July 8, 2009; Co-Conveners: Nancy Lee Wood and Derek Christianson
In attendance:
Bob Barboza, Pat Bebo, David Biggs, Katie Cavanaugh, Kathleen Christianson, Derek Christianson, Sarah Cogswell, Rosa DaCosta, Bonnie DeSousa, Nancy Durfee, Jennifer Holske, Dan King, Nancy Lee Woods, Susan Peterson
Introductions and Announcements:
- Bristol Community College’s Post Carbon Institute is beginning a new program on Food & Farming. For more information on registering please visit: http://www.bristolcc.edu/events/oat/
- Bonnie DeSouza is volunteering 4 hours/week to help with coordination of the
- Regional Council
- 3rd Eye Open is July 18th in Buttonwood Park
- Dartmouth YMCA volunteer drop-in hours are Mon 7-9am (July and August), W/Sat. 9-11am, and Thursday 3-5pm. All are welcome.
“Power of Community” Film Clip and Peak Oil Context for this Discussion:
Nancy Lee Wood began the meeting with background information on peak oil, including
a clip from the film “Power of Community” (available for rental from BCC’s library).
She noted:
- The world is reaching or has reached the highest level of oil extraction we’ll ever extract
- The “low hanging fruit” (1st trillion barrels of oil) has been extracted already; extracting the remaining oil is going to become more cost prohibitive
- Peak oil expert Richard Heinberg projected July 2008 as the peak (highest extraction rate)
- 2.5-3% annual extraction rate decline is anticipated (projected out 10 years this becomes a significant decline set against rising demand)
- 19 barrels of oil per person are used for food production each year
Discussion:
What should the Focus of this committee be? What are most pressing needs?
Nancy Lee Wood:
Sees 3 major sustainability issues being faced with regard to food:
- Peak oil (prices will rise)
- Other natural fuels also reaching peak this century
- Nutrient failures of our food (cited Jill Stein study “Environmental Threats to Healthy Aging” by Jill Stein, M.D see http://www.agehealthy.org/ to download a copy). Thinks working on post-peak oil food production/supply is one of the most important areas for this group to work on.
Bob Barboza: Supporting and promoting local agriculture is basis of what our focus should be.
Providing further context for this discussion
Derek Christianson:
Some statistics to keep in mind:
- 546,331 is population in Bristol County
- 2007 vegetable sales from farms in Bristol County were $6,310,000 – Likely a large portion of this were sales from Bristol County Growers at markets outside of Bristol County.
- This is equivalent to $12 per person per year.
- 255,000,000 lbs of milk produced in MA annually
- This is 5 gallons per person per year.
- According to 2007 Ag Census 14 farms in Bristol County made over $500,000 a year (out of 777 farms total)
In terms of relocalizing food production we will need new farmers (current farmer base is
aging- average age is 55), and backyard/community gardens. In terms of peak oil, high
water weight crops will have the biggest price rises because of transport costs, dense
crops (e.g. grains) probably make the most sense for shipping.
Group Brainstorm:
* Please see Excel Spreadsheet for brainstorm of Concerns, Solutions, Tasks, and
Resources
Continued Discussion:
What should scope of this committee be?
- If too large a focus people won’t want to be involved, perception that too big and won’t get anything done.
- Distribution/Marketing/Policy
- Identifying Gaps: what are resources that could be of value to entire region? Mobile slaughterhouse? More certified kitchens? Possible project evaluating the struggles faced by these kitchens.
- Identifying what Graduate Research Projects would be helpful
- Food Shed Analysis for the Region (look at San Francisco Food Shed Analysis as resource)
Suggestion for increasing the future effectiveness of the committee:
- Create a database of what committee members areas of expertise are/relevant projects being worked on
Next Meeting:
Tentatively set for 7:30pm August 26, at Lakeville Public Library or other centrally
located meeting space. Rosa DaCosta will do a brief presentation on food insecurity to
open the meeting.