permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

Hi Everyone,

This below piece on Slow Money and the Change.org competition just 
out on Huffington Post from Curt Friese, a board member of Slow Food 
USA. Please forward liberally.

Here is the link to the Huffington Post article: 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kurt-friese/500-words-for-change-in-a_b_493004.html>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kurt-friese/500-words-for-change-in-a_b_493004.html

Here is the link to vote for Slow Money on Change.Org: 
<http://bit.ly/slowmoneyidea>http://bit.ly/slowmoneyidea

Is it a movement or is it an investment strategy? Yes!

Michael Bartner
Slow Money
<mailto:michael@slowmoneyalliance.org>michael@slowmoneyalliance.org
********************************

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kurt-friese/500-words-for-change-in-a_b_493004.html>500 
Words for Change in America

Folks across the country know something is wrong. There's just 
something about the system we've created over several decades that is 
inherently flawed. Some blame the government, others big banks, still 
others blame political parties, but all agree that there's something 
that's just not quite working the way it should. People are losing 
homes, jobs, and health coverage at an alarming rate because of the 
societal turbulence in the enormous yet formless thing we call the 
economy.

Enter Change.org and their <http://www.change.org/ideas>10 Ideas for 
Change in America. Taking advantage of the concept of "the wisdom of 
crowds," Change.org launched a campaign to find 10 great ideas. It 
began with thousands that were submitted by ordinary individuals and 
organized interest groups alike. These were whittled down through 
online voting to a more manageable 70 or so, and right now the voting 
is getting down to the wire to choose which 10 ideas will be 
presented to the White House - as in formally presented to senior 
people there, not just sent in an envelope to 1600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue. You can (and should!) vote too.

All, or nearly all at least, are worthy ideas. Each has its merit and 
is worthy of consideration. But for those with an interest in food, 
three of them rise to the top quickly, and first among equals is 
<http://www.slowmoneyalliance.org/>Slow Money.

The idea is a simple one: invest as if food, farms and fertility 
actually mattered. Get anyone who invests money (and if you have a 
401k or an IRA, that's you too) to direct just 1% of it toward small 
food enterprises and local food systems. Get at least that small sum 
of money out of the hands of Wall Street, huge banks and 
multinationals and use it, quite literally, as seed money. Invest in 
local farms, food systems, artisans, brewers, bakers, cheesemakers 
and so on and keep that money close to home.

We'd create a thriving economy that makes real, healthy food, instead 
of a fake one that just makes money for bankers. One that invests in 
people and the land, not in some distant amorphous concept called 
Wall Street.
In their book Inside the Apple, a Streetwise History of New York 
City, this is how Michelle and James Nevius describe the building of 
the palisade for which Wall Street was named: "The wall had two major 
problems: it wasn't needed and it didn't work."

Also interested in investing in the land is the American Farmland 
Trust, whose idea for saving farm and ranchland is doing quite well 
in the balloting, as well as an initiative to put a garden in every 
school. Both are important concepts you've heard me advocate for 
vociferously for years.

Slow Money is new and novel though, and needs more votes before this 
thing wraps up at 5pm EST this Friday, 3/12. Please 
<http://www.change.org/ideas>visit Change.org, vote for these 3 ideas 
and any other 7 you feel are worthy. It's fun, important, and it only 
takes a couple minutes. Thank you.
By Kurt Friese, Restaurant owner, SFUSA board member, and publisher 
of Edible Iowa River Valley
Posted: March 10, 2010 09:28 AM