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The Rules of the Game Need to Change |
By Jim Cochren, ROC Stewardship Council
Nov. 2, 2008
During much of human history, you could ask the average person what the world would look like two years hence, and they would be able to give you a fairly accurate picture. They would be using the ‘rules’ that underlie their society at that time to predict ‘more of the same.’ Whatever group was ‘in power’ would likely still be ‘in power,’ whatever they would be eating probably wouldn’t change much---what was true yesterday would most likely be true tomorrow. In our era, the march of housing across farmland would proceed predictably, the proliferation of shopping malls filled with products from around the world would continue, people would have jobs doing more or less the same thing, and so forth. Sure, technologies would speed up the process from time to time, but the direction was predictable.
We embarked on our journey to create a sustainable food system in California during one of these periods of social stability. The immediate past was reliably the prologue to the near future. For many Californians, the system looked to be working just fine. It was a hard sell to convince people that they might have to give up some of the ‘benefits’ of the system (a big house, big car, a big Wal-Mart, and a Big Mac) in exchange for a more ‘sustainable’ society, whatever that was. Why talk about changing the rules when things were going so well?
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No Farms, No Food! Slow or Otherwise |
Nov. 3, 2008
By Constance Washburn, Education Director at Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT)
Every single minute of every day, America loses two acres of the farmland that sustains us. This adds up to over 6 million acres a year – an area the size of Maryland. We are losing our most fertile and productive land the fastest. The farms closest to our cities produce the majority of our fresh food — 63 percent of our dairy products and 86 percent of fruits and vegetables. Saving these farms and saving our connections to the land are essential for a healthy future for our children and ourselves. Changemakers working to create a sustainable food system that is “good, clean, and fair” need to thoroughly understand the national crisis of farmland loss and how that affects California – as well as have access to and understanding of the tools available to save the farms in their communities.
A panel of experts on farmland preservation came together at ROC’s Changemakers Day on August 29 for a conversation about the different ways communities can work together to save farmland and rangeland. They also discussed the need to save the land-based farming and ranching businesses as well as the need to reconnect our communities to the land and the sources of our food. While there are some success stories, we need to act fast before 6 million more acres of fertile soil are paved over and lost.
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Building Local Food Networks Toolkit |
Nov. 3, 2008
At Changemakers Day 2008, Deborah Kane, Ecotrust’s VP of Food and Farms, presented a session exploring the nuts and bolts of Ecotrust’s new Building Local Food Networks Toolkit. The toolkit synthesizes many years of experience building local food networks in the Pacific Northwest. Here is an intro to the nuts and bolts of this toolkit, laid out for those of you who weren’t able to attend that session.
The Farmer-Chef Connection conference was established in 2001 by a group of volunteers in Portland, Oregon – the result of a creative collaboration between Ecotrust and the Portland Chapter of the Chefs Collaborative.
The event, which ultimately spawned the Ecotrust Food & Farms program, was created to foster collaboration and relationship-based, business-to-business, direct market opportunities amongst local producers and food buyers. Our initial focus on connecting farmers to restaurant chefs quickly expanded to include ranchers, fishermen, grocery retailers, specialty food store owners, food service operators, institutional buyers, processors and distributors who are committed to expanding and strengthening local, seasonal and sustainable food networks. Our goal then and now is to grow the supply and demand for locally produced food.
Now almost a decade later, the simple idea that food producers and food buyers can connect directly is still revolutionary. In fact, over and over again, we have been surprised and amazed by what happens when we put local food buyers and local food producers in the same room, at the same time, and give them space to talk. It can be that simple.
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A Better Food System For All |
Sept. 9, 2008
By ROC Stewardship Council Member Maricela Morales
In May of this year, what was then the single largest worksite Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in U.S. history involved 900 ICE agents and occurred at a slaughterhouse and meat packing plant. Nearly 400 food workers were shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles and fenced in at the site of the National Cattle Congress Fairground in Iowa. The children of the food workers were left to fend for themselves for as long as three days because of their parents’ sudden and unexplained disappearance, at the hands of the Department of Homeland Security.
In California, six farm workers have died over the last few months due to extreme heat exposure. The first was a seventeen year old young woman who was pregnant and had been working for over eight hours in one-hundred degree weather. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), farm workers, although not the only employees to work outdoors, are the most likely to die of heat exposure.
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California Institute for Rural Studies Research on Sustainable Farming Practices in California |
September 4, 2008
Ron Strochlic - ED, California Institute for Rural Studies
Since 1977, the California Institute for Rural Studies (CIRS), a nonprofit based in Davis, CA, has been conducting research promoting a rural California that is socially just, ecologically balanced, and economically sustainable. With a focus on improved conditions for agricultural workers and a more sustainable food system, CIRS research directly ties in with a number of the goals and objectives outlined in Roots Of Change’s New Mainstream 5-Year Campaign Strategy, including improved conditions for agricultural workers, increased viability of sustainable farmers, and the promotion of ecologically sustainable farming practices. Some examples of CIRS's more recent research are discussed below
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