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 HelloReturn to index of stories... |
Hello. I'm Allison McNair. Welcome to NH Outlook. |
| Preshow #1 Return to index of stories... |
In this edition: the future of food. We'll meet a New London husband and wife whose labor of love is bring farm fresh produce to their neighbors. |
| Preshow #2 Return to index of stories... |
As farms vanish from the New England landscape, we'll look at whether citizen involvement can make a difference. Plus we'll hear from author and food activist Francis Moore Lappe` on the politics of plenty. |
| Intro Spring Ledge Return to index of stories... |
First, for many people, there's nothing like the taste of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. But more often than not, these farm stands are farther away than the local grocery store. Not so, for the people of New London, New Hampshire, where Spring Ledge Farm grows and sells their own produce right on Main Street. Producer Susan Hajdu reports. |
| Spring Ledge Return to index of stories... |
Spring Ledge Farm Script Shots of crops in fields Sue Clough 1-27:10 "This is not ideal farming country, but we do have a wonderful community with 3 lovely lakes and a nice town, and that's what we knew would work." Narr 1 - These sixty acres have been in the Clough family since before the Civil War. It has served many purposes from being pastureland for Irish hunting ponies to a grazing range for sheep. But for the past quarter century, this land in New London, has provided its community with an agricultural abundance. Sue 1-23:55 "We felt it was important to have people see that we were in active production, we weren't just buying and selling -- that having the farm, and the land, and being able to walk on the land that was producing the vegetables was really important to us and really made it authentic farm." Narr 2 - Sue and John Clough own Spring Ledge Farm. They devote about half of their sixty-acre farm to vegetables, strawberries, bedding plants and flowers. John 2- 16:47 - "My growing responsibility are for sweet corn, and pick your own strawberries. As a small business you start off doing everything, and by the end, if you're lucky, you're able to delegate a lot of things, so I have been able to delegate a lot of the growing to Tasha and Greg." Tasha 3-9:43 - "I grow most of the field crops here, the lettuce, the onions, everything but strawberries and corn, a little bit of everything." Narr 3 - Tasha Dunning has worked these fields for eleven years. She now manages them. Tasha 3-10:30 "Our goal is just to grow everything we can and keep it in constant supply at the farm stand. Like lettuce, for example, we'll plant 2,000 heads of lettuce every single week, all year, so that we are always having a fresh crop to pick. We do that with a lot of crops -- spinach, mesculin, radishes, spinach, all that kind of stuff is planted every week, some people think you just plant a garden and that's it for the summer, but not here, not when you are trying to run a business and make money off of it, you've got to always have fresh stuff coming in." Shots of people at farm stand Stand-up 5-2:37 "At Spring Ledge Farm, everything they grow is sold here at this farm stand. But it isn't just the produce that brings some customers in." Shopper #3, Renee 4-45:35 "My husband and I were not gardeners before we moved to New London, and we've really gotten into gardening. So we come here because we can ask Sue or Lori, or any of the staff here what kind of flowers we need for the shady areas of the house, what kind of flowers we need for the sunny areas. And they tell us what is really good, how to grow them, and background on all of the flowers we buy." Shopper #1, Katherine 4-36:31 - "During the summer I easily shop here every other day b/c it's such an inspiration to cook with wonderfully fresh food, so you can come in and gets some things and be inspired for supper. Sue Clough 1-25:45 "I really like the customer commitment. I like dealing with the clientele that we have, we have a wonderful group of people that support us. I think education about what farming truly is, in New England, is important. People seeing this farm, and seeing what we do, it's very educational." Narr 4 - But beyond a means to share their knowledge, this farm stand - a meeting place of sorts - is the best way for the Cloughs to sell what they grow. Sue 1-26:50 - "We knew that the only way to do it was to market what we grew. We knew we could not make a living if we were wholesaling, that middle man, that cut from the middle man was just going to make it impossible to grow enough produce on rocky land at 1200 feet above sea level." John 2-27:16- "We have become, I think, a niche, a part of the community. People come back to us by habit now, they always expect us to be here, having this 27 years, people get to depend on us and personally I think we've found a niche." Shopper #3, Renne 4-46:11 - "We know a lot of the people here, we feel comfortable when you walk in, everybody knows your name, and we chat about what's happening in town. They just know what we like, and they point out things that we may be interested in -- the new types of fruits or vegetables that we have in." Shots of Greg at work. Greg 4-51:03 - "When you are unloading and making up displays inevitably someone is going to ask you questions about their garden and so we are happy to answer those. It's kind of fun because you learn what people really want. I always keep an ear out for something, they'll say, 'oh, you don't have any of these,' and its almost guaranteed to be there next year, because somewhere in the back of my head I remember when we start planning for the next year." Shots and sounds at the stand. Narr 5 - The farm has been profitable for Sue and John because they have made it so accessible to their community. Their four children are grown and have moved away - they have little interest in taking over the business. There are no plans, however, to vacate their familiar place on Main Street. Sue/Sue 2-2:09 - "What happens when you retire? We hope to continue to keep this farm in production indefinitely. The land is protected from development through a state program, so that it will never become developed in a traditional sense, it will always remain open. One of the things we would like to do is to pass this farm along as a viable entity to a younger generation and we are in the process of trying to negotiate that." Narr 6 - For NH Outlook, I'm Susan Hajdu. |
| Intro Future of Food Return to index of stories... |
Spring Ledge of New London is a local farm success story - but are farms like these becoming a thing of the past? A group of citizens from around New England came together this past spring to talk about the future of our farms and our food system. Joining us now are two panel members, and the organizer. Jeffery Roberts a consultant from Montpelier, Vermont, and Robert Ward a land planner and Landscape Architect from Andover. And Tom Kelly is the Director of the Office of Sustainability Programs at UNH. Thank you all for joining us. |
| Future of Food Return to index of stories... |
Allison: WHY WOULD SOMEONE WHO'S WATCHING RIGHT NOW WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE CITIZEN PANEL? WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE? WELL, THE PURPOSE FROM AN EDUCATIONAL STANDPOINT WAS TO LOOK AT THE FOOD SYSTEM AND UNDERSTAND THE FOOD SYSTEM AS A VERY COMPLEX OUTCOME OF MILLIONS OF DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE BY INDIVIDUALS, BY INSTITUTIONS, PUBLIC POLICIES AND THE LIKE. AND REALLY FROM AN EDUCATIONAL STANDPOINT, RECOGNIZE THAT THE FOOD SYSTEM IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS. EVERYBODY HAS A STAKE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM. AND THEIR ROLE THAT THEY PLAY IN IT GIVES US WHAT WE END UP WITH. SO THE IDEA WAS HOW COULD WE ENGAGE A GROUP OF CITIZENS FROM AROUND THE REGION TO COME TOGETHER AND IN A CONSENSUS APPROACH, REALLY DIG INTO THE ISSUE AND SAY, "ARE WE HAPPY WITH WHERE THE FOOD SYSTEM IS GOING? IS THE WAY THAT WE'RE EATING AND PURCHASING FOOD AND THE LIKE GIVING US WHAT WE WANT IN THE LONG RUN WHEN IT COMES TO ISSUES LIKE A WORKING LANDSCAPE, WHEN IT COMES TO ISSUES LIKE NUTRITION, THE KINDS OF FOOD THAT ARE SERVED IN SCHOOLS AND THE LIKE. AND WHAT'S THE RELATIONSHIP OF SPRAWL, WHICH IS AN ISSUE THAT MANY PEOPLE IN THE REGION ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, TO FOOD AND FARMING SYSTEMS? SO IN A WAY OUR. OUR IDEA IN ORIGINATING IT IS THAT THE FOOD SYSTEM IS AND SHOULD BE EVERYBODY'S CONCERN. BUT THERE'S AN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS THAT WE OFTEN HAVE TO GO THROUGH, GIVEN THE CONSUMER SOCIETY THAT WE LIVE IN, TO OPEN UP SOME OF THOSE LINKS. AND IF PEOPLE START TO REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THEIR ROLE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM IS, THEN THEY START THEY ENVISION DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY CAN ENGAGE IN IT. Allison: YEAH. BOB, ARE WE IN TROUBLE OF. AS FAR AS LOSING FARMS HERE IN NEW ENGLAND AND HERE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE? THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. I WAS JUST LOOKING AT SOME STATISTICS BEFORE THE MEETING. AND WE'VE LOST ALMOST 50% OF THE FARMS IN NEW ENGLAND SINCE 1965. AND WE'VE LOST WELL OVER HALF OF THE FARMLAND IN NEW ENGLAND SINCE 1965, SO. Allison: SO WHEN YOU TELL US THOSE STATISTICS, WHAT IS AN AVERAGE PERSON WHO LIVES MAYBE IN A COMMUNITY WHERE A FARM IS, OR IN A STATE WHERE A FARM IS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAKE THAT STOP? WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS, PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, IS TO SUPPORT LOCAL FARMS, SUPPORT LOCAL AGRICULTURE, AND REALIZE THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN WHERE THE FOOD IS BEING PRODUCED AND THE CONSUMER. AND NOT. NOT EVERYONE HAS A SPRING LEDGE FARM NEAR THEM WHERE THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR FOOD LOCALLY. AND, OF COURSE, THERE IS AN OFF SEASON. NEW ENGLAND HAS A VERY SHORT GROWING SEASON. BUT IF PEOPLE WOULD RECOGNIZE THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM AND THE WORKING LANDSCAPE OF THE FARMS AND THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD, AND THEN SUPPORT THAT THROUGH LOTS OF DIFFERENT WAYS, THAT WAS A MAJOR PART OF WHAT THE CONFERENCE WAS ALL ABOUT. Allison: WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT, JEFF, ARE YOU LOOKING FOR FROM PEOPLE? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE MAJOR AREAS OF CONCERN RIGHT NOW? I START BY CONSIDERING WHAT I CAN DO AS A CONSUMER. AND I LIKE TO EAT AND I LIKE TO KNOW WHERE MY FOOD COMES FROM. I LIKE THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE MET WHO ARE GROWING THE FOOD. AND I MAKE A VERY CONSCIOUS CHOICE TO BUY THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE MAKING. I THINK THAT EVERY CONSUMER CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE FOODS THAT WE EAT TODAY, MANY OF THOSE FOODS ARE FOODS THAT WE CHOOSE TO EAT. WE CAN CHOOSE TO DO OTHER KINDS OF THINGS. AND I FEEL STRONGLY THAT THE MORE THAT WE ENGAGE CITIZENS IN AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICY, THE BETTER WE WILL SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR STATE AND OUR REGION. I SEE THAT. I SEE THOSE EXAMPLES ALL THE TIME THROUGHOUT NEW ENGLAND. AND SO IT GIVES ME A LOT OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM THAT WE CAN, IN FACT, CHANGE THE WAY THINGS ARE, THAT WE CAN SAVE FARMS. BUT YOU DON'T SAVE THOSE FARMS BY JUST READING ABOUT THEM. YOU SAVE THEM BY BUYING THE THINGS THAT THEY PRODUCE. Allison: IS THAT ALL IT IS, THOUGH, BOB? IS IT JUST A MATTER OF BUYING LOCAL, OR ARE THERE OTHER ISSUES HERE WHERE PEOPLE MIGHT SAY, "GEE, WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THIS FARM. WE LIKE LOOKING AT IT EVERY DAY WHEN WE DRIVE BY." THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN DO. AND MOST OF THE ACTION THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE IS RIGHT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITY, SUPPORTING INITIATIVES TO ACQUIRE CONSERVATION EASEMENTS ON FARMS. IN THE INTRODUCTORY PIECE THERE, THERE WAS A REFERENCE FROM ONE OF THE OWNERS OF SPRING LEDGE FARM THAT THE LAND IS PROTECTED BY A LOCAL LAND TRUST. THAT KIND OF A CONNECTION CAN BE SUPPORTED WITH DOLLARS AND POLITICALLY. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE. I'M A CONSULTING COMMUNITY PLANNER AND LAND PLANNER. AND THERE'S A LOT THE COMMUNITIES CAN DO TO INVENTORY WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM IN THEIR COMMUNITY TO PRESERVE THE RURAL CHARACTER. IT'S ALMOST A PREAMBLE TO MOST SMALL TOWNS' MASTER PLANS TO PRESERVE RURAL CHARACTER IN THE LAYING OUT THE PURPOSES OF MASTER PLANNING. Allison: DO YOU SEE PEOPLE WORRYING ABOUT THAT YET? I MEAN, DO YOU SEE PEOPLE THAT SAY, "GEE, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THIS; LET'S DO SOMETHING"? OR IS IT JUST KIND OF GETTING INTO PEOPLE'S CONSCIOUS RIGHT NOW? I THINK IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU ARE. IF YOU'RE IN AN AREA THAT IS. HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING THE LOSS OF FARMLAND, AND, THEREFORE, THE CHANGE OF THE CHARACTER OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE LOSS OF THE CONSUMER-PRODUCER FOOD CONNECTION, LIKE WITH SPRING LEDGE FARM, AGAIN. IF YOU'RE IN A COMMUNITY THAT'S LOSING THAT, WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF PRESSURE FOR URBANIZATION, FARMS GOING OUT FOR VARIOUS REASONS. IN THOSE COMMUNITIES PEOPLE DO TAKE STRONG ACTION. AT THE MOST RECENT TOWN MEETINGS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WERE COMMUNITIES ALL OVER THE STATE THAT VOTED TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR CONSERVING FARMLAND AND OPEN SPACE. THEY PUT THEIR MONEY RIGHT UP THERE AND SAID, "WE'RE GOING TO APPROVE THIS IN THE TOWN BUDGET." SO, THIS IS SOMETHING WHERE IT'S ANOTHER WAY THAT PEOPLE CAN SUPPORT FARMLAND IS TO ACQUIRE THOSE EASEMENTS AND MAKE. ADOPT SOME TYPE OF A POLICY, A LAND USE POLICY, FOR THEIR TOWN THAT SAYS, "WE FEEL THIS IS IMPORTANT; WE'RE GOING TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT." Allison: FOR SOMEBODY THAT'S LISTENING AND SAYS, "YOU KNOW WHAT, I CAN RUN TO THE SUPERMARKET CHAIN AND GET MY WHATEVER IT IS, CORN OR. FOR A HECK OF A LOT CHEAPER," AND IS THINKING BOTTOM LINE COSTS OR PRICE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ARGUMENT AGAINST THAT? WELL, ONE THING THAT I WOULD SAY, AGAIN, FROM THE ORGANIZER'S VIEWPOINT AND THE REASON IT'S FOCUSED ON THE CITIZEN, IS THAT THE CONSUMER MAY RELATE TO THE FOOD SYSTEM BEING DRIVEN BY PRICE AND CONVENIENCE. THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT YOU HEAR AND WHAT'S SEEN, AND THEY WOULD ASK THAT SAME QUESTION. A CITIZEN IS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY, FOR THEIR OWN HEALTH AND NUTRITION, FOR THEIR CHILDREN, BUT ALSO FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. YOU HEARD BOTH BOB AND JEFF TALK ABOUT PUBLIC POLICY. WELL, PUBLIC POLICY IS THE RESULT OF AN ENGAGED CITIZENRY AND A DEMOCRACY. AND SO YOU CAN BUY YOUR FOOD DOWN THE ROAD AT A CHEAPER PRICE, BUT YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT SEVERAL TIMES OVER IN HEALTH ISSUES, IN THE POLLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH TRANSPORTING APPLES FROM CHINA OR APPLES FROM WASHINGTON STATE. YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT IN THE LAND USE CHANGE AS BOB WAS TALKING ABOUT. AND YOU MIGHT ALSO PAY FOR IT IN WHAT YOU SAW IN THAT LAST PIECE OF A LACK OF SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS TO TAKE OVER FARMING. BECAUSE AS THEY LOOK OUT, THEY WONDER, "IS THIS AN ECONOMICALLY VIABLE ACTIVITY?" SO IT BECOMES QUITE COMPLICATED, AND THE IDEA OF THE CITIZEN IS NOT JUST TO REACT TO A PRICE ON MONDAY OR TUESDAY, BUT TO BE THINKING ABOUT THE MUCH LONGER TERM AND HOW FOOD CHOICES TODAY CASCADE ACROSS OUR QUALITY OF LIFE. AS THEY USED TO SAY, "YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT." WELL, YOU ARE. YOUR GRANDCHILDREN ARE WHAT YOU EAT NOW, AND FUTURE GENERATIONS ARE WHAT WE EAT NOW. Allison: JEFF, HOW DO WE GET THAT IN THE FOREFRONT OF PEOPLE'S MINDS? I MEAN, THAT ALL MAKES GREAT SENSE BUT IT'S TOUGH TO GET PEOPLE TO THINK THAT, DON'T YOU THINK? CONSIDER ALL THOSE MANNERS? YES, THEY'RE. I HAD A THOUGHT FROM WHAT TOM WAS SAYING. WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AS A REGION, NOT JUST THOSE OF US WHO LIVE IN A PLACE LIKE VERMONT OR NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT ENGAGE OUR URBAN COUNTERPARTS IN PLACES LIKE BOSTON AND SPRINGFIELD, NEW YORK, BECAUSE THEY'RE AS MUCH A PART OF THE FOOD SYSTEM AS WE ARE. ONE OF THE GREAT SUCCESS STORIES ARE FARMER'S MARKETS THAT ARE IN PLACES LIKE SPRINGFIELD OR IN PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, OR IN BOSTON, AS WELL AS IN MONTPELIER OR BURLINGTON, WHERE THE FARMERS ARE SELLING DIRECT. THEY'RE GETTING THE DOLLAR THAT THEY OUGHT TO GET FOR THEIR PRODUCT. AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BUYING IT ARE LEARNING, AS IN THAT SPRING LEDGE PIECE WAS DESCRIBING. I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER KEY PIECE TO THIS. THE PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE WRESTLING WITH TODAY AREN'T PROBLEMS THAT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT. SO THE SOLUTIONS ARE GOING TO TAKE TIME. AND SO ONE OF OUR OBJECTIVES, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT AS A PANEL, IS WHAT'S NEEDED TO REACH OUR CHILDREN, NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE FOODS IN SCHOOLS AT BEST ARE INEDIBLE, IN MY OPINION. IT'S SOFT DRINK VENDING MACHINES. Allison: BUT. BUT I HAVE TO INTERRUPT YOU AND ARGUE. OKAY, WE'VE GOT STATE BUDGET PROBLEMS. EDUCATION FUNDING IS ALWAYS SUCH A HUGE ISSUE. SOMEONE'S GOING TO SAY, "YOU KNOW WHAT, JEFF, THESE ARE TOUGH TIMES. I'VE GOT TO BUY CHEAP." AND THERE IS SOME VALIDITY IN THAT, UNTIL WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT WHAT DOES CHEAP MEAN? ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW FROM RESEARCH THAT'S BEEN DONE IS THAT A LOT OF THE FOOD THAT CHILDREN GET IN SCHOOL CAFETERIAS GETS THROWN OUT. AND IT HAS TO GO SOMEPLACE, IT GETS TRUCKED SOMEWHERE OR WHATEVER IT IS. AND WE CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT. IF WE CAN PROVIDE BETTER FOOD TO OUR CHILDREN, THEY BEGAN TO LEARN DIFFERENT KINDS OF EATING HABITS. Allison: WILL YOU ALL COME BACK? YOU'RE GOING TO OBVIOUSLY BE FOLLOWING UP ON THIS FOR THE PANEL, I HOPE. AND WHAT IS NEXT? WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING? ;;;;SOMETHING MISSING IN GREEN WELL, FROM AN ORGANIZING STANDPOINT, THE NEXT MOVE FOR US IS A. THE THIRD ANNUAL AGRICULTURE CONFERENCE IN NOVEMBER; WHERE WE'LL BE BRINGING TOGETHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TO LAND GRANTS, AGRICULTURE EXPERIMENT STATION POLICY MAKERS, AND ALL OF OUR CITIZENS FROM THIS PANEL, TO PUT FORTH THEIR VISION OF THE FUTURE AND TO SEE IF WE CAN ALL COME TOGETHER AND ORGANIZE AROUND A COMMON VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF NEW ENGLAND. Allison: WELL, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO LET PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THAT AS WELL. I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. |
| Intro Frances Moore Lappe Return to index of stories... |
The future of food in New England and the world may well depend on the average citizen. That's the philosophy of one of the world's leading thinkers on feeding the entire planet. Frances Moore Lappe began her work thirty years ago. Her 1971 bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, revolutionized the way Americans look at food and famine. Now, Frances and her daughter Anna revisit the ideas to co-write a sequel for a new generation. We had the chance to sit down with her last year |
| Frances Moore Lappe Return to index of stories... |
Well, when I was in my mid-twenties, remember this was in the era of the birth of the ecology movement - the experts were telling us that we were running out of food to feed people. Starvation was eminent that it …was just frightening. And I think as a young person, my intuition was that if I just follow the food, I would be able to make sense of the world. That I would understand why there is so much suffering. Is this really true? Are we really going to run out of food? And pretty early in that process, where I followed my nose, I sat in the library hour after hour after hour and went from book to book to book. I learned, that in fact, there's more than enough food in the world to make us all chubby. And that is still true today. And so it was that, like the little boy in the fairy tale who says that the emperor wears no clothes, you know, all experts were saying we were running out of food the earth can't support us and yet in my own modest study, research I learned that in fact the reality was abundance, not scarcity. And we were in fact human institutions were creating this scarcity from all this plenty. Most of the hungry poor people in the world are farmers themselves, right, so why are they hungry because the prices of their commodities are going down. Africa, you see all these images of hunger, well in the last 20 years, the prices that African producers have gotten for their commodities have gone down depending on what the commodity is: coffee or cocoa or some mineral have gone down 40 to 70%. SLATE - Diet for a Small Planet: One of my favorite chapters in my first book, Diet for a Small Planet is the name of the book but the chapter is called Who asked for Fruit Loops? And it asks you to imagine yourself the head of a big food corporation and all the things that you are doing to increase your profit bottom line are things that are not good for our bodies. And so that the fact that half of our calories are now coming from fatted sugar that was something that was a great benefit to the food companies because people can eat more and more of that kind of food, more than our bodies can need. But it's not, not good for us. So, that what I ended up realizing is that as the food industry control has gotten tighter and tighter, narrower and narrower, so now ten corporations control half of all 30,000 food items you walk into a typical supermarket that control has gotten narrower and narrower as we have gotten wider and wider. SLATE: HOPE'S EDGE: The New Diet for a Small Planet The book really takes the reader with us on our journey, my daughter Anna and I took to Brazil to Kenya, to Bangladesh to India to two places in the US and to Western Europe. Where we saw the different piece of the puzzle starting to come together to begin to heal our relationship with our bodies through food and our relationship to our Earth through taking responsibility and re-embedding the economics of democracy into the social piece. We begin the book with talking about what we call mental maps. These assumptions that we carry with us that are often unconscious. And, uh, one of them is the assumption of scarcity. And this is a thought trap, we say. So, if we see the world as scarce there's not enough. Which is where I began 30 something years ago. And we say oh there's not enough. So, we just keep focusing on producing more and more and more and we go for whatever wild technology we think is going to produce more. Whereas if we, if our perception shifts and we say, 'wait a minute.there's enough for everyone.' 'Then, our whole approach shifts to saying okay, how do people get access to it?' Through income, a fair pay for the hard work that most people do and fair prices for what producers get so that they can then buy the other things they need to live. SLATE-LESSONS FROM OUR SMALL PLANET: Well, I think the overall impression I got was how out of step the US is with the rest of the world and I don't think American's know that. For example, in Europe, the government is supporting organic agriculture because they realize this is best for your rural communities, best for the consumer and they are putting resources behind helping farmers shift to organic farming. Whereas here, it's the other way, our tax dollars are going into bio-technology a tiny, tiny fraction, less than 1% goes to research into sustainable agriculture practices. So that's a staggering difference of where people's tax dollars are going. Um, one particular example I found that was so meaningful that could happen in any industrial city if it can happen in Brazil, is the fourth largest city there, Belahorizonte declared good food a right of citizenship. And that didn't mean for them long soup lines - that meant all kinds of creative innovations of making good food available to anyone. FLASH I think, this is again about perception - do we just fold our hands and perceive that this is just the way it is or do we say 'wait a minute' nobody said that food couldn't be a right, it is the most basic need of all, right - next to air and water, right is food. So, wait a minute, how is it that we have a right to vote but not a right to eat? Um, so it's a matter of shifting perception and all sorts of ideas come up. And the woman who was in charge of all these different elements in the initiative in the Brazilian city, I asked her if she knew how out of step she was with the rest of the world And she said ' well, I didn't think about that. I was aware of how much hunger there was in the world. What I wasn't aware of, what I didn't know when I started all these efforts here, I didn't know how easy it was to end it." And when she said that, I mean I - she was tearing up and I was tearing up because that's true, it is easy to end it if we don't accept that hunger is inevitable. It's not inevitable anywhere because there's plenty of food to feed everyone. Tag - To order a copy of one of Frances Moore Lappe's books, or to read other essays and ideas log onto www.dietforasmallplanet.com. |
| Web Pointer Return to index of stories... |
For more information on our program, streaming video, links to our guests and interviews and to tell us what's on your mind in our discussion forum, visit our website at nhptv.org. |
| Goodnight Return to index of stories... |
That's it for this edition of our program. For all of us here at New Hampshire Public Television, I'm Ally McNair. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you next time on New Hampshire Outlook. |
| founders Return to index of stories... |
Thanks to our founding sponsors who have provided major funding for the production of New Hampshire Outlook: New Hampshire Charitable Foundation Public Service of New Hampshire Stratford Foundation |
| Tonight 10:00 Return to index of stories... |
Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. A new study says there's dating violence on college campuses. We'll take about why is this happening and what can be done. Join us tonight at 10:00 on New Hampshire Public Television. |
| key: Environment Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 6/25/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 26:46 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, in this program, the future of food. We'll meet a New London husband and wife whose labor of love is bring farm fresh produce to their neighbors. As farms vanish from the New England landscape, we'll look at whether citizen involvement can make a difference. Plus we'll hear from author and food activist Francis Moore Lappe` on the politics of plenty. First, for many people, there's nothing like the taste of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. But more often than not, these farm stands are farther away than the local grocery store. Not so, for the people of New London, New Hampshire, where Spring Ledge Farm grows and sells their own produce right on Main Street. Producer Susan Hajdu reports. Spring Ledge of New London is a local farm success story - but are farms like these becoming a thing of the past? A group of citizens from around New England came together this past spring to talk about the future of our farms and our food system. Joining us now are two panel members, and the organizer. Jeffery Roberts a consultant from Montpelier, Vermont, and Robert Ward a land planner and Landscape Architect from Andover. And Tom Kelly is the Director of the Office of Sustainability Programs at UNH. The future of food in New England and the world may well depend on the average citizen. That's the philosophy of one of the world's leading thinkers on feeding the entire planet. Frances Moore Lappe began her work thirty years ago. Her 1971 bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, revolutionized the way Americans look at food and famine. Now, Frances and her daughter Anna revisit the ideas to co-write a sequel for a new generation. We had the chance to sit down with her last year. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Susan Hajdu, Allison McNair, Celene Ramadan NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Sue Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, John Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, Tasha Dunning\Field Manager, Susan Hajdu\NH Outlook, Renee Kaufman\Shopper, Katherine Wilson\Shopper, Greg Berger\Greenhouse Manager, Dr. Tom Kelly\Director, Office of Sustainability Programs, UNH, Jeffery Roberts\Consultant, Robert Ward\Land Planner/Landscape Architect, Francis Moore Lappe`\Author |
| key: Consumer Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 6/25/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 26:46 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, in this program, the future of food. We'll meet a New London husband and wife whose labor of love is bring farm fresh produce to their neighbors. As farms vanish from the New England landscape, we'll look at whether citizen involvement can make a difference. Plus we'll hear from author and food activist Francis Moore Lappe` on the politics of plenty. First, for many people, there's nothing like the taste of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. But more often than not, these farm stands are farther away than the local grocery store. Not so, for the people of New London, New Hampshire, where Spring Ledge Farm grows and sells their own produce right on Main Street. Producer Susan Hajdu reports. Spring Ledge of New London is a local farm success story - but are farms like these becoming a thing of the past? A group of citizens from around New England came together this past spring to talk about the future of our farms and our food system. Joining us now are two panel members, and the organizer. Jeffery Roberts a consultant from Montpelier, Vermont, and Robert Ward a land planner and Landscape Architect from Andover. And Tom Kelly is the Director of the Office of Sustainability Programs at UNH. The future of food in New England and the world may well depend on the average citizen. That's the philosophy of one of the world's leading thinkers on feeding the entire planet. Frances Moore Lappe began her work thirty years ago. Her 1971 bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, revolutionized the way Americans look at food and famine. Now, Frances and her daughter Anna revisit the ideas to co-write a sequel for a new generation. We had the chance to sit down with her last year. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Susan Hajdu, Allison McNair, Celene Ramadan NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Sue Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, John Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, Tasha Dunning\Field Manager, Susan Hajdu\NH Outlook, Renee Kaufman\Shopper, Katherine Wilson\Shopper, Greg Berger\Greenhouse Manager, Dr. Tom Kelly\Director, Office of Sustainability Programs, UNH, Jeffery Roberts\Consultant, Robert Ward\Land Planner/Landscape Architect, Francis Moore Lappe`\Author |
| key: Community Government / Politics Return to index of stories... |
NEW HAMPSHIRE OUTLOOK Air Date/Time: 6/25/03 22:00 HOST: Allison McNair Length: 26:46 minutes In this edition of New Hampshire Outlook, NHPTV's nightly news magazine, in this program, the future of food. We'll meet a New London husband and wife whose labor of love is bring farm fresh produce to their neighbors. As farms vanish from the New England landscape, we'll look at whether citizen involvement can make a difference. Plus we'll hear from author and food activist Francis Moore Lappe` on the politics of plenty. First, for many people, there's nothing like the taste of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. But more often than not, these farm stands are farther away than the local grocery store. Not so, for the people of New London, New Hampshire, where Spring Ledge Farm grows and sells their own produce right on Main Street. Producer Susan Hajdu reports. Spring Ledge of New London is a local farm success story - but are farms like these becoming a thing of the past? A group of citizens from around New England came together this past spring to talk about the future of our farms and our food system. Joining us now are two panel members, and the organizer. Jeffery Roberts a consultant from Montpelier, Vermont, and Robert Ward a land planner and Landscape Architect from Andover. And Tom Kelly is the Director of the Office of Sustainability Programs at UNH. The future of food in New England and the world may well depend on the average citizen. That's the philosophy of one of the world's leading thinkers on feeding the entire planet. Frances Moore Lappe began her work thirty years ago. Her 1971 bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, revolutionized the way Americans look at food and famine. Now, Frances and her daughter Anna revisit the ideas to co-write a sequel for a new generation. We had the chance to sit down with her last year. PRODUCER/REPORTER: Susan Hajdu, Allison McNair, Celene Ramadan NAME OF PARTICIPANTS: Sue Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, John Clough\Owner, Spring Ledge Farm, Tasha Dunning\Field Manager, Susan Hajdu\NH Outlook, Renee Kaufman\Shopper, Katherine Wilson\Shopper, Greg Berger\Greenhouse Manager, Dr. Tom Kelly\Director, Office of Sustainability Programs, UNH, Jeffery Roberts\Consultant, Robert Ward\Land Planner/Landscape Architect, Francis Moore Lappe`\Author |
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Tonight on New Hampshire Outlook. . Tonight at 10pm on New Hampshire Public Television. |
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On the next New Hampshire Outlook - A new study says there is dating violence on college campuses. Author of the study, Dr. Murray Straus, says that violence is not limited to America's college campuses. Why is this happening and what can be done? Plus, support for victims of sexual assault is a phone call away. We take you through the training process of a Sexual Assault Support Services volunteer. |