7 September 2010

Tonight we’ll be exploring local foods with special attention to a campaign of natural food co-ops nationwide called “Eat Local America!” We’ll be talking with Liza Tedesco, the general manager of Chico Natural Foods and Janae Lloyd, marketing and membership manager of what we fondly refer to as “Chico Natty.”  We’ll also give attention to some of the questions raised about the value of eating locally—economic, environmental, and health-wise.

A Debate Over Local Foods

The Eat Local, America! website has established a challenge for people who’d like to try to eat more local food. Here’s the challenge: “If you’re a seasoned locavore – someone who already eats lots of local foods – you’re encouraged to set a goal of eating four out of five meals with local food (or roughly 80 percent of your diet). If you’re starting out, you’re encouraged to begin by eating five meals a week made with local foods. And if you’re somewhere in between, you’re encouraged to create your own goal. After all, it’s all about eating, exploring and enjoying local food – and having fun while you’re at it.”

Not everyone is so enthusiastic about the local foods movement, however. New York Times Op-Ed contributor Stephen Budiansky wrote a piece on August 19 entitled, “Math Lessons for Locavores.” Budiansky argues that “the local food movement now threatens to devolve into another one of those self-indulgent — and self-defeating — do-gooder dogmas. Arbitrary rules, without any real scientific basis, are repeated as gospel by “locavores,” celebrity chefs and mainstream environmental organizations. Words like “sustainability” and “food-miles” are thrown around without any clear understanding of the larger picture of energy and land use.”

It is Budiansky’s contention that:

The statistics brandished by local-food advocates to support such doctrinaire assertions are always selective, usually misleading and often bogus. This is particularly the case with respect to the energy costs of transporting food. One popular and oft-repeated statistic is that it takes 36 (sometimes it’s 97) calories of fossil fuel energy to bring one calorie of iceberg lettuce from California to the East Coast. That’s an apples and oranges (or maybe apples and rocks) comparison to begin with, because you can’t eat petroleum or burn iceberg lettuce.

It is also an almost complete misrepresentation of reality, as those numbers reflect the entire energy cost of producing lettuce from seed to dinner table, not just transportation. Studies have shown that whether it’s grown in California or Maine, or whether it’s organic or conventional, about 5,000 calories of energy go into one pound of lettuce. Given how efficient trains and tractor-trailers are, shipping a head of lettuce across the country actually adds next to nothing to the total energy bill.

It takes about a tablespoon of diesel fuel to move one pound of freight 3,000 miles by rail; that works out to about 100 calories of energy. If it goes by truck, it’s about 300 calories, still a negligible amount in the overall picture. . . . Overall, transportation accounts for about 14 percent of the total energy consumed by the American food system.

Other favorite targets of sustainability advocates include the fertilizers and chemicals used in modern farming. But their share of the food system’s energy use is even lower, about 8 percent.

The real energy hog, it turns out, is not industrial agriculture at all, but you and me. Home preparation and storage account for 32 percent of all energy use in our food system, the largest component by far.

A single 10-mile round trip by car to the grocery store or the farmers’ market will easily eat up about 14,000 calories of fossil fuel energy. Just running your refrigerator for a week consumes 9,000 calories of energy. That assumes it’s one of the latest high-efficiency models; otherwise, you can double that figure. Cooking and running dishwashers, freezers and second or third refrigerators (more than 25 percent of American households have more than one) all add major hits. Indeed, households make up for 22 percent of all the energy expenditures in the United States.”

Again, that by New York Times blogger Stephen Budiansky, and we’ve posted the link to that controversial essay at ecotopiakzfr.net

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/20/opinion/20budiansky.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

 It seems to us that one of the glaring flaws of Budiansky’s argument is toting up energy to produce and transport food on one side of the equation and energy to preserve, store and prepare food on the other side of the equation. Whether food is produced locally or shipped from abroad, it will still have to be preserved, stored and prepared. Budiansky’s sleight of hand with numbers makes us immediately suspicious of his ways of calculating and presenting statistical information.

And we’re not the only ones who are skeptical of Budiansky’s arguments. Grist, a magazine of environmental news and commentary with humorous twist, provided a number of responses. In their feature Grist Talk: Food Fight, they write that the debate is over “whether locavores — those who prefer to eat food grown nearby, versus that grown thousands of miles away and trucked or flown in — are misguided in thinking their food choices are helping to save the planet.”

Ten writers—authors, analysts, and activist—weigh in on the topic of local eating. To read their full responses you can go to www.grist.org and click on the Food link and go to the article “Food Fight: Do Locavores Really Need Math Lessons?”

Food editor, Tom Philpott, takes issue with Budiansky’s contention that there “arbitrary rules” posited by “chefs and environmental organizations

Philpott says, “But he fails to spell out even one of those onerous rules, or name a single locavore, celebrity chef, or organization preaching it.

“You know why? Because they don’t really exist; or if they do, they exert no discernible influence on the sustainable food movement. All of the leading lights in the movement who I know think in terms of regional, not strictly local, food economies. Fred Kirschenmann, surely one of the movement’s most influential thinkers, has been advocating for regional food economies, and the importance of mid-sized farms, for at least 15 years.”

Philpott goes on to describe various efforts to work toward regional food systems. And tells Budiansky and those who argue the same line that “No one is going to cajole them — much less force them — to subsist on a 100-mile diet.”

Jill Richardson, author of Recipe for America, agrees:

“To begin rebutting this pack of B.S., I must correct his notion of locavory. Despite attempts by national retailers to reduce “local food” to a mere question of miles (i.e. Lay’s potato chips claiming they come from locally grown potatoes), true locavores are after more than just miles. At its heart, the movement is about relationships. When you buy food at the store, your purchasing decision rests mainly on marketing claims. But when I pick up my weekly box of produce from Farmer Phil, I know exactly how and where he grew my food, and that his values are consistent with mine. Organic certification alone does not certify anything other than a minimum bar of standards; by buying from farmers who are part of my community, whose farms I’ve visited, I am contributing to my local economy, supporting my friends’ businesses, and getting great, fresh food. And the farmers from whom I buy are taking care of the land right near where I live.”

 Many of the Grist arguments emphasize other values of the local food movement beyond the issue of food miles. Kerry Trueman, founder of EatingLiberally.org, contends:

“Energy efficiency is only one small part of the equation when you add up the reasons to buy local. Other factors include: flavor and nutrition; support for more ecological farming practices; reduction of excess packaging; avoidance of pesticides and other toxins; more humane treatment of livestock and workers; preservation of local farmland; spending one’s dollars closer to home; the farmers market as community center, and so on.”

Budiansky’s support of industrial agriculture comes under attack by Dave Love, project director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future;

“Mr. Budiansky’s argument runs thin when we take a hard look at what consolidated industrial farming and food animal production “return to our land,” as he puts it. It is difficult to be in favor of a farming approach that relies upon mono-cropping using genetically modified seeds and synthetic fertilizers. Likewise, food animal production facilities make for poor neighbors when their (virtually unregulated) wastes and associated land application and spray-field sites spread allergens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria throughout farming communities.”

Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet, also finds fault with the notion that our current way of farming is efficient or effective. She focuses on the artificiality, indeed, the political manipulation of crop production in industrial farming:

“Budiansky argues that we should be advocating for raising crops in “places where they grow best and with the most efficient technologies” . . . .

In principle, all reasonable people — and I put most locavores in this category even if Budiansky doesn’t — would agree that choices farmers make about what foods to grow, and what time of year to grow them, should be informed by place. I haven’t heard of any locavores advocating for Hudson Valley pineapples.

But a food system based on a simplistic notion of “comparative advantage” is far from the reality of industrial agriculture that Budiansky seems to be defending, and much closer to the one we locavores are fighting for.

In the real world, here’s what happens — and what the sustainable food movement, locavores among them, is working to change: North Carolina becomes the second-largest home of pork in the country, not because pigs have some particular penchant for the Outer Banks, but because the state’s lax labor laws appealed to pork producers and so did the government’s incentives to lure companies like Smithfield.

Another example: The United States comes to dominate the global market for corn (we control 71 percent of the market) not because corn is the best crop we could be growing, either for the ecological health of the Midwest or the physical health of consumers, since most of it is used for high-fat feedlot meat, high-fructose corn syrup, exports, or ethanol. No, corn’s “success” in those uses was made possible in large measure by U.S. government policies propping up the biggest industrial corn growers with $73.8 billion in subsidies from 1995 to 2009.

The reality of our food system has never been, and will probably never be, the result of this mythological “comparative advantage” in a free market. And agribusiness insiders know this. Referring to grain, an Archer Daniels Midland executive once said, “The only place you see a free market is in the speeches of politicians.”

What we grow and where we grow it is the predictable result of massive public subsidies to the largest industrial producers. In this context, the question that we locavores are asking is what kind of support and subsidies should we have, directed at which outcomes, and in whose interest? Do we want a food system that subsidizes chemical farming and feedlot meat production — the kind that has given rise to foodborne illnesses sickening hundreds of thousands every year and spreading salmonella causing a 380 million egg recall? Or one that fosters sustainable practices, fairly paid farmers and food workers, clean water and healthy soils, all while bringing us affordable good-tasting food?”

Eleanor Starmer, Western Region Director at Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy group, takes up the issue of food safety in her essay and is critical of how little choice consumers are given in our current system of farming:

“As it happens, I was already doing some food calculations the day Budiansky’s piece ran — but not of the sort he discussed.

My numbers included the following: As of Friday, 450 million eggs originating from two Iowa egg operations — both of which buy feed and chicks from the same company — had been recalled from stores in 14 states for salmonella contamination. These days, record-breaking food recalls are happening with disturbing frequency. We won’t soon forget the 2009 peanut recall that affected nearly 4,000 products; the 2008 recall of 143 million pounds of ground beef, the largest of its kind in history and which included beef distributed through the National School Lunch Program; or the 2006 recall of E. coli-contaminated bagged spinach that sickened hundreds in 26 states.”

. . . [V]irtually our entire meat supply is controlled by four — soon to be three — companies: Tyson, Cargill, Smithfield, and the Brazilian powerhouse JBS, which is vying for a Smithfield takeover. (Grist’s Tom Philpott does the meat math here.) Cargill and two other companies process more than 70 percent of U.S. soybeans, which are in turn fed to livestock and added to processed food products as soy lecithin and other ingredients. And most of our corn — a staple in livestock feed and present in virtually all processed food — is grown from seed developed by one of two companies.

 What does it mean when so few companies control so much of our food? It means that unless we happen to live in a place with a lot of local farmers and the infrastructure to process and distribute their products, we have virtually no control over what we’re eating or feeding to our kids. If these companies choose to raise meat using hormones and antibiotics (and they do), or grow corn from genetically-modified seed (and they do), then that’s what we’ll have access to. And if one thing goes wrong at one of those companies, we all risk being affected.

So here’s my message to Mr. Budiansky: The local foods movement is not so much about choosing between what’s grown here and what’s grown elsewhere. It’s about having any sort of choice at all.”

 The rest of her piece argues eloquently for farm policies and a farm bill that would give more power and control to smaller growers and to consumers.

 http://www.grist.org/article/food-fight-do-locavores-really-need-math-lessons/#mcwilliams

For a detailed and scholarly examination of food miles, we recommend that you visit National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service website, a project of the National Center for Appropriate Technology….The site explains that:

Recent studies have shown that this distance has been steadily increasing over the last fifty years. Studies estimate that processed food in the United States travels over 1,300 miles, and fresh produce travels over 1,500 miles, before being consumed.” The publication of food miles “addresses how food miles are calculated, investigates how food miles affect producers and consumers, and evaluates methods for curbing the energy intensiveness of our food transportation system.”

Another of the concerns addressed by National Center for Appropriate Techology is nutrition:

“The ability to enjoy consistent produce and exotic ingredients at all times of the year is a luxury that, according to many food system analysts, has its price. The farther food travels and the longer it takes en route to the consumer, the more freshness declines and the more nutrients are lost. Many fruits and vegetables are engineered for a long shelf life, sacrificing taste and nutrition for preservation.”

 The site also addresses the carbon footprint of food:

“While studies vary, a typical estimate is that the food industry accounts for 10% of all fossil fuel use in the United States.(5) Of all the energy consumed by the food system, only about 20% goes towards production; the remaining 80% is associated with processing, transport, home refrigeration and preparation.”

The site explores how far various foods travel and the modes of transportation used to transport food. They conclude that local foods use less energy and site a number of ways producers can get their food to markets more efficiently, including farmers’ markets, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), direct marketing, and Farm-to-Institution programs.

The National Center for Appropriate Technology site includes with a list of recommendations from for individuals to reduce food miles, adapted from Brian Halweil’s Home Grown: the Case for Local Food in a Global Market.

* Learn what foods are in season in your area and try to build your diet around them.

* Shop at a local farmers’ market. People living in areas without a farmers’ market might try to start one themselves, linking up with interested neighbors and friends and contacting nearby farmers and agricultural officials for help. People can do the same with CSA subscription schemes.

* Eat minimally processed, packaged and marketed food. Generally speaking, the less processing and packaging you see, the less energy went into production and marketing, the less global warming pollution was created.

* Ask the manager or chef of your favorite restaurant how much of the food on the menu is locally grown, and then encourage him or her to source food locally. Urge that the share be increased. People can do the same at their local supermarket or school cafeteria.

* Consolidate trips when grocery shopping. Consider carpooling, public transportation, or a bike trailer for hauling groceries to reduce your personal contribution to food miles.

* Take a trip to a local farm to learn what it produces.

* Limit the amount of meat you consume and when you do buy meat, look for organic or free-range meat produced on sustainable farms.

* Produce a local food directory that lists all the local food sources in your area, including CSA arrangements, farmers’ markets, food co–ops, restaurants emphasizing seasonal cuisine and local produce, and farmers willing to sell direct to consumers year-round.

* Buy extra quantities of your favorite fruit or vegetable when it is in season and experiment with drying, canning, jamming, or otherwise preserving it for a later date.

* Plant a garden and grow as much of your own food as possible.

* Speak to your local politician about forming a local food policy council to help guide decisions that affect the local foodshed.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/foodmiles.html

 Our Interview with Liza Tedesco and Janae Lloyd.

Northstate Local Food Resources

We’re lucky here in California to have access to great food sources. In addition to stores that carry local foods, we have a number of farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (known as CSAs), in addition to some local food networks that give attention to how we can take advantage of local foods. Some of them will be familiar to our listeners. Some may be new.

Local Organic Food
Farmer’s Markets

Chico

Saturdays Year-Round

2nd & Wall, Downtown Chico

7:30 AM-1:00 PM, Rain or Shine

Wednesdays

North Valley Plaza Mall

(at the corner of East Ave & Pillsbury Rd)

June – October • 7:30 AM

Tuesdays

Enloe Market

North Parking Lot, 1528 Esplanade (at 5th Avenue.)

June 2-September 2-6 PM

Wednesdays

University Market

Outside Miriam Library

Year round (weather permitting) 3-5 PM

(Student vendors coming)

Saturdays and Sundays

Butte Community College

Chico Center Campus

2320 Forest

April 10-October 31 9AM-2PM

Wednesdays

Gardeners Swap Meet Free

6 – 8 p.m

(Locations vary in Chico; look for announcements/posters)

cCHAOS

(collaboratively Creating health access opportunities & services)

16th & C Street, Chico CA (in the park)

Fridays

When School is in session–2:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Summer Hours (When School is not in session)– 5-8 PM

Our mission is to facilitate, improve and maintain healthy lifestyles by increasing access to fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts, and opportunities for physical activities and using the consumer safe food shopping environments created by certified farmers markets to develop grassroots community leadership to maximize human health.

www.cchaos.org

Oroville

Saturdays

Municipal Building on Montgomery St.

(between Huntoon & Myers)

May 10th – September • 7:30 AM-12 noon

Paradise

Tuesday Mornings

Paradise Alliance Church

6491 Clark Road (next to P.O.)

June – October

7:30 AM-Noon, Rain or Shine

CSAs—Community Supported Agriculture

(From edible Shasta-Butte)

Barbarosa Ranchers

Year-round Pastured Meat

http://barbarosaranchers.com/

Chaffin Family Orchards

Winter Pasture-Raised Meat and Eggs

http://chaffinfamilyorchards.com/

Churn Creek Meadow Organic Farm

Year-round Organic Fruit and Vegetables

http://ccmof.com/

Freshies—Local Food Gone Wild

Fruit and Vegetables

http://www.freshies530.com/

GRUB

Vegetables (and gleaned fruit)

http://grubchico.org

Little Folks Produce and Meats

Fruit and Vegetables

www.midnightowllivestockranch.com

Pyramid Farms

Summer through Harvest Vegetables

Pyramidfarms2000@yahoo.com

Sawmill Creek Farms

Vegetables

530-877-5734

TurkeyTail Farm

Meat (and more)

cheetah@turkeytailfarm.net

Twining Tree Farm

Winter Fruit and Vegetables

http://twiningtreefarm.wordpress.com/

Windmill Farm

Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables

windmillfarmofgridley.blogspot.com/

Windborne Farm

Vegetable, Grain, and Eggs

windbornecas@yahoo.com

Food Networks

Slow Food Movement—Shasta Cascade

http://www.slowfoodshastacascade.org/

Mission: Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic organization that supports a biodiverse, sustainable food supply, local producers, heritage foodways, and rediscovery of the pleasures of the table. www.slowfoodusa.org

Chico Food Network

Mission Statement:

The purpose of the Chico Food Network is to foster a local food system that contributes to the long-term viability of farms in our region, provides Chico-area residents with fresh, healthy food choices, provides education regarding local food systems, and creates an awareness and interdependence between Chico consumers, food businesses, and local farmers.

http://www.chicofoodnetwork.org/

Weston A. Price

The Chico-Butte Valley Chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation was formed to:

1. Provide a place for members to learn about and access nutrient dense foods.

2. Promote a healthy local food economy

3. Teach about the work and research of Dr. Weston A. Price

4. Promote Sustainable and Grass Based Farming

5. Help members access support and services to facilitate a traditional foods diet.

This chapter meets the 3rd Monday of each month, 6 pm at the Chico Grange.

http://www.meetup.com/Chico-ButteValleyWAPFChapter/

Food Not Bombs

Food Not Bombs . . . [has] hundreds of autonomous chapters sharing free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty. Food Not Bombs is not a charity. . . . For nearly 30 years the movement has worked to end hunger and has supported actions to stop the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people, end exploitation and the destruction of the earth.

http://www.foodnotbombs.net

Depot Park (W 3rd St & Cedar).

Food share every Sunday Noon

Other Resources

GRUB

Community Gardens: The goal of the Community Garden project is to establish a sustainable food network in Chico. We are achieving this by creating a network of neighborhood gardens that are supported by our community. In order to do this we have two staff members who help match garden space requests with available lots and help establish the gardens and offer ongoing support. We need community members to work the gardens.

Fruit Tree Registry: The goal is to create a registry of trees that are producing fruit that is not used.

GRUB also keeps a binder of food producers–Local, Seasonal, Organic and Bulk.

http://grubchico.org

Miller’s Bakehouse

Natural fermentation

Certified organic grains from Black Ranch, located near Etna, CA

Grains milled on site the day before baking

Whole grains

Wood-fired oven for baking

Whole-grain pastas

www.millersbakehouse.com

Edible Shasta-Butte

“Celebrating the Abundance of Local Foods, Season by Season”

www.edibleshastabutte.com

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August 31, 2010

Our guest is Bill Ryerson, who is President of the Population Media Center. His organization takes a unique approach to education: They create soap operas and melodramas in many languages for myriad countries around the world. They have evidence that soap operas can be a very effective way to inform and influence people on such issues as population, AIDS/HIV, women’s roles, and family planning.

Listen to the program.

Background on Population and Social Justice

Back in February of this year, we talked with Laurie Mazur, author the book, A Pivotal Moment: Population, Justice, and the Environmental Challenge. We were impressed by the connections that Laurie made between population and issues ranging from poverty to religion to agriculture to education to technological fixes to the world’s problems. As background for tonight’s guest, we’d like to read a section of the introduction to Laurie’s book. She wrote:

 We are living in a pivotal moment.Even a casual glance at the headlines reveals this to be a pivotal moment environmentally,… from acidifying oceans to depleted aquifers, the natural systems we depend upon are nearing “tipping points,” beyond which they may not recover.But it is less well known that this is a pivotal moment demographically. While the rate of population growth has slowed in most parts of the world,…our numbers still increase by 75 to 80 million every year….[T]he ultimate size of the human population will be decided in the next decade or so. [She calls for an approach to “population justice” that takes] a nuanced understanding of the relationship between human numbers and environmental harm, and the inequitable patterns of consumption that mediate that relationship….Of each proposed action we must ask, Does it uphold and enhance established human rights? Does it advance the cause of social justice; will it reduce inequality? Will it promote human well-being and protect the environment?

 

 

 

 A Pivotal Moment: Population, Justice, and the Environmental Challenge. Laurie Mazur, ed. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2010.

 Our Discussion with Bill Ryerson

Our guest tonight, Bill Ryerson, shares that belief in the centrality of population to a host of global issues. And his approach to educating people is unique: His nonprofit, Population Media Center, produces soap operas that run for months, even years, in dozens of countries around the world. Through these melodramas, they provide information as well as role models for people of all ages.

[We play an excerpt from Coconut Bay–distributed in the Eastern Caribbean]

Please tell us a little about what we just heard from Coconut Bay and how this illustrates your project.

• You have produced soaps all over the world–please tell us some of the countries where you’ve worked. [For our reference: Brazil, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Mali, Mexico, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Vietnam.]
• Do you seek or need governmental cooperation? theirs or ours?
• How do you go about launching a project–including writing, recruiting actors, production, airing the programs?
• What kinds of cultural or cross-cultural precautions do you and your staff take before launching a project in another country?
• Who pays for this and how costly is it?
• We’ll talk about your central issue of population a little later in the program. What are some of the other issues you’ve addressed in these dramas? [Our reference: Environmental preservation, HIV Aids, Reproductive Health, Gender Issues, Women’s Education, Child Protection.]
• You use something called the Sabido methodology for creating your programs, which you candidly say are highly melodramatic. Where did this method originate and how does it work?
• What kinds of evidence have you collected that this approach works? WHY does it work? Do people really emulate soap opera role models? Do people sometimes find it “preachy”? Or do people identify with the wrong character [the Archie Bunker effect]? How many people do you think your broadcasts have reached?
• What additional media projects have you developed–TV? other media? your worldwide game? [From the press release: a transmedia program aimed at teens here in the U.S. to help prevent teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. This cutting edge approach of using multi-platform storytelling (the story’s content is seamlessly delivered through multiple devices including TV, mobile phones and video games), has been proven to strengthen bonds between audience members and the characters, especially youth ages 18-24.]

 [We’ll take a short break and listen to part of another episode of Coconut Bay, then ask our guest Bill Ryerson, about the broader issue of population impact.]

• You argue that population is “the multiplier of everything else.” Please explain that position.
• If we look at birth rates and population change over the past century, it sometimes seems as if change just happens and that the consequences are unpredictable. [The birth rate falls in the UK, and suddenly England is importing workers for the jobs Brits don’t want to do.] What are the most important trends (and consequences if the world doesn’t act)?
• You have argued that that contraception-as-a solution is a myth. Please explain. What are some of the other myths about population solutions?
• And what are your best hopes for solutions? [An impossibly broad question, we realize.]
• Population and abortion are still inflammatory issues in this country, and we’ve seen policy changes between the Bush and Obama administrations. What are “we” doing constructively at the moment? What should the U.S. be doing?
• What other groups or organizations are taking action around the world?
• How can concerned listeners become involved with or show support for constructive population programs and solutions?

 Our guest has been Bill Ryerson, President of Population Media, you can learn a great deal more about their work by visiting their website populationmedia.org. We’ll also post links on our website to several related articles by Bill or about the population issue.

 How Soap Operas Might Save Us from Overpopulation
http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/147131

 Population: The Last Taboo
http://motherjones.com/special-reports/2010/05/population-last-taboo

Population: The Multiplier of Everythinghttp://www.populationmedia.org/2010/08/19/population-the-multiplier-of-everything/#more-4535

Playlist for Ecotopia #101

1. Stay Human (All The Freaky People) 4:27 Michael Franti & Spearhead   Stay Human

2. Worldwide Connected 5:06 The Herbaliser Something Wicked This Way Comes

3. People (Single Version) 3:43 Barbra Streisand People

4. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of   Peter, Paul and Mary

5. The Road to Utopia 4:54 Utopia Adventures In Utopia

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Tonight’s is the 100th installment of Ecotopia. For almost two years, we’ve delighted in exploring ecosystems—environmental, social, and technological. We want to thank KZFR, our listeners, and our financial supporters for making this radio program possible. To celebrate our 100th, we have a special guest interview with Ernest Callenbach, author of Ecotopia, the book from which our show takes its title. (We want to once again thank Jim Reis and Connie Fisher for introducing us to the book and the phrase, Ecotopia.)

Listen to the program

About Ecotopia

The book was published and 1975 and became an instant classic in the science fiction and utopian genres. It is set in the future and is based on the premise that Northern California, Oregon, and Washington have seceded from the United States in order to form a more perfect union.

The Ecotopians have tackled a wide range of social, environmental, and economic problems, from food and sewage to energy and pollution to recycling to transportation to education to equality of sex and race.

The novel is told from the point of view of William Weston, a newspaper writer, who is the first American permitted into Ecotopia in over twenty years, and the book consists of his journal entries and his dispatches back to his newspaper in the U.S.

Initially skeptical, Weston becomes more and more convinced of the validity and vitality of Ecotopian thinking, and at the end of the novel, he faces a difficult decision, whether to return to the United States or to remain in Ecotopia. (You’ll have to read the book for yourselves to find out the answer!)

Our  Questions for Ernest Callenbach

Part I:  Ecotopia the Novel

 –Ecotopia has been a best selling novel since it first appeared in 1975. Please tell us about how you came to conceive and write the book. What were the social, environmental, or political conditions that inspired or motivated you? Who were the major thinkers and writers who influenced you?

–Why did you choose the genre of the utopian novel rather, than, say a collection of essays? What did the novel allow you to do that might not have been possible in essay or editorial form?

–Perhaps you could illustrate Ecotopian thinking for our listeners with one or several examples from the book, e.g.

“Food, Sewage, and Stable States”
“Their Plastic and Ours”
“Work and Play Among the Ecotopians”
“Ecotopian Television”

–As readers, we were puzzled by your chapter on Ritual War Games in Ecotopia, where young men participate in primitive warfare with spears that actually results in injury or death. Do you personally believe that humankind has this dark and savage side that needs to be vented?

–Ecotopia touches on just about every aspect of human life. How did this comprehensive social vision form in your mind? Did it come all at once, in bits and pieces, perhaps even as you wrote?

 II. Ecotopia and the World Today

–What progress (if any) has the world made toward your Ecotopian vision since 1975? What problems have deepened or worsened during that time?

–In the novel, change comes about all at once through secession from the Union. The Ecotopians wipe the slate clean and start over. Do you think a slower or partial transition might be possible or desirable?

–You have written about an intentional living community in Japan that is based on Ecotopian principles, and there are a number of small, sustainable communities around the world and here in California. Please tell us about Ecotopian communities you have visited. What kinds of problems do they encounter and solve?

–Can Ecotopian ideas be implemented in larger communities? Is there hope for some of the cities included in the original borders of Ecotopia such as San Francisco or Portland or Seattle or Berkeley or Chico?

–Could there be a global Ecotopia? The United Nations and the European Union have provided models for progressive social, political, and environmental policies on a large scale. What is your assessment of their efforts?

–A question regularly ask on this program: If wholesale change is to take place, will/can it come about through:

governmental regulation and mandates?
incentives?
common sense and good will of people?
desperation at the edge of the cliff?
all or none of the above?

–What can our listeners do to help nudge the planet in Ecotopian directions? Can you recommend other books, organizations, or resources to guide them?

Playlist for Ecotopia #100

1. Clear Blue Skies (LP Version)        3:07        Crosby, Still, Nash & Young        
American Dream       
2. Utopia        4:58        Alanis Morissette        Under Rug Swept       
3. Weave Me the Sunshine        4:28        Peter, Paul And Mary        The Very Best of 
Peter, Paul and Mary       
4. Supernova        4:42        Liquid Blue        Supernova       
5. Big Yellow Taxi (LP Version)        2:15        Joni Mitchell        Ladies Of The Canyon

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17 August 2010

Our guest tonight is Douglas Carlton Abrams author of a new novel called, The Eye of the Whale. It is a “eco adventure” story that focuses on the dangers to the whale population through hunting and through ocean pollution. In researching the novel, Doug investigated problems facing the whale population, and we’ll talk with him about what he discovered.

Listen to the program.

Background on Whale Issues

We’ll begin with some alarming headlines compiled by Ashley Anderson, publicist for Doug Abrams, with whom we’ll be talking:

• A beached whale in Seattle garnered headlines in April 2010 because its stomach was full of plastic and beach towels.• Beluga whales in the remote Hudson Bay are so filled with industrial chemicals, including plasticizers, that they must be treated like toxic waste when their dead bodies wash up on shore.• Congressman Jim Moran of Northern Virginia and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts introduced The Endocrine Disruption Prevention Act in December 2009 to explore linkages between hormone disrupting chemicals in the environment and everyday goods and the dramatic increase of autism, hyperactivity, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, prostate cancer and other hormone related disorders.• Childhood cancer is up by 26 percent, making cancer the greatest threat to children.• 1 in 3 women will develop cancer. 1 in 2 men will develop cancer. • Male fish across the country are developing eggs.• Time Magazine recently published a feature article, “The Perils of Plastic,” investigating endocrine disrupting chemicals found in everyday products.

 The connections among those various headlines about whales and people will become clear later in the show.

In more positive news: The National Resources Defense Council reported in late June that efforts to rescind the 1986 ban on commercial whaling have been thwarted, at least temporarily:

 In a move welcomed by conservationists and pro-whale countries around the world, the International Whaling Commission […] announced that it would postpone a compromise proposal that would have legalized commercial whaling. This move is a dramatic turnaround from years of secret, closed-door negotiations that led to the compromise proposal — a proposal that would have sacrificed the quarter-century old ban on commercial whaling in an attempt to rein in Japan, Iceland and Norway’s annual killings.[The National Resources Defense Council] believes the whaling moratorium to be one of the 20th century’s most iconic conservation victories. It has saved hundreds of thousands of whales since it took effect in 1986. […]

 

Taryn Kiekow, staff attorney with NRDC’s marine mammal protection program, said:

 “I’m cautiously optimistic. If the pro-whaling compromise is indeed off the table, that will be a huge victory for the whales against terrific odds. The Commission tasked with protecting these mammals has shown great leadership by refusing to adopt a proposal that could have led to the extinction of some already endangered and threatened species.”

“Still, it is not enough that the decision is delayed. The International Whaling Commission must reaffirm its dedication to the preservation and protection of whales around the world. Now is the time to push for the conservation of whales — without trading away the moratorium. Every day marine mammals face new attacks from entanglement, ship strikes, and pollution. It was reckless for the Commission to even consider sanctioning their slaughter at this time.”

 [Even so, NRDC reports that ] Japan, Iceland and Norway have killed roughly 35,000 whales since the moratorium was introduced in 1986. In Japan’s case, the killings have been justified under the guise of “scientific research.” Prior to the 1986 whaling moratorium, roughly 38,000 whales were killed annually (between 1945 and 1986), compared with an average of 1,240 whales killed per year after the moratorium (1987 onwards).

 http://www.nrdc.org/media/2010/100623.asp

 Our Conversation with Douglas Carlton Abrams

 Listeners may recall that two weeks ago, we talked with Skipper Jo Royle of the Plastiki about her concern for plastic pollution in the seas. And some months back, we talked with Simon Avery, who is a pilot on the Sea Shepherd efforts to harass illegal Japanese whaling.

 Our guest tonight offers insights into those concerns and more. He’s Douglas Carlton Abrams, and he has written a novel called Eye of the Whale. It’s a suspense novel centered on saving a stranded whale in the Sacramento Delta; it’s also research-based and serves as a serious warning not only about the whales, but about human health in an increasingly polluted world.

 We asked Doug to set the scene for us a read from the novel to give readers a sense of the book. He reads from Chapter 2, where the heroine, Elizabth McKay is able to swim with the whales and observe the birth of a humpback whale.

Our Questions for Doug Abrams:

–The Eye of the Whale is what you call “fact-based fiction.” Please tell us what that is and how you came to write a novel about whales and their plight.

–We DON’T want to ask you which parts of the book are “true” and which are “false,” but rather, let’s focus on what you learned as you did your research for the book.

• You swam with the whales and looked one in the eye. Please tell us about that.

Part of Elizabeth McKay’s work centers on the songs of whales, so before we ask Doug Abrams about that, let’s listen to a short piece from Songs of the Humpback Whale.

• You did a great deal of research into whale songs and communication, and this plays a major role in the novel. Who are some of the researchers that you talked with and what did you learn?
• It seems like an unlikely theme for a novel, but this book is about endocrine disruption. What is that, and what did you learn? [Pete Myers, with whom you spoke, also appeared here in Chico last year at the sustainability conference, and we were enlightened his discussion how small quantities of toxic chemicals have effects that have been previously ignored.]
• In one of the subplots of your novel, activists go to Japan to dramatically protest Japanese whaling practices. Please tell us how that became a part of your book.

–You are an environmentalist as well as a writer. What do you see as the greatest threats to the environment right now? Are threats such as ocean pollution and global warming reversible? or at least controllable to the level that some of the threats you describe can be neutralized?

–Your heroine, Elizabeth McKay, winds up testifying before Congress, and you acknowledge the work of Senator Boxer and others in “trying to address the environmental crises we face.” What did you learn about Congressional efforts to take action?

–We’ve done several programs on international efforts at saving the environment, including the Copenhagen Climate Change conference. Do you think these efforts are likely to make a significant impact? Are the Obama administration’s goals strong enough to make a difference? Do you think our Congress can pass significant climate change legislation?

–A question we often ask on this show: Do you think threats to the environment can be eliminated through:  government mandates?  government incentives?  the good will of people doing the right thing?  humankind being pushed to the edge of the cliff?

–How can our listeners become involved in the issues discussed in Eye of the Whale? Are there some watchdog organizations you can recommend?

—What’s your next project?

 We’ve been talking with Douglas Carlton Abrams, author of The Eye of the Whale. It’s published by Atria Books, which is a division of Simon and Schuster. You can learn more about Doug and his work at his website http://www.douglascarltonabrams.com and at simonandschuster.com.

Two Resources for Learning More About Saving the WhalesThe National Resources Defense Council has been fighting efforts to compromise the international whale hunting ban. NRDC also has a broader aim of saving the world’s ocean health, and their web site is a great resource for information on myriad threats to the seas and sea creatures. They also have an excellent action page which makes it easy for you to send your opinions to legislators on a wide range of environmental issues. They’re at nrdc.org, .

 We also encourage you to check out the Save the Whales site, which includes a great deal of basic information on various whales and their nature and habitat, plus action links, additional media resources, and excellent activities for kids. www.savethewhales.org.

Playlist for Ecotopia #99 –The Eye of the Whale

1.  The Whale Song      2:25    Hoagy Carmichael
Hoagy Carmichael: The First Of The Singer-Songwriters
2.  Song Of The Whale – Part One: From Dawn … 8:20    Tangerine
Dream   Underwater Sunlight
3.  Song of the World’s Last Whale      2:39    Pete Seeger   At 89
4.  Solo Whale          9:29    Humpback Whales  Songs of the Humpback Whale
5.  Who Is She / Song For The Whales    5:12    Petra Haden and Woody Jackson  Ten Years
6.  Weave Me the Sunshine       4:28    Peter, Paul And Mary  The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary
7.  Calypso     3:49    John Denver  Earth Songs

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August 10, 2010

Tonight we are going to discuss Gardening—Summer into Autumn—in the Northstate. We’ll be interviewing two guests tonight. First, David Grau is joining us in the studio. David Grau is the owner of Valley Oak Tool Company and organizer of the Organic Gardening Classes that have been conducted at the Chico Grange for the past two years  The newsletters from that class are filled with gardening tips, really, practically a whole course on organic farming and gardening. You can find issues of the newsletter by going to the website: ValleyOakTools.com. Click on the link on the left “Organic Gardening Newsletter.”

In the second half of the show, we have an interview with Jennifer Jewel. Jennifer is a Northstate garden writer, and her radio program on KCHO—In a Northstate Garden—can be heard on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We talked with her last week in her garden here in Chico. Jennifer Jewel’s website includes many excellent resources for those interesting in knowing about and creating gardens. Her “Regional Resources” include information on:
–Botanic, Teaching and Open Gardens
–National & State Garden Club Organizations
–Regional Garden Clubs
–Plant Societies
–Master Gardener Programs
–Independent Nurseries
–Horticulture Libraries & Bookstores
–Regional Gardening Publications

She also has a list of websites and blogs that are related to gardening, farming, landscape and food, including some of our favorites, The Chico Permaculture Guild, GRUB, Local Harvest, River Partners, and the Shasta Slow Food Cascade.

Conducting our interviews tonight are Jef Inslee, a new programmer here at KZFR, and Susan Tchudi, co-host of Ecotopia.

Listen to Jef Inslee’s interview with Jennifer Jewel.

Our Conversation with David Grau

 Thank you for joining us in the studio this evening. As you know, tonight we also will be including a pre-recorded interview that we did last week with Jennifer Jewell about what to think about this time of year in your ornamental or mixed garden. Given your expertise and experience with vegetable gardens, we’d like to hear your advise on what we should or could be doing in our vegetable gardens. Of course, that discussion could span several hours, so maybe you can talk to us about  some of the general themes that we should be focusing on right now. It’s early August in California’s North State region, so even though we may be at the peak of summer, we have several more months of potential growing season.

 1. We’ve just retired some of my tomato plants and replaced them with new cherry tomato plants. How do we know when to remove zucchini, bean,  and tomato plants? Any of the plants that are indeterminate producers.

2. Do you think we can still plant potatoes? And if so, what are the varieties that work well for layering. And by layering we mean adding soil vertically as the potato plants grow in order to increase the potato yield.

3. Early this spring we planted several raspberry plants and built an inadequate trellis system. Now that part of the garden is just chaos and we have no idea what to do. Is there any way  to regain some control? And what kind of maintenance is required for plants like this, including grapes.

4. Tell us about some of the reliable fall favorites to plant. And maybe some unusual and unique vegetables or fruits that we might want to experiment with.

5. As our vegetable plants come to the end of their usefulness, what should we do with all of that empty garden space? Is there anything that we can do to improve or protect the soil over the fall and winter

6. Tell us about the Organic Gardening Class for the coming year. Who do you have on tap so far?

7. Susan and Steve participated in your first class, but were out of the country for the second class, so we followed it via the newsletters. We know it’s probably hard to choose but: What have been some of the most engaging surprising and/or interesting sessions you’ve had. (We remember one report about soil science with Carl Rosato and the Organic Flower Farm owner . . . )

8. Are there some newsletters that you’ve gotten particularly positive response to? What are some highlights people might find there?

We’ve been talking with David Grau, owner of Valley Oak Tools and organizer of the Winter/Spring Organic Gardening classes at the Chico Grange. His website is www.valleyoaktools.com where you can read newsletters from past organic gardening classes.

Playlist for Ecotopia #98: Gardening–Summer Into Fall 

1. Seed 6:25 Afro Celt Sound System Seed

2. Lean In 5:15 MaMuse All The Way

3. Poor Old Dirt Farmer 3:53 Levon Helm Dirt Farmer

4. Mr. Soil’s Song 1:45 Singin’ Steve Billy the Bean

5. Zemelya-Chernozem. Black Soil. (Variations ) 3:35 Andrei Krylov Russian Classical Guitar Music. Vol 2. Romance, Folk Songs.

6. Weave Me the Sunshine 4:28 Peter, Paul And Mary The Very Best of Peter, Paul and Mary

7. Plant a Radish 2:34 Hugh Thomas & William Larsen The Fantasticks (Soundtrack from the Musical)

8. Food Food Food (Oh How I Love my Food) 2:10 The Wiggles Toot Toot

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