Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
For those concerned about a sustainable future, changing the reigning industrially-conditioned aesthetic–which is now deeply ingrained in the public mind–will be as much of a challenge as changing the underlying system that created it.
I never knew why August was a good time to apply barn manure to farm and garden and Fall even better. We just did it then because there is usually a lull in other pressing farm work. Now I find out from the consensus of opinion among the experts on barn manure a century ago that we’ve been doing the right thing.
-Deeply Rooted
-A growing revolution: Urban gardens are changing the landscape
-Reality Pricks Corn Ethanol’s Bubble
In this episode Crop To Cuisine speaks with Joel K. Bourne Jr. author of National Geographic Magazine’s June cover story, The End of Plenty – The Global Food Crisis. We discuss the relationship between food, agriculture, population growth, and the consequences of ignoring it all. We are also joined by Chef Ann Cooper. Chef Cooper spent years redesigning the Berkley, CA school food system…And lastly, we get tips on how to transform a garden into a community building experience from CSU Extension agent, Carol O’Meara.
– China energy efficiency ‘improves in first half’
– Global poll finds 73% want higher priority for climate change
– Saving Fish is Possible, Unless They’re Past the Tipping Point
The findings in last weeks’ FSA report that there is little to choose between organic and “conventional” food in terms of the major nutrients is hardly a surprise. For many including myself, less rigidly defined labels such as “local” and “chemical-free” have been more important especially if we can see for ourselves how the food is grown.
Deconstructing Dinner revisits with the topic of permaculture… a concept and philosophy that has grown significantly in popularity since we first aired a show on the topic back in 2006. In September 2008, Deconstructing Dinner’s Andrea Langlois visited The Blue Raven Permaculture Farm on Salt Spring Island British Columbia. Farmers and Instructors Brandon and Patti Bauer escort Andrea around the farm and describe the principles of permaculture as they apply on their particular parcel of land.
Working from the premise that we will eventually run out of plentiful supplies of manufactured fertilizers, I have been reading old farming books written before artificial fertilizers became easily available. I am amazed at the sophistication with which science approached the subject of soil fertility once it become evident in the mid-1800s that farmers were rapidly depleting the native richness of their soils and had to find ways to restore it using livestock manure and green manure crops.
-With House food-safety bill a done deal, questions remain
-Organic food ‘no better for health than factory-farmed food’ says report
-Bill would restrict antibiotics in food animals
Today I talk about my “favorite” disaster, called The Sixth Extinction. Even in the age of politically correct environmentalism, most people could care less about the Earth’s plant & animal species unless their decline bears directly and immediately on their own welfare. Accordingly, I will talk about some clear-cut examples where the health of the natural world adversely affects our future survival.
New York state author, blogger, and homesteader Sharon Astyk discusses her new book, A Nation of Farmers: Defeating the Food Crisis on American Soil. Astyk sees the energy shortages of peak oil hitting us and our food system now, and she argues that US food security depends on 100 million of us starting to farm in the near future. Four Vermonters also describe part of what they are doing to move Vermont toward much stronger local food systems.
