Food and Agriculture

Water Justice Movement Tackles Life After Privatization

December 17, 2013 Meera Karunananthan, www.rabble.ca Create! Food and Agriculture, Privatization

Among the strategies, being pursued by communities promoting public operation are public-public-partnerships (PuPs) -- the public sector's response to privatization under the guise of private-public partnerships (P3s). PuPs are designed to take advantage of the innovative, groundbreaking solutions existing within the public sector. Through PuPs water operators are able to train each other, share resources and public sector know-how on a not-for-profit basis. Marcela Olivera and Adriana Marquisio of the Plataforma de Acuerdos Publico-Communitarios de las Americas shared successful models for public-community partnerships being used in Bolivia and Uruguay to enable communities to cooperate and support each other in the management of water and sanitation services.

Couple Fights To Grow Vegetables In Front Yard

December 17, 2013 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org Resist! Food and Agriculture

Hermine Ricketts says she gardens for the food and for the peace it brings her. As she explained to NPR in a radio segment that aired Monday, Ricketts planted her vegetables in the front yard because it faces south—"that's where the sun is." But now, even though she gardens "for the food and for the peace it brings her," city officials told her she had to uproot the veggies and remove the garden. As Greg Allen reported for All Things Considered: There are lots of things planted in Ricketts' front yard: a pomegranate tree, a blueberry bush, papaya, strawberries, pineapples, flowers and green plants. But noticeably absent is anything considered by Miami Shores to be a vegetable. That's because earlier this year, after tending her garden for 17 years with nothing from the neighbors but compliments, Ricketts was ordered to dig up her veggies. She says she was surprised several months ago when a zoning inspector stopped by. "He told me I was not allowed to have vegetables in the front yard," she says.

Hawaii Protest Declares Anti-GMO ‘Tsunami’ Is Here

December 17, 2013 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! Food and Agriculture, GMOs, Hawaii

Braving heavy rains, roughly one thousand Hawaiians traveled to the town of Hale‘iwa on the North Shore of Oahu Sunday to take part in a march against Monsanto, adding their support to the growing "tsunami" against genetically modified (GM) crops. The Aloha Aina (or "Love of the Land") March, organized by a number of environmental and community groups, was called to celebrate some regional successes against the biotech industry and to raise awareness of the fight, calling on Hawaiian landowners to join the movement and "evict Monsanto." "For over 20 years, Hawaii has been the global center for the open-field testing of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)," writes the group Hawaii GMO Justice. Oahu's North Shore, more commonly recognized for its international surfing competitions, is also where biotech companies farm thousands of acres of crop land. World-renowned surfers Kelly Slater and John John Florence joined the Sunday protest along with notable actress and environmental activist Daryl Hannah.

Supermarkets With Organic Rooftop Gardens

December 14, 2013 Kevin Lee, www.inhabitat.com Create! Food and Agriculture

Whole Foods has announced that it will be opening its long-awaited Gowanus store on December 17th this year. In addition to putting the usual organic and artisan products on it shelves, the new location at 214 3rd Street will bring the local food trend to new heights with a 20,000 square foot rooftop farm right on top of the building. It doesn’t get more local than that! The rooftop farm was made possible thanks to a partnership with Gotham Greens, a Greenpoint-based rooftop farm. The two organizations are calling the endeavor the first commercial-scale greenhouse farm and say that it will help reduce the carbon emissions spent on transporting food from far away sources. The elevated greenhouse will grow high-quality, pesticide-free produce all year round to be sold at the bustling supermarket below. Other attractions at the grocery store will include a bar with 16 different types of beer on tap. The store will also have its own ramen shop headed up by ramen master Yuji Hariguchi for eat-in and take-out options. It opens a little too late for Thanksgiving, but people in the Gowanus area will have a tasty and green treat to look forward to just a month later.

In Orlando, Dozens Of Eco-Groups Join To Demand Water Protections

December 14, 2013 Kevin Spear, www.orlandosentinel.com Resist! Environment, Food and Agriculture

Nearly 50 environmental groups from Pensacola to Key West joined in Orlando on Thursday, putting on a pumped-up show of cooperation to denounce what they called state government's lax protections of springs, rivers, lakes and bays. "We are now unified as one," said Donna Lee Needham of Seminole Audubon Society, addressing a row of television cameras during the protest at the offices of state environmental regulators. A driving concern among participants is that most parts of the state have examples of badly degraded waters, but few Floridians understand that water pollution and water depletion are a statewide concern. Another current of frustration stems from many of the environmentalists' sense that Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers in recent years have pulled the rug from under state agencies, cutting their ability to enforce environmental protections. Members of the newly formed coalition signed a "Floridians' Clean Water Declaration," an agreement to work together to stop pollution at its source and provide clean water for future generations. The coalition will launch a series of protests across Florida in coming weeks and converge on Tallahassee to pressure state lawmakers to beef up regulations and restore support for agencies such as DEP.

Connecticut Becomes First State To Require Labeling Of GMO’s

December 13, 2013 Steven Yablonski, Susan Raff, Joseph Wenzel , www.wfsb.com Educate! Food and Agriculture, GMOs

Connecticut has become a pioneer in food labeling as it is the first state to pass legislation to make companies say if their productscontain genetically modified organisms or GMOs. GMOs are used to help plants be resistant to herbicides and pesticides, but it's done by taking DNA from a bacteria or a virus, which is inserted into the seed. GMOs are commonly found in corn, soy, canola and sugar. Gov. Dannel Malloy held a ceremonial bill signing in Fairfield on Wednesday to commemorate a bill that requires certain foods intended for humans to be clearly marked that it is entirely or partially genetically engineered. "People need to demand GMO labeling," Malloy said. "Some companies are doing this and we need to move in that direction."

The Shale Rebellion: How Appalachia Became a Battleground

December 12, 2013 Staff, www.billmoyers.com Resist! Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Fracking, Health Care

The region is “politically conservative, temperamentally reticent, and historically reliant on resource extraction.” Yeoman takes readers on an extended tour of the region, long mired in poverty, that is now surrendering its once-pristine environment in exchange for an economic boost from the extraction — through hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” — of natural gas believed to be valued at $500 billion. He introduces us to those who rely on the dollars pouring into their communities from big energy companies and to a group of unlikely activists who were dragged into a fight against overwhelming odds when they saw what these processes were doing to their communities, and in some instances, to their families’ health.

Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands Exposes Enbridge

December 12, 2013 MI Coalition Against Tar Sands, www.commondreams.org Educate! Corporatism, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Tar Sands

Scientists and residents are questioning how chemicals shockingly similar to those used in the BP Deepwater Horizon gulf oil spill, and Exxon Valdez tanker spill disasters, would end up in the Kalamazoo River from Marshall, Michigan to more than 40 miles downriver. In the aftermath of the 2010 Kalamazoo oil spill Enbridge was fined for each gallon of oil recovered. Chemical dispersant breaks up oil into unrecoverable particles. Both Enbridge and the EPA have denied that any dispersants were used. However, since August, samples collected from the Kalamazoo River have been analyzed and found to contain chemical signatures similar to Corexit 9527, Corexit 9727A, and Corexit 9500. Corexit 9527, 9727A, 9500 are rare and are ingredients in a group of chemical oil dispersants marketed as Corexit. Corexit was used in the BP oil spill and has had carcinogenic, respiratory, and hemorrhaging effects on residents, clean-up workers, and wildlife.

VIDEO: Protesters Demand Peoples Budget: “We Are Hungry”

December 12, 2013 Dennis Trainor, Jr., www.AcronymTV.wordpress.com Resist! Finance and the Economy, Food and Agriculture, Government, Human Rights, Poverty, Video

Only hours before Paul Ryan and Patty Murray announced that they reached a two year budget agreement (The BiPartisan Budget Act of 2013), representatives from a broad coalition demanding a budget that would cut military expenditures in order to increase funding for a wide range of domestic programs called on Congressional leaders to craft a budget for people, peace and the planet. Now, because this broad coalition included over a hundred peace, anti-hunger, anti-poverty, environmental and community groups it is almost universally ignored within the walls of Congress. That is one reason why part of that call came in the form of an unscheduled visit to the office of Paul Ryan and Patty Murray.

Rural NY Communities Use Fracking Waste To De-Ice Roads

December 9, 2013 Scott Martelle, www.truthdig.com Educate! Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Health Care

Several rural communities and counties in New York have received permission from state regulators—despite a state fracking moratorium and a warningfrom the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—to spread fracking waste brine on roads as a de-icer. Environmental group Riverkeeper, which focuses on the health of the Hudson River, warns that the liquid can move into watersheds, a concern that led nine other counties in the state to ban the practice. And remember, this is mystery juice. The natural gas industry, the frackheads who inject the fluid into subterranean shale formations to force out natural gas, has kept the chemical makeup of the fluid a closely held industrial secret. So no one outside the industry really knows what those local snow-and-ice crews are spraying on the roadways.

The Farmery: Grow Food & Buy Food At The Same Place

December 8, 2013 Maggie Rice, www.ecowatch.com Create! Food and Agriculture, Video

Meet Ben Greene. He’s a student turned entrepreneur from Raleigh, NC. His brain child, The Farmery, promises to bring a whole new way of life to urban locavores. “The Farmery is essentially a template to celebrate local foods,” Greene says. “There’s not really a grocery mall designed for urban communities. We make it available to different demographics.” The idea is relatively simple: bring vegetable production, harvest and distribution together in a single location, right in the middle of town. A modified farmer’s market, The Farmery eliminates the middle man and brings fresh-picked produce almost directly to the consumer’s doorstep. “The Farmery could be potentially much more financially successful (than other urban farms) and make its way into the mainstream of our economy,” claims Greene. “By growing and selling in the same place, you can get a much higher profit margin.” The Farmery is constructed primarily from repurposed shipping containers and greenhouse implements. Hanging from the outside of the containers, herbs, strawberries and greens are grown aquaponically. Aquaponics refers to the practice of raising fish in the water supply to provide nutrients and keep disease in check.

Busted: Bluffdale Mayor Lied About NSA Water Contract

December 8, 2013 Michael Boldin, www.offnow.org Resist! Food and Agriculture, NSA, Surveillance

But documents obtained by Connor Boyack of the Utah-based Libertas Institute, a policy think-tank supporting the effort to shut the water off, prove that Timothy is wrong. The contract expires. Mike Maharrey, national communications director for the Tenth Amendment Center, also noted that no one is actually asking Bluffdale to turn the water off. Instead, the coalition is working to require them to do it through state legislation. “The proposed Utah 4th Amendment Protection Act would ban any city or state agency from providing material resources, like water, to the NSA while it continues its warrantless mass-spying program. So that would take the decision over it out of the Mayor’s hands,” said Maharrey.

Humanity Wholly Unprepared For Abrupt Climate Impacts

December 8, 2013 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org Educate! Climate Change, Environment, Food and Agriculture

Hang on. Get Ready. Those are at least two of the takeaways from a new report released by scientists in the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday which says the sudden impacts of climate change this century and beyond are inevitable but warn that far too little has been done to prepare for them. "If you think about gradual change, you can see where the road is and where you're going. With abrupt changes and effects, the road suddenly drops out from under you." –Prof. Tony Barnosky The report, Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change, looks at the issue of abrupt changes in climate, weather patterns, and the impacts that can occur in a matter of years or decades, not the lengthier scenarios that climate scientists sometimes focus on.

Message From Idle No More – Upcoming December Actions

December 5, 2013 Staff, www.idlenomore.ca Resist! Climate Change, Corporatism, Energy, Environment, Food and Agriculture, Fracking, Indigenous Rights

As Idle No More organizers prepare for a Dec 8th #INM1yr Webinar and a Dec 10th action in Ottawa against the FNEA, Indigenous land defenders are standing strong from Elsipogtog, to Barriere Lake, to Lubicon Lake. Read and watch these powerful messages and updates from Land Defenders, and keep a look-out for the launch of an Idle No More CrowdFunding Campaign and a series of actions throughout December. Hear from 3 members of Elsipogtog First Nation and read about the efforts to protect Barriere Lake, the lockdown on Line #9, the blockade in the Lubicon Nation and more.

Action By Indian Social Movements Inside WTO Meeting In Bali

December 3, 2013 Indian Social Movements, www.climate-connections.org Resist! Corporatism, Food and Agriculture, WTO

However, the group cautioned the Indian negotiating team headed by Commerce Minister Mr. Anand Sharma, not to bow to any pressure to weaken India’s position on defending and upholding national food security as a sovereign right. The group declared that the safeguarding and promotion of the country’s food security, rural employment and livelihoods are non-negotiable, and that food security cannot be ensured without supporting agricultural production by small and marginal farmers. The group reminds the WTO members that no country needs to be on the defensive about protecting the right to food and fighting hunger in their countries. And that aggressively upholding the rights of its citizens is not tantamount to collapsing the ministerial talks. On the contrary, such pressure tactics must be exposed as a conspiracy to keep people hungry and poor.

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