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Regional Farm & Food Project November 2006 News If you think the tide is turning, these news stories should interest you! 10 news stories...
+ C A L E N D A R & C L A S S I F I E D S * * * 1. The Future of Farming: Be Careful What You Wish For Milestones and millstones are markers for ideas good and bad. At times an event regaled as an overdue solution, like the codification of national organic standards, comes weighted with unintended consequences like the industrialization of organic farming, and organic confined animal feeding operations. In light of those recent unexpected outcomes, we may be wise to consider the potential unintended consequences of our goals for instituting a more just food system, a more sustainable agriculture, and a more robust farm economy. The approach of the 2007 re-authorization of the U.S. Farm Bill has lead us to dream of new laws, policies and regulations that would favor a more diverse agriculture sector, reign in externalization of agri-business costs, and reward conservation. But as we tinker with notions of fairness and equity, subsidies and incentives, regionalism and nationalism, we should take a whole systems perspective and prepare ourselves for the worst. There was a time when government subsidies for corn and soy seemed to solve myriad problems for farmers and the nation. Little did we know the magnitude of the problems we were creating for the healthcare system, animal welfare and the environment. Decades later we have twin epidemics of diet-related and chemical pollutant diseases, routine animal torture, and a river of poison flowing into in the Caribbean—outcomes no one could have predicted when commodity subsidies were first implemented. As we seek to restore the balance between global and local, it’s important to remember that commoditization is a process that impacts all types of products, from cell phones to blue jeans to cars. Any product becomes a commodity when it is both generic and ubiquitous. It is the commoditization of unhealthy foods that has caused the healthcare crisis. But healthy foods, like organic milk, can become commodities too, resulting in price falls that spell doom for farmers and working landscapes. The antidote to commodity is community—that is the human scale, trust, loyalty and increased accountability that come with a smaller food system. The question we must answer today is how do we codify community on a large scale without losing the uniqueness, flexibility and diversity of smallness? As sustainable agriculture policymakers, advocates and activists align themselves to get their share of the $300 billion dollar 2007 Farm Bill, here are some of the potential millstones attached to the milestones we hope to achieve. SUSTAINABILITY CROP SUBSIDIES SPECIALTY CROPS RURAL DEVELOPMENT CONSERVATION STATES’ RIGHTS LOCAL As we plan for the future of farming we will make some mistakes. Our capacity to correct them will be the measure of our quality of life. Agriculture is a dynamic system of natural resources, people, places and ways of production. Change is a constant for all of us. Those life-long learners with the capacity for continuous innovation will have the edge over those invested in outdated business models, fading markets, tired products and costly infrastructure. If we are to grow new farmers, the current generation must take back the power of food and demonstrate to all that farming is a good life. At the same time consumers must take responsibility for the food system they create with their purchasing power. Let’s not forget what history has taught us. You can change the world by changing what you eat. 2. How to Align Diet, Land Use & Economic Development Good health and good business can be home grown. Several states are looking into the possibilities, but Iowa has determined its citizens could eat their way to prosperity – if they consumed five servings a day of locally grown fruits and vegetables for three months. Savoring such a menu, recommended by the USDA, Iowans would see the state’s economy improve quicker than their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The “five-a-day” veggie and fruit diet of Iowa-produced apples, carrots, spinach, squash and tomatoes would generate $331 million in total economic output, according to Iowa State University’s Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture in Ames. Its research also found there would be $123 million in total labor income and 4,484 jobs in Iowa. But to get those results, Iowans would have to make huge shifts in their eating habits, and growers would have to replant their fields with the produce specified in the study. Less than 20 percent of Iowans eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruits daily; and very little of the produce targeted for consumption in the study is grown within the state. The economic impact analysis worked with these assumptions:
“Even though the scenarios are hypothetical,” says Rich Pirog, head of the center’s Marketing and Food Systems Initiative, “it is important to consider options that could be a win-win for Iowa farmers, the state’s economy and our overall health.” http://www.grit.com/article/2006/11/Healthy-Diet.html 3. SPIN: The New Face of Farming Wally Satzewich operates Wally's Urban Market Garden which is a multi-locational sub-acre urban farm. It is dispersed over 25 residential backyard garden plots in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that are rented from homeowners. The sites range in size from 500 sq. ft. to 3000 sq. ft., and the growing area totals a half acre. The produce is sold at The Saskatoon Farmers Market. Wally Satzewich and Gail Vandersteen initially started farming on an acre-sized plot outside of Saskatoon 20 years ago. Thinking that expanding acreage was critical to their success, they bought some farmland adjacent to the South Saskatchewan river 40 miles north of Saskatoon where they eventually grew vegetables on about 20 acres of irrigated land. "This was a site to die for," Ms. Vandersteen said. "It was incredibly beautiful, but the pestilence was incredible too! We couldn’t believe what the bugs and deer could do. Not to mention the wind." "We still lived in the city where we had a couple of small plots to grow crops like radishes and salad mix, which were our most profitable crops. We could grow three crops a year on the same site, pick and process on-site and put the produce into our cooler so it would be fresh for the market." Farmer's Market After six years farming their rural site, the couple realized there was more money to be made growing multiple crops intensively in the city, so they sold the farm and became urban growers. "People don’t believe you can grow three crops a year in Saskatoon," observes Vandersteen. "They think it’s too much work, but the truth is, this is much less work than mechanized, large-scale farming. We used to have a tractor to hill potatoes and cultivate, but we find it’s more efficient to do things by hand. Other than a rototiller, all we need is a push-type seeder and a few hand tools." Mr. Satzewich points out that city growing provides a more controlled environment, with fewer pests, better wind protection and a longer growing season. "We are producing 10-15 different crops and sell thousands of bunches of radishes and green onions and thousands of bags of salad greens and carrots each season. Our volumes are low compared to conventional farming, but we sell high-quality organic products at very high-end prices." The SPIN method is based on their successful experiment in downsizing which emphasizes minimal mechanization and maximum fiscal discipline and planning. Brian Halweil, a food issues writer and researcher at the Washington-DC-based Worldwatch Institute, interviewed Mr. Satzewich and referenced his farming approach in "Eat Here", which documents worldwide initiatives in building a locally-based food industries. Roxanne Christensen is co-founder and President of the Institute for Innovations in Local Farming. In partnership with the Philadelphia Water Department, the Institute operates Somerton Tanks Farm, a prototype sub-acre urban farm that serves as the U.S. test bed for the SPIN-FARMING method. The farm has received the support of the Pennsylvania Dept. Of Agriculture, the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corp., the City Commerce Department, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Ms. Christensen contends that the separation of country and city is a bankrupt concept. “As development erodes the rural way of life, agriculture is creeping closer and closer to metropolitan areas. SPIN-FARMING leverages this trend in a positive way – by capitalizing on limited resources and space. Creating Somerton Tanks Farm using the SPIN method required minimal upfront investment, and it keeps operating overhead low. "For aspiring farmers, SPIN eliminates the 2 big barriers to entry – sizeable acreage and substantial startup capital. At the same time, its intensive relay growing techniques and precise revenue targeting formulas push yields to unprecedented levels and result in highly profitable income." In 2003, its first year of operation, Somerton Tanks Farm, located in northeast Philadelphia, the fifth largest city in the U.S, produced $26,100 in gross sales from a half-acre of growing space during a 9 month growing season. In 2005 gross sales increased to $52,200. So in just three years of operation Somerton Tanks Farm achieved a level of productivity and financial success that many agricultural professionals claimed was impossible. And it is providing a way for independent farmers to once again have a viable role in the food production system that has tipped too much in favor of large scale mass production agriculture. The first-ever SPIN-Farming workshop is coming to Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. SPIN Cities: Farming Where We Live will equip a new generation of farmers with the know-how to farm commercially without having to own much, if any land, and without having to make a large financial investment. INSTRUCTOR: Wally Satzewich, veteran urban farmer and developer of SPIN will show others how to replicate his success using this unique sub-acre farming approach. FOR: Backyard or small lot farmers in urban and peri-urban areas. WHEN: March 22-24, 2007. WHERE: East Troy, Wisconsin Michael Fields Agricultural Institute. TO REGISTER: Contact Janet Gamble at Michael Fields Institute at 262-642-3303 or jgamb;e@michaelfieldsaginst.org For more information:
4. Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy Learn about the latest innovations and discuss how to advance sustainability in New York State. Identify promising opportunities and important challenges associated with building a safe and sustainable economy. Diiscuss, in a workshop format, strategies for expanding a green economy. With an exposition area for vendors, sixteen Panel Dialogues, two Plenary Sessions, a Keynote Address and dinner with presentation of the annual NYS Environmental Excellence Awards, this two day event promises to spark dialogue, share innovations, and significantly advance thinking about ways to make New York's economy sustainable for businesses, residents and their environment. Topics to be addressed: Green Energy, Healthy Buildings and Communities, Green Products. The $30 registration fee includes full symposium participation, lunch on December 6th, coffee breaks over the two days, and attendance for the NYS Environmental Excellence Award Luncheon on December 7th, including a keynote address by Denise M. Sheehan, Commissioner, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and presentations about award-winning, innovative and sustainable projects. http://www.hehe-ny.org/index.htm 5. Why Is It Easier to Get Insulin Than Salad? Person A: "From my perspective, there is also the inevitable 'white elephant'. Given the growing neccessity for pantries to reduce package size to compensate for the long term less money/more people climate, we need to be looking at quantity over quality. Sadly, that means buying more from the megolithic western produce machines. While every part of me would prefer to be buying more locally, it is simply not feasible, at this time, to purchase in a way that supports our local producers." Person B: "That of course is the whole challenge of the [NYS] Food Policy Council. How does one obtain nutritious food at an affordable price? ...we know that food pantries and soup kitchens are not the solution to hunger and have little to do with proper nutrition. We have greatly expanded the amount of food distributed by these programs over the last two decades but hunger and poor nutrition continues to increase. Allowing small farmers to go out of business has weakened the quality of our food and thus our diet. Allowing the best farm land near urban areas to be turned into residential development will create enormous problems when our present centralized, water and energy subsidized agricultural system collapses as unsustainable, pushed along by the steamrolling impact of climate change. My sense is that collapse is closer to a decade than to fifty years." Person C responding to A: "I couldn't agree with you more on this point. Managers of emergency feeding programs across our 23 county service area report a growing need for food assistance especially by the working poor. Pantry resources are diminishing and so they are having to give out less in many cases in order to respond to all requests. While I am all for supporting the local farmer and small business ventures, availability and price are a major road block when administering to our food insecure population." Hello legislators and healthcare professionals, are you listening? When we have to choose between hunger and obesity, healthcare picks up the tab for the low-nutrient, high toxicity food we pass out to our most vulnerable populations. Walk into almost any food bank and you will see shelf after shelf of zero-nutrient, toxin-loaded "food" donated by major corporations, waiting to be fed to the poor. From a whole systems perspective, we will not lower healthcare costs without improving food quality. And one might also ask why we give tax deductions to corporations for donating zero-nutrient food to food banks when we could be spending those dollars on more nutritious food. Hunger assistance organizations shouldn't have to choose between hunger and obesity. Why is it easier to get insulin than salad? Because it's easier to get rich selling insulin than selling lettuce. 6. Regional Farm & Food Project Launches "Farm & Food Network" The farm and food community of the Greater Capital District, about a 100-mile radius around Albany, New York, is blossoming. There are many new organizations and initiatives working to build a more sustainable food system and a growing number of people involved in farm and food activism. To help us become a more self-identified community, deepen our relationships, build synergy, and improve our collaboration, the Regional Farm & Food Project held a networking meeting on November 2nd at Honest Weight Food Coop in Albany. The format of the meeting was inspired by the Albany area Voluntary Simplicity Group and Community Food Coalition: everyone who attended the meeting spoke, sharing their thoughts on the future of our local food system. Although historically, the Regional Farm & Food Project has been mainly focused on professional development for farmers, there was consensus among the 25 people attending that the most important thing we can focus on collectively at this time is consumer education. Farmers, food entrepreneurs, advocates and activists agreed that we need to grow the base of consumers that appreciate farm fresh food. In particular, the farmers in the room believed we need to build markets for their products by influencing more consumers to buy local. To facilitate networking in our farm and food community, the Regional Farm & Food Project has redesigned the home page of its website to include a listing of "Farm & Food Network" organizations (http://www.farmandfood.org). Currently we have a Google non-profit ad that is generating thousands of hits per week and hundreds of directory searches on the site. Another reason for listing other orgs on our home page is to facilitate information gathering by consumers. If you would like to have your organization listed as a collaborator in the Farm & Food Network, please email billie@farmandfood.org. After the two hour meeting on November 2nd, the group decided to organize into pods to focus on specific issues and activities, and to hold quarterly networking meetings. Below are the pods formed at the meeting. Contact the pod leader if you are interested in joining their work. The next Farm & Food Network meeting will be in January 2007. Farm & Food Network Pods:
7. If Antibiotics Fail to Protect Livestock, How Will They Protect Humans? The Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University has isolated Salmonella Dublin (Group D) from diagnostic samples submitted from multiple animals of 4 different cattle premises in either New York or Pennsylvania in the last 2 months. They have all shown the same antimicrobial susceptibility profile, being resistant to most antibiotics. The USDA, APHIS, NVSL, VS laboratories in Ames, Iowa have confirmed that there have been over 287 cases of S. Dublin disease reported in the USA from September of 2005 until September of 2006. Of those, 39 occurred in cattle in Ohio, NY, and PA. It is unknown how and when multi-drug resistant Salmonella Dublin strains emerged in the northeastern bovine industry, or how widespread they are. Selective pressure applied through non-therapeutic use of antibiotics is one factor suggested for the emergence of resistance in bacteria. Resistance attributes may also be shared between bacteria. At this point, the recent positive isolations at this laboratory have all been from sick calves with a clinical history of pneumonia. The age range of clinical illnesses in dairy or veal calves reported with sample submissions has been from 7 days of age to about 4 months of age,. It is advised that cattle operations take steps to prevent the introduction and transmission of Salmonella Dublin and other enteric pathogens. Illness associated with Salmonella Dublin can be difficult to treat, may be fatal, and the environment, once contaminated, may be difficult to clean up. People, other livestock and companion animal species are also susceptible to infection and could suffer serious illness. Carrier animals can maintain the infection within a herd and may continue to shed organisms contributing to repeat exposure of healthy and sick animals. Cattle owners and caretakers should be especially alert to cattle illnesses involving fever, diarrhea, abortions and respiratory signs (especially in calves) including coughing and labored breathing. While pneumonia is not considered to be an unusual illness in cattle populations, all pneumonia associated with a high incidence or mortality rate should be investigated promptly by a veterinarian. Blood cultures, nasal swabs, transtracheal washes, fecal cultures and other samples from sick animals can be submitted to the NY Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell for Salmonella diagnostic testing and other infectious diseases. Finally, Salmonella spp. have the potential to infect people and can cause illness and death. Notify a physician or the local Health Department if any animal caretakers show sign of serious illness, such as fever, delirium, vomiting, diarrhea with or without blood, and abdominal cramping. Individuals with weakened or suppressed immune systems, pregnant women, and the very young and very old are most susceptible to infection and illness with Salmonella spp. Consumption of raw milk is a high risk practice, especially from herds experiencing a suspected or confirmed outbreak of Salmonella. The Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine is currently monitoring New York Salmonella Dublin outbreaks. Veterinarians may consult with our microbiology and extension staff for diagnostic and surveillance advice. Physicians involved with bovine-associated human cases of salmonellosis are also encouraged to speak with our bacteriologists. For further information about the New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program (NYSCHAP) administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets/ Division of Animal Industry, visit the website: http://nyschap.vet.cornell.edu/ or contact program coordinator Kathy Finnerty: KDF2@CORNELL.EDU or 607-253-3910. 8. Professional Development for Pig Farmers Fifty years ago clipping needle teeth on baby pigs was an accepted practice. At that time we were just starting to see the beginnings of the industrialized pork production so common today. Ask a modern pork producer if he has to clip needle teeth and he is likely to insist it is a necessity. Over the years it seems we have forgotten that the pig was doing just fine before we got involved. Today, a handful of farmers are taking advantage of the pig’s inherent abilities. When provided a more natural environment, clipping needle teeth is not required and the pig provides many other energy efficient, cost reducing, profit enhancing functions. This type of farming has become popularly known as natural production. Natural Pork Farming provides smaller scale farmers a means of production with lower start up cost, reasonable operating expenses, humane handling standards, environmentally sound practices, and premium prices. The National Pork Board indicates between 40 and 80% of todays pork consumers would prefer natural or organic pork. Markets have been a limiting factor. Hog markets in the Northeast, which offer a reasonable return, have become rare due to the extent of contract feeding. The increased demand for natural pork has opened up new markets. However, these markets cannot be sustained without an adequate supply. This presents an opportunity! You will hear presentations from: John Stowell from Northeast Family Farms and Dole & Bailey of Woburn, MA. A chef’s tradition since 1868, this consortium supplies local markets in the northeast with premium products from local farms in the northeast. Mike Yezzi from Flying Pigs Farms of Shushan, NY. Specializing in heritage breeds, Flying Pigs has gourmet markets in New York City and a mail order business that services the entire country. Jeff Arner from Leidy’s Nature’s Traditions of Souderton, PA. Quality pork since 1886, Leidy’s has a protocal in place for natural pork and their current demand is significantly outpacing supply. Pat Kilcoyne from Kilcoyne Farms of Brasher Falls, NY. Niche marketing of natural meats, Kilcoyne Farms purveys pasture-raised meats throughout the northeast. SPECIAL SPEAKER Opportunity knocks. If you have been reluctant to consider hog farming due to the marketing horror stories of commodity production, or the expensive start up costs, now might be the time to reconsider. This program offers information on niche opportunities in upscale markets. Some of these alternatives allow you to control ownership and pricing while opening up doors you would not typically have access to. Other avenues allow you to sell to processors at premium prices, providing you a means to a higher income while still doing what you like best farming. Sponsors The NWNY Dairy, Livestock, & Field Crops Team Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, Cornell Small Farms Program. Register in advance by calling Bill Henning at (585) 728 5783 or Steve Winkler at (315) 232 5075. 9. Our Daily Bread: What Would Jesus Eat? Three years ago the Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter grew curious about what lay behind the sunny images of food in advertisements and packages. He had read that Europeans were spending 8 percent of their income on food. In the 1950s the figure was 30 percent, and Mr. Geyrhalter wondered what, apart from an increase in affluence, made modern meals so cheap. Mr. Geyrhalter channeled his curiosity into a documentary, “Our Daily Bread,” which opens in New York on Friday at Anthology Film Archives. “Fast Food Nation,” the book that inspired countless Americans to stop asking for “fries with that,” has been made into a feature film by Richard Linklater, complete with stars and an indie soundtrack. But “Our Daily Bread” could do much more to catalyze the move toward Slow Food nation. The film depicts the mechanical monotony of industrialized food production, where the difference between a cow and an apple is a matter of equipment, and where humans are employed only when there isn’t yet a machine efficient enough to replace them. Each section of the 92-minute film is composed with attention to the scale and symmetry of these food factories, making it as much an art film as a political statement. In Mr. Geyrhalter’s long, static shots, chicks shoot from a tube into baskets on a conveyor belt in an endless peeping blur. Pigs are processed in a ghoulish mechanical ballet. “Vine ripened” vegetables grow in neat rows inside a vast greenhouse complex, planted in plastic-wrapped pallets of nutrient-soaked matter and suspended by strings from a network of cables. Salmon sucked from a fjord are sawed open, eviscerated and vacuumed clean in seconds. “ ‘Our Daily Bread’ is a documentary that could probably find a place in a course on science fiction films,” said Richard Peña, the chairman of the selection committee of the New York Film Festival, where the movie was shown to acclaim this fall. “Geyrhalter presents a world that looks like ours but seems one step removed from it. Of course the conceit is that indeed what he’s showing us is our world, whether we know it or not. And whether we like it or not.” At 34, Mr. Geyrhalter has directed six documentaries on such subjects as the first year of peace in Bosnia and life in the restricted zone near Chernobyl. He made “Our Daily Bread” in Europe. Getting permission to film wasn’t always easy, but he said that when he wasn’t allowed to enter a poultry plant in, say, Germany, he would simply find another, nearly identical, place in Spain or Poland. During editing, Mr. Geyrhalter removed all the interviews. Even the workers who are seen eating alone on lunch breaks — effectively marking the end of the conveyor belt — do not speak. “I had the feeling that as soon as somebody starts talking, even if it’s interviews, the audience expects explanations and somebody to be blamed,” the director said last month from a hilltop near his weekend home in the Austrian countryside, where he had driven to find a cellphone signal. “And since food has to do with everybody, I just didn’t want to give the audience any chance to escape because they all have the responsibility for what they buy.” Since completing the film, Mr. Geyrhalter said, he eats less meat and buys organic food when he can. While he said that the recent spate of books and films that take on agribusiness could have some impact on certain consumers, he is not optimistic about more sweeping changes. “You will never reach the majority,” he said. “Whatever we see in the movie is just part of our reality, and it will always stay part of our reality.” Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company 10. Know Where Your Seafood Comes From The world’s beleaguered fish populations have found an unlikely ally: seafood eaters, according to a new Worldwatch study by Brian Halweil, a senior researcher and globally recognized food expert. From Chinese universities that refuse to serve shark fin soup, to U.S. supermarkets that feature sustainably harvested shrimp, to Japanese consumers who are restoring wild oyster beds, a well-informed population of seafood eaters, distributors, restaurants, and supermarkets is playing a growing role in fostering a more sustainable, lower-impact fishing industry. “Today, most of the world’s seafood, from tuna to salmon to bay scallops, is threatened with extinction,” writes Halweil in Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans. Studies show that fishers have eliminated at least 90 percent of tuna, marlin, swordfish, and other large predatory fish in just the past 50 years, and United Nations surveys show that roughly two-thirds of the world’s major fish stocks, from cod to salmon to mackerel, have been pushed to the verge of collapse. “A public that better understands the state of the world’s oceans can be a driving force in helping governments pass legislation to ban destructive fishing, mandate fishing labels that indicate how fish were caught, and create marine preserves off-limits to fishing where fish can spawn.” “In the same way the organic food movement is evolving beyond the culinary fringe, sustainable seafood can make its biggest impact when it starts appearing at popular supermarkets and restaurants,” says Halweil. “Fish is an incredibly healthful food, but we’ll need to eat less of certain kinds and more of others if we want fish in the future.” Salmon farms, for instance, consume more fish in the form of feed than they yield in seafood, and large ocean species like tuna and swordfish are most likely to be contaminated with mercury and other toxins. Eating clams, oysters, and smaller species, in contrast, puts less strain on oceans and protects consumers from contaminants. See below for a one-page fact sheet on Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans, a list of tips for seafood lovers,” and a summary of policy recommendations. The full report is available for download at http://www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/wwp172.pdf. FACT SHEET Growing Seafood Consumption Worldwide People in the developing world eat most of the world’s fish (thanks to larger populations there), but they eat much less per capita: 14.2 kilos per year, versus 24 kilos in the industrial world. Chinese consumers now eat roughly five times as much seafood per capita as they did in 1961, and total fish consumption in China has increased more than tenfold. Over the same period, U.S. seafood consumption jumped 2.5 times. State of Today’s Fish Stocks In 2004, marine scientists concluded that industrial fleets had emptied the oceans of at least 90 percent of all large predators—tuna, marlin, swordfish, sharks, cod, halibut, skates, and flounder—in just the past 50 years. Worldwide, fishers catch an estimated 18–40 million tons of fish and other marine creatures that are discarded—as much as half of all official marine landings. Rapid Growth in Seafood Trade Inefficient Energy Use Illegal Fishing and Its Impact on the Developing World Positive Trends Scientists estimate that establishing no-catch marine reserves over 20 –30 percent of the oceans would provide spawning grounds and refuges to sustain all major fisheries. This would create 1 million jobs and cost $5–19 billion each year—far less than current fisheries subsidies. What’s a Seafood Lover to Do? Get to know where your fish comes from and how it’s caught. Avoid seafood caught using large-scale indiscriminate techniques, such as long-lines (tuna and swordfish) or bottom trawling (shrimp and cod). Seafood guides, like the ones put out by the Monterey Bay Aquarium (http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp) and the Blue Ocean Institute (http://www.blueocean.org), often include this information. Support small-scale boats and fishers. Smaller boats support more people per fish caught than large vessels. They also tend to use more selective and less destructive fishing practices. Consider what you wash down your drain. Much of the water we use in our homes—for showers, sinks, washers, and toilets—ends up in the oceans. Switch to non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners and dispose of paints, car oil, and other toxins at recycling centers. Consider the other food you eat. Runoff from large livestock farms and agricultural chemicals often ends up in the ocean, where it encourages algae blooms that rob other ocean life of oxygen. Animal feedlots also feed livestock large amounts of fishmeal and fish oil. Favoring organic food and pasture-raised meats means fewer farms dumping waste into the oceans. Worldwatch Paper 172: Catch of the Day costs $9.95 plus shipping and handling and can be purchased through the Worldwatch website (http://www.worldwatch.org), by calling 1.877.539.9946, or by faxing 1.301.567.9553. + C A L E N D A R & C L A S S I F I E D S Saturday, December 2, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Saturday, December 9, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm December 9 & January 27 January 18-20, 2007 January 26-28, 2007 Member Drive to Launch the Troy Food Coop WANTED: 2007 Farm Manager Town of Dartmouth to Sell Souza/Lagasse Farm Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture FARMERS PLEASE FILL OUT THIS SURVEY Phillies Bridge Farm Project Seeks Farmer 12 Gallon Pasturizer/Cheese Vat for Sale GRASS FED COWS FOR SALE |
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