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A Letter of Welcome from Stewardship Council Co-Chair Pietro Parravano |
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Voices from the Field
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February 4, 2008
The Roots of Change is made up of three dynamic components - Stewardship Council, Leadership Network, and Coordinating Team - that individually and collectively are critical for its success. Clearly the most important of the three components is the Leadership Network. The Leadership Network provides the hearts, minds and hands that are necessary to make real change on the ground—in communities, on land and at sea, in the marketplace, in government agencies, and amongst consumers like you and I. As a member of the Leadership Network, your integrity, drive, expertise, and connections to people, resources and institutions will spur the desired changes.
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From Bureaucracy to Bok Choy |
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Voices from the Field
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January 29, 2008
Guest article from Sophia Pagoulatos, City of FresnoPlanning & Development Department and 2007 ROC Planning Fellow.
I used to lead a double life: a land use planner by day, issuing permits and holding meetings, and a “foodie” by night: going to farmers markets and food festivals on the weekends, on the lookout for the latest new vegetable. However, in 2007, these two worlds collided and I am now occasionally able to talk broccoli right here in my cubicle in the City of Fresno’s Planning and Development Department without eliciting too many strange looks.
What happened to cause this shift?
Last year, as I was going through the stack of public notices, permits and code updates in my in-box, something caught my eye: a carrot. That’s right, it was this little orange carrot on a flyer. It said “Roots of Change.” Interesting. I had to find out more. Now here was something: an organization dedicated to sustainable food systems soliciting participation from a land use planner. I wanted to find out what sustainable food system folks wanted with an urban planner, so I applied and was accepted as a Planning Fellow.
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SF Chronicle Article on Clean, Fair, and Local Food on CA Campuses |
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Voices from the Field
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December 2, 2007
The California Student Sustainability Coallition and 2007 ROC planning fellow Maren Poitras made the news this week with their work on growing statewide campus movement for sustainable food systems. "The Local" is a weekly produce stand run by people who go to Cal serves the dual purpose of educating college students about clean, fair, and local food - and making that food available on campus.
Read the full SF Chronicle article here.
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Michael's Thanksgiving Day Blog |
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Michael R. Dimock’s Blog
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November 23, 2007
Today is Thanksgiving Day. It is a very important day in our culture. It emerges from fact and has become mythologized and sanctified by time and official acts. My favorite President, Abraham Lincoln, made this day a national holiday during the Civil War, the nation’s greatest internal test of unity. One reality remains at the core of this holiday; it is the focus on food.
Food is life. If we are to give thanks we of course cannot forget food and its many sources. It begins with nature and the energetic, elemental, and biological cycles that underpin plant and animal bounty. It continues with people and the processes they manage to transform nature’s raw bounty into ingredients and meals. The diversity of these people and processes correlate to the diversity of ecosystems and species. The health of the elemental cycles and ecosystems directly affects the health and quality of the foods that arrive on our Thanksgiving table. Food of high quality leads to a high quality of life.
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The Farm Bill, The Food System, and What You Can Do To Make It Better |
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Voices from the Field
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November 21, 2007
Introduction to the 2007 Farm Bill: Where it Stands, or Sits, Now
Guest Blog by Jessie Woletz
Psst. Did you hear? There is, or recently was, a big important discussion going on in the Senate and House of Representatives. The decisions they make will greatly determine the direction of the nation’s food system for the next 5 years. The 2007 Farm Bill, just last week, was being hashed out on the Senate floor. Unfortunately, the Farm Bill discussions are stalled for now because of what is being called a “showdown” between Republicans and Democrats.
A motion was filed by Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) on Wednesday to force a cloture vote Friday. Cloture is a procedural measure that would force a vote on the bill, which made sense to Reid given the limited timeframe to pass the new Farm Bill before the new year. Reid said, “If cloture is approved Friday, the Senate will have time to approve its version of the farm bill and then work together with the U.S. House of Representatives to form a unified piece of legislation before the end of the year”. (Farm Policy, Nov.14th)
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On-Farm Energy Innovations in Action |
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Voices from the Field
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November 20, 2007
2007 ROC Planning Fellow Jenny Lester Moffit's walnut farm is in the news for its innovations in sustainable on-farm energy production. Read the recent front page article from The Vacaville Reporter about Dixion Ridge Farms efforts to make the farm completely energy self sufficient with new on-farm energy solutions.
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Guest Blog - Planning Fellow Charlene Orszag |
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Voices from the Field
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November 6, 2007
Charlene is a co-founder of Tierra Miguel Foundation - an organic farm, conservation, education and research center in San Diego County. Charlene is dedicated to energizing collaborative efforts to build ecologically sustainable food production and distribution systems throughout Southern and Central California.
Being part of the ROC Fellows has been a privilege for me. I would have to be considered a “hybrid.”- part organic/biodynamic farmer, part non-profit foundation advisor, and part community builder. ..lots of hats. It’s exciting to see how ROC honors yet merges our statewide interests.
We at Tierra Miguel Foundation and Farm are working to connect the farm to the city, bringing urgent understanding of the value of farming and farmlands to folks who may have lost touch. We’re working with County, City and State decision makers, as well as grantors, NGOs, health institutions and schools to encourage the Farm to School programs. We’ve won conservation, program design awards and saved 85 organic acres for agriculture in perpetuity, We’re definitely working at the “growing edge,” (pardon the pun!) We think it’s all about connecting the dots and promoting recognition of our interdependency.
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