by Eileen Weber

We have a nationwide epidemic and it’s not the swine flu. We are losing our farmland at an alarming rate. One of the main problems fueling it is overdevelopment. This is something we can change, but we don’t. We’d rather have the subdivided housing developments next to the new mall in the same oversized parking lot as yet another Starbucks.

Let’s look at some scary statistics from NumbersUSA, a non-profit organization dedicated to a sustainable environment and economy. The 1990s saw the biggest population boom and we’ve been feeling the effects of it ever since. Over two million acres of land were lost in that decade alone. According to the organization, if this rate continues the equivalent space of the top half of the Eastern Seaboard will be lost by 2050. That’s only four decades from now. Not as long as you might think.

“It’s tough,” said Bill Duesing, Executive Director for Connecticut’s Northeast Organic Farmers’ Association (CT NOFA) . “We need to move to a more retail agriculture. The CSAs and the Farmers’ Markets all help. It matches the food farmers grow with the food we eat.”

But it’s not enough. What a farmer can make from a weekend morning at the Farmers’ Market is a couple of hundred dollars. That’s just a drop in the bucket. Nothing more than grocery money.

Duesing said programs like Working Land Alliance and American Farmland Trust along with state-run preservation and protection programs have made a difference in saving farmland from becoming a needless housing development. “The Working Land Alliance has certainly had success getting the state to give more money. But all these programs could use more money,” he said.

The good news is that the government is listening, at least a little bit. This past summer, Governor Rell signed a bill granting $10 million in aid to the state’s dairy farmers. That certainly helps, but it won’t last forever. The bill covers only the next two years.

According to information provided by the USDA Census via Working Lands Alliance, dairy farms make up nearly 20% of the farmland in Connecticut. That’s a sizeable chunk when you consider the rest is made up of cropland, animal production, as well as undeveloped wetlands and woodlands. Ten million dollars may sound like a lot of money. But when you spread the wealth, it’s not as much financial help as these farmers need.

“We are going to miss Governor Rell,” said Terry Jones, who runs the Jones Family Farm in Shelton and is a member of the Steering Committee for Working Lands Alliance. “She’s been very supportive.”

But there’s another problem facing farmers today besides overdevelopment. Too often retiring farmers are unable to leave the farm to their children. They’ve grown up and moved on to careers far more lucrative than farming. That’s when the farm gets sold. Most likely, the one who can afford it is a developer. And the vicious cycle continues.

And for those that are bequeathed a farm, there’s a hefty tax that goes with it. According to an article dated January 24^th in the Hartford Courant, Democratic legislators voted nearly two months ago for an estate tax bill that would only exempt estates up to $3.5 million. This means that if your estate amounts to less than that, you would have a large sum to pay the government. For example, having an estate valued at $2 million could mean having to pay nearly $100,000 in estate taxes. There aren’t too many farmers-or their adult children-who can afford that. Fortunately, Governor Rell vetoed the bill and requested a postponement.

But when a farm goes under, it stays under. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), nineteen dairy farms in Connecticut sold off their animals last year. Those are nineteen farms we won’t get back. “Dairy farms utilize much of the cropland in the state,” said Jones. “When they go under, there’s more opportunity for sprawl.”

There are state-based non-profit organizations that are fighting against suburban sprawl. “Organizations like Working Land Alliance and Connecticut Farmland Trust are working hard to get purchase rights to protect the land,” said Henry Talmage, Executive Director of Connecticut Farmland Trust. “But it’s a short term fix. Land protection is only one piece of the puzzle.”

Talmage said other factors come into play. You can protect the land from being sold, he says, but you need a sustainable business model to keep it. “I don’t think the future of agriculture is doomed. But it has to be a consumer-driven model.”

Talmage echoed Duesing’s sentiments that it’s the CSAs and the Farmers’ Markets that keep people interested in where their food comes from. And they both agreed that it’s a growing sentiment, especially in this area. “We live in an affluent area along a very marketable corridor between New York and Boston,” said Talmage. “The future of agriculture is supporting your individual farmers so that each one is thriving.”

Farmland is a precious commodity. It is the largest area of open space we have in this tiny state. And when farms go under, we don’t just lose the land. We lose the wildlife. We lose the natural resources. And, what we replace that open space with adversely affects our environment.

Ten years ago, the town of Cromwell purchased a 55-acre property for $2 million with a nearly $500,000 grant from the state. Originally a farm, the property is now in the line of fire. According to an article dated on January 20^th from The Middletown Press , the town bought the property with the intention of keeping it as open space including a community garden and hiking trails.

Some residents are thinking it might be a better idea to pay back the purchase price to the state, put in a senior center and a community pool, and sell the rest off for housing. Others are supporting the protection of open space. But with a growing retiree pool and a decrease in space at the current senior center in the Town Hall, that open space is looking more and more attractive.

According to The Day in an article dated January 20^th, open space that was originally farmland is also being vied for in the Mystic/Stonington area. For the fourth time, the Planning and Zoning Commission rejected David Lattizori’s $70 million bid for the development of shops, offices, townhouses, and a hotel. In his plan, fifty percent of the 70-acre land, which is across the street from the Stone Ridge retirement community and formerly the Perkins Farm, would be left as open space. But many of the retirees think the plan will still mar the landscape and affect existing local businesses.

These are just two examples of what’s happening in this state. For far too long, we have looked at an open tract of land and seen it for its lucrative potential. We don’t see it for the animals that roam across it or the birds that fly above it. We don’t see it for a space that kids can run freely. We look at how we can carve it up and make money off it. Pretty soon, though, there won’t be anything left to carve.

“Agribusiness has been agribusiness for so long,” said Craig Floyd, who raises pigs on Footsteps Farm in Stonington, “we’ve forgotten about the small farmer who’s toting the bucket to feed the animals. Without him, we’ve got nothing. We have no farms.”

But for some farmers, working the land, growing vegetables, or raising animals is not necessarily a money-losing proposition. Fred Monahan, who runs Stone Gardens Farm in Shelton with his wife Stacia, said there’s definitely a future in farming in this state. “There’s a possibility to make a good living,” he said. “You’ve got to sell retail. Go directly to the public. It’s more profitable when you eliminate the middleman.”

Monahan shared the sentiments of Duesing, Talmage, and Jones: When the farmer focuses on the business of the farm, he can make money. A consumer-driven farm is a farm that thrives. CSAs. Farmers’ Markets. While it may be only a few hundred dollars at a time, these outlets create a regular cash flow. But it’s more than that. They create a connection between the consumer and the farmer. Just as Monahan said, you are eliminating the middleman and becoming more aware of where your food comes from. “Farmers have to realize,” he said, “we need to be connected to the consumer.”

“You’ve got to have an attitude that’s supportive of your local community,” said Jones. “It goes a long way in making farming viable.”

One person can make a difference. And you are that person every time you buy directly from your local farmer. Think about that the next time you visit the supermarket and the items in your shopping cart are shrink-wrapped in plastic.

This blog post is reprinted with  permission from Making Hay. The post is written by Making Hay’s guest-blogger Mollie Laffin-Rose.  A copy of the press release and Resolution follow.

Plant a single seed and a garden will grow. The residents of a small Tennessee town called Signal Mountain (with a population of almost 8,000) demonstrated that they’re living by that adage when they adopted the United States’ first green foods resolution six weeks ago. A green foods resolution is a formal commitment to supporting environmentally-friendly farming practices, such as the production of organic, locally-grown and plant-based foods (the cultivation of which is much less detrimental to the environment than animal agriculture is).

On October 12, after a single session of deliberation and a unanimous vote, the local council of Signal Mountain officially resolved that the town will “promote the expansion of the number of Farmers Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, community gardens, and other venues which provide healthful plant-based foods.”

The full story behind Signal Mountain’s green foods resolution is a shining example of the power that lies in thinking globally, scaling down, and acting locally to inspire change. The resolution was brought to the table by one man: David Cook. A teacher of American Studies, Democracy and Peace Studies, Cook also writes a weekly column for the local newspaper. Each week, he reflects on a national issue and applies it to local life. Many of Cook’s pieces have an environmental and vegetarian bent, and he considers his column an attempt to change how his neighbors live and see the world around them.

With this aim in mind, earlier this autumn, Cook submitted a column on the importance of green foods resolutions. Several weeks later, Councilman Paul Hendricks contacted Cook to express his interest in a local resolution, and to let him know that it was under consideration. At the next public meeting, Cook spoke about his column, and the five-member council passed the nation’s first green foods resolution. “It was so democratic,” Cook said. “This has really been about food democracy and political democracy.”

Cook exudes patience and hope. “I see this as a seed,” he said. “Something will really grow out of this. I think it is part of many things that are moving in the right direction, including community-supported agriculture, organic farming, a greater commitment to vegetarianism, more car-pooling, more questioning. It’s all tied together.”

As for how the rest of us can act locally by thinking globally, Cook emphasizes being hard-headed and resourceful. “Get practical,” he said. “Attend council meetings, write letters to the editor, march, boycott, pray, weep, hug trees. Literally, read and write. You use whatever power you have – leverage connections, or whatever comes into your life each day – and you try to improve the world through that. You try to have the right relationship.”

Introduce a green foods resolution in your community.

Press Release from Farm Sanctuary about the first success story in their Green Food Resolutions Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Meredith Turner, Farm Sanctuary, 646-369-6212, mturner@farmsanctuary.org

Signal Mountain, Tennessee Beats New York to Become First City in the Nation to Pass Groundbreaking Green Food Resolution

Small Southern Town Sends Signal to the Rest of the Nation with Historic Passage of Sustainable Food and Climate Legislation

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - December 1, 2009 - In a surprising move, a small Tennessee town, appropriately named Signal Mountain, beat New York to the punch to become the first town in the nation to pass a groundbreaking Green Food Resolution, an ordinance designed to counteract the massive health and environmental damage created by large-scale factory farms and the meat industry, by encouraging local farms, plant-based diets, ecological sustainability and nutritious eating habits. New York currently has a Green Food Resolution pending.

Inspired by Farm Sanctuary’s Green Foods Resolution Campaign, David Cook, a columnist for Signal Mountain’s Mountain Mirror newspaper, penned a column suggesting the small Tennessee town should consider passing a Green Food Resolution of its own. The column caught the attention of City Councilman Paul M. Hendricks who immediately took action and presented the groundbreaking resolution before the five member Signal Mountain Town Council, who made national history when they voted unanimously to adopt the Green Food Resolution ordinance.

“Playing an integral role in the passage of the nation’s first Green Food Resolution reminded me of the power of true democracy,” said Cook. “Behind this resolution are countless others who are doing the same work in restoring the balance, in creating a right relationship once again between people and the land. I am proud of Signal Mountain and believe this is just the beginning.”

The historic passage of the U.S.’s first Green Food Resolution in Signal Mountain, Tennessee marks a major milestone in the country’s effort to reduce its national climate “foodprint” - a more significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions than all transportation systems combined -

by proactively addressing the impact food choices have on the numerous health and environmental problems plaguing the nation. The passage also marks an important milestone for Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, which recently launched a campaign to introduce Green Food Resolutions in cities and towns throughout the country.

“I was proud to introduce a resolution that is consistent with the values and principles I have long believed in,” said Councilman Hendricks. “As a physician, I know well the value of a good diet. As a long-time environmentalist, I understand the importance of decreasing the amounts of chemicals and especially antibiotics and hormones put into our food sources. As a community leader, I understand the value of keeping our food production at the local level. This initiative is a winning combination at all levels - personal, local and global.”

Future planning and sustainability are not new concepts in this Tennessee town. Signal Mountain signed onto the Mayor’s Agreement on Climate Change two years ago while Hendricks was Mayor. There are also several small farms on Signal Mountain and many mountain residents already participate in plant-based Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs. The ordinance will complement these actions, as well as work that is currently being done to restore streams to healthy levels and resolve current and future traffic and transportation issues in a sustainable way.

“We applaud Councilman Hendricks and the town of Signal Mountain for taking visionary action to protect the health of their citizens, the environment and the billions of animals raised for food in deplorable conditions on factory farms each year,” said Gene Baur, president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary. “By promoting access to healthy, plant-based food, Signal Mountain will indeed send a signal to the rest of the nation about the critical importance of thoughtful eating.”

Through Farm Sanctuary’s Green Food Resolutions Campaign, advocates just like Cook are reaching out to their local city governments to introduce resolutions similar to the one passed in Signal Mountain, and seeking wide support for the expansion of farmers markets, community supported CSA programs, community gardens and other venues that provide healthful plant-based foods.

On June 30, New York City Council Member Bill de Blasio introduced a similar groundbreaking resolution for New York City calling for a citywide FoodprintNYC initiative to reduce the city’s climate foodprint and create greater access to local, fresh, healthy plant-based food, especially in low-income communities, as well as city-run institutions. So far, 24 City Council members have signed on as co-sponsors.

Earlier this year, President Obama showed support of local gardens to promote healthy food by announcing the establishment of an edible garden on the South Lawn of the White House. In addition, the new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced his intention to create community gardens at every USDA facility around the world, starting with the “People’s Garden,” located on the grounds of the USDA.

If you would like to receive a copy of the Signal Mountain Green Food Resolution, or speak with Farm Sanctuary President and Co-founder Gene Baur, please contact Meredith Turner at 646-369-6212 or mturner@farmsanctuary.org.

About Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the “food animal” industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming. Additional information can be found at farmsanctuary.org or by calling 607-583-2225.

# # #

Green Food Resolution for City of Signal Mountain

Whereas, the City of Signal Mountain strives to be a Green City that promotes lifestyles that are ecologically sustainable; and

Whereas, food and farming systems have significant impacts on our health and the ecological wellbeing of our planet; and

Whereas, there is growing popular concern about problems associated with industrialized animal agriculture, including environmental destruction, threats to consumer health and rural communities, and the inhumane treatment of animals; and

Whereas, plant-based foods have been shown to be healthful and nutritious; and

Whereas, shifting toward plant based agriculture can help to lighten our footprint on the planet; therefore

RESOLVED that the Signal Mountain City Council encourages individuals, institutions and businesses to provide more plant-based foods, especially those grown locally and organically; and

RESOLVED that the Signal Mountain Council promotes expansions of the number of Farmers’ Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, Community Gardens, and other venues for providing healthful plant-based foods, and encourages food retailers to offer more plant-based options.

If you take a student to the farm stand, she will learn that fresh, local food is not only affordable and convenient, but nutritious and delicious. That’s the lesson learned today by a group of seventeen Mercy Learning Center students thanks to a Health Eating program cooked up by the Junior League of Eastern Fairfield County.

The Junior League volunteers and I met with Sharon Sanford and her students at Mercy Learning Center and took a quick walk to the Marina Village farm stand where we were met with open arms by chef and food policy advocate Michel Nischan, who is Wholesome Wave’s president and CEO. As one of Wholesome Wave Foundation’s

core “Nourishing Neighborhoods” programs, the Neighborhood Farm Stand Program brings Park City Harvest farm stands deep within neighborhoods of under-served Bridgeport, Connecticut where shoppers can purchase CT grown fruit and produce using SNAP-EBT cards and Senior/WIC FMNP checks. Until last month shoppers were able to redeem their cards and checks for double their value in farm stand tokens. Wholesome Wave is working to secure funding to reinstate this Double Value Coupon program.

Heather Harrington, MS RD and Tina Dugdale, MS RN RD, both Extension Instructors from UCONN’s Department of AlliedHealth Sciences at the University of Connecticut, discussed the produce and fruit available at the farm stand and how to prepare it. My favorite part of this was hearing from the students themselves and how they used the vegetables in their native dishes. My mouth began to water thinking about the chile rellenos that

one student was going to make with the Poblano peppers. Another was planning to make fresh salsa using tomatoes, and jalapenos from the farm stand. Michel Nischan lent some great culinary advice: “Zucchini is great in salsa. Just sprinkle squash and zucchini with salt. Let it sit for 15 minutes to soften it up a bit. You can add it to salsa and it’s delicious! Pour it over pasta for a quick dinner.” The zucchini sold out today!

The students were clearly enjoying themselves and made quick work of shopping. One declared “I’m going to eat so delicious tonight!” as she stuffed her bags with zucchini, tomatoes, apples, corn, green beans, and chile peppers. When it was time to check out, each student was given a reusable shopping bag, courtesy of Wholesome Wave, a paper bag donated by Trader Joe’s of Fairfield, and $20 in tokens provided through funding from the Junior League.

I’m looking forward to returning to Mercy in November to work directly with the students in their teaching kitchen. They’re gathering their favorite home recipes for me to tweak with some healthier ingredients or cooking methods. They don’t know it, but I’m looking forward to learning

how to make dishes from their native countries, which span the globe and include Haiti and Peru, as much as I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge with them.

When I asked the students to rate their experience at the market, the votes were unanimous. It’s a 10! I think we’ve got a winner.

Within the span of seven days two articles about two new and disparate food labeling programs were published in the New York Times and the fact that these two efforts can co-exist is the greatest proof of the dichotomous nature of manufactured food. On the one hand we’ve got the Non-GMO project, an industry group attempting to fill the gaping hole in our labeling laws that do not require genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. True, some products say they contain no GMO, but there is no industry standard for the labeling, which can be confusing for the consumer.

According to the NYT article, The GMO Project will rigorously test natural and organic food to make sure it doesn’t exceed the 0.9 percent threshold for GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) content and then give the products their seal of approval in the form of a NON GMO Project VERIFIED label. Their concern is GMO crops sneaking into natural and organic products, exactly where they don’t belong. Look for the label on Whole Foods Market’s 365 stores brand starting this fall.

On the other hand we have the Smart Choices Program, a group largely backed by big food companies, but surprisingly has as its president the dean of Tufts University’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy, labeling products a  “Smart Choice” if they conform to the group’s nutrition standards. The article lists Froot Loops, mayonnaise and Fudgsicle bars as products qualifying for the “Smart Choice” label. My favorite line in the article is a quote from former Smart Choices board member Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. He’s quoted as saying “You could start out with some sawdust, add calcium or Vitamin A and meet the criteria”.

Which program do you thing the FDA and Department of Agriculture will shut down first?

Slow Food USA organized a wonderful campaign called Time for Lunch that calls for a national day of action to get real food in schools. That day is Labor Day, September 7, and the closest organized event I know of is in New Haven on the New Haven Green. It’s being organized by Yale students and is open to everyone starting at the very end of the New Haven Road Race.

If you can’t attend, please visit Slow Food USA’s web site and sign the petition to ask Congress for meaningful changes to the National School Lunch Program.

Here is Slow Food USA’s platform:

“This fall, the Child Nutrition Act, which is the bill that governs the National School Lunch Program, is up for reauthorization in Congress. By passing a Child Nutrition Act that works for children, our nation can take the first step towards a future where no child is denied his or her right to be healthy and where every child enjoys real food.
That’s why it’s time for Congress and the Obama Administration to:

1. Invest in children’s health.
   Give schools just one dollar more per day for each child’s lunch. Under the National School Lunch Program, the USDA reimburses schools for every meal served: $2.57 for a free lunch, $2.17 for a reduced-price lunch and 24 cents for a paid lunch. Since these reimbursements must also pay for labor, equipment and overhead costs, schools are left with only $1.00 to spend on food. How can schools be expected to feed our children and protect their health with only a dollar a day? It’s time to build a strong foundation for our children’s health by raising the reimbursement rate to $3.57.
2. Protect against food that puts children at risk.
   Establish strong standards for all food sold at school, including food from vending machines and school fast food. At most schools, children can buy junk food in vending machines, at on-campus stores and in the cafeteria as “a la carte” items. These overly processed, high-calorie “fast” foods sneak under the radar of federal nutrition standards. They undermine the National School Lunch Program’s investment in children’s health and allow food companies to profit from selling obesity. It’s time to take the first step towards making real food the standard by approving Rep. Woolsey’s and Sen. Harkin’s Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2009.
3. Teach children healthy habits that will last through life.
   Fund grants for innovative Farm to School programs and school gardens. This spring, 30 fifth-graders joined Michelle Obama in planting a vegetable garden on the White House lawn. “What I found with my kids [is that] if they were involved in planting and picking it, they were much more curious to give it a try,” Mrs. Obama says. Every child deserves the opportunity to learn healthy eating habits at school. In 2004, a section was added to the Child Nutrition Act to provide schools with grants to cover one-time grants that enable them to purchase local foods and to teach lessons on healthy eating in kitchen and garden classrooms – but Congress never appropriated funds for it. This year, it’s time for Congress to guarantee $50 million of mandatory funding for Farm to School programs.

We also ask that Congress and the Obama Administration:

1. Give schools the incentive to buy local.
   Establish financial incentives that encourage schools to buy food from local farms for all child nutrition programs. Buying fruits and vegetables from local farms is an economic engine for creating jobs in our communities, rebuilding rural economies, and supporting family farmers. By shortening the distance food travels – from farm to table – it also saves oil and ensures school foods are as fresh and healthy as possible.
2. Create green jobs with a School Lunch Corps.
   Train underemployed Americans to be the teachers, farmers, cooks, and administrators our school cafeterias need. We can’t serve real food in schools without investing in school kitchens and the people who prepare and serve lunch. This spring, President Obama signed the Serve America Act, which expanded Americorps and reinforced his call for Americans to serve their country. Right now, our nation has an opportunity to train young and unemployed Americans to be the teachers, farmers, cooks and administrators we need to ensure the National School Lunch Program is protecting children’s health. President Obama has called for an end to childhood hunger by 2015; let’s answer that call by putting Americans to work building and working in school kitchens nationwide.”

Our nation’s awareness of the need for healthy, sustainable food is growing and the documentary food films Food, Inc. and FRESH are helping to fuel the momentum. I recommend viewing Food, Inc. first to gain a better understanding of the problems associated with our industrial food system and then joining me for a special night on August 12 to view FRESH, hear from the experts on our local-sustainable food panel and visit with them at their exhibit tables. This is your invitation to join the movement.

Further proof of the growing sustainable food movement is the groundbreaking passage last week of Chicago’s Green Food Resolution encouraging widespread community support for the expansion of farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, community gardens and other ways to provide healthful plant-based foods. Here is an excerpt:

“BE lT RESOLVED, that the Chicago City Council encourages individuals, civic associations, and community based organizations to grow local, organic gardens, and institutions and businesses to offer more plant based foods; and

BE lT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Chicago City Council promotes the expansion of the number of Farmers’ Markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, community gardens, and other venues which provide healthful plant based foods.”

According to currentgreen.com. “A similar resolution was introduced for New York City calling for a citywide FoodprintNYC initiative to reduce the city’s climate foodprint, which is a more significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions than all transportation systems combined, and create greater access to local, fresh, healthy plant-based food, especially in low-income communities, as well as city-run institutions. So far, 11 City Council members have signed on as co-sponsors.”

Looking to introduce a Green Food Resolution in your city? Farm Sanctuary has launched a campaign to introduce Green Food Resolutions similar to Chicago’s in cities throughout the U.S.  Visit their site to find some helpful tips on how to introduce a Green Food Resolution and obtain a Sample Draft Resolution.

After six long years of work, award-winning filmmaker Robert Kenner has released his film Food, Inc., an expose of the ugly underbelly of our nation’s food system.  The film opens in Connecticut in Greenwich, Norwalk and New Haven this Friday, June 26. Meet me at the movies in Norwalk at 7 pm this Friday, June 26, at Garden Cinemas Norwalk, 26 Isaac Street. Come early to purchase a ticket since this theater does not sell tickets online. The film has been extremely popular in other cities, so it could sell out. Email me at marketing@fairfieldgreenfoodguide.com if you’d like to join the meetup group. Let’s have a drink afterward to discuss. I’ll be in the Fairfield Green Food Guide tee shirt.

Food policy advocate and co-producer Eric Schlosser (remember Fast Food Nation?) and Michael Pollan, best known for his books including The Omnivore’s Dilemma, are the movie’s stars along with the entrepreneurs and farmers that constitute our food system. I’ve heard it said that Food, Inc. will be to food what An Inconvenient Truth was to global warming. Well, yes and no. As Kim Severson of The New York Times astutely points out in her movie review today, “After watching Al Gore explain the horrors of climate change, moviegoers can turn off a few lights, think about a Prius and call it a day. People who leave “Food, Inc.” still have to eat.”

And that leaves us with the daily dilemma of what to eat, where to buy it and how to prepare it so it’s convenient, healthy, delicious and within budget. I built this site for that very reason; I want to be part of the solution! Please visit a farmers’ market, get on a CSA waiting list or visit a farm stand this week. Please use The Buying Guide to search for resources in your town.

The movie is also showing in New Haven at Criterion Cinemas 7, 86 Temple Street, at 7:10 and 9:30 pm; Criterion Cinemas at Greenwich Plaza, 2 Railroad Avenue, at 7 and 9:15 and Garden Cinemas Norwalk, 26 Isaac Street,  at 7 and 9 pm.

See you at the movies! Please come back to post your comments.

by Eileen Weber, guest writer and staff writer for CT GreenScene

Chances are, you came to this site looking for food that’s local, fresh, and organic. You are not alone. Many people have begun to make the connection between fresh food and good health.

But good health may be a bit lacking when your food is contaminated. Recently, we have heard about contaminated spinach, tomatoes, and even peanut butter. Whether it’s salmonella, E.coli, listeria, or a host of other bacteria, your family may be sitting down to enjoy a health hazard rather than a healthy meal.

In the last several weeks, an initiative to regulate the food industry has been part of a heated debate. Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro has put forth the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, or H.R. 875 as it’s commonly known.

The bill seeks to break the Food and Drug Administration into two separate bodies, one that focuses on food and one that focuses on drugs. It will require food companies to meet certain stipulations for contaminants in the food they sell. It will also offer a system of certifying imports from foreign countries. Stricter food inspections, mandatory recalls, and civil penalties for violations against the bill will be enforced.

Sounds good, right? Not so fast, say many organic farmers and those who support the organic farming industry. Many see it as just one more time big government is sticking it to the little guy. Linn Cohen Cole, a writer and activist from Atlanta, penned a March 3^rd reaction to the bill on the web site OpEdNews.

“Farmers produce something of real value,” said Cohen Cole “and from that base, businesses grow up. Local markets, local food processors, local seed companies, local tool and supply companies, local stores and an economy based on reality and something truly good for us, too, begins to grow…And it is all those things that threaten the corporations, which is why we now have these massive ‘fake food safety’ bills in Congress.”

Her article was read aloud on YouTube along with a number of other video segments against the bill. One of the biggest complaints is the benefit there would be to large corporations like Monsanto, Cargill, Tysons, and ADM.

Monsanto, for example, manufactures herbicides and genetically modified seed. The fear is that an organic farm might be considered “unsafe” without the use of herbicides. This puts the little guy out of business while the big guy makes money off it.

But according to an April 9^th article in the Hartford Courant, the bill “doesn’t regulate home gardens and makes no mention of organic farming.” The article points out that, while there has been a flurry of upset over DeLauro’s initiative, she has refuted those claims on her web site as “hyperbole and paranoia.”

There has also been criticism of DeLauro because her husband, Stanley Greenberg, has ties to Monsanto. However, those ties are weak at best. Monsanto was a former client of Greenberg, founder and CEO of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, a polling and consulting firm, not a current one.

A recent Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA) newsletter supported the fact that the bill does not target organic farms and gardens. “There is no Monsanto connection to H.R. 875,” it stated in the e-newsletter, “and Rep. Rosa DeLauro has clarified that gardeners and Direct marketers-to Farmers Markets, CSAs, roadside stands, local restaurants, etc-are completely exempt under her bill.”

Organic Bytes, the e-newsletter of the Organic Consumers Association, mirrored that sentiment. They found “misleading headlines” with the anti-H.R. 875 stand point. “Even if this bill were passed as is today,” it was stated in the newsletter, “it wouldn’t criminalize organic farming. The bill would require farms to have a food safety plan, allow their records to be inspected, and comply with food safety regulations. To say this is tantamount to criminalization doesn’t give organic farmers enough credit.”

Regardless of the position taken on either side, food safety is a concern for every family. It is clear that we need an initiative that weeds out the bad and supports the good. The problem comes when the version of what’s good doesn’t necessarily mesh with what’s right.

EILEEN WEBER has been a freelance writer for the last few years. She has a master’s degree in journalism and a professional background in publishing. She has written numerous articles for magazines, newspapers, newsletters and web sites including CT GreenScene. She lives in Fairfield with her husband, three daughters, two dogs and whole lot of chaos.

When time allows, she writes her own blog about food and, occasionally, a little wine (which she wouldn’t mind having a glass of right now). If she’s lucky, Eileen lands a gig here and there doing voice-overs for commercials.

Eileen also spends a good deal of time volunteering. For the last two years, she has run an antique appraisal fundraiser and planned other events, all for charity. Last year, she was the President of the Welcome Club of Fairfield and Easton and is still a current member on the executive board. Very recently, she was part of a group of people from three local churches who helped raise money for an impoverished school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Apparently, Eileen lacks the self-awareness to realize how green she is. Writing for CT GreenScene has definitely opened her eyes. Not surprisingly, Eileen is also a late bloomer.

The Weber crew loves to travel, especially to Europe to visit family. Eileen loves to cook and entertain. So the next time you find yourself in Fairfield, hungry and a tad lonely, stop by.