Read more about this book at www.chelseagreen.com

Food prices are on the rise. In 2007, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of food rose 4 percent, the
highest single-year increase in two decades, and it looks like food
costs will go up another 4 percent in 2008. The prices for corn
and soybeans are skyrocketing because of the increasing demand of crops
for fuels such as ethanol. In addition, with higher
transportation costs, it is costing more each day to ship food across
the country and around the world.

Whole Systems Design, Inc. describes its work as “occurring at the interface of people and land --
where the built and biological environments meet.” Based in Vermont’s
Mad River Valley, Whole Design Systems integrates ecology, landscape
architecture, site development, construction, farming, education and
other disciplines. Founder Ben Falk holds a master’s degree in
landscape design and has taught at the University of Vermont and
Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Vermont Commons Editor Rob Williams
conducted this interview.

 The Peak Oil conundrum is perhaps the single best 21st century
trend for making the case for relocalization, and ultimately, secession.

 Rather than elaborate here, I suggest you read more from Richard Heinberg, who was in Vermont late last week to share his 8 books of wisdom with listeners.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

By Tom Young

Thomas Fuller once said, “Many things grow in the garden that were
never sown there.” This is certainly true at the Waitsfield
Elementary School. Thanks to the work of many, the Waitsfield
Elementary School’s garden has been “reincarnated” over the past three
years. This garden initiative has offered both children and adults
alike a chance to explore the growing process, to think about the
benefits of growing locally, and to use the garden as a community
place.

Thanks to friend and neighbor Charlie Hosford for bringing this interesting article from the New York Times to my attention.  Here is a "taste" of the article.

April 26, 2008
THE FOOD CHAIN
Environmental Cost of Shipping Groceries Around the World

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale.

Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Citrus Coast of Spain, as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of Europe’s peas are grown and packaged in Kenya.

In the United States, FreshDirect proclaims kiwi season has expanded to "All year!" now that Italy has become the world’s leading supplier of New Zealand’s national fruit, taking over in the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.

Read more...

I am in Florida visiting my family and heard a horrifying story on Florida Public Radio today.  It was about how a company, Ag-Mart, settled a lawsuit with a couple who worked in Ag-Mart tomato fields in Florida and North Carolina.  The worker couple sued the company after their son was born with no limbs.  The Mexican couple said that the fields were sprayed with pesticides and the workers were sent back into the fields immediately after spraying and on some occassions the company even sprayed while the workers were in the fields.  The mother testified that she was sprayed two to three times a week with pesticides that turned her clothes green and caused her headaches, sore throats and rashes.  The radio story said that there was a gag-order as part of the settlement and did not disclose terms of the settlement.

As a good Irish girl, once a year on St. Patrick's Day, I cook up a corned beef dinner with cabbage, potatoes, carrots...the works (although I don't color my beer green, but I don't think that they do that in Ireland).  This year I decided to make my own corned beef so a little over a week ago I bought a brisket from our local farmer and started the brining process.  The end result was okay...not great.  But, let's think about what the good that came from this experiment:

"Beer, the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems." - Homer Simpson Reviewed: Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer And Save the WorldBy Christopher O’Brien, New Society Publishers (November 2006), 275 pages