Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category
Growing a Greener World Airs on PBS
Tour an organic farm and learn why organic food is so important for the health of our bodies and our planet: Tune in this weekend when Maria Rodale and the Rodale Institute appear on the public television program Growing a Greener World.
Use this link to see when the show will be aired in your area: PBS.org/stationfinder.
Every station’s line-up and times are different. WJNSDT, NJN (New Jersey Network) will air the show Saturday, October 16th at 1:30 p.m.
Who’s Really Responsible for Food Safety?
Food poisoning has a huge impact on our country, costing American’s thousands in dollars and in lives each year. But, how much do people really know about safe food handling?
NSF International finds that consumers display inconsistent food safety behaviors and that Americans need more food safety education at home.
To read more about NSF’s recent survey on consumer food handling practices and knowledge click here.
The Second Green Revolution
How Monsanto has systematically and relentlessly laid the framework to dictate the world’s farming practices.
One companies attempt to control the food supply through global farmerless farming, thereby controlling us.
I’m not fond of mass emails and usually just delete them. But, this one caught my attention.
A friend in Australia watched this documentary last Friday night. On Sunday he asked the hippie farmer who runs their local market if he had seen the film or knew anything about it. What he learned was even more shocking than the film itself.
The farmer had found injected genes from manipulated soy-beans in his avocados. That is scary! The genes are crossing species! He is now taking his laboratory test results to the department of the prime minister.
Please watch the film and forward the link to everybody you know. This topic needs public awareness and we all know the mainstream media will not cover it.
The Latest in Factory Food Failures
As our nations food supply is consolidated into larger and larger growing and processing facilities, can consumers count on safe food? The recent and expanding salmonella outbreak and subsequent recall in the egg industry says it can’t. With millions of eggs being pulled off store shelves where can consumers turn for safe food? One answer – their own backyard.
To read more about the egg industry recall click here
It’s Sew Easy
There are so many skills to learn as a homesteader – building, gardening, tending livestock are the one’s we think of first. But, there are plenty of indoor skills to be learned as well – canning, cooking, baking and of course sewing and knitting. Sewing and knitting are two of the most practical skills a homesteader can learn. They give you the ability to mend damaged clothes, extending the life of your clothes; they enable you to make old garments into new useful pieces; and they allow you to pursue something fun that in the end produces something practical and made for you.
Now, I’m not a highly skilled seamstress, nor a tailor. You won’t see me or any of my sewing projects for that matter on the latest episode of Project Runway. I’m a practical sewer. I sew to mend my daughter’s jeans or make them into shorts that will carry her through the next summer season. I make quilts out of scrap fabric and garments that are no longer useful or are too worn out to save. I fix hems, replace buttons, shorten waistbands…you get the idea.
The lack of skill in this area and other home keeping related skills is a sad commentary, I think, on our school system and society in general, but I will refrain from political commentary. I remember taking Home Ec in High School. We learned cooking, sewing, household budgeting, money management and frugality. But most women I know can’t even replace a button. And something simple like fixing a hem requires a trip to the dry cleaners or tailors shop.
While in 4-H I learned more about sewing from my project leader. I remember sitting around her dinning room table with the other girls (and some boys) as she taught us how to make simple garments like skirts, shorts, tote bags, aprons and pj pants. As our skills improved our projects got more intricate – jumpers, coats, dresses, suits.
I haven’t sewn full garments in years, but my turn to a simpler life has reawakened my desire to be more handy in this area. And, why not; making your own clothes is a guarantee that what you wear is of high quality and custom made to your tastes, not just a comeback fad of old-fashioned practicality.
Before you go out and buy a pile of fabric with patterns to match, I strongly suggest putting together your own basic sewing basket or kit. Nothing fancy is needed. A basket or lidded tin will do the trick, but these are must-haves for any would-be sewer so that all your supplies will be in one place when you get ready to start that project. It just makes life simple. My sewing basket is an old wooden, lidded box that has feet and a stationary handle. I found at a thrift store, and inside it contains
– Scissors
– Cloth tape measure
– Straight pins and a pin cushion
– Thread in assorted colors
– Seam ripper
– Needles, different sizes
– Washable fabric pen and pencil
If you think you’ll be using a sewing machine most of the time, you’ll also want to have sewing machine needles and bobbins for your machines make and model, but the above list is the bare-bones basics for simple hand sewing.
Knitting doesn’t take as many supplies as sewing does, which means less cost in the beginning. But, the results are very similar – handmade garments that reflect your personal tastes and are useful. If you’re just beginning, try using large diameter knitting needles and a thick, chunky yarn. I suggest this for a couple of reasons, 1) it’s easier to see what you’re doing when everything is larger, and 2) you’ll finish your project quickly which will give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. My friend Nancy can finish a hat in the time it takes the Women’s Club to finish their meeting. Now that’s speed knitting!
Once you get the hang of knitting, you’ll see all the possibilities because each project – from scarf to hat to sweater – starts with just one simple row. After that it’s all good.
So – thread that needle or cast on that yarn folks! You know what they say about idle hands…
To try your hand at either sewing or knitting, check out these easy projects and inspiring websites. Or, for a more communal experience check out your local fabric shop or knitting store.
Free Tote Bag Patterns:
http://tipnut.com/35-reusable-grocery-bags-totes-free-patterns/
http://www.simplicity.com/
http://www.knittinghelp.com/
http://www.knitpicks.com/knitting.cfm
DIRT! The Movie
“Floods, drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”
DIRT! The Movie–directed and produced by Bill Benenson and Gene Rosow–takes you inside the wonders of the soil. It tells the story of Earth’s most valuable and underappreciated source of fertility–from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation.
The opening scenes of the film dive into the wonderment of the soil. Made from the same elements as the stars, plants and animals, and us, “dirt is very much alive.” Though, in modern industrial pursuits and clamor for both profit and natural resources, our human connection to and respect for soil has been disrupted. “Drought, climate change, even war are all directly related to the way we are treating dirt.”
DIRT! the Movie–narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis–brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.
DIRT! the Movie is simply a movie about dirt. The real change lies in our notion of what dirt is. The movie teaches us: “When humans arrived 2 million years ago, everything changed for dirt. And from that moment on, the fate of dirt and humans has been intimately linked.” But more than the film and the lessons that it teaches, DIRT the Movie is a call to action.
“The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.”
What we’ve destroyed, we can heal.
Wall Street Journal Jumps on the Home Garden Bandwagon
I saw this article in yesterday’s Personal Journal section of the WSJ, touting the increase in new home garden enthusiasts.
To read the entire article and get advice from seasoned Master Gardeners click here.
photo credit: wildgrace429
Cheap Food Is An Illusion
Here’s a great movie trailer from Fresh The Movie:
FRESH is a grassroots efforts for a grassroots movement. The movie is a platform to raise awareness and connecting people to the solutions available in their community.
The objective is to make sustainable food no longer a niche market. You can view more video here.
FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.
… food for thought.
Church Grows More Than Faith
… One foggy Maryland morning last spring, I was among more than 400 people who donned jeans and boots, packed shovels and hoes, and headed to…church. After months of hoarding leaves from suburban yards and gathering manure from local farmers, parishioners at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville were ready to spend a Sunday transforming hard clay into dark, rich humus.
Creating a farm might seem an unlikely mission for a congregation of urban dwellers and suburbanites. For Cedar Ridge, the idea had grown out of a year of prayerful reflection about how to use our 63 acres in a way that would cherish the earth and its inhabitants. We also hoped that working the soil and giving organic food to our neighbors in need would help us to grow spiritually.
Click Here to read how a small Maryland congregation came together to build a church garden; cherishing the earth and feeding a community in need.
Gadzucks!! Charlie Brown
I heard on the news this week that a pumpkin weighing over 1,600 pounds won the Morro Bay Pumpkin Festival, and had to check it out for myself.
I was really intrigued because earlier this year a very kind pumpkin grower from Pennsylvania gave our 4-H club seeds from HIS award winning pumpkin, along with instructions on how to grow those whopp’ng big ones.
Although our gourds didn’t get any where near that big, a few did weigh-in over 150 pounds. Boy – if I had only known about the prize money!
To read more about the Iowa man who won first prize and took home $10,000 for his efforts click here .
To learn more about the festival, or to attend if you’re in the area, check out their website.
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