The Daily R-r-r-ibbit

11-Year-Old Describes Broken Food System in Five Minutes | CommonDreams.org

Birke Baehr says: “With all the things I’m learning about the food system, it seems to me that we can either pay the farmer or pay the hospital.”

via www.commondreams.org

 

Goats in the 'Hood

Speaking of organic farming (see previous post), I got photos of some of the goats yesterday at Place of the Heart Farm not too far down the holler from me:

                                                                                                    [Photo by Cathie Bird]

The field they're in used to be overgrown with kudzu, but these awesome goats took care of that pretty much the first season they were there, while the people at Place of the Heart grew all kinds of other stuff -- veggies, fruits, herbs and chickens -- for human consumption (eggs, not the chickens).

Organic farmer's make great neighbors...beats the heck out of coal companies in the 'hood!

How NYC May Be Revolutionizing the Way Kids Eat | | AlterNet

If you're looking for a few moments of relief from BP oil disaster depression, check out this article in Alternet by Joshua Frank:

Currently 25 schools around NYC are taking part in a unique program where kids will have a chance, not only to eat whole, organic foods, but also to work in the soil and see little seedlings mature into healthy, edible plants. It's not the first time school gardens have become the flavor of the month, but it's the first time it's happened on a significant scale in the country's largest and most diverse city.

Read the whole article here. Read more about Green Thumbs at work in the Big Apple here.

ACTION ALERT:Genetically Modified Alfalfa Threatens Organic Agriculture | Cornucopia Institute

Send Your Comments to USDA on Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Late last year, the USDA released a court-ordered Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Monsanto’s new genetically engineered Round-up Ready Alfalfa. A federal lawsuit, led by the Center for Food Safety and joined by The Cornucopia Institute and other plaintiffs, was won in 2007 compelling the USDA to conduct their first-ever environmental impact statement on a genetically engineered (GE) crop, alfalfa.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the USDA’s assessment approves of releasing a new genetically modified crop into the environment, despite the known risks this version of alfalfa poses to organic livestock agriculture.

Public comments are being accepted until February 16. Please let the USDA hear your voice. A broad coalition, composed of both organic and conventional farmers, is opposing Monsanto’s RR Alfalfa and the USDA particularly needs to hear from those involved with organic agriculture.

via www.cornucopia.org

Cathie's Notes: For more details, including key observations by Cornucopia on the DEIS and a link to online submission of comments, visit Cornucopia Institute's website here.

To see the full draft EIS (a 6.4 megabyte pdf download), go here.