what if coolio came to our potluck?

http://jezebel.com/5422505/coolio-cooks-drunk+ass-chicken-and-mozzarella-for-the-pimpish-fella

class notes nov 4th

Everybody pick 3 research questions
-broad, frame whole project
- how can we empower local agriculture mvmt
*process of empowerment through collectivity
-barriers to involvement in the local agricultural mvmt
-how does local agriculture/food systems work in and around Athens
- how do we increase consumption of local food
-what are prospects of marketing local food to low-income consumers
-health(maybe in conclusion section)
3 research questions=
1) what does the Athens, Georgia food system look like?
a. Where do consumers buy food, labor etc
2) Mechanisms for increasing consumption of local food esp. low –income consumers
3) Do/how do community or social networks or collectives facilitate consumption of local food consumption
4) other
5) missing pieces


Interviews and how we want to talk about results-
We want Raw data, verbatim words
The tone that you set prior to data collection, you have to remain neutral during data collection

Timeline:

Reading day= wed 9th
Finals= 10th-15th
8th= potluck
15th= report due
journal=2nd

lit review committee = dec 1st
intro/conclusion= dec 8th
editing= last
next week bring transcribed interviews coded

http://www.ftcldf.org/
web page of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
...especially relevant given the recent raw milk fiasco with Locally Grown

potluck

The other day I posted a note online to about thirty friends from a range of "circles", as a sort of experiment (I'm curious about what level of interest and what types of responses I get). I've already gotten a ton of positive responses and would like to put together a potluck/discussion group soon... and would love for all of you guys to come as well, once I've set a date. Here's the note (Avery suggested I post it):

I’ve been getting increasingly involved in and curious about food ; what and why people make certain choices, how food systems work (who is empowered/disempowered in the process), and what I/we can personally do to create change. So this leads me towrestle with some questions: What, if anything, can I do on an individual level to impact this community’s food systems? Why, in a system where there is more than enough food (quantitatively) to feed everyone, are people still hungry and/or malnourished? Is “local food” possible/plausible on a city-wide, or even larger, scale?

It seems to me that in Athens we’ve got quite a few small, fragmented food-centric organizations which fit into two broad, distinct categories – some focus on eradication/reduction of hunger (from the perspective of food distribution/redistributio

n in the community), and some focus on promotion of local foods (from the perspective of ecological sustainability and local farmer livelihood). But to my knowledge, there’s no cohesive movement which addresses both socio-economic/political inequities and issues of ecological sustainability at the production end of things… no structure, for instance, that helps make local farmers’ produce available/accessible to those who need it most (the food insecure).

In discussions I’ve been having (esp as a part of classes) about potential ways of bridging this rift, a number of obstacles are brought up, regarding social/cultural perceptions/expectations and logistics (geographic, financial, and organizational). I’m also curious about what the implications might be in terms of forming a cohesive movement; a number of people, including myself, have been hesitant out of fear of constructing too much of a “top-down” approach… I might argue that an ‘ideal’ system would need to function and be engaged with on a grassroots level that can be more flexibly catered to specific communities’ wants/needs.



I’m really interested in getting your perspectives…

• Have you been involved in anything of the sorts (be it volunteering at a food bank, buying locally, or getting involved in an activist organization)?


• Are you satisfied with the food system you participate in? If anything, what do you think can/should be done? What sorts of obstacles do you see, and how might we navigate them?


• Would you personally be willing to grow your own food, or contribute time and energy to a community garden effort?
  
  .... And (finally), would you be interested in coming over to my house for a casual potluck with a group of friends to share food and talk about these ideas and personal experiences? <3

World Food Day

This is in my inbox and sounds like something some of you are interested in. Plus, refreshments.


The International Association for Students in Agricultural and Related Sciences at UGA (IAAS UGA) would like to invite you to participate in the World Food Day festivities!
World Food Day is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. To commemorate this day, we will be watching the live World Food Day teleconference and participating in discussion. The teleconference is broadcast live from Washington, D.C., and the panel consists of Max Finberg from the USDA, Rep. Jim McGovern, who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Hunger Caucus, and Joy Phumaphi of Botswana, Vice President and Head of the Human Development Network at the World Bank. There will also be a live feed from the World Food Prize Laureate in Iowa. In addition to viewing the teleconference, we will host a discussion and provide refreshments for guests. For more information about World Food Day, visit http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/.

Date: Friday, October 16, 2009
Time: 12:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.
Place: Conner Hall Room 103

If you have class during this time, come when you can! This is a great opportunity for students from all disciplines across the university to gather and discuss the problems and solutions concerning world food security.

notes 8/7 : questions

Expect an email from Dr.Trauger with a better summary of the questions we came up with. In the meantime, these are the questions we were throwing around yesterday.

questions for farmers:
apprenticeship/internship program?
what is the labour arrangement? who works and how are they paid?
how much of your food do you eat? is this mostly what you eat, or do you feed yourself mostly with food you haven't raised?
the social role of farming: why did you start farming and why do you farm now? why continue?
what would you ideally want to happen to your food?
whom/what are you responsible for once the food has been harvested?
barriers/opportunities to expanding your market, and offering your food at a lower cost
what are alternative structures you envision? do you support these? what support would you need to engage in these?

questions for activists:
who are you and what do you do?
explain organization
what are the results of your work?
how did you get started doing this? what is your motivation?
how do you deal with cultural difference, especially between yourself and others?
what are some problems you see and problems you don't see others answering? gaps in the system?
promote thinking outside of reality. envision ideal world.
what support could you use to accomplish your goals?
money - for what?
how important is healthy food to alleviating poverty? or more money to buy more junk food : is this a problem?
GOAL method: goals, obstacles, achieved, logistics.

when setting up the interview, tell the interviewee who you am, why you're contacting him or her, how you got the contact information, what you want to ask, and how long it will take (hopefully no more than 1 hour @ 10 questions per interview). Say that you will meet at his/her earliest convenience.
Reference Dr. Trauger and know that you can provide her email and office phone to make you more legit.
Come up with 10 questions per interview. This should turn out to make a 1 hour interview.

Good luck!!