·      The folly of Big Agriculture: Why Nature Always Wins http://bit.ly/HXP2Bk

Instead of urging farmers away from uniformity and toward grater diversity, the USDA is helping them do the same old wrong thing faster

·      What do Walmart, Fiji Water, and The Sustainable Forestry Initiative have in common?  http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/04/8-notorious-greenwasher-contest http://bit.ly/Hjpdz5

·      Saving Heirloom Seeds Through Crowdsourcing http://bit.ly/HoFdcR

·      Is your favorite restaurant faking organic? There’s only one way to know for sure http://bit.ly/HlrSFR

·      Gleaning: Ending hunger with foraged foods http://bit.ly/H6wr58

·      The Times of India: Farmers make a splash in water trade http://bit.ly/HkPSaC

·      Farm My Yard: Connecting Urban Farmers with Land to Farm http://farmmyyard.org/

·      2011 Record Imports of Fertilizers and Increase Phosphate Exports http://bit.ly/HnZVut

The whole point of the market system is “efficient allocation of resources.” Apparently the concept has lost all meaning. What a mess…

·      Now On The Menu For Hungry Kids: Supper At School http://n.pr/HsXR9m

·      Restaurant Management Magazine: Taking Local to the Next Level http://bit.ly/HjoZ9x

·      Urban Farming Thrives In Old Chicago Meat Plant http://huff.to/Hwa0tV

·      Will Apple Beat Google to Tap North Carolina’s Pig (poop) Power? http://bit.ly/HX7rOF

·      Not All Eggs Are Created Equal http://bit.ly/Hld2ly

·      Brooklyn Grange, World’s Largest Rooftop Farm, Gets Second Location and Bees http://bit.ly/HufX9I

·      Cool Read: UCSC Oral History of Sustainable Ag

Check out the online resources from the UCSC Oral History on Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming on California's Central Coast. This documentary project conducted by the Regional Oral History Project at the University of California Santa Cruz's University Library includes fifty-eight interviews with farmers, activists, researchers, and educators. It encompasses the 1960s through the present. 

Here you will find transcripts of all of the interviews in full text (PDF) format, along with audio clips from the oral histories, photographs, and additional resources. We provide three navigable categories that offer different portals to this archive. The entire collection of oral histories is also fully searchable (across interviews) through the UCSC Library's Digital Collections site (ContentDM) at UCSC. http://bit.ly/HwlUny

·      Got… A lawyer? http://bit.ly/Hv0uCE

·      Barfblog http://bit.ly/bhJv5F

Safe food from farm to fork

·      Kitchens Without Cooks: Frozen Food For Chicago’s Schoolchildren http://bit.ly/HC4KSg

·      Brining the oysters back to New York Harbor http://bit.ly/IhlJZK also, read The Big Oyster by Mark Kurlansky http://nyti.ms/d3yPkD

·      MAPS: March Was an Epically Weir Weather Month http://bit.ly/I0Vrf5

·      Food processing CEO facing jail after guilty plea in tomato paste racketeering case http://bit.ly/HDiVqk

A former US food processing company CEO is facing up to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering and price fixing charges relating to the sale of processed tomatoes.

·      The Global Water Grab: A Primer http://bit.ly/Hz2Y35

·      Bigger and bigger and… http://bit.ly/HtVvSR

·      Food processing needs to b championed by industry http://bit.ly/IzjOEn

Huh? Haven’t they already bought their airtime?

·      Sustainable palm is good for environment, and business revenues, find WWF report http://bit.ly/HGAZjQ

Really?

·      Meat consumption, emissions need to be halved to reduce nitrous oxide, the most potent greenhouse gas (IPCC) http://bit.ly/HFwREF

·      New Orleans school cultivates a generation of forward-thinking farmers http://bit.ly/HAUNpx

 

Labor

·      Restaurant Industry Adds 560,000 New Jobs, Rebounding Faster Than Overall Economy http://huff.to/Hw6dwx

Great, the lowest paying sector of the economy is growing…

·      Labor of love: Domestic fair trade grows http://bit.ly/HeQ6Bp

 

Activists, Occupy & Anonymous

·      Millions Against Monsanto: The Fight of Our Lives http://bit.ly/IMmvQu

Finally, public opinion around the biotech industry’s contamination of our food supply and destruction of our environment has reached the tipping point. We’re fighting back.

 

Government & Regulation

·      Poultry Inspectors Protest Inspection Proposal at USDA http://bit.ly/IuMKHs

·      EPA Paves Pathway for ‘Agent Orange’ GM Corn http://bit.ly/HuxGPD

EPA reject petition to ban pesticide; Paves way for widespread use on Dow Chemical’s GM corn seed

·      FDA to GMO labeling campaign: What million signatures? http://bit.ly/HQQ2pJ

·      NOAA Fisheries Service Evaluation has found: West Coast Salmon: Pesticides Put Protected Species In Jeopardy http://huff.to/Hy99YG

·      Worst Farm Bill Ever? http://bit.ly/IflgqV

·      Rep Keith Ellison (D - MN) reintroduces legislation to ban herbicide atrazine http://bit.ly/HYymZB

·      US Proposes Historic but Lax Carbon Regulations for Fossil Fuel Power Plants http://bit.ly/HkOmWj

·      Pies With a Permit http://bit.ly/HLQ0Bz

If passed, the California Homemade Food Act will put clandestine food peddlers on the path to legitimacy

·      USDA to Hold Public Meeting to Address Agenda Items for the Codex Committee on Food Labeling http://1.usa.gov/HM5xlH

·      USDA Study: Food stamps ‘significantly’ reduced poverty during recession http://bit.ly/Hyd0Bc

·      ALEC: Desperate for Dough? http://bit.ly/J8FiSC

Food corporations were the first to pull out, consumers do matter…

 

GMOs/Cloning/Nanotechnology/Poisons

·      Daily Mail UK: Farmer ditches his plan for clone milk and sells off cows after ‘Frankenstein’ outcry http://bit.ly/IhF9vE

Move kills idea of using cloned animal for food production; Most of the 96 animals have been destroyed or exported to Europe

·      The Hindu Business Line: Bt cotton had done little in increasing yields: SAGE http://bit.ly/I966Ui

·      Working Knowledge, Harvard Business School: Who Sways the USDA on GMO Approvals? http://bit.ly/HBfku1

·      Vermont Right to Know GMOs host an unlabeled and unnatural buffet at the Vermont State House http://bit.ly/IQMpiB

·      Scientist says biotech companies encouraged GMO-herbicide treadmill http://bit.ly/IceCj7

·      GM pine trees destroyed in raid (NZ) http://bit.ly/IC6Ot3 and http://bit.ly/HG79LI

·      GM field trials (India) hit roadblock http://bit.ly/HHzkK8

·      EFSA (EU) finds GM maize safer for health and environment http://bit.ly/HIGnlR

·      GM wheat trial brings hope for commercialization (UK) http://bit.ly/Izyxz8

·      Fracking in Los Angeles? Test Wells at Urban Oil Field Spark Water Worries http://bit.ly/IyNwcF

·      Chile Stands up to Monsanto http://bit.ly/HxuYUs

·      Why a genetically modified pig is a waste of money http://bit.ly/IIJGJq

·      Taking it to the White House: Just Label It http://bit.ly/HDTjfS

 

Healthy/Humane/Safe Food & Water?

·      Politicians Swallow Pink Slime to Prove Their Allegiance to Corporations http://bit.ly/I7NDdP

Just as in the case of pink slime, the interests of a flesh-and-blood people and corporations frequently conflict.

·      The Rise to Fame of ‘Pink Slime’ http://bit.ly/HFqlxD

·      Changes coming to the Saturday Diamond Head farmers market; considered a flagship of Oahu http://bit.ly/I7AfGy

·      Fracking Our Way to a Warmer and Less Stable World http://bit.ly/IAKHSn

·      Maryland set to become first state to ban arsenic in chicken feed http://wapo.st/HDfvVB

·      Exporting Obesity: Global diets are increasingly facing the dual challenge of undernourishment and obesity, a trend characterized by an abundance of low nutrition, high calorie, processed foods. United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Oliver de Schutter, has released a new report calling for a reassessment of unhealthy food systems in both rich and poor countries http://bit.ly/yZu3k5

·      6 Ingredients You May Not Want In Your Food (but they are, and the foods they are in) http://huff.to/Hucf1W

If this doesn’t turn you stomach, I don’t know what will… TBHQ, AKA Butane in chicken nuggets; Propylene Glycol (antifreeze) amongst others…

·      Iowa Environmental Council: Judge: Farm Bureau attack on clean water standards “without merit” http://bit.ly/Hq8szz

·      Yet another study links insecticide to bee losses http://bit.ly/Ia8w39

·      McDonald’s Restaurants at 22 US Hospitals http://bit.ly/HzbXDi

Seven are children’s hospitals, healthy food anyone?

·      Study: Autism Linked to Industrial Food, Environment http://bit.ly/IGSQrG

Report cites prevalence of high-fructose corn syrup in US diet as possible contributor to alarming epidemic

·      Monsanto ‘Knowingly Poisoned Workers’ Causing Devastating Birth Defects (Argentina) http://bit.ly/HxyR0r and here http://bit.ly/Il8M4j

·      New Battery Cage Investigation Highlights Need for Federal Hen Bill http://bit.ly/I6GJTZ and HSUS Reports ‘Deplorable’ Conditions at Large PA Egg Farm http://bit.ly/IK0409

·      Novel food must ‘benefit consumers’ to win acceptance http://bit.ly/IlzuXy

Emerging technologies should be tailor-made to consumer preferences to encourage acceptance of them in food applications…

Yah, right…

 

 

Events

·      Food Safety and Water Quality Co-Management Forum

       April 18, 2012, 8:30 am to 4:00 pm

       Watsonville Civic Plaza Community Room

        275 Main St. 4th Floor, Watsonville, CA

 There will be presentations in the morning and a field tour to an organic farm in the                    afternoon. Presentations will include the following panels: "Keeping Track of Changes in Food Safety Guidelines and Policy" and "The Science of Risk Assessment."

During the tour, visit a diverse, high-intensity organic vegetable and berry farm adjacent to the Watsonville Sloughs for a series of field stops to: 1) Hear from the landowner, growers and their food safety professionals how they manage for food safety and environmental quality in a potentially challenging setting; 2) Work through site specific scenarios to address co-management challenges in tandem with food safety, agricultural, conservation and resource management professionals; and 3) Conclude with a large group discussion on fresh observations and learnings within the tour group.

Hosted by the Farm, Food Safety, & Conservation Network

For more information and to register, please contact: Lisa Lurie, FFSCN Coordinator, 831/420-3662 or lisa.lurie@noaa.gov. 

 

·      Bitter Seeds Film Screenings in San Francisco

Featuring strong story-telling, stunning cinematography, and memorable characters, the film will give viewers new education on GM seeds and insight on the global ambitions of Monsanto. This documentary looks at the production-consumption chain of cotton grown in India and exported to China's garment factories to be used for the clothes sold in the West. We strongly believe this film ties directly with your organization's goals and efforts. According to Alice Waters: "Films like this can change the world."

 

Screenings: 

Friday, April 20, 2012 at 2:30 PM -- Sundance Kabuki Cinemas (SF)
Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 3:45 PM -- Film Society Cinema (SF)
Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 8:50 PM -- Pacific Film Archive
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 6:15 PM -- Sundance Kabuki Cinemas (SF) 

Visit the venue websites for more details about the screenings. http://bit.ly/IyJyv4

·      Live Broadcast of Organic Dairy Fly Management Workshop on April 19, Free Webinar

Join eOrganic for a live broadcast of presentations from the Fly Management on Your Organic Dairy Workshop on April 19, 2012 from 10 am to 12:30 pm ET in Essex, Vermont (9am-11:30am Central, 8am-10:30am Mountain, 7am-9:30am Pacific time). The webinar broadcast is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required. Listeners will hear the speakers and be able to view the PowerPoint presentations. Because this is a broadcast of a live event, we cannot guarantee exact start and end times.

Register now at http://bit.ly/IHgynM

About the Workshop

Learn from nationally known entomologists who will share their research and experience on fly control management strategies for your organic dairy farm. A panel discussion will follow the speakers’ presentations. The workshop is hosted by the University of New Hampshire, with help from University of Vermont Extension and eOrganic. It is being funded by the USDA NIFA Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) planning grant #2010-01932. If you would like to attend the in-person workshop rather than the online broadcast, register by April 12 at http://organicflymgt.eventbrite.com/

About the Presenters

Roger Moon teaches and conducts research in veterinary entomology at University of Minnesota. He and his students have studied dung beetles, biological control with parasitic wasps, and effects of weather on filth flies around grazing cattle. J. Keith Waldron is a Cornell University Senior Extension Associate who serves as the Livestock and Field Crop IPM Coordinator with the NYS Integrated Pest Management Program. Wes Watson is a professor of entomology at North Carolina State University. Dr. Watson’s program is focused on the management of livestock and poultry pests.

·      AMS announces National Organic Standards Board Meeting http://bit.ly/HD9BTe

·      Food Day 2012, October 24, 2012 http://foodday.org/

 

Other

·      Beginning Farmers! Be a Bootstraps Blogger!

If you are just starting out as a farmer and want to share your story this year, sign up to be a 2012 Bootstraps Blogger with the National Young Farmer Coalition! (http://bit.ly/Hvbxfn)  Bootstraps is a blog series, begun in 2011, written by beginning farmers in their first season of farming.   

You can still read the 2011 featured farmers' series on the NYFC website here (http://bit.ly/HHCkro) .  

To learn more about becoming a bootstraps blogger, contact us atinfo@youngfarmers.org. 

 

·      National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: Risk Management Education and Outreach Partnerships Program Request for Applications http://bit.ly/HylJs8