Books ~ Articles ~ Films ~ Organizations
Books
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
This wonderful book/project by writer Barbara Kingsolver and her family provides lasting inspiration for finding local food and seasonal recipes, raising animals, harvesting vegetables, and celebrating everyday miracles.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Michael Pollan writes prolifically and well; this link will take you to the page for this book on his website, on which can also be found information about his other books, including The Botany of Desire and In Defense of Food.
Articles
Chick, Chick, Here, Chick, Chick, There
Thanks to Kara Hansen for this article about the new chicken-raising craze, with a focus on West Linn backyard poultry-raisers and their reasons for keeping chickens.
Farmer in Chief
Michael Pollan addressed this “letter” to the winner of the presidential race before it was decided. It is as incisive now as it was then!
Garden benefiting food bank planned at old Multnomah County Poor Farm
Multnomah County took a 2-acre plot of underutilized land and put it into production in the spring of 2009, growing food for folks who have been hard hit by the economic crisis.
No dumb clucks here
This article describes how smart chickens can be(come), thanks to trainings offered by the likes of the Avian Medical Center in Lake Oswego.
The Bike Farmer
This little Willamette Week article profiles a Portland farmer who does it all by bike.
The Front Lawn Farm
This one’s about the Sellwood Garden Club, which is using a distributed network system to grow, harvest, and share local food.
Is it time to kill your lawn?
An Oregonian article comes to the conclusion that the meaning of the American lawn has changed, and as more folks dig theirs up, their neighbors tend to follow suit.
Tryon Farm dreams collide with reality
This article describes the birth of ReCode Oregon in response to the experience Tryon Life Community Farm had trying to implement sustainable practices.
Urban chickens top green pecking order
A February 2009 article in the Portland Tribune points to some of the many reasons urbanites are choosing to keep chickens, and some of the many benefits this choice ushers in.
Urban farmers put down roots, harvest much more
Describes the University of Portland’s “SLUG” (Student-Led Unity Garden), as well as a few of the many other organizations working to make urban ag possible in PDX.
Work party replants vandalized community garden
Independence Gardens was privileged to volunteer at this community-driven and City-supported replanting of a vandalized East Portland community garden. It was inspirational, and very satisfying!
Films
Food, Inc.
“You’ll never look at dinner the same way.”
Good Food
“Sustainable food and farming in the Pacific Northwest.”
Ingredients
“A seasonal exploration of the local food movement.”
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Organizations
Growing Gardens
Growing Gardens is a great resource for gardening information, as well as garden installation and mentoring services for individuals and families with low incomes.
Metro Natural Gardening
We also have nice publications on composting, worm composting, natural gardening, grow smart grow safe – a guide to 600 garden products and their relative hazards to humans and environment, and a pledge that includes a free long lasting pesticide-free-zone yard sign, if you would like any of those in large numbers or small we would be happy to provide.
OSU Extension Gardening
The Oregon State University Extension Service is an excellent resource for information about gardening, including the Master Gardeners program.
Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust
Oregon Sustainable Agriculture Land Trust (OSALT) is a statewide charitable non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of rural and urban agricultural lands from encroachment by non-agricultural uses, to making those lands available in perpetuity to future generations of growers, to conducting research on those lands focused on developing sustainable agricultural practices as part of real on-the-ground operations, and to providing education centered on the sustainable production and distribution of agricultural bounty within a framework of sustainable societies.
Portland/Multnomah Food Policy Council
This innovative collaboration between the City of Portland and Multnomah County is a citizen-based advisory council that brings citizens and professionals together to address issues regarding food access, land use planning issues, local food purchasing plans and many other policy initiatives in the regional food system.
The White House Organic Farm Project
Michelle Obama planted a kitchen garden in front of the White House in response to a popular petition circulated nationally. This website showcases the effort.
