school lunches

Check out the Farm - we are changing school lunches. Join in the fight!

Healing with whole foods

We just got a copy of this book by Paul Pritchard, "Healing with Whole Foods." Wow!

Meet the MuddField Gang

Click here to meet Isadora, FarmGirl, Buzzinator and more! "Human-heroes for soil" we call them. Follow their adventures by joining FarmGirl's blog

lesson plans being seeked!

We're looking for the best lesson plans that 'promote agriculture for good health within all communities' where as the term communities may be defined by your own creativity.

Please include:
URL to plan or plan via email
school where it is being used
your name and 411
target age group
define your community (town, religion, sport, geography, etc.)

Submit here (alter form as needed)

thanks!

other links of interest:

Girls and dirt

Wahoo! Female farmers are on the rise. Click here to learn more.

school lunch reform?

what have you planned for your school lunch reform? We're just getting started but have lots to do before 20 March 2005, National Ag Day in the USA. Post your ideas here.

New Ag Secretary

Bush announced his choice for the new secretary of agriculture.

"The new agriculture secretary will play a leading role in shaping farm policy for the U.S., which has been accused by the World Trade Organization of providing unfair subsidies to producers. "

click here to learn more

Do you know anything we should about this job or person? Email us!

Super Size Me

The movie, "Super Size Me" by Morgan Spurlock made the short list for the Academy Awards Documentary division. Way to go Morgan and team! Also, check out the woman behind the life-saving diet at http://www.healthychefalex.com.


What's in your milk?

We've said it a million times. What is in your milk?

I don't know and I"m FarmGirl. There are lots of FarmGirls tho. It's a state of mind, a place in the heart. I am off to see what is in my milk....



I was amazed at the lack of interaction the USDA offered visitors.

Thousands of folks walk by every day, in the mood to see interesting items,

They are willing to learn, they want to learn! Yet all I saw were a few

Computers, some $800 aeron chairs and some reading materials. Click here to learn more.

Ag Secretary steps down

Ann Veneman steps down as national secretary of agriculture. Click here to learn more.
Grrrargh! Smallville is at it's apex. The phone rings. The wireless connection is dismal at this end of the Farm. There is much to do before year end. We're raising money for the MetroFarm, the MuddFieldGang, and the continued promotion of agriculture for good health within all communities. And I mean ALL communities!

Working the Farm isn't much different than any other farm. We have needs for feed and fertilizer. We have desires for efficient equipment.

Oh, West wing is on, got to run.

Ralph's Super Markets

Wahoo! I just received a flyer from Ralph's supermarket (CIK), and it was targeted toward organic, health conscious audience. Finally, they get it. I love Whole Foods (WFMI) but competition is good for everyone from the farmer to the consumer. Way to go, Ralph's!


Presidential debate - watch it!

I had not imagined going through a life change that mirrored my fathers. Our retirements forced for different reasons yet we arrive at similar situations. My body, assaulted with a disease, ended twenty-odd years of corporate bliss. My father aged gracefully with time. There is no cure for either, so onward we retire.

I’m on my twenty third CD for the day. A day of recording, mixing, matching. A day of business with LW and coding on the Farm.

Today was a day of Farm maintenance: emails, broken links, content feeding.

Tonight is a very important day: Watch the presidential debate!

FarmGirl Visits the USDA on national mall in DC

I was amazed at the lack of interaction the USDA offered visitors.

Thousands of folks walk by every day, in the mood to see interesting items,

They are willing to learn, they want to learn! Yet all I saw were a few

Computers, some $800 aeron chairs and some reading materials. There were a handful of interactive monitors and talks, but the purpose was definable only as a PR MOVE FOR President Bush.

The food guidelines were outdated and there was one piece of literature in Spanish. Most discouraging was the fact I had to convince the guard that I really wanted to see the exhibit no matter how puny.

Two blocks in any direction were some of the most visited sites in DC: The holocaust museum, the American history museum, Washington monument. Talk about an opportunity missed. Fellow Muddfielders, we have a job to do!

Three-sisters

The "Three Sisters" are also the three basic agricultural crops of Native Americans in North America, squash, maize (or corn), and climbing beans.

In a technique known as companion planting, the three crops are planted close together:

  1. build flat-topped mounds of soil for each "cluster", about a foot high and 20 inches wide
  2. plant several corn seeds close together, in the very center
  3. when the corn is 6 inches tall, plant beans and squash around the corn, alternating between beans and squash

The three crops benefit from each other:

  • The corn provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles
  • The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants remove
  • The squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight to prevent weeds
  • The squash also acts as a "living mulch," creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil
resource: http://www.free-definition.com/

Washington, DC

Wahoo! FarmGirl and the MuddField Gang just returned from Washington, D.C.:

Day 1
The plane bumped slightly on the landing. Knowing that hurricane Ivan was lingering had not seemed important. The airport closed just prior and right after our landing due to tornadoes. The Gang collaborated over dinner and pulled their act together: This mission is crucial.

Our first guise was to attend the opening of the new Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indians. Wow. The content was unexpected, creating a refreshing mind challenge that continues today.

We scoured the exhibits for pertinent information and yes, there was enough to warrant a part in the new agricultural promotional tour which will start at the USDA on the National Mall.

We have a lot to do for the USDA does not know about their new educational tour.


Yet.

Learn new words

Introduce yourself, friends or family to a new, yet scary word!
Frankenfood
What is Frankenfood?
a. Food created by Frankenstein
b. Food modeled after Frankenstein
c. Food eaten by Frankentstein
d. Food from Frankfurt, Germany
noun. Food derived from genetically modified (GM) plants and animals.
Globesity
(gloh.BEES.uh.tee) n.
What does globesity mean?
a. excessive globetrotting
b. obsessive compusive disorder centered around earth
c. having the physical appearance of a globe
d. worldwide epidemic of obesity
The worldwide epidemic of obesity
http://www.wordspy.com/words/globesity.asp
ape diet
AYP.dye.ut) n.
What is the ape diet based on?
a. eating only apes
b. sir roger ape iii
c. primate preferences
d. FarmGirl’s banana soup(
noun. A vegetarian diet that emphasizes soy protein, soluble fiber, nuts, and leafy green vegetables.
http://www.wordspy.com/words/apediet.asp
-FarmGirl
FarmosaFarms.org
818.585.5660
promoting agriculture for good health

Quote this

“To get to the zone of intuition many people have to walk through the gate of another fear: being crazy.”


Hendricks and Ludman, The Corporate Mystic

Thank you to MsJones Design!

We have never properly thanked the team at MsJones Design and we feel horrible! If it were not for Ms Jones, the farm would only have been a suffocated dream. Thank You, Erika, Bobby and little Conor for all of your inspiration, support, patience, instruction, patience, laughter, patience. We love you! We will beat the Evil Captian Sludge and get the sludge out once and for all and we are in your debt.

xo,
Farmgirl, Slam, Boopadee, EllieBelly and the Buzzinator, who will forever be a guiding spirt for the Farm.


2 September 2004

Imagine an organic farm acting as a neutral zone for the Bounty Hunters, Bloods and Crips? If you are not familiar with these terms, welcome to the projects of Los Angeles, where one lady is changing the world.

Anna Marie Carter, aka the Seed Lady of Watts, started with an idea, a chair and first and last months rent. Less than three years later, Ms. Carter runs the Watts Garden Club where she teaches, leads and encourages over 350 children from the surrounding hoods with one goal in mind: To create a self-sufficient, urban farm. And they are making it! After continuous hard work, the students have sold enough organic soaps to make a down payment for their urban farm.

But inner city farming is tough; between the politics of gangs and the need for food to survive, everyday is a battle. The Watts Garden Club has received several grants to help their cause, with one coming this fall to specifically take the student on tours outside of Watts to see how agriculture and farming works beyond drive-bys and bandanas. With an accumulation of $6K in donations, the Club will receive $10.5K in donations. Not a bad investment at all!

We must help Anna reach the $6K by the end of September. This is coming up very quickly. Please, find it in your heart to help her and the children of Watts build their dream. Donate Now! All donations are tax deducatable through the Earthways Foundation.

--------

Farmosa Farms is a proud supporter of the Watts Garden Club. Our mission is to promote agriculture for good health within all communities, what better way then to support the Seed Lady of Watts. Please, help us help the world!

xo,
Farmgirl






31 August 2004

Wow, did you see the articles in the WSJ yesterday? One was on milk consumption and the other on new dietary guidelines. Nicholas Zamiska wrote about milk consumption. The new guidelines pump up the recommended dairy levels. Good and bad, like many solutions. A compromise for the consumer who may opt to do something else with an extra $5 per month. Is it that much worse to buy one more cheap twelve-pack of soda? Imagine if our schools think that way. Er, maybe they already do. There is a milk club in the smallest of coastal villages that encourages the discouragement of sugar-based sodas. I am getting the scoop on it. Soda hits the sugar fix, and maybe if one drinks more soday they will drink less alcohol. But soda will rot nails in a jar. Try it. Place an iron nail in a glass of soda and watch it. Can't be good.

30 August 2004

Have you seen Super Size Me? I saw it at the Sundance Film Festival. Definitely a must see. Way to go Morgan! There is no one to blame but ourselves regarding obesity in our country. Geez, how embarassing, disease or not. We see the light, but many, so many folks are not able. It is our duty to help others and make available affordable healthy food for all communities.

signature post

The Farm is up and running! Here we go MuddField Gang: Off to save the world. It is time to educate and elevate. If you are new to the Farm, here are the quick and dirty facts. We are a group of kids fighting to save our soil. We infiltrate businesses, we create products, we explore the depths food and agriculture to bring you the facts so you can form an educated decision.


We just returned from Alaska. Our task: step into the shoes of the motherhood for two weeks. whew. This was a doozie, not much different than class IV whitewater. Here's one of our fellow MuddFielders under cover in Homer, Alaska. We stayed at the Seaside Cottages, owned by singer Jewel's aunt. Organic raspberry jam, community barbecue, outhouses.

Fat Cities

Did you catch the article by Helen Cordes in Sierra, Jan/Feb 05? For three years running, Houston held the title of America's Fattest City. The fact is, kids are fat these days. What can we do?

What's in your milk?

Seriously, do you know what is in your milk? It is the middle of November. We've been riding the fence-line here at the Farm, checking on all our perimeters. Seems like we have some work to do.

Ag Day is coming up in three months. We need a complete school uprising to happen by then. Wahoo! Hold on to your hat, this is going to be a doozy. Not only do we not know what is in our milk, half of us don't know where it comes from.
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