Author: mara
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 12:45 pm (GMT 0)
Food and community projects
Degrowth http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degrowth
Decroissance or ''Degrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on Ecological economics, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas. Degrowth thinkers and activists advocate for the downscaling of production and consumption—the contraction of economies—as overconsumption lies at the root of long term environmental issues and social inequalities. Key to the concept of degrowth is that reducing consumption does not require individual martyring and a decrease in well-being. Rather, 'degrowthists' aim to maximize happiness and well-being through non-consumptive means—sharing work, consuming less, while devoting more time to art, music, family, culture and community.
Using vacant spaces to grow food: http://sowandgroweverywhere.org
Community gardening can also be a form of direct action taken to use land for the benefit of the community https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_gardening
Reclaim the fields http://reclaimthefields.org/fr
Edible park feeds 200,000 each month http://www.trueactivist.com/this-edible-park-feeds-200000-hungry-people-every-month/
Floating farms https://www.minds.com/blog/view/447430685691482112/this-solar-powered-floating-farm-can-produce-20-tons-of-vegetables-every-day
Waste not, want not! Morrisons to become the first supermarket to donate all unsold food to community groups
By Imogen Calderwood For Mailonline
Published: 19:02, 31 October 2015
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3298353/Waste-not-want-not-Morrisons-supermarket-donate-unsold-food-community-groups.html
• Morrisons will donate all discarded food that is safe to eat to local projects
• Food kitchens and community cafes will make meals for those in need
• An estimated 15million tonnes of food is thrown away in the UK every year
• Some retailers have been accused of deliberately sabotaging unsold food
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/man-behind-campaign-for-french-supermarkets-to-donate-waste-food-wants-to-take-law-global-10276028.html
Eco villages
''The Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) is a growing network of sustainable communities and initiatives that bridge different cultures, countries, and continents. GEN serves as umbrella organization for ecovillages, transition town initiatives, intentional communities, and ecologically-minded individuals worldwide.
People and communities meet and share their ideas, exchange technologies, develop cultural and educational exchanges, directories and newsletters, and are dedicated to restoring the land and living a cooperative sustainable lifestyle.''
http://gen.ecovillage.org/about-gen.html
Examples of some existing eco villages from around the world are:
Findhorn
Crystal waters
Auroville
Christiana
Intentional Communities include:
Brook farm
Twin Oaks
Oneida
Local Communities Dismantling Corporate Rule
Community Rights educator Paul Cienfuegos explains how “We The People” are exercising the authority to govern ourselves and dismantle corporate rule. When small farmers in rural Pennsylvania wanted to say “no” to a corporate factory farm coming into their community, they learned they couldn’t, because it would violate the corporation’s “rights” and state pre-emption laws. So they did something technically illegal – their town passed an innovative ordinance banning corporate factory farming. It worked! The corporation left town. Pittsburgh upshifted the approach: Rather than define what we don’t want, define what we DO want. Their “Right to Water” stopped natural gas fracking in the city. Ordinances like this have been passed in over 150 communities in 9 states. Tune in to learn how this works. Episode 258. [paulcienfuegos.com, celdf.org, YouTube channel “Community Rights TV” and communityrightspdx.org]
www.youtube.com/embed/8Prylnj4NQ8
www.youtube.com/embed/Smu0x05qs58
Cooperatives have already been spoken about in this thread and offer a viable alternative to the market economy
The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): http://2012.coop/welcome
An example of a large cooperative is: ''The MONDRAGON Corporation is a corporation and federation of worker cooperatives based in the Basque region of Spain. Founded in the town of Mondragón in 1956, its origin is linked to the activity of a modest technical college and a small workshop producing paraffin heaters. Currently it is the seventh largest Spanish company in terms of asset turnover and the leading business group in the Basque Country. At the end of 2011 it was providing employment for 83,869 people working in 256 companies in four areas of activity: Finance, Industry, Retail and Knowledge. The MONDRAGON Co-operatives operate in accordance with a business model based on People and the Sovereignty of Labour, which has made it possible to develop highly participative companies rooted in solidarity, with a strong social dimension but without neglecting business excellence. The Co-operatives are owned by their worker-members and power is based on the principle of one person, one vote.'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrag%C3%B3n_Cooperative_Corporation
Another example is: 'Suma is the UK’s largest independent wholefood wholesaler/distributor, specialising in vegetarian, fairly traded, organic, ethical and natural products. We are a workers’ co-operative committed to ethical business.' http://www.suma.coop/about/
The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA): http://2012.coop/welcome
''Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 150 countries. [1] Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_food
Community gardening can also be a form of direct action taken to use land for the benefit of the community:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_gardening
''Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, and environmental design which develops sustainable architecture/human settlements and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. [1][2]
The core tenets of permaculture are:[3][4]
• Take Care of the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle, because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.
• Take Care of the People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.
• Share the Surplus: Healthy natural systems use outputs from each element to nourish others. We humans can do the same. By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.
Permaculture draws from several disciplines including organic farming, agroforestry, integrated farming, sustainable development, and applied ecology. "The primary agenda of the movement has been to assist people to become more self reliant through the design and development of productive and sustainable gardens and farms. The design principles which are the conceptual foundation of permaculture were derived from the science of systems ecology and study of pre-industrial examples of sustainable land use."[5]
Permaculture design emphasizes patterns of landscape, function, and species assemblies. It asks the question, “Where does this element go? How can it be placed for the maximum benefit of the system?" To answer this question, the central concept of permaculture is maximizing useful connections between components and synergy of the final design. The focus of permaculture, therefore, is not on each separate element, but rather on the relationships created among elements by the way they are placed together; the whole becoming greater than the sum of its parts. Permaculture design therefore seeks to minimize waste, human labor, and energy input by building systems with maximal benefits between design elements to achieve a high level of synergy. Permaculture designs evolve over time by taking into account these relationships and elements and can become extremely complex systems that produce a high density of food and materials with minimal input.[6]
It is worthy of note that Permaculture is a system of design only, and as such it can be applied to anything that requires design. Permaculture has been applied most commonly to the design of housing and landscaping, integrating techniques such as agroforestry, natural building and rainwater harvesting within the context of Permaculture design principles and theory.'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture
Via Campesina (from Spanish la vía campesina, the campesino way, or the Peasants' Way) describes itself as "an international movement which coordinates peasant organizations of small and middle-scale producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities from Asia, Africa, America, and Europe". It is a coalition of over 148 organizations, advocating family-farm-based sustainable agriculture and was the group that first coined the term "food sovereignty".[1] Food sovereignty refers to the right to produce food on one's own territory. Via Campesina has carried out several campaigns including a campaign to defend farmer's seeds, a campaign to stop violence against women, a campaign for the recognition of the rights of peasants, a Global Campaign for agrarian reform, and others.'' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Campesina
Grow Your Own Food: thehortchannel.com
EP1 February
www.youtube.com/embed/04ZbDuavag8
The Earth Rights Institute http://www.earthrights.net/wg/q-land-ethic.html
Monsantos ‘Roundup’ spray is a genotoxin
Long exposure to tiny amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup may damage liver, kidneys – study
Published time: 29 Aug, 2015
https://www.rt.com/usa/313806-monsanto-roundup-kidney-damage/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
Grow local http://www.wakingtimes.com/2014/04/14/perfect-storm-grow-local-go-hungry/
10 ways to commit nutritional anarchy
http://www.theorganicprepper.ca/10-ways-to-commit-nutritional-anarchy-07252013
Anarchy is defined as the non-recognition of authority. If nutrition becomes regulated by a bunch of bureaucrats who, at best, don’t really care about people, and at worst, hope to depopulate the globe, you must have the plans and weapons in place to live a life of nutritional anarchy. Take these steps to prepare for the day when real vitamins might be completely inaccessible without a prescription.
1. Educate yourself on which foods provide the most nutritional bang for the buck
2. Plant nutrient dense flora in your garden
3. Learn to identify edible plants and locate wild sources of nutrients, like a field of dandelions (make sure they are not sprayed with pesticides)
4. Learn small space gardening methods to make the most of urban locations
5. Consider hydroponics and/or aquaponics
6. Purchase heirloom seeds to put aside for the future, when they may no longer be available
7. Learn how to properly save and store seeds from your own plants for future gardening endeavors
8. Learn how to harvest and preserve the bounty from your own property
9. Practice preparing delicious meals using the most nutritious foods available
10. Experiment with multiple ways to use the in-season bounty from your garden to prevent boredom
These are the actions that will provide our independence from those who would have the audacity to regulate good nutrition.
Utopian ‘Harvest Your Own’ Groceries Coming Up
August 3, 2013
Heather Callaghan
Places like Wal-mart brag that they eliminate the middle man; but they haven’t seen the likes of The Farmery.
What if your food was grown at your store – and it’s not even picked yet until you come by to cut the plants. You’re not a shopper, you’re a harvester. Better yet, what if Farmeries come to urban neighborhoods – both high and low end?
Defending the Imperative for Real Food and Real Farmers
by Julian Rose
Going ‘organic’ is basically a return to farming regimes that were used on all small and medium sized family farms throughout Europe and North America up until the Second World War. There are still countries that remain largely committed to this form of land management and one will find most examples of these in Eastern Europe. Which brings me to Poland.
Poland is a country still blessed with around one million three hundred thousand small family farms, with an average size of around seven hectares. These farms have resisted both a Russian communist occupation with a penchant for creating large state-owned holdings, and now a Western capitalist regime with a penchant for corporate take-overs and mass exploitation of soils for profit.Julian Rose is an early pioneer of UK organic farming, international activist, social entrepreneur, writer and actor. His latest book ‘In Defence of Life’ is available at www.amazon.org and at Julian’s web site: www.julianrose.info
How to Establish a Food and Farming Model that Works for Everyone
by Julian Rose
Intro: Julian Rose lays out a pragmatic model for bringing together local and regional food production and consumption. Julian has had more than 30 years experience in this field; selling the great majority of his organic farm produce within a ten mile radius of his farm. This article is drawn from his book “Changing Course for Life – Local Solutions to Global Problems.”
If Cathedrals are meant to stand as symbols of man’s aspiration to a higher spiritual consciousness, then hypermarkets are surely monuments to society’s lowest level of material greed. While the farmers and factory workers who toil to provide the products that line their plastic shelves receive the absolute minimum economic reward for their labour, the hypermarkets boast huge profits and evermore grandiose expansion plans. So distorted is the scale and motivation of this form of trading – and so destructive to both human and environmental welfare – that any caring individual should find it abhorrent to carry on worshipping at this golden calf.
Why is Wheat Such A Problem in the Modern Diet?
By WTStaff October 29, 2015 Catherine J. Frompovich,
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2015/10/29/why-is-wheat-such-a-problem-in-the-modern-diet/
Wheat, which used to be considered a “staff of life,” in recent times, has become a dietary scourge for numerous men, women, and children. What happened, especially when there are so many processed foods that contain wheat or wheat derivatives?
First and foremost, we ought to realize that wheat grown today is a hybridized version of heirloom wheat during the early 20th century. Einkorn [1], which probably was the oldest variety of wheat known and grown for thousands of years, has fallen out of favor even though it contains a lower percentage of gluten.
Seed libraries http://in5d.com/two-free-smartphone-apps-that-will-eliminate-monsanto-aspartame-hfcs-and-processed-foods/
Experiment boosts crop yields without GMO’s http://www.activistpost.com/2015/03/south-australia-does-this-to-increase.html
Local energy aggregation network http://www.commondreams.org/news/201...r-power-supply
Vending machines selling raw dairy products http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/raw-milk-should-be-sold-in-vending-machines-says-fsa-9619500.html
Denver Homeless Out Loud (DHOL) have built mini homes for the homeless which the government want to destroy: http://livingoutdoors.ga/2016/01/04/denver-deploys-riot-police-to-demolish-tiny-homes-for-the-homeless/
Organic food growth and the earth angel eco village http://earthangelvillage.org/productive-organic-gardeninggrowing/
Australia First to Receive Electricity Using Zero-emission Wave Energy Generators
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2016/01/10/australia-first-to-receive-electricity-using-zero-emission-wave-energy-generators/
Wave energy technology has finally proved its feasibility to provide renewable, clean energy on a mass scale.
The Perth Wave Energy Project has demonstrated that the CETO 5 wave energy generators, developed by Carnegie Wave Energy Limited, are capable of using the movement of the ocean to provide electricity to a naval base near Garden Island in Western Australia. The site is the first commercial ocean wave energy installation. It has channeled zero-emissions energy from three CETO 5 units into a functioning power grid for 14000 cumulative hours.
www.youtube.com/embed/mhDl5HG6vOQ
Solar powered Eco pod for off grid living
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2016/01/solar-powered-pod-lets-you-live-off-grid-anywhere.html
If you were one of the many infatuated by the solar-powered pod that allows you to live off-grid anywhere in the world, you’ll be stoked to know that they’re finally on the market.
According to Ecocapsule, a limited edition of 50 self-powering pods is available for pre-order.
Organic farming 'could be key to feeding the world as global warming takes hold'
Major study finds chemical-free agriculture restores the soil and can produce higher yields than ‘conventional’ methods
Geoffrey lean
Saturday 13 February 2016
Organic farming – long held to be irrelevant in tackling world hunger – could be key to feeding the world as global warming takes hold, one of the biggest studies ever to be carried out into the “contentious” practice has concluded.
The research, which has reviewed hundreds of studies stretching back over four decades, not only overturns conventional wisdom but contradicts Britain’s official Food Standards Agency, which has repeatedly attacked chemical-free agriculture. It adds to emerging evidence that it may be more productive and profitable than conventional farming in the long term, especially in developing countries, and says it can provide an “ideal blueprint in addressing climate change”.
www.independent.co.uk/environ...-a6872501.html
How 'farmacy' practice, or using food as medicine, can change the world
Friday, February 19, 2016 by: Jennifer Lea Reynolds
In the name of demonstrating how effective plant-based whole foods are when it comes to improving health, Dr. Ronald Weiss actually sold his medical practice and opened up a "farmacy" by the name of Ethos Primary Care, to help others. The farmacy, located in Long Valley, New Jersey, is designed to do as the generic name implies: Rather than having people rely on traditional pharmacy practices, the concept is to show how farm-based, real foods contribute to better health more than any synthetic drug ever could – hence the word "farmacy."(1)
"Plant-based whole foods are the most powerful disease-modifying tools available to practitioners — more powerful than any drugs or surgeries," says Dr. Weiss. "I am not saying if you fall down and break your ankle, I can fix it by putting a salve ofmugwort [sic] on it. You need someone to fix your fracture," he explained. "I am talking about treating and preventing chronic disease — the heart attacks, the strokes, the cardiovascular disease, the cancers ... the illnesses that are taking our economy and our nation down."
To read on click on link above www.naturalnews.com/053030_fa..._medicine.html
LOCAL FOOD is creating a renaissance in the US: www.alternet.org/food/how-loc...al-renaissance
Values Change For Survival; Growing a Better Way of Living
April 27, 2016, Neenah Payne
My new Urban Gardens Revolution website shows that an increasing number of people are choosing to be the change they want to see in the world simply by growing their own food! Dr. Vandana Shiva says that the “Urban garden is the greatest revolution!” Jules Dervaes, founder of the Urban Homestead, calls his 1/5 acre city garden on which he grows 6,000 lbs of food each year “The Path to Freedom”.
The Urban Gardens Revolution site links to the free online Food Revolution Summit which takes place April 30-May 8. Dr. Joseph Mercola, who has one of the most popular health sites, says in his article “Reinventing Our Food System, One Small Farm At A Time”:
I cannot encourage you strongly enough to take control of the food that you’re eating. A great way to get started on your own is by sprouting. They may be small, but sprouts are packed with nutrition and best of all, they’re easy and inexpensive to grow.
www.activistpost.com/2016/04/...of-living.html
Small Farmers—Not Corporations Like Monsanto—Are the Key to Food Security
Humanity has been eating 8,500 different plant species. Today we are being condemned to eat GM corn and soy.
By Vandana Shiva / EcoWatch
May 24, 2016
May 22 has been declared International Biodiversity Day by the United Nations. It gives us an opportunity to become aware of the rich biodiversity that has been evolved by our farmers as co-creators with nature. It also provides an opportunity to acknowledge the threats to our biodiversity and our rights from IPR monopolies and monocultures.
Just as our Vedas and Upanishads have no individual authors, our rich biodiversity, including seeds, have been evolved cumulatively. They are a common heritage of present and future farm communities who have evolved them collectively. I recently joined tribals in Central India who have evolved thousands of rice varieties for their festival of “Akti.” Akti is a celebration of the relationship of the seed and the soil and the sharing of the seed as a sacred duty to the Earth and the community.
read more here: www.alternet.org/food/small-f...-food-security
Denmark Intends To Be The World’s FIRST 100% Organic Nation
Posted on September 13, 2016
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/...ic-nation.html
Italy Bans Toxic Glyphosate
27 August 2016
Italy's Ministry of Health have placed significant restrictions on toxic glyphosate, for pre-harvest and in many public areas.
This is great news for our Not In Our Bread campaign, which calls for a ban on the use of glyphosate, and glyphosate-based products, as a pre-harvest treatment in the UK. Glyphosate is getting into our bread, and into our bodies. This has to stop. As countries across Europe move to place restrictions on this potentially carcinogenic pesticide, the UK government must follow suit.
The Italian job
The Italian restrictions ban the use of glyphosate in areas frequented by the public or by "vulnerable groups" including children and the elderly. In addition, the pre-harvest use of glyphosate - a process known as desiccation - is banned. The desiccation of crops by spraying glyphosate is a primary source for residual pesticide contamination at the consumer level.
www.soilassociation.org/news...ic-glyphosate/
Drinking Water Can Be Harvested from the Air Using This Invaluable New Technology
Posted on September 10, 2016
By Christina Sarich
The earth’s atmosphere contains just as much water as all our lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, underground well water, and oceans, combined. It’s a veritable Niagara Falls of water that could be used by people living under extreme drought conditions, who have been hit by natural disasters, or who live in remote desert areas, if only we could figure out how to harness it.
A new technology developed by Israeli scientists captures water from the air with 65 percent more efficiency than previous water vapor-collection methods. According to Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor, one billion people worldwide live without clean, safe drinking water, and two billion more live without basic sanitation for the water that is available to them.
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/...echnology.html
Enormous Green Hub Market to Offer Relief from Notorious NYC Food Desert
Posted on September 22, 2016
By Chris “Kikila” Perrin
Over what has been called “a food desert,” rain clouds are gathering, and with them comes much needed access to what very well might be affordable, healthy sustenance. South Bronx, New York, home to no farms and no agricultural production whatsoever, being able to purchase food that is healthy has not been the most affordable option.
With a recent announcement from New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, however, “the times,” a great poet once said, “they are a changin’.”
Not just a ghetto housing the victims of dispossession (pgs. 2, 150) and redistributive economic policy, the South Bronx is soon to become a major intersection for food, linking inner-city families to up-state farmers on a scale that has never before been realized. Greenmarket, Co., the organization that will be in charge of running the massive, “120,000 square foot indoor/outdoor market,” not only received the promise of funding from the Governor’s announcement, they also received a fair dose of legitimacy.
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/...od-desert.html
How To Make A Seed Bomb And Transform Your Local Community (w/Infographic)
Posted on October 11, 2016
By Amanda Froelich
Not only do plants make urban environments more appealing, they also provide CO2 and, according to some studies, help reduce the stress people experience. For this reason, one might imagine that modern cities would be overflowing with green flora, but this is anything but the case.
In many cities, it’s actually illegal to grow land in public spaces (just read about activist Ron Finley), regardless if the area is being used or not. In effect, a number of activists have begun creating seed bombs to secretly grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers for community members to utilize. This type of activism is called guerrilla gardening.
As the Infographic below explains, it’s actually quite easy to create seed bombs. And, anybody can be a guerrilla gardener. Read below to learn more and get started!
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/10/...community.html
This Wind-Powered Device Pulls 11 Gallons Of Drinkable Water From The Air Each Day
Posted on October 11, 2016
By Amanda Froelich
Whereas many individuals in developed nations often worry over catching their favorite television show, a constant stress for approximately 2.3 million people on the planet has to do with obtaining clean, drinking water. Fortunately, a solution to the latter conundrum has been presented, and it’s one that might ease generations of worry in locations where purified water is hard to come by.
The Water Seer collection device relies on simple condensation to collect drinkable water from the atmosphere and can provide up to 11 gallons of clean aqua each day without one external power source. Best of all, it can potentially run forever and does not create greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change.
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/10/...-each-day.html
The Many Ways Farmer's Markets and Small Family Farms Are Essential to Our Future
Most effective, bio diverse, more workers, nimble, adaptable -- all in contrast to giant factory farms.
By Melissa Kravitz / AlterNet
October 12, 2016
Ending food insecurity may be as easy as supporting your local farmers market. In advance of World Food Day on October 16, American Farmland Trust, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes environmentally sound farming practices, named its top farmers markets in the nation, many of which are based in warmer southern states like Florida and Virginia. But no matter what region you live in, farmers markets and small farms are essential to community health.
“Small family farms have been shown to be the most effective, per acre, at ecological stewardship, biodiversity and production of nutrition,” said Severine von Tscharner Fleming, founder of the Greenhorns, a non-profit group working to support a new generation of young farmers. “Small family farms employ more workers, supporting the local economy and rural prosperity … and can adapt and change with the market demands or shifts in climate," she argues.
www.alternet.org/food/why-far...-public-health
Football Field Farm Turns Around College And Builds Community With Organic Produce
Posted on October 17, 2016
By Brianna Acuesta
The We Over Me Farm has completely transformed the community.
When President Michael J. Sorell took over at Paul Quinn College, a private, historically black college in Texas, the school was just barely getting by. Sorell knew he needed to make some serious changes if the college he now ran was going to succeed once again and continue to make a name for itself.
For him, that meant making some really tough choices. Since college football has such a strong fanbase in America, it was difficult for Sorell to make the decision to cut the entire team. What the college was left with was an empty sports field and lots of ideas about how to put it to use.
After three years of mulling over their options, Sorell collaborated with Trammell S. Crow, a local real estate agent who was also a philanthropist and looking to add a community garden to the area. The football field was the perfect locale, and what started out as a few raised beds with some small crops quickly turned into so much more.
With the help of Crow and a sponsorship from PepsiCo’s Food For Good Initiative, the We Over Me Farm became a reality. Today, the organic farm boasts an annual yield of 30,000 pounds of food, 15-20 percent of which is donated to local food charities. The farm has also gotten the college back on the right track and it’s now listed as a local food producer.
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/10/...c-produce.html
Desert Farm Grows 17,000 Tons of Food Without Soil, Pesticides, Fossil Fuels or Groundwater
Posted on October 24, 2016
By Amando Flavio
Innovations that will make the human race thrive on Earth, saving its finite resources from extinction, are something we should embrace without a second thought.
We get our food from plants and animals. As we grow in numbers, so too does the global demand for food. Currently, activists are fighting the spread of Genetically Modified Food (GMO). The argument for GMO proponents has been that the world is running out of its resources, and hence, we need to find ways and means to sustain us. According to them, GMOs will ensure that we maintain our food production level. This argument might sound convincing on first hearing, however, deeper probing of GMOs has revealed that the harm it causes far outweighs the good it does.
A start-up, called Sundrop Farms, has developed high technology greenhouse facilities that use a number of solutions to grow crops with less reliance on finite natural resources, than conventional greenhouse production. Sundrop Farms has offices in London in the United Kingdom, and Adelaide, in southern Australia.
www.naturalblaze.com/2016/10/...oundwater.html
Denmark intends to be worlds first 100% organic country www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/denmark-int...-organic-nation.html
Italy bans glyphosate www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/italy-just-...l-public-places.html
Urban farming from a shipping container www.naturalblaze.com/2016/08/kimbal-musk...pping-container.html
Drinking water harvested from the air: www.naturalblaze.com/2016/09/drinking-wa...-new-technology.html
New Jersey Assembly Committee Passes Bill to Legalize Raw Milk
Posted on December 14, 2016
By Mike Maharrey
On Monday, a New Jersey Assembly committee unanimously approved a bill that would legalize limited raw milk sales in the state, taking an important step toward effectively nullifying a federal prohibition scheme in effect.
Assemblymen John DiMiao (R-Dist. 23) introduced Assembly Bill 696 (A696) earlier this year. The legislation would allow holders of a raw milk permit “to sell, offer for sale or otherwise make available raw milk directly to consumers but only at the farm or property where the raw milk is produced.”
Current New Jersey law imposes a complete ban on the sale, transport and importation of raw milk or raw milk products.
A696 would also create a permitting program, set sanitation standards for raw milk sellers, and establish labeling and signage regulations.
The Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee favorably reported A696 by a 5-0 vote.
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2016/12/new-jersey-assembly-committee-passes-bill-to-legalize-raw-milk.html
How Julius Nyerere’s Ujamaa idea could form the basis of a new global political system
Posted May 12 2015 by Dave Darby
How it worked
The system started with 17 villages in 1961, and by the 70s, 20 million people out of a total population of 24 million were living in Ujamaa villages. The average size of a village was around 3000, and each group of ten households elected one of their neighbours, who obviously they knew well, to sit on the village committee. Each village committee elected one of their members to sit on the district committee; each district committee elected one of their members to sit on the regional committee; and each regional committee elected one of their members to sit on the national government. That was it. That was how Tanzania was run from the sixties to the eighties. I have much more information about the development of this system, which I will make available online soon.
What happened to the Ujamaa system
I was told that the World Bank (representing the corporate system) pressured Tanzania to dismantle the system. The first demand was that Tanzania have multi-party elections. Their response was that the Ujamaa system is actually more democratic than a multi-party system, because representatives were known personally by their electorate, and there was no party line or any avenues for corruption (by money, at least). But their pleas fell on deaf ears, and because they required World Bank funds for things that needed to be imported, like oil or machinery, they had to give way and hold multi-party elections. Chama Cha Mapinduzi won the election, and so the Ujamaa system was saved. This wasn’t enough for the World Bank, who demanded that the system be unhooked from the governance of the country – and of course they got their way.
http://www.lowimpact.org/how-julius-...itical-system/
Transforming Our Communities Ourselves With Technology
April 23, 2016, By Brian Berletic
Many people may mistakenly believe that the future is something that others, like big companies or governments usher in and that they themselves play either a minor active role, or one that is entirely passive. In reality, there are already groups of regular people just like you or me around the world literally building the future of their communities themselves with their own two hands and in collaboration with their friends, family, neighbors, and through the power of the Internet, with like-minded individuals around the world.
Makerspaces
A makerspace is exactly what it sounds like: a space where you make things. However, it is often associated with computer controlled personal manufacturing technology like 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser and/or waterjet cutters. There is also a significant amount of electronic prototyping equipment on hand including opensource development boards like the Arduino, which allows virtually anyone to control physical objects in the real world.
read more here http://www.activistpost.com/2016/04/...echnology.html
Denmark opens 1st food waste supermarket
Published time: 23 Feb, 2016 17:00
Denmark is said to throw away huge amounts of food every year, but it has just taken a major step towards alleviating the problem. Its first social supermarket with surplus food is now open to customers.
Hundreds of people visited the new store since its grand opening that took place in Copenhagen on Monday. The new store, called WeFood, will be selling a variety of products that would otherwise end up in the trash because of damaged packaging or because they are past their expiry dates. The prices are 30 percent to 50 percent lower than those in regular shops.
https://www.rt.com/news/333388-denma...ampaign=chrome
Tesco to Give All Unsold Food to Charity in its 800 UK Supermarkets
by Good News Network - Mar 13, 2016
Tesco in the U.K. announced Friday the nationwide rollout of a program that dramatically reduces the amount of food that goes to waste by giving all of the grocery store’s surplus food to charities.
Through its new Community Food Connection, Tesco will redirect millions of meals to shelters, food banks, and community centers by end of 2017. The initiative was given a trial in Merseyside, England, near Liverpool, and is making a big difference to local charities as a result.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tesco...-supermarkets/
Italy to adopt food waste laws to save €12 billion annually
Published time: 16 Mar, 2016 10:11
Italy could become next in line after France in the EU to force supermarkets and restaurants to abide by new laws to combat food waste. Businesses throwing away unsold food costs the economy €12 billion a year.
Every year Italy wastes an estimated 5.1 million tons of food, a sizeable part of which is still fit for consumption. Currently there are several saving-oriented schemes being operated by non-profits Food Bank and Last Minute Market.
https://www.rt.com/news/335764-italy...ampaign=chrome
America’s First Certified Organic Fast Food Chain Is Here — and It Pays $16 an Hour
Posted on May 29, 2016
By Carey Wedler
As fast food chains like Jack in the Box and McDonald’s fight to stay afloat, a new fast food chain is challenging fundamental norms within the industry. Organic Coup is the first USDA-certified organic fast food chain in the country, offering previously unheard of healthy options and boasting formidable funding with ambitious plans to expand rapidly across the country.
Touting its organic certification, Organic Coup explains its standards, which “do not allow Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), toxic chemicals and pesticides, or the use of antibiotics or added hormones in livestock.”
http://www.naturalblaze.com/2016/05/...6-an-hour.html
Utopian off-grid Regen Village produces all of its own food and energy
Wednesday, August 03, 2016
James Ehrlich, founder of ReGen Villages, commissioned Danish architectural firm EFFEKT to envision a future where self-sustaining communities could grow their own food and produce their own energy. ReGen Villages are planned off-grid communities that address issues ranging from climate change to food security through sustainable design. They plan to start building these utopian communities this summer
http://www.naturalnews.com/054858_Of...od_Energy.html
Why Are the Residents of This Small Village So Happy? They're Managing Their Farmland as Commons
Their fundamental premise is that the value of farmland lies in its contribution to food production, lasting ecosystems and human life—not financial gain.
By Véronique Rioufol, Sjoerd Wartena / Levellers Press
November 18, 2016
A feeling of joy and achievement runs through the group of ten people gathered in Robert’s kitchen. After three years of planning, they have come to celebrate: Ingrid and Fabien will soon be able to settle down and develop their farming business. The farm is theirs!
In this small, pastoral village of the French Pre-Alps, establishing young farmers is an act of will. Everywhere, small mountain farms are closing down; work is hard and the business not deemed profitable enough. When aging farmers retire, they do not find a successor. The best land is sometimes sold off to one of the few more or less industrialized farms that remain. Overall, villages are progressively abandoned or become havens of secondary residences.
In Saint Dizier, a small village of thirty-five inhabitants, local people have decided differently. Municipality members, local residents and farmers have decided to preserve agriculture as a component of local economic activity and lifestyle. They also view farmers as young, permanent residents for the village. So they keep an eye on land put for sale, and have contacted farmers and landowners to learn their plans for the future. The municipal council has sought public subsidies to acquire farmland and rent it to young farmers, but with no success.
read on here: http://www.alternet.org/food/why-are...rmland-commons
Community centres http://www.alternet.org/local-peace-economy/woman-trying-make-world-better-place-one-community-center-time
Fatherhood helps childrens behavioural problems http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/children-fathers-bond-emotional-behavioural-problems-a7433036.html
A solar city https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=112&v=y3N1Lzbv22I
Forget solar panels, now there are solar roofs http://www.naturalblaze.com/2016/08/forget-solar-panels-tesla-announces-plans-build-stunning-solar-roofs.html