- Author: Suanne Klahorst
I attended the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco in January and I was delighted with the offerings from local companies near UC Davis. Since I attended this vast international exhibit, I have purchased several local products that I discovered at the show. The exhibit was so large, I was only able to see half of it in a day. I met Matthieu Kohlmeyer, the French CEO and General Manager of La Tourangelle, whose walnut oils are processed 15 minutes away in Woodland.
I was also impressed with Mezzetta pasta sauces from Napa. I have purchased their olives and fire-roasted peppers for years, so why did I fail to notice their pasta sauce among the endless...
- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
The 2008 Farm Bill provided more support for local and regional agriculture. In 2009, under the leadership of deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the USDA launched its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, with an eye towards doing just that. The list of initiative goals is lengthy, but include promoting, locally and regionally produced and processed foods; expanding access to affordable and fresh food; and demonstrating the explicit connections between food, agriculture, communities and the environment.
Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food is a USDA-wide effort. It is not a new department, but rather, an effort that seeks to more effectively connect existing USDA departments and work to strengthen local...
- Author: Brenda Dawson
A ranch dog "friended" me on Facebook the other day. Yep, a dog on Facebook. To be specific, this is a working dog on a ranch that produces meat and sells it directly to consumers like me.
Apparently when Suki isn't herding cows at Scott River Ranch, she's surfing the web.
And exactly how is a ranch dog on Facebook related to food?
More and more people are interested in connecting with farmers and ranchers who produce the food we eat.
If you buy fresh produce at a farmers market, you can also ask farmers (or their employees) questions about which variety is ripest right now, how the produce was grown,...
- Author: Chris M. Webb
A recent Economic Research Service report from the USDA called Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts and Issues provides an overview of the country's local food systems. Some of the findings include:
- Direct-to-consumer marketing sales of agricultural products more than doubled from 1997 to 2007.
- The number of farmers markets nationwide tripled from 1994 to 2009.
- In 1986, there were two community supported agriculture organizations (CSAs). In 2001, there were 400. Early 2010 estimates exceed 1,400.
- The number of farm-to-school programs (schools feeding students local produce) rose from two in 1997 to 2,095 in 2009.
- Most...
- Author: Chris M. Webb
Rose Hayden-Smith, Ventura County Cooperative Extension director and U.S. historian is passionate about the power and possibilities inherent in gardening. She uses her extensive knowledge of homefront war efforts to help influence public policy in regards to local food systems.
Earlier this year Dr. Hayden-Smith gave a lecture, Victory Gardens: Join the Garden Revolution, at the San Diego Natural History Museum about this topic.
More about the lecture.
At no point in our lifetimes has the interest in gardening, urban...