Cultivate a Worldview

How does one find a world perspective with as little bias as possible? That is, the most in touch facts on what is actually going on, in a way that is personally useful and universally communicable. Having a “big picture” is our responsibility as informed citizens.

Picture for a moment the world- as you know it: we are a part. In scope and color and senses it’s far beyond anything the mind can hope to take in its full form. So we pare things down: into words, for example. You get enough of a vocabulary together, and it becomes a more coherent picture: culture, economics, relationships, responsibility… a worldview.

I have been keeping my eyes open for this multidisciplinary perspective for some time, until I think I have a pretty good idea of how things work. I don’t have any unique sources on these categories [unless my post makes me a source?], but if you want my opinion here are some of the better choices you have… the “isms” you might identify with:

One to the team!

Just this Wednesday, I got a positive word from a long-time friend Jake Mercer. He studies Economics and non-profit management at Baldwin Wallace college, and is in to make this happen. This brings the team to two currently, and adds valuable fund-raising and farm experience to the venture. Let’s do this, Jake! Thanks for reading!

Things are happening very quickly now. The planning has passed the agriculture test, passed an economic analysis, with me in all the right places to make it happen. Next is deciding the structure: venturing into supply chain and cooperative design. This will be very well suited for my planned 7-month stay in Costa Rica, where I want to start. (For more information on this, visit:
Plan

This is an open invitation: do you want to join the team and work on this? There would be job options domestically or abroad, in any number of areas still to be defined. Please let me know on this, or any advice now before I go.

As an interim project, I’m taking a class with Oberlin College students in January on permaculture, an interesting variant on Organics. More on this soon!

-Eddie Miller
BU ‘10
http://eddiemill.wordpress.com/

International assessment on Agriculture Knowledge, Science, Technology and Sustainability

This changes everything.

This April, an independent project involving over 400 full-time researchers and 58 countries published a report. The full scope of the report is enormous, but you can view the summary here:
http://www.agassessment.org/docs/SR_Exec_Sum_280508_English.pdf

Some excerpts, which may echo well with what I’ve been saying here. (In fact the same thing that I observed from the farm 3 years ago, and have since dedicated my life to preaching…)

The “Next Big Thing”: Bioregional Organic for international community and development

As you may know, food has been the main focus of my life now for some time. Improving the inefficiencies that exist has been a priority since my journey to Costa Rica one year ago. Tonight I had a moment unlike many others, a vision of what’s next and my role in it: a transitional role to a new market optimal.

First a brief overview, then the idea.
How conventional food systems work (I’ll use coffee for the example) is that farmers produce the crop, sell to a local intermediary who then arranges for it to be picked up, processed, and sold through various [anonymous] supply chains. Essentially, before the coffee is brought to a supermarket it is combined into some “least-common-denominator-quality” brown grind and then set into cans that can compete on lowest price (think big Maxwell House tin). The farmer gets almost nothing for his crop (while in exchange not much is expected of him) and is subject to the price variability of the free market, not to mention the mercy of nature on his plot. Unorganized producers selling to intermediaries is the worst, and has resulted in many small farmers going out of business to larger plantations. It’s simply too inefficient.

Fair Trade can be seen as a direct response to that. Its goals are to a) ensure a more constant price for farmers b) raise awareness through consumers about the product they buy, and c) encourage cooperative selling and investment among small farmers. On these scales it performs very well in providing a more just cup of coffee. Unfortunately it requires that farmers already be organized, which excludes most smallholders.

Organic production is another step up. It is certified for its a) gains to farm and crop biodiversity, b) soil health and sustainability, and c) minimized reliance on external inputs which are energy-intensive, unessential, and harm the environment. If a farmer is fair trade and organic, he gets a better price. In the US, an organic farmer is likely a happier one that sells locally. It’s also a beloved industry that has been growing 12-20% per year for its [perceived] benefits to food quality, freshness, health, and safety. Take a minute to look at these goals, until you see a farm system that is advantageous to the abomination of factory farming.

…if it’s feasible..

A couple highlights

edit: pretty technical post, read at your own risk!

The last 72 hours have been a masterpiece. If opportunity were a horse, I’d have just spurred to a gallop.
Socially Responsible Investing, Guest Lectures, Special Events, Research…

Some highlights/thoughts/questions:
-Development challenge: If people will buy organic food with higher price and now nearly unlimited demand, what is the best way for small farmers to produce it to scale?
*AND does the organic/local movement have to give up any of its ideals to be able to do so?

-Organic Farming “could feed Africa”: UN Environment Programme just surveyed 114 projects in 24 African countries. They found that yields more than doubled with the techniques of irrigation, crop rotation, and input access. Contrary to Harvard keynoter Thursday Robert Paalberg’s recommendations, the survey suggests that money for development is best spent in education of farmers rather than developing Genetically Modified seeds and selling chemicals. Full link: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/organic-farming-could-feed-africa-968641.html

-The food crisis- why?
The causes are many, but mainly, systemically, it has to stem from global overproduction-> trade liberalization-> smaller farmers without education can’t produce any more -> food dependence and FAMINE. Famine is one of the worst human conditions. As Eleanor Roosevelt put it: “The hunger of our world demands our sympathy.”

-Alberto Gomez-Flores, Frances Moore Lappe: The two keynote speakers at the Grassroots International 25th Anniversary celebration, these two serve as some of my prime influences in their work. Gomez Flores is chair of the North America La Via Campesina, the largest organization of small farmer’s rights in the world. He talked through a translator in succinct, clear Spanish about the work for his organizers to translate campesino knowledge into institutions and goals: “Our challenge and our daily work”. “Frankie” Moore Lappe is one of my idols, author of “Diet for a Small Planet,” “Hope’s Edge,” and creator of Food First, one of the best sustainable ag. think tanks in the country. Now she’s working on inspiring hope, conquering fear in a world where “the lens is cracking”. I got to talk with her for 15 minutes afterward about our planet, vision, and hope. Really an incredible experience.

-Costa Rica: I picked up an interesting book in the Boston Public Library about a new historical hypothesis for Costa Rica, which disputes the claim of the pre-coffee “rural democracy” that has permeated Costa Rican culture and even inspired social revolution. A rural society never existed, he claims, but rather a distinction plantation/underdevelopment and simple separated landholders. If true, this changes everything.

-Life: Feels good! Finally asked a girlfriend, Libby Glen of BU ‘11: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1236840042&ref=ts Here’s to that!

Coming up: culture, life, the vision for this country, and Costa Rica.

Stay tuned.

-Eddie Miller
BU ‘10
eddiemill@gmail.com

The Organic Development Paradox

There’s something happening in Latin America.

Somehow, our solutions for growth and trade and food have not worked for poor people.  The land is used by big foreign companies, to grow food to sell here in our supermarkets that are big and beautiful.  As plantation-factories grow bigger and more capital-intensive, there’s really not much advancement in wages for the workers!  And they’re still exposed to harsh chemicals and long daily hours of machete work.

Organic farming can be much better for farmers and the environment. Fundamentally, it denies the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and GM seeds.  What it means is that the mindset of the farmer is very different- rather than try to minimize the costs to produce as much as possible, it’s more about managing the land.  It’s more “labor intensive,” which means more skilled jobs that the family can help out with. And you can use “crop rotation,” which is just not planting the same thing every year.  The interesting part is that you can actually get a “higher yield” from this small-holder, labor-intensive, ecological agriculture.  The plants grow better when cultivated for health, beauty, and permanence surrounded by other plants of different types.  Foodfirst backgrounder on organic yields: sustainable-ag-can-feed-the-world

AND consumers are taking a liking to this more natural crop.

Awakening the Dreamer: Response.

Where do our beautiful visions become things we can do right now?

A: It starts with one person standing up.
A: Vision, education, and hope.
A: The harder I work, the harder I live.

http://www.wiserearth.org/

Bioneers- humans and development

The bioneers experience has been unreal. In everything that a conference should be:

A couple big conclusions.

-Many day-to-day decisions are not based in environmental realities. A simple systems analysis shows humans have to face their impacts and begin talking about institution change and restoration.
-On the civil society systems analysis level, things look very sobering for humans. Human rights, food, culture and.waste issues abound. (Where are the solutions? We make them.)
-Who were great leaders before they were that?

And solutions:
-Collaborative business ownership shares responsibility and reward.
-Farming can be done in a way that is permanent and fulfilling.
-Development is a right. Which means material things and energy, unfortunately!
-Through the crisis, take the opportunity to rethink our great institutions. “Redream it” (Lynn Tarist- Pachamama alliance).

Look at all the amazing things that are happening! Every day, every person working to make the world better makes it so. Our energy creates our environment, Can this many leaders work together?

We already are.

—
Eddie Miller
Eddiemill.wordpress.com

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