[permaculture] Last Day to Vote! Great Promise of Will Allen as White House Master Farmer

rafter t. sass liberationecology at gmail.com
Sat Jan 31 13:22:00 EST 2009


I don't generally forward things, here is an opportunity to raise the  
profile of a visionary food justice activist (and practitioner).
Sorry for cross-posting.


rafter t. sass
The Liberation Ecology Project
liberationecology.org
518-567-7407
skype: raughter




Begin forwarded message:

> From: Leon W Todd <toddleon at mac.com>
> Date: January 31, 2009 9:11:02 AM EST
> To: Barbara Todd <bmtodd67 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: fwd: re: Last Day to Vote! Great Promise of Will Allen as  
> White House Master Farmer
>
>
> Vote for Milwaukee's Will Allen!
>
> Hey, Everybody!
>
> The Obama White House is considering transforming part of the White  
> House Lawns into an organic farm to raise fruits and vegetable to be  
> used, not only in White House Meals but also to donate to local food  
> pantries. Several farmers across the country have been nominated,  
> including former professional basketball player - now urban farmer,  
> Will Allen of Growing Power. Governor Doyle recently nominated him  
> for the honor. See: http://www.milwaukeerenaissance.com/
>
> Will operates a working farm within the Milwaukee city limits.  He  
> offers thousands of tours a year of Growing Power, a Milwaukee-based  
> organization focused on sustainable urban agriculture. Growing power  
> conducts workshops and demonstrations in aquaculture, aquaponics,  
> vermiculture, horticulture, small or large-scale composting, soil  
> reclamation, food distribution, beekeeping, and marketing. Will  
> turns compost into energy to heat his green houses in the winter and  
> has been integral in educating inner-city dwellers about the  
> importance of organic farming and energy efficiency.
>
> Please take a few minutes to cast your vote for Will, or for your  
> favorite farmer, at http://whitehousefarmer.com/
>
> For more information about the wonderful things that Will Allen's  
> Growing Power is doing both here in Milwaukee, Chicago, and across  
> the nation, go to http://www.growingpower.org/. Three little videos  
> introduce you to one of Will's urban farms on 5500 W. Silver Spring  
> Drive here in Milwaukee. Will himself is in the third video.
>
> Thanks for taking the time! And do spread the word!
>
> Sister Josephe Marie
>
> ------------------
> State farmers among top vote-getters for White House farmer
>
> By Karen Herzog of the Journal Sentinel
>
> Posted: Jan. 30, 2009 1:05 p.m.
>
> Two Wisconsin vegetable growers at the moment are among the top  
> three vote-getters in a national Internet campaign for White House  
> farmer, and a Madison farmer has just taken the lead as of 12:40 p.m.
>
> Voting – and campaigning - appears to be steady at www.whitehousefarmer.com 
>  as the midnight Saturday voting deadline approaches. Wisconsin  
> leads the nation with 17 farmer nominees. Washington state follows  
> with 15 nominees.
>
> Claire Strader, farm manager for Troy Community Farms on Madison's  
> north side, took the lead with 20% of the vote (7,225 votes as of  
> 12:40 p.m.) and Will Allen, CEO and founder of Growing Power, an  
> urban Milwaukee farm, is in third place with 9% of the vote (3,141  
> votes as of 12:40 p.m.). Strader is neck-and-neck with Carrie Anne  
> Little, of Tacoma, Wash. Strader is actively campaigning; several  
> influential friends of Growing Power are campaigning on Allen's  
> behalf via social networking and e-mail lists.
>
> The names of the top three vote-getters are to be forwarded to  
> President Barack Obama, who has not created a White House farmer  
> position, nor agreed to plant a vegetable garden on the lawn of the  
> White House. The campaign for the garden is being shepherded by high  
> profile foodies such as Alice Waters and Michael Pollan.
>
> The White House Farmer campaign was started by a central Illinois  
> farm family, and inspired by a New York Times column by Pollan.
>
> Pollan suggested five prime south-facing acres of the White House  
> lawn be transformed into an organic fruit and vegetable garden, with  
> produce to be used by the White House chef and given to food banks.  
> Another Web site, www.eattheview.org, promotes the White House  
> garden and symbolically offers chunks of White House lawn to pay for  
> the garden.
>
> The White House has a rooftop vegetable garden and an herb garden,  
> but the lawn garden would be much higher profile if it were to be  
> built.
>
> Allen has said he would not want the White House farmer job, if it  
> were to be created. But he said he would be interested in designing  
> and installing the garden, and training those who would tend it.  
> Allen has also said it should be built and supported with donations,  
> not taxpayer dollars.
>
> <http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/38707252.html>



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