WILL CAFOs PREVAIL IN MISSOURI?

Governor Nixon has ONLY 15 Days to VETO HB 209 Call Governor Nixon TODAY-- VETO House Bill 209! House Bill 209 (The Factory Farm Protection Bill) has been delivered to the Governor's desk and Governor Nixon has only 15 days to veto it (by Monday, May 2nd). Please Call & Email Governor Nixon! Tell him to VETO HB 209 or any bill that limits the rights of family farmers and rural landowners to protect their property through the court system. Call Governor Nixon: (573) 751-3222 Email Governor Nixon Here: http://governor.mo.gov/contact/ Message: HB 209 hides behind the majority of Missouri's independent family farms to protect Smithfield Foods (PSF) and a very small minority of industrial livestock operations. HB 209 limits the constitutional rights of family farmers and rural landowners from protecting their property through the court system from the negative impacts of industrial livestock operations. Similar to the misuse of eminent domain, HB 209 represents a "taking" or "condemnation" of one's personal property without just compensation, and creates a disincentive for factory farms to clean up their act and become good neighbors to farmers and rural families who have oftentimes lived on their land for generations. HB 209 is clearly a CAFO protection bill that takes away the property rights of thousands of independently owned and operated family farms and rural landowners across the state. Corporate agri-business and their lobbyists convinced some legislators to protect a small minority of corporate industrial livestock operations at the expense of Missouri landowners and family farmers and their constitutional right to protect their property. This is just plain wrong and cannot stand! Support Family Farmers, Landowners and Property Rights--VETO HB 209!

Vacant Properties and Reuse: Urban Agriculture - PANEL DISCUSSION - KCMO - MAY 4th, 2011

From: http://www.lisc.org/kansascity/

We are pleased to announce the next session in our vacant properties informational series.

Vacant Properties and Reuse: Urban Agriculture

Wednesday, May 4, 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

Kauffman Foundation Conference Center

4801 Rockhill Road - Kansas City, MO 64110

Utilizing vacant properties for food production is one way cities across the nation are putting properties back into productive use. Kansas City has over 12,000 vacant or abandoned properties. Are gardens and food production one potential way to repurpose our land? A panel of experts will discuss how to harness local policies, practices and citizens to support the production and distribution of food systems that promote regional health, economic and land use opportunities.

Featured Panelists:

• Malik Yakini, Detroit Black Food Community Network
  http://detroitblackfoodsecurity.org/officers.html
• Dan Carmody, Detroit Eastern market
  http://www.detroiteasternmarket.com
• Karla Hendersen, City of Detroit
  http://www.detroitmi.gov/

The panel discussion will be followed by a local response from Kansas City, featuring Katherine Kelly (Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture).

Please RSVP, as space is limited!

***Notice! We have moved!***

Ashley Jones-Wisner
Program Officer
Director of State Policy
Greater Kansas City LISC
600 Broadway, Suite 280
Kansas City, MO 64105
(816)753-0055 x20
ajones (a) lisc . org
www.lisc.org/kansascity

Sustain Lane has some IDEAS FOR EARTH DAY - 2011

FROM: Sustain Lane

Back in the good old days of early 2008, interest in a healthy, sustainable planet had grown to such levels that some suggested doing away with Earth Day all together. Soon therafter, the economy went into a tailspin and -- many feared -- took "green" along with it. Fast forward to 2011: the economy is on the mend, jobs are coming back (slowly but surely), and Americans are starting to feel good about themselves again. But are these positive signs translating into a resurgence of interest in sustainability? SustainLaners take America's pulse in this special Earth Day Edition newsletter.

IN THIS ISSUE

What NOT to Do on Earth Day

The State of the American Green Movement

Earth Day: Then and Now

WHAT NOT TO DO ON EARTH DAY

You've probably already received hundreds of tips on what you should do to celebrate Earth Day - and by now they are most likely a big mish-mash in your brain. For a change of pace, take a look at Diane MacEachern's innovative list of ten things you SHOULDN'T do. After all, sometimes isn't it nice to just say no? Don't Do THIS on Earth Day! Have your own thoughts on what NOT to do on Earth Day? Let everyone know what you think onSustainLane.com!

THE STATE OF THE AMERICAN GREEN MOVEMENT

James E. writes about a new report by HSBC, with the horrific headline that they think we will be out of oil in 50 years: "If supplies were not constrained, the world would see a 110 percent jump in demand by 2050, equivalent to 190 million barrels a day..." read more. With a little help from the BBC, Beth S.highlights the first deepwater drill permits given out since the BP Gulf spill: "In a statement, a US official said Noble Energy had demonstrated it could safely drill a well 70 miles (113km) off the Louisiana coast. The well is situated 6,500ft (1,981m) under the Gulf of Mexico..." read more. Peggy E. believes that while the economy is getting itself back on track, the green economy still has a long way to go. She offers a great list of five resources for finding a green job for anyone still looking to make money in a way that is good for people, profit AND planet: "New jobs in renewable energy, green building, organic foods and environmental research are created as society becomes more aware of the importance of protecting the earth for future generations..." read more. A man may have coined "Earth Day," but women have played an outsized role in the environmental and sustainability movement here in America. To highlight the importance of their contributions, Women of Green, in conjunction with Kathleen Rogers, the President of Earth Day Network, have put together a list of several women fighting hard today to help stop climate change and advance the cause of sustainability. Have your own thoughts on the state of green as it exists today? Share them on SustainLane.com!

EARTH DAY: THEN AND NOW

Earth Day: History and Fun Facts Earth Day, celebrated April 22nd, is a day set aside to honor the Earth. Did you know Earth Day is now observed in 175 countries and is the largest secular modern day holiday in the world? Lessons from the Gulf As we celebrate Earth Day this year, it seems like the perfect time to reflect back on possibly the greatest environmental disaster in our nation's history. One year later, what have we really learned as a country from the BP Gulf Oil Spill? Are we any better off today than we were then? The Current Attack on the EPA The Environmental Protection Agency was born during a time when air pollution was highly visible across the country and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring topped bestseller lists. Right now, the EPA is being attacked, and its funding has been threatened by conservatives in Congress. Do we still need the EPA, or are conservatives right when they say that the EPA has already fulfilled its mission and is no longer necessary? Five Ways You Can Help Save Life on Earth Looking back into the past and taking stock of where we are now are both important, but as always, we need to look forward in order to make a difference. Read on to see five things we all can do in the next year to help make the earth a better place to live. What do you think about the stories in this edition? Let us know at SustainLane.com!

Join SUSTAIN LANE

Friend SUSTAIN LANE GREENGUIDE in Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1075063776

Music at All Souls Presents: Rosy's Bar & Grill - A benefit for the Missouri Rural Crisis Center - Sunday, May 15th, 2011

Rosy’s Bar & Grill is a Kansas City folk music tradition, delighting audiences with striking vocals and engaging acoustic arrangements since 1977. They have played for everything from coffee houses and concert halls to prisons and livestock shows. Rosy’s performances are characterized by an exuberant interchange with the audience, while demonstrating real concern for the people they sing to and about.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

7:00 p.m. - $15 at the door

All Souls UU Church, 4501 Walnut, KCMO

A benefit for the Missouri Rural Crisis Center

Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) is a statewide progressive voice for preserving family farms, promoting safe high-quality local food, and supporting civil rights and economic opportunity for all working people. MRCC advocates agricultural policies that promote fair agricultural markets, stewardship of the land, and universal access to nutritious, affordable food.

Willie Nelson says,

"Farm Aid supports Mo Rural Crisis Center …
it is a classic example of why
Farm Aid came into existence
– to keep big corporate farms from
running over the little people.”

Find MO Rural Crisis Center on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117936335269

MO Ten Thousand (10,000) Garden Challenge

From: http://agrimissouri.com/gardens/

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY CONTEST

RULES

• The Garden must be registered as a Community/Church or School garden.
• The garden must be nominated by the person who registers the garden.
• A description must be given in 1,000 characters or less of why the garden should win.
• A photo representing the garden or garden plan must be uploaded.
• The garden may already exist or be in the planning stages.
• There will be one winner per category.

VOTING

• Anyone may vote once per day through June 30th.
• Ten Winners will be announced at the State Fair.

PRIZES

Prize packages are valued at over $500 per package and include the following:

• $150 Gift certificate and a gift box from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
• 20 Fruit trees from Stark Brothers
• An assortment of tools and supplies
• 50 tickets to the State Fair for each winning group

Register Now

Watch (Local KC Grower) ORGANOTILL on YOUTUBE

Help Center | Email Options

organotill just uploaded a video: Growing Mycorrhizal Fungi, Part One See video garden calendar at organotill.org. Filmed 4/17/11. Shows PART 1 of the mycorrhizal fungi growing process to make inoculant for next year's garden plants. This is one of many videos that follows the gardening season chronologically in Kansas City and similar areas. We hope that people can follow along and work in their own gardens at organotill.org. Organotill.org features organic no-till methods used at Niles Home for Children's Garden, Tracy Garden & elsewhere. More

GET GROWING, KC!

Do you grow veggies in your backyard? Has your neighborhood started a community garden that you grow in? Are you an urban farmer that goes to market? The number of people farming and gardening in our city has skyrocketed over the last few years in Kansas City, with more land than ever growing good food for individuals, their families, and the community. We are setting up an ANNUAL GET GROWING KANSAS CITY MAP to keep track of how many new gardens and farms get started every year because we want to know HOW MANY OF YOU are growing and HOW MUCH LAND you are growing on and WHERE all this great activity is happening in our metro area. We ask ALL gardeners, farmers, and anyone with a tomato in a pot on the porch to be counted in an annual survey to show the progress our city is making toward a stronger and healthier local food system. Haven’t started growing yet? This is your call to hoes! Get out in the dirt, plant some seeds, and get your growing counted! This mapping project is part of a new initiative, called Get Growing Kansas City, led by the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, Kansas City Community Gardens, and Lincoln University's Innovative Small Farmers Outreach Program. Over the next 2-3 years, the Get Growing KC Outreach Team will engage in a campaign to encourage and support our city to GET GROWING through: Home Gardening – you just can’t beat the pride and flavor of eating fresh picked tomatoes from your own backyard! Community Gardening – no land at home? Find an empty lot and engage your neighbors to grow more than just food – you will grow relationships and strengthen community ties. School- and faith-based gardening/farming – schools and churches often have land and people available – what better way to use the resources than growing good food for kids or charity? Urban Farming – Soaring interest in eating fresh, local food means we need more urban farmers growing for markets, Community Supported Agriculture, restaurants and grocery stores. The team will also work to increase access to locally grown food- through farmers’ markets, on-site stands, and other community-based food projects. If ever there was a time in history when we needed, as a society, to be taking more control over our food system and the food we put on our plates, it is now! We hope you’ll pass this along to other growers you know – we want a true picture of what is growing in Kansas City! Please contact katherine (a) kccua . org with questions or comments about the mapping project. Thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey and for all the work you do to Get Growing!

EARTH DAY at JCCC - Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday, April 22nd: EARTH DAY!

• EARTH DAY at JCCC!
  GOING GREEN at Johnson County Community College!
  

  The Student Environmental Alliance (S.E.A.) at Johnson County Community College will host its fourth annual Earth Day event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, April 22, in the Commons Plaza on the JCCC campus.

  Earth Day is a campus and community educational and networking event revolving around issues of sustainability.

UMKC Food Fair! WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY!

• The UMKC Local Food Fair
  on Volker Campus!
  Pt.1

  
  The fair will be held from 10am-2pm on Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 at the Volker Campus Quad.
  
  This will be a showcase of local and organic food producers, restaurants, and student artists and musicians. Students, faculty, staff, and the community will be able to sample and purchase goods as well as receive education from local producers about their products. Student artists and musicians will be providing entertainment throughout the event.
  
  If you or someone you know is interested in helping or being a part of the UMKC Local Food Fair!,
  please contact Brett Shoffner:

  bscm8 (a) umkc . edu

  
  

  
  

• The UMKC Local Food Fair
  on Volker Campus!
  Pt.2

  The fair will be held from 10am-2pm on Friday, April 22, 2011 at the Volker Campus Quad.
  
  This will be a showcase of local and organic food producers, restaurants, and student artists and musicians. Students, faculty, staff, and the community will be able to sample and purchase goods as well as receive education from local producers about their products. Student artists and musicians will be providing entertainment throughout the event.
  
  If you or someone you know is interested in helping or being a part of the UMKC Local Food Fair!,
  please contact Brett Shoffner:

  bscm8 (a) umkc . edu