Locavore news – world by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: February 1, 2010
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
Perspectives on good food and farming
February 1, 2010
Urban Food Policy: Municipal Food Planning A-Z
New York, like most other US cities, lacks a comprehensive food system plan. Nevertheless, New York has implemented some of the most ambitious policies and programs in the nation to address issues of food security, nutrition, urban agriculture, and institutional purchasing of sustainably produced food. Every stage in the food system, from production to residuals management, is addressed by at least one city agency, typically with input from various stakeholders. In the list below, I’ve briefly reviewed all of the major (and some minor) New York City agencies. Policies, plans, and programs for sustainable urban food systems blog.
Why Big Ag Won’t Feed the World
A year ago I sat in a room at the Earth Institute at Columbia surrounded by executives from big food companies. One of them, I believe from Unilever, clicked to a slide that read “The solution to global hunger is to turn malnutrition into a market opportunity.” The audience—global development practitioners and academics and other executives—nodded and dutifully wrote it down in their notebooks; I shuddered. The experience stayed with me and I haven’t gotten over it. Last month, I had a flashback. Josh Viertelwrites in The Atlantic.
New York State Council on Food Policy Report to Governor
The mission of the New York State Council on Food Policy (NYS CFP) is to recommend policies that preserve and enhance agricultural food production in New York; and ensure that all New Yorkers have adequate access to safe, affordable, fresh and nutritious foods, especially by children, low-income individuals, the senior population, and other at risk or under represented citizens. The chief role of the NYS CFP is the development of policy recommendations for the Governor’s consideration in the area of food and the food system infrastructure. The report urges adoption of a wide range of initiatives to: (1) increase public participation in food and nutrition assistance programs; (2) support local and regional food production; (3) connect consumers to local producers; (4) ensure adequate food production and retail infrastructure; and (5) promote healthier easting and easier access to healthy food. Report.
UK farm strategy ‘lacks bite’, Washington told
The UK’s landmark 20-year agriculture strategy, with which the government is attempting to lead the world on food policy, is “short in detail” and “lacks bite”, US farm officials have been told. US Department of Agriculture attaché Jennifer Wilson has, in a report sent back Washington, said that much of the UK’s Food 2030 strategy unveiled earlier this month is “not new” and highlighted the “soft tone” of its action plan. However, while many observers had highlighted the strategy’s limitations, flagging a dearth of fresh investment pledges and direct government support measures, these reflect a looming general election. “It is unrealistic to expect major programmes or potentially contentious policy changes to be announced less than six months before a national election,” Ms Wilson wrote. Agrimoney.com story.
When selling local grub is outlawed, only outlaws will sell local grub
One can only wonder how long an idea this good is going to remain underground. Or on good terms with the health department, who actually stopped by during the last Underground Farmer’s Market to inspect the homegrown goodness going down, leaving amiably with some chiding words of how they could make it a little more “legal†next time. But that’s kind of the point of the UFM- that the produce and other foodie goods on offer are outlawed. That’s because they’re made in home kitchens by folks that can’t afford the fees involved in renting out a commercially-certified space to cook, but still want to offer up their wild mushrooms, sarsaparilla and sauerkraut to the neighbors. The party/market squashes vendors, bands and informational workshops on topics from soap making to the husbandry of urban chickens all into a little house on Capp. It’s a concept that’s really resonating as the locavore movement runs afoul of the budget concerns of even the most well-intentioned eaters. Caitlin Donohue writes for SFBG Arts & Culture Blob.
Colonial Historians Press for Crackling Revival
Members of an eastern North Carolina historical organization are trying to stimulate interest in Colonial-era pig preparations they claim the current crop of pork devotees has unfairly overlooked. “Cracklings have gotten a lot of bad press,” sighs Sarah Weeks, a volunteer for the Perquimans County Restoration Association. But she insists, “People can add them to any savory recipe,” she insists. While a few high-end chefs have toyed with cracklings, Weeks would like to shift the crunchy, salty byproduct of rendering lard from the amuse plate to the kitchen pantry. That’s why she’s enlisted an ally to show up at the association’s hog-killing festival this weekend with crackling-streaked biscuits. Cracklings won’t be the only piggy product showcased at the festival: Doug Layden — whose country market still does a steady business in hoop cheese and Dan Doodles, the sausage-stuffed intestines that eastern North Carolinians plop in their collard green pots – will lead a whole hog-butchering workshop. Slashfood story.
Is it time for Kentucky Damn Proud?
One might say that being a locavore makes me Kentucky Proud, which is true, but I want to go a step further. I’m trying to be Kentucky Damn Proud. What is Kentucky Damn Proud, many of you might be asking? Kentucky Damn Proud is how many in Kentucky’s agriculture community define a product that is completely grown, harvested, processed and packaged right here in Kentucky. Having always understood that for a product to carry a Kentucky Proud label, it meant that the major ingredients were grown and/or processed in Kentucky, I was surprised at the outcry from readers last week who felt the new Kentucky Proud Angus beef product line should not qualify as a Kentucky Proud product. While the finishing and processing of the animals used in the Kentucky Proud Angus beef line is taking place outside of Kentucky, the animals are bred, born and raised on Kentucky farms. Does this make the Kentucky Proud Angus line of beef “Kentucky Damn Proud?” No, but it is Kentucky Proud. Kara Keeton writes acolumn for Business Lexington.
Wedding Guide: Locavore wedding inspiration
A smart locavore bride showcases flowers that are in season (sorry, no peonies in October) and grown nearby. Quinton Tschetter said he and his wife have worked with brides who have called in advance and have budgets of $3,000, as well as with brides who walked up to the Tschetter stand at the Downtown Farmer’s Market the morning of their wedding looking for stems. Sunflowers, available at the end of May and early June, are popular, as are lilies and delphiniums. If you’re planning a 2011 wedding, stop by their stand this summer or early fall to see what’s available. DesMoinesRegister.com story
HMS Raleigh chefs cook breakfast for Cornish pupils
The chefs from HMS Raleigh stepped up to the challenge at Antony Church of England School as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week. All the food was locally produced and donated by suppliers in the area. Teacher Leisha Champion said the aim was to teach children about food miles and emphasise the benefits of a nutritional, healthy breakfast. BBC News story.
Wal-Mart turns over a new leaf as it embraces local produce
Inside the cavernous new Walmart on Highlands Boulevard Drive, grocery manager Russell Davis stands with a gleaming bounty behind him. Lettuce from California, blueberries from Michigan and grapes from South America. Then there’s the store’s hottest grocery commodity these days — pumpkins and corn grown in Brunswick, just a couple of hundred miles away. “Our customers want locally grown products,” Davis says. “They all ask for it. They all want to know: Is this from Missouri?” St. Louis Post-Dispatchstory.
AND if You Have Time
What’s the Food of the Decade?
If we look back over the past ten years, is there a food that stands out as the one that defined us? To Harry Balzer there is. Balzer, who’s vice president of the NPD Group, has been following the food industry for more than thirty years. He’s seen trends come and go, and he’s not one to come to any quick or easy conclusions. His answer: Yogurt. I first heard Balzer make this assessment on National Public Radio recently. So I decided to give him a call to learn more. “We started off with about 17% of all Americans eating yogurt in 2000, and we end the decade with something like 28% consuming yogurt on a regular basis,†he said. “No other category has seen that kind of increase in the absolute number of people using the product.â€Â Jeff Wells blog on REFRESH, a whole health blog and companion to Penton Media’s Supermarket News.