Yes, that’s right folks, it’s Monday again.  I am still attaching a Meatless Monday sheet to our office menu and people have either hopped on board or ignored me completely. But I’ll take what I can get.  It’s a small sacrifice for the larger benefit.  Here’s a few more reasons to go meatless on Monday!

1.  Reduce heart disease

2.  Fight diabetes

3.  Curb obesity

4.  Reduce the carbon footprint

There are plenty more reasons, but really, how many do you need.  You can find tons of great meatless recipes all over.  Check out a few here, Meatless Monday Recipes.

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It is being rumored that the response to the Kalamazoo River oil spill was inadequate. Reporting that Enbridge was warned twice this year that the pipeline had the potential to bust.  I can’t confirm whether or not these accusations are true, but I’d think that after the horrendous BP spill that oil companies would be doing everything to dot their I’s and cross their T’s.  Especially knowing the scrutiny they could come under, maybe take some extra precaution when a matter of minutes can make such a huge difference.

Almost a million gallons leaked into the Kalamazoo River and crews are trying to deter the oil before it reaches Lake Michigan.  All river activity has been suspended for swimming, fishing and the like.  Wildlife has been drastically affected looking at photos of oil covered birds.  It is also a public health concern. Investigations are taking place and I’ll be following them and letting you know.  The oil industry needs to regroup stat!

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When I thought of a destination to be stationed for work during a few months, Detroit was not on my wish list. It didn’t seem there was much to explore outside of abandoned buildings and houses, visible poverty and an almost zombie population shuffling around downtown.  So my initial approach was to just hunker down and get through my time here. I’ve now changed that approach and decided to dive in and find the hidden treasures.  To my surprise, there are quite a few gems you can find in the wreckage.

There are people dedicated to picking Detroit up and dusting it off.  The urban organic farmers have jumped on the opportunity to to invest in cheap land and head towards a self-sustaining food system.  There is currently not even one grocery store chain in the city.  They have all pulled out and gone elsewhere, leaving residents to shop for food at convenient stores and small markets.  The urban farming community is definitely making strides ahead for the community.  I’ll be sharing a lot more on the urban farms as we continue along with the documentary “Going Against the Grain.”

When exploring the urban farms and meeting people in the community, I’ve begun to learn of all the efforts being made by people that won’t give up on their city.  A population which has fallen from over 2 million people to about 800 thousand in a short time.  If you haven’t heard, property in Detroit is cheap.  And when I say cheap, I mean you can purchase a home for $500.  How insane it that?  I’ll answer that, it’s so INSANE. While talking with Greg from Brother Nature Farm in the Corktown area of Detroit, I learned about a neighboring property called Spaulding Court, an unassuming 20 unit limestone apartment building with boarded up windows and a checkered past. It was recently purchased from the city for $1000 and turned over to the group “Friends of Spaulding Court.”  There are plans to restore each unit and bring the community together again.  They will also start a soup kitchen to provide food for the community using the urban farms. Only 2 residents survived through the last few years in the building, including drug and gun running that ended in a fire bomb in the first unit.  Our documentary will include a benefit performance by Jessica at Spaulding Court. We are currently making the arrangements and I’ll keep you updated.

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Of any city struggling through tough economic peril and leaving the question of what will become of it, is Detroit. Government corruption, crime, record high unemployment and a quickly fleeing population have turned this once industrial leader into a forgotten city left to rot. What is left standing is not a pretty picture. After several failed revitalization ideas, one man that calls Detroit home decided to invest in his city with an unconventional idea. This idea is Hantz Farms, planned to be the world’s largest and for profit urban farm. (more…)

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I visited the Brother Nature urban farm in the city of Detroit.  We toured the acre lot situated in a neighborhood most would be wary of driving through.  While the area consisted mostly of boarded up houses and buildings, a common landscape in Detroit, there is a strong sense of community for the few left and it seems these gardens are helping to plant the seeds of change. (more…)

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