Things tagged 'farming'
Obama’s ‘Secretary of Food’? by Nicholas Kristof @NYTimes
One measure of the absurdity of the system: Every year you, the American taxpayer, send me a check for $588 in exchange for me not growing crops on timberland I own in Oregon (I forward the money to a charity). That’s right. The Agriculture Department pays a New York journalist not to grow crops in a forest in Oregon…
The most powerful signal Mr. Obama could send would be to name a reformer to a renamed position. A former secretary of agriculture, John Block, said publicly the other day that the agency should be renamed “the Department of Food, Agriculture and Forestry.” And another, Ann Veneman, told me that she believes it should be renamed, “Department of Food and Agriculture.” I’d prefer to see simply “Department of Food,” giving primacy to America’s 300 million eaters.
As Mr. Pollan told me: “Even if you don’t think agriculture is a high priority, given all the other problems we face, we’re not going to make progress on the issues Obama campaigned on — health care, climate change and energy independence — unless we reform agriculture.”
Thinking Globally, but Growing Locally @NYTimes
OUT OF THE BOX Josh Levine, 33, a Manhattan real estate broker who hopes to start a community farm, harvesting tomatoes as a volunteer at Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett.
Josh in the Times! Another article about city folk putting down the briefcase and taking up the plow. Somewhat similar article here
