Foundation Journal

A major investigative series on the largest beef producers appeared over three days this week in the Kansas City Star . Star reporters should be congratulated on the amazing, in-depth work to present reports that clearly were not welcomed by the beef producers and supporters.  One co-worker who works on hunger relief said she had not seen the article yet because she does not subscribe to the paper. For anyone involved in the local farm/food movement, food safety, hunger relief, and nutrition, this article series is a MUST READ. While the articles pulled no punches on a range of topics, including the impact of the health of consumers and the impact on the environment with the mountains of cattle waste at feedlots, the series only focused a cursory glance at worker safety. The opening article in the series appearing in the Sunday, December 9, 2012 edition of the Star documented the large number of people getting sick from food. Specifically, the report mentions that "a rece...

The Center for Science in the Public Interest is organizing the national Food Day for October 24, 2011, and encouraging individuals and groups to organize local events on or around that date. In order to organize Food Day into a formidable series of events to advocate for food policy to address nutrition, economics, and sustainability, the organizers have scheduled a webinar focusing on food and farmworkers for Wednesday, August 31 from 2-3pm Eastern Time. Here's a bit more about the webinar: With deplorable conditions on many farms and in meat processing operations, several experts including: Chris Bohner of UNITE HERE, David Schwartz of Real Food Challenge, and Vice President of Bon Appetit Management Company, Maisie Greenawal, will discuss efforts to solve this problem.  Register today!  

From the opening scene of a train traveling through a barren Kansas landscape and notes from a Neko Case song, the film caught my attention. The film used no narration, so film goers had to watch and listen closely to the characters. The film depicted blue-collar workers, immigrant meat packing workers, conservative Christians, farmers, and opponents and supporters of abortion, among others. After the December 11 Liberty Hall (Lawrence, KS) screening of documentary film "What's the Matter with Kansas?" based on Thomas Franks' book of the same name, Donn Teske, President of the Kansas Farmers Union, spoke about his role in the film and the future of farming in Kansas. Teske showed both his "Populist without a Party" and tell-it-like-it-is traits during the discussion. The film followed the book's central theme of politics in Kansas converging towards extreme conservatism despite a distant history of progressive and populist politics. While the film sh...