From: SFU Local Food Project
Category Archives: Public Awareness
How Designing Smarter Farmers’ Markets Will Help Our Cities Survive
What we’re working towards in the Creston Valley isn’t unique to our area. We all know this shift is happening all across North America. Every community will face their own individual challenges and opportunities, and there are many great models of success out there. One of my favourite is what is happening Detroit, read on!
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Posted from Treehuger
Lloyd Alter
Living / Green Food
December 13, 2011
Daniel Carmody, President of the Eastern Market in Detroit, is a passionate speaker, and entranced many of us attending the National Trust for Historic Preservation conference in Buffalo this fall. It seemed, at first, an odd choice of speaker at a conference about old buildings. But in fact, he demonstrated how important the growing and distribution of food can be to the rebirth and revitalization of our cities and towns. It isn’t about one market, but about the entire economic system in America. Dan kindly shared a copy of his presentation with me, which forms the basis of this post.
A hundred years ago, 38% of Americans lived and worked on the farm; today, it is less than two percent. The impact of that change has been massive; the economist Joseph Stiglitz writes in Vanity Fair this month that the last Great Depression was caused by industrialization of agriculture, a “structural change in the real economy.”
Agriculture had been a victim of its own success. In 1900, it took a large portion of the U.S. population to produce enough food for the country as a whole. Then came a revolution in agriculture that would gain pace throughout the century—better seeds, better fertilizer, better farming practices, along with widespread mechanization. Today, 2 percent of Americans produce more food than we can consume.
Stiglitz writes that we are going through the same kind of massive change right now as the manufacturing economy that built Detroit and much of America changes.
Today we are moving from manufacturing to a service economy. The decline in manufacturing jobs has been dramatic—from about a third of the workforce 60 years ago to less than a tenth of it today. The pace has quickened markedly during the past decade… the inevitable result is precisely the same as it was 80 years ago: a decline in income and jobs. The millions of jobless former factory workers once employed in cities such as Youngstown and Birmingham and Gary and Detroit are the modern-day equivalent of the Depression’s doomed farmers.
No, This Is Why You’re Fat!/via
But the tools and techniques that revolutionized agriculture came at a cost. It is massively dependent on fossil fuels for equipment and fertilizers. Farmers cannot make enough money to live on farming alone. There is massive concentration of ownership (two seed companies control 60% of the market, four companies control 83% of the meat packing industry) so that farmers have little control over the prices they sell their products for. Half of the corn they grow is now used for making fuel, so the price of food is skyrocketing at the same time that the customers are losing their jobs or cutting back on spending because of the economy and debt.
In the country, the agricultural system is broken, and in the city, the manufacturing system is broken. But some, like Dan Carmody, see new opportunity in reintegrating the two. He sees food as an organizing tool for society; urban farming and markets can be important employment and wealth creators for cities. Detroit’s Eastern Market is a demonstration of how this might work; Its development strategy is to make it the hub of a complete local food system:
- Serving as a center for urban agriculture by hosting both a model market garden and urban garden training classes.
- Serving as an animated venue for improving education about food-related public health issues.
- Developing cutting-edge systems to convert waste streams generated in the district to provide energy to heat, cool and power facilities, and compost to increase food production yields.
It can generate a lot of money and jobs; Michael Shuman has estimated that if 20% of Detroit’s food was grown locally, it would create nearly 5,000 jobs and nearly $ 20 million in business taxes.
© Dan Carmody
There are all kinds of jobs in food, from the obvious ones of farming and production to processing, wholesale and retail. The Eastern Market supports 300 independent food vendors and several hundred non-food vendors. It is expanding to serve the wholesale industry and is helping Detroit schools switch from processed food to locally grown and minimally processed food.
© Dan Carmody
They are setting up a city wide network of incubator kitchens in schools’ disused existing kitchens.
People’s Pierogi Collective/Screen capture
They are supporting local processors and packagers to produce and market specialty products. They are working with community groups to establish farmers markets and stands around the City.
© Dan Carmody
It is much more than a farmers’ market; it is putting people back to work making stuff we need. And it isn’t just for cities like Detroit; the model works for main streets in former market towns across America.
Here at TreeHugger, we have been writing for years about the merits of supporting local farmers, vendors and craftspeople, about the advantages rust belt cities will have in the future, with their water, their transportation infrastructure of rail, road and canal; their temperate climate in a warmer world.
© Dan Carmody
In Detroit, Dan Carmody and the Eastern Market have shown how this might work. It’s a demonstration of how to revitalize a community and rebuild a local economy. it is more than just a farmers’ market; It may well serve as a model for survival.
Santa’s Secret Seeds from the Food Action Coalition!
Congratulations on your mystery seed package from the Food Action Coalition! Your seed package has a letter on it, below are the instructions for how to plant them.
For all the seeds, 1) select a sunny location to prepare the seed bed. (All of the seeds can be planted anytime after the weather warms up in late April or May. You may also plant your seeds in a pot and grow indoors but the Runner Bean grows so large that it is best grown outdoors.)
2) Prepare the soil by digging, breaking up soil lumps and clearing any weeds or unwanted plant growth from your selected location. Mix in soil amendments such as peat moss or compost. (Separate flower and seed heads from weeds and toss in the garbage and then compost all remaining parts of the weed plant.)
3) Rake and level the selected area.
Your mystery seed is:
P – Poppy – sprinkle seeds onto soil surface. Press firmly into soil. Water lightly and keep moist until sprout appears. (Produces a colorful red to purple flower about 60 cm tall) In late season, the dried pod will provide seed for next year’s planting.
M – Marigold – sprinkle seeds onto soil surface. Gently pat down seed to ensure entire length of seed has made contact with the soil surface. Lightly cover seed with a thin layer of soil – 4 mm only and water lightly. (Produces a beautiful yellow or orange flowering plant about 30 cm tall) In late season, dried flower heads will provide seed for next year’s planting.
C – Calendula – same as for the marigold seeds but cover with 1 cm of soil. (Produces a beautifully scented yellow to orange flower about 45 cm tall) In late season, dried flower heads will provide seed for next year’s planting.
RB – Scarlet Runner Bean – These plants will need a support to climb. Drop seed onto soil surface. Push seed down into soil to a depth of approx 3 cm. Cover with soil, water regularly. (Produces a tall vine with colorful flowers and then a large bean later in the season) In late season, after the bean pod has dried, extract the bean seeds and you have seed for next year’s planting.
The West Kootenay Food System
After many months of research, interviews and discussion, the much anticipated first step towards what will hopefully become a regional food system alliance for the West Kootenay is now complete.
In April of this year, funding and support was secured to carry out research into organizations in Canada and the United States which are seeking to improve their communities’ access to local, healthy and responsibly produced food by bringing together stakeholders within their local food system.
The West Kootenay is already home to a diverse community of individuals, businesses and organizations who contribute to the production, processing and distribution of food for local consumption. All combined, these efforts, their accompanying relationships, and the very act of eating, make up what can be referred to as our ‘food system’. In recent years, the contribution of local food systems to health and well-being, the environment, the economy and culture has become widely accepted to be of critical importance. But how do we define this ‘system’ and how do we identify the relationships within it to make sure that the system is functioning in the best interest of the people it serves?
With no efforts currently underway in the West Kootenay region to consistently bring together those involved within and outside of the food system, a regional food system alliance was believed to be an ideal forum to help enhance our regional food supply.
Jon Steinman of Deconstructing Dinner took the lead on the initiative and gathered a team from throughout the region to advise on the process and contribute to what has become a strategic recommendation on what next steps should be taken.
Now available on-line is this in-depth report – Towards a Regional Food System Alliance Development Strategy for the West Kootenay. The report looks into how food councils, non-profits, and other food system initiatives are formed and how they function. The accompanying recommendation, which is also found within the report and as a separate document on-line, is driven by the committee’s belief that determining the function of an alliance prior to determining its form is essential. The committee then narrowed its attention on economic development, believing it to be the greatest opportunity for our regional food system. This focus of attention has proven to be very successful with organizations like The Center for an Agricultural Economy in Vermont and the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition in Oregon. These organizations offer great examples of the opportunities to be found from more coordinated, cross-sector work within the food system. The committee believes this should become the primary focus of an eventual regional food system alliance in the West Kootenay.
By ‘economic development’, the committee is referring to a sustained effort among all people within the region to support and develop the infrastructure, knowledge and skills, necessary to increase the amount of food produced and processed in the region. It’s also essential that this effort be informed by and contribute to an ecosystem-centered approach, culture, health and social well-being. Namely, the committee believes that through better coordination among individuals, organizations, governments and businesses, a regional food system alliance would be an exciting tool which could carry out a mandate to take on, stimulate, and/or partner on activities which would capture the millions of food dollars leaking out of the region every year. What is meant by ‘leakage’? Using average per capita food expenditure figures, the committee estimates that the population within the region spends roughly $266 million per year on food, with only a small percentage of that being spent on locally produced products. “We see this as one of the greatest economic development opportunities for the region,” says Jon Steinman. “Focusing more attention on the food system as economic development and trying to keep more of our food dollars within the region, means increasing the support for existing, new and emerging farmers, businesses and co-operatives; it would create jobs; foster greater resilience within the regional economy; and, reinstate the importance of being strong stewards of our soil, forests and watersheds.”
To better determine the function of a food system alliance focused on regional economic development, the committee proposes a number of initial strategies, which include, among others, coordinating and initiating a local food market economic analysis, and researching best practices / feasibility for an annual West Kootenay local food guide for both the public and businesses/institutions. The results and recommendations generated through a local food market analysis would be followed up with region-wide consultations to narrow in on what within the local food economy is in need of the greatest attention. At that point, the form which a regional food alliance could take to carry out those strategies could be determined. The Towards a Regional Food System Alliance report will offer a strong direction on how to proceed with that stage.
The advisory committee supporting these recommendations is made up of Corky Evans (former MLA Nelson-Creston), Sheila Dobie (Spencer Hill Orchard), Jocelyn Carver (Kootenay Country Store Co-operative), Wayne Harris (Kootenay Alpine Cheese / Mountain Valley Farm), Mike Stolte (Center for Innovative and Entrepreneurial Leadership) and Carolee Colter (CDS Consulting Co-op). The committee believes that the report and accompanying recommendation will offer strong support for a West Kootenay food system that shows an increase in the percentage of locally produced food each year, is robust and versatile in the face of ecological and economic pressures, and is an inspiration for a vibrant and resilient culture of food in other regions.
The report was made possible by funding and support from the Columbia Basin Trust, the Hume Hotel, Nelson and District Credit Union, Heritage Credit Union, Kootenay Country Store Co-operative, Kootenay Co-op Radio, Kootenay Food Strategy Society and Deconstructing Dinner.
To read the report and the recommended next steps, visit www.deconstructingdinner.ca. Feedback is welcomed and encouraged.
Contact:
Jon Steinman
Coordinator
Start-Up Advisory Committee, Proposed West Kootenay Regional Food System Alliance
Email: jon@steinman.com
Sustainable Food Systems Survey
http://www.bcfoodsecuritygateway.ca recently conducted a survey to learn whether Canadian municipalities are considering sustainable food systems in their planning process.
BC Food Security Gateway
Role of Government / Sustainable Food Systems Survey
Sustainable Food Systems Survey This external link will open in a new window: http://www.fcm.ca/home/programs/green-municipal-fund/program-resources/sustainable-food-systems-survey.htm
In 2010, FCM’s Green Municipal Fund conducted a survey to learn whether Canadian municipalities are considering sustainable food systems in their planning process
They wanted to find out:
Check out the results http://www.bcfoodsecuritygateway.ca/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=6066 and check out the rest of their great website as well!
Got Milk?
Michael Schmidt with Mohawk supporter Danny Beaton at a recent press release for food freedom in Ontario.
Despite the lack of mainstream media, some of you may have heard about Canada’s ‘raw milk war.’ Dairy farmer Michael Schmidt is presently on day 30 of a hunger strike to defend our natural right to food freedom. He has said he “is willing to die if it’s necessary.”
Canadians who wish to access safe and sustainably produced fresh milk or artisanal dairy products have heretofore bought shares in cows from small family farms –often with heritage breed cows. Although raw milk is legal in every other G8 country, our government is now putting an end to ‘cow-sharing’ and Michael’s hunger strike is a last resort. PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION.
From BC Food Systems Network
More info: http://thebovine.wordpress.com http://farmtoconsumer.org/press/press-Government-Data-Proves-Raw-Milk-Safe.htm
https://www.facebook.com/groups/supportmichaelschmidt/
RDCK: Regional Ag Plan
The future of our Agricultural Plan lies in your hands.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay Agricultural Area Plan has now been completed and endorsed by the Regional District Board.
Please see below to access the final documents, including the Agricultural Area Plan and Background Documentation.
It is apparent that nothing will happen with this plan until after the next RDCK elections that are scheduled for the 19th November 2011, if even then.
We would be grateful if anyone reading this would contact their RDCK director and send a message telling them that you expect them to start implementing the RDCK Agricultural Plan without delay – and if you attend a meeting with any of the candidates – question them as to where and when they will start implementing our regional Agricultural Plan.
Here is a link to all the RDCK directors (telephone / Fax / Email etc. – Please make your feelings felt: Directors
This is important – please do not let the Ag Plan be buried…….
PDF Documents to view:
Agricultural Area Plan – Final Report Link: http://www.rdck.bc.ca/publications/pdf/RDCK_AgPlan_only-1.pdf
Agricultural Area Plan – Appendix A Link: http://www.rdck.bc.ca/publications/pdf/RDCK_AgPlan_Final_AppendixA.pdf
Agricultural Area Plan – Appendix B Link: http://www.rdck.bc.ca/publications/pdf/RDCK_AgPlan_Final_AppendixB.pdf
Agricultural Area Plan – Appendix C Link: http://www.rdck.bc.ca/publications/pdf/RDCK_AgPlan_Final_AppendixC.pdf
Agricultural Area Plan – Backgrounder Link: http://www.rdck.bc.ca/publications/pdf/AgPlanBackgroundReport_Complete.pdf
Aimee Watson
Food Security Coordinator
North Kootenay Lake Community Services Society
Box 546 Kaslo, BC V0G 1M0
www.nklcss.org
Forks over Knives coming to our Library
The Creston Public Library kicks off its autumn Don’t Leave Your Mind Behind film series with Forks Over Knives, a 2011 documentary that examines the profound claim that most, if not all, degenerative diseases can be controlled, even eliminated, by rejecting an animal-based diet. The film features leading experts on health and tackles the issue of diet and disease in a way that will have people talking for years!
Saturday, October 22
2:00 pm
Creston Public Library
531-16th Avenue South, Creston
Admission is free
More information about the movie can be found here.
Buy made in Canada products!
This was passed along by Nettie Lack of Mad Dog Farm, with Kootenay Local Ag Society
A physics teacher in high school, once told the students:
That while one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't Slow a train very much, a billion of them would.
With that thought in mind, read the following, obviously Written by a good Canadian:
Shopping in Lowe's the other day for some reason and just for the fun of it I was looking at the hose attachments .
They were all made in China . The next day I was in Home Hardware and just for the fun of it I checked the hose attachments
There. They were made in Canada!
Start looking.........
In our current economic situation, every little thing we Buy or do affects someone else - even their job.
A quote from a consumer:...my grandson likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is marked made in Mexico now. I do not buy it any more.
My favourite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico now. I have switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.
This past weekend I was at Wal-Mart. I needed 60W Light bulbs. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next To the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labelled, "Everyday Value". I picked up both types of bulbs and Compared the stats - they were the same except for the
Price. The GE bulbs were more money than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most Was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand was made in - get ready for this - Canada at a company in Ontario . Their Equate Products are also made in Canada , and are very good.
Just to add my own experience on buying Made In Canada , I was looking for canned mushrooms that were made in Canada and could never find any, so I would buy fresh. But a miracle happened, when in our Foodland store I found Ravine mushrooms - made in Canada with a
Little red maple leaf on can. A little more money but When I opened the can I looked at mushrooms that look Like real mushrooms, not a mushroom that looks like It was cleaned in bleach.
Another product I no longer buy is Del Monte or Dole canned Fruit. Del Monte is packaged in Taiwan and Dole is now a product of China .
Why should we pay for their fruit when our growers are left with Fruit rotting on the trees. E.D. Smith is still made in Canada buy their's, at least you will know what is in it and have some quality control.
So throw out the myth that you can not find products you Use every day that are made right here . My challenge
To you is to start reading the labels when you shop for Everyday things and see what you can find that is made In Canada . The job you save may be your own or your Neighbour's'!(Your children & grandchildren, also) If you accept this challenge, pass it on to others in your
Address book so we can all start buying Canadian, one Light bulb at a time! Stop buying from overseas companies!
(We should have awakened two decades ago.)
Let's get with the program. Help our fellow Canadians Keep their jobs and create more jobs here in Canada .
If President Obama insists on a 'Made in America ' Policy, which is commendable of him, to supportAmerican workers, we should do likewise.
BUY CANADIAN! Read the labels.
Support Canadian jobs.
NO GMO Campaign Comes to Nelson
Genetically modified crops and foods are a threat to the environment and to the future of organic food and farming. What GM foods are on the market and what is coming? What actions can we take to stop GM apples, salmon and alfalfa? Join us to get the latest information and ask your questions!
See the following poster for information regarding the meeting on Monday, September 19, in Nelson. For more details, click here.
