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Katy Keiffer hosts an incredibly informative conversation on the 2012 Farm Bill with esteemed guest and founder of FGE Food & Nutrition Team, Fern Gale Estrow. Fern explains what challenges come along with trying to create a Farm Bill that looks out for our small farmers while cooperating with the large agricultural systems already in place in our country. Tune in and hear a new perspective on the complicated ideas, policies and politics involved with the Farm Bill. Learn why commodity price support is not always such a bad thing, and how compensating farmers appropriately is not always as easy as it sounds. Also on the show, Susan Hunt Stevens, Steve Pope & Frank Reese. This episode was sponsored by Hearst Ranch, the nations largest single source supplier of grassfed and grass finished beef.
The Main Course Introduction: The Farm Bill (2:30)
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The Main Course, Katy Keiffer, Heritage Radio Network, Hearst Ranch,Fern Gale Estrow, Founder of FGE Food & Nutrition Team (16:02)
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The Main Course, Hearst Ranch, Fern Gale Estrow, Kids Can Make a Difference, helping children understand what goes into getting food from farm to table, Farm Bill, Ed Yowell, the bills last about 5 years, 2012 bill is under negotiation, any funding has to come from any system program, not from a tax base, school lunch program, commodity price support, there are textile components as well as fuel, Food Systems Network NYC, www.foodsystemsnyc.org, rural development through loan and grant programs, many people working with the farming community recognize that there are some benefits to commodity price support, where do small farms fit into these subsidies?, corn production, divided into sweet corn and feed corn, most corn grown in this country is not used to be consumed directly by humans, used to feed animals or for fuel, you can't cut everything out, that would be anarchy, developing local economies and smaller connections, maintaining supply chains that encourage local economic development, there needs to be coexistence with mono-cultural farming, infrastructure for food transfer plays into world hunger, many jobs in the US are related to the food world, added value, Slow Food, making jam, Fern has a problem with high fructose corn syrup, biotechnology is glossed over by the bill, terms are not readily defined, FGE Food & Nutrition Team,Monocropping, GMO's & Food Safety (18:58)
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Monsanto, who owns the seed?, we should have the right to choose the product we consume, hybridization of cattle pig and chicken breed, has had very serious effects, cultural pieces, mixing genes, religious perspective, the drift is an issue, we should have the right to grow plants and know that they won't be cross contaminated, what is an heirloom?, they grow true, a genetically modified seed will not breed true, most of our seed today is hybrid, cross breeding for hybrid vigor, using antibiotics to breed animals, we are wasting the antibiotic, we get resistant strains of disease, hybridizing crops so they grow well with minimal inputs, monocropping is very dangerous, potato famine, tomato blight, Fern does not support GMO's, centralizing power in a small area, it's important that we have diversity for strength, the dust bowl, water is becoming more of an issue, global warming, droughts, water is a commodity in parts of this country, extending growing seasons, health of the soil is critical, you need to rotate crops, you can't necessarily add minerals to soil, we need to look at the farm bill with these things in mind, we need to work together, The Food Safety Act, feed lots, CAFO's, Cargill, food safety practices, smaller producers cannot afford to put in interventions that big producers can, when a big producer has a mistake it is massive, recalls,The Link Between Food, Farms & Health (12:17)
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Food Stamp program, $189 billion, Frances Moore Lappé, Heritage Foods USA, supporting small farms, transitional thinking for our society, how much we pay for food and how much we pay people to work, poverty, minimal wage, farm workers are a perfect example, farming is a skilled wage, we need to look at the whole system, how do we address feeding people in a way that supports an economy that's ethical, The Farm Bill Plus, how are we prepared to work together?, soft drinks in NYC, WIC, supports many of our children in our country, brain development, school food, Farm Bill was initially about supporting our farmers, times have changed, health of our soil is the health of our society, it's intertwined, when people are hungry their brain development is not good, food labeling, being an informed consumer, childhood diabetes,Patrick Martins Calls in From San Francisco (11:02)
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Patrick is in Jack London Square, San Francisco, inspired by the culture out there, Napa Valley, Chris Carpenter, Chairmain of the Board of Slow Food USA, Cain Vineyard & Winery, Cain Five, Christopher Howell, Abe Schoener, pushing the envelope of what wine is, Farmstead, Saint Helena, Chez Panisse, Good Food Awards, S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, Bi Rite Market, Cafe Rouge, San Francisco is different than any part of the country, terroir unites the people, Alice Waters,Practically Green with Susan Hunt Stevens (26:03)
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Susan Hunt Stevens, Practically Green, www.practicallygreen.com, food allergies, there has been an increase in food allergies, looking at how our food has changed in 15 years and why it is contributing to illness and allergies that families face, 1 in 3 parents are dealing with allergies autism ADHD and asthma, what defines a food allergy?, confirmed immune response, genetic engineering of soy and corn, prove it philosophy in the US, genetically modified soy, ARAH3, parents of children under the age of 1 should avoid soy all together, in the US we are told to never avoid soy, liver and kidney toxicity, organic can mean different things to different people, USDA certified organic, all-natural, green washing, there's no such thing as perfectly green!, mercury is bad, no juice no soda!, high fructose corn syrup, it's easy to add as a flavor, dominates the palate of products being moved to children, sugar substitute, how can we help families deal with this?, slow cookers, fast food is not always a cheap alternative,Steve Pope & Frank Reese of Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch (21:34)
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Steve Pope, Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch, Heritage Chef, poultry, Frank Reese, animal science, genetics, homemade noodles, dumplings, genetic engineering, dead end animal, GMO, there are no GMO poultry yet, differences between breeds, backyard farming and poultry, you learn about life and death by raising animals, surge in consumer demand, antibiotics, you don't have to use them, egg recall, mass production, making synthetic protein out of biofuel,Download MP3 (Full Episode)
Patrick Interviews Christopher Carpenter (4:10)
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Slow Food USA, Christopher Carpenter, school lunches, children's diet, Napa Valley, Childhood Nutrition Act is up for reauthorization in Congress this October, nutritional guidelines, health care, causality rather than reaction, 1 in 3 kids are in danger of having childhood obesity, 1 in 4 children are in danger of contracting diabetes, eat in based on the 1960s model of a sit in, drawing attention to a national issue to create local action, all politics are local, local issues, local farmers, helping schools create a community where everybody wins, improving school food, saving money on health care by preventative measures in school,Napa Valley Convivium (3:40)
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Napa Valley Convivium, school system paired with Meadow Ranch, all food served to the kids are from the ranch, traceability, sustainability, connection with communities, creating a roundtable around that model, Napa Valley Unified School District, childhood obesity coalition, improving the health care system, we often deal with issues after they have happened in this country,The Fighting Illini & The Story of Chris Carpenter (5:47)
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Chris was a defensive lineman for the Fighting Illini, University of Illinois, Chris was a bartender, winemaker, teaching children about what farmers do on a local basis to create sustainable systems, industrialized foods, some parents don't have time to cook meals, garden, fruit, most scohols in Napa Valley have some sort of garden program, gopher snakes, idealic situation, financial issues create challanges in this system, local politicians, educating parents, McDonalds,The State Of Slow Food (3:12)
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Slow Food, national day of action, activist oriented, how are we feeding our country?, environmental impact of the agricultural world, drawing attention to issues, similar to the Sierra Club, Josh Viertel, Patrick Martins was the first executive director for Slow Food, name recognition of Slow Food in the US, the slide whistle, remotivated staff,Download MP3 (Full Episode)








