brooo I just found the best paper (article?) about CAM plants appropriate for food production in a region the writers term “Aridamerica” (in contrast with mesoamerica) that encompasses northern mexico, the sonoran desert, and part of arizona and nevada….it’s so fuckin good
The article is the work of some researchers who examined ethnobotanical and historical sources, interviewed native people, and did ecological surveys in “Aridamerica”
Primarily they drew from the current and historical practices of the Comcaac (Seri people), O'odham, and Pima Bajo peoples. Here are a few excerpts from the article I really liked!
Agricultural visionaries from Argentina, Australia, North America, and elsewhere have been calling for “new roots for agriculture” for more than 40 years (Felger, 1975; Jackson, 1980). Their visions favor high biodiversity-low input agroecosystems, with greater emphasis on perennial polycultures. To quote pioneering desert botanist Richard Felger, to whom this article is dedicated, we must “fit the crops to the environment rather than remaking the environment to fit the crops.” Yet, to date few agronomists have given sufficient attention to effective means to reduce heat or moisture stress in crops and livestock, or in the humans who struggle to manage them (Nabhan, 2013).
The majority of widespread crops (e.g., rice, wheat, soybean) are C3 plants with low water-use efficiency and reduced photosynthetic efficiency under high temperatures. C4 crops (e.g., corn, sorghum, sugarcane) have higher heat tolerance but usually require reliable irrigation in arid and semi-arid land settings. As temperatures increase, so do evapotranspiration and water input required to maintain crop yields. Thus, even drought- and heat-tolerant varieties of conventional C3 and C4 crops may be unable to weather—let alone mitigate—the stressful agronomic conditions predicted for arid zones over the coming century. In contrast, wild desert plants have evolved multiple strategies to cope with heat and drought (Gibson, 1996). Desert plants with the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway uptake CO2 nocturnally when temperatures are cooler, thereby optimizing water-use efficiency (Nobel, 2010).
I really like the points they make here about C4 plants! Corn and sorghum are often listed as being more suitable for arid climates because of their improved temperature tolerance and water use efficiency compared to (for example) wheat or soybean. That said…both were originally tropical plants iirc, and while there are certainly drought-tolerant cultivars of both, they still use a *lot* of water in very hot and dry regions, and those well adapted cultivars aren’t the most commonly grown.
After gathering a list of plants commonly used as crops by the native people of these areas “For each species, we determined the photosynthetic pathway (C3, C4, CAM) and categorized water-acquisition strategy as extensive exploiter (e.g., Prosopis/mesquite), intensive exploiter (e.g., Salvia columbariae/chia, Phaseolus acutifolius/wild tepary bean), or water storer (e.g., Agave/agave, Opuntia/prickly pear)”
It’s really interesting to think abt those different drought strategies! For reference, extensive exploiters tend to have very wide+deep root systems that collect water from an extensivearea. Intensive exploiters tend to be found near temporary water courses that only hold water temporarily/for part of the year. This could mean washes/dry streambeds that flood in a storm, or rivers that dry up outside of the monsoon season. I know tepary beans typically grow quickly (often quoted as taking only 60 days from growth to seed set!) when water is available, then die and weather the hottest and driest season as dormant seeds. Water storer is pretty self-explanatory–agave and prickly pear are succulents that can store a tremendous amount of water in their tissues, saving it to tide them over until the next precipitation event.
Ultimately, the article graded a variety of plant genera on their agroecological suitability (how well they grow in an arid environment), any potential medicinal uses, their community/social value (cultural importance, providing shade in communal areas, etc.), and their agronomical suitability (can it be grown at scale, is there a market for it, etc.) I won’t bother to list them here–you can go see the whole chart in the linked article–but it’s a very interesting list!
I can only speak for me, but—every time I survive depression, I have scars. But I also have a story. I never wish to have gone through the depression and parts of me remain broken, but a quiet strength also remains. I made it. It is worth celebrating.
Anyone else in health care being gaslit by the government, society, and their institution into feeling survivor’s guilt because even if things are crappy for you, they’re crappier for somebody else?
Really feeling for my primary care/family medicine, critical care, emergency/urgent/acute care, and mental health colleagues at the moment. This pandemic has been going on way too long, and no one seems to care about the fact that even when things were reopening, you were all still being worked into the ground (and through the crust of the earth into its molten core) by all the ripple effects of this pandemic uncovering the systemic inequities and BS that was just lurking in the shadows before 2019… All the stuff that health care workers, in general, managed to barely keep at bay from their sense of altruism and dedication (now obligation?) to their patients. If I’ve learned anything from COVID-19, it is that everyone will do their best to take advantage of you, and short of doing your job well, you actually don’t owe them anything.
You really do gotta take care of you first, otherwise this system will beat you down to nothing before you even realize it. “Resilience” is great and all, but it’s really just the system shifting all responsibility for surviving its BS onto its victims.
This system has been sick for a very, very long time. It’s gonna need a lot more than a bandaid and some yoga to rehabilitate it.
ACADEMIC STUDY: Are you 18+ years of age, live in the USAandself-id(even just quietly mosty to yourself)asBisexual+,Biromantic+ or otherwise a member of the LGBTQIA+ Communities?
It’s been a harsh trip to the finish line of 2016 but the thing I have finally recognised is my resilience. I might sail right past previous rock bottoms, reach emptier lows yet and weather storm after storm but I will bounce back eventually. I am strong and I am capable and I can face my truths head on. • #BlackAndWhite #Farm #Sky #Fields #Shadows #Clouds #White #HighCut #KayleighPeddie #Thong #Bodysuit #Bööty #Handmade #Lingerie #Underwear #LingerieLove #LingerieLife #Rural #Country #Victoria #2016 #Life #Healing #Progress #Strength #Resilience
How wonderful it is during these times to see so many people reaching out, looking in, strengthening current relationships and re-establishing old ones, to see everyone’s determination to carry on living and enjoying the world despite everything! I’m tentatively starting a small series of illustrations inspired by the (ironic) connection I’m feeling with everyone at the moment xxx stay cool!
The inaugural edition of Good Sense Farm’s “Ask a Farmer” column begins with a familiar question and ends with a twist. First the question, sent by someone who found out about us on the internets :
Good morning,
I…am on the quest to find black owned business to support for my life needs and wants. I have been very successful as now I have several DMV black farmers to support; however, I am having a hard time finding animal farmers for chicken/eggs, pork, etc. Can you direct me to local farmers or a black owned butcher shop that sources from Black Owned farms?
Thank you for any guidance you can provide. I look forward to supporting you and the rest of the agricultural farmers in the area.
J
I read this question through once and thought to myself, “how do I break it to them?” Here’s myfirst answer, unedited, untouched by the gift of hindsight.
Hey J,
Thanks for your inquiry. This is a great question.
While I truly wish it was a matter of just pointing you in the direction of a directory or list of black farmers to meet your needs, unfortunately it’s not that easy anywhere in the country. Access to the type of land that it takes to run an animal operation is a major obstacle on the farming front and urban development which supports small businesses like that black butcher that we both so earnestly want, just aren’t there and require real work to bring those resources back to our community. DC, like the rest of the country, has a really rich history of innovative black food producers but also a really deep legacy of structural inequity and intentional discrimination that make maintaining a business very difficult for black farmers and food producers.
As a result, producers are largely small and unconnected to larger markets. When they do reach larger markets you can’t distinguish their products from white producers. There has only recently been a resurgence in interest in the distinction in a way that might make it profitable for the producer. That’s why I am so happy that you asked this question! It’s proof that people want to know their black farmer a little better and are perhaps willing to invest directly in the growth of black farms to turn the current trends around.
Though I’m not sure how you came upon my information, I hope that in your search you heard about our work building a network of supportive infrastructure for farmers of color and connecting them to markets. Good Sense Farm cofounded Community Farming Alliance for DMV farmers of color in 2013 which is steadily building a network of farmers of color and resources to help them thrive.
Currently, we run a Community Supported Agriculture Program which offers, veggies, mushrooms, honey, medicinal herbs and, yes, eggs to our members. We are always looking for more farmers to add to the network, particularly those with products that we know our customers want. We are also actively trying to mentor young farmers of color to get into the business and provide them with the resources to be successful. My hope is that folks like you will consider joining us and will spread the word that supporting cooperatives like ours is the best way to support the return of black artisinal producers outside of pushing for radical structural changes toward justice and equity in the food system.
I hope this information is helpful to you in your search and that, perhaps, we will meet soon. Your enthusiasm and earnest investment in our growth as food producers is appreciated and needed.
Best,
Zachari J. Curtis
I hit send, and didn’t think much more of it. J responded unsurprised. We shared hopes for a someday fix. We made pledges to meet real soon and that was that, or so I thought.
Nothing in my response was untrue but something kept bothering me about it. No, it wasn’t the self-promotional tone, though, you know.
In a recent email, my comrade in farming Gail Taylor, cofounder with me of Community Farming Alliance, lifted up an experience that made me reflect again on my response and the side of the story that doesn’t get told. Gail’s reflection on meeting Jahi Ellis, at a meeting of SAAFON: the Southeastern African American Farmer’s Organic Network.:
Like many of you, I had read the article about Ellis in [Civil Eats] that talks about how he’s in survival mode and struggling to make ends meet. What I think the article missed, which was clear when I met him last week, is how inspiring, capable, and determined Ellis is.
And there it is folks. Before you call it over for black farmers, we must all consider a few things. We have survived and come to thrive under tremendous pressures. We honor those who have not survived by keeping their names and their lessons in our minds and mouths. Our networks of resilience are not readily searchable and were not meant to be. We, like other folks, have resisted surveillance and traceability to create safe havens for our art, industry and livelihoods.
The world hasn’t changed that much since there was a need for mutual aid organizations and financial and business institutions that appeared on the outside like social clubs. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, community organizer and researcher, catalogs the atmosphere in which black communities fomented some of the most progressive economic institutions known in our history and our legacy of strategic collective resource sharing. Her book Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Economic Thought and Practice, remembers the practices and institutions which black communities cultivated for their collective welfare.
From collective manumission to black labor unions, these institutions and practices promoted economic solidarity and provided the financial resources for radical social change movements of the time. Black coops were not just doing business, they were bailing people out, raising money for land and creating jobs for disposed members of the struggle. Talk about #FUNDBLACKFUTURES. Hear Jessica talk about the dangers, toils and snares.
Nembhard also dedicates a significant portion of the book and her work to talking about current emergent strategies that are a part of that legacy of resilience. Translation: we’re still in the game today and visibility isn’t the only measure of value. These systems of protection are not unique to black communities but they are purposeful and driven by data. I thought about this, reflected on everything I knew and kicked myself for telling the old story–the one about complete eradication, forced subversion and invisibility the end.
So what does that mean for me, someone fielding a question about the existence of black farmers/butchers/artisans? It means that I was offered the rare opportunity to tell the whole story and so I must. Hence my revision of my answer to the “Where are all the black farmers/butchers?” question.
I honestly know quite a few folks who are leading the way and who have taught me a lot about the business. They have their own ways of engaging communities around their work. I will try to share what I know Here’s what I know about where to get some meat raised, slaughtered and sold by black sustainable farmers and leave space for what I don’t know.
Longtime vendors at the reknown year-round artisinal market, Market Poultry specializes in fancy poultry and game birds. When I called (because I had to) a lovely sweet sounding voice is what you hear on the voicemail line. Most likely, it’s someone’s favorite aunt who can probably give you a recipe for roasted pheasant that will make you cry. Just saying. More information about Market Poultry here.
Greg Thorne is a native of Howard County, Maryland. His family has lived there since at least the mid 1800’s. His great grandparents and other family members owned several small farms in the West Friendship area, so farming is in his blood. His grandfather was an avid gardener while Greg was growing up, and taught him well. After being born in Boston and spending my early childhood in Michigan, I grew up in the Maryland suburbs, but always wanted to live on a farm.
Thorne and his wife, Kris, raise sheep for wool and meat in addition to growing veggies. Greg’s specialty is “wool with character” which means it doesn’t look like the stuff you get at the big box craft outlet. They sell at farmers markets in their area so if you don’t live nearby consider taking a roadtrip and pick me up a side of mutton and some sweetbreads (kidneys - yeah that’s how I get down. #teamorganmeats). I met Greg at a farmer of color gathering last year and was so struck by his positivity and the legacy of his farm.
Farmer Gale Livingstone (different Gale than mentioned above) was born in Georgetown, Guyana and moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1981 as a child to live with her family. In 1991, Gale moved to the DC Metro area where she lived until 2010. Prior to owning Rainbow Hill Farm, Gale grew vegetables in containers on her deck and rented space with a community gardening program in Maryland to feed her love of farming. Gale’s passion for food motivates her to grow the freshest vegetables possible and stay committed to being self-sustaining and environmentally responsible.
Gale’s farm is certified organic and produces some of the best eggs on the east coast (yeah, I said it). We carried Gail’s eggs in our 2015 Cooperative CSA box and look forward to a long happy relationship with this super dedicated farmer.
Renard and Chinette Turner run Vanguard Ranch, as a family owned and operated farm committed to sustainable and organic agricultural practices. At the core of their operation is our commercial meat goat herd. The goats produce a great natural fertilizer as they browse and assist us in keeping the land open. The Turners have developed a line of natural gourmet goat meat products and sell their goat as prepared foods, capturing the value that is lost when farmers sell wholesale and preserving it to invest in their operation. Both Renard and Chinette are a fascinatingly brilliant people. Renard’s passion will get anyone believing they, too, should be a goat farmer (don’t get sucked in…or do, you’ve been warned). Chinette is the picture of quiet power. You’d be well served to listen closely when she speaks. It will be important.
for the farmers, ranchers and butchers who’s presence we’re not aware of but who aren’t “gone” or “disappeared” or “eradicated.” We lift up the ones who don’t have websites, the ones who don’t do social media, the ones who don’t have volunteer days and the ones who don’t deal with the USDA. We wish them prosperity beyond measure and encourage you, the eater determined to support black farmers, to hold them in your hearts, reach out respectfully and thank them for holding it down.
We also hold this space for imagination. Imagine what it would be like to live in the world where black farmers, butchers, ranchers and artisans are well supported and connected to the people who love them and want to see them thrive. Imagine what their food tastes like and what it would mean for the pedigree of your food to extend to the farmer. Imagine if “Cage Free” meant “grown by workers making a fair wage” and “Organic” meant “supporting environmental and economic justice in communities of color.” Imagine the taste and smell of that world? What is it seasoned with? What tools and resources do we have to create to support that vision? What of those things do we have already? Who among our kindred do we know that can help us put the pieces together to make it happen?
I hope I gave you a bunch to chew on.
Sincerely,
Ask A Farmer
Like what you’re reading? Want answers from Good Sense Farm? Email thoughts and questions to [email protected].
Amen! Build your foundation. Don’t let others determine your worth or your value or your abilities. YOU ARE CAPABLE!! #buildyourfoundation #bepositive #success #provethemwrong #determination #inspiration #motivation #amen #empowerment #resilience
“Life changes force us into the deep water. Death forces us into deeper waters. Call the roll of lossesin your own family. I salute both my stalwart grandmothers and both my sisters, who as widows grew to be at home in and, eventually, through grace and strength, to thrive in the deep waters. My cousin Patsy and her daughters still reel from the shock of the accident that killed husband and father Charles McGee on a balmy April evening, just before dusk. None of us can believe it yet. [My daughter] Jennifer reshapes her life as she copes with her father’s illness and death. I feel twice-widowed. I lost him to divorce. I lost him to death. My father is dead. My mother died last spring. This is drama, but this is not a play. There is no dress rehearsal. We have no script. We don’t know the lines. We have to make them up as we go. We have to perform them live, on the spot, no chance to go back and start from the top. What will we do? How will we stand? The questions haunt us as we bear the unbearable, and lead us, unbidden, often dragging our feet, to new depths—to new chaptersof life.”
In celebration of Mental Health Month, we are excited to provide our favorite self-care activity: a coloring page, illustrated by Tumblr Creatr, Lunares. Check out and download the custom “I Can Do Anything” page here, inspired by the Simone Biles x Athleta collection.
In celebration of Mental Health Month, we are excited to provide our favorite self-care activity: a coloring page, illustrated by Tumblr Creatr, Lunares. Check out and download the custom “I Can Do Anything” page here, inspired by the Simone Biles x Athleta collection.
I first learned about Moon Treesin the fall of 2015. One of the trees – a loblolly pine – had been planted at an elementary school just down the street from where I was living at the time. It wasn’t a new thing – it was planted back in 1977, during the period when most other Moon Trees where being planted around the country and the world – but because it wasn’t doing too well, it was in the news.…
#postelection | #fear: Nell’aftermath delle elezioni americane, il New York Times ha chiesto a nove artisti di disegnare e descrivere le proprie paure. Tra i lavori, c’è anche quello dell’artista nigeriana-americana Toyin Ojih Odutola:
“I fear the regression of rights and policies that protect us. But I still exist and I am still working – and that is so affirming.”
The Japanese believe that when something has suffered damage and has a history, it becomes more beautiful, so they repair broken objects with gold. Instead of trying to hide defects and cracks, these are accentuated and celebrated, as they have now become the strongest part of the piece —because the repaired pottery is even stronger than the original, and more beautiful.
The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. —Ernest Hemingway
Digital painting done in Photoshop using a Wacom Intuos pro as main tool and stock photos as reference and texture.
“After seven years of experiments, it was clear to us that the remarkable attribute of resilience in the face of defeat need not remain a mystery. It was not an inborn trait; it could be acquired.”
Martin Seligman, “Learned Optimism: How To Change Your Mind And Your Life”
![Mind Map #51: [I will not give up.] https://www.facebook.com/thisfoldedmind](https://64.media.tumblr.com/50366328c507c978748a7c1290bd8fef/tumblr_mfok22mKT21ru4tgjo1_1280.jpg "Mind Map #51: [I will not give up.] https://www.facebook.com/thisfoldedmind")
