MIT researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via ‘foodsheds,’ in which healthier, more affordable food is produced and consumed regionally.
Sustainably grown grain was delivered to Nelson, BC, this weekend as 10,000 lbs of grain was shipped by sail from the southern arm of Lake Kootenay to Nelson.
In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.
We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won't go bad, but we also have new strains of E. coli—the harmful bacteria that causes illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually. We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults.
Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield's Gary Hirshberg and Polyface Farms' Joel Salatin, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.
SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and is a new farming model to allow anyone, anywhere to profit from a land base of under 1 acre in size. If you are a new farmer, or want to farm in a new way, SPIN may be for you.
SPIN farming works in cities and small towns, or in the country, and can accommodate many different lifestyles and work cycles. It is possible to gross up to $50,000 from a one-half acre SPIN farm through revenue targeting formulas based on selling organic produce locally at farmers' markets or specialty food shops.
Because SPIN farming eliminates two of the big barriers to farming - namely land and capital - it is attractive to first time farmers as well as part-time hobby farmers.
For more information, and for downloadable literature, visit the SPIN farming website!
And for a very interesting extension of the personal SPIN farm, see what a SPIN freelancer is doing at Nelson Urban Acres, a new business initiative in Nelson, BC.
This document, the second edition of a 'Community Action Guide' from the Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition, describes what a secure, sustainable, and socially equitable food system (producer-consumer cycle) looks like. It contains a wealth of ideas and information, plus links and references to numberous other sources of information.
This is an excellent document, made available under the Creative Commons 'Share alike' attribution copyright model, so it is free to post as long as you credit the 'Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition' as author.
Starving sea life – from whales to puffins, tuna to seals – is being found all over the world's oceans, as the food on which it depends is being fished out, startling new evidence shows. And much of the depletion, ironically, is caused by raising captive fish – for the table.
As we welcome spring, and look forward to all things budding, lots of seedlings are basking under grow lights, and seeds are germinating in the warmth of heat mats all over the premises of 199 Turk Road!
However, we do have produce from the 2008 harvest still available:
potatoes - from our cold cellar carrots and rutabaga - both fresh from ground storage!
Pick up times can be arranged most evenings after 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 1st and Thursday, April 2nd during the day by appointment.
Sunday, April 5th, noon to 5:00 p.m.
SPIN stands for S-mall P-lot IN-tensive, and is a new farming model to allow anyone, anywhere to profit from a land base of under 1 acre in size. If you are a new farmer, or want to farm in a new way, SPIN may be for you.
