Gretchen and I rode a 28 mile loop centered in Pescadero, CA on Saturday. It was a magnificent day along the northern California coastline and we were a bit surprised to have all day available because a couple other plans had fallen through. If you try to make time for nothing, something usually fills it, so it was cool to find ourselves – by accident – with empty time.
So we stopped by the San Gregorio General Store, which we had passed on our ride, because we thought it might be charming or unusual. Indeed. It is one of those places that needs to be experienced. Live music (bluegrass), interesting books, hilarious postcards, clothing, hats, aviator goggles and many other items you might expect to find at a general store down the road from La Honda. 
Determined to drop cash in San Gregorio, I bought this t-shirt advocating the support of sustainable agriculture. There is a lot of green on the shirt as you can see, so what is there not to like? Moreover, my daughter will soon get her degree in Environmental Science and I'd hate to have spent all that money and not have a shirt to show for it.
Then it occurred to me – what if I'm wearing this shirt and somebody asks me what sustainable agriculture is? Would I be able to give them a good answer besides "It's what my kid is into."
And the power of the Internet did it again. UC Davis has a program called the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and it has this excellent, comprehensive page describing what it is. People interested should check it out, but for the rest of you that don't have as much time, here are the basics:(quoted)
Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals–environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.
A systems perspective is essential to understanding sustainability. The system is envisioned in its broadest sense, from the individual farm, to the local ecosystem, and to communities affected by this farming system both locally and globally.
Reaching toward the goal of sustainable agriculture is the responsibility of all participants in the system, including farmers, laborers, policymakers, researchers, retailers, and consumers.
Gretchen and I rode a 28 mile loop centered in Pescadero, CA on Saturday. It was a magnificent day along the northern California coastline and we were a bit surprised to have all day available because a couple other plans had fallen through. If you try to make time for nothing, something usually fills it, so it was cool to find ourselves – by accident – with empty time.
So we stopped by the San Gregorio General Store, which we had passed on our ride, because we thought it might be charming or unusual. Indeed. It is one of those places that needs to be experienced. Live music (bluegrass), interesting books, hilarious postcards, clothing, hats, aviator goggles and many other items you might expect to find at a general store down the road from La Honda.
Determined to drop cash in San Gregorio, I bought this t-shirt advocating the support of sustainable agriculture. There is a lot of green on the shirt as you can see, so what is there not to like? Moreover, my daughter will soon get her degree in Environmental Science and I'd hate to have spent all that money and not have a shirt to show for it.
Then it occurred to me – what if I'm wearing this shirt and somebody asks me what sustainable agriculture is? Would I be able to give them a good answer besides "It's what my kid is into."
And the power of the Internet did it again. UC Davis has a program called the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and it has this excellent, comprehensive page describing what it is. People interested should check it out, but for the rest of you that don't have as much time, here are the basics:(quoted)
Sustainability rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals–environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity.
A systems perspective is essential to understanding sustainability. The system is envisioned in its broadest sense, from the individual farm, to the local ecosystem, and to communities affected by this farming system both locally and globally.
Reaching toward the goal of sustainable agriculture is the responsibility of all participants in the system, including farmers, laborers, policymakers, researchers, retailers, and consumers.