WECSA - Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture

Monsanto Named Worst Company of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:53:00 +0000

Biotech giant Monsanto has been declared the Worst Company of 2011 by NaturalSociety for threatening both human health and the environment. The leader in genetically modified seeds and crops, Monsanto is currently responsible for 90 percent of the genetically engineered seed on the United States market. Outside of GM seeds, Monsanto is also the creator of the best-selling herbicide Roundup, which has spawned over 120 million hectacres of herbicide-resistant superweeds while damaging much of the soil. Despite hard evidence warning against the amplified usage of genetically modified crops, biopesticides, and herbicides, Monsanto continues to disregard all warning signs.

In a powerful review of 19 studies analyzing the dangers of GMO crops such as corn and soybeans, researchers revealed some shocking information regarding the safety of these popular food staples. Researchers found that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans may lead tosignificant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys. This is particularly concerning due to the fact that 93 percent of U.S. soybeans are known to be genetically modified. Ignoring this evidence, Monsanto continues to expand their genetic manipulation.

Monsanto’s Genetic Manipulation of Nature

Outside of genetically modifying crops, Monsanto has also created genetically modified crops containing Bt. Bt is a toxin incorporated in GMO crops that are intended to kill different insects, however Bt usage has subsequently spawned insect populations which are resistant to the biopesticide. After being exposed to Bt, many insect populations actually mutated to resist the biopesticide. So far at least 8 insect populations have developed resistance, with 2 populations resistant to Bt sprays and at least 6 species resistant to Bt crops as a whole. Farmers are therefore forced to use even more pesticides to combat the resistant bugs.

What is the answer to this problem, according to Monsanto? To further genetically modify the Bt crop to make it a super-pesticide, killing the resistant insects.

Tests, however, have concluded that further modified Bt toxin crop provided ‘little or no advantage’ in tackling the insects, despite extensive time and funding put into the research. It seems that Monsanto’s solution to everything is to further modify it into oblivion, even in the face of evidence proving this method to be highly inefficient. The research shows that this will undoubtedly lead to insects that are resistant to the most potent forms of Bt and other modified toxins, resulting in the use of even more excessive amounts of pesticides in order to combat pests.

Superweeds Infesting Over 120 Million Hectacres of Farmland

Thanks to Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup, farms across the world are experiencing the emergence of herbicide-resistant superweeds. The heavily resistant weeds have an immunity to glyphosate, an herbicide that Roundup contains. These resistant weeds currently cover over 4.5 million hectares in the United States alone, though experts estimate the world-wide land coverage to have reached at least 120 million hectares by 2010. The appearance of these superweeds is being increasingly documented in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Europe and South Africa.

Of course, once again, the resistant weeds are so resistant to roundup that they require excessive amounts of herbicides. It is no surprise that the company is refusing to accept responsibility for the escalating cost of combating the weeds, stating that “Roundup agricultural warranties will not cover the failure to control glyphosate resistant weed populations.”

The World Says No to Monsanto

France, Hungary, and Peru are a few of the countries that have decided to take a stand against Monsanto. Hungary actually went as far as to destroy 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar. Peru has also taken a stand for health freedom, passing a monumental 10 year ban on genetically modified foods. Amazingly, Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision despite previous governmental pushes for GM legalization. The known and unknown dangers of GMO crops seem to supersede even executive-level governmental directives.

Anibal Huerta, President of Peru’s Agrarian Commission, said the ban was needed to prevent the ”danger that can arise from the use of biotechnology.”

France is the latest nation to say no to Monsanto’s GM corn maize, even in light of an overturned ban. It all began when France’s State Council overturned the ban on Monsanto’s GMO maize stating that it was not sufficiently justified. The organization then attempted to justify its decision by saying that the government did not give enough evidence to justify a ban. Under law, an EU country can only unilaterally ban a genetically modified strain if it can scientifically prove it is a risk to the health of humans, animals, or the integrity of the environment.

Even after the ban was overturned, it surfaced that French legislatures were planning to launch new restrictions regarding the use of Monsanto’s 810 maize on French soil. Even Nicolas Sarkozy, the current president of the French Republic, voiced his opposition to Monsanto’s GMO maize:

“The French government keeps and will keep its opposition against the cultivation of the Monsanto 810 maize on our soil,” Sarkozy said.

Worst Company of 2011

In nominating Monsanto the Worst Company of 2011 we are hoping to raise awareness over the threat that Monsanto poses to human health and the environment. Genetically modified organisms will only continue to threaten all living creatures if not stopped. It is through spreading the word that real change will come about, and declaring Monsanto the Worst Company of 2011 is a great way to highlight all of their reckless actions.

Mad City Chickens! January 19th, 2012! Capitol Theatre Windsor!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:05:00 +0000

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT
SHOPECO, RINO'S KITCHEN,
THE URBAN GREENHOUSE
Or From Steve Green Directly
stevegreen(at)ymail(dot)com

BY PAYPAL
Advanced Notice!

Save the Date!

THE CITY WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!

WECSA &

WINDSOREATS.COM - WINTER BITES 2012

Part of WINTER BITES FESTIVAL 2012

Mad City Chickens is a film about people who keep chickens in the city.

Mad City Chickens is a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep urban chickens in their backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen or an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad professor and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom.

LIMITED SEATING! ONE NIGHT ONLY!

TICKETS $10.00/pp

Contact stevegreen(dot)ymail(dot)com or The Capitol Theatre Box Office (in January) for tickets! Your name will be added to the list for tickets when printed

Invite your neighbour! Invite your Councillor & Mayor!

A must see for ALL!

Proceeds to go towards Ford City Community Garden and Windsor Essex Community Supported Agriculture!

How Urban Gardens transform a city!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:24:00 +0000

The Green Revolution: Urban Gardens Transform Traditional Cityscapes

By Katy Dutile | Dec 09, 2011 11:08 AM EDT

It's clear there's a growing green transformation in cities throughout the world, with greenery poking out above concrete skyscrapers and apartment balconies. Urban gardens are no longer simply a sign of wealth, they have become a tool in both the fight against global warming and food shortage.

As part of the new green trend, many a city rooftop has been renovated into a garden oasis. These gardens aren't there just for looks; rooftops covered with a thin layer of grass or greenery provide insulation to buildings, which in turn lowers heating and cooling costs. This insulation is becoming ever more important in cities like Tokyo, whose concrete skyscrapers trap in additional heat. In fact, under Tokyo regulations enacted in 2001, all large office buildings must dedicate at least 20% of their rooftop space to greenery.

On the less legal side of the green revolution, are the "Guerilla Gardeners," who plant and maintain gardens in neglected or abandoned properties in urban areas. Guerilla Gardeners took root in the early 1970's in New York City when artist Liz Christy and friends revitalized a deserted city lot, now known as Bowery Garden. The movement grew as thousands of land reform activists armed themselves with seed bombs under the cover of the night.

In Havana Cuba, the urban agriculture movement is not just a trend, it's a necessity. A combination of the Soviet collapse in 1989 and the U.S. trade embargo, primarily on petrol, caused a food crisis within the city. Residents of Havana responded by turning every available space -- empty lots, rooftops, and apartment balconies -- into produce gardens. For Cubans, it's not just urban gardening, it's urban farming - another new buzz word in the green revolution. Today, more than 50% of the produce in Havana is grown locally within the city.

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A rooftop garden on a building across the street from the International Covention Centre where the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) continues in Durban, South Africa. The garden is part of the Priority Zone project run by the city encouraging urban regeneration.

Source: Reuters / Rogan Ward

A workman mows the grass roof of a government building near the capital city of Torshavn on the Faroe Islands.

Source: Reuters / Bob Strong

A woman reads a book in a rooftop garden of an apartment building overlooking a residential area of Tokyo. Trapped by concrete and asphalt, heat from heavy traffic and millions of air-conditioning units have made summer in the cities hotter - a phenomenon known as "heat-island effect." By converting a bare roof top into a green oasis, it helps absorb heat and keeps temperatures inside the building lower.

Source: Reuters / Yuriko Nakao

Margarets are in full bloom in an indoor garden set up in an office building in Tokyo. Various artificial lighting is provided in a number of rooms where herbs, vegetables and rice are being grown by Pasona Inc, with hopes to bring awareness about agriculture to city dwellers.

Source: Reuters / Toru Hanai

A 'Guerrilla Gardener' unloads flowers from a car before planting them on a spot of urban wasteland in south London April 22, 2008. The 'Guerrilla Garderners' work under the cover of night, armed with seed bombs, chemical weapons and pitchforks. Their tactics are anarchistic, their attitude revolutionary.

Source: Reuters / Alessia Pierdomenico

John Volk, executive secretary of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, stands atop the vegetated rooftop of the first "green" building on Capitol Hill in Washington. The landscaped roof controls runoff and helps control the temperature of the building. The FCNL Green Building is the office for the Quaker Lobby group in Washington. The building, which has been transformed from two historic Civil War era row houses, is being described as an example of practical ways to protect the environment by reducing energy consumption.

Source: Reuters / Kevin Lamarque

Uighur workers build a pillar to hold flowers in front of a giant statue of the late chairman Mao Zedong in the People's Square in Kashgar, China.

Source: Reuters / Andrew Wong

A rooftop garden on a building across the street from the International Convention Centre (top) where the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) continues in Durban, South Africa.

Source: Reuters / Rogan Ward

View of the 30-meter vertical garden (Vegetal Wall) in the courtyard of the Pershing Hall hotel in the 8th district of Paris designed by French Botanist Patrick Blanc.

Source: Reuters / Charles Platiau

A worker climbs among skylights on the "living roof", a 2.5 acre expanse of native California plants, at the California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. The new design unifies the Academy's original set of 12 buildings, features a natural history museum, aquarium, planetarium, and research facility all under a "living roof", and is one of ten pilot "green building" projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment.

Source: Reuters / Robert Galbraith

A man works in an urban garden in Havana. Cuba's urban agriculture movement, developed in the 1990s as a response to the food crisis after the collapse of its former benefactor the Soviet Union, provides over 50 percent of the vegetables Cubans eat.

Source: Reuters / Stringer

People walk past the garden barges at Reeds Wharf in London.

Source: Reuters / Luke MacGregor

The Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED), a low carbon eco-community, is seen in Wallington, south London.

Source: Reuters / Kieran Doherty

7 Reasons Why Kale is the New Beef!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:39:00 +0000

7 Reasons Kale is the New Beef!

Like the saying goes, the only constant is change. We may resist it all we want, but Time and its inevitable evolution of everything in its path is unaffected by our attempts to stop it. The resulting trajectory of humanity's nascent ascent appears to be positioning itself to sweep us into progressive new times, especially where our food choices are concerned, as nearly 7 billion people are now standing on the little scraps of land that we share with some 55 billion rather large animals raised for food each year. (As another famous saying goes: This town ain't big enough for the both of us.) So, beef (and all factory-farmed meat) may be going from rib-eye to relic as we transition to a greener world… literally—as in leafy, green vegetables.

Environmentalists cite meat production as one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and the USDA's new food pyramid (MyPlate) suggests the healthiest choice is making vegetables and fruit the biggest part of every meal by reducing consumption of animal proteins.Kale is far more nutritious than other leafy greens, but these seven reasons why it is such an important futurefood may just surprise you.

1. Anti-inflammatory: Inflammation is the number one cause of arthritis, heart disease and a number of autoimmune diseases, and is triggered by the consumption of animal products. Kale is an incredibly effective anti-inflammatory food, potentially preventing and even reversing these illnesses.

2. Iron: Despite the myth that vegetarians are anemic, the number of non-vegetarians with iron-deficiencies is on the rise. Per calorie, kale has more iron than beef.

3. Calcium: Dairy and beef both contain calcium, but the U.S. still has some of the highest rates of bone loss and osteoporosis in the world. Kale contains more calcium per calorie than milk (90 grams per serving) and is also better absorbed by the body than dairy.

4. Fiber: Like protein, fiber is a macronutrient, which means we need it every day. But many Americans don't eat nearly enough and the deficiency is linked to heart disease, digestive disorders and cancer. Protein-rich foods, like meat, contain little to no fiber. One serving of kale not only contains 5 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber, but it also provides 2 grams of protein.

5. Omega fatty acids: Essential Omega fats play an important role in our health, unlike the saturated fats in meat. A serving of kale contains 121 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 92.4 mg of omega-6 fatty acids.

6. Immunity: Superbugs and bacteria are a serious risk to our health. Many of these come as a result of factory farm meat, eggs and dairy products. Kale is an incredibly rich source of immune-boosting carotenoid and flavanoid antioxidants including vitamins A and C.

7. Sustainable: Kale grows to maturity in 55 to 60 days versus a cow raised for beef for an average of 18-24 months. Kale can grow in most climates and is relatively easy and low impact to grow at home or on a farm. To raise one pound of beef requires 16 pounds of grain, 11 times as much fossil fuel and more than 2,400 gallons of water.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Sources:

http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources.aspx

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2461/2

http://www.irondisorders.org/iron-deficiency-anemia

http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

Image: Steven Jackson Photography

Sustainable Windsor Petition

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Sustainable Windsor!

Great News! Our Sustainable Windsor Petition is picking up geothermal steam! We're up to 68 people who believe it's time for Windsor to make a commitment to a more Sustainable City Policy! Let's shoot for 100 and then we will decide how and when we will present this to City of Windsor Council and to our MP and MPP's in the area!

Online Petition by iPetitions.com

Sarnia Grows Link

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:36:00 +0000

Just posting a link to our Neighbours to the North of us in Sarnia!

Sarnia Grows

"We are a small group of concerned citizens who want food security for all. We believe the best way to do this is to support local sustainable food production. As food prices continue to increase, as food security becomes questionable and as the environmental impacts of commercial agriculture come to light many people are looking to urban agriculture as a way to help feed themselves without negatively impacting the planet. This global movement, along with community supported agriculture (CSA), organic farming, the renaissance of farmer's markets and the local and slow food movements are shifting the ways in which we produce food and ultimately, our relationship with food and the planet."

Glad to meet you guys!

The River and Land Sustain Us - Sustainable Windsor

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:42:00 +0000

The River and Land Sustain Us

I’ve been away from this column for a while. It’s been a busy month for those of us in the dirt. We had to wrap up operations on the cooperative farm, winterize the chicken coop, and close up Ford City Community Garden. Then there was the WECSA (Windsor Essex Community Supporting Agriculture) Locavore Dinner to arrange and host. Not much time for writing and blogging lately.

All the commotion about OccupyWindsor and one councillor’s determination to present himself a hero to the general public by ousting the Occupiers has got me thinking about what the city councillors could be considering. There’s only so much time in a day. And answering all those phone calls, complaints and emails, about Occupy Windsor people must be exhausting. I can only imagine. Good thing there are no urbanchickens running wild in the street to make matters worse. This city could be in dire trouble. Thankfully we can always call in the police and bylaw enforcers to fix our 'problems'. I can hear the water cooler talk from here, "If we ever get these rabble-rousers and trouble makers out of the city park, maybe we could get on to some bigger and better things." Like what? Another bridge, a water park, a canal, a new library, a legacy project, a money pit, and more bylaws and rules?

I’ve come up with some possible suggestions myself for City of Windsor leadership to look at. I know, who am I, a meager peasant, a lowly taxpayer, unworthy of any correspondence from my councillors, a thorn in the side of Mayor Francis for wanting to drag us back to the mediaeval days. Still, I can suggest some ideas in case they get bored of flogging the taxpayer for wanting real change.

While our city wants to attract more traffic and trucks to our region, build another bridge, airport repair shops, basically funnel all the oil dependent technology our way, what about attempting to reduce traffic and air pollution? We could build some carpool zones, enhance public transportation system, and organize bike-to-school or walk-to-school groups. Then, to show they really mean it, they could lead by example, from each Ward, down to City Hall. Is the direction we are heading sustainable? It seems to me that it will create more air pollution, carbon emissions and traffic congestion.

Another thing they could look at is how the City of Windsor could save energy. Maybe they could look at how they could reduce the amount of energy they are currently using to support the massive city operations.

Then there’s the number of vehicles that the city uses. There must be hundreds of trucks, cars, and service vehicles. What if they all switched to hybrids, electrics, and maybe partnered with some new technology. It’s not like they rush anywhere. Heck, I just found out I have to wait three months for an inspection on my basement due to the three floods I’ve had in my neighbourhood. Maybe even an e-bike for these guys. Of course, I really shouldn’t have this problem in the first place, but that’s another story.

What about a smarter way to deal with our garbage and recycling. I was reading about what countries lead best by example when it comes to Sustainability and Recycling (http://www.vexen.co.uk/countries/best.html). Canada didn’t even make the list. I know for a fact that some cities in the world recycle every last thing, such as Berlin. We could be a shining star in North America and be known for our commitment to healthy living, living with less, and reducing our footprint. Some cities have even eliminated the need for a garbage dump. Amazing.

Another area that is sadly ignored, probably due to the availability and proximity to, is our use of fresh and clean water. I wonder how much water the City uses just to serve itself let alone it’s citizens. What measures have they taken to reduce the amount of water that is being wasted. It would be nice to see the City leaders start a campaign to reduce water, clean up the water way around us and in the city, etc. Industrial water use has major impacts on energy use, and is becoming a huge expense all over the world, particularly in the US West and Southwest. Smart water usage can save the whole city and community money and precious natural resources that Windsorites take advantage of. We could have our city pilot and demonstrate a ‘grey water’ conversion program for residents. Maybe they could convert some of our parks to drip irrigation systems on automatic timers. How about giving all property owners free water barrels to encourage less water use.

Then there is the issue of food and farming. For some reason our City of Windsor has this crazy believe that if you have less agricultural interests in town, you are a more advanced civilization. That in some way, if you allow for urban farming, foraging, and harvesting in the city you are ‘backward’. I can’t imagine how this is viewed by our county friends and County Council. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprized by this fact. This is a Council that continues to ‘pass the buck’ in the development of a Municipal Food Charter (unlike Toronto did), fails to support the growth ofFarmer’s Markets, and supports the development of big-box stores. What would be the environment and economic impact if the City of Windsor considered a buy in-season food produce and buy-local policy.

You see, importing food and supplies not only makes you more dependent on the oil industry, but increases the amount of packaging and transportation. It uses great amounts of energy. Of course, maybe that’s why we need another bridge. If the City of Windsor used some of their leadership to focus on reducing the importation of more packaging than it means less pollution and less garbage, which means a cleaner environment, more sustainable city, cost savings so that we don’t have to borrow from our children’s future, leaving them to clean up this Council’s mess. See how these things all fit together? Additionally, you are saving energy required to make and dispose of the packaging. Supporting from the top of Council the establishment of healthy Farmers Markets, farm stands, urban farms, urban agricultural products, bylaws supportive of this type of urban land use, such as urban chickens, supporting hyper-local food, than we all will cut down on packaging and “food miles” while keeping our Windsor Essex regional economy strong.

Did you realize that spending $10 a week on local food will put billions of dollars into Ontario’s economy (Dr. Kevin Stolarick, The Martin Prosperity Institute and Doug Vallery, Experience Renewal Solutions. )? Staggering!

How excited would our Parks and Recreation department be if the City of Windsor made a decision to enhance and focus on native and drought-tolerant plants not only to save the water usage and costs, but to redeploy resources and save time and use of expensive and toxic pesticides and insecticides.

Maybe it’s time to join the kind souls down at the Occupy Windsor movement and encourage our City of Windsor leaders to ‘get local’. I mean, they are often complaining that the ‘Occupy’ movement is lacking clear and defined reasons. I’ve just listed a bunch of them that we could demand. Maybe we all should bring our tents down and set up in front of the ‘towers of power’ to show that there are great ‘green and sustainable’ projects that our City of Windsor leaders could be working towards on our behalf. Aren’t they in that role for that very reason. Please, contact your local ward councillor and mayor and find what is being done to ‘green’ the City of Windsor. If you don’t, they’ll tell you they didn’t hear that it was important, never got that direction from their constituency, received no email, yada yada yada.

Communities around the world, from large cities to small towns, are taking steps to get green in terms of local policies, projects and ways of operating. Contact our local leaders to find out if they are making a decision towards sustainability or environmental management. If your community does not take strong positions in this direction, tell the mayor and other local officials to appointing people to supervise everything from climate change policies and green building standards to the use of biodiesel fuel in public buses and renewable energy

Apparently our City spends a great deal of our money on research and consultation. That’s often a good decision. So why not spend some of these dollars finding out who's ‘green’ and why they decided to pursue this, what their costs were, how it impacted their city over the long term, how it made their city a more desirable place to live and work. Maybe on one of those globe-trotting trips our leadership takes, they could tour their zero-garbage facility, like in Berlin. Now that is visionary and leadership.

Call me a hippie, a dreamer, someone ‘out of touch’ with what government and leaders are ‘supposed to do’. I don’t really care. You see, I think the City Leadership should pursue what the people want them to pursue. And I am crazy enough to think that a lot of us really do want a healthy, sustainable, ecofriendly city to live in and represent us around the world. A city that we could be proud of and want to invite everyone to come and see. A city full of living things growing all around us, whether we are in the downtown core or the outskirts of the suburbs. A city that is alive with new ideas bursting forth with brand new challenges. But again, you would think that this would come naturally. After all, our City of Windsor Motto is, “The River and the Land Sustain Us, reminds us of the foundation of our city's well-being and the need to care for the environment.”

We must believe that change will come. And it will come through each of us. We must believe that we can make a change and that our efforts are not worthless or in vain. I confess, I often feel like that proverbial ‘cog’ in the machine, not making much progress. But we are. And we can have a voice if we are willing to let it be heard.

Do you dream of a greener, more sustainable future for the City of Windsor? Let your Mayor and your City of Windsor councillor know. If you don’t, they’ll claim ignorance. Let’s make theCity of Windsor a ‘Gateway’ to a sustainable and green community.

Petitions by iPetitions.com

New & Improved WECSA Local Good Food Box Unveiled!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:14:00 +0000

* * * New & Improved for 2012 * * *

Monthly Local Good Food Box!

Orders Not Being Accepted Until DECEMBER 1st, 2011!

Welcome Back!

We are back and we are bigger and better than ever! You will notice several changes from the 'one box fits all' Local Good Food Box Program. Please read through the Page Index and see the changes in policy and in options. After hours of consultations with friends around the province, this is the direction we have chosen to take based on best-practices. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Steve Green directly at localgoodfoodbox@yahoo.ca

Page Index

The Guiding PrinciplesThe Fine PrintThe Veggie & Fruit BoxesThe Meat Share BoxesThe Meat Share PricesThe Pantry BoxThe Monthly 'Spotlight on Local' Vendor

The Guiding Principles

Everyone has a right to fresh, locally grown, healthy food. Everyone.
Everyone has a right to access affordable fresh produce.
All produce and products in the WECSA Local Good Food Box will be locally sourced.
There will be no 'Food Terminal' shipped or trucked in from long distances.
Produce classed as 'seconds', 'expiring', or destined for free food destined for food banks will not be included in this Local Good Food Box.
While there is a place for Food Banks in a society, they exist only as a 'band-aid' solution and are not a sustainable solution.
Food Security and Sovereignty should be cultivated in all communities. Local Good Food Box participants are expected to know their food and their farmers.
Complete transparency in our food system is a must. Large food processors, farms, corporations and grocery stores are not concerned about our food security or whether we like our food. They are only concerned about the legality of what they are producing and whether they are maximizing their profits.
The WECSA Local Good Food box is an alternative to 'one stop shopping' and Big Box/Big Industry.
Producers and growers of food should be paid a premium, fair, and living wage for their time and dedication to bring us organic and natural produce. All efforts will be made to pay the producers of this food exactly what the farmer feels will sustain their farming operation.

The Fine Print

This is a Local Good Food Box. This is not the grocery store. You won't always get what you want. If you don't want it, trade it or give it away.
The fruits and vegetables that will be rotated through the boxes will represent what is available locally either fresh from a field or greenhouse, a micro-green operation, or in cold storage. If you want a fresh field tomato in February, go to the grocery store.
The produce we purchase will be bought at a fair and living wage for the farmer or producer to continue the operation. If you are looking for the 'cheapest' food or 'free' food, this is not the program for you. It is our belief that less of a better quality food is better than cheaper, mass produced, less nutritious food that does not pay the local farmer a premium for their time and effort.
All Local Good Food Boxes will be pre-ordered prior to pick up. Each 15th of the Month will be the cut off date. All orders will be paid for ahead of time by PAYPAL, EMAIL Transfer to localgoodfoodbox @ yahoo (dot) ca , or CASH/CHEQUE at the previous month's Pick Up date. No exceptions.
Local Good Food Boxes that are not picked up on the day of Pick Up will be donated to families in need. If you cannot arrange for someone to pick up your boxes for you, they will not be stored overnight.
If you feel like you know someone who needs a Local Good Food Box but cannot afford it, you are welcome to purchase it for them. You will be responsible to pick up and deliver the items.
The amount of produce in your box will be governed by weight or quantity to ensure everyone receives an equal amount.
Please bring your own grocery bin, hamper, box, cloth grocery bags. None will be provided.

The Veggie & Fruit Boxes

The $20 Veggie Box - Geared to 1-2 people

The $40 Veggie Box - Geared to 3-4 people

* No Substitutions*

The Meat Share Boxes (NEW!)

Meet Our Very Own Butcher!

Butcher Jamie Waldron, a Harrow native, returns to the region from his title as Head Butcher at Cumbrae’s Dundas, one of the most highly regarded butcher shops in North America to spearhead this most unique opportunity for Windsor/Essex County. His craft is led by the vision of getting the consumer the best our area has to offer - from sourcing the animals to offering the consumer the choicest cuts for maximum flavour and enjoyment.

The Beef Share

The share of cattle that you've purchased was reared in the most caring manner,
from the pasture straight to your plate, at Shawn Morris Farms in Comber, ON.
Great butchering ensures that the whole animal is used to it’s fullest potential.
Also there are cuts that you may not be so familiar with included in your package.
We take the time to seam muscles that would normally go into the mince bin.
“Second” cuts such as flat iron, flank, bavette, and short ribs will all find their way into your custom package.
Shares will be divided up with an even mix of premium roasts, premium steaks
(tenderloin, NY strip, ribeyes), ‘second’ steaks (bavette, flat iron, skirt, etc.), slow roasts, stew beef, beef stock, and mince. Cuts of beef click here.
Liver, heart, tongue and stock bones are available on request.
All shares come with recipe cards and are vacuumed sealed and labeled, for your convenience.

The Pork Share

Wagner Orchards are raising our Berkshire pigs on their farm in Essex County.
These animals enjoy the good life; eating a natural diet, free from growth promoting hormones or antibiotics.
Berkshire pork, prized for juiciness, flavour and tenderness, is pink-hued and heavily marbled. Its high fat content makes it suitable for long cooking and high temperature cooking.

Shares will be divided up with an even mix of roasts, chops, smoked bacon,
sausage, mince, as well as offal cuts if desired (head, trotters, liver). A selection
of sausages will be made on a rotating basis and at the time of your order you will be able to choose increments of your liking.
All shares come with recipe cards and are vacuumed sealed and labeled, for your convenience.

The Lamb Share

Ewe Dell Family Farms in Woodslee, ON began as a modest 30 ewe farm.
The operation has grown to include a flock of 4,000 and includes a modern, government inspected abattoir, which was specifically designed to process sheep.
Our lamb is allowed a setting up period of 7 days to ensure the meat has properly aged for tenderness and flavour.
Shares will be sold in ½ lamb boxes. Each 20lb lamb share will contain 1 rack, 4 loin chops, 2 sirloin chops, 2 shanks, 1 leg roast, 4 shoulder chops, stewing lamb and mince.
All shares come with recipe cards and are vacuumed sealed and labeled, for your convenience.

The Chicken Share

Our naturally fed and raised chickens are air chilled and come from Fenwood Farms in Ancaster, ON.
They are cage free and barn raised.
Chicken shares are sold at a minimum of 2 birds per order, with the ability to add on singles thereafter. The chickens weigh approx 4-6lbs ea.

We are happy to prepare the birds into 9 cuts if desired (2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drums, 2 wings, 1
neck & back).
All shares come with recipe cards and are vacuumed sealed and labeled, for your convenience.

The Meat Share Prices

Shawn Morris Farms Beef
20lbs (approx) $155.00

Wagner Orchards Berkshire Pork
20lbs (approx) $165.00

Ewe Dell Farms Lamb
20lbs (approx) $185.00

Fenwood Farms Natural Chicken
Minimum 2 chicken order (approx 4-6lbs) @ 3.99/lb
Each chicken thereafter (approx 4-6lbs) @ $3.79/lb

The Monthly 'Spotlight on Local' Vendor

Each month WECSA will invite a select vendor from the Windsor Essex region to set up shop at our Pick Up location (999 Drouillard Road) for a meet and greet, and to see and purchase their products. Stay tuned for January's Vendor! Find their Profile and Links Here! Local Good Food Box customers will be able to purchase items from these vendors.

VOTE

WITH YOUR FOOD DOLLARS

BUY LOCAL!

localgoodfoodbox @ yahoo.ca

Experimenting with Permaculture at WECSA in 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Experimenting with Permaculture at WECSA!

Plans for 2012 plots on our Cooperative Farm!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

REPOSTED FROM LITTLE HOUSE IN THE SUBERBS

Building a Hugelkultur Bed

in BEGINNER GARDENS,GARDEN,PERMACULTURE

Thank you for visiting Little House in the Suburbs. Please subscribe and you'll get great simple living tips and how-to articles delivered to your inbox, for free!

First, of course, what in the world am I talking about?

Hugelkultur (from the German, hill culture) is a method of building a garden bed. It hails from the permaculture world and means building a bed either by piling up wood and branches on the surface of the soil or digging a hole (or trench) and laying the wood in the hole.

Next soil is piled on top to bury the wood.

Why would anyone do such a thing, you may well ask. Three things, really:

To obtain a nearly no-need-to-water bed
To improve soil tilth and nutrients
To have an excuse to say “hugelkultur”

Wood has a very high moisture content. As it decomposes, it continues to absorb water like a sponge. Having a base of rotting wood beneath a garden bed is like building your garden on top of a dense, sodden sponge that is in the process of becoming rich humus.

Getting excited yet? I was, especially when I read tales of beds of tomatoes that made it through the summer without watering. I like the idea of all that good stuff down there, attracting worms and other decomposers, soaking up and storing rain, breaking down into fabulous soil.

For my bed, I decided to dig a hole. For those of you with a lot of space out in the country, digging a hole is probably an unnecessary step, but with a small suburban garden, I wanted it to blend into the garden rather than having it look like a big ol’ hugel. I also didn’t have a source of fill dirt, and using the soil from the raised bed which I’m replacing plus the soil I dug out of the hole will be needed to cover the wood completely.

Next, since the soil under there was just so completely dry I gave it a solid soaking to get things going. I’ve never heard of anyone doing this but it seemed logical. And tasty.

Now I got to take advantage of the fruit of what is usually the bane of my gardening: huge, mature trees. Many suburbanites take their fallen limbs to the curb for pickup, but since we don’t, we have a bunch of wood perfect for hugelkulture–nice, spongy, rotting wood just waiting for me to discover hugelkultur.

Fresh cut wood can be used for this method, but I had enough of the ready-to-rot stuff so I decided to use that. It will break down faster.

Filling up the ditch was very satisfying. I got to clear out some old wood and know it was going to turn into vegetables.

All the dirt I removed to make the trench went on top of the wood, with a couple of soakings along the way to get everything cooking. As I did, I layered in the contents of a bag of organic fertilizer. Overkill, surely, but I couldn’t resist. It would give my tired soil a boost while I waited for the benefits of hugelkultur, which really begins to come into its own beginning in its second year.

After planting some cover crop seeds, it was ready for a straw blanket and a final soak. I’ll be sure and report on the hugelkultur bed from time to time and let you know if it really is as no-water as it promises to be.

Locavore Dinner Nov 20 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Locavore dinner shares the harvest

by VICTORIA ROSE • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH, 2011 AT 3:35 PM • POSTED INEVENTS>FOOD>FORD CITY>LOCAL

Southwestern Ontario is one of the most agriculturally-rich areas in the country and we often take it for granted. Other regions long for the months of sun, extended growing season, and vine-friendly soils that Windsor & Essex County are known for.

FILE PHOTO - Local butcher Jamie Waldron. Photo by Sanja Frkovic.

To celebrate agriculture, local food, and to introduce citizens to some of the work that they do, Windsor Essex Community Supporting Agriculture will be holding a locally-sourced dinner on Sunday, November 20.

The three-course meal will use local and seasonal ingredients, many of which will come straight from the WECSA farm where volunteers grow their own vegetables and raise chickens on a small plot of land in McGregor. The work is mostly done by hand with tools carted in a trusty wagon that has served the farm well for its first three years but needs to be replaced.

“We’ve just about killed my little wooden wagon,” said Steve Green of WECSA. The dinner is being held as a fundraiser to buy a “high-quality farm wagon for the co-op farm.”

Along with great food and great company (only 25 tickets are available), local butcher Jamie Waldron will be speaking to the group sharing some of his background and discussing protein products available in the region, particularly the quality meats that he works with.

WECSA’s fundraiser dinner will be held on Sunday, November 20 at New Song Church (999 Drouillard Road, Windsor). Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the meal will be served at 6 p.m. The menu will be announced when all the details are finalized, but a vegetarian option will be available. Advanced tickets are $25 and there are only 25 seats available so you must reserve your spot by contacting Steve Green at stevegreen@ymail.com.

Grow a revolution in your backyard

noreply@blogger.com (philippa) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Update on Local Good Food Boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:23:00 +0000

NEXT LOCAL FOOD BOX PICK UP!

JANUARY 2012

Good Day Local Good Food Box Members:

Our Windsor Essex Local Good Food Box is delayed right now while we restructure.

Please be patient as we strive to improve the program.

Lots of great options coming soon.

Windsor's Local Good Food Box!

In January 2011, we started offering a food box with 'as local as possible' produce in it, most of it coming directly from the farms in the Essex-Kent area. I was shocked to find out that over 95% of our produce is leaving our area, destined to far away places, while I was forced to purchase far away veggies during the winter time, rather than given the option to purchase what is local and available to us in the Windsor Essex area. My thoughts? Let me get my hands on whatever is locally available FIRST, which will help me eat in season and eat locally. Pay our local farmers FIRST a great wage for their foods. Help them feel appreciated and valued. And, build a community of local foodies who will continue to expand on their food interests, putting more pressure on our food systems to change. Our food revolution starts with you!

FACTS ABOUT THE LOCAL GOOD FOOD BOX

1. The produce in the box is 'as local' as possible, which means if I can get it in the county, it will be in there. Occasionally, certain items will come from out of county, due to shortages in the area. But you won't find a Mexican tomato. But you might find a Michigan parsnip!

2. Whenever possible and applicable, the food will be organic or naturally produced. With some foods it matters more than others. For example, no toxic strawberries! But some of the apples have come from orchards that will use small amounts.

3. Our meat and fish selection are chosen very carefully. It is all local and direct from our local providers. Only the best is provided. Usually there are 4 selections, with Veggie Only being an option, as well.

4. We prefer that everyone pays up by the middle of the month. Why? Your box payment is our capital to purchase the food for the boxes. Orders need to be made. Deposits put down. And in the world of veggies and produce, cash is king! Also, if I don't have the cash, I don't buy it. Cultivate that in your life and you'll avoid a lot of headaches (and interest).

Pick up Location

We are currently using 999 Drouillard Road as our pick up site. Why? Its in the middle of the city, its a great space, its free, and there's lots of parking. Also, there are a number of people in the area that we like to donate a box to. Thank you, to those of you who purchase a box for folks in the neighborhood.

Payment

You can pay by Paypal for convenience. You can pay by cheque (made out to myself, Steve Green and mail it out to 4 5 5 6 F o n t a n a A v e, W i n d s o r, ON, N 9 G 3 C 8), or you can send a money order from your online banking. Best of all, you could meet me in person and give it to me in cash. Saves you a little bit of money (no fees and no use of a cheque).

Volunteers

If you would like to volunteer, please contact me directly. We can always use the help!

CONTACT

Steve Green

localgoodfoodbox (at) yahoo (dot) ca

Last Day of Challenge...not really.

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Well, this is the 'official' final day of the Unprocessed October challenge. I originally thought that this challenge was going to be something of an endurance test. How wrong I was! Instead, it because the launching point for a new attitude and commitment to even healthier eating. I believed that I would wait for the clock to strike midnight tonight and I would indulge in my first Diet Coke in a month. Instead, I don't even think about it anymore. Sugar coated donuts? Nope. Processed cereal and grains. Doesn't even sound like something I'm interested. Gobs of store bought bread? Nah. I like the Honey Whole Wheat bread I've been making. That whole wheat addiction thing is so 2011. I'm moving forward with a severely reduced wheat diet. And I like it. Even my good friend coffee is on the thin red line. I'm looking forward to a cup of coffee, but a new relationship with it. No sugar. No coffee whitener. Black. Since I have been taking tea, I've noticed that if I sweeten the tea, I lose the subtle flavours I was meant to taste in tea. My tongue seems to 'taste' things better. Sounds weird, eh? I agree. But I'm just tellin' it as it is.

I put this picture up because it symbolizes the future. My friend Philippa and I were up in Peterborough for the Bring Food Home conference. There were 400 food growers, eaters, gardeners, food project managers, people who are doing innovated things to promote sustainable food and agriculture all gathered to talk about where we are going. On the way to the Elmhurst Inn, Keene, for the local Feast event, we stopped in the Peterborough highlands to snap some pictures. The air was fresh and clean. It was everything about fall that you can imagine. The smell of the leaves. The quiet you find when you are away from the city. A tangible peace. This gravel road reminds me that we all have a long way to go when it comes to our eating habits. But that the journey to a more sustainable, and healthy, diet doesn't have to be a terrible one. It is full of ups and downs. But the trip itself is a pleasant one. Not unlike my trip down the country roads of Peterbourgh. Like the saying goes, it's not about a destination, its about the journey. Even my teen daughter, Jasmin, was telling us that she has made some permanent changes.

I have been toying what to do with this blog, since the challenge is over today. I think I will keep it up, letting you know about different ways we can 'unprocess' our body, mind, and lives. I hope it will serve as an encouragement for you to consider healthier eating.

So, October 31st, 2011, I feel great. In fact, I feel better than I have in many years. My challenge to you? Make one UNPROCESSED food decision today for your life. Maybe it's the white sugar in your coffee or tea. Maybe its skipping pop/soda today. Or not going to McCrappy's for a blast of fat, salt and sugar.

One small step at a time will get you where you need to go. A healthy 'unprocessed' you!

And I'll leave you with one of my favourite poems to get you started....see below picture

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Some Communities really are moving forward! Windsor is stalled!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Stuck in the Mud!

Sometimes, living in Windsor, which I love, you can feel a little stuck in the mud. It seems like our current municipal government lacks the vision to explore sustainable changes to our city. Instead, they focus on major projects for a select few. Personally, I believe in a vision of a SUSTAINABLE WINDSOR rather than a city that will require millions and millions of tax dollars to keep up and running.

I've got a lot of great books that talk about sustainability in a city. But no need to come looking for a good read from me, Council could look it up on Wikipedia!

A sustainable city, or eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO₂, methane, and water pollution.A sustainable city can feed itself with minimal reliance on the surrounding countryside, and power itself with renewable sources of energy. The crux of this is to create the smallest possible ecological footprint, and to produce the lowest quantity of pollution possible, to efficiently use land; compost used materials, recycle it or convert waste-to-energy, and thus the city's overall contribution to climate change will be minimal, if such practices are adhered to.

Sounds great, right? Well, apparently not to our council. I feel like we're stuck in the industrial age, still making trains that run on coal. Pumping out 8-Track tapes. BETA videos. Like we are perpetually destined to make a product that the rest of the world is not going to want. I want to live in an environmentally friendly community, why wouldn't others? Why not commit ourselves to being a city that is reducing and eliminating our dirty energy sources and at the same time eliminating energy waste. Why don't we make decisions like Berlin, who don't even have dumps and garbage problems? Good jobs like that. A city that works to improve the city! Less air pollution, clean up our water ways, enhances the lives of the citizens that live there.

Take urban agriculture. It's a great way to be active, gain more control over our diet, and be less reliant on the rest of the world and all its ups and downs. Right now, we rely of factory food supply and fresh foods that are trucked in for 1000's of miles, sometimes even flown in for us. Makes me wonder about how good this food is and how much the farmer actually gets paid. Are the people who are producing this food paid fairly? Is all our food produced by multi-national companies that have no ethical backbone and don't care whats in our food, just that they make a tonne of money off us.

For instance, look what's in a typical strawberry flavoured shake:

Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamylvalerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl Nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerbate, heliotropin, hydroxphrenyl-2butanone(10% solution to alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbone, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl slicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobulyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, sore rum ether, g-undecalctone, vanillin, and solvent³

Yikes. Where's the strawberries?

Wouldn't you be proud of a community that dedicated itself to growing its own foods, eating healthy and well, sharing seeds, working a cooperative farm and greenhouse, exporting their awesome fruits, veggies, and healthy foods to neighbouring communities, attracting other families to come and live in the area because of its dedication to a healthy lifestyle. It just seems like a 'no-brainer' to me.

Instead, we make the same mistakes our neighbours made across the Detroit River. Putting so many of our eggs in the same basket. Living in a bygone era based on oil and oil products, foods made with oil, transported here by oil, grown with oil products. It's crazy. If we ran out of oil tomorrow our whole existence would change.

I don't know. I feel like we aren't embracing a green future. Instead, I feel like we are shortening our own lifespan, borrowing from our children's children's resources, and destroying planet day by day. And not many people care about it. There's a few. But they are seen as radicals, nut bars, eccentric. I've heard it all. I even had a friend tell me that because God is going to come back and create a new earth, we don't have to take care of this one. Funny, I thought that Adam's first job was to take care of the earth.

We sure are greedy people. The people behind corporations put money ahead of the welfare of all humanity. But the 'sheeple' just continue their trips to the mall and thru the drive thru's to pick up their fake food and fat filled caffeine drinks, eat their tv dinners and instant meals. Did you know that the average north american is spending $400 more than their average weekly income? Crazy. Spending more money than they make for things they don't need to impress people they don't like. Greed. Crazy.

So, little old Windsor won't move forward to being a more sustainable community. But a big city like Sacramento can.

Makes you wonder.

City chickens will be legal starting Nov. 1 in Sacramento

darrington@sacbee.com

PUBLISHED SATURDAY, OCT. 22, 2011

As a teenager growing up in Fair Oaks, Greg Howes discovered the joy of chickens.

With Sacramento's new ordinance allowing city residents to keep chickens, he expects people to flock to the hobby.

"It's not just about the eggs," said Howes, who has raised city chickens for 20 years. "They're so much fun. They're wonderful pets. People are going to catch chicken fever – in a good way."

As Howes chatted about his chickens, Zsa Zsa – a Polish hen with a wildly feathered head and a diva attitude – pecked around his feet at his home in the Elmhurst neighborhood. Soon, she'll be a legal bird.

Sacramento's new chicken code goes into effect Nov. 1. The ordinance will allow residents to keep up to three egg-laying hens; no roosters allowed. Like dog owners, chicken keepers must register and tag their birds, pay licensing fees ($15 for household registration plus $10 per bird per year) and follow basic rules.

Passed in August, the law requires hens to be kept in pens, coops or cages at all times and at least 20 feet from a neighbor's home.

And like dogs, chickens come in all shapes, sizes, colors and breeds.

"You need to do a little research to find the right chicken for you," Howes said. "Each breed has its own personality."

Interest in city chickens already has taken wing.

"We've been getting requests for coops and lots of questions about chickens," said Jill Franklin, manager of Talini's Nursery in east Sacramento, which started stocking coops this month. "A lot of people in the city don't know much about raising chickens. It's not that hard, and you get a great benefit: fresh eggs."

Howes and his partner, Brian Fikes, recently launched Two Flew The Coop, a business dedicated to backyard chicken raising. They sell one-of-a-kind art-embellished coops and consult on how to get chickens off to the best start in an urban setting.

"Seattle, San Francisco, Portland: All these big cities have had a chicken ordinance for years," Fikes said. "Even Elk Grove and Davis allow chickens. It took two years of lobbying, but Sacramento is finally getting around to it, too."

Said Howes, "We have a very primitive connection with chickens. People have kept them since ancient times. I think we now crave our agrarian roots.

"They're de-stressors," he added. "I feel the most relaxed when I'm in my garden with my birds."

Rita Hoots of Davis, where up to six hens are allowed, loves her flock.

"I think they're wonderful," Davis said. "They're just charming. When you take care of them, they include you in their brood. They love to get stroked and petted. They're softer than a kitten."

Davis started raising chickens last year. By cleaning their coop daily, she's eliminated any smell.

"That's a common complaint, but they don't stink," she said. "There's absolutely no odor."

Gardens and chickens go together, Fikes said. "They love to eat bugs, particularly snails. The shells are good for them."

The hens also produce high-grade manure – another plus for gardeners.

Besides catching bugs, chickens go after weeds, particularly notorious nut sedge. On the down side, they also love lettuce and other tender green shoots.

"You've got to learn what they won't eat," said Howes, who planted aromatic and woody herbs such as lavender, lemon verbena and sage in the chickens' domain.

To keep their flock safe, Howes and Fikes house their chickens in an enclosed coop after dark.

"Everybody gets locked up at night," Howes said. "They want to go to bed by dusk. But they're up at sunrise."

And the eggs are delicious – and plentiful. An average hen will lay 240 eggs a year, according to Robert Litt, co-author of "A Chicken in Every Yard."

Chickens, which usually live about 10 years, are at their most productive at age 1 or 2. As they age, egg production tapers off.

"They become pets, and that's OK," Howes said. "Think of them as living lawn ornaments."

Re:post from My Unprocessed Steve Blog...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:54:00 +0000

Day 21

So last night was absolutely delicious. As you can see, I made the potato leek soup, which the family had been waiting for. I saved some for Saturday's company that is coming, we'll serve it as an appetizer. I made a few changes from the recipe. The recipe I had called for a half a cup of butter to be added to the pot of soup. Totally unnecessary in my humble opinion. There was a tablespoon of olive oil that went in with the leeks. And I poured the white wine in with the leeks as they were cooking rather than just adding it to the soup mixture. In regards to spicing your soup, everyone likes something a little different. I added one whole bunch of dill to the soup. This was not overpowering. Also, I added a tablespoon of fennel seed to the mixture. You could easily add cumin seed with the leeks while you were frying them up. Delicious.

Another great fact about this meal is that it was all done for under $5. How come everyone thinks unprocessed diet is too expensive? Or home cooking is too expensive. NOT! It is much cheaper and better for you and it brings your family together. I am a HUGE believer in the family meal and home prepared meals.

Eating healthy is important.

Eating healthy:

· Lowers and reduces, sometimes removes disease risks
· Increases productivity
· Gives you more energy
· Makes you stronger

You probably think eating healthy is expensive. But there are tricks to spare your savings account and keep it low cost. Here are sixteen ways to eat healthier while keeping it cheap.

Healthy food consists of:

Protein. The building blocks of muscles, needed for strength.
Fat. A balanced intake of omega 3, 6 & 9.
Veggies. All kinds, especially green fibrous veggies.
Fruit. Full of vitamins.
Water. 1 liter per 1000 calories you expend.
Whole grain food. Oats, rice, pasta, breads, …

1. Switch to Water. I drank huge amounts of pop/soda daily for over 15 years.

It’s healthier.It’s cheaper. Quit the soft drinks and energy drinks and drink water.

2. Consume Tap Water. Check the price of water on your tap water bill. Now check the price of bottled water. Quit a difference, isn’t it? So why are you buying bottled water? Cleaner? Not necessarily. Better taste? No, simply a matter of Adaptation.

Bottled water companies get their supply from the same source you do: municipal water systems. It’s like selling ice to Eskimos. If you don’t trust the quality of tap water, filter it yourself. Use a Brita Pitcher. One $7 filter cleans 40 gallons water.

3. Eat Fresh Free-range eggs, eggs from a farm or egg cooperative like we have.

Full of vitamins. High in proteins. Low in price. Don’t believe the Eggs & Cholesterol myth. Dietary cholesterol is not bound to blood cholesterol. Want to make it cheaper? Start raising hens. Its easy and cheap. Check out our site at http://www.windsorurbanchickens.com/ or http://windsorcsa.blogspot.com

4. If you eat meat, eat fatty meats. Fatty meats are cheaper and tastier than lean meats. You think it’s not healthy? Check the Fat Myths: Fat doesn’t make you fat, excess calories do. You need a balanced intake of fats: omega 3, 6 & 9. Make sure your meat is 100% meat and not full of fillers or nitrates or other junk. You know the industry is allowed to put filler in the meat? Buy organic and grass feed beef. Find a local source for your meat rather than what is shipped from the big mega-cow factories where the animals are mistreated and fed horrid diets. The main issue is the intensification of production and its aspects - fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, hormones antibiotics, additives and supplements. I would be very careful with meat. Industry will do whatever is legal to get the price down, not safe, ‘legal’. It’s all about money.

5. Some people eat whey. The cheapest source of protein. 70$ for a 10lbs bag lasting 4 months. Nothing beats that. For those who are atheletes, use whey in your post-workout shake to help recovery.

6. Tuna. Canned tuna is cheap and contains as much protein as meat. Alternate tuna with eggs, meat & whey. You’ll easily get to your daily amount of protein. Make sure your tuna is sustainably harvested from the sea. You don't want to knowingly contribute to a food industry that is disrespectful of the environment. That's why I try to know where all my food comes from.

7. Buy Frozen Veggies if it's out of season in your area. Better yet, freeze your own for the winter. We ly buy frozen veggies because:

Take less time to prepare
You don’t waste money if not eaten in time
Can be bought in bulk for discounts & stored in your freezer
If you can afford fresh veggies, then do it. I go frozen.

Try to avoid canned veggies. You don’t need the sodium. Canned food is expensive. Good for emergencies but shouldn’t be a regular in your diet.

8. Fresh Fish. Omega-3 is found in fish oil. Benefits of omega-3 consumption include:

Lowered cholesterol levels. Decreased body fat. Reduced inflammation.

9. If buying a processed item, buy the generic, no-name brand. The product box might be less attractive, it’s certainly more attractive to your wallet. Brand-name food will always be more expensive. You’re paying for the name. Get real. Food is food. Go generic.

10. Buy in Bulk. The bulk store should be your best friend. Think long-term. Buying in bulk is more expensive at the cashier, but cheaper in the long run: Gets you discounts. Saves time. Saves car fuel. Invest in a big freezer. Buy meats & veggies in bulk and freeze them. Join a CSA. See if your community has a Local Good Food Box program. Split a large order with your friend or neighbour.

11. Make a Plan. A classic, but worth repeating. Everything starts with a plan.

Make a list of what you need. Eat a solid meal, don’t go hungry. Go the grocery, get what’s on your list and get out. No need to take your partner or kids with you. This is not a recreational activity. Just get your food & get back home.

12. Take Food To Work. Ever counted how much money you throw away buying food at work daily? Start preparing your food for the day on waking up: Get up earlier. Eat a solid breakfast (like Scrambled Eggs). Prepare your food for work in the meanwhile. Total time 30 minutes. No stress during the day about what you’ll be eating & you get healthy food while sparing money. I always make extra at supper time for my wife and I to take leftovers the next day. Even our teen girls will take supper leftovers to school.

13. Eat Less. This one is obvious. The less you eat, the lower your grocery bill. If you’re overweight, get on a healthy, unprocessed food, fast food free diet. Your health and bank account will thank you.

14. Don’t Buy Junk Food. The last one. Stop buying anything that comes out of a box, it’s:

Unhealthy, Expensive. Has all kinds of chemicals in it. It’s no good at all for you.

If you actually find junk food that is cheaper than whole food, think long-term. Health implications.

15. Don't smoke. If you do, quit now. No questions allowed. Just do it. You should be ashamed of yourself if you are still smoking. There's no reason these days for people to partake in such a deadly addictive habit and not know how deathly smoking is.

16. If you drink, drink responsible. Alcohol is expensive and empty calories. Maybe your food budget suffers because you drink too much alcohol. Get your priorities straight. Good food first.

17. Get involved in a local food group, buying club, community garden, growing your own food. It's easier than you think.

18. Read some books. How about Raj Patel's "Stuffed and Starved" or maybe Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". Reading about healthy eating will solidify your commitment.

19. Watch a foodie film like Fast Food Nation, Food Inc., The World According to Monsanto, FRESH: The Movie, and many more.

Bring Food Home Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:33:00 +0000

Upcoming Event: Philippa and Myself (Steve Green) will be running the Urban Chicken workshop with Toronto City Chickens.

"Do ya wanna know how a handful of people in a few short years got 275 totally different groups working together effectively on one huge project? Do you wanna see it happening before your eyes, and be part of it? Then come home -- to Peterborough, October 27-29. Add yourself, and stir".
Wayne Roberts, Past Coordinator of the Toronto Food Policy Council

Workshops and plenaries will be held at Trent University with tours and speaking events throughout Peterborough and the Kawartha region. Bring Food Home is Ontario’s biennial conference connecting those individuals and organizations who are working towards a sustainable food system. Join us in transforming the future of food. Registration numbers are steadily increasing and coming from the growing range of the folks who are working together to foster a more just and sustainable food system for Ontario... does that sound like you? We've arranged accommodation discounts, but they do have deadlines and spaces on the tours and for some of the events are limited in number... so please click here to REGISTER NOW to avoid disappointment.

Occupy Windsor and Food Sovereignty

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Occupy Windsor and Food Sovereignty

As a foodie and a co-op farmer of sorts, I find myself reflecting on the Occupy Together movement. Specifically, I’m torn between wanting to participate with my fellow activists downtown but realize I have pressing duties that will keep me from spending copious amounts of time with the demonstrators. Hens need the coop winterized, fields need attention, and families need dad to be around. So what do you do? In this case, I think you have to go with your first priorities and allow those who are demonstrating know that you support them. That’s because there is a connection between the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Food Security/Sovereignty movement.

Jean Ziegler, in January 2010, said, “In a world overflowing with riches, it is an outrageous scandal that more than 1 billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition and that every year over 6 million children die of starvation and related causes. We must take urgent action now.” The United Nations Bill of Rights on Food Security clearly states, the right to food is a human right. It protects the right of all human beings to live in dignity, free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food is not about charity, but about ensuring that all people have the capacity to feed themselves in dignity. This right to food is protected under international human rights and humanitarian law and the correlative state obligations are equally well-established under international law. The right to food is also recognized in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as well as a vast number of other instruments. In Canada, we have no National Food Security policy. We do have priorities set out for us by Agriculture Canada as agreed to internationally. Ag Canada states that, they are “a work in progress which forms a basis for further discussions on the specifics of implementation, including timing, roles and responsibilities, coordination mechanisms and related actions. It is open-ended and flexible, adaptable to changing conditions and responsive to evolving needs. It is not an exhaustive inventory of existing programs or planned actions; rather, it is a blueprint which sets out the highest priorities ” Food Security is means being able to get all the healthy food you need and to enjoy it with friends and family. Food security also includes being able to make a living by growing and producing food in ways that protect and support both the land, sea and the food producers, and that ensure that there will be healthy food for our children’s children. Food security is the goal we are working toward (Thought About Food? A Workbook on Food Security & Influencing Policy, Nova Scotia).

That being said, we live in a country that pretty much bends to the will of Big Ag mega companies and lobbyists. These are companies that seem to have their way with our health, our land, our pocketbook, our stomachs, our grocery stores, and our future. Our government refuses to take the concerns of Genetically Modified food serious. CBC News reported, “Consumer groups charge the government has been slow to react to changes in the food industry. But the government says it wants to have the infrastructure in place to ensure whether a food has been altered. “ (CBC, 2004).

Consumer groups to Dietitians raise a stink about the blatant advertising of junk food to children but nothing gets done about it. Lobbyists reassure the governments that they are ‘fortifying’ the junk food so that the kids are eating healthy food. Healthy processed junk food made up of a myriad of chemicals designed to switch on the sugar and salt cravings. Not to mention the fact that the Government allows the purchase and consumption of known carcinogens so the rest of us non-smokers can pay for the Health Care of all those who ingest these chemicals. We really should expect this. The Government of Canada supports the monopoly on liquor. It profits from the losses of all those who attend their casinos, imprisons those who get so addicted to gambling that they steal other people’s life savings. I wonder what Monsanto had to do, what hand received the ‘brown envelope’, in order to get Canada to agree to terminator seeds? Well, we’ll just trust the food industry, the agricultural gods such as Monsanto. It’s just our future they’re playing with- the DNA of everything on the planet.

So what to do, march with the activists that I know and support, or feed the hens and harvest food. For the time being I am afraid it’s a no-brainer. The farm needs us. But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way for each of us to do our part in this Occupy Together movement. We can use our social network sites and our personal connections. We can have discussions with our friends and family who still have not ‘woken up’ or believe the words that the Elite Canadians and Politicians feed us. We can resist in small ways. Buy local. Get out of personal debt so the bank doesn’t own your ass. Live with less. Refuse to be a materialistic consumer who wants more and more. Help your friends break free from that ‘carnivorous consumer mindset’. You can read up on what is going on in the world, look for the hidden stories that the media doesn’t want to tell you, or that your government is hiding from you. You can get involved locally wherever you can. Maybe that means your neighbourhood. Maybe that means in your own household.

Sting sings, “History, will teach us nothing.” It is filled with examples of social organizations, movements, businesses and nations, that failed to perceive the realities of a changing environment and didn't adapt in time to prevent calamity. There are governments that fight for rights of people in a faraway country but stack the deck against their own citizens or mistreat them when they seek change. How will you respond to the changes happening in our city, our province, our country?

"So when wondering why so many people just "don't get it," (oil depletion, overshoot etc.) whether they are your local politician or great aunt, realize there is a physiological mechanism that may preclude having a rational discussion on certain topics. The truth can only be pushed so far before rebellion occurs, hence the phrase, "To kill the messenger." Before many folks can learn and incorporate the lessons of ecology, most could use the services of a good shrink. Someone to call them on their bull and get them to face their faulty, contradictory, and destructive thought patterns." Jason Bradford

Intro To Food Sovereignty Video

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Here's a good intro to food sovereignty video.

GMO Ingredients

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:14:00 +0000

From: Organic Gardens Network

Non-GMO Shopper's Guide Download HERE!

98 Invisible GMO Ingredients in Your Food

Processed foods often have hidden GM sources (unless they are organic or declared non-GMO). The following are ingredients that may be made from GMOs.

Are the following listed on the ingredients labels of the foods you and your family are eating?

How many of the 98 in the list do you recognize as showing up on your food labels on a regular basis?

Aspartame

(also called AminoSweet®, NutraSweet,

Equal Spoonful, Canderel, BeneVia®, E951)
baking powder
canola oil (rapeseed oil)
caramel color
cellulose
citric acid
cobalamin (Vitamin B12)
colorose
condensed milk
confectioners sugar
corn flour
corn masa
corn meal
corn oil
corn sugar
corn syrup
cornstarch
cottonseed oil
cyclodextrin
cystein
dextrin
dextrose
diacetyl
diglyceride
erythritol
Equal
food starch
fructose (any form)
glucose
glutamate
glutamic acid
glycerides
glycerin
glycerol
glycerol monooleate
glycine
hemicellulose
high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
hydrogenated starch
hydrolyzed vegetable protein
inositol
inverse syrup
inversol
invert sugar
isoflavones
lactic acid
lecithin
leucine

lysine
malitol
malt
malt syrup
malt extract
maltodextrin
maltose
mannitol
methylcellulose
milk powder
milo starch
modified food starch
modified starch
mono and diglycerides
monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Nutrasweet
oleic acid
Phenylalanine
phytic acid
protein isolate
shoyu
sorbitol
soy flour
soy isolates
soy lecithin
soy milk
soy oil
soy protein
soy protein isolate
soy sauce
starch
stearic acid
sugar (unless specified as cane sugar)
tamari
tempeh
teriyaki marinades
textured vegetable protein
threonine
tocopherols (vitamin E)
tofu
trehalose
triglyceride
vegetable fat
vegetable oil
vitamin B12
vitamin E
whey
whey powder
xanthan gum

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) although usually derived from corn, is probably not GM
because it is not likely made in North America.

Challenge Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 14:59:00 +0000

Challenge Yourself

By Steve Green

(WINDSOR, ON) – It’s been a couple weeks since I submitted an article. I’ve been busy adjusting to a new healthy diet. For the month of October my daughter Jasmin and I have been eating only unprocessed food. That means anything that was refined or cooked and sold in the grocery stores, from bread to sugar, is off limits. It’s partly a challenge to experience just how much of our food is processed in some way, or contains processed ingredients, and partly a fund raiser for my daughter’s upcoming humanitarian trip to Zambia in July.

If you’ve never thought about just how much of your food is processed, this is the challenge for you. I picked up on this challenge from a website called Eating Rules. You can check it out yourself or follow my journey on my Unprocessed Steve blog.

Some of the initial challenges that I faced was my addiction to caffeinated drinks. I loved grinding my pre-roasted coffee beans and having a fresh morning coffee. And then there’s the cold Diet Coke. So, the headaches were the first thing I had to deal with. The second adjustment I had to make was my love of sugar. There is a provision in the challenge to use unprocessed raw sucanat and honey (of which I have plenty unpasteurized honey). Once I got over the initial sugar crash from avoiding the white processed sugar I found a surprising benefit. I lost the snack cravings! Who would have thought? I had never made the connection before.

Through the challenge it has become very apparent that the majority of North Americans, maybe even worldwide citizens, are going to be in real trouble should our food system collapse.

Almost everything we are offered at our grocery stores has been processed in some form or fashion. There are the fake blueberries in your cereal. Or the colon cancer causing nitrates in your processed meat. High fructose corn syrup added to just about everything. Sweeteners, salts, preservatives, flavours and colours are all added for your eating pleasure. Take a look at some of those ingredient lists. You’ll be surprised.

You might as well buy your food at a chemical plant. Most of us will have to get out our computer to look up all the additives that we won’t recognize. Non-digestible cellulose added to your crackers. That’s right. Wood. They add wood to fill you up. Soon they’ll be flavouring clay cookies and texturizing them so that it is a diet item and market it as the more expensive item. And people will buy it. Most likely because of some claim on the package or a fancy advertising scheme and catchy skinny model that promotes its unscientifically proven claims.

Remember, when you check out the ingredients list that’s just what has been added. They don’t list what they have taken out of the food or food stuff that was originally meant to be in there and good for you.

Processing causes all kinds of issues. Using fertilisers will reduce the vitamin C content of the crop. Milling cereals, such as wheat, are ground to remove the fibrous husks. The husks contain most of the plant’s dietary fibre, B-group vitamins, phytochemicals and some minerals.

So basically when you buy your white bread and see all the ingredients listed and the advertisement saying its ‘fortified’, it’s because they removed the good stuff in the first place.

When blanching food before you can it you can lose the vitamin C and B-complex. Now, canning food is a good way to preserve the food but often you get a lot more of stuff you don’t want, such as added sodium.

Pasteurisation is an interesting one. I’ve had many spirited discussions on this item. Pasteurizing is when you heat milk to destroy micro-organisms. Some of the goodness and nutrients are destroyed. But try to find unpasteurized milk and you’ll soon find out that no one will talk to you. In fact, you can follow one farmer’s journey into Raw Milk Sale in Ontario . Do you know why they pasteurize honey? Not because they want to make it safe. It’s to add high fructose corn syrup to the honey.

Don’t even start to talk about the ingredients of Fast Food. You do not want to know what is in that stuff.

Needless to say citizens, it’s time to get back to basics. What ever became of picking up fresh vegetables and fruit and preparing a meal?

What about visiting a Farmer’s Market or farm stand in the county?

People are out there buying peeled potatoes, vegetable trays already prepared advanced, soups in a can, mystery meat, garlic from China, imported food packaged in Canada, desserts made a 1000 miles away by who knows who, with who knows what, for some crazy cheap price. I often wonder if an entire generation is going to lose the ability to prepare a family meal.

So what can we do about this?

I have compiled a list of suggestions to have a more sustainable diet. First, start cooking your own meals. You can start slowly. Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients that you found locally and in season. If there is plenty of the item available locally, than preserve some for when it is out of season.

Is it apple season? Visit an orchard. Start picking and save those apples in your crisper. You’ll appreciate having this ready to go snack when you need them in the winter for baking.

Do you have lots of tomatoes? Make some spaghetti sauce so it is all ready to go when you get home from work. No need to stop and buy a can of this or that when you have a pantry full of jars.

Eat as a family. Yes, I know it is hard. But try and get your family and friends together regularly. Talk and visit. Share recipes. Have a pot-luck.

Learn to make bread. It doesn’t really take that long. Buy a big bag of whole wheat flour and some yeast and have yourself a party. You don’t have to bake it all at once, keep some growing and rising in the fridge or some ‘monster dough’ growing in a container on your counter.

Again, this is not rocket science. Millions and billions have done this for years. But you’ve just got lazy. And your body and your family are paying the price. One day, when this whole crazy food system crashes – and it will, they don’t call it non-renewable fuel source for nothing - you will be ahead of the crowd having taught yourself and those around you how to survive when everything isn’t handed to you in a microwave tray ready to eat.

And you’ll be doing your a body a big favour by avoiding those Fast Food chains. They should have a triage unit on the other side of the drive thru window. Spend your money wisely. Spend it on good quality food products rather than something that comes in a cardboard flip box or pre-made container.

And if you’re up to it, challenge yourself about what you are putting in your mouth. Take the shortest distance from the field to your fork.

Suited up and ready to harvest honey!

Our little workers!

The Gift of Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:38:00 +0000

As reported on NPR

October 2, 2011

Detroit is a surprisingly green landscape during the spring and summer months. The site of many houses that are crumbling, boarded up or missing altogether is tempered by community gardens and even some urban farms.

There are some serious urban gardeners in this country, but few can match the agricultural output of Paul Weertz.

"I farm about 10 acres in the city, and alfalfa's my thing. I bale about a thousand bales a year," he says.

That's alfalfa grown within Detroit city limits. The 58-year-old public school teacher lives alone in a single-family house in the Farnsworth neighborhood.

There are a dozen chickens and 10 beehives on Weertz's property that belong to a neighborhood honey co-op. An acre of land behind his house used to be occupied by other single-family homes but is now covered with fruit trees, vegetables and a pungent patch of basil.

Weertz has been buying abandoned homes and vacant parcels in his neighborhood, where lots go for as little as $300. He's been encouraging young people who want to farm to move into the neighborhood. Weertz's neighbor, Carolyn Leadley, runs Rising Pheasant Farms when she's not caring for her 10-month-old son.

"We're definitely micro-farming, but we're making a living off a sixth of an acre," Leadley says. "I've been very pleased — pleasantly surprised at how much I've been able to pay myself per hour. We took on an employee. I'm like, 'OK, We're a real business now. We have to pay taxes and do things right.' "

Leadley grows tomatoes and ornamental flowers outdoors on two vacant lots she's trying to buy from the city. She also has trays of sunflower shoots growing in her attic. Leadley's location inside Detroit allows her to deliver her produce to the city's huge farmers market and local restaurants by bicycle.

In a neighborhood where drug dealers are as resilient as weeds, one neighbor finds Leadley's farm an eyesore. The 28-year-old urban farmer persists.

"I hope what I'm doing makes the neighborhood more attractive — that people would want to move into the neighborhood — because, at this point, there is no reason why anyone would want to move into this neighborhood," she says. "There are no stores besides liquor stores in this entire neighborhood."

Over in the North Corktown section of Detroit, the leaves of an edible Japanese plant called mizuna are harvested with a pair of scissors. Greg Willerer farms 12 city lots — about an acre of land.

"I take this whole growing food for my neighbors and friends and other people in the city very seriously," he says, "and I'm going to eat this stuff, too."

Willerer's business, Brother Nature Produce, sells about 200 pounds of salad greens a week, and there are 27 families in his community-supported agriculture co-op who get produce from him. He's farming abandoned lots that he has adopted but does not own. Willerer says he has been trying to buy the lots from the city of Detroit for more than a year.

"The city could, literally, at any time come in and say, 'We're going to develop these lots and you're going to have to move,' " he says.

Indeed, a community garden in a section of Detroit known as the Cass Corridor will soon be uprooted because the two city-owned lots it occupies have been sold to a doggy day care operation.

Ashley Atkinson works for a gardening advocacy group called the Greening of Detroit and is a member of the city planning commission's Urban Agriculture Workgroup. Atkinson says that farming in the city is not illegal, but it's not totally legal either.

"It's a policy vacuum. So, there's no policy to protect them, but there's lots of policy that could result in tickets and fines for an activity like high vegetation in a residential neighborhood," she says.

City Council member Kenneth Cockrel Jr. says he supports urban agriculture and is hopeful that the council will enact regulations by the end of the year. Yet he says that even now the city has not been issuing violations to urban farmers.

Back in the Farnsworth neighborhood, Andrew Kemp tends a lush garden on seven city lots he owns. His wife, Kinga Osz-Kemp, has a cottage industry making herbal salve with beeswax from the neighborhood hives and herbs from their garden. The family says it never has to buy garlic or honey. The Kemps also get all the eggs they need from four hens that wander around their yard.

"It could never happen in another city. I mean, this is ridiculous to think about this much land," Kemp says. "There are very few houses that have another house next to them. So everybody can have at least an extra yard, you know. That's really the gift of Detroit."

Unprocessed Steve: Unprocessed Steve - September 30th

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:57:00 +0000

Unprocessed Steve: Unprocessed Steve - September 30th: September 30th, 2011 The day before. Four hours until start time. Ok. So I have until midnight tonight to consume some of my fav...

Ford City Community Garden: ISARC - Ontario Election 2011- Education on Povert...

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:42:00 +0000

Ford City Community Garden: ISARC - Ontario Election 2011- Education on Povert...: If you don't know how to vote or question why you should, consider these reasons and ask your candidates good questions about reducing pove...

30 Year Study at Rodale Finished!

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:53:00 +0000

Rodale Institute Website

Study debunks myths on organic farms

The results are in from a 30-year side-by-side trial of conventional and organic farming methods at Pennsylvania's Rodale Institute. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organic farming outperformed conventional farming in every measure.
There are about 1,500 organic farmers in Saskatchewan, at last count. They eschew the synthetic fertilizers and toxic sprays that are the mainstay of conventional farms. Study after study indicates the conventional thinking on farming - that we have to tolerate toxic chemicals because organic farming can't feed the world - is wrong.
In fact, studies like the Rodale trials (www.rodaleinstitute.org/ fst30years) show that after a three-year transition period, organic yields equalled conventional yields. What is more, the study showed organic crops were more resilient. Organic corn yields were 31 per cent higher than conventional in years of drought.
These drought yields are remarkable when compared to genetically modified (GM) "drought tolerant" varieties, which showed increases of only 6.7 per cent to 13.3 per cent over conventional (non-drought resistant) varieties.
More important than yield, from the farmer's perspective, is income, and here organic is clearly superior. The 30-year comparison showed organic systems were almost three times as profitable as the conventional systems. The average net return for the organic systems was $558/acre/ year versus just $190/acre/year for the conventional systems. The much higher income reflects the premium organic farmers receive and consumers pay for.
But even without a price premium, the Rodale study found organic systems are competitive with the conventional systems because of marginally lower input costs.
The most profitable grain crop was the organically grown wheat netting $835/acre/year. Interestingly, no-till conventional corn was the least profitable, netting just $27/acre/year. The generally poor showing of GM crops was striking; it echoed a study from the University of Minnesota that found farmers who cultivated GM varieties earned less money over a 14-year period than those who continued to grow non-GM crops.
Importantly, the Rodale study, which started in 1981, found organic farming is more sustainable than conventional systems. They found, for example, that:
. Organic systems used 45 per cent less energy than conventional.
. Production efficiency was 28 per cent higher in the organic systems, with the conventional no-till system being the least efficient in terms of energy usage.
. Soil health in the organic systems has increased over time while the conventional systems remain essentially unchanged. One measure of soil health is the amount of carbon contained in the soil. Carbon performs many crucial functions: acting as a reservoir of plant nutrients, binding soil particles together, maintaining soil temperature, providing a food source for microbes, binding heavy metals and pesticides, and influencing water holding capacity and aeration. The trials compared different types of organic and conventional systems; carbon increase was highest in the organic manure system, followed by the organic legume system. The conventional system has shown a loss in carbon in recent years.

. Organic fields increased groundwater recharge and reduced run-off. Water volumes percolating through the soil were 15-20 per cent higher in the organic systems. Rather than running off the surface and taking soil with it, rainwater recharged groundwater reserves in the organic systems, with minimal erosion.
Organic farming also helps sustain rural communities by creating more jobs; a UN study shows organic farms create 30 per cent more jobs per hectare than nonorganic. More of the money in organic farming goes to paying local people, rather than to farm inputs.
With results like these, why does conventional wisdom favour chemical farming? Vested interests. Organic farming keeps more money on the farm and in rural communities and out of the pockets of chemical companies. As the major funders of research centres and universities, and major advertisers in the farm media, they effectively buy a pro-chemical bias.
Still, the global food security community, which focuses on poor farmers in developing countries, is shifting to an organic approach. Numerous independent studies show that small scale, organic farming is the best option for feeding the world now and in the future. In fact, agroecological farming methods, including organic farming, could double global food production in just 10 years, according to one UN report.

Saturday Sept 24 1-3 PM Odette Sculpture Park

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Green) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:06:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2011

Windsor to Join Thousands of Climate Rallies across the Globe

On Saturday, September 24th starting at 1:00 pm, Windsor on Watch (WOW), in coalition with the Council of Canadians Windsor-Essex Chapter, will join with communities around the world in a global day of Climate Change action.
This year’s theme, “Moving Planet,” is being sponsored by the organization 350.org. September 24th is designated as a worldwide day of action for solutions to climate change with hundreds of thousands of people moving with fossil fuel-free modes of transportation.
The public is encouraged to join in a walking tour of the riverfront Odette Sculpture Garden. The tour will begin at 1:00 on Saturday, September 24th at riverfront parking lot near the Pumping Station at the foot of Caron Avenue. It will proceed to the Ambassador Bridge and back, stopping at sculptures along the way. Presenters will highlight our city’s beautiful outdoor art installations while drawing links between the artist’s themes and the reality of climate change.
“The walkway through the Odette Sculpture Garden along the Detroit River is a terrific location for our community to gather this coming Saturday afternoon and consider both the creations of humankind and nature and the impact that they are having on each other”, says Randy Emerson, a spokesperson for WOW. “Many of the sculptures present themes relating to the perils of climate change and challenge us to take action to stop further damage to our environment.”
Afterwards, everyone is invited to Phog Lounge at 157 University Ave West for videos, discussion, and music.
Anyone with concerns about their health, the health of Windsor, or the health of the planet is encouraged to participate in this exciting public event.
.
For further information, please contact Randy Emerson at 519-817-2618, Pat Noonan at 519-256-1497 or Jim Brophy at 519-735-2944.