STRENGTHENING OUR LOCAL FOODSHED
Stirring up a revolution in local agriculture

This is going to be a long newsletter.

As you may have already noticed, a big part of the 2008 BOULDER COUNTY GOING LOCAL! Campaign is focused around the issues of local food and agriculture. You'll see us doing a number of events and activities this year on the themes of EAT LOCAL! and GROW LOCAL!, and we hope to engage as many people as possible. Below is a series of important events indicating something very exciting is beginning to take hold in Boulder County.

It's becoming apparent that as the energy crisis unfolds, along with the local impacts of climate change and an economic downturn, food prices will likely skyrocket. It's already happening in many parts of the world, and soon it will happen here. We know that most of our food is coming to us from 1500-2000 miles away, a situation that is not only clearly unsustainable but will soon be unaffordable for many in Boulder County.

Astonishingly, today there are approximately 34,000 people in Boulder County who are "food insecure"--that is, they literally don't know where their next meal is coming from. That's about 11% of our current population. The numbers have been steadily increasing, and they will go up significantly as food prices continue to rise.

That's sobering enough. But in a way we're all food insecure here, because currently we have a very limited capacity to feed ourselves from locally-grown food. Our early research, put together by volunteer "foodies" who pay careful attention to these things, indicates that with the current state of agriculture in the county we can only feed about 28,000 people here.

What would it take to provide healthy, nutritious food to, say, half the population in our county? Or said another way, what would it take to shift to half of our food consumption coming from local sources?

Turns out it would take a lot. More Open Space acreage devoted to farming crops for food (not fuel). More farms producing food. More bio-intensive, organic food-production, including Permaculture and biodynamic methods. More people growing some of their own food. More farmers (a lot more). More CSAs. More farmers' markets. More infrastructure for storage, preservation, and distribution. More financial resources. More education and training. More backyard and frontyard gardening. More community greenhouses. More commitment by our communities to bring new awareness, energy and vitality to the local food system, promoting closer connections between members of the community and those who grow our food.

Right now there are approximately 70 direct-market food producers in Boulder County (produce, beef, lamb, poultry, honey, dairy, and eggs), and they're all listed in our EAT LOCAL! Resource Guide. According to the USDA, of the 736 farms in the county, only about 30 produce vegetables for sale.

Unfortunately, the current market for local growers is limited. While they have direct access to customers through the county's three farmers' markets, only 50 restaurants are known to serve at least some locally-grown food (a number that has increased considerably in the last year). Area grocers and supermarkets provide very limited access to local produce, and usually offer growers wholesale prices that are economically disadvantageous (an industry practice that often results in monoculture farming methods).

Feeding ourselves locally as much as possible may seem idealistic at this point. But the impetus for moving in this direction derives from careful consideration of deep changes that are beginning to occur in our world and the realization that the globalized, fossil-fuel-dependent industrial agriculture system is profoundly unsustainable--a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, soil and water depletion, pollution, and disease. We are going to need to change how we eat and learn to source our food as locally as possible. It's a big change, but one that has enormous rewards.

Other communities are learning this. Sustainable Seattle just published "Why Local Linkages Matter: Findings from the Local Food Economy Study." The report "redefines our understanding of what 'local' is by focusing on the web of relationships that make up the local food economy. It contains new research on the practices, strategies and challenges of local food economy businesses as well as on the economic impacts of buying and selling locally produced food. It also looks at how local economic linkages contribute to social and environmental sustainability."

The report provides an extremely valuable perspective:

"Simply put, locally directed buying and selling connects the community's resources to its needs, resulting in relationships that serve to restore the land and regenerate community. Whereas market efficiency is the focus of the industrial food economy, relationship-building is the focus of community economies. Practices in community building and care of the community's resources are key to the vitality of the local food economy."

Didn't we already know that? Yes, we've known. But now it's time to begin putting into practice what we all intuitively know.

Described below, a series of events are lined up in the next couple of months that we hope will contribute to the relocalization of our local food economy.

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THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
Documentary Film Screening Feb. 27

We're finally presenting a public screening of THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN. This powerful and inspiring documentary has been in distribution limbo for nearly three years, and only a few people in this area have seen it. At last it's available, and we're pleased to be showing it to celebrate a new chapter in the history of food and agriculture in Boulder County.

"Farmer John, with boa and pitchfork, is provocative and passionate about cultivating not only delicious vegetables but also a vibrant community of farmers and consumers dedicated to the values of sustainability." -Alice Walters, Chez Panisse

The film tells the story of one man, his farm and his family-a story that parallels the history of American farming. The film illustrates the drastic changes in the American farming industry over the past century. Many farming families like the Petersons have been forced to give up agricultural work altogether or sell their farms due to extreme financial hardships. This development has resulted in large-scale, corporation-owned farming, as well as an increase in processed foods. Many Americans are now disconnected from their local farming operations and from food production in general.

After years of struggle, John Peterson eventually decided to turn his enterprise into an organic operation, naming the farm Angelic Organics. He was soon invited to become a community supported agriculture (CSA) farmer: "I realized that my whole life had been about community-enabling people, bringing them to the farm, working and playing together, sharing the farm experience." The story of Angelic Organics' success as a CSA farm over the last 15 years is the final delight of the documentary. A multi-faceted enterprise, the farm now provides fresh organic produce for 1,200 shareholder families, on-site educational programs, and employment opportunities for people who truly want to get back to the earth-including Farmer John.

Quirky, surprising, emotional, and inspiring, this is one of the most heartening films we've seen, and it has the power to ignite a local agricultural revolution. Please bring your friends and family to share this film with you!

WHEN & WHERE
Feb. 27 (Wed.)
7:00 p.m.
Nomad Theater
1410 Quince Ave.
$10 suggested donation

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HOW WILL BOULDER COUNTY FEED ITSELF BEYOND THE AGE OF CHEAP OIL?
A Community Think Tank, March 1 

Based on the success of public dialogues held in the United Kingdom as part of the Transition Towns movement, we are hosting a Community Think Tank, "How Will Boulder County Feed Itself Beyond the Age of Cheap Oil?"

Please bring your ideas, inspiration, experience and passion and we explore together how Boulder County might supply its food needs in a carbon-constrained future.

The output of this public dialogue, including concerns, challenges, brainstorms, proposals, and action groups, will provide valuable input for the first Boulder County Food Summit, to be held the following week (see below).

Facilitating the dialogue will be Dan Montgomery of Blue Opal Strategies, utilizing a combination of World Café and Open Space Technology techniques. A versatile and sensitive consultant/facilitator, Dan has a Masters in Psychology from Naropa University and an MBA from CU.

The Community Think Tank will be held at the Altona Grange, an appropriate venue for discussing local food and agriculture.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations will be cheerfully accepted.

WHEN & WHERE
March 1 (Sat.)
1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Altona Grange
N. 39th St. & Nelson Road
(Table Mountain area)
Free, donations accepted

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