¡Join the fight!
In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, yesterday, four-hundred and fifty people showed up to offer 10 hours of testimony on state bills that would legalize the sale of raw milk in the Dairy State.
According to WSAU Radio in Wausau, "scientists, government officials, consumers, and farmers were among those testifying," and apparently the pros outnumbered the cons in the audience. The pro raw milk side was organized in large part by dairy farmer Vince Hundt, who bought a ton of paper hats for supporters of the legislation. Read more...
Eric Utne has a bone to pick with Linden Hills Co-op, and pick he does, in the magazine that he formerly edited, The Utne Reader.
At issue? A $9.5 million per year natural foods grocery store here in Minneapolis, Linden Hills Co-op, is growing. It's also relocating less than a mile away to take advantage of that growth. Read more...
In Georgia, lawmakers are introducing legislation to legalize raw milk. From the Jacksonville News:
"It will be regulated like any lawful milk product," McKillip said. "It puts it under the Department of Agriculture. If you're producing raw milk, you're under the same regulations as dairy farmers producing pasteurized milk."
With an interesting note in the comments: Read more...
I would love to read some feedback from farmers and/or animal welfare specialists on this piece from the Des Moines Register (which typically has some of the better ag reporting among mainstream, daily newspapers). The article is headlined Critics of old henhouses drive a shift to cage-free, and by my read, the article has a reasoned tone that tells both sides of the cage-free chicken issue fairly well. Read more...
I want you to think about bananas.
You're not supposed to think about bananas -- you're supposed to just throw them in your grocery cart and eat them without ever wondering how they got to you -- so thinking about bananas is a radical act.
Who grew your bananas? How were they harvested? Do you know what a fair price for bananas is? Read more...
This post comes to us via Elizabeth O'Sullivan who started farming south of the Twin Cities last year. Here's how she describes her decision to begin life on a farm, from her blog, Go to the Fields:
"For years, while sitting in the silence of Quaker worship, I heard these words in my heart: "Go to the fields." In June of 2009, my husband, my two young children moved to an old house on 20 acres about 45 minutes south of Minneapolis. Now in this big, old, half-fixed-up house, I am learning to farm, raising children, and listening carefully." Read more...
In a recent article, the Christian Science Monitor reports that Central American farmers are turning away from organic coffee. Why? Turns out the market isn't as strong as it once was:
Some 450,000 pounds of organic coffee sit in a warehouse here, stacked neatly in 132-lb. bags. It’s some of the world’s best coffee, but Gerardo De Leon can’t sell it.
Two families are suing a Whole Foods Market store in West Hartford, Connecticut, and a now-defunct dairy. The family are seeking damages from the store and farm for selling tainted raw milk which, in 2008, caused three children to be hospitalized from E. coli infection. Via The Hartford Cuurant: Read more...
Bob St. Peter has a provocative piece over at Grassroots Economic Organizing (a piece that was originally printed in Saving Seeds, Summer/Fall 2008) about the failure of food co-ops to truly transform, or provide an alternative to the nation's food system. While I don't agree with everything in the article, it's worth a close read, especially if you're a manager at a natural foods co-op or belong to one as a member.
From the article: Read more...
First US marijuana cafe opens in Portland.
AMA reverses stance on medical marijuana.
Marijuana moves into the open in ski town.
Cut the Cheech and Chong jokes for a minute, and let's take the issue of legalizing marijuana seriously as a matter of economics for a moment. Imagine what this would do for small farmers: Read more...
