Posts Tagged: organic

Farm Bill Time!

farm bill graphic It’s time to begin raising our voices about the kind of food and agriculture we want for our towns, states and country — a food system that is equitable and sustainable! One that ensures the right to food for all and supports the workers and farmers who feed us! With that goal in mind, we’ve… Read more »

How Not to Buy GMOs

apple with question mark painted on it93% of people in the U.S. want GMO labeling, but the industry has fought tooth and nail to avoid GMO labeling to happen locally or nationally. We will get there, but until then we must do our homework.

Fortunately, avoiding GMOs is very easy. Buy organic or buy from a farmer you know does not use GM seeds. These online resources make finding such food simple.

Local Harvest
www.localharvest.org
Local Harvest connects people looking for good food with the farmers who produce it.

Eat Wild
www.eatwild.org
More than 1,400 pasture-based farms, with more farms being added each week. It is the most comprehensive source for grass-fed meat and dairy products in the United States and Canada. Products include: Beef, Pork, Lamb, Veal, Goat, Elk, Venison, Yak, Chickens, Ducks, Rabbits, Turkeys, Eggs, Milk, Cheeses, Wild-Caught Salmon and more!

Green People
www.greenpeople.org
Find local health food stores, organic food, green products, solar power supplies, green landscaping, organic baby products, doulas, natural pet care, natural beauty products, health and wellness services, green lifestyle products.

Coop Directory Service
www.coopdirectory.org
Source of information about natural food co-ops.

Eat Well Guide
www.eatwellguide.org
Search for fresh, locally grown and sustainably produced food in the United States and Canada. The Guide’s thousands of listings include family farms, restaurants, farmers’ markets, grocery stores, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, U-pick orchards and more.

Green Polka Dot Box
www.greenpolkadotbox.com
Natural and organic, non-GMO foods at wholesale prices, and delivers them directly to your doorstep. Carries 100’s of your favorite brands, even fresh meat and dairy (if within 2 days of Utah via FedEx Ground).

More info available at nongmoproject.org and justlabelit.org

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Sojourn to India & Sri Lanka

I was blessed with an eight-week extended study leave spanning from January 19, when I pointed myself in the direction of India, until March 17, when I landed back in about-to-bloom Louisville. Part of the eight weeks in India and Sri Lanka was meeting Presbyterian Hunger Program Joining Hands partners and learning about their efforts to strengthen their food sovereignty.  Part was immersing myself in this ancient/modern, spiritual/material land to learn from the people how they navigate and stay healthy in a rapidly changing world, and to rejuvenate myself as I celebrate 16 years of service to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This page is designed to help you virtually travel with me. You will find my crazy route, photo galleries, videos and reports. All are found on this Interactive Map and they are also listed below. Click on this link or the map to open it in another window.

Interactive mapyoung woman in Fort Kochi

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When I Hear Word “Organic”…

When I hear the word “Organic”…

I picture myself in the grocery store. I feel frustrated at having to pick and choose which items are “worth” spending the extra money. I worry about the chemicals on my leafy greens and fruits.  The sentence that runs through my head is this: “Organic food is great, but it’s too expensive.” I think that the ‘O’ word deserves a little attention…

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Cooperatives rock!

In Nepal, people are reviving traditional farming. Producer cooperatives help farmers retain more profits on traditional and local food crops, while also protecting biodiversity and the health of their families. I was thinking how cooperatives are the wave of the future in farming, so plugged in that phrase and sure enough – Value-added cooperatives: Wave of the Future? was at the top of the list. Here in the United States, Organic Valley Cooperative is a example of a large, successful producer cooperative that continues to grow and diversity. Then of course, there is the worker-owned cooperative of Equal Exchange, our partner in the Presbyterian Coffee Project. Co-ops rock.

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Road Trippers meet with Louisville farmer

HEART visited Oxmoor Farm and learned about the farmer-owned Grasshoppers local food distributer in Louisville and the history of the farm. Then we weeded between the Brussel Sprouts and harvested garlic for putting in 400 CSA shares for distribution the…

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I’m an idiot

Each year! This would translate into 100s of new jobs. Based on other cities, Dan estimates about a 1,000 jobs would be created. If your town or city is anything like Louisville, you could use more good jobs, right? Deep thinkers might wonder if new jobs in your town would cause the loss of jobs somewhere else. Fortunately it doesn’t work like that. While a few jobs might be lost in various locations in the US or overseas, the reason why a small shift to local purchasing -10 cents on the dollar – creates so much new wealth and jobs is the power of local money circulation.

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Who started the local food revolution? Cuba or Jamie Oliver?

“The organic and urgan agriculture revolution that is under way there is nothing short of amazing, but what a lot of people don’t know is the amount of hardship Cubans have been through to get to where they are. Unlike with most people in the US and other wealthy countries, growing their own and doing it organically were not really choices for Cubans: they did it to survive. Or to put it more flippantly, when life gave the Cubans limes (mint and rum), they decided to make mojitos.”

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