Orange Fruits

Farmers Markets Return

2005-05-11T06:52:00.000-05:00

Next week marks the return of the farmers markets to Chicago and, as promised, I am highlighting those markets in the downtown area.
Today’s Chicago Tribune features the markets in the centerfold of the Good Eating section. But if you miss that section you can go to the City of Chicago’s Web site for a complete listing.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the markets near you:
Tuesdays: Federal Plaza, Adams and Dearborn streets, 7a.m. – 3p.m.
Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., 10a.m. – 6p.m. (On Tuesdays admission to the museum is free. You can visit the museum after work or during your lunch hour and then do your shopping on your way back.)
Wednesdays: Lincoln Park, north of the parking lot at Clark and LaSalle, 7a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (This is Chicago’s Green City Market, the only all-organic market in the city that promotes organic farming and sustainable agriculture.)
Thursdays: Daley Plaza, Washington and Dearborn streets, 7 a.m. 3 p.m.
Saturdays: Lincoln Park, Lincoln Park High School parking lot, 7a.m. – 1p.m.
Green City Market, again, same location and time as Wednesday. (They sell organic meat here, as well.)

Many of the same farmers sell at some or all of these markets, enabling them to sell to a greater cross-section of consumers. This also gives us an opportunity to buy from them at one or another of the markets. If you miss one day, you’ll find them at another.

The markets will continue through October; the frequency of these markets allows you to buy fresh produce twice a week and fill your larder without having to set foot in the grocery store except to buy paper products (or junk food).

I suggest shopping early in the day. The Chicago sun, especially in the summer, can wilt the vegetables if they sit too long without refrigeration. Remember, this produce is picked the same morning, when it is fully ripe.
In future columns, I will visit the markets and report on what is available. I hope to include more farmer’s stories and recipes for cooking simple dishes.

My Farmers Market in San Francisco

Please write to me if you have any questions about the food, the markets or the farmers.
Stay healthy!

Organic Valley

2005-05-06T07:33:00.000-05:00

Did you ever read the back of the cereal box when you were a kid?
Well, this morning I was reading the back of my organic milk carton and learned more about the folks at Organic Valley Farms. This co-operative represents hundreds of family farms across the United States and is extremely active in promoting partnerships between farmers and consumers.
You can join Farm Friends, an on-line community that supports family farms, and receive free coupons.
By taking Anna's farm tour, you can learn how to milk a cow.
The Organic Valley Web site features recipes from the women who farm the land, who carefully explain the benefits to your children from drinking organic milk and eating orgainc foods.

There is a link to a women's advocacy groupcalled M.O.O. (Mothers of Organic)that gives tips on when and what to plant in the garden and healthy meals to make for your family.
This summer, as you savor the fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products that come from the farms on the outskirts of Chicago, I urge you to connect to the land by supporting our farmers.

Farmer Redux - Fundraising Event for Growing Home Farm

2005-05-03T13:13:00.000-05:00

The annual fundraising event for Growing Home, the organic farm outside of Chicago that provides job training for homeless and low-income men and women, is being held tonight at the Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave. One of the featured guests at tonight’s event will be journalist Harry Porterfield of ABC Channel 7.

Growing Home Farm is a social enterprise; "a certified organic agricultural business that produces and sells fresh produce at farmers markets and to restaurants throughout the Chicago area."

Look for more information on Growing Home in future postings on its history and commitment to educating low-income men and women by providing agricultural training and organizational responsibilities.

Disposal of Toxic Grape Stakes Funded

2005-05-02T12:42:00.000-05:00

The federal government has stepped in and promised $450,000 to aid San Joaquin Valley farmers in properly disposing of tons of grape stakes treated with a toxic chemical, chromated copper arsenate. The chemical is used to treat the wooden stakes to prevent rotting from contact with soil and insects. According to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, there are at least 16.6 million treated stakes piled on farmland acreage in the Valley.

In recent years, farmers have suffered huge losses in the table grape and raisin industry with stiff competition from foreign growers. As urban sprawl has taken over Fresno County, farmers have pulled out their crops and sold the land to developers.

The EPA has not allowed farmers to burn the treated stakes because the smoke would release chemicals into the air that are highly toxic and leave a residue of ash. Health officials say the arsenate is associated with cancer and can attack the liver and kidneys.

The stakes will be transported to properly permitted landfills in Manteca and Tranquility and may take several years to complete the process. First priority will be given to those stakes that were pulled in 2000. More money will have to come from the government before all the stakes can safely be removed.

That's the trouble with chemicals - they just don't go away.

Daylight Savings: Bad for the Farmer – Good for the Golfer

2005-05-01T11:40:00.000-05:00

Congress is meddling again with daylight-saving time and this does not bode well for the farmer. On Wednesday the House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a proposal sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., that would add two more months of daylight-saving time. If adopted as part of the energy bill, the country would “spring forward” in March and “fall back” in November.

Supporters of the bill claim that the effect would not only reduce energy consumption but also lower crime, reduce traffic accidents and promote more economic activity. But there is little evidence to support these claims. Michael Downing, author of a new book, Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, say that the energy claim is “overblown.” “It appears to save a little bit of electricity. And in April or October, it saves some home heating fuel in the Northeast,” he says. People may not turn on their lights as early in the evening, but they woul turn them on in the morning for a longer period of time.

Those who would be most effected by the change are farmers, schoolchildren and American workers who begin their workday at 8 a.m. of earlier. For farmers, especially dairy farmers, four or five hours of their workday would be in darkness. Dairy cows have no regard for the clock; farmers would be getting up to milk at 2 a.m. Schoolchildren and workers would be waiting for transportation in more many more weeks of darkness than they currently do.

Indiana State Rep. F. Dale Grubb has the right idea: “Why on earth don’t [they] worry about things like the federal deficit or Social Security?” Indiana is the maverick state that is split in the middle by two time zones and is in a never-ending debate about daylight-saving time.

So who supports adding more months of daylight-saving time? According to author Downing, the biggest lobbyists represent the barbeque makers and the golf courses!

Another Farm Expo

2005-04-30T06:34:00.000-05:00

Organic cottonfield, ready for harvest

Beginning Sunday, another organic farm exposition will be held at McCormick Place through May 3. Billed as North America’s only all-organic event, the All Things Organic Conference and Trade Show will feature over 400 booths of organic products, educational seminars and special events. Many of the farmers and vendors mentioned in this blog will be exhibiting.

The keynote address of this four-day event will be given by Nina Rothschild Utne, CEO and chair of Utne magazine. The keynote speaker will be documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who recently won an Oscar for his film, Super Size Me. Both speakers have been advocates of organic foods and supporters of local farmers. Utne magazine has spoken out against genetically altered foods for some time.

The Return of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker

2005-04-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

For birders like me, this week’s announcement of a confirmed sighting in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas of the ivory-billed woodpecker, thought to be extinct for more than 60 years, was good news. It was good news not only for this rare woodpecker but also for the rest of us to see it is possible to reverse humankind’s destruction of the land and witness a positive outcome.

The ivory-billed woodpecker, campephilus principalis Linnaeus, is known as the Lord God bird because that was what people said when they saw it. With its bright white bill, crimson crest and distinctive black and white plumage, this 20-inch bird with a 30-inch wingspan must be a sight to see.

It is hard to believe that its habitat, the mature, swampy, riverine forests of the southeastern United States would have any appeal to developers. James Audubon, writing over 150 years ago, described the region this way:

Would that I could describe the extent of those deep morasses, overshadowed by millions of gigantic dark cypresses, spreading their sturdy moss-covered branches, as if to admonish intruding man to pause and reflect on the many difficulties which he must encounter, should he persist in venturing farther into their almost inaccessible recesses, extending for miles before him, where he should be interrupted by huge projecting branches, here and there the massive trunk of a fallen and decaying tree, and thousands of creeping and twining plants of numberless species.

In fact, it was the mature trees in those wetlands that were the attraction, cut down to make sewing machine cases, coffins and ammunition boxes in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

The ivorybill was first sighted a year ago but the sighting was kept under wraps to confirm its existence and to secure more land to protect its habitat. The Nature Conservancy has worked for the past 20 years to buy land in the area of the sighting and now owns 120,000 acres. Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced that the agency along with the /department of Agriculture would spend $10 million for research, habitat protection and law enforcement efforts to protect the bird. This is an example of private and government agencies collaborating in a single effort, although I am sure the present administration was eager to attach itself to such an admirable cause as saving this noble bird.

Although I will probably never see an ivorybill, I am content to know that this magnificent bird may be able to breed and continue to live in its native habitat.

Perhaps the American farmer will be saved from extinction as well.

Supreme Court Says Farmers May Sue in State Courts

2005-04-28T06:56:00.000-05:00

The United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling Wednesday that is important to farmers who use pesticides. Reversing the lower district court in Texas and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth District, the Court ruled that farmers whose crops are damaged by federally approved pesticides or herbicides may seek damages against the manufacturer.

The case began five years ago when Texas peanut farmers applied a new herbicide called “Strongarm” that was manufactured by the chemical giant Dow Chemical Company. When the herbicide killed the weeds and the crops of peanuts, the farmers threatened Dow with a lawsuit. When negotiations broke down, Dow AgroSciences, the manufacturing unit of Dow Chemical, went into federal court seeking a ruling that the lawsuit was pre-empted by the federal law, the Federal Incecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, or FIFRA.
Although the federal government has long taken the position that FIFRA did not pre-empt damage suits in state courts, the Bush administration reversed that position and pressed the Supreme Court to reject the appeal. But Justice Stevens, writing the majority opinion, said that the administration’s argument “is particularly dubious given that just five years ago the United States advocated the interpretation that we adopt today.”

Arthur H. Bryant, executive director for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public-interest law firm that represents consumers, said that this was “an important and striking development” in light of the general trend in legislatures and courts toward curbing access to the tort system, according to an article in The New York Times.

What this means is that while the Bush administration seems to be bowing to pressure from the chemical lobbyists, the Supreme Court seems to be acting independently once again. Of course, the organic farmers would point out that growing peanuts without potent chemicals and utilizing crop rotation might be the way to go.

Land Availability Challenges Young Farmers

2005-04-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

Recently, the Michigan Farm Bureau surveyed young farmers ages 18 – 35 who cited availability of land as their greatest occupational challenge. Many farmers lease their land when they are beginning of they cannot afford to buy the land or they lease for a time as their operation expands before they take on the added expense of a purchase.

These results mirror the findings in a similar survey conducted by the American Farm Bureau Federation. This is the first time in seven years the profitability was not cited as the greatest challenge facing young farmers.

This may mean one of two things:
Perhaps consumer awareness of buying locally and the partnership between consumers and farmers is paying off.
Or urban sprawl is taking over more farmland.

Plan a Family Vacation on a Farm

2005-04-25T12:47:00.000-05:00

Farmer Dale & the Junior Weatherby Farm Kids

Why not consider a family vacation on a working farm? Many farmers have added a B&B as a means to provide extra income while educating the consumer about their way of life. Some have developed small educational programs for the kids, allowing them to feed the young animals and fish and swim in their pond. Dale and Marcy Tudor of Weatherbury Farm in Pennsylvania welcome families year round, giving willing participants a hands-on experience of farm life. Marcy also maintains a Web site for other Pennsylvania farmers who operate B&B’s as a sideline.

Tom and Biz Fogie own and operate the Olde Fogie Farm and Bed & Breakfast Inn near Marietta in Lancaster County. Theirs is a working organic farm with a variety of animals as well. Adults and children are invited to help with the chores.

Illinois Farmer Reaches Out to Homeless

2005-04-24T13:28:00.000-05:00

One way a small farmer can control expenses is to offer internships for a period of time during the growing/harvesting season. The National Sustainable Agricultural Information Service provides a link for farmers who are seeking interns. Larry O’Toole of Growing Home Farm in Marseilles, Ill. has a noteworthy goal in seeking his intern. His mission is stated on his Web site: "to provide job training and create employment for homeless and low-income people in Chicago within the context of an organic agriculture business.”

The internship includes housing, meals and a monthly stipend for personal items. Duties include planting, maintaining and harvesting crops, and caring for the farm equipment. Educational opportunities are an added bonus to the internship because the intern will participate in the Upper Midwest Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training program. CRAFT conducts orientation workshops for farming interns and conducts monthly visits to area farms.

Earth Day: Another Viewpoint

2005-04-23T09:58:00.000-05:00

For a bit more history on Earth Day and its successes and failures over the past 35 years, Slate's on-line magazine featured an in-depth article by Paul Sabin, executive director of the Environmental Leadership Program. For thoses who are not familiar with this organization, according to their mission staement, the ELP "seeks to transform public understanding of environmental issues by training and supporting a diverse network of visionary action-oriented emerging leaders."

EARTH DAY – Celebrate

2005-04-22T06:48:00.000-05:00

Today is Earth Day. Thirty-five years ago, Americans celebrated the first Earth Day on college campuses across the country. Conceived by then Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, the first Earth Day was held to raise awareness of the state of our planet. After an article appeared in The New York Times, interest in Earth Day ballooned so that the senator’s small office staff was barely able to keep up with the inquiries and planning. In January 1970, John Gardner, founder of Common Cause, donated office space in Washington, D.C. to provide a headquarters for the staff of volunteers, mostly college students, who coordinated the nationwide event. On the first Earth Day 1970, over 20 million people participated in a national “teach-in” that was the beginning of annual events that are still celebrated today.

American farmers confront environmental issues of our planet every day. Many consider themselves stewards of this earth, caring for the soil and water by growing crops that will replenish the nutrients and avoiding herbicides so that the next generation can inherit a healthy planet.

You can do your part on this one day to do something healthy for the earth. Mayor Daley has declared April 16 –23, Earth Week with his “Keep the Earth Green by Going Blue” program.
Here is how you can participate by recycling and keeping these items out of the landfills:
1.Drop off your hazardous household waste to get a year’s supply of free blue bags.
2.Recycle your newspapers and other paper.
3.Recycle your old eyeglasses at Chicago Lenscrafters and Pearle Vision locations
4.Learn about composting at Whole Foods Markets, Garfield Park and elsewhere.
5.Recycle unwanted clothes at the Salvation Army or the Caring Closet.
6.Turn in your old cell phones to Chicago Police stations. They will be given to seniors and victims of domestic violence to use as emergency phones.
7.Encourage your school or workplace to recycle.
8.Participate in Chicago’s newest recycling program – turn in your old batteries at any Chicago Public Library or Walgreens store.
Go to the Mayor’s Web site to learn more.

Mayor Daley and his staff are committed to raising awareness of environmental problems by improving Chicago’s recycling programs. On the other hand, President Bush’s efforts to acknowledge Earth Day were thwarted by Mother Nature. The President had intended to “tout his environmental record” at an outdoor speech at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. He was forced to give his remarks in an airport hangar when severe thunderstorms canceled the White House Plans. Doesn’t the president know that it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature?

Farm Workers: The Other Victims of Factory Farms

2005-04-19T14:15:00.000-05:00

It is not just the small family farmer whose future is at risk because of the encroachment of so-called factory farms. For over 40 years, the United Farm Workers organization, founded by Cesar Chavez, has been calling attention to and fighting for the rights of farm workers who work in the fields of these big agribusinesses. Under Chavez’ leadership the UFW focused national attention on the dangers of pesticide use on the farm workers. Today the UFW continues the work that he began.

As they prepare to celebrate the birthday of Cesar Chavez, the UFW is calling upon all California voters to support Senate Bill 879. In the non-violent tradition of Cesar Chavez, it is asking that voters write to their state senators asking them to vote for the California Pesticide Enforcement Bill, sponsored by Senator Martha Escutia.

Additionally, the UFW is exposing Gallo of Sonoma for failing to ratify a labor contract with their farm workers who haven’t had a pay raise in over two years. Pressure is being put on restaurants like Buca di Beppo to stop serving Gallo wine until the labor dispute is resolved.

It is good to see that the United Farm Workers are continuing to speak out for all agricultural workers in the United States.

Farm Aid: Raising Awareness of the American Farmer

2005-04-17T13:09:00.000-05:00

Farm Aid came to the public’s attention in 1985 when Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young founded this non-profit organization and staged a concert to raise money for American farmers in danger of losing their farms. The three men still serve on the board of directors and were joined in 2001 by Dave Matthews.

According to Farm Aid, family farmers in the U.S. are under extreme economic pressure and many are being forced off their land. This crisis in farming communities is threatening the future of the family farm. “As family farms are forced out by large factory farms, the quality of our food, our environment and our food security is in danger.”

The organization is dedicated to keeping farmers on their land and to supporting an agricultural system that produces high quality, fresh food while protecting the land and its natural resources. Since 1985, Farm Aid has awarded over $17 million in grants to farm organizations in 44 states. Through public education and direct grants, Farm Aid supports national, regional and local efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, fight factory farms, advocate for fair farm prices and provide credit counseling and direct assistance to farm families in need.

You can do your part to preserve the family farm by buying locally and by donating to Farm Aid.

Meet Your Farmer: Gerry Klinkner

2005-04-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

It was a near brush with death that caused Gerry Klinkner to convert to organic farming. Just four months after his wedding, he was diagnosed with Stage I Hodgkin's lymphoma. While recovering from surgery Klinkner and his wife Ann watched a documentary on the links between agricultural chemicals and certain forms of cancer and made the decision to convert their farm. As teenagers, Klinkner and his brother had mixed chemicals and sprayed the fields for their father without any protection from the sprays.

Klinkner persuaded his brother, who owns the neighboring farm, to convert to organic and after several setbacks, their 230 acres were certified organic in 2001. Located in Cashton, Wisc, the brothers farm 150 acres of tillable soil and maintain 80 acres of permanent pasture. Their organic milk is marketed through Organic Valley.

In addition to improving his health and that of his family, Klinkner recognizes that holistic herd health management has improved the health of his cattle as well. They now eat the organic alfalfa and corn, grown on the farm. With the help of a homeopathic veterinarian in Arcada, Klinkner uses natural remedies like garlic, aloe vera and Echinecea for his cows on the rare occasions they need health care. His vet bills have reduced dramatically - $450 for an entire year compared to an average of $625 a month when he was farming conventionally.

You can buy Gerry Klinkner’s organic milk and other Organic Valley products at many health food stores and grocery stores that feature organic foods including: Whole Foods Markets, Stanley’s Market, Dominck’s and Treasure Island.

Biopharming – Unknown Risks

2005-04-14T09:31:00.000-05:00

Environmental groups, members of the food industry and farmers who grow traditional crops have joined together to urge the USDA to strictly regulate a burgeoning industry – biopharming, the practice of growing engineered crops to produce pharmaceutical drugs. The concern is that the modified crops could contaminate nearby soil and food and crossbreed with other plants. The groups contend that adequate testing has not been conducted to determine risks to human health or crops.

Early last week, Anheuser-Busch had threatened to boycott Missouri’s commercially grown rice crop when it learned that Ventria Biosciences planned to grow 200 acres of genetically engineered rice in the state. Missouri is the sixth largest rice-producing state. An agreement was reached between the two companies when Ventria agreed to move its facilities further from the southeast counties of the state where the majority of commercial rice farming takes place.

This is not the first obstacle Ventria has encountered in its attempts to develop the genetically modified crops. Last year, California regulators denied the company’s application to grow rice that was altered with synthetic human genes. Sacramento farmers had complained to the USDA that they feared that their international customers would boycott commercially grown rice because of contamination fears. In the meantime, Ventria announced plans to move its headquarters from Sacramento to Northwest Missouri State University, where it will become the anchor tenant of a new center for plant-made pharmaceuticals.

The USDA regulates genetically modified crops, but state governments are allowed to review safety procedures and suggest stricter regulation of the companies before a permit is issued. Since 1995, more than 300 biopharming permits have been issued for plantings of not more than an acre. Ventria’s 200-acre operation would be the largest to date, if approved. No human drug made from genetically engineered crops has been approved for commercial use.

In Season

2005-04-13T13:47:00.000-05:00

Why not try cooking the foods that are in season? Because nearly every fruit and vegetable is growing somewhere in the world in any given month in hot houses, it is difficult for some of us to understand exactly what “in season” means. If you are in doubt, there are a number of good cookbooks that organize the recipes seasonally. Web sites of local farms and farmers markets contain colorful charts of seasonal vegetables. And books dedicated to only vegetables or fruits make good reference materials in planning healthy meals. By connecting with your local farmers, you will quickly learn what is in season.

In our household, spring means asparagus and to celebrate spring we usually make an asparagus soufflé, asparagus risotto, or a pasta primavera. But cooking fresh asparagus doesn’t need to involve an elaborate recipe. One of the benefits of cooking with produce in season is that the flavors are at their peak and therefore, require little enhancement or long-term cooking - the simpler the better.

Asparagus can be prepared in a number of ways: steamed, broiled, grilled and sautéed. Steaming takes very little time: Rinse the asparagus spears and snap off the ends; Cut the spears into two-inch lengths on the diagonal; boil about a half inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan and add an expandable steamer (you can buy these in any grocery store) to hold the pieces; Cover and steam for two minutes or until the asparagus is bright green and slightly soft; Drain and briefly rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process; Drizzle a tiny bit of extra-virgin olive oil, squeeze a bit of lemon, grind some fresh pepper over all and serve.

Making Money While Farming Organically

2005-04-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

One of the assumptions conventional farmers make about organic farming is that it is too expensive to convert to organic farming and make any money. Jeff Klinge has the data to prove them wrong. Since 1997, Klinge has tracked expenses and returns on his organic crops versus his conventional crops. (Klinge was growing both while the farm was in transition.) Later, he compared his profits to those of his brother’s conventionally farmed crops. The results have been published annually in the Practical Farmers of Iowa Newsletter.

In 1997, Klinge reported a net profit on his organic corn of $206.72/acre, versus $29.05/acre on his conventional corn. In 2003, the net profit on his organic corn was $147.13/acre, versus $13.94/acre on his brother’s conventional corn. Weather conditions in different seasons would cause a fluctuation in price per acre. In that same year, his soybean crops yielded a net profit of $96.94/acre for organic, versus a net loss of $53.34/acre for conventional.

Growing and Buying Locally

2005-04-11T21:07:00.000-05:00

Take a walk through your market and you will notice apples from New Zealand, oranges from Israel, strawberries from Mexico and cauliflower and broccoli from Argentina or Brazil. But what does it mean to the consumer for these fruits and vegetables to travel thousands of miles? It means less flavor because the produce must be picked before it is fully ripe in order to arrive at the market without bruising. It also may mean lower costs to the consumer because foreign workers are paid less than American farm workers. For consumers in Chicago, even those fruits and vegetables coming from Florida or California are picked while they are “green.” – they ripen in cold storage, on your kitchen counter or they never reach full maturity.

Produce from neighboring farms, on the other hand, is picked when fully ripe in the early morning hours before driving the relatively short distance to a farmers’ market. Of course, the cold winters of the Midwest shorten the growing season and the consumer must buy the delicate fruits and vegetables from warmer states.

This summer, take advantage of the many farmers’ markets around Chicago. Smell the fresh berries when they come into the market. Taste a juicy apple from Wisconsin or a crisp carrot from Illinois. Become a partner with your local farmers.

Is Sustainable Agriculture the same as Organic Farming?

2005-04-10T12:21:00.000-05:00

No, but there are similarities. In order to be certified organic farmers must demonstrate that their land has been pesticide-free for three years or more and meet other USDA criteria posted earlier on this Web site. It is a system of agriculture that encourages healthy soil and crops through such practices as nutrient recycling of organic matter, crop rotations, proper tillage and the avoidance of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. In order to maintain their organic certification, farmers must keep accurate records of crop yields and maintenance and files annual reports to the USDA.

Farmers participating in sustainable agriculture share the same philosophy of land stewardship and a healthy environment but do not adhere to the strict guidelines of organic farming. Sustainable agriculture is recognized as a commitment to both growing and distributing food to “meet the needs of current and future generations in a manner that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially just.”

You will often find organic and sustainable farmers side by side at a farmers’ market, selling their produce and plants, unless the market is an organic-only market. Of all the farmers’ markets in the Chicago area, the Green City Market only features farmers who are certified organic.

The Benefits of Crop Rotation in Organic Farming

2005-04-08T10:52:00.000-05:00

For Jeff Klinge, making the transition to organic farming was relatively easy because he had always grown small grains without chemicals and was used to longer and more diverse crop rotations. An added incentive to “go organic” was that he had been burned by chemical herbicides once that left a bad memory. Klinge currently works with a three-crop, five-year cycle of crop rotation of soybeans / corn / soybeans / barley / alfalfa. The alfalfa is a cover crop grown at the end of the cycle to replenish the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients. Rye and oats are also grown as cover crops to control weeds and rebuild the soil. Next year he’ll reverse the corn and soybean crops, growing more corn because he feels it is better for the land.

The crop rotations and cover crops help to control the weeds, as well. As for pests, Klinge follows an Iowa State University research study that was funded in cooperation with the Practical Farmers of Iowa. He leaves an uncut strip about 25 feet wide by 100 feet long that acts as a trap for leafhoppers. The insects will feed on the uncut strip, leaving the crop virtually untouched. Crop rotation assures that no one insect population has a chance to establish itself and inflict damage to any one crop.

Fish Farming: Is This Fish Healthy?

2005-04-06T16:32:00.000-05:00

Did you know that fish farms are producing genetically engineered fish that grow bigger but eat less?
Here is a partial list of fish that are currently being farmed:
Atlantic Salmon
Chinook Salmon
Coho Salmon
Northern Pike
Rainbow Trout
Striped Bass
Tilapia
Walleye
The countries that are farming these fish include the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Cuba and China.

A List of Foods With GM Elements You Might Wish to Avoid

2005-04-04T16:10:00.000-05:00

If processed foods are a part of your diet, chances are you are eating foods that contain genetically modified ingredients.
Take wheat, for instance. Genetically modified wheat is used in many commercially baked breads, even those whole grain, "healthy" varieties. If you buy bread from the following companies, you are eating genetically modified wheat.

From the Interstate Baking Company:
Wonder Bread
Hostess products
Dolly Madison
Marie Callenders
Roman Meal

From Chicago-based Sara Lee:
Earthgrains, is one of their labels

From Flower Foods, Inc.
Butterkrust
Cobblestone Mill
Nature's Own

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

2005-04-01T17:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you who will miss the opening of the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival, here is a synopsis of the film premiering tonight, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John.”

Directed by Taggart Siegel, the film chronicles over 20 years of farmer John Peterson’s struggle to hold onto his family farm in northern Illinois. During the Reagan years, as family farms collapsed, Peterson lost most of his land, but eventually the business was reborn as a subscriber-supported organic farm that drew Chicagoans to work the fields and divide the crops.