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an invitation from the Oakland Intitute to join a discussion of the recently released research: Biotechnology and Agricultural Development: Transgenic Cotton, Rural Institutions and Resource-Poor Farmers March 18, 2010 Lunch Briefing: 12:30 - 2:30pm 1100 15th Street, NW Suite 600 Washington DC 20005

raw milk advocates speak out! read about recent raw milk hearings in Wisconsin in this article by rick barret of the journal sentinel Eau Claire — Hundreds of raw milk advocates packed a legislative hearing Wednesday, demanding the right to buy and sell unpasteurized dairy products that some claim have powerful health benefits but that […]

if you're in the Hudson Valley, particularly Dutchess County, this is worthwhile. Northern Dutchess Alliance to Address Pressing Regional Issues NDA To Host Quarterly Public Forums DUTCHESS COUNTY, New York - As a centerpiece of its work in 2010, Northern Dutchess Alliance today announced it will present a series of four public forums on the […]

this comes via Farm Aid. Hey Farm Aid, I read your column on concentration in agriculture last month, but I'm confused. You talk about monopolies and fewer consumer choices, but when I walk into a supermarket, I see a gazillion brands and products. I don't understand how concentration is actually hurting consumers. Any help clarifying […]

today we are headed out to visit our friend Bev Eggleston at EcoFriendly Foods in VA. EcoFriendly Foods provides pasture-raised, "beyond organic" meats to consumers at farmers markets and to restaurants. all of their animals are raised humanely on small family farms throughout the Shenandoah Valley, VA. you can find Bev and his tastey chops on Saturdays […]

We are watching. We are expecting.  We want to help you get it right. By Peter Eisler, USA TODAY WASHINGTON Department of Agriculture officials failed to act on reports of illegal and unsafe slaughterhouse practices, letting suspect operations continue despite public health risks, a USDA veterinarian alleges in testimony to be aired today at a […]

if you're part of an organization you can sign on to this letter to Secretary Vilsack from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. Please consider adding your organization’s name to our letter urging Secretary Vilsack to make critical improvements to the Conservation Stewardship Program and to initiate a 2010 Sign up as soon as possible. The letter […]

coming to us (and many of you, quite likely) via Comfood Comfood Colleagues, The “Nutrients for Life” nonprofit goal is to “…disseminate educational information to the general public, including policy makers, about fertilizers, modern agriculture and the role plant nutrients serve in improving people’s lives.” This project, for just 3 states: The goal of the […]

webcasts from the USDA at the 2010 Agricultural Outlook Forum , which just took place last week.

seeing as how NAIS went away because of consumer pressure, perhaps we can work on our freedom to use kava as well. thoughts? Oppose the Freedom-Destroying Dietary Supplement Safety Act New legislation targeting nutritional supplements would considerably broaden the Food and Drug Administration´s (FDA) already expansive regulatory authority by allowing the FDA to impose draconian […]

this takes place March 15. More than ever before, we need to tell our state leaders why they have to invest in New York’s farm and food system.  Severe and disproportionate cuts to New York’s food, environment and agricultural programs have been proposed in Governor Paterson’s 2010-2011 State Budget.

is finally talking about these important issues. and you can listen in! Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy Workshop Information The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a series of joint public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in […]

The National Organic Coalition (NOC) today announced its "high praise" for the final rule on the access to pasture requirement for organic livestock published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA's February 12th action announcing the final rule comes nearly four years after a USDA National Organic Program (NOP) pasture symposium served as […]

this is the tension in the movement that keeps us all on our toes. eliot v. gary... The future of farming and food at the Eco Farm Conference by Makenna Goodman Last week I went to California for the 2010 Eco Farm Conference—a three-day organic farming extravaganza featuring big names (and big influences of the […]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFQL5jyAtsU] we also received this from The Yes Men: A legal complaint from agribusiness giant ADM has resulted in the removal from Youtube of a fake video of ADM's CEO making over-honest pronouncements. (The video is still available here, here, and, for download and reposting, here.)

get informed by a farmer who's next to it.  Loon Organics, Hutchinson, MN Read their post and weigh in! add your name to the 50,000 eaters who CARE DEEPLY about the contamination of their food, and the food of the cows who make the milk that goes in their porridge. USDA says we consumers don't […]

The farm bureau is working on leadership training and growing more Ag activists.  Comments?

we received this notice - respond ASAP if you're interested. Hi folks - We’re looking for 1 or 2 young farmers to participate in a fly-in on March 3 in Washington, D.C.! What’s a fly-in? It’s a day of visits and meetings with congressional reps and USDA staff where young farmers would provide testimonials about […]

and those of you watching Food Inc. know that food safety regulations are a high priority for the obama administration. Unfortunately, to be quite succinct about it, the fox is still in the henhouse and anti- organic, anti-small farm wording is all too common. Those of you who live in california might remember the leafy […]

of Gilmer Dairy Farm. He was recently elected chairman of the American Farm Bureau Federation's Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee. We've been reading through his blog and watching some of his little youtube videos. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsKDJsUFwk0&feature=player_embedded] he's also on facebook + twitter.  This is one social media-savvy young farmer.

to visit Gaviotas.... So far, few outsiders have managed to visit this special place. But public order is making a comeback in the region, making it possible for the village to invite 30 people for a fully hosted day visit. In addition, Gaviotas founder Paolo Lugari is inviting visitors to a second day of events […]

via our friend, Bee Ayer BK Farmyards is a new urban farming network in Brooklyn. Our mission is to increase access to healthy affordable food to Brooklyn residents through increasing urban food production and providing jobs for urban farmers. We started last year by turning backyards into farmyards, offering the first CSA with all produce […]

Food first recommends these charities. thanks to Anna Lappe for spreading the word Partners in Health Founded by Dr. Paul Farmer, this nonprofit health delivery program has served Haiti's poor since 1987. To donate for earthquake relief, go to https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=homepage In an urgent email from Port-au-Prince, Louise Ivers, Partners in Health clinical director in Haiti, […]

if this means penalizing bad players. so be it. this land is our land, and we need it for food. State aims to protect Utah farmland By Josh Smith Deseret News Published: Monday, Jan. 11, 2010 10:52 p.m. MST SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's agricultural land is disappearing at an "alarming" rate, according to state […]

Can we have some commentary about this atlantic piece? Cultivating Failure next point. If agriculture were dignified, not just gentrified. Wouldn't that set the economic conditions for the mexican child in this article to be able to have a gardening experience back at his parent's farm in Mexico. Meaning: if the family hadn't been displaced […]

this just in from Marc Rumminger I've been collecting articles about farming in Detroit for a while (2 years, perhaps) and finally got around to putting together a digest over at Mental Masala (and cross-posted to L.V.L.).  It links to 9 more articles on farming and gardening in Detroit, plus a haunting photo essay on […]

talking foodsheds MIT Researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via "foodsheds", in which healthier, more affordable food is produced and consumed regionally.

We met Julie Carney at the Hungry Filmmakers event last week - she's a rockstar who works for Gardens for Health International, as the Country Director for their Rwanda program. She wrote us this nice note: My mother grew up on farms in the midwest, but I was raised in the suburbs of the East. […]

Love v. Vilsack could be settled by legislation Back in 2000 Rosemary Love of Harlem, Montana brought a discrimination lawsuit with other women farmers alleging they were denied loans by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) because they are women. The suit is known as Love v. Vilsack, and if this suit sounds familiar it is because African […]

hedgemon of soap + ice cream products. dastardly purchaser of plantation palm oil. From the Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6952288.ece A reminder to the yummy mummies out there: buy local soap! vermont soapworks, for instance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl0Co3eTdLQ&feature=player_embedded]

from the diligence and brilliance behind Worldwatch.  You can sign up for the newsletter online, or subscribe to the Nourishing the Planet Blog. This week we are looking back at some highlights from my time in Ethiopia, where I met with farmers and visited projects on the ground to learn about and analyze environmentally sustainable ways of […]

from the diligence and brilliance behind Worldwatch.  You can sign up for the newsletter online, or subscribe to the Nourishing the Planet Blog. This week we are looking back at some highlights from my time in Ethiopia, where I met with farmers and visited projects on the ground to learn about and analyze environmentally sustainable […]

wonder what it is... tax breaks for landowners who form long term leases with beginning farmers ? we'll let you know. City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn will deliver a major food policy address on Monday, December 7th. In her remarks, Speaker Quinn will discuss the future of New York City’s food system, and ways […]

A Panel Discussion - 12/8/09 The sustainability of large-scale agriculture is increasingly being called into question. Food manufacturers and agribusinesses catering to global food markets are being challenged by the rising demand for sustainably grown food. What material impact will this have for the food sector? The discussion will explore what companies are doing to […]

THE FOOD NOT BOMBS GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION To Support The Right To Free Speech Thursday, December 17, 2009 Free speech and food outside federal courts and U.S. Embassies all over the world. Local times and locations to be posted at www.foodnotbombs.net Efforts to silence Food Not Bombs are underway in cities all across the […]

for hopenhagen. she needs it. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo3yNYWtdIw&feature=player_embedded] Kerry has entered the Huffington Post contest for Hopenhagen  Ambassador. If she wins they will send her to Copenhagen for the UN  Climate Change Conference to report back daily as the citizen voice  with press credentials etc. Click the link below to watch/find her video and cast your vote: […]

this is a beautiful piece, in both words and images. And the Pursuit of Happiness by Maira Kalman    

this was recently in the times. Is There Such a Thing as Agro-Imperialism? By ANDREW RICE Published: November 16, 2009 // // Dr. Robert Zeigler, an eminent American botanist, flew to Saudi Arabia in March for a series of high-level discussions about the future of the kingdom’s food supply. Saudi leaders were frightened: heavily dependent […]

The California Institute for Rural Studies and Rick Nahmias Photography are pleased to announce the release of "Fair Food: Field to Table" a multimedia presentation promoting a more socially just food system in the US. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIH7-O1jOx0] Through the voices of agricultural workers, growers, businesses and fair food advocates, "Fair Food: Field to Table" tells the […]

can buy you either 1. A perfectly pure jersey cow from Arethusa Farm Dairy in Connecticut or 2. An online clearinghouse of resources for beginning farmers http://weblogs.nal.usda.gov/infofarm/ Yes, Farm Bureau and USDA have begun to build the ultimate portal for beginning farmers. Its something we've needed for quite a long time now and I'm sure […]