Erika Allen

Our first book club first pick of 2011, Farmer Jane: Women Changing the Way We Eat, tells the stories of women working towards eating and farming sustainably. Author Temra Costa writes about the relationships, nurturing, and inventiveness that women bring into the “delicious revolution” that is happening in our food world. Join us on January 27 at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op from 7:00 - 9:00 pm or in Bemidji (near Harmony Co-op) from 5:30 - 7:30 pm to dig into these stories.

What right does Milwaukee have to be at the forefront of aquaponics, an intensive urban agriculture hybrid of hydroponics and fish cultivation? The city doesn't have an especially green reputation. It's certainly not a Boulder, San Francisco, or Twin Cities. It's not even a Madison, which is just ninety miles west on I-94.

Milwaukee isn't supposed to be a place where terms like “sustainability” or “green” are thrown around. It’s supposed to be a blue-collar city with nicknames like “the Cream City” (for its pale bricks made from indigenous clay) or “the Brew City” (for the long history of beer-making). Milwaukee should make big, loud motorcycles and big, loud power tools, right?

I’m a firm believer in the power of the marketplace, that every dollar we spend on food is a binary vote: either FOR an agriculture system that makes our bodies, our communities, and our environment healthier, or AGAINST it.