Archive for February, 2010

Wow! 300 plus attend seminar on natural farming with Master Cho on Friday 02/26/10

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

The curious and the devoted came together yesterday to learn and share their interest, knowledge and experiences in a seminar/workshop  taught by Master Cho,  founder of Korean Natural Farming.   The organizers of this event had expected maybe 100 people, but the phone was ringing off the hook with people who wanted to register.  The numbers quickly exploded to over 300 people who  attended this first day, which didn’t include those  unable to attend, because the seminar was already filled.
Master Cho
What an encouraging sight to see…..  a sea of enthusiastic people,  gathered to learn about this  ‘New Wave of  Natural Farming’.  I was impressed at the diversity of those I saw there:  many energetic young and older, women and men, locals and transplants with a desire to learn a completely sustainable system of farming.

Friday was the first day of this one week long  seminar of workshops & farm tours entitled ‘ Natural Farming with Master Cho…A New Wave: In Harmony with Nature’.

It is being held in a pavilion at the UH-Hilo Agricultural Experimental Farm in Panaewa,  sponsored and coordinated by a host of agencies, a couple  of which is the College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources  (CTAHR) and Cho Global Natural Farming.  Anyone interested in knowing more detail about this seminar, can get more information by going to www.localgarden.us

I sensed an air of hope amongst the people present as it seemed as though they were given the chance of a new way of seeing plants grow, as Master Cho says , ‘in harmony with nature’.  I felt the message was to listen to the plant (observe the non-verbal),  become the plant, find out what it needs and nurture its life force. ” Start growing plants now, later is too late”,  Master Cho remarked!

During breaks I was able to connect  with a lot of people, some I already knew , some I had just met, but with everyone, I could feel a  new swell of farming interest.  This is so timely considering everyone’s concern with the economy, the future of food and food production.  It was also timely to hand out to people,  my new bumper stickers and bookmarks with my blog site address on it:       whosyourfarmer.info   and briefly explain the  direction of the blog and  directed study research project.  I felt the people I talked to had a  genuine interest in the content of my study which is researching consumers in farmers markets about their interest in where, how and who grows the food they buy there.  I look forward to posting more information as I come across it, connecting resource people and creating an opportunity for people to gain perspectives on their own food purchases at farmers markets.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Developing a simple survey is not so simple!

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

I knew what kind of information I wanted to know…but deciding what questions to ask and how to word them has been quite a  learning experience for me. At first, I just started  talking to people in open markets when I went to Southern Florida in January. It was a testing ground for me to ‘ feel out’  peoples’ interest in my subject and the kind of information they seemed willing to relay to me. This process gave me some direction in which to formulate my survey and gave me confidence in that people did seem genuinely interested in what my research was about. I saw a definite change of attitude in their willingness to discuss their open market food choices, when I told them I was doing a  University of Hawaii class research  project about what people’ interest is in where their food comes from in open markets. I don’t know if it was because I said I was a university student or because I said I was from Hawaii that made people receptive to talking with me but this introduction granted me a few minutes of welcome conversation. It was a beginning!

From these conversations with people at the market, I came up with a draft of several questions to ask in a printed survey. I passed this survey draft around to  Professor Becker ( my UHH  research adviser) and  several  other people I know, for their review and feedback. Actually lots of feedback was given,  many hours of revision ensued and the following  survey emerged:

Survey for whosyourfarmer.info research project: 20100224

Date of survey: _______________________ Location of survey: ________________________

Aloha! My name is Jan Anderson. I am a student in the Communication Department at the University of Hawaii-Hilo This survey is part of my independent research project, researching what types of food people buy for themselves and their families in open markets, and how much they are interested in: where the food is grown, how the food is grown, who grows the food and the cost of the food they buy there. My research areas include open markets on Hawaii Island ( where I live), and other regions that I will be traveling to within this Spring 2010 semester.

Thank you for taking the time to read my survey , to think about your answers, and to write them down.

1. Where do you shop for most of your fresh food? [ Mark one and answer why]

  • farmers market ________________________________________________
  • general grocery store _____________________________________________
  • health food store _________________________________________________

– other ____________________________________________________________

2. What kinds of food do you come to this farmers market to buy? [ Mark all that you buy]

___ fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts

___dairy (milk, eggs, cheese)

___prepared food (cooked food, honey, jams etc.)

___other________________________________

3. When you buy food, at this farmers market, what are you most interested in?

[ On a scale of 0 to 5 ( 5 being the most important), please circle what is important to you]

a) how the food looks                                                 0    1     2   3   4   5

b) where the food is grown                                   0   1    2    3    4    5

c) how the food is grown                                         9   1    2    3    4    5

d) who grows the food                                                0   1   2    3   4    5

e) price of the food                                                        0   1   2    3   4   5

f) freshness of the food                                            0    1   2    3   4   5

4.Rate the following ways you like to get information about the food you buy at this farmers market,?

[On a scale of 0 to 5 ( 5 being the most important), please circle what is important to you]

a) talking with the seller ( who is not the farmer)      0   1   2    3   4   5

b) talking with the seller (who is the farmer)               0   1   2    3   4   5

c) signs – with general information                          0    1   2    3   4   5

d) labels – detailed information                                0    1    2   3   4   5

e) other ______________________

5. Where do you consider locally grown food comes from? [ Mark one ]

___ grown in the district

___ grown in the county

___ grown in the state

___ grown in the country

6. Rate how important to you each of the following choices are when you buy your food ?

[ On a scale of 0 to 5 ( 5 being the most important) please circle what is important to you]

a) locally grown (not organic)                      0   1   2   3    4   5

b) organic (grown anywhere)                       0   1    2   3    4   5

c) price                                                          0   1   2   3   4   5

7. Demographics: [ please circle one in each section of a, b ,c]

a) gender : _____ female _____ male

b) age _____(18-30) _____(31-40 ) _____ (41-50 ) _____ (51-62) _____(63-70)____(71 +)

c) household income _____ (up to $30,000) _____ ($30,000 to $60.000)

_____ ( $60,000 to $ 80,000)_____ ($80,000 plus)

d) race [choose one or more]:

__ American Indian or Alaskan native __Asian ___Black or African American

__Native Hawaiian __Pacific Islander __ White __ Other

8.Would you be willing to have a personal interview with me, to talk more about your interest in the food you buy at open markets?

_____yes _____no

If yes, then please write your name below and let me know when would be a good time to talk.

Name:__________________________________________________

I appreciate your interest in my research project. You can read more about it on my

web blog : whosyourfarmer.info Thank you, Jan

*****************************************************************************************

Please comment in the reply section at the end of this post.

Posted in Surveys | 3 Comments »

Visiting Fresh Food Markets-Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach-Jan 15-16, 2010

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

(Written from journal notes taken Jan 15-16th 2010)

With limited time to venture out to outdoor markets, I thought I would research on the internet ahead of going to the Fort Lauderdale area, to find out where the markets were and chart out visiting them.  Over the internet, the only one I found was the ‘ Florida Swap Shop & Circus of Fort Lauderdale’.  The others seemed to be retail stores that featured featured fresh produce etc.  While at the Florida Nursery and Landscape Industry Trade show, I had asked some of the exhibitors there, who are from the general area, where I might find some open farmers markets. I was surprised that almost no one knew of any. One person from  a Florida State environmental agency booth,  steered me to the  ‘Swap Shop’.   It was a Friday so I felt lucky that this market location was open seven days a week. I was not prepared for the immensity of this market location, as it was a complex of 13 drive-in theaters,  a huge in-door air conditioned flea market, a sprawling outdoor swap meet , circus and located on the outside of the two  entrances to the permanent building were vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables. There were not very many people there on this Friday so it was a little easier for me to talk to some buyers and vendors who were not so rushed with crowds.

I first observed what types of food was available that day. I saw a lot of grapes, pineapples, potatoes, sweet potatoes, watermelon, bananas.  Most food items I recognized, some I did not….so I figured these unknown items to me were available to cater to the local shoppers.  I assumed at first that most of these  fresh  products were grown in Florida, a big agricultural state. Having warm winter’s  (not this one), like Hawaii, Florida has a conducive environment to grow lots of food.  As I looked closer at the labeling I discovered a surprising generality……..a lot of the food here came from outside the United States. Florida Market Pineapple There were bananas from Honduras, Florida Bananas pineapple ( Del Monte) from Costa Rica, grapes from Brazil,  mango from Ecuador and Peru, watermelon from Guatemala, ah…….. oranges labeled ‘Florida, product of USA’!

Florida Oranges
Then I got up the nerve and  approached a vendor , explaining my research project and asking her if  her  customers asked questions about the food other than the price of the food, that was available at her booth.   She had been working at her booth for the past four years,  and said that more and more,  people have been asking her if some  products were organic but mostly they would choose whatever was the cheaper priced items. She said she buys from wholesalers in Miami.

As I tuned into other vendors talking to their customers,  I noticed the vendor’s first language was not English. They would converse in another language with some customers and in mixed English with English speaking customers. I wondered how much simply language communication difficulties affected finding out information about the food product, if a buyer wanted to know more.

I was ready to approach a consumer and ask if they look for where the food comes from when making their selection.  After briefly explaining  my research project to a young African American women in her twenties, who was selecting food at another booth, she said she sometimes looks for where the food comes from. It depends on what is in season, but mostly she looks for freshness, and the what the quality of the the food looks like.  She also said she goes on line sometimes and looks for direct farmer to buyer markets…saying they are mostly in the Miami area.

I was on a roll. Seeing a group of 7 people I came up to them, explained my research project and once again noticed a welcome attitude to answering my few questions. These people were actually a family of siblings and their spouses. One of the women was a Fort Lauderdale resident who was formerly from Wisconsin and the others were her family on vacation from Wisconsin. They said they have begun wondering more and more where their food comes from in general. They question the packaging/labels in the market because they felt that the vendors are just interested in selling product and therefore labeling there might not be what it really is.  They concluded that they  trust more about where the food comes from when they buy more direct from the farmer.

By the end of the day at this market, I began to get a glimpse of others perspectives in South Florida on food shopping at an open market. While I myself have some concerns with  advertising and labeling in general,  for some reason I never associated it with the face to face encounter in open market situations.So I began to think more about trust issues we have in food purchasing. Whether it be verbal or label information. Also I realized my own assumptions, that I have heard echoed from others since, that one at first assumes the food that is sold at farmers markets is grown locally (definition to be discussed on anther post). I remember thinking after a day at this  market, “You don’t have to leave the U. S. anymore, at least not in South Florida, to have produce available almost anytime when it comes to purchasing fruit and vegetable”.

Posted in Open Markets | No Comments »

References

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

This post will be comprised of a on going list of  the reference material I have or will use, in my research blog ‘whosyourfarmer.info’.

When I post on a particular subject and use a reference in that post, I will list those references at the bottom of the post.  The references used will also be added to this references page post.

Since my research is being done as an ethnographic study,  I will utilize a diverse source of reference material to help provide insight in my research to the holistic nature of  people as it relates to their interest in the source of the food they buy in open markets.

References

TEXT

Anderson,  R.,   &  Killenberg,  G. M.   second edition (2009).  Interviewing: speaking, listening, and learning for              professional life.  NY, NY.  Oxford University Press, Inc

Clair, R. P. edited (2003).  Expressions of ethnography :  novel approaches to qualitative methods.  Albany, NY : State University of New York Press

Fox, John. (1997). Poetic Medicine, The Healing Art of Poem Making.  New York, NY. Tarcher/ Putnam- Penquin Putnam Inc

Goodall, H. L. Jr. (2000). Writing the new ethnography.  Lanham, MD. AltaMira Press

Ness, C. ( 2010 Jan edition) . Fresh thinking: organic, local, seasonal. Martha Stewart (pp 96-101)

Pollan, M.  (2008).  In defense of food. NY, NY. Penquin Press

www.foodincmovie.com

FILM

Kenner, Robert.(2009). Food, Inc. Magnolia Pictures

ORGANIZATIONS
HOFA- Hawaii Organic Farmers Association

Posted in References | No Comments »

Flying into unseasonably cold weather of South Florida-Jan 13, 2010

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

( January 13, 2010 Journal entry written prior to setting up my website)

We flew into Fort Lauderdale Florida today,  shivering in the unseasonably cold weather of 30 F degrees. We came here to attend the Florida  Nursery Growers and Landscapers Association (FNGLA). While this group’s focus is not food growing they share the same woes, as all farmers in this region are experiencing, that of plummeting cold temperatures,  for an extended two week long duration causing significant set back, die back and or total loss of crops. Whether it be  the giant citrus industry or the landscape industry, small farmer or backyard grower….all farmers are worried about their crops.  Such is the life of a farmer, integrally connected to natures cycles of weather phenomena. While farmers do incorporate man made mechanisms like greenhouses, to have more control in their growing environments,  nature’s weather still is a major player in a farmers career, and shows its impact like it is showing now  in Florida this early January. Consumers of food will probably feel the negative impact on availability and price of food grown in this region.  Tomorrow I will search out where and when the Farmers Markets are happening in this area, and see how the people there are faring.

*****************************************************************************************************

Please leave a comment in the reply section at the end of this post.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Launching whosyourfarmer.info blog

Monday, February 8th, 2010

(January 06, 2010 Journal entry written prior to setting up my website)

Today I launched my 499 ‘Directed Research Course’ at UH Hilo. I registered today, but in actuality my interest in this subject matter has been simmering for years.

The core subject  of my research is one that I think we can all relate to….food! More precisely, I am on a quest to find out what the motivating factors are that influence people when they choose the food they buy for themselves and their families in open markets. What is their interest in where the food is grown, how it is grown, who grows it and what does it cost? I decided to focus my research areas to open market locations on Hawaii Island, where I live, and other areas that I will be traveling to within this semester: Spring 2010.

My work is in agriculture, and I am connected to the agricultural community here in Hawaii. There is a growing concern amongst our agricultural leaders today that there is a trend toward fewer people in the next generation, choosing farming and/or ranching as their careers. So if this trend prevails, in the future  where will our food come from ? What kind of food will be available? Who will grow it? How much will it cost? I began to realize I needed to go out into the public and hear what people are thinking about the food they buy, what they value in their choices, and do their choices have any relationship to  encouraging and supporting the next generation to become  future farmers?

The web-blog style of my research project  was conceived a few months ago when I saw the movie ‘Julia and Julie’. I was inspired by this movie depicting Julia Child’s passionate relationship  with food, cooking and the people surrounding her.  I found Julie’s character soulful as she creatively communicated her culinary experiences, relating to  her personal revelations in the form of a blog, as she cooked her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cook book.

Julie’s blogging drew my attention even more so, as I conjured up thoughts of incorporating  this blog format into my independent study that I was just beginning to formulate then.  Inspiration comes from interesting sources doesn’t it?

For me, to research in text and conversation and record the process as it is happening feels much more natural and meaningful.  I am fortunate and thankful that my directing instructor, Dr. Catherine Becker is willing to monitor my directed study as my research and experiences emerges on my website created for my blog.

I registered the name:             whosyourfarmer.info                              as my blog site and am excited as I embark on this journey to dialog with people at open markets about “ Who is your farmer? “

********************************************************************************************************

Please write your comments in the reply section at the end of this post.

Posted in Uncategorized | 14 Comments »