Sustainable food and water too

I hope you all know about the Hydration Station in Wilson Library (turn left when you leave Zoe's Bookside Bagels and keep walking until you see it on your right).  Besides a place to fill your water bottles we also have displays of information about sustainability activities on campus (contact Clarissa or Rob if you want to add something).  AND we have a small bookcase there with a themed assortment of books and videos.  Winter quarter the subject was sustainable design (the books on sustainable fashion were very popular).  This quarter: sustainable food.  You can check these books out so take one to lunch!

The History of Food in America, sort of

I went to the Lunch and Learn today on the subject of food sustainability - and what a great pot luck!  Soup!  Pie!  Crusty bread! 

All of this got me thinking about, of course, government information.

Okay, I'm the government information librarian, so it's a vocational hazard.  But take a look at the titles of some of these early twentieth century Department of Agriculture publications, all in our collection.  Back then the farmer didn't have the Internet.  He or she might not have had access to a library.  These free or inexpensive pamphlets available from the County Agricultural Agent might make a big difference in crops, and therefore income.  I wonder how good the advice would be today?  By the way, most of the pre-1976 government publications we own are not in the online catalog, but the call numbers below will get you there, in Haggard 2.

Adequate diets for families with limited incomes (1931) A 1.38: 113
American medicinal plants of commercial importance (1930) A 1. 38:77
Are we well fed? (1941) A 1.38: 430
Blue fox farming in Alaska (1925) A 1.3: 1350
Consumption of food in the United States, 1909-49 (1949) A 1.38: 691
Cooperative marketing (1920) A 1.9: 1144
DDT and other insecticides and repellents developed for the armed forces (1946) A 1.38: 608
The farm woman’s problems (1920) A 1.4: 148
Harmfulness of headache mixtures (1909) A 1.9: 377
Is the public market a good civic investment? (1931) A 1.35:73
Kudzu as a farm crop (1943) A 1.9: 1923
Northwestern apple packing houses (1921) A 1.9: 1204
The sanitary privy (1915) A 1.9: 463 (That's an outdoor toilet)
The school garden (1917) A 1.9: 218
Some forms of food adulteration and simple methods for their detection (1911) A 7.3:100
Toward farm security (1938) A 1.38: 308

Lunch and Learn tomorrow - with free lunch!

Have you heard the term TANSTAAFL?  There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.  You can put that to the test tomorrow because there will be free locally-made soup at the Lunch and Learn session.  Special location: Fairhaven 318.  Special Time: well, actually the usual time: 12:30-1:30 PM.  Special guests: John Tuxill of Fairhaven College, Karl Meyer of the Community Food Coop, and staff members from Outback Farm.

So, if it isn't free, what's the catch?  There are three.  One, you have to bring your own bowl and spoon.  Two, it's a potluck, so feel free to bring something to share.  Three, you get to participate in a discussion on sustainable food. 

Still sounds pretty free to me.