I blame a right-wing conspiracy

Here's a really interesting Op-ed piece in the NYT written by a midwestern farmer about how the federal government is stifling local-food production:

The commodity farm program effectively forbids farmers who usually grow corn or the other four federally subsidized commodity crops (soybeans, rice, wheat and cotton) from trying fruit and vegetables.

... [A] farmer who grows the forbidden fruits and vegetables on corn acreage not only has to give up his subsidy for the year on that acreage, he is also penalized the market value of the illicit crop, and runs the risk that those acres will be permanently ineligible for any subsidies in the future. (The penalties apply only to fruits and vegetables — if the farmer decides to grow another commodity crop, or even nothing at all, there’s no problem.)...

Why? Because national fruit and vegetable growers based in California, Florida and Texas fear competition from regional producers like myself. Through their control of Congressional delegations from those states, they have been able to virtually monopolize the country’s fresh produce markets.

One-sixth done! Yay!

Happy Leap Day! Today marks the 1/6th done stretch of our little experiment, and I've already started formulating a list of things I'd like to buy come next year:

* a mini-muffin pan
* jeans that I actually like
* black bean garlic sauce
* Asian noodles.... lots of nooooodles (rice noodles, chinese noodles, soup noodles)
* salt
* white t-shirts to wear under wool sweaters
* glass kitchen storage set (because of the scary plastics news coming out)
* socks
* one of those umbrellas that won't invert
* maybe something nice for the cats... if they're good

Here's a neat slideshow from MSNBC with user-submitted pics/videos of green projects in their homes. Most are pretty impressive-- solar panels, converting SUVs to run on waste oil, water-catchment systems, eco-friendly home renovations-- and then there are the few who submitted pics of their babies in cloth diapers.

Women Marketers, I Swear...

I bought some Luna Tea Cakes from Whole Foods the other day (mainly because I had a coupon). These things take marketing to females to a level that's just insulting to humankind, I think. Here's what they say on the back:

"Just like you, LUNA Organic Tea Cakes have a purpose in this world. Rich in antioxidants and nutritious ingredients, each delectable bite does its part to promote balance, health and beauty, from the inside out.

We invite you to cherish a LUNA moment of heart-healthy indulgence with our Mint Chocolate Tea Cakes. Made with Green Tea from The REPUBLIC OF TEA, they will nourish you with all the benefits of omega-3, oats and polyphenols from tea and chocolate. Say hello to true love. [bold in original]

-The Women of LUNA"

...Hey, I have a purpose in life akin to LUNA tea cakes. And now I understand true love. It's a red letter morning! (And apparently the Berry Pomegranate flavor will increase your lifespan... guess I should've gone with that instead.)

Sidenote: picture is from USAToday and is named "chickfoodsx-large.jpg"

What's in Season?

I grew up in the South having no idea that fruits and veggies had seasons. Plus I was living in Houston when I started buying my own groceries in college. Everything was always in season. And dirt cheap. Now that I'm here in Maine, I have a much better appreciation of produce seasonality. That's probably because local tomatoes are $4.99/lb at the Whole Foods and fuji apples are $2.99/lb. I put one in the scale and it weighed almost a pound, which would make it a $3 apple. Which is insane. There was a piece in one of the local papers here titled "Whole Foods, Whole Markup" about how Whole Foods marks up local goods so that they can't compete with 365 brand. (PDF available here, skip to page 5 ).

Anyway, I found this really great site with what's in season by state. It doesn't have every state but I imagine you can approximate geographically. Also here's the Food Network's guide to what's in season complete with pictures. If you click on a produce item it'll lead you to more info on how to cook it, complete with recipe ideas. Woo hoo!

Water Water Everywhere

There's been a lot of stories lately about water shortages, so here's a summary:

In response to recent drought conditions, the Georgia legislature is moving forward on a bill to move the northern border of Georgia 1.1 miles north; or specifically, "to pursue a claim that the south side of the [Tennessee] river —at least— belongs to Georgia." Here's an excerpt from the AJC story (note the reference to my hometown):

In the Senate, lawmakers broke into a rendition of "This Land is My Land," as Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth) stood up to speak. Shafer introduced the resolution, which has been mocked by Tennessee lawmakers and scoffed at by some folks who live in the small border towns that would be affected.

Lawmakers want to fix a problem caused by an inaccurate land survey from 1818 that improperly marked the Tennessee-Georgia border south of where it should be. Shafer's resolution would establish Georgia's real northern boundary about a mile farther north into what is now Tennessee —giving Georgia access to the massive Tennessee River.

(Source)

Speaking of drought, here's a really scary slideshow from Newsweek showing before/after shots of receding lakes from all over the world.

Here's a related story-- scientists estimate a 50% chance Lake Mead will run dry by 2021. The man-made lake supplies water for Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

And here's an article on how the "ethanol boom" is exacerbating water shortages in the West and causing water wars between families, neighbors, and states by driving up the demand (and cost) of corn. Just goes to show you what's touted as "green" isn't always (ahem, Starbucks).

Last but not least here's a story from MSNBC on the effects of trawling as a method of catching fish. Below is a Landsat satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny white dots are fishing vessels or oil/gas platforms.

Adventures in Vermiculture

This is our composting bucket, which sits in the corner of the kitchen. We started it at the beginning of the year, using an old cat litter bucket for the bin and a container of worms from the good folks at F.W. Horch in Brunswick. So far it's been going pretty well-- no flies, no odor (other than when you stir things up). The only thing is that the composting is going really slowly-- totally should have listened to the other sites saying to wait until your worms have increased in population enough to handle your compose load. So I think we may have to start another bin soon and let the full one cook for a while.

As of a couple of days ago, the bin started producing compost tea, which is apparently a natural by-product of the worm "castings" (i.e. poop). You can kinda see it in the plastic tray in the pic. It's supposed to be really good for plants but I can't help but think of it as worm pee.

Pooping On Your Valentines Day

Here are two headlines I can't compete with:
Child labour, war or pesticides for your Valentine?
"Every Rose Has its Thorn"

The first discusses the major human rights/environmental issues with the Valentine's Day big three: chocolate (child labor), diamonds (did you see Blood Diamond?), and flowers (pesticides and labor conditions).

The second article (actually a photo slideshow) explains the environmental impact of roses from South America. On the production end, the issues are the use of child labor, sweatshop/low paying conditions, use of hazardous chemicals (indoors!), and the overall air/land/water usage for the industry. ("[F]lower workers experience higher-than-average rates of premature births, congenital malformations and miscarriages," and were subjected to 70- or 80-hour work weeks in high season.") For their transportation, flowers are dipped in more chemicals (preservatives this time), placed in protective packaging, and then must be shipped via air and are then transported in refrigerated trucks. Then the retailers swaddle them in all things pink and heart-covered.

Fortunately, there is a way to go green this Valentines Day:
Organic flowers, (find out more here and here)
Organic lingerie
Organic chocolates (and here too, list of brands here)