A Women's History Month Salute To Sustainable Farm Heroines

March is National Women’s History Month. For those who aren’t aware of it, National Women’s History Month was started by the National Women’s History Project, (NWHP), a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1980. The group provides educational resources, materials, and information about the roles of women in American history.

In 1981, the NWHP successfully lobbied Congress to declare a Joint Congressional Resolution for “National Women’s History Week.” In 1987, Congress expanded the celebration to an entire month.

Each year, the NWHP picks honorees to highlight during the month. This year, since NWHP is celebrating it’s 30th Anniversary, it is highlighting pivotal themes from previous years that recognize a different aspect of women’s achievements including ecology.

In fact, last year’s theme was “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.”

One of last year’s best known honorees was Alice Waters, the pioneering chef, restaurateur and food activist who created the Chez Panisse Foundation, to help students eat healthy food by bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to school cafeterias and developing organic school gardens.

But, here are some “lesser known” honorees from last year that have truly made a difference to our planet by working to preserve sustainable farms and farming:

Anne P. Teller, owner/manager of Oak Hill Farm, in Glen Ellen, California, began growing vegetables mostly for her friends and family in the early 1980s. Today, the 700-acre farm is thriving and follows the family’s 50-year tradition of using sustainable farming methods and also serves as a protected wild lands. She grows and markets over 200 crops and fresh flowers that are sold at their Red Barn Store at their farm and various locations in Sonoma, and to restaurants throughout Sonoma and San Francisco. Because of this diversity, Oak Hill Farm is able to employ farm workers year-round, something else Teller feels is important to having a truly sustainable farm.
Torrey Reade is the owner of the 126-acre Neptune Farm, in Salem, New Jersey. They raise grass-fed beef and sheep that they sell not only to individuals, but restaurants throughout the region. The farm is considered a model of sustainable farming, because as Torrey says, “We are using grass-fed animals to bring our soils back to life. Nutrients cycle from the grass through our cows and sheep, and wind up back in the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy plants and animals, and builds a resource for future generations.”
Caroline Rose Foster created and donated the first outdoor living historical farm in New Jersey, Fosterfields. It remains a strong place for learning over thirty years after her death. Foster was an environmentalist who worked to preserve historic places in Morris County, New Jersey. Fosterfields is a living historical farm that uses farming methods and equipment from over one hundred years ago. Foster donated her farm because she wanted to give future generations the sights, smells, and sounds of rural life.

Want to show your support to farmers like these women? Consider joining a CSA. Get delicious fresh grown, seasonal produce and support your local farmers. It’s a win-win!

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

KS G.

12:23AM PDT on Jul 9, 2011

Thanks for the article.

send a green star

Past Member .

1:54AM PDT on Sep 1, 2010

dizi izle
logo

gerlinde p.

5:45AM PDT on May 27, 2010

some great ladies, thanks for the article

7:05PM PDT on May 16, 2010

“Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.”WELL LADIES STEP RIGHT UP.THIS PLANET IS IN SAD SAD CONDITION ,I WOULD BE THE FIRST ONE TO ASK YOUR HELP.THE PLANET NEEDS YOUR NURTURING NATURE TO HELP HEAL IT
THANKS
DANIEL

7:01PM PDT on May 16, 2010

THE TWO MAIN REASONS WE ARE IN SUCH AN ENVIROMENTAL MESS TODAY
1) The decision of the United States Congress to pass the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act was based in part on testimony derived from articles in newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst, who, some authorsTemplate:Http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhearst.htm stress, had significant financial interests in the forest industry, which manufactured his newsprint.
2) Hemp paper threatened DuPont's monopoly on the necessary chemicals for manufacturing paper from trees and hemp fiber cloth would compete with Nylon, a synthetic fibre, that was patented in 1938, the year hemp was made illegal It is often asserted in pro-cannabis publications that DuPont actively supported the criminalization of the production of hemp in the US in 1937 through private and government intermediates, and alleged that this was done to eliminate hemp as a source of fiber—one of DuPont's biggest markets at the time. DuPont denies allegations that it influenced hemp regulation.

3)Hemp for Victory is a black-and-white United States government film made during World War II, explaining the uses of hemp, encouraging farmers to grow as much as possible.

THE GOVERNMENT MUST KNOW THE REAL VALUE OF USING HEMP IT HELPED SAVE THIS COUNTRY DURING WW2!!

7:00PM PDT on May 16, 2010

HEMP NUTRITION GOOGLE HEMP, GO TO WIKIPIDIA
[show]Typical nutritional analysis of hemp nut (hulled hemp seeds)[19]
Calories/100 g 567
Protein 30.6
Carbohydrate 10.9
Dietary fiber 6
Fat 47.2
Saturated fat 5.2
Palmitic 16:0 3.4
Stearic 18:0 1.5
Monounsaturated fat 5.8
Oleic 18:1 (Omega-9) 5.8
Polyunsaturated fat 36.2
Linoleic 18:2 (Omega-6) 27.6
Linolenic 18:3 (Omega-3) 8.7
Linolenic 18:3 (Omega-6) 0.8
Cholesterol 0 mg
Moisture 5
Ash 6.6
Vitamin A (B-Carotene) 4 IU
Thiamine (Vit B1) 1 mg
Riboflavin (Vit B2) 1 mg
Vitamin B6 0 mg
Niacin (Vit B3) 0 mg
Vitamin C 1.0 mg
Vitamin D 0 IU
Vitamin E 9 IU
Sodium 9 mg
Calcium 74 mg
Iron 4.7 mg
HEMP NUTRITION GOOGLE HEMP, GO TO WIKIPIDIA
About 30–35% of the weight of hempseed is hempseed oil or hemp oil, an edible oil that contains about 80% essential fatty acids (EFAs); i.e., linoleic acid, omega-6 (LA, 55%), alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 (ALA, 22%), in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 (GLA, 1–4%) and stearidonic acid, omega-3 (SDA, 0–2%). Whole hempseed also contains about 25% of a highly-digestible protein, where 1/3 is edestin and 2/3 are albumins. Its amino acid profile is close to "complete" when compared to more common sources of proteins such as meat, milk, eggs and soy.[20] The proportions of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid in one tablespoon (15 ml) per day of hemp oil easily provides human daily requirements for EFAs. Unlike flaxseed oil, h

6:59PM PDT on May 16, 2010

HEMP AS A FOOD SOURCE
Hemp seeds contain all the essential amino acids and essential fatty acids necessary to maintain healthy human life. The seeds can be eaten raw, ground into a meal, sprouted, made into hemp milk (akin to soy milk), prepared as tea, and used in baking. The fresh leaves can also be eaten in salads. Products range from cereals to frozen waffles, hemp tofu to nut butters. A few companies produce value added hemp seed items that include the seed oils, whole hemp grain (which is sterilized by law), hulled hemp seed (the whole seed without the mineral rich outer shell), hemp flour, hemp cake (a by-product of pressing the seed for oil) and hemp protein powder. Hemp is also used in some organic cereals, for non-dairy milk somewhat similar to soy and nut milks, and for non-dairy hemp "ice cream

Within the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has treated hemp as purely a non-food crop. Seed appears on the UK market as a legal food product, and cultivation licences are available for this purpose. In North America, hemp seed food products are sold, typically in health food stores or through mail order. The USDA estimates that "the market potential for hemp seed as a food ingredient is unknown. However, it probably will remain a small market, like those for sesame and poppy seeds."...... GOOGLE HEMP, GO TO WIKIPIDIA

Nellie K A.

6:59AM PDT on Mar 20, 2010

These are women's contributions to the world and that benefit society as a whole.

JE L.

10:43AM PDT on Mar 14, 2010

Thanks.

Ellinor S.

8:03AM PDT on Mar 14, 2010

thank you