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Freedom food: the organic farmers who took on the Italian mafia
Gianluca Martelliano, the ecologist
Would you work on confiscated lands owned by mafia bosses who have killed countless people? The Ecologist reports from Italy on the new farming cooperative turning a bloody past into organic olive oil, oranges and wine
Once there was blood. Now there are organic blood oranges. This is southern Italy. These are lands once dominated by mafia bosses but now witnessing pockets of defiance blossoming into a wide network of cooperatives operating under the umbrella of the ‘Libera’ association. Libera means ‘free’, just like these freed lands, where small groups of farmers produce olive oil, pasta, wine and preserves under the label ‘Libera Terra’ (Free Land). They say that in this food you can taste the freedom.
The organic method of mafia resistance came to life in 1995. Libera, founded by Luigi Ciotti, a Catholic priest, started collecting signatures to spur the Italian parliament to pass a law allowing properties confiscated from people associated with organised crime to be used for ‘socially useful purposes’. The petition, signed by one million people, became law in 1996.
The first Libera Terra cooperative – Cooperativa Placido Rizzotto – was set up in 2001 in San Giuseppe Jato, Sicily, a few miles from Corleone, the capital town of Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian mafia.
Nowadays, there are eight co-ops like this. In addition, Libera is planning to set up another three farms. According to Ismea, the state-run research institute for the agricultural market, there was an increase of 11.5 per cent in the organic food sector in 2011, despite the global economic crisis.
…Italy is full of people like Antonella and Massimo. They have to cope with the Byzantine intricacies of local bureaucracy in addition to facing the fact that – often – confiscated goods end up in the wrong hands thanks to ‘prestanome’ (dummies), people having a clean criminal record but on the mafia’s payroll.
In spite of it all, Libera Terra turned a profit of more than £2 billion in 2010 in the food sector. The network intends to strengthen its business in other countries, such as Germany. ‘And the UK, as well’ – adds Francesco Galante, spokesperson for Libera Terra – ‘we are going to sell our products in Great Britain by this Autumn’. Fair trade from a developed country. It costs a bit more. But, in the end, can you really put a price on the taste of freedom?
(25 October 2011)
Growing Cities: A Film About Urban Farming in America
Colleen Vanderlinden, treehugger
Urban farms each have their own identity, their own feel and methodology. But the one thing they have in common is idealism, and the sense that our cities can be so much more than they currently are. They can be centers of growth and nourishment, rather than lot after lot of stores or, in some cases, nothingness.
In the documentary “Growing Cities,” two friends travel across the country to interview leaders in urban agriculture and learn more about how cities are being revitalized by urban farming.
The cross country trip includes visits to urban farms in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seattle, and Detroit, among others.
The film was inspired by the filmmakers’ hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. It’s been touted as one of the fastest-growing cities in America, but signs that the city is becoming less healthy as it grows are everywhere, including rising obesity rates and higher rates of unemployment. This juxtaposition of rising growth and a lowering of quality of life raised a question for filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette: “If growing bigger isn’t making our cities healthier and more vibrant places to live, then what kind of growth will?”
And with that, they started looking at urban farming as an antidote to what is ailing our cities. You can check out a clip from “Growing Cities” here:
Growing Cities Preview from Growing Cities Movie on Vimeo.
(14 September 2011)
Education in the Desert
Linda Novick O’Keefe
Imagine you’re Ramon. You’re nine. You’re a little bit of a geek; you’d rather spend your weekend reading Harry Potter than shooting hoops. You live on Chicago’s South Side with your Mom and Dad, your Grandma, and your hamster Lucille. Like Lucille, you’re slightly chubby.
Luckily, you are involved in an after school-cooking class run by Common Threads at your school. Every Monday, you and other kids learn how to make a dinner for your family using five ingredients you can buy for under $10. Many are ingredients you can find in a convenience store. This is awesome because sometimes your Grandma can’t go shopping at a real market. She likes to go on Saturdays with Aunt Rosa, but if Rosa can’t borrow a car, they have no way to get there. Then Grandma has to get creative with ingredients from the Quick Mart.
Now you and Grandma take turns cooking dinner. Mom calls you the “stove wizard”; Dad loves your Three-Bean Rice and your Sweet and Sour Slaw. And Grandma says that even though you’re getting slimmer from these healthy recipes, she’s still going to squeeze your cheeks in her two hands and smooch all over them until you yell.
Okay, you’re not Ramon anymore. You’re just yourself, and if you’re lucky, you’re not one of the 23.5 million Americans living in a “food desert.” Food deserts are urban and rural areas that lack access to grocery stores. They’re one of the blights addressed by “Let’s Move,” the major campaign against childhood obesity launched in 2010 by Michelle Obama.
Chicago is taking a lead in addressing food deserts. I was honored this week to be included in Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Food Access Summit lunch, where national food activists and policy makers met to share strategies for improving access to good nutrition in urban areas. I am so grateful that Mayor Emanuel has prioritized the issue and is demonstrating real leadership in the area of food access. The guest list included Sam Kass, White House Senior Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives — another true leader in the crusade to increase our nation’s health — alongside mayors from eight U.S. cities that have been successful in making better food more available to inner city residents.
…Erika Allen, who runs the Iron Street Urban Farm, also spoke at the lunch. Located in what was once a truck depot, Iron Street Farm is one of five sites in Chicago developed by Growing Power, a truly inspirational organization whose mission is to transform city eating habits by building what it calls “Community Food Systems”. Founder Will Allen, Erika’s father, is a sharecropper’s son who went through several professional transformations before turning to farming. Recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award, his mantra is “if people can grow safe, healthy, affordable food, if they have access to land and clean water, this is transformative on every level of a community.” Erika pointed out that in Chicago, Growing Power’s initiatives depend on the kind of forward-looking zoning laws just passed by the city.
Another fascinating urban agriculture project is the vertical farming promoted by The Plant, a former Chicago meatpacking facility that has been repurposed as a growing space and “food business incubator”. John Edel from The Plant attended the lunch to discuss vertical farming and the importance of urban building re-use.
Vertical farming — huh? I couldn’t quite imagine how effective an up-and-down space could be for crops until I saw it. Monocle recently created a video featuring The Plant and if, like me, you need visuals, you’ll find it fascinating….
(November 1 2011)
