News & Views

Seeds of Change Research Farm
to Host Farm Tours, Permaculture Class

If you’ve ever been inspired by photographs of our Research Farm in it's mid-season vitality, make plans to attend a 2008 farm tour now. We are pleased to announce that we will again be hosting two tours this year, the first on August 10th, and the second on September 14th. While late summer/early fall may seem a long way off now, it’s never too early to put together your plans to join us for a walk through our fields greenhouses, orchard, and seed-cleaning facility. Each year we grow approximately 1,000 varieties, making the farm in peak season quite a sight to behold. To sign up for a tour, please go to our Contact Us page and select "Farm Tour Inquiry" as your inquiry type. Be sure to put "Farm Tour 2008" in the subject of your message, and then please tell us how many people are in your group, as space is limited. We'll sign you up and send you an email with directions.

Following the success of last year’s “Permaculture for Sustainable Farming and Gardening” course at our farm, we are excited and honored to welcome the Permaculture Institute back to teach a series of five-day workshops throughout the summer. The workshops consist of field-based classes that offer plenty of opportunities for learning outdoors. Each workshop can be taken in series or separately. Completion of the entire series awards you with a Permaculture Design Certificate.

Workshop One: Intro to Sustainable Design Principles
May 17th–May 21st, 2008 with Toby Hemenway & Scott Pittman
Includes: Hands-on exercises in observation, reading the landscape, soil preparation (mulching, compost use, inoculation with beneficial organisms), spring planting (vegetables, annual and perennial flowers, herbs), farm biodiversity, planting for pollinators and more

Workshop Two: Natural and Constructed Ecosystems
July 12th–July 16th, 2008 with Scott Pittman & Brad Lancaster
(confirmation pending)
Includes: Hands-on exercises in understanding the role and management of weeds, introduction to native pollinators & honey bees to farms, orchards and home gardens, soil management in drylands on broadscale, tracking water on the landscape, and learning to design rainwater harvesting systems

Workshop Three: Sustainable Home and Community
August 23–August 27th, 2008 with Scott Pittman & guests
Includes: Hands-on exercises in food processing and storage, seed saving, building with natural materials, and learning to work with farm animals for soil and farm management

For more information, and to register, click here.

France Bans Use of 30 Pesticide Chemicals           

In a bold statement about reducing environmental toxicity, on February 1st France proclaimed a ban on 30 chemicals used in the manufacture of 1,500 pesticide products. Among the banned chemicals are paraquat (a herbicide), endosulphan (an insecticide), fenarimol and procymidone (both fungicides), and many others. The roster of outlawed substances includes those made by chemical giants such as Dow, DuPont, Bayer, and Syngenta. The chemicals will be allowed to be sold through April, and to be used through the end of the 2008. The ban is another step towards France’s goal of reducing pesticide use by 50% over the next decade.

The UIPP, a group representing the pesticide industry in France, has criticized the ban, citing the fact that the country has banned chemicals still allowed in the European Union, and the idea that crops will now be put in jeopardy of pest damage. Apart from this criticism, the industry will be doing little to fight the ban, given that reduced pesticide use in France will have a marginal financial impact on the manufacturers that are affected.

To read the original Reuters news article, click here.

California Awards Organizations for Reducing Pesticide Use

Eight forward-thinking organizations were recently recognized by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) for their efforts at controlling pests through integrated pest management (IPM) rather than agro-chemicals. According to an EPA webpage, IPM “is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices” and “use(s) current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment…to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.”

The groups will be recognized with IPM Innovator awards for their endeavors. The honored are:

• The Almond Pest Management Alliance Team, for development of a guide for environmentally responsible pest management for almonds
  
  
• Breyer’s Vineyard IPM Service, for their work in providing IPM to vineyards in Sonoma County, and advocating strongly for its use
  
  
• The City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department, for instituting an IPM program aimed at reducing toxic substances in public places, especially parks
  
  
• EcoWise Certified Structural IPM Certification Program, for their work in reducing insecticide runoff in urban waterways
  
  
• Los Angeles Unified School District, for using IPM practices to reduce pesticides on school grounds, and adopting preventative methods to restrict pest problems
  
  
• Locke Ranch, Inc., for incorporating sustainable methods to manage pests in their 580-acre walnut grove, including attracting beneficial insects and predators (owls and bats), and using pheromones to disrupt the mating cycles of moths that feed on almonds
  
  
• Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, for their work in protecting residents against insect-borne illness without heavy reliance upon pesticides
  
  
• San Diego Healthy Garden-Healthy Home Program, for reducing residential pesticide use through extensive outreach to retailers, consumers, Master Gardeners, nursery employees, and others

For more information, please visit the California DPR website.

GM Corn Contaminates Thousands of Acres in Iowa

Since 2006, Iowa farmers have been unknowingly planting unregistered genetically modified corn. In 2007, 53,000 acres of an unregistered Dow AgroSciences corn variety were planted in Iowa after having been “inadvertently” sold to farmers under the names Herculex RW and Herculex XTRA, two USDA approved varieties. Mycogen Seeds, a Dow affiliate, was responsible for the accidental sales, according to a February 22nd press release from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The variety in question contains a genetically engineered pesticide or “plant-incorporated protectant” (PIP) known as Event 32. Because of its similarity to an approved PIP, the EPA has declared the corn free from food safety concerns. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is working with Dow to see to it that contaminated seed sold to retailers is recalled for the 2008 planting season. An investigation into regulatory violations will be conducted by APHIS and the EPA.

Garry Hamlin, a Dow spokesperson, told in a Des Moines Register article that the contamination happened when pollen from the unapproved GM corn landed on approved GM corn varieties growing in the same research plot. Greg Jaffe of the Center for Science in the Public Interest was quoted in the same article saying “the Dow mixup shows that the biotech industry isn't policing itself adequately.”

This incident recalls other recent food contaminations by unapproved biotech varieties, dating back to the 2000 recall of corn products containing StarLink corn. StarLink, an Aventis CropScience product, was denied approval for human consumption because of its potential to trigger severe allergic reactions. In violation of federal law, the biotech corn was grown in mixed lots around the nation and found its way to consumers before being recalled.

Environmental Groups File Joint Suit to Challenge GM Sugar Beet Deregulation

The Organic Seed Alliance, the Center for Food Safety, the Sierra Club, and High Mowing Organic Seeds have filed a joint lawsuit against the USDA concerning the recent deregulation of genetically modified sugar beets. The beets in question have been engineered to resist the herbicides present in Monsanto’s Roundup.

The suit is based on several allegations:

• Contamination of non-GM varieties is likely to occur because of wind-blown beet pollen, threatening related crops such as table beets and chard
  
  
• More Roundup Ready crops will result in the application of more Roundup, resulting in increased toxicity concerns for humans and the environment, and creating Roundup-resistant weed varieties that require ever more potent chemicals to control
  
  
• The environmental assessment provided by the USDA in regard to the deregulation is cursory and wholly inadequate, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”).  In addition, USDA’s deregulation determination violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Plant Protection Act.  

The Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) explains on their website that they “felt compelled to participate in the suit once farmers we work with expressed a concern that their breeding projects and seed production would be compromised by the release of genetically engineered beets.” With the recent revelation that unapproved GM crops have been contaminating Iowa cornfields since 2006 (see article above), these concerns appear to be well founded.

Inaugural Slow Food Nation Event To Be Held This Summer

When fresh produce it at its peak in California this summer, Slow Food Nation will take place in San Francisco, celebrating food that is sustainable and socially just. On Labor Day weekend, Friday, August 29th through Sunday, September 1st, the event will take place at City Hall and the Fort Mason Center, offering tastings, workshops, music, forums, exhibits and more. Sustainable living giants like Michael Pollan and Wendell Berry will speak about the interconnectedness of food and agriculture with health, the economy, education, and community.

The event is being organized by a group of the same name, Slow Food Nation, a non-profit subsidiary of parent 501(c)3 Slow Food USA.

For more information, please visit the Slow Food Nation website.

Permaculture Bus Tour Headed to a Town Near You!

The Skills For New Millennium Tour will span the nation in 2008, bringing a mobile permaculture demonstration to cities and towns from coast to coast. From February through December, the Earth Activist Training Bus, or Permibus, will be on the move, bringing education to communities across the continent. The bus features solar power, greywater systems, a composting toilet, a few dogs, and several chickens, showing how permaculture principles can be applied almost anywhere. The tour offers trainings, workshops, and guided discussions on a wide variety of homesteading skill topics, from composting to power tool use to water management to canning.

For information on tour stops near you and how to support the tour, please visit the Permibus website.

New York City CSA Conference on March 29

On Saturday, March 29th, the 8th annual CSA in NYC conference will be held at Columbia University’s Teacher College. From 10am–6pm members, farmers, and others will gather for a day of workshops, panel discussions, and celebrating sustainable food in America’s largest city. The event is being organized by Just Food, a non-profit organization that “works to develop a just and sustainable food system in the New York City region,” according to their website.

For more information about the CSA conference, urban gardening, and more, visit Just Food’s website.

Company Offers Backyard Farming Services

Your Backyard Farmer, a business based in Portland, Oregon, is bringing a new approach to Community Supported Agriculture. Instead of bringing farm fresh produce to customers, they offer to bring the whole farm. Co-owners Robyn Smith and Donna Streeter are horticulturists, and use their experience to create and manage organic food gardens for customers. They are also available as consultants for those who wish to do the work themselves, but need a little guidance. Although currently limited to the Portland area, the owners have helped similar enterprises to set up shop in Washington D.C. and Washington state. Speaking with Food First the two remarked that their “vision is to see a web of small farms, throughout our country, creating food security within all city environments.” The health of their business is a testament the to the importance that is being placed on fresh, local food.

To learn more about Your Backyard Farmer, please visit their website.

Norway’s Global Seed Vault Open for Business

The looming threat of diminishing biodiversity is a familiar topic for those who are engaged in, or have an interest in organic agriculture. The issue has been raised for the public at large recently thanks to a spate of news stories about the opening of the Global Seed Vault in Longyearbyen, Norway. Designed to stand strong against man-made and natural disasters, the structure, nicknamed the Doomsday Vault, is built into the side of an Arctic mountain, and extends hundreds of feet below the permafrost. This is the latest and largest addition to a number of global gene banks organized to preserve plant varieties that are rapidly becoming extinct. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 75% of global crop diversity has vanished over the last 100 years. “We are losing biodiversity every day,” said Cary Fowler in a recent article by the New York Times, adding, “we need to do something about it.” Dr. Fowler is president of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the nonprofit group that operates the vault. With global climate change manifesting itself in extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, many think of the vault as an opportunity to preserve endangered plants that may hold an especially important role in developing future crops.

The vault is not without its critics. In a recent article published on the website of GRAIN, a “non-governmental organization (NGO) which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge,” the vault is accused of being a faulty solution to a serious problem. The group describes gene banks as catering to the needs of scientists, rather than the farmers who spend time breeding new plant varieties and contributing to biodiversity. The article alleges that “people's traditional varieties get replaced by newer ones from research labs—seeds that are supposed to provide higher yields to feed a growing population—the old ones have to be put away as ‘raw material’ for future plant breeding.” The ownership rights to seed that is preserved in gene banks are surrendered by depositors, typically becoming public domain or falling to state control, a further disservice to farmers. GRAIN advocates governmental support of diversity in agriculture, “rather than only betting on big centralized genebanks,” and “respecting and promoting the rights of communities to conserve, produce, breed, exchange and sell seeds.” The group acknowledges that this will be difficult to put into practice until agricultural policy places less emphasis on globally-oriented agribusiness.