little girl BIG VOICE

O.K., I’ve gotten over my little cover letter tantrum. Despite my best efforts, I constantly have to hit myself over the head with the “Get over yourself” stick. Maybe it’s a part of being a member of Generation ME, MINE & Co.  Regardless, I really appreciate the support everyone showed me concerning this issue!

But you know what? There are more important things going on in the world than my frustrations with the job market. That’s a big deal for sure, with more and more Americans being laid off everyday, but instead of complain about it, how about buckling down and doing something that will save you some money and help save the world in the process?

Interested? Read on!

Today, I want to expand the discussion on food security that I’ve touched on in previous posts. It’s a BIG, COMPLEX and SCARY issue. One that’s daunting to learn about. I get freaked out thinking about all the things being done behind our backs by industrialized agri-business. My guess is that you would or do too. But while you might believe in organics and eating local philosophically and/or invest in them during better economic times, with our collective belts being tightened, many Americans are giving up this “luxury” to save short term dollars at the expense of long-term health. I get it. TRUST ME! I’m not rolling in the Benjamins either, but I know that neither you nor I can afford to give up on organic, sustainable farming.

Because by long-term health, I’m not just talking about our bodies. That’s a big one of course. The most immediate consequence, for sure. But I’m also talking about the health of the environment and the health of society. Losing control and input into how our food is grown is the last thing we want happening, yet it’s already slipping quickly from our grasp. And as Wes Jackson mentioned, the day when food is so scarce that even a million dollars won’t buy you an apple is NOT a place we want to end up.

The good news? We aren’t there yet. And we can still stop the car and turn around. So brace yourself for the brakes. We’re getting old school with this one and bringing back the Victory Garden theory that helped Americans keep food on their plates during World War II.

I saw this vid, by Kitchen Gardeners International‘s Co-Founder Roger Doiron, on Anthony Anderson‘s (a.k.a. The Raw Model) website and just had to pass it along to you. Quite inspiring really. Way to use your voice Roger! And thanks Anthony for spreading it around.

And here’s an article from Treehugger.com regarding the likelihood of such a garden coming into existence.

I’m really stoked to see other people bringing the Victory Garden back–but this isn’t just about cultivating your own food in a time of crisis or economic downturn people. It’s about a permanent commitment to local solutions to our environmental, economic and moral challenges. And by local, I don’t mean within 100 or 50 miles. I’m talking about 100 or 50 feet from your doorstep.

But wait a sec little girl…I don’t live in a house, I don’t have enough yard or space to plant a garden.

Not true. You don’t need an acre lot to get meaningful yields. In fact, you don’t even need a yard. I lived in a condo and used my porch to grow tomatoes and herbs. Now, I’m lucky to have a big yard, roomies with green thumbs and the motivation to plant a full-fledged organic smorgasbord right outside my back door. But that’s the ideal. Creative cultivation is still magnificently possible.

Here are 5 ways (tried and true, by your favorite little girl with a BIG VOICE!) to become your own grocery store w/out being in possession of a single square foot of yard space. In the process you will save money on your grocery bills, contribute to solving the environmental crisis and provide you & yours with the healthiest produce available.

Photo Credit: vegancampus.com

1) Wheat grass

Wheat grass is kind of like bamboo. Even those of us with the “black thumb of death” can grow wheatgrass. You can grow wheat grass in trays with a paper towel lined tray in a sunny window and it doesn’t take an ounce of soil–another little tidbit I learned from the Raw Model. Choose a decorative tray and voila! You’ve got yourself a nutritious AND attractive knick-knack for the home!

Photo Credit: rawfoodnation.wordpress.com

2) Sprouts

Sprouts are like the cheapest nutrition ever. With the exception of from-the-wild edibles (such as the ones I discussed last summer in my post on freegan finds), sprouts will absolutely get you the most bang for your buck. They are packed with live enzymes and nutritional goodness that will revitalize your body and mind. Just about any raw nut or seed is easily sprouted and this ups the level of good things going into your body by leaps and bounds. Some of my favorite things to sprout are quinoa (I’ve got some going right now), mung beans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. All you need is a jar and some mesh. No soil needed for these either.

Photo Credit: www.jaygaulard.com

3) Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of my favorite things EVER. I eat them all the time and they make up a noticeable portion of my grocery bill. So I love summertime when I can save loads of cash with just a few plants. Tomatoes are easy to care for and can be grown in pots or in ground. I grew two potted tomato plants on my condo porch in Charlotte and didn’t know what to do with all the tomatoes that came out of them. I had to give them away because I couldn’t eat them fast enough.

Photo Credit: www.sunset.com

4) Potted Herbs

I’ve never understood why herbs in the store cost so damn much. Or why people spend their hard earned cash on them when they can be grown year round in the home. I LOVE this set of ultra-mod indoor herb pots by Ikea.

These + a few organic seedlings from Abundant Life Seed Company are the perfect addition to any windowsill. If you live in a warm climate or it’s spring/summer, go ahead and plant outdoors, but just remember that for the cold months, these little guys will provide you with all the seasonings you need for healthful and local meals.

Photo Credit: www.numerart.com

5) Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is best known for its use as a soothing fix for burns, but did you know the gel inside aloe plants is edible? Yup! Even better–it’s nutrient packed and incredibly beneficial for your system. Aloe’s healing properties work INSIDE your body as well as externally on your skin. I love it in smoothies and I love pots of it around my home. They look great, are incredibly easy to grow and breed–which makes them great gifts for family and friends! Even Martha Stewart is in on the secret.

And while all of these are easy ways to get the freshest produce possible with VERY little effort in an urban or indoor setting, you’ve got another option as well. Urban community gardens are popping up all over the country on rooftops and little plots of in-city plots of land. If wheatgrass on the fire escape and herbs on the window seal don’t satisfy your craving to be an urban farmer, then please do check into these opportunities. My friend Jean Ann has a great site, called Gardner to Farmer, developed for city dwellers looking to get involved in urban farming. She even has a seed sharing program going that I can’t wait to be a part of!

So remember. It’s starts with you and me.  WE make the choice to take back control!

A few closing tips: Only use organic/non-Genetically Modified seeds and fertilizer. I personally like Terra-Cycle, because they not only use pure worm-poop, but because they also re-use old soda bottles, etc. as their packaging. Employ natural pest-control–don’t go reaching for the Miracle-Gro or Round-Up!!! NO NO NO!!! There are plenty of effective organic/natural options that won’t fill your home or body with nasty chemicals or harm our precious planet.

And other than that–have fun! Experiment with it. Believe me, I’ve got the black thumb of death previously mentioned in this post, but even I’ve been successful at these endeavors. Happy planting!!! And if you want to send me some pics of your home gardening projects–I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to posting them here! HINT HINT!!!

(L to R) Me, Miss Ivo and Jon @ 2009 Twestival PDX (Photo Credit: Ivo Lukas)

Yesterday I had the absolute PLEASURE of working with two of Portland’s finest: Ivo Lukas and Jonathan So. Ivo, Jon and I are all big fans of Twitter and of charitable giving, so we couldn’t help but get ourselves involved in the global charity event Twestival. Over 175 cities around the world independently threw fundraisers on the 12th, with the hopes of raising $1 Million bucks for charity: water. It was an awesome example of what we can do when we put our heads together and it was freakin’ inspiring!

I learned two things from that experience:

1) It’s really easy in a city like Portland to get people involved in giving for a great cause. The people here are super engaged and very conscious of the global and local issues affecting our community. They are generous and caring and that makes me even happier to be here!

2) I want to do more! We want to do more! Times are hard. People are struggling all over the world (including in our own “back yard”…and in our front yard too, for that matter) and those of us who are fortunate enough to still be doing O.K. need to start lifting our fellow human beings out of this mess. We can’t just hunker down into our own little worlds and expect to get out of this one. The only way we’re going to make it through is to be collective, community-driven and giving. It’s a counter-intuitive approach when you’re scared if you’ll be losing your job next month too, but it’s the only thing that works.

So stay tuned for info on our next event and how to give to some very worthy causes, even if you aren’t based in the Portland area!

Having all the money in the world won’t necessarily put food on your plate–at least not at the rate we’re going. Here are three facts (one obvious and two startling)

1. There are more people in the world than ever before (Duh).

2. There are more people going hungry in the world than ever before.

3. There is a larger available food supply available than ever before (and that is large enough to meet the nutrition needs of the entire global population).

So how the hell does that second fact remain very real and even more deadly? How are so many starving, even as they spend their lives tending the land?

A quick answer is this: Those with plenty are hoarding and producing their bounty at the expense of those without.

It’s really a helluva lot more complicated than that. That answer could be expanded into about a million long-winded doctoral research papers, but the point is that the actions we are taking now to produce our own food supply here in the so-called first world are killing (literally) those in the developing world, where, ironically a lot of our food supply comes from.

Poor nations, seeking to make payments on their Structural Adjustment Programs, force their farmers to grow only cash crops, such as biofuels. In short, this leaves their population hungry (because so much land is diverted to growing material to be exported rather than eaten by their people) and their government with all the money (which is generally an issue, since many governments in these nations have a historical tendency and current propensity to be hugely corrupt).

But even more frightening than the current global food crisis (which is pretty damn scary, even though its often ignored by those in well developed and over-fed nations) is the very real future situation we’re getting ourselves into by continuing to rape and pillage our lands. Yes indeed, unbeknown to the masses, our trust in major industrial agri-business players is extremely ill placed. I think Wes Jackson, co-founder of the Land Institute, says a lot about the topic.

“We live off of what comes out of the soil, not what’s in the bank. If we squander the ecological capital of the soil, the capital on paper won’t much matter… For the past 50 or 60 years, we have followed industrialized agricultural policies that have increased the rate of destruction of productive farmland. For those 50 or 60 years, we have let ourselves believe the absurd notion that as long as we have money we will have food. If we continue our offenses against the land and the labor by which we are fed, the food supply will decline, and we will have a problem far more complex than the failure of our paper economy. Remember, if our agriculture is not sustainable then our food supply is not sustainable… Either we pay attention or we pay a huge price, not so far down the road. When we face the fact that civilizations have destroyed themselves by destroying their farmland, it’s clear that we don’t really have a choice.”

It’s clear that we don’t really have a choice. Strong words, indeed.

What is also clear: We do have a voice. We do have a vote. Even though we are in a time of dire economic turn down, we make choices every day that tell the major players how we expect them to act. By supporting local and organic farmers, by starting your own organic garden (which will, by the way save you a TON of money this spring and summer), by driving less, using less, demanding renewable power sources that do not disrupt the global food supply, by recycling and buying products that are made from sustainable and earth-friendly materials, we force their hand and make them play by a new set of rules that we, the people, create.

Most people understand that fossil fuels are bad for the earth, but many are unaware of the dangers of petrochemical fertilizers, genetically modified seeds, biofuels, and monocultures and their proven (and unproven) effects on the human body and our environment. And it’s some scary shit. You won’t look at an non-organic apple the same way ever again once you know. Those of us who are aware, we have to voice that information as well. We have to be honest, well-researched, and pragmatic in our approach. We can’t afford to alienate people with extremism, but we also have to make people understand the magnitude of these issues. It’s a monumental task, but as Jackson said, we don’t really have a choice if we want to continue to enjoy plenty. Just ask someone in Ethiopia, who hasn’t eaten in a week, how important it is for us to take care of business before we end up with a nation of untenable land. They’re already there.  I’m sure they’d have a thing or two to say about it!

We’ve reached the Penthouse–I WISH!!! And only if it had solar panels, green insulation and a rooftop victory garden! But I digress. I’m posting the last of the 30 Second Elevator Speeches I filmed in Washington. We’ve reached our last stop on the line. But don’t even think for one milli-second that we’re through using our collective and individual voices. And stay tuned for opportunities to speak out on littlegirlBIGVOICE. I’ve got more projects running around inside my head than I know what to do with or have hours in the day to spend on. You never know where I’ll be next!

Sincerely,

lgBV (coming soon to a city near you!)

Going up? Here are some more 30-second elevator speeches to our new President, Barack Obama. Got something to say yourself? Leave us a comment! Who knows? He’s still got his Blackberry. He might just see these!

Let’s play a little game of “what if?” What if you were riding an elevator one day–minding your own business, reading the paper, fiddling with your iPhone, impatiently counting the floors as they flew by–and he gets on. Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America, and you are alone in an elevator and he asks you if anything is on your mind. Anything at all. Comments, questions, criticisms.

What would you say? What would you tell our President if you had 30 seconds to get it all out?

Well I asked some people while I was in Washington D.C. and New York, and here’s what they had to say.