Locavore News by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: September 21, 2009
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
Perspectives on good food and farming
Happy Half Birthday White House Kitchen Garden
Exactly six months, First Lady Michelle Obama first broke ground for the White House Kitchen Garden. At the time, the event seemed so unprecedented it landed Mrs. Obama in her first-ever solo turn, without President Obama, above the fold on the front pages of both the New York Times and the Washington Post, and it also made international news. What began as something of an experiment in teaching children better eating habits by helping them understand where food comes from has turned into a paradigm shift in America’s food consciousness, originating with the White House. Obama Foodorama blog
USDA launches “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative
Helping communities lift themselves by the economic roots is the thrust behind a new federal initiative called “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.†Details of the multi-million-dollar program, announced Tuesday in Washington by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, were outlined later in the afternoon here in Chicago at the Chefs Collaborative National Summit. “We believe everyone needs a farmer,’’ said Ann Wright. Chicago Tribune story.USDA Secretary Vilsack’s launch of program on YouTube: Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food. (1.45 minutes)
Mayor Newsom Announces Regional Food Policy for San Francisco
Mayor Newsom, joined at the announcement by California Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura and representatives of the United State Department of Agriculture, explained that the food policy calls for a range of actions to be completed in 180 days. These actions include a requirement that all departments conduct an audit of land under their jurisdiction to create an inventory of land suitable for gardening, the introduction of new health and sustainability requirements for food sold by vendors under city permits, a “healthy meetings policy” requiring the purchase of healthy, locally produced foods for city meetings, and within two months, the introduction of a new law requiring that food purchased by the city has been grown regionally and through sustainable methods. San Francisco Mayor News Press Release.
‘Locavores’ want power to shape food policy (North Carolina)
This grass-roots movement is seeking a permanent voice in state government. Legislation in both the state House and Senate proposes the creation of a 24-person Sustainable Local Food Policy Council. The Senate bill passed earlier this month, and the House will now take up that version. The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) story.
Don’t Buy Sustainability from Wal-Mart
Our lead news story last month got me thinking. Sustainability is too important a topic for the food industry to turn over to Wal-Mart. Dave Fusaro, Editor in Chief editorial on FoodProcessing.com.
Cooking the Books with Holly Hughes
I think that food has moved more into the center of American consciousness. We’re now more concerned about our food supply, not only in terms of food safety, but in terms of what’s right. Behind the locavore movement is the idea that our economic system is better served by supporting local farmers. I think more people are conscious of those issues. And food writing is not just about high end restaurants. There’s a lot more writing about storefront restaurants and going onto the farm and seeing what farmers are doing. There’s a much wider spectrum of what people expect to read when they read food writing. Also, the whole high-low idea in food has gotten to be a wonderful, complex tapestry. We’ve learned to look at very simple kinds of food as having a culture. Like Marshmallow Fluff—there’s a lot to say about it. Publishers Weekly interviewwith Holly Hughes, editor, Best Food Writing.
What’s the Future of Food?
Produced by spiked (about) in association with the UK Food and Drink Federation (FDF), is an online survey of people with strong views about what we eat and how we produce it. From writers, politicians and campaigners to restaurateurs, academics and food producers, the aim is to get a broad range of opinions on a subject that is close to everyone’s heart and spark a debate about how we might change things for the better. One of the special issues reports on spiked (home), a U.K.-based, progressive, independent online phenomenon dedicated to raising the horizons of humanity by waging a culture war of words against misanthropy, priggishness, prejudice, luddism, illiberalism and irrationality in all their ancient and modern forms.
Sustainable Food: Report 8 of the Council on Science and Public Health
Conclusions: Healthy diets are rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in unhealthy fats, sodium, and added sugars, but they also support environmental sustainability, economic viability, and human dignity and justice. Unhealthy food systems are not sustainable, and contribute to the very health problems the health care system is trying to solve – at extraordinary costs both economically and in terms of quality of life. It is essential that health care organizations become both models and advocates of healthy, sustainable food systems that promote wellness and that “first do no harm.â€American Medical Association Report Executive Summary
A plan for sustainable agriculture
IGD advises companies to apply seven steps in building a sustainable food system: 1) Get every member of staff onboard with the scale and importance of the challenge; 2) Build partnerships – we won’t succeed with a silo mentality; 3) Wage war on waste; 4) Make the supply chain more shockproof; 5) Use technology to raise productivity; 6) Share best practice – there will always be a first-mover advantage but we need to learn from each other; 7) Bring consumers with us by explaining what needs to be done and empowering them to help through their food choices. Article by Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of the Institute for Grocery Distribution, an international food and grocery research organisation that provides information, insight and best practice worldwide.
Green divide between Kraft and Cadbury
Creators of an eco-index of the best and worst green products today claimed there was an “environmental divide” between US food giant Kraft and confectionery company Cadbury. Today environment consultancy EnvirUP.com, which created the new Green Index Report, said the environmental effect of a takeover should be considered. Independent (UK) story.
School lunch menus published via Twitter
School lunches are increasingly a focal point in the ongoing battle against childhood obesity, drawing even the attention of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Following survey results suggesting that one of parents’ top concerns is that they don’t typically know what’s on the menu on any given day, the UK’s School Fund Trust has partnered with Somerset County Services to publish its school menu each day via Twitter. Springwise Newsletter story.
A Business Built on Homemade
Since 2008, Kirsch has operated Laurel’s Peace Country Preserves, a restaurant and retail operation on Main Street in downtown Grande Prairie. Many local residents and visitors also know her as the entrepreneur behind the other Peace Country Preserves, which has marketed jams, jellies and pickles at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market since 1991. Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development news release.
Know your onions about cutting down on food miles
An eco-roadshow will visit Orwell this week to raise awareness about climate change. The Zero Carbon Caravan will arrive in Orwell recreation ground at 3pm on Thursday as part of its journey from Wales to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change talks, which take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December. Volunteers from Cambridge’s Youth Action team will also hold a picnic at the village park, using locally produced food. Cambridge (UK) Evening News story.
Prince Charles Green Credentials Questioned
The latest controversy surrounds the firm’s organic strawberry preserve, which is made in Somerset but uses strawberries transported 250 miles away from the Queen’s estate at Sandringham in Norfolk. At a time when most major supermarkets are trying to sell locally-produced fruits, milk and other goods wherever possible, the jam, which goes on sale next month, raised eyebrows among the many hard-pressed strawberry growers in Somerset and the West Country. UK Daily Express story.
French study says organic food is healthier
A new review from France has concluded that there are nutritional benefits to organic produce, on the basis of data compiled for the French food agency AFSSA. The conclusion opposes that of a UK study published last month. Food Navigator.com story. Agronomy for Sustainable Development abstract.
AND Some Eye Candy
Flags Made Out of Food
Spotted on Ads of the World was this series of advertisements promoting the Sydney International Food Festival in which flags are made out of the countries’ iconic foodstuffs. By WHYBIN/TBWA out of Sydney, Australia. Ads.