Aquaponic Farming Technology

"Farming on water: Stackable, sustainable, in the city"

Aquaponic Farming is a cool new sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, shrimp, or crayfish in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants with water) in a symbiotic environment. In the aquaculture, effluents accumulate in the water, increasing the toxicity for fish. This water has led to a hydroponic system where the by-products from the aquaculture are filtered out by plants as vital nutrients, after which the cleansed water is recirculated back to the animals.

John Edel is turning a former meatpacking plant in Chicago into one of these sustainable indoor farms. In the basement, microorganisms are eating tilapia waste, converting it into fertilizer for the lettuce, kale and wheatgrass growing in a shallow pool of water nearby. This technology essentially minimizes water use while allowing year-round harvests. This is an incredible way to turn an otherwise urban and unproductive area into a perfectly sustainable little ecosystem. Currently Edel is trying to expand this concept across multiple floors of the building - a vertical system like the one I read in a previous blog.

But within a few years, Edel says a complex food-production system will be in place, the key to which is a $1 million, yet-to-be-bought anaerobic digester. Everything, will be fed into it, from rotting tomatoes and meat, to brown and yellow grease. Edel anticipates receiving 2.1 million gallons a year of "beefy, sludge bioproduct" from a local food-flavoring maker. Once the farm is in place, it will likely be able to feed a vast majority of the local population.

Fresh food in an urban environment, who could want more?!

Check it out: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0410-confidential-edel-20110410,0,3210069.column?page=1

How Is This A New Regulation?!?!?!?

The US Department of Agriculture has proposed a new regulation that will require meat processors to wait for test results (regarding foodbourne pathogens) to come back before sending the meat. That's right as of right now, meat processors can allow meat to come to your local grocery store without knowing whether the meat is carrying any pathogens. While the USDA claims that most big processors do wait for the test results, it also claims that the lack of meats that waited for test results was responsible for about 44 class 1 recalls in a two year span. This new proposal would specifically target E coli, Listeria and Salmonella. While I am by no means saying this is a bad proposal, I am just simply shocked that it took so long for this to be proposed...

Our visit to Dixie

Next Friday, April 15, we will be heading out to Dixie. If everything goes according to plan, we will be broadcasting oats on the plowed field and raking out the soil to create a smooth surface. Please be prepared to be outside for the duration. I would recommend wearing boots or tennis shoes, a hat, sunscreen, and bugspray. Please also bring water. Again, if you have any tools you would like to bring, we would appreciate it. Also, please consider carpooling with your classmates. It's about a 30 minute drive, so plan accordingly. I am not sure that there is a time set for the trip yet, but I am confident that it will be midafternoon sometime. We'll set firm plans next Wednesday in class. Thanks for your help!

In effort to deal with potential food and water shortage, many cities, including New York City, are conceptualizing the idea of Vertical Farming. The multiple floor building, think sky scraper, would have the ability to grow typical crops and sustain a community. The idea of the Vertical Farm is similar to “multiple green houses stacked upon one another”. This allows it to be monitored and maintained for climate, water, and pest control. The possibilities and outcomes of Vertical Farming are endless; it would be an ecofriendly practice that could potentially save space, decrease food miles, and support the local economy.

www.verticalfarm.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1clRcxZS52s&feature=player_embedded

Artificial Food Dyes and ADHD

Since the 1970s there has been concern over the connection between artificial food dyes and hyperactive activity. Since the 1990, use of these dyes has increased by half. Many parents give testimonials about how removing artificial dyes from their children’s diets has had a dramatic effect on their attention span and focus. Consumer concerns about food dyes are significant enough for major companies like Kraft to provide artificial dye free options and for websites like “The Red Dye Free Store” to be successful. There is even an iPhone app that can help people decode ingredients labels; “Don’t Eat That”. Some consumer groups are pushing for artificial dyes to be banned from food completely. Although a ban is unlikely, these groups are at least hoping for a warning label to be added to these foods. An advisory panel to the FDA has recommended a study to figure out if there is a link between food coloring and childhood hyperactivity (ADHD). The same panel also decided that products containing these artificial food dyes don’t need any warning labels. They are still required to list the food colorings as ingredients. At this time there is not enough evidence to prove food dyes increase hyperactivity in all children, but the panel agrees that diets eliminating dyes may help some children. Banning or adding warning labels would be harmful only to major food manufactures and dye producers. They argue the dyes restore products natural colors that they lose during processing. http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/apr/01/fda-panel-votes-study-food-dyes-hyperactivity-ar-440140/ http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42359720/ns/today-today_health/42355829

Child Nutrition Act

The act was passed last year to improve child nutrition standards in school cafeterias, but now it's time to implement this legislation. Send your comments to the USDA:
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/blog_post/tell_usda_how_you_feel_about_school_lunch#howto

Here they come!

So things are coming along quickly, weve missed a weekend so we had a lot to do. We planted most of our seeds last week and things are starting to come up. Here is a yellow golden squash mixed among our sweet corn:

Our strawberries are starting to come along nicely too:

Herbs: we were short on herb seeds so i gave my friend Allston a call, he works for Sea Island Savory Herbs, we traded him an old laptop battery for a flat of herbs and quite a few leafy greens for the side bed.

The beets are coming along quickly and strongly. We grew 4 different types and the "early beet" blend is getting close already!

Our peas were getting quite large so we went ahead and put in the fence for them to grow on. we planted two rows a few weeks apart to give us a gap between productions so we could keep it coming.

Our big project this weekend is our chicken coop. We had to break down and buy our 2x4's for this project. we needed about 13 of them and picked them up from Lowes :(. But with a little hard labor we got the frame done in one day. The day after this we put the wire and roof on the house. now all we have left is to put some wheels on it so it can be easliy moved about the yard and to buy some chickens.

Well this is all we have for now. Ill post some pics of the chickens when we get them going.