Steph Larsen’s Posts

• A renewed call for food reform

  Updates on secretary of agriculture appointment 0

  Posted 10 months, 4 weeks ago

  In the five weeks since the election and almost a month since my first post about the secretary of agriculture, a lot has changed. But one thing has become increasingly clear: The people who voted for Barack Obama expect change at the head of USDA.

  The next person to head the Department of Agriculture needs to be someone willing to step outside the status quo.

  The idea is gaining traction, with nods from Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times, Chuck Hassebrook in the Des Moines Register, and over 35,000 grassroots individuals at fooddemocracynow.org. The call… Read More

• Beyond secretary of agriculture

  How to change USDA with sustainable agriculture allies 0

  Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago

  In a recent post, I discussed likely candidates for secretary of agriculture in the Obama administration and encouraged you to voice your support or dislike of the names being floated to Obama's transition team. You can have an impact: in large numbers, voices of the people are very powerful. Please continue to make your opinions known on the candidates for secretary of agriculture under consideration.

  (Note: Since the original post, Philip Brasher of the Des Moines Register reported yesterday that Tom Vilsack is no longer in the running; in addition to the candidates listed, Lancaster… Read More

• More than one way to raise a hog

  Hog farms can benefit rural agriculture and community 6

  Posted 1 year ago

  I spent last Thanksgiving on a 320-acre farm in Pocahontas County, Iowa where Jerry Depew grows corn and soybeans, and for more than 10 years, has also raised hogs. Jerry never has more than several hundred hogs at a time, and while this used to be commonplace on Iowa farms, most small and mid-sized hog operations in the state were lost during massive industry consolidation over the last 15 years.

  Jerry's hogs remained because he raises them differently.

  The hogs I saw on Jerry's farm lived in hoop houses. These pole-supported buildings have a partial concrete floor (the rest… Read More

• Tour de pig

  If you can't stand the smell, tough luck 2

  Posted 1 year, 1 month ago

  Duplin County, N.C. stinks. And no wonder. Its human population is just under 50,000 people, but it is also home to 2.2 million [PDF] of North Carolina's 10 million hogs [PDF]. Last week, I went on a bus tour of Duplin County as a part of the Politics of Food Conference to see how confined animal feeding operations impact rural communities. It was not pretty.

  Our guides on this tour were Dr. Sacoby Wilson, an assistant research professor at the University of South Carolina, and Devon Hall, a community activist for Rural Empowerment Association… Read More

• The case for country

  Why I ditched D.C. and moved to rural Nebraska 0

  Posted 1 year, 1 month ago

  "You're moving where?! Why?!"

  

  Steph Larsen on the road in North and South Dakota

  Photo: ruralaffairs.

  This response was by far the most common among acquaintances when I told them excitedly that I was leaving my Washington, D.C. job directing the policy program at Community Food Security Coalition to be an organizer in rural Nebraska at the Center for Rural Affairs. Not that I blame them entirely; while I did grow up in Wisconsin, and I am not afraid… Read More

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Steph Larsen’s Recent Comments

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  While you're at it...

  While you're on the phone with your legislative delegates about Vilsack, don't forget to weigh in with Change.gov and with your Senators about other positions at USDA! For ideas on what each position does (to help you think of qualified people) see this post.On Brushing aside pressure, Obama taps a big-ag man as USDA chief posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago 16 Responses

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  Co-opting the message

  I had a slightly different take on the disapproval of the crowd during the politician's talk.

  I understood the unrest to be not just about the G8's reaction to the food crisis, but to food and farming as a whole as it currently exists. The economic policies of the WTO and IMF have driven farmers off the land and into starvation. Instead of growing food to sustain themselves, they are largely exploited by unfair trade agreements.

  I thought this was why people were angry, and it was because of the injustices perpetuated by the G8 that caused many to rise in protest.

  I could be wrong though...it was pretty noisy in there.

  My greater concern, though, was Carlo Petrini's response. I thought he stepped dangerously close to losing some trust by suggesting that Slow Food present to the G8 and scolding people who protested the speech. People have a right to disagree with the G8, and he said he understood that. What he failed to recognize however is that by accepting an invitation to speak at the G8, Slow Food opens its new-found political and food justice messages being co-opted.

  I have a lot of faith in Vandana Shiva, whom Patrini said may have a chance to speak to the G8. In a workshop at Terra Madre, she said (and I'm paraphrasing) to only make alliances where you do not have to compromise your principles. I couldn't agree more.

  I wonder if the G8 is an alliance Slow Food can join without having to compromise. Having gained a level of standing as an organization, I would like to see Slow Food continue to push for an equitable food system as an independent voice instead of an insider. I think that's when true change will come.On Via video, Italian official announces Slow Food will have a G8 audience posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

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  Chickens eat anything

  Having grown up in the city, I used to think that chickens had a particular diet. It wasn't until visiting a farmer in New Mexico that I learned differently. They had 3 buckets under the sink: one for paper to go in the compost pile, one for coffee grounds and citrus peels to put around the orange trees (the soil was too basic), and all other food waste they fed to the chickens. I never would have believed chickens would eat a banana peel, but they did. Of course, they didn't have lots of chickens, but they were definitely well fed.On Small-scale slaughterhouses are vital to the health of local food economies posted 1 year, 1 month ago 2 Responses

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  Changing the dynamic

  I agree with JC's assessment that big ag is using nutrition as a shield. One possible way to change this dynamic would be to deconstruct the omnibus. The food stamp program (or SNAP, as it may soon be known as) wasn't always in the Farm Bill, and separating it would definitely change the dynamics.

  I'm sure there are many other ways that the power dynamics of the Farm Bill could shift. We should seriously consider what these might be, analyze the consequences, and chart a course that could make it happen. There doesn't seem to be much long-term planning or strategy in my corner of the farm and food world at least...we should do something about that.On How should sustainable-food advocates respond to the latest farm bill proposal? posted 1 year, 5 months ago 25 Responses

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  What a damn mess

  In the complexity that is the Farm Bill, I wish we didn't have to boil it down to a simple yes or no answer. This is one of many problems of omnibus bills -- there are often just enough good provisions that not passing it can be argued as throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

  I've been in Washington working on this bill for two and a half years. I've pounded as much pavement for progressive farm and food issues as almost anyone else, and what I say now, I say as an individual and not as an advocate within an organization whose priorities gained some traction.

  I say veto, override be damned.

  We CANNOT let the idea of whether we can do better next time or not enter into the equation. It is morally wrong for me, and all of us, to support a bill that will do overall harm to farms, rural communities, and people who eat.

  We are playing right into the hands of the opposition. Make no mistake, it is a trap. They have given us just enough so that we won't scream bloody murder and mobilize our people. But nothing the opposition GAVE us is worth our support of a bad bill, and what we were able to TAKE isn't enough to tip the scales. We've fallen for this trap before, thinking that maybe they'll listen to us next time. They won't, and that's why we have to keep fighting.

  As I write this, I'm actually surprised that this is my conclusion. But this bill is a bad one, and it will hurt rural communities and family farmers because it doesn't include meaningful structural reform. THAT is what we have to go to the mat for, because all the piddly programs in the world - including the Community Food Projects that I worked my ass off for - won't make up for the fact that under this bill, we will have fewer farmers in 5 years than we do now and more unhealthy people with no more access to healthy, sustainably-produced foods.

  Big agriculture will never give us these structural reforms because they profit too much from the status quo. So we flex some muscle now and show them that small programs cannot bribe us into complacency. Our momentum and our relationships are a hell of a lot easier to carry over for a year than five.

  I don't want to look back at this bill and know that Big Ag. had more stamina and outlasted me. I've fought as hard as anyone, and I won't deny that I'm tired and I'm sick of this bill. But I can't in good conscience say that this is a bill I want to support. On How should sustainable-food advocates respond to the latest farm bill proposal? posted 1 year, 6 months ago 25 Responses