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Category Archives: Community-based Food System

Future is bullish for Ag graduates

January 26, 2012   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

My email in-box lit up last week after Yahoo! published a story claiming that college degrees in agriculture are useless.  It certainly is a counterintuitive statement. Across our country, farming is hotter than ever. Agricultural exports broke records in 2011, and demand for local production of food made available through farmers’ markets and other venues is an exciting trend that I firmly believe is …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, Trade, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Ag Alert – Agriculture must engage in conversations about change

January 26, 2012   Office of Public Affairs

http://www.agalert.com/story/?id=3761 By Tom Nassif and Paul Wenger Increasingly, people want a say in how we produce and distribute food in the United States. We’ve long heard from environmental and animal rights groups. Now, the voices of celebrity chefs, authors and filmmakers are becoming much more prominent. Even hospitals, public health and medical groups are weighing in to encourage changes in the …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Farmers' Markets, Food Access, Food Safety, Trade, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

California State Board of Food and Agriculture President Craig Mc Namara on KQED Radio – The changing face of farming

January 18, 2012   Office of Public Affairs

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201201131000 California State Board of Food and Agriculture President Craig Mc Namara was among the guests recently on KQED’s “Forum” program.  The discussion centered on the fact that the average farmer in California is nearly 60 years old – and nearly 20 percent are older than 70.  An influx of new farmers is a necessity.

Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, State Board of Food and Agriculture, Trade, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

CDFA and California Association of Food Banks promote farm-to-food bank donations

November 28, 2011   Office of Public Affairs

Agriculture is not just about farming, it’s about community. California’s farmers and ranchers contribute significantly to the health of our citizens and are vital partners in expanding food access to rural and urban communities. One in eight Americans – 37 million people – receives emergency food annually, and it is estimated that five million of those individuals are Californians. The California Department …

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Posted in AG Vision, Community-based Food System, Food Access, State Board of Food and Agriculture | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A time to give thanks; a time for giving

November 22, 2011   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

Thanksgiving is a time for celebration – kicking off the holiday season with a comforting mix of family, food and sharing. As much as I look forward to and appreciate the festivities, I have long greeted the holiday with thoughts running to a literal meaning: we are thankful; we give. As California’s secretary of agriculture, there is much to be …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, State Board of Food and Agriculture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Wanted: Ag Leaders for Public Policy Duty – Many Potentially Groundbreaking Initiatives Now on Table

November 7, 2011   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

This is a potentially historic time for farm policy in our country. As discussion continues in Washington D.C. about possible seismic shifts in Farm Bill funding, there is also a major effort underway to consider genuine, substantive change to public policy affecting agriculture apart from the Farm Bill.  At last count, there were more than 30 different initiatives being discussed …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Environment, Farm Bill, Farmers' Markets, Food Access, State Board of Food and Agriculture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Food Day is for everyone

October 24, 2011   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

The inaugural Food Day celebration occurring today is an idea whose time has come.  While, in fact, every day is “food day” for the nearly seven-billion people on Earth, the topic of local food production is hotter than ever in the U.S.  We want to encourage this.  Any discussion of our food supply is welcome. In the decades ahead, there …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, Specialty Crops, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Ag Vision Comes Up Big in New Food Security Laws

October 10, 2011   Sue Sigler and Kerry Tucker

California’s Ag Vision, a collaborative effort to plan for the future of agriculture, enjoyed two big wins last week when Governor Brown signed a pair of bills to improve food security and support for working families. One of Ag Vision’s top priorities is to improve access to safe and healthy food for all Californians. With that in mind, agriculture, public …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access, State Board of Food and Agriculture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Op-ed from Secretary Ross and California State Board of Food and Agriculture member Kerry Tucker on the need for collaboration in agriculture

October 5, 2011   Office of Public Affairs

As published in Ag Alert, a publication of the California Farm Bureau Federation Date: October 5, 2011 By Karen Ross and Kerry Tucker A focus in many food policy discussions is the development of a substantial food system to feed a hungry world, and the trends we’re seeing internationally show there is an urgent need. Food has become a geopolitical …

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Posted in AG Vision, Agricultural Education, Community-based Food System, Food Access | 1 Comment

Toward a Community-based Food System

June 28, 2011   Karen Ross, California Agriculture Secretary, and Linda

Lessons from an inspiring morning in Sacramento Representatives of 17 of California’s 22 community-based food system organizations gathered at CDFA headquarters in Sacramento last week to spend a few hours with me and Secretary Diana Dooley from the California Health and Human Services Agency.  Diana and I were glad to host the session and we feel the group gained a …

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Posted in Community-based Food System | 1 Comment