George Siemon, CEIEIO of Organic Valley Cooperative, told Fairgoers that a cooperative serves a community of owners, not a rising stock price, allowing the cooperative to focus on service. Photo courtesy of Russell French. By George Siemon One of the nation’s foremost organic agriculture advocates for nearly two decades, George Siemon is best known for
A panel discussed Maine’s GMO labeling bill at the Fair. From left to right, Jim Gerritsen, Laura Murphy, Sen. Chris Johnson and Rep. Lance Harvell. English photo. Maine’s GMO labeling initiative, LD 718, is alive and well. Foods made with genetically modified organisms are often called GMO foods – or GE (genetically engineered) foods. Last
Organic farming and gardening can feed the world, said André Leu: “For a fraction of the cost of developing a few GMOs, we could use that money for education and training, and we could take that 800 million [food insecure] people out of poverty within two to three years.” English photo. André Leu, president of
Ben Falk called for a billion new gardeners to create healthy, food-producing ecosystems. English photo. Ben Falk, founder of Whole Systems Design LLC and author of “The Resilient Farm and Homestead,” has been testing resilient water, food, heating and medicinal systems in the context of land regeneration at the farm and homestead scales for more
Don Hoenig, V.M.D., (far left) said, “This idea that there is rampant resistant bacteria moving from livestock and poultry into the human population and resulting in treatment failures and disease in the human population is just not true.” He is optimistic about FDA’s voluntary guidelines regarding antibiotic use in livestock. Photos by Jean English. 2014
Climate change panelists, from left to right: Stephen Mulkey, John Jemison, Sharon Tisher (moderator), Lou McNally, Dylan Voorhees and Andy Burt. English photo. Maine gardener Beedy Parker notes that we are experiencing generally longer growing seasons, but they are unpredictable and undependable due to extremes of temperature, moisture and storm intensity. Parker was the moving
Tokar and Lawn on Tape What You Can Do About Genetic Engineering in Our Food System “Never before have the results of new scientific discoveries been so heavily promoted and so rapidly rushed to market. Never before has the course of basic scientific research been so thoroughly and single-mindedly driven by commercial considerations.” – Brian
When Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan was researching global climate change for his book, The Heat Is On, he was hit by two revelations: First, he was bewildered by the lack of interest in the subject by the general public, even though we experience a “new, record-setting weather event virtually every week;” Second, he learned
Sarah Smith of Grassland Organic Farm told how people of all income levels can eat healthy foods, during her keynote speech at MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. Sarah Smith and her husband, Garin, own and operate the MOFGA-certified Grassland Organic Farm in Skowhegan, where they milk 45 cows and raise 3 acres of mixed vegetables as well
Shannon Hayes talked about the division – and reuniting – of consumers and producers during her keynote speech at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. Blending storytelling, farm humor and a knack for stirring up trouble, Shannon Hayes examines the history of consumerism in America, how it played out in the household, its effects
Media Inquiries:
Contact Jennifer Wilhelm [email protected]
