Budget cuts could be a recipe for change or disaster

Congress is planning dramatic cuts to the American budget and anything and everything is on the chopping block. The agricultural sector is likely to take a big hit but will the special Congressional “super committee” make positive change or keep pandering to Big Ag?

Behind closed doors, lobbyists for food system giants are pressing lawmakers to continue the status quo or make cuts elsewhere. Whose belts do they think should be tightened?

• NUTRITION: nutrition programs that provide critical access to food in this time of economic crisis. These programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called “food stamps”), the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, and affordable school lunch. When nearly 50 million people in the U.S. live in constant threat of hunger, cutting the budget for these programs is an outrage.
• JOB CREATION: programs that support family farms, create jobs, and keep money in rural communities. In a recent letter to the co-chairs of the “super committee,” House Agricultural Committee Chair, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D, ME) wrote “While efforts to reduce the federal deficit remain paramount, we must place an equal if not greater emphasis on policy changes that will put Americans to work and boost economic growth. Local food systems can yield significant benefits to the economy and create thousands of jobs. According to a recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a modest amount of funding or 100-500 farmers markets could create as many as 13,500 jobs over a five-year period.”
• SUPPORT FOR FARMERS AND FARMLAND: a hodgepodge of programs to address environmental quality and to provide essential support to vegetable farmers, beginning farmers, and socially-disadvantaged farmers. One of the most puzzling parts of the Food and Farm bill is that the majority of the foods that we eat (things like vegetables, fruits, and beef) are referred to as “specialty crops.” Cutting the already meager portion of Food and Farm Bill funding that goes to producers that make real food- not corn for ethanol and animal feed- is egregious. As the average age of US farmers steadily reaches retirement age (the majority of farmers today are in their 60s) it’s critical to the future of our food and agricultural economy that we continue to support the next generation of farmers, especially those from diverse communities. Related to that is ensuring that developed farmland continues to be used to grow food instead of being developed and thus saying goodbye to the investments that generations of farmers have made to the soil and surrounding terrain. And yet programs for supporting new farmers and farmland conservation are instead treated like an ATM for subsidies for Big Ag. Under a Senate Ag committee proposal, these programs could lose up to $4 billion. That’s nearly 20% of their current budget.
• FOOD SAFETY: FDA funding which goes towards (already underfunded) farm inspectors who we need more of to keep us safe from outbreaks of food-borne illness. Unless the “super committee” comes up with a better plan, FDA funding could be reduced by nearly $200 million from the 2011 level. This would lead to fewer FDA staff, including those who inspect our domestic and imported foods. Large food facilities are already sorely under-inspected- just look to recent deadly food-borne illnesses in eggs, cantaloupe, and spinach.

That’s no way to balance a budget: that’s a recipe for disaster.

Click here to tell the super committee to follow our recipe for change.

More after the jump

The Path to Legislative Impact Heats Up with Food Day

Heading into Food Day—a national campaign for everyday people to take back control of their food, health, and environment—this coming Mon. (Oct. 24), we can’t help but think that more than ever before, there is potential for legislative impact.

Heading into Food Day—a national campaign for everyday people to take back control of their food, health, and environment—this coming Mon. (Oct. 24), we can’t help but think that more than ever before, there is potential for legislative impact.  Coming off the heels of our $5 Challenge and this past weekend’s World Food Day—and with Congress’ Super Committee poised to greatly influence the 2012 Farm Bill by deciding where to cut funds for food and agriculture programs by their Nov. 23rd deadline—this is a big moment for the food movement.

For the first time since the 2008 Farm Bill, we have a clear pathway to government. Better yet, we have an opportunity to write a new chapter in America’s story of food and farming—where everyday people rally together to challenge Congress to do the right thing: to make food that’s good for consumers, good for producers, and good for the environment accessible and affordable for everyone, every day.


At the core of Food Day’s mission is a desire to fix America’s broken food system.  As an official partner, Slow Food USA could not be more supportive of the day’s participants and their demands, which include:

• Reducing diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
• Supporting sustainable farms & limiting subsidies to big agribusiness
• Expanding access to food & alleviating hunger
• Protecting the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
• Promoting heath by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
• Supporting fair conditions for food and farm workers

It’s going to take each of us rolling up our sleeves to balance the currently unjust and unsustainable food system. The good news is that there are lots of us and lots of ways to keep the pressure on Congress. On Food Day, can send a message to Congress by signing on to the Eat Real agenda or by taking the $5 Challenge or by doing both! You can exercise your right to free speech and talk about the right to good food online or to the media. Many food activists across the country have even joined up with their local Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movements to protest injustices in the food system..  The tactics you choose are entirely up to you; the greater meaning is to believe that when everyday people take action together, we can make a difference with what ends up on each of our plates.

Extending the Season’s Bounty in Chicago

Slow Food Chicago is helping its community enjoy the bounty year round. Canning and preserving workshops have kicked off and will be continuing through the winter months. It’s amazing what some cookware, fresh food and willing hands can do!

Submitted by Slow Food Chicago Leader Jennifer Breckner. Photos by Megan Larmer

The Summer months here in Chicago are definitely bountiful. And, through a partnership with Slow Food USA, Anolon Cookware is helping us extend that bounty to the other seasons. Slow Food Chicago hears all the time that our community wants hands-on food production workshops; they want a sense of self-sufficiency and they want to learn! Particularly important to us are affordable opportunities that demystify the canning process, extend the harvest throughout the year, and that connect individuals with local produce on an intimate level.

Anolon stepped in to support this great cause, generously providing Slow Food Chicago with over $1,000 in cookware and utensils to start up a pilot canning and preservation program, which will be held seasonally, throughout the year. The first two workshops, organized by Megan Larmer, Slow Food Chicago board member, and Samantha Radov, workshop instructor, were held over the summer at Logan Square Kitchen, a “shared kitchen” that supports local entrepreneurs getting their start. As a bonus, it’s the only LEED Gold private event space in Chicago.

“Anolon’s donation is invaluable. By not having to purchase cookware, we made a profit on the first workshop. We also were able to plan the entire series at once, knowing the equipment will last. Now we can begin improving the workshops with the very next installment.  This gift ensures the longevity and success of the workshop series,” explained Larmer.

Slow Food Chicago received an enthusiastic response to the canning classes, which sold out quickly. Thirty people joined instructor Radov, a Slow Food enthusiast and pastry chef at Publican, to can tomatoes. The workshops were fun, informative, and absolutely messy. As one person said, “I’m interested in the sourcing of my food, and preserving it for myself. I never knew [that] I liked tomatoes until I had “real” one. FOOD IS SO COOL!”

We agree! Holding these canning workshops was for some a way to connect with near-forgotten family traditions, and for others a time to start a new one. Slow Food Chicago is excited for its future workshops: apples in November, citrus in February, and rhubarb in May. Onward!

Last Stop On Our Campus Tour…You. We’re Hosting A Live Twitter Chat!

Slow Food USA is going on the road to meet with the next generation of food movement leaders—and our last stop is Twitter! On Friday, October 21st at 4pm EST, we will host a live Twitter chat with students across the country.

Slow Food USA is going on the road to meet with the next generation of food movement leaders—and our last stop is Twitter! On Friday, October 21st at 4pm EST,  @JoshViertel will host a live Twitter chat with students across the country #SlowFoodEDU.  The topic of discussion is the current state of food and farming, and what students can do to grow the movement for better food.

The Twitter party will serve as the exclamation mark to a 3-day campus tour from Oct. 16 to 19—when Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel will be hitting up the Northeast, chatting with hundreds of college and high school students about the role of young people in the food movement.

While engaging students in the fight for better food policies is not new to Slow Food (our Slow Food on Campus program is growing and is now active on 47 campuses nationwide!), Josh’s campus tour is happening at an important time:

• Now, more than ever, students are demanding to know the story behind their food.

• At the same time, students face mounting challenges to accessing good, clean, and fair food—especially if they have limited income, little time to cook and eat, and restricted options in their dining halls.  There is a reason why students often lead a fast food way of life.

• Many students are getting fed up with the broken food systems and they are hungry for change and accountability on their campuses and in their communities.

More after the jump

Will the Super Committee Be Super Heroes for Food, Farming?

Today marks the deadline for various groups—including those representing agriculture—to submit their recommendations to Congress’s “super committee”, whose task of trimming our nation’s budget by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years will undoubtedly impact the food we eat.

As we head into the season of super suppers, Congress is preparing for some hard conversations about what’s for dinner. In August, when our government almost shut down because Congress couldn’t agree on how to balance our budget—they came up with the idea of a “super committee” aka. the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to decide which programs to save and which to scrap—including those that impact the food we eat.  Between now and Thanksgiving, this group of 6 Democrats and 6 Republicans will come to the table with the task of trimming our budget by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. 

Today marks the deadline for various groups—including those representing agriculture—to submit their recommendations to the super committee.  If they can’t reach consensus on an action plan by Nov. 23, automatic across-the-board cuts will kick in to the tune of $1.2 trillion—affecting everything from defense to healthcare.  If they are able to come to an agreement, Congress will make the final vote to approve the super committee’s proposal on Dec. 23.

We’re on our toes.  On the chopping block are some of the programs that make it easier for all of us to eat good, clean, and fair food:
• SNAP (aka food stamps)
• Conservation programs—such as Value Added Producer Grants for small producers, grants for organic fruit and vegetable production, and funding for community food projects
But there’s an opportunity here!  Also on the chopping block—for the first time in history—are programs that make it easier to eat overprocessed foods that are bad for us and the planet.  We’re talking about direct subsidies for commodity crops (like corn, soy, wheat, etc) in particular. This is a critical moment for the future of food and we want Congress to do the right thing: save the programs that promote good, clean, and fair food and scrap the ones that promote an unhealthy, unsustainable America.

While the politics of spending cuts and tax increases can get a bit messy on the Hill, one thing is clear: We can’t afford to skimp on keeping America nourished and healthy.  Last month, when 30,000 people took the $5 Challenge—to cook Slow Food for less than it costs to buy fast food—we saw a nation ready for change.  We need policy that makes it easier for everyone to grow and eat food that reflect our values: food that’s good for the people who eat it, good for the farm and food workers who produce it, and good for the planet.  So will the super committee be the super heroes or super villains for better food and farming?

Youth Leadership in the Garden: Slow Food Boulder and Cultiva

The Cultiva Youth Project and Slow Food Boulder have teamed up with Anolon Cookware to provide top-notch cooking education and leadership opportunities in North Boulder. Here, teens get to cook and eat together, as well as learn from their peers. And, of course, brand new cookware doesn’t hurt!

Submitted by Ellie Goldberg of Growing Gardens’ Cultiva Youth Project

Here at Growing Gardens’ Cultiva Youth Project we are so thankful for our ongoing partnership with Slow Food Boulder! Each spring and summer, Cultiva youth participate in Slow Food cooking classes with local chefs, preparing meals at our garden in north Boulder, at the market, and in a downtown church kitchen. Slow Food recruits the chefs, purchases the ingredients, and helps staff the class. This time around, Anolon Cookware has given us the pots and pans.

The chefs choose recipes that use the vegetables the Cultiva youth grow at our organic market garden. Cultiva teens come from all walks of life; participants come from all socio-economic levels and represent a diverse cross section of Boulder County youth in all ways. Many of the teens have never prepared an entire meal from scratch, especially using vegetables they grew and under the guidance of a professional chef. Slow Food cooking classes are definitely a highlight of working at Cultiva; the teens love working together in the kitchen, learning new techniques and recipes from a pro, and above all, sitting together and enjoying a tasty home-cooked meal. To see a documentary about our Cultiva summer program, click here!

Thanks to Anolon’s generous donation of top-notch cooking supplies, we were also able to offer 6 youth-led cooking classes in the garden. The teens harvested vegetables and prepared garlic scape pesto, kale chips, and zucchini pancakes. The youth loved cooking using the shiny new tools!

But that’s not all we’ve been up to! This season, we had the opportunity to visit Shamane’s Bake Shoppe and bake with Shamane herself, prepare pizzas at the market with Antonio Laudisio, make kale tacos with Rayme and Serena on the Comida taco truck, and prepare a meal at the church with Tim Payne of Terroir. We’re excited to keep on growing.

Celebrate National School Lunch Week with a FREE Nourish DVD

This week is National School Lunch Week, to celebrate we’re asking you, “How can we can we create a better school food system?” Answer to win a free copy of Nourish Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos About the Story of Your Food.

This week, October 10-14th, is National School Lunch Week, a time to raise awareness about the importance of school meals in children’s health and our food system.

This month, Nourish, an educational initiative designed to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability, particularly in schools and communities, is showcasing perspectives on school lunch, from farm to school programs to parent activism. In this new video from Nourish Short Films: 54 Bite-Sized Videos About the Story of Your Food, food journalist Michael Pollan advocates for a better menu for America’s children.

In addition to Michael Pollan, the Nourish short films features segments with Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters, Bryant Terry, and other voices of the food movement, and such topics as “Edible Education,” “Grow, Cook, Learn,” and “Youth Making Change.” Our own Josh Viertel remarked that, “These short films bring to life a vision of a world where food is good for the people who eat it, good for the people who grow and pick it, and good for the planet.”

To celebrate National School Lunch Week, we’re giving away one of these free Nourish Short Films DVDs! But we want to hear from you first. Leave a comment below in answer to the question, How can we can we create a better school food system? We will select a winner at random, so there are no right answers, but send us your answers now – the contest will close on Sunday October 16th.

Occupy Wall Street: What’s food got to do with it?

The demands of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) - which is broadly defined as a protest against economic inequality - are as diverse as its growing camp of activists. Two of those demands speak directly to the corporate mishandling of our food system. But food and farming isn’t just central to their platform; it’s central to sustaining the day-to-day life of the movement.

What began with an encampment of makeshift cardboard tents and an impromptu sidewalk gallery of protest signs has exploded into a movement that’s spawning sister protests nationwide. But as numbers grow, so do logistical challenges: how do you feed a crowd of 20,000?

At the cafeteria-style “kitchen” in Zuccotti Square (the OWS base camp), plates of donated food are doled out by a rotating cast of volunteers, including trained chefs (the overwhelming quantity of donated food has organizers scrambling to donate to local shelters, ensuring nothing is wasted.)  Operating on 100% food donations means the kitchen team has to improvise based on what’s at hand, and prepare any hot meals at apartments or kitchen space in the neighborhood. However improvised, the kitchen supports the values of the activists: food scraps go into a compost bin, and dishwater passes through a filter to be reused.

And good, clean, and fair food IS a value of the activists. But what does it have to do with Wall Street? Food justice writer and activist Jan Poppendeick  says the connection is corporate control of agriculture. The statistics are staggering (90% of the corn market is dominated by 3 companies, for example) and the resulting degradation of human health and the environment endangers our health, and the future health of our food supply. Reclaiming control of the food system from corporate entities is one of the written tenets of the OWS declaration: “[corporations] have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.” Another tenet speaks to animal cruelty inflicted by the common industrial practice of confining animals into tight quarters with abhorrent conditions.

More after the jump

Farm v Fished: Understanding today’s salmon problem

Why is it so hard to figure out how to buy seafood sustainably? How did we get here? Roots of Change takes a deep dive into the problem with California salmon and points to some solutions.

By Bobbie Peyton for Roots of Change

California salmon feed the country but their habitat is threatened to a perilous degree. To understand how that came to be, we have to acknowledge the complex, interconnected reality of our food system.

In California, the current salmon crisis can be traced to the early 1900s when the state chose to use its finite water supply to develop its urban centers and industrial agriculture, rather than maintaining its free-running inland waterways (i.e. rivers and creeks). The dams created to bring water to cities and farms did so at the expense of maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems, and blocked salmon spawning routes.

Indeed the appropriation of abundant amounts of water and the creation of 1,400 dams transformed California into a “cornucopia,” the largest agricultural state in the U.S. But this choice to favor agriculture and developing cities still haunts us today.

More after the jump

This World Food Day, host a $5 Challenge Meal

October 16th is World Food Day. How about hosting a $5 challenge meal?

It sure is the harvest season!

You’ve heard of Food Day—to be held on October 24th.  But did you also know that on October 16th it’s WORLD food day? That’s one more chance to host a $5 challenge meal, this time as part of our partner Oxfam America’s Sunday Suppers/World Food Day campaign.

As Oxfam describes it:

This World Food Day, Oxfam America is teaming up with a host of allies across the US and around the globe. We have a simple yet compelling idea—to host a Sunday Dinner October 16th that fosters a conversation about where your food comes from, who cultivates it, and how we can make the food system more just and sustainable.

You can order materials to help you host your dinner and register your event by clicking here.

And of course you can read a ton of wonderful tips and tricks collected as part of our $5 Challenge initiative by going to our tumblr (click here).