Where sustainable foods, women-artists' work and the new design assignment cross paths!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Celebrating Samhain


Setting a place at the table for spirits and ancestors on Halloween

On Halloween night, when trick-or-treaters in peaked hats and green makeup roam the neighborhood streets, a roomful of real witches sit in silence at a dinner table illuminated by candlelight.


The witches, and members of the area Pagan Group gather in silence for "Dumb Supper," during which the hope is to summon up spirits.

During "Samhain," an ancient, pre-Christian celebration of honoring -- and hopefully reuniting -- with the dead, pagans gather with friends and family at home for the feast.

An extra place at the table will be set for the ancestors, who, in Silicon Valley, for example, might include such luminaries as Charles Babbage, the 19th-century inventor who originated the concept of the programmable computer. Pagans eat in silence and wait, watching for signs of the departed souls.
Pagans typically practice nature religions. Some seek connection with ancient African ancestors; others are witches or goddess worshipers, pagan revivalists and re-constructionists who study ancient texts to learn about the roots of pagan rituals and practices, she said.

On Halloween night, some pagans will go all out, planning to welcome costumed visitors with "lots of treats."

"A lot of pagan religions assume reincarnation. From the perspective of reincarnation, the child asking for treats is seen as the ancestor reborn. Halloween is the festival of ancestors, and it is also the festival of children."

The veil between worlds is thin at Halloween and children personify the trickster spirits. At Samhain, the supernatural is most likely to appear. Sometimes there is the sense of a presence, more like a thing seen with the mind's eye.

Sightings are relatively rare; some people have only one clear encounter with a deceased person during the dinner ritual. But the experience can be unmistakable. An ephemeral human form hovered in the darkness, for example.

"I had never seen a ghost or 'shade.' I looked to my friend who was sitting next to me. He was staring and pointing and nodding."

The ghost made a sound like bats do.

"You read Shakespeare, and he talks about the 'gibbering ghost.' I always thought that was a metaphorical phrase."

Far from gatherings over boiling cauldrons of foul-smelling brews, pagan groups meet to learn about pagan practice.

Some practitioners have a scholarly bent, sharing information about rituals and picking up practices or reviving others based on archeological transcriptions of ancient texts. When Greek papyri about ancient rituals were finally translated in the 1990s, they provided a gold mine.
On a recent weekend, some members gathered to make masks for Halloween. Such gatherings are often a family affair, including children.

"Pagan religion is about practice and values. It's unusual to say, 'What do you believe?' Everything changes. The assumptions you make change based on experience. It's more about, 'Do you value some things in common?'"

The bonds in the pagan community mirror the kinds of social benefits people get from churches and other groups, helping each other or volunteering.

"Many people work with and for our local community. Those are things that not only do good for the community but foster the more genuine bonds between people."

An excerpted article, to make the point in order to broaden horizons on All Hallows Eve, Samhain & Halloween! Have a happy & fulfilling one!

Monday, October 11, 2010

4 Ways to Regain Control of Your Food

The egg recall taught us how little we know about the origins of our food—and how dangerous that can be. How can you find out where your food is coming from?

by Phil Howard
posted Oct 11, 2010



Where is your food is from? What happened to it before it reached your plate? More people are asking these questions, in large part because it is increasingly difficult to answer them. We now know so little about our food, particularly its ecological and social impacts, that it’s easy to feel like we’ve lost control over it.

The recent recall of eggs contaminated with Salmonella has underscored just how opaque the origins of our food have become. The accompanying diagram illustrates how eggs from just two farms in Iowa were sold in 22 states under more than 40 different brands. Other food recalls, such as peanuts contaminated with Salmonella in 2008-2009, and spinach contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 in 2006, revealed similar patterns: dozens of different brands packaged in one processing plant, which were then shipped across the country, or even internationally.

The number of firms responsible for producing most of the food consumed in the United States gets smaller every year.

Unfortunately, in the absence of a recall, we have no way of knowing who is really producing foods like these. Companies that own the brand names are becoming less involved in farming, processing, and packing. Like the shoe company Nike, these “virtual” food companies may contract out the production, focusing instead on the marketing aspects of their business. They frequently keep the name and location of the producers a trade secret to prevent competitors from learning where they source their products. This confidentiality could be considered excessive, when recalls illustrate that so few facilities are now responsible for producing so much of our food. Two companies control approximately 80 percent of the bagged salad market in the United States, for example, despite the appearance of many more “competing” brands on retailer shelves.

The challenge of consolidation

The number of firms responsible for producing most of the food consumed in the United States gets smaller every year.
This consolidation is a result of the largest companies buying out their closest competitors, with many of the remaining companies going out of business. The result is that markets become less competitive, giving dominant companies the power to artificially raise prices for consumers—or lower the prices they pay farmers and other suppliers.

In addition to this economic impact, consolidation gives a rapidly shrinking minority the power to determine other aspects of food production, such as how food is produced; how much is produced; where it is grown, processed, transported, and sold; and ultimately, who gets to eat. And, as the recent egg recall taught us, an overly consolidated food system makes the whole country vulnerable to the dangerous practices of just a few farms.
Animation: How the international seed market consolidated, 1996-2008:



There are alternatives to this highly consolidated food system, though some of the most successful are now threatened by consolidation, as well. Organic food, for example, is intended to promote more ecologically sustainable production practices. But as organic became more mainstream, it attracted the interest of multinational corporations. Scores of pioneering organic brands were acquired by these corporations, starting in the late 1990s, though very few make these ownership ties apparent on their labels. As a result, while “organic” remains a less chemical intensive alternative to conventional agriculture, the label may fall short for other ethical ideals. Organic foods may still be heavily packaged, highly processed, shipped thousands of miles, and produced by exploited laborers.

What can you do regain control of the food you eat?


There are many possibilities, ranging from becoming more informed about the products at your local supermarket to growing your own food.
Research the companies behind your food.

One tool for becoming more informed is GoodGuide. This searchable website has a large and growing database of food products, each one scored according to its health, environmental, and social impacts. There is even an application that allows you to scan a barcode with a mobile device to look up ratings on that product. GoodGuide also provides corporate ownership information for most items. Although this won’t necessarily tell you who really produced it, or where, it will let you know which companies you’re supporting with your purchases.

Another source of information on corporate ownership specifically for organic foods is a series of graphics that can be found on my website. They show the consolidation and “stealth ownership” that has occurred in the organic food processing industry, as well as the distribution and retail sectors. If you are interested in supporting independent organic food producers see the sidebar for a list of major North American brands. These companies are frequently presented with lucrative buyout offers, but have remained committed to maintaining control of their business.

Pay attention to labels

In addition to organic, there are other ecolabels that represent standards less typically embodied in food production. Some of these include Fair Trade, Biodynamic, American Grassfed, and several third-party certified humane labels. Although not all of these standards preclude large-scale operations, they will provide you with more information about some of the ethical implications of your purchases.

Join a food co-op

A good place to find ecolabeled foods is a retail food cooperative, or cooperative buying club. While some of the products they carry have ties to multinational corporations, as a member-owner of your cooperative you have more control over what is sold, as well as a greater voice when communicating with food producers than you would on your own.

“Local” is not as carefully monitored as some other ecolabels, so maintain a healthy degree of skepticism and ask for more details when such claims are vague.

Cooperatives have historically supported local food producers, and remain some of the best places to find products made by small farmers and food processors. Recently, however, more mainstream retailers have started emphasizing their supply of local foods. Even Wal-Mart is joining this trend. The demand for local foods is rising for many reasons, including interest in freshness, taste, supporting local economies, protecting green space, reducing fossil fuel consumption, and simply knowing more about where our food is from. But “local” is not as carefully monitored as some other ecolabels, so maintain a healthy degree of skepticism and ask for more details when such claims are vague.

Know (or be) your farmer

To find out even more about your food, talk directly to the producer. Ways to do this include buying a share of a farm (Community Supported Agriculture), shopping at farmers’ markets or roadside stands, or picking the produce yourself. Two great sources for finding these types of farms or markets in your area are LocalHarvest and PickYourOwn.

Everybody Eats How a community food system works.

The surest way to know how your food was produced is to grow your own. Even the smallest indoor spaces can grow sprouts or a small herb garden. Of course, the seed industry has also become highly consolidated, but you can find lists of independent companies, or companies that have pledged not to buy or sell genetically engineered seeds.

In our current food system, finding out where your food is from is not easy. In fact, some journalists and documentary filmmakers have made successful careers of becoming “food detectives,” and informing their audiences of the stories behind the food on their plates. You may not want to go that far yourself. But taking small steps to learn more, buy directly from food producers, or even grow some of your own food, can add up to quite a bit more control.

Egg recall infographic:


Phil HowardPhil Howard wrote this article for /">YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Phil Howard is assistant professor at Michigan State University, where he teaches and conducts research on community, food, and agriculture. His visual representations of our changing food system have been featured in numerous outlets, including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Sierra Magazine.

Interested?

* A Month Without Monsanto: April Dávila wondered what it would take to cut the GMO giant out of her family’s life. She found that it was far more entrenched than she’d ever realized.
* My 10-Mile Diet: Vicki Robin blogs as she spends the month eating only locally grown food.
* 3 Pillars of a Food Revolution: As marketers learn to fake climate-friendly food, how do we spot the real thing? Anna Lappé says it's a question of values.

YES! Magazine encourages you to make free use of this article by taking these easy steps. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License

FREE CLEAN WATER EVERYWHERE_ BLOG for ACTIONhttp://blogactionday.change.org/

THIS WEEK on CHANGE.ORG
What causes more death than war?

This summer, the United Nations voted to make access to clean water a recognized human right. This was welcome news to those fighting the disturbing reality that more people die each year from contaminated water than all forms of violence and war combined.

But the UN vote is just the beginning. We now need to make good on the commitment to provide access to clean water to the nearly 1 billion people worldwide who currently rely on bacteria-infested water that causes everything from diarrhea to dysentery.

To generate support for this effort, this week Change.org is mobilizing thousands of bloggers from more than 100 countries to write about the water crisis as a part of our annual Blog Action Day, held every October 15th.

Petitions by Change.orgStart a Petition »


The goal of Blog Action Day is to take a single day out of the year to focus the world's attention on one important issue. This year's participants include leading tech blogs like The Official Google Blog, international blogs like Global Voices, and government blogs such as The White House blog. We have also partnered with organizations on the front lines of the water crisis, including UNICEF, charity: water, and Water.org.



But beyond these prominent voices and organizations, the success of Blog Action Day depends on people like you and the millions of others dedicated to a world without unnecessary suffering. Here are three easy steps you can take to get involved and help make Blog Action Day 2010 the largest event ever to increase awareness about the water crisis:

1. Register your blog or website: Are you a blogger or website owner? Then we need your help - register your blog or site today, and don't forget to grab an action widget to get your readers involved.
2. Sign the petition: Together with US Fund for UNICEF, we're helping to build a movement of people across the world calling on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to accelerate the UN's work to supply clean, safe drinking water to the world's poorest populations. Help grow this movement by adding your name.
3. Raise funds for water: Raise money to provide clean drinking water to those in need through charity: water, which allows you to create a fundraising page to raise money to build wells in Africa, or Water.org, where a $25 donation provides clean water for a lifetime for one person.

In the three minutes it took you to read this email, 12 people have died from unsafe water. Please join us in fighting this tragedy by supporting Blog Action Day 2010: Water.