Courtesy of WCAX.com
Jericho brewer wants you to drink your share: More and more people want to know where their food comes from. Whether it's knowing your butcher or local farmers. But what about your brewer?
About Me
- The Journey of the Zealous Woman Farmer
- The journey of a single woman, farming and living life without judgement.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Community Supported Brewery...Say What!?
I am a beer person. I love going out and trying new beers, supporting the local craft brews around the area. I saw this and I thought it was such a cool idea. We all heard of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) right? You pay money, buy a share and get tons of fresh, yummy veggies and meat through the summer/year. But this guy in Vermont (Go Vermont!) decided to start a CSB, or Community Supported Brewery. People pay $200 for a share and get a different beer every month for a year. That sounds AWESOME. And the whole time you are supporting local agriculture! This is another addition to my list on why I should move back to Vermont. Take a look at the link for the full video.
Courtesy of WCAX.com
Jericho brewer wants you to drink your share: More and more people want to know where their food comes from. Whether it's knowing your butcher or local farmers. But what about your brewer?
Courtesy of WCAX.com
Jericho brewer wants you to drink your share: More and more people want to know where their food comes from. Whether it's knowing your butcher or local farmers. But what about your brewer?
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Myths Busted!
I found this really interesting article about GMOs. I thought that most of what I read was true, but to come to find out, it's not! Read up and be prepared for your next argument about GMOs.
Having just stepped into
the shouting match over patents on genetically engineered crops, there
are a few small things that I, too, would like to get off my chest.
I say small things. I'm not talking about today's big hot issues: Whether genetically modified organisms — GMOs — should be labeled, or cause cancer in rats, or might improve the lives of poor farmers in Africa; none of that.
This is about something simple: Seeds of GMOs. Various myths have grown up around these seeds. Like most myths, they are inspired by reality. But they've wandered off into the world of fiction.
Myth 1: Seeds from GMOs are sterile.
No, they'll germinate and grow just like any other plant. This idea presumably has its roots in a real genetic modification (dubbed the Terminator Gene by anti-biotech activists) that can make a plant produce sterile seeds. Monsanto owns the patent on this technique, but has promised not to use it.
Now, biotech companies — and Monsanto in particular — do seem to wish that this idea were true. They do their best to keep farmers from replanting the offspring from GMOs. But they do this because, in fact, those seeds will multiply.
Myth 2: Monsanto will sue you for growing their patented GMOs if traces of those GMOs entered your fields through wind-blown pollen.
This is the idea that I see most often. A group of organic farmers, in fact, recently sued Monsanto, asserting that GMOs might contaminate their crops and then Monsanto might accuse them of patent infringement. The farmers couldn't cite a single instance in which this had happened, though, and the judge dismissed the case.
The idea, however, is inspired by a real-world event. Back in 1999, Monsanto sued a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, for growing the company's Roundup-tolerant canola without paying any royalty or "technology fee." Schmeiser had never bought seeds from Monsanto, so those canola plants clearly came from somewhere else. But where?
Canola pollen can move for miles, carried by insects or the wind. Schmeiser testified that this must have been the cause, or GMO canola might have blown into his field from a passing truck. Monsanto said that this was implausible, because their tests showed that about 95 percent of Schmeiser's canola contained Monsanto's Roundup resistance gene, and it's impossible to get such high levels through stray pollen or scattered seeds. However, there's lots of confusion about these tests. Other samples, tested by other people, showed lower concentrations of Roundup resistance — but still over 50 percent of the crop.
Schmeiser had an explanation. As an experiment, he'd actually sprayed Roundup on about three acres of the field that was closest to a neighbor's Roundup Ready canola. Many plants survived the spraying, showing that they contained Monsanto's resistance gene — and when Schmeiser's hired hand harvested the field, months later, he kept seed from that part of the field and used it for planting the next year.
This convinced the judge that Schmeiser intentionally planted Roundup Ready canola. Schmeiser appealed. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Schmeiser had violated Monsanto's patent, but had obtained no benefit by doing so, so he didn't owe Monsanto any money. (For more details on all this, you can read the judge's decision. Schmeiser's site contains other documents.)
So why is this a myth? It's certainly true that Monsanto has been going after farmers whom the company suspects of using GMO seeds without paying royalties. And there are plenty of cases — including Schmeiser's — in which the company has overreached, engaged in raw intimidation, and made accusations that turned out not to be backed up by evidence.
But as far as I can tell, Monsanto has never sued anybody over trace amounts of GMOs that were introduced into fields simply through cross-pollination. (The company asserts, in fact, that it will pay to remove any of its GMOs from fields where they don't belong.) If you know of any case where this actually happened, please let me know.
Myth 3: Any contamination with GMOs makes organic food non-organic.
The organic rules prohibit the "use" of genetic modification in organic agriculture. But if pollen blows from genetically modified corn into your organic cornfield and pollinates a few kernels, you aren't "using" it — at least according to the USDA's interpretation of those rules. In fact, a lot of the organic corn that's fed to organically raised chickens or pigs, does contain some level of GMOs.
That said, organic producers typically do try to minimize the presence of GMOs, because their customers don't want them. It's usually not too hard to keep contamination to a very low level. But there are crops — specifically canola and corn — in which it's extremely difficult to eliminate it entirely.
Myth 4: Before Monsanto got in the way, farmers typically saved their seeds and re-used them.
By the time Monsanto got into the seed business, most farmers in the U.S. and Europe were already relying on seed that they bought every year from older seed companies. This is especially true of corn farmers, who've been growing almost exclusively commercial hybrids for more than half a century. (If you re-plant seeds from hybrids, you get a mixture of inferior varieties.) But even soybean and cotton farmers who don't grow hybrids were moving in that direction.
This shift started with the rise of commercial seed companies, not the advent of genetic engineering. But Monsanto and GMOs certainly accelerated the trend drastically.
Myth 5: Most seeds these days are genetically modified.
Actually, surprisingly few are. Here's the full list of food crops for which you can find GMO varieties: Corn, soybeans, cotton (for oil), canola (also a source of oil), squash, and papaya. You could also include sugar beets, which aren't eaten directly, but refined into sugar. There's also GMO alfalfa, but that goes to feed animals, not for sprouts that people eat. That leaves quite a lot of your garden untouched.
GMO versions of tomatoes, potatoes, and rice have been created and approved by government regulators, but they aren't commercially available.
Top Five Myths Of Genetically Modified Seeds, Busted
I say small things. I'm not talking about today's big hot issues: Whether genetically modified organisms — GMOs — should be labeled, or cause cancer in rats, or might improve the lives of poor farmers in Africa; none of that.
This is about something simple: Seeds of GMOs. Various myths have grown up around these seeds. Like most myths, they are inspired by reality. But they've wandered off into the world of fiction.
Myth 1: Seeds from GMOs are sterile.
No, they'll germinate and grow just like any other plant. This idea presumably has its roots in a real genetic modification (dubbed the Terminator Gene by anti-biotech activists) that can make a plant produce sterile seeds. Monsanto owns the patent on this technique, but has promised not to use it.
Now, biotech companies — and Monsanto in particular — do seem to wish that this idea were true. They do their best to keep farmers from replanting the offspring from GMOs. But they do this because, in fact, those seeds will multiply.
Myth 2: Monsanto will sue you for growing their patented GMOs if traces of those GMOs entered your fields through wind-blown pollen.
This is the idea that I see most often. A group of organic farmers, in fact, recently sued Monsanto, asserting that GMOs might contaminate their crops and then Monsanto might accuse them of patent infringement. The farmers couldn't cite a single instance in which this had happened, though, and the judge dismissed the case.
The idea, however, is inspired by a real-world event. Back in 1999, Monsanto sued a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, for growing the company's Roundup-tolerant canola without paying any royalty or "technology fee." Schmeiser had never bought seeds from Monsanto, so those canola plants clearly came from somewhere else. But where?
Canola pollen can move for miles, carried by insects or the wind. Schmeiser testified that this must have been the cause, or GMO canola might have blown into his field from a passing truck. Monsanto said that this was implausible, because their tests showed that about 95 percent of Schmeiser's canola contained Monsanto's Roundup resistance gene, and it's impossible to get such high levels through stray pollen or scattered seeds. However, there's lots of confusion about these tests. Other samples, tested by other people, showed lower concentrations of Roundup resistance — but still over 50 percent of the crop.
Schmeiser had an explanation. As an experiment, he'd actually sprayed Roundup on about three acres of the field that was closest to a neighbor's Roundup Ready canola. Many plants survived the spraying, showing that they contained Monsanto's resistance gene — and when Schmeiser's hired hand harvested the field, months later, he kept seed from that part of the field and used it for planting the next year.
This convinced the judge that Schmeiser intentionally planted Roundup Ready canola. Schmeiser appealed. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Schmeiser had violated Monsanto's patent, but had obtained no benefit by doing so, so he didn't owe Monsanto any money. (For more details on all this, you can read the judge's decision. Schmeiser's site contains other documents.)
So why is this a myth? It's certainly true that Monsanto has been going after farmers whom the company suspects of using GMO seeds without paying royalties. And there are plenty of cases — including Schmeiser's — in which the company has overreached, engaged in raw intimidation, and made accusations that turned out not to be backed up by evidence.
But as far as I can tell, Monsanto has never sued anybody over trace amounts of GMOs that were introduced into fields simply through cross-pollination. (The company asserts, in fact, that it will pay to remove any of its GMOs from fields where they don't belong.) If you know of any case where this actually happened, please let me know.
Myth 3: Any contamination with GMOs makes organic food non-organic.
The organic rules prohibit the "use" of genetic modification in organic agriculture. But if pollen blows from genetically modified corn into your organic cornfield and pollinates a few kernels, you aren't "using" it — at least according to the USDA's interpretation of those rules. In fact, a lot of the organic corn that's fed to organically raised chickens or pigs, does contain some level of GMOs.
That said, organic producers typically do try to minimize the presence of GMOs, because their customers don't want them. It's usually not too hard to keep contamination to a very low level. But there are crops — specifically canola and corn — in which it's extremely difficult to eliminate it entirely.
Myth 4: Before Monsanto got in the way, farmers typically saved their seeds and re-used them.
By the time Monsanto got into the seed business, most farmers in the U.S. and Europe were already relying on seed that they bought every year from older seed companies. This is especially true of corn farmers, who've been growing almost exclusively commercial hybrids for more than half a century. (If you re-plant seeds from hybrids, you get a mixture of inferior varieties.) But even soybean and cotton farmers who don't grow hybrids were moving in that direction.
This shift started with the rise of commercial seed companies, not the advent of genetic engineering. But Monsanto and GMOs certainly accelerated the trend drastically.
Myth 5: Most seeds these days are genetically modified.
Actually, surprisingly few are. Here's the full list of food crops for which you can find GMO varieties: Corn, soybeans, cotton (for oil), canola (also a source of oil), squash, and papaya. You could also include sugar beets, which aren't eaten directly, but refined into sugar. There's also GMO alfalfa, but that goes to feed animals, not for sprouts that people eat. That leaves quite a lot of your garden untouched.
GMO versions of tomatoes, potatoes, and rice have been created and approved by government regulators, but they aren't commercially available.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Go Eagles!
I may be a little biased, but I could not agree more with Green Mountain College's (home of the Eagles) decision.
Knowing where your food comes from is so important. Food can travel around the world, through conditions that destroy the quality and the life-time of it. And so much money is spent on fuel to get that food to places. It's beautiful knowing exactly how that cow, pig, chicken, rabbit, etc... was born, how it was raised, how it was treated, when it died, where it was slaughtered and butchered. How it was transported back to the farm, and who is eating it. I remember talking to a woman and her two girls one day. The girls were asking the difference between a Hereford calf and a Holstein calf. I explained that the Hereford calf is raised for meat, and while a Holstein calf can be eaten, they are raised for producing milk that you buy in the stores. The girls took the news surprisingly well, and were even interested in what I was saying. Their mother on the other hand, seemed to be in shock that I would even say anything like that. "But they live long, happy lives right?" looking sternly at me. "Yes, they do," I said. And then I watched them drive away in their SUV. I could only imagine they were heading to the grocery store to buy some meat for dinner that came from across the country, from a cow that never ate anything except corn and walked on concrete his entire life.
It's frustrating for me to read that people are really upset that Green Mountain College decided to cull their oxen, because one of them broke his ankle while doing his job - plowing. Oxen are paired and trained at a young, young age. Months old. You cannot pair one oxen with another when they are older, because they would not know how to work with each other. So, unfortunately the partner would not be able to do his job either. And Green Mountain College's goal is sustainability. All the meat will be going right back to their own cafeteria. Yes the oxen have names. But all those students know how fair they were treated. These animals, though loved, are not pets, and were raised to have a job. Not having a job to do will only torture them. And speaking from experience with oxen who are not worked, become dangerous.
Despite Protest, College Plans To Slaughter, Serve Farm's Beloved Oxen
Saturday, October 20, 2012
TGIF
I know, my TGIF post on a Saturday again. Actually it's Sunday now.
How Am I Trusting?
I'm trusting my feelings this week. My weekend has taken my back to my old farm and it's wonderful to be around dear friends again. The thought had crossed my mind: Why did I leave again? It's great to visit people, but I still trust my feeling that it was time to stop fighting and for me to move on.
How Am I Grateful?
I am grateful for the comfortable feeling that I have being back at my old farm, because of the peace that I have made with myself and the three and a half years I was there. I haven't completely shown my face in the community, but I'm comfortable with it being known that I'm visiting and if I run into people then that's great. And I'm comfortable not making a big deal about being here.
How Am I Inspired?
I am inspired by my close friends who have supported me and are clearly happy for me. The friends at my old farm have really seen me struggle, but they have supported me in my decision to leave and grow. I hope I can be just as supportive of them as they have been of me.
How Am I Practicing Faith?
Being back at my old farm makes me a little sad. I miss the community, I miss what I did as part of my job, I miss dairy cows. But I remind myself that I am exactly where I'm suppose to be right now, at this present moment.
How Am I Trusting?
I'm trusting my feelings this week. My weekend has taken my back to my old farm and it's wonderful to be around dear friends again. The thought had crossed my mind: Why did I leave again? It's great to visit people, but I still trust my feeling that it was time to stop fighting and for me to move on.
How Am I Grateful?
I am grateful for the comfortable feeling that I have being back at my old farm, because of the peace that I have made with myself and the three and a half years I was there. I haven't completely shown my face in the community, but I'm comfortable with it being known that I'm visiting and if I run into people then that's great. And I'm comfortable not making a big deal about being here.
How Am I Inspired?
I am inspired by my close friends who have supported me and are clearly happy for me. The friends at my old farm have really seen me struggle, but they have supported me in my decision to leave and grow. I hope I can be just as supportive of them as they have been of me.
How Am I Practicing Faith?
Being back at my old farm makes me a little sad. I miss the community, I miss what I did as part of my job, I miss dairy cows. But I remind myself that I am exactly where I'm suppose to be right now, at this present moment.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Animal Movement
Moving animals is difficult. You have to not only know, but understand, how they move. You have to anticipate how they could react at every corner. You have to always be thinking at least one step ahead of them. I know how to move cows like the back of my hand. Moving sheep has been an steep learning experience (keep them together! If you loose one, you could be done for it). And fortunately with pigs, if you just hold off on a meal they'll follow the food wherever. Patience is the key. The moment you lose your patience, all is lost.
Another thing, as I learned today with Chatty and Peru, is that animals really don't like what is not familiar to them. We were separating a group of 18 feeder pigs today. These are the ones that'll eventually go to market. There were two groups, and they were just too far apart in size to be together. The little ones were getting beat up and not getting enough food. To move them we took a large hog panel and just kind of cornered the little ones out. But as you can tell by the picture, they so desperately wanted to stay where it was familiar. It's was pretty comical. Eventually we were able to get them separated, and they little ones were very happy to be on some green grass, to eat freely without bitten ears, and to grow into piggies that we'll one day eat (Thanks!!)
Another thing, as I learned today with Chatty and Peru, is that animals really don't like what is not familiar to them. We were separating a group of 18 feeder pigs today. These are the ones that'll eventually go to market. There were two groups, and they were just too far apart in size to be together. The little ones were getting beat up and not getting enough food. To move them we took a large hog panel and just kind of cornered the little ones out. But as you can tell by the picture, they so desperately wanted to stay where it was familiar. It's was pretty comical. Eventually we were able to get them separated, and they little ones were very happy to be on some green grass, to eat freely without bitten ears, and to grow into piggies that we'll one day eat (Thanks!!)
Monday, October 15, 2012
Inventive
I'm very proud of myself. Organizing a lot of animals is hard. Who to breed when, who has shown a heat so you can breed them, who has had what difficulty in the past, who has even had what in the past. When they had their last vaccination, are the babies even covered by the vaccination? Then there's the meat side of things - when will this animal be ready to go to market? Will we have enough animals to send in 2013? 2014? 2015!? It doesn't help that I came into this job with hardly any records. Mostly no records... Anyway, there's a lot. But I made the coolest thing on Sunday and finished it today. A breeding wheel!
It's hard to see here. But the center spins. Most of the pigs are up on that board (minus one), and it gives me a huge visual on where each pig is in their reproduction cycle. They make these for cows, but for the life of me I couldn't find anything for pigs. It's a little complicated because pigs have 2 litters a year, but as long as you know how to read it, it serves the purpose.
I wonder what other ideas I have hidden up my sleeve?
It's hard to see here. But the center spins. Most of the pigs are up on that board (minus one), and it gives me a huge visual on where each pig is in their reproduction cycle. They make these for cows, but for the life of me I couldn't find anything for pigs. It's a little complicated because pigs have 2 litters a year, but as long as you know how to read it, it serves the purpose.
I wonder what other ideas I have hidden up my sleeve?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
From Field Hockey, to Rugby, to...Arm Wrestling?
Most of you know, I am an athlete. So, what do you say? Should I take up the newest sport in town?
For Lady Arm Wrestlers, It's Brawn Or Bust
For Lady Arm Wrestlers, It's Brawn Or Bust
The universe of great theatrical sports is rather small. There's roller derby and wrestling, but that's about as far as it goes.
But there's a new addition to this little corner of the sports world: women's arm wrestling. Jayme Dyer didn't know what to expect when she signed up for her first event in Durham, N.C., two years ago.
The sport seems to combine all the right ingredients — promising empowering, women-centered bawdiness that raises money for good causes. Not to mention some suggestive outfits.
"The first time I competed in arm wrestling, I had no idea what I was doing," says Dyer, a woman in her mid-20s with short brown hair and a slight physique. "And I won."
"I won the first round. I won the second round. And I almost won the championship round," she says. "I was like, 'Holy cow, if this is how well I can do when I haven't even been training, then man, I gotta start lifting weights."
Sitting on a bed in a Charlottesville, Va., hotel room, you'd have no idea by looking at her that she was about to make a transformation into a lingerie-clad burlesque entertainer. She looks more like the person she is during her day-job: a genetics researcher at Duke University.
"It's theatrical, and it's crazy, and wild, and really, really fun," she says.
Dyer represented Durham at the very first
national championships of the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers — or CLAW
— held in Charlottesville this summer. The competition, dubbed
SuperCLAW, brought together eight women from around the nation for a DIY
sport that's spreading from coast to coast — and may soon have leagues
in Europe and South America.
Dyer's character is an invention named "Ze Dirty Butcher" — someone who wanted to be a burlesque dancer but couldn't make the cut. Dyer had a professional hair and make-up treatment before the bout, including a liberal splattering of fake blood on her minimally-clad body. For a woman who only wears makeup a few times a year, it was a dramatic transformation.
There are a range of women who compete — some with a better chance of winning than others. Dyer knew that with her slight stature she didn't have great odds for glory, but for her it was more about raising money for women's charities than taking home the title.
She grew up with a single mom in Colorado Springs, Co. At 16, she was removed from her home after witnessing her mom's suicide attempt. Her mother was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
"I felt like Pig-Pen," the shabby boy from the Peanuts comics, Dyer says. "I remember walking around with this cloud of dirt. I remember walking to work and thinking that everyone driving by could see this stain on my soul. And I had to survive either by shutting down or by looking at it. And I looked at it."
Ze Dirty Butcher, she says, is a big part of her growth.
"I want to be happy. I want to be more relaxed. Letting go is not easy for me whatsoever. I think the costume helps with it. I put on this costume, I put on this different character, and Jayme doesn't have to let go anymore. Because, it's 'Ze Dirty Butcher' and that's what she does."
Dyer wrestled two different women, and eventually lost to a bruiser of a woman who ended up taking home the crown.
Standing outside in front of the historic theater after the bout, she didn't look like she'd suffered defeat. In fact, she beamed.
"I didn't win the championship, I knew I wouldn't," Dyer said. "But the crowd loved me."
It was late, but the downtown pedestrian arcade was still full with the late-night crowd. Many people made double-takes at Dyer in her heels and red lingerie.
"What I love about women's arm wrestling is that it's about women being strong. And in our culture, what makes a woman sexy is being really skinny – and skinny women aren't strong," she said. "These arm wrestling events have women go up on stage and flex their muscles, and the crowd goes wild."
But there's a new addition to this little corner of the sports world: women's arm wrestling. Jayme Dyer didn't know what to expect when she signed up for her first event in Durham, N.C., two years ago.
The sport seems to combine all the right ingredients — promising empowering, women-centered bawdiness that raises money for good causes. Not to mention some suggestive outfits.
"The first time I competed in arm wrestling, I had no idea what I was doing," says Dyer, a woman in her mid-20s with short brown hair and a slight physique. "And I won."
"I won the first round. I won the second round. And I almost won the championship round," she says. "I was like, 'Holy cow, if this is how well I can do when I haven't even been training, then man, I gotta start lifting weights."
Sitting on a bed in a Charlottesville, Va., hotel room, you'd have no idea by looking at her that she was about to make a transformation into a lingerie-clad burlesque entertainer. She looks more like the person she is during her day-job: a genetics researcher at Duke University.
"It's theatrical, and it's crazy, and wild, and really, really fun," she says.
Dyer's character is an invention named "Ze Dirty Butcher" — someone who wanted to be a burlesque dancer but couldn't make the cut. Dyer had a professional hair and make-up treatment before the bout, including a liberal splattering of fake blood on her minimally-clad body. For a woman who only wears makeup a few times a year, it was a dramatic transformation.
There are a range of women who compete — some with a better chance of winning than others. Dyer knew that with her slight stature she didn't have great odds for glory, but for her it was more about raising money for women's charities than taking home the title.
She grew up with a single mom in Colorado Springs, Co. At 16, she was removed from her home after witnessing her mom's suicide attempt. Her mother was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
"I felt like Pig-Pen," the shabby boy from the Peanuts comics, Dyer says. "I remember walking around with this cloud of dirt. I remember walking to work and thinking that everyone driving by could see this stain on my soul. And I had to survive either by shutting down or by looking at it. And I looked at it."
Ze Dirty Butcher, she says, is a big part of her growth.
"I want to be happy. I want to be more relaxed. Letting go is not easy for me whatsoever. I think the costume helps with it. I put on this costume, I put on this different character, and Jayme doesn't have to let go anymore. Because, it's 'Ze Dirty Butcher' and that's what she does."
Dyer wrestled two different women, and eventually lost to a bruiser of a woman who ended up taking home the crown.
Standing outside in front of the historic theater after the bout, she didn't look like she'd suffered defeat. In fact, she beamed.
"I didn't win the championship, I knew I wouldn't," Dyer said. "But the crowd loved me."
It was late, but the downtown pedestrian arcade was still full with the late-night crowd. Many people made double-takes at Dyer in her heels and red lingerie.
"What I love about women's arm wrestling is that it's about women being strong. And in our culture, what makes a woman sexy is being really skinny – and skinny women aren't strong," she said. "These arm wrestling events have women go up on stage and flex their muscles, and the crowd goes wild."
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