Lester R. Brown is president of the Earth Policy Institute and
author of the newly published book World on the Edge: How
to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse.
2.)
Three perspectives on corn ethanol and the price of food and
gas
Ethanol Blamed for Record Food Prices: A more flexible
policy could ease the impact of ethanol mandates on worldwide
markets
By Kevin Bullis, MIT Technology Review, March 23, 2011
The increased production of ethanol has a large impact on corn
prices, not only because it's a major source of demand, but also
because the demand is fixed. In a free market, if the price of corn
goes up, demand will go down, moderating corn prices. But the
federal mandate requires the same amount of ethanol no matter how
expensive corn is.
"In the short run, there's no doubt that we have more volatile
prices for corn because of the renewable fuels standard,"
says Wallace Tyner, professor of agricultural economics at
Purdue University. In the long term — in two to four years— if
prices stay up, more farmers will plant corn, and supply will catch
up to demand, he says. But the ethanol mandates will help keep corn
prices higher than they have been in the past. Read
more...
Understanding the 2011 Planting Outlook, Ethanol and Food
Pricing
Renewable Fuels Association, March 31, 2011
Ethanol production through the first three months of the year has
remained relatively steady at 900,000 barrels per day, or 13.78
billion gallons annualized. This lower-than-expected stocks
level has sent speculators in the market scurrying, driving corn
prices up by the 30-cent limit in early trading. This activity will
likely lead to more bogus claims that U.S. ethanol production is
somehow raising the price of food and starving people around the
world. As is the case with land use concerns, the food price angst
directed at ethanol is misplaced.
Growing global demand for proteins in conjunction with
unpredictable weather patterns has put a bit of a strain on global
grain markets. At the same time, surging oil and energy prices are
making it more expensive to process and ship food all around the
globe. Such a convergence of factors requires a holistic approach
to understanding what moves food prices. As the data shows, U.S.
ethanol production is nothing more than a bit player in the food
price debate. Read
more...
Nashua rep scores victory in House
by Kevin Landrigan,
Nashua Telegraph, March 20,
2011
Nashua Democratic state Rep. David Campbell had cause for
celebration last week. Campbell single-handedly achieved a victory
on the [New Hampshire] House floor to ban the sale of
corn-based ethanol in the state (HB 374). The House Science
Technology and Energy Committee had voted 11-4 in favor of killing
the bill, but Campbell spoke forcefully for the change. "My pitch
was this is how the state could send a message that the ethanol
mandate raises prices on our gas and is a windfall profit for the
corn growers and the big agri-farms in the Midwest,’’ said
Representative Campbell. The House agreed on a roll call vote
of 237-87. Campbell had some heavyweight Republican backing,
since former House Speaker Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett, was a
cosponsor of Campbell’s bill.
Read
more...
3.)
Student paper provides overview of current federal agriculture
policy
From the Field to the Farm Bill: Can Federal Policy
Changes Help Grow Local Food Systems? (March 2011)
by Kristen Loria, Cornell University Class of 2011
This student paper, by Kristen Loria, Cornell University Class of
2011, is a 10-page primer on federal farm policy including sections
on the history of agriculture policy, the structure of American
agriculture and the local food movement, and background on current
federal policy-makers and NGOs, including their strategies and
agenda. A useful document for anyone trying to get up to speed on
the status quo, particularly the long list of citations and links
to sources.
Read more...
4.) Senator Dick
Lugar's Free Sugar Act of 2011
Government interference costs billions in higher prices and
lost jobs
By Sen. Dick Lugar, The Washington
Times, March 29, 2011
The beneficiaries of this Depression-era relic are sugar beet farms
in some Northern states and sugar cane farms in Gulf states and
elsewhere. But the biggest winners are a handful of huge industrial
operations that cover thousands of acres. In sugar land, as in
communist countries, prices are set by the government, not the
market. Agriculture Department central planners determine
“marketing allotments” to assure domestic producers at least 85
percent of the market. They limit imports to keep prices inflated
far above world levels. The planners set the split between cane and
beet sugar and mandate a sales limit for each processor and
mill.
If prices fall below the official level, a price-support system
of “loans” to processors ensures that Big Sugar gets its federal
share. The recipients get their loans in taxpayer dollars, but can
repay them in (what else?) sugar. The U.S. historically is not
self-sufficient in sugar and there’s usually plenty available on
world markets. But American buyers can’t take advantage of
lower-priced sugar thanks to strict import quotas, set individually
for 40 different countries.
Read more...
5.)
Competing frameworks for rural development in the 2012 Farm
Bill
Letter from House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture
to the House Committee on Budget
March 15, 2011
...A majority of the Committee's agenda this year will fall into
two categories, oversight of regulations that affect jobs and the
economies of rural communities and preparation for writing the 2012
Farm Bill. The main component of the farm bill preparation will be
an "audit" or inventory of all policies under the Agriculture
Committee's jurisdiction, including those relating to nutrition,
commodities, conservation, crop insurance, trade promotion, rural
development, credit, research, forestry, and energy. This audit
along with field hearings and hearings in Washington with affected
groups will establish the framework with which the Committee will
make decisions on which programs to prioritize and which programs
need to be eliminated or consolidated.
Read more...
The Farm Bill and (All) Rural America
The federal government must create a framework that acknowledges
and builds upon the growing interdependence of urban, suburban and
rural areas and constituencies.
By Chuck Fluharty, Daily Yonder, March 7, 2011
...In closing, I would like to reiterate three points. First,
while categorical grants remain important, they are insufficient
for capturing the ultimate rural opportunities before us.
Dynamic regional economies are the key to rural America’s
competitiveness in a global future, and USDA Rural Development
programming must be reshaped to advantage regional collaborations,
which currently do not align well with existing “rural” targeting
dynamics.
Secondly, we must seek creative new policy approaches which better
advantage micropolitan regions and smaller urban places which align
their regional strategies with those of noncore rural counties
contiguous to them. Opportunities abound here, including
those in renewable energies, regional food systems, transportation,
education, health, and entrepreneurship policy. Finally, this
Committee retains statutory responsibility for all of rural
America, not just agriculture. Read
more...
6.) Pending
legislation in New York defines/protects pure honey
Nothing but pure honey in New York state
By Debra J. Groom, The Post-Standard, March 14,
2011
New York ranks 12th in the country in honey production. Value of
honey production in 2009 in New York totaled $5.59 million,
compared with $5.78 million in 2008. The proposed bills state
any artificial or blended honey cannot use a picture or drawing of
a bee, beehive or honeycomb on the label. Honey is defined as “the
natural sweet substance produced by honey bees from the nectar of
plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts
of plants."
Read more...
Info on similar legislation in Nebraska
7.)
Report claims agriculture contributes $8 billion to Delaware
economy
Report argues Delaware agriculture's value
Industry's economic impact on state is close to $8 billion
By Aaron Nathans, The News Journal, March 24,
2011
With Gov. Jack Markell and University of Delaware President Patrick
Harker in attendance, UD's College of Agriculture & Natural
Resources released a report arguing the agriculture industry went
far beyond the $1.1 billion in annual value of
agricultural products sold by the state's farms. The annual
economic impact is actually more like $8 billion, when factoring in
money spent by workers and a broader definition of the industry,
which includes food processing, forestry activities and
agriculture-related services, the authors said.
Read more...
8.)
Field trials confirm plant buffers can slow runoff of
veterinary antibiotics
University of Missouri Cooperative Extension, March 22,
2011
Field tests by University of Missouri scientists have backed up
laboratory research indicating that buffer strips of grass and
other plants can reduce the amount of herbicide and veterinary
antibiotics in surface runoff from farm plots. The findings
come amid concerns about the potential of veterinary antibiotics in
surface water leading to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria. The antibiotics can enter the environment through manure
from confined animal feeding operations and from crop fields
fertilized with manure.
“Vegetative buffer systems are recognized as one of the most
effective approaches to mitigate surface water runoff from
agroecosystems, and we think that such systems also have the
utility for reducing veterinary antibiotic loss,” said Bob Lerch,
USDA soil scientist and MU adjunct professor. Read
more...
9.)
Global food industry giants see sustainability as a
pre-competitive issue
Businesses are increasingly seeing sustainability as a
pre-competitive issue
Global companies must produce more with less and collaboration is
key to achieving this
By Jason Clay, Senior VP of Market Transformation at World Wildlife
Federation, March 9, 2011
We need to produce more with less, by focusing on three strategies:
productivity, efficiency and elimination of waste – while reducing
per capita material consumption. No company is big enough to
guarantee its sustainability of materials. That is why working
together is essential for survival.
To wrap our hands around the issue, instead of trying to bring
together thousands of companies, or convincing billions of
consumers to change their behaviour, we've identified 100 companies
that control 25% of the trade of 15 of the most significant
commodities on the planet. If these companies demand sustainable
products, they'll pull 40-50% of production. That's a manageable
number. Read
more...
10.)
Connecticut legislation may require genetically modified food
to be labeled
The Surprisingly Complex Debate Over Whether Genetically
Modified Foods Should Be Labeled
By Gregory B. Hladky, Hartford Advocate, March 29,
2011
Letting Connecticut consumers know if the food they're buying has
been genetically modified seems like an innocent enough idea. After
all, U.S. government experts say it's safe, the
agri-industrial giants say it's safe, and so do the food
manufacturing conglomerates. So why do you suppose everyone is
expecting an all-out legislative Blitzkrieg to be waged against a
little proposal in Connecticut's General Assembly to require
labeling of genetically modified foods?
“Anytime you step on somebody's toes, you're going to stir up a
hornet's nest,” explains state Rep. Richard Roy, the Milford
Democrat who attached the labeling proposal to a bill that came out
of the legislature's Environment Committee last week. Read
more...
11.)
23 members of the 112th Congress receive millions in crop
subsidies
Cut Spending – But Not My Farm Subsidies!
By Don Carr, Environmental Working Group, March 29, 2011
We don’t have a firm count of how many farmers are serving in the
current Congress, but we do know, based on a recent analysis of the
Environmental Working Group’s Farm Subsidy Database, that 23 of
them, or their family members, signed up for taxpayer-funded
farm subsidy payments between 1995 and 2009. Among the members of
the 112th Congress who collect payments from USDA are six
Democrats and 17 Republicans. The disparity between the parties is
even greater in terms of dollar amounts: $489,856 went to
Democrats, but more than 10 times as much, $5,334,565, to
Republicans.
Read more...
12.) Northeast
Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter sues
Monsanto
NOFA/Mass Sues Biotech Giant Monsanto
Suit Seeks Protection of Plaintiffs in Case of GMO Seed
Contamination
Press release, March 29, 2011
On behalf of the Northeast Organic Farming
Association/Massachusetts Chapter, Inc. (NOFA/Mass) and others,
the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) filed suit today
against Monsanto Company to challenge the chemical giant's patents
on genetically modified seed. The case, Organic Seed Growers
& Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, was filed in federal
district court in Manhattan and assigned to Judge Naomi Buchwald.
Plaintiffs in the suit represent a broad array of family farmers,
small businesses and organizations from within the organic and
non-GMO agriculture community who are increasingly threatened by
genetically modified seed contamination despite using their best
efforts to avoid it.
"This case asks whether Monsanto has the right to sue organic
and other farmers for patent infringement if Monsanto's genetically
modified seed should land on their property," said Dan
Ravicher, lead attorney in the case and PUBPAT's Executive
Director and Lecturer of Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of
Law in New York. "It seems quite perverse that a farmer
contaminated by GM seed could be accused of patent infringement,
but Monsanto has made such accusations before and is notorious for
having sued hundreds of farmers for patent infringement, so we had
to act to protect the interests of our clients."
Read
more...
13.) DVD
series teaches how to butcher beef, pork and lamb
In four episodes, master butcher Cole Ward and chef Courtney Contos
show how to butcher a side of beef (hind quarter and fore quarter),
pork and lamb, including every step of the butchering process:
breaking down a carcass into primal cuts, turning those primal cuts
into gourmet or retail cuts, then transforming them into
table-ready gourmet dishes. Read more...
14.)
More than 44 million people in the U.S. now need nutrition
assistance (food stamps)
From Foodlinks America, March 11, 2011, published via email
by California Emergency
Foodlink
Nationwide participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP), or food stamps, rose again in December 2010 to a
new record of 44,082,324 people. The new total was 486,503
individuals above the November 2010 count and some 5.1 million more
people than were served by the program a year earlier in December
2009. More than 14 percent – or one in seven – Americans is
currently receiving SNAP benefits.
Participation grew between December 2009 and December 2010 in all
states except West Virginia. In eight states, the
over-the-year increase was 20 percent or higher. They
were: UT, 33.5 percent; NV, 25.3 percent; ID, 23.7 percent;
NJ, 22.8 percent; FL, 22.2 percent; MD, 22.0 percent; DE, 22.0
percent; and RI, 20.5 percent.
Barriers put children at risk: A new study has concluded
that, “Barriers to accessing SNAP put children’s nutrition, health,
and growth at risk.” Children’s Health Watch, a Boston,
MA-based research organization, notes that, “young children in
families that did not receive SNAP due to administrative and other
difficulties were more likely to be:: child food insecure
(sometimes called child hunger) and significantly underweight for
their age (an indication of under nutrition).”
Lack of information about eligibility, concerns about the
application process, disrespectful treatment at the SNAP office,
and worries about immigration status were all cited as hurdles that
had to be overcome to access SNAP benefits. For additional
information, go to:
http://www.childrenshealthwatch.org/page/PublicationsTopic and
look for “Too Many Hurdles” under the “Food” topic.
+ JOBS
Controller
Wholesome Wave Job Posting
Bridgeport, CT
The controller is a full-time position responsible for the
accounting and financial reporting of Wholesome Wave reporting to
the Chief Operating Officer. This includes producing periodic
financial reports, maintaining an accounting system, and
implementing a comprehensive set of controls and budgets designed
to mitigate risk, enhance the accuracy of the company's reported
financial results and ensure that reported results comply with
financial reporting standards. This position is to be filled
immediately. Compensation commensurate with skills and
experience. Please send a resume and brief cover letter to
Juliette Storch
at juliette@wholesomewave.org by April 22,
2010. www.wholesomewave.org
Partner wanted for new farm
East Meredith, NY
We’re looking for a farmer / farm couple with expertise in any of
vegetables, berries, fruit, mushrooms, medicinal herbs and /
or livestock to help re-create a farm, preferably using
permaculture principles, on this 150-year-old former dairy farm.
It’s 200 acres, about 50 acres pasture / meadow, most of the rest
forest, in East Meredith, NY (Delaware County, near Delhi /
Oneonta). This is a unique opportunity for the right people to
establish an operation from scratch. To discuss possibilities,
please call Carl Arnold at 718 788 5944 or 607 278 5820, or e-mail
resume and letter to carlarnold@mac.com.
Sustainability Director
Sodexo Campus Services
The Hotchkiss School
Lakeville, CT
Sodexo Campus Services at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT is
looking to hire a full time Sustainability Director. If
interested please
contact Mary.Attenweiler@sodexo.com
Farm Manager
Blenheim Hill Farm
Blenheim, NY
Blenheim Hill Farm is seeking a Farm Manager to take charge of the
overall planning, implementation, organization, and management of
its farming activities. The individual must be “hands-on” and
proficient in critical tasks involved with setting up a new farm,
clearing land, building infrastructure such as greenhouses, sheds
and fences, as well as livestock and produce production. The
individual needs to be skilled in strategic planning (both
short-term and long-term), staffing, and financial
management. Interested candidates are asked to submit their
resume and cover letter to Mona Meng at mona@smorgas.com by
April 15, 2011.
Site Manager
Wholesale Greenmarket
New York City
GrowNYC’s Wholesale Greenmarket is searching for a flexible,
highly organized, reliable person to serve as the on-site manager
of NYC’s only farmer-direct wholesale market, a market of 12-20
growers. An ideal candidate will have professional experience
in market management, regional agriculture, food distribution,
produce handling and receiving, farmer direct sales/marketing, food
procurement/purchasing, and/or traffic control/flow. Work may be
divided between on-site management, and office work and
market-related outreach. Please send cover letter and resume
to wholesale@greenmarket.grownyc.org. For more
information, please go to :
http://www.grownyc.org/files/wholesale/wholesale.site.manager.pdf
PHP/MySQL Developer
Small Farm Central
Pittsburgh, PA
Small Farm Central is looking for a Senior PHP/MySQL Developer to
join a small but growing team. The senior developer will work on
large new projects, maintain existing code, plan improvements,
manage changes to server infrastructure, and in general make Small
Farm Central work from a technical perspective. Small Farm
Central provides website, ecommerce, and CSA management tools to
500+ farms across the U.S. and Canada. SFC is a farm company first
and a technology company second; the service comes out of the
small-scale farm movement and is committed to providing technology
services that make farms more economically viable.
Contact Simon Huntley, Lead
Developer, 412-567-3864. More specific info
here: http://smallfarmcentral.com/workwithus/seniorphpmysql
Urban Farm Summer VISTA Internships
Real Food Farm
Baltimore, MD
Real Food Farm, an innovative urban farm on 6-acres in Clifton
Park, is seeking four full-time Summer VISTA Associates. All
positions will occur June-August, and are compensated with a
bi-weekly Americorps stipend as well as an educational award paid
at the end of the term. Applicants must be 18 or over. Check
out real-food-farm.org for more information.
Mobile Market Assistant: This summer we will be launching
our mobile market, a converted delivery van that will be doing
grocery delivery, mini stops around the community, and some evening
markets. We are hiring an assistant to help with: operation, sales,
publicity, and record keeping. The Mobile Market Assistant will
also work on the farm one day per week. Applicants must be
enthusiastic, friendly, and outgoing. Please e-mail a resume and
cover letter to rffcommunity@civicworks.com with the
position title in the subject line.
Fundraising Assistant: We are hiring an assistant to help with
grant-writing, event-planning, a Kickstarter campaign, and other
creative fundraising approaches as well as one day per week working
on the farm. Applicants must be well-organized, self-motivated,
strong writers, computer savvy, and very creative. Grant-writing
and event-planning experience preferred but not required. Please
e-mail a resume and cover letter
to tbrown@civicworks.com with the position title in the
subject line.
Design Assistant: We are hiring an assistant to offer general
design services and ideas for products such as promotional
materials, educational hand-outs, on-farm signage, website
elements, fundraising materials, and more. The Design Assistant
will also work on the farm one day per week. Applicants must be
creative, self-motivated, innovative, and have graphic design
experience and access to software. Please e-mail a resume, cover
letter, and work samples to rffcommunity@civicworks.comwith
the position title in the subject line.
Education Assistant: We are hiring an assistant to provide
farm-based learning experiences to K-12 student groups.
Responsibilities include: coordinating teachers,
principals, and summer youth programs to promote opportunities to
visit the farm; developing interactive, experiential, and
age-appropriate educational activities; and working with farm staff
to design and install interpretive, high-interest signs at key
locations throughout the farm. The Education Assistant will
also work on the farm one day per week. Please email resume and
cover letter to rffeducation@civicworks.com with the
position title in the subject line.
Manager
Cooking Matters
Central/Western MA
http://strength.org/about/jobs/#cmcwmm
Market Specialist
Cultivating Community
Portland, ME
Cultivating Community is seeking a full time Marketing
Specialist to coordinate its Growing Access, Growing
Communities project. The focus of the project is to create
farm stands and farmers’ markets designed to welcome federal
nutrition benefits including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, formerly known as Food Stamps), Women and Infant
Children (WIC), and Senior Farm Share benefits. The deadline
for application is April 13th, 2011. Please send cover letter
and resume to amy@cultivatingcommunity.org. www.cultivatingcommunity.org
Faculty in Food Entrepreneurism
Sterling College
Craftsbury Common, VT
Sterling College, invites applications for one part-time
position to teach two sections of Food Entrepreneurism as part
of Vermont’s Table: Farming, Cooking, and the Rural Experience.
This course will highlight leading voices in the region’s
vibrant rural agricultural economy. We welcome
applications from inspired educators with strong applied
skills in the field who wish to teach in this exciting
new program. This is a 10-week position beginning on May
30th, 2011 and ending on August 12th, 2011. The seminar will
meet once weekly for three hours over two 5-week
sessions. Please send a cover letter, resume, and the contact
information for three references by April 15, 2011 to Laura
Lea Berry, Assistant to the Dean of Academics, Sterling College,
P.O. Box 72,Craftsbury Common, VT 05827.
Email: lberry@sterlingcollege.edu. Phone: (802) 586-7711
x107
SNAP Outreach Advocate
End Hunger Connecticut!
Hartford, CT
Full time, flexible 40 hours work week. Salary
commensurate with experience; benefits include medical, holidays,
vacation, sick time. Position is open until filled. This is a
grant funded position through September, 2011, with the possibility
of the position open for longer term. To
apply: Send cover letter, resume and salary history
to: Search Committee, End Hunger Connecticut!, 102
Hungerford St., Hartford, CT 06106;
e-mail: gcorso@endhungerct.org
Educational Programs Coordinator
The MOVE
Cambridge, MA
The MOVE is seeking a dynamic, energetic person to coordinate our
farm-volunteer trips this spring/summer/fall (from mid-April to
mid-November). The position is 20 hours a week, at the rate
of $15/hour. We are a young organization, working to scale up
the availability and accessibility of farm-volunteering for folks
all across Boston, as a way of engaging new urban audiences in an
excitement for (and understanding of) social and environmental
sustainability. If interested, please send a letter of
interest and resume to Dave Madan (dave@getoutma.org) with the
subject “EPC Application” describing why you are excited about this
role and what you are able to offer to it. For more
information on theMOVE, see our 2010 At a Glance (pdf)
at www.tinyurl.com/theMOVEataglance. ;
