Patriotism Be Knockin Atchya Door

~ Valley Center, CA ~

Helping Soldiers Trade Their Swords For Plows

photo credits - nytimes

Be you an Independent, a Democrat, a Republican or the Campaign Manager for Jon Stewart, our food - produce, meat and dairy, to be exact - where we get it, how it's produced, and the Farmers behind your next Salad, Burger, or late-nite Milk and Cookie snack, is a concern we can all pay attention to!

* Read on ! * 

 photo credits - nytimes

"...Sgt. Matt Holzmann, 33, a Marine at Camp Pendleton who spent seven months in Afganistan. He did counterinsurgency work and tried to introduce aquaponics, a self-replenishing agricultural system, to rural villages. 

His zeal for aquaponics led him to the farming class. "It's a national security issue," he said the other day outside a garage-turned-classroom filled with boxes of Dr. Earth Kelp Meal. "The more responsibly we use water and energy, the greater it is for our country..."

 photo credits: nytimes

- Mentioned in This Article:

* Archi's Acres
* Aquaponics (An Answer to Sustainable Farming)
* Earth Day
* Food Security
* Dr. Earth Kelp Meal (!?)

 photo credits - nytimes

~ 'Merca ~

Subsidies go where the money is - where money talks. And in most cases, those subsidies  support more corn - which in our unfortunate capital-driven economy, is the prime product receiving a large turn-over due to corporations like Coca Cola and Perdue, to name a few, which use it as a cheap by-product to either pump up The Soda, or feed The Chickens, and also have the cash to pay high priced lobbyists in Washington.

And yes, produce from outside the US is cheaper (to the immediate dollars in the wallets of our pockets, but not to the dollars of our taxes as we pay for the petrol needed for exorbitant transportation costs). Our tastes Are extravagant, as we continue learning about new sugar items from the Amazon, or new teas from the Himalayas.

Some people ask what comes first: the chicken or the egg (no pun intended). I.e do we slim down our demand for expensive imported products and high fructose products, and therefore show gov't why  $$ must go to the production of local produce (this for example, means fewer if no bananas in the winter!); or does gov't need to *miraculously* stop promoting corn subsidies to in turn curb our population's addiction to manufactured sugars, and corn fed cattle?

Um, the former.

So as we adjust our eating habits...

'Here's An Easy One...'

Vows by Congressional Republicans to slash billions from the federal budget at a time when joblessness is high and the economy needs stimulus are reckless. But here is one big-ticket saving that all members of Congress should get behind: cutting the billions of dollars in farm subsidies that distort food prices, encourage over farming and inflate the price of land... more

A Polymath

- Japan/Asia/The World -

Masanabu Fukuoka

February 2nd 1913 - August 16th 2008

 

Farmer
Philosopher
Writer
Educator
Scientist
Poet

"Most of the work of farming is created by tampering with nature, which causes negative side effects. Very few agriculture practices are even necessary, just scattering seed, spreading straw on the soil and harvesting."

His books:
The One Straw Revolution
The Natural Way of Farming
The Road Back to Nature

A New 'Craigslist'For Local Food. Yay.

- Can AH DEE AH -

Think of this place as 'inspiration'.

Depriving Liberties, or Enforcing Safety Regulations

-Montesano, WA-

Estrella Farm - Photo via Estrellafamilycreamery.com via Tacoma News Tribune

Kelli Estrella a small artisan cheese maker of Estrella Creamery is defying F.D.A orders that declare her cheeses unsafe for consumption. While the F.D.A says that a listeria bacteria has contaminated all her products, she does not want to accept that the government orders are simply in regards to food safety. 'She says she believes that the F.D.A's crackdown is part of a larger campaign against raw milk, and she is fighting for her customers' right to eat whatever they choose. "I don't think this issue is about bacteria and it's not about cheese," she said. "I think that we are loosing our freedom." '

Functioning Like a Forest

- Portland, OR -

Echinacea, on TLC Farm

 "TLC Farm likes to think of a forest as a visionary model. A forest symbolizes chaos and all that is unplanned and unruly, yet forests are peaceful and comforting, not to mention efficient and resilient. It is their seemingly unintentional and symbiotic relations that makes them beautiful. The community's organizational structure and leadership of the Farm are based on the theory of permaculture, which mimics a natural ecosystem. Permaculture is a holistic design technique, as well as a way of life, encouraging beneficial connections between elements in order to create sustainable, regenerative systems. It is also about cultivating relationships that make sense in order to decrease energy input and increase longevity of systems."

Rudolf Steiner & Bio-dynamic Farming

To explain bio-dynamic farming today typically requires the word 'resurgence'. The increasingly popular tradition of chemical free, high soil fertility, and crop-rotation, has after all been around for centuries, and was once considered standard; basic; dare one say, 'normal' practice in agriculture and farming.

And now, with a monstrous demand for food, crop disease problems, and general land degradation - issues that are typically man-made - chemical-use to combat bugs, produce larger and greater quantities of fruits and vegetables, has been the savior for many farmers across the world.

Enter Rudolf Steiner (1860-1925), then and now. His philosophies and influences surrounding bio-dynamic farming helped farmers of Eastern Germany in the 1920's, and today continue reminding the world about the importance of healthy soils, purely organic resources, and... for those of you with an astrological inclination... his belief systems that connect the weight of the cosmos to plants vitality.  :)

G R E E K:
bios=life; dynamis=energy

Dancing Cricket

- Bowdoinham, ME -

To Have Wwoofed

Dancing Cricket in Bowdoinham, Maine was the best wwoofing experience one can ask for.

Started by some University of Vermont Alums, and a traveling vagabond, this 75 acre farm with 4 acres of organic vegetables, flowers, and herbs focuses on CSA, and sustaining an off the grid lifestyle.

With only a few but strong seasons under their belt, Dancing Cricket has yet to build a farm house - allowing participants a gorgeous environment of living, cooking, working and sleeping outdoors...