Holy shit. Some facts about the loss in Washington to label GMOs

[cali]

49. It's certainly not my best option

Closed Loop Production: Creating Jobs and Good Food in Hardwick, VT

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For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Hardwick is one of the blossoming epicenters of agritourism in Vermont. It emerged years ago, powered by some local folk who had a few interesting challenges and that New England sensibility about waste.

High Mowing Organic Seeds, now a global supplier, was growing organic seeds for producers and actually had food as a by-product. The local milk farms had whey from their cheese making industry and not enough pigs to consume it. A local apiarist (beekeeper) had the itch to do something more with his honey. Fortunately, all these people knew each other and began looking for ways to put their “waste” to good use.

And so, in bits and pieces, through personal relationships already established, dozens of locally-rooted businesses have emerged in the Hardwick area that put these agricultural products to good use. In the process, they are also creating solid local jobs and bringing a valuable income to the region. At the heart of it all is the Center for an Agricultural Economy. The Center, as Director Sarah Waring described, works with twenty-seven local businesses, delivers programs to educate other aspiring communities, works as a co-packers for specialty food and value-added farm products, and serves as a local community food production kitchen.

In addition to Vermont Soy, Vermont Natural Coatings, Jasper Hill Cheese, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Caledonia Spirits, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Claire’s Restaurant, and more, the local schools are involved in agriculture. Hardwick’s elementary school is proactive with its school gardens and local purchasing, and students take field trips to local businesses. The high school combines student learning with actual experience in the kitchen chopping and processing vegetables. All of this work is built on the decades of farming which is a part of the Vermont and New England culture—a backbone of strong dairy farms, hardworking food producers, and families who have made a living with the land.

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http://www.donellameadows.org/closed-loop-production-creating-jobs-and-good-food-in-hardwick-vt/

Positive deviants: local food leaders in Hardwick, VT

A few weeks ago, The Boston Globe reminded us to think about Hardwick. Much has been made of the little town in Vermont's northern kingdom: Emeril Lagasse filmed the farm story, as did Dan Rather; and The New York Times, Eating Well, Gourmet, and The Boston Globe have all reported on The Town that Food Saved (also the title of local Ben Hewitt's book).

But for all the media hullabaloo, Hardwick remains a community of heads-down, sleeves-rolled farmers, purveyors, and food entrepreneurs. As I trolled Whole Foods a few days ago, I overheard a representative of Jasper Hill Farm speak proudly of the cheese cave at Jasper Hill.

Jasper Hill brothers Mateo and Andy Kehler built their cave to age their and neighbors' cheeses. They and Andrew Meyer of Vermont Soy, are three in a gang of food entrepreneurs that live and work in this little slice of the world. When Mateo and Andy proposed their cave, they didn't meet with VCs. They told Pete Johnson of Pete's Greens, Tom Stearns of High Mowing Seeds, and Meyer among others. Hardwick's neighbor entrepreneurs regularly support each other's visions with advice and sometimes capital.

Meyer commented, "It seems obvious that small, struggling neighbor businesses would talk to each other. But when we drove around to other areas, all we found was people struggling by themselves. It doesn't make any sense."

There is a name for this sort of novelty: positive deviance.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/positive-deviants-local-food-leaders-hardwick-vt


we have a great farmer's market and an excellent co-op, not to mention a country store with tons of local products from cheese to vegetables, a year round grower of vegetables, a great farm stand, a major artisan cheese producer and some lesser known ones. all of these and so much more are within 5 miles of my home. In fact, we are the epicenter and model of the local organic food movement- as has been written about both nationally and internationally. Pretty amazing actually.

http://www.petesgreens.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hardwick-Farmers-Market-VT/131732343506625

http://buffalomountaincoop.org/

https://www.facebook.com/willeys.store

http://www.hazendalefarm.com/farmstand_info/farmstand_info.html

http://www.jasperhillfarm.com/

http://snugvalleyfarm.com/

http://www.vermontsoy.com/

Here's an article by bill McKibben from a couple of years ago:

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/agriculture

http://www.eatingwell.com/food_news_origins/seasonal_local/good_eats_hard_work_in_hardwick_vermont

and a lot of it is about collaboration and slow money lending:

http://www.hardwickagriculture.org/


some videos:

this one is from yesterday:

http://www.wcvb.com/chronicle/eating-local-revives-vermont-town/-/12523032/22810742/-/uwecxfz/-/index.html

dan rather reports: