Locavore News – World
Posted: May 25, 2010
Categories: Uncategorized
- Food can help cut the fiscal deficit
- Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues
- Guerrilla gardeners give a green thumbs down to potholes
- Heal Thy Patient, Heal the Planet
- America’s 5 Greatest Foodie Presidents
- New assurance scheme for farm shops and farmers’ markets (UK)
- “It’s the beauty of being Crop Mobbed.
- Local food and climate change: the role of community food enterprises
- Food transport in Japan
- McDonald’s plugs British food at Olympics
Perspectives on good food and farming by Elbert van Donkersgoed
May 25, 2010
Food can help cut the fiscal deficit
Sustainably increasing food production in the UK makes financial not just environmental sense. With the need to find ways to tackle the £169bn budget deficit, what would you do if someone offered a way to save £6bn this year rising to £10bn per year next year and ever after – with no public sector cuts or increases in taxes? And, what if this also boosted the green economy, creating jobs? And met consumer demand? And helped improve health? Still interested? Well, the answer lies in what you eat and who grows it. Tim Lang and Charlie Clutterbuck writing in the Financial News Network.
Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues
This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. There is no consensus on a definition of “local†or “local food systems†in terms of the geographic distance between production and consumption. But defining “local†based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers’ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Findings are mixed on the impact of local food systems on local economic development and better nutrition levels among consumers, and sparse literature is so far inconclusive about whether localization reduces energy use or greenhouse gas emissions. USDA Economic Research Service publication.
Guerrilla gardeners give a green thumbs down to potholes
Take Steven Wheen, an avid cyclist and art student at Central St. Martin’s College of Art in London. Earlier this year, Wheen went back to his native Australia for Christmas. When he returned to the U.K., he couldn’t believe how bad the roads were. After a few near-miss wipeouts on his bike, he decided to take matters into his own hands. No, he did not write a letter to his local MP. (He’s an art student, for heaven’s sake.) He got out his spade and bucket full of potting soil and started planting flowers in the potholes around his neighbourhood to draw attention to urban decline. The photo blog based on his experiment, www.thepotholegardener.com, became the basis for his master’s thesis and has recently renewed British media interest in the practice of guerrilla gardening – gardening without permission on disused public land. Leah McLaren writes in the Globe and Mail.
Heal Thy Patient, Heal the Planet
Looking to hitch their food carts to the popular trend of sustainability, a growing number of Southern California medical centers have done away with canned goods and processed foods in their cafeterias and are making meals from scratch from locally sourced ingredients. With the help of a non-profit group that challenges hospitals to make healthy food that’s good for patients and the environment, hospitals are greening their cafeterias, emptying vending machines of sugary sodas, starting up farmers markets on-site, and improving their food service programs to include sustainable food practices. LA Weekly story.
America’s 5 Greatest Foodie Presidents
It’s too early to predict whether Barack Obama is going to be one of our greatest foodie presidents, though the signs are good: Michelle planted a garden in the White House and seems concerned about school lunches, while the prez himself is inordinately fond of pizza, chili, toasted cheese sandwiches, and–gasp!–spinach and broccoli. (Compare him to George W. Bush, who famously hated broccoli, and Bill Clinton, who loved Big Macs.) When he and the first lady came to New York, they dined at Blue Hill, one of the city’s foremost market-driven restaurants, telegraphing their dedication to sustainability–at least for publicity purposes. But – you might be surprised to learn – there were at least five presidents even more obsessed with food, including at least one locavore. Caution: In offering this list, we judge the presidents only on their interest in food–independent of whatever political pecadillos they displayed. A good eater doesn’t always mean a good president. The Village Voice list.
New assurance scheme for farm shops and farmers’ markets (UK)
Two new assurance schemes have been launched specifically for farm shops and stall-holders at farmers’ markets. Designed to support consumer confidence in these two growing sectors, the Genuine Own (GO) scheme covers those selling direct at markets, online or supplying farm shops, while Genuine Own and Local (GOAL) will provide certification for farm shops themselves. An independent NSF-CMI inspection will look to establish the provenance of produce on offer and will make checks on the standard of farming practices used. Mystery shoppers will assess customer service standards. For more information visit National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association website.
“It’s the beauty of being Crop Mobbed.
Who brought their own wheelbarrow?†Rob Jones asked the group of 20-somethings gathered on a muddy North Carolina farm on a chilly January Sunday. Hands shot up and wheelbarrows were pulled from pickups sporting Led Zeppelin and biodiesel bumper stickers, then parked next to a mountain of soil. “We need to get that dirt into those beds over there in the greenhouse,†he said, nodding toward a plastic-roofed structure a few hundred feet away. “The rest of you can come with me to move trees and clear brush to make room for more pasture. Watch out for poison ivy.†Bobby Tucker, the 28-year-old co-owner of Okfuskee Farm in rural Silk Hope, looked eagerly at the 50-plus volunteers bundled in all manner of flannel and hand-knits. In five hours, these pop-up farmers would do more on his fledgling farm than he and his three interns could accomplish in months. “It’s immeasurable,†he said of the gift of same-day infrastructure. New York Times story. Crop Mob website.
Local food and climate change: the role of community food enterprises
Until recently, the focus of public and political debate around the contribution food makes to climate change was on transport. However, a succession of life cycle assessments and scientific reviews over the past decade have highlighted that other factors besides transport, make a bigger overall difference to climate change. Where does this leave community food enterprises? Most were set up for other reasons – social, economic and environmental – rather than to tackle climate change. They are hugely diverse, spanning community supported agriculture schemes, community shops, farmers’ markets, food co-ops and buying groups. Many have something distinctively local about them – such as shorter supply chains – but none is defined just by that fact. Little of the research on climate change and local food, which mostly looks at the effect of shorter-distance transport on more conventional supply chains, can offer them direct guidance. This report forms part of an exploratory study commissioned by Making Local Food Work to understand better the role of local and community food enterprises in addressing global environmental issues, focusing on greenhouse gas emissions. UK Report.
Food transport in Japan
In November 2009 Japan’s Ministry of the Environment released a White Paper entitled: Annual Report on the Environment, the Sound Material-Cycle Society and the Biodiversity in Japan 2009 Abridged and Illustrated for Easy Understanding. On p50 there’s an interesting section on food miles. Japan’s self sufficiency in food (on a calorie basis) is 40%. This includes thr following table comparing Japan’s food miles with those of other countries.
Report 6.8 MB PDF
McDonald’s plugs British food at Olympics
McDonald’s has launched a campaign to promote its use of British produce and British farmers in the lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. From within the hive of construction activity at what will be the Olympic Village in East London, McDonald’s chief executive Steven Easterbrook, said the company was eager to demonstrate its commitment to British farmers. “We will showcase the British farms and farmers to raise awareness among our customers, our staff and the public about what British farming has to offer,” Mr Easterbrook said. “The standards at these farms are so exemplary. We will showcase the quality and welfare standards, promoting the best to ensure that legacy of a healthy farming sector.” Farmers Weekly Interactive (UK) story.
AND if You Have Time
Reuters Summit-A tale of adultery and green tractors
Never try to sell a Chinese farmer a green tractor or roll out a flashy new design with a rounded hood in India. These are just some of the lessons that Agco Corp Chief Executive Martin Richenhagen has picked up in his 15 years selling farm equipment around the world.Fusion Media Network story .