jnschmidt’s Recent Comments

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  Whoa. Is Beck actually channeling Joe McCarthy here?

  On Glenn Beck: Van Jones is a communist intent on, er, creating private sector jobs posted 3 months, 1 week ago 31 Responses

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  Farms not chains for our cities

  Great article, Tom. Sometimes it feels like we are yelling into a black hole, but we can't give up. As for what the government can do now? We have to make it easier for people, particularly poor people, to access a healthier, more local food system. A consequence of government programs designed to help minority entreprenuers start businesses in underserved neighborhoods is a glut of fast food restaurants in those neighborhoods. Franchising and the stunning efficiency of the industrialized mega- food system has made the fast food restaurant the cheapest, easiest business to start and to maintain. For the eater the food is quick, cheap, and temporarily satisfying. The brand is instantly recognizable as something he knows, and the whole experience is reliably similar to the way it was last time. We have to find a way to counteract this reality.

  Could the government find a way to stimulate the economic AND the dietary health of our inner cities? I think any economic stimulus should include, at a minimum, funds to help communities start urban farms. Farmers' markets are not enough. I think the way people view their neighborhood fundamentally changes when they see that it can provide nourishment where there was desolation. And not only should government get back in the business of running the school lunch program, but schools, wherever possible, should have students growing fruit and veggies right there on campus.On Think locally, act infrastructurally posted 10 months ago 15 Responses

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  Farms not chains for our cities

  Great article, Tom. Sometimes it feels like we are yelling into a black hole, but we can't give up. As for what the government can do now? We have to make it easier for people, particularly poor people, to access a healthier, more local food system. A consequence of government programs designed to help minority entreprenuers start businesses in underserved neighborhoods is a glut of fast food restaurants in those neighborhoods. Franchising and the stunning efficiency of the industrialized mega- food system has made the fast food restaurant the cheapest, easiest business to start and to maintain. For the eater the food is quick, cheap, and temporarily satisfying. The brand is instantly recognizable as something he knows, and the whole experience is reliably similar to the way it was last time. We have to find a way to counteract this reality.

  Could the government find a way to stimulate the economic AND the dietary health of our inner cities? I think any economic stimulus should include, at a minimum, funds to help communities start urban farms. Farmers' markets are not enough. I think the way people view their neighborhood fundamentally changes when they see that it can provide nourishment where there was desolation. And not only should government get back in the business of running the school lunch program, but schools, wherever possible, should have students growing fruit and veggies right there on campus.On Think Locally, Act Infrastructurally posted 10 months ago 14 Responses