Posts By: Fred Gerendasy

Michael Pollan on Tom Vilsack Appointment to Head Agriculture Department

Michael Pollan on Tom Vilsack Appointment to Head Agriculture Department

There was an old commercial on television once (does anyone remember it?), “when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen” and a noisy room would instantly go quiet as the wise investment advisor spoke. Boy, has that pendulum shifted! Today, when Michael Pollan talks about food, people listen. Or, let’s hope they do!. On NPR this morning, [...]

A City Looks Toward Defining Its Future

A City Looks Toward Defining Its Future

Damascus, Oregon (population: 10,000) ponders how to integrate existing urban agriculture into its future urban fabric. Damascus, Oregon is located about 20 miles southeast of Portland, incorporating the surrounding communities of Damascus and Carver to become a city in 2004. It occupies roughly 10,000 acres (16 miles); now designated inside the Portland Metropolitan urban growth [...]

Sky Vegetables: A Brilliant Notion

Sky Vegetables: A Brilliant Notion

One of the big challenges facing our modern industrial food system is the heavy reliance upon fossil fuels for the growing of crops, and the transporting of them long distances to market. An average head of lettuce travels 1500 miles before reaching the supermarket shelf, a longer distance than many of us travel on vacation. [...]