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

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

Farmer Dan and Maine Food Sovereignty

Food sovereignty has been a steadily growing movement in the state of Maine, with many towns adopting ordinances that legalize small scale food production and sales without the need for costly and time-consuming state and federal permits.  As could be expected, the state is none too happy with these recent developments, and along with the FDA, has spearheaded a recent effort to push back against the rising food sovereignty movement. 

Farmer Dan Brown is a resident of Blue Hill, Maine, who owns a single dairy cow.  Dan uses much of what the cow produces to feed himself and his family, but also has an on-farm farm stand where locals go to buy bottles of the surplus milk.  Dan isn't a food distributor, and the notion of getting permits and facilities to be in line with state law is nonsensical in his case, but the state is cracking down on his operation nonetheless. According to the state and the FDA, his farm is breaking the law by selling supposedly dangerous unpasteurized milk to consumers without getting necessary inspections and permits.  Dan, his family, and his purchasers have never had health problems with his milk, while legalized large-scale factory milk producers have had countless issues over the years with their product, but this irony seems lost on state officials who want to see Dan's farm closed to consumers.  In response to Dan's refusal to shut down his operation, the state of Maine is filing suit against him.  It is up to the community and those of us who care about local small-scale food production to convince the state to drop the lawsuit against Dan Brown and respect the authority of Blue Hill's local food sovereignty laws.

Food Renegade recently wrote up a nicely articulated post on farmer Dan's plight that includes two informative videos on the subject, the more concise of which can be found here.  If you'd like to read the full post, check here.  The post also contains information on how you can do your part to end the lawsuit against Dan Brown and support the hard work of small-scale local farmers.

Hoping your Thanksgiving was a good one,
-Melissa

UNH Project Set to Boost Northeast Organic Dairy Industry

The University of New Hampshire is leading a multi-state project focused on helping organic farmers produce and sell their milk.  By expressing the needs of local farmers, the project aims to increase profits for organic dairy farmers in the northeast, but the information they will compile should be useful for farmers, organic or not, outside of the region.  A new federal standard dictates that organic dairy cows must feed at pasture for at least 120 days per year, and pasture feed must be at least 30% of total consumption.  This has many farmers in the northeast concerned, as their pasture's growing season is not only shorter than in other parts of the country due to longer winters, but many of the plants often grown in pasture also go through a dormant period during the dryer high summer season.  Another major concern voiced by farmers relates to the quality of organic milk.  Cows on pasture produce milk rich with omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), molecules sought after for their human health benefits. For Northeast organic dairy farmers to tap the added value of omega-3 fatty acids and CLA, however, they need to ensure high levels of these throughout the year, not just when cows are on pasture.

In response to these concerns, the UDSA has issued a grant to 12 researchers from the universities of Maine, Vermont, Cornell, and the USDA, well as UNH, to explore how organic dairy farmers in the Northeast can enhance farm profitability by extending the grazing season and adding value to milk through flaxseed supplementation.  Because extending the grazing season means keeping cows on pasture longer, researchers will conduct plot trials of various combinations of forage species, including perennial ryegrass, white clover, sorghum-sudan grass, brassicas, and small grains.  Additionally, the researchers hypothesize that supplementing cows' winter forage with flaxseed will sustain omega-3 fatty acids and CLA concentrations, meeting year-round market demands for milk with improved fatty acid profile, and possibly commanding higher prices in the marketplace in the future.

You can read the full article here.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

Maine State Legislature Highlights Food Sovereignty

Maine has passed a joint resolution declaring Maine State Food Sovereignty.  State representative Aaron Libby writes that while a Joint Resolution has no political power, it “can and will send a message to the Federal government that we disapprove of their over regulation.” 

JOINT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE SENTIMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY
WHEREAS, according to the Declaration of Independence, all people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and
WHEREAS, food is human sustenance and is the fundamental prerequisite to life; and
WHEREAS, the basis of human sustenance rests on the ability of all people to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products; and
WHEREAS, it is our obligation as elected representatives of the people of Maine to protect the fundamental freedoms as enshrined by the Constitution of Maine and the United States Constitution and to protect agricultural, ecological and economic diversity and sustainability for a free and healthy society; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That We, the Members of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Legislature now assembled in the First Regular Session, on behalf of the people we represent, and in recognition of our State's proud agricultural heritage, take this opportunity to oppose any federal statute, law or regulation that attempts to threaten our basic human right to save seed and grow, process, consume and exchange food and farm products within the State of Maine.

 The FDA is in the process of creating food safety regulations for the Food Safety Modernization Act, which will go into effect gradually.  The joint resolution is a response to the US Senate’s passage of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (See the CT NOFA blog entry from June 1, 2011). Maine has taken a proactive stance to preserve local food regulations, with four towns first passing local food sovereignty laws.  This joint resolution raises the question of local and state power in determining their own agricultural and food policy.