August 17, 2007
· Filed under Farming, local food, slow food
Just so we can have some actual food talk on this blog here is a link to the Slow Food of Wisconsin Southeast. They look like a wonderfully active group, with two events scheduled this weekend with Deborah Madison (sorry they are already sold out, but keep checking their site for other wonderful events).
If you live in or are heading to the Milwaukee area you might want to print out their Farm Fresh Atlas for that part of the state. It is a full color .pdf file just right for spreading out on the dashboard as you drive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about this link being directly to the pdf.
Happy motoring and eating!
August 17, 2007
· Filed under UW Resources, Water issues
A wise guy once said, “Invest in real estate, they will never make any more of it.” Mostly true, but a very similar thing can be said about water, or as the National Geographic put it: “All the water that will ever be is, right now.”
Is there a resource any more vital than water? Of course, not. And all over the globe agriculture is one of the leading users of water resources. The trick is, of course to use that water wisely as water in some form and some quantity is absolutely necessary for crops. But what is wise use? And even, what are we actually doing to and with our water?
One project at the UW-Madison is seeking answers to what is happening with surface water discharges by using an unmanned, over grown radio controlled airplane to gather data to answer questions like these.
If you are interested in learning more about water resources in Wisconsin here are two sites to check out.
The UW Water Resources Institute is clearinghouse of water related research and information. And if you prefer your information in hard back, perhaps you should check out Wisconsin’s Water Library. You can check out real books on our water resources here in Wisconsin for free (assuming you are a Wisconsin resident…if not perhaps you should consider moving here).
You can’t start working on what should be until you know what is.
August 17, 2007
· Filed under Farming, food, local food, slow food
Most of the people who stumble onto this blog are going to be familiar with the Slow Food movement. The movement started in Italy in 1986, here is a bit of that history from the Slow Food website:
In 1986, the founding father of the Slow Food Movement, Carlo Petrini recognized that the industrialization of food was standardizing taste and leading to the annihilation of thousands of food varieties and flavors. He wanted to reach out to consumers and demonstrate to them that they have choices over fast food and supermarket homogenization. He rallied his friends and his community, and began to speak out at every available opportunity about the effects of a fast culture.
But ultimately there is more to slow food than just preserving heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. I think there is a broader philosophical basis. Realizing that food in all its aspects involves businesses large and small, from family farms to giant grocery store chains, this quote from Thich Nhat Hanh’s latest book, The Art of Power, is very appropriate any business, but especially so in something so necessary and close to the heart as food:
We don’t need to get rid of profit. Compassion can bring financial and political success. I believe it is simply good business to include in the definition of the bottom a consideration of all the effects we have on one another and the planet. Businesses that combine profit making with integrity and concern for the world have happier employees and more satisfied customers while making more money.
As consumers too, we have to keep in mind that voting with our dollars counts, and that we need to keep in mind the commitment of the companies we give our dollars to principals such as those that Hahn espouses. We need to look at the entire value of a product, not just cost and convenience.
Slow food can lead to slow living, which is more local, more connected and more organic. And, as I am sure Thich Nhat Hanh would agree, more peaceful, in every sense of the word, as well.
