LIKE AN AWE-INSPIRING EXPO OR WORLD’S FAIR DEPICTING A BRIGHTER, SMARTER FUTURE

What else can you expect? Well, try immersion in a world already gone green in innumerable ways, and all on constant display and readily available for easy interaction, badinage and play. Not bad for $15, which gets you in both days and provides access to all speaker presentations and festival events (see the complete schedule for details). Seattle’s Green Festival will feature a Music, Arts & Culture Room, Community Action Pavilion, Green Living Pavilion, Fair Trade & Social Justice Pavilion, Local Food & Farming Pavilion, DIY Zone (featuring hands-on workshops), Green Kids’ Zone, Blue Corner (all things aquatic) and Exhibitor Marketplace. It’s a lot to take in, even spread across an entire weekend.

The not-to-miss Exhibitor Marketplace can be a bit overwhelming (there are more than 350 businesses spread throughout the exhibit hall), and my recommendation is to hit it early before it gets too crowded and difficult to maneuver in a timely manner. It’s a great opportunity to wander serendipitously and see the latest developments in green products and services, and to chat with the people either behind them or representing them. Talk about rapidly emerging markets in the new green economy—this is positive ground zero, where you’ll find everything from wind-energy-powered web host providers and sustainably grown herbs to electric bikes and green burials/home funerals (yep, you read that right, the ultimate in cradle-to-grave-and-back self-realization).

In addition to Lovins, the many speakers well worth seeing in Seattle include Amy Goodman, John Perkins, Thom Hartmann, David Korten and festival-cofounder Kevin Danaher. But this event—which also takes place at various dates in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago—is about much more than merely listening to an informed quorum of speakers: it’s about the strong vibe, getting sweaty-palmed, heartbeat-aflutter caught up in a momentum-gaining movement that transcends social, political, commercial and religious/ethical/philosophical boundaries, and becoming part of something that’s attempting to affect true positive change in an era sadly being defined by financial scandals and hardships, environmental degradation and disaster, political stalemate and savagery, across-the-board apathy and, well, let me stop there—the Green Festival is for, lest we forget, yeasayers not naysayers.

I hope you can make the Seattle event this weekend, but if not, Washington and San Francisco Green Festivals take place this fall. All aboard the brighter, smarter future that’s here and now.

—Allen

FARMVILLE DOESN’T COUNT.

Shared Earth, on its homepage, puts it this way: “Land owners get to make more efficient use of their land. Gardeners and farmers get access to land. Our community is built on the premise that we can create a greener, more organic and efficient world one garden at a time.” The organization, free to join at this point, invites you to create either a garden or gardener profile, which then gets entered into a searchable listing. It’s kind of like an online dating service but for the gardening set—and you don’t even have to enter your astrological sign, favorite happy hour tipple or profess your undying love for Beverley Nichols, Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver or Michael Pollan.

What you do enter is, if you’re a gardener, a headline and description about your gardening, what you can grow, your years of experience (neophytes out there, you can select “none”), how the work and compensation will play out, and if you can provide your own tools. If you have a garden, you enter a headline and description about your garden, its size (the pulldown menu here goes from less than 50 feet to 150 acres), if it’s ready to plant or needs some assistance, if you’re going to help and when gardeners can access your space. That’s all there is to it. You’re in the system, ready to connect and share some earth.

Shared Earth has partnered with the Sustainable Food Center in Austin, Texas, and the Coastal Conservation League in South Carolina, and is looking for additional partners and volunteers. It’s the brainchild of entrepreneur/venture capitalist Adam Dell who connected his land with a gardener online for his eureka!/voila! moment. As I write this, Shared Earth’s website proclaims, “28,079,280 square feet shared,” which to me is much better than “blankety-blank burgers served” any day of the week. There isn’t an imposing number of listings up yet, but they range in location from Brisbane and Nottingham to Little Rock and Onalaska (that’s in Washington state, BTW). And, please keep in mind, this Shared Earth thing is just getting started.

Farmville, Schmarmville—perhaps it’s time to get outside and try the real thing.

—Allen

YOU KNOW YOU’RE GETTING SOMEWHERE WHEN EVEN LOVABLE OL’ SPONGEBOB’S FULLY ABOARD.

#1 Spend some time off the grid.
You know, unplug, unbuckle and set yourself free … for a bit. The rat race/almighty hamster wheel will still be there when you get back, but perhaps you’ll have heard an inspirational songbird, meditated on world peace or the price of wheat, thought about family or friends you’ve been neglecting of late, imagined a cumulous the mighty prow of an ancient vessel or majestic whale’s tale, or walked a silent path on your lunch hour sans cell, iPod or other mechanical distraction. Feels good, doesn’t it?

#2 Start a great green book.
Okay, perhaps not one of your own devising, but one that will motivate and inspire and spur a dialogue with others. Here’re a couple candidates: Bill McKibben’s got a new one, Eaarth (find out just what he’s got in mind with that extra “a”); James William Gibson’s eco-fabulous book, A Reenchanted World, is just out in paperback; or revisit/discover a classic from Muir, Thoreau, Snyder, Carson, Leopold, Abbey, Berry, Han Shan, et al.

#3 Engage a stranger in a face-to-face conversation.
Forget—at least for a while—texting, online social media, e-mail and that ubiquitous cell, and say, HELLO, my name is ________. What do you think about _______? Pick a topic, any topic, but it’s Earth Day and its fortieth anniversary, so why not make it about our planet, ecology, the lives of plants and animals, what Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption, and resultant disruption, says about the world of today?

#4 Join a new environmental or socially responsible group and volunteer some time and/or money.
With the rampant economic upheavals that continue unabated (kind of like Eyjafjallajökull Clash of the Titansed-up to mega-Kraken proportions), even a soupçon of support can help. And there are a myriad of exceptional organizations out there fighting the good fight, locally, nationally, globally. Initiate your own web search or feel free to hit our Tilth Creative Collaborative list.

#5 Engage in some “Negawatt revolutionary” activity.
We’re not advocating some sort of apostasic militant anarchy here, but really just a simple rethink of the way you go about some of your everyday business: turning off lights when not in use, replacing traditional lightbulbs with CFLs, driving less, eating more that’s grown locally, etc. See our “The Negawatt Revolution Is Here and Now!” and “Energy Savings in Action” posts for lots more actionable details on creating these units of energy saved.

#6 Start planning your next holiday/vacation with eco-friendly considerations.
Try visiting a place like Glacier National Park rather than faraway Paris this summer. And if you can get there as fuel efficiently as possible, please do so. Glacier too far away? Check a regional gazetteer and visit somewhere closer to home.

#7 Plan your garden or start a garden for the first time.
What better way to get involved with the Earth than literally to get involved with earth! It’s still early to start planting, but never too early to start planning your new garden. What kind of veggies will thrive and where best in your plot of land (or community garden, if you lack the space yourself)? Ever try raised beds? What about an energy-efficient greenhouse DIY kit? If you’re in that new-to-gardening camp and hungry for tips, check out Oregonian scribe Kym Pokorny’s “Grow your own veggies: How to start an edible garden” story.

#8 Think “precycle” when it comes to what goes on your shopping list.
The less packaging the better, so keep that in mind when you’re getting ready to shop. I’m not advocating you go entirely bulk or buy everything in concentrate, but do you need a plastic bag for those three avocados (to, what, stop a border skirmish?)? a noncompostable container for those sprouts or to-go bagel and lox? pre-washed, already-chopped stir-fry veggies in a plastic container (c’mon, it’s not an insurmountable obstacle to buy the ingredients individually and prep them yourself)?

#9 Get directly involved with the Earth Day 2010 Campaign.
The Earth Day 2010 Action Center’s the place to be. You can commit to Billion Acts of Green, RSVP to the Climate Rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., taking place April 25, learn about campus and environmental arts events and programs, plus plenty more. You can also connect via Facebook.

#10 Use at least one “alternative” mode of transportation—and make a habit of it.
Can you walk, jog or bike to work or where you need to get to at some point during the day or evening? Can you leave the car at home and take the bus, light rail or turn that client meeting into a teleconference with PDFs shared electronically rather than paper printouts? Can you imagine a world with less smog and less stressful congestion? See our Green Dynamind post on bike sharing, “Cycle to Work—It’s the Law!,” for more on progressive thinking when it comes to transportation.

#11 Make every day Earth Day!
Arguably the no-brainer edict of the century, I believe, and an obvious embodiment of the golden rule, but sometimes acknowledgement, leading to perspective, awareness and action, can be everything.

—Allen

THINGS GOTTA CHANGE

And I’m going to take Cleveland, and the “Cleveland Model,” as a new and enlightening nexus point, that is, its cooperative spirit, literal co-ops and bright green focus—and, hoop fans, I’m not talking LeBron James, Shaq, turn$tile revenues (green of another sort) and the concomitant full-glaze opiate common of professional sports. This is—drum roll, please—CHANGE TO BELIEVE IN! And I think we’re all ready for a true (a posse ad esse) annus mirabillis.

Opening of the Evergreen Cooperative Laundry.

WHAT CLEVELAND IS DOING, AND DOING QUITE WELL, is creating jobs, many of them green, generating wealth, spurring growth and enhancing community, through Evergreen Cooperatives, a Cleveland-area partnership between six city neighborhoods and “anchor institutions,” which include the city, the Cleveland Foundation, Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. Businesses launched so far include Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, Ohio Cooperative Solar and (still in prelaunch) Green City Growers—all local, employee-owned and for-profit companies that utilize green best practices (such as LEED silver certification and a small carbon footprint at the laundry). And they’re doing this despite current economic conditions, and in a city not normally associated with growth (Cleveland’s population has halved since 1950 and the poverty rate stands at more than 30 percent).

This cooperative model has been inspired by the MONDRAGON Corporation in the Basque Country of northern Spain, which includes 256 independent companies (more than 100 of which are worker-owned cooperatives) and employs 100,000+ people. MONDRAGON’s governance (instituted by the principle of one worker, one vote) shares its overriding resources with the individual companies, assisting with planning, research, funding and more. While not impervious to the recent global economic downturn, the cooperative has seen a significant €1,324 million in investment—a clear, determined commitment to the future—with no market share or position lost in relation to its competition.

Evergreen Cooperatives, instead of “business as usual,” limits the spread between high and low salaries: no top-management employee earns more than five times any entry-level employee. The Evergreen Cooperative Development Fund, meanwhile, managed by ShoreBank Enterprise Cleveland, offers low-interest, long-term financing; it’s capitalized by $5 million in grants and expects to raise another $10-$12 million, which will ideally leverage up to $40 million in additional investment funds. The fund’s website adds:

In keeping with the wealth building goals of the Fund, the Fund also works to ensure the availability of “wrap around services” so that neighborhood residents may become effective employees and organizes the businesses to have an ownership structure that makes employees into employee-owners, who not only have the ability to earn a living wage, but also the chance to build wealth and assets as part-owners of the companies where they work.

Ohio Cooperative Solar—could the name be much greener?!—is currently installing solar panels on the roofs of the city’s largest nonprofit health, education and municipal buildings, working to meet Ohio’s mandate to generate 60 megawatts of solar energy by 2012 (2 megawatts are presently being generated). It’s also leading the way in Ohio’s weatherization program, ripping a noble page right from Van Jones‘ Green Collar Economy.

What about in-the-works Green City Growers (in a city that can certainly benefit from local, affordable produce)? This co-op will open a 230,000-square-foot hydroponic-food-production greenhouse, utilizing new-tech energy-efficient lighting, of course, and produce nearly a million pounds of basil and other herbs and 3 million heads of lettuce a year. In addition to job creation, this will certainly help supplant an over-reliance on fast food, common in urban “food deserts”—a very healthy benefit, indeed.

A newfangled, new-new-deal-wrangled commie plot to take down the greater system? Hardly. I’d rather subscribe to the theory as espoused in a recent story about the Cleveland model reported in The Nation (March 1, 2010):

The overall strategy is not only to go green but to design and position all the worker-owned co-ops as the greenest firms within their sectors. This is important in itself, but even more crucial is that the new green companies are aiming for a competitive advantage in getting the business of hospitals and other anchor institutions trying to shrink their carbon footprint. Far fewer green-collar jobs have been identified nationwide than had been hoped; and there is a danger that people are being trained and certified for work that doesn’t exist. The Evergreen strategy represents another approach—first build the green business and jobs and then recruit and train the workforce for these new positions (and give them an ownership stake to boot). (Emphasis added.)

Key here is seeing this model not only successful in Cleveland but rolled out across the country. Again, from The Nation:

What’s especially promising about the Cleveland model is that it could be applied in hard-hit industries and working-class communities around the nation. The model takes us beyond both traditional capitalism and traditional socialism. The key link is between national sectors of expanding public activity and procurement, on the one hand, and a new local economic entity, on the other, that “democratizes” ownership and is deeply anchored in the community. In the case of healthcare the link is also to a sector in which some implicit or explicit form of “national planning”—the movement toward universal healthcare—will all but certainly increase public influence and concern with how funds are used.

Change to believe in? Absolutely, albeit it’s certain to be filled with both trials and tribulations, which are part and parcel of any learning process and establishment of something new. This is a true grassroots movement, from the bottom up, influencing larger organizations and players and getting them aboard in supporting roles (those “anchor institutions,” as mentioned previously)—putting power in the hands of the individual and folding it into a galvanized collective, letting workers take legitimate pride in ownership, rather than shake in their boots fearing their jobs may soon vanish overseas to help actualize greater bottom-line profits.

People and the planet figure large in the Cleveland model’s bottom line, that is, the triple bottom line. So let’s get that remarkable year, that annus mirabillis, in gear. Consider this a different form of bipartisanship to believe in—a completely different animal—from Cleveland, with antecedents in the Basque region of Spain. And finally, that said, this doesn’t let state or federal government, not to mention banks, off the hook or free to escape culpability—funding channels, with actual cash flow, need to be encouraged, established and supported.*

—Allen

*See Robert Pollin’s excellent piece, “18 Million Jobs by 2012,” in the March 8, 2010, issue of The Nation for realizable ways to help generate additional funding for sustainable-job-building programs like Evergreen Cooperatives. Related calculation details can be found at UMass’s Political Economy Research Institute.

WHETHER YOU CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS OR NOT

WILSON REBOUND BASKETBALL “Think globally. Hoop locally.” Hoop it up with Wilson’s first green product, made from 40 percent recycled rubber. The packaging is 80 percent pre- and post-consumer board. A great way to get active and green simultaneously!

POWER MONKEY EXPLORER SOLAR CHARGER This critter cranks, providing up to 96 hours of reserve power for your essential electronic devices—stuff, let’s face it, you just can’t give up and that require (seemingly) constant recharging. With the Power Monkey, you can suck less off the grid.

PRESERVE RECYCLED MIXING BOWLS Gotta love these bright and tough mixing bowls that nest nicely for easy storage. They’re BPA free and made from 100 percent recycled #5 plastic. Ideal equally for slow food or fast meals. And Preserve, the company, has a great green tag line: “Nothing wasted. Everything gained.”

NAU SHROUD OF PURRIN HOODY This attractive women’s soft shell is wind and water resistant, breathable and ideal for outdoor activities (there’s also a men’s version). It’s also very green, made from recycled post-consumer and post-industrial polyester waste, and can be recycled at the end of its life (triple-bottom-line-focused Nau utilizes cradle-to-cradle ECO CIRCLE technology).

SOKOL BLOSSER 2007 DUNDEE HILLS PINOT NOIR A spectacular Willamette Valley, Oregon, Pinot from a deep green winemaker. Sokol Blosser adheres to the Natural Step principles, and is distinctly “fruit forward” when it comes to vineyard and business sustainable practices.

YES! MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION Quarterly YES! Magazine is an exceptional green and socially responsible read all the way through, which makes it a great green gift. And being champions of Creative Commons licensing, these Bainbridge Island, Washingtonians are into sharing what they say and what they’re about.

TOY RECYCLING TRUCK This durable little guy from Green Toys can assist in playfully sending the right message to the next generation. Recycled milk jugs are the primary ingredient in this made-in-the-USA toy. Make recycle time playtime!

FLAMING LIPS REUSABLE SHOPPING BAG Hey, these crazy Oklahomans have an inspiring all-embracing spirituality and playfulness that just says NO! to negative vibes, greed mongering and Abaddon-bent hegemony. While any reusable shopping bag may do, we like the message behind this one—even if you’ve yet to see the Flaming Lips, or prefer Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. Oh yeah, you might also consider their Silver Trembling Fetus Ornament—just in time to skew the holidays.

KOR ONE HYDRATION VESSELS Yet another stylish way to shun the blight of bottled water, these BPA-free containers come in four special-edition designs that represent water-related causes. KOR has also selected four nonprofits for its Thirst for Giving program that will benefit from each purchase: Algalita Marine Research Foundation, The Wetlands Initiative, Container Recycling Institute and Blue Planet Run Foundation.

CROOZER CARGO BIKE TRAILER Okay, enough with hearing lame excuses from your hardcore biking buddies about them not having any, or enough, bike cargo space when it comes to running errands. This trailer has bounteous capacity (66 pounds), a removable cover and is super easy to hitch and unhitch. Any bike-related item pretty much makes a great green gift.

A COPY OF BRINGING IT TO THE TABLE AND A REENCHANTED WORLD Wendell Berry’s collection of essays on farming and food was a delightful release in 2009, as was James William Gibson’s treatise on man’s interaction with nature, the environmental movement and promise for the future. Let’s toss Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice, and membership in the Progressive Book Club in there, too—books make wonderful gifts.

LOVE YOUR STREAM POSTER From Good Nature Publishing Company and illustrated by Sherry Neidigh, this delightful poster is all about clean water best practices—a message worth sharing wrapped in beautiful art.

—Allen

THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

And with the holiday season upon us, what better time to—if you haven’t already— shop and buy local, and keep your cash, and attendant goodwill, recirculating in your community. So rev up that actions-speak-louder-than-words multiplier effect, it’s small-mart time! And I promise no descents into the vagaries of zero-sums and game theory, trade deficits, WTO WTF?!, China, India or, for that matter, droll laissez-faire Milton Friedmanesque spouts.

“TURNING DOLLARS AROUND LOCALLY [through recirculation] will help to limit the amount of dollars flowing out of the region and be a stabilizing influence,” says Billy Ray Hall, president of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center in Raleigh, as quoted in a recent Christian Science Monitor piece. “But it’s when you sprinkle entrepreneurship into the mix and have a commitment to grow businesses locally that you have a sustainable base.” So you need smarts, some demonstrable business acumen in the mix, to battle the big boxes and chains—those that rely on slick national advertising and low, low prices as ultimate enticement—that’s the carrot; the stick comes later when the lucre is siphoned out of town back to corporate headquarters. Merely hanging a BUY LOCAL sign, then, isn’t enough.

Educating consumers, raising awareness of the importance of buying local, which can be achieved by banding together with like-minded businesses (even if you consider them competitors), is a highly recommended strategy for battling the big guys. Many towns and cities have “buy local” or “think local” organizations that can pool resources, hatch joint marketing plans and bazooka out shared PR efforts. Check the American Independent Business Alliance website to see if there’s a branch near you; same with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. Also, talk to your business and community neighbors, engage in social media (who, for instance, is tweeting with a “buy local” hashtag in your area?), interact and converse wherever and whenever you can—forge those connections that are the cornerstone of community.

Here in Portland, Oregon, the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) launched a “Think Local First” marketing campaign five years ago to support independent, locally owned businesses (its focus today is “Local First: Choose locally owned businesses”). “This program,” the SBN website explains, “enhances the livability of our community, the stability and diversity of the local economy, and the retention and expansion of independent, locally owned businesses through increasing awareness about the personal, community, and economic benefits of choosing local first.” Choose Local (not associated with SBN), which covers four Oregon cities to date, provides a free loyalty discount card that can be used at a wide variety of local businesses (discounts tend to be 10 percent to 15 percent).

In addition to the tourist-centric Made in Oregon stores, Local Goods opened in Portland this September, its focus on locally made, sustainable products offered at a fair price—if you live hereabouts, it’s well worth a trip to East Burnside to take a look. This is merely the tip of the iceberg lettuce—get out there and explore; the Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations’ website and  Green America’s National Green Pages are highly recommended jumping-off points.

Simple, fresh, slow, organic, sustainable … and local. When it comes to food (and Green Dynamind has covered the topic in “Back to the Garden” and “A Paean to Organic Agriculture, Oregon Style”), food miles are an additional concern—that is, the distance food travels from its origin to point of sale, which sadly is increasing. Buying local entirely obviates this issue, of course, and is gaining momentum, both locally and nationally. Cost and availability are still major challenges, unfortunately, to be overcome in numerous locations. In Oregon, where we have a plethora of farmers’ markets, CSAs, wineries and breweries, as well as grocers and restaurants that passionately buy local, the Oregon Environmental Council has set up a handy website of resources for buying locally grown food. “Buy local” has certainly made purposeful strides when it comes to food, it’s a trend in ascent, albeit bottom-line price will continue to be a major factor in regards to many family budgets.

Consider these points, and share them, when it comes to buying local (adapted from a list in Green Festival Reader: Fresh Ideas from Agents of Change and at Sustainable Connections, the Bellingham, Washington, chapter of BALLE):

• More money recirculates in the local economy when purchases are made at locally owned businesses.
• Nonprofits receive greater support from locally owned businesses.
• Unique businesses help create a distinctive spirit of place.
• Local businesses have a reduced environmental impact.
• Most new jobs are provided by local businesses; green jobs can be a sizable part of this.
• Customer service and support are superior at local businesses.
• Local business owners invest in the local community.
• Public benefits far outweigh public costs.
• Competition and diversity lead to more choices.
• Supporting local enterprise encourages local investment (and don’t forget local financial-service opportunities like credit unions and community banks).

One last shout out for small-mart (v. Wal-Mart) I’d like to share comes from Ralph Nader’s utopian joyride of an doctrine-stuffed novel, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us! (and not, alas, from Stephen King’s dystopian trapped-community-goes-homicidally-wild parable, Under the Dome!):

“The general objective is to turn Wal-Mart into a pull-up giant instead of a pull-down behemoth outsourcing its suppliers to China, hollowing out communities, offloading its responsibilities to its workers onto the American taxpayer, and driving its competitors to break their labor agreements and downgrade wages and benefits. Otherwise the vast Wal-Mart sub-economy will keep metastasizing and depress the standard of living for millions of American workers. This is not the way our economy grew in the past.” (See our “How the Light Gets In” for more on righting the wrongs of the “new bad economy.”)

’Tis always the season to shop and buy local first.

—Allen

“I LIVE IN A PART OF THE COUNTRY

An out-of-touch cranky neo-luddite screeching for a return to prelapsarian times? Hardly. Berry’s vision is that of a hardy-yet-hoary realist, tinged by both optimism and pessimism (ah, the foibles of humanity!), attempting to show us a path out of our befoulment, a steaming, festering swamp we teeter face-first ever closer toward. And Berry’s prose? Gracefully worn and weathered to a burnished beauty, like a glacier-cast erratic, transfigurative in its straightforward simplicity.

“NOW WE FACE OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE that we are not smart enough to recover Eden by assault,” Berry continues in that same 20-year-old opening essay, “and that nature does not tolerate or excuse our abuses. If, in spite of the evidence against us, we are finding it hard to relinquish our old ambition, we are also seeing more clearly every day how that ambition has reduced and enslaved us.” Again, a harsh-yet-realist assessment of where we are today—and clearly observed two decades ago. Over the course of its 234 pages, Bringing It to the Table shows us how to get away from that “ambition,” how small farms and farmers are achieving this end, and how food, what we eat and how we eat it and where it comes from, can bring the vast majority of us who don’t and never will farm to the transformative table Berry has in mind. Consider it the taxonomy of a well-rounded meal.

The book is neatly divided into three parts, “Farming,” “Farmers” and “Food,” with essays and novel/story excerpts dating from 1960 to 2006. The “Food” section, which closes the book and primarily consists of excerpts from Berry’s fiction (all deal with eating, the “communal event” that meals represent), doesn’t quite cohere with the others—it seems a little force-fitted and concept-pushed—even with Berry’s accompanying contextual notes for guidance. I’ve never been a fan of reading short excerpts of larger works of fiction, especially when situated directly adjacent matter-of-fact essays. That said, this section does close with an excellent essay, “The Pleasures of Eating,” again from 1989, which considers eating an agricultural-political act:

There is, then, a politics of food that, like any politics, involves our freedom. We still (sometimes) remember that we cannot be free if our minds and voices are controlled by someone else. But we have neglected to understand that we cannot be free if our food and its sources are controlled by someone else. The condition of the passive consumer of food is not a democratic condition. One reason to eat responsibly is to live free.

Berry makes an impassioned plea for us to (re)connect to the natural world—a powerful means to establishing empathy and rethinking our relationship to the environment per se. “A significant part of the pleasure of eating,” he writes, “is one’s accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which food comes. The pleasure of eating, then, may be the best available standard of our health. And this pleasure, I think, is pretty fully available to the urban consumer who will make the necessary effort.”

“Farming” and “Farmers” make up the vast majority of the book—and choice observations and bon mots abound, easily appreciated no matter where you stand on the urban-rural divide. I don’t want to share all the folded-down pages and underscored passages from my copy of the book (I’d rather you go out, purchase your own copy and read it straight through), but Berry, time and again, essay after essay, has a firm grasp of what makes a compelling story (Border Cheviot hill sheep in “Let the Farm Judge”—see pic to left), an ideal anecdote (the practicality of a well-planned barn in “Elmer Lapp’s Place”) and the timely application of a necessarily sharp barb (“The factory farm, rather than serving the farm family and the local community, is an economic siphon, sucking value out of the local landscape and the local community into distant bank accounts” in “Stupidity in Concentration”).

I’ve posted previously on the growth of organic agriculture and need for more fair agricultural policy, and sincerely hope the work of writers like Wendell Berry, with books as vivid and telling as Bringing It to the Table, can and will reach a wider mainstream audience, including lawmakers and influencers from K Street to Hollywood and Vine, to help effect real change in matters of what and how we eat, where our food comes from and where we’re heading as a nation and as a world—let’s make “super-sized” and its ilk words and practices of a distant, unhealthy past never to be repeated. Let’s not leave Berry and Bringing It to the Table like Ovid and Sorrows of an Exile, where:

You’ll go, my little book—and I feel no envy—
Without me to the City where, alas,
Your master may not go. Go, but be shabby
As suits an exile’s book. In your sad pass
Be dressed to match our lot: no purple cover—
That color won’t beseem a grieving soul—

Extra Credit
Closing with a poetic extract I’d feel it remiss to not also mention and highly recommend Berry’s new collection of verse, Leavings (Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2009), which, while not exactly the Georgics, includes his latest “sabbath” poems (2005-2008)—observations on life, death, love, friendship and nature originating from contemplative Sunday wanderings. Berry, certainly not an exile, is also on Facebook, where you can become a fan and comment on a wide variety of sanctioned posts.

—Allen

‘To be interested in food but not in food production is clearly absurd.’ —Wendell Berry

WE’RE AT THE OUTER EDGE OF SUMMER, TEETERING TOWARD FALL, the autumnal equinox mere days away, and celebrating, here in Oregon, another Organically Grown in Oregon Week, now in its twenty-first year. With 425 certified organic farms and organic production covering more than 115,000 acres, Oregon has been a longtime leader in the organic agriculture charge toward sustainability and “good food for all.” And now with an organic vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House (raising a big the-day-has-finally-come HURRAH! from Alice Waters; not so much from Monsanto) and everywhere you turn talk of simple, slow, local, organic and boy, do we ever need to change our nation’s eating habits, let’s hope this movement can gain serious momentum, and requisite backing, to make a real difference in the way food is grown, harvested, sustained and eaten.

As Michael Pollan writes in the introduction to a new collection of essays by Wendell Berry, Bringing It to the Table: On Farming and Food (Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2009), “Certainly these are heady days for people who have been working to reform the way Americans grow food and feed themselves—the ‘food movement’ as it is now often called. Markets for alternative kinds of food—local and organic and pastured—are thriving, farmers’ markets are popping up like mushrooms, and for the first time in more than a century the number of farmers tallied in the Department of Agriculture’s census has gone up rather than down.”

WHAT GOT THINGS GOING IN OREGON? Well, there’s a lot more than choice Pinot Noir grapes growing with exuberance up, down and across the Willamette Valley, and throughout the rest of the state for that matter. Produce is bountiful: wheat, hay, barley, oats, hazelnuts, berries, pears, plums, cherries, apples, green peas, onions, snap beans, sweet corn, hops, sugar beats and fescue, to name a few. Oregon, early on, saw the value in organic and passed the first organic standards legislation in the United States in 1973, first published organic certification standards in 1987, declared the first Organically Grown in Oregon Week in 1988, revised the Oregon Organic Food Laws in 1989 (a model for eventual national organic standards) and first established a statewide advocacy group in 2005, Oregon Organic Coalition, to evangelize the trade to private and public interests.

We need also give a shout out here to Oregon Tilth, a nonprofit “supporting and promoting biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture through education, research, advocacy, and certification.” Its antecedents reach back to the early 1970s and Regional Tilth, which had chapters in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Northern California and Idaho (read more Oregon Tilth history). Oregon Tilth’s excellent resources (available online) include listings for CSAs, U-picks and farmers’ markets, ingredients sourcing, regulations and trade, farm and garden tools, such as an organic fertilizer calculator from Oregon State University, and much, much more.

Bright green Oregon (viridian, anyone?), fortunately, is no longer alone; the food movement, as Pollan points out, is indeed experiencing heady days. Last week’s progressive-powered Nation magazine was a special issue featuring a “Food for All: How to Grow Democracy” forum, articles on starting a community garden (written by a Portland-area master gardener), ending hunger in Africa, growing local food in New Orleans, improving college cafeterias, a Mississippi farmers’ market and plenty more you might consider shades of beryl, chartreuse, lime or olive. “Food democracy” took center stage in the forum’s intro paragraph, an idea, or meme, whose time has undoubtedly come (and sounding rather all Galbraith/”Good Society” in a, well, good way). “[F]ood democracy,” the Nation editors declaimed, “requires a transformation of the food industry, so that workers and consumers can exercise control over what they produce and eat. As the Small Planet Institute defines it, ‘Food democracy means the right of all to an essential of life—safe, nutritious food. It also suggests fair access to land to grow food and a fair return for those who labor to produce it. Food democracy concerns itself with the future as well: It implies economic rules that encourage communities to safeguard soil, water, and wildlife on which all our lives and futures depend.’ ”

We’ll return to this subject in future posts (a Green Dynamind book review of Berry’s Bringing It to the Table is coming soon), but suffice it to say Oregon and the rest of the nation are making more positive moves to establish food democracy and to enact sound agricultural policies, to raise awareness of where food actually comes from before it hits your plate, to get people eating healthier and more responsibly, and to buy and support what’s local, or what’s local as possible. But there’s still a lot of work to do, as eloquently evidenced by Brent Cunningham in his Nation special food issue contribution, “Cornucopia Blues”:

In his most recent book, In Defense of Food, Pollan offers guidelines for what to eat and how—buy a freezer, eat wild foods when you can, get out of the supermarket—that are suited to people with disposable income, not to the single mother who must feed her kids while working two jobs, negotiating the world without a car and dealing with the many other, less obvious burdens of poverty. To her, the Value Meal at the corner McDonald’s is practicable; foraging for salad greens is not. For the revolution to succeed, it must find ways to make better “food decisions” practicable for her. Even if she wanted to vote with her fork, she has few realistic options as she waits for the system of agricultural subsidies to be fixed.

Let’s ramp up the fixing part, get lawmakers—such as has occurred here in Oregon and in other states—creating stronger and more fair agricultural policies, and get more organic options on the table—everybody’s table! Fast food or convenience market food should not be one of the only options, if not the only option, to those in trying circumstances or of less means. Let’s roll up our sleeves and make this a meaningful moral imperative.

Last but not least, if you’re in the vicinity, it’s not too late to take part in the celebration of this year’s Organically Grown in Oregon Week. Events this weekend include LifeSource Natural Foods in Salem’s farm tours from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, a farm and vineyard tour in southern Oregon’s breathtaking Applegate Valley 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (also on Saturday), and a People’s Food Co-op and Food Front Co-op cosponsored daylong tour of organic and biodynamic farms in the Hood River Valley this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.. More details are available on the Oregon Organic Coalition website.

10 Reasons to Support Oregon’s Organic Agriculture

1. Oregon’s organically grown foods must meet strict USDA standards and organic farms and processors are inspected annually. Oregon Tilth, one of the most respected third‐party certifiers in the United States, certifies most of Oregon’s organic farms and processors.
2. Oregon’s organically grown foods are grown without persistent pesticides or chemical fertilizers. In the instances where organic farmers use pest controls, they work with a limited number of materials that are carefully selected to ensure that they are safer for people and the environment. Oregon’s organic processed foods contain no artificial or synthetic preservatives that would harm the environment and are minimally processed and manufactured using only a short list of additives allowed by the USDA.
3. Oregon’s organically grown foods taste great because they are grown close to home and can be harvested ripe and ready for eating or processing. New studies are also showing that many organic foods contain higher levels of nutrients than their conventionally grown counterparts.
4. Oregon’s organic farms are great stewards of our state’s farmland. Organic farming methods help protect our state’s most valuable agricultural resources, including our soils and waterways.
5. Oregon’s organic farms are managed by families who are active members in their local communities and committed to the success and vitality of family farms across the state. There are 425 certified organic farms in Oregon, with over 115,000 acres in organic production.
6. Oregon’s organic farms are located close to their customers, allowing processors and distributors, grocers and consumers to receive the freshest products, often within hours of harvest. Personal relationships can be established between farmer and customer, ensuring a more secure food supply and a better overall understanding of where our food comes from.
7. Oregon’s organic farms protect the diversity of species and plant genetics in our landscapes. Organic farmers manage the agricultural landscape with the goal of maintaining healthy, balanced ecosystems for generations to come. The variety of local organically grown foods has been an inspiring influence on our culinary arts, both professionally and in the home kitchen.
8. Oregon’s organic farms grow a feast for the senses, reflecting our state’s unique geography. Potatoes from the Klamath Basin, onions from eastern Oregon, apples and pears from the Columbia Gorge, meats from central Oregon, mixed vegetables and cut flowers from the Willamette Valley, dairy products from the coast, wines from more than a dozen appellations, even grass seed for organic lawns!
9. Supporting Oregon’s organic farms means ensuring that the state will continue to possess a diverse mix of family farms and that your food dollars will remain in the state to benefit local communities.
10. Supporting Oregon’s organic agriculture allows you to eat with the seasons. Spring’s rhubarb, peas and greens. Summer’s berries, stone fruits and salads. Autumn’s apples and pears. Winter’s hard squashes and soup vegetables. If it can be grown in Oregon, there is an organic farmer growing it!

“10 Reasons” Source: Oregon Organic Coalition

Addendum
Oregon community organic gardening in action! The first story is from May 2009 and the second from September 2009.

Country Garden Will Provide Food for Needy People (from OregonLive.com): Empty Multnomah County land taken over by blackberries will soon grow organic produce for the county’s hungry. Commissioners today approved colleague Jeff Cogen’s proposal to use about two acres of a 46-acre Troutdale parcel known as the “pig farm” for a victory garden. Volunteers and residents sentenced to community service will work the land and produce enough food to give 500 needy people a regular supply of fresh vegetables. Read the complete story.

County’s Old ‘Poor Farm’ Nets 3,000 Pounds of Produce (from KGW): Commissioners had planned to celebrate a harvest of 2,000 pounds but were surprised to learn Tuesday that the farm had actually produced 3,000 pounds. All of the produce goes directly to the Oregon Food Bank. Read the complete story.

—Allen

CAN SUSTAINABLE AND FISHING PEACEFULLY COEXIST IN THE SAME SENTENCE?

With perhaps 20,000 known species of fish swimming around out there, why should we worry about the “ugly” bug-eyed hoki (as described by Broad), a fish, also known as a whiptail, that didn’t even make the cut for inclusion in Richard Ellis’ enthralling Encyclopedia of the Sea (New York: Alfred E. Knopf, 2000)? It turns out that there’s a very good reason for concern, and a fish like the hoki, while certainly not as cute or family friendly as darling Nemo, helps bring overfishing further into the collective public consciousness—that plus the work of many, many diligent NGOs. That’s our bait, now let’s get ready for the tackle!

CONSIDER THE HOKI A CASH(SEA)COW if there ever was one: the fast-food/chain-restaurant industry—we’re talking McDonald’s, Long John Silver’s and Denny’s, to name but three—has been using them in fried-fish sandwiches for more than a decade now (mmm, Filet-O-Fish, anyone?). Broad reports that “McDonald’s alone at one time used roughly 15 million pounds of it each year.” Found primarily in half-mile-deep water near New Zealand, the hoki was deemed part of a well-managed, sustainable fishery practice in 2001 and shipped, frozen or fileted, the world over. That practice now seems very much in question. “Without formally acknowledging that hoki are being overfished,” Broad writes in the Times piece, “New Zealand has slashed the allowable catch in steps, from about 275,000 tons in 2000 and 2001 to about 100,000 tons in 2007 and 2008—a decline of nearly two-thirds.” He also quotes the World Wildlife Fund’s Peter Trott, who said problems include population declines, ecosystem damage and the accidental killing of skates and sharks.

The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council rebutts on its website:

• There is a significant natural fluctuation in the stocks of hoki. As they have done in the past, fisheries managers will continue to manage these fluctuations by adjusting the amount of fish they allow to be caught.
• The 2009 stock assessment shows New Zealand’s hoki fisheries are healthy, increasing in size and have responded well to prudent management.

Okay, so there we go: he says, they say, who knows. We descend, like an intrepid deep-sea diver, into the well-muddled inky darkness. Without attempting to solve the hoki hullabaloo in one extremely deft fell swoop, let’s take a look at who’s looking out for the relatively defenseless denizens of the sea, starting with several Broad mentions.

• World Wildlife Fund: WWF, for more than 45 years now, has been protecting the future of nature, working in 100 countries and supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF’s unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature. Sea life supported by WWF includes humphead wrasse (take a look at this critter!), marine turtles, penguins, tuna, and whales and dolphins.
• Forest & Bird (New Zealand): This independent conservation organization works to preserve New Zealand’s natural heritage and native species. Forest & Bird (kind of a misnomer as it definitely includes sea life!) provides a “pro-conservation voice for all our threatened species and fragile places—from endangered Maui’s dolphins to high-country-tussock-lands.” The organization makes clear that “New Zealand’s territory covers an area of ocean many times greater than our land mass, and is home to many itinerant species, such as sea-birds and marine mammals.”
• Marine Stewardship Council: Now 10 years in existence, the MSC is a sustainable-seafood certification and eco-labelling program with global reach. It has offices in London, Seattle, Tokyo, the Hague, Edinburgh, Berlin, Cape Town and Miranda, Australia. In regards to governance, the MSC says, “We work in partnership with a number of organisations, businesses and funders around the world but are fully independent of all. Stakeholders from a range of backgrounds contribute to the MSC program ensuring balance and preventing the dominance of single interests.”
• Blue Ocean Institute: This organization, co-founded by authors Carl Safina and Mercedes Lee in 2003, “studies and articulates how the ocean is changing and how everything humans do—both on land at sea—affects the waters, wildlife, and people of our world. … Blue Ocean Institute is the only conservation organization that uses science, art, and literature to inspire a closer bond with nature, especially the sea.” The organization’s website encourages visitors to upload photos for possible homepage inclusion, and also includes a wealth of art, poetry and various other writings (check out their Sea Stories), videos and photos, wallpaper downloads and more.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Save the Oceans: This portion of the popular aquarium’s website features a wealth of conservation actions, information and news, plus its deservedly popular Seafood Watch (also available as an iPhone app, of course!).
• Seafood Choices Alliance: This international program provides leadership and opportunities for change across the seafood industry and ocean conservation community. Founded in the United States in 2001, the organization’s lofty goal is to help “the seafood industry— from fishermen and fish farmers to processors, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and food service providers—to make the seafood marketplace environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable.”
• Smithsonian Seafood Website: No kidding, a great resource! The Smithsonian National Museum of National History, building upon One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish, its sustainable seafood cookbook, has created a first-rate website with plenty of great information about sustainable fishing and fish.
• National Marine Fisheries Service’s FishWatch: Actually part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), FishWatch is designed to help consumers make informed decisions about the seafood they eat. The management and science requirements involved with building and maintaining sustainable fisheries are also covered in great detail.
• Environmental Defense Fund: This eco-conscious powerhouse has compiled a handy Seafood Selector to help consumers make “smart choices when eating seafood.” Information includes health benefits and alerts, eco-ratings, fish farming and lots more. Don’t miss their Find a Fish; for hoki, it reads, “There are no eco-recommendations for this fish.“

These are great places to start. I’m not even going to jump into the activities of Greenpeace or issues such as offshore drilling, global warming, Japanese whaling practices (see Animal Planet’s Whale Wars for more on this), farm fishing aka aquaculture, eerie sea “dead zones,” gillnetting and the tragic economic gutting of fishing communities across the globe—based here in Oregon I could write an entire post about the regional impact alone.

Suffice it to say, the sea—where we get so much of our food (most of it considered quite healthy if you can get around the PCB and mercury contaminants) and now even a place to grow and extract alternate fuel (research/development of algae as a biofuel is in full swing)—is a sensitive domain that requires close watch—determined groups, individuals, organizations and governments need to set governable standards that business and industry abide by, say when enough is enough, call out and stop damaging practices, measure and share results, and spread the gospel that all bodies of water are special places inhabited by special living things, be they of the bug-eyed and ugly, filet-o-overfished hoki variety or the cute and cuddly, perennially smiling otter ilk. Twenty-thousand species, just like those forever magical and evocative leagues under the sea, sounds like a great number to remain at.

Addendum
See “Overfishing: Are there really plenty of fish in the sea?” story posted October 6, 2009, on Mother Nature Network’s website.

—Allen

]]> http://tilthcreative.com/greendynamind/2009/09/11/from-hoki-to-hokey-practices-the-lure-and-lore-of-sustainable-fishing/feed/ 0 http://tilthcreative.com/greendynamind/2009/08/21/fresh-local-sustainable-jimellas-seafood-market-cafe/ http://tilthcreative.com/greendynamind/2009/08/21/fresh-local-sustainable-jimellas-seafood-market-cafe/#comments Sat, 22 Aug 2009 00:50:28 +0000 Allen http://tilthcreative.com/greendynamind/?p=136 ABOUT HALFWAY UP THE LONG BEACH PENINSULA on the southwest Washington coast, in rather unprepossessing territory*, you’ll happen across Jimella’s Seafood Market & Cafe, gemlike yet equally low key, a keen practitioner of things local, fresh, organic, slow and sustainable. And let’s add REMARKABLY FLAVORABLE to the list (sure, why not, in all caps). You see, the owners, Jimella Lucas (she cooks) and Nanci Main (she bakes), own and ran the critically acclaimed Ark restaurant up the road in Nahcotta for more than 20 years. Worth the trip if you’re in this Lewis-and-Clark end-of-the-trail windswept-and-wild landscape? Absolutely. And it’s off the scale in green goodness! “Thank you for buying local,” a sign above the front door reads, “we’ll pay it forward.”

WHAT JIMELLA’S PRACTICES IS NOTHING NEW—and that’s entirely okay. As Michael Pollan reminds us in The Omnivore’s Dilemma (New York: Penguin Books, 2006):

This informal alliance of small farmers and local chefs is something you find in many cities these days. Indeed, ever since Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in Berkeley in 1973, chefs have been instrumental in helping rebuild local food economies all over America. Waters made a point of sourcing much of her food from local organic growers, cooked only what was in season, and shone a bright light of glamour on the farmers, turning many of them into menu celebrities. Chefs like Waters have also done much to educate the public about the virtues of local agriculture, the pleasures of eating by the season, and the superior qualities of exceptionally fresh food grown with care and without chemicals.

This encapsulates a great deal of what tastefully transpires at Jimella’s, from sourcing fresh eggs hatched just a few blocks away and local greens straight off a nearby farm in Naselle to buying directly from local fishermen (clams, oysters, crabs, sturgeon, salmon, etc.) and serving a house blend of coffee (Luca Dark and Duo) produced by Columbia River Coffee Roasters in Astoria, just across that selfsame mighty river in Oregon. These are the type of practices Lucas and Main first established to great acclaim at the Ark back in 1983 (they’ve even brought some of their old Ark staff aboard Jimella’s). What started as a market-cum-bistro has expanded (as much as space allows) to accommodate discriminating diners now more cognizant that these indeed are the gourmet gals from the Ark and ain’t they cooking up something mighty fine! That said, keep in mind that there are only about eight tables at Jimella’s and they can fill up fast.

What’s also commendable about Jimella’s is its market half: you’ll find lots of local delicacies that you might have a hard time knocking from the shelf of a grocery store anytime soon. This includes, and the list is in flux by its very nature, Ekone Oyster Company smoked oysters, Sentinel Teriyaki Sauce, Dick’s Danger Ale, Mama Nano’s Caponata (a tomato-based vegetable relish) and a fine selection of area wines, cheeses and various sauces, hot, spicy and otherwise. This half of Jimella’s evokes a small country market, a remnant of a bygone era, but, unlike mere dusty nostalgia, it provides ideal accompaniments for the glittering fresh seafood on display, ready for immediate purchase and your evening’s repast.

Lucas and Main view community and cooperation as key ingredients to success. They’re part and parcel of the tandem’s way of thinking, acting and sharing. “We send people to other restaurants on the peninsula,” Main said in the Chinook Observer last fall. “It’s a community, especially with regard to our fellow restauranteurs. Cooperation is so important. It’s the key to success in a small community. We all work together.” And regarding Jimella’s success: “Word of mouth in a small community is more effective than a truck with a loudspeaker driving through town. And it helps people get used to a new menu that’s different from the Ark.”

My experience at Jimella’s? Let’s just say, as a quick lunch break on an August weekend getaway, I feasted upon a fabulous clam chowder that triumphed in its simplicity, flavor and lack of smothering overcreaminess; and a delightful sandwich of fresh leafy greens and thinly sliced artisan salami with ideal tang and enough substance to power a mountain bike ride from bay to breakers and then some. Suffice it to say, I look forward to a return visit soon and helping them “pay it forward.”

The scoop on Jimella’s
21712 Pacific Way
Klipsan Beach, WA 98640
360.665.4847
Lunch: Wed.-Sun. 11-3
Dinner: Thu.-Sat. 5:30-8:30
Brunch: Sun. 11-3

*As it is along Pacific Way, aka the Ocean Beach Highway, and lacks a view of either the Pacific Ocean or Willapa Bay. This is not to denigrate the rather charming hamlet of Klipsan Beach, home of an 1890s life-saving station that still stands and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

—Allen