let the hens out of the hen houses!

As you may or may not know about our current industrial food system, there exists a plethora of inhumane practices, environmentally--if I may be a bit cheeky--rude practices as well. That's a whole 'nother topic or post (or maybe it's a flowing topic connected with many other posts...).

Like so many other parts of this country’s conventional food system, the practice keeps prices low and profits up by not accounting for its hidden costs to human health and the environment.

Anywho, straight to today's topic at hand which is chicken farming. Grist posted a really nice article about more and more chicken farmers getting away from the conventional coop and attempting, with the help of a successful organic chicken farmer, a truly free range approach. As a bonus farmers who've switched to a pasture-raised method can downsize their previous operation while making a better profit. What a win-win. You don't have to just take my word for it, however, please check out the article for yourself!

“There’s so many people willing to pay a fair price for eggs if they know the birds are being treated well and the farmer is actually making a living,” Cox says.

I know that I am. And this may sound really crazy or bizarre, so feel free to ignore this little brain gem, but I feel like an egg laid by an unhappy, sick, and dirty hen will be a gross egg. I think happy eggs taste better, just saying...

Also, I mentioned in a recent post a website I've come to really enjoy, Heritage Radio Network, and I've dug into the archives a bit and found a fantastic episode with a chicken farmer, Jesse LaFlamme from Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs. "Jesse goes in depth about why big agriculture has gone the way it has with sometimes over 600,000 hens being stuffed in cages in a single barn and why he chooses to keep his chickens cage-free and certified humane." -- HRN.org

So here it is: The Farm Report Ep. 107 -- Jesse LaFlamme Pt. 2

Update on Prop 37

Whatever happened to California's Proposition 37, you ask? Will we, the consumers of food stuffs and such, now be able to see GMOs labeled? Well, short answer: no.

The good-food movement appears to have suffered a big loss in California. It looks like voters have rejected Prop 37, which would have required genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. You might think such an initiative sounds like good common sense, and so did most California voters — until Monsanto, Dupont, Pepsi, and their Big Food pals poured $46 million into the anti-37 campaign and swamped the airwaves with fearmongering ads. Because labels are scary, and GMOs are not — right?

From Grist.org's post, "Beyond Obama: Here are green ballot measures that won and lost".

Radio isn't dead!

Despite the general belief that radio is an obsolete medium for news and the like, I'm finding more and more that radio and radio podcasts are invaluable ways of informing myself on topics that I particularly care about and topics that aren't often talked about (my sad reality is that they coincide one hundred percent of the time, haha). Top news is important, local news is important, but if you follow news you've seen how redundant stories can be. Depending on your news sources, you may already be fully aware of an amazing story that your local news station finally reported on days later. It can be tiresome, especially when you find yourself yelling at Peggy Bunker, 'What about the GMO labeling vote? Where are my polls, Peggy?!' I digress...

That somewhat long introduction about radio and news is essentially about this: Heritage Radio Network. A site I've happened to find and love. You can listen live or explore the various programs they offer that range from topics on farming to beer to crafting to organic cookery to food politics. Check it out! They have great guests and each session is from 20-40 minutes and it's a wonderful way to learn and/or pass the time and/or take a break from listening to your wo-womp womp dub step.

A clip they have on their website now, a lovely nugget of wisdom from the famous Wendell Berry (I told you they had great guests!).

Amongst all the political debates and upcoming elections...

...Michael Pollan says, "Vote for the Food Party", (NY Times article). It's a wonderful read and call to action for the young food movement in America which has yet to evoke great change or echo a sentiment by a great number of citizens. This article speaks to the importance of California's Prop 37 and why it matters for the whole nation.

"...these new [GMO] crops were revolutionary enough to deserve patent protection and government support [in Monsanto's view], yet at the same time the food made from them was no different than it ever was, so did not need to be labeled. It's worth nothing that ours is one of only a very few governments ever sold on this convenient reasoning: more than 60 other countries have seen fit to label genetically modified food, including the EU, Japan, Russia, and China."

Check out this grassroots call to action from the film maker who created Food Inc., and don't forget to sign the petition at JustLabelIt.org if you'd like to know whether your food has been genetically modified. The effort has reached over a million supporters and is still growing.

goonies never say die

Although I'm recently graduated (as are some of our colleagues from this class as well), I want to take a page from the Goonies' philosophy book and never say 'die' when it comes to this blog. Our ever-changing food system, the historical impact on how we reflect on food today, among many and more topics about the geography of food and eating are as relevant in this moment as they were when I (and you) took this course with Prof. Jarosz. Well, this course never really ends, does it? Our collective path to food sovereignty, food diversity, food security and more is only beckoning us further. Everyday there are articles to discuss, films and documentaries to share, research to analyze, myths to dispel, movements to be inspired by, legislation to advocate for or speak against, and changes to be made.

Although I won't be-in-the-know about Geography classes, readings, and the like, I will be continuing to post things relevant to class and relevant to our gastronomic environment. As ever, I encourage anybody reading this blog to feel free to post links, write posts, and e-mail me (contact info in right sidebar). 

I know it has been a while, so we have much to get on about. Until my next fully formed post, here are some links to whet your intellectual appetite regarding food issues:

Remember the food insecurity disparities we learned about?: In the U.S., 1-in-5 can't afford to eat

Bright side (if there is one): Good Food on a Tight Budget. Our parents and grandparents may have breezed through the aisles of the supermarket blissfully unburdened by notions of pesticide residues and carbon footprints, but today if you want to eat healthy, stick to a budget and minimize the environmental impact of your food choices, it seems you practically need a PhD — or a really good website. For anyone who’s ever found themselves flummoxed by the tangle of health/environmental/budget implications of today’s plethora of food choices (grapes vs. apples, salmon vs. shrimp, canola vs. vegetable oil, and on and on), the folks at the Environmental Working Group have come up with a godsend (via takecharge.org).

If you've been enjoying your summer and have been blissfully unaware of Proposition 37 in California, which proposes the labeling of GMO foods, read this article. I don't agree with everything the writer says, nor is it the best piece of writing I've seen, however it is a brief summary of Prop 37 and why it matters (potentially). Also, a GMO-friendly report by Colin Carter, professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Davis, "inadvertently" forms arguments that "Food Giants" Monsanto and company will most likely use in their protest against Prop 37. It's about 8 pages and includes gems such as, "The California initiative would implement a zero-tolerance policy for accidental presence of small amounts of GM substances." Based on the actual Prop 37 document, that’s incorrect. Prop 37 says that the producer and/or manufacturer has to show evidence in the form of an affidavit that shows they’re not intentionally growing or using genetically modified crops. Will this proposition hurt farmers and food companies? The opposition say so. What are your thoughts?

AND finally, if you've really been out of it or just spending summer under a warm rock...

...this has happened in the midwest. Big "uh-oh" moment for upcoming food prices. (via nytimes)
And, of course, the subsequent "uh-oh" moment from biofuel refineries and agribusiness as they debate who gets what of the corn available.

never saying 'die',

Rosin

Week 9

If you're in my quiz section (AE) with Monica tomorrow at 11:30am, here's a heads up/sneak peek on what Elena, Andrew and I will be discussing. And even if you're not, think of this as a little study guide for week 9 readings and concepts (useful for studying for the final exam!)


Rosin, Elena, and Andrew – GEOG 271 AE – Week 9 Discussion Questions

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY QUESTIONS (Elena)
• Make a multi-dimensional definition of food sovereignty.
• What are the root causes of hunger and malnutrition? How do these causes play into the history
of food sovereignty? (hint: think about the shift away from food security)
• What is hegemony and how does it play a role in the food sector?
• Describe how issues with Brazil's economic and political structure have historically created
hunger.
• What factors need to be addressed to ensure food sovereignty for developing nations such as
Brazil?
• Which structural policies suggested by Stedile and Carvalho seem most feasible and changeable
from your perspective?

FOOD JUSTICE QUESTIONS (Rosin)
• What are the similarities and differences between Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative
and the Community Food Security Coalition?
• In which ways does Young Kim and the Hmong Farmers in Wisconsin reflect food justice or
food security, or perhaps both?
• Where do we see and what are examples of racism seen in the current food system?

• How do the food justice movement, the GFJI, Young Kim, and The Rural Enterprise Center (REC) address racism in the food system?

Week 9 Key Concepts
Food sovereignty
Political Ecology
La Via Campesina
Belo Horizonte
Food justice
Growing Power’s Growing Food for All Initiative
Community Food Security Coalition
Indigenous Food Systems
Sustainable Development
Sustainable Agriculture
Alternative Food Networks
Food relocalisation

Check back for our/our quiz sections definitions and answers to discussion questions!

Community Gardening?

Second assignments are turned so let's take a moment to relax, laugh, and pause before we start studying for the final!

The Food Stamp Challenge

Here's a clip of famous chef, Mario Batali, on his show The Chew in which he describes in brief how his family challenged themselves to eat on a food stamp budget.



From Takecharge.com:

As Batali mentions in the clip, the $124 a week for a family of four doesn’t seem like a big deal when you don’t go out to eat, don’t eat processed foods, and have time to cook at home. However, many of the people receiving food stamps in the United States don’t have the luxury of time required to do so. To fit within his budget, Batali had to meal plan, shop at several different stores, and eschew the luxury ingredients he already had at home.

Read the full article here: http://www.takepart.com/video/clip-day-mario-batali-eats-food-stamp-budget
But earlier, in 2010, Take Charge highlighted the same challenge: SNAP Hunger Challenge which is a budget of $4.50 per day.

How is your second assignment on food budgeting going, everyone? What kind of sacrifices is your family making? What is the toughest reality you may be facing in regards to finding affordable, but healthy foods?

"Ditch the compostables"

As we've all learned from class, the Second Agro-Food System began after WWII with the intention of "feeding the world" with high yield crop production. In particular the ubiquitous crop: corn. We know how the story goes, right? The birth of corn as we know it today reads something like: corn subsidies for farmers, high yields, corn surplus, corn-fed animals, and the corn-linked chain goes on.

In an article written by our very own Geography 271-er, Kali Swenson, another use for corn is highlighted: compostable materials. In the words of Kali herself:

How we eat has just as much an impact as what we eat. The compostable utensils and packaging popping up more and more these days, intending to be "green," are less benign than one would expect. Check out how these unexpected offenders affect the food system too.

Read her enlightening article, "Ditch the compostables", featured in UW's The Daily!

"We see the word “compostable” printed next to a green leaf and automatically feel assured that we are helping the environment in some way."

Another take on the PLA (polylactic acid)/corn-based compostable materials issue can be read at the Smithsonian blog. The article, "Corn Plastic to the Rescue" is written by Elizabeth Royte, a resident of Brooklyn, and the author of Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. This article sees compostables more as the lesser of two evils.

To me, one thing is clear. Nothing is clear, or one could say, as resolute as one could hope. What I mean is that solutions are never easy, in fact they only seem to become more and more complex. As individuals attempt to resolve environmental issues, whether from top-down (i.e. tech or business fixes, government policy) or bottom-up (i.e. farmer's markets, personal action, small-scale), complications always arise and opinions of what is an 'ideal' or 'perfect' answer generally conflict. My personal philosophy is to do what you can, the best you can. Don't let compostable materials be manufactured in vain-- make the few extra steps to dispose of it correctly. And when possible, avoid relying on them at all, because what petroleum-based and corn-based compostables have in common is the capitalistic ideology associated with them. That is to say we are conceived as a population of consumers and are treated as such. These things are made because it is known (assumed) that we will use them. A great way to reduce environmental impact is to "simply" consume less.

Your voice!

Don't forget, fellow Geography of Food & Eating classmates, that you can write posts of your own and be a blog contributor! If you have a topic or food issue that you're interested in or passionate about (be it the tomato industry and farmer justice, or GEO/GMO policy, or bee keeping) well then, I want to hear from you! I want as many voices to be represented on this blog and that's where your voice comes in. I encourage you to document your discoveries--maybe you've sworn off meat now, or perhaps you're more prone choose meat not produced on CAFOs--and if you feel so inclined, do share them here! 


Feel free to e-mail potential blog posts at rosinsaez@gmail.com 


Can't wait to hear from you!

Here's some positive and simple steps to take "to change our food system". Although we all know it's more complicated than this, I think small actions that strive to make change in the right direction are never in vain.

Question of the Week

As we've been discussing the "meatification of diets" this week and last, it seems to me that more and more evidence is pointing towards a huge decrease in consumption in meat. The system in which creates meat for mass consumption degrades the environment, undermines local food economies, and risks public health among other consequences. That said, my questions (from lecture earlier today) are these:

In terms of the meatification of diets and its impact, which arguments, if any, are most convincing when it comes to addressing a meat-heavy diet? 


What are your thoughts, suggestions, or knowledge on eating less, if any, meat?


If you're not convinced by these arguments (i.e. environmental degradation, working conditions, etc.) or arguments from the Meatification of Diets reading, why not? (Is it freedom of choice, cultural connection to meat, or personal preferences for example?)


Discuss!!


P.S. This question totally reminds me of the Hungry Planet exhibit and assignment in which we all saw the diverse diets and the variation from Global North to Global South as well as within each geography. I think a few sentences from my Hungry Planet essay responds a little bit to these questions:

The Revis Family, North Carolina

The most surprising thing I discovered from this activity would be the various ways we can analyze what constitutes a “healthy” or “nutritious” diet. I think if you ask most Americans, and perhaps most Global Northerners, meat would be the most important part of their diet because it provides necessary proteins. While that’s mostly true, we see the diets of the Patkars and the Aymes whose families both consume no meat at all and yet with grains and fresh produce they can lead equally healthy, if not more so, lives. We can also see varying nutrition within two Global North diets. The consumption of lean, local, and fresh meats and fish although high in portion can still be healthier than an average amount of meat consumed if said meat is preserved and highly processed. 

Photo credit of course to Peter Menzel from his book What the World Eats

Creating lifetime customers

Here is something that gets me all riled up: advertising. We've touched on this briefly in class, but most of the true cost of food is wrapped up in marketing costs (how it's packaged, presented, and purchased). External costs, too, such as human and ecological health, are often ignored, but I'll save that rant for some other time.

Mainly, I wanted to focus on children. I feel like they often get the short end of the nutritional stick in this country. Aside from being brought up in a toxic food environment, which subsidizes low quality foods and essentially conditions kids to expect the refuse that is available, they are also the biggest targets of advertising. This is a huge ethical concern, in my opinion. Essentially, the strategy behind child-oriented marketing is that children are young consumers. If they like a product, they will become a lifetime customer, continuing to trust and buy that brand (in a similar vein, food is literally engineered to be “hyperpalatable,” that is to contain proportions of sugar, fat, and salt that are almost irresistible, acting similar to crack cocaine in how they stimulate the brain's reward centers). Since most comparable products are made from the same ingredients, all that separates them is how they are advertised. Based on content alone, false health claims, medical “sponsorship,” self-endorsements, and claims of intelligence and beauty are all used to improve sales of products based on perceived gains and not true quality. Packaging tends to separate food into “kid” and “adult” food, rendering the latter undesirable and undermining parental authority at the same time. There is – I kid you not – something called the “pester factor” that is basically what it sounds like. Kids pressure their parents into purchasing food they interpret as desirable. Food companies imbue products with certain positive qualities using bright colors, stirring words, and appealing images.

On a larger scale, I see this as the US protecting corporations over consumers (but more importantly, its citizens). The power that transnational corporations and food lobbyists hold in this country is being used to make its people sick! I want that dialogue to change. With the 2012 reevaluation of the US Farm Bill coming up, I think that this topic is more important than ever.

If you feel, like I do, that this is an issue that should be addressed and resolved, I highly recommend extra educational materials such as Marion Nestle's food blog, foodpolitics.com (which outlines exactly that) [editor's note: Nestle's blog has also been linked in the blogroll section.]. I also like Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals, which takes a good look at the US livestock industry http://www.eatinganimals.com/.

CONTRIBUTED BY ELENA STELZNER

photo credit

TED talks: Food Matters

If you haven't gotten hooked on watching *TED Talks yet, now is your chance! The TED website has a plethora of talks discussing a multitude of topics, but I want to highlight one theme in particular, their Food Matters sections. One of my favorite TED talks is Jamie Oliver's from 2010. With a bit of humor and a good amount of frankness, Jamie Oliver gives us some real talk and a reality check when it comes to the state of nutrition today in our modern society. 

“I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity.” JAMIE OLIVER

Do you agree with Jamie Oliver that the government (both the U.S. and England) is guilty of child abuse via unhealthy school lunches? Did you know that corporations like Coca-Cola for example sign contracts with schools in which the school must sell a quota of Coca-Cola products to its students (to make quotas they place vending machines in high traffic areas)? Is this a concern or just great business strategy?

Carolyn Steel: How food shapes our cities, is another good video that speaks to our class in that food and the evolution of the city are tightly connected, as much 1000 years ago as it is today.

 

"...as more of us move into cities, more of us are eating meat. So, that a third of the annual grain crop globally now gets fed to animals, rather than to us human animals. And given that it takes three times as much grain--actually ten times as much grain--to feed a human if it's passed through an animal first that's not a very efficient way of feeding us...Meat and urbanism are rising hand-and-hand and that's a big problem." CAROLYN STEEL - FOOD URBANIST

Do you know about some of the ways people respond to the meat and urbanism relationship? (Urban farming, vegetarianism, grass-fed meat only diets, etc.)

*TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. 

food bubble

Prof. Jarosz mentioned in lecture on Monday the article The food bubble: How Wall Street starved millions and got away with it by Frederick Kaufman. It's a good read and I just thought I'd link to it here (.pdf file). Take a moment to read it (it's only about 7 pages) and let us know what you think in the 
comments!

The global speculative frenzy sparked riots in more than thirty countries and drove the number of the world’s “food insecure” to more than a billion. In 2008, for the !rst time since such statistics have been kept, the proportion of the world’s population without enough to eat ratcheted upward.

“This isn’t just any commodity,” continued Voge. “It is food, and people need to eat."

Agriculture, rooted as it is in the rhythms of reaping and sowing, had not traditionally engaged the attention of Wall Street bankers, whose riches did not come from the sale of real things like wheat or bread but from the manipulation of ethereal concepts like risk and collateralized debt.

Seized!

I'm not sure how many of you saw on the very last page on the "Seized!" reading from the GRAIN Briefing article, but they mention their blog (now website). The site is www.farmlandgrab.org and since the article we read was from way back when in October 2008, this site offers a wealth of information as to what the current status of land grabbing is.

The picture above (from their website) is showing the "purchase of 40,000ha at Telopea Downs, in far western Victoria is close to the final piece of the land purchasing puzzle for Hassad Australia, who’s parent company Hassad Foods is owned by the Qatar Government."


The explanation from Hassad Foods? :“The properties are spread over a wide geographic area, so we limit our exposure to production risk – we don’t want to be too exposed in any one area for climate, disease and other risk reasons.”

This is occurring everywhere and one really interesting thing is that Australia is both land grabbing as well as having its land grabbed, as seen here with Hassad Foods (Qatar). Why do you think this is? From a common sense standpoint, doesn't this all seem pointless, that is, grabbing land from each other instead using land in your country for your country? I think the obvious answer is yes, it is pointless. It really speaks to the other aspect of land grabbing. Other than securing food, we're seeing the private sector, financial aspect come into play here saying there's profit to be made.

Any other thoughts about land grabbing? From "Seized!"? In general? What's land grabbing's relationship with structural violence? 

"GRAIN, a leading international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems".

--FARMLANDGRAB.ORG

Black Gold

10 minute clip from the film we partly watched in class, Black Gold. This clip exposes the WTO talks and the lack of involvement, or possibility of involvement, of the Ethiopian coffee growers. (We didn't see this far into the film in class.) Although you can't watch the entire film, more information can be found at the PBS website, such as tracking the coffee you drink/where it comes from. You can watch the whole documentary in 8 parts on YouTube. The film's website: http://blackgoldmovie.com/

The consumers can bring a change if awareness is given to consumers to ask for more fair trade products. TADESSE MESKELA

What are your thoughts on this clip? About the WTO trade talks? Did it seem like another example of a "regime of truth", or truth dualisms, but in a modern international economic light? Discuss!!


Ethiopia is known to be the birth place of Coffee. The name "coffee" is actually derived from a name of a place called "Keffa" which is located in the south western Ethiopia. Coffee is indigenous plant to this area.


UPDATE: The film was released in 2006, you can visit their website here to see the impacts of this documentary on Ethiopian coffee farmers.

Welcome

Hello Geography 271 classmates, digital world, and all those who've wandered here by mistake,

My name is Rosin and I've been inspired by my Geography class, Food and Eating, to create a blog about it! "It" being food politics, our current global food system, food sovereignty, human rights, environmental issues pertaining to food and place, nutrition, among much more!!  I sometimes feel as though in class or quiz section there's never enough time to truly take a bite out of the numerous topics, news, and opinions discussed. As it usually goes in most college courses, time gets away from us all and questions go unanswered, curiosities forgotten, opinions unvoiced, and ideas "unsavored" so to speak... In light of this I've decided to create a blog to try and address this.


The main goals of this blog are:

1) To flesh out or delve deeper into class concepts via posts about assigned readings* or other discovered examples.
2) To create an opportunity to discuss topics not broached (or that are interesting, but haven't gotten a lot of attention) in quiz section.
3) To create a space for (further) group discussion as well as for sharing links, articles, video clips, films, news, etc. relevant to things we're learning in class. From the smallest local tidbit of info to grand international news-- if it's related to class I want it to be posted here because...
4) Ultimately, this blog strives to establish a deeper and more real connection to course material outside of the classroom.


I'd love it for everyone to feel like a part of this blog and therefore I totally encourage those who want to, to write blog posts. They can be e-mailed to me at rosinsaez@gmail.com with the blog title (if any) as well as, of course, the blog post content. Note: as this blog is in my name I reserve the right to deem a post inappropriate and not post it (but I doubt this will be an issue). However, when I do post something by someone else they'll get full credit!

Discussion in the comments is also encouraged, especially if you don't have a particular idea/blog post. Submitting links straight to me or in comment sections would be great, too!


That said, let's get talking, eating, chewing on food news and the like!


*This is not a substitute for lecture and/or quiz section. It's meant to be complementary, so full disclosure don't rely on this for passing quizzes, exams, or the class overall.