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How global warming goes against the grain
Martin Mittelstaedt, Globe & Mail
The place where most of the world’s people could first begin to feel the consequences of global warming may come as a surprise: in the stomach, via the supper plate.
That’s the view of a small but influential group of agricultural experts who are increasingly worried that global warming will trigger food shortages long before it causes better known but more distant threats, such as rising sea levels that flood coastal cities.
The scale of agriculture’s vulnerability to global warming was highlighted late last year when the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an umbrella organization representing 15 of the world’s top crop research centres, issued an astounding estimate of the impact of climate change on a single crop, wheat, in one of the world’s major breadbaskets.
(24 Feb 2007)
Deconstructing Dinner: Michael Ableman – Fields of Plenty
Jon Steinman, Global Public Media
Michael Abelman’s most recent book “Fields of Plenty” describes the growing community of farmers and food artisans, who are producing sustainable nourishment that is respectful to the land and rich in heritage, flavor and commitment. This broadcast features a recording of a November 2005 event where Michael spoke to an audience in Vancouver.
Michael Ableman is the founder and executive director of the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, a non profit organization based on one of the oldest and most diverse organic farms in southern California, where he farmed from 1981 to 2001. The farm has become an important community and education center and a national model for small scale and urban agriculture. Under Ableman’s leadership the farm was saved from development and preserved under one of the earliest and most unique active agricultural conservation easements of its type in the country.
Michael lives in British Columbia on Salt Spring Island where he is developing a long-term master plan for Foxglove Farm. The farm will include mixed grain, livestock, and fruit and vegetable production. The 75 acres of forest will be managed using strict eco-forestry principles. Harvested trees will be milled and furniture products produced on-site.
His most recent book “Fields of Plenty” describes the growing community of farmers and food artisans, who are producing sustainable nourishment that is respectful to the land and rich in heritage, flavor and commitment.
Michael spoke to an audience in November, 2005. This event was produced by Necessary Voices Society and the Vancouver Public Library.
Deconstructing Dinner is designed to educate listeners on the impacts our food choices have on ourselves, our communities and the planet. The show, hosted by Jon Steinman, is produced at Kootenay Co-op Radio (CJLY) in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada.
(22 Feb 2007)
Peak Moment: Land Trusts – Keeping Local Agriculture Alive
Janaia Donaldson, Peak Moment via Global Public Media
Land trusts are an important part of the voluntary protection of working agricultural lands, which can also protect water quality, habitat, and beauty, not to mention food production expertise. Land trust veterans Cheryl Belcher and Dan Macon, himself a farmer, discuss the critical role of small scale food producers in the local economy and the challenges they face — from misperceptions of farming to policies favoring big agriculture. Episode 50.
Janaia Donaldson hosts Peak Moment, a television series emphasizing positive responses to energy decline and climate change through local community action. How can we thrive, build stronger communities, and help one another in the transition from a fossil fuel-based lifestyle?
(12 Feb 2007)
Linking Land Use Planning and the Food Environment
Lisa Feldstein, Smart Growth Online
An emerging issue in the smart growth field is the link between a healthy food environment and good land use planning.
Although less obvious than walkability or bikeability, the connection between land use planning decisions and the food environment is profound. And while the problem is not one that is entirely framed within a land use context, there are important land use considerations to creating an optimal food environment.
Studies have found that the issue is especially critical in low-income neighborhoods, which often suffer disproportionate impacts from disinvestment and poor land use planning. These policies—whether intentional or through neglect—have resulted in the creation of “food deserts”: residential neighborhoods that lack ready access to the components of a fresh and healthful diet.
…In communities where grocery stores have become scarce, it is common to see fast-food restaurants filling the food retail void. For households with inadequate access to transportation and limited budgets, fast food can be a primary food source in these neighborhoods.
A recent study in Chicago linked an ‘imbalanced food environment’ (where the number and location of fast-food outlets was greater than the number and location of grocery stores) with increased body mass index (a measurement that can indicate obesity and overweight).
The cumulative impact of these environmental components—scarce grocery stores, plentiful fast food, and limited access to physical activity—is manifested in the obesity epidemic.
…In fact, cities and counties can do quite a lot. Communities have begun to explore land use strategies for limiting the number and density of fast food and other restaurants, for improving the nutritional content and variety of foods sold in small corner stores, and for supporting the establishment of farmers’ markets, community gardens, and full-service supermarkets.
Jurisdictions have amended their comprehensive plans and zoning codes to reflect the importance of and to support the enhancement of healthy food access. Building on trip-generation data that concludes that most trips are non-work trips, communities have begun to recognize that providing an environment that supports accessible services that are essential for community health, like healthy food retail, not only promotes a smart growth agenda of reducing private vehicle trips but can improve public health.
(27 Nov 2006)
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