Month: October 2011

“Upcyling,” The U.S. Farm Bill and the Ohio Fair Trade Expo

“Upcyling,” The U.S. Farm Bill and the Ohio Fair Trade Expo

Yesterday I went to the Ohio Fair Trade Expo at John Carroll University in University Heights, OH. The event was organized by the Ohio Fair Trade Network, a group who works to create positive change by educating consumers with a better understanding of the impact of purchasing choices and by educating businesses about the impact of trading practices.

The Expo had workshops, presentations, and a marketplace with fair trade businesses.

One workshop I attended was a presentation by Adam Olson of Oxfam America who presented on the politics of food and trade, and talked how current trade practices contribute to our challenged food system and how some reforms can help break cycles of poverty.

I learned about the U.S. Farm Bill, the primary agricultural and food policy tool of the federal government, and reviewed every 5 years. This bill can impact international trade, environmental preservation, food safety, and the well being of rural communities. One important element that is reviewed in this bill is which crops will receive subsidies.

Adam also talked about how when food becomes fuel – the prices go up. He also talked about how the subsidy of corn to support ethanol undermines the corn market and affects both the U.S. and international market. Surpluses of crops are sold on the international market at low prices, making it so that other countries cannot compete in the agriculture market.

I also attended an interesting presentation by Megy Karydes, owner of World Shoppe. She talked about the goals of fair trade, and how it is not about the product – but about the process and being a good steward of the environment. She showed examples of fair trade organizations that take this one step further and recycle or “upcycle” raw materials to create fair trade designs. “Upcyling” – taking something that would be thrown out or put into a landfill as waste – and using this material to make something new. Some examples included Revy, who sells necklaces out of fish scales, World Shoppe who sells cow bone earrings, and Greenola who makes necklaces out of recycled acai berries and ayayo cloth.

Megy’s presentation was helpful in that she ended with a list of what we could do- which included sharing this information with others, supporting Fair trade where we could, and participating in Fair Trade Day and Fair Trade month (which is right now – October.)

Links:
Ohio Fair Trade Network – http://ohiofairtrade.com/
Megy Karydes – World Shoppe http://www.world-shoppe.com/
Megy Kardes blog – shopfairtrade http://shopfairtrade.wordpress.com/
Oxfam America – http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

Stretch Your Paycheck – at Occupy Cleveland

Stretch Your Paycheck – at Occupy Cleveland

The Stretch Your paycheck Performance came to the 1 pm Rally in Public Square to support Occupy Cleveland, a movement which supports protesting against corporate greed and the Occupy Wall Street.

There were members of labor groups, nurses, artists, and other citizens and activists at the event. At the rally Deb Klein gave a great speech and and said that, “Cleveland is the third poorest city in the U.S.”

Hip hop artist Loki performed some songs. His songs roused the crowd. Some of his songs were about the recession, money, and other social issues.

People had signs and flags that said We are the 99%! My friend Tony and had umbrellas that said “Stretching my paycheck. 99%” – that we would hold up when we were not doing the paycheck performance.

I met some interesting people including a man involved with Occupy Pittsburgh who came to Cleveland to see how the Occupy event was going, a man who recently moved to Cleveland and does performance art, and some activists from the Cleveland area.

Pictures from the Stretch Your Paycheck interactive performance can be seen and downloaded at http://stretchpaycheck.tumblr.com/

About Occupy Cleveland: http://occupycleveland.com/

Check out Loki’s music: Loki – Chilling in the Moment album

“The only thing you can’t buy used is food.” Film Screening: Urban Roots

“The only thing you can’t buy used is food.” Film Screening: Urban Roots

Tonight I went to see a screening of Urban Roots, a film which focused on urban farming in Detroit.

The film started by reviewing the history of Detroit and the current state of the city, and then focused on urban farmers who are farming in the middle of neighborhoods, in vacant lots, and in their yards.

There were some interesting things said in the interviews of the urban farmers and commmunity members including this quote, “The only thing you can’t buy used is food.”

“By forming urban farms, locals in Detroit have begun turning abandoned city lots into small-scale gardens that give sense of hope and community ….”

The event was Sponsored by Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice, Community Greenhouse Partners, Cityfresh & Clefnb and endorsed by the Save Our Communities forum in Cleveland.

From the Producer – Leila Conners’s statement of the film
“Well, enter urban farming, a way in which individuals can take control over something so critical as food that in the very act of growing it, they not only feed themselves, they also become healthier, more self-reliant and in some cases they become entrepreneurs. And most remarkable, they create a new approach to community, the economy and life overall.”
Links:
Community Greenhouse Partners

Urban Roots – the movie site

Image credit: Urban Roots Film

About Kbaumlier

Kristen Baumlier’s work spans the full spectrum of interdisciplinary media, including photography, performance, interactive installation, video and audio works. In 2005 Baumlier began performing as the “The Petroleum Pop Princess” as a pop icon engaging viewers in debate over materialism and oil consumerism. On July 4, 2010 she released her album Deplete Me which features nine songs about conservation, energy, and petroleum.

Her videos have screened in New Zealand, Serbia, England, and in the U.S. and her work has shown at the Sculpture Center in Cleveland, OH, Hotcakes Gallery in Milwaukee, WI and the UNI Gallery of Art. In 2009, Baumlier began researching food, health, technology, and food systems and is currently developing new work that presents questions about food.