Grass-Fed Party

Grass-fed Franny's Blog

• A Few Good Books...

  Dec 23, 2008

  For those of you who are still gift shopping, or for those of you with a new gift certificate, or for those of you with a library card and time to curl up on a couch this  holiday season, I thought I'd recommend a few good books that have come across my table this year:

  The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture, by Wendell Berry  

  Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef, by Betty Fussell  

  Feels Like Far, by Linda Hasselstrom   

  In Defense of Food, By Michael  Pollan   

  The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, by Timothy Egan  

  Ranching West of the 100^th Meridian, ed. by Knight, Gilbgert, and Marston  

  Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West, by Michael Punke            

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• Who made the first Cowboy Boot?

  Nov 26, 2008

  A Spanish cobbler on the Red River in North Texas made the first cowboy boots in the late 1870s.  Back then, cowboys were wearing British style riding shoes on their long trail drives and need needed a boot that could provide a support for sturdier riding and roping.  The cobbler, H. J. Justin of Spanish Fort, crafted this new boot with a steel shank in the arch, an elevated heel, and a pointed toe that made it easier for cowboys to insert their boots into the stirrups.

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  Filed under: cowboy boot

• Sustainable Agriculture Coalition released an Action Alert for Lame Duck session

  Nov 17, 2008

  The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has put out an ACTION ALERT for the current lame duck session that starts today.  They are urging people to call their senators to back emergency funding in a new economic stimulus bill that supports 3 issues effecting people in rural areas: 1) emergency funding for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, 2) increased program funding for both direct and guaranteed farm operating loans, and 3) direct and targeted support for rural economic development.

  Here is a brief background, as provided in their action alert, on programs and initiatives that need this funding boost:

  Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Given the dual crisis of the economic downturn and food price inflation which have driven up participation rates and costs for WIC — the major nutrition program for low-income young children, pregnant women, and recent mothers — major emergency funding for the program is needed immediately. An economic stimulus package is the last best chance to provide the increases necessary to fully fund the program for fiscal year 2009 at projected participation levels.

   

  Direct and Guaranteed Farm Operating Loans: In addition to Main St., the financial crisis is taking a toll on the countryside. As credit tightens and we approach the new crop year, there is heightened farmer demand for federal assistance in the form of direct and guaranteed farm operating loans. Additional funding for these federal credit programs is essential so that farmers can adequately prepare for next year’s cropping season.

   

  Rural Economic Development: The economic stimulus package will include help for major cities and suburban areas, but what about our rural communities? It is essential that rural economic development strategies are supported in the economic stimulus package, including increased funding for the Value-Added Producer Grants Program and Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program over and above their meager farm bill-provided direct spending levels.

   

   In this action alert, the Sustainable Agriculture Coalition provides instructions on how to contact your representative, and how to send them a message letting them know that these issues are important. 

   Go to http://sustainableagriculturecoalition.org/take-action/

   Make your voice heard!

   

  The Sustainable Agriculture Coalition also has a blog covering agricultural and rural policy decisions in Washington.  They have recently been covering transitions in the White House administration and Congressional seats and how they will affect policy advocated by the Coalition.

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  Filed under: agriculture policy Washington

• Proposition 2

  Nov 5, 2008

  Proposition 2 is relative to the Grass-fed Party's mission and I thought it was time we talked about the passage of this hotly-contested ballot item.  Proposition 2 requires that laying hens, pregnant sows, and veal calves have enough room to lie down, stand, turn around, and fully extend their limbs.  It will take effect in 2015.  Opponents have said that this proposition would put farmers out of work, and pose new health and security risks for the chickens. 

  On September 25^th , an L.A. Times article supporting a No on Prop. 2 said that "it would likely bolster the market for cheaper out-of-state eggs produced where farmers have no similar bans on cages."  They went on to suggest that in the future, "California eggs would become more expensive, and many consumers would simply buy the cheaper eggs laid by hens living in cramped conditions in neighboring states or in Mexico. As a result, we fear the result of Proposition 2's passage would not be better treatment of hens but merely the export of their mistreatment. We recommend a no vote. "

  In late August, the American Veterinary Medical Association released a statement on Proposition 2, stating that it “would clearly provide greater freedom of movement, but would likely compromise several of the other factors necessary to ensure the overall welfare of the animals, especially with regard to protection from disease and injury.”

  The issue of animal welfare is very nuanced and complicated.  The story of Proposition 2 (and we’ve only seen half of it) is the story of the contemporary ever-present conflict between industrialized systems and holistic systems of agriculture and how our country is working it out at this time.  Is this something that should be voted on by the public?

  I’d like to hear your opinions on Proposition 2.  Did any one here vote on it?

   

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  Filed under: animals california vote

• Terra Madre

  Oct 29, 2008

  Terra Madre and Salon del Gusto saw held their closing ceremonies of the Terra  Madre  3^rd  biennial meeting of world food communities in Turin, Italy yesterday.  The event hosted lectures and forums on food security, climate change, local economy, and seeds and biopiracy. Terra Madre was born out of the Slow Food movement, which started in Italy when it became apparent that a network and support system must be put in place to protect small producers around the world.  It was founded “to give voice and visibility to the rural food producers who populate our world. To raise their awareness, as well as that of the population at large, of the value of their work. To sustain their ability to work under the best conditions, for all of our good and for the good of the planet.”  It is worth checking out Terra Madre’s website and their pages from this Weeks biennial meeting to see what the world brought to the table this week in Turin.  

   

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  Filed under: farmers global Slow Food

• At the Farmer's Market with Angus

  Oct 14, 2008

  On a recent trip to New York to meet with our Policy Advisor, Angus and I stopped the by the wonderful Union Square Greenmarket.  There isn't much grass in this city, so we were happy to a farmer there who specialized in wheatgrass!  The farm was called Greener Pastures, just like our Blog.

  

  

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