¡Join the fight!
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 15:48
Hi, Fair Food Fighters! I'm a film nerd who's been invited to talk about movies: movies about food, movies featuring food, and movies featuring people as food (what? We taste like chicken!).Despite the sensory loss, movies are still suited to gastronomy; food's so symbolic it's easy to plot around it. Some food movies manage more plot than others, and some do food more justice than others, but even in movies where food isn't crucial, there's meaning behind the meal.
Take the mother of all food films: Babette's Feast. Read more...
Wed, 03/03/2010 - 15:05For the past six weeks, I spent every Wednesday with a group of farm women who wanted to learn about financial management. There were several organic farmers, a horse farmer, conventional dairy farmers, and a strong representation of corn and soybean farmers. Although I have been to a number of sustainable farming conferences and classes, I had never been in a class with both conventional and alternative farmers, and it felt really important to me.
- Sun, 02/14/2010 - 22:57
I like to make chicken stock from scratch, letting it simmer for a whole day while the house fills with its delicious smell. Chicken feet are supposed to make soup broth nutritious and tasty, so when we had our own birds processed, I requested that the feet be saved. There they were when I went to pick up my chickens – about 90 chicken feet divided between two clear plastic bags. Read more...
- Fri, 02/12/2010 - 18:27
I was telling my mother again about the microbes that live in soil, because really, who does not enjoy chatting on the phone about the germs that live in dirt? Microbes help plants draw nutrition they need from the soil and they protect plants from disease, I said. When those microbes are dead, then the plants growing in that soil need a lot of chemicals because their natural way of going about things doesn’t work so well anymore. That is why it takes so long to transition from conventional to organic agriculture. The soil has to heal, and the microbes have to come back before the plants can thrive.
In the interest of a balanced argument, my mom interjected, “Certainly, when people started using these chemicals they thought it was a good idea.” Read more...
Wed, 02/10/2010 - 01:58Yardsharing (or yard sharing, garden sharing, land sharing or roof sharing) is a new idea and a new way to develop community resilience. Set to be a huge trend in 2010, people are looking for ways to save money, eat better and get their kids active again.
Yard sharing has a long list of advantages. Let's assume you are already sold on the idea and you looking to get started. How do you begin it in a way that makes your success much more likely? Read more...
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Mon, 02/08/2010 - 19:01
So - looks like Chiquita isn't out of the forest yet on being held accountable for financing, aiding, and abetting the intimidation, kidnapping and murder in Columbia.Chiquita paid the FARC to intimidate labor unions and sabotage rival growers as a means of “squashing competition and assuring defendants of an accommodating labor force,” the families said. Read more...
- Tue, 02/02/2010 - 18:45
I registered with the Farm Service Agency last week. We talked on the phone couple of times before I set up an appointment, and showed up at their office to sign some papers. When I arrived, they had pulled information about our property and had drawn up the necessary paperwork. It was all under my husband's name. They asked me to sign his name, and then write "by" and then sign my name.
At no point previous to this had I even mentioned my husband. Read more...
- Thu, 01/28/2010 - 02:36
Here it is January, and we need to be planning for the next season, and so far, we have reached clarity about two things: We need a better filing system, and we need to organize our finances.
I find very little romance in this. Read more...
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 18:05There is a lot of talk about using social media to promote events. While promotion is important, it is not everything. More often than not, there will be a larger number of people wanting to take part in your event but are unable to make it for whatever reason than those that actually attend. Events serve as excellent opportunities to foster community both offline and on; not including these interested populations in the event eliminates many potential relationships for you, your sponsors, and your exhibitors.
Tags:- Mon, 01/25/2010 - 02:18
Billions of microbes live in organically farmed soil, I bubbled to my mother. They change the soil so that it's more resistant to drought! They help feed the plants, and they help keep diseases away from plants’ roots! My mother is not keenly interested in soil or microbes, but she listened supportively to my little rant, and then surprised me by telling me something I had not heard before.
"Cousin Pauline said the soil tastes different now than it did when she was a girl, because of all the chemicals they use on the fields now," Mom said. Pauline, a very warm and grounded woman, grew up on the farm where my grandma was born in northwest Minnesota.
“She tasted the soil?" I asked.
“She must have,” Mom answered. Read more...
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Hi, Fair Food Fighters! I'm a film nerd who's been invited to talk about movies: movies about food, movies featuring food, and movies featuring people as food (what? We taste like chicken!).
