Today, The Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announced in a joint statement that they will work together to urge U.S. lawmakers to craft legislation overseeing the living conditions of the 280 million hens involved in U.S. egg production. This would mark the first federal law regulating the treatment of animals on farms.
Seems like a good idea for someone to study the possibilities of setting aside a small percentage of brownfields for space for markets…
“It is perhaps one of the most cost-effective uses of federal dollars to be found anywhere in the federal government,” said Vernice Miller-Travis, former director of the Environmental Justice Initiative at the Natural Resource Defense Council, who was involved with advising EPA on the brownfields program when it was created. “Whole communities and cities have been brought back from the brink of economic despair because of successful brownfields redevelopment projects.”
Adult obesity rates increased in 16 states over the last year and did not decrease in any, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011, a report from Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The obesity epidemic continues to be most dramatic in the South, which includes nine of the 10 states with the highest adult obesity rates.
Journal of Consumer Research © 2011 Journal of Consumer Research Inc.
Analysis of actual shopping behavior of 1,000 households over a period of 6 months revealed that shopping baskets have a larger proportion of food items rated as impulsive and unhealthy when shoppers use credit or debit cards to pay for the purchases (study 1).
JSTOR
Just visited the website dedicated to The Cooking Room program to teach food literacy in classroom. Not trying to be picky, but it took me a while to figure out where this program was (In NYC it seems) and I’d still like to know how it evaluates success. I know how hard the Edible Schoolyard in New Orleans has worked over the last 5 years to make this stuff meaningful, so with a serious tip of the hat to all who try, I wish good luck to this program.
The Cooking Room
esynola.org
I know Echo Park because of the fine weekday evening market that is run by SEE-LA, which also runs many others in L.A. including the iconic Hollywood Farmers Market. When I worked at marketumbrella.org, they conducted a pilot of their NEED tool (meant to measure social capital) at that location and at SEE-LA’s other markets. I visited during the survey days and was very impressed at the location and vibrancy of it and their other “food security” and “neighborhood/niche” types of markets.
This Green Grocer was not around in 2007, so I have to believe that part of the credit for its birth must go to the Echo Park Farmers Market and the SEE-LA organizers.
Cookbook LA
This interview comes from the Federal Reserve of Atlanta’s website which has many fascinating economic development podcasts and transcripts. This particular one is with Tony Cipollone, vice president for Civic Sites and Initiatives with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Casey Foundation’s Civic Sites program is an initiative that marries neighborhood-based community development with economic development.
Great interview with Glen Rice, CEO of Anson Mills and president of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation on the role of landraces, especially grains.
This interview is found on Common-place, a wonderful and wondrous site on Early American life, especially food. The site is sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society in association with the University of Oklahoma and would be enjoyable to many audiences.
Landraces are pre-industrial domesticated plants and animals that are maintained by agricultural methods, rather than scientific methods.
Common-place
Once again, the social construct of our larger state or nation can reflect the work we are doing in our market communities. The question of why we have seen a reduction in crime is studied in this article. Recently I read (from Freakonomics author Steven Levitt and others) that when crime rates first began to fall in the 1990s, they pointed to the passing of Roe V Wade as causality, believing that children not growing up unwanted and without resources reduced later criminal behavior. This piece is pointed out in the article, along with other theories.
However, this article adds the argument that increasing diversity through the encouragement of a more varied ethnic, racial and demographic population in our cities and towns is the more direct cause of crime reduction.
The diversity issue is key for markets too, although probably not through the tabulation of crime stats! Still, if we add trust and encourage everyone to come to our markets, we’re bound to make more dynamic places that thrive.
The Atlantic
Or it’s all about corn, cotton, rice, wheat and soybeans.
Top 10 Things You Should Know About The Farm Bill | Environmental Working Group.
On the House Majority Leader’s “You Cut” site, there was a “vote” on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) fruit and vegetable incentive program (Healthy Incentives Pilot), and urges taxpayers to “not have to be bribed (emphasis added) with additional cash benefits to make nutritious food choices.” That is certainly contrary to the thoughts of USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack last summer, who stated that, “This pilot project will empower low-income Americans to eat more nutritious food and has the potential to strengthen the SNAP program that serves as a critical safety net to the most vulnerable in our society. Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, especially in the place of higher calorie foods, can help move America towards healthier lifestyles and a healthier future.” See it here
You Cut
Helping Farmers Markets Grow 