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Join Our List
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Vol.
II, Issue 5
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Mar. 5, 2008
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Welcome to our eighth "News Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow"
newsletter. We strive to bring you important, timely information about
urban agriculture, energy issues, sustainable practices, and more.
In this issue, you will find three important in-depth articles on
the following: (1) U.S. vulnerability due to increased
dependence on corn, (2) the emergence of GMO superweeds, and (3)
Saudi Arabia ending its wheat production.
This week marks the launch of our first "listserv." For
those of you who would like to communicate with each other via this
group mailing list, be sure to sign up by sending an email to troygardens-food-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
You may unsubscribe any time by sending an email to
troygardens-food-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. This is a moderated list.
Looking for part-time work and live in the Madison area? We have a
part-time opening beginning April 1 for a bookkeeper/ office
assistant. (See "We Are Hiring" below for more details.)
As always, be sure to visit our bookstore where for a limited time you will
find all books
priced at 20% off. Purchase from us and help support
our programs.
The beauty of Troy Gardens, and our organization called Friends of Troy Gardens, is that we not only
provide an opportunity for people to grow their own food locally in our
community gardens or purchase locally produced food from our organic
farm, but we also educate children and adults about how to grow food
and eat nutritionally. Our program is unique and emerging as a model
for other communities. Help us spread the word.
As always, please consider a membership or an individual or continuous monthly gift. Our programs only
exist, because of your generosity. So please give generously. With a
$100 gift or more, you will receive a FREE copy of our NEW CD, Troy
Gardens Journal, a $15 value. With a $150 gift or more, you
will receive a FREE copy of the 600-page Real Goods Solar
Living Sourcebook, a $35 value.
For Our Future,
Bob Gragson, Editor
Executive Director
Friends of Troy Gardens
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CORN IS
KING
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 And a
Growing Problem
"Increasing
dependence on the grain leaves the U.S. vulnerable to drought-induced
price spikes in food and fuel.
"Corn is a key element of the U.S. food supply. It is what dairy
cows eat to make milk and hens consume to lay eggs. It fattens cattle,
hogs and chickens before slaughter. It makes soda sweet. As the
building block of ethanol, it is now also a major component of auto
fuel.
"And that may signal trouble ahead.
"Economists are cautioning that the nation's growing dependence on
corn would make for a double jolt in the event of a drought across the
Midwest: soaring prices not just for food but also for gasoline.
"Analysts now warn that a 'corn shock' might not be far off -- and
it could lead to $5 gas and $3.50 eggs as the effects reverberate across
the economy. . . .
"Such a disaster would occur against a backdrop of soaring prices
for basic food items and other commodities that are already stressing
the economy. Coffee is up 21% to date, platinum 42% and already high
oil an additional 6%.
"After a torrid 2007, corn prices have risen an additional 20%
this year because of global demand for livestock feed, sweeteners and
ethanol. The rush by American farmers to forgo other grains to plant
cash-producing corn, along with weather problems, has squeezed wheat
supplies, pushing the price of that grain up 21%. Soy has risen 25%
this year.
"Analysts are already simulating what would happen if a drought
hit the corn belt. Bruce Babcock, an agricultural economist at Iowa
State University, estimates that corn could reach $8 a bushel from
$5.46 now.
"It could happen as soon as this summer. . . .
"As any farmer can tell you, Mother Nature is fickle. The U.S. has
suffered four major weather disasters since 1971 that wiped out 21% to
29% of the corn crop at a time.
"Periodic bad weather, including droughts, scorching heat waves
and cold, cloudy spells at just the wrong time, has reduced harvests by
billions of bushels. Previously, these disasters have raised food
prices. The next drought will be the first to affect gas prices.
"That's because ethanol -- mostly refined from corn -- will make
up about 6% of the nation's gasoline supply this year, and that's
expected to rise to 10% over the next five years. The amount of ethanol
used in California gasoline is expected to grow at a faster rate,
reaching 10% by 2010.
"But if there were a crop shortfall, the rising price of corn
would prevent ethanol distillers from earning a profit, prompting them
to slash production, Babcock said.
"Oil companies would have to scramble to fill that sudden gap with
conventional gasoline. Prices would soar for both fuels, said Philip K.
Verleger Jr., an energy economist in Aspen, Colo. . . .
"As demand for gasoline outstrips refinery expansions, fuel prices
will be linked more tightly with the size of the corn crop. 'You might
see a point where even the threat of a drought could cause gas prices
to rise,' Wells Fargo's Swanson said.
"Lester R. Brown, an author and president of the Earth Policy
Institute, sees a different scenario, one with global implications.
"He estimates that as long as oil prices continue to hover around
$100 a barrel, ethanol distillers could pay up to $7 a bushel for corn
and still make money.
"However, Brown said, 'if the ethanol producers stay in the market,
that will disrupt the food supply.'
"Because of the interrelationships among crops, a major shortfall
in the U.S. harvest could tip global grain and soy markets into chaos.
It would affect the prices of food made directly from these
commodities, such as bread, pasta and tortillas, and food made
indirectly, such as pork, poultry, beef, milk and eggs.
"If it happened this summer, it would be especially bad because of
the current pace of global food inflation. . . .
"The shortfall would lead to the 'politics of scarcity,' in which
nations would stop exporting their domestic grain and soy crops to keep
food prices under control for their own people.
"Even without a crisis in America's corn belt, that's already
happening, Brown said.
"In January, China levied export tariffs of 5% for corn, rice and
soybeans and 20% for wheat to keep grains from leaving the country.
Russia, Argentina and other nations also are slapping tariffs on grain
exports to protect their food supplies.
"All of this has contributed to the growing cost of corn and
wheat. With wheat prices at record levels, economists expect American
farmers to shift some corn acreage back to wheat, a move that could
make corn supplies and prices even more vulnerable to the climate"
(Hirsch, 2008). . . .
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ATTACK
OF THE SUPERWEEDS
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 GMO
Acreage Surges
"Global acreage of genetically modified crops
jumped 12 percent in 2007 -- 'the second highest increase in global
biotech crop area in the last five years,' gushes a report from the
pro-GMO International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech
Applications (ISAAA).
"Farmers planted an additional 30 million acres of
GM crops in 2007, an area nearly equal to the land mass of Iowa (a huge
swath of which itself is planted in GM crops). Overall, GM crops cover
282.4 million acres, ISAAA claims -- up from zero as recently as 1994.
"ISAAA hails the GM explosion as a boon to
humanity, ignoring serious evidence
that genetically altered food presents health risks. The group also
doesn't mention that the GM acreage is essentially limited to four
massive crops: corn, soy, cotton, and canola. That means that a sizable
swath of the globe's arable land is planted from a startlingly narrow
genetic base. Nor does it mention that a single company, Monsanto,
dominates this huge and growing market. (It holds the patents on 91
percent of global GM soy, 97 percent of corn, 63 percent of cotton, and
59 percent of canola).
"Finally, the report ignores the cascade of Roundup
(glyphosate), Monsanto's flagship herbicide, that has accompanied the
rise of GM. As the Center for Food Safety writes in a report released [last month], the great bulk of GM
crops -- covering four out of five GM acres planted -- are engineered
to withstand lashings of Roundup.
"In the U.S. alone, glyphosate use jumped by a
factor of 15 between 1994 and 2005, CFS claims. And this herbicide
gusher has given rise to a host of 'superweeds' -- weeds that tolerate
heavy doses of glyphosate. How do farmers deal with superweeds? By
jacking up the dose of glyphosate. . . .
"Moreover, the cascade of Roundup has not even
slowed down use of other, more toxic herbicides. Between 2002 and 2005,
CFS reports, even as corn farmers were jacking up Roundup use, they
also increased use of atrazine 12 percent (atrazine is applied to clear
fields of weeds before planting, so doesn't affect the crops.) A
similar trend holds for soy.
"The CFS report contains other interesting analysis
as well. For all the hype around GMOs, the group points out, 'they
continue to be the province of a handful of nations with
highly-industrialized, export-oriented agricultural sectors.' The
report continues:
"Over 90 percent of the area planted to GM crops is
found in just 5 countries located in North & South America: the US,
Canada, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. One country alone, the United
States, produces over 50 percent of the world's GM crops; the U.S. and
Argentina together grow over 70% of all GM crops" (Philpott,
2008). . . .
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SAUDIS TO
END GRAIN OUTPUT
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 Scarcity
of Water to Blame
"Saudi Arabia plans to halt wheat production by
2016 because of concerns about the desert kingdom's scarce water
resources, according to a US government agency.
"The Saudi Arabian government has not publicly
given details of the move, which comes as global cereal prices surge,
driven by strong demand and lagging supply. Top-quality wheat prices
for baking bread hit a high this week of $25 a bushel and have more
than doubled since January.
"Saudi Arabia will begin reducing production
annually by 12.5 per cent from next year and will use imports to bridge
the domestic consumption gap, the US Department of Agriculture - which
collects information on global supply and demand for agricultural
commodities - said in a report about the Saudi plan.
"It estimates that Saudi Arabia's wheat imports
will reach 3.4 [million] tons by 2016, which could place the Gulf state
in the top 15 largest importers of the cereal. The country at present
imports a negligible amount of wheat, while producing about 2.5
[million] tons annually.
"The forecasted increase in demand from Saudi
Arabia, in addition to already high consumption in the region - Egypt
is the world's second largest wheat importer - would tighten global
wheat supplies even further, analysts said. . . .
"The decision would represent a significant shift
in policy for the Saudi administration, which launched an agricultural
development programme in the 1970s, including the establishment of
irrigation networks, to become self-sufficient for some food supplies.
"From producing about 3,000 tons of wheat in 1970,
Saudi Arabia became a net exporter and by 1991 production had reached
3.8 [million] tons, according to government -figures.
"However, water resource issues have previously led
to reduced production of wheat and other grains. Demand for water is
increasing rapidly in Saudi Arabia as the population has swelled from 7
[million] in 1974 to about 24 [million], and the economy expanded
during the oil boom, with the government seeking to boost
industry" (England & Blas, 2008). . . .
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WE ARE
HIRING
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 Bookkeeper/Office
Asst. Wanted
We are hiring
a part-time bookkeeper/office assistant beginning April 1. Please read the job description and apply. Position begins
April 1 and is open until filled.
For other environmental positions throughout the world, the following
are some good websites for your review:
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JOIN OUR
LISTSERV
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Communicate
with Others
This week
marks the launch of our first "listserv." For those of
you who would like to communicate with each other via this group
mailing list, be sure to sign up by sending an email to troygardens-food-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
You may unsubscribe any time by sending an email to
troygardens-food-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com. This is a moderated list.
Our staff are on this listserv and available to answer your questions.
Staff will also post a variety of announcements here in addition to
news and information that doesn't make it into our newsletter.
We hope you enjoy this new feature we are offering.
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MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
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 Your Support Is Important
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, 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
and forest, further develop and increase production at our organic farm
and CSA with 110 household-members, and more.
- $50
provides a low-income gardener a garden plot for a season,
- $100
provides a service-learning opportunity for an at-risk youth,
- $150
provides a low-income child hands-on participation in our Kids
Gardening Program,
- $250
provides a free workshop for 25 community members in our Natural
Areas Restoration Program,
- $430
provides a low-income household a CSA share from our farm for a
season, and
- $1,000
provides a low-income teen participation in our eight-week Farm
and Field Program or a 150-hour educational training opportunity for
a college student.
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. You will be helping educate thousands of
people each year with the skills necessary to make a sustainable future
a reality.
With a $100 gift or more, receive
a FREE copy of our NEW CD, Troy
Gardens Journal, a $15 value. With a
$150 gift or more, receive a FREE copy of the 600-page Real
Goods Solar Living Sourcebook,
a $35 value.
Thank you for your support.
- Make
your contribution online,
or mail to: Friends of Troy Gardens, 3601 Memorial Dr., Bldg.
14, Rm. 171, Madison, WI 53704.
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NEW TROY
GARDENS CD
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 Be
Inspired, Support Our Programs
Troy Gardens
inspires us. If we are writers, the gardens become our muse. If we are
musicians, the land brings us new songs. The newly released CD, Troy Gardens Journal,
contains spoken excerpts from our board member Marge Pitts' collection
of essays by the same name, enhanced by six original songs written and
performed by Maury Smith, who also produced the project.
The CD's 12 tracks mark the passage of the seasons at Troy Gardens, and
cast a glance back to the project's organizational beginning. These
stories and songs offer a nourishing taste of hope. In these times when
"the big garden" that is our world seems to be bleak and
getting bleaker, we celebrate the solace and strength found in
relationships, in community, and in our "little gardens" at
Troy.
The Troy Gardens Journal CD is available now.
Proceeds will help support the work of Friends of Troy Gardens.
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VOLUNTEERS
NEEDED APRIL 26
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 For Our
Isthmus Green Day Booth
We have a
booth for the Isthmus
Green Day Event in Madison, WI, on
Saturday, April 26. We need two volunteers per shift. Shifts are
two hours each. Shifts begin at 8:30 AM (includes set-up), 10:30 AM,
12:30 PM, 2:30 PM, and 4:30 PM (includes clean-up). The event is from 9
AM to 6 PM at Monona Terrace in Madison.
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Friends of Troy Gardens, is a 501(c)(3)
charitable nonprofit organization, in Madison, Wisconsin. On 26-acres
of urban property, we integrate community gardens, an organic farm, and
restored prairie and woodlands. (On an adjacent five acres is
mixed-income green-built co-housing developed by the Madison Area
Community Land Trust.) Altogether, Troy Gardens is a unique,
nationally-recognized model for sustainable multi-purpose land use.
Friends of Troy Gardens' environmental
education programs include a nationally recognized leadership program
for teenagers and an award-winning children's garden. Local residents
care for 330 family garden plots in our Community Gardens. Volunteer
stewards restore and maintain native tall grass prairie and maple
woodlands in the natural areas. Each growing season, 110 households
pick up weekly bags of fresh organic vegetables from our Community Farm
(CSA).
Be sure to visit the Friends of Troy Gardens Web Store.
References:
England, A. & Blas, J. (2008). Water fears lead Saudis to end grain
output. Financial Times (February 27, 2008). Retrieved March 3,
2008, from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f02c1e94-e4d6-11dc-a495-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1.
Hirsch, J. (2008). Corn is king - and therefore a growing problem. Los
Angeles Times (March 2, 2008). Retrieved March 3, 2008, from http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-corn2mar02,0,2470929,full.story.
Philpott, T. (2008). Attack of the superweeds: While global GMO acreage
surges, herbicide-resistant weeds thrive. Gristmill (February
14, 2008). Retrieved March 3, 2008, from http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/2/14/141825/271?source=daily.
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