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unusualmusic_lj_archive) wrote2008-01-17 04:13 pm
unusualmusic_lj_archive) wrote2008-01-17 04:13 pm
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Growing Power
From Colorlines Magazine, the print edition Jan/Feb 2008
Article by Tram Nguyen
Expanding food justice:
Will Allen, a former professional basketball player turned farmer, educator and activist, means it when he says that his goal is to make sure "everybody in the world has access to the same healthy, safe and affordable food."
Does he really mean everybody in the world, and is such a thing even possible?
"Everybody," Allen says firmly. "of course it's possible, but people have to take responsibility to make sure that happens. It's going to take a huge grassroots revolution to make that happen. It's starting to happen, but it's gonna take a long time. We gotta be patient, but we gotta keep moving forward."
From their base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Allen and his daughter Erika have been pioneering this work toward food justice through Growing Power, a unique organization that models how to grow and distribute ecologically and culturally appropriate food, as well as training communities locally and worldwide in sustainable food production.
Growing Power consists of an urban farm, along with a store that sells organic and affordable Black southern foodstuff, food from the local Hmong and Oneida Indian communities, a "Market Basket" programme that delivers $12 bags of organic produce and has become a national model for linking inner-city consumers with organic farmers, youth training programmes, and ongoing innovations for urban agriculture.
For instance, they developed an "aquaponics" system to raise tilapia fish in simply constructed tanks where vegetable both filter the water and get fertilized by fish waste. One low-tech, cheaply produced system yields a complete source of protein and fresh produce.
"It's about reinventing the way food is grown, showing people that we can do it in urban areas too." Erika Allen says. "We're working to provide the fertility and systems so that you can grow anywhere from rooftops to parking lots and containers, so that people can be self-sufficient in their food needs."
In a world where millions are being displaced and living in overcrowded, expanding cities, the need for year round, sustainable urban food production goes beyond America's inner cities. At the time of this interview, the Allens were giving a tour to a group of farmers from Macedonia and were getting ready to travel to Kenya and Ghana to help establish aquaponic projects.
Next for Growing Power is to launch a "Growing Food and Justice Initiative" that will bring together a network of social justice groups to explicitly address a "food system that is very unjust and very racist," explains Erika. "We just see food as a really powerful organizing tool. It deals with land, housing transportation, economics, everything. for us, it's really a tool of transformation."
Article by Tram Nguyen
Expanding food justice:
Will Allen, a former professional basketball player turned farmer, educator and activist, means it when he says that his goal is to make sure "everybody in the world has access to the same healthy, safe and affordable food."
Does he really mean everybody in the world, and is such a thing even possible?
"Everybody," Allen says firmly. "of course it's possible, but people have to take responsibility to make sure that happens. It's going to take a huge grassroots revolution to make that happen. It's starting to happen, but it's gonna take a long time. We gotta be patient, but we gotta keep moving forward."
From their base in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Allen and his daughter Erika have been pioneering this work toward food justice through Growing Power, a unique organization that models how to grow and distribute ecologically and culturally appropriate food, as well as training communities locally and worldwide in sustainable food production.
Growing Power consists of an urban farm, along with a store that sells organic and affordable Black southern foodstuff, food from the local Hmong and Oneida Indian communities, a "Market Basket" programme that delivers $12 bags of organic produce and has become a national model for linking inner-city consumers with organic farmers, youth training programmes, and ongoing innovations for urban agriculture.
For instance, they developed an "aquaponics" system to raise tilapia fish in simply constructed tanks where vegetable both filter the water and get fertilized by fish waste. One low-tech, cheaply produced system yields a complete source of protein and fresh produce.
"It's about reinventing the way food is grown, showing people that we can do it in urban areas too." Erika Allen says. "We're working to provide the fertility and systems so that you can grow anywhere from rooftops to parking lots and containers, so that people can be self-sufficient in their food needs."
In a world where millions are being displaced and living in overcrowded, expanding cities, the need for year round, sustainable urban food production goes beyond America's inner cities. At the time of this interview, the Allens were giving a tour to a group of farmers from Macedonia and were getting ready to travel to Kenya and Ghana to help establish aquaponic projects.
Next for Growing Power is to launch a "Growing Food and Justice Initiative" that will bring together a network of social justice groups to explicitly address a "food system that is very unjust and very racist," explains Erika. "We just see food as a really powerful organizing tool. It deals with land, housing transportation, economics, everything. for us, it's really a tool of transformation."
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They’ve had that on display in Disney World for about 25 years ^_^; Along with various hydroponic systems, my favorite EPCOT thing really..
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Interesting.
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They do some actual research there too, though I’m not sure how much.. For a small fortune you can take a behind-the-scenes tour of the research labs, etc..