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The Rocky Road Crew visits Farmer Dick Jensen's Flying J Farms.
We had a blast in Pittsburgh yesterday, but the road show must go on. We got back on the highway early on Wednesday morning, and headed to Columbus. Hang on, Sloopy! (Ohio’s official state rock song.) Our first stop was at the Ohio State Fair, cow suits and all. (If you haven’t yet seen the cow suits, they are as versatile as they are refined.) The plan was to talk to fair-goers about the Department of Justice and USDA hearings being held this summer to investigate the lack of competition in agricultural markets. Needless to say, big agribusiness isn’t a fan. Read more…
Hello from da Burgh—Pittsburgh that is! (How yinz doin’?) We hit the road bright and early yesterday so we could get to the city of three rivers in good time. (Fun fact: Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in America, and second only to Venice in the world.) On our way to our first cooking demonstration of the trip, we stopped off at the East End Food Co-op for supplies. This is Pittsburgh’s only member-owned natural and organic food market. I saw the most incredible selection of local honeys and something new to me: sprouted lentils.
Chef Rocky Barnette prepares a meal for the Braddock Youth Project in Pittsburgh using produce from their garden.
On August 27, USDA and the Department of Justice will jointly host a workshop about concentration in the livestock market, one of the working parts of our food system and a critical segment of the work we are doing on the Farm Bill.
When you walk into a supermarket to buy steaks, pork chops, or ground beef, you may not realize that a lot of choices have already been made for you. Before you’ve had a chance to weigh in, industry giants control where the meat you buy comes from, including the type and size of the farms that raise the livestock.
The livestock sector needs change and USDA’s proposed rule—which is only the first step in the right direction—is at a critical juncture in the legislative process.
Most of us don’t follow the rules and regulations that dictate how livestock producers and processors get their products to our tables, but much of this process seems to favor factory farms over small farms. Some farmers and producers raise their livestock using sound and sensible practices that yield safe, healthful food with little to no environmental impact. But others, like industrial-scale factory farms, pump their animals with hormones, ignore food safety practices and pollute groundwater in the process. If we want to have better choices at a more reasonable cost, protecting fair competition in the marketplace is critical. Read more…
Chef Rocky Barnette and some of our staff from the outreach team will be hitting the road for 11 days of food philosophy.
One of the best traditions of summertime is the road trip. At Food & Water Watch, our version is called the Chef Rocky Road Trip! Tomorrow, Chef Rocky Barnette and some of our staff from the outreach team will be hitting the road for 11 days of food philosophy. They are driving across the country to explore the current state of our food system by visiting a few farms and food festivals, cooking up some delectable recipes from sustainable ingredients, and talking to people about the policies and practices that affect our food choices—namely, the Farm Bill. Read more…
