It was inspiring to me so I decided to republish it here with all three videos:
Cooking Up A Story: Food News
This 3-part series of interviews with Dr. Vandana Shiva about the future of food is one of the most contentious, revolutionary, profound, and important discussions of any, we have had to date on Food News. This is more than about the safety of biotechnology; it’s about the ability of all of us to have a choice of the foods that we eat, and for our farmers to be able to freely use their own seeds, and grow food in the manner that they choose. In developing countries like India, biotechnology introduces higher costs of production to the farmers, and makes them highly dependent upon a small number of companies to purchase their seeds, and required chemical inputs. Increasingly, farmers whose crops fail to produce anticipated yields are propelled into a cycle of debt that cause many to commit suicide. Food sovereignty of developing countries; ecological preservation of the biodiversity existing in nature; the ability of nations to feed their own people; the preservation of local culture entwined with past farming traditions; and the right of a people to have access to their own seeds, and to choose the traits they wish to propagate, these are all issues that require careful thought and discussion.
In part 1, Dr. Vandana Shiva explains the science of biotechnology (genetic engineering), and the dangers it poses to the world’s food supplies. Dr. Shiva is a scientist (a physicist by training); she is also a social activist, an environmentalist who believes in ecological sustainability (preserving biodiversity), and an internationally recognized leader in the sustainable food movement. As a woman, and as a pioneer, she has taken her stand among the peasant farmers of India, and indigenous people throughout the world as a defender of women’s and of nature’s rights.
In part two, Dr. Vandana Shiva expresses her strong views about the problems of hunger in the developing world; the struggle of farmers in India; biotechnology, and her prescription for the type of farming model she believes the world needs.
Dr. Vandana Shiva, explains the science of biotechnology (genetic engineering), and the dangers it poses to the world’s food supplies. Dr. Shiva is a scientist, an environmental activist, and an internationally recognized leader in the sustainable food movement.
Dr. Vandana Shiva founded the Research for Science, Technology, and Ecology, (RFSTE) organization, inspired by her earlier involvement with the Chipko movement. In 1973, in a mountainous region in the Himalayas, women villagers, in heroic and desperate fashion, clung to the body of trees to protest against their forest being decimated by contractors for the State’s Forest Department. The entire ecology of the region, and thus the local economy of these villagers, depended upon preserving the integrity of their forest. The eventual success of this self-organized environmental movement to protect their own natural resources from exploitation, became a (non-violent) model for future environmental activism throughout the world.
In this final installment, Dr. Vandana Shiva takes us back to the role of organic farming, and to the organic farmer who she believes embodies the best scientists of our time. For Dr. Shiva, as a scientist herself, and a longtime environmental activist, it’s understanding nature and working within its laws that produces peace, prosperity, and a sustainable future. The seed of an organism is the embodiment of life itself; of hope and of survival. The notion that a seed can be owned by a corporation (through a patent), is a power too great to bestow upon any private or public entity. As a culmination of what Dr. Shiva has discussed in her other interviews, she is hopeful that it is not too late for people to stand up to the large corporations that drive our global food system, and to make personal choices that promote local and more sustainable food production.
Interested in locally raised food and New York City farmers markets?
Check out this video by Serious Eats (a foodie blog not to be missed).
The Green and Farmers Markets around New York City are a great way to get food direct from the farmer.
Why is this good?
You are getting food that is fresher than the alternative (unless you own your own farm of you have a big enough garden to feed yourself and your family).
You are supporting local farmers (they receive 100% of the profit this way) and allows family farms to stay in business.
With weekly sales, farmers can harvest their produce at the peak of flavor
You get a large selection of quality products
Forms a bond between farmer and consumer, builds community.
New York City is a good market for farmers due to the population alone and therefore you get a larger amount of farmers from all over the New York area. Long Island is well represented with 12 Farms on Greenmarkets List of Farmers.
Using Native Plants in your landscape is a win-win for you and the environment. Here are the top ten reasons to use native plants in your landscape:
Once Established, Native Plants Require Little Care and Maintenance
Native Plants Save Money on Landscaping Cost
Native Plants Are Pest and Disease Resistant
Once Established, Native Plants Require No Watering
Once Established, Native Plants Require No Fertilization (Or Pesticides)
Native Plants Survive Harsh Winters and Hot Dry Summers
Native Plants Provide Wildlife with Food and Protection
Native Plants Help Reduce Erosion To a Minimum (Good For Shorelines)
Native Plants Are Non-Invasive
Native Plants Look Like They Belong in the Landscape (Gets Us In Touch With Our Surroundings)
About Native Plants:
Native plants can be an overworked gardeners best friend. They will thrive without much care, surviving the cold winters and hot summers, and are disease and pest resistant! These species have worked for thousands of years to get used to the growing conditions of the surrounding area and are now ready for you to utilize their years of evolution.
You may even be so bold to replace your lawn with all native plants. No Mowing!
Pesticides and Herbicides are poison, plain and simple. They were created to help us manage pests such as harmful insects, arachnids, rodents and weeds.
Unfortunately, whatever is lethal to a pest or a weed will usually cause illness in human adults and even more severe symptoms in children and pets. They are poison for our families and our animals. And when it rains, we all “drink the kool aid” as water flows into our local waterways filled with poison.
In this article we will provide a listing of Long Island Organic Landscapers and other useful resources so you can be part of the solution to maintaining a healthy environment for yourself and your family. [Read more →]
Did you know that the dandelion has been used as food and medicine for much of recorded history? Yes, I am talking about that pesky weed that is the bain of your lawns existence. Since you just can’t stop trying to get rid of them, you might as well make some use of them. In this article I am going to detail a few ways to utilize this under appreciated plant. [Read more →]
Got gardening fever? Love horticulture, botanics and the like? Head out to one of Long Island’s Gardens and Estates right around the corner and enjoy some beautiful gardens as well as a great architecture and history.
Planting Fields Arboretum
To the home gardener, a trip to someone else’s garden/estate can renew inspiration and appreciation for the art of gardening. It allows us a peek at the diversity of Long Island’s environment and gives us an opportunity to learn about plant species that do well in our home gardens. Not to mention we can take a walk and just enjoy the fruit of someone else’s labor. And when we get back to our garden, maybe we will have learned a thing or two.
I know the following list of gardens in and around Long Island will be a good resource for myself to check on when I have the itch to walk in a great garden and hope it can be a great resource for you as well. I am positive this list is not complete so if you know a nice garden to visit around the Long Island area, I ask you to comment it below or send an email to david@ligrows.com so I can add it to the list. So without further adieu, our list of beautiful gardens in and around Long Island (with links to their websites and map links): [Read more →]
My fiancncé brought home some flower seeds a few years back and Lupine was one of them. I was happy with the germination percentage and gave it a shot in the ground to see what happens. We were very into settling on perrenials and giving them space in the flower garden. The lupine did not flower the first year but did have attractive folliage. The next year it surprised me coming back with a vengence. Maybe it was because of the mulch I put down around it but I think I need to give this plant a bit more credit. It really surprised me and
The first time I read the Mother Earth News article about Ruth Stout’s No-Dig Gardening, I said
“yesss! I love this woman. This is one of those lessons of a lifetime.”
Her technique has faced skepticism from all sides but to me, has always seemed to be a fantastic approach:
“mulch everything…and mulch some more.”
Her attitude of “this is who I am and it works for me” comes across vividly in the interview.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
My no-work gardening method is simply to keep a thick mulch of any vegetable matter that rots on both my vegetable and flower garden all year round. As it decays and enriches the soil, I add more. The labor-saving part of my system is that I never plow, spade, sow a cover crop, harrow, hoe, cultivate, weed, water or spray. I use just one fertilizer (cottonseed or soybean meal), and I don’t go through that tortuous business of building a compost pile.
So you have some large and tight hosta plants just screaming to spread themselves far and wide?
Dig Them - Split Them - Transplant Them!
It doesn’t get any easier than this. Hostas seem delicate but their roots are very strong and can bounce back from poor treatment. I love to dig them up and split them up and know they will perform for me even if I beat them up a bit. I guess then you can call it another way to get out aggression.
Reasons to split up your overcrowded hostas:
You get more beautiful, easy to take care of hostas for free!
You get more beautiful, easy to take care of hostas for free!
You get more beautiful, easy to take care of hostas for free!
You can give them to your friends and family and look like a rock star when you make the neglected shady spot in their yard where nothing else will grow look like an extravagant bonanza of texture and contrast.
They grow in poor soil so when you dig them up and re-plant them you don’t need great potting soil, just tell your friends to try and give you back the pots you gave them.
If anyone wants to get some straw (dry grain stalk with seeds removed) bales to use as mulch, we can team up and get a delivery made from upstate. Give an email to david[at]ligrows.com to put your name in and we can usually have it within a week (pending we get enough bales - 10 I think is the minimum for delivery - I can get 5 and you can get 5 or if we have more people, great!).
