10.
Trouble Brews For French Grower Using Vegetable Oil Fuel
A grower in France, Olivier Lainé, is in trouble with the law for driving a
vehicle powered by an "unauthorized fuel" pure
vegetable oil, made from colza, or rape seed, grown on his own farm. He drove
the truck on public roads.
A directive passed
by the European Union last year instructs member states to encourage the use of
pure vegetable oil as a form of fuel for diesel-powered vehicles.
Lainé, however,
doesn't see himself as a criminal. He claims he is a revolutionary. Using pure
vegetable oil as a fuel will contribute to solving problems, not making them,
he says.
Source: Independent News & Media Ltd.,
11.
Special Talk
Dr. Cornelia Flora Butler
Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and
Sociology
Director,
Socio-technical Regime and the Changing
Agricultural Landscape
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Gold A Room MSU
Why do farmers do what they do? The
socio-technical regime, more than individual farmer characteristics, determines
the agricultural landscape, often creating an industrial agricultural wasteland
of corn and soybeans. Illustrated by
Technical knowledge
Engineering practices
Product characteristics
Skills and procedures
Ways of handling relevant
artifacts and persons
Production process
techniques
Ways of defining problems
These are embedded in institutions and infrastructures. Examples will be
presented, along with discussion of how to change it.
Cornelia Butler Flora is past president of the Rural Sociological Society, the
Community Development Society, and the Society for Agriculture, Food and Human
Values. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. She is author and editor of a number of recent books, including Interactions Between Agroecosystems and Rural Communities, Rural Communities: Legacy and
Change 2nd edition, and Sustainable
Agriculture in Temperate Zone, as well as over 175 articles and
reviews. She was appointed to the National Agricultural Research,
Education and Economics Advisory Board in 2003, where she is on the Executive
Committee. Her research focuses on community-level interventions to bring
about positive, systemic change that includes healthy ecosystems, vital
economies, and social inclusion.
12. CSA Conference
2006
November 10-12, 2006: Second
Biennial Conference for Community Supported Agriculture: Raising
vegetables and civic values: The role of CSA in the 21st Century. Join us at the Kettunen Center
(just south of ****Check out the WEB site for
registration and details about pre conference workshop to starting a CSA http://www.csafarms.org/ **** |
13.
Mark your Calendar! the 18th Annual
February 22-24, 2007
In
downtown
Held one day prior
to the UMOFC, the
courses in organic
agriculture.
The
are projects of
the Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service.
More than 130
Exhibitors!
www.mosesorganic.org
715-772-3153
That’s all for this week. Hope your harvest is going
well and your markets are growing!
Organic Vegetable and Crop Outreach Specialist
C.S. Mott Sustainable Food Systems
303 Natural Resources Bldg.
517-353-3542
517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (fax)
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