[SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism

[Lael S Gerhart]

Hello All,
I am finding this discussion very interesting.  I’m particularly
interested in the discussion around complexity/simplicity in educating the
public about sustainable food systems.  From a professional perspective
this is definitely a challenge.  At an outreach event, I’ll have maybe 3-4
minutes to talk to the “average person” – and by that I mean someone who
doesn’t want to stop and engage in a longer dialogue or someone who
doesn’t really know much about food systems  -  about the impact of their
food choices.  In this format I find I need to simplify issues to an
easily digestible overview or “sound byte” in order, at the least,  to
plant a seed for further consideration.  Of course I don’t want to insult
anyone’s intelligence by oversimplifying the extremely complex nature of
sustainability and food choices or to misdirect them to think that there
is a silver bullet “buy local and everything will be fine” or “buy organic
and everything will be fine”,  but I do want to draw peoples attention to
some basic ecological, social, and economic concepts that are associated
with food choices, especially around purchasing local.  I guess my main
focus is to try and get people, through this brief interaction, to begin
thinking about where there food comes from and how it was produced so that
perhaps they will decide to begin questioning and thinking about these
things on their own .
Cheers all for your thoughts and comments.
Lael

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> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. hybrid or vegetarianism (Allison L H Jack)
>    2. Re: hybrid or vegetarianism (Joel and Sarah Gagnon)
>    3. "Post Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook" (Elan Shapiro)
>    4. Re: hybrid or vegetarianism (Maiken Winter)
>    5. Re: hybrid or vegetarianism (Tony Del Plato)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:59:21 -0400
> From: Allison L H Jack <alh54 at cornell.edu>
> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism
> To: sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org
> Message-ID:
> 	<6.2.1.2.2.20070321104615.01d8a1e8 at postoffice8.mail.cornell.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> 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
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 12:50:11 -0500
> From: Joel and Sarah Gagnon <joel.and.sarah.gagnon at lightlink.com>
> Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism
> To: Sustainable Tompkins County listserv
> 	<sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org>
> Message-ID: <5.2.1.1.2.20070321123705.02364800 at pop.lightlink.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> Just a brief post to you all to say how much I have enjoyed this thread.
> It
> is gratifying and empowering to realize how much we are on the same page.
>
> I have a question which in the overall scheme of things is pretty minor,
> but which came to mind as I was reading Erica's first post. How much
> carbon
> can a pasture sequester, compared to a forest or to a cropped field? While
> I completely agree that much of the generally rolling land around here is
> best suited to pasture (or forest), rather than tillage, I was surprised
> to
> have Erica suggest that pastures are so much better than tillage. On the
> face of it, I would expect them to be more like lawns. Not much carbon
> stored there.
>
> Joel Gagnon
>
> At 11:59 AM 3/21/07 -0400, you 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
>>_______________________________________________
>>RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for:
>>SustainableTompkins at lists.mutualaid.org
>>http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins
>>free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 17:57:46 -0400
> From: Elan Shapiro <elansla at ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us>
> Subject: [SustainableTompkins] "Post Petroleum Survival Guide and
> 	Cookbook"
> To: sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org
> Message-ID: <p06240831c22759369f9f@[192.168.1.204]>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
>
>>Haven't seen this, just passing along the info.
>     Elan
>
>>
>>
>>THE POST PETROLEUM SURVIVAL GUIDE AND COOKBOOK:  RECIPES FOR CHANGING
>> TIMES
>>(New Society Publishers)
>>by Albert Bates, founder of the Ecovillage
>>Training Center at The Farm in Tennessee and the Global Village Institute
>>
>>Interviews and book reviews about Albert and his new book:
>>http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3927
>>http://newsoutherner.com/dog-eared_interview.htm
>>http://www.aliciabaylaurel.com/postpetroleumsurvivalguide
>>
>>Here's what others are saying about Albert's book:
>>
>>This book is like a Swiss army knife. Sharp. Simple. Very practical.
>>Extremely useful. Full of survival tools, which you may need in the next
>>five minutes or five years from now. -- Dr. Valentin Yemelin, climate
>>scientist at the United Nations Environment Programme/GRID-Arendal,
>> Norway.
>>
>>In the Post Petroleum Survival Guide and Cookbook, Albert Bates
>>demonstrates with great clarity and panache that if you love this
>>planet, you must change your life. -- Dr. Helen Caldicott, pediatrician
>>and author of If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth
>>
>>This really is the book we've been waiting for -- a practical,
>>optimistic guide to life beyond the peak -- to its ingenious,
>>resourceful and common-sense possibilities as well as to its inevitable
>>challenges.- Rob Hopkins, TransitionCulture.org
>>
>>With luck, we will never need to know how to throw together an expedient
>>fallout shelter, but this book tells us how, and what to stock it with.
>>These are indeed Recipes for Changing Times -- very tasty food for
>>thought! - John Pike, Director of GlobalSecurity.org, member of the US
>>Council on Foreign Relations.
>>
>>The Post Petroleum Survival Guide is exactly what we've needed - a
>>cheery, funny, and supremely useful book about the end of civilization -
>>that actually tells us what we can do about it and how to prepare.
>>Packed full of great resources and references, this is the guidebook I'd
>>want to have at my side.  - Starhawk, author of the Spiral Dance, The
>>Fifth Sacred Thing and The Earth Path
>>
>>-----------------------------------------
>
> --
>
>
> "Be the change we want to see in the world"
> 	          Mohandas Gandhi
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:41:18 -0400 (EDT)
> From: "Maiken Winter" <mw267 at cornell.edu>
> Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism
> To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv"
> 	<sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<50981.71.127.166.35.1174502478.squirrel at webmail.cornell.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
>
> It depends what kind of pasture you have. Native grasses for example have
> a huge root system. Native grasslands can therefore store more carbon than
> even some temperate forests.
> Maiken
>
>> Erica suggest that pastures are so much better than tillage. On the
>> face of it, I would expect them to be more like lawns. Not much carbon
>> stored there.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 19:32:21 -0400
> From: "Tony Del Plato" <tonydelplato at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] hybrid or vegetarianism
> To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv"
> 	<sustainabletompkins at lists.mutualaid.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<ab9bf9ac0703211632l2c714499y9ac4e65b67a1878f at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> 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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> --
> Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at
> play. - Heraclitus
>
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> End of SustainableTompkins Digest, Vol 16, Issue 14
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>


Lael Gerhart
Community Foods Educator
Buy Local! Taste the Difference
artisan cheeses, potatoes, meats
Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County
607-272-2292 lsg8 at cornell.edu