Wednesday, May 29, 2013

New Mexico Congressional Delegation Supports Initiatives that Benefit State's Farmers

While most of our attention is rightfully focused on what impact the budget reductions proposed in the 2013 Farm Bill will have on safety-net nutrition programs, there are a number of other issues related to this wide-ranging food-policy legislation that are also important.  Many of these issues deal with conservation, growers markets, and support for small farmers.  These issues have an impact on every one of the 50 states.  

So what is the impact on New Mexico? The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council  has put together a great summary on legislative activities on the part of our elected officials from New Mexico in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives regarding this issues. The summary is posted below.  
 

By Clark de Schweinitz, Pam Roy, and Kathleen Gonzalez

Senator Martin Heinrich has co-sponsored amendment S.954 Food and Agriculture Market Development, Entrepreneurship, and Education introduced by Senator Brown (D-OH) that includes several great provisions:

Fixing the Community Food Project Competitive Grant Program language and increasing funding from $5 million to $10 million per year in mandatory funds
  • Increasing the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program mandatory funding to $23.1 million in 2014 and $25.6 million for fiscal years 2015-18
  • Increasing funding for Value Added Producer Grants from $12.5 million to $20 million per year
  • Increasing funding for Farmers' Market and Local Food Promotion Grants from $20 million to $30 million; and loans for local food enterprises
If you are from outside New Mexico, please contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor this amendment.

In addition, Senator Heinrich is co-sponsoring amendments SA.1008 Food and Agriculture Market Development, Entrepreneurship and Education, and SA.1055 Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program and Veteran Producer Training.

Senator Tom Udall has taken the lead on numerous very important initiatives that would benefit New Mexico farmers and ranchers including co-sponsoring of amendments SA.1055 Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Program and Veteran Producer Training and SA.1049 Irrigation Efficiency and Water Conservation. He is also working with Senator Whitehead on SA.1058 Conservation Payments for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham has been working tirelessly to learn about the needs of New Mexico's agriculture community. She put her skills to good use on the House Agriculture Committee by co-sponsoring the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Opportunity Act of 2013. She also took the lead on the Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers amendment which did not pass the Agriculture Committee last week. Lujan-Grisham is also providing an important voice for the SNAP Education Program.

Congressman Ben Ray Lujan also co-sponsored the Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act and continues to support many of our Farm Bill priorities.

For more information here are links to two summaries of of these and other Farm Bill amendments.. The first outlines amendments that match NMFAPC Priorities, the second lists amendments targeted by the Rural Coalition.
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In the meantime, Congress has started a week-long recess. It's not yet certain when the Senate will take up the Farm Bill again, though it could be as early as the week of June 3. Alternatively senators could wait until after they work on immigration reform, although our colleagues at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) say it seems increasingly likely that the the Senate will stay on the Farm Bill.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Which of the 75 Growers Markets in New Mexico Will You Attend This Summer? Let's Start with Cuba


Imagine buying your radishes and carrots and some apples and berries at a market located at St. Francis of Assisi Park.  A park with that name should bring you good karma, huh?  Where is this park located?  It's in Cuba, New Mexico (not to be confused with the island nation about 90 miles from Key West, Florida).  If you live in our state, chances are you know the approximate location of  the village of Cuba, which is a small community of about 740 residents, just north of Santa Fe and Los Alamos.

The Cuba Farmers Market (CFM) is one of about 75 sites in New Mexico where growers sell locally grown fresh produce. The  means New Mexicans from Raton to Farmington to Silver City to  Santa Fe to Albuquerque to Las Cruces to Portales (and points in between) have access to fresh fruits and vegetables during the late spring, summer, and early fall. Some of the markets in the southern end of the state are open through the late fall.  The Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Market sells fruits and vegetables (in season,of course) year round. And at the University of New Mexico,, the Lobo Growers Market offers produce for sale every Wednesday during the fall semester. Most of the markets are open on Saturdays and use a park or a public space, although Santa Fe has a permanent site  making it a convenient place to gather for a rally).

The offerings in mid-May included radishes
Promoting Nutrition in Cuba
So with all these growers markets around, why am highlighting the one in Cuba? Three reasons:

1. I have never written a post about Cuba, located at the northern end of the Jemez Mountains.

2. A nutritionist friend of mine who does some of her fieldwork in Cuba mentioned the growers market is an important part of her work.

3. They have a Facebook page.

I could have easily highlighted any of the other 70-plus markets, but it's Cuba's turn.  And I am not the first to write about this market.  The Albuquerque based weekly newspaper The Alibi published a great article in 2011

As growers markets go, the CFM is among the youngest.  The  market started in 2010 as part of the Healthy Kids, Healthy Cuba project, funded by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant and administered by the University of New Mexico. The project’s goal is to improve the area’s public health through increased access to healthy food and exercise.

The produce sold at the market, which is open every Saturday from 9:00 a.m until Noon from May 18 through the end of October, is grown within a 40-mile radius of Cuba, and offerings change weekly along with the seasons. So, i f you live in or near Cuba, this is the place to be on Saturday mornings. "It is a great place to shop for and learn about fresh fruits and vegetables, get great tips and recipes straight from your grower and meet up with friends old and new," say organizers.

Growers markets come in all sorts of sizes.  The ones in small communities like Cuba have only a handful of stalls. But others in the major metropolitan areas of Las Cruces, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe have a wide range of offerings from the area farmers.  Regardless of size, they all have one thing in common: they  all receive support from  the New Mexico Farmers Markets Association.  Each market (at least those that are held on Saturday or Sunday) strives to make your shopping an enjoyable experience by offering entertainment, a venue to socialize and perhaps a place to grab an authentic New Mexico breakfast burrito.  Oh, and did I mention the bright colors and the enticing smells that greet you at each stall?

Saturday, May 25, 2013

The 'New' Version of the Musical Lazarus to Debut in Washington

"One has risen from the dead, and rich Christians confess this at their table, and yet poor Lazarus, in millions, continues to hunger and to perish from hunger at their door.  The point of this parable is not, as is often suspected, the consoling pipe-dream of heaven for poor Lazarus.  It is addressed exclusively to the rich man.  It is not meant to console the poor with the hope of recompense beyond the grave, but to warn the rich of damnation and to incite them to hear and act in the world."  -Helmut Gollwitzer, from The Rich Christians and Poor Lazarus
I have been involved in Bread for the World for more than 30 years, and some of my best memories include attending a handful of performances of Lazarus, a musical written by Joel Underwood.  Joel served at Bread in many capacities (including director of church relations), but his musical based on Luke 16: 19-31 is part of the strong legacy he is leaving for our grassroots anti-hunger movement.  Louise F. Carlson and Sam V. Nickels arranged his music for Lazarus.

My experiences of Lazarus, include two very different but powerful interpretations of the musical. On two separate occasions, I had the privilege of watching a Gospel version of the play performed by a very talented cast at Mount Carmel Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Kan.  Marie Frasure, who was part of the leadership team for Bread in the Kansas City area during the 1980s and 1990s and a member of  Mount Carmel, was the one who convinced the church's musical director Paul Sims to take on this endeavor.


The other adaptation of Lazarus that I attended (also twice) was  in the Albuquerque area, at Rio Rancho Presbyterian Church.  This was a much smaller but equally compelling version.  Rev. Kay Huggins, a Bread member and pastor of the church at the time, was the one who brought the play to our community.  By the way, Rev. Huggins was the flute player in the musical ensemble that accompanied the performance.

There have been  many other versions of Lazarus performed around the country over the years, including a one-person show by Harriet Harlow Larsen (with accompaniment by Lou Ann Rice).

Dr. Bill Cummings
2013 Revival at National Gathering
And in 2013, a revival of Lazarus is scheduled at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 8. The revival version, entitled Lazarus the Musical, will kick off Bread for the World's National Gathering this year.

This revival version keeps the lyrics and the tunes of the songs intact, but noted musical director Dr. Bill Cummings modernized and added a contemporary touch to the arrangements. The 2013 musical and production team also includes Emmy Award-winning producer and composer Rickey Payton; Glenn Pearson, musical director; April Carter, stage manager; and Felicia Kessel Crawley, vocal director and co-producer.

There is good news and bad news about the Washington performance.  The Good News the show is sold out.  While many of those in attendance are Bread for the World members participating in the National Gathering, there are many others from the Washington-Baltimore metro area who will experience this story in words and music. The Bad News: The show is sold out. 

Friday, May 24, 2013

Want a Healthy Garden? You Can Mimic the Forest Ecosystem

A large percentage of the residents of New Mexico live in a desert  But in the midst of our deserts, particularly the high deserts, there are mountain ranges that rise to high elevations.  And these mountains have dense alpine forests.  These forests, according to author and environmentalist Dave Jacke, can teach us a lot about managing our gardens.

Jacke, the primary author of the books Edible Forest Gardens, is a strong advocate of ecosystem agriculture, which intends to create food-producing habitats that mimic natural ecosystem properties, principles, patterns, and processes.  Here is description:

"Healthy forests maintain, fertilize, and renew themselves by their very nature. Wouldn’t you like an abundant food-producing ecosystem like that growing in your neighborhood or back yard? Edible forest gardens mimic the structure and function of forest ecosystems through all their stages of development and grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, ‘farmaceuticals,’ and fun."
 
A forest-mimic garden allows us to meet our own needs and regenerate healthy ecosystems at the same time. But you don’t need a forest to grow a forest garden—it’s about gardening LIKE the forest, not necessarily gardening IN the forest—you can mimic other ecosystems too, including prairies, meadows, savannahs, and so on. We could call this ecosystem agriculture."

If you're intrigued by this concept, then you're in luck.  Jacke is the featured presenter at a workshop in Santa Fe next weekend entitled Gardening Like the Forest: The Deep Ecology of Ecosystem Agriculture.  The cost of attending a talk by Jacke on Friday, May 31, is only $10.

This talk introduces the vision of forest gardening with some scientific background, a few living examples, and a sampling of useful perennial edibles you can use in your gardens. We’ll dive deeply into forest ecology, drawing implications for both garden design and the design of human social systems that we can apply to neighborhoods everywhere.

If you want to delve deeper into related issues during workshops on Saturday and Sunday, there is a bigger fee (more info. below).

Here is the schedule of events, which will be held at Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave (here is a map)
 
Friday, May 31  Evening public talk and panel discussion with Dave Jacke
Saturday, June 1: Workshops (9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
Sunday, June 2:  Workshops (9:30 am. to 4:30 p.m.)
(The workshops are entitled Local Food Systems, Sustainable Tourism, Regenerative Agriculture, Zero Waste, Aboriginal Living Skills, Permaculture Boot Camp, Women's Gardener, Farmer and Rancher Training, and Gardening Like the Forest).

Admission to the talk on Friday is $10, and the registration fee for the Saturday and Sunday workshops is $175 each.  Click here to register.  A discounted rate of $300 is available for those who want to attend all three days


Dave Jacke has been a student of ecology and design since the 1970s, and has run his own ecological design firm—Dynamics Ecological Design—since 1984 (click here for a PDF of Dave’s resume). Dave is an engaging and passionate teacher of ecological design and permaculture, and a meticulous designer. He has consulted on, designed, built, and planted landscapes, homes, farms, and communities in the many parts of the United States, as well as overseas, but mainly in the Northeast. A cofounder of Land Trust at Gap Mountain in Jaffrey, NH, he homesteaded there for a number of years. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Simon’s Rock College (1980) and a M.A. in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design(1984). You may reach Dave by email at: davej@edibleforestgardens.com

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Bugs, Hunger and Food (Part 4): Welcoming the Blue Orchard Bee (BOB)

(Editor's Note: This is the fourth and final segment of a series on the importance of insects in the fight against hunger  Part 1 and Part 2 examined the role of insects as sources of protein.  Parts 3 and 4 examine the very significant impact that insects have on food production.  In this piece, guest author Hank Bruce talks about the activities of bees in New Mexico and a project to introduce simple ways of beekeeping to young people in our state).

 By Hank Bruce

It all began when a friend of ours in Ojo Encino,  (on the Navajo Reservation), asked about some ways to attract pollinators to their fruit trees and gardens. We mention bees and some people reach for a spray can of poison, others think of the pictures of bee hives and the imported European honey bees. But they are under threat as a horrendous disease often called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) devastates the populations and our crops from apples in New York to almonds in California and a lot of commercial and family gardens and orchards between. This and the drought we are currently experiencing here in the southwest are creating shortage of bees.

When we plant our gardens, fruit trees and berries we are hoping to grow our own healthy fruit and vegetables. To be successful though, we need a few bugs to help us. What we really need are pollinators, including bees, some flies and moths, even bats and hummingbirds. but particularly bees. While everyone is thinking honey bees, we forget that New Mexico has over 500 species of native bees. But even their numbers are declining with the drought and pesticides. What this means is that when our fruit trees, berries, grapes and vegetables bloom, the flowers don’t get pollinated and the plants and trees don’t produce fruit. Making friends with bees is a good idea, and we can give them a helping hand. We discussed this problem with some of the students and teachers at the Ojo Encino day school and they spread the word to other schools. They decided to put out the welcome mat for a friendly native bee they call BOB, the Blue Orchard Bee. This can be a fun project that doesn’t take a lot of extra work and cost absolutely nothing.

Making Bees Welcome
Our native bees come in many sizes and shapes. Most of the honey bees were imported from Europe and need more care than the one designed by Mamma Nature to live here. Most of the native bees are solitary or “small town” bees rather than forming large hives or colonies with thousands of bees. For this school project we focused on BOB because she’s not aggressive but does work hard. Each BOB may visit over 60,000 flowers in its life span of about 3 months.

Home Sweet Home for this little blue bee isn’t a big complex condo apiary and their needs are simple.

1. Water - even desert bees like BOB get thirsty. One of the best ways to give them a drink is to put a small pan with stones in it on the ground near your garden or fruit trees, or some wild flowers. Then keep it filled with water when you are watering your plants or trees.

2. What’s for BOB’s dinner? These bees will need lots of flowers in bloom, both for them to eat and stored food for the baby bees while they are growing. This means both pollen and nectar, and that comes from the flowers on your trees, vegetables, rose bushes and New Mexico’s beautiful wild flowers. When we plant some flowering plants for the BOB everyone can enjoy the beauty. The native plants are a great idea because they are better able to handle the drought and an important role to play in the environment.

3. Planting a garden for BOB and BOB’s cousins. We have lots of trees blooming in the spring, but After they are done blooming BOB is still hungry. You can provide more snacks when you plant for the seasons.
Spring: choke cherries, sand plums, Willow, New Mexico Olive, scorpion weed, bladderpod, mustard and almost every other wild flower that blooms early in the spring.

Summer: Rocky Mountain beeplant, basil, blanketflower, clover, Mexican hat, Navajo tea, mint, rose and fernbush, sunflowers, globemallow, verbena,
Late summer - autumn: goldenrods, sunflowers, asters, rabbitbush, cosmos, daisies, sneezeweed
Plant where you want BOB to be. This means near the garden, fruit trees, water and nesting sites.

4. Mud - BOB’s like to play in the mud. They use the mud to make adobe walls between the spaces for each egg in the nests you are building for them. If you can provide a little mud near where your trees and plants are your BOB’s will be happy.

Nests for BOB’s kids
You can have fun making a home for BOB’s kids. And this can be a great family project. You will need a block of wood, a drill and some drill bits.

1. A piece of pine or fir wood about 6 to 8" thick is ideal. Do not use treated wood, cedar or redwood.
2. Drill holes like these in the block. The size can range from 3/32" to 5/8" and should be at least 5-6" deep.
3. You can make a back and roof like the one in this picture.
4. Some of the BOB experts say that singing the front of the nest box helps attract the bees.
5. Place your nest box on a wall where it is sheltered from strong wind or rain, near your fruit trees or garden.
Some students like to use pieces of logs, or scrap lumber and make the holes up to 8" deep.
  
But the favorite for the younger students is the Coffee Can Nursery. This is easy and provides opportunities to work together. It’s simply paper straws in a coffee can. This is what they did.

1.Start with a coffee can. Be creative and paint it and decorate it.

2. Now take some craft paper or recycled newspaper from home. Cut this paper into 5" x 5" squares. Roll the paper around a pencil and secure with a small piece of tape. These tubes should be between 1/4" and 5/8" in diameter. You will need enough tubes to fill the coffee can.

3. Secure the can to a wall or sheltered place near your fruit trees, berry plants or garden. It should be protected from strong wind or rain.

4. Put the tubes in the can and watch for BOB’s to visit and lay their eggs. Mama BOB will place some pollen and nectar in the tube, lay an egg, gather some mud to seal a space just big enough for a baby BOB. Then place more food, lay another egg and make another mud door. She will do this until the tube you made for her is filled with eggs, each in it’s own little space.

5. The baby BOB’s eggs will hatch in a couple weeks and eat the food Mama left for them. They they will form a cocoon and when they emerge they will visit the flowers on your plants plants, lay more eggs and the cycle continues.This is an example of a BOB nest made by students. On the right is a BOB nest made commercially for sale in garden centers, but, don’t you think it’s more fun to make your own. You can also use pieces of bamboo, reeds, cattail stems, and other materials for nests. Be creative and have fun inviting BOB to your garden.

(The author is a writer, horticultural therapist, advocate of sustainable gardening, anti-hunger activist, teacher and speaker from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.  Check out his Web Site, Horticultural Therapy with Hank Bruce)

A Quote from Pope Francis about Hunger

Image in Palomas, Mexico
Today, and it breaks my heart to say it, finding a homeless person who has died of cold, is not news. Today, the news is scandals, that is news, but the many children who don't have food — that's not news. This is grave. We can't rest easy while things are this way.

-Pope Francis, in unscripted comments answering questions at a huge international gathering of Catholic associations in St. Peter's Square.

(via Sojourners Daily Verse and Voice for May 20)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Bugs, Hunger and Food (Part 3): A Useful Role in the Food Production Process

A couple of days ago, we posted about a report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that looked at the role of insects in the food chain, including as a source of protein.  That was Part 1 of our series about the topic. In Part 2, we posted a video of  BBC TV host Stefan Gates at the stall that sells insects at the market in Bangkok.  

But insects are more than just food.  They play an important role in plant growth and in the food-production process.  Here is what the FAO report said about this topic:

Apatelodes Caterpillar via Wikimedia Commons (author Arbuck)
Insects deliver a host of ecological services fundamental to the survival of humankind. For instance, insects play an important role in plant reproduction . An estimated 100 000 pollinator species have been identified and almost all of these (98 percent) are insects (Ingram, Nabhan and Buchmann, 1996). Over 90 percent of the 250 000 flowering plant species depend on pollinators. This is also true for three-quarters of the 100 crop species that generate most of the world’s food (Ingram, Nabhan and Buchmann, 1996). Domesticated bees alone pollinate an estimated 15 percent of these species. The importance of this ecological service for agriculture and nature more generally is undisputed.

Insects play an equally vital role in waste biodegradation . Beetle larvae, flies, ants and termites clean up dead plant matter, breaking down organic matter until it is fit to be consumed by fungi and bacteria. In this way, the minerals and nutrients of dead organisms become readily available in the soil for uptake by plants. Animal carcasses, for example, are consumed by fly maggots and beetle larvae. Dung beetles – of which there are about 4 000 known species – also play a significant role in decomposing manure. They can colonize a dung heap within 24 hours, preventing flies from developing on them. If the dung remains on the soil surface, about 80 percent of the nitrogen is lost to the atmosphere; the presence of dung beetles, however, means carbon and minerals are recycled back to the soil, where they further decompose as humus for plant

A View From Squash Blossom Farms in Taos
In his blog .Around the World in Eighty Years,
New Mexico writer and photographer Jim O'Donnell wrote about his conversations with Ty and Gael Minton, owners of Squash Blossom Farms in Taos, New Mexico, about the role of insects in the pollination of plants.

Here are a few paragraphs from the piece entitled, "Community Supported Agriculture – Taos’ Squash Blossom Farms"

Near the greenhouse, Ty Minton found a big, fat fuzzy caterpillar and he wasn’t sure what, exactly, it was.

“I was so excited,” he said. “I ran inside, grabbed the iPad and raced back out here before it was gone. I spent quite awhile poring over pictures online, trying to match it up with the thing that was there in front of me.”

That’s a man truly in touch with the power of the pollinator.

“I couldn’t figure it out,” he said. “It had to be a friend though.”

That fact is that nearly 90 percent of all plant species need the help of animals to act as pollinators. About 75 percent of the crops grown world-wide for human consumption likewise depend on plant pollinators to propagate.

According to O'Donnell,  about one-fourth of the food we put in our mouth would not exist without pollinators. "The contribution pollinators make to our food resources and the economy is massive. It has been calculated that insect-pollinated foods were worth about $40 billion to the American economy in the year 2000," he said. 

This is a great article.  And here is the link to the full piece in his blog.  Or you can read the same article in The Taos News.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Bugs, Hunger and Food (Part 2): Sampling Insects at the Market in Bangkok--A BBC Video

In Part 1 of this series, we alluded to practice of eating deep-fried  beetles and locusts in Thailand. There are many ways to prepare the insects besides cooking them in a vat of hot oil.  Stefan Gates, host of the BBC program Cooking in the Danger Zone, ventured into the market in Bangkok in search of insect stalls.  This segment, entitled  Can Eating Insects Save the World? shows his interaction with one of the vendors at the market.  "It's a little bit like eating a prawn...it has a shell on the outside," Gates said after tasting a water bug. As it turns out, water bugs are an acquired taste, as you'll notice by Gates' reaction at the end of this video



Sunday, May 19, 2013

Bugs, Hunger and Food (Part 1): A Source of Protein

Publications from the  Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) rarely attract as much attention in the U.S. media as the one released in May 2013.  The reason: The FAO was recommending that the global community look at a common source of protein in many parts of the world (insects) to help feed the world as the global population increases. This report made the rounds on the evening news, the daily newspapers and the weekly news magazines. (Time magazine put together a very comprehensive report).

The reality is that insects have long been a part of the diet in some Asian and African countries. We just haven't heard much about it (except for some shows on the Travel Channel).  And beyond their role as a source of protein, insects play an important function in the food production process.  We are going to look at insects as food and food-production enablers in a three-part series over the next several days. 

Insects as part of the Global Diet
When  I was in high school, my Civics teacher brought a box of chocolate-covered ants for us to try. This was a good-faith effort to broaden our horizons. So how was the experience?  The truth is that all I could taste was the chocolate, and the ant just felt like a tiny piece of tin foil going down my throat.  Ants are among the types of insects that are consumed regularly in some countries, although I doubt that they are covered in milk chocolate.  If you haven't associated insects with sweets before, then you might want to try a new flavor of ice cream laced with (gasp!)...cidadas! Desserts are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to consuming insects.

"From ants to beetle larvae – eaten by tribes in Africa and Australia as part of their subsistence diets – to the popular, crispy-fried locusts and beetles enjoyed in Thailand, it is estimated that insect-eating is practised regularly by at least 2 billion people worldwwde," the FAO said in a book entitled  Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security. "More than 1 900 insect species have been documented in literature as edible, most of them in tropical countries. The most commonly eaten insect groups are beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, cicadas, leaf and planthoppers, scale insects and true bugs, termites, dragonflies and flies."

An impetus for the book is the premise that the global community needs to start looking at at additional sources of food to meet the needs of a global population that is widely expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

"To accomodate this number, current food production will need to almost double. Land is scarce and expanding the area devoted to farming is rarely a viable or sustainable option. Oceans are overfished and climate change and related water shortages could have profound implications for food production," said the authors of the book. "To meet the food and nutrition challenges of today – there are nearly 1 billion chronically hungry people worldwide – and tomorrow, what we eat and how we produce it needs to be re-evaluated. Inefficiencies need to be rectified and food waste reduced. We need to find new ways of growing food."

So, why not insects?  These critters are high in protein and  generally low in fat and cholesterol, and sometimes can provide more calories than those obtained from consuming soybeans, corn (maize) or beef.  (Read separate FAO Report: Forest Insects as Food: Human Bite Back).

 A Complex Solution
Insects at market in Thailand (Via Wikimedia Commons)
Before we start declaring that insects are one of the top solutions to address food insecurity in the near and far future, we also need to recognize some realities. As the FAO points out in the book, there's more to this proposal than simply encouraging folks to go out into the woods and the desert to harvest insects.

The subject of edible insects inherently covers a wide range of thematic areas, from the conservation of habitats where insects are harvested to insect ecology, the artificial rearing of insect species, the processing of insects into food and feed products, and the labelling and marketing of insect-based food and feed products. This publication, therefore, draws from a wide range of disciplines and areas of expertise. It is a multidisciplinary effort involving technical experts specializing in forestry, animal farming, nutrition, the feed industry, legislation and food security policies," the FAO said in the book.

So  is the world ready to embrace development of this food source on a large scale?  Probably not in the near future, but this is a solution that needs to be considered seriously.  According to the FAO, the concept of  insect rearing for food and feed remains a sector in its infancy, and key future challenges will likely emerge as the field evolves.

If you're interested in finding more about this fascinating topic, you can download the full FAO book or individual chapters via this link.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Faith Community, Charitable Organizations Join Their Voices to Oppose Cuts In SNAP

On Thursday (May 16), the House Agriculture Committee voted 36-10 to approve a farm bill that would cut about $21 billion in funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  (and also makes deep cuts in international food aid). This is not good news in a year when we're fighting hard to maintain funding for safety-net programs in our country.  The measure--officially known as the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARRM) Act of 2013--now goes to the House leadership, which would schedule a floor vote.

The cuts to SNAP are deeper in the  House Agriculture Committee's version of the farm bill than the reductions made in the Senate Agriculture Committee.  The Senate panel cut funding for food stamps by about $4.1 billion. Read comments from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, a member of the committee, following the passage of the Senate version of the farm bill.

As Bread for the World and Sen. Gillibrand point out, domestic nutrition programs such as SNAP are the first line of defense against hunger and have proven effective in decreasing food insecurity during a weakened economy.

An analysis from Bread for the World (which includes a breakdown on how members  voted) describes how the cuts approved by the House Agriculture Committee could create hardships for families in our country.  If enacted, the FARRM would:
  • Remove 2 million SNAP recipients from the program
  • Reduce SNAP benefits (by about $90 each month) for 850,000 households
  • End free school meals for 210,000 children.
  • Cut international food aid by $2.5 billion over 5 years—those cuts would include a 78 percent reduction in funding for improving the nutritional quality of food aid
Bread for the World joined several anti-hunger organizations and a handful of members of Congress in a press conference on Capitol Hill to oppose the deep cuts in SNAP.  All of the groups vowed to fight the cuts as the bill goes to the floor of the House. 

In addition to the direct impact on benefits, the bill would restrict states' flexibility in how they administer SNAP in coordination with other low-income support programs like heating assistance (LIHEAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Speaking Out
Here are some of the statements from various organizations regarding cuts in funding for SNAP.  Some of the statements were included in a joint press release from Bread for the World, United Way, Catholic Charities and Feeding America. Others came just before or just after the House Agriculture Committee mark-up.

Bread for the World
“These cuts are worse than what was proposed in 2012,” said Bread for the World President Beckmann. “Lawmakers must look for other measures for balancing our federal budget than to do so on the backs of hungry and poor people who did not create the deficit in the first place.”

“If the House farm bill becomes law with these drastic cuts, millions will lose food assistance at a time when American families are struggling with long-term unemployment or reduced wages," said Eric Mitchell, Bread for the World's director of government relations.  Now is not the time for Congress to turn its back on hungry people.” 

Catholic Charities USA
"SNAP meets critical needs for low-income working families, seniors, children, and individuals struggling to get by," said Father Larry Snyder , President of Catholic Charities USA. "We as a society have a special obligation to consider first the needs of the poor, even as we act through government. The proposed cuts to this vital program put a disproportionate burden on the very people our Catholic tradition teaches us to elevate in our public consciousness."

Feeding America
If divided evenly across Feeding America's national network of food banks, every food bank would have to provide an additional 4 million meals each year for the next ten years, and that is just not possible," said Bob Aiken , president and CEO of Feeding America. "There is no way that charity would be able to make up the difference. We are already stretched thin meeting sustained high need, and we simply do not have the resources to prevent hunger in all of the families who would be impacted by these cuts."

This is what the organization said shortly after the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version of the farm bill. “Given the state of the economy and the fact that so many people are struggling to find work or are working for fewer hours or lower wages, now is the time to protect and strengthen Federal hunger-relief programs, and not to cut these essential benefits upon which so many vulnerable families rely." Read full statement

United Way
"Strong communities require public-private partnership," said Steve Taylor , Senior Vice President and Counsel for Policy at United Way Worldwide. "Every day local charities see this partnership reflected in the generous support of volunteers and donors, and this value is reflected in Washington through important programs like SNAP. We're all in this together. SNAP and the families it serves must be protected from cuts." 

Mazon, A Jewish Response to Hunger
"Rather than embracing the bi-partisan, balanced approach used for decades by their predecessors, , in which they rejected increases in hunger or poverty in the name of deficit reduction, leaders in this Congress have mired the Farm Bill in misguided attempts to realize budget savings that would do real harm to vulnerable people across the country."

Share Our Strength
In a post on the SOS blog after the Senate Agriculture Committee vote, online organizer Sam Reed said:  "As the economy slowly recovers, federal nutrition programs like SNAP and SNAP Ed make sure families don't have to choose between putting food on the table and paying their rent. Cutting off vital resources from those who need it is not an acceptable response to our nation’s fiscal challenges. These cuts will mean more kids facing hunger in America, which can lead to an increase in health care costs, declining test scores, and lower graduation rates."

Food Research and Action Center
The organization noted that the House and Senate were going ahead with cuts to SNAP despite a poll showing broad opposition by the U.S. public. The organization alluded to a  poll of 850 registered votersconducted online from April 29 to May 1, 2013, by Hart Research Associates, which showed that s even in 10 voters indicated that cutting food stamp funding is the wrong way to reduce government spending. 

Network: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
In their attempts to reduce the deficit, House and Senate members need to focus on areas of the farm bill that can be further cut without increasing hunger and endangering the wellbeing of our children – our hope for a healthy future, Network said in a news release.
Agriculture Committee
So what is the House Agriculture Committee saying about its vote?  The cuts in food stamps benefits are described as " the first reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) since the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, saving more than $20 billion."

"I am proud of the Committee's effort to advance a farm bill with significant savings and reforms. We achieve nearly $40 billion in savings by eliminating outdated government programs and reforming others. No other committee in Congress is voluntarily cutting money, in a bipartisan way, from its jurisdiction to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. I appreciate the efforts of my colleagues and the bipartisan nature in which this legislation was written and approved. I look forward to debating the bill on the House floor this summer," said Rep. Frank Lucas, committee chair.

Here is the full  House Agriculture Committee Press Release, which provides details of cuts and consolidations in other programs under the jurisdiction of the committee.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Smokey Bear and the Children's Garden in Ruidoso

By Julia Price

The New Mexico Alliance for Children and the U.S. Forest Service sponsored their annual field trip for all of the Region IX Head Start students to Smokey’s Garden in Ruidoso.

The kids visited the Ranger Station on Mechem Drive to plant the children’s garden, which the Rangers tend and harvest over the summer months. All of the produce is donated to the Lincoln County Food Bank.

It’s always a lot of fun for the children and for all of us. This year, about 75 three and four-year-olds participated in storytelling, art, gardening, and a nature walk. The children made fruit and veggie print paintings and a hand print mural. They learned the caterpillar song and listened to “The Diary of a Worm” and stories about butterflies and other garden critters.

In the garden, they planted the raised beds, learned how to make a potato bed, and also planted pole beans, squash, and sweet peas in recycled egg carton containers to take home. They learned about worm farming from a local organic farmer—and of course, Smokey Bear made a special guest appearance. Afterwards, the kids enjoyed a healthy picnic lunch in the garden. Photos are attached.

Eight staff and volunteers from the New Mexico Alliance for Children planned and coordinated the activities, along with the Rangers and Head Start teachers. Funding for the project was provided in part through the Albuquerque Community Foundation.

(The author is executive director of the New Mexico Alliance for Children)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

'A Recognition that Poverty Even Exists'

You know the phrase "Out of sight, Out of Mind."  And there is also the common saying, "Hidden in Plain Sight."  Unfortunately, those concepts are easily applied to poverty in our country.

And some would argue that part of the reason why poverty is a mere blip on the radar of our consciousness is because there is very little coverage in the news.  This lack of public awareness of poverty is why a documentary like A Place at the Table has so much shock value, even for those of us who are somewhat aware of the problem. Granted, more than ever,we are saturated with coverage of all sorts of topics via the broadest types of media imaginable. A friend from another generation mentioned to me that many of the people she knows get their news via Twitter rather than newspapers.  (But even Twitter links to online coverage of articles that might have been also published in print).

Pew Study Documents Lack of Coverage
But it is not our imagination that poverty gets little attention in the print media.  (Don't get me started about the broadcast media--but that's another whole different post). This trend was documented by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism and reported in U.S. News and World Report.  According to the study, which looked at coverage by 52 major mainstream news outlets, coverage of poverty amounted to far less than 1 percent of available news space.  "Poverty becomes a sort of 'very special episode' of journalism that we sort of roll out every so often," Tampa Bay Times media critic Eric Deggans said.

And there are other commentaries that back the Pew study.  For example, Dan Fromkin describes in Niewman Reports how The Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader and editor David Stoeffler set out to cover a subject that had been largely ignored: poverty in the Ozarks. "For five consecutive days last September, Stoeffler published stories across the entire front page of the print edition and the homepage of the paper's website. Each day focused on a specific problem: "No home," "No shoes," "No food," "No car," and "No peace." Many readers were shocked, saying they had no idea so many area families were living in such desperate circumstances."

Incidentally,  the web version of the News-Leader series has three other parts for this series entitled "No Way to Live" "No Normal" and  "No Easy Answers."

But Frompkin also notes, "Sadly, the News-Leader's success is an anomaly in the news business. Nearly 50 million people—about one in six Americans—live in poverty, defined as income below $23,021 a year for a family of four."  Read Frompkin's full piece, It Can’t Happen HereWhy is there so little coverage of Americans who are struggling with poverty?

Photo from: St. Martin's Hospitality Center-Albuquerque
Approaching a 50-year High
I give credit to U.S. News and World Report for making this the topic of one of its featured reports.  But, of course, there might not have been a cover article had it not been for the Pew study. So a huge kudos goes to the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Regardless, the magazine paints a stark picture of poverty and current perceptions.  Here is how the article starts:

It has been nearly half a century since President Lyndon Johnson declared "war on poverty." That war produced great successes, and many of its initiatives have been profoundly effective – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), Head Start, Medicaid, the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program, school breakfast programs, and federal aid for poor schools and students.

Now, however, after years of erosion of wages and benefits, the U.S. poverty rate has risen and approaches a 50-year high. Yet poverty has become an almost invisible issue for policymakers and the press. It feels today like a "war on poverty" would need to begin with a battle just to gain recognition that poverty even exists.  Read full article: Poverty has become an invisible issue for politicians and the press

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand Fights to Preserve SNAP Funding in 2013 Farm Bill

New Mexico's Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham is fighting hard during the markup of the 2013 Farm Bill in the House Agriculture Committee  to save funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps).   Rep. Lujan Grisham sits on the Subcommittee on Operations, Oversight and Nutrition, so she has important input on this issue. And as she gains seniority her input will be stronger.

There is a strong anti-hunger advocate in the Senate, who also has a voice on the shape of the Farm Bill. As a member of the Senate Agriclture Committee, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is leading efforts to save funding for SNAP and international food aid and boost credit for struggling small farmers.

 (International food aid goes beyond funding.  A handful of groups, including Bread for the World, have joined together to ask both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to  reform food aid, so more of the money allocated goes directly to people in need instead of intermediaries).

The Farm Bill was scheduled to go to a vote in 2012, but Congress deferred work to this year.  If you recall, Sen. Gillibrand led an unsuccessful effort in the Senate last year to reallocate some of the guaranteed profits for crop insurance to SNAP. 

So the Farm Bill is back for consideration (right now, even as we speak), and Sen. Gillibrand is again fighting hard to save SNAP funding, in light of a proposal in the Senate to cut $4.1 billion in food stamps over the next 10 years.  These cuts would result in an average benefit reduction of $90 per month for nearly a half a million households.  The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to consider the Farm Bill tomorrow, May 15.

“In this tough economy, a family losing this access to food assistance would be devastating,”  Senator Gillibrand said in her Web site. “More than half of food stamp recipients are children, eight percent are seniors and unfortunately, as many veterans are using food stamps as any time in history. As a mother and a lawmaker, watching a child go hungry is something I just will not stand for. Families who are living in poverty, who are just trying to figure out how to keep the lights on and put food on the table -- they did not spend this nation into debt. And we should not be trying to balance the budget on their backs.”

Sen. Gillibrand is  willing to compromise, but only to a certain extent. "Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wants no cut to food stamps, but she said in an interview that she hopes to vote for a final bill even if there is a small cut to food stamps, as there was in the Senate bill she voted for last year," The National Journal reported recently.

The effort to preserve funding for SNAP in the Farm Bill is going to be extremely difficult, but we are glad that Sen. Gillibrand, Rep. Lujan Grisham and others are fighting hard for tens of thousands of food-insecure families around the country. 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

World Vocal Ensemble Helps Peacecraft Celebrate Global Fair Trade Day in Albuquerque

What is fair trade?  The World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) has a complete and complex answer.  Read about it here. All you need to know is that this is an economic system that gives farmers, artisans, and cooperatives a fair price for their products, which includes coffee, chocolate, flowers, arts and crafts, clothing and footwear, and many other products.

This movement has been growing steadily over the past two decades (and there is still a long way to go).

But the progress has been steady enough over the years to give the global community a  strong reason to celebrate. And that is why the Fair Trade Resource Network commemorates World Fair Trade Day on May 11 every year, although celebrations have been scheduled around the country on May 4-19, 2013,

In Albuquerque, the celebration took place on Saturday, May 11, at Peacecraft, our local fair trade store.  There was huge banner over a collection of colorful baskets from Africa, and a display urging people who entered the store to discover fair trade.

The highlight of the afternoon was the performance of the local a capella group World Vocal Ensemble,which offered songs from Georgia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, and the Appalachian region of the United States.

The group--which in other setting has also performed songs from Colombia, Hawaii, India, Ireland and Iran--invites you to hear them in concert Saturday, June 15, at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 211 Jefferson Ave. NE at 7:00 p.m.  $10 Admission  Donations Accepted  

Here is a video of the World Vocal Ensemble perfoming the song Nardanina  at Peacecraft.  This is a traditonal piece from the Achara region of the Republic of Georgia.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

On Mother's Day, Amy Brenneman Promotes the Work of CARE

In December 2012, actress Amy Brenneman traveled to Peru with her family to visit the women and families benefitting from CARE's maternal and child health and child nutrition programs. She wrote about her experiences in Notes from the Field | My visit with CARE Peru Part 2: Guayacondo

Ms. Brenneman, who is known for her prominent roles in the television series' Judging Amy and The Practice, also spoke about her experiences in CARE USA's promo for Mother's Day.

Like you, I'm a CARE supporter. I'm also a mom – which explains why I'm writing you today, just a few days before Mother's Day. You see, you, me, and hundreds of CARE staff are helping moms halfway across the world in ways you probably don't even realize. In December, my two kids and I got to see this work in action. We were well off the beaten path in Peru, visiting women and families involved in CARE's maternal and child health and child nutrition programs.

In one of the villages we visited, I saw the value of CARE's work in stark relief. A chart on the wall of the center showed the community's status from years ago, when many children were malnourished (indicated by an ominous red marker). Next to it was the community's status today: virtually none of the children are malnourished.   See full message

And here is a similar message  through a video from CARE Perú


La actriz Amy Brenneman, conocida por su rol protagónico en la serie de ABC, Private Practice, visitó programas de desarrollo de CARE Perú en su paso por el país. En el vídeo nos cuenta parte de su experiencia. CARE es una Organización mundial de desarrollo con presencia en más de 80 países. En Perú, trabaja hace 42 años a nivel nacional con 10 programas que apuntan a superar las causas de la pobreza.

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Saturday Deliveries and Collections (Remember to Leave a Bag of Food by Your Mail Box on May 11)

Have you remembered to set aside that brown paper bag that came with your newspaper?  At the top are the words: Food  Drive/Saturday, May 11, 2013 Recolección de alimentos/Sábado 11 de mayo del 2013

There are many sponsors for this food drive, including Feeding America, the AARP Drive to End Hunger and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

But let us not forget that  one of the key promoters of the food drive is the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), the union that represents your friendly postman or postwoman.  According to the NALC, the food drive collected 70 million pounds of food last year.  The vast majority of the food collected was left by the mail box or taken to a post office on the Saturday of the food drive.
 
But did know that Saturday mail is at risk?  The USPS, which lost $16 billion last year, in February proposed a plan to cut back deliveries of first-class mail to weekdays, although packages would still be delivered on Saturdays.

This plan was temporarily scrapped for two reasons.  First, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan investigative arm of Congress, declared in March that the USPS did not have the authority to make such a change without the approval of Congress.  Secondly, the Congress approved a spending plan that required the USPS to keep Saturday deliveries. Read more in Albuquerque Business First and The Chicago Tribune.

But the issue is not settled.  What we know for sure is that the plan to  cut back the delivery schedule will not go into effect on its planned date of  Aug. 5.  In April, the USPS said it would continue Saturday deliveries through at least Sept. 30 and possibly beyond that. But the door remains open for the USPS to undergo some internal reorganization, including the possibility of working with Congress to draft a plan to restructure its delivery schedule.

The changes would have a deep impact on letter carriers, since jobs could be eliminated and hours reduced.  I'm sure the NALC is deeply concerned.  The other secondary implication is what would happen to the twice-a-year food drives sponsored by the NALC, both of which occur on Saturdays.  The NALC and its partners will figure something out.  Perhaps the food drives would occur on a Friday or a Monday?

Regardless of what the future brings, it's time to focus on the present (or the very near future?) Please remember that The Stamp Out Hunger drive is still occurring this coming Saturday.  Check out this video from the organizers of the campaign.



So please take time to fill your bag and leave it by your mail box.  Annemarie Ciepieda Henton, a volunteer for the communications committee at Roadrunner Food Bank in Albuquerque, has a great suggestion.

"When you’re grocery shopping for that Mother’s Day brunch this week, throw some extra nonperishable food items in your cart, like soups, pasta, rice, canned vegetables and fruit and canned meats," Ms. Ciepiela Henton wrote in  Roadrunner Food Bank's blog. "Just leave them near your mailbox on Saturday, and Stamp Out Hunger partners will take care of the rest. Don’t have a mailbox? No problem. Just bring it to a post office near you."

Read her full piece entitled  Let's Stamp Out Hunger