Farm Aid heads to Beantown This year’s Farm Aid concert will be held in Mansfield, Massachusetts on Sept. 20. They’ve yet to announce the expanded lineup, but as always, the fab four (Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews) will be there. Thanks for the heads up, Greenhorns!
How sweet is that (really)? Cargill and Coke teamed last week up to celebrate the launch of their as-yet unapproved sweetener Truvia (made from stevia) with a party — and a greenhouse — at Rockefeller Center. Marion Nestle’s not buying it.
Catfish farms floundering Another industry falls victim to rising grain prices — across the Mississippi Delta, catfish farms are dropping like flies. File this under “major bummer” — catfish is one of the few sustainably-farmed fish.
Tomatoes officially off the hook The FDA may never figure out the cause of the salmonella outbreak that has now sickened 1,200, but they’ve given the go-ahead on tomatoes, anyway, in a move unlikely to soothe frustrated industry groups. Raw jalapeno and serrano peppers remain under investigation.
Federal fish farms on oil rigs? The Bush Administration is in a hurry to pass a new proposal that would allow fish farms to be set up on oil rigs. This would be the first time that environmentally hazardous aquaculture would be permitted in federal waters. Food & Water Watch thinks it’s a bad idea.
2 responses so far ↓
1 riley // Jul 24, 2008 at 11:19 am
I aways wondered where the proceeds for farm aid went. Do they help the sort of soy wheat corn farmer that farms conventionally or do they help small farms that are sustainable?
2 Leslie // Jul 24, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Good question. I went to the Farm Aid site to find out, and under their “About Us” section there is some good info but even better is their Grant Program page, where they outline all the groups they gave money to last year — very transparent. Looks like it is mostly sustainable farmers (through grassroots orgs that support them), but check it out for yourself
http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723621/k.9C20/Grant_Program.htm
They also support farmers in crisis and those who are trying to switch to more sustainable methods. All good stuff. Many of the conventional farmers you mention are stuck between a rock and a hard place and would probably like to do something better w/their land and livelihood.
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