www.eatlocalchallenge.com

Avoiding Pesticides

by mipmup

In an ideal world, each of us heads out to the farmers' market once a week (or if you're me last week, three times) to buy our fresh produce. We engage our farmers and ask not only about their goods, but about their processes. How do you grow? Are pesticides or herbicides used? If so, which ones?

Fighting for Small Farms

South Central Farm, the 14-acre urban garden serving the needs of a low-income area of Los Angeles, is still fighting to save the farm from developers. You can help by participating in South Central Farm International Solidarity Days. I've posted an update with all the details at the bottom of my original post on their plight.

Update, 5 July:

They are bulldozing the farm. I'm ashamed of my city today.

You can still help. From the South Central Farmers:

If you do only one act of solidarity, then call or e-mail L.A. city council woman Jan Perry. Ask Ms. Perry to work with the people of Los Angeles and broker a win-win deal for the farmers, the land developer and the city. Implore her to help negotiate the sale the land to the farmers. councilperson.perry@lacity.org  or jan.perry@lacity.org and telephone here 213.473.7009.

Her bio can be found here. She states she is committed to green space. I guess we'll see.

The full story about the farm and news coverage.

This entry is cross-posted at mipmup.

image credit: South Central Farm

Save South Central Farmers

by mipmup

After a month of enjoying the pleasures of eating locally-produced food, basking in the light of my open refrigerator which holds an abundance of beautiful seasonal vegetables, it was truly with a heavy heart that I heard others in my area may not be so lucky. The South Central Farm is a 14-acre urban garden serving the needs of a working-class (or as the site describes it "impoverished") neighborhood. Unfortunately, the farmers are being threatened with eviction at any minute because, according to ABC News, "...the owner Ralph Horowitz...plans to pave the area and develop it; some speculate he may build a Wal-Mart."

Don't Forget to eat the Flowers

by mipmup

Back around Valentines' day, when all things flowery were on my mind, I wrote a post that included some alarming statistics about the cost of all things flowery that showed up on The Worsted Witch, self-described "card-carrying environmentalist." She posted:

"Seventy percent of flowers sold in the U.S. are imported, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Commercial flowers produced in countries such as Colombia and Ecuador are sprayed with highly toxic pesticides, fungicides, and fumigants—20 percent of which are banned in the U.S. and Canada for being extremely carcinogenic—in order to maintain their fresh, unblemished appearances."

While I'm eating local this month, I have also made a commitment to buy locally-grown flowers.