|
News from the Ag Futures and Food System Alliances |
March 18, 2008
The Ag Futures and Food System Alliance are regional “roundtables” made up of food producers, consumers, local leaders, health care advocates, and environmentalists to build bridges between often polarized parts of our community, with the shared purpose of creating a food system that reflects our best hopes and desires for the future. Today there are five roundtables working across California. Each receives support from Roots of Change and from local community members and groups. Here is a quick rundown on each:
The Ventura County Ag Futures Alliance (AFA) has been in operation since 2000 and has spawned California’s largest grassroots effort to build farm worker housing, brought hundreds of citizens together to advance stewardship efforts in their county, and published six citizen white papers on topics ranging from pesticide use to providing health care for farm workers. Each of the white papers has been backed by concrete local actions.
|
|
|
Rebuilding our Food System, One Story at a Time |
March 18, 2008
Joseph McIntyre, Ag Innovations Network
When was the last time you heard a story that changed the way you felt or thought? There are incredible stories all around us--including ones we tell ourselves and others about food, change, and the future. These stories have power- power to move us and power to freeze us in place.
In my work throughout California rebuilding the connections between food producers and the greater community with Ag Futures and Food System Alliances, I have the privilege of encouraging people to share their stories about food, community, and the future.
|
|
|
Who Cares about San Diego Food and Farms? Report from ROC’s Feb. 19 Community Meeting in San Diego |
March 17, 2008
Charlene Orszag, ROC Planning Fellow, Co-Founder, Tierra Miguel Foundation
Obviously, a lot of people do! Over 100 energized caretakers of the local food system came together on February 19 to chew on San Diego food issues at Roots of Change’s San Diego Community Meeting.
The best news was the number of interests represented- from farmer to retailer- and the clear desire for an integrated regional food systems goal. A county that spreads over 4,500 square miles, San Diego’s multiple micro-climates make for a majority of family-owned, small farms that serve specialty and organic markets. With big city populations, suburbia, and some remaining rural areas, San Diego’s diversity is its strength, but also presents some challenges in pulling together the many parts and people it takes to make a comprehensive- and sustainable- food system.
|
|
|
Movement Toward Sustainability in California's Central Valley – The Crest of a Wave |
March 17,2008
Holly King, Director of Agricultural Programs, Great Valley Center
I was at the beach the other day, thinking about the similarities between ocean waves and the way in which the food system is changing. Just as the top of the wave breaks after building its momentum on its way to the shore - spilling over the top in a powerful white crest, so do changes in the food system. Movement toward a sustainable food system has been building for some time now, and we are seeing that momentum begin to break the old mold in the Central Valley. Things are really changing.
|
|
|
Roots of Change San Diego Meeting |
March 3, 2008
Food writer Alexandra Stafford attended the Febuary 19 Roots of Change Community Meeting in San Diego and wrote about her experience in her blog - Alexandra's Kitchen . Alexandra discusses what she learned while attending he ROC meeting in San Diego, including that California is the nation’s most populous state; the nation’s
largest food producer; and the world’s 5th largest supplier of food and
agricultural commodities. And in San Diego County:
• there are more organic farms than any other county in the country.
• 63% of the farms are 1 to 9 acres.
• 92% of the farms are family owned.
• 22% of the farms are Native-American owned.
Feb. 20, 2008
Before I moved out to California, Bob Pierson, director of
Farm-To-City, told me my new state would be decades ahead —
agriculturally speaking — of the East Coast. While I have been amazed
at the number of farmers' markets out here, only after yesterday am I
beginning to understand what he meant. California, many of the speakers noted, is the most important
agriculture place on Earth. With its countless forward-thinking
foundations and entrepreneurs, California sets the trends for the world.
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next > End >>
|
| Results 21 - 25 of 37 |
