|
Twelve Principles to Eat By |
A Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture Premieres at Slow Food Nation
September 4, 2008
By Wendy Wasserman Edible Iowa River Valley
I imagine that a typical Thursday afternoon at San Francisco’s City Hall is abuzz with the business of the city: policy debates ringing through each meeting room, civil service discussions spilling into the hallway, and wedding ceremonies dominating the Rotunda. But on Thursday, August 28, as City Hall emptied out for the day, a large crowd of several hundred people gathered at the base of the Great Staircase to officially kick off Slow Food Nation and illustrate their shared commitment to a healthy food and agriculture policy that accomplishes the following:
|
|
Learning to Collaborate - Youth Leaders Sprouting In The Field
September 4, 2008
By Karen Heisler, Pie Ranch
Can you recall the first time in your life that you felt the power of leadership and accomplishment in the adult world? At Pie Ranch, we were honored to witness our youth marching past this milestone last month as they hosted 30 other youth from around the country during the 10th Annual Rooted in Community (RIC) conference. Fortuitously located in the Bay Area, the 10th RIC conference was a milestone not just for our youth, but for the RIC community as well. For the first time, the conference planning committee hailed not from one or two organizations, but ten Bay Area youth food system and food justice organizations – a testament to the growth of youth leadership in food systems work!
|
|
|
Fresno Green Supports Local Farmers |
September 4, 2008
By Sophia Pagoulatos, Interim Planning Manager, City of Fresno Planning & Development Department
In spite of the fact that Fresno is one of the most productive agricultural regions of the world, it has fewer farmers markets than many other California cities. Why? One reason is that until recently, the city’s zoning code did not actually define “farmers markets”, so establishing one has been very difficult, and even impossible, under the city’s regulations.
|
|
|
Farm to Fork: Delivering Another Piece of a Sustainable Local Food System |
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.
|
|
|
Report from CDFA Listening Session – May 29th, Sacramento |
June 23, 2008
Jenny Lester Moffitt, Dixon Ridge Farms, 2007 ROC Planning Fellow
The State Board of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Food and Agriculture have launched an effort to develop strategic agricultural vision for California. As stated in their web site, “this vision will be used to guide public policy and investment priorities at the state and national level for the next 20 years. It will be a vision that affects everyone who produces, ships, processes, markets, eats, drinks or wears California agricultural products. The California Agricultural Vision will consist of strategic goals that the agricultural industry wants to achieve by the year 2030.”
In a commendable effort to gather as much public input as possible, the CDFA has launched a series of listening sessions around the state and are seeking input from farmers, ranchers and processors as well as hunger, nutrition, conservation and rural development groups. Along with 50 plus individuals, organizations, farmers and food system leaders, I took advantage of a unique opportunity in Sacramento on May 29th to share with the Secretary of Agriculture and the State Board of Food & Agriculture my vision for agriculture in California by 2030.
|
|
|
