Joanne Daschel

Recent Activity

• 

  Joanne commented on the article | about 2 years ago

  Meals on Wheels: the Future of Sustainable, Ethical Meat

  This is a great model, and should be replicated widely.  In fact I think the USDA should finance the production of a fleet of mobile slaughter units for areas that fall under their Rural Development guidelines.  These units, in addition to the obvious farmer benefits, reduce the stress on animals before slaughter as they are not made to travel long distances beforehand.  I say this as someone whose family raised cows, pigs & chickens for meat.

  
  

  If you want to hear more on the difficulties of small-scale slaughterhouses, check out the archived podcasts of "Deconstructing Dinner" in Nelson BC.  They covered the attempt of some small farmers to build an "abattoir" and ran into trouble with local environmentalists who lumped them in with the big-guys as a threat to clean water.  Shows how hard it is for the small operators to bring about change.

• 

  Joanne commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  The Sustainable Food Movement’s Big American Problem

  I don't believe ad campaigns are successful at changing these deeply-rooted life choices-- witness the failure of advertising to change behavior related to drug use.  

  
  

  The best way to change lifelong behavior is to start very young, and with the whole family.  Our local schools serve a dreadful menu provided by a giant corporation, and over half our kids are on free/reduced lunch.  So what is served there is what they get used to eating-- burgers, pizza, tacos daily.  

  
  

  Teach people to garden, even a little, and they change what they eat.  There is such pride in growing the smallest thing that it makes kids and adults alike want to learn how to cook. Growing produce for market is what taught me to cook, out of necessity.  You just can't stand seeing all that go to waste.

  
  

  The other thing that needs to be changed besides access to healthy ingredients is adapting Americans to a lifestyle that includes TIME for cooking.  It isn't necessarily more expensive to cook and eat well, but it definitely takes more time.  So folks will have to give up a little Tivo or Xbox so they can visit the farmers market, prepare the food, even can or freeze it.  My husband just caught some crab, but we had to cook and clean and package it up last night.  It's worth every minute.

• 

  Joanne commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Plant Scientist Norman Borlaug Dies, Having Saved a Billion Lives

  Mr. Wager, I have now followed your comments on a couple of Sustainable Food forums.  You seem clearly to be a paid voice for the biotech industry, with assaults on anyone who speaks against GM seeds and likewise against the idea of organic farming.  I wonder how you might address the idea that Cuba, cut off from petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides after the collapse of the USSR, was able to feed their people using organic methods.  Surely they should have all perished without your magical new techology to feed them.

• 

  Joanne commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Kiva Brings Loan Program to the US

  There is a credit gap in the US.  However the article does not reference the existing (since the Clinton era) microloan program of the Small Business Administration.  I was working there at the time it was introduced.  Microloans are administered through local nonprofit entities like a community-development group, who receives the funds from SBA.  Borrowers usually are required to complete business-management training of some sort, it varies by local lending entity.  Max loan is $35,000 with avg (according to SBA) of $13,000.  The program was inspired by work of Grameen Bank.  See this link:
  http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/Introsbafinance/sbarole/LOANPROG_MICRO.html