Tag Archives: sustainability

Enough food?

Back in the 1970’s, a Department of Agriculture scientist told me that food science was so advanced that there would no longer be a problem raising enough food to feed the world. There was one valley in Peru that could grow enough peas to meet the whole world’s demand. There were optimal climates and conditions for other crops around the world. There was every reason why enough food could be grown as long as people worked together to grow the right food in the right places. He was an idealist.

But it’s not just about agriculture, is it? It’s also about distribution, economics, climate change, and of course, politics.

Now, we’re well into the 21st Century. The latest UN Report (video) on climate change and world food is fair warning that many will die and go hungry because of climate change. Large areas of the world are becoming deserts.

There’s lot that anyone can do to impact world food supplies: supporting sustainable agriculture at home—like in your backyard, getting involved in a climate change movement, helping organizations that provide food for hungry people—at the local food bank or in desertified regions, and so much more.

Add a food-related cause to your personal portfolio of good deeds—or go all-in about food. The planet will appreciate it.

Here at DRB, as we become more aware of the big picture about food, we try to strike a balance between celebrating home cooking, eating well and eating healthy, sustainable agriculture, and the complicated issues that keep so many people from getting the food they need for life. We hope you are getting a balanced diet of information about food and our world.

Farms don’t talk, do they?

Chicago’s The Talking Farm is a nonprofit educational venture that teaches and provides experiences in farming for local kids, interns, and us general public types. We attended a TF “Farm Dinner” last evening to check them out and get educated. We came away impressed, edified, and with a new idea about how to help out in the fight against the urban food desert.

On two-and-a-half acres in a close-in Chicago suburb, The Talking Farm grows a wide variety of veggies, herbs, and fruit to bring the realities and benefits of local, sustainable agriculture to us all. Operating since 2006, The Talking Farm is a community-based sustainability gem, producing 6,000+ lbs of organic produce for local restaurants, a CSA, and food-for-the needy programs. Ten percent of output goes to help provision food banks.

The “talking” part of the farm’s work happens when their “farmer-educators” teach about the significance of locally and sustainably-grown food on the environmental, social justice, and health issues facing our communities. They teach how to take a personal part in a more sustainable, ecologically-balanced, and healthy future.

Talking Farm Manager Matt shows off a beet.

I hope you have a talking farm near you.

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