Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
On the edge of the Laguna Watershed in Sonoma County, at the end of a narrow gravel road, lies a small homestead developed by two families with a commitment to producing food and fiber in an atmosphere that weaves together aestheticism, function and fun.
It might seem a bit of a jump – talking about "fracking" and food production in the same article. However, when we look at what’s planned for the next phase of intensive agricultural development, what we find is the same economic and political theories at the root of the measures proposed.
If you buy your booze from a store, “wine” refers only to grapes, but you can make wine or beer from almost any edible plant and some inedible ones.
Securing land is difficult for young farmers, particularly in Marin County, where farms often pass from one generation to the next without going on the market.
For some years now, author and farmer Jean-Martin Fortier has lived rather comfortably with his family entirely off the proceeds of their market garden in Québec, Canada.
In other essays I presented data showing that small-scale, local farms aren’t always more energy efficient than larger-scale producers, but as far as energy used to distribute food local farms seem to have an advantage.
Watch Brian Kerkvliet cut thick grasses easily and quickly with his hand-built scythe — a far cry from a noisy weed whacker!
Can real change take root in the aisles of a grocery store?
I want to suggest the creation of a new human right. That human right is the right to cook.
Years back a pair of planners, Branden Born and Mark Purcell, warned that there’s nothing about smaller scale enterprises that make them inherently more efficient than their larger counterparts. With respect to on-farm energy intensity, they’re certainly right.
Though the local food movement continues to make strides, there’s still a long way to go.
In the early twentieth century, fireless cookers were common additions to western kitchens, similar to the refrigerator or cooking stove.
