Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Northwestern University to Host NU Food Talks
****** CHANGE OF LOCATION ********
This event will NOT be held in Parkes Hall. Stay posted for new location.
Calling all Foodies! Yes, you, the person who wants to know their food.
You know that organic banana you’re munching come from Costa Rica, but do you know how it was produced? Do you know how it was transported to your grocery? How about the cost breakdown of the 98 cents a pound you paid?
Join the Northwestern University Sustainable Food Talks (NU Food Talks). The program’s mission is to strengthen our sustainable food systems network, our knowledge base, and find ways together to maximize our outreach.
They will host a pot-luck talking group the first Tuesday of each month made up of students, faculty, staff, community members, food advocates and experts. Each meeting features an expert from part of our food system who will speak on their work, the issues they face, and how it affects our foodshed. From these conversations they will develop action points for individuals and initiatives to be implemented by partnering organizations.
The first official kick-off pot-luck is:
Tuesday, March 6 from 6:30-8:00pm
Evanston, IL Campus.
If you are a student, faculty, staff, or community member and would like to join their planning committee please e-mail them at nusustainablefoodtalks@gmail.com
For more information visit their blog at http://www.nusustainablefoodtalks.blogspot.com/
Follow them on Twitter @NUFoodTalks
Like them on Facebook NU Food Talks
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Panel on Institutional Food Buying, AUA
Yesterday, Wednesday February 1, 2012, the Chicago Advocates for Urban Agriculture hosted their winter meeting at the Garfield Park Conservatory. There were two important ideas brought up concerning the challenges Institutions face when purchasing local, whole produce.
- Changing Institutional buying to purchase local and organic requires kitchens to re-skill their staff for new menus (cutting veggies instead of using pre-cut veggies).
- Changing Institutional buying requires working across department silos to cost cuts in energy, water and time management (etc) in order to move money to purchasing for the true cost of local food and the labor costs for skilled cooks.
Facilitator:
Kathy Nyquist, New Venture Advisors
Panelists:
Greg Christian, Beyond Green: Sustainable Food Partners
Kyle Schafter, UNITE HERE
Joan Hopkins, Coordinator of Chicago Botanic Garden, Windy City Harvest, Cook County Boot Camp
Ben Perkins, Purchasing Buyer for Goodness Greeness
Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill Hearing Schedule Announced
Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced the Committee’s Farm Bill hearing schedule for February and March, noting that the Committee will continue examining Farm Bill principles and evaluating policy solutions to develop a 2012 Farm Bill.
Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced the Committee’s Farm Bill hearing schedule for February and March, noting that the Committee will continue examining Farm Bill principles and evaluating policy solutions to develop a 2012 Farm Bill. Below are the details of the next series of hearings (dates and topics are subject to change).
Wednesday, February 15
Title: Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America
A hearing to evaluate policies that make investments in jobs and opportunities for farmers and rural businesses through new markets, entrepreneurship, regional strategies and energy innovation.
Wednesday, February 29
Title: Strengthening Conservation through the 2012 Farm Bill
A hearing to explore the Conservation title’s important investment in America – the nation’s fundamental resources of our water, soils and other natural resource infrastructure – through policies that help farmers maintain soil health, keep our water clean and available, our food abundant and safe and our wildlife plentiful so as to protect the basic principles of farming and our way of life for future generations.
Wednesday, March 14
Title: Healthy Food Initiatives, Local Production and Nutrition
A hearing to explore innovative opportunities in agriculture through policies that assist the development of local markets for farmers – connecting them to the growing consumer demand for locally-produced, healthy food options.
Wednesday, March 21
Title: Risk Management and Commodities in the 2012 Farm Bill
A hearing to evaluate the need for and cost effectiveness of risk management tools available to farmers who continue to face increasingly volatile crop prices, input costs and the threat of natural disasters; and how the federal government can provide appropriate risk-management tools while making the best use of limited resources.
Witnesses, times and other specific hearing details to be announced. Senate Agriculture Committee hearings are available for viewing on the Committee website at http://ag.senate.gov.
Click here to see the schedule (note that details are subject to change).
Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced the Committee’s Farm Bill hearing schedule for February and March, noting that the Committee will continue examining Farm Bill principles and evaluating policy solutions to develop a 2012 Farm Bill. Below are the details of the next series of hearings (dates and topics are subject to change).
Wednesday, February 15
Title: Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America
A hearing to evaluate policies that make investments in jobs and opportunities for farmers and rural businesses through new markets, entrepreneurship, regional strategies and energy innovation.
Wednesday, February 29
Title: Strengthening Conservation through the 2012 Farm Bill
A hearing to explore the Conservation title’s important investment in America – the nation’s fundamental resources of our water, soils and other natural resource infrastructure – through policies that help farmers maintain soil health, keep our water clean and available, our food abundant and safe and our wildlife plentiful so as to protect the basic principles of farming and our way of life for future generations.
Wednesday, March 14
Title: Healthy Food Initiatives, Local Production and Nutrition
A hearing to explore innovative opportunities in agriculture through policies that assist the development of local markets for farmers – connecting them to the growing consumer demand for locally-produced, healthy food options.
Wednesday, March 21
Title: Risk Management and Commodities in the 2012 Farm Bill
A hearing to evaluate the need for and cost effectiveness of risk management tools available to farmers who continue to face increasingly volatile crop prices, input costs and the threat of natural disasters; and how the federal government can provide appropriate risk-management tools while making the best use of limited resources.
Witnesses, times and other specific hearing details to be announced. Senate Agriculture Committee hearings are available for viewing on the Committee website at http://ag.senate.gov.
Click here to see the schedule (note that details are subject to change).
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Expanding My Mind with a Book, Expanding Our Knowledge with Action
Have you read a book where all the ideas you've been thinking and mulling over are boiled down into one ah-ha moment? In the last few days I've been reading from John E. Ikerd's book Crisis and Opportunity Sustainability in American Agriculture. You might think, "I know this idea of sustainable agriculture can solve the problems in today's food system, but how do I prove that? I don't have the argument or the years of research."
Problem solved. Read this book. Then buy this book. Read it again next year.
John E. Ikerd's book Crisis and Opportunity Sustainability in American Agriculture
"Many "low-input" farmers are already achieving yields equal to or greater than conventional high-yield with low input systems of farming. The knowledge and expertise required to achieve high yields with low inputs are not nearly as common among farmers as are commercial agriculture technologies. However, many others are capable of acquiring this ability, if they realized it was possible and had an incentive to do so. In addition, sustainable agriculture today is in its infancy; sustainable farmers are but the early explorers on a new frontier. As they accumulate increased understanding and know-how, their productive abilities will undoubtedly increase as well. If we invest a fraction of the research and development efforts on regenerative farming methods in the future that we have invested in industrial methods in the past, our overall ability to produce by sustainable methods in the future may easily surpass our ability to produce by conventional methods." p17
Do you want to learn more about these methods? Visit the following organizations:
Problem solved. Read this book. Then buy this book. Read it again next year.
John E. Ikerd's book Crisis and Opportunity Sustainability in American Agriculture
"Many "low-input" farmers are already achieving yields equal to or greater than conventional high-yield with low input systems of farming. The knowledge and expertise required to achieve high yields with low inputs are not nearly as common among farmers as are commercial agriculture technologies. However, many others are capable of acquiring this ability, if they realized it was possible and had an incentive to do so. In addition, sustainable agriculture today is in its infancy; sustainable farmers are but the early explorers on a new frontier. As they accumulate increased understanding and know-how, their productive abilities will undoubtedly increase as well. If we invest a fraction of the research and development efforts on regenerative farming methods in the future that we have invested in industrial methods in the past, our overall ability to produce by sustainable methods in the future may easily surpass our ability to produce by conventional methods." p17
Do you want to learn more about these methods? Visit the following organizations:
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)