Okay, so it’s been around for a while, but it’s amusing.  What can I say?  I’m on the road again, busy lady, reading like crazy on the airplane so I have loads of exciting new stuff to post for you.  Anyway, this animation is from Sustainable Table.  Check it out.  (Yes, they do have sequels.)

And in the lineup for the near future, you can expect a review of Food Security for the Faint of Heart by Robin Wheeler, the nitty gritty about the modern turkey, holiday recipes, and so much more! I’m in Wisconsin…cheese for everyone!  Huzzah!

(Except for the vegans, of course.  I’ll get you folks some baby rice popcorn from the farm down the way.  So good!)

The folks over at the Organic Consumers’ Association have gotten organized, and they’re inviting you to join in.  Specifically, they have drafted a petition (click through to see) to the Obama Transition Team which asks the incoming administration to consider implementing several of Michael Pollan’s recommendations from “Farmer in Chief.”

Take a look.  If you like it, slap on your Joanie Mitchell.  (John Hancock, whatever.)

If you don’t like it, write your own letter to the team that articulates what is important to you about food policy and food security.  For more info about what Obama said on the campaign trail, check out this page from the Obama website.

How’s that for simple?  A ready-made petition for those of you who agree with the one OCA drafted.  For those of you who don’t, you have a model to draft your own petition or letter about food policy.

Go change the world, folks.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have apple cider cupcakes to frost.

It’s the end of a planting cycle here in Arizona–I just scrambled to get some peas, beans, and greens in the ground this morning.  And, I have to admit, it got me thinking about some…subversive activities.

I am tempted. Anyone out there done any guerrilla gardening? Want to learn more?

Surely that empty lot on my commute could use a couple giant sunflowers..don’t you think?

It turns out I’m not the only one with an interest in bending the president-elect’s ear.  Blogosphere, welcome to November Fifth.

November 5. 2008 from Tarek Milleron on Vimeo.

Check it out.  (The website, not just the video. While I appreciate his sincerity and his project, I’m first to admit that the talking head’s bobbing is a little off-putting.) It you like it, link to it.  Pass it on.  Get involved.

This isn’t about parties or feuds or filibusters.  It’s about the fact that we live in a  democracy, and that ought to mean something.

Yesterday, actually.  But you get the idea.

The Unicyclist and I were lucky.  We hit our polling place early yesterday, about 8:30, and lines were virtually nonexistent.  We were in and out quickly, despite living in a huge metropolitan area.  Throughout the day, we caught snippets of stories on the web or the radio about huge lines in cities around the nation, lines of people that snaked well out the door of polling places.  Many people waited an hour–or several–to cast their ballots yesterday.  Although official counts will be a few days in coming, the U.S. State Department had some impressive statistics to illustrate the size of turnout.

Read more

I voted today.

And it felt good.

Get those patooties to the polls, people.  If you aren’t sure where your polling place is, check out Google’s new polling place finder tool.  Need to know the hours for your polling location?  Try Can I Vote, a site by the National Organization of Secretaries of State, which provides hours, your registration status, types of ID required in your state, and more.  Finally, do double-check the ID you need to take to the polls.  Lines may be long, and you won’t want to wait in them twice. If your driver’s license address isn’t current, make sure you take two alternative forms of identification, such as a recent utility bill, vehicle registration, or bank statement.

If you got a vote-by-mail ballot you haven’t yet sent off (like the Unicyclist and I did), you must take that to the polls today, in person, for it to count.  Fortunately, you don’t have to wait in line!  Just let the staffers know you have a vote-by-mail ballot, and they’ll show you where the drop box is.  We did it.  Easy peasy.

And finally, if you have any problems at the polls with intimidation, harassment, being turned away, or the like, report it.  Talk to the officials at the poll first, and if they are unwilling to help, contact the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice.

Knock it out of the park, people.  I’m excited to see some record-breaking turnout at the polls.

For a long while, this election cycle was touted as something new, something that broke all the rules.  Many people said they were excited, for the first time, about casting their vote.  They felt strong candidates were running, and many were excited about the historic campaigns of Clinton and Obama.

And then came months and months of stumping.  Negative ads started to rear their ugly heads (like Putin, apparently). Scandals started to surface.

Before long, I started to hear it.

“Frankly, I think it’s a choice between bad and worse.”

“I hate always having to choose the lesser of two evils.”

This isn’t everyone, of course.  Some people are still ecstatic about the possibilities they see opening up with candidates like Palin or Obama. Others wax enthusiastic about having tireless advocates such as Ralph Nader in the race to offer substantive policy and platform differences and to raise the issue of what candidates should really be doing to earn your confidence and your vote.  But frankly, I’ve heard from a lot of people who are feeling pretty jaded.  What with the accusations flying about wardrobe costs, abuses of the governor’s power, connections to former terrorists, false representations of self or policy, the questionable maverickosity of Maverick McCain, and the generic evasiveness of the politicians, some people are feeling pretty fed up.

‘Tis the season, folks.  Have you picked out your outfit for tomorrow?

Those of you who have not already voted by early or absentee ballot are hopefully heading to the polls tomorrow.  As you go and consider the many issues at stake, give some consideration to food security and agricultural policy as well. These are issues that have far-reaching consequences, as I outlined when covering Michael Pollan’s “Farmer in Chief” article in an earlier post.

Earlier, I also outlined the candidates’ expressed stances on the issues Pollan raised in his letter.  Today, I got a tip from Matt that at least one of the candidates actually read “Farmer in Chief.”  Apparently, Barack Obama referenced Pollan’s open letter in an interview with Joe Klein. An excerpt follows after the jump.

Read more

For me to be in Philly and not go to a famed restaurant called “The White Dog Café” would almost certainly write me out of my mother’s will. This is the mum who has two Jack Russel terriers and dreams of starting a Bed and Biscuit someday. Naturally, when my friends in Philly mentioned how much I would probably dig White Dog, I decided to check it out when my friend Rebecca came up from Maryland for the day. It turns out that the White Dog has more going for it than just a cool name.

This apple pie, made from local apples, is one such tasty example.

And let’s not forget the silky chocolate and cinnamon pot de créme Rebecca enjoyed.

What can I say? Life is short. Start with dessert.

Read more

Finally, the moment you have been waiting for all weekend–the breakdown of Michael Pollan’s “Farmer-in-Chief.”

Let’s cut straight to the quick. How can Pollan make the argument that to address the food system is to address climate change, terrorist threats, the need for energy independence, and the health care crisis?  After all, a rather significant gap seems to exist between Freedom Fries and greenhouse gases.  As Pollan points out in his article, however, the gap is far smaller than you would think…nonexistent, in many cases.   Understanding that, we’re left with an important question:  should a Freedom Fry mean something beyond a snub to the French?

Read more

One of the strengths of the Pollan article I linked to yesterday, “Farmer in Chief,” is how Pollan clearly underlines that caring about where your food comes from is not just a luxury reserved for yuppies with too much time on their hands and more money than they know what to do with. On the contrary, reforming how we think about, produce, and distribute food is a cause that ordinary citizens from a variety of backgrounds can get behind. To illustrate his point, he traces the intersection of food reform with climate change, energy independence, terrorist threats, and health care. Heard those terms lately? You have if you’ve been following the race to the White House. All those issues are central to the platforms of both the major candidates and the third party candidates. One topic that doesn’t come up much, however, is the one Pollan has raised here, the one that cuts through all three: food. Do the candidates have a stance on food and agriculture? Where do they see the need for reform, and who best fits your perspective on food and agriculture issues? Find out after the jump.

Read more