Monthly Archives: February 2010

Making the case for urban agriculture

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By K. Rashid Nuri
Director, Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture

In his State of the Union address, President Obama enumerated ongoing problems requiring his attention: health care, the economy, job creation, environmental issues and lack of renewable fuels. In doing so, he suggested that increasing agricultural exports would help solve some of these problems.

While export agriculture might indeed help some corporations, it is unlikely to resolve issues directly affecting the public. One thing that would, however, is urban agriculture. While not a panacea, urban agriculture can allay many of the concerns mentioned by the president, and it can do so in several critical ways.

Our country is now undeniably urban. According to recent demographics, 81 percent of us now live in cities or suburbs. And with so few of us living on farms or in rural areas, our familiarity with the production and source of our food is limited. As an urban organic farmer, I find it amazing that so many chefs, produce managers, restaurateurs and Americans in general remain blithely unaware of the sources of their food. Many have no idea what food looks like coming out of the soil, let alone have an awareness of seasonal fluctuations in fruit and vegetable production.

Implications of this lack of knowledge and involvement in our own food production are immense, affecting all aspects of our life.

Since the dust bowl era of the 1930s and the end of World War II, there has been an effort by government and corporate America to industrialize American agriculture. There has been an emphasis on efficiency and quantity rather than on growing quality food and protecting natural resources. Agriculture is estimated to represent approximately 20 percent to 25 percent of the U.S. annual energy budget, and as much as 40 percent of that energy goes towards production of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Chemical-based growth stimulants produce large quantities of food at the expense of the minerals, vitamins and trace elements that create flavor and nutrition. Evidence of the poor quality of our food can be seen in rising rates of obesity, vitamin deficiencies and food-borne illnesses.

Sadly, the major victim of industrial agriculture is the American public. We are subjected to more chemicals in food, more additives in food products and massive advertising campaigns for these products, and until recently were offered few healthy alternatives.

We Americans are in the early stages of reclaiming our food sovereignty. This is evidenced by the fast-growing organic sector in agriculture, the advent of urban agriculture initiatives and the increased numbers of farmers markets found in urban areas everywhere.

All across the nation, urban farmers are growing crops on vacant lots, in abandoned fields, in greenhouses, on balconies, by schools, in prison yards, in nursing homes and in countless other creative and engaging places. These urban growing fields can be privately owned, formed as cooperatives, as neighborhood organizations, in collaboration with universities or as partners with city and county governments. Options are endless. Urban America is beginning to wake up and feed itself.

Urban agriculture can play a critical role in reversing many negative aspects of industrial agriculture. Urban farming enhances the health of metropolitan residents, creates “green” jobs, produces affordable locally grown organic fruits and vegetables; teaches people to grow their own foods; reconnects people to their food and the land; and strengthens the environment through reduced fossil fuel dependence and carbon sequestration.

The source of our food is an abstract concept for most of us. But this is changing. More and more people are exploring the supply chain that connects the production of their food to its final consumption. People are returning to the earth as they learn that urban gardens provide benefits beyond good food. This includes economic savings, environmental improvement, lifestyle enhancement, increased exercise and family and community bonding.

President Obama mentioned increasing agricultural exports, but also said that First Lady Michelle Obama would continue her work on problems associated with child obesity. Ironically, the industrial agriculture the president supports is directly connected to child obesity. Industrial agriculture and the lack of personal involvement in food production are leading factors causing our people to become obese and less healthy.

The time has come for we Americans to reclaim our agricultural heritage. Participating in urban agriculture would be a major step in that direction.

This was provided by the American Forum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational organization that provides the media with the views of state experts on major public concerns in order to stimulate informed discussion.

Federal lobbying climbs in 2009 as lawmakers execute aggressive congressional agenda

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Center for Responsive Politics

The economy stunk. Corporations slashed jobs. And some firms, once juggernauts of American industry, simply ceased to exist. But for federal lobbyists, 2009 proved to be a year of riches unlike any other, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis indicates.

In all, federal lobbyists’ clients spent more than $3.47 billion last year, often driven to Washington, D.C.ís power centers and halls of influence by political issues central to the age: health care reform, financial reform, energy policy.

That figure represents a more than 5 percent increase over $3.3 billion worth of federal lobbying recorded in 2008, the previous all-time annual high for lobbying expenditures. And it comes in a year when a recession persisted, the dollar’s value against major foreign currencies declined and joblessness rates increased.

In 2009’s 4th quarter, lobbying expenditures increased nearly 16 percent over 4th quarter levels from 2008, whereas spending only increased about 3 percent from the 3rd quarter of 2008 to the same period in 2009.

Last year’s 4th quarter also marked the first quarter in U.S. history that federal lobbying expenditures cracked the $900 million mark — which they did with ample room to space, hitting a record $955.1 million for the quarter, the Center’s research shows.

“Lobbying appears recession proof,” said Sheila Krumholz, the Center’s executive director. “Even when companies are scaling back other operations, many view lobbying as a critical tool in protecting their future interests, particularly when Congress is preparing to take action on issues that could seriously affect their bottom lines.”

At nearly $266.8 million, the pharmaceutical and health products industryís federal lobbying expenditures not only outpaced all other business industries and special interest areas in 2009, but stand as the greatest amount ever spent on lobbying efforts by a single industry for one year.

The pharmaceutical and health products industry was followed last year in overall lobbying expenditures by business associations ($183 million), oil and gas ($168.4 million) and insurance ($164.2 million). In each case, the 2009 totals are greater than that of 2008. Electric utilities, at $144.4 million, placed fifth, although this industry’s 2009 lobbying total is slightly off its 2008 pace.

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Global speak out targets human population crisis

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The Center for Biological Diversity announced today its participation in the second annual Global Population Speak Out, a month-long effort to publicize the crisis of unsustainable human population growth. The Center is speaking out as part of its overpopulation campaign, which addresses the devastating impacts of overpopulation on endangered species.

“The Center for Biological Diversity joins this year’s Global Population Speak Out to help raise awareness about this critical environmental issue and the endangered species and habitats threatened by human overpopulation,” said Randy Serraglio, a conservation advocate leading the Center’s campaign. “Unsustainable human population growth is the primary underlying factor driving the current decline and mass extinction of other life on Earth.”

The Center’s campaign, launched in February 2009, is a major educational initiative drawing attention to the close connection between the massive increase in human numbers and the rapid decrease in the planet’s biological diversity. “It is rare that an environmental group is willing to address the deep-seated problem of overpopulation,” said Serraglio, “but with more species going extinct today than ever before in our lifetime, we can no longer ignore our impact on the planet. We hope that many more conservation groups will join the conversation about population growth because it affects every environmental issue.”

As part of the ongoing campaign, the Center has created a Web site that illuminates the connection between burgeoning human population and accelerating biodiversity loss. “Most biologists agree that we have begun the sixth mass extinction event in the Earth’s history,” said Serraglio. “What separates this one from earlier events is that it is being driven by a single species – humans. All the direct threats to the earth’s biodiversity – land-use changes due to urban sprawl and commercial development, environmental contamination, competition for water and other resources, climate change, and so on – are driven by human overpopulation.”

The 2010 Speak Out promises to be larger than last year’s, as hundreds of individuals and groups have pledged to participate. This year’s sponsors include prominent conservation voices from outside the United States, where the subject of human overpopulation is less taboo, including the president of the European Section of the Society for Conservation Biology and the director of conservation at the African Conservation Foundation.

“As part of the GPSO this month and the Center’s overpopulation campaign, we’re planning to launch creative, multimedia education projects focused on protecting endangered species and our environment,” said Serraglio. “Our goal is to reach out to the public in new ways and help people understand how they can be part of the solution to curb runaway human population growth.”

Support reproductive rights in SC

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On March 23, join South Carolina’s first Virtual March in support of responsible reproductive health policies. Advocates are organizing the march through Tell Them‘s Web site. Thousands of men and women from across the state are joining together to let their legislators know they support access to medically accurate sexual health information and access to counseling and clinical services. Together, through responsible reproductive health policies, we can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in South Carolina. Join today by registering here. The march is an easy way people can let legislators know they support this issue and expect representatives to support responsible public health policies.