The Scout Report, a leading University of Wisconsin review of quality on-line materials,
featured the following report on 27 March 2009 (Volume 15, Number 12):
Food activists seek to change agricultural policy from Oakland to Orono
Years ago, some might have heard the words "food advocacy" or "sustainable agriculture" and thought of well meaning groups based in large cities on the West or East Coast. As of late both of these ideas have been gaining currency across the country, and they continue to grow dedicated supporters in states where agribusiness had been a dominant feature of the landscape for many decades. One such supporter is Dave Murphy, an Iowa native who returned back to the heartland after working in Washington, D.C. for years. Murphy's organization, Food Democracy Now, recently circulated a petition calling for more sustainable food policies, along with offering a list of six progressive candidates for secretary of agriculture. It could be argued that the Midwest has lacked an authentic voice as regards to agricultural policy reform, which may be due to the high profiles maintained by well-known celebrity chefs and food pundits who hold sway in the major media markets like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles. Murphy has also made some compelling new suggestions about how to recast the struggle to get young people to eat more fruits and vegetables. He, along with others, has suggested that it might be useful to pitch this argument as one that will work as an economic engine for small farmers and rural America overall. As Murphy recently stated in an interview, "If you want to change the ballgame, you have to address the policies that are responsible for the system we have in place." [KMG]
The first link leads to an article from this Wednesday's Washington Post which talks about Murphy's food advocacy work. The second link will take users to a piece from this Sunday's International Herald Tribune which talks about the growing "critical mass" of influential policymakers and organizations calling for a renewed focus on sustainable agriculture. The third link will take users to a timely editorial from the Tampa Tribune that talks about both protecting the nation's food supply, while still supporting small farmers who might not be able to afford new costs associated with more stringent oversight and regulation. On a related note, the fourth link leads to a video feature featuring Richard Ha, who's working on a sustainable aquaculture project with tilapia on the Big Island. The fifth link leads to an astute column by Chicago Tribune writer Mary Schmich on how urban dwellers can grow their own vegetable gardens. Moving on, the sixth link leads to the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture homepage. From here, visitors can learn about their efforts to support such endeavors by reading recent reports and briefs. Finally, the last link leads to the free publications section of the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources division. There's a great deal to check out here, including helpful gardening publications, suggestions for agritourism, and nutritional fact sheets. [KMG]
Questions:
1. As a student of the Anthropology of Food what main messages do you read in this week's Scout Report?
2. Why?
Be sure to set your "Folder Selector"
in the main window
to the current topic [use the “Reload/Main button" to get to the main window]
Set Folder Selector to Topic 8
REM: If you have any questions, you can post them on the AFforum
or bring them up in class
Tuesday 24 February 2009: Viewed segments 9
-12 of We Feed the World viewed (96 min., CC, 2007, DVD 1330), briefly reviewed exam format, talked about how/why/where of domestication, slides Dietary Revolutions: The Neolithic "Agricultural" Revolution, #51 through maize #104.
Tuesday 10 March 2009: Introduced The Pig Commandments(72 min., 2005, DVD 1690), and watched the first 50 minutes.
Thursday 12 March 2009: Finished The Pig Commandments (72 min., 2005, DVD 1690), the impact of food production on health (slides) to ca., #230,Felipe Fernández-Armesto, "Why did they bother?"
Tuesday 24 February 2009: Viewed segments 9
-12 of We Feed the World viewed (96 min., CC, 2007, DVD 1330), briefly reviewed exam format, talked about how/why/where of domestication, slides Dietary Revolutions: The Neolithic "Agricultural" Revolution, #51 through maize #104.
Tuesday 10 March 2009: Introduced The Pig Commandments(72 min., 2005, DVD 1690), and watched the first 50 minutes.
Thursday 12 March 2009: Finished The Pig Commandments (72 min., 2005, DVD 1690), the impact of food production on health (slides) to ca., #230,Felipe Fernández-Armesto, "Why did they bother?"
Thursday 26 March 2009: Reviewed Inness (slides) to #79, Ch. 5, and viewed Two Fat Ladies, "Timber!", Series 4 Episode 23, (30 min., 2008, DVD 1698)
Tuesday 31 March 2009: finished Sherrie A. Inness Secret Ingredients (Cont.) (slides) up until We Feed the World slide (#251).
Thursday 02 April 2009: Food and Social Change –
Food related problems:
Obesity,
Anorexia nervosa,
Bulemia
. . .
(slides, up to ca. 105 "Dying to be Thin")
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
