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Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 1 – ! April 2014
by Pat Kenschaft
On Saturday afternoons April 26 and May 17 Judy Hinds and I will be opening our gardens to the public. As this goes to press, it is hard to predict what will be visible then, but we both anticipate interesting things to see. My garden is on the south side of the house, so it gets more sunlight than Judy’s, which faces northeast. Mine is greatly influenced by John Jeavon’s How to Raise More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine. Judy has enjoyed the square foot method espoused by Mel Bartholomew. Both of us have evolved our own approaches, however, as individual gardeners do as they cater to local conditions and preferences.
Hours: Judy’s garden at 156 Rhoda Ave, Nutley, will be open from 2 to 5 PM. Mine at 56 Gordonhurst Avenue, Montclair, will open only from 2 to 4 PM, so my last tour will begin at 3:30. n
CornucopiaTwo Gardens Open on April 26 and May 17
Network of New Jersey, Inc.!
April 2014
Thirty years on the cutting edge of food issues
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Has Pat harvested the last of the winter carrots? What will you see in her April garden?
photo by Madeline St. Jacques
Elmwood is three blocks south of Bloom!eld Avenue, o" Elm Street. The church is !ve properties from Elm Street on the south side with a parking lot in the back.
Did you know that 80% of what’s on the grocery shelves contains GMOs? Ina Denburg, of Continuum Living.us will give a presentation showing how to !nd the hidden ingredients and how to shop to avoid buying GMOs.
TuesdayApril 29th
7:00 PMSponsor displays 7:00 • Talk begins at 7:30
St. Peter Claver Church56 Elmwood Avenue, Montclair
Welcometo your GMOcery!
GMOs from Purchase to Plate
Cornucopia
Network of New Jersey
P R E S E N T S
Cosponsoring groups: Cornucopia Network of NJ, Caldwell CSA, CommunityGreen, Food & Water Watch, Gateway Group NJ Sierra Club, Genesis Farm, Mountain Lakes
Organic Co-op, NOFA-NJ, Purple Dragon Co-op, Boxed Organics, and Terra .
see page 7
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 2 – ! April 2014
by Chris Beers
In post-industrial societies such as ours, food generally lacks quality and people generally lack a sense of belonging. As a response, many are taking up the two issues with one rich approach: building community around the procuring, preparing, and sharing of healthy food. Common techniques for doing so include community supported agriculture and farmers’ markets.
As a community co-designer working in local food, it’s my job to study, collaboratively invent, and implement such techniques. The more models we have, the better the chances one will fit appropriately somewhere, and the more likely new ideas will emerge. A list of some recent discoveries follows.
Techniques for Building Community Around Healthy Food
continued on page 3
by Pat Kenschaft
If you don’t raise most of your vegetables, CNNJ recommends you buy as many as you can from local farmers. One option is the Montclair Farmers’ Market, which will open officially on May 31 (but is open informally year round) in the Walnut Street Train Station parking lot, Saturdays from 8 AM to 2 PM. (The informal winter Market opens later and may close earlier.)
Another recommended option is Community Supported Agriculture, where the buyer gives money to the farmer at the beginning of the season, when a farmer needs it most, and receives fresh food throughout the growing season. There are many CSAs around the country. Seven available in northern New Jersey are listed below.
The Bloomfield-Montclair CSA provides a 24-week delivery of local, organic vegetables for $625 from certified organic vegetable farmer John Krueger of Starbrite Farm. An additional $345 buys a 23-week fruit share from Tree-Licious Orchards of IPM certified fruit. The CSA also offers a separate egg and poultry share with another pricing and delivery schedule: www.bloomfield-montclaircsa.org / [email protected].
Boxed Organics runs year round, dividing the year into 4 payments and providing a box of fruit and vegetables every other Wednesday. They buy as locally as possible and send out delicious recipes. Members can also place individual and split-share special orders. You can pick up from Melina Macall on Elm Street, Montclair, or she will deliver for an extra fee: 973-910-0708 / www.boxedorganicsnj.com / [email protected].
The Caldwell CSA works with organic farmer John Krueger of Starbrite Farms, Andover, NJ. He supplies all the weekly vegetables shares for the 24 week season at a cost of $625. In addition to
veggies, members can order fruit and honey. Tree-Licious Orchard supplies their fruit and raw honey comes from Bee My Honey Apiary, Stillwater, NJ. Eggs and dairy are coming soon too: www.caldwellcsa.org / [email protected].
The Community Supported Garden at Genesis Farm offers full-year and half-year shares. All food is grown organically. Most members pick up at the farm located at 41B Silver Lake Road in Blairstown, NJ 07825, a straight shot down Rt. 80. Many northern NJ satellite groups share pick-up and distribution: 908-362-7486 / www.csgatgenesisfarm.com / [email protected].
Joy’s Farm offers a CSA and also dedicates several acres for CSA members’ cooperative-farming and pastured chicken egg production. The 2014 full-share of roots, fruits and honey is $190.00. Pastured hens for eggs are owned by the cooperative members and maintained with organic feed and organic fruit & vegetable trimmings: 973-334-3331 / P.O. Box 254 Towaco, NJ 07082 www.localharvest.org/joys-farm-M6605 / [email protected].
Montclair Food Co-op & CSA is in partnership with Hepworth Farms. Hepworth Farms is a woman run business located in Hudson Valley, NY. Dedicated farmers Amy and Gerry run a prolific operation offering Certified Organic vegetables & IPM fruit shares. Bi-weekly deliveries are made to the Montclair Historical Society starting mid-June. $540 for 12 deliveries of fruit & vegetables: www.montclaircsa.wordpress.com / [email protected].
Purple Dragon Co-op is like a multi-farm CSA, buying local food in season and from farther away off-season to provide 12-month service. Pick-up points range from Staten Island to Milford, PA. Includes eggs, cheese, meat, vitamins and spices along with vegetables and fruit, catering to individual orders. Pay $49-$55 biweekly: 973-429-0391, 9 AM to 7 PM / www.purpledragon.com [email protected]. n
CSAs Available in Northern NJ
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 3 – ! April 2014
Edible Estates, Fritz HaegFamilies turn their front lawns into lush edible
landscapes. Volunteers are enlisted from the area to help create these productive pleasure gardens. The yard’s transition is a communal process of equal importance to the full-grown thing. Personal narratives of everyone involved become interwoven. After an Edible Estate is created, its fruits are recognized as common territory shared by all.
Public Fruit Maps, Fallen Fruit Art Collective
These maps show the location of all fruit trees growing in or hanging over public space in a given neighborhood. People viewing the map gain a new understanding of their surroundings. Sidewalks cease to be mere paths to get from A to B, and become destinations for the gathering of free fruit.
Seafood Throwdown, North Atlantic Marine Alliance
Two renowned local chefs face off in a cooking competition using ingredients from the CSF (community supported fisheries) market that they are stationed next to. Media attention and curious crowds are
drawn to this event, contributing to the buzz and growth of a fledgling market for small fisheries using sustainable fishing practices. Seafood lovers discover a source of fresh, local seafood they can feel good about purchasing while stalwart fishermen get paid.
Eat Your Sidewalk Challenge, SPURSEIn the eat your sidewalk challenge, a group of
friends vows not to buy any food for a week relying instead on their immediate environment for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They learn to forage, glean, and barter for their dandelion salad and day old bread.
The sidewalks that were once an afterthought become the source of the meals for the week. What emerges is a surprising sense of abundance, a deep camaraderie with friends and an affinity for the immediate environment.
Sunday Soup, Kate DaughdrillSunday soup is a fundraiser for small scaled, grass
roots community projects. It is an event where money is raised by selling soup. Projects by local creatives are presented to the crowd. Whoever pays for soup gets to vote for the project they want most to see completed. People come together for good food and an exciting competitive event, but no one really loses because the winning project will better the community. n
Building Community cont. from page 2
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 3 – ! April 2014
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 4 – ! April 2014
by Pat Kenschaft
Cornucopia and five other organizations cosponsored an excellent but disturbing presentation by Matt Smith of Food & Water Watch on February 19 about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a proposed trade agreement being negotiated among 12 Pacific Rim nations. Similar to NAFTA (a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the United States) this trade deal could override local, state, and national laws protecting public health standards, the environment, and workers’ rights.
The TPP has been drafted in secret with no media or members of the public able to see the text. Members of Congress who want to see the current text of the agreement may go to a secret reading room but cannot take notes or reveal what they learn there. Despite the exclusion of the public and press, 600 corporate representatives are working with the Obama administration to craft the deal.
President Obama is asking for “Fast Track” authority that would authorize the president to sign this and future agreements without the normal Congressional involvement. Congress would be allowed only an up-down vote within 90 days, with no more than 20 hours of debate in each house, and with no option to modify the trade pact. Fast Track would take away the ability of Congress and the American people to have any real input on how the TPP could impact regulations that might affect every aspect of our lives. The TPP apparently would erode national sovereignty—and our knowledge about it comes only from a few leaks posted by Wikileaks.
“It is not really a trade deal,” said Matt. “It deregulates existing law to promote corporate profits. It is a ‘race to the bottom’ of environmental safeguards and food.” By requiring all laws to be in compliance with the TPP, it would allow corporations to challenge local, state and national laws that inhibit profits. Quebec is currently being sued by a company to overturn a fracking moratorium, using provisions in NAFTA similar to those proposed for the TPP.
NAFTA, in contrast with positive projections, has caused the loss of at least 700,000 U.S. jobs; the TPP could destroy many more. The impact of international agreements on the developing world could be much worse with regard to child labor, forced labor, environmental laws, and freedom of speech and press.
Food safety is a major concern. The TPP pushes self-regulation of meat inspection and food safety programs. Farm-to-school programs could be in jeopardy as they could be challenged as a “trade barrier” by multinational food interests. Food labeling laws, especially of GMOs and country of origin, could
be challenged and overturned by the agreement. The TPP would encourage privatization of essential resources like water. Already communities and workers have been made ill by oil and gas companies’ fracking in their neighborhoods. The TPP would pave the way to export gas to more overseas markets, which would increase the demand for fracking, meaning big profits for oil and gas companies, higher gas prices in the US and even more pollution from fracking in our communities.
The Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and other corporate organizations are pushing for Fast Track. Most Democrats oppose Fast Track (despite its being pushed by a Democratic president) as do a growing number of Republicans.
The 2014 Fast Track bill is the Camp-Baucus Bipartisan Trade Priorities Act, H.R. 3830. Recent statements by some Congressional leaders are intentionally vague, and the issue is far from dead. The vote could come up at any point over the rest of the year. Matt urged us to contact our congressional representatives on this issue. He observed, “We are the conservatives on this issue. We want to preserve democracy and the checks and balances of the constitution.”
The cosponsoring organizations were GMO-free NJ, Food & Water Watch, Genesis Farm, NJ Peace Action, the Essex/Passaic Green Party, and the Cornucopia Network of NJ. n
Over 40 people learned about the “secret” TPP on Feb. 19th
Your Food and Jobs: the TPP
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 5 – ! April 2014
by Pat Kenschaft
The Highlands, Montclair’s January free “Green Movie,” provides many shots of gorgeous scenery in northwestern New Jersey. The first half describes the natural features and the second provides a brief history of the region. Afterward, Erica Van Auken from the New Jersey Highlands Coalition gave a presentation and led a delightful discussion. My take away from this very pleasant evening was to marvel at how little I had previously known about a topic so vital to my own health.
The New Jersey Highlands are a vital source of water for New Jerseyans. The region’s forests, wetlands, wells, streams and reservoirs provide as much as 770 million gallons of potable water daily. Over five million people in 292 municipalities—more than half of the State’s population—rely on the Highlands for their drinking water. Most of them live outside the Highlands region, in Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Passaic, and Union counties. Montclair gets over 75 percent of its water from The Highlands. If that water supply is damaged, our health could be in deep trouble. (Witness West Virginia.)
The Highlands are defined by their crystalline rock structure. It also is largely undeveloped, so it still is largely forested. The rain that falls in the Highlands either goes into streams or the ground. The rain is first cleansed by passing through the forests’ fallen leaf litter and topsoil. Unlike other rock types, the crystalline rock has no purifying ability: the water trickles through minute cracks, so the forest is critical to clean water. As the area is developed, we are losing the forest cover, and the Highlands’ ability to produce clean drinking water.
Meanwhile, it is a wonderful habitat for many plants and animals, including about 200 species that
are endangered. We see close-ups of several varieties of birds. This pristine environment was greatly endangered by over a hundred iron mines there in the colonial period. For energy, they cut down trees. By the Civil War period, other parts of the country could provide iron with cheaper energy. The Highlands stopped mining and began to recuperate from its effect.
Newark in the 1870’s had terrible epidemics of cholera and other diseases; it had a significantly higher death rate than any other city in the country.
Newark’s source of drinking water was the highly polluted Passaic River, already an industrial waste canal. Early in the twentieth century a forward-thinking mayor bought a large section of the Highlands as a source of clean drinking water. It’s still the largest privately owned parcel of land in the state. When Newark
started getting water from the Highlands, its mortality rate dropped dramatically and quickly.
However, as the twentieth century progressed, the Highlands increasingly witnessed a conflict between water and people. The building of Routes 78 and 80 accelerated development in the Highlands. Also, forest fragmentation threatens the integrity of the forest. The more the cuts and fragmentation, the more water quality degrades. A new era is unfolding.
Erica Van Auken told us that in 2004 New Jersey passed the Highlands Act, which provides legal underpinning for protecting the Highlands. It is
published in an extremely thick book, the Regional Master Plan, and is “a good document, but not perfect.” It is on the Highlands Council website, and she advocates reading the preamble, which she described as “beautiful and moving.” She wouldn’t ask others to read the entire Act, although she has. In the past ten years there have been five legal challenges to the Highlands Act, and each
time the Act was found to be constitutional. The New Jersey Supreme Court has refused to reconsider these decisions.
The Highlands – film review and Q&A
continued on page 6
Over five million people in 292 municipalities—more than half of the State’s population—rely on the Highlands for their drinking water
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 6 – ! April 2014
The Highlands Act established a Highlands Council with members appointed by the governor. The Council is under the NJ DEP (Department of Environmental Protection), but not part of it. There are fifteen members, each with a 3–5 year term. Council members represent all the Counties in the Highlands as well as one representative from outside the region. Six of Governor Christie’s appointees are pro-development, outspoken critics of the Highlands Act.
The Public Trust Doctrine says that each municipality must ensure that its citizens have access to safe drinking water. There are 88 municipalities in the Highlands (among the 292 that get water from it), so there are 88 mayors and 88 planning boards to juggle. The Act makes it possible for an entity intending to develop within the Highlands to sell their development rights to a municipality elsewhere in New Jersey. One participant observed that having the Highlands clean water naturally saves a great deal of money compared to the cost of municipal decontamination plants, which don’t do as good a job.
Fresh, drinkable water is precious: 96 percent of the water on earth is in the oceans. Two thirds of the other 4 percent is locked in glaciers. Of the rest, 30 percent is in the ground. Only 0.00001 of the earth’s water is potentially drinkable water.
The New Jersey Highlands Coalition was established in 1988 as a body trying to preserve the Highlands. Its brochures, which were available that evening, describe its varied work and give lists of historical, recreational, and natural places that tourists may enjoy. More tourists visit the Highlands each year than the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Glacier National Parks combined.
Erica said that the Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) followed the existing right-of-way of a 50-year-old pipeline from Pennsylvania through Vernon, West Milford, Ringwood, and Mahwah for two pipeline loop projects to pump natural gas. Loop refers to a segment of pipeline installed adjacent to an existing pipeline and connecting to it at both ends. TGP has used the device of asking permission for one loop at a time to avoid the appearance of a big project, for
which it has been told, it would not be given permission. This 50-year-old pipeline existed before the Wanaque Reservoir system was developed. In 2008 Tennessee Gas put in another pipeline near the old one using maps so old they didn’t even include the Wanaque Reservoir. It went right under the Monksville Reservoir. Permission was granted to build it in spite of protests from many individuals and groups, including the Lenni Lenape Nation.
The pipeline loop construction decimated the forest and “cleared it to the bone” causing terrible flooding two years ago before and during hurricane Irene. Lake Lookover in West Milford was completely filled with mud. The storm was blamed for the flooding, but, “It was the pipeline, not the hurricane,” said Erica.
She also mentioned the potential for the pipeline to leak hazardous substances into the reservoir.
Trina Paulus asked if the Coalition has won anything.
Erica responded, “These days environmental groups have more losses than wins, but there have been victories.” She told of managing to block Governor Christie’s worst nominee to the Council and of defeating a proposal to allow much more development.
“What can we do?” persisted Trina.“The ‘Action Alert’ petitions the Coalition uses are
really important,” Erica responded and urged us to get on the Coalition’s list by emailing her at [email protected]. One individual letter is assumed to represent 15,000 people. Phone calls are also important. To get the timing right, we should be on the Coalition’s email list.
Also, they have been trying to get Essex County to pass a 40-word resolution that is on the Coalition website. We asked if it would be helpful to get
municipal governments to pass it, and she agreed. Gray Russell passionately observed that we take resources for granted. We turn on the tap and expect clean water. We turn on lights and appliances without thinking of the source of electricity. We
put garbage and recycling on the curb and expect them to be taken away, but don’t consider where they are going. We need to become more aware. n
Highlands cont. from page 5
Over five million people in 292 municipalities—more than half of the State’s population—rely on the Highlands for their drinking water
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 7 – ! April 2014
Are you concerned about GMOs in your diet? Since they are not required to be labeled, how do you identify which foods to keep out of your pantry and off your plate? Want to know how to shop GMO free within the current food markets of Northern NJ? Join Food Coach and Wellness Educator Ina Denburg for an informing evening of discussion. Her “GMOcery” display will contain items that will surprise you.
Join us on Tuesday evening, April 29th at 7 PM in St. Peter Claver Church. The church is located at 56 Elmwood Avenue, Montclair. Elmwood is three blocks south of Bloomfield Avenue, off Elm Street. The church is five properties from Elm Street on the south side with a parking lot in the back.
At 7 PM Ina will have her “GMOcery” display to view, and the cosponsoring groups will have displays as well. Ina’s “GMOs— Purchase to Plate” talk will begin at 7:30 PM.
This event is free and open to the public.Ina Denburg is the Healthy Living columnist for
GoodFoodWorld.com where she has written several articles on GMOs over the past two years. These and other healthy living articles and recipes can be found on her website continuumLiving.us. Co-sponsoring groups include the Cornucopia Network of NJ, the Caldwell CSA, CommunityGreen, Food & Water Watch, the Gateway Group NJ Sierra Club, Genesis Farm, the Mountain Lakes Organic Co-op, NOFA-NJ, Purple Dragon Co-op, Boxed Organics, and Terra. n
We’d like to hear from [email protected] to let us know:what you care aboutarticles you’d like to see or contribute if you would prefer to get the newsletter
via email Ed Notes:The Newsletter is available online!
www.cornucopianetwork.org Pat Kenschaft’s blog:
patsorganicgarden.blogspot.com
CNNJ Officers and VolunteersPresident: Fred Chichester, [email protected], 973-744-7340
Vice President: Trina Paulus: [email protected]: Pat Stucker: [email protected] Secretary/Editor Emeritus: Pat Kenschaft: [email protected]
Treasurer: José German: [email protected]: Florence RollinoNewsletter: editor: Nancy Taiani; production: ConiferDesign [email protected]
Webmaster: Una McGurk: [email protected] Board Members: Don Clark (emeritus), Jason Kliwinski, Gray Russell, Bob Simpson, Carolyn Vadala, Pam Lewis, Richard Webster, Meredith Nole, Phil Yourish, James Harris
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey survives entirely on volunteered time and your donations. Please send your dues ($15 individual or $25 family) with your contact information. We welcome volunteer time and donations as well. Thank you!
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Welcome to our GMOcery: GMO's from Purchase to Plate
Last October 24th, Ina drew a crowd to her “GMOcery” display at the Food Day “Let me Decide! Label GMOs” event.
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey! – 8 – ! April 2014
Cornucopia Network of New Jersey Promoting local, organic food
PO Box 1368, Montclair, NJ 07042
Web: www.cornucopianetwork.orgFacebook: www.facebook.com/CornucopiaNetworkofNJEmail: [email protected]
In this issue…April and May Open Gardens. . . . . . 1 CSAs of North Jersey . . . . . . . . 2 Building community around food . 2-3 Your Food and Jobs – the TPP . . . . . 4 The Highlands film . . . . . . . . 5-6 Welcome to your GMOcery Event . . . 7 Contact us / Board members . . . . . 7 Membership form . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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