LJR Enterprises

I saw an article about this a while ago, and the topic resurfaced the Washington Post (stop me if I’m repeating myself). This is one of those ideas that is going to fuel the backlash against the local food movement. You know, all of those writers/bloggers who are talking about the high cost of local food - lambs that can be raised more efficiently in New Zealand, heating greenhouses with fossil fuels just to call it local, etc. While I understand what the critics are saying, I think that they are missing the point of “local.” Local shouldn’t just be about where it’s grown. I don’t think proponents of local food are saying that we should get to eat whatever we want whenever we want all season long. My personal take on the grass roots local food movement is that we should not only eat locally, but seasonally.

So, back to the article… I wonder if anyone has done a study on just how much energy it is going to take to produce these high rise farms and what they will smell like. To me, it reeks of corporate farming… just more of the same especially where animal husbandry comes into play. Any thoughts?

There’s lots of local food fun going on in Michigan this coming September.

I might just have to drag the family to Harvest Fest on the 23rd. It’s put on at Tillers International in Scotts, Michigan. I was sure I had blogged about Tillers International before, but apparently I was mistaken. Anyway, they have a huge array of classes you can take including blacksmithing, soap making, bee keeping… they even have a class called Fieldwork for Oxen and Horses! The best thing though, is that they offer internships. A fact I overlooked until now. Too bad I’m now gainfully employed or I could whip up an application and learn a ton of stuff at the low, low cost of the sweat of my brow.

Storms came one after another this past week. On Thursday, my friend Bill mentioned quite a breeze visited his house (he lives north of Chicago). He asked if it made its way here.

Yeah, I think it did, Bill.

Click a photo to start the slideshow.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words.

I signed an online petition, which is not really supposed to be an effective tool for change, however, I did get this update on BP and the Great Lakes:

On Thursday, CEO Bob Malone announced that BP was reversing its decision to increase dumping in Lake Michigan. This is a watershed moment for the Great Lakes and for all of us who have fought to protect and preserve Lake Michigan.

I’m not going to post the entire e-mail because I don’t want to give the impression that I support any particular political party or that I believe that the two politicians who organized the petition deserve as much credit as they are claiming. Whatever changed BP’s mind, I’ll take it and be happy about it.