GMO Report and our Successes, by Bill Duesing

From CT NOFA's Organic Advocate

GMO Report and our Successes

 By Bill Duesing

Some of the people who got GMO Labeling passed in Connecticut, just after it was announced that the Senate version would be passed in the House and signed by the Governor.

Our organizing work has paid off with the first GMO labeling law in the country, with FDA's admission of problems with the very flawed rules for the Food Safety Modernization Act and with the possibility of the Supreme Court hearing the case against Monsanto brought by the Organic Seed Growers and Traders Association et.al, including CT NOFA. 

Connecticut is the first state in the nation to have a law requiring labeling of GMOs. The first state! That "Still Revolutionary" slogan is apt. This success made a number of top ten lists in the food world.

CT NOFA was an important partner in making that happen. 

Learn how to build a outdoor oven and grow shiitake mushrooms!

The Cobb Stove at the Hidden Garden and Connsoil

If you have the space on your property, building an outdoor oven is a great way to make your home more sustainable. It can also be a huge life saver if you loose power at your house (long gone are the days of eating junk foods packed with preservatives to last you until you regain power!). Also if you are a fan of Shiitake mushrooms, you will be delighted to hear they are failry easy to grow in Connecticut! 

Cynthia and Suart Rabinowitz of The Hidden Garden and Connsoil, LLC/Center for Sustainability will be presenting on both topics at the 2014 Winter Conference on March 1, 2014 at Western Connecticut State University. 

Announcing the 2014 Winter Conference on March 1!

 CT NOFA welcomes gardeners, food lovers, farmers, families, environmentalists, and chefs to our annual celebration of local food and organic farms, the Winter Conference on March 1, 2014.  The Winter Conference attracted 800 of the state’s local food enthusiasts in 2013, and the 32^nd Winter Conference in 2014 is expected to be the best yet! This year the conference will be held at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, CT. 

 Fred Kirschenmann

Our keynote speaker for the 2014 conference  will be Fred Kirschenmann, a distinguished Fellow for the Leopold Center and President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. Mr. Kirschenmann will be speaking on the future of agriculture through the next generation of young farmers entitled "Tomorrow's Farmer & You" . You can view his presentation on "The Future of Agriculture" .

The Boulder in the Road or Kellogg Drives Pringles Deeper into Asia

The Boulder in the Road or Kellogg Drives Pringles Deeper into Asia

By Bill Duesing

Forty years ago, I already had read enough to know that food is a critical issue and that how we grow our food and what we eat have important effects on human and environmental health and on the sustainability of civilizations.

I responded to that knowledge in what seemed like simple and sensible ways. I bought a little piece of land and started raising plants and animals and planting trees. I connected with like-minded people through the just-formed Northeast Organic Farming Association, sold produce to a store in New Haven and eventually meat and eggs to neighbors and beyond. I found ways to recycle food waste from restaurants and produce markets for animal food and compost. I invited children onto our Old Solar Farm to learn about natural cycles and farming.

Last Minute Winter Recipes for Thanksgiving!

You know you support your farmers around Thanksgiving when....

• You get a thrill hunting for the perfect butternut squash at the farmers market
• You visited your local farm MONTHS ago to reserve your holiday turkey
• You take a trip to High Hill Orchard to pick delicious apples for your homemade pies
• You are counting down the days to crack open the hard cider you have been fermenting for what seems like forever
• You have mapped out the days cooking schedule down to the minute

nom nom nom nom 

Show your family members who's boss when it comes to holiday cooking with a few of CT NOFA's favorite recipes for these cold months ahead.

My thanksgiving line-up wouldn't be complete without the Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes made fresh with the recipe from Wild Carrot Farm. 

Click "read more" for the full recipe!

Food Sovereignty and Our Work

Food sovereignty is a very important, emerging concept and movement these days.

According to Wikipedia,
"Food sovereignty", a term coined by members of Via Campesina in 1996, asserts the right of people to define their own food systems. Advocates of food sovereignty put the individuals who produce, distribute and consume food at the center of decisions on food systems and policies, rather than the corporations and market institutions they believe have come to dominate the global food system.

Sometimes food sovereignty is spoken of by name.  More often, however, it is lingering just below the surface in the great work so many people are doing in the local, fair, organic, sustainable and good food movement.

Mark T. Rutkowski presenting at the 2014 Getting Started In Organic Farming Conference

As the days are getting shorter and the nights colder, the time to start planning for the next growing season is now! A great place to start is at the 9th Annual Getting Started In Organic Farming Conference on January 18, 2014 at Goodwin College, East Hartford. This must attend event is perfect for perspective farmers or conventional farmers who are looking to transition to organic. 

CT NOFA is happy to announce that Mark T. Rutkowski of Urban Oaks Farm will be presenting at this years conference. Mark is currently a staff farmer and greens manager at Urban Oaks Organic Farm in New Britain, CT and farm consultant for the New Britain public school system. Mark's season extension experience includes growing in heated greenhouses, high tunnels and under row covers. Previously Mark was an incubator farmer at the Community Farm of Simsbury and an assistant at Grow Hartford. Mark is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University. Mark will be presenting on Season Extension for the spring and fall. 

For more information and online registration for the Getting Started in Organic Farming Conference visit:
http://ctnofa.org/events/Getting%20Started/2014_getting_started_conference_page.html