Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Local Food in Pensacola?

Here is a short article from Steven L. Hopp. It is excerpted from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

It gives me an idea of how American votes in the marketplace can make a difference. Even though the Pensacola area does not have a real farmers market, the local natural food store does offer locally grown seasonal produce when they can get it. And then over in Elberta, Alabama, there is Sweet Home Cheese Farm. I don't drive by there very often, but I want everybody to know you can meet these fine cheese artisans and the dairy cows in the pasture. I want there to be a local cheese farm still in existence, so when I am out that way I can still stop in and take some home.
Oily Food

Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars. We’re consuming about 400 gallons of oil a year per citizen – about 17% of our nation’s energy use – for agriculture, a close second to our vehicular use. Tractors, combines, harvesters, irrigation, sprayers, tillers, balers, and other equipment all use petroleum. Even bigger gas guzzlers on the farm are not the machines, but so-called inputs. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides use oil and natural gas as their starting materials, and in their manufacturing. More than a quarter of all farming energy goes into synthetic fertilizers.


But getting the crop from seed to harvest takes only one fifth of the total oil used for our food. The lion’s share is consumed during the trip from the farm to your plate. Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled an average of 1500 miles. In addition to direct transport, other fuel-thirsty steps include processing (drying, milling, cutting, sorting, baking), packaging, warehousing and refrigeration. Energy calories consumed by production, packaging and shipping far outweigh the energy calories we receive from the food.

A quick way to improve food-related fuel economy would be to buy a quart of motor oil and drink it. More palatable options are available. If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels. Small changes in buying habits can make big differences. Becoming a less energy-dependent nation may just need to start with a good breakfast.

Steven L. Hopp



Thursday, October 18, 2007

AMTA's National Massage Therapy Awareness Week Event


Makes you wish you lived in or near Crystal River, eh?

Presented by AMTA's Heart of Florida Chapter

The AMTA Heart of Florida Chapter is celebrating National Massage
Therapy Awareness Week by teaming up with Habitat for Humanity and
providing FREE CHAIR MASSAGES to the general public. The goal is to
raise awareness of the Massage Therapy profession and educate the
public about the benefits of massage, while raising funds for a great
cause Habitat for Humanity.

When: October 25th, 2007

Where: Crystal River Mall

1801 NW Us Highway 19

Crystal River, FL 34428

Time: 9:00am until 1:30pm