|
Not Just for White People Anymore - How the Organic Movement Can Regain its Relevance |
|
Related News
|
July 2, 2008
Grist food writer Tom Philopott wrote this timely critiqe of the state of the organic movement after attending the Organic Summit last week. Have a look at his critique of, and suggestions for, organics - click here to read article.
|
|
|
Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture |
|
Related News
|
July 2, 2008
Looming Water Crisis Spurs Action -
Agriculture Support Groups Call For Agricultural Water Stewardship to Protect State Food Production
Several agriculture support organizations today issued a joint report calling for producers and policy-makers to recognize the importance of agricultural water stewardship as a key element of a strategy to better manage the state’s dwindling water resources and reduce farmers’ reliance on insecure inputs. The paper, “Water Stewardship: Ensuring a Secure Future for California Agriculture” (available at www.agwaterstewards.org) outlines the case for water stewardship and lays the foundation for a water stewardship strategy. The report was released by the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association, the California Institute for Rural Studies, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the Ecological Farming Association, the Polaris Institute, and the WATER Institute of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.
|
|
|
California’s GMO Bill Approved by Senate Ag Committee |
|
Related News
|
June 30, 2008
AB 541 is closer to becoming California’s first state law protecting farmers from the hazards of genetically engineered crops. As of June 5th the bill has been passed by the state Assembly and the state Senate Agriculture committee. The bill must now be passed by the full Senate and signed into law by the Governor. Supporters include Community Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farmers Union, California Certified Organic Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, and various other food security and environmental organizations. AB 541 will enact protections for California farmers against frivolous lawsuits that intimidate and harass those who have not been able to prevent the inevitable – the drift of GE pollen or seed. To read further into this issue or to help build a GE-Free California, visit Cal GE-Free.
|
|
|
SF Chronicle: Slow Food Nation Comes To San Francisco |
|
Related News
|
June 29, 2008
The Sunday SF Chronicle ran this article yesterday - Slow Food Nation comes to San Francisco. The article contains many good quotes about need for change in food system.
|
|
|
Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the U.S.A. |
|
Related News
|
June 27, 2008
If you want to fight global warming with your food choices, it's important to change what you eat as well as where it comes from, according to a recently published article- Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States - in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology.
The authors also use a automobile comparison to illustrate how changes in diet compare to changes in driving. Using a 25-mile per gallon car as their baseline, they provided the following estimates of mileage reduction through diet shifts:
An “all local” diet is equivalent to driving 1,000 fewer miles per year
Shifting one day per week’s calories from red meat to chicken/fish/eggs is equivalent to driving 760 fewer miles per year
Shifting one day per week’s calories from red meat to a vegetable-based diet is equivalent to driving 1,160 fewer miles per year
Giving up red meat and dairy in favor of chicken/fish/eggs is equivalent to driving 5,340 fewer miles per year
Switching to a completely vegan diet is equivalent to driving 8,100 fewer miles per year
Read full article here.
|
|
|
Blog from ROC's President
|
Including: Listening Sessions for State Board of Food and Agriculture, ROC Fellows, San Francisco’s Urban-Rural Roundtable, and 21st Century Food and Agriculture Policy
June 23, 2008
By Micheal Dimock
It is a time of transition into robust action here at ROC. First, I’ll cover the transitions, then the actions. After three years of hard work and dedication, our friend and colleague, Nicole Mason, has stepped out of her role at ROC to embrace new challenges. I speak for all of us in the ROC community in saying we wish Nicole every success and we thank her for her good service. She will be consulting with us through the fall to ensure that Changemaker’s Day at Slow Food Nation is a success. Many of you will be seeing and hearing from Nicole on ROC’s behalf through the summer. You can read more about Changemaker’s Day and Slow Food Nation in this newsletter and on line at www.slowfoodnation.org.
|
|
|
Farm to Fork: Delivering Another Piece of a Sustainable Local Food System |
|
Voices from the Field
|
June 23, 2008
By Leah Smith, Marin Farmers Market Association
Marin County is home to a progressive community of farmers, educators, and advocates who are currently collaborating in the creation of a regional food system. Working together to keep local and sustainable family farmers in business, we re-create the way the public relates to the food they eat. Through this hard work, Marin County is now the home of its own organic certification program called Marin Organic Certified Agriculture (MOCA). In 2007, Marin County approved a new countywide plan that acknowledges not only the importance of agriculture but also the value of local food systems for social, health and ecological reasons. Marin County’s UC Cooperative Extension office has a committed Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Advisor who trains farmers in how to diversify their businesses and grow food using sustainable practices. These are just a few of Marin’s innovative programs that are shifting our food system towards sustainability.
The Roots of Change Campaign Strategy articulates three levers: Leadership, Production and Distribution Systems, and Public Perception, along with several corresponding objectives, all as a strategy to transform California’s food system. In Marin County we are currently working on all three of these fronts in our collaborative, dynamic countywide effort. One innovative piece of Marin’s work toward a sustainable food system is a new distribution program called Farm to Fork - a local food-based delivery system offering healthy, seasonal, local food to Marin’s institutions. This system, in turn, offers new economic opportunities for regional farmers.
|
|
|
