Babushka and Dedushka, two Russian “Old Believers,” with their milk cow, who is one of the family in Ynegetai, Siberia, Russia. The Old Believers maintained their agricultural traditions, which include carefully tended dairy cows and crops grown using hand labor, throughout and beyond the industrialization of the Soviet era. Effie Elfer photo. By Effie Elfer
By Jean English Local and Organic: A Path Toward Permanence The Spring Growth Conference held by MOFGA in March asked what roles farmers, consumers and citizens may play in the global food economy. Lawrence Woodward, director of the Elm Farm Research Centre in Berkshire, United Kingdom, brought his perspective from that leading institution of organic
By Jo Anne Bander © 2005. For information about reproducing this article, please contact the author. Eliot Coleman of Four Season Farm in Harborside, a regular participant in the public dialogue on locally grown, seasonal produce, faced a room overflowing with individuals in blue jeans, silk saris, turbans, African batiks-and earphones. The subject was Mass
Lawrence Woodward Lawrence Woodward is the director of the Elm Farm Research Centre, in Berkshire, UK, a world leader in organic agriculture research and education. His topic is the relationship of soil quality to food quality, and the importance for the organic movement to make this connection in the public’s mind. (Lawrence Woodward has worked
Erik Nielsen, third from left, with some of the Biosa team in Frederiksvaerk, Denmark. Story and photos by Ron Rosenthall North Americans may soon associate Denmark with more than Hamlet, blue cheese and the Little Mermaid: We may add products from Biosa Danmark ApS that could improve the well-being of farm animals, the yield and
Heather and Francis Young grow an abundance of food on their 3 acres in the Bay of Plenty district in New Zealand. Laura Sayre photo. Part of the herb and vegetable garden is in raised beds. Laura Sayre photo. A low-maintenance part of the Youngs’ landscape. Laura Sayre photo. Life on the far side of
Eustaquio Polo Rivera (shown here with interpreter Rocio Orantes) is vice president of the board of the Major Council, an organization of 21 communities that owns 42,700 hectares in the Curvaradó river basin in Chocó, Colombia. He is an active leader in his community’s efforts to recuperate collectively titled lands that have been occupied since
Jim Amaral of Borealis Breads was among the Maine contingent that savored the 2006 Terra Madre, a global gathering that promotes strong, local communities and quality foods. Photo by Jo Anne Bander. by Jo Anne Bander Sometimes you have to travel far to understand what you have at home – not that it is a
Jesse Rusak (left), Raphael Nd’ung’u Kimani and Saima Sidik share a humorous moment looking at a book while sitting on a compost bin. Photo courtesy of Expanding Opportunities. by Saima Sidik Saima Sidik of Lincolnville, Maine, and Jesse Rusak of Halifax, Nova Scotia, spent January to July 2006 in Kenya with an organization called Expanding
Hans Hosbach, head of the biotechnology section of BUWAL, Switzerland’s environmental ministry. Sharon Tisher photo. By Sharon Tisher Last April, a story was zapped to me over the internet about a Swiss prohibition of trials of genetically modified maize and potatoes. According to Hans Hosbach, head of the biotechnology section of BUWAL, Switzerland’s environmental ministry,
