Catching up on the news...
Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 08:11AM Three articles caught my eye in recent days, and I'd thought I'd share them:
1. Alabama Farmers Look for a Highway Sign
This article, from the blog Slashfood, talks about how the Alabama Agri-tourism Association will be meeting soon with the Department of Transportation to craft some highway signage to lure drivers to farms and other agricultural attractions off the beaten path. This may strike you, reader of blogs, as a bit of an antiquated means of communication. I mean, to be rubbing shoulders with the giants of interstate communicado, like my favorite one, shown here on I-65 near Montgomery, is a bit, well, 20th century. What about the interweb, the FaceSpace, and the Tweetin' and what not? I suppose that signage can be one part of the equation, but it seems awfully short sighted to end there. Fortunately the article does mention that the signs will work hand in hand with a website designed to draw tourists into the heart of Alabama's agricultural country, but this story underscores some of the problems of agricultural marketing in Alabama. Much of our farming community is off-line, so to speak, because they live in areas without broadband internet, or they would really rather be farming than updating their status on Facebook. That's not a problem, per se, but in states that have a strong local food economy, the internet is a central component. When we first began what I've come to call our "curious gastronomical experiment," we were really limited in our knowledge of where to get food, and, like good city slickers, we turned to the internet. Our first forays into local eating were guided almost exclusively by folks who had an internet presence. Now that we know tons of farmers and have phone numbers to farms all over Tuscaloosa County, we're eating from the gardens of folks who don't have websites, who don't understand or don't care about the advantages of having one, and who wouldn't really know where to start if they wanted to build one. Maybe that's a proactive way the state Agriculture Department could get involved with getting folks out into the heart of Alabama - offer some resources to farmers that will help them understand the benefits of an online presence, and give some training and grants to help make it happen. I would point to this idea, which started in Athens, Georgia (and is similar to one used in north Alabama) and the great success of Local Harvest as a few places to start.
This op-ed from the New York Times does a great job of suggesting what's right about eating meat not grown on factory farms. There's been a lot of talk lately about how greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture is a great contributor to global warming. But in this piece, the author (who is also a farmer, and maybe an Agri-Intellectual to boot!) suggests that those facts and figures are based on the hopelessly broken factory farming system. If you find your meat outside this system, you could be doing the planet a favor! This is good news for Rashmi and I, who just last week purchased 1/4 of a cow from a friend in Gordo. Old Bessie (or whatever her name was...) grazed the fields of Pickens county all her life, and it turns out that's not only good for the flavor of the meat, the health of our local economy, and the well being of our neighbors (who all benefit when we spend money locally), but also to the health of the planet. I couldn't agree more with the following:
Foods that are minimally processed, in season and locally grown, like those available at farmers’ markets and backyard gardens, are generally the most climate-friendly.
3. Michelle Obama's Crusade
Yes, it's true. We're fans of the First Lady. She's gone to extraordinary lengths to promote healthy eating to the nation's schoolchildren, and she's been instrumental in making the White House garden a visible and growing part of her mission to promote good, healthy food. The latest on this crusade is the guest spot she'll take on the season premier of "Iron Chef" in January - an episode that uses freshly harvested vegetables from the White House garden as the "secret ingredient." The article goes on to talk about her food activist work and the celebrity chefs' visit to the garden. It's an interesting read, and we hope she keeps up the good work!
Reader Comments (2)
I'm a huge fan of the first lady myself. Great blog! I was curious to know if you all have any advice for a fellow Tuscaloosan who is looking to begin a locavore diet.
First and foremost, visit the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market under the Lurleen Wallace bridge. They're open Tuesday and Saturday morning for at least a few more weeks - although there's talk that they'll be open through the winter just on Saturdays. Go there, buy from them, and encourage them to keep the market open through the winter! There'll be lots of greens, broccoli, and winter squash this time of year. And join our mailing list, too - we'll keep you posted on events, etc.