Can Livestock Be Raised in the City?

In 2004 legislation was passed to allow citizens of Madison to keep up to 4 domestic fowl in their yards. All must be female, and no butchering allowed on the property. The city of Seattle now allows goats to be kept in people's backyards. With the price of animal protein going through the roof, is raising animals in the city one way to counteract skyrocketing prices? What kind of profit can be made by from agriculture on a small parcel of land? These and other interesting questions are discussed in MetroFarm Online Magazine and Food Chain Radio. Michael Olson is anAgriculturalist, Journalist, Radio Show Producer and Host, Author, Farmer and Business Owner. Whether you agree or disagree, his publications and forums provide food for thought. Check it out!

The Environmental Impact of Local Eating

Happy Earth Day!

We spent the afternoon with an amazing group of people, the Board and members of the Welty Environmental Center. We were invited to speak at their annual meeting about our 100 mile diet experience. We were blown away by all this group does. This is only their 8th year of existence and the slate of programs they offer is outstanding and the commitment and vigor of the group is a wonder to behold. Their stated mission is:

"To provide leadership in environmental and ecological education to students, teachers and individuals of all ages so that the residents of this region can make informed decisions leading to the respect for and the enjoyment, preservation and sustainable use of our natural resources."

If it wasn't so far away I think we would be there all the time!

Our presentation was billed as "Local Eating as an Environmentally Friendly Choice." We got to tell our usual story, we also got to add in a bit of new research regrading the usefulness of the concept of "food miles." Food miles have become a short-hand way of discussing and categorizing food, in some ways fewer food miles have come to equal "better food." That labeling is not entirely accurate now does it take into consideration all aspects of food production.

A new study, Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States published last week in the journal Environmental Science and Technology states that it is actually the production of food that is the most environmentally damaging. The study systematically compares the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with food production against long-distance distribution, aka “food-miles.” The conclusion is that of GHG emissions associated with food, 83% of emissions come from production as opposed to only 4% from transportation from production to retailer. The study suggests that changing what we eat (moving to a diet less reliant on red meat and dairy and concentrating on vegetables, and poultry) would lower a household's food-related climate footprint more than buying local.

In our opinion, individual farming practices complicate matters even further. Locally-raised, pastured beef has a different environmental impact that factory-raised beef from far away. Asking questions and deciding what is most important to you is what matters. Buying local food is not just about GHG emissions. Issues of land use, soil sustainability, local economics, community, taste etc. all play a role. The more information we have about what impact our food choices have, the better choices we can make.

Opening Day 2008

Yum! What a glorious day! It started out cloudy and by 10:00 am the sun was shining. Due to time constraints we only made it to one market today, the Westside Community Market was full of smiling people. Since we are writing the weekly updates for this market we stopped to talk at every booth, introducing ourselves and getting more of each vendor's story. We are so very lucky to live in a place where people are so passionate about their food. There were bedding plants, hanging baskets, over-wintered vegetables that looked spectacular, meat, eggs and cheese (including a Muenster from Edelweiss Creamery that was so good we all went weak in the knees). There were prepared items like the Italian biscotti and pizzeles from one vendor and the awesome salsas and preserves from Tomato Mountain, including a Sun Gold Tomato preserve that was like summer in a jar!

There were onions, chicken, maple syrup and bakery items. It was a rough winter for hoophouse crops, Primrose Community Farm has spinach and they sold out by 9:00! Market days are a joy!

GO BUY LOCAL FOOD! And Other News

First things first. Tomorrow is opening day for the Westside Community Market (7 am) and the first outdoor market for the Dane County Farmers’ Market (6 am), Wednesday markets for DCFM start 4/23, 8:30 am. Go meet the farmers from your community and buy and eat their food!

Both markets have weekly newsletters available by email or at their websites to get a glimpse of what will be available . . . most of you probably already know that we write the Weekly Update for the Westside Market.

Also in the news . . .

Do you know about the Dane County Food Council? I didn't! Following is their Mission Statement:

The Dane County Food Council explores issues and develops recommendations to create an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable local food system for the Dane County region.

I am excited to read and learn more!


Read about more Wisconsinites taking up the cause of local food in the Door County 100-mile challenge.

There is a trend of 20-somethings turning to farming as a way of life. It is another facet of the local foods revolution.

Now, in case the title of this post somehow slipped past you, go to a Farmers' Market this weekend and taste spring. For more info on other local markets and their start dates click here. As of May, there is a market happening somwhere, every day of the week--amazing.

King Corn

KING CORN will be shown on WI Public Television at 9:30 pm on Friday, April 18th.

Two friends grow an acre of corn to see what drives our fast-food nation. Go along for the ride as they follow the grain from seed to table.

This is important viewing people! Set your recorders and watch it with your family and neighbors!

Rising Prices Good for Local Food

From the New York Times, April 2, 2008:

WHILE grocery shoppers agonize over paying 25 percent more for eggs and 17 percent more for milk, Michael Pollan, the author and de facto leader of the food intellectuals, happily dreams of small, expensive bottles of Coca-Cola.

Along with some other critics of the American way of eating, he likes the idea that some kinds of food will cost more, and here’s one reason why: As the price of fossil fuels and commodities like grain climb, nutritionally questionable, high-profit ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup will, too. As a result, Cokes are likely to get smaller and cost more. Then, the argument goes, fewer people will drink them.

And if American staples like soda, fast-food hamburgers and frozen dinners don’t seem like such a bargain anymore, the American eating public might turn its attention to ingredients like local fruits and vegetables, and milk and meat from animals that eat grass. It turns out that those foods, already favorites of the critics of industrial food, have also dodged recent price increases.

Logic would dictate that arguing against cheap food would be the wrong move when the Consumer Price Index puts food costs at about 4.5 percent more this year than last. But for locavores, small growers, activist chefs and others, higher grocery bills might be just the thing to bring about the change they desire. read more . . .

Our Upcoming Weekend

We hope to see many of you on Saturday (April 19) for the opening of the Westside Community Market. On Sunday we will be heading to the Welty Environmental Center in Beloit to speak about local eating as an environmentally responsible choice.

Finally, this weekend marks the official opening of the Madison Area Community Gardens. We have a half-plot this year and there will be many blog posts to come about our foibles, and hopefully a few triumphs, with our garden!