Making Indiana A Greener State

(posted Feb 16)

The February 23 Farm Food and Energy Gathering is filling in the gap for the Natural Living Expo that was rescheduled from March to October 3-5 at the State Fairgrounds. The purpose of the Farm Food Energy Gathering is to encourage Indiana to become a greener state. The state has a Forbes ranking of 49th in the country for environmental quality.

Westside resident Kim Ort, deputy director of Earth Charter of Indiana, who helped organize the event, explained she has always had a concern for the environment, but it wasn't until she enrolled in a masters program called Earth Literacy at St. Mary of the Woods College that she really opened her eyes to man's practices that are damaging to the environment. She explained that poor environmental practices are not isolated to an area. She said the source of the dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico have now been linked to the chemically tainted runoff coming as far away as Midwest farms.

Sustainable Earth Executive Director Steve Bonney said the event was organized by Sustainable Earth with the support of co-sponsors Indiana Sustainable Living Coalition, Earth Charter Indiana, Natural Living Expo, Nuvo and Branches Magazine.

Bonney recently tossed his hat into the ring to run for Governor as an independent. "While this event represents what is in my heart and soul, it is not tied to my campaign for governor. The only involvement by our campaign will be gathering signatures for ballot access. The Gathering itself is not political."

The Gathering reflects much of his environmental platform if elected governor.

"As governor, I would create a small farm renaissance in Indiana." He described it as a network of small family farms producing chemical free-food for local consumption. He cited some statistics about Indiana farming. Forty-thousand farms or two-thirds of all farms in Indiana earn less than $25,000 which makes them too small for commodity agriculture. However, Bonney still sees small farm agriculture as having the potential to be a significant contribution to Indiana's economy.

"I would also call for a moratorium on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and lead a statewide dialog on how they fit into our vision for agriculture. These large industrial animal production systems create so much divisiveness in our communities when they attempt to locate anywhere in our state. I just led the charge to defeat HB 1300 which would have prohibited the labeling of milk that it was not produced with the use of rBST, a genetically modified hormone. I defend the consumers' right to know about production practices so that they can make informed choices in food selection. I support the development of biofuels that do not consume food crops."

Bonney's concern is the increase demand for corn and soybeans will continue to drive up the price. Although it is good for farmers in the short term, it is not without environmental or social consequences.

Using food crops for biofuels raises the cost of food for practically everyone on earth. Bonney prefers to use more sustainable plants, including the use of cellulosic materials and other oil crops such as sunflowers.

Chef Wendell Fowler will be one of the gathering's guest speaker at the State Fairgrounds. Fowler said "We've got lots of work to do to spread the news of whole foods." He calls processed foods "dead foods" because they have been stripped of their nutritional value. He thinks Americans are in a serious pandemic of disease due to their diet consumption. Nearly escaping death himself from heart problems, Fowler said he saved his life by changing his diet from processed foods to whole foods. Fowler is pushing the message that people need to understand that health and nutrition are part of the environment.

"How we choose to eat profoundly affects the environment." The agricultural business is making a huge carbon footprint. He believes that the vast majority of people are disconnected or in denial, which results in squandering our energy to bring food to our tables. He used the example of the amount of energy involved to make a hamburger.

"From the farm to the fork, the process is costly for the environment: methane, CO2, feed, maintenance, delivery, and cost of cooking all add up to millions of dollars a day, just for a hamburger."

Fowler is disappointed in the government for approving the use of hormones in milk and now cloned foods to enter the food chain without labeling.

Fowler is equally concerned with a food's ingredients as the caloric content. If some of additives sound like "rocket fuel", Fowler will place the product back on the shelf. Fowler has a strong belief that our food consumption even effects our mental clarity. "The mood is in the food," he said.

Fowler agrees with some of the web site articles that take a position there is a link with Alzheimer patients and mad cow disease due to the cattle being fed animal parts instead of being grass fed. Fowler does not buy into the sound bite that American farmers must use pesticides, herbicides, chemicals and grow genetically modified crops to supply food to the world's growing population.

Fowler is convinced that most people do not understand that good health and nutrition are part of the environment because of "too much disinformation" that leaves the average American confused and frustrated. Many Americans develop the attitude and say 'Well, you gotta die from something, or if it doesn't affect me, who cares." People need to understand that "food is the most powerful medicine."

Fowler said some of his writings and visits are not always welcomed by people and he surmises that his syndicated column has been rejected by some publications because of his contention that government has turned a blind eye to agricultural business  and governmental approval of genetically altered foods. He explained that he is not always welcomed in some schools because administrators do not want him to write about the food that is served to the students by the federally funded National School Lunch Program.

He recommends people grow their own organic food or buy local organic food. Fowler wants to educate people that they can eat local food like squashes to receive Vitamin C, and save fossil fuels by not hauling in Florida or California oranges to receive their Vitamin C. It requires some research to discover Indiana's seasonal fruits and vegetables and how to store them through winter.