[SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism

[Tony Del Plato]

Allison:
Thanks for your thoughts. First of all, I nor any other food advocate I know
of, don't ask anyone to simply "trust me" on the food issues that I consider
important enough to organize around. Providing information at any
opportunity is always the best way to help people develop a better
understanding of what's at stake. Is the information "too complex?" I don't
think so. But there is a lot of info on a wide  variety of food technologies
and processes, and many folks simply get to an overload at some point. Like
food itself, information needs to be digested and processed into some kind
of sense so that people can better understand it as well as make better food
choices.
Regarding Cornell: I agree that generalizations are sometimes inaccurate and
unfair. But after living in Ithaca for more than 32 years, I have observed
CU from inside and out and despite the number of good people doing the
research and instruction at this esteemed university, CU Inc is more a part
of the problem than the solution in dealing with the ecological crisis we
face. It's nice that CU's Ag & Life Sciences Dept has put some money in
doing r & d in sustainable ag & other systems. Of course it's unfortunate
that these issues have been raised for at least 2 decades and CU has only
just recently jumped on board. But hey, they're getting there though I'm
skeptical of corporate greening mucking up the works. I know a number of
people at CU who have struggled with many issues but the bottom line: lots
of money going into biotech and not sustainable ag. Whole buildings and lots
of r&d $$ going into genetic engineering and modification, and I don't mean
the hybridization that is sometimes called "genetic modification."

The problem with CU is that the institution, despite the many good programs
and people, is a corporate entity with the same agenda as
corporate/industrial agriculture. You can do a little research and see the
reach and interconnections between the corporate money not only funding
"transgenic tech" but hormones (rBGH/BST which is going down the tubes,
despite Monsanto's attempts to continue selling it) and the myriad
local/global development schemes that tend to rollover local and smaller
institutions and communities. We in Ithaca live in a plantation economy,
with the Big Red on the hill calling the shots.

USDA is a political agency and as such, is affected by the prevailing
political winds. The revolving door between industry and the regulatory
agencies is just one part of the corruption that exists in DC. Sorry to
state the obvious which you probably know, but I suggest you take off the
rose colored glasses. I know that there are many career people who are
trying to do a good job in difficult circumstances (lack of funding &
staffing, not to mention the altering of scientific research to fit the
"Bush Agenda"), and many people have left the agency because of how corrupt
it is.

Enough for now. If, in the interest of sparing this list of a long winded
discusion, you want to have a dialog on these issues, I'd be glad to sit
down with a cup of tea and toss it around.
best
Tony

On 3/21/07, Allison L H Jack <alh54 at cornell.edu> wrote:
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> Just wanted to weigh in on the interesting ongoing discussion about carbon
> emissions and industrial livestock production.
>
> Methane and cows:
> I think the fact that globally livestock production produces more carbon
> emissions than transportation is important for everyone to know. One point
> I would add to the article is that much of the methane produced by CAFO
> agriculture is due to poor manure storage and handling. When manure sits
> in
> lagoons it anaerobically breaks down, sending even more methane into the
> atmosphere. While I personally don't eat products from CAFOs, I am working
> professionally to find ways to minimize carbon emissions through
> composting
> and other manure processing technologies. Many dairies have chosen to
> harness the methane produced in their manure lagoons by installing
> anaerobic digesters, and then converting that methane into electricity. In
> fact one of the first digesters in America was built in a dairy just a few
> miles outside of Ithaca. As for the stinky issue (which is a really
> important one) I've eaten lunch inside a vermicomposting facility with
> literally tons of manure right next to me and it didn't smell at all. It's
> a complex situation and there are lots of people working different angles
> for solutions.
>
> I believe that encouraging all citizens (no matter where they are on the
> environmental awareness scale) to educate themselves about the complexity
> of these issues and make their own decisions based on their evolving
> understanding of the issues is much more important than putting out
> simplistic sound bites. I found the comment at the end of the article
> about
> becoming vegetarian instead of buying a hybrid car frankly insulting.
> Insulting to my intelligence as someone who has spent my whole life
> critically evaluating the environmental impact of my consumer choices, but
> also insulting to the intelligence of someone who is just now learning and
> thinking about these issues. Yes, hybrid cars are out of my price range
> too. But my personal choice is to not stop eating meat, but not to own a
> car (we're hoping to join Ithaca Car Share when they start in May), to
> walk
> and commute with TCAT, to grow my own vegetables, to have a winter CSA
> share etc. etc. Is buying a kiwi fruit flown on a jet from New Zealand
> really contributing less carbon to the atmosphere than buying a pasture
> raised organic pork roast from the county I live in? With a simplistic
> sound bite we're risking this kind of disconnect.
>
> These issues are so incredibly complex, as I'm sure everyone on this list
> understands. But when we, as food systems advocates, put out too
> simplistic
> a message we risk sounding like the food pyramid folks. 1980 "OK trust us,
> don't think for yourself, margarine is good for you" 2005 "OK, nevermind,
> trans fats in margarine are bad for you." How different is that than 1990
> "Buy anything organic and your conscience is clear" 2005 "Well, actually
> organic products are becoming more and more processed and coming from
> farther and farther away, so actually buying local might be a more
> sustainable choice". Would we be in this situation now if there had been
> more holistic consumer education throughout the rise of organics? If US
> consumers (citizens) had learned from the very beginning that sustainable
> food choices involve a mixture of important things from prioritizing
> sustainable production systems to minimizing processing, packaging and
> shipping. Then people could have been making their own choices all along
> instead of waiting for someone to tell them what the "right" choice is.
>
> My life has been incredibly enriched by my husband's and my ongoing effort
> to educate ourselves about sustainability and act on what we have learned.
> I believe we should respect the intelligence of every American and help
> them educate themselves on this issues. I remember being incredibly
> confused by the labeling in the produce department at People's Food Co-op
> where I volunteered every weekend. I kid you not there were 15 different
> types of tags. Certified organic, non certified organic, local family
> farm,
> biodynamic, in state, out of state, it was aggravating! But through being
> confronted daily with the complexity of the issue I feel like I learned
> and
> grew a lot from the experience. If we can't trust the American public to
> make informed consumer choices, how can we trust them to vote given the
> complexity of the current political situation? Education is the key.
>
> Big Bad Cornell and USDA:
>
> I'm well aware of the role both Cornell and the USDA have historically
> played in developing some of the practices that are now being criticized
> in
> industrial agriculture. But, by making generalizations like "Cornell and
> the USDA only support industrial farms" is again falling into that black
> and white thinking. While it's convenient to dismiss whole institutions on
> the basis of generalizations, understanding the complexity of the issue
> and
> taking time to advocate for your position is what a democracy is all
> about.
> The USDA spends your tax dollars, as citizens it is your agency too. Yes,
> big ag business has a huge lobby. But a tiny group of concerned citizens
> and farmers in Santa Cruz California (The Organic Farming Research
> Foundation) was instrumental in successfully lobbying congress to make
> USDA
> research funds available for organic production systems. One year there
> was
> no program, now two years later there is $14 M for organic research. We do
> ourselves a disservice when we succumb to feeling powerless in our own
> democracy. The USDA funds SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and
> Education www.sare.org), AFIC (Alternative Farming Information Center
> www.nal.usda.gov/afsic) and ATTRA (Appropriate Technology Transfer to
> Rural
> Areas http://ncat.attra.org). ATTRA's federal funding is on the chopping
> block...The press release from the National Campaign for Sustainable
> Agriculture: http://www.sustainableagriculture.net/ATTRAfunding.php. As
> seemingly messed up as our government may be, congressional
> representatives
> still listen to their constituents and this is something one phone call
> can
> help with. The USDA funded NEON, the Northeast Organic Network, a program
> of the Cornell Small Farms Program www.neon.cornell.edu. Also, on the
> three
> sisters farming system, one of the international leading experts on this
> system, Jane Mt. Pleasant is a professor in the Department of Horticulture
> and the director of the American Indian Program at Cornell. Cornell is the
> land grant institution for NY state. That means everyone has a say. Again,
> I'm not saying that the system is perfect and all voices are equally
> considered. But looking at other states, like Iowa, grassroots groups of
> farmers and citizens have been able to successfully get the ear of the
> land
> grant institution and help them do more work that meets the needs of
> smaller scale stakeholders. http://www.practicalfarmers.org/. Pock shots
> are easy, but don't get us anywhere. Organizing and participating is hard
> work, but might have a better pay off in the long term.
>
> Wow, long message...you can tell I'm procrastinating :-). I look forward
> to
> following this ongoing discussion.
>
> -Allison
>
>
> **************************************************************************************
> Allison L H Jack
> Graduate Student
> Department of Plant Pathology
> Cornell University
> 335 Plant Science
> Ithaca, NY 14850
> 607.273.5762
>
> *************************************************************************************
>
>
> "...Advancing a productive and sustainable agriculture"
> from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences mission statement
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