Other news from the Leopold Center

New guide to local foods info

Buying local might be a good idea, but finding the food you want can be a challenge.

The Leopold Center has worked with other organizations to produce a two-page guide to help consumers find information about local foods. The new resource, I Want More Say in My Food Choices!, contains web sites and contact information for organizations that support local food systems and/or local food directories.

Other project collaborators include Practical Farmers of Iowa, the Iowa Network for Community Agriculture, Women, Food and Agriculture Network, Natural Catholic Rural Life Conference, Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, Iowa State University Extension, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (Iowa) and the Iowa Food Policy Council.

Get a printable version of the guide [PDF]

Pirog to receive PFI award

Practical Farmers of Iowa will recognize the Leopold Center's Rich Pirog with its top award during the PFI annual conference January 24-25 in Ames.

He will receive the 2003 Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award, which has been presented annually since 1989 to someone whose work has advanced the cause of profitable, environmentally-sound farming in Iowa.

Pirog leads the Center's marketing and food systems research program. He has worked at the Center since 1990, when he joined the staff to coordinate educational programs. Since 1997, he has worked to bring Iowa food back to Iowa tables, advising the Governor's Food Policy Council, promoting the use of Iowa foods at hotels and conference centers, and writing several widely-used papers on local foods. Pirog was lead author of the 2001 paper, Food, Fuel and Freeways, on how far food travels from producer to consumer. His work on apple and grape production in Iowa has paved the way for increased support for the production and marketing of these crops.

The son of a New Jersey dairy farmer, Pirog has a master's degree in agricultural meteorology from the University of Missouri. He also maintains a partial appointment with Iowa State University Extension, directs the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded project, Value Chains for a Sustainable Agriculture, and helped organize the Pork Niche Market Working Group (PNMWG) at ISU.

2003 Spencer Award

The Leopold Center is seeking farmers, researchers and educators who have helped sustain and support Iowa's family farms to apply for the 2003 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. Nominations for the award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize, must be received by March 31, 2003. Guidelines are available from the Leopold Center.

The 2002 Spencer Award went to dairy farmers David and Amy Petersen of Blue Grass. They received the award in August during the 2002 Iowa State Fair.

The biotech debate continues

How are Iowa State and other land grant universities helping farmers and citizens sort through the divisive issues that surround this evolving technology?

Charles Benbrook, nationally known biotech expert and ag policy consultant, posed that question during a Nov. 20 discussion in Ames hosted by the Leopold Center.

View Benbrook's web site, Ag BioTech InfoNet

Pesek Colloquium

Frances Moore Lappe, whose writings about global hunger and international corporate concentration have stirred worldwide debate, will present the third annual Pesek Colloquium on Sustainable Agriculture March 5-6. Her first book, Diet for a Small Planet released in 1971, helped a generation rethink food issues. She created the California-based Institute for Food and Development Policy (known as Food First) and the Center for Living Democracy.

The Leopold Center is providing support for the event, organized by the ISU Henry A. Wallace Endowed Chair for Sustainable Agriculture.

News & Notes from the Leopold Center, Winter 2002

Information from the Leopold Center paper, "Food, Fuel and Freeways," was included in recent report from the Worldwatch Institute based in Washington, D.C. The 45-page report,"Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market" by Brian Halweil, can be ordered from the World Watch Institute. View the 2001 Leopold Center paper on the web, or request a copy by contacting the Leopold Center, (515) 294-3711.

"Scale: Does It Matter?" by Leopold Center director Fred Kirschenmann is one of 40 essays included in a new book, Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture (2002 Island Press). The book is a project of the Foundation for Deep Ecology. Kirschenmann also was the featured speaker at the 2002 Sigma Xi lecture at Iowa State University with a speech, "What Constitutes Sound Science?" [PDF]

Back to Winter 2002 Leopold Letter