New Hip Hop Video Undescores What’s at Stake in the Food Fight

By on March 12, 2013
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Health advocates and food advocates struggle with ways to make a dent in the obesity epidemic in this country. One thing we know is that there is no one size fits all program or initiative that is going to reduce the number of obese or overweight people. In communities of color–where one  in five children are obese or overweight–including nuanced and impactful and resonating messages that work hasn’t been easy.

Recently, musician, and Bay Area food activist  AshEl put his concerns about the way we eat to music, in the song Food Fight! He asked filmmaker Ben Zolno, of New Message Media, to help him create a music video for the song. Read More

Urban Ag: Taking Steps Toward Political Ecology

By on March 5, 2013
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Practitioners of urban agriculture have a lot to be proud of, including forming part of a “food movement,” which is increasing in size and influence. People are questioning food systems conventions and the dominant forms of food production (industrial farming) and distribution (globalized trade) are being opposed more and more by communities around the globe. Urban agriculturists—with their claim for a viable alternative to the broken food system—seem to have at this moment a certain cultural cachet.

This is reflected in the attention urban farmers have garnered in the New York Times, Washington Post, and many other media outlets. It can be seen in the plethora of food movement documentaries like Food, Inc., Edible City, and Growing Cities. The idea of farming as a viable city activity has been further bolstered by initiatives like the White House garden. The founder of urban farming organization Growing Power, Will Allen, was even given the MacArthur “Genius” Award in 2008, in what some might pinpoint as the point of arrival for urban agriculture as a social force in the United States.

But there is an aspect of urban agriculture (UA) that is often overlooked: Economic and social class dynamics. Read More

Cookie Controversy! An Expert Weighs in on Food Waste and the Girl Scouts

By on March 4, 2013
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Thin Mints, Samoas, Peanut Butter Patties… Girl Scout cookie selling season is underway. This year, however, it kicked off with some unwanted controversy. No, not the hullabaloo about the Girl Scout who was rebuked for trying to sell cookies online. I’m referring to the ruckus that followed a CBS Los Angeles story that investigated what happened to 13,200 boxes of “perfectly fine” – not even expired – Girl Scout cookies. Reporter David Goldstein tracked the cookies back to the Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council in Redlands, California, and got video footage of a tractor crushing the boxes before they were sent to the landfill. A worker looking on joyfully cheered “Goodbye, Girl Scout cookies!” Read More

Oxfam Urges Food Consumers to Peek Behind the Brands

By on March 1, 2013
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As a society, we get upset by food companies processing horsemeat to sell to us in the grocery store.  It’s troubling to customers; some don’t like the idea of not knowing what’s in our food.

Could we extend that same concern to the people who grow the food that end up in our refrigerators and cupboards? Could we get as enraged that food companies are looking the other way from land grabs in developing countries as families lose their farms or access to water?

There’s a range of injustices and violations that are often included in food products. Read More

Uncertain Future for California Oysters

By on February 27, 2013

“We’ve had so many people come up to us and say, ‘I heard you’re closing,’” says Terry Sawyer, co-owner of Hog Island Oyster Co. “There’s just a lot of misunderstanding about what’s going on.”

Despite the rumors, Hog Island is alive and kicking, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. With more than 100 employees, a thriving Tomales Bay oyster farm, two restaurants and a café, and additional projects in the works, Terry and his partner John Finger have turned what was once a modest dream into a Bay Area institution.

But despite the farm’s success, Terry is worried about the oyster’s future, as are many farmers, marine biologists, ecologists, and bivalve lovers. Read More