Comments for Earth into Light

Comment on Food Farm Value Chain by Mieke Van Hout

Mieke Van Hout — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:33:20 +0000

Yes it is all very interesting!

Comment on Carbon Sequestration by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:06:42 +0000

[...] for science. I always try to have my basis covered – whether it’s making a video on how trees on farms absorb carbon dioxide or sharing a perspective on the use of genetically-modified [...]

Comment on Irrigate the Desert by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:06:26 +0000

[...] on and visited all types of farms from small grass-fed animal operations to doing research on large California almond farms. I grew my own broccoli crop in Virginia and consulted on a farm in Moldova. I can say with [...]

Comment on Amsterdam Grocery Shopping by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:00:36 +0000

[...] through the food that we buy and eat. I’ve done a little traveling and visited markets in Holland, France and Hong Kong. An example of a glimpse into the Food Farm Value Chain is by seeing how [...]

Comment on Grazing Grasslands by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Wed, 02 May 2012 20:00:20 +0000

[...] worked on and visited all types of farms from small grass-fed animal operations to doing research on large California almond farms. I grew my own broccoli crop in Virginia and [...]

Comment on Périgord Marché by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:52:15 +0000

[...] the food that we buy and eat. I’ve done a little traveling and visited markets in Holland, France and Hong Kong. An example of a glimpse into the Food Farm Value Chain is by seeing how grapes can [...]

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light

Food Farm Value Chain | Earth into Light — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:51:59 +0000

[...] a blog post from 2010, I set the tone for an approach that reduces polarity. We won’t be able to farm and feed [...]

Comment on Five Days in Transnistria by Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:32:55 +0000

Hi Aditya,

In the first shot of the video, I pan over the farm landscape and if you look close, then you’ll see an orchard.

They planned on using the prunings from those apple trees as the wood source. When I was there I wondered how sustainable it would be and after a few calculations the farmer seemed confident he would have enough wood.

The only other source of energy for heat would be natural gas that is available to them. A few things to work out would be the cost effectiveness and adpating their system to gas. As you can see their workers were very skilled at metal work.

Thanks for watching and I’ll hope you keep coming back for more!

Comment on Five Days in Transnistria by Aditya Arya

Aditya Arya — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:02:16 +0000

Interesting findings. So these farmers are using wood to generate heat to allow for an ambience for the plants to grow? Any other sources of heat available to them?

A.A

Comment on Five Days in Transnistria by Evan

Evan — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:12:20 +0000

Love the post – and what an interesting trip to an aspiring breakaway republic. Check out Masdar City in Abu Dhabi – they are doing some amazing things there with alternative energy and greenhouse farming (in the middle of the desert, these folks plan to be agriculturally self-sufficient by 2020). Also, congrats on the second offspring, and a bigger congrats on your awesome beard.

Comment on Five Days in Transnistria by Andrew Lee

Andrew Lee — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:42:09 +0000

Great post! I can only imagine how enriching and meaningful your current line of work is. I really like the daily logs, especially day four, but you should pack in more footage! I’m curious as to some of the other problems and solutions you encountered during your trip, and also the effect of the local government’s decision making on the food system. I look forward to your future postings, informative media like this is really beneficial for consumers that lack awareness of our food and ecological issues stateside and abroad (myself very much included).

Comment on Flower to Fruit with Southern Magnolia by Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:51:27 +0000

Here’s a great article from a Professor of Horticulture at Texas A&M University about seed preparation for growing Magnolia grandiflora. It seems detailed so, I would follow the steps to ensure the best germination results. Good luck!

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/magnolia.html

Comment on Flower to Fruit with Southern Magnolia by Cotton Boll Conspiracy

Cotton Boll Conspiracy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:52:45 +0000

I’ve tried for several years to get magnolias to grow from seed, but haven’t had any luck. I know germination can take up to 18 months, but I suppose there’s a reason you don’t see many magnolia saplings sprouting up underneath mature trees.

Comment on Flower to Fruit with Southern Magnolia by Janice

Janice — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:09:16 +0000

You know I love magnolias! My sister loved them so much that she made silk versions for her wedding in Japan.

Comment on Consumers Connect by The Wife of a Dairyman

The Wife of a Dairyman — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:48:36 +0000

Love this post, great job getting information out there:)

Comment on Consumers Connect by Barbara Martin

Barbara Martin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:00:26 +0000

Great post…..my “girls” and myself are honored to represent!

Comment on How to Define Food by Consumers Connect | Shedding Light on Agriculture

Consumers Connect | Shedding Light on Agriculture — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:59:30 +0000

[...] my past blog post, I described how I tracked my diet for 20 days by counting food species. My motivation was clear; create an experience that exemplifies the depths of food to summarize [...]

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Brent

Brent — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 16:28:59 +0000

Great article Daniel.

I agree that the producer/consumer bridge needs to be strengthened… and am really appreciating the efforts I’m seeing recently to help with this. I think its quite easy for people on each side to find themselves “bubble-ized” on food issues unless a proactive approach is taken. Speaking from the producer side, I know how difficult it can be to realize how very little most consumers know about where their food comes from. Just keeping this in mind fuels me on for more connecting and brigde-building.

Thanks again for your work in this area!

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Ray

Ray — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 14:46:05 +0000

Great job Daniel!
I especially like how the comments have spurred great conversation. The thing that hits home with me is that because something sounds good and “sexy” does not mean it is always better, sometimes it is a wash and sometimes it is actually worse in the end. The “either/or” complex has completely taken away peoples ability to make the judgement that is better for them self and their families. There is a whole “grey area” in the middle that is being ignored/missed out on. the possibilities are endless on how to implement choice in our own personal needs if we can only get past the “either/or” and truly do some critical thinking a skill our society has lost over the last few decades(a whole other topic for another day).

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Rebecca Hannam

Rebecca Hannam — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:59:26 +0000

Thanks for this insightful post Daniel.

Your thoughts on the ‘either-or’ attitude are interesting. As another reader commented, this comes down to supply and demand for farmers. Increasing demand, no matter the production type, is an opportunity for us to supply and grow our markets. The ‘either-or’ mindset does not fit into this well.

On the consumer side, I like your five step model. A knowledge of food production may seem intimidating for some but of course, I encourage talking to farmers whenever possible. Local farmers in your community may be the richest source of information relevant to your food options but farmers across the globe are happy to share their stories online too. Check out the http://www.bit.ly/FFarmer database for a list of agricultural professionals on Twitter.

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:33:06 +0000

Hi Onna. Thanks for identifying the need to “develop an awareness of the choices we make”. We can learn so much more about by being able to detach, let go and drop things. Keeping an open-mind is an important part because the world changes faster now than ever before.

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Josh Nadas

Josh Nadas — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 03:32:17 +0000

As usual, Dan has poingantly articulated a critical and under appreciated aspect of food: choice. We need to become more closely connected with the intimate act of eating. Clearly our choices matter, but we don’t need to be on diametrically opposed sides. Owning your choices and being aware of your consumption is an important aspect of eating that we rarely connect with.

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Jeff Hyde

Jeff Hyde — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 19:21:59 +0000

You’ve helped beat on a drum that I’ve been beating for a long time… Specifically, a consumer-driven food system provides opportunities for almost any farm to operate a profitable, sustainable business. Farmers and food producers who focus on meeting consumer wants/needs are likely to be around a while. Those who don’t are missing a real opportunity!

I have almost stopped listening to the farmers and other “agvocates” who perpetuate the us-versus-them mindset (organic v. conventional, local v. not, grain-fed v. grass-fed…). That discussion is, in my opinion, unproductive. There would be no market for either option in each pair unless some core of consumers demanded them. Because they have diverse demands, there’s room for almost everyone!

Comment on The End of Either-Or by onna

onna — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:57:49 +0000

Recently, a friend went to a Berkeley talk on “How to decrease your carbon footprint”, (http://www.lbl.gov/LBL-PID/fobl/) and gave me a synopsis of some interesting points that are relevant to your post.
Main message was, “You can’t just think in carbon emission alone.”, because if that’s the case, contrary to popular believes, you are actually LEAVING MORE carbon footprints in the following cases:
When you 1) use paper bags instead of plastic bags (plastic bag much lighter in waste weight), 2)eat food from local, small farms instead of large industry (a recent study showing transportation cost are only 10% of the carbon emission of the entire operation of the farming emission), 3)working at home rather than commute to work working at home (because you are utilizing your home electricity and heater for just one person rather than sharing facilities with many other people ).
Again, it’s not about the polarity of “oh, i must switch my practices based on the above new information.” It’s about developing an awareness of the choices we make, not being attached to the fanaticism of doing things one way or the other, and always strive to be open-minded about the ever changing world around us.

Comment on The End of Either-Or by Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:17:28 +0000

Kelly your intuition appears right on. I like how you identified the next mountain to climb. I’ll think about how to encourage dialogue with consumers and also among producers.