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*************************************************************************Global NewsHow to Buy Humane Eggs: What to Know, and What You Can ForgetSun 31 Jan 2010 2:55pm By Jaymi Heimbuch, January 28, 2010, Alternet.org Cage-free. Organic. Range-fed. Humane. We know the terms, and we see them on the labels of the egg cartons at the store. But can we trust them? And just what do they mean? ... Luckily, there are two tips you can take to reduce your stress around which eggs are best for the environment, the chickens, and you. more here . . . Americans Toss Out 40 Percent of All Food Fri 27 Nov 2009 5:54pm By Robert Roy Britt, LiveScience.com 11/26/09 U.S. residents are wasting food like never before. While many Americans feast on turkey and all the fixings today, a new study finds food waste per person has shot up 50 percent since 1974. Some 1,400 calories worth of food is discarded per person each day, which adds up to 150 trillion calories a year. link more here . . . Without Drastic CO2 Cuts Immediately, the World Faces a Massive 'Oh Shit' Moment Thu 15 Oct 2009 10:44am By Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation. October 15, 2009. link to article. A frightening new climate change study says the United States must eliminate its enormous rate of carbon emission within ten years. ... more here . . . Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food Mon 31 Aug 2009 11:56pm by Bryan Walsh, Time Magazine, Aug. 21, 2009. link ... With the exhaustion of the soil, the impact of global warming and the inevitably rising price of oil — which will affect everything from fertilizer to supermarket electricity bills — our industrial style of food production will end sooner or later. As the developing world grows richer, hundreds of millions of people will want to shift to the same calorie-heavy, protein-rich diet that has made Americans so unhealthy — demand for meat and poultry worldwide is set to rise 25% by 2015 — but the earth can no longer deliver. Unless Americans radically rethink the way they grow and consume food, they face a future of eroded farmland, hollowed-out countryside, scarier germs, higher health costs — and bland taste. Sustainable food has an élitist reputation, but each of us depends on the soil, animals and plants — and as every farmer knows, if you don't take care of your land, it can't take care of you. more here . . . Desperate Food Industry Tries to Tar Michael Pollan and Organic Produce Tue 25 Aug 2009 10:30am By Vanessa Barrington at ecosalon.com on 8/18/09 What do you get when you cross a grassroots movement with a food industry fearful of losing its influence? Bogus studies, campaigns of misinformation and opinion pieces filled with myth and vitriol. You may have noticed an uptick this year in news reporting that organic food isn’t really better for you, opinion pieces by conventional farmers saying that they are tired of being demonized by “agri-intellectuals”, and guilt-inducing ads by Monsanto in highbrow publications like the New Yorker touting the company’s ability to feed the world through technology. more here . . . I Saw 'Food Inc.' — Now What? Fri 3 Jul 2009 9:21am by Sarah Newman, Huffington Post, July 1, 2009. link So, you've seen the new movie Food Inc. and you're inspired. Frequently asked questions answered about what to do next. more here . . . |  Local NewsCSA Fair and Film in Somerville, January 11 @ 6pmTue 5 Jan 2010 7:13pm Monday January 11 is the day of the FIRST-EVER SOMERVILLE FARM SHARE FAIR, followed by a special film screening of "The Power of Community" at the Somerville Public Library (79 Highland Ave)
Each year, local farms throughout the Greater Boston region offer weekly subscriptions to their delicious, fresh, and often-organic produce — delivered right close to home. But getting information on these shares (called CSAs, or community-supported agriculture) can be near-impossible. This year, we're bringing all of the farms together in one place, so you can get the information you need to get signed up. Bring in your checkbook to reserve a share!
After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba faced catastrophic cuts in its oil and food supplies. In the face of the crisis, creative communities came together to transition to a more sustainable path, through organic farming and urban gardening. Their inspiring story offers hope for us all as we enter an era of rising fuel costs and impending global warming threats. Please join us after the film for a brief discussion. more here . . . Global Climate Action Day, Sat. Oct 24, 2009 Thu 15 Oct 2009 1:00pm  On October 24, join people all over the world to take a stand for a safe climate future. In December political leaders will meet in Copenhagen to iron out the treaty that may determine the Earth's future. This event is intended to focus politicians awareness on the science and the citizens over special interests. A regional rally is being held at Old North Bridge in Concord, MA at 2pm (flyer here). There will also be a rally in Sudbury on the town common (rt 27 & Concord Rd) at 10am followed by lunch and forming carpools to the Concord rally. The global event has been organized by 350.org and locally by http://gwenet.org. Many churches including First Parish's of Framingham (4pm) and Sudbury (10am) will be tolling their bells 350 times on Oct 24 to call attention to the urgent need to reduce the atmospheric CO2 level to 350 ppm. Why is 350 the most important number now for you, your children and the Earth?See 350.orgmore here . . . NOFA food preservation workshops on September 19th Thu 3 Sep 2009 9:13am The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass) is holding workshops on how to preserve food from the fall harvest in two Boston area locations on September 19. The event is part of the Massachusetts Food Preservation Workshop Day, which has been organized to meet the resurgence of interest in local foods and self-reliance. One workshop will be held from 10:00am to 4:00pm at the Natick Community Organic Farm on 117 Eliot Street in South Natick and another will be held from 9:00am to 12:00pm at the home of Jill Ebbott on 70 Beaconsfield Road in Brookline. Similar events will be held in 9 other towns and cities throughout the state (link) on the same day. “Every year people are making more backyard gardens and enjoying the tremendous wealth of produce available from local farms in the fall. To enjoy this bounty into the winter it’s helpful to re-learn some techniques for preserving food at home that our grandparents probably used but that many of us haven’t learned yet,” said Ben Grosscup, the event organizer. “With this event, we're offering the public an opportunity to learn from experienced food preservation educators the basic skills they need to get started.” Sharon Kane of Ashland is a major proponent of lacto-fermented foods, which is the food preservation technique that she’ll be focusing on at the Natick workshop. In lacto-fermentation, salt is added to suppress the bacteria species that cause food to spoil while also fostering the growth of beneficial lacto bacillus bacteria that produce the natural preservative, lactic acid. “Lacto-fermentation works on the principle that fresh vegetables are covered with beneficial microbes, which given the right environment, multiply and then transform the sugars and the starches in produce into beneficial bacteria, yeasts, vitamins, and enzymes,” said Kane. more here . . . A Stearns Farm Sharer's review of the film Food Inc. Wed 22 Jul 2009 10:42am This afternoon M. and I saw the documentary film "Food, Inc." in Waltham, which I feel is an absolute must see for all. (Also being shown at Coolidge Corner.) Encourage your friends to go. After seeing the film I don't think I ever want to purchase beef again (unless grass fed on a small farm) and not purchase chicken from a factory farm. Same for pork. The first thing M. said after the film was that if she owned Monsanto or Tyson stock she would sell it immediately. Only about 3 major manufacturers of food now exist in USA. The FDA effectively does nothing. Food is grown and processed in a humongous mass production method with lots of machinery and in a manner where all is teetering on the edge of disaster. Disaster due to animal disease barely kept under control and growing animal feed and food as a gigantic monoculture. Human treatment of animals no longer exists. See http://www.foodincmovie.com and http://www.takepart.com/foodinc I already knew the meat industry was not ethical and free of disease, etc., but this film obtained "inside" pictures the food manufacturers don't want the public to see. One of the farmers finally felt the way she was forced to grow chickens was too unethical to continue to keep quiet so let her and her farm be filmed. Her whole operation got fired for doing this. She now finds that if she needs antibiotics when sick, she can no longer use any. 73,000 Americans get sick each year from food born disease and obesity is out of control and farmland is going down-hill while many streams are highly polluted. The real cost of food far exceeds what one spends in the supermarket. more here . . . sptest0  stearnsfarmcsa.org |
Revision 23. Last edited Fri 15 Jan 2010 10:26am by TomYelton