Can Organic Agriculture Feed the World?

One of the perceptions about organic food is that it is a nice idea if you can afford it, but it isn't efficient enough to feed the world's population. This article published in Organic Valley Co-op's newsletter "Rootstock" is a good analysis of the inefficiencies of conventional agriculture and the benefits of organic farming. If you are curious about the politics of feeding the masses, read this article

Meet-up site up and running! Please join!

Just an FYI to let you know that our Slow Food Meet-up site is up and running, so please follow this link http://www.meetup.com/Slow-Food-Northern-Colorado-Cache-la-Poudre-Chapter/ (if it says link is broken...I don't know why it won't work but you can just paste it into your address bar to get there) to become a member and get notified of all our events!

A letter from Slow Food USA's presidend about the Time for Lunch Campaign

Dear members and supporters,

It's been two months since 20,000 of you came together for our national day of action to give America's children the school food they deserve. That day was a huge accomplishment for this movement – but it was only a first step.

You can be part of our next one. Congress isn't planning to make progress on child nutrition programs until the beginning of next year. We have until then to show our leaders that kids and parents across America are hungry for change.

We're going to do it by sending thousands of letters — especially letters written by kids — to our legislators' district offices over the next few months. Slow Food USA chapter leaders across the country have already gotten started, and together they've sent in over 1,300 letters. It's time for everyone to pitch in.

Help us spread the word about letter writing, and get involved in the next phase of the campaign.

Through this campaign, tens of thousands of you have invested in America's children's future by organizing and attending Eat-Ins on Labor Day, by donating money and by signing our petition. Thank you.

Over the next few months, your participation is as important as ever. If we keep growing our ranks, we can ensure that the 31 million children who benefit from school meal programs are getting the real food they need to grow into healthy, productive adults.

Thank you for spreading the word,

Josh Viertel
President

Visit the Time for Lunch website to sign the petition, learn more about the subject aand find out how to make a difference

Much to be Grateful for: Frank Reese's Heritage Turkeys

Thanksgiving season is upon us and with it the tradition of pulling a glistening turkey from the oven. Turkeys are native to the United States and were once the beloved fowl of Ben Franklin, who considered them a more noble mascot for the United States than the antagonistic Bald Eagle. I was not aware that within the last century many native breeds of turkeys have been pushed to the brink of extinction until I read this article. Kansas farmer, Frank Reese Jr., a long time turkey aficionado, is credited with saving America's heritage turkey breeds. The story of how he preserved the genetic diversity of domestic turkeys is a surprising tale of how easily our food security can slip away in the face of industrial agriculture. We owe a debt of gratitude to Frank Reese and all farmers who devote their lives to supplying us with nourishing, seasonal, and diverse foods in the face of industrial farming.

New: Online Issue of The Snail

Read the latest issue of The Snail, Slow Food USA's very beautiful and informative magazine: thesnail@slowfoodusa.org

Report: Students Need More Veggies, Fewer Calories: NPR

This NPR story does a nice job discussing the state of the school lunch program today and how it may change in the future.

Neighborhood Supported Agriculture

This article about an urban farm near CSU was published recently in Matter Daily.

www.matterdaily.org