Published on October 14th, 2009
The US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced last month plans to use an additional $30 million dollars to purchase pork in 2009 for federal food and nutrition assistance programs.
This announcement comes as the USDA has already spent some $151 million of Recovery Act (widely known as the “stimulus”) money to purchase pork products. To me there’s always a bit of irony when pork barrel money is spent to purchase actual pork, as is the case here. You can read the USDA Press Release here.
There’s theoretically nothing wrong with using taxpayer money to support pork producers who are struggling with a glut of supply and lagging demand, as well as slower sales due to the economic conditions in the US. But since a majority of pork producers in the US are huge CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations), essentially your tax money is being used to bail out pork producers who are having a slow year.
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Published on October 8th, 2009
Henry Albert Schroeder (1898-1967) must be rolling over in his grave at Kroghville Cemetery. Either that, or he is about ready to come down from Heaven and give corporate farming hell, bringing with him the Clydesdales that once plowed his farm fields in the township of Pleasant Springs, 20 miles from Madison in eastern Dane County, Wisconsin.
From 1926 to 1951, Henry Schroeder farmed 80 acres off County Trunk BN and Schadel Rd. in Section 2, Range 11 East, Town 6 North — a parcel that included five other farms of similar size. Schroeder got into the work he loved as Wisconsin farming was completing a major shift to crop diversification as corn replaced wheat as the state’s most productive and profitable grain and the College of Agriculture encouraged more farmers to raise dairy cows to produce milk, butter, cheese and beef.
Schroeder raised corn for feed, oats for animal bedding, and devoted one-tenth of his land to tobacco, a labor-intensive cash crop. His farm featured a steep hill that was the second-highest elevation in Dane County, according to county land records and interviews with descendants. To conserve his topsoil, Schroeder used the high land for pasture and initiated contour farming practices. He applied manure and other farm wastes to fertilize crops, never using chemical alternatives. Livestock included cows, pigs, and chickens for family use or sale to neighbors. Schroeder was proud of his ecologically and economically efficient family farm long before those terms were used.
“He was in his glory when he was on the farm,” his late wife Meta used to tell me as we looked through old photo albums.
You see, Henry Albert Schroeder was my grandfather.
Published on October 5th, 2009
Would you like to know the direct benefit of buying organic versus conventional? Do you ever wonder what the cumulative impact of purchasing organic versus conventional products is over the course of a year? There’s a website out there that allows you to calculate the number of pounds of synthetic nitrogen, pesticides, and herbicides that are eliminated by choosing organic products.
The website is for Organic Valley Family Farmers. Organic Valley is a co-operative of farmers that produce dairy products, juice, eggs, meat, soy, fruit, and vegetables. It claims to be the largest organic farmer owned co-operative in North America, and you can review on their website their array of various products.
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Published on October 1st, 2009
The sustainability mantra may be “less is more,” but there’s one exception when buying more makes green sense: shopping the last farmers markets. If you’re not gardening and growing your own produce, your local farmers market serves as your easy connection to one-stop local fare shopping.
But as frosts linger and the cold winds start to blow, don’t punt and think your fresh local bounty will disappear till spring. With a little strategic shopping and planning, you can preserve a local meal focus all winter long by taking advantage of those last farmer’s markets.
Here’s another perk of eating local year round: you’re supporting the economic health of your community. Just ask Cindy Torres, manager of the Longmont Farmers Market outside Boulder, Colorado, and an IATP Food and Society Fellow. Passionate about using local food systems as a healthy economic development tool, Torres co-founded the Boulder County Food and Agriculture Policy Council to look at how her area can increase the local food supply to enhance the lives of community residents of all economic backgrounds.
“With a little bit of planning and preparation, we can readily eat local till the spring markets start up again,” explains Torres. Here are her favorite five tips: Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 1st, 2009
[Sugar Beet Field. Creative Commons photo by Gilles San Martin]
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the USDA illegally approved Monsanto’s genetically modified, Roudup Ready beets.
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Published on September 28th, 2009
Fresh, organic fruit salads are so festive and healthy, make someone you love glow with one soon. I love mixing fruit flavors together and I think I’ve found a few secrets to delectable fruit salad blends. Here are some elements that make a great fruit salad sure to please and win smiles:
- Marinade: First off a good juicy base fruit is best, citrus and melons both make nice frescas marinades. If you can find organic watermelon or organic citrus in season near you, go for it, you body will thank you.
- Bite size delights of nutrients: The essence of fruit salad is to combine healthy organic bite size fruit slices that vary in texture and flavor. For instance organic white peach, green and red grape pair well with pear and berry. It is amazing how well fruits meld when combined.
- Freshness: Depending on how fresh the fruit is when cut, it will keep for half the week. To ensure this you may like to wash the fruits or add Grapefruit Seed Extract to the mixture for natural freshness.
- Rainbows: Creating a feast for the eye as well as the palate is key, I like adding edible flowers!
Keep reading for the recipe.
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Published on September 20th, 2009
The Candle Cafe was established more than 25 years ago. Now located on 307 Third Avenue Between 74th & 75th, shown on the map here, it’s an organic and vegetarian cafe that was once a natural foods store.
If you live in New York, then check out the fine dining too at Candle Cafe’s sister restaurant Candle 79 on 79th and Lexington. It is one of NYC’s premiere vegan dining spots on the upper east side.
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Published on September 18th, 2009
By Steven D. Schmitt
A Letter to the Editor in the September 17, 2009 Wisconsin State Journal could not have been timed better. A Madison resident who had farmed for a career questioned why UW-Madison was spending its financial resources to bring author Michael Pollan to the Kohl Center (Sept. 24, 7 p.m.) to speak on his book, In Defense of Food, especially because he has been so critical of the current agricultural production system.
I am reading Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, an account of his personal journey through the modern food chain that criticizes U.S. farm policies and large-scale industrialized farming for turning cheap surplus corn into a variety of consumer products that pose risks to public health and the environment. The man did a tremendous amount of research and interviews - and even bought his own cow. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on September 18th, 2009
With all the news surrounding food safety, global pollution, misguided government food policies, and the myriad of other problems faced by consumers, it’s always comforting to occasionally read some good news. Here’s a bit of uplifting news. An organization, Edible Schoolyard, bringing gardening knowledge to junior high school kids in urban areas.
The program strives to teach inner city youth about gardening and consuming fresh, seasonal produce. From its own website, Edible Schoolyard specifically defines its goal of involving students “in all aspects of farming the garden and preparing, serving, and eating food as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.”
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Published on September 18th, 2009
When was the last time any moviegoer hard heard words lysine and high fructose corn syrup in the same movie? I’m not talking about a documentary but rather a major motion picture with real celebrities and budgets and that sort of thing. Those hungry for a “corn- based” movie will be excited to check out the new film “The Informant!” which opens later this week.
While some film fans may be psyched to see the Matt Damon’s newest role as Mark Whitacre, and others queue up too see director Steven Soderbergh do something other than an “Ocean’s” film, my friend and I liked the whole corn based aspect of the film. What other film maybe except for documentary flicks like King Corn, or Food Inc. open with such info about how corn exists in a ridiculous amount of food and even non food items. The Informant! delves right into the world of the corn based lysine and even high fructose corn syrup (the photo depicts a scene where one of the FBI agents spies yet another product containing high fructose corn syrup). Read the rest of this entry »
