Farm-Food Policy Memo USA: The New Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Speaks; And His First Message is An Interesting One

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States in early November, 2008, a group of U.S. food and agriculture policy reformers that included the well known author and food policy reformist Michael Pollan ("In Defense of Food" and other books) and "foodie," organic and local foods activist, cookbook author and restaurant-owner Alice Waters, sent the then President-Elect a letter asking him to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who would "put eaters first" in U.S. agriculture and food policy. The group also created an online petition in which they urged Americans who agreed with their position for an "eaters' first" Ag Secretary to post their names on it. The petition was then sent to the team Obama.

[Here are two links to the petition and related information from the farm-food policy activists: [Pollan Events Petition letter] [Pollan Events] 40,000 names!]

In early January of this year, then President-Elect Obama nominated former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be his Secretary of Agriculture. As Governor of Iowa Vilsack was a solid supporter of the state's agribusiness industry, as well as a "go-getter" in bringing ethanol fuel plants, production and refineries to the Midwestern, farm-belt state, as one would suspect the Governor of Iowa to do if he wanted to get re-elected.

Vilsack was also a strong supporter of now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President rather than President Obama. However, as soon as Barack Obama cinched the nomination, Vilsack was on board as a major supporter. It was Iowa in fact, where the President won the crucial first-in-the-nation key Presidential primary, that Barack Obama says was key to his victory in November, 2008.

Following the announcement that Vilsack would be the nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, feelings and opinions among the members of the U.S. ag-food policy reform movement ranged from outright indignation, to reservation that it would be "business as usual." For others, including Obama supporters, it wasn't such a shock. After all President Obama campaigned from day one as a moderate Democrat. He advocated change for sure but in a more evolutionary rather than revolutionary manner. Vilsack is a moderate Democrat, just like the President.

A few folks in the farm-food policy reform movement urged the others to give Vilsack (and President Obama since the Secretary carries out the President's policies) a chance. Michael Pollan has been one of those taking a more moderate voice regarding the Vilsack selection. Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) has been urging the same. Seldom are things so black and white as it's either "Eaters First" or "Agribusiness First."

Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate just a little over two weeks ago, hasn't offered much publicly in terms of how he views the Department of Agriculture and U.S. ag-farm policy -- until now. That's probably good because we appreciate cabinet secretaries who take a couple-to-three weeks to first figure out where the bathrooms are before speaking out. And there are many bathrooms in the huge U.S. Department of Agriculture building where Vilsack now works.

In today's Washington Post, Secretary Vilsack gives his first full interview since being confirmed. The interview is written as a feature piece by Washington Post staff writer Jane Black.

And in the interview piece, the Secretary of Agriculture addresses just the issue the farm-food policy reformers are most concerned with: The focus and balance in U.S. agricultural and food policy between "eaters" (consumers), farmers and agribusiness. We toss in food companies and retailers of all shapes and sizes as well. They need to be at the table.

In fact, the story's headline is: "Vilsack: USDA Must Serve Eaters as Well as Farmers." Rather on-message for those looking to hear that message, we must say. And keep this in mind: If a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture who didn't have the trust and respect of agribusiness took the position Vilsack takes in the Washington Post interview piece, he or she likely would be the subject of tons of political backlash, as would the President that appointed that Secretary.

While Vilsack probably wouldn't have been our first choice for a variety of reasons, those who dismiss him out of hand should think about the fact that merely having a head of the U.S. Department of Agricultural who agrees across the board on the goals of the farm-food policy reformist movement doesn't mean he or she could get anything done. It's all about that credibility issue we mentioned. There are multiple constituencies to address, not just one. And like it or not that cuts both ways -- reformist and agribusiness (constituencies), along with a couple others.

Below is how Washington Post staff writer Jane Black begins her story about the new head of the massive U.S. Department of Agriculture, who she interviewed this week:

"When former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack was nominated as secretary of agriculture, many food policy activists, noting his reputation as a friend to corporate agriculture and ethanol producers, rendered a verdict that was swift and harsh: agribusiness as usual.

But Vilsack, newly installed in his regal but still-undecorated office on Independence Avenue, is out to redefine himself and his vision. In an interview this week, he called for a "new day" for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's sprawling bureaucracy, which he believes should champion not only farmers but also everyone who eats.

'This is a department that intersects the lives of Americans two to three times a day. Every single American,'he said. 'o I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food -- it extends to those who consume it."

The writer also quotes Michael Pollan in the piece, presumably after reading him the comments Secretary Vilsack made in the interview, published above and elsewhere in the story. In response, Ms. Black quotes Pollan: "He's definitely sounding a different note than his predecessors," said Michael Pollan, the reform-minded author of the bestseller "In Defense of Food." "Whether they'll be reflected in policies remains to be seen."

[Click here to read the full story from today's Washington Post: "Vilsack: USDA Must Serve Eaters as Well as Farmers."]

Indeed Vilsack is sounding considerably different than his predecessors. The mere fact he is speaking out makes him completely different than the George W. Bush Administration Secretary's of Agriculture the past eight years. Quick quiz: Can you name the last Secretary of Agriculture; the one who left with the outgoing Bush Administration? Not easy to do, is it?

Additionally, the fact that Vilsack is speaking out so early and so clearly (such clarity, which isn't a Washington D.C. trait, leaves him very little wiggle room later on) means he's going to have to follow-through on much of what he is advocating. Of course, keep in mind that Congress, with its power of the purse, will ultimately decide the direction of U.S. farm-food policy, which is something reformist need to always keep top-of-mind. In other words, don't just focus on and put all your hopes in President Obama.

But the Administration can certainly lead. Set the course. And it is a course that needs balancing. It's not about good "eaters" and small-growers and bad agribusiness and global food companies. If only it were so simple.

But balance indeed is needed. And as President Obama has been advocating, and so far walking the walk on, it's time to put aside the heavy partisanship. We suggest the same when it comes to farm and food policy. A little cooperation and a meeting of the minds from all sides will go a very long way.

[NSFM Editor's Note: The artwork at the top of this post is titled "The American Farm." It's by American artist Warren Kimble. You can learn more about the artist and his work here.]

Food & Farm Policy Memo USA: Barack Obama Responds to Michael Pollan's Policy Agenda For the Next 'Farmer in Chief'

Election Day USA Special Report

As we write this piece, America's voters are either at the polls, getting ready to vote, or have already voted, since about 30% voted early in the 30 U.S. states that permit early voting.

And as America prepares to learn who the nation's next President will be, the country faces a host of serious challenges at home and abroad. These challenges include: the worst financial crisis since the great depression; an economic recession; engagement in two wars; record federal government budget red ink; growing unemployment; a broken health care system; soaring food prices; and a host of other problems and challenges.

Whichever candidate is elected -- Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain -- he will face more domestic and global challenges than any other President in modern history has upon taking office.

The most pressing issue as evidenced by polls of the American people is the economy. Consumer confidence is at historic lows, the credit markets remain frozen despite an injection of $700 billion of taxpayer money, people fear their jobs might be gone tomorrow, and to borrow a word from former President Jimmy Carter, economic malaise is beginning to set in across America.

The economy has been the primary issue during the last 4-5 weeks of the Presidential campaign, with little room really for discussion of anything else. This is probably as it should be considering how the economy is the master of all else -- and how deep of a hole it is in.

However, among the other serious issues facing the next President is food and agricultural policy in America, which is something both Barack Obama and John McCain have talked very little about, if at all, during the long Presidential campaign, which comes to an end today, election day 2008.

Michael Pollan, the University of California at Berkeley journalism professor, author ("The Omnivore's Dilemma" and other best selling books about food and agriculture food policy) and national advocate for a new approach to food and farm policy, is a person who has given much thought to the lack of discussion and debate in this election year regarding agricultural and food policy.

A few weeks ago Pollan expressed his views on the lack of food and farm policy debate in an article in the New York Times in the form of an open letter to the next President about food and farm policy in America.

You can read Pollan's "An Open Letter to the Next President" article from the Times' at this link: Michael Pollan Proposes A "Sun-Food" Agenda In Open Letter To Next U.S. President.

Pollan calls this agenda for the next President, who we should soon learn is going to be, the "Sun Food" agenda, as the article about the next "Farmer In Chief" lays out.

It appears that although he hasn't been talking much during the campaign about food policy, one candidate and the potential "farmer in chief", Barack Obama, did pay attention to Michael Pollan's article and "Sun Food" agenda.

Appearing recently on National Public Radio (NPR), Pollan said he was approached by a member of Barack Obama's campaign staff about his New York Times article and his "Sun Food" Agenda for the next U.S. President. [Links to Pollan's NPR interview here: National Public Radio and here: New York Times article, Farmer in Chief.

According to Pollan, the Obama staffer asked him to distill the article into a one or two page summary so the campaign staff member could present it to Obama to read and review. Pollan said no, telling the staffer if he could have presented the agenda for the next "farmer in chief" in a page or two he wouldn't have bothered to write an 8,000 word article about it. After all, the article is online -- and isn't that what staffers are for? To write summaries of various articles and position papers for Presidential candidates?

Despite Pollan's decision not to summarize his 8,000 word article, which turned out to be the smart thing to do, it appears Barack Obama read the author's entire New York Times' article himself.

In an October 23, 2008 interview with Time magazine writer and columnist Joe Klein, Obama refers to the article, explaining how Pollan's ideas fit into his concept of a new energy economy. Obama has said if elected President he would invest at least $15 billion a year for the next few years, creating an Apollo-type energy program focusing on alternative and renewable energy such as solar, wind, geothermal and other forms, as well as investing in new automotive technologies and conservation and related "green" programs, creating millions of jobs in the process.

Below is a summary of what Obama told Joe Klein in the interview regarding his energy policy, the new energy economy he is proposing, and how Pollan's "Sun Food" agenda for the next President fits into it:

"There is no better potential driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy. I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it's creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they're contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs. That's just one sector of the economy. You think about the same thing is true on transportation. The same thing is true on how we construct our buildings. The same is true across the board."

Read the full Barack Obama-Joe Klein 'Time' interview here.

In our analysis and opinion there's a near 100% synergy between energy policy and food and agricultural policy in the U.S.

For example, one of the primary drivers of the soaring price of food over the last year is the rapidly-rising price of oil and the resulting sky-high price of fuel. The fact the price of oil has dropped nearly 50% over the last few months is only a short-term band-aid fix. It will go back up again, especially if the U.S. fails to embark on a massive program designed to achieve energy independence like Barack Obama is proposing.

These high fuel prices, and the uncertainty they have created, are being felt throughout the entire food supply chain, from the farm to the supermarket, along with in American consumers' pockets and what's left of their bank accounts.

One thing we do suggest to Senator Obama and team if he is elected today is to remember America's agricultural and food industry is arguably the nation's most important and most responsible.

For example, unlike the financial services and auto industries, and probably a few others soon, America's agricultural and food industries aren't asking the federal government to bail them out with taxpayer dollars, even though a number of companies are experiencing tough times. Like the rest of America's businesses and individuals they are helping to pay for bailing out these industries.

Additionally, America's agribusiness companies and farmers, as well as its food and grocery manufacturers, distributors and retailers -- all vital national enterprises -- haven't behaved in a way that's found them financially leveraged to the hilt. Rather, most of these companies and family farmers operate, grow and behave in financially prudent ways. Compare this to many of America's big banks and financial institutions, for example.

Therefore, we encourage what in just a few hours could very well be the new U.S. Presidential Administration to make sure it does all it can to work with and protect America's farmers, agricultural and food and grocery industry businesses during any new energy-agricultural policy shift. This is a policy shift, a focus on new energy sources, we agree with.

And if a new agricultural and food policy is a part of this policy shift, which we agree with in the main except for some particular details, then America's agricultural and food industries, which have in the main been ethically good players, employers and agents for the consumer in the economy, need to be considered, listened to and involved in developing this new policy.

Meanwhile, if Barack Obama is elected President today, it will be refreshing to have an American President who actually reads the newspapers. Since his first term in office, President George W. Bush has proudly said he doesn't read the papers. Perhaps that's how he missed the fact financial crisis was on the way? Or that Hurricane Katrina could be devastating? Or that OPEC was cutting oil production so it could jack up the price of oil?

[Photo Credit: the photograph of Barack Obama at the top of this piece is by Charlie Neibergal. Courtesy: Associated Press.]

Food Innovation Guest Memo: An American Professor's Food Revolution Starts With Rice

International Herald Tribune
June 18, 2008
By William J. Broad

Many a professor dreams of revolution. But Norman Uphoff, working in a leafy corner of the Cornell University campus, is leading an inconspicuous one centered on solving the global food crisis. The secret, he says, is a new way of growing rice.

Rejecting old customs as well as the modern reliance on genetic engineering, Uphoff, 67, an emeritus professor of government and international agriculture with a trim white beard and a tidy office, advocates a management revolt.

Harvests typically double, he says, if farmers plant early, give seedlings more room to grow and stop flooding fields. That cuts water and seed costs while promoting root and leaf growth.

The method, called the System of Rice Intensification, or SRI, emphasizes the quality of individual plants over the quantity. It applies a less-is-more ethic to rice cultivation.

In a decade, it has gone from obscure theory to global trend — and encountered fierce resistance from established rice scientists. Yet a million rice farmers have adopted the system, Uphoff says. The rural army, he predicts, will swell to 10 million farmers in the next few years, increasing rice harvests, filling empty bellies and saving untold lives.
Today in Health & Science

"The world has lots and lots of problems," Uphoff said recently while talking of rice intensification and his 38 years at Cornell. "But if we can't solve the problems of peoples' food needs, we can't do anything. This, at least, is within our reach."

That may sound audacious given the depths of the food crisis and the troubles facing rice. Roughly half the world eats the grain as a staple food even as yields have stagnated and prices have soared, nearly tripling in the past year. The price jolt has provoked riots, panicked hoarding and violent protests in poor countries.

But Uphoff has a striking record of accomplishment, as well as a gritty kind of farm-boy tenacity.

He and his method have flourished despite the skepticism of his Cornell peers and the global rice establishment — especially the International Rice Research Institute, which helped start the green revolution of rising grain production and specializes in improving rice genetics.

His telephone rings. It is the World Bank Institute, the educational and training arm of the development bank. The institute is making a DVD to spread the word.

"That's one of the irons in the fire," he tells a visitor, looking pleased before plunging back into his tale.

Uphoff's improbable journey involves a Wisconsin dairy farm, a billionaire philanthropist, the jungles of Madagascar, a Jesuit priest, ranks of eager volunteers and, increasingly, the developing world. He lists top SRI users as India, China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam among 28 countries on three continents.

In Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India, Veerapandi Arumugam, the agriculture minister, recently hailed the system as "revolutionizing" paddy farming while spreading to "a staggering" million acres.

Chan Sarun, Cambodia's agriculture minister, told hundreds of farmers at an agriculture fair in April that SRI's speedy growth promises a harvest of "white gold."

On Cornell's agricultural campus, Uphoff runs a one-man show from an office rich in travel mementos. From Sri Lanka, woven rice stalks adorn a wall, the heads thick with rice grains.

His computers link him to a global network of SRI activists and backers, like Oxfam, the British charity. Uphoff is SRI's global advocate, and his Web site (ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/) serves as the main showcase for its principles and successes.

"It couldn't have happened without the Internet," he says. Outside his door is a sign, "Alfalfa Room," with a large arrow pointing down the hall, seemingly to a pre-electronic age.

Critics dismiss SRI as an illusion.

"The claims are grossly exaggerated," said Achim Dobermann, the head of research at the international rice institute, which is based in the Philippines. Dobermann said fewer farmers use SRI than advertised because old practices often are counted as part of the trend and the method itself is often watered down.

"We don't doubt that good yields can be achieved," he said, but he called the methods too onerous for the real world.

By contrast, a former skeptic sees great potential. Vernon Ruttan, an agricultural economist at the University of Minnesota and a longtime member of the National Academy of Sciences, once worked for the rice institute and doubted the system's prospects.

Ruttan now calls himself an enthusiastic fan, saying the method is already reshaping the world of rice cultivation. "I doubt it will be as great as the green revolution," he said. "But in some areas it's already having a substantial impact."

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Farm-to-Market Memo: Massive Floods in the U.S. Heartland, Severe Drought in the West Coupled With Soaring Fuel Prices, Spells More Food Price Hikes

About 38% of Iowa's corn and soy crops are under water from the recent floods, according to the state's Department of Agriculture. There's an old saying in the Midwest: If a corn crop is 'knee high by the fourth of July,' it means it will be a good crop for that year. Not this year.

Earlier this year, Safeway Stores, Inc. CEO Steve Burd told a group of financial analysts, reporters and writers on a conference call that food inflation was the highest in the U.S. he has seen since he became CEO of the nation's third-largest supermarket chain 15 years ago.

'You ain't seen nothing yet,' as the old show business saying goes.

On June 13, Natural~Specialty Foods Memo wrote this analysis and commentary piece about how the soaring per-barrel cost of oil, and the resulting price increases of diesel fuel, gasoline and fossil fuel-based energy, was causing severe shock within the food and grocery industry, as well as among U.S. consumers, who are experiencing some of the fastest and most extensive food and grocery product price increases in many of their lifetimes.

Since we published that piece, two major events have occurred which, coupled with the soaring price of oil, fuel and energy costs, threaten to send food prices soaring even higher faster in the U.S.

Those two events, both natural and climatological in the main, are the massive floods that have been hitting the Midwestern U.S. farm belt and the increasingly severe drought in the Western U.S., which in California, the nation's number one farming state, resulted in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring an official drought state of emergency in early June.

California not only is the number one farm state in the U.S., its huge Central Valley, which stretches from Kern County in the South to the Sacramento Valley in the north (about 400 miles) also is the world's number one region in terms of total farm crop output.

America's heartland, the Midwest, also referred to as the farm belt, produces the majority of corn for the nation, which in addition to being the most used U.S. farm crop for food, animal feed and ingredients, also is increasingly being used as a fuel crop to produce ethanol, which is mixed with petroleum-based gasoline in nearly every U.S. state to make what is called blended fuel, such at E-10 (10% gasoline, 10% ethanol) and E-20 (20% ethanol).

The massive floods which ravaged Iowa, the number one U.S. corn producing state, and other Midwest states, have many corn (and other crops) fields submerged under water, rendering the crops unable to be harvested. Additionally, because of the timing of the floods, farmers will be unable to plant their crops in those fields, meaning not only that the current crops are lost, but in many cases next year's will be as well.

Both the Midwest floods and the Western USA drought are guaranteed to contribute to further increased food costs to food retail chains and wholesalers, and thus to consumers. Already, food prices are soaring across the board in the U.S. as they are elsewhere in the world because of a combination of oil price hikes, severe weather globally, growing demand for certain foods by developing countries like China and India, decreased surpluses, and a number of other factors.

Our analysis is Steve Burd's correct observation that food inflation in the U.S. is the highest he's seen in his 15 years at the helm of Safeway Stores, Inc. is that he--and the rest of the U.S. food and grocery industry along with consumers--are about to see the price of food soar even higher, faster in the coming months due to the added negative conditions from the Midwest floods and the Western U.S. drought, combined with the factors already in play described above.

Today we've chosen six articles/opinion pieces--three about the Midwest drought situation and its effect on food and farming, and three about the Western USA drought--for our readers. The pieces each approach the conditions from a different but unified perspective and offer insight from the writers' perspectives on the current situation.

The first three pieces are about the recent massive floods in the Midwest and the effect they already are having on the price of food, especially corn, which is used by the U.S. food processing industry in nearly every processed food and beverage product it produces as well as being the primary grain used to feed market hogs, chickens and cattle.

High Water, higher food costs, David Roeder, Chicago, Illinois Sun Times, June 17, 2008

The second piece about the effect of the Midwestern region floods and food prices discusses how the flooding, particularly in Iowa which was the state hit the hardest, is going to create a ripple effect of higher food prices beyond just the Midwest and throughout the United States.

Iowa's flooding will produce economic ripples beyond the Midwest, Susan Albright, Minneapolis, Minnesota Post, June 17, 2008

The last article, a feature piece from the Los Angeles Times, examines how the Midwest floods could send the prices of everything from corn and soy-based foods to meat soaring nationally in the U.S., beyond the serious price increases already experienced since just the start of 2008.

Midwest flood may cover nation in higher food prices, Jerry Hirsch and P.J. Huffstutter, Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2008

While most of Iowa and other parts of the Midwestern USA heartland are under water, California and other states in the west are experiencing drought conditions. These three pieces examine the drought in the west, especially California, from different perspectives, all having to do with the effects the drought is and will continue to have on food prices, the food industry and consumers.

The first article, from the Fresno Bee, which is the major daily newspaper in the Fresno area in California's Central Valley, one of the top food producing regions in the world, examines what effect the drought will have on food prices, since the region produces foods not only for U.S. sales and consumption but for export throughout the world as well.

Expect higher food costs with drought, Dennis Pollock and Mark Grossi, Fresno, California Bee, June 5, 2008.

Paul H. Betancourt is a farmer in the Central Valley. He farms in the Westlands and Fresno Irrigation District regions in what is a top-producing farm region in America. Betancourt wrote an opinion piece about how farmers are taking drastic steps to conserve water during the current drought, but also says food prices will rise because of the lack of water needed to meet farmers needs in the Golden State.

Drought: Farmers taking drastic steps, Paul H. Betancourt, Sacramento Bee, June 15, 2008

Lastly, former Associated Press and Fresno Bee reporter Lloyd Carter, who covered the state's agriculture and related industries with a focus on water issues for decades and now is a lawyer and director of the California Water Impact Network, http://www.c-win.org/, offers a well-written and expert-opinion piece about the drought in California, its effects on agriculture, business, consumers, the entire state of nearly 40 billion people, and beyond.

Lloyd G. Carter: Much of California is a desert, we should live in it as such, Sacramento Bee, June 15, 2008 [For more of Carter's writing about the water issue you can go to http://www.lloydgcarter.com/]

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo has been suggesting and writing for some time that the "era of cheap food" is over in the U.S. This fact has profound economic and social implications to a country that since the end of World War II has in the main made available to the majority of its citizens an abundance of cheap food, relative to the rest of the world.

Like cheap gasoline--it was less than half its $4 per-gallon U.S. average less than a year ago and under $2 gallon less than two years ago--cheap food has allowed most working class Americans the extra disposable income to live a good life, including home ownership, owning multiple automobiles, putting the kids through college, and other aspects of what's been come to be known as "middle class" living in the U.S.

The U.S. food and grocery industry has created a model in which nearly every cost imaginable has been driven out of the distribution system in order to keep food costs as low as possible for American consumers. There's plenty of room to argue about the industry's ways- a focus on less than healthy processed foods and the like--but the fact is the industry has done much to focus on providing as reasonable priced foods as it can to consumers.

The current conditions--soaring oil and fuel prices, floods, drought and other challenges--are testing America's agricultural and food distribution system like never before in modern history. How it all will play out is unknown. However, clearly alternatives to fossil fuels and similar changes are a must, and recognized by most progressive industry leaders.

As for floods and droughts, mother nature does play a major role there. However, as Lloyd Carter points out in his piece, there's also a pretty good logic for understanding mother nature and geography and designing methods to live within its dictates at times.

The U.S. food and grocery industry has managed to thrive despite the fact it survives on about the lowest profit margin (about 1% net) of any industry in the nation.

It's also an industry built on innovation. In the 1950's, for example, the concept of a self-service grocery stores was just beginning to take root in U.S. food retailing. A decade later in the 1960's it was the norm. The challenges are there today. But so is the innovation. What's lacking however is leadership in America. Therefore, the industry is pretty much on its own for the time being.

Local Foods Memo: 'Eggs, Bunnies and Piglets, Ow My': The UK Soil Association and Organic Farmers' Invite City Folk to Celebrate Easter on the Farm

The United Kingdom's Soil Association has come up with a fun and educational way for Brits to learn more about where their foods come from during the upcoming Easter Holiday weekend.

The environmental, farm and food organization has partnered with some of Britain's organic farms to create a number of Easter weekend farm tours, walks and other educational and recreational activities designed to showcase local sustainable and organic agriculture, as well as offering a relaxing and enjoyable holiday weekend.

The Soil Association is the UK's leading environmental charity. It's charter is to promote sustaniable and organic agriculture, along with human health.

There will be plenty of scenic walking tours, a chance for kids to see lambs and piglets up close, tastings of gourmet-prepared, fresh organic produce and meats, organic wine tastings, and even Easter Egg hunts run by UK-based Green & Blacks, a maker and marketer of premium, organic and Fair Trade chocolates, come Easter weekend. And, since Green & Blacks' produces some of the finest quality chocolate products in the world--and those chocolate delights in the form of chocolate Easter eggs will be the prizes at the egg hunts--you can bet the adults will be looking for an egg or two themselves out on the farm.

A number of the United Kingdom's sustainable and organic farms are involved in the Easter Weekend events. Among these farms include:

Commonwork at Bore Place: Chiddingstone, England. The farm will offer an educational session on food and climate change, including hands-on activities. Lunch will feature local, organic and Fair Trade foods. March 29. For Information: Call: 01732 463255.

Densholme Farm: Great Hatfield, Hull, East Yorkshire. Among the special activities will be a Marathon race and a fun run through the farm's rolling green meadows. March 30. For Information: Call: 01964 535315.

Hindon Farm: Bratton, near Minehead, Somerset. This a must-visit for the kids. The farm will have piglets and lambs in the fields for visitors. Hindon Farm also will be where one of the Green & Blacks' Easter Egg hunts will be held. March 22. For Information: Call: 01643 705244.

Lower Rundhurst Farm: Tennyson's Lane, Roundhurst, Haslemere, West Sussex. Another must-visit with the kids. The farm will place colorful characters in its fields. When kids find the characters they will win chocolate Easter Eggs. Green & Blacks' also is conducting one of its Easter Egg Hunts at the farm. For mom and dad, there's an afternoon tea, with homemade chocolate cake. March 22. For Information: Call: 01428 656 455.

Pink Pig Organics: Holme Hall, Scunthorpe, Linconshire. March 21, 22, 23. There will be a "hunt the rabbits" event. Kids finding a rabbit (or more) win chocolate Easter Eggs. Green & Blacks' is providing the chocolate eggs, and also will hold one of its Easter Egg Hunts at Pink Organics. Lastly, there will be a competition to name the farm's brand new local, Lincolnshire Curly-Coated Pigs. For Information: Call: 01724 844466.

Rushall Farm: Scratchface Lane, Bradfield, Berkshire. There will be a Lambing Weekend on March 15 and 16. Visitors can merely watch, or participate if they choose to. FOr Information: Call: 0118 974 4547, or email: jst@rushallfarm.org.uk.

Sedlescombe Vineyard: Cripps Corner, Sedlescombe, Robertsbridge, East Susex. The vineyard will hold a vineyard and nature trail hike on the property, along with a tasting of its wines, on March 21, from 10am-6pm. For Information: Call: 01580 830715.

Sheepdrove Organic Farm: Lambourne, Berkshire. On March 16, the farm will host farm tours, a demonstration of lambing, a hog roast, butchery demonstrations and farm walks. There also will be a fair featuring local craftspeople, books written by local authors, and gifts produced locally. On Easter Sunday, March 23, Green & Blacks will hold one of their Easter Egg Hunts at the farm. the farm will also offer tours of its eco-garden, eco-conference center and sustainable agriculture grounds. Lunch is a three-course meal made with all organic ingredients, meats and produce. For Information: Call: 01488 674737, or email: myevents@sheepdrove.com

Programs like the Soil Association's Easter Weekend events, in which consumers are brought into contact with the farms (and farmers) where their food is grown, are important on many levels.

First, many urban dwellers, especially younger people, have little or no concept of the farm-to-food store chain. Ask them where their food comes from and you are likely to hear: from the supermarket--or restaurant. Many adults, who are aware that food is grown on farms, aren't to clear on the concept either however--preferring to not bother with the details. Farm tours, like those to be held in the UK in conjunction with the Easter Weekend, create a relaxing and fun setting, which encourages adults and kids to want to learn more about farms and farming, and how food gets from the farm to their dinner tables.

Additionally, by showcasing local farmers, groups like the Soil Association are not only creating awareness about where food comes from and how it's produced, they also are showing consumers the importance of locally-produced foods, and how such enterprises can benefit local economies with jobs, as well as the social and cultural benefits that go along with local agriculture.

The more awareness that can be created around local agriculture and local foods, the more consumers will look for local items and purchase them. And, the more consumers buy local, the more benefits acrue to local farmers and others involved in the food chain. This creates stronger local economies, as well as providing consumers with fresher and healthier foods. It's a win-win really. It also benefits retailers who make it a point to merchandise local products.

Lastly, creating awareness of and educating about farming has a larger environmental purpose. Farmers really were the world's first conservationists and environmentalists, and many remain so today. Especially those generally small farmers who grow their crops sustainably, avoiding pesticides and other synthetic chemicals. In this way, farming and environmentalism go hand-in-hand.

Exposing urban consumers to the farm can create a greater understanding of how agriculture and consumer behavior are linked, from the field, to the supermarket, to the home.

Easter is an excellent holiday and time of year to promote farming and agriculture. The religious themes of Easter, it's spring setting, the symbols of celebration--Easter Eggs, the Easter Bunny--are all rural and farm-oriented. It's only right for farms and farmers to be a part of any Easter weekend celebration.