Small is Beautiful and Vital!

We came across an excellent article today by the venerable David Suzuki speaking to the importance of small-scale agriculture to global food security. He points out that healthy ecosystems, of which agriculture is an integral part, must maintain a level of balance and biodiversity that large-scale agriculture is incapable of providing. Sounds most logical!

In contextualizing his perspective, Suzuki points to a paper in the Agriculture and Human Values journal authored by Michael Jahi Chappell and Liliana LaValle entitled Food security and biodiversity: can we have both? The journal article points to the tendency of industrial agriculture to try to correct mistakes by devising "new crutches" to tackle them, such as more powerful pesticides, soil manipulation, etc. This ever deepening hole is now consuming us!

The post WWII and green revolution argument that industrial agriculture is the only way to feed our burgeoning global population is losing its lustre in light of obvious shortcomings. Increasingly, concerns by citizens that perhaps governments and corporations might not have their best interests at heart are predominating.

Suzuki closes his article with the following quote from Chappell & LaValle:

If it is ... possible for alternative agriculture to provide sufficient yields, maintain a higher level of biodiversity, and avoid pressure to expand the agricultural land base, it would indicate that the best solution to both food security and biodiversity problems would be widespread conversion to alternative practices.

We at Visionary Values agree 100% and will continue to present these issues to those around us. Let's take on the challenge to recover our connection to the land and our communities and ensure that future generations have the opportunity to eat healthy foods grown in sustainable ways!

Check out David Suzuki's website for more great information!

State Your Food Sovereignty

How can "ordinary citizens" take back control of basic rights in today's world? One way to send a message is to do what several states and towns have done recently: Demand Food Soverignty!

What does this mean exactly? Well, if you start with the concept of "you are what you eat," then a great first step is to find out what is IN what you eat. On a global level, we no longer have the sort of direct control over our decisions that our ancestors had. Increasingly, the foods we eat are genetically modified and sprayed heavily with chemicals. Many of us believe that this is not a good thing! However, our government, in its dangerous dalliances with companies like Monsanto and Dupont, have essentially stripped its citizens of the choice to not eat genetically modified foods that are chemically enhanced. Our world is an interconnected web of life and any interference or manipulation in the laws that govern it will produce cascading effects that we do not understand, nor can we predict.

So, food sovereignty declarations, though essentially "toothless" in the eyes of our legal system, can send strong messages to our lawmakers that we are watching them and that we are very concerned that our rights are being taken advantage of. For a brief overview of ways in which you can begin to build a movement in your town or state, click here.

For a link to a more globally focused statement, click here.

To be successful we must first be knowledgeable and educated. We also must work together. Let us know what you and your communities are doing to protect your food supplies.

Here is a direct link to the State of Maine's Resolution.

Organics Losing Ground!

Where do you stand on the issue of GMO alfalfa? We don't like it!

However, our feeling is that regardless of which side of this issue you stand, the discussion of choice and rights is key. For those who believe in and wish to eat organically grown foods, the options are becoming more seriously compromised every day! Our democratic way of life is intertwined with the whims and fancies of big corporations that now have those same rights and privileges as each one of us! Not good!

Questions to ask:

Can we stop the wind from blowing?

How about controlling the paths of pollinating bees?

Do we know the impact of animals eating the alfalfa and then pooping out viable seed somewhere? Perhaps to be used later in compost?

Do you want your food supply in the hands of a corporation such as Monsanto?

Contact the Organic Trade Association to make your feelings known at the White House.

Also, here is a good place to "plant" yourself for awhile if you'd like to read some discussions on the many sides of the GMO alfalfa issue. Beware, many of them are on the technical side!

“Earth to TransFair: Fair Trade is a Movement Not a Brand!”

It seems as though the waters of certification are trending to muddier and consumers will definitely be left with more reason(s) to question the self-appointed overseers of "ethics."

Recently, TransFair USA has applied for a name change and essentially a trademark on the term "Fair Trade USA." Why? Who really knows, but what is important is maintaining the concept of fair trade unencumbered by institutional whims and fancies and keeping its nose as clean as possible. After all, fair trade is a peoples' movement, one that must offer the consumer the best possible confirmation that its principles of dialogue, transparency and respect for humanity are completely upheld.

Check out the controversy and who supports the petition by linking to the title of this post. Then, sign the petition! Help us keep the oversight in the hands of consumers!

Sustainability in Rural Mexico

With six years under its belt, Bosque Village (near Patzcuaro, Michoacan in Mexico) a self-proclaimed combination of a campground, a rustic retreat center, a permaculture farm, and a forming ecovillage, has come a long way!

With its roots in the desire of founder Brian Fey, an expat from Washington State, to experiment with sustainability, a large and diverse collection of creative and enthusiastic individuals have come together to create a confluence of ideas and action. Bosque Village is a concept under perpetual development and a place to inspire and communicate the message of walking lightly on our earth.

Sustainable living is key to the foundation of this magical place. With no water available other than that collected from rainfall, no reliance on outside electricity (all solar powered), Bosque Village returns the gifts nature has bestowed. Propagating and planting native plants and trees is an ongoing process as is the documenting of local flora and fauna. They even grow the beautiful and important agave plant directly from seed!!

We will be communicating with folks at Bosque Village to facilitate the sharing of success and challenges folks around the world are having in implementing similar projects. If you know of other projects such as this, please get in touch with Visionary Values and also, if you wish, directly with Bosque Village.

We encourage you to check them out! We also want to let you know that it is not a dangerous place to visit! We have recently returned from a long-term visit in the state of Michoacan and encountered nothing to fear!

Recovering an Island Tradition

I recently returned from a bit of touring on the islands of Trinidad & Tobago in the West Indies. Although not specifically there for Visionary Values research, I can never stop myself from looking around wherever I am for signs of sustainability.

Now, I knew that T&T had a long tradition of growing cacao or cocoa, but I was unaware that this has essentially been on the decline for many years now. Trinidad holds most of the 1.3 million population of the twin island nation, but Tobago seems the be the island holding on to its historical traditions a bit more strongly. This may be due to the heavy reliance on tourism and the need to preserve the natural beauty for visitors.

Tobago is home to the western hemisphere's oldest protected rainforest which occupies 14,000 acres in the center of the island. This designation came on April 13, 1776! A very smart decision! In many of the islands coastal communities the residents still rely very heavily upon fishing and do so using methods such as poles and nets.

I had the opportunity to visit a place called the Tobago Cocoa Estate which was begun by a well traveled native Tobagian by the name of Duane Dove. A sommelier by training, his well developed taste buds are put to work on this fine estate. His goal is to recover the tradition of producing the highest quality cocoa and to do so using sustainable farming methods. Now, I still need to investigate further, but the claim is that he is producing his cocoa in a "chemical free" process. I need more details and will present my findings on our website in 2011.

Moving along though, Mr. Dove has produced Tobago's first single origin chocolate bar from his cocoa and it has received some very solid reviews! This means that the chocolate bar he has had produced (small manufacturer in France) contains only cocoa from his estate, whereas many bars have mixed sources. As I understand it, once his estate begins to get more solid footing, he has plans to actually produce the chocolate himself rather than ship it overseas. This is a process that is already underway at another island grower called Grenada Chocolate Company on the nearby island nation of Grenada.

Needless to say, growing cocoa on these islands, and in particular at the Tobago Cocoa Estate, is very difficult work! The inclines are great and the difference between the two seasons, dry & wet, present very challenging logistics. Visionary Values will present the challenges of these cocoa growers in 2011 when we unveil our overview of the chocolate industry. What you don't know will surprise you!

Great Tool For Sustainable Sourcing!

Came across this recent post on Triple Pundit. Tools such at the one developed by Sourcemap.org can be tremendously useful in opening dialogue on unsustainable processes as well as moving dialogue forward when sustainability is in need of some pushes forward. Many certifications of sustainability are not all they claim to be and yet, they are the best we have available. We believe that a full process exchange of needs and desires can benefit everyone! They should be strengthened until they improve or until they prove themselves inadequate. Consumers must make the push to move this forward.

Conscious Coffees - 2011 Micro Roaster of the Year!

Congratulations go out to our friends at Conscious Coffees here in Boulder, Colorado! Earning Roast Magazine's Micro Roaster of the Year is a great honor, doing it by adhering to stellar standards of sustainabiity is quite another. Check out the magazine's article in the most recent issue

Moving Forward!

We haven't been idle between posts, just BUSY! Our side project of developing websites for sustainable businesses has begun to take root. We love to consult with these folks and see up close just what they are up to regarding making the best efforts to operate lightly on the planet. Now that we have a space for deep breathing, we are hard at work putting the Visionary Values website together. We are genuinely excited about what we have to offer. We will also have the companion Facebook page together with our twitter account to complement the website.

Stay tuned!!

It Ain't Easy Being Green in Boulder, Colorado

Moving Forward!

Our efforts to document sustainable businesses and endeavors is in motion now! We are currently in edit mode and should have some excellent interview segments to share with you. Over the past few weeks we have conducted interviews with three businesses: Licious Organics in Boulder, Colorado and Karma Balm and Interiors Green in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. We are very excited to get this project underway!!

Additionally, there has been extensive video documentation of a build site here in Boulder featuring Artesano Plasterers Ryan Chivers & Phil Metzler. This project also features a living roof installed by Andy Creath of Green Roofs of Colorado. We look forward to conducting interviews with these folks as well down the road.

Visionary Values believes that by sharing inspiring stories of individuals and companies working more in harmony with our environment and supporting sustainability, we can encourage others to do the same. After all, we share this beautiful world and all of our challenges must also be shared!

A Link to Sustainable Palm Oil Video

Here is a Bloomberg story on palm oil production and a Liverpool, UK company's efforts to do so sustainably.

What do you think? We believe that consumers should take them up on their promise to source verify their palm oil and present their claims of sustainability in a transparent fashion. Just following up to confirm! If a large enough number of people made this request in an inquisitive and respectful manner, then consumers would have a fully justified reason to support this company's efforts if they are being honest and forthright.

The Palm Oil Conundrum

Palm oil is ubiquitous. It it almost literally everywhere one looks on the grocery shelves. It is also now becoming a key ingredient in the biofuels marketed globally. Indonesia is the world leader in production of palm oil and Colombia, a rising player, is the leader in Latin America. Even Brazil recently announced plans to develop areas of the Amazon for the production of this highly lucrative commodity. They plan to do so whilst minimizing the risk to the environment. Is that possible?

Suffice it to say, the manner in which palm oil is produced is generally massively destructive. Large tracts of virgin forest are clearcut and burned to make way for the monocropped palm plantations. Biodiversity is eliminated and soils are destroyed. In doing so, communities are often alienated, human rights are violated and localized societal unrest ensues. Corporations take complete control and locals are hired on to work the plantations for poor wages.

What is being done? Certainly not enough and not with sufficient haste.

What can consumers do? Check out the following for more up-to-date information on efforts to increase sustainability in palm oil production and to locate ways to identify sustainably produced palm oil:

http://www.greenpalm.org/
http://www.rspo.org/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/forests/3534204/Palm-oil-round-table-a-farce.html
http://understory.ran.org/2008/05/06/let-the-sleuthing-begin-theproblemwithpalmoilorg-goes-live/

Additionally, take a look at the following blog from a small producer with an eye towards small-scale production:

http://mysarawak2.blogspot.com/2010/07/integrated-oil-palm-farming-in-bintulu.html

What Does 'Sustainable Food' Mean, Anyway? - Food - The Atlantic

What Does 'Sustainable Food' Mean, Anyway? - Food - The Atlantic

More Bad News For The Environment!

A ban on the sale of genetically modified alfalfa seeds produced by my "favorite" company, Monsanto, has been overturned by the US Supreme Court! Those wonderful "smart" folks who declared that corporations are just like people, have struck again!! These lovely frankenseeds will now be sold BEFORE safety tests have been completed!! Does this make sense?? Not to us!!! Meat eaters watch out as alfalfa is mostly used as cattle feed.

Make some noise and stop our courts from allowing corporations to run roughshod over our rights as consumers to have control over what we eat as well as over what we eat eats!!

Conscious Capitalism Videos

Hey Folks!!

Check out CNNMoney.com for a few videos that focus on conscious capitalism. This one is an interview with 7th Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender.

A time for green brands

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

A time for green brands

View more presentations from whatidiscover.

2010 green brands global media final

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

2010 green brands global media final

View more presentations from Green Brands Survey.

We Are Responsible...

This is what happens when we release responsibility for our impacts on this beautiful planet:

Until we are willing and enabled to make the correct decisions, then the likelihood of tragedies such as the BP oil spill will always loom. We all must work together to ensure that transparency is a legal responsibility of our governments and corporations. In addition, consumers must provide the oversight of these entities. Consumers around the world, especially those of us in resource hungry countries and democracies like the United States, must take charge of information and DEMAND full transparency of activities and decisions which impact us and our health and the health of the planet (the same thing in our eyes). There clearly are those who must shoulder the financial and moral burden of the impact of this global disaster so that it can be cleaned-up and so that we all can learn to avoid anything remotely close to this again. Let's stop passing the buck and assuming or hoping for someone else to do what we are clearly capable of doing ourselves!

Green Butts!

The Onion Strikes Again!!

We are the problem & the solution!!