Slow Money Helps Save Beloved Co-op
After more than 30 years in business, the SLO Natural Foods Co-op in San Luis Obispo, California, probably would not have continued to survive without the help of Slow Money SLO.
building a resilient food and farming system
The Future of UK Farming: Measuring and Valuing Sustainability
At The Future of UK Farming conference this April, The Sustainable Food Trust’s Patrick Holden chaired a session on “Measuring and Valuing Sustainability”. The panel discussed how to transform the economic environment for sustainable food production by empowering farmers to deliver measurable public goods.
Going Forward By Going Back: An Excerpt from Nourished Planet
The organization’s Ark of Taste initiative is cataloging indigenous species of fruits and vegetables all over the world. And every 2 years, Slow Food brings members together to celebrate Terra Madre, or Mother Earth, at Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy.
Harvesting Hope: the Permaculture Movement in India
Among a number of movements, civil society organisations and campaigns addressing the agrarian crisis and the effects of industrial agriculture in India, the permaculture movement is fast gaining ground among subsistence farmers and proponents of alternative agriculture.
The Uplands Need a Future Reimagined not Rewilded
Viewed over centuries, the beneficial role of upland farmers as stewards of both the landscape and their local communities is clear. However, George Monbiot, spoke for rewilding largely from an ideological standpoint.
Five Books
The farming and gardening section, alone, in my home library contains approximately 300 titles. Here are five titles that inspired me to want to farm.
To Beef, or Not to Beef, That is the Question (Act 1)
In the recent debate about beef and it’s impact on the environment there are two views. There are those who view cattle as greenhouse-gas belching planet destroyers, while others depict them as benevolent carbon sequestration machines.
Ten Ways to Avoid Shopping for Food in Supermarkets
I prefer to spend my money with food enterprises operating with sustainability in mind, that minimise waste, are transparent about their supply chains, take an ethical approach to animal welfare and the environment, and produce food for health and flavour, not shelf life.
Can Children Learn to Love Real Food?
A group of 5 year old children wearing ear muffs and biting into pears may sound like a bizarre way to tackle obesity, but the founders of the new sensory food education initiative Flavour School would disagree. There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that taste preferences in adulthood are closely linked to what we eat in childhood.
The Push to Turn Church Land into Farmland
In a sign that this movement is starting to gather steam, Parish, Kashem, and other members of a diverse array of religious communities gathered earlier this year at what is believed to be the first event focused on connecting farmers with land, in service to their communities.
Making the Invisible Visible: A Bold Strategy to Change the Food System
The goal of TEEB AgriFood is to more comprehensively determine the costs, benefits, and dependencies of agriculture and food production. TEEBAgriFood is creating a framework for looking at all the impacts of the ‘eco-agri-food’ value chain, from farm to fork to disposal, including effects on livelihoods, the environment, and health.
Finance your Foodshed
It is time for communities to take up financing their foodshed. Doing so can grow regional food economies and bring a new crop of supporters into the tent of Local Food.