A Farm for the Future - a Documentary

The BBC series Natural World focuses on wildlife around the globe.  One 45 minute episode, titled A Farm For the Future, delves into the idea of low energy farming as compared to our current high energy model, and the reasons why an immediate change in agricultural methods is necessary.  In my opinion, it's a well-developed film that provides not only a clear wake up call for farmers and consumers, but also tangible solutions for the future.  Here is the BBC's synopsis:

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is. Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

Check out there first ten minutes of the film below.  View the full film here.

The documentary goes on to explain that a food system based on permaculture can not only eliminate the detrimental effects of conventional farming, but also, if done correctly and with care, be more productive with less effort in the long run than conventional agriculture.  That notion may seem a bit far fetched until you start to think about the power of nature.  Conventional farming today is so labor intensive in large part because it works against nature instead of with it.  It takes a lot of time and energy to force a forest into pasture, for example, but it requires a much smaller input to work with that same forested space to produce an equal quantity of food in a manner more consistent with how the forest would have grown in the first place.  Nature does an excellent job growing plants and raising animals, so why not use that to our own agricultural advantage instead of fighting with it?

To ensure an agricultural model that can feed all of us in the near future, it is essential that we all become informed farmers, gardeners, and consumers.  If you watch the film and agree with the argument it makes, share it with your friends.  Let's start looking at agriculture from a new perspective, and be open to the more sustainable possibilities that are available to us.

Have a great weekend!
-Melissa

Eat Healthy on a Tight Budget

Sometimes it might seem difficult to eat healthy foods on a budget.  It's hard to get past the notion that fruits and veggies aren't as filling for the cost, or that it is more time consuming or less tasty to eat healthy.  Why spend more to feel less satisfied, right?  Not so!  The truth is that filling up on healthy foods can be done cheaply, deliciously, and with a minimum of time and effort.  It just takes a little planning on the front end.  To help with that, the Environmental Working Group has compiled a comprehensive guide that helps shoppers make healthier food choices with less time and money.  Here is an excerpt from their methods page:

A single person relying entirely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. must subsist on $6.67 per day. Members of a large family on SNAP receive about $5 a day per person (USDA 2012). The limited food that can be bought with these funds must be as nutritious as possible. Environmental Working Group’s “Good Food on a Tight Budget” project aims to help people with modest food budgets find the healthiest foods. This analysis is the first comprehensive food-ranking system that considers nutrition, affordability and common contaminants that arise from environmental pollution, processing and packaging.

The guide's food list categorizes the top inexpensive and healthy foods according to food group, then provides tips on how to get the most out of each dollar you spend, noting that some foods that aren't listed because of high pesticide use may also be available from organic sources at a low cost.  Make sure to scroll down for valuable resources related to each food group.  To save on time in the kitchen, the guide also provides a list of easy recipes that prove that "cooking at home is the best way to save money and enjoy good food."

Have a healthy and thrifty day!
-Melissa

The Drought and Supporting Local Farming

These photos were taken by NASA satellites almost exactly one year apart.  The bottom photo shows the Mississippi river in August, 2011 and the top photo shows the same section of river in August, 2012.  The large tan areas visible in the 2012 photo are huge sandbars that are exposed by the drought.  The drought threatens drinking water near the Mississippi River delta as a wedge of saltwater slowly moves up the river against the weakening current, and has also impacted shipping along the river since barges can no longer carry as many goods for fear of running aground. You can read more about this unprecedented situation here.

As we are all becoming increasingly aware, the drought has also had a huge impact on the corn crop in the US.  The USDA has released this map that details the extent of the drought, showing it's spread across much of the corn belt and other highly agricultural states.  However, the vast majority of the corn affected by the drought isn't used for direct human consumption - most of it is ultimately consumed, but in a processed or changed form.  The corn in question is mainly used for conventional animal feed, with some also going to create ethanol and additives for processed foods, like corn syrup.

This infographic shows that the drought won't greatly affect food prices in the grocery store since 86% of retail food costs are from third party fees like packaging, transportation, and processing.  This brings up another issue tangentially related to the drought - the issue of supporting your farmer. An average of around 20 cents of every dollar spent on conventionally produced food goes to the farmer, with slightly higher amounts going to farmers and ranchers raising livestock, and much lower amounts going to farmers who produce grains.  For a six pack of beer that costs $7.19, the farmer who grew the grain to produce it only got paid $.05. 

In a conventional food system, the vast majority of the money you spend on your food supports transportation, packaging, processing, and marketing costs.  It's true that this money employs people in those industries, but a local food system creates many farming jobs near home while reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing the nutritional value of the food grown.  This would connect people to their communities, making life better overall.  And in drought situations like the one we're in now, a local system made up of smaller more diverse farms growing many crops rather than monocultures would be much less susceptible to drought than the large one-crop farms we have now.

So what can you do?  The number one thing is to support your local farmer!  You can learn about farms, farmers markets, and CSA programs near you on our website.  Check them out, and make an effort to buy a significant portion of your food locally.  If you or someone you know is thinking about becoming a farmer, you can also check out our beginning farmer program which helps connect new farmers or people thinking about becoming farmers with the resources they need to become established. 

As a society, we can take control of our food system and make ourselves less vulnerable to extreme weather while ensuring a better future for our children - a future of better nutrition, a healthier environment, and a greater connectedness to the local community.  A future where farmers are an important part of every community, and receive just compensation for their hard work.  It can be done, one farmer and one consumer at a time.

Have a great Thursday,
Melissa

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree on the politics and business of organic food

Check out this all-new episode of The Business Beat, which aired 7/29/2012 on WICN/90.5 FM. 

Steve D'Agostino interviews Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine).  They talk about the politics and business of organic food.

In the 1970s, with a degree in human ecology from the College of the Atlantic, now- Congresswoman Pingree started an organic farm on the island of North Haven, Maine. By selling produce to summer residents and raising sheep for wool, she built a thriving mail-order knitting business that eventually employed 10 people in her small community.

Rep. Pingree is still a small-business owner, operating the Nebo Inn and Restaurant on North Haven, which features locally grown food. After serving on the local school board, and as the town’s tax assessor, she went on to serve eight years in the Maine Senate, become the national CEO of Common Cause, and in 2008 get elected as a Democrat to represent Maine in Congress.

As a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Congresswoman Pingree is committed to helping reform farm policy -- with interests of small farmers and consumers in mind. Last year, she introduced the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act — a comprehensive package of reforms to agriculture policy that will expand opportunities for local and regional farmers and make it easier for consumers to have access to healthy foods.

Don't forget, Rep. Pingree is one of the keynote speakers at the NOFA Summer Conference on August 10 - 12 at Umass-Amherst. She will speak on Friday, August 10 at 7:30 p.m. at the Campus Center auditorium.  Register for the conference today to take advantage of the excellent keynotes and workshops the Summer Conference has to offer.

Hope to see you at the Conference!
-Melissa

Looking Back to Look Forward - Independence in America

Back in 1976, Robert Rodale wrote an editorial for the September issue of Organic Farming and Gardening about personal independence.  Almost 36 years later, the relationship between personal independence and sustainability is a major issue in current social and political movements, regardless of whether those movements are conservative or liberal, and related concerns about food, energy, and healthcare are some of the most hotly debated topics in the United States today. Case in point: the images in this post are not from the 70's; they're part of the current shift in mindset from reliance on outside groups to a more local and holistic approach to living, an approach Rodale discusses in his editorial:

The garden is the best place to start looking for ways to help people become more independent. A garden is both the symbol and reality of self-sufficiency—especially an organic garden, which recycles organic wastes of the yard and household, permits the production of significant amounts of food with only minimal reliance on outside resources. Any campaign to boost personal independence should start by helping people become gardeners—teaching, motivating, and making land available.

Liberty doesn't end at the border of the garden, though. Home production of a variety of goods and services extends the idea of gardening. Both gardeners and non-gardeners can also grow their own bean sprouts, make some of their own clothes, become proficient at crafts, improve insulation of their home, and do similar home production tasks. Each such activity you learn makes you less dependent on others.

Even treatment of disease could be improved by fostering a greater spirit of personal independence. We need to learn more about how to take care of ourselves during illness. Any doctor will tell you that an intelligent patient, who knows how to observe and evaluate symptoms, can be treated with fewer drugs, and is therefore less likely to have side effects and will probably recover faster. Being totally dependent on the doctor is the worst way to act when sick.

As of yesterday our nation is one year older.  As you take time to be with friends and family and celebrate our country's independence, take a moment to think about your own independence and what that means to you. Think about all the ways you can take charge of your life and live more independently, and save money be healthier and happier as a result. Whether your goal is to start your own garden, replace some of your driving with bicycling, or buy goods and services from people in your town, every step you take toward sustaining yourself is also a step toward making us more sustainable as a nation.  What better way to show your patriotism than by advocating for one of the most fundamental ideals of our country?

Happy Belated Independence Day!
-Melissa

A Recipe Finder with Built-In Price Estimator and Nutrition Facts

The SNAP-Ed Connection recently released a new resource that anyone can use to find healthy, affordable recipes, regardless of whether or not they are using the SNAP Program. The new Build a Cookbook feature added to the SNAP-Ed Connection Recipe Finder allows users to create a personalized cookbook from any of the nearly 600 low cost, healthy recipes in the Recipe Finder. You can also choose one of the fixed cookbook options that use pre-selected recipes from categories such as children’s favorites, older adults, or fruit and veggie recipes.

All recipes are nutritious and budget friendly, include cost and nutrition information, and are available in English and Spanish. Users can search for recipes by ingredient, recipe name, menu item and cost, as well as a variety of other search options including audience, cooking equipment required, and nutrition education topic. You can also rate each recipe and view ratings from others.

This is a great resource if you've ever found yourself wanting to cook something but are concerned about what the total cost will be.  If you are cooking for a larger group, cost can be especially important, so this is a good way to estimate your total cost ahead of time and budget accordingly.  This is also a good search engine if you want to see the nutrition facts of what you're cooking.  What a convenient way to keep track of what is in your food!

And if you want to save your recipes in a cookbook, you can enter a cookbook title, choose a cover design, and personalize it with your name and/or organization. Completed cookbooks will be available as a PDF file for viewing and printing. Get started building your new cookbook today at Recipe Finder!

Farm Bill Call to Action

As you know from reading the last blog post, the 2012 Farm Bill will soon be debated on by the Senate.

NOW is a crucial time to advocate for key priorities including funding to ensure rural economic development and the next generation of farmers.

As cuts to the Farm Bill are being discussed, many programs that benefit small scale farming operations and local sustainable agriculture are threatened.

Please sign this letter to ensure that the needs of our hardworking and valuable farming community are met!

Farm Subsidies and the Farm Bill

The new 2012 Farm Bill could move onto the Senate floor as early as this week, promising to shape federal agricultural policy for the next 5 years.  The bill allocates nearly a trillion dollars of funds into farm subsidies, conservation programs, and food stamp aid, with the vast majority of the funds that are directed to subsidies going into the pockets of large farms growing commodity crops.  When you think of farm subsidies, your initial reaction might be a negative one, conjuring up visions of large corporations draining taxpayer dollars into unsafe and unsustainable farming practices that hurt workers, the environment, and the health of the nation, while simultaneously diverting funds away from small growers who need the money the most.  But the thing is, farm subsidies were originally meant to help those same small farmers that are hurt by them today.  An editorial by Robert B. Semple Jr. in the New York Times explains:

The subsidies have always been controversial. A mix of direct payments, price supports, loans, subsidized insurance and disaster relief, these subsidies provided protection for millions of farmers in the New Deal and afterward against the vicissitudes of the weather and the market. But in recent years, they have mainly lined the pockets of big farmers of big row crops who don’t need help, while ignoring the little guys who do.

So the original intent of farm subsidies was to help small farmers to make a living in order to ensure that enough food was produced in any given year to adequately feed the nation.  But as a multitude of small growing operations began to merge into a few drastically larger ones, subsidies began to undermine the very goals they had been put in place to achieve.

The story of modern agriculture in this country is a story of concentration, of huge subsidies flowing to relatively few farmers who grow a handful of row crops — corn, wheat, soybeans, cotton and rice — in a dozen or so Midwestern and Southern states. Because farm subsidies, old and new, have been tied to production, those cultivating the largest acreage get the biggest payouts. The top 20 percent of recipients from 1995 to 2010 got 90 percent of the subsidies; the bottom 80 percent just 10 percent. Many farmers — well over half the total, by some estimates — get no help at all.

It's time we made a concerted effort to promote local small scale production of the nutritious fruits and vegetables we need rather than siphoning our tax dollars into the hands of a small number of giants growing less nutritious commodities.  It's time we remembered as a nation what farm subsidies were originally put in place to do.  Please do your part to shift agriculture back to sustainability.

What You Can Do

• Buy Local - Check out our website for listings of farms, farmers markets, and CSA programs across the state.  Support a small scale farmer near you. 
• Grow Your Own -  Every year, we have many workshops designed for new gardeners and farmers.  Check our website often, and sign up for our eNewsletters to learn more helpful tips about growing food yourself.
• Learn More - Check out the American Farmland Trust website for information about the farm bill and how it affects you.
• Tell Your Friends -  No movement can exist in isolation.  Talk to those around you about the Farm Bill and what it means to them, because what happens on the Congressional floor affects all of us.

Join Right to Know CT for a GMO town hall meeting May 23

An important message from our Executive Director, Bill Duesing:  

Friends,

We can't let Monsanto keep control of our legislative process through threats and disinformation.
 
90 percent of Americans want to know if GMOs are in their food.  A pré vote tally of CT representatives indicated that 85 percent of them supported the labeling legislation.
 
Monsanto (and its biotech buddies) don't support labeling.
 
Look at the results in CT and VT (no labeling) and compare that to what you'd expect in a democracy.
 
Did you see the latest damnation of industrial food?
 
KPMG, a major accounting firm says that the food industry produces over $2 worth of environmental and resource damage for each $1 in profits.
 
Other information indicates that the industrial food system produces at least $1.50 in medical costs for each dollar of profit, just for the big three diet related diseases-obesity, diabetes and heart disease. We've been told that one in three children born in this century will develop diabetes and that currently many teenagers are developing this expensive and dangerous disease.
 
So just these two categories, which likely miss some things-like the cost of food related cancers and allergies-indicate that for each $1 for food system profits, humans and the environment pay $3.50 in costs.
 
The profits of the food industry are literally coming from destruction of the health of people and the environment.
 
It is time to get serious about our food system. Little else is so important.
 
Our food choices are powerful tools for change. Eating locally, organically and lower on the food chain are ways each of us can make a difference.

You are invited to join us at a Right To Know CT town hall-style meeting. 

Wednesday, May 23

Church of the Redeemer, UCC

185 Cold Spring Street, New Haven, CT 06511

10:20 am – 12:00 noon 

We will discuss a number of key campaigns and initiatives we will be undertaking over the next few months to educate and influence Right to Know CT's three main constituent groups: farmers, consumers and legislators. Leaders spearheading these efforts will briefly present them to the group and welcome members to volunteer to help. We will also discuss strategic partnerships and invite members to take ownership of and manage these relationships on behalf of Right to Know CT. During the communal share, members will have an opportunity to share with the group any program, event, initiative, project, etc. they are involved with and invite others to participate. We will also be organizing groups by geographical areas and encouraging attendees to sign up for Jeffrey Smith's Tipping Point Network. Representative Richard Roy, the original sponsor of the GMO labeling bill will be in attendance. We hope to see you there.

Organic is Growing!

There's lots of bad news for organic producers these days, but we love all this good news in this infographic developed by the Organic Trade Association. Click the image to visit the OTA site and see the large graphic.

The organic industry is growing.  More individuals and families demand organic foods, organic products and organic services.  This proves that organic is not just some expensive elitist Whole Foods product, it is a personal nutrition and health choice to which everyone deserves access.  I especially liked the statistic that 94% of organic operations are retaining all their employees or planning to hire more in 2012, and that the organic industry is creating jobs at 4 times the national average.  Organic is not just beneficial for environmentalists and health-conscious consumers, it can be beneficial for our economy!

Happy Friday!
Kristiane

Get Ready for Seedling Sales!

We are well into May now, and that means Connecticut farms have been growing their seedlings for some time and many of them are ready for sale!  If you want to grow delicious food in and around your home, but don't have the time or space to start seedlings, shopping at a seedling sale might be right up your alley.  Seedling sales are happening throughout the spring, with a concentration this Saturday May 12 and next Saturday May 19, and offer wide varieties of plants started early indoors or in the greenhouse.  Seedlings are often very inexpensive, and with a little water and sun are a great way to save money on your grocery bill this summer and fall.  The food you'll get from a healthy local seedling will be much more delicious than anything you could get shipped from far away and at a fraction of the price. Seedlings also make great gifts for Mothers Day - which is this Sunday May 13 - and if you make an event out of it, going to a seedling sale with Mom and picking out a few plants together is a great way to say "I love you".

Check out our website for a listing of upcoming seedling sales.

 

Don't see your seedling sale on our webpage?  Let us know and we can add you!

And it doesn't take a lot of space or time to care for your seedlings either.  If you have the space, a small garden can feed you while fitting into a busy schedule, and if you don't have the space, containers and container gardens are a great alternative.  Make sure to choose compact bush seedling varieties for large plants like cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash, and you can easily grow your produce out of containers on your front porch, outside your window, or on a rooftop.  If you have access to a spot outdoors, you can grow a garden!  Here's a couple helpful tips from our office manager, Deb:

Even a five gallon bucket can work.  You'd be amazed at what you can grow out of one of those.  And don't forget that if you have absolutely no access to the outdoors at all you can join a community garden in your area and plant your seedlings there.  Just search your area online to see if there is a community garden available.

Give us a call at 203.888.5146 if you have questions about seedlings and gardening, or ask the farmers and staff at the seedling sales.  There is a wealth of information and expertise available, so that anyone can grow their own fresh food!

Have a bountiful day,
Melissa

Borrowing Against the Future for the Present

Yield isn't the issue.  The issue is sustainability.

As an addendum to yesterday's blog post about the organic -vs- conventional debate, let's talk a little about our societal perspective on how to go about feeding ourselves.  Although we might not want to think about it, it's no secret that in the United States we often lack a forward thinking mentality, and that focus on the present has negatively manifested itself a lot in the last few years - the Bush-era tax cuts, the social security crisis, the medical emphasis on expensive treatment rather than preventative care, the list goes on.  And because this is a systemic problem, you might guess that it also makes itself apparent in our food system.  Well, you're right.

As Kristiane mentioned yesterday, the debate about whether organic can outperform conventional or vice versa is really beside the point.  During a really good growing season, conventional agriculture might increase your yields for a year or two, while simultaneously:

• degrading your soil and water
• producing less nutrient dense (and therefore less nutritious) food
• running the risk of failure should the affects of climate change rear it's head
• pumping tons of fossil fuels into the air to accelerate the risk of failure from climate change
• poisoning the wildlife (and people) of the surrounding ecosystems

You might get a few exceptionally good harvests, but at what cost? Is it really worth it in the long run, and when you look at it with that broader perspective, can you really consider it a success? Probably not.  In this way we have taken out a loan against the future of our food system in order to sustain an expensive, wasteful, unhealthy, and wholly unsustainable present-day food system.

And it's not just the environmental effects of conventional farming that show a consistent lack of forward thinking. An editorial response to yesterday's mentioned study about conventional -vs- organic yields begins,

A new a study from McGill University and the University of Minnesota published in the journal Nature compared organic and conventional yields from 66 studies and over 300 trials. Researchers found that on average, conventional systems out-yielded organic farms by 25%—mostly for grains, and depending on conditions.

Embracing the current conventional wisdom, the authors argue for a combination of conventional and organic farming to meet “the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts."

This statement assumes that it's reasonable to expect and tolerate an ever increasing demand for meat and high calorie foods, even though a diet high in meat and animal products is both less cost effective and less healthy than consuming mostly plants.  It takes more energy, both in fossil fuels and in feed, to produce enough meat to feed one person than it does to produce enough plants to feed that same person, and the person who ate the plant-based diet is much less likely to develop (and cause everyone to spend a lot more on healthcare to treat) lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart disease. By continuing to emphasize a diet loaded with animal products, we are indulging in an unsustainable present at the expense of our economic and medical future.  This system is also exclusionary:

In reality, the bulk of industrially produced grain crops goes to biofuels and confined animal feedlots rather than food for the 1 billion hungry. The call to double food production by 2050 only applies if we continue to prioritize the growing population of livestock and automobiles over hungry people.

So we are also taking out a loan against the future of the many in order to provide an expensive and unhealthy lifestyle for the few, an action that ultimately will adversely affect us all, regardless of our socioeconomic status. Continuing with a conventional food system affords us the possibility of a few years of questionably higher yields at the expense of our climate, our farmland, our money, and our health.  That's a tradeoff that isn't in anyone's best interest, so lets try to eat more plants and buy food that was produced sustainably and closer to home in order to promote a better future for us all.

Have a healthy afternoon!
-Melissa

It's Not too Late to Sign up for a CSA Share!

It is one of the most anticipated times of the year for Connecticut food-lovers, spring.  Connecticut Grown produce is becoming available at local farmers markets, health food stores and farm stands.  Another option for Connecticut’s locavores is buying a share at a farm that has Community Supported Agriculture or a CSA.  Many CSAs in our state are looking for new members!

Below is a list of CT farms that are still have shares available for the 2012 season.  For a longer CSA list please visit our website, and if you don't see your CSA listed on the website and want us to add it, please let us know.

Fairfield County

The Hickories

Simpaug Farms, Ridgefield

The Hickories, Ridgefield

Hartford County

Beckett Farms, Glastonbury

Bristol's Farm, Canton

Deercrest Farm, Glastonbury

Easy Pickin's Orchard, Enfield 

George Hall Farm, Simsbury

HighlandArt Farm, Marlborough

Holcomb Farm, West Granby

Oxen Hill Farm, Suffield

Renaissance Farm, Burlington

Tulmeadow Farm, West Simsbury

George Hall Farm

Urban Oaks Organic Farm, New Britain

Windham Gardens, Granby

Litchfield  County

Adamah Farm, Falls Village

Beaver Meadow, Litchfield

Clatter Valley Farm, New Milford

Local Farm, Cornwall Bridge

Maple View Farm, Harwinton
Sun One Organic Farm, Bethlehem

Wright Farm, Goshen
Waldingfield Farm, Washington

Middlesex County

Barberry Hill Farm

Starlight Gardens, Durham

New Haven County
Barberry Hill Farm, Madison
Bodhichitta Farms, Prospect
Eve’s Corner Garden CSA, Bethany
Farmer Joe’s Gardens, Wallingford
Gazy Brother’s Farm, Oxford
Hindinger Farm, Hamden
Massaro Farm, Woodbridge
Turtle Ridge Cooperative, New Haven Area
Robert Treat Farm, Milford

Studio Farm

New London County
FRESH New London, New London
Huntsbrook Farm, Quaker Hill
Philomel Gardens, Preston
Studio Farm, North Stonington
Scott’s Yankee Farmer, East Lyme
Provider Farm, Salem 

Tolland County
Down to Earth CSA, Stafford

Windham County
Devon Point Farm, Woodstock
Wayne’s Organic Garden, Oneco

A CSA is a program that allows consumers to directly support local farmers.  You can become a shareholder or subscriber by paying a membership fee upfront at the start of the growing season. This fee covers production costs and in return, a member receives a regular supply of local, Connecticut food.  The cost and size of the share is pre-determined by the farmer, generally by produce value or weight.  You can find a share that is the right size for you and your family, and if the share seems too large, split it with a friend or neighbor!  Some CSAs offer working shares that charge a discounted membership fee in exchange for volunteer work on the farm.  No matter how you look at it, CSAs are good for your wallet, the environment, and your health!

The CSAs, Community Farms and Specialty Crops Program of Connecticut NOFA is funded by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program of the Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA and administered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.  

Don't Just go Local, Grow Local!

When searching for the most delicious, healthiest, and most cost effective produce, a great tactic is to buy local.  Locally produced foods cut down on transportation costs and are fresher, more nutritious, and tastier than foods that are brought in from far away.  If you take that mentality to its logical conclusion, however, the most local you can get is to simply grow it yourself!  Growing your own fruits and vegetables is incredibly cost effective, and even if you don't own a yard where you can plant a garden, you can still grow food in planters on the porch or near a window indoors.  Food picked fresh from your own home often tastes better as well since it couldn't possibly be any fresher, and you have the satisfaction of knowing that you grew it yourself.

The image above from the National Gardening Association details the demographics of American home gardeners.  A larger version of the image can be found here.  According to this information, over a third of households in the US have a garden, and many of those people are new to gardening.  If you are interested in starting a garden, or have just started one and want to learn more about how to successfully produce your own fruits and veggies, check out our workshops at Common Ground High School in New Haven.

Have a great evening!

Big Food at the Yale Peabody Museum

The following 7 minute video gives a great introduction to the challenges and solutions surrounding America's current food system.  It also serves as an overview of a new exhibit at the Yale Peabody Museum, Big Food: Health, Culture, and the Evolution of Eating, that will be running from February 11 to December 2, 2012.  Open to the public, and great for adults and kids alike, this exhibit is a wonderful interactive resource to help you learn more about your food, where it comes from, and why that's important.  And the video even features our friends at Common Ground High School in New Haven!



Learn more about the exhibit here, and check out some interactive online food games related to the exhibit here.  Below is an excerpt from the Peabody Museum's website:

Food is fundamental to life. Yet, our eating habits have become incredibly complex, involving many aspects of daily life far beyond addressing simple nutritional needs. Our world is characterized by environments that promote increased consumption of unhealthy food and sedentary lifestyles; over-nutrition and obesity now surpass under-nourishment as the world’s leading food and nutrition problem.

So why is it that our current food system promotes larger portion sizes, unhealthier meal options, and less exercise?  As the video points out, the answers are complex, but there's certainly more to it than meets the eye.  A recent article on the Spirit of Change Magazine's blog points to farm subsidies and fossil fuels as major contributing factors in the prevalence of cheap unhealthy foods.  Of course, this is only another part of a much bigger picture, but it is an important part that's worth taking into account.  Here is a particularly compelling excerpt from that article:


The truth is, food in the grocery store is not cheap. We pay for it in advance with our tax dollars, which support farm subsidies that go to support an ecologically problematic industrialized food system. We pay for it with the lives of our soldiers and with the unfathomable military expenditures that support our national reliance on fossil fuels, upon which the industrial farming model is completely dependent. The prices only look cheap because we are paying for them someplace else: through our taxes, and via the destruction of our soil, water, and natural resources through irresponsible farming practices.

Our food system has traveled down a long and winding road to get to where it is today.  Because of this, the issues surrounding our food are fraught with complexities and ambiguities, but that doesn't mean that we have to get bogged down by them.  Just remember to buy local and organic as much as you can and really honestly know where your food comes from and who's behind producing it.  That's the easiest way to ensure that you are getting whole nutritious food for yourself and your family.  Check out our Winter Food Project webpage or CT Organic Farms webpage for information about farms, farmers markets, and CSA programs in your area at this time of year.

Have a great afternoon!

Can you have fair, green, affordable, and healthy food all at once?

What do you think?  The folks at Slow Food USA are vehemently divided on the subject.  Last August, after electing a new president, Slow Food started the "$5 Challenge", a pledge to share a fresh, healthy meal for under $5 per person as an alternative to a fast food value meal.  This marks a change in direction for Slow Food, as they were originally an organization that believed consumers should be willing to pay more for their food.  Proponents of this new outlook believe that the old way of doing things preached too much to the choir, and was often elitist, classist, and exclusionary.  Critics, however, argue that competing financially with fast food companies and big agribusiness is nothing more than a race to the bottom - an unsustainable effort that sacrifices the livelihoods of small scale farmers and food producers.  Personally, I can see both sides of the debate.  Not everyone can afford to pay more for the organic items sold in stores, but it's also dangerous to apply fast food economics to slow food situations.

However, you don't necessarily have to pay a lot more for healthy organic food.  Offset packaging and transportation costs by buying goods from your local farmer's market or CSA program.  Visit a farm and pick your own.  Or start a garden, either in your yard if you have one, or in containers if you don't.  You'll be supporting the local food movement, helping the environment, being kind to your wallet, and doing your health a favor.  Check out our Winter Food Project webpage and CT Farms and Food webpage to learn more about farms, markets, and CSA programs in your area all year round.

Read a Chow article here to learn more about the Slow Food debate and let us know what you think either here or on Facebook!

Are You a New or Transitioning Organic Farmer?

Register today for our Getting Started in Organic Farming Conference to be held Saturday, January 28, 2012 at the CT Forests and Parks Association in Rockfall, CT!  A new article by Grist shows that new farmers cite land access and funding as the major stumbling blocks against becoming established in the industry, but that apprenticeships, local partnerships, and CSAs represent areas of growth.  Attending the conference will help beginning organic farmers become more familiar with available resources, both in areas of growth and in areas of need, and will help to give a well-rounded perspective through exposure to broad themes as well as technically specific topics.  Click here to learn more and to register!

You can also get involved with your local congressperson to change the upcoming Farm Bill.  The Bill process is now restarting, and Congress needs to be reminded why our nation needs a Farm Bill that is responsive to current changing agricultural needs.  Tell your congressperson to sponsor the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2011, which fixes, funds and improves USDA programs, as well as adds new programs to help young and beginning farmers succeed.  The process of getting started as a farmer should be easier, and it can be easier, if we exercise our rights and let our voices be heard.

Have a great evening!
-Melissa

10 Things You Should Know About GMOs

A new article by Care2 provides a concise and well-written outline of topics you can use in the event of a Genetically Modified Organism debate, courtesy of Jeffrey Smith, the Keynote speaker at our upcoming Winter Conference.  Advocates for GMO use have a lot to say about why GMOs are great for humanity, but numerous studies argue otherwise.  Here are some of the highlights:

1. GMOs are unhealthy.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. They cite animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. Human studies show how genetically modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us, possibly causing long-term problems. Genes inserted into GM soy, for example, can transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic insecticide produced by GM corn was found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses.

3. GMOs increase herbicide use.
Most GM crops are engineered to be “herbicide tolerant”―they defy deadly weed killer. Monsanto, for example, sells Roundup Ready crops, designed to survive applications of their Roundup herbicide.
Between 1996 and 2008, US farmers sprayed an extra 383 million pounds of herbicide on GMOs. Overuse of Roundup results in “superweeds,” resistant to the herbicide. This is causing farmers to use even more toxic herbicides every year. Not only does this create environmental harm, GM foods contain higher residues of toxic herbicides. Roundup, for example, is linked with sterility, hormone disruption, birth defects, and cancer.

5. Government oversight is dangerously lax.
Most of the health and environmental risks of GMOs are ignored by governments’ superficial regulations and safety assessments. The reason for this tragedy is largely political. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, doesn’t require a single safety study, does not mandate labeling of GMOs, and allows companies to put their GM foods onto the market without even notifying the agency. Their justification was the claim that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different. But this was a lie. Secret agency memos made public by a lawsuit show that the overwhelming consensus even among the FDA’s own scientists was that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects. They urged long-term safety studies. But the White House had instructed the FDA to promote biotechnology, and the agency official in charge of policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto’s former attorney, later their vice president. He’s now the US Food Safety Czar.

8. GMOs harm the environment.
GM crops and their associated herbicides can harm birds, insects, amphibians, marine ecosystems, and soil organisms. They reduce bio-diversity, pollute water resources, and are unsustainable. For example, GM crops are eliminating habitat for monarch butterflies, whose populations are down 50% in the US. Roundup herbicide has been shown to cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses. GM canola has been found growing wild in North Dakota and California, threatening to pass on its herbicide tolerant genes on to weeds.

9. GMOs do not increase yields, and work against feeding a hungry world.
Whereas sustainable non-GMO agricultural methods used in developing countries have conclusively resulted in yield increases of 79% and higher, GMOs do not, on average, increase yields at all. This was evident in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ 2009 report Failure to Yield―the definitive study to date on GM crops and yield.

And that's only half of the list!  To read the full list, go here.  If you want to hear Jeffrey Smith speak in person about the dangers of GMOs, register for our Winter Conference being held on March 3, 2012 in Manchester, CT.  To learn more and to register, click here.

Have a great afternoon!
-Melissa

As long as we're talking 99% vs. the 1% . . .

Did you know that only 1% of America's population lists their occupation as "farmer". That is 1% of our population that feeds 100% of our population. 
The Occupy movement, in its flexibility and broad appeal, has also become a central part of the sustainable food, food justice, and sustainable farming movements.  You probably get why the occupy movement complements the sustainable food movement, but lets go over a few important connections to make:

• small farms, especially those growing "specialty crops (fruits and vegetables) receive far fewer subsidies than large farms that produce cotton, corn and soy
• the wealthy 1% can afford the local, organic, high quality food everyone needs to be healthy
• the most economically depressed areas of the United States are often food deserts
• supporting farming supports job creation
• supporting organic, local farming supports much more job creation than on larger farms where farm machinery is relied on more heavily than manual labor
• local farms and local foods support local economies instead of buying produce from South America which send our money out of the country or to multi-national corporations like Dole and Chiquita.
• right now food production and poisonous chemical production (by large multinational corporations like Dow, Monsanto and Dupont) go hand in hand. Food produced organically is completely independent of the chemical production industry (unless their crops are contaminated by Monsanto's GMO genes of course)

Given all these connections (and there are many many more) farmers have joined Occupy Wallstreet. On December 4th, food justice activists (both producers and consumers) traveled from all over the coutry to occupy in New York City.  The march began at La Plaza Cultural Community Farde and ended at Zuccotti Park/Liberty Plaza. 
The message was that much of rural America supports the Occupy movement.  The movement is not made up of lazy, spoiled notheasterners who would rather camp in parks in below freezing weather than get a job (come on).
Another occupy movement in New York City, protesters at Morning Glory Community Garden in the South Bronx were broken up by police and five were arrested.  The police broke up a festival in celebration of food on the sidewalk because the community garden supporters had no permit.  I should also add that the community garden (which used to be in illegal dumping site) was raided by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development - pulling plants out by the roots, deconstructing raised beds, and building a fence around the community space in November.

Remember even if you're not prepared to put on multiple winter coats and illegally camp in Zuccotti Park, you can occupy the food movement.  The only people who don't benefit from local food production are the large companies and corporations that have crafted our imbalanced global food system, and if they're not ready to change, then it's time to stop supporting them.

On that note, have a lovely weekend!
~ Kristiane

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