The Basalt Public Library in Colorado is now lending out seeds to its members.  Library members borrow seeds using their library card.  They can then grow the plants, and return a portion of the seeds from their harvest!

As Andrew Warner points out in his article:  ”It is easy to forget that libraries are in some ways, very radical institutions. It’s true, you have to be quiet, but the idea that everyone should have access to as much information as possible is a beautiful and powerful concept. When one considers that seeds and the DNA they contain are one of the original information storage devices, it’s almost hard to understand why libraries haven’t always included seeds.”

Listent to last week’s interview of Eric Herm on WNYC’s “Leonard Lopate Show”

Dreamriver Press and the Organic Consumers Association
invite you to a presentation by Farmer-Author-Activist: Eric Herm

For the launch of his new book:

Surviving Ourselves: The Evolution of Community, Education, and Agriculture in the 21st Century

When: Thursday, December 6th, at 7:30pm
Where: The Brecht Forum, 451 West St, NYC

Eric Herm is a 4th generation farmer from W. Texas. In 2005 he turned his back to conventional farming and started transitioning the entire 6,000 acres family cotton farm to organic.

A strong supporter of the Non-GMO and Label-GMO movement, Eric spoke at rally outside the White House last year, and was a keynote speaker at the “Occupy Monsanto” rally in St. Louis in September

Eric firmly believes we need to rethink not only agriculture, but our methods of education, business, and ultimately our relationship with nature.

Eric Herm is also the author of Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth: A Path to Agriculture’s Higher Consciousness

Music at the event by Minetta Creek.

Tune in to  the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Wednesday, Dec. 5th, at 1:00pm., to listen to a live interview with the author.

Suggested donation at the door. None will be turned away for lack of funds.

What food labels can we trust? From the efforts to require the labeling of genetically modified foods (which is one of the issues being put on the ballot in California, in the elections in November), to the latest study of Stanford researches supporting organic foods are no more beneficial than conventional, consumers are to wonder what to believe – what is really beneficial for them? In her article, food writer Kristin Wartman examines these issues. Perhaps, as farmer-author Eric Herm points out in the article, we need to start taking into consideration the difference that exists between industrial (monocropping) large scale organic farming, and biodiverse organic farming.

For the full article go to: Organic Agriculture: Fifty (Plus) Shades of Gray

In his article Innovative Distribution Can Combat Food Deserts, Derek Singleton examines the impacts poor food distribution can have on a community.  Often times this creates food deserts, such as those found in certain Detroit neighborhoods, where residents do not have access to affordable healthy food, or supermarkets. Food deserts can often be found in low income urban neighborhoods throughout the U.S.

Finding a solution to combat food deserts is not always that simple. As Derek points out, “… food deserts are a multidimensional problem that requires multidimensional solutions. It’s important to keep in mind that these are just a few pieces to an incredibly complex puzzle.”   However, solutions can be found at the local level.  In the case of Detroit, grassroot community initiatives include (amongst others): Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Farmer’s Markets as well as Regional Food Hubs.

In the age of the Internet, new online-enabled storefronts could also play a significant role in the local food supply network.  Such online storefronts would only stock fresh produce according to Internet orders, and could be able to provide the ordered food within just a few hours from when the order was placed.

All the efforts made to bring fresh foods to food deserts need to coincide with a change in peoples’ choices for a healthy, nutritious, diet.  Education and creating a new awareness of the important benefits of healthy food is key to finding a lasting, sustainable solution to the problem of food deserts.

For more information read the complete article: Innovative Distribution Can Combat Food Deserts
 

Derek Singleton recently wrote a very interesting article on Food Distribution in the U.S. Following is a short excerpt. Clink on the link below to be directed to the complete article.

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According to a 2010 article in The New York Times, Americans consume 31 percent more processed foods than citizens of other nations. One reason for this is our food distribution networks. Our average food item travels roughly 5,000 miles before it’s consumed. Because of this, our foods are prepared and packaged to be shipped long distances.

Current trends suggest that the status quo of long-distance food distribution may be primed for disruption. Increased consumer demand for locally-grown organic foods, coupled with a renewed interest in living in urban cores and rising gas prices, collectively suggest that U.S. food distribution networks will soon need to evolve to support these and other shifting lifestyle and economic trends.

For a glimpse of what our future food distribution chain might look like, we need only look to where these trends have already advanced a few steps ahead of us: Europe.

To continue reading follow this link.

For more info visit: http://gmofilm.com/

The June issue of The Organic & Non-GMO Report features an interview with farmer-author Eric Herm. To read the interview visit: http://www.thenon-gmoreport.com/articles/june2011/generationsfarmerorganicnongmo.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrsDRpHCwU

Hunter Richards wrote an interesting article on how technology can benefit the organic farmer.  In it he describes structures such as the roller crimper, “a device dragged by a tractor,” or the hoop house.  Read more by visiting his article, http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/accounting/organic-farmers-can-they-be-tech-savvy-1022111/