|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 Ease Those Bug Bites with Easy HerbsTake a leaf from Susun S. Weed's storehouse of natural remedies. Soothe, heal, & prevent bites with safe herbal remedies that grow right where you live:north or south, east or west, city or country. The best natural remedies for insect bites are right underfoot.  Fast Food VeggiesA quick, nutritious seasonal meal both nourishing and satisfying for a summer's day.  Organic Production WorksA new study shows organic production outperforms conventional in crop yield, soil fertility, pest reduction and economic return.  Squash Soup RecipeMake an easy nutritious Summer or Winter Squash Soup. Vegetarian, Vegan and Sattvic variations.  Health, Human Rights, and GM cropsAdopting GM crops when oil and water are both rapidly depleting under global warming, and when industrial monoculture is showing all the signs of collapse is a crime against humanity and our planet.  Lactofermentation, Putrefaction and Scorpionic TransformationThe lactofermentation of sauerkraut takes place at the time of the Scorpio Full Moon, a moment of alchemical transformation, when mysterious psychic forces begin to percolate through the psyche of every human being.  Our Collapsing Food System -- And How to Fix ItThe global agricultural-industrial complex is destroying the environment, exploiting farmers around the world, and delivering low-quality, high-cost food to unwary consumers. But a host of alternatives are springing up to provide nutritious food from sustainable farm communities.
|
|
|
|
|
|
home >> health >> articles >> Through the Eyes of Abundance
Through the Eyes of Abundance
Marin -- California's First All-Organic County
 Marin Organic is a nonprofit association of organic growers and producers located in Marin County, California. The goal of the organization is to make Marin County the first all-organic county in the nation and to create a fully integrated food system within the county borders.
�An all-organic county means that most producers are organic � not as a requirement but by choice,� Marin Organic executive director Helge Hellberg said. �It also means that organic food is served in the schools, hospitals and prisons, restaurants and retail stores. It means a county where producers and eaters recognize their connectedness and mutual interdependence.�
For Hellberg, the work is done when every person in Marin County knows at least three farmers by name and face and buys from them regularly. It also means that farmers and producers understand their responsibility, not only to their customers, but to the community, the environment and to the great web of life of which their farm is a part.
�We believe that an all-organic county isn�t just a great opportunity; it�s also a natural reflection of our responsibility � to live in a way that benefits the environment, agricultural producers, all residents, all beings in this county,� Hellberg said. �We don�t take humans out of the equation, rather we look at how we can have the most impact in a positive way. Humans are organisms that want to survive too. We have to find a way to do that in a beautiful and sustainable way.�
Two years ago, the organization launched the Marin Organic School Lunch and Gleaning Program, a unique program that combines free surplus food gleaned from farmers� fields with purchased food.
The program has been tremendously successful, bringing more than 30,000 pounds of free food a year to schools and low-income resource centers. In return, schools are asked to use their limited budgets to buy organic produce from local farmers. As a result, 2,500 children are served a locally grown, organic lunch each week and the program is expanding.
The number of organic acres is also expanding in Marin. Five years ago, 350 acres were certified organic; two years ago it jumped to just over 5,000. By the end of 2005, 12,000 acres were certified organic in Marin County and the number is expected to double, maybe even triple in 2006.
According to Hellberg, this movement towards organic production is critical to creating an economically, as well as environmentally, viable and sustainable food system.
 �We have been measuring productivity from a quantity standpoint by counting bushels per acre or gallons of milk per cow. However, true productivity must include factors that are often left out of the equation � the cost of inputs, the cost of environmental clean-up, the cost of managing the manure of a factory farm, and so on,� Hellberg said.
Organic agriculture, as practiced in Marin, according to Hellberg, makes economic as well as environmental sense because ultimately, he said, economic and environmental health are one and the same.
�Everything is based upon the food you eat and the local agriculture that you have,� Hellberg said. �The status of society is a direct reflection of the status of the soil � sterile, toxic soil equals a disconnected society. If you have healthy and alive soil, you will have a healthy society.�
Much of the solution, Hellberg said, lies in looking at the whole picture and connecting the dots in a wise way. For example, part of the economic solution for farmers lies in cutting costs as well as increasing profit. Marin Organic is currently working on a biodiesel production program that will utilize the network of restaurants that currently buy Marin Organic produce to supply used cooking oil for conversion into biodiesel. Produce is delivered to the restaurant, oil is picked up, taken to the Marin Organic processor to be made into biodiesel, that is then sold to the farmers at a fraction of their current fuel costs. Tractors are then run on the biodiesel as are the trucks delivering the produce. Waste is turned into a resource, costs are cut, and farming becomes more economically viable.
�For us, an all-organic county comes from a belief in abundance, rather than scarcity,� Hellberg said. �Not because we are positive thinkers, but because we have seen it over and over again. When you look closely, the solutions are out there. We just need to find a more open way of looking.�
Visit the Marin Organic website to learn more about Marin County's organic programs and find out how to support the organization.
......................................................................
First published in LILIPOH #44 - Summer 2006: ENCHANTED EARTH
LILIPOH is a unique quarterly wellness magazine. LILIPOH presents the anthroposophical approach to life first systematized by Dr. Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian philosopher, scientist, and educator. LILIPOH offers a special focus on health, homeopathy and naturopathic medicine, Waldorf education, biodynamic agriculture, nutrition, the arts, and community life!
To see more LILIPOH articles reprinted at Satya Center check the Lilipoh Archive.
|
|
|
