MetaFilter posts tagged with farming

Meat is Murder is Movie

DaddyNewt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:04:15 -0800

Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home Tribe of Heart's first film, "The Witness", was an eye opening look at how one man's whole life was changed by an encounter with a kitten. Their new film, "Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home", tells the story of a group of farmers coming to grips with the realization that they can't continue to make a living from the suffering of animals.

Loser has to keep America clean!

jeremy b — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:38:06 -0800

Family Guy Corn Maze. Walk among the rows with Brian and Stewie.

Messy, Painful, Bloody and Dirty

chrchr — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 23:32:07 -0800

Critics of modern farming practice have swayed popular opinion in recent years. Now farmers are talking back. Farmer Blake Harris takes critics of farming to task for misrepresenting his trade. Another farmer says it's not so simple.

We Are Peculiar People (Regarding Food)

Askiba — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:47:10 -0800

Getting Real About The High Price of Cheap Food. Why the food we're eating is hurting us, the animals we eat, our world, and what people are trying to do about it.

VIMBY?

goodnewsfortheinsane — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:52:04 -0800

Suburban farming, an idea whose time may have come. Short and sweet SLYT from the Wall Street Journal about people growing herbs and vegetables in their own yards in American suburbia.

Mini Moo.

grapefruitmoon — Mon, 25 May 2009 10:10:23 -0800

In these hard economic times, everyone's feeling the pinch. Some farmers have started downsizing to miniature cows.

Walden Pond / A Frog Jumps In / Plop!

barrett caulk — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:16:08 -0800

Given recent economic woes, in conjunction with ecological, national security, and community issues regarding food production, does Japan have an interesting idea? Of course, certain contingents likely will be suspicious of such a plan in the States . . . . Bonus, almost completely unrelated, link to thirty translations of the Basho haiku that I copped my title from.

A Farm For The Future

Happy Dave — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:17:54 -0800

A Farm For The Future. Wildlife filmmaker Rebecca Hosking, previously in the public eye campaigning for the banning of plastic bags in the UK, is moving back to the family farm to take over from her father. This "deeply hopeful but realistic film" describes her investigation of the steps she could take to change it from a traditional beef pasture farm to a truly sustainable permaculture environment. An alternative to fossil-fuel driven high intensity farming that moves the focus of food production towards high-yield, low-acreage sustainable crops grown in ways that mimic natural systems, permaculture advocates believe that we can feed the world, rebuild biodiversity and live sustainably into the bargain. While it would require huge changes to our petrochemically derived diets and a significant return to the land for millions, it might be our only option. Better get started then.

So much for organic farming?

bitter-girl.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:02:51 -0800

No conflict of interest there, no sir. Organic food fans and small farmers alike are saying if HR 875 is passed, it will mean the end of organic farming in the United States. An overstatement? Perhaps, but HR 875 has serious flaws. The bill, introduced by Rosa DeLauro last month (who happens to be married to Stanley Greenburg of Monsanto, the world's largest producer of herbicides, chemical fertilizers and genetically engineered seeds), is here. This isn't the first bill that could damages small farms under the guise of protecting consumers. Remember NAIS? HR 875 isn't getting a lot of press yet except on slightly fringe-y blogs. Two less-panicky responses to the bill here and here.

It is pronounced "uh-GRIK-oh-lah."

Shepherd — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:18:21 -0800

Vegetable farming! Boar breeding! All the maniac thrills of 17th century agriculture -- on your tabletop! Since its introduction two years ago, Agricola has grown from being a German hit to a runaway success worldwide -- at least among the niche market of serious board game fans. Generally recognized as the absolute apex of 17th-century farming simulation board games, it is -- in its base form -- a relatively simple game where two homesteaders attempt to build a thriving farm while increasing the size of both their homes and their families. But deep gameplay and an engaging theme have led to a passionate fanbase. It has inspired people to trick it out, buying "animeeples" and "vegimeeples" from-third-party suppliers (and even contraband animeeples) to upgrade their standard wooden-cubes-and-discs Agricola sets. Gamers have spent hundreds of hours analyzing board game farming strategies. Debates rage over whether the Wet Nurse is better than the Taste Tester, or if the Stone Oven eclipses the Hearth in cost-per-use terms. This has even resulted in cards being removed from the deck in tournament play. And now, the nail-biting drama of 17th-century agrarian life is no longer confined to the kitchen table or to sharing shelf space with Blood Bowl and Settlers of Catan! An Agricola fan has bought several copies of the game and ported it online, so those who cannot slake their thirst for farming through the medium of cardboard chits and wooden sheep can now do it virtually as well.

Farmer in Chief

homunculus — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:15:23 -0800

"Dear Mr. President-Elect, It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food." Michael Pollan advises the next president on what he can and should do to remake the way we grow and eat our food. [Via]

Thomas Jefferson Papers

marxchivist — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:33:53 -0800

The Massachusetts Historical Society has a nice collection of Thomas Jefferson's papers online. It includes two catalogs of Jefferson's books, a draft of the Declaration of Independence and his Garden Book. Architectural Drawings too! I kind of like the Garden Book for some reason. Some mundane things like March 21, 1774: "Peas of Mar. 10. are up" and interesting entries like May 22, 1773: "articles for contracts with overseers." Yes, he had slaves. Here is a list of some of them. I always think Jefferson is interesting, plus I think this site is straightforward and easy to navigate, and you can download nice, big images of the manuscript pages.

Urban farming, Architecture, and Art

lunit — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:47:56 -0800

P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is a project designed by WORK Architecture Company for MoMA and P.S.1's Young Architects Program. P.F.1’s intent is to "educate thousands of visitors on sustainable urban farming through the unique medium of contemporary architecture." An artist in Providence, RI developed a similar installation called Green Zone, "an organic vegetable, herb, and flower garden planted in the detritus of wartime consumption: used tires, shopping bags, shoes, and other repurposed containers" at local venue Firehouse 13.

Death of a Pig

Wolfdog — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:38:08 -0800

(Life and) Death of a Pig - farmer to butcher to curer.

Farm life in 1910

caddis — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 09:04:31 -0800

Farming with Dynamite Do stumps, clay or tired old soil have you down? Let "Red Cross" dynamite come to your rescue. (A blast from the past via ) More books at fourmilab.ch previously.

Cluck. Cluck. (Thwack)

Chrischris — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:20:16 -0800

How to Butcher a Chicken. From killing to plucking to gutting and freezing, Herrick Kimball takes the budding poultry farmer step by step through the process.

A Shed By Any Other Name...

amyms — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:55:41 -0800

"As a great architect once said, 'Buildings should look like what they are'." John Jessop became so frustrated with the red tape required for his company to get permission to build a farm shed, he submitted a sarcastic application . Read his full "Planning Application for Erection of Agricultural Implement Shed" here [pdf, 3 pages]. No word yet on whether the shed was approved. Via.

Sitting Out Earth Day

netbros — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:23:47 -0800

The new face of hunger -- “World agriculture has entered a new, unsustainable and politically risky period” says the International Food Policy Research Institute. Food riots have erupted in countries all along the equator because of soaring food commodity prices. So, where does the world get more food? If the extra supplies are to come mainly from large farmers in America and Europe, then they may be trapped in a farm subsidy Catch-22. Increase production per acre? We just learned about the myth of GM crops (previously of MeFi). All of this is why some are just sitting out Earth Day.

Tilling Word and Land

anotherpanacea — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:09:38 -0800

Wendell Berry is an agrarian writer, poet, and Mad Farmer. Perhaps most famous for his decision not to buy a computer, which stirred some controversy, Berry is an anti-war, anti-state, anti-capitalist, conservationist conservative. Thoughts in the Presence of Fear: A post-Sept. 11 manifesto for environmentalists A Citizen’s Response to the National Security Strategy Many more links, essays, and poems here.

Monsanto Milk

homunculus — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:00:33 -0800

Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear. "Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination."

The Decline in African-American Land Ownership

miss tea — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:03:08 -0800

In 1910 African-Americans owned 16-19 million acres of land in the United States, much of it rural farmland. Today, that figure has dropped to less than 8 million acres overall, and less than 2 million farm acres. What happened? In some cases, violence— whites would forcibly take farmland, a homestead, or a home from the black residents, who were often powerless to fight back in the face of systemic racism, threats of retaliation, and the 'enforcement' of the thefts by the Ku Klux Klan. More perniciously, many of these losses were the result of forced partition land sales. Many legal scholars and activists today are working to reverse the trend. [some pdfs]

Extended extension post

Upton O'Good — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:20:40 -0800

The Cooperative Extension Service, founded in 1914 in the US by the Smith-Lever Act, was established in concert with the land-grant universities to develop practical applications of agricultural research, and spread them to farmers and others throughout the country. As part of this education program, the extension programs have produced and collected an extraordinary amount of practical advice, easily accessible to the layman... As it supports the farming community, much of this information concerns things important mostly to farmers: crop and livestock information, pest control, diseases. A lot of the publications also concern issues in people's personal lives: dealing with money, proper nutrition, food safety, overcoming hardship. There are plenty of articles useful for gardeners and cooks, and plenty of unusual topics to interest the curious. Below are some of the more interesting/useful ones I've found. (Warning: many PDF files below.) Raising alligators Raising all sorts of fish, including tropical ones Raising chickens at home for eggs Raising bees Raising pheasants Growing shiitake mushrooms Growing Christmas trees Growing rhubarb Growing coffee (hint: live in Hawaii) Growing citrus trees (you should start here) Growing pretty much every other kind of fruit Growing chile peppers Growing hydroponic tomatoes Growing herbs Making maple syrup (especially this one) Pressing your own apple cider Drying corn for Plains Indian dishes Cleaning and preparing a deer Practicing the art of sausage-making (with recipes!) Organizing a Southern barbecue (also with recipes) Curing a Virginia ham Making pickles and sauerkraut Making your own wine Canning fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, salsas, etc. Drying fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts, and seeds Smoking poultry and fish Deep-fat-frying your Thanksgiving turkey Making your own jams and jellies (with or without cooking them) Cooking ferns and other wild greens Making fruit syrup Making homemade cheese Making homemade yogurt Starting a worm farm Composting correctly Making hay Controlling your beavers Building a root cellar Building a greenhouse (with a few additional considerations) Building bird and bat houses Harvesting wood (and how to use a chainsaw) Refinishing wood furniture Making clothes and Creaing bonsai You can find links to nearby extensions here; Wikipedia also has a list.

Go with your love to the fields ... ?

woodblock100 — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 04:25:56 -0800

"My general feeling about farmers is that they can go fuck themselves." The most recent essay published in the new online magazine 'The Smart Set', is a rather contrarian view of rural life, and poses an interesting question: just why does our society have a general consensus that rural=good and urban=bad?

"What do the farmers really believe, anyway? ... Don't they know that the mute indifference of nature is as terrifying and empty as the noisy scrambling of the metropolis?"

Horse Power

homunculus — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 18:15:27 -0800

Horse Power: A practical suggestion that would transform the way we live.

"First to fall over when the atmosphere is less than perfect..."

rzklkng — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 07:04:39 -0800

Killered Bees. The NYTimes covers the mysterious collapse of commercial honeybee colonies over the last 5-months, covering dozens of states. The disease, Colony Collapse Disorder, does not have a determined cause. The Canary Database indicates that bees can serve as "canaries in a coalmine" for human diseases, as many other animals do. Some of the suspected causative agents (as reported [pdf] by Penn State) include a immunodeficiency, the hive consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, nutritional stress, parasites, infectious diseases, stress due to colony splitting and relocation, insecticides, and antibiotic use. The die-offs are likely to adversely impact both prices and crop yields.