December 11, 2009
My maternal grandparents were homestead farmers in Oklahoma and I remember my grandfather talking about how participation in the Farm Program required him to “lay some of my fields fallow”. That’s about all I remember of his speaking on that topic. Except I also remember thinking, well, that doesn’t make sense. Then I studied agricultural economics and policy in graduate school – after my Granddaddy Scott was gone - and I learned the concept behind price control. Everyone knows the basic law of supply and demand, right? Simply put, as supply rises and demand decreases, then prices fall. So, to stabilize prices on a commodity like wheat, for example, you PAY your farmers to reduce the amount of wheat they are growing, you reduce the glut on the market, and your farmers receive a better price for the wheat that they DO grow and sell, which stimulates the economy all round. And, to further control the price, you store a big bucketload of it in your “emergency food stores” to ensure the “health and safety of your country”. It’s exactly the same as controlling currency. Simply put.
It was brilliant. It helped my grandparents survive – I’m sure of it. So what happened to us as an agriculturally rich country? Why are we blaming rural farmers for lack of local food and, even, for GMO? Somewhere along the line Big Ag got mixed up in farm programs. Enter GMO. Oh so simply put….
Neither my grandfather nor any of his neighbors could have foreseen what would happen by accepting the benefits of the Farm Bill. Why would they? There was no harm in laying a field fallow because they, and all of their neighbors, grew their OWN fruits and veggies for their own consumption. It would never occur to them that they needed to provide peaches, lettuce, tomatoes and more to their neighbors or to the nearest city. Everyone was a City Farmer in their own right and they farmed to provide COMMODITIES to a broader market: the city.
December 10, 2009
Making 4-pallet modular compost systems with Will Allen & Growing Power
You know, I love what my friends have done for local food.
I want some of that.
But now, as I make plans to go visit my mom and dad for the holidays, I think about how that will be. I imagine myself telling them “You can HAVE this fat, but you can’t have THAT fat.” And it all just gets so complicated. How ironic is it that I should have to tell my own parents – people who came from farms – what to eat and what not to eat?
How is it that my own parents don’t know what’s good for them when it comes to food?
It’s because they left the farm. And even if they hadn’t left the farm, they would still be the generation that was fed a load of lies by the media. Enter television. Enter advertising. Enter Big Ag and the end of my parents’ simple diet.
My parents left the farm because they were tired of being poor. And because they wanted to make a difference for their families. It had nothing to do with food. It is not their fault, necessarily, that I grew up with macaroni and cheese from a box and bread from a plastic bag. They did the best that they knew how to do, with what they had.
And that’s all we, all of us, know how to do. So, you out there, wondering what to feed your families and how to go about it: Listen, you are doing the best you can. Follow what’s true and what’s local… and we’ll all be alright.
July 30, 2009
Is it okay to waste anything?
I could NOT BELIEVE my eyes when I saw this sign on a fryolator at an airport food court the other day.Yes, I was in the food court…. I was desperate for food because I’d been waiting on stand-by all day and couldn’t get on a flight. I will know better next time and fill my tote with real food whether I think I need it or not.
Anyway, what’s with this company endorsed policy to waste? And look at the sign. It’s almost enthusiastic in the way it looks and reads. It’s like the message is “Go ahead! PLEASE waste the fries! And, while you’re at it, why don’t you waste everything?” Sure there’s plenty of money and shareholders and industrial agriculture. There are people who are desperate for work and they’ll eat a 99-cent burger if they have to. I know I have and I’m not ashamed to say it. And, yes, I realize that the intent of this sign is to ensure food quality and safety. And that is a good thing.
I am not opposed to companies offering affordable food and making a profit. What I grow and eat is largely MY choice. What I’m opposed to is this public display of sanctioned unsustainability. According to Slow Food Nation, in this country we produce 1-1/2 times the amount of food each year than is consumed. In addition to this gross agroindustrialism, our children receive fast food and crap for lunch – the ONLY meal of the day for some children. This is so sad I am verging on tears.
I ran across an article today at Civil Eats which brought to my attention a campaign developed by Slow Food USA called Time For Lunch. This campaign is petitioning Congress to add one dollar per meal per day to the National School Lunch Program. Please sign this petition at your earliest opportunity. I also urge you to have a conviction about how this dollar should be spent. In my humblest opinion, this extra dollar should be spent creating edible schoolyards such as the kind that Alice Waters, Chef Ann Cooper and the Chez Panisse Foundation have built in Berkely and, now, New Orleans. It is NOT enough to feed more dollars to a crippled system such as the School Lunch Program!
And it is NOT “O.K. TO WASTE”.
Filed under Uncategorized
Tags: agriculture, airports, Alice Waters, Chef Ann Cooper, Chez Panisse, Civil Eats, edible schoolyards, fastfood, fries, industrial agriculture, lunch, School Lunch Program, Slow Food, Time For Lunch, waste, White House Garden
July 21, 2009
Beets ready for pickling
Last Saturday I was privileged to have a home canning class with Claudia Kuhns in Denver. I had watched my Grandmas putting up their fruits and veggies as a kid, but I never remembered the technicalities – I did, however, remember the art.
I’m the sort of person who needs to see and hear and feel this kind of thing in order to get it. I need to get the technicality of it. And further, I need to understand ALL aspects: the worship of the plant, the brilliance of saving it, and definitely the technique and the engineering involved. And finally, last but not least, I need to experience the gastronomy of it: the science of appreciating the plant and the palette. Let me see if I can share my canning album with you here. Otherwise, please find it on my Facebook page called ‘City Farmer’ and become a fan if you will http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=140778&id=139796795040#/album.php?aid=140790&id=139796795040&ref=nf
And let me say more about home canning and your options: You don’t need to have grown the veggies and fruits yourself. Don’t be hesitant in the least about buying fresh, local organic food to can and preserve. We all need to support our local farms who work so hard to offer us fresh, organic foods. Be a purveyer! And furthermore, don’t you want to have fresh, organic foods that you’ve canned (with love) to feed to your family in the winter?
Our produce – tiny little delicious beets – was provided by Grant Family Farm. And the exquisite, flawless sweet cherries were grown with love and provided by Ela Family Farms. Thank you farmers!
Claudia’s and Irena’s Pickled Beet Brine
1 qt organic apple cider vinegar
1 qt + 1 cup water
1cup + 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoon salt
Mix and modify to your taste. This would also be quite tasty with canned sweet potatoes and others. Experiment for more delight!
July 14, 2009
Rhonda's Balcony
This weekend I stayed over at my friend, Rhonda’s, place. My goal was to clean up her balcony and beautify it with some plants and flowers. Here’s a lovely pic of what we were able to do in a 4′ x 7′ space. The bougainvillia is destined to be hung to free up the lovely table, and then we have a pot full of sage, oregano and thyme. The Agapanthus in the background is simply in its element in the beautiful Chinese pot on a stand. It catches the drips from the air conditioning unit.
Small is possible and IS beautiful.
An Agapanthus in a beautiful Chinese-motif planter. Nothing could be more perfect!
July 4, 2009
'So Proud of My Children' statue from Chapungu exhibition
Today was my first day as an Ambassador for the Denver Botanic Gardens. Ellen, the Manager of Visitor Experiences, fortunately was waiting there for me and she gave me a grand tour. I am grateful to work for her. Right off we had a delightful experience. As we were touring the garden a small plane kept circling around with a banner that said, “I [heart] you Maggie. Will you marry me? Love, Ryan.”
Ellen and I kept on our tour and we found the by-now famous Maggie-and-Ryan in the South African Deck. Everyone was applauding. Ryan had staged the whole thing – brought a photographer along and got down on his knees, ring and all. Ellen said, “Well, did she say yes?” She did. I told them well, you’ve made my day!
Ellen let me stay after my shift so that I could take pictures and I had a fabulous time doing that. I have a long ways to go – bringing the taxonomy back from the depths of my memory. But I’m up for it. I’m in my element. See my pictures at “City Farmer” on Facebook.
July 3, 2009
- Beans and bricks at Tiri’s Garden
This is Tiri’s Garden and one of my first ventures back into the gardening community after working in the corporate world for some time. Right smack dab in the middle of downtown Denver, Colorado, Tiri’s was built on an empty slab where a building was torn down and a new building was not yet in the works. We volunteers from Denver Urban Gardens (DUG) work together with youth from Urban Peak shelter growing fruits, veggies and flowers to benefit the shelter.
The light rail runs along one side of the garden on California Street. The Hyatt Regency Denver faces the intersection at 15th Street and hotel guests watch us from their luxury suites. There’s not a day that goes by when our business neighbors and convention center visitors step into the garden and, stunned, ask what’s this all about?
It’s about community. It’s about local food. It’s about beans and bricks, and lettuce and love. It’s about one of those things that gives more than it takes: a garden.
The Tiri’s Garden Farmer’s Market will open July 12! Stop by on Wednesdays for food, music and a tour of the garden.
July 3, 2009
Today I’ve decided to change my life and change my blog. I’ll be sharing stories about urban homesteading, community gardens, city farming, edible schoolyards and more.
I was aghast to find that yellow summer squash is 98 cents per pound at the grocery store today. Yellow summer squash? Nothing could be easier to grow! If you have the tiniest plot of land – or even a patio or balcony – you could purchase a pack of seeds for about a dollar and, depending upon how much you sow, reap HUNDREDS of pounds of squash this summer. Most of that 98 cents for the store-bought squash goes to gasoline, trucking and middle men. Do we really want to encourage this?
