Trees planted along streams can take up and scrub out polluted farm runoff. They increase species diversity by providing habitat, and some of those species are friendly to farmers - bees and butterflies that help pollinate crops, for example. (One study showed that 66 species of birds benefit from windbreaks on farms.) Trees can keep a field cooler and more moist."

Not to mention that trees in general help to offset the negative impacts of conventional agriculture by absorbing greenhouse gases and cleaning up polluted water. 

This forward-thinking approach to agriculture, however, faces a difficult opposition.  Conventional thinking about trees - that farmers should first remove all surrounding trees before planting and then prevent them from growing as the farm operates - has been ingrained in our collective minds for generations.  The truth - that trees can be used to benefit agriculture if planted with thought and planning - may be a tough one to swallow initially, but it looks like it's starting to catch on.

Read the full article here.

Want to learn more about trees in the landscape?  Register for our 2011 Organic Land Care Annual Gathering on December 6th at UConn, Storrs, CT.  This year's focus is Trees: Landscaping for Future Generations, and will feature Keynote Tom Wessels, as well as a host of other exciting speakers.  Click on the link above to learn more!

Have a great Tuesday!
-Melissa

Bill Duesing on Agroecology and Farmland Preservation

Last week, CT NOFA's Executive Director, Bill Duesing, discussed land use and sustainable farming at a Connecticut Council for Philanthropy conference titles "Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems: What is the role for philanthropy in Connecticut?" Bill's words characterize the mission of CT NOFA, but also contextualize NOFA's work in social and environmental movements on the local to global levels:

Thank you for inviting me. It is a pleasure to be here with so many colleagues in the important and exciting, agriculture and food systems work here in Connecticut.  Special thanks for your interest in this critical topic.  I believe that feeding ourselves in a way that improves our health and the health of the earth is the biggest challenge we face.  We need to understand that the current industrial food system is destroying human and environmental health in the search for cheap food that turns out to be really expensive when the human, community and environmental health costs are counted.

We should put the food system at the center of our planning for the future at all levels. For example we need very different infrastructure if we are eating processed and packaged food that is produced all over the planet, then we do if we are eating largely from our communities.

Food is our most important connection to the earth, after air and water.  In the industrial food system, that connection is largely far away, damaging to the earth, dependent on cheap energy, a stable climate and tax subsidies.  All those are in doubt (except the tax subsidies for growing corn and other commodities).

Food is our most important energy source.  It is the way we take solar energy into our bodies to power them. (Currently we use at least 10 calories of fossil fuel energy to produce one calorie of food energy.)

Food is critical to our health. Many of the most serious and expensive, chronic diseases are related to the food we eat.

CT NOFA is a non-profit organization of about 800 farmers, gardeners, land care professionals, businesses and others who are Cultivating an Organic Connecticut.  We’ve been educating and advocating for a local and organic food system here since 1982. We do this through conferences, workshops, farm tours and collaborations with agricultural, environmental justice, educational, land conservation, community gardening and farming organizations and state agencies.

What is organic agriculture? The USDA says “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people." - National Organic Standards Board, 1997

In this venue, I’d like to mention that the NOFA regional organization is one of four founders of the Agricultural Justice Project, designed to bring fairness to workers in all parts of the food system.

Farmland protection has been a part of NOFA’s mission since 1982, but we couldn’t do much beyond education, advocacy and a conference until we received our 501c3 status and employed the first staff in 2000.  Through the opportunity to join the board of Connecticut Farmland Trust, I was able to participate in the real work of protecting farmland.  (Bringing Henry Talmage to CT was a proud accomplishment of my term as president there.) I’d like to give a shout out to Working Lands Alliance, and Jiff Martin’s leadership there.  The Alliance has played an important role in creating what our chairman calls “a fierce collaboration” among many players in Connecticut’s agriculture to protect farmland.

There’s been an incredible growth in agricultural projects here in the past decade! Here I’m going to broaden the definition of agriculture.  From the Farmers Cow, new farmers, farmers markets and small farms to community farms and gardens, backyard chickens, the interest and activity has exploded.

This is part of the trend everywhere!

There is a newish term you should know-agroecology.  It encompasses a wide variety of ways to feed ourselves.

According to agroecology.org, agroecology is based on these principles:

• Using renewable resources

• Minimizing toxics

• Conserving resources, including soil, water, energy, genetic resources and capital

• Managing ecological relationships

• Adjusting to local environments
• Diversifying landscapes, biota and economics

• Empowering people

• Managing whole systems

• Maximizing long term benefits and

•Valuing the health of people, cultures, the environment, animals and plants

Olivier de Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food said in December  2010, “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available. And today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production in regions where the hungry live.

As an example of the differences between industrial agriculture and agroecology, we can compare the production of an acre of corn grown in Iowa with the fruits and vegetables grown on 1.7 (less than 2) acres of community gardens in New York City.

According to the Iowa State University, an acre of corn in Iowa produces about $900 worth of corn (roughly 10,000 pounds of shelled corn) and it costs the farmer over $800 to produce that corn.  That cost doesn’t include the costly effects of that corn production on soil health, on the climate (from the release of nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide when the high nitrogen fertilizer is applied) and on the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

In NYC, the group Farming Concrete surveyed the production of those 1.7 acres of community gardens.  They found that the gardeners there produced over 87,000 pounds of vegetables and fruits worth over $200,000.  They did that largely with human labor, recycled materials and mostly organic methods.

If you are going to support agriculture for the future, which would be the most effective agriculture to support?  For our future food security, permanently protecting the smaller production areas in cities may be as important as protecting prime farmland. 

I’d like to call your attention to a study of the earth’s vital life support systems that was carried out in 2009 by several dozen leading earth scientists.  They found that three important life support systems are way outside the safe zone.  They are: climate change, nitrogen use and biodiversity loss.  All of those are closely connected with the way we feed ourselves and are brought more into the safe zone by a more local and organic food system and agriculture. 

There are four important characteristics of a food system that I’d like to mention.  I’d like to see a food system that provides knowledge, is democratically controlled, is largely run on solar energy and which builds community.

This is all a big challenge, but the evidence points to the value of a more local and organic food system.  It is a good thing that there is currently so much enthusiasm among the public and especially young people for good food, locally and largely organically grown.

Statement by Bill Duesing, executive director of CT NOFA,  Bill@ctnofa.org