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Danny Glover speaking at rally opposed to Hantz land grab in Detroit

Dec6

The battle for food justice heats up in Detroit with Danny Glover speaking at a meeting this Saturday organized by Detroiters opposed to the proposed sale of more than 1500 City owned lots to John Hantz. The meeting will be held Saturday, December 8, 2012, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology, 10800 E. Canfield, 1 block east of French Road, Detroit, 48214. Spread the word!!! We need a heavy turnout by those living on Detroit’s lower east side. We need more foot soldiers to go door-to-door to organize for this event and for the public hearing in front of City Council on Monday “The hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory!”

Some Background 

Eric Holt Gimenez wrote in Huffington Post,

 The Hantz Farms project to establish a 10,000 acre private farm in Detroit. The project hinges on a very large land deal offered by financial services magnate John Hantz to buy up over 2,000 empty lots from the city of Detroit. Hantz’s ostensible objective is to establish the world’s largest urban mega-farm.

I say “ostensible” because despite futuristic artists’ renderings of Hantz Farms’ urban greenhouses, presently John Hantz is actually growing trees rather than food. The project website invites us to imagine “high-value trees… in even-spaced rows” on a three-acre pilot site recently cleaned, cleared and planted to hardwood saplings. These trees, it seems, are just a first step in establishing a 200 acre forest and eventually — pending approval by the City Council — the full Hantz megafarm.

In the short run, the purchase by Hantz cleans things up, puts foreclosed lots back on the tax rolls and relieves the city of maintenance responsibilities. If the tree farm expands, it could provide a few jobs. In the long run, however, Hantz hopes his farm will create land scarcity in order to push up property values — property that he will own a lot of.

The Hantz Farms project openly prioritizes creating wealth by appreciating real estate rather than creating value through productive activities. If successful, the urban mega-farm will clearly lead to an impressive accumulation of private wealth on what was public land. It is less clear what this will mean for the low-income residents of Detroit.

Despite two years of glowing national press coverage, not all is going smoothly with the project. Under Michigan’s Right to Farm Act, the Hantz megafarm would pass from the jurisdiction of the city to that of the state. Many in the city are reluctant to lose control over such a big chunk of real estate. When friction on the issue developed between the Administration, city offices and the public, the Hantz negotiations moved quietly out of the public spotlight. But the wheels kept turning.

The potentially massive transfer of public assets to private ownership (at a cleanup cost of $2 million to the city) has led many residents to call the Hantz deal a “land grab.”

Though the scale is unprecedented, does this real estate project really have anything in common with the brutal, large-scale land acquisitions sweeping Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America?

Land grabs in far-off places occur when governments allow outside investors to push subsistence farmers and pastoralists off massive swathes of tropical farm and range land to establish mega-plantations of palm oil or sugarcane for ethanol. Despite the hype, very few of these projects actually grow any food. Often the land grab is simply about investing in real estate. Researchers studying the global phenomena have not yet found any benefits for local communities resulting from these land grabs. On the contrary, uprooted from land and livelihoods, poor rural people are forced into the option of last resort: migration.

Notwithstanding, from Goldman Sacks and the Carlyle Group to university pension funds, holders of big money are anxious to put their wealth into land, at least until the global recession blows over. Cheap land, devalued by economic and post-industrial recessions, is literally up for grabs. Once acquired, the easiest and most effective, low-cost way for big financial dogs to quickly mark their newly-acquired territory has been to plant trees — trees require little maintenance and if global carbon markets ever really kick in, could pay dividends.

As Susan Payne, CEO of Emergent Asset Management has bluntly stated, “In South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa the cost of agriland, arable, good agriland that we’re buying is one-seventh of the price of similar land in Argentina, Brazil and America. That alone is an arbitrage opportunity. We could be moronic and not grow anything and we think we will make money over the next decade.”

Whether the objective is to safeguard wealth, speculate on real estate, accrue water rights, bet on carbon credits or actually plant food or fuel crops, the point of a land grab is to leverage financially-stressed governments in order to acquire large areas of public land under a convenient global pretense (e.g., cooling the planet, feeding the world or ending the world fuel crisis). This supposedly benefits the planet by enriching few and impoverishing many. Detroit’s 2,000 city-owned lots (now on sale at $300 each), coupled with a food security discourse, fits some of the land grab parameters.

But like most places around the world, there are people living in the land of Detroit, and not all residents are happy with Hantz’s plan — which is probably why he has worked behind the scenes, avoiding Detroit’s Urban Ag Work Group, the City Planning Commission, and the Detroit Food Policy Council. While some residents support the Hantz forest, others — like those working with D-town Farms, who are already very busy growing and distributing food — don’t believe the hype. They are opposing the Hantz deal on moral, political and economic grounds. Malik Yakini of theDetroit Black Food Security Network noted that he was anxious to participate in more active opposition to this land grab, and that given the Administration’s disregard for the work of the Urban Ag Work Group and the City Planning Commission, the sale of the land to Hantz undermines real democracy.

These are strong words coming from one of Detroit’s leading food security advocates. When one looks at the trajectory of D-Town Farms and the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, what appears as indignant opposition is really a fundamentally different logic for addressing the health, education and general welfare concerns of Detroiters living in the underserved neighborhoods the city refers to as blighted neighborhoods.

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network is a coalition of community groups that focus on urban agriculture, policy development and co-operative buying. They have been farming in Detroit since 2006, pioneered an 18-month effort to formulate a city-wide food policy adopted by the City Council in 2008, and researched and proposed the model for the current Detroit Food Policy Council. They have helped grow an extensive network of gardens and buying clubs to address fresh food access and employment challenges in Detroit’s underserved neighborhoods. Throughout, the Network held public meetings and worked extensively with city leaders, local business, churches and neighborhood organizations, as well with Wayne State and Michigan State University. The seven acre D-Town Farm is a hub in an extensive community-based effort to turn the local food system into an engine for local economic development, owned and operated by those who are most adversely impacted by the lack of fresh food access in Detroit’s underserved neighborhoods.

But recognizing that Hantz Farms follows a speculative and private real estate logic and seeks to concentrate wealth, while D-Town Farms follows a community livelihoods logic that seeks an equitable distribution of opportunities and resources, still barely touches the surface of the deep differences in demography, culture, socio-economic status and political orientation of the two urban farming projects.

At the center of this tale of two farms, lies a contentious global question just beginning to resurface in the United States these days: the land question.

Land — rural or urban — is more than just land; it is the space where social, economic and community decisions are made, and it is the place of neighborhood, culture and livelihoods. It is home. Therefore, it is more than just a “commodity.” While John Hantz’s stated objective is to produce scarcity of the land as a commodity, residents living in the lower-income homes of post-industrial Detroit deal daily with scarcity of health, education and basic public services to which they are entitled. The transformation of these public goods into private “commodities,” coupled with their scarcity has not resulted in any improvement for residents. Market demand and human needs are not the same, and one does not necessarily address the other. Driving up the price of land in underserved neighborhoods may well put the city on the road to gentrification, but it won’t help solve the challenges facing the majority of Detroit’s citizens.

There are many notable, socially and economically-integrated projects in Detroit that are already improving livelihoods, diet and incomes through urban farming. It is difficult to see how these can flourish in the shadow of a mega-project designed to price low-income people out of their own neighborhoods. While private sector initiatives need to be a part of any economic development strategy, unless the City’s democratic public institutions can find positive ways to address Detroit’s land question, it runs the risk of reproducing a classic land grab — with all its disastrous consequences.

Staggering Amount of Chemicals Entering Great Lakes—Do You Buy Products that Threaten Drinking Water?

Nov28

This article by the Alliance for the Great Lakes is re-posted from Ecowatch via http://www.griid.org.

The Great Lakes are home to 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater and, increasingly, host to a worrisome class of chemical compounds known as contaminants of emerging concern.

Often originating from everyday products ranging from shampoos and pharmaceuticals to textiles and home furnishings, as well as from common agricultural practices around the Midwest, these compounds can have impacts on people and wildlife that are far from benign and are raising concerns about their effects on the body’s endocrine system—the driver of key functions such as growth and development, metabolism and reproduction.

A report released today by the Alliance for the Great Lakes notes that since the production of synthetic chemicals took off after World War II, the waters of Lake Michigan—which take a century to refresh—have yet to see a completeturnover.

Halfway through this cycle, scientists are beginning to see alarming trends of an increasing multitude of chemicals found in thewater. In southern Lake Michigan, one of the most urbanized and industrialized areas in the Great Lakes Basin and home to approximately a third of the Great Lakes population, these contaminants are a steady source of chemical exposure for aquatic species, and affect the quality of the waters we rely upon for drinking and look to for recreation.

“The number of chemicals entering the nation’s environment each year is staggering, as is the potential for them to degrade the water we drink and swim in,” says Alliance President and CEO Joel Brammeier. Upwards of 85,000 chemicals are in production and use in the U.S. today—more than 2,200 of them produced at a rate of 1 million-plus pounds a year. Beyond this, consumers can choose from more than 50,000 pharmaceutical products, and nearly 20,000 registered pesticide products have entered the market since registration began in 1947.

The report applies a published, peer-reviewed scientific framework to rank chemicals of highest concern found in national waters that are representative of those found in the Great Lakes. The methodology examines both surface water and treated drinking water—identifying the top 20 emerging contaminants for each based on occurrence, ecologic and human health impacts, and water treatment capabilities. The top-ranking chemicals include representatives from a broad range of categories: hormones, synthetic musks, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, antimicrobials and preservatives, UV blockers, plasticizers, flame retardants and pesticides.

As the chemical presence around us expands, the potential for them to end up in the Great Lakes also grows—arriving there via atmospheric deposition, stormwater runoff and sewage overflows. Others are released into the Great Lakes at trace concentrations via treated wastewater discharges because conventional sewage treatment isn’t designed to remove them.

Lake Michigan’s surface waters are affected, with six of the top 20 chemicals detected—among them flame retardants, synthetic fragrances, bisphenol A (BPA), and a popular cholesterol-lowering drug—found in the open lake waters. Current data shows that, after processing in a treatment plant, drinking water drawn from Lake Michigan may not be significantly burdened with contaminants, with only one chemical—a flame retardant—detected of the top 20 identified in the report. The report cautions that the data collected thus far provides only a snapshot of what might be in the open waters of the Great Lakes, however, and doesn’t take into account the health risks that bioaccumulating chemicals in the water pose to people who eat Great Lakes fish. Also not known is the level of risk these trace levels of contaminants in the water actually pose for people and wildlife.

“With hundreds of mostly unregulated compounds detected in Great Lakes surface waters today, it’s critical to start identifying now those chemicals that pose the greatest threat to the health of the lakes, the wildlife and the 40 million people who depend on them for drinking water,” says Olga Lyandres, Alliance research manager and author of the report.

Some municipalities and public utilities already monitor or study emerging contaminants, among them Chicago, Milwaukee and the Central Lake County Joint Action Water Agency—which supplies drinking water to Lake Michigan communities in northern Illinois. But many smaller communities, such as Gary, Ind. and Racine, Wis., don’t monitor for them because of the absence of clear guidance on how to do so.

Although water treatment plays a key role in removing contaminants, the report emphasizes that water and wastewater utilities are not solely responsible for preventing and controlling contaminants in Great Lakes water. To that end, it calls for a comprehensive approach that involves not only technological solutions, but collaboration among utilities, regulatory agencies, public health officials, manufacturers and environmentalists to focus on pollution prevention.

“Together these entities must work to encourage policy, social and behavioral changes that propel businesses to evaluate chemicals before they enter the marketplace, and individuals to reduce their use of chemicals—thereby lessening the risks associated with the chemicals’ eventual release into the environment,” the report states. The report further calls for:

  • Funding development of consistent, uniform regional monitoring standards.
  • Encouraging the U.S. and Canada to draw on credible prioritization methods to set binational objectives for controlling high-priority Great Lakes contaminants, and to pursue these goals through domestic policy reforms.
  • Reforming the 36-year-old federal Toxic Substances Control Act to feature a framework that places pollution prevention at the forefront of new chemical design and production.

 

How to grow a microgreens fall crop

Nov6

This information was written by Rachel McKay. OKT recently provided seeds for fall microgreens to its container gardeners and others.

Microgreens method of growing

Many greens can be successfully grown using the microgreens method. Examples of easy-to-grow greens are
spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, collards, mustard, chard, and beetgreens.

  1. Scatter your greens seeds broadcast (meaning to sprinkle them evenly over the soil). If you are planning on planting in a container, select one that is wide and fairly shallow.
  2. Water regularly, keeping in a fair amount of sunlight.
  3. The seedlings will emerge quickly, within a week usually. The first set of leaves that emerge are called the seed leaves, they are round and smooth and plain. When the second set of leaves emerges, these are called the “true leaves”, you will notice that they are much more textured and more closely resemble the leaves of the mature plant.
  4. At this point you may harvest your crop by snipping the plants at the root. If you harvest at the root you will only get one harvest out of your crop, but this will be a tender, sweet, and highly nutritious harvest.

Baby greens method

If you wish to extend your growing season further than you may want to use the “baby greens” method.

  1. Follow all of the above instructions, but instead of harvesting after the first set of true leaves emerges, let the plant mature further until at least two or three more sets of leaves emerge.
  2. Notice that the tip of the plant contains young developing leaves, these are called the heart leaves. Leave these intact as well as the set of true leaves directly below them and snip off the other leaves at the stalk, leaving the stalk itself standing.
  3. Your seedlings will continue to grow and develop; repeat this process to harvest more baby leaves.

Frankenstein For President: local film maker releases silent film

Oct23

Reposted from The Rapidian

Local activist and independent film maker Matt Judge has enlisted a small army of friends to realize his goal of writing and filming his first movie. “Frankenstein for President” is a silent film that Judge describes as “part horror, part comedy”, that satirizes the current state of politics and popular culture in American society. As zombie voters addicted to text messaging and cable news plague the city, undead monsters pander for enough votes to land in the Oval Office. While political vampires are pulling the strings behind the scenes, a young couple on a romantic afternoon in the park find themselves neck deep in trouble trying to save the world. Will they succeed, or is it too late?

Judge and his film collaborators from the Bloom Collective pooled their resources and passions to write, plan, cast, shoot and edit the entire film in less than 14 days. The cast and crew will celebrate their efforts with a debut screening of “Frankenstein for President” 8 p.m. Friday, October 26 at 8 Jefferson Ave SE (next door toBartertown Diner). The public is invited to attend.

After the film, a brief Q&A session will occur with the cast and crew. Food and music will also be provided. Copies of the DVD will be available for donation in an effort to raise funds for the Bloom Collective.

Top 12 reasons to vote YES on Proposal 3

Oct19
Election time is often called “silly season” with good reason. And in the homestretch between now and Nov. 6 you’ll see ample evidence of that.

But we need your help in cutting through the static to secure passage of a vital, progressive voter initiative, Proposal 3, which would ensure 25% of Michigan’s electricity comes from clean, renewable sources by 2025.

The proposal works for Michigan on every level. Renewable energy is less expensive than its alternatives, creates tens of thousands of good jobs that can’t be outsourced, reduces dangerous pollutants that poison our natural resources, and protects our vulnerable populations from unhealthy power plant emissions.

All indications are that Prop 3 will be a close vote. There is no substitute for face-to-face discussions that cut through the misrepresentations and outright lies being presented by Michigan’s utility companies in their massive effort to defeat Proposal 3.

MEC’s “12 Questions” document below distills key facts about the 25% by 2025 plan. We hope you will share it, and use it as a reference for discussions with your friends, relatives and neighbors.
1.   What will Proposal 3 do?
Proposal 3 requires that a minimum 25 percent of Michigan’s electricity come from clean renewable sources including wind, solar, biomass and hydropower by 2025.
The proposal explicitly states that utilities cannot raise electricity prices to comply with Proposal 3 by more than 1 percent in any given year. It has been projected that it will cost the average residential ratepayer about 50 cents a month to begin with, but in the long term will save ratepayers money.
2.   Why put this in the constitution?
The Michigan Constitution is much different from our federal Constitution.  It was designed to be a living document that reflects our values, and is designed to change with the times. That’s why it requires we vote every 16 years on whether to hold a convention to rewrite it.
There have been 69 amendments offered since the latest version was adopted in 1963.  The people approved those 32 times and voted against them 37 times.  Those amendments have addressed everything from exempting food from sales tax, to the minimum drinking age, to allowing stem cell research.  Importantly, the voters always have the final say.
A major advantage of putting 25 by 2025 in the Michigan Constitution is that utilities cannot use their political influence to sway the Legislature and bypass the consumer protection measures, such as the 1% cap on rates in any given year.
Right now, Michigan is locked into outdated and expensive energy sources like coal for our electricity.  But the Legislature won’t act because they have sold out to the big oil and coal companies, DTE, Consumers Energy and their lobbyists.  The Oakland Press said, “To reject the proposal just because it entails a state constitutional amendment just further empowers wealthy lobbyists like those working for the utility companies.”
3.   Why are oil companies involved?
We use a small amount of oil to generate electricity.  More importantly to oil companies, we spend over $500 million a year for diesel fuel to move the over 35 million tons of coal from Western states to Michigan to burn in our power plants. So transition to cleaner energy not only makes Michigan more energy independent, it makes the United States less reliant on oil from overseas.    
4.   What kinds of jobs are expected to be created by Proposal 3? 
Proposal 3 specifically states that the legislature should enact incentives to encourage the use of Michigan workers and Michigan made goods.  A Michigan State University study determined that Proposal 3 will create at least 74,000 Michigan jobs that can’t be outsourced. Construction jobs account for more than 30,000, and operation and maintenance more than 40,000.
There will be another 40,000 jobs related to manufacturing the parts required to build the renewable energy facilities. With Michigan’s manufacturing talent and know-how, Michigan could capture 50 percent of that manufacturing market, increasing the number of jobs to 94,000.

5.   The CARE for Michigan group claims that the cost of Proposal 3 will be more than $12 billion and cost families “thousands” of dollars.  Is that true?

These claims by the utilities are false.  Michigan residents spend over $10 billion each year on electricity.  Passage of Proposal 3 will result in investments of around $10.3 billion (CARE inflated that number) in Michigan by the utilities or private investors. Those costs are spread among four million customers and over the 25-year expected life of those assets.
The utilities also fail to subtract avoided costs from their total. For example, we spend $1.5 billion each year to buy imported coal. We’ll keep some of that money here, instead, which is a significant savings to Michigan residents and a significant offset to the renewable energy investment.
The language of Proposal 3 also puts a permanent cap on the cost of compliance with Proposal 3 at no more than 1% per year. Because it is in the Constitution it cannot be bypassed by the utilities or the legislature.  That cap would limit the amount any family would pay to about $10 a year.  A recent report projects that Proposal 3 will cost about half of that, or about 50 cents a month but will save money in the long term.
 

6.   How can we count on power when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun isn’t shining all the time?

That is not a problem for users because homes and businesses are connected to a regional electric grid that gets electricity from many sources.  Existing ‘backup’ generating capacity – both within Michigan and elsewhere on the regional grid – is more than capable of filling short-term gaps in supply.  Those other sources will be able to meet our needs when an insufficient amount of Michigan renewable energy is available. There are now five different states (Hawaii, Colorado, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota) that are already producing more than 20% renewable energy.  Grid operators in those states have had no trouble managing the variable load.  As more and more renewable resources are added to the grid, the less variable they become overall.
 

7.   Do we have enough wind and land to meet 25 by 2025?

Yes, and more.  Michigan needs to build only 4,600 megawatts of electricity generation capacity from renewable energy.  According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Michigan needs to harness just 8% of the more than 54,000 MW of high-quality, land-based wind generation potential of the state. Michigan also has more sunny days than Germany, one of the world’s leading producers of solar energy.

8.   How much renewable energy does Michigan currently use?

 Michigan currently gets just 3.9 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.  Meanwhile other states are moving ahead, including Iowa, whose renewable energy use is at 23 percent, and Illinois, whose 25 percent by 2025 goal is saving businesses and families there $176 million, according to the Illinois Power Agency.  Michigan currently gets 60 percent of its electricity from coal, all of which is imported from other states.  Just to purchase coal, Michigan sends $1.5 billion a year – and the jobs it creates – to other states.
9.   How will this improve public health?
 Using more wind and solar energy will reduce pollution and give Michigan cleaner and healthier air and water.  The dirty coal plants that provide 60 percent of Michigan’s electricity emit dangerous levels of mercury, sulfur dioxide and arsenic, which are linked to heart disease, childhood asthma, lung disease and premature death.  That exacts a terrible emotional toll on families, and a financial toll that is reflected in higher health insurance premiums and medical costs.  The Michigan Nurses Association endorses Proposal 3 because our children deserve a cleaner Michigan.
 
10.  Are DTE residential customers treated differently?
DTE residential customers are currently paying $3 a month for renewable energy surcharge, but should only be paying $1.60 a month based on how much power they use (36% of the power, and paying 69% of the surcharge).  Consumers Energy residential customers only pay 52 cents a month. Proposal 3 would eliminate the current system of per meter surcharges that creates this unfair treatment, immediately lowering the bills of DTE residential customers.
11.  Why aren’t the utilities supporting Proposal 3?
 
For them it comes down to money and control.  They make more money burning coal and want to continue to do so even though Michigan families are paying huge rate increases caused in part by the rising prices of coal delivered to Michigan. That cost has increased 71 percent in the last four years.  Coal pollution also contributes to asthma attacks, respiratory illnesses and premature heart attacks.  They oppose this ballot measure because they cannot control the voters like they are able to control the legislature.
12.  Critics claim that Proposal 3 is not flexible enough.  Is that true?
If Proposal 3 passes the legislature will pass implementing language to set the timeline for utilities to transition from the 10% currently required to the 25% which will be required by 2025.  That timeline will be set with input from all interested parties.  They are also required to establish incentives for Michigan workers and Michigan made parts and components to the renewable energy facilities used.  If utilities have trouble meeting the interim standards the legislature will be able to change them.  Under Proposal 3 if the costs are too high, utilities will be given longer to meet the standard to keep any potential increase in rates below 1%.
The proposal also leaves 75% of Michigan’s electric generation open-ended, giving utilities and regulators a relatively free hand at planning the new generation sources that we will need.
For More Information
Find copies of the reports referenced above at:
Visit the Proposal 3 website: MIENERGYMIJOBS.com
 

October is NeighborWoods Month – A National Celebration of Trees

Oct15

OKT encourages you to tell Mayor Heartwell and the Urban Forestry project to plant more fruit and nut trees so we have more healthy food to eat in our neighborhoods.

Friends of Grand Rapids Parks, in partnership with the City of Grand
Rapids Urban Forestry Committee, is hosting a series of events to celebrate NationalNeighborWoods Month. These events are part of hundreds of re-greening efforts throughout thecountry being promoted during October, which has been declared National NeighborWoodsMonth by the national nonprofit, the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). Friends of Grand Rapids Parks is a member of ACT’s NeighborWoods Network. View full calendars and
additional event details at http://www.friendsofgrparks.org/events and http://www.urbanforestproject.com

Arborist Lee Mueller presented a very interesting tree mapping workshop with OKT on Oct. 4. Two more October events are coming up.

October 16th, 530pm-630pm: Tree Tales – How Trees tell us their Stories
Join Arborist/Author Vic Foerster for an exciting tree-tour in Riverside Park. With over forty years of experience working with trees, Vic Foerster will give a tantalizing tour called “Tree Tales –
How trees tell us their stories”. Come walk Riverside park with Vic and hear about our City’s
trees from their perspective.

October 17th & Oct 27th: Oakdale Community Garden Build Day
Join in to help the Oakdale neighborhood build a community garden and plant 2 trees as part of
the new park located at the former Oakdale Elementary, now River City Charter Academy. We
are still looking for volunteers.

Register to vote, learn about key ballot issues at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market

Oct14

Coverage about the upcoming presidential race is everywhere you look these days. However, Our Kitchen Table believes that some of the Michigan ballot proposals could have more impact on our lives here in Michigan.

 

Of extreme importance, especially to communities of color, Proposal 1 gives voters the opportunity to strike down governor appointed emergency managers from taking control of our municipalities and schools, as they have in Benton Harbor and Detroit. Emergency managers can set aside locally elected officials, fire employees, suspend collective bargaining agreements and sell city and school assets.

 

Proposal 2 seeks ensure that “people’s rights to organize, join or assist unions and to bargain collectively” are upheld. Without unions, we would not have the 40 hour week, decent wages, regulation of child labor and health benefits (all of which are coming under attack).

 

Proposal 3 requires “electric utilities to provide at least 25% of their annual retail sales of electricity from renewable energy sources, wind, solar, biomass and hydropower, by 2025.” This can build a clean energy industry, create thousands of Michigan jobs and give Michigan cleaner air and water. Again, communities of color suffer the most from air and water pollution created by coal power and incinerators.

 

For unbiased information about all six proposals, come down to the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market. Representatives from the League of Women Voters will be on hand to register people to vote, explain ID requirements and share the pros and cons of all candidates and ballot initiatives. The market takes place at Gerald R Ford Middle School, Saturdays through October from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

Greens Cook-Off and Green Tomato Festival October 13

Oct6

Our Kitchen Table and the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market are gearing up for the annual Greens Cook-off and Fried Green Tomato Festival to be held 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday October 13 at the Gerald R Ford Middle School farmers’ market location.

Do you have a prized green tomato recipe? Here’s your chance to win a prize with it. Do you have a secret family recipe for collards or some other greens? Come and show it off. You don’t have to register ahead of time. Simply bring your dish to the designated table at the farmers’ market by noon and OKT will register you on site.

At 1 p.m., our local celebrity judges will taste and evaluate the dishes for taste, texture, nutritional content, presentation and wow factor. Winners will be notified the following week. Prizes will be awarded for first place, second place and honorable mention at the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market on Saturday October 20.

As part of the event, OKT will be handing out free greens and green tomato recipe cards featuring dishes by Grand Rapids’ own chef, Nancy Rutledge, and internationally famous chef and author—and special friend of our market—Bryant Terry.