Farm Aid Maine Town Passes Landmark Local Food Ordinance


Residents of Sedgwick, Maine, have unanimously voted to adopt a Local Food and Self-Governance Ordinance, setting a precedent for other towns looking to preserve small-scale farming and food processing. Sedgwick is the first town in the state, and perhaps the nation, to exempt direct farm sales from state and federal licensing and inspection. The ordinance also exempts foods made in the home kitchen, similar to the Michigan Cottage Food Law passed last year, but without caps on gross sales or restrictions on types of exempt foods. Local farmer Bob St. Peter explains: “This ordinance creates favorable conditions for beginning farmers and cottage-scale food processors to try out new products, and to make the most of each season’s bounty.” St. Peter, who serves on the board of the National Family Farm Coalition


(nffc.net), based in Washington, D.C., sees this as a model ordinance for rural economic development. “It’s tough making a go of it in rural America,” he continues. “Rural working people have always had to do a little of this and a little of that to make ends meet. But up until the last couple of generations, we didn’t need a special license or new facility each time we wanted to sell something to our neighbors.” As a result, “Small farmers and producers have been getting squeezed out in the name of food safety, yet it’s the industrial food that is causing food-borne illness, not us.”


Read the Local Food and Self-Governance Ordinance at tinyurl.com/46kswcm.


Urban Forest Tree Banner Design Contests Sprout in U.S. Cities


Banners created by local designers, artists and students are appearing on light posts at high-traffic locations throughout cities participating in the Urban Forest Project. Each banner’s design must be a metaphor for the tree, a symbol of sustainability, and a visual statement about valuing the environment. Originally conceived by Worldstudio to promote going green and bring life to light posts in New York City’s Times Square in 2006, the project has taken root in Albuquerque, Baltimore, Denver, Portland, Oregon, and Toledo, Ohio. New, colorfully eco-conscious tree banners will be sprouting this spring in San Francisco, Tacoma, Washington, and Washington, D.C. “We anticipate the artwork and banners… will act as a visual awareness of the importance of maintaining


a healthy canopy in not only our city, but throughout the world,” says Adrian M. Fenty, former mayor of the District of Columbia. After they were removed from Times Square, the banners were recycled into one-of-a-kind tote bags, with sales proceeds going to mentoring programs and the creative arts in New York City. Initially, “That was supposed to be the end of the story, except the project apparently had resonance with a lot of people from different communities,” says Andréa Pellegrino of Worldstudio. “We started receiving unsolicited outreach from communities all over the world.”


Learn more at ufp-global.com. WWW.NAJAX.COM


Sustainable Future LOHAS Provides Blueprint for Strong Businesses


Approximately 19 percent of U.S. adults, or 41 million consumers, are part of the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) demographic that eco- and health-conscious companies and entrepreneurs seek to do business with. Two 2011 LOHAS conferences will bring these business owners together to network, share information, and inspire a sustainable future for the world. As they reinvent and reposition themselves in the evolving marketplace, these business people maintain a pivotal triple-bottom line principle of people, planet and profit.


The first regional conference


will be held at the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, on May 12. Then, the annual LOHAS Forum 2011 will take place in Boulder, Colorado, from June 22 to 24. Topics will revolve around holistically serving the estimated $290 billion U.S. marketplace for goods and services related to health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living. Executive Director Ted Ning


comments: “LOHAS consumers are the early adopters of society and are the educators of family and friends. They are always pushing for the next best thing. Once something becomes integrated they seek and push for the next innovation. For example, hybrid cars were a big push five years ago; now it is electric vehicles. As society evolves, so do they; thus they are always on the cutting edge of what is next.” One telling result: “Now you


can’t open a magazine or turn on the TV without seeing some sort of LOHAS- oriented ad.” To register, visit lohas.com/


forum. For an interview with Ted Ning, see tinyurl.com/4f6meeh.


May 2011 19


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