Filed under: Urban Farming
During the Pollinating Our Future conference in Milwaukee, I attended a presentation on the development of food councils. The 90-minute presentation was a shortened version of a day-long workshop given by Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap, and Martin Bailkey, vice-chair of the Dane County Food Council (Wisconsin).
A food council is defined as “a group of stakeholders that provides support to governments and citizens in developing policy and programs related to the local food supply.” A food council is a relatively new concept, but it is quickly gaining attention as cities across the nation scramble to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Providing increased access to locally grown foods is a key factor in this process, and a food council can play an important role.
Winne and Bailkey stressed the need for citizens to work with local governments in their efforts to create sustainable local food systems. Citizens can provide the grassroots desire, enthusiasm and even the foodstuffs, but it is government that holds the power to enact local ordinances that will ensure long term success and viability. The success of a local food system depends upon farmers having access to markets, gardeners having permanent land for gardens, and community programs targeted towards preventing food insecurity. Without government support these issues will remain unsolved.
Over 70 food councils now exist in the United States, each with its own goals and objectives. Some food councils advise government officials on specific policy while others are more community oriented. Community oriented food councils will often be directly involved with local projects like establishing farmer’s markets and community gardens, coordinating education and outreach programs, and acting as an advisor and a resource for funding opportunities.
For citizen groups interested in establishing a food council, Winne and Bailkey offered the following suggestions:
o Take inventory of the existing food programs and services in the area
o Identify any crises that exist and link to how locally produced foods could alleviate them
o Gather current data on public health issues in the area
o Estimate the level of community engagement
Organize this information into a formal paper or presentation for local public officials. At this stage, it is extremely beneficial to have at least one public official already committed to the idea of establishing a food council. This person can be called upon to speak positively about what the council can accomplish and can help navigate the often sticky world of public politics. Winne and Bailkey also stressed the importance of having patience. It takes time to educate the public – including public officials – and the political process often moves very slowly.
At this point, I am unaware of any established food council in Michiana, but the potential for developing one certainly exists. As more people become aware of the many benefits associated with increased consumption of locally grown foods, the establishment of a food council becomes the next logical step in creating strong and sustainable communities.
Filed under: Urban Farming
A recent article entitled “Urban Farms Revitalize City Neighborhoods” from Nuwire Investor describes a relatively new trend in America – urban farming. They are not talking about a few community gardens here, but actual “for-profit” vegetable farms within cities. The executive director of the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture says this type of farm will not only provide a source of food for urban dwellers, but will become a “small, but meaningful generator of economic activity”. Last year the 2.5 acre Kansas City Community Farm employed six workers and sold over $100,000 in fruits and vegetables. Not bad for a garden.
The article describes urban growing spaces right next to office buildings, inside of skyscrapers, and even inside a former bank vault (using grow lights, of course). Urban farming goes a step beyond home gardening or even community gardening in that it creates an opportunity for earning an income from the garden. Urban farming is the perfect set-up for someone who loves to garden, yet also prefers to live in the city.
The article also brings up an interesting point having to do with population growth and the earth’s capacity to provide food for the future. It states, “by 2050, demographers estimate there will be an additional 3 billion people on this planet. If current farming practices are maintained, extra landmass as large as Brazil would have to be cultivated to feed them.”
Brazil? Do we have that much available land?
It is true that we would need considerably more food for that many more people (and what about the 800 million that are already starving?), however, the key phrase in that statement is “current farming practices”. Current industrial farming practices in the United States are very wasteful in terms of human food production. Most of the farms in the Midwest, for example, produce commodity crops for export, not food for people living in the nearby region.
Consider my home state of Iowa where approximately 80% of the tillable land is used to grow corn and soybeans. The majority of the harvest is fed to animals on factory style farms, or, in the case of corn, it is used to make high fructose corn syrup or ethanol. Feeding grain to herbivorous animals in order to produce protein is an incredibly inefficient use of natural resources. High fructose corn syrup is a cheaper form of sugar used to sweeten nearly all processed foods. It has NO vitamins or minerals and therefore contributes only empty calories to the American diet. And using a food crop to produce fuel leads to higher prices for animal feed which, in turn, means higher food prices worldwide. Growing corn for the production of ethanol will soon turn into a competition between hungry humans and ethanol-guzzling cars.
With these points in mind, it makes sense to consider changing current farming practices. Within the very near future, urban farming is likely to become much more than just a novelty practiced by a few 21st century food activists. Urban farming will be considered a necessity. Many countries and cities of the world have already recognized this; Cuba has an extensive urban food system as does China, The Netherlands, and Singapore. The cities of the United States would be wise to take a few cues from other parts of the world and start working towards food self sufficiency instead of remaining food dependent. Trucking in the majority of our food from hundreds, even thousands of miles away is unsustainable. Eventually the earth’s ecosystems will reach the point of no return and, at the rate we are going, that point is quickly approaching.
But take heart! It does not have to be this way! We do have enough land to provide food for all if we simply start thinking a little differently about how we grow food. Instead of using the entire yard to grow inedible grass, city dwellers can go out into the back yard and start scoping out the place for that urban farm.
Filed under: Urban Farming
In the United States, we have grocery stores the size of warehouses, fast food restaurants lining every major city street, and huge farms overflowing with grain. In the midst of all this bounty, it’s hard to imagine that many people in this country don’t have enough food or enough money to buy food on a regular basis. This is known as food insecurity. In the United States, food insecurity is a growing problem in both rural areas and major cities.
Food insecurity often runs parallel to another situation – food deserts. A food desert is an area in which grocery stores are either nonexistent or too far away to be easily accessible. While there may be some food sources available, such as convenience stores, the types of foods offered are mostly packaged junk food with inflated prices. Low income inner city neighborhoods are often food deserts. This is one of the reasons why the people in this sector of society suffer the highest rates of obesity and diabetes. It’s difficult to choose healthy foods if they are not available.
Recently, food activists, often working in partnership with social organizations, are trying to bring healthy foods back into food deserts. In addition to starting community gardens and food centers, they are establishing distribution networks that will bring more locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables to residents of these areas.
In Vancouver, an organization called Food Roots is establishing pocket markets throughout the region. These pocket markets are smaller versions of a farmers market set up on a seasonal basis. The site for a pocket market might be a local church, hospital parking lot, or community center. Food Roots purchases produce from local farmers and drops it off at the various pocket markets. The produce is reasonably priced in order to be affordable by all. Food Roots currently coordinates 12 pocket markets in the Vancouver area with more planned for next year.
Food insecurity and food deserts are vivid examples of the shortcomings of our industrial food system – a system that trucks food in from far away and makes it available only to those with ample income. Pocket markets and grassroots organizations like Food Roots, are proof that many people are fed up with this system and are taking it upon themselves to change it.
Filed under: Wholistic Nutrition
Americans spend less of their household income on food than any other country in the world. We have come to expect cheap food – and lots of it. But what is cheap food really costing us? And at what point does the cost of something become too great?
Meat, especially beef, used to be considered a luxury food, something that only the wealthy could afford, but in America today, beef is a regular item on the menu at every fast food outlet and on every dinner table. A recent article in the New York Times entitled “Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler” exposes many facts about meat-eating that may come as a big surprise to Americans who enjoy their cheap burgers and steaks. The article reveals many of the links between meat-eating and the burning of fossil fuels. Industrial or “factory farm” meat production is one of the biggest contributors to global warming and, in my opinion, one of the most wasteful and distasteful endeavors that humans have ever come up with.
I grew up in the heart of Iowa, one of the nation’s top agricultural states, and I have seen many beef feedlots as well as hog confinement operations. Ever since I first laid eyes on such “farms” I have considered them inhumane and utterly disgusting. In the case of cattle, thousands of animals are kept in outdoor pens where they are given no shelter from the weather. There is no grass under their hooves, instead they stand or lie in their own excrement for their entire lives (12-14 months). Most of them are sickly, with snot running from their noses. Their diet consists mostly of corn or soybean meal which is much richer than their natural diet of grass. This causes stomach discomfort and acidosis. To counteract these illnesses and others caused by the stress of such conditions, the animals are fed antibiotics on a regular basis to keep them from getting even sicker. There is an ongoing controversy over whether or not these antibiotics make their way into human bodies when the beef is consumed.
Hog “confinement” is exactly what it sounds like. Hogs/pigs are packed so tightly together in their pens that they can barely turn around. Hogs are sensitive, intelligent creatures by nature, but when kept in this environment they become stressed and agitated. They frequently bite off each other’s tails in frustration. Sows (mother pigs) are housed in individual steel-barred crates. There is only enough room for the sow to lie on her side and nurse the piglets; rarely is she allowed to get up and move around. The long, windowless metal buildings have manure pits directly underneath and when these pits are full, the urine and manure is pumped into nearby lagoons. These lagoons stink beyond belief and eventually, when the lagoons are full, the waste is pumped onto nearby fields. The concentrated nitrogen in the waste contaminates nearby water sources to the point that it kills the fish and other aquatic life. This is the same water that supplies many drinking wells on Iowa farms.
When I think of animals being treated this way, it makes me very, very sad; not only for the animals, but for human beings as well. Where is the humanity in this? How long can we go on fooling ourselves into thinking that it is acceptable to raise animals this way? How can we fool ourselves even further into thinking it is safe to eat animals that are raised this way? Factory farms are prime breeding grounds for food borne pathogens like E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus.
The factory farm debate has been going on for a few decades now, but sadly, this type of meat production is still on the rise. It is also used to produce poultry, eggs, and dairy products. However, the New York Times article may mark the beginnings of a turning point. This is the first time a national newspaper has taken an oppositional stance on factory farming. I hope it is not the last.
Filed under: Urban Farming
(Wrap Two)
This past weekend I attended the Pollinating Our Future – Urban Agriculture Conference in Milwaukee, WI. According to the conference coordinator and the presenters, this conference was the first of its kind in the United States. The gathering was organized to involve more people in the local foods movement by presenting new ideas and initiatives regarding urban agriculture.
The conference was sponsored by the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (MFAI) and Slow Foods Wisconsin (SFW). This partnership seemed ideal – MFAI focuses on growing quality food and SFW focuses on cooking and serving it. The Friday night kickoff party was held in the Mitchell Park Domes Conservatory and featured live music, performances by ethnic dancers, and of course – LOCAL FOOD! Conference attendees were treated to artisan cheeses and crackers, salads, prime rib, braised pork, egg dishes, vegetable dishes and scrumptious desert tarts and cakes – all locally sourced and prepared by chefs from the Milwaukee/Chicago area. The bar even featured locally made vodka and gin, local wines, and locally brewed beers (this being Milwaukee the beer was probably made across the street). The food was fabulous and the atmosphere was charged with excitement for all things local.
Saturday morning, during a breakfast of yogurt and muffins, keynote speaker Michael Abelman welcomed the 200+ attendees. He shared a slide show of his recent visit to Jamaica where he assisted in the development of an organic urban farm. Abelman, former director of Fairview Gardens in Los Angeles, is also an excellent photographer. He has published two beautiful books on farming and food production. I wasted no time in buying a copy of each complete with the author’s signature.
The remainder of Saturday’s schedule was packed with presentations, discussions and table talks centered around issues pertaining to food justice and food democracy; gardens as community enhancement vehicles; policy and planning, including the development of food policy councils; and enterprise development, which focused on economic opportunities for individuals and groups. The speakers included many of the leaders in the urban agriculture/local foods movement, men and women with 20, 30, even 40 years of experience in gardening, urban planning, public policy, sustainable agriculture and world health issues.
The chefs returned Saturday evening to provide another scrumptious meal of local fare, but alas, my husband and I were already on the road back to South Bend. As with many conferences I have attended, my head was spinning with new ideas and information. But unlike many past gatherings, the main focus of this event was to remind people that we – friends, neighbors, farmers, and members of local communities – already have the answers to many of the urban problems now facing us. Food insecurity, health, poverty and economic issues are all connected, and they can all be greatly improved or even possibly eliminated by taking a closer look at how we grow, distribute and even cook one of the most basic tenets of life…our FOOD.
Filed under: Urban Farming
The event I have chosen to wrap is the Pollinating Our Future conference in Milwaukee, WI, on February 28, 29 and 30. The conference offers a variety of workshops, table talks and networking opportunities concerning urban food issues. I chose this event because, according to the website, it looks like it will provide a variety of information that I can pass along to fellow gardeners and food activists here in South Bend. It also happens to be a subject I am personally very interested in.
The keynote speaker for the conference is Michael Abelman. Abelman is the director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, CA. This organic urban farm is one of the oldest in California and is trying hard to maintain its fields and gardens despite the fact that suburbs have now surrounded it. I have been aware of Mr. Abelman’s work for several years now and I look forward to hearing his views on the future of urban farming and our food system in general.
The main conference is being held in downtown Milwaukee, but several sessions including the Friday night opening, will be conducted in the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory - also known as the Mitchell Park Domes. These three domes are newer, larger, (and better funded) versions of our own little Arizona Dome at the South Bend Potawatomi Park Greenhouse. The domes look very inviting – especially the tropical dome. I look forward to spending some time in its warmth while snow swirls around outside!
One of the main workshops I will attend is SPIN Farming. SPIN stands for Small Plot Intensive – a method of growing vegetables specifically designed for urban environments. SPIN is targeted towards people who are interested in growing their own food AND would like to earn an income selling their produce at farmers markets or to neighbors and local restaurants.
While in Milwaukee, I also hope to tour the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. This non-profit center has been conducting research on sustainable agriculture since the early 1980s. They have traditionally focused on rural agriculture, but have recently developed a program on urban food systems. In addition to Michael Fields, there are several other tours offered. These sites, all in the heart of Milwaukee, are combining urban agriculture and social services. Walnut Way is an inner city neighborhood this is being revitalized; and Growing Power is a 1920s farm in Northwest Milwaukee that provides gardening education, seeds, plants, and support for community gardens in Milwaukee and Chicago.
Stay tuned for upcoming info!
Filed under: Personal Reflection
(Final Revision)
It was not much, really, just a narrow strip of woodland alongside the Wapsipinicon River in Northeast Iowa. My dad’s younger brother, Wayne, had purchased the land from the county sometime in the mid-1960s and for almost three decades the Timber was our own private paradise. It provided the adults in my family with a quiet place to relax, and for us kids, it was a wilderness – a place we could run free while still in relative safety.
Every trip out to the Timber was cause for excitement and anticipation even though it was only 12 miles from our house in town. I remember leaning over the front seat of the family station wagon as we approached the access road that led down to the river. Dad would slow the car to a crawl and steer carefully over the narrow wooden plank bridge, then into the stand of small evergreens, and past the potato gardens where Uncle Arnold grew the biggest potatoes I had ever seen. Then the road narrowed again, becoming little more than a wide path, deeply rutted by spring rains and winding through taller stands of hickory, walnut, oak and elm trees. When we emerged into the clearing that had become our campground, we would first look around to see if other family members might be present, and then we were off to explore. There was always something new, some little change that Mother Nature had created since the last time we had visited.
When I was very young, we camped in tents, the heavy canvas kind with exterior aluminum frames that had to be laid out, fitted together, raised up, and secured to the ground. It took at least two adults – or four kids – to slip the poles through the loops attached to the canvas, and then hoist the tent into place. Our large, drab green tent was big enough for our entire family of six, our sleeping bags and a few personal items. Our camping gear was minimal back then, and although we always had a radio along, it was rarely turned on except to listen for weather advisories. This left only the sounds of our family, the birds in the trees, and the gentle rippling of the nearby Wapsipinicon River.
During the summer months, the Timber and the Wapsi (as we called it) became like a second home to us. Each year my dad and my uncles, who were all skilled carpenters, would make improvements to our outdoor living quarters. Within a few years, our campground resembled a county park; it had two screened wooden shelters, a large cinderblock fireplace, swings and a volleyball net, a smokehouse, wash area, clothes line, and of course, a latrine (a two-holer with real toilet seats!). It should be noted that the “wash area” was used mostly for washing our hands after playing in the pond, or for the doing the dishes. If a total bath was needed it usually meant a dip in the river!
Each family had their own designated spot for a camper or tent, but we always gathered together for meals. The moms cooked burgers, hot dogs or freshly-caught fish and we ate from colorful plastic picnic ware. The screened wooden shelter housed several tables and a variety of mismatched chairs. It provided a safe haven from the hungry mosquitoes that emerged from the woods at about the same time our supper was ready. As the sun went down, Coleman gas lanterns were lit and hung near the shelter providing light for card games and conversation. The grownups would often play 500 or Cribbage late into the night, after the kids had been sent to their sleeping bags.
During the long summer days, we kept busy doing all sorts of outdoorsy things. Dad taught us how to bait a hook, to sit still and be patient, and how to take a fish off the hook. We learned how to tell the difference between oak trees, elm trees and hickory trees; which nuts we could collect for eating, and which weeds would give us the “itchies”. As my siblings and cousins and I grew older we were often left to our own devices for hours at a time. We swam in the river, climbed trees, and explored the woods. Our favorite activity was patrolling the edge of the nearby pond for frogs, turtles, minnows and the occasional garter snake. During those years, our most-used toys were fishing poles, buckets, minnow nets and our own bare hands and feet. These items and the creatures we could catch with them were far more interesting to me than my cousin’s new Barbie Dream House back in town.
The Timber was the perfect place for family get-togethers that would include aunts, uncles, cousins and 2nd cousins from across the state. The adults on my dad’s side of the family were ferocious game players and took great pleasure in making each other laugh. We would set up lawn games and team events like scavenger hunts, even elaborate obstacle courses and relay races. There were always a few unexpected, slightly embarrassing practical jokes – something at which my dad was particularly adept at planning. The Whoopee cushion, fake vomit, and a rubber chicken were always lurking about, and occasionally there was a bucket of water carefully poised above the latrine door. The unexpected dousing would always result in gales of laughter as the targeted victim chased the perpetrator from one end of the campground to the other, sometimes ending with one or both of them being tossed in the river! There was always a good supply of fireworks for the Fourth of July; sparklers for the kids, and roman candles that my uncles would buy from vendors across the state line in Missouri. We would gather along the bank of the river to ooh and aah as the explosions lit up the sky and sparks fell harmlessly into the Wapsi.
As the years went by, and the kids of my generation grew into adults, our visits to the Timber became fewer. The upkeep of the campground, which was no big deal when we shared the chores, became more difficult as my dad and uncles grew older. I think eventually a few of my male cousins would have taken over the mowing, trimming and maintenance, but the Wapsipinicon had other plans. The river not-so-subtly began to remind us of something we had known all along – that our campground sat squarely within her flood plain and while she was only too willing to let us borrow the land for a while, it was now time to return it to its rightful owner. As the river slowly changed course over the years, our campground, which usually flooded a bit every 4 or 5 years, would flood more often and with greater severity. The men gradually began to dismantle the buildings and move the campers back to town; campers which would eventially all be sold.
The last time I visited the Timber, I remember thinking how much smaller and closer everything looked. The vast wilderness of my youth was, in reality, only about 40 acres. The pond had silted in to become little more than a huge mud puddle and the mighty Wapsipinicon appeared lazy, shallow and dirty – not something my adult self would consider swimming in.
Uncle Wayne eventually sold the land back to the county, for what price, I have no idea, but I’m sure he was not all that concerned with making a huge profit. In terms of family time spent together, lessons learned, and laughter shared, the Timber had already given us more than what could be reflected in any given dollar amount. It was priceless.
Filed under: Wholistic Nutrition
As a nutrition teacher I find food labels to be a mixed blessing. They are informative, yet they can also be confusing and misleading.
During a recent visit to my local grocery store, I was reading the ingredients on one of those new-fangled yogurt smoothies when the woman next to me said, “I finally convinced my husband that yogurt is good for him. He loves these things.”
I flinched. I could simply smile and walk away, but being the teacher that I am, I couldn’t do it. “Well,” I said, “yogurt is good for him, but not this kind.”
“Oh?” she said, “does it have too much sugar? I try to read the labels, but sometimes I just don’t know what to look for.”
We looked at the ingredients on the bottle she had selected. Low-fat milk was listed first; then high fructose corn syrup, then sugar. This 6 oz container of yogurt had 47 grams of sugar. About 10 grams of that sugar is found naturally in the milk, but the rest, roughly 37 grams, is added sugar, pure and simple. There are 5 grams in a teaspoon, so you can picture 7 teaspoons of SUGAR being added to this very small container of yogurt.
“Wow! I guess we don’t need that! But my husband really does like these things,” she lamented.
I reached for the same type of product, but from a different manufacturer. “This one still has added sugar, I said, but not quite as much.”
“Thank you!” she said, and replaced brand #1 with brand #2.
Not all that much better, I thought as I walked away, but it was not the time or place for my entire lecture on the dangers of eating excess sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
When I teach my students how to read food labels, we start by noticing the way the manufacturer tries to sell you the product. What claims are being made, either directly or indirectly? The label on this yogurt says things like “fat-free”, “1/3 fewer calories”, and “best-life approved” – all indicating that it was good for you. But what exactly is “best-life approved”? 1/3 fewer calories than what? This yogurt is also touted as being fat free, which it is, but natural fats are not all bad. They actually help to balance the food equation by slowing down your body’s absorption of sugar.
We then look at the ingredients list. Ingredients must be listed by weight, so you get a pretty clear idea of what a product contains just by reading the first three ingredients. In this yogurt, two of the first three ingredients are sugar. One of these – high fructose corn syrup – is a chemically altered sugar that can confuse the body’s metabolism and interfere with normal satiety cues. This can lead to increased hunger and cravings for more sugar.
The Nutrition Facts label – the numbers on the side or back of the package – will tell you about serving size and the amount of sugar, fat, and fiber in the product. A low sugar product is supposed to have less than 5 grams of sugar per serving – definitely not the case with this yogurt. Finally we put all this information together and try to decide if what the manufacturer has promised is true. The yogurt smoothie, with its 7 teaspoons of added sugar, is actually more like candy than health food.
I wish all marketing slogans and even health claims were banned from food labels. We would still have to scrutinize ingredients, but the task would be much less confusing. For the time being, I encourage my students – and fellow grocery shoppers – to become food detectives; to look beyond the hype and not be fooled by overzealous advertising. As a food detective, you’re the one who decides what’s best for your life by choosing healthful foods based on the quality of the actual ingredients.
Filed under: Uncategorized
(Letter to the Editor)
While driving through Twykenham Hills recently, I glanced in my rearview mirror to see the driver behind me making angry gestures and trying to pass. I took a deep breath, tried not to get angry, and continued to drive the speed limit. This sort of thing happens quite often. I have noticed that very few drivers actually heed the speed limit.
The habit of speeding is dangerous in residential neighborhoods (like Twykenham Hills) where children and pets are present, and it is rude to other drivers. Studies have shown that speeding will save time only on longer trips (20 miles or more) and even then, going 10 mph over the limit would save you approximately 3 minutes. (www.modot.org) Is it really worth the risk of a pricey ticket or the cost of a life?
If the South Bend Police Department is unable to crack down on speeders due to lack of personnel, perhaps it would be possible to install strobe cameras instead of those “your speed is” signs. Receiving a ticket in the mail, along with the proof positive, would be much more effective at enforcing the limit. When repairing streets or constructing new ones perhaps speed bumps or roundabouts would encourage drivers to slow down.
Life is short, instead of speeding through it, why not take your time and enjoy the scenery?
