this discussion is all very present-oriented - if you're listening at all to Bethany and Jon's TCLocal work, you'll know that "energy descent" - what I've been thinking of as post-peak oil - is going to hit far sooner than we realized, especially now that the world economic system is experiencing such upheavals. This means that we MUST move QUICKLY toward local food self-sufficiency.
And Walmart, which depends on China for its manufacturered goods, will be an empty warehouse - all which is to say that these erudite comments about Vermont etc aren't as useful as actually moving ahead with something concrete about farming/food availability cooperatives. BETHANY & JON: can you comment? LEVEL GREEN - fostering sustainable community through collaborative initiatives in hospitality, education and the arts, in the 150 year-old democratic spirit of the Danish Folk School. 1519 Slaterville Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 339-9472 --- On Sat, 10/11/08, George Frantz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > From: George Frantz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [SustainableTompkins] Local, collaborative farming > To: "Sustainable Tompkins County listserv" > <[email protected]> > Date: Saturday, October 11, 2008, 12:05 PM > > Why assume the continued dependence on the > WalMart/Wegman's centralized procurement/distribution > system model? > > There are a number of cities in Pennsylvania that have > since colonial times operated publicly-owned central markets > where individual stalls are leased to small-time local > producers of food and and fiber. > > The City-owned Central Market in Lancaster has been > incredibly successful in staving off the chain supermarkets > in that city, while providing residents a variety of > produce, baked goods, meats and seafood at competitive > prices from over 100 vendors who lease stalls in the > building. Because of its presence downtown just about > every office has a full-size refridgerator and downtown > office workers extend their Tuesday and Friday lunch > hours to do their food shopping. > > The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia serves the same > purpose. > > Another possible model for local procurement would be the > Co-op Supermarket in Greenbelt, Maryland. Established in > the late 1930s as part of the overall Roosevelt New Deal to > create a new model for cities in the Uited States, the Co-op > continues to be a full-service, independent, cooperative > owned supermarket in downtown Greenbelt. > > We have to look at revamping the entire system, top-down, > in a manner that ensures quality affordable food for all > incomes, and an equitable return on labor and investment for > our farmers. That includes viable alternatives to Wegmans > and WalMart. > > George Frantz > > > the _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins > County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins > County area, please visit: > http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
