Promoting Sustainability Beyond Construction

Though my focus and expertise is in sustainable construction, I support sustainable practices across the board. So, very often, my research brings me to topics unrelated to construction. For example, in just less than an hour, I've come across a magazine article, a friend's e-mail, and an online commentary about food sovereignty. What's that, you ask? It means community democracy and control over our food and farm system. Simply put, it's buying local and supporting local farmers.

First, I received an e-mail from my friend, Bethany Kline from Daily Billboards, who is a fellow 'green girl'. She supports co-ops, locally grown food, and green living in general. (Oh, and she can get you a great deal on some really effective advertising, too. :-) ) She send me some links to local farmer's markets:

Jacksonville Farmer's Market
1810 West Beaver Street

Jacksonville, FL

Year-Round, Daily 7am to 7pm

http://www.jaxfarmersmarket.com/

Hemming Plaza Farmer's Market

Monroe and North Hogan Streets

Jacksonville, FL

Year-Round, Fridays 10am to 2pm

She also provided this link to a list of Florida's produce availability. Yes, sustainability sometimes means sacrifice. But, doesn't a mango taste even sweeter when you've waited until May to have one? What happened to the giddy joy of looking forward to something? Instead, we have an overindulged, spoiled-child approach to foods: I want it NOW, even if it has to travel 3500 miles to get to me.

Then, the president of my company, Mary, left her copy of World Ark Magazine in my inbox with a note about climate change and the availability of wild vegetables. Looks like we may be in for a surprise when wild peas and potatoes are lost, according to a new study released by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research:

"Research predicts that long-term climate change will cause the extinction of many wild varieties of domestic crops, making domestic crops vulnerable to disease, drought and pests."

Their solution is to begin saving and cultivating the wild species that are most likely to disappear with climate change.

In the same magazine, John Peck is interviewed on the topic of Food Sovereignty. He is the executive director of Family Farm Defenders in Madison, Wisconsin, and he teaches the importance of supporting local farmers and how its benefits affect us on a global scale. He addresses issues such as concern over the global food trade by saying that only 5 percent of food is traded in the global marketplace:

"A lot of people don't realize that three times as much food is grown in cities as crosses borders, but it's the tiny fraction of traded food that dictates prices. When the world market price for commodities dive bombs, farmers everywhere are hurt. Via Campesina [an international coalition advocating for family, farm-based sustainable agriculture] argues that there shouldn't be world market prices for food. Prices should not be just country specific, but bio-regional. For instance, milk will cost farmers more to produce in New England than it does for farmers in the Midwest, and so the price should reflect that."

Peck offeres some action items for promoting food sovereignty. He suggests that we promote community-supported agriculture where people invest at the beginning of the growing season in a farm to receive fresh food throughout the harvest. Of course, he also suggests visiting local farmers markets, but be sure to ask if the food is sourced locally because some are suppliers that import the products from far away. We can also support policies, like local food purchasing in schools (which is not only sustainably smart, but definitely healthier for our children).

Lastly, in the same magazine, the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver is reviewed by Anna Lappe. The book recounts Kingsolver's experiences going "local" for one year. She and her family took it to the extreme by growing all their own food in their one acre of land. Lappe says that the book is absolutely inspirational:

"After reading about their tomato windfall and canning solution, I fell asleep dreaming of glass jars and pots of simmering tomatoes. I dog-eared nearly every one of Camille's recipes and now anxiously awat rhubarb season, salivating when I think of the strawberry rhubarb crisp. By the book's last page, I had added to my household's shopping list: bread machine (to bake our own bread), seedlings (to start our own window herb garden, and rennet (to try our hand at making cheese). Sound ambitious? Maybe. But Kingsolver makes it all sounds so easy, so tasty ... and so right."

Give it a try this week. Visit the Farmer's Market. Bring the kids. Revel in the joy of picking the perfect ear of corn and slipping it in your canvas bag. Teach them how to choose the perfect carrot. Cook a simple meal of locally-grown foods for your family and sit together with the TV off, windows open at dusk while the warm air flows in....

Talk. Connect. And then do it again.

Sustain.