Paying the price of bad behavior

The toxic effects of 60 years of bad agricultural and ecological management appears to be taking its pay back. Worldwide starvation is likely to be the result.

Crops face toxic timebomb in warmer world: study
Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:45am EDT The article begins: "Staples such as cassava on which millions of people depend become more toxic and produce much smaller yields in a world with higher carbon dioxide levels and more drought, Australian scientists say.

The findings, presented on Monday at a conference in Glasgow, Scotland, underscored the need to develop climate-change-resistant cultivars to feed rapidly growing human populations, said Ros Gleadow of the Monash University in Melbourne."

Food Inc: Michael Pollan and Friends Reveal the Food Industry's Darkest Secrets reviews the the new Robert Kenner film explores the timebomb as reported by Michael Pollan: Food Inc. (this link goes to the movie's official website). The article begins: "It turns out that figuring out the most simple thing - like what's on your dinner plate, and where it came from - is actually a pretty subversive act.

That's what director Robert Kenner found out while spending six years putting together the amazing new documentary, "Food Inc.," which features prominent food writers Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation). "

The American Farmland Trust sent out a release about the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act, saying that it was a significant step forward for U.S. agriculture's role in combating climate change and for the protection of the environment. The vote broke fairly predictably on party lines with eight (8) Republicans voting against it. The Republican argument against it was one of the best against a progressive bill that they have mounted all year.

All that I can say is that I hope that this does benefit the American Farmer, local food supplies, and other farming concerns. Frankly, there is no reason to believe that this will turn out as supporters predict unless people -- you -- make sure that this is part of the budget, the stimulus package, and is honestly administered. No matter how you feel about President Obama's administration, we all know by now that the government is made up of individuals who may or may not "get it." It is up to folks like us to make sure that the promise is kept on the lower administrative level.

We have been working to get our new walk-in cooler installed. Torrential rainfalls, and hours of lovely (yet wet) misty rain have slowed the project and thus my entries on Amicus Agrarai. If you would like to post here, please leave a comment, or contact me to be a guest blogger.

Why local food is important and local food supply chain reading list

Locally grown food is a very small deal in proportion to the entire food network. I have read claims that it is less than three-tenths of one percent (0.03%). Think about it: that is virtually nothing. Since we are on the producing end of this statistic, I think that it may be close to accurate.

In broad sweeps, our food network has grown out of the cattle drives from Texas to Chicago that became significant then necessary after the American Civil War. Trains brought the next big change, along with more cost-effective canning technologies in 1880s. In the late 1940s and well into the 1950s, mobile electric refrigeration for trains and trucks made shipping fresh fruits and vegetables over thousands of miles possible. This immediately harmed the canning industry, but was a huge benefit to trucking companies that became part of the grocery chains. Finally in the 1960s and 1970s came refrigerated cargo containers that could be quickly transferred from ships to trains to trucks. I have yet to see and explanation of how air transit works in this economically. This is the history of the large bones of the skeleton of our food supply chain.

The importance of local food

What happens if/when our food supply chain fails as have significant parts of our financial system, which in turn brought down the auto industry? What happens if the food chain equivalent of Merrill Lynch, AIG, or General Motors fails? First off, people starve to death. There will be food riots just as there have been in other parts of the world.

Some would like to say that our food supply chain is too large to fail, a statement that has been bandied about concerning the banks and stockbrokers. That is just wishful thinking. Perhaps these systems are too large to survive. It is likely that they became unsustainable due to their size. We can adjust to less money and credit, fewer cars, even fewer jobs, but we cannot adjust to significantly less food.

We may be fat because we eat 500 or more calories a day in excess of what we should, but those calories are not usually from the basic life-giving food; usually they are excess fat calories. However, that is immaterial when one considers that a 50% failure of our food chain system would result in too little food to produce adequate calories to keep most all of our population from starvation, and one-third to one-half from starving to death. If you think this is trivial, consider yourself and your two closest relatives or friends, and consider a life where only two of you survive, at best. This is why local food in significant amounts is important.

Not so light reading on building a local food supply chain

There are many articles on how to produce local food. Here is a list of a "small" selection. Just this list will give you an appreciation of how far we have to go. When you read some of these articles, you will learn what you can do to become part of the local food chain. This is provided by the USDA from the online source the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center National Agricultural Library, USDA, ARS

No local food supply? Part 2

This post is very local-- as usual the war on agriculture continues. It can happen with a few tiny changes in the zoning regulations. Whether the anti-farming zoning regulations are unexpected consequences from well-meaning people, or an attempted land grab, Kitsap citizens need to become aware and involved with land use policies or farms will be pushed out of business. Kitsap is one area among many where farming is being challenged. The problem is both local and international, and the problem of farmland loss is so prevalent that international organizations are trying to raise awareness of the problem. If you are interested in eating locally, please pay attention to zoning regulations and changes of farmland to residential or industrial purposes.

This is fascinating reading, with lots of positive ag feel, but as with any survey, it is being used by some to try and kill agriculture in Kitsap.

CORRECTION: I had a bad link and it has been replaced by the following.

This link is to the KCAA blog: Farm Policy And Regulation. After you read this, look at the 2007 -- 2010 Action Plan November 2007 of the Kitsap County Economic Development Alliance. There is nothing "wrong" with their plan until you realize that agriculture is not in the zoning, and frequently ignored or treated as inconsequential.

Farmland under attack worldwide and locally

Do you want to live where there is no local food supply?

If you are interested in eating locally, you need to pay attention to zoning regulations and changes of farmland to residential or industrial purposes. In fact, the problem of farmland loss is getting so prevalent that international organizations are trying to raise awareness of the problem. It is both local and international, and here are some links so that you can see for yourself.

Local First

Locally in Kitsap County Washington, it is hard sometimes to determine what is good and what is bad. The question always remains: "What are the gotchas?"

Rural Wooded Incentive Program sounds good on the surface, however trading development credits on a piece of prime land for some poor land allows unequal trades without consequences except to you and me. This is a common practice for farmland, too.

When developers -- the dirt dogs who want to quickly turn an easily developed piece of land to a small financial profit -- nice-sounding pieces of local regulation begin to pop up, like this one: TITLE 21: Land Use and Development Procedures Code Development Process. The first paragraph of this reads " Kitsap County is currently updating Kitsap County Code Title 21 ‘Land Use and Development Procedures’. The goal of the update is to create a more streamlined and user-friendly code." Innocuous or hostile to farmland? That is the question.

Internationally: creating "Blood Food"

As food production is curtailed in other areas of the world, for all food production is local somewhere, supply and economic pressures rise. Famine can be created in areas with farms because all the food is taken somewhere else and sold. There is lots of talk about "blood diamonds," but there is "blood food," too. We read very little about this, but it is happening right now.

Here are several links to articles on this topic (if this blog is over one month old, you may not be able to access these). They are from FT (Financial Times) the world's leading economic newspaper, which is featuring a series of articles called The global food crisis Published: April 13 2008 18:21 | Last updated: May 6 2008 16:29

Tokyo aims to halt ‘farmland grabbing’, By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Javier Blas in London, Published: May 25 2009 19:31 | Last updated: May 25 2009 19:31


The global food crisis: Africa almost giving land away, says UN", By Javier Blas in London, Published: May 24 2009 22:05 | Last updated: May 24 2009 22:05

The global food crisis: Food security fuels land grab, says report By Javier Blas in London, Published: May 24 2009 22:05 | Last updated: May 24 2009 22:05

This reminds of Joni Michell's song "Big Yellow Taxi." Her version is awesome, but so is Amy Grant's and Counting Crow's versions. The line of this song that is my theme this issue is "They take Paradise and put up a parking lot."

What Our CSA means

CSA is a short-hand term for Community Supported Agriculture

Getting food from the farm seems so sensible, most people are surprised to learn that the community supported agriculture (CSA), as a practice is about 24 years old. One story goes that the CSA has been an agricultural practice in Europe since the 1960s, and it was brought here from Switzerland. Another version says it came here in 1984 from Japan. The first recorded USA CSAs were the Indian Line Farm in Massachusetts and the Temple/Wilton Community Farm in New Hampshire. Both started in 1986 and still thrive.

We like to think that all of us are part of a burgeoning local agriculture movement in Kitsap County. It is a good adventure, and we hope that you will join us on it whether you join our CSA or another one.

The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) movement has become significant in the changing face of the American food industry. It may be the only way that family farms like ours survive the juggernaut of federally subsidized industrial farming, and food imported by multinational corporations from poor and unregulated countries. Supporting us supports our Kitsap economy as it supports the local food industry wherever they exist.

There are many models of CSAs. We have the single farm model, but if we want to be able to provide fresh food all year around, we may have to work with others who are in warmer climates to supply some of our food. There simply is nothing in-season during the winter around here at the 48th Latitude. We would have to put the whole garden under a building, and we are not going to do that. We are, however, using greenhouses and tunnel houses to extend the season. The is a great start. We are also perfecting (if that can that be said about farming in the elements)over-wintering techniques that work in our very wet climate.

Here's what we tell our CSA family members.

Your pledge to support our farming operation gives spiritual as well as an economic support. Together we share a connection with the Earth: healing of the Earth and ourselves. You also help us maintain bio-diversity. Industrial farmers must chose their varieties based on a long shelf life, which often means GMO seeds. Your support helps us plant and grow varieties of vegetables, some heritage types, that are chosen for the Kitsap growing season, nutrition, and, most of all, flavor.

So, in turn, your money not only buys you fresher food, you also are helping to sustain agriculture on local farmland and to preserve the environment for now and future generations. It is our intent and duty to live in harmony with nature.

Still worried: small legislative changes have large effects.

I was "talking" with a friend over on Live Journal about HR 875, and basically referring him to what I wrote here, and I found that I needed to explain myself. Here is what I wrote to him.

I try not to be an idiot or a crazy about such things, but small legislative changes have large effects.

I have a gut-level sense that the agricultural chemical additive industries are quite worried. What is needed, however, is a link between some commonly used fertilizer or herbicide/pesticide and a common cancer, or some mental problem like ADHD, autism or Alzheimer's. I mention these, because the there are suspected links, but none proven.

The idea that people who are concerned about legislation are "crazies" or "idiots" becomes part of a meme, (as www.answers.com dictionary states it) a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. It grew out of another word mimesis, which has three meanings according my source:

n.

1. The imitation or representation of aspects of the sensible world, especially human actions, in literature and art.
2. Biology. Mimicry.
3. Medicine. The appearance, often caused by hysteria, of symptoms of a disease not actually present.

[Greek mīmēsis, from mīmeisthai, to imitate, from mīmos, imitator, mime.]

However, search on "lawsuits against monsanto" and the result is horrifyinng. Here is just one link the Organic Consumers Union Millions Against Monsanto Campaign.

More on Laws again healthy foods.

I expanded my last blog, and posted it on the KCAA Buy Local Food in Kitsap.
Making Organic Farming and Back Yard Gardening a Criminal Offense. Please take a moment and read this. If you don't like what you read, tell your Congress person.

The battle against CSAs, Farmers Markets, and wholesome food

I hope that you will click on this story and read it. It is horrifying, but if you don't know what the enemy doing, you will be defeated.

Goodbye farmers markets, CSAs, and roadside stands

It is an ongoing battle. This is a real threat. Tacoma tried to stop people from selling food from their homes because residences are not businesses. Totally in conflict with the right to farm. Yes we have a right to farm. I suggest that everyone write to any congress person they know to help stop what the article your friend sent is writing about... Read More. There is only ONE farmer in the Senate, Jon Tester (D) of Montana. He is an organic farmer. Read the www.whitehouse.gov website and read the Agenda/Rural link. If you like locally grown, organic or naturally grown food, you have to protest this. These companies are evil.