RSS feed for the OCA Florida forum http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:55:28 -0800 5 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3483
http://www.cafepress.com/weorganic]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:20:44 -0800 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3483 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3093 http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/09/proposed...roduce-growers/

USDA Schedules Public Hearings to Obtain Citizens’ Concerns and Suggestions

The “Leafy Green Marketing Agreement,” which requires producers to follow a set of rules (metrics) in the name of food safety, has already shown to be injurious for the environment, biodiversity, and organic growers in California. The USDA is now considering a similar “Leafy Green Marketing Agreement” that would extend beyond California and Arizona to cover the entire United States—let’s help make this rule work for growers of all sizes!

The USDA has scheduled a series of hearing sessions, around the country, inviting you to this perfect opportunity to share your concerns and suggestions.

Click here to view the USDA announcement in the Federal Register.

Make your voice heard!—if you are able to attend, we urge you to speak on behalf of the organic and family-scale farming community. (See below for locations and dates.)

High Quality and Organic Growers Competitively Disadvantaged

Producers’ experiences in California, where these metrics have been in place for several years, reveal what is at stake. While food safety is a legitimate national concern, organic and small-scale farmers bear a disproportionate economic burden of these metrics. Consider this:
# An estimate from leafy green growers in California indicates an average expenditure of $18,000/ year per farm for food safety efforts.
# Metrics require the expense of regular laboratory testing of irrigation water, soil amendments, fertilizers and sometimes seeds and transplants.
# Growers must have someone regularly monitor fields for wildlife and domestic animal incursions and documentation of all their efforts and testing is required.
# Farms with more acreage generally spend more to comply with the metrics but can experience some economies of scale due to larger field sizes and existing staff—these burdens could force the safest farms out of business.
# Smaller farms often have smaller field sizes, grow more diverse crops and raise livestock as well. These farms don’t usually have staff available to help them comply with complicated record-keeping requirements nor can they afford to hire extra help. They incur higher expenses per acre due to their smaller field sizes and greater complexity and disproportionately high testing/inspection costs.
# The requirement to have traceability of the produce grown also poses significant financial and record keeping challenges for many growers—organic farmers are already required to do much of this—it is redundant for organic growers—and local direct marketers have a special relationship with customers facilitating trace back.

Biodiversity Threatened

The environmental impacts of the Leafy Green metrics have also been alarming. Since wildlife, non-crop vegetation (wild habitat), and water bodies could be viewed as food safety risks, many environmentally positive, conservation and habitat-oriented practices that growers have implemented in California have been forced to be destroyed or abandoned by growers threatened with the rejection of their crops.

If these metrics are adopted nationally, organic farmers across the nation could face difficulties balancing organic requirements, to promote biodiversity, with metrics seeking elimination of wildlife and non-crop vegetation.

Voluntary Regulations?

Although the USDA has defined this regulation as “voluntary,” it is important to realize that in California, this has not been the case. Large grocery chains and distributors have refused to purchase produce from growers unless they are a signatory to the “leafy greens” program, making this a defacto rule. Don’t let the voluntary nature of this program dissuade you from recognizing the impact this proposal could have on small, local and organic growers.

Make Your Voice Heard!

The USDA organized public hearings to glean citizens’ concerns and suggestions. The USDA invites you to present evidence at the hearing on the possible economic impacts of the proposal on small businesses.

When and Where:
# Monterey, California
September 22-24
# Jacksonville, Florida
September 30-October 1
# Columbus, Ohio
October 6
# Denver, Colorado
October 8
# Yuma, Arizona
October 14-15
# Syracuse, New York
October 20
# Charlotte, North Carolina
October 22

All hearing sessions are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Stay tuned! The Cornucopia Institute, in partnership with other public interest groups, will shortly issue a more comprehensive action alert including talking points, information to submit written comments, sample letters and detailed instructions and help regarding appearing at the public hearings (including the precise location of each hearing).

We encourage other NGOs that would like to collaborate on this project to contact us. A number of other groups have also invested in developing an excellent knowledgebase and networking together will leverage our work on behalf of family farmers and consumers.


http://www.cornucopia.org/ProposedLeafyGre...ngAgreement.pdf]]> Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:46:09 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=3093 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2894 http://organic.meetup.com/74/ Florida is a tropical area. Ordinarily a tropical area would have fast growth, and lots of composting going on naturally, but since we clear away much of this, we need to keep the tropical ecosystem going by composting, and maintaining the moisture levels in the soil to keep things balanced.

If you don't have space to build this much compost, you can try buying amendments at this link: http://www.groworganic.com
and enjoy year round gardening in Florida!]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:58:40 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2894 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2893
There are many nature walks: http://www.funandsun.com/1tocf/eco/hiking.html

There is the Butterfly World: http://www.butterflyworld.com/

Take a kayaking trip: http://www.kayakonline.com/florida.html

Check out one of our botanical gardens...do a google search for one near you.

Plant a garden yourself, and google all the resources for fruit trees, native plants, hibiscus, orchids, organic gardening, community gardens, and more.

Do a swamp walk: http://www.clydebutcher.com/

Get involved with an ecological organization. There are many.

Support organics in all our businesses. Ask for organics in all our businesses.

Support local and indie music that supports organics.

Feel free to add to this post...


]]> Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:21:05 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2893 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2867
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Admits Ecology Party Contentions against Levy Nukes



In a ruling released yesterday,July 8th, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB), allowed several environmental contentions to be admitted in the process to construct and operate two new nuclear reactors on wetlands in rural Levy County. By allowing the contentions, the ASLB ensured that environmental issues ignored by Progress Energy Florida, the utility seeking the new reactors, must be addressed during the lengthy licensing process.

The contentions admitted deal with impacts on wetlands, waterways, and habitat, and with the proposed disposal process for hazardous nuclear waste. The Ecology Party spearheaded the contentions dealing with water and habitat impacts, while the Nuclear Information Resource Services addressed waste disposal.

Besides requiring significant additional information on the environmental impact of the Levy plant, the ASLB also made several rulings which may impact the future of other power plant projects.

In one ruling the ASLB rejected the proposition that the Environmental Report can properly exclude any environmental impact that is regulated by another Federal or State entity or that, because NRC has no jurisdiction to regulate an environmental impact, it can be excluded, per se, from the ER. The ASLB wrote “Despite the clarity of the law on this point, the opponents of contention admissibility keep repeating this pernicious canard”.

In another ruling, the ASLB states “It appears to us that some of Petitioners’ allegations represent genuine disagreements concerning qualitative judgments or conclusory statements in the ER (e.g., that the impacts will be SMALL, or negligible, or not excessive, or that best management practices automatically assure that no environmental impacts occur). [The] applicant, as the proponent of the license, bears the burden of proof.”

Cara Campbell, Chair of the Ecology Party, is pleased with the results. “ We presented hundreds of pages of contentions and supporting documentation, but only a few were accepted by the ASLB. This shows how difficult it is to square off against huge corporations. The fact that the Nuclear Regulatory commission staff supported the industry on every single point should be a warning flag to all Americans about the supposed independence of governmental organizations.”

Gary Hecker, Treasurer of the Ecology Party, agrees. “This is a huge victory for the environment and American citizens. We aren’t lawyers, and didn’t use one. But this shows that determined, dedicated people can still make a difference.”

CONTACTS:



Cara Campbell, Chair, Ecology Party of Florida

954-525-4522

chair@ecologyparty.org
















]]> Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:23:41 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2867 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2865 Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:44:13 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2865 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2823 ]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:19:27 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2823 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2525
NOW it's time to celebrate March 21st, Zoroastrian New Year's Day!! Also a fun ending to Nuclear Action week here in Florida.

To recap:

There are four NEW nuclear reactors proposed for Florida- two in Levy County & two more at Turkey Point. The Ecology Party of Florida is a co-intervenor with NIRS (Nuclear Information and Resource Service) in the Levy County proposal on the federal level and is debating also intervening in Turkey Point, depending on our level of SUPPORT and success in this effort. Without community support, we cannot proceed.

We need to raise at least $1500 to pay our wonderful hydroecologist, other experts and incidental expenses in the intervention. What more enjoyable way to raise money than a PARTY??? And this will be a party- we promise no long, boring speeches, just food, drinks, good music, interesting people, and all around fun.

(If you cannot make it to the party, please consider a donation to help the fight.
Make your cheque to Ecology Party of Florida, put "nuke fight"in the "for" line and mail to
Ecology Party of Florida
641 SW 6 Ave
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33315

or call in to say hello during the party and make your pledge (954) 525-4522)

Saturday, March 21, 7:30 pm in a private home in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. Enjoy organic chips, guacasalsa, delicious "Make Your Own" vegetarian burritos and Gary's famous margaritas for a very good cause. We are requesting a $25 donation if paid in advance, $30 otherwise, and $15 with valid student ID. Consider that if you were going out, drinks, appetizer, and main course would be at least $30 a person, and this way you're helping us raise money to prevent new nukes in Florida. Great food, company, music and all to stop cancer clusters, radioactive water, higher utility bills, depleted aquifer....

SPECIAL TREAT-live music by SON OF KEVIN, hot new guitar duo.

Reservations are mandatory so we'll need to know how much food to make.
Address will be given with reservation. Space is limited, so reserve now to make sure you don't miss this fun event. Also, we'll need "critical mass," so if you want to come let us know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

People always have a great time at our fundraising parties- don't miss this one!


call 954 525-4522 or contact grhecker (at) att.net to make your reservation.

www.ecologyparty.org

]]> Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:21:56 -0800 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2525 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2504
There are 2 seasonal outdoor markets I know of in Miami FL. Saturday morning and afternoon at Upper East Side Park in Miami and Sunday morning and afternoon in Surfside in Miami Beach.]]> Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:32:13 -0800 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2504 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2255 Needing any and all information on starting a organic farm here in Williston, Florida. We have over 100 acres in which to invest in this wholesome project. The first steps are a must as we are completely void of any, so anyone that can help us to get started we welcome your advise and expertise in this matter, please anyone that has information on this subject share it with us. Thank you in advance for all of you who will help us to get started.

Hardryve ]]> Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:15:02 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2255 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2132
I'm looking for an experienced organic farmer (knowledge of biointensive farming a plus) to help establish a 5 acre farm as part of a 10 acre site to inlcude up to 20 LEED certified homes in an urban location in Brandon (outside of Tampa).

The project will include a commitment to leading-edge New Urbanist land planning including gray water reuse, composting, Light Imprint infrastructure, etc.

Should this not be for you, any help in how to best find such a person would be appreciated.

All the best.]]> Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:34:00 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2132 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2084 Is there anyone growing organiclly on a small scale for local food co-ops? Wed, 10 Sep 2008 10:11:48 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2084