Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
… in the truest sense of the word. This Ensia article is about a married couple whose relationship is all about sustainable agriculture – one of them is a plant geneticist and the other a farmer that leads UC Davis’ student organic farm. Now they have written a book together on how their individual disciplines … Continue reading When Genetic Engineering Marries Organic Farming…
Close your eyes for a moment and wipe every notion of “it’s this way because it has always been this way” from your mind. Now let’s try a thought experiment. What does a human need to survive? The very basic needs? You’ll probably find three, just as Jose Luis Vivero Pol found in his paper “Food … Continue reading What If Food Were A Common Good? – A Thought Experiment
Have you ever looked at mud stuck in your shoes or splashed on the back of your car and cursed it for making your belongings dirty? Watch this movie and I assure you it will change your mindset about this most valuable resource that sustains all life on Earth.
Again, please bear with me while I only post short links to other interesting sources – exam season is upon us! If you need something to listen to while cooking a leisurely Friday dinner to start this weekend in a relaxed fashion, consider this episode of Greenhorn Radio, where a young farmer interviews Joel Salatin … Continue reading Joel Salatin on the "Regeneration Generation" and Young Farmers
This weekend, David Cameron hosted the G8 “Hunger Summit” in Northern Ireland, resulting in promises, pledges, praise – and a lot of backlash from African civil society, who this summit was supposed to help. What was the problem? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-E3iPJZ6_g] (the IF campaign actually had a really good promotion video.) Prior to the summit, Cameron announced … Continue reading IF … Policymakers Would Listen to Civil Society?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ-iWUkg4t0] These past days, dramatic scenes have unfolded all over Germany and Central Europe in general: after unrelenting rainfalls had overburdened the natural absorption capacity of soils and riverbeds, massive floods spread throughout Central European lowlands and threatened the lives and livelihoods of thousands of persons. People had to be evacuated, some even died, and … Continue reading Floods in Central Europe – Caused by Human Activities?
When I was visiting my grandparents a couple of weeks ago, I told them that I was going to go on a field trip with my program and we would visit a tractor company. To which my grandma – who grew up on a farm – responded: “make sure to ask them about soil compaction!” … Continue reading All You Need To Know About Soil Compaction
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VObLitSe3K0&feature=player_embedded] Listen to Fred Kirschenmann explain how soil is actually a community of life that is vital for all our food. As he quotes Wes Jackson, since we are so dependent on soil for our life and eventually return to soil, we are simply stop-overs between soil and soil. I can only recommend this really … Continue reading Soil Is Not Dirt!
Staying on the topic of the US Farm Bill being currently discussed, here is some uplifting news: The Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act which Congresswoman Chellie Pingress introduced (originally in 2011!) has found widespread bipartisan support in both House and Senate Agricultural Committees, and many ideas from the act have been adopted into the … Continue reading Boosting Local Food in Congress
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G0pNrX_95Ok] “We prefer to work with nature. And you can taste that.” That’s the motto of Swiss organic farmers, and the reason they are hosting a cow marathon as of May 27th. Its purpose: to show that cows from organic farms in Switzerland get to walk around in nature a ton. Thus, 10 contenders will … Continue reading Switzerland Hosts a Cow Marathon – and other Fun Facts about Swiss Agriculture