Education Blog

Hey foodies! What do you think of this article that we discussed at our last membership meeting from The Guardian?

Adolescent girls and women are fundamental to unlcoking the full potential of agricultural development and feeding the world, according to Chicago thinktank.

In a dusty field in Kitui, eastern Kenya, farmers are being taught how to construct small, semi-circular barriers of earth that control the flow of water, slowing its run-off.

Strikingly, of the 90 farmers, few are men. The rest are women. It is a common sight in rural areas of Kenya and South Sudan, as most smallholder farmers are women. The men have gone to look for work in the towns and cities, leaving the women to tend to the crops. At bore holes – deep wells – it's the same story. Women or young girls have walked for miles to come and fetch water, a time-consuming process. Not only do they have to walk long distances, they may have to wait – an hour is not uncommon – for their turn.

The role of women and adolescent girls is spelt out in a report released on Friday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Girls Grow: A Vital Force in Rural Economies. Its key point is that adolescent girls and women are the key to unlocking the full potential of agricultural development in poor countries and ensuring food security.

"If the world is to meet the challenge of feeding 9 billion people by 2050, we must invest in the human capital of those with the potential to transform agricultural economies – adolescent girls," said Catherine Bertini, the report's lead author. "Already, they carry much of families' burdens; with opportunity, they can be major change agents for rural communities and nations. As nations are rediscovering the importance of agricultural development, we want to ensure that the new definition of rural economies' strengths includes the critical role of adolescent girls."

...

The report makes a strong economic case for strengthening the role of women in agriculture. If women farmers were given the same access to resources such as finance, the results could be significant: women's agricultural yields could increase by 20% to 30%; national agricultural could rise by 2.5% to 4%; the number of malnourished could be reduced by 12% to 17%.

Yet despite their potential, rural adolescent girls are often the most disadvantaged, says the report: "The challenges of location, age and gender often combine to create a triple disadvantage. Girls are frequently undervalued within their societies – their existence, their contributions and their potential often given little credence. They often fulfil their duties while suffering from malnutrition. They may have little or no tie or opportunity for even the most basic education. The doors to productive economic livelihoods are often closed to them."

The report carries several recommendations, from including girls in country agriculture investment plans to providing them with comprehensive health information and services, and improving safety and security. Its most important recommendation, however, covers education: "Education is the single most vital component of improving the lives of rural adolescent girls and helping them to live up to their potential … education for girls has high returns in terms of income and livelihood opportunities, including increasing agricultural productivity."

Read Full Article

At our meeting, members made some wonderful points about rural development and how this relates to the Food Collective. Major topics of discussion included microfinance and the necessity of education for women. As this report shows, women have the power to change the world of agriculture.

Recently, there was an outbrake of Listeria, a food-transmitted disease which can cause fever, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal symptoms.

"Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.

The death toll released by the CDC Tuesday — including newly confirmed deaths in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas — surpassed the number of deaths linked to an outbreak of salmonella in peanuts almost three years ago. Nine people died in that outbreak."

(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cantaloupe-outbreak-deadliest-decade-232323377.html)

Since the first Listeria outbreak in 1985, Listeria has become a major public health concern. Combined with other food borne illnesses, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that our food supply now sickens 76 million Americans every year, putting more than 300,000 of them in the hospital, and killing 5,000." (Source: http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/outbreaks.html)

Cases of listeria were reported in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. How is it that cantelopes from one farm in Colorado (Jersey Farm) caused listeria in so many states? Why have cases of of listeria, E coli, and other foodborne illnesses spiked nationwide?

"If industrial farming gave us this bug, it is industrial eating that has spread it far and wide...

It’s conceivable the same problem could occur in your own kitchen sink or on a single farm. Food poisoning has always been with us, but not until we started processing all our food in such a small number of “kitchens” did the potential for nationwide outbreaks exist.

Surely this points to one of the great advantages of a decentralized food system: when things go wrong, as they sooner or later will, fewer people are affected and, just as important, the problem can be more easily traced to its source and contained. A long and complicated food chain, in which food from all over the countryside is gathered together in one place to be processed and then distributed all over the country to be eaten, can be impressively efficient, but by its very nature it is a food chain devilishly hard to follow and to fix."

(Source: http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-vegetable-industrial-complex/ )

Learn more about food safety and recent disease outbreaks from these articles:

• http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/the-vegetable-industrial-complex/
• http://www.cdc.gov/outbreaknet/outbreaks.html
• http://news.yahoo.com/cantaloupe-outbreak-deadliest-decade-232323377.html

Diversified Farming Systems and Multifunctional Agriculture
An Interdisciplinary Convergence Part II

Date: Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Time: 12-2:30pm (right on time, not Berkeley time)
Location: 210 Wheeler Hall, UC Berkeley
[Flier attached!]

UC Berkeley faculty and graduate students will present 5-minute
speed-talks on their current and upcoming research projects related to
diversified farming systems and multifunctional agriculture.

Confirmed speakers include Alastair Iles, David Zilberman, Annie Shattuck,
Sandy Brown, Jason Corburn, Kim Tallbear, Nathan Sayre, Marcia DeLonge,
Becca Ryals, Whendee Silver, Albie Miles, Houston Wilson, Amber Kerr,
Robin Marsh, Matthew Luskin, Justin Brashares, Nancy Peluso, and Garrison
Sposito.

Sponsored by the Berkeley Institute for the Environment's Diversified
Farming Systems Working Group.

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FERMENT[cheese]: L@TE: Friday Nights at BAM/PFA

Special Event | April 29 | 6-9 p.m. |  Berkeley Art Museum 
Speakers: Sue Conley, Co-founder, Cowgirl Creamery; John Taverna, "dairyman"
Performer: Chris Kallmyer, Sound artist, TempWerks

FERMENT[cheese]
(Doors 5 p.m., Tasting 6–9 p.m., Performance and presentation, 7:30 p.m.)
Programmed by Mark Allen

FERMENT[cheese] is a multimedia performance/presentation/tasting exploring milk's leap into immortality. The evening will feature a milk-to-cheese tasting accompanied by field recordings of cows eating grass, curd draining, cheese aging, and an oral history with local dairyman, John Taverna. Within this environment, Los Angeles–based sound artist Chris Kallmyer will create site-specific and dispersed soundworks with the experimental ensemble TempWerks. Sue Conley, cofounder of the renowned Cowgirl Creamery, will speak about the art of cheese making, and the sustainable qualities of artisan and farmstead agriculture. Through an immersive sound environment, we invite visitors to more fully experience the fermented arts. FERMENT[cheese] is a collaboration between Conley and Kallmyer, who is Curator of Sound Programming at Machine Project.

$7 General Admission after 5PM,  free for BAM/PFA members, UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff, and children (12 & under)

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"Lunch Love Community" Film Screening 

Sunday, May 1st 6pm-9pm 
David Brower Center (2150 Allston Way)
*$25 tickets, fyi, with open bar and catered reception, and panel discussion.

The Film: http://lunchlovecommunity.org/ 
The Event: http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/362154/d3c09bcb2b/TEST/TEST/

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The Hans Jenny Memorial Lecture

Lecturer: Professor Gary Sposito 

 Lecture Title: Hans Jenny & The Genius of Soil

Monday, May 2 | 4-5 p.m. | 159 Mulford Hall

Reception: following the lecture

Professor Sposito holds the Betty and Isaac Barshad Chair in Soil

Science at Berkeley. He was a personal friend of Hans Jenny for nearly

30 years. Professor Sposito whose academic degrees are in agriculture,

specializes in physical chemistry applied to natural waters and soils.

He has been elected a Fellow of six international scientific societies

and has received numerous awards for his teaching and research. In 2008

he was designated a Legend in Environmental Chemistry by the American

Chemistry Society, the world's largest scientific organization.

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Bridging U.S. Food Democracy & International Food Sovereignty : Key Challenges & Promising Developments

May 9th,  7:00pm

Women's Building: 3543 18th St.  #8, San Francisco.

A conversation between Raj Patel, Robert Gottlieb, and Navinna Khanna. Moderated by Pesticide Action Network Senior Scientist, Dr. Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, the panel will explore the connections between the local and global food justice movements. 

Our decal guest lecturer, Devika Ghai has invited us to attend this wonderful talk.

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What: Do Something Reel Film Festival

When: April 18^th – May 10^th, screenings of several films (including Urban Roots which looks at urban agriculture in Detroit) will be taking place at the Landmark Cinema in SF

Background: Check out the website for a list of film screenings, trailers, etc.

http://www.dosomethingreel.com/