Late last month, we launched an Internet store to make it easier for you to support our programs. Whether you are near or far, buying from our Internet store makes sense. With your purchases and donations, you help support a nationally-recognized model for local multi-use sustainable land development.

Our program was recently presented as a model program at Green Festivals - Washington, DC. For more information about our program, be sure to read the end of this newsletter. Also, be sure to visit our informational website that describes our programs in detail and our Internet store which boasts an extensive list of resources for local community food production and food security.

Thanks for your interest, and thanks for your support!

Imagine quarter-acre city gardens teeming with fresh fish and vegetables, dotted every few miles throughout urban areas across the globe, where nearby residents walk from their home to the farm and purchase their protein and vegetable needs for their families.

Imagine minimal or no transportation costs, no refrigeration or storage costs, and no extra labor costs on top of what the farmers are paid to grow and tend the food.

This is the ultimate vision of the "ecoCITY Farm."

The ecoCITY Farm culture, known as enviroponics, combines aquaculture and chemical-free greenhouse plant production that may be capable of organic certification. It would create enough food from a quarter-acre block to fulfill a significant part of the daily diet of 300 families.

Using only 5% of the water used by traditional aquaculture systems or traditional farming, the concept would be adaptable to different climates and work in all but the coldest of conditions.

The direct to consumer system would allow the ecoCITY Farm operator to build strong customer loyalty and to educate customers about their food and related health and ecological issues. This integrated production, service, marketing and education package would have the capacity to reposition agriculture and associated agribusiness in urbanizing part of the world.

Advantages of the ecoCITY Farm include:

• Strategically positioning food production and consumption in urban areas in the context of pandemics, globalization, global warming, natural disasters, human health, community health and environmental health;
• Addressing environmental management systems, food safety, food security, integrated pest management, and biosecurity;
• Integrating with building and city design, including water reuse and organic waste recycling; and
• Consistent with developing international trends such as direct marketing, local food and a consumer driven food chain.

Read the complete article in Agriculture Today . . . (2MB, pdf)

Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized for its potential contribution to urban poverty alleviation, urban food security, productive reuse of urban wastes, urban greening, local economic development, and community development, among others.

The rapid urbanization that is taking place goes together with a rapid increase in urban poverty and urban food insecurity. By 2020 the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America will be home to some 75% of all urban dwellers, and to eight of the anticipated nine mega-cities with populations in excess of 20 million. It is expected that by 2020, 85% of the poor in Latin America, and about 40-45% of the poor in Africa and Asia will be concentrated in towns and cities.
Most cities in developing countries have great difficulties coping with this development and are unable to create sufficient formal employment opportunities for the poor. They also have increasing problems with the disposal of urban wastes and waste water and maintaining air and river water quality.

Urban agriculture provides a complementary strategy to reduce urban poverty and food insecurity and enhance urban environmental management. Urban agriculture plays an important role in enhancing urban food security since the costs of supplying and distributing food to urban areas based on rural production and imports continue to increase, and do not satisfy the demand, especially of the poorer sectors of the population. Next to food security, urban agriculture contributes to local economic development, poverty alleviation and social inclusion of the urban poor and women in particular, as well as to the greening of the city and the productive reuse of urban wastes.

RUAF publishes an online magazine entitled The Urban Agriculture Magazine. The latest issue, #18, is Building Communities through Urban Agriculture.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening a new location at 4628 E. Washington Ave. (between Zeier Rd. and E. Springs Dr.) near East Towne Mall, in Madison, Wisconsin. As part of their grand opening, they will be sponsoring a fundraiser for Friends of Troy Gardens on Wed., Nov. 28 from 5 PM to 8 PM. For $5, individuals get a Chipotle burrito and drink. All proceeds will go to Friends of Troy Gardens. 

Before the end of this year, Chipotle Mexican Grill will no longer serve any cheese made with milk from cows treated with the synthetic hormone rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone). That will make Chipotle the first national restaurant chain to eliminate rBGH entirely from items on its menu.

rBGH, also called recombinant bovine somatotropin or rBST, is a synthetic hormone that stimulates milk production in dairy cattle. Use of rBGH has been banned in a number of countries, including 25 European nations, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1993, the use of the hormone in this country has been controversial for many reasons, including potential health concerns for humans and the animals treated with the hormone.

The announcement earlier this month represents the latest development in Chipotle's "Food With Integrity" mission -- a commitment to making socially responsible, gourmet food available and affordable so everyone can eat better. To that end, Chipotle now serves more naturally raised meat than any restaurant in the world -- meat raised humanely without antibiotics or added growth hormones, and fed a pure vegetarian diet. Also, 25% of the black and pinto beans served at Chipotle are organically grown.

"Chipotle has been making positive changes to the food supply system for a number of years, and we're extremely pleased that they've chosen to make being rBGH-free part of that commitment," said Rick North, director of the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility's Campaign for Safe Food, a non-profit group that's been collaborating on a nationwide education campaign opposing rBGH. "As consumers become more aware of the issues associated with rBGH use and the alternative companies like Chipotle are providing, they are clearly stating their preference for rBGH-free dairy products."

"Pennsylvania agriculture officials have banned the use of hormone- and antibiotic-free labels on dairy products sold in the state, upsetting food-safety advocates and handing the chemically enhanced dairy industry a significant victory. The ruling takes effect Jan. 1 and would affect at least 19 companies that label their milk or other dairy products as having come from cows that are free of hormones, antibiotics, rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), or rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). New Jersey and Ohio are considering similar label bans. Monsanto, the company that manufactures the most common growth hormone given to cows -- among other things -- defended the ruling. Michael Doane, the company's spokesperson, said that the hormone-free label 'implies to consumers, who may or may not be informed on these issues, that there's a health-and-safety difference between these two milks, that there's 'good' milk and 'bad' milk, and we know that's not the case.'" [Grist Magazine Inc. (2007). "Don't Cry Over Labeled Milk: Pennsylvania bans hormone- and antibiotic-free labels on dairy products." Daily Grist, November 14, 2007.]

For more information:

If you like our newsletter, please be sure to forward it far and wide to your friends and acquaintances. You can use the forward link at the bottom of this page.

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And your comments are always welcome. Send your comments to director@troygardens.org.

While you are checking out our new ecommerce website, please support our work and our vast array of programs with a one-time or monthly donation, a gift to our endowment fund, or by becoming a member. We continue to strive to provide an exemplary learning experience for you and others promoting sustainable multi-purpose land use with a focus on local food production and food security in an urban environment.

Make a gift to Friends of Troy Gardens - an independent, educational tax-exempt nonprofit organization - and you help educate thousands of people each year with the skills necessary to make a sustainable future a reality.

It is your generosity that makes Friends of Troy Gardens work for all of us. Your gift will enable us to add more educational offerings, produce Savor the Summer in 2008, educate 600 school children at Troy Gardens and in public and private schools and expand our children's education program, provide sponsorships to low-income individuals and general support to our gardeners in our 330 community garden plots, continue restoration of five acres of prairie, further develop and increase production at our organic farm and CSA with 110 household-members, and more.

Please give generously. Your gift is so very important for us to continue making more people aware of the critical importance of sustainable living, local community food production and security, and ecoagriculture for our survival and the health of our planet.

Please don't delay. Send your end-of-year contribution TODAY. Thank you for your support

Peak Everything: Waking Up to the Century of Declines by Richard Heinberg (2007)

The 20th century saw unprecedented growth in population, energy consumption and food production. As the population shifted from rural to urban, the impact of humans on the environment increased dramatically.

The 21st century ushered in an era of declines, in a number of crucial parameters:

• global oil, natural gas and coal extraction,
• annual grain harvests,
• climate stability,
• population,
• economic growth,
• fresh water, and 
• minerals and ores, such as copper and platinum

To adapt to this profoundly different world, we must begin now to make radical changes to our attitudes, behaviors and expectations.

Peak Everything addresses many of the cultural, psychological and practical changes we will have to make as nature rapidly dictates our new limits. This latest book from Richard Heinberg, author of three of the most important books on Peak Oil, touches on the most important aspects of the human condition at this unique moment in time.

A combination of wry commentary and sober forecasting on subjects as diverse as farming and industrial design, this book tells how we might make the transition from The Age of Excess to the Era of Modesty with grace and satisfaction, while preserving the best of our collective achievements. A must-read for individuals, business leaders and policy makers who are serious about affecting real change.

Listen to an interview with Richard Heinberg from WRPI.

About the Author

Richard Heinberg, the best-selling author of three of the most important books on Peak Oil, is an essayist of uncommon breadth. His scores of published articles touch on the most important aspects of the human condition, always with a view to the historical and cultural context of our unique moment in time. A recipient of the M. King Hubbert Award for Excellence in Energy Education, Heinberg lectures widely on oil depletion and its implications for agriculture, urban planning, and daily life. Previous titles on the subject include The Party's Over, Powerdown, and The Oil Depletion Protocol, which won Foreward Magazine's 2006 Gold book of the Year for Environment.

Heinberg is a member of the core faculty at New College of California, a Research Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute, and an Advisory Board member of the Solar Living Institute. His award-winning monthly Museletter has been in publication since 1992.

Did you know you can make a donation to Friends of Troy Gardens every time you browse or buy products online?

You may already be using the exciting new Internet search engine called GoodSearch. If you do, every time you search the Internet, Friends of Troy Gardens or other non-profit, school or charity of your choice earns a penny. Friends of Troy Gardens is already earning money through this innovative cost-free method of fundraising. If you are not already using GoodSearch, just go to www.GoodSearch.com to find out how.

And now you can also use GoodShop.com, a new online shopping mall which donates a percentage of each purchase to your favorite cause. Although here at Friends of Troy Gardens we don't recommend shopping as therapy or entertainment, we all need things from time to time, and often online shopping is more ecological than a trip to the store. So the next time you need something online, look for it first through the GoodShop.com mall.

More than 100 great stores offer travel, clothing, electronics and more through GoodShop, so that every time you place an order, you'll be supporting us. Target, Macy's, Travelocity, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Staples and over one hundred other retailers will donate a percentage of each purchase you make to Friends of Troy Gardens!

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Friends of Troy Gardens as the charity you want to support.

Friends of Troy Gardens is now listed as a charitable organization with the Pierce's Community Foundation. If you live in an area where there is a Pierce's Market, please sign up for a Pierce's Market Card selecting Friends of Troy Gardens as your "charity of choice." Use your card each time you visit a Pierce's Market and a portion of your purchase will come our way at no extra cost to you. In the third quarter of this year, an organization in Baraboo, Wisconsin, received about $2,000 from the foundation as a result of its supporters signing up and using the Pierce's Market Club card.

You can sign up by going to Pierce's Market Club Card Application page, completing the form, and selecting Friends of Troy Gardens (Charity Group Code #1275) in the "Choose a Charitable Group" section.

Pierce's Markets have been a long-time supporter of Friends of Troy Gardens. In 2005, they donated a large truck to us that is often used in support of our farm, community gardening, and education programs.

So if you live in or near Madison, Baraboo, Muscoda, or Portage, Wisconsin, please sign up for your Pierce's Market Club Card and designate Friends of Troy Gardens (Charity Group Code #1275) today!

For environmental positions throughout the world, the following are some good websites for your review:

• EcoEmploy.com
• Environmental Career Opportunities (EcoJobs)
• Environmental Careers Organization
• Environmental Jobs & Careers
• EnvironmentalCareer.com
• execSearches.com
• Green Dream Jobs
• Idealist.org
• Orion Grassroots Network
• Sustainable Ag Jobs
• Thingamajob.com - Environmental Jobs