Phelan linked to this great service, The Farmer’s Garden, on her blog and it looks awesome.  It’s a way to see if there are any farms or gardens around you that have surplus they are selling or bartering.  Sadly, there isn’t anything within 100 miles of me yet, but this seems like the kind of thing that will only work if lots of people use it.  So sign up!  Tell your friends!

Michael Pollan for Secretary of Agriculture!

Sign the Petition!

1.  Don’t forget that tomorrow is Election day!  No excuses!

2.  I’ve started writing a new blog (God help us all!) for my CSA, Colchester Farm.  I’m moderating it, in a way, and doing most of the posting, but we will have ocassional guest posts by the couple that runs it and other volunteers.  I hope you’ll check it out- I think you’ll like it very much:

http://colchesterfarm.wordpress.com

If you haven’t registered yet, you are running out of time.

You have to vote.  You have to care.

Go do it now.

I don’t care who you vote for (OK, that’s a lie) but you have to do it.  Voting is the most important thing we can do as Americans.  DO IT.

Laurie at Slowly She Turned wrote a post today asking her readers to take action on a USDA ruling.  I’m going to post her entry here in entirity, but I do hope you visit her site if you aren’t reading it already.

Thanks, Laurie! 

CLOSE THE COOL LOOPHOLE
Comments due by September 30, 2008

The 2002 and the 2008 Farm Bills require retailers to disclose the country of origin of beef, lamb, pork, chicken, wild and farm raised fish and shellfish, perishable fruits and vegetables, peanuts and other commodities on their labels. USDA has issued an interim final rule implementing Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), available here: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5070926. The rule will become effective on September 30, 2008 which is also the deadline for comments.

COOL is an important tool for consumers. It allows consumers to choose U.S. produced meats, produce and nuts. The COOL rule, however, provides a vast loophole. It specifically exempts covered commodities found in “processed” food items. The processing loophole is available for foods that have been cooked or marinated or cured or simply when they have been combined with other covered commodities. Excluded, for example, are roasted peanuts, marinated pork loin, salad mixes, fresh fruit cups, dried fruits and vegetables, smoked or cured ham and bacon.

This exemption excludes a significant portion of the foods consumers bring home from their grocery stores on a daily basis and it compromises a consumer’s right to know the origin of the foods they are buying and consuming.

Tell USDA to close the COOL loophole.

There are several ways to submit your comment:

You can submit your comment directly from the Food and
Water Watch website:
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=25598, or 

You can submit your comment directly to USDA at their
website: http://www.regulations.gov/search/index.jsp
(Check the box: “Select to find documents accepting comments or
submissions” and search for “country of origin labeling”, or 

You can fax your comment to USDA at (202)354-4693, or

You can mail your comment to the address below.Comments should be addressed to:

Country of Origin Labeling Program
Room 2607-S
Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA
Stop 024
1400 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20250-0254

Do us and yourself a favor and send in your comments!

There is a wonderful movement going on right now called Eat the View.  It’s a push to try and get the next president to plant a garden on the White House lawn.  This is a genius idea, and it’s happened before.  Imagine the message it would send to people to see something like this on the most famous lawn in America.  Regardless of who makes it into the White House, they are circulating a petition for all of America to sign and hand to the next President.  This isn’t an issue of Republican Vs. Democrat, it’s an issue of sending a message of sustainability, self-reliance, and good old-fashioned hard work to all the citizens of the country.

Imagine!  A garden on the White House lawn!  Now that is politics I can get behind 100%.

Why don’t you mosey on over and sign the petition.