By Anim Steel

For many of us, Fall is harvest time. It’s also soccer season in North America. And for one group of farmers and food lovers in North America, the two go perfectly together.

“Farm-soccer” in Lincoln, MA is now a weekly ritual: a pick-up game of soccer created years ago by members of a regional farmers’ association. Today, farm-soccer has a large and diverse following. Many players don’t work daily on the land. But it retains its original name, its sideline chatter about potato weevils, and a spirit of friendly inclusion. The game is thoroughly co-ed, international, and good-natured. It has sparked many friendships which otherwise would not have existed.

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A view of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt.

By Rowan Dunlap

You may wonder how Egypt, a desert country with only 3.4 million hectares of cultivated land, can sustain its population of over 78 million. The answer is quite simple, it can’t.

If there is one thing I learned during my semester in Egypt, it’s that Egypt is a country of paradoxes. It is common to see a donkey cart rolling through the middle of downtown flanked on either side by brand a new Mercedes Benz, to see lonely bands of Bedouins roaming the desert and yet Cairo is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The contrast between Egyptian past and Egyptian present is constantly on one’s mind. The state of agriculture falls into the same paradoxical dichotomy. One can take a high-speed train through the Nile Delta past fields laced with donkey paths and farmed with wooden hand tools but if one takes a train in the opposite direction, it is the Aswan High Dam that you find, an enormous technological project that drastically changed the face of agriculture in Egypt. (more…)

Movement building in New Orleans: Vietnamese American youth led their
community in the successful shutting down of a landfill in their
neigbhorhood.

Are there things that seem obviously true to you right now? Weekends are days off and being paid under a certain wage is unreasonable. No one should be kept from entering a restaurant because their skin is a different color. Males and females should both be allowed to go to school and receive equal pay. Yet, you and I both know that even these were not obvious truths to most people not so long ago. It took massive movements for change to make a belief of just a few, into an accepted view of the many.

What will it take to move people across this country and world to make choices that uphold food systems, healthy to our bodies, relationships and land? Can “movement thinking” and examining other movements, past and present, offer insights to you all who are working on creating this change? As someone who has been working in efforts parallel to yours-specifically, mobilizing youth and communities for racial and economic equality-I offer a few observations that may be relatable to the emerging sustainable agriculture movement.

“You can’t create movements but you can prepare for one.” This provocative assertion from Jim Wallis, a seasoned participant and leader of several movements, helps demystify and put the task of making change within reach. He, and others who have been part of historic moments of sweeping change, have described the experience as being part of a force much greater than themselves, not unlike a force of nature. So, instead of being daunted by the overwhelming task of creating an entire movement, consider focusing on what you can contribute towards making wise preparations.

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“If a pot is cooking, a friendship will stay warm.”
- Arabic Proverb

Sharing a meal with anyone can create a bond, large or small, that may be fleeting, but often times can last a lifetime. Preparing, cooking and eating food is all a part of this bonding experience. And as the above quote suggests, it is food and a meal that can build lasting friendships and healthy communities.

Because of the important connection that food can create between all of us, reap/sow has created the Recipe Marketplace. The Recipe Marketplace will allow people from around the world to share recipes and stories about the food that is meaningful in their own life and the life of their community. These recipes need not be elaborate, but merely something that you are excited to share.

Every dish has a story, whether it regards origin, composition, or personal connection. It is our hope that this will be a forum for sharing these stories and recognizing the amazing impact of food on our lives. Food is a powerful social force. In recognition of this significance, we hope that conscientious (but not exclusive) use of local, organic, and fair trade products will be apparent in your recipes.

We hope that people will share their recipes and by doing so create new connections with people who also have a passion for cooking food that has been nourished by healthy people, healthy land and healthy communities.

In order to submit a recipe, please send a title, a one sentence descriptive blurb, a paragraph or two describing its significance and the recipe to rnemec@thefoodproject.org. Photos, poems, and other forms of expression are also great additions to submitted recipes.

We look forward to your recipes and we hope that the Recipe Marketplace will create new friendships and keep the old ones on the burner.

Pad Thai ala Local Vegetables

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In Vancouver this October, young people from around the world stood up for what they believed-literally. The young people, ages 14 to 26, were delegates to the annual Community Food Security Coalition. As a way to foster dialogue about the movement, participants were asked to place themselves along an imaginary line according to how much they agreed or disagreed with a read statement.

Below are some of the statements and a few of the opinions expressed.

Statement #1: I feel like I am part of a movement.

“Actively choosing how you spend your money, time, and energy IS the revolution. This means having control over your own life and needs, it means not letting outside forces have control over you.”

“Saying movement sounds like a pretty big claim, but just by agreeing with the movement, you are part of it. You don’t have to be radical but by saying this is what I believe in and what I stand for makes you part of the movement.”

“In my work I build raised beds with volunteers and teach others how to build raised beds themselves. I’m always surprised at how many kids show up, some of them very young, and they’re excited to get involved. It’s not just about adults getting food, it’s also about teaching kids that they can grow their own food and provide for themselves. It’s hard to change the mind of someone older, but when we teach a kid it sinks in and then they’ll teach their kids and it spreads.”

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