Image via Blog Downtown

I have become very involved in food issues, having realized that food production, vending, consumption, and other food related issues including waste and human health are fundamentally related to environmental health.

As I mentioned in my Grammy Greening Summit article, local growers are uniting with raw foodists who are in turn forming food coops to provide things like raw milk. These efforts are being spawned by the exponentially growing number of people who have come to realize how enormously detrimental “conventional” farming is on human and environmental health, while also discovering the superior potential of responsible, sustainable, live agriculture to augment the Earth’s ability to grow and regenerate, while still providing more than enough food for the world’s peoples.

As many of you know, in the United States, purchasing an industrially farmed, processed and packaged food item containing ingredients shipped several times across the globe and requiring laboratory work (in the form of pesticides and genetically modified seeds) is often far cheaper than purchasing a locally grown carrot or tomato from the neighborhood farmer’s market.  Industrial agriculture is a primary contributor to global warming, behind automobile and factory exhaust, and highly processed foods resulting from the industrial agricultural process are a primary contributor to obesity, diabetes, heart problems and other illnesses. Over 80% of foods eaten by Americans contain genetically modified seeds, and the farming of soy is a primary contributor to the massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Food is traded as a commodity on stock exchanges, meaning that it is grown and sold to raise a profit for business people. Meanwhile, in the United States, we waste about enormous amounts of the food we produce.

In response, urban communities across the United States have started to grow their own food from organic and heirloom seed and have started to investigate these issues and how healthier alternatives can be created.

Siel has blogged extensively about the urban garden movement in Los Angeles (and related issues), including info about: signs of its growth; books, and more books; LA based environmental charter schools; yard sharing for those who don’t have land; guerilla gardening; dirt and its importance to our lives; points of personal change and advocacy; etc.

I am dedicating the rest of this post to things you can do and organizations you can follow, join, or donate to in Los Angeles, working hard on these related issues.

1.) First, to have immediate access to gardening and planting related grants, talks, events, classes, etc., join UC Davis cooperative extension Master Gardener program manager Yvonne Savio’s listserve (email ydsavio [at] ucdavis [dot] edu). Also, check out the UC Davis Extension webpage. If you want to learn urban vegetable gardening basics, sign up for the Victory Gardener program at a community garden near you (these classes take place ALL over the city).

2.) Check out the UC Davis list of LA based community gardens, or check the LA Community Garden Council website to find out where the community garden nearest you is located, and go volunteer there. You might be able to take home free veggies, fruits and herbs for your efforts.

3.) Subscribe to the Los Angeles Agriculture blog and LA Farm Girl.

4.) Check out the work of EnrichLA, an organization dedicated to putting a garden in every school in Los Angeles. They do GREAT work, so donate or volunteer at one of their sites if you can.

5.) Check out the trailer for the GMO Film (made by the creators of Dive! for which I posted the film trailer above), and donate to them if you can. They are working hard to create a film to raise awareness on the giant corporate takeover of the American food system, starting with the most ancient of human inheritances: seeds.

6.) Get involved with the campaigns to put an initiative on the upcoming November ballot to label GMOs (genetically modified organisms). Either donate to one of the two major campaigns (Labelgmos.org and Justlabelit.org). Labelgmos.org is doing a lot of work to recruit people to petition the public, so check their website for more info. Host a petitioning party and gather a bunch of signatures to put this issue on our ballot. Attend this Saturday’s SLOLA meeting, where labelgmos.org will be present and handing out free seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom (see info at bottom of this post). We have the right to know what is in our food!

7.) Subscribe to my blog, Local to Global Life Works, to learn more about these issues and how actions and decisions local to Los Angeles are connected to global trends and have global impact. I host events, post about events, etc. to keep you in the loop.

8.) Check out, support, volunteer for or donate to the work of the Los Angeles branch of one of America’s first peace and justice activism organizations, the American Friends Service Committee. One of the LA office’s main projects is maintaining four urban gardens (called Friends Peace Gardens) at high risk Los Angeles high schools to combat gang violence and to create access and awareness about healthy eating and fresh foods.

9.) Check out, support, volunteer for or donate to work of TreePeople, who have been active in LA for decades, and the new project 100 Seeds of Change through the Social Justice Learning Project, trying to bring urban gardening to South Los Angeles food deserts.

10.) Check out, support, volunteer for, donate to, or become a member of SLOLA – the Seed Library of Los Angeles ($10 lifetime membership), and attend their weekly meetings at the Venice Learning Garden. If you live closer to downtown LA or Pasadena, do not fret, because SLOLA is creating an eastern library branch. Feel free to email me for more information on this (namorandovida [at] gmail [dot] com).

If you have some free time this Sat., Mar. 17, be sure to stop by the Venice SLOLA meeting, since they are discussing a subject close to my heart – crop plants plants native to the Americas and their historic/cultural importance, with resources on how to obtain and care for their seeds. Plus, LabelGMOs.org is also sponsoring a distribution of seeds — free to SLOLA members — from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. And at the close of the meeting, SLOLA’s ever-expanding seed library will open again for check out.

If you’ve never attended a SLOLA meeting or have questions about seed saving, you’re invited to come 15 minutes early for a “Seed Saving Basics” presentation.

Image via LA Farm Girl

Photo via SLOLA website

>> Big City Forum presents Fast Forward: Los Angeles on the Verge, featuring a panel of speakers that will harness creative methods for a lively discussion around livability, sustainability, community, and the politics of place in Los Angeles. Takes places tonight, Wed., Mar. 7 at 7 pm at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena. Cost: free.

>> What exactly is a ‘genetically modified seed’? What is ‘heirloom’? How do seed saving and local food growing relate to local and global peace? Who owns the future of food? Join the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Friends Peace Dialogue, speakers Megan Bomba (SLOLA) and Deanna Marie Weakly (Master Gardener, founder of Skid Row Rooftop Garden), and green LA girl writer Nisha Namorando Vida to learn and dialogue on these questions this Thu., Mar. 8 from 7-8:30 pm at the AFSC headquarters, 634. S. Spring St., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles. Cost: free.

>> The G2 Gallery has begun a weekly screening of Ken Burns’s six-part documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The screenings provide a deeper understanding from a historical perspective of the people and places that shaped America’s national parks. The screenings will be held every Thu., Feb. 9 – Mar. 15 at 2 pm. Check out this week’s screening “Great Nature (1933–1945)”, on Thu., Mar. 8 at 2 pm, G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. Cost: $5. All proceeds will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund and the Sierra Club.

>> Santa Monica College is conducting its 10th annual Environmental and Urban Issues Speakers Series. Join Genevieve Bertone and other Santa Monica College faculty, staff, and students to learn how we are working on transportation, energy, food and other projects that make SMC more efficient and a better neighbor on Tue., Mar. 13 at 6:30 pm in HSS 263 on Santa Monica’s Main Campus (Map). Cost: free.

Photo via Big City Forum

>> Come engage in a discussion on community land trusts and intentional housing communities. Learn about how housing can be made affordable and environmentally sustainable through community ownership of the land they live on. This is the first of this year’s Friends Peace Dialogue series by the American Friends Service Committee. Come out this Thu., Feb. 9 at 7 pm to 634 S. Spring St., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles. Cost: free.

>> Recycle old fabrics, deconstruct old clothes, turn something old into something new! Learn how to make scarves bags and other items from old t-shirts at a Valentine’s Day DIY Workshop, this Thu., Feb. 9 from 3:45-4:45 pm at the Santa Monica Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Cost: free.

>> CicLAvia is hosting a Valentine’s party! Bring your Valentine – or meet a new Valentine there! There will be live music and djs, speed dating (open to all orientations and genders!), auction, swag and more! Come party this Fri., Feb. 10 from 7-10 pm at Atwater Crossing, 3245 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles. Cost: free, but bring money for eats and treats.

>> Do you have a strong interested in becoming trained in home food preservation (such as canning, pressure canning, freezing, drying, pickling and fermenting)? Want to share this knowledge with the public? The University of California Cooperative Extension is pleased to announce the spring 2012 class of the LA County Master Food Preserver program. The application deadline is this Fri., Feb. 10 at 5 pm. Cost: free to apply online, $120 for the complete program (scholarships available).

>> This week’s Green Garden Academy topic is Lawn Be Gone (part I). Learn tips for safe lawn removal, choosing plants to replace lawn and plants for parkways this Sat., Feb. 11 from 10:30 am – 1:30 pm in the Multipurpose Room of the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Cost: free.

>> Join Culver City’s mayor and the Culver City Bicycle Coalition each Monday morning to explore Culver City and beyond, by bike! Meet this Mon., Feb. 13 at 8 am at Sid Kronenthal Park by the covered tables, near the community room, 3459 McManus Ave., Culver City. Cost: free.

>> Join Heal the Bay and Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District at a gathering to recognize work done thus far to build sustainability into local schools by parents and others and that will focus on considering how to ensure institutionalized sustainability in local schools. Takes place on Mon., Feb. 13 from 7-9 pm at Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, 1600 Ocean Front Walk Santa Monica. Cost: free.

>> On the second Tuesday of every month, you’re invited to the only pure networking event for owners and decision-makers of LA’s green businesses, hosted by the Green Business Network (GBN). Delicious organic snacks, wine and non-alcoholic beverages will be available. GBN events are recycling points, so bring any old batteries, phones, or newspapers you need recycled. Join the fun next Tue., Feb. 14 from 6-9 pm at DIRTT (Doing It Right This Time) 9014 Lindblade St. Culver City. Cost: $10 when you prepay online, $15 at the door (space permitting).

>>  The Green Living Workshop 101 is a condensed version of the 6 week Green Living Workshop which covers the following topics: water, energy, waste, chemicals, transportation, and shopping & food. Sustainability tools will be raffled off to help participants carry out the solutions discussed during the workshop. Workshop takes place this Sat., Dec. 3 from 10 am – 1 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Cost: free, though please register through Eventbrite.

>>  Your banana peels, sandwich crusts, lawn clippings, and coffee grounds are precious resources that can be cycled back into the garden. Come participate in a composting lesson at the Natural History Museum by getting your hands in the mix! Workshop takes place on Sat., Dec. 3 from 1-4 pm at the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: admission to the museum is $12 for adults, $5-8 for children.

>>  Come out to see the documentary “Tipping Point – The End of Oil”, which addresses the largest industrial project in human history – the Alberta Tar Sands.  Speakers and the q&a will address what we can do to help heal the destructive impact of this project and options for an alternative energy economy.  Takes places on Sat., Dec. 6 from 7-10:30 pm at All Saints Church, 132 North Euclid Ave., Pasadena.  Cost: $15 suggested donation.  RSVP to info@burbankgreenalliance.org.

Image retrieved from wilderutopia.com

About this time tomorrow, I’ll be in Detroit — getting off the plane before heading to Dearborn, Michigan, where I’ll learn about Ford’s new green initiatives at the “Forward with Ford” conference put together by the company. So it seemed only fitting that today I found about other green initiatives happening in Michigan — showcased in a new film called “Urban Roots.”

Produced by Leila Conners and Mathew Schmid, “Urban Roots” shows the growing urban farming movement in Detroit — where people are finding ways to feed themselves locally and sustainably during economically turbulent times. Watch the trailer for an inspiring preview.

A few screenings are in the works, but none are in L.A. You can, however, buy the 90-minute DVD for $19.95. Or if you think watching the film will inspire you to finally plant your own urban garden, spring for the $30 “Root Level” package that’ll get you the DVD, three packs of heirloom seeds, plus the happy knowledge your money went to fund farms in schools.