To labor to heal the earth with no direct compensation is the great work of our generation, based on morality, law, and treaty. There is nothing more infuriating and humiliating than were our efforts to be undermined by the very governments obligated to support and protect our work.“ Paul Cereghino…
Posts published in “Issue: April 2019”
Local entities like Slow Food Greater Olympia, the Community Farm Land Trust, regional tribes, and the dozen nearby seasonal or year-round farmers markets all affirm that we live in a community that treasures its thriving small farms. We are a community that likes its local food. Slow Food Greater Olympia…
On a chilly Friday morning in March, before the sun rises, activity begins to stir at Thurston County Food Bank’s Client Services Center in downtown Olympia. Staff drivers depart the Center at 6 am to begin their Food Rescue routes, collecting donated food from local businesses....
Fish matter! Not only because people depend on fish for jobs, but because plants and trees and marine animals depend on nutrients from fish to live. Fish feed on the insects that populate our lakes and streams, playing a critical role in maintaining insect populations. Fish store nutrients in their…
”Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.”- —Frederick Douglass Harbor Roots is a program with a bold vision:…
Here today, gone tomorrow? It may surprise many people that sales in the Bulk Departments at both of Olympia’s Food Co-ops have been in steady decline for many years. Many of the goods that are in bulk can also be purchased packaged —often in plastic—in the aisles. Whatever the reason,…
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what’s for lunch—Orson Welles An early introduction to food geopolitics My first lesson in political economy came at an early age. Granted, it wasn’t given by an economist and it did not take place in a university lecture hall. It was…
For April, we invited articles on food: production, consumption, transformation. Inside this issue, you’ll see that writers chose to address the topic of food in many ways: efforts to support local food systems, food security in the face of climate change,...more...
When farmers lose buyers, whether a farmers’ market customer, local processing facility, or grain mill, it becomes that much more difficult to make a living by farming. Our region’s farmers reflected this reality in 2017 when they identified gaps in the food system infrastructure such as food processing facilities, storage…
The 2008 Farm Bill ushered in a suite of programs that support the development of local and regional food systems, market diversification opportunities for farmers, healthy food access initiatives and other innovative programs that seize upon the great potential of food to bolster local economies, create jobs and deepen the…
Remember Harry Branch’s article last September about the fact that no one could argue for daylighting Moxlie Creek because they were not personally injured by the destruction of the creek—even though the creek couldn’t defend itself? In a special election recently, residents of Toledo, Ohio, adopted a bill of rights…
With his new budget, Donald Trump proposes to take more than $1 trillion in taxpayer money and disperse fully $750 billion to the military. Out of every taxpayer dollar, in other words, 62 cents go to the military and our militarized Department of Homeland Security (Veterans’ benefits take another seven…
Cutting through the bullshit...
“The farm bill and trade policies are geared around the idea that farmers should get big or get out and depend on export markets to make their ends meet,” Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Director of Trade and Global Governance, Progressive Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Stabilizing farms and food supply The…
Courts and politicians won’t beat the border In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s national emergency declaration, condemnations and legal challenges have issued from numerous sources. The declaration circumvents the need for congressional authorization to obtain partial, initial funding for the construction of a southern border wall. The State of California…
The April 2019 interview on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” series provides fresh information and insights into the crisis in Venezuela. Venezuela is a sovereign nation —a real democracy —on the northern coast of South America. Increasingly in recent years, the US government has been causing a crisis there. The US government…
Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization internationally recognized for its achievements in fighting human trafficking and gender-based violence at work. The CIW is also recognized for pioneering the design and development of the Worker-driven Social Responsibility paradigm, a worker-led, market-enforced…
Mark Fleming’s book is about his experiences in the Army in Vietnam. It displays the waste and costs of war that he saw in Vietnam. It describes his own learned aggressiveness, fears and violent desires that discomforted him and inspired him to work with Vets for Peace. He also re-visits…
Coalition of Immokalee Workers [Feb., 2019] After years of building their case to kick Wendy’s off campus, students at the University of Michigan (UM) have won their battle to “Boot the Braids” until the fast-food giant joins the Fair Food Program. The move turned a planned demonstration on the UM…
Dear Editor, In the past two months, the City of Olympia has conducted sweeps of most of downtown Olympia’s homeless encampments. Some dislocated residents moved to the city-sanctioned camp but many were forced to the peripheries of downtown or other parts of Olympia, far from vital services and resources. Immediately…
The CARE Fund provides limited financial assistance to indigent Thurston County residents to help close their court cases or get their suspended drivers’ licenses back. We also support other urgent needs, such as short-term housing, transportation, education and medical costs for those with cases in the court system. The maximum amount of assistance we offer is $500....
sugar is a fine white powder, let me say that a little louder, sugar is a fine white powder....
The pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) takes its name from the tree, and pinyon nuts form an important part of its diet. It is very important for regeneration of pinyon woods, as it stores large numbers of the seeds in the ground for later use, and excess seeds not used are…
The Estuarium’s 2019 Meet the Beach program is drawing near, and we are eager to recruit new Beach Naturalists! Starting in early April, join us at the Estuarium in downtown Olympia for marine resource training, lead by amazing local experts. Our free training helps beachgoers in the Puget Sound identify…