UC Blog
Declare *food independence* on the Fourth
A campaign on Facebook is encouraging Americans to assert "food independence" on July 4th and enjoy sustainable holiday picnics as an inspiration to others.
The effort drew the attention of Huffington Post columnist Leslie Hatfield, who declared in an article published yesterday that "eating local food is patriotic."Hatfield contacted the director of UC Cooperative Extension in Ventura County, Rose Hayden-Smith, to get her take on food and patriotism. Hayden-Smith just finished her dissertation on the history of U.S. Victory Gardens at UC Santa Barbara.
She told Hatfield that demonstrations of American patriotism have often been linked to food, going back to the American Revolution, when Americans dumped British tea into the Boston Harbor rather than pay taxes on it.
"Many of the foods we traditionally associate with the Fourth of July - including apple pie - reflect the diverse mix of immigrant heritages that make our nation strong and unique," Hayden-Smith was quoted. "Like people, food ways have mingled, creating new and unique cultural expressions."
Hatfield seemed taken aback by the suggestion that apple pie is not all American. Hayden-Smith told her apple pie's roots go back to the 14th century, not in America, but in Germany, Holland and England.
Returning to her point, Hatfield wrote that she believes eating industrially-produced foods helps support systems which have put a lot of farmers out of business and made a lot of people a lot less healthy.
"Let's get patriotic in the easiest, most delicious way possible," Hatfield suggests, "by eating some awesome food."
Many traditional American foods were imported by immigrants.
Lake Tahoe declares its own wildfire awareness week
The "official" Wildfire Awareness Week falls in May, but this year the Lake Tahoe community marks the event in July, according to a story in the Tahoe Daily Tribune.
UC Cooperative Extension natural resources advisor Susie Kocher told the newspaper that participation in the statewide springtime event has been low in the Tahoe Basin because many second-home owners are only there in the summer.
Because of the low participation rates, fire professionals, the Nevada Fire Safe Council, University of Nevada and University of California Cooperative Extension programs and other organizations created their own week-long event to promote wildfire and ember awareness.
“The event is being held to encourage all Lake Tahoe Basin residents to ‘Be Ember Prepared' and help protect their homes and communities from the embers that cause destruction of many homes during wildfires,” Kocher was quoted.
The article says a capstone event will be a wildfire summit on July 9 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Harvey's Casino. More information and the complete schedule of events are available on the Living with Fire website.
Lake Tahoe Basin Wildfire Awareness Week.
Visalia Times-Delta features retiring advisor
In a feature story printed on her last day at work before retiring, UC Cooperative Extension 4-H advisor for Tulare County Carla Sousa said it wasn't until her retirement party last Saturday that she could pinpoint the greatest achievement of her 33-year 4-H career.Sousa told Visalia Times-Delta reporter Victor Garcia that many current and former 4-H members approached her at the party to say what a positive impression she'd made on their lives.
"For them to thank [me] for what [I] did for them, that would be my greatest accomplishment," Sousa was quoted.
According to the article, Sousa said her attitude about 4-H has changed over the years along with the organization. She values most the "life skills" — including communication and teamwork — that participants come away with.
"At first I thought the subject matter was [most] important, but realized that it's the life skills they get out of it that's important," Sousa was quoted.
Read more about Sousa's career in a retirement release on the UC ANR news website.
Sousamug
July 1 changes - ANR / Sea Grant, Staff Personnel Unit, county director reporting
On July 1, ANR and the Sea Grant program officially complete the transition announced last fall. Formerly called Sea Grant advisors, Jodi Cassell and Leigh Taylor Johnson will remain with ANR as coastal resources advisors. Other Sea Grant advisors – Carrie Culver, Monique Myers, Paul Olin, Carrie Pomeroy, Susan Schlosser and Rick Starr – will now be part of the Sea Grant College at UC San Diego.
Also effective July 1, Linda Marie Manton assumes her duties as executive director of staff personnel and can be reached at (530) 752-0495 and lmmanton@ucdavis.edu.
As previously announced, effective July 1, county directors report administratively to Barbara Allen-Diaz, AVP – Academic Programs and Strategic Initiatives. However, to consult for policy decisions, the county directors will contact directly the appropriate source according to the nature of the issue. For example, questions involving academic personnel matters should be directed to Kim Rodriques, executive director of academic personnel; staff personnel questions should be directed to Manton; and environmental health and safety questions should go to Brian Oatman, EH&S manager.
View or leave comments for the Executive Working Group
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
Ag research too focused on production, report says
National agricultural policies and research programs should look beyond cutting costs and increasing production and adopt a more holistic approach to farming, according to a 598-page report issued Tuesday by the National Research Council National Academies.
A news release about the report was the basis of an Associated Press story that was picked up widely by the media.
"Many modern agricultural practices have unintended negative consequences, such as decreased water and air quality, and farmers have to consider these consequences while trying to increase production," said Julia Kornegay, chair of the committee that wrote the report and horticulture professor at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. "If farmers are going to meet future demands, the U.S. agriculture system has to evolve to become sustainable and think broadly -- past the bottom line of producing the most possible."
To help achieve a sustainable agriculture system, the committee said four goals should be considered simultaneously:
- satisfy human food, fiber, and feed requirements, and contribute to biofuels needs
- enhance environmental quality and the resource base
- maintain the economic viability of agriculture
- improve the quality of life for farmers, farm workers and society as a whole
While most current research is aimed at solving a particular problem, the authors say there is a need for a broader, integrated approach to ag research. The report suggests more research be conducted into the effectiveness and consequences of such practices as reduced tillage, planting cover crops and diversifying crops on individual farms.
The 16-member committee that authored the report included one ANR scientist, Deanne Meyer, a livestock specialist at UC Davis.