Washblog || Community Conversation on Sustainable Farming, Peak Oil, and Local Markets

Community Conversation on Sustainable Farming, Peak Oil, and Local Markets

By noemie maxwell
Mon May 22, 2006 at 06:32:17 PM PST
Section: Washington State Topic: Environmental issues

Welcome! You have tuned into a conversation (beginning at 7PM tonight) based on:
Tomatoes in December
by Steven Garrett

This is the first event in the Back to the Roots program of Institute for Washington's Future in collaboration with Washblog, Evergreen Politics, and Pacific Views. Steven Garrett, the author, and a number of other community leaders and activists with backgrounds in agriculture, alternative energy, blogging/community organizing conservation, peace activism, and religion plan to join in . Please see the Conversations page for information on these participants and some suggested questions for discussion.

This conversation is open to all participants. If you are new to Washblog, please see our Guidelines and FAQ before participating. Many thanks to Steven Garrett and all our conversationalists. This conversation is an experiment in collaborative discovery. We are glad you are with us. Welcome!

To read "Tomatoes in December", just click on the "Full Story" link below. To join in the comments, once you have registered, click on the "Post a Comment" link at the bottom of the essay. To receive announcements for future events in this series, visit the Back to the Roots page.

TOMATOES IN DECEMBER
An essay by Steven Garrett
Steven Garrett has been doing nutrition, gardening and farming education as well as community development for over eighteen years in the Puget Sound. Currently, he is a PhD student in Geography at the University of Washington in Seattle.

December 17th. That must be the latest that we have ever eaten a tomato from our garden. We had to pick it green in early November, put it in a box in the basement, cover it with newspaper, and then be patient. But it is worth the effort since we will not eat a fresh tomato again until next July.

This ritual used to be practiced by nearly every American household but we have collectively lost the skill, the need, and the desire, since food is cheap and readily available year round. However, there are good reasons why a renewed reliance on locally and regionally grown food will need to be redeveloped by more than just us die-hard foodies.

Jim Hightower once observed ripe tomatoes falling out of a truck and bouncing on the highway in front of his car, which inspired his book, Hard Times, Hard Tomatoes. Tomatoes should have many qualities, but bouncing is not one of them. The modern, season-less tomato has been bred for two purposes, to ship well and to look good. Flavor is not a part of that equation, which is reason enough to leave them alone until summer.

However, there is another reason why buying jet-lagged tomatoes in the middle of winter is not such a hot idea. It takes more fossil fuel calories to grow and ship a tomato than we get from eating the tomato. According to Paul Roberts book, The End of Oil, the world's oil supply will peak soon, and many analysts agree that we have seen the last of cheap oil. Everyone needs to be concerned that there's nothing waiting to take oil's place in our economy and furthermore, there is little investment or apparent concern about this issue from the current president.

Shipping water, in the form of tomatoes, around the planet is not the only way that we expend fossil fuels in order to get those crunchy tomato-like facsimiles to your local grocery store. The nitrogen fertilizers and toxic pesticides used on the bouncing tomato are made from fossil fuels. Then there is the big machinery. Hightower wrote about that wonder of agricultural science, the tomato picker, developed by the University of California. These machines require that fields be leveled with bulldozers using lasers. Farmers without laser-levelable fields are out of luck, and of course so are the human pickers. In just two years after the release of this machine, 900 farmers and 9,000 farm workers lost their living. Your tax dollars at work.

All that machine leveling and picking takes fossil fuels, but so does maintaining the infrastructure used to transport produce everywhere. It takes fossil fuels to pave highways, ports and airport tarmacs. Besides the machinery needed to build these surfaces, the surfaces themselves are solidified oil. Now it is surely heresy in the Puget Sound to decry globalization and for some industries globalization makes some sense, like with technology (just send electrons) and airplanes (hey, that is what they do - fly around!), but for food it is short sighted to depend on global sources, because while we can make choices about buying and flying, we all need to eat.

In order for all Americans to have food security, first we need to rethink this term so that it does not just mean whether low-income people have access to food. Unless we rely mainly on local and regional sources of food, no one will be food secure in the very near future. It is also a matter of national security. If we need to secure oil sources in order to survive, then war might be the option we are compelled to choose. At every level of government we need to rethink food (and energy) policy immediately to make us less dependant on oil for our food.

Locally, we need to develop a Food Policy Councils to coordinate food policy and develop projects that bring together local resources, such as getting local farm products into schools, building community gardens on public land, buying the development rights of farms, creating a year round farmers' market, etc. Over thirty-six other cities, counties, and states have already developed food policy councils. We also need to realize that all goods things come in their own time - like tangy, juicy tomatoes. I can't wait for summer.

< Radical Right Illinois Group = Single Largest I-933 Contributor | Roz Jenkins on Outreach: What Would it Mean to get What We're Asking For? >

Community Conversation on Sustainable Farming, Peak Oil, and Local Markets | 142 comments (142 topical)

I am here

good evening, all

by Israelhand on Mon May 22, 2006 at 06:59:06 PM PST

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Good evening...

hello everyone.

by Rose Ehart on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:03:52 PM PST

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right place?

good evening, is this the conversation on ag & sustainability?

by Teena Hayden on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:04:29 PM PST

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yes by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:06:22 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Ag and sustainability by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:06:57 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Food systems

And we're off! I would first like to acknowledge and thank Noemie for putting this session together. She has done a wonderful job with this! (applause applause)

The stupidly inefficient infrastructure of our supermarkets and food systems will initially be the hardest part of the Peak Oil era. We are not prepared for the massive undertaking required to realign and localize our food production.

I hope we can all share and learn during this blog session. Let's get't on!

by JesseNelson on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:06:20 PM PST

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I plead guilty by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:09:25 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Structural issue -- Role of food policy councils by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:19:26 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Food Councils by tivana, 05/22/2006 07:53:06 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
being too busy may be a choice... by Cherisse, 05/22/2006 08:11:12 PM PST (none / 0)

and then there is the gym by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:26:38 PM PST (none / 0)

I think exercise is silly too! by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:30:39 PM PST (none / 0)

Losing the skill by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:22:59 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

the skills are easily recovered by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:28:01 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Suburbia by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:31:17 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

End of Suburbia by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:40:39 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

a few drops in the bucket, yes, but we shouldn't by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:49:56 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Where do you think we'll go, then? by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:34:00 PM PST (none / 0)

where willl we go? Here's where we're at: by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 09:34:47 PM PST (none / 0)

Community by nudger, 05/22/2006 09:47:06 PM PST (none / 0)

Yes! n/t by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 10:50:50 PM PST (none / 0)

I find the "New Urbanism" by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:41:05 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Hello from the North end of the Sound

Up here in Whatcom County we have all the pieces to relocalize our food production: Community Gardens, Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) Program, Bellingham Farmers Market, plus a long established Community Food Co-op and family farm advocates like Whatcom County Farm Friends. We even have an operating biogas plant in Whatcom County.

We also have a very vocal 'right-wing', 'anti-government', 'ultra-property rights', 'you-can't-tell-me-what-to-do' element, dedicated to resisting all good ideas. These perpetually angry individuals unwittingly serve as the "shock-troops" for local Real-Estate Development interests when issues of sustainability come before local government.

So locally, we have a perpetual struggle between citizens, who want to build a sustainable future, and "what's in it for me" individuals. Currently we citizens are winning more than we're losing. A Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory for Whatcom County is in the works. That may be our jumping off point for creating a food policy council.

by citizensteve on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:06:33 PM PST

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The angry "you can't tell me" crowd by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:33:22 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Relocalization captures more of the magic by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:52:42 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
relocalization vs. local enterprise by citizensteve, 05/22/2006 07:54:08 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Welcome

Yes, Teena it is.

by Rose Ehart on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:06:47 PM PST

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Thanks for this essay - it is thought provoking

Wherever I go I try to find what's local, it's not just a tourist thing it's a search for authenticity and variety and connection to the actual locale -- a community experience -- altogether absent in the experience of eating an "industrial strawberry" from a supermarket.

It is the distance from and lack of connection to the sources of what we eat and drink that cause relationships to develop and destructions to occur that would not occur if we were personally there to see it. Would you, for example, personally drop seven cents on the sweatshop seamstress and waltz out of the sweatshop with your new shirt? No, or not without a lot of thought and hesitation.

by Paul R Lehto on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:08:44 PM PST

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It is difficult by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:14:14 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

yes by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:17:27 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
I have an idea and approach for marketing local by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:19:02 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

A local food database by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:27:32 PM PST (5.00 / 2)

easily done by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:29:21 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

well, I'm going to do it (and more) SEE main pg by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:31:34 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

One thing I've done is to get on farm email lists by Cherisse, 05/22/2006 07:36:14 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Whistling Train Farm by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:44:20 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
great idea by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:09:23 PM PST (none / 0)

Thanks for the tip & ethical dimension by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:22:32 PM PST (none / 0)

ethics and food by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:33:07 PM PST (none / 0)

Bio fuel from Mustard by gibney, 05/22/2006 08:51:01 PM PST (none / 0)

another great idea - food councils? by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:14:16 PM PST (none / 0)

The importance of Place by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:28:55 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Sense of Place quite readily leads to ethics of by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:43:48 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Quote is attributed to Lyndon B. Johnson, fmr Pres by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:46:37 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Place, personal connection, ethics by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 07:49:00 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

One additional factor in the decline of place is by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:56:50 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

good website on place and bioregional orientation by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 08:14:01 PM PST (none / 0)
Compulsory Vote-by-Mail by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:18:29 PM PST (none / 0)
Diebold counting votes in King Co by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:40:40 PM PST (none / 0)

the central count optical scan systems for mail-in by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 09:28:01 PM PST (none / 0)

Polling places by panmittens, 05/23/2006 09:19:53 AM PST (none / 0)

Howdy, let's see what we can do?

I told Noemie that although I am part of several organizations, I speak on the internet as and for myself, that way, I can only blame or be blamed by me. :)

A bit about me. I work for WSU in IT. I'm a long time member of the Whitman County Democrats, currently statecomitteeperson. I grow a bit of garden out back near the railroad tracks and former coal pile. I garden using organic techniques, but the land probably isn't very pristine. I used to grow tomatoes and peppers and eggplant, but we can get them from the farmers market in Moscow, ID, 8 miles away.
I grow good broccoli, green beans and try for melons. The strawberries won't be prolific this year be cause I finally got around to transplanting them into a less weedy bed.
Speaking of petrochemicals, I do depend on plastic. Black plastic weed killer and barrier, it takes a year, but it works. Clear plastic because the growing season is never long enough. Buckets and I conserve water by using drip irrigation.

Well, this is a start, flame suit on :)

Oh, and I do drive too much, but my 14 year old Sentra hasn't quite reached 100K and still gets fair mileage.

Dave Gibney Pullman

by gibney on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:10:04 PM PST

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Gret to see a market on the palouse! by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 07:11:57 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

It's been here by gibney, 05/22/2006 08:29:18 PM PST (none / 0)

there are issues here by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:14:11 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

pots by panmittens, 05/22/2006 07:30:27 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

always an option by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:31:51 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Climate change

While this article is targeted toward peak oil, war, and to some degree the price of oil , I would also like to point out that all of the fossil fuels we use to run this global system of food production, distribution and procurement also contributes greatly toward global climate change. Interestingly enough, this is the issue that will likely move the City of Seattle to toward getting heavily involved in the newly emerging food policy council.

by Steven Garrett on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:13:13 PM PST

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Destruction at every nexus by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:23:25 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Tell us more about food councils by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:51:49 PM PST (none / 0)

Food Policy Councils by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 09:02:13 PM PST (none / 0)

Peak Oil what peak oil?

I know many people in the oil industry and they all claim there is more oil coming out of Alaska than ever. They are building refineries on the orth slope as fast as they can. This leads me to bleieve that the peak oil scare is a scam and it worrie sme that this scam has penetrated the liberal, peace movement so deeply.

7% of the oil produced in Alaska is sold in Asia and we the taqxpayers are beign asked to expand the oil empire in Alaska at our expense. How is this different than the Seattle taxpayers paying for new stadiums?

It is not for our own good it is to increase the need for oil in Asia.

With this said I LIKE PEAK OIL because it makes people wake up and adopt more quickly, sustainable energy measures.

Tivana

by tivana on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:16:36 PM PST

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unless you are willing to believe by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:20:32 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

glut of oil on the market by tivana, 05/22/2006 07:44:48 PM PST (none / 0)

Peak oil? by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:25:16 PM PST (none / 0)

More info by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:33:06 PM PST (none / 0)
Oil Charade by tivana, 05/22/2006 07:35:54 PM PST (none / 0)

Peak oil by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:44:39 PM PST (none / 0)
Partially True by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 07:52:33 PM PST (none / 0)

Oil reserves by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 08:04:30 PM PST (none / 0)

the US DOE claim on Venezuelan oil reserve by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:22:17 PM PST (none / 0)

Do you have the cite from DOE directly? by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:42:28 PM PST (none / 0)

DOA claims Venezuela has large crude oil reserve by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:04:54 PM PST (none / 0)

Crude oil by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 08:10:06 PM PST (none / 0)

how far will oil prices go? by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:37:16 PM PST (none / 0)

Yes! by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 08:40:52 PM PST (none / 0)

Another example of the ethics problems by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:47:27 PM PST (none / 0)

Returning to Reality

My dearest neighbors,

Steve Garrett is on point, but will we amuse ourselves with endless discussion and blogging or return to reality. I was harvesting lettuce for the second time this season in my very modest garden. Green lakes, red leaf, Boston lettuce, arrugala and spinach. My good friend Michael Tivana took home a bag, as well as my daughter and another good friend. And I still will have to eat a lot of salad this week, (my waste line will be happy)if none of it is to spoil.

I recall in my suburban New England neighborhood, yes we knew everyones name for a mile in each direction -- truly a neighborhood. A place where is was just ordinary for someone to stop by and ask it they could pick some collards or Kentucky Wonder green beans. We certainly can care for one another better than the goverment. Just several hours a weekend on a small plot can yield enough produce to feed several families. Yes, I am a bit nostalgic but returning to the reality of neighborliness and a minor investment of our time can go a long ways to relieving the angst of an oppresive petrol based economy. "Become the change you wish to see in the world." Start planting and invite some friends to join you. It is really so simple. Just do it. Peace & Success.

by ali salaam on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:31:18 PM PST

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Just begin planting by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 07:35:34 PM PST (none / 0)
can be done, and there's just a little more info by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 07:39:14 PM PST (none / 0)

Hi Paul by panmittens, 05/22/2006 08:05:07 PM PST (none / 0)

Yes. and canning too. There's a real sense of by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 08:07:10 PM PST (none / 0)

Back to energy and technology by gibney, 05/22/2006 08:42:33 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

yes...Yes...YES!!!! by Cherisse, 05/22/2006 09:31:34 PM PST (none / 0)

OK, but this logic would keep cattle stuck on feed by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 09:43:17 PM PST (none / 0)
But there are cheaper lunches by panmittens, 05/23/2006 09:37:45 AM PST (none / 0)

Ah, but there are tricks to farming! by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:00:15 PM PST (none / 0)

thanks for the links by tivana, 05/22/2006 08:48:25 PM PST (none / 0)

Slow food by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:58:27 PM PST (none / 0)

What we're doing

I too would like to give a disclaimer. Whatever I say tonight is solely my own opinions and not as a representative of any organization or group.
I believe there are many ways we can help our local farmers. For example, the Pierce Conservation District (which I am supervisor-elect to) collaborates with Pierce County aging and Long Term Care and local farmers during the summer months. The District puts its money where its mouth is to purchase a significant amount of food vouchers that can only be spent at the local farmers markets within Pierce County. These are distributed through a combination of the Pierce County aging and long-term care department and food banks to low-income senior citizens. For those who cannot get out to the farmers market, local farmers pack a box of assorted fresh produce equivalent to the value of the voucher and these baskets are delivered to the needy. This is a much-needed shot in the arm for farmers and it certainly helps to meet the needs of the poor. I am proud to be a part of a governmental body that is making a huge difference in this area. I would be interested in learning about other practices or ideas that are out there.

by Rose Ehart on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:47:42 PM PST

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Senior farmers market coupons by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:59:15 PM PST (none / 0)

I voted for her too :) by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 08:03:04 PM PST (none / 0)
But, not if we become our own source... by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 08:11:57 PM PST (none / 0)

I love what the local and county by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:09:20 PM PST (none / 0)

I couldn't agree with you more by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 08:19:22 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

protecting farm land

I'm a member of the King County Agricultural Commission. We have been working to protect farmland in King County for over 20 years. Prime agricultural land is important to the future of local farmers. What kinds of conservation efforts are you seeing around farm land protections? How are folks balancing salmon habitat and farmland conservation?

by rob4ag on Mon May 22, 2006 at 08:06:43 PM PST

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Interested in this, but I don't have a lot of info by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 08:17:51 PM PST (none / 0)
FPP are one tool we have to protect farmland by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 08:28:17 PM PST (none / 0)
Whatcom County farmland protection by citizensteve, 05/22/2006 08:38:27 PM PST (none / 0)

Big Issue by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 08:43:33 PM PST (none / 0)

In our neck of the woods... by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 08:42:45 PM PST (none / 0)

Flood Managment Key by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 08:51:08 PM PST (none / 0)

Sigh... by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 08:59:26 PM PST (none / 0)

Yes by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 09:04:09 PM PST (none / 0)

A tight rope act, but a balance can be found... by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 08:54:55 PM PST (none / 0)

100% Right Rose by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 09:02:10 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Conservation & Ag districts by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 09:16:36 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Yay, others are still online...2 answer you Noemie by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 09:30:49 PM PST (none / 0)

Cooperation by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 09:48:52 PM PST (none / 0)

You're welcome by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 09:55:09 PM PST (none / 0)

Transportation

We can talk a long time about growing food out back in the garden, and even local farmers, but that isn't what this society is going to do, unless there is some real "depression" class hardship.
We need to also focus on more efficient and sustainable ways for get the food from where it really will be growing to the people in the cities to eat it. We've sacrificed our rail and to a lesser extent our water transportation for the sake of individual transport and semi-trucks.
How would you folks like an organic grown melon from the Yakima valley or maybe Royal City that was picked in the morning for afternoon lunch. Fast electric rail powered by the wind and hydro, up I-82 and down I-90.
Instead of building another runway at Seatac, check out Moses Lake International airport. You could land to Boeing jets in parallel if it was legal. Fast rail could get people to downtown Seetle in less that a couple of hours.
Like it or not, we are unlikely to return to a local agrarian culture, and technology is not all bad.

Dave Gibney Pullman

by gibney on Mon May 22, 2006 at 08:18:35 PM PST

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Yup by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 08:26:46 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Technology's got to be a big part of the answer by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 09:27:36 PM PST (none / 0)

What's the impact of growing your own food...

One think I've always wondered is what would happen economically and environmentally if, let's say, half of the US homeowners started growing fruits and vegetables in their own home gardens and not purchasing them.

Would many farms would be put out of business? If so, how many?
What changes good/bad would happen to the environment? Is there a downside of growing your own food?

by Cherisse on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:14:21 PM PST

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what a great question! by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:16:23 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Well, time for one thing, damn it by gibney, 05/22/2006 07:18:57 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
Growing your own food by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:19:38 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

time by Israelhand, 05/22/2006 07:26:56 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Hands in dirt by gibney, 05/22/2006 07:37:17 PM PST (5.00 / 1)
time--yes, but are there other issues? by Cherisse, 05/22/2006 07:42:39 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

You must be more efficient by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 08:27:23 PM PST (none / 0)

Maybe it's about choices... by Cherisse, 05/22/2006 08:51:51 PM PST (none / 0)

Choosing to Garden by panmittens, 05/22/2006 07:44:30 PM PST (5.00 / 2)

Local food councils

Tell me more. Is this concept or reality?

Are there food councils in existence?

What is there mission?

I ask people that think our life-styles will crash because of the rising cost of oil - what will take the place of convenient food?

How are the hungry going to be fed after peak oil and how are they being fed today?

by tivana on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:25:45 PM PST

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Food Policy Councils by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:36:36 PM PST (none / 0)

well articulated by Teena Hayden, 05/22/2006 07:40:34 PM PST (none / 0)

Food Policy Councils by Steven Garrett, 05/22/2006 07:51:01 PM PST (none / 0)

Will this be WA's only food policy council? by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 09:20:39 PM PST (none / 0)

Getting the word on local food and products FAST

Let's face a friendly fact. The market for locally produced goods and services, particularly if they are progressive in nature is enormous. Just ask yourself how much of your spending is local right now and how much more of it COULD BE if you had all the information you needed and not too much more cost or inconvenience. For me, it would go from 20% of current spending at most up to 75% (there is no limit really other than availability and not too much of a cost premium).

I've an idea for getting the information out in a way that is fast and works. It's a somewhat like a yellow pages except that it teaches how to find everything but will place the local and progressive options at the top. Used as a regular convenience item provided the database is grown large, it consistently will give people the information they need at exactly the moment they are looking for it (Because they want to buy). I call it PERSONALBUYER. Not greenbuyer or what have you, but personalbuyer because it is a convenience item that's powerful. We don't charge local producers to be in it because that's what's killing them now: great ideas die for lack of a large enough marketing budget.

Primarily it involves just data collection on all local producers and then connecting up producers and consumers (yucky terms) via the website. It aims to solve primarily "problems of information" -- the idea that I'd like to buy local but limited information and the "convenience" of the supermarket prevent me. This "convenience" is really just the "information" I have in my head that I can get a facsimile of a tomato there. If other opportunities exist, I don't know of them, necessarily. If there was one website where I could always go, then I think it would really help maximize local markets. The rankings plus the information itself will really help maximize local production.

There's a lot more detail to my proposal and so forth, but it wouldn't cost a lot of money if we had a lot of data-entry volunteers. Most likely you can choose an area you are excited about to build a database on, so it can be interesting for all. Let me know if anyone's interested by emailing me at lehtolawyer@hotmail.com Thanks.

by Paul R Lehto on Mon May 22, 2006 at 07:30:05 PM PST

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Different from a "green directory" by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 09:24:25 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Yes, it's kind of an everything page -- even lists by Paul R Lehto, 05/22/2006 09:31:31 PM PST (none / 0)

A Self Sufficient Life

I have to say, the greatest book I have bought in a while has been John Seymour's, The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It.

From planning an urban garden to sheering sheep to tapping a spring for running water, this book includes descriptions and pictures to make your life self sufficient. It truly is easy to lessen one's impact.

The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live it

by JesseNelson on Mon May 22, 2006 at 08:59:36 PM PST

* 113 none 0 *

Wow by rob4ag, 05/22/2006 09:05:48 PM PST (none / 0)
Two Acre Eden is much older by gibney, 05/22/2006 09:06:34 PM PST (none / 0)

new version by JesseNelson, 05/22/2006 09:27:04 PM PST (none / 0)

Massive Changes Quickly

I appreciate that folks are thinking about the specifics of local food production and distribution and about using less oil. I get concerned about how we help people make it through change at a relatively rapid pace. I believe that we are 80 years into about 100 years of oil and gas availability on this planet, 100 years that has allowed us, mostly Europe and the US, to thrive. I suspect we will wind down fairly quickly and the changes in how we live and our economy and the quality of our environment will be massive.

So, how as a society do we prepare ourselves? How do we prevent or at least minimize conflict for the remaining resources? Both internally within our society and externally with other countries?

In some ways I suspect that history will judge that the war with Iraq was the beginning of this resource fight.

by nudger on Mon May 22, 2006 at 09:31:51 PM PST

* 128 none 0 *

You raise some good questions... by Rose Ehart, 05/22/2006 10:02:02 PM PST (none / 0)

Good night! Thanks for joining us, Rose by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 10:06:24 PM PST (none / 0)

What are your main ideas? by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 10:09:58 PM PST (none / 0)

Lobbying Local Governments with a Coherent Plan by nudger, 05/22/2006 10:21:37 PM PST (5.00 / 1)

Citizen Steve & Whatcom by noemie maxwell, 05/22/2006 10:38:49 PM PST (none / 0)

What Emmett Said by nudger, 05/23/2006 05:00:35 PM PST (none / 0)

Community Conversation on Sustainable Farming, Peak Oil, and Local Markets | 142 comments (142 topical)

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