Food & Water

Most “preppers” are men? Ha – Check the kitchen!

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Preparedness, at its root, is more than anything about making sure people get dinner. Yes, we can prepare to fight off zombie attacks, build earth shelters in case we lose ours (although odds are most of us will move in with a friend or relative), learn how to handle background radiation – but the first tier problems most of us face – and the ones most people prepare for first, are the ones we’re familiar with – what will we eat? How will we cook it?

Terra Madre notes: Vandana Shiva rocks the house

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I’ve just come out of the most hopeful and interesting discussions of climate change I’ve ever witnessed. Anchored by Indian food-sovereignty activist Vandana Shiva, the panel discussion at Terra Madre unveiled a new “Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security,” drawn up by the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture.

The document under discussion — which can be found here — is brisk, lucid, and to the point.

Food & agriculture – Oct 28

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Soil research has dried up
Europe’s secret plan to boost GM crop production
Farm-credit squeeze may cut crops, spur food crisis
Is manure more valuable than hogs?
At Asian food market, a sign of lost confidence

Our hidden wound

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Most of us grew up in a society where farmer was often merely a synonym for moron, and I am quite sure that many farmers are still haunted by feelings of inferiority laid on them by this kind of urban and urbane prejudice.