Locavore News by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: November 30, 2009
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
Perspectives on good food and farming
School Meals Boost Education and Food Security for Children
Based on the book’s findings, the World Bank and WFP are already partnering with six countries this year to scale up school feeding programs and other food-based safety net interventions, with the aim of helping countries transition to sustainable national programs with domestic financing. This partnership— also working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—will emphasize local food procurement and other efforts to boost the incomes of small farmers—in Africa, 80 percent of small holders are women. World Bank story.
Farm to College Website Redesigned
CFSC’s National Farm to College Program is happy to announce that we have redesigned our website. The site is an excellent clearinghouse of resources for both new and existing farm to college projects, with practical tools and resources, profiles of 140 projects, and information about trends in the movement. National Farm to College Program, Community Food Security Coalition website.
Locals grow bullish on grass-finished beef
What do a hot dog and food activist Michael Pollan have in common? Both can be advocates for sustainable meat. Franktuary, a Downtown lunch spot that serves gussied-up hot dogs and more, introduced the Locavore, a hot dog made from organic, local, grass-finished beef. Pittsburgh Post Gazette story.
Raising the Root
Like many a farmer, Ben Flanner rises with the sun. Like most crops, his need water and weeding — bright tomatoes and fragrant basil, delicate nasturtiums, mottled melons and black eggplants, mustard greens, puntarelle, peas, beets, beans, kale — about 30 fruits and vegetables in all, and then there are the herbs. But his farm is not like most farms. His farm is three stories off the ground. Washington Post story.
Princeton senior wins Rhodes Scholarship for research on ways to localize food policymaking
“The U.K. government has articulated a very progressive food policy which looks at food as it affects the environment, the economy and human health,” Barmeier said. “I want to study what lessons that policy has to offer the United States.”Princeton University story.
Farming our Schools
When is the last time you walked around an urban public high school in the United States? For most of us, it’s been a while. For me, it was just last month and I will tell you what I noticed when I walked around. It wasn’t the dilapidated buildings, the lack of experienced teachers, or the missing vocational and practical trades that disappeared a long time ago with shrinking budgets. I noticed land. I saw opportunity. The Dakota Day story.
Locavore before the word existed
But if Savoy is no longer a trailblazer or paragon — and if, indeed, it makes a more modest impression than a latter-day temple of ethical eating like Blue Hill — it remains an attention-worthy restaurant, on account of how deeply pleasant an afternoon or evening here can be. Its low-key charms haven’t faded since its opening in 1990, and its adjustments over time have been wise ones. New York Times story.
Good News from Iowa
In a very real sense, they are going back to an earlier model of farming in Iowa. The farms are more diverse, and so are the crops they grow. To me, this is where the new passion for local foods finds its real meaning, and the best news is that Iowa is not alone. New York Times editorial.
Tokyo cafe puts samples on the menu
Located in Shibuya, LCAFE is well-placed to attract trendsetting shoppers. To take part, women register by mobile phone, supplying basic details about themselves such as their age, marital status and where they live. With every order of food or drinks, they receive an L Coin, which can be redeemed for free samples at the cafe’s sample bar. In a true Tokyo touch, a bar-code on members’ mobile phones allows Sample Lab to track who got which sample. After the visit, members are asked to share their views via an electronic survey, in exchange for more tokens. Springwise story.
Soft-Drink Tax Could Pare Waistlines, Cover Health-Care Costs
A penny-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks would raise about $150 billion over a decade while slimming Americans’ waistlines, according to a report from public health and economic researchers. Bloomberg.com story. New England Journal of Medicine report.
AND if You Have Time
When Farm Kids Get Bored
No-one likes being bored. It is not necessarily a destructive emotion (although the producers of Fight Club might disagree) but it does compromise your existence, no matter what your age, level of education, skill set, income or company. Of course, when you are on a farm, it is somewhat easy to imagine that one can get bored relatively easily. But the kids have been busy.The Latest Oddities from the World website.