Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
There is little disagreement that urban farming translates into increased access to local, sustainable, and healthy food, and that this is a very good thing. But how is it done? What are the success stories of urban farming? And what exactly is a “foodshed?”
Interesting about the ways climate change will impact Saudi Arabia’s agriculture – already strained pretty much to the limit by inhospitable heat and drought
Confucius said that the health of a nation could be determined by the integrity of its homes. If we apply that standard, we’re in trouble.
If you could boil our global problems down to seven words, they might be these: we don’t see where stuff comes from.
•Mother: Caring for 7 Billion – Teaser – Free Streaming of Director’s Cut •Do the Math Documentary Premieres on Earth Night, April 21 •Growing Cities Movie
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representative Chellie Pingree (D-ME) introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 yesterday in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The two identical bills expand business and marketing opportunities for farmers and ranchers while increasing consumer access to healthy foods. The legislation addresses production, aggregation, processing, marketing and distribution barriers that limit growth in local and regional food markets. The bill also makes targeted investments in programs that create jobs and spur economic growth through food and farms.
Now, despite my best efforts to look into the crystal ball here, I fully expect there will be a lot about the future of human food acquisition that will surprise me…and perhaps even in a good way! But in light of all the known troubles bearing down on us, I think it’s just plain suicidal to muddle on as-per-usual and hope it’ll all be OK.
As the toxic trappings of industrial civilization crumble around us, agriculture is set to regain its place at the forefront of our daily American lives. …And won’t we be surprised to find out that it barely works anymore! So perhaps it’s time we re-think our modern food-acquisition strategies in the face of the massive changes bearing down on us. …And I mean REALLY re-think them.
•Solar development absorbing Calif. farmland
•A Free, Pick-Your-Own Orchard Takes Root in Los Angeles
•New Report Shows Inextricable Link Between Food, Water and Energy
•’Progaganda Gardening’ at Incredible Edible Todmorden
•Dairy Farms Suffer in US Shale Gas Fracking Boom
Although there were still cosmos and California poppy flowering in the gardens, winter had put his bony leafless hand on the pot and suddenly we were all thinking Roots.
One of the greatest gifts of Transition is rediscovering the simple joys of doing seasonal things together – cooking, cycling, swimming in the sea, having a picnic. They bring sense and meaning into everything we do. Nothing though is quite as delightful and satisfying as foraging – going out into the wild territories and finding stuff to bring home and eat.
In early October, the eco-village, Änggärdet, Sweden, hosted two days of Live Action Role-Play (LARP) along the theme of life 2016-2027, post peak oil and post economic collapse. Players got the opportunity to explore what various scenarios would be like, including being commaned into a work detail bu the military to harvest the last remaining potatoes by hand, and by joining a self-organised, worked-by-hand co-housing combi-farm.
