Germany is one of the leaders in the consumption of organic and sustainable foods. They have more organic grocers than any other country in the world and in Berlin organic and sustainable eating and consuming is a normal lifestyle for most. They reject the idea of industrial foods altogether and have strict national laws on what goes into the food they put into their bodies. As a food model for what is offered to consumers Germany is the leader in healthy foods for our bodies and our planet; organic, sustainable, fair-trade, local ,pesticide and GMO free, antibiotic and hormone free meats, to name just a few. Here is a little snap shot of life in Berlin and what the food movement is all about.
Eliminate it from your diet, and do your part to help the planet
One of the things I have rarely budged on in my life in the past 5-10 years is eating factory farmed meats. I’m a strong organic advocate eating mainly organic foods and a true believer that producing food organically is better for the planet and our bodies; however, I would like to state for the record that I would rather eat conventional produce than factory raised meats. My 2011 Food Matters journey will now exclude all factory farmed meats which means that when I go to a restaurant or travel, I will eat vegetarian unless I am absolutely sure the meat is ethically raised.
This is one thing that is really almost impossible for me to understand why it still exists and perhaps one day more people, Americans, will realize that a huge part of their diet exists because of big corporations. We don’t need much meat to live well, so eliminate most of it, save money, and help your planet! I try not to be too preachy about things, but this one is tough not to be preachy about. I vow to do a better job of it as well!
One of my favorite things I get to do while in Fair Grove, is venture out to Mutton Holler to hunt for the Christmas tree for my brothers family. This year we did a lot of wild foraging out there, rosehips and watercress and due to some rains we were unable to cross the river to get to the good Cedars, but we found one and my brother decided that it would be fun to “shoot” it down, again balance shows up in my life, as I’m not a gun person by any means but shooting down our tree was a fun time for sure!
With the cynicism that only a mother could love, here is Anthony Bourdains video tour of the San Francisco’s Farmers Market and in the end even he is inspired to change and grow!!
Help empower small farmers & growers all over the world, learn the principles of Fair-Trade and look for the symbols that represent this system of accountability within our food system.
Fair price: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.
Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.
Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.
Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification.
Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.
Now, I am certainly no Steven Spielberg, but with all due respect to him, this is my first little movie so with a little bit of practice I may just find out I have an eye for it!
The Shuk Carmel Market in Tel Aviv is by far my favorite place in all of Israel! Now I am an open air market fanatic so this doesn’t surprise me, my first open air market was in Managua, Nicaragua at age 13 and I have been in love ever since! The energy of open air markets is so invigorating and gets my blood pumping in a way most other places don’t. I especially like the fact that everyone is speaking and yelling in Hebrew so there is a sense of panic in me that I can’t understand them and don’t know what they are saying. And never mind shopping there and the difficulty or purchasing in a language you can’t even read! I can speak a little and understand the numbers pretty well but I have no idea what the price says on the price tag so there is an element of trust one must go by and I find myself getting more and more comfortable the more often I go.
The market sells, fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods, spices, meats, fish, flowers, plants, sweets and household goods and clothes. Its open every day but Saturday and has the same energy each and every day with Friday being absolutely insanely crowed, but I go every Friday I am there as against the energy is amazing.
So I am going to try to give you a taste (visual and sound taste!) of the market with my video made on a hot day in Tel Aviv! Take it all in look at all the displays, here the yelling and selling and witness the people living life in this amazing open air daily market! I wish we had one every day in NYC!
Inspiration at its best comes by the example of others. There is not a greater feat to witness than a fellow human being using life to enhance the lives of others. While this part of life is not unusual at all, the fact remains we are less likely these days to catch sight of it as our hectic modern lives often leave out the ability to take notice of such feats and gestures.
It’s important to note that these inspiring people are all around us affecting many layers of our lives as well as the lives of others, in small and grand ways, begin to take notice and be inspired to do the same.
Dennis Derryck is a 70 year old mathematician and professor at The New School in NYC. He teaches Management & Urban Policy. He has started a new model of CSA in the south Bronx, effectively creating a new way in which farmers and local residents see each other in general. With a 92 acre farm in Schoharie County (about 2 hours away) he is undertaking a feat that is not so easy yet being welcomed by many, adding to the ability for the model to be successful sooner than expected.
For those of us in the food world, excitement about the local, sustainable, organic movement can cause us to forget the low income families here in the USA are often overlooked. Here at Ger-Nis, we have been focusing on the low income families of our fair-traded goods abroad by bringing attention to what we do here and how it affects the poor who grow our food elsewhere. However, we often find that in our own country people forget about including the poor in our local food revolution.
Mr. Derryck did not forget. The South Bronx neighborhood is the poorest east of the Mississippi, filled with low income families with little or no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The obesity rates in the Bronx are at an all time high, as is childhood diabetes and almost every poor diet food related disease that exists. This is why his CSA follows a new model. Most CSA programs that have sprouted up all over our country have focused on the more affluent, higher income neighborhoods. Mr. Derryck’s CSA operates on a sliding scale and even has many subsidies for many families. Since Mr. Derryck’s farm is not fully up and running in full yet, he has had to rely on the generosity of neighboring farms, farms who are the closest in proximity of the Bronx and farms who have taken initiative in the system in order to cause change and improvement in their communities. Farms like that of Richard Ball & Schohaire Farms and Frederick Wellington of Wellington Herb & Spice Farm have donated fresh produce so that the program get reach more people sooner. We expect the amount of farms who are donating and participating to increase as the system just seems to work and inspiration just keeps breeding more.
Mr. Derryck envisions a future CSA where the member share economic citizens voting and running their CSA as their community needs. It’s a truly remarkable story happening right here in our own back yard, one which has inspired me to take a new direction, and hopefully causing more inspiration to flow down our paths of connective-ness!
Michoacán, Mexico is considered by some the soul of México. Home to not only the avocado capitol of the world but the home of the migrating monarch butterfly and the home of the Perepecha Indian, one of the oldest indigenous tribes of México, producing amazing and colorful arts and crafts including the guitar. Right outside of Uruapan higher up in the sierra Madres lies the city of Parachu. 7300 ft up in the mountains it is the guitar making capitol of Mexico and produces some of the world’s best handmade guitars to date. The indigenous people of Parachu have been crafting guitars since the 19th century, these signature handmade guitars have made this place world famous where visitors can see the hand made process in the homes/workshops of the traditional guitar makers. More than half of Parachus population is involved in guitar making and are amongst the most skillful guitar makers of the world with their simple and even quite primitive tools. The handmade guitars are amongst the most sought after acoustic guitars in the world and rarely is the same craftsmanship seen much more from other parts.
The magical step back in time can be seen yearly in the towns annual guitar festival which attracts people form all over the world.
Truly inspiring these people are making such beautiful instruments for others to produce such beautiful music with.
“On the shoreline of the East River and with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline, Eagle Street Rooftop Farm is a 6,000 SF green roof top organic vegetable farm located on a warehouse rooftop in Green point, Brooklyn.”
See for yourself what is so special and why this is the video of the month!!
I don’t have children of my own and so I will admit to being one of those people who can be somewhat critical of parents who are always posting pictures and videos of their kids doing this and their kids doing that. They say because I don’t have my own, I don’t understand. But I think there is actually a fine line in it all. To put it simply, some things are just cooler than others. So as I sit deciding whether to post a longer 5 minute video of some adults surfing or myself surfing, as really would like to highlight the surfing of Nosara, I just cannot stop myself from posting this video of Ivin, my nephew of one and a half years of age. The funny thing is that although my entire family grew up along the Pacific Ocean both in California and Central America, this kid Ivin, one of the youngest, had never been to the beach. He loved it of course. His father and his uncle like all surfers, wanted to make sure he learned to surf well at a very young age. So for all of you who don’t know how to teach a one and a half year old how to surf, here is how it is done………Nosara style! (And yes it’s quick but I think in the end, better than a longer video of adults!)
