Pesticides Kill Oregon Bumblebees...

Jun 23, 2013 by

Pesticides Kill Oregon Bumblebees

This story both deeply saddens me and gives me hope. For those of you who haven't heard, earlier this week a blanket of dead and dying bumblebees were found on a parking lot in Oregon. The estimated loss was around 50,000 bumblebees; other insects, such as honeybees, were killed as well. Customers found the bumblebees at the base of a group of European Linden trees, which had recently been sprayed with a pesticide called Safari--a neonicotinoid pesticide produced by Valent. After the mass die-off, researchers set out to find out if the culprit was the pesticide or the tree itself; apparently linden tree nectar can be toxic in high doses. As of Saturday, the Oregon State Department of Agriculture (ODA) announced that "the bee deaths are directly related to a pesticide application on the...

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Our Supermarkets without Bees

Jun 22, 2013 by

Our Supermarkets without Bees

People often ask me what will happen if all the bees die. Whole Foods (as part of their "Share the Buzz" campaign) recently posted a great photo (below) to illustrate this visually, since it's quite hard to really comprehend the role that bees play in our agriculture. I find the photo rather haunting. When people ask about dying bees, they usually mean honeybees. But the truth is, many pollinators are responsible for the fruits in the photos, not just honeybees. And those pollinators are being affected by some of the same causes that are impacting honeybees: mites, pesticides, diseases, and lack of habitat and nutritional variety (i.e. not enough flowers). A recent devastating bumblebee die-off in Oregon (over 25,000 bumblebees were found dead in a mall parking lot) has led to research on pesticides that...

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Why I’m voting Yes on Prop 37...

Nov 4, 2012 by

Why I’m voting Yes on Prop 37

In some ways, it just seems obvious: Why shouldn't we have the right to know what's in our food? We have the right to know how much fat's in our food, how much sugar, and what the other ingredients are...so why shouldn't we have the right to know if our food has GMO sources? While I have my own issues with the GM industry, it's easy to put those issues aside and vote yes for one simple reason: Consumers have the right to know what's in their food, period. But let's break this down a bit and look at this issue more deeply. First of all, why aren't GM products labeled in the first place? The short answer is because the FDA does not currently require it. In a controversial move in 2009, Obama...

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Edible Education: Food Politics with Marion Nestle...

Sep 24, 2011 by

Edible Education: Food Politics with Marion Nestle

If you're at all involved with the food movement, one question you have to constantly ask yourself is: How can we create equal access to healthy food, so the Slow Food movement doesn't become something only the elite have access to? I have easy access to lots of great food here in North Berkeley, which played a big part in my choice to move here. But at the same time, I'm very aware that the food I have access to is expensive and exclusive, and that the options I choose--even though I try to be frugal--would not be affordable for many families. Not to mention the fact that some families live miles and miles from grocery stores and don't have cars to get there. So where do you shop? At the corner store down...

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Edible Education: The Global Food Movement with Carlo Petrini...

Sep 24, 2011 by

Edible Education: The Global Food Movement with Carlo Petrini

I'm not sure if you've heard the buzz about the Edible Education course going on here at UC Berkeley, but somehow I got word of it and started attending the classes. I missed seeing one of heroes, Carlo Petrini, speak--and am especially bummed because it would have been a great chance to practice my Italian. The course was put together by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, Niki Henderson from People's Grocery here in Oakland, and Michael Pollan, food journalist extraordinaire. The last two classes I've attended have explored race and economic issues in the food movement, especially connections between obesity, food insecurity, and minorities in the United States. Even though I love eating wholesome, organic food, these are the questions that really interest me: How can we re-shape our food systems here in...

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A Must Read: Farm City, by Novella Carpenter...

Feb 25, 2011 by

A Must Read: Farm City, by Novella Carpenter

With the up and coming Truck Farm project, which will soon pick up speed, I couldn't help but read this fabulous book by an Oakland neighbor, Novella Carpenter. It's a memoir, I suppose, but it's almost more of a travel narrative through the jungles of urban farming. Though gardening and beekeeping are no foreign hobbies of Carpenter's, her virgin foray into raising her own meat in the Oakland ghetto has the exotic surprises, disappointments, and delights of a globe-trotting reportage. In Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, Carpenter guides us through the creation of her urban farm in a shady corner of Oakland. Fatal shootings occur down the street, police repeatedly whisk her car-dwelling neighbor away, and overgrown vacant lots surround the small house she rents. But it's the vacant lot and...

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Americorps for Gardeners–Check It Out!...

Feb 10, 2011 by

Americorps for Gardeners–Check It Out!

Are you looking to make a difference in the world? Interested in food issues, gardening, or children's health? If so, then you should TOTALLY check out FoodCorps! FoodCorps is seeking young men and women interested in food, agriculture, community organizing, education, health, and public service to serve in the first class of FoodCorps Members. The one-year term goes from August 15, 2011 and ends August 14, 2012. The goal of the program? To "increase the health and prosperity of vulnerable children, while investing in the next generation of farmers and public health leaders." Sounds awesome, doesn't it? If you're interested, go to this website to learn more information (http://food-corps.org/). And make sure to check out the video...

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Beekeeping in San Francisco

Feb 2, 2011 by

Beekeeping in San Francisco

Ever wonder if people keep bees in the city? Heck yeah they do! Everyone's buzzing about urban beekeeping these days, a popular new movement in cities. I found this great documentary about beekeeping in San Francisco--check it out for some inspiration and education. Beekeeping is legal in San Francisco, so make sure you check your city requirements before embarking on your own urban bee adventure. And if it's not legal, try to get involved with your local city council like Denver did (and I think Napa too) and change that! Here's a link to the San Francisco Beekeepers Association, for those who live in the city or are interested in keeping urban bees. Enjoy the...

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Kickin’ off Truck Farm, Nor Cal...

Jan 28, 2011 by

Kickin’ off Truck Farm, Nor Cal

If you're driving around the San Francisco Bay Area and you happen to see a truck rattle by with a garden blooming in the truck bed, try not to let it distract you too much. I wouldn't want you to get into a car accident. That'll just be me and the Nor Cal Truck Farm crew traveling around, heading off to visit some kids. Truck Farm, you ask? Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking: A truck with a garden in the back. Truck Farm is an exciting project dreamed up by my heroes Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis who won the Peabody award in 2007 for their hit documentary, King Corn. It all started in Brooklyn, New York in 2009, when Ian planted a vegetable garden in the bed of his grandfather’s 1986 Dodge...

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La Cucina Ecologico–Keeping Your Kitchen Green...

Sep 12, 2010 by

La Cucina Ecologico–Keeping Your Kitchen Green

It can be expensive and difficult to always buy green and organic products, though for the most part, I say it's worth it. However, one huge way you can green your kitchen and home is by using natural cleaning products in our kitchen, and of course the rest of the house. Unfortunately, it's hard to find products like Simple Green and Seventh Generation here in Italy, and it's almost harder to convince my partner that it's worth the (lots of) extra Euros. In addition, I'm not entirely convinced that I want to inhale those products either, or that they are all that much more effective than some simple products I could make at home. I stumbled on a great website that had all kinds of natural recipes for cleaning fluids and cleansers. Here are...

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I heart bumblebees! Part Three: How we can help....

Mar 21, 2009 by

I heart bumblebees! Part Three: How we can help.

I watched the documentary King Corn last night and LOVED it. It's about two men who decide to farm an acre of land in Iowa and grow corn to understand just how the crop gets into so much of our food (and bodies). It's poignant, interesting and thoughtful, and I couldn't help but think how similar the issues they're looking at are to the ones that have caused bee decline. Basically, we're both exploring the downward spiral of agriculture, and its effects on our environmental and bodily health. The King Corn website also offers some great ways to address our agricultural system on the "take action" tab in their website, which gave me some good ideas for this post. So let's get on with it, shall we? How can we help out bumblebees (and...

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Help Protect Honey Bees from a Toxic Pesticide...

Mar 7, 2009 by

Help Protect Honey Bees from a Toxic Pesticide

Hey all! Sorry I've been a little lax in blogging. I've been teaching more than full-time, and working to finish my novel. Anyway, here's a great opportunity to help save the bees. One of the more nefarious pesticides for honey bees is one called imidacloprid (IMD), a toxin created by Bayer Corp. What IMD reportedly does is make the bees drunk, essentially, and inhibit their navigational systems so they can't find their way home. This letter encourages the EPA to reexamine the research on IMD, and make sure to ban its use when it has proven harmful to honey bees. Please click here and send a letter to the Office of Pesticides Programs at the EPA and spread the word! Thanks! Here's the...

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