by Catherine Haug
Bill Clanton, a Kalispell gardener, shared some of his expertise with the DIL for their May 2, 2009 issue. I include the highlights from these articles and also one from the Washington Post on Floating Row Covers, in the same issue. (more…)
by Catherine Haug
(Updated Sept 24 to add a third local dairy: Kalispell Kreamery).
For the most part, your local supermarket, Costco, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods do NOT carry pasture-fed meats, eggs and dairy. These sources are all part of the modern monoculture food system which thrives on low-cost, factory-style food production, cheap transportation costs to ship their products around the country, and stressed-out consumers who don’t have the time to fix healthful “slow-food” meals at home.
Instead, if you want healthful pasture-raised animal food products, you need to go to a local producer or local shops that specialize in locally produced meats, eggs and dairy products. (more…)
by Catherine Haug
This is a synopsis of a long article from Scientific American, April 2009 magazine, by Diana Cox-Foster and Dennis vanEngelsdorp: Solving the Mystery of the Vanishing Bees” (original title: ‘ Saving the Honeybee’). See also a sidebar to this article: Wild Pollinators Are Ailing, Too.
To me, CCD is the canary in the mine: warning of a dire future if we don’t pay attention. Our monoculture ag system is at the root of the problem and should be discarded if our planet is to survive.
“The mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder [CCD] has wiped out large numbers of the bees that pollinate a third of our crops. The causes turn out to be surprisingly complex, but solutions are emerging.
Key Concepts
- Millions of beehives worldwide have emptied out as honeybees mysteriously disappear, putting at risk nearly 100 crops that require pollination.
- Research is pointing to a complex disease in which combinations of factors, including farming practices, make bees vulnerable to viruses.
- Taking extra care with hive hygiene seems to aid prevention. And research into antiviral drugs could lead to pharmaceutical solutions.”
by Catherine Haug
I came across this April 2009 Scientific American article while looking for an online version of Scientific American’s April 2009 article on “Saving the Honeybee.” This article is likely ‘preaching to the choir’ of our ESP community, but I thought I’d share it anyway.
To me, this article hints at a far better solution to the food problem than the Food Safety bills being considered by our legislature. And that solution would be to:
In so doing, we’ll go a long way toward resolving our health and climate change crises at the same time.
But, are our leaders listening? Are they brave enough to stand up to the powerful corporate-farm/industrial-chemical/pharmaceutical/oil lobbies?
Perhaps we need to speak with our wallets, to get their attention.
Congress and the FDA must upend the nation’s agricultural policies to keep its food supply safe.
Agriculture has fueled the eruption of human civilization. Efficiently raised, affordable crops and livestock feed our growing population, and hunger has largely been banished from the developed world as a result. Yet there are reasons to believe that we are beginning to lose control of our great agricultural machine. The security of our food supply is at risk in ways more noxious than anyone had feared.
For more, see Our Sick Farms, Our Infected Food (Scientific American, April 2009) (Scientific American April 2009)
By Catherine Haug
Two recent articles in the NY Times: Eating Food That’s Better For You, Organic or Not, and Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House prompted me to revisit a November 2007 article I’d written for my personal website. This was actually a series of articles on Whole Healthful Foods; what follows is the one on Local vs Organic foods.
So many of us take for granted that food labeled “Organic” is the best there is, but is that really true?
Question from Brenda:
Can you tell me how the “shared” cow program works?
by Catherine Haug
(“My Cow” photo from Cat’s collection)
I belong to a raw-milk cow-share just south of Columbia Falls. It works much like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program.
The farmer has 4 Jersey cows, which produce cream-rich milk. He divides them into 1-gallon-per-week shares. I own 1 share, which means I get 1 gallon every week, for which I paid an up-front fee (one-time) of $5. If I ever drop out of the program (or forfeit ownership), I get my initial $5 investment back.
Each week I pay $5.50 when I pick up my milk. That money is NOT for the milk, but rather for the care and maintenance of the cow.
It works rather like a mutual fund, where each cow is one of the “companies” owned by the mutual fund. When you buy a fund share, you own a little bit of each company in which the fund is invested. You make regular payments (maintenance fees) for the maintenance of your share. The milk is a “dividend” from your investment, paid when you pay your maintenance fee.
If you fail to pay your maintenance fee, you forfeit ownership and are no longer entitled to the dividend.
If we organized a cow-share program, say using Bill Fischer’s farm and pasture, we might require the share owners to do some of the work. A few of the original investors would put up the up-front cash for the purchase of the cow(s). Share members would take turns with milking, feeding and clean-up duty.
We might also buy a pasteurizer for those who are leary of raw milk, but each member getting pasteurized milk would have to spend time on pasteurization duty.
Any profit made by the enterprise (after paying back the initial purchase-price of the cows), would be shared by the members on a share basis, perhaps every 2 years.