Local food focused conferences and summits are a great opportunity for seasoned food systems practitioners and budding local food enthusiasts to learn, connect and get inspired toward positive action. In southeast Michigan, two upcoming Local Food Summits provide unique opportunities for engagement and education: Greater Washtenaw Local Food Summit (LFS) Monday, March 9th 8:00 AM – […]
The Michigan Farmers Union is a grassroots organization dedicated to protecting the social and economic well-being of Michigan family farmers. Each year, they host an annual meeting to discuss policy issues at hand, before pushing them forward to the national level. This year at the 82nd Annual Michigan Farmers’ Union Convention and Member Meeting in […]
Come share your voice with the Michigan Farmers Union! Once a year, this grassroots, member-driven organization gathers to discuss policy recommendations on the local, state, and national level. Some of the issues on the table this year will be foreign ownership of farmland, 10 Cents a Meal, and dairy supply management.
A farmer I know, let’s call him John, is up late tonight in his orchard. As a Leelanau County farmer, his work requires vigilance. It’s been a wet summer so far, and that means there’s a virtual laboratory of bugs, molds, and fungi waiting to threaten his way of life. Tonight, reluctantly, he sprays an […]
This is Part Three of a three-part series from farmer Brian Bates of Bear Creek Organic Farm in Petoskey, Michigan. This essay was delivered as part of his keynote address to attendees at the Northwest Michigan Food and Farming Network’s annual Farm Route to Prosperity Summit on February 17th of this year. In parts one […]
Editor’s Note: This is Part Two of a three-part series from farmer Brian Bates of Bear Creek Organic Farm in Petoskey, Michigan. This essay was delivered as part of his keynote address to attendees at the Northwest Michigan Food and Farming Network’s annual Farm Route to Prosperity Summit on February 17th of this year. In […]
Editor’s Note: Brian Bates, farmer and partner at Bear Creek Organic Farm in Petoskey, Michigan, gave the keynote address at the annual Northwest Food and Farming Network Farm Route to Prosperity Summit on February 17th of this year. His creative problem-solving and passion for learning put him in a new category of young, emerging, farmers […]
Did you know that Washtenaw County has a food policy council? You may be asking yourself, what is food policy and why is it important to our community? According to Anthony Flaccavento, a food systems consultant and commercial organic farmer, policy is best understood as a framework that influences behavior. Thus, a food policy council […]
The amount of food wasted in our nation is stunning. “In the United States, 31 percent — or 133 billion pounds — of the 430 billion pounds of the available food supply at the retail and consumer levels in 2010 went uneaten,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. From the point of view of […]
A Review of the Film “Fresh” By Tricia Phelps There are countless documentaries making comments on the current state of our food system. They each differ in varying degrees of tragedy, omission, honesty and optimism. “Fresh” became part of that ever growing panoply of films in 2009. The film’s director, Ana Sofia Joanes, sets “Fresh” apart […]