Tag: Florida

  • There Is No Once and For All Only More Once Agains

    There Is No Once and For All Only More Once Agains

    by Dell deChant It is amusing in a grim Greek-tragic sort of way hearing Florida’s Governor and other public officials boast about ending the environmental threat of the Piney Point gypsum stack – once and for all. Those were the exact words of Noah Valenstein, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, on April 13,…

  • Guest Column: Why Farmers Markets are Safer and More Convenient than Grocery Stores

    Guest Column: Why Farmers Markets are Safer and More Convenient than Grocery Stores

    BY JESSE HASKINS • AGRICULTURE LAW Buying groceries at a grocery store right now can be downright scary. Vulnerable groups, like the elderly, have good reason to be scared. Grocery stores have drawn especially large crowds, which may consist of people infected with the coronavirus. And grocery stores have plenty of potentially contaminated surface: grocery carts, tongs, self-serve…

  • Ecology Florida Announces New Vice President

    Ecology Florida Announces New Vice President

    Ecology Florida has elected Jesse Haskins to serve as vice president.  Jesse Haskins is an attorney who dedicated his law practice to strengthening our local food systems. He offers legal services to small scale agricultural enterprises. Jesse Haskins is excited about serving as vice president of Ecology Florida because of the organization’s emphasis on local food systems. Ecology…

  • Guest Column: Local Food, National Security

    Guest Column: Local Food, National Security

    BY JESSE HASKINS • AGRICULTURE LAW Photo: American Phytopathological Society, Rye infected with ergot In 6th century B.C.E., the Assyrians, in modern day Iraq, poisoned enemy wells with rye ergot, a fungus disease. Imagine seeing a person suffering ergotism. The first victim of bioterrorism in recorded history may have felt a violent burning. “Holy fire” became the nickname…

  • COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals Frailty of America’s Food System

    COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals Frailty of America’s Food System

    COVID-19 Pandemic Reveals Frailty of America’s Food System Dell deChant By now most Americans have seen images of long lines at food banks around the nation – thousands of cars bumper to bumper in Cleveland, San Antonio, Minneapolis, Pittsburg, and many other cities.  The images are devastating.  How could this happen? The question echoes across…

  • Florida Loquat News #38 – March 2020

    Florida Loquat News #38 – March 2020

    Florida Loquat News #38 The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival No. 38 March 4, 2020 Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit An Ecology Florida/Friendship Farms & Fare Annual Event LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY Seventh Annual Florida Loquat Festival March 21, 2020 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Educational Program 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) Frances Avenue…

  • Florida Loquat News #35 – July 2019

    Florida Loquat News #35 – July 2019

    Florida Loquat News The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit No. 35 July 1, 2019 Published by Ecology Florida and Friendship Farms & Fare http://www.ecologyflorida.org/ Find the Florida Loquat Festival on Facebook Here is Your Post-Festival issue of the Florida Loquat News 2019 Annual Loquat Festival Tremendous Success Largest Attendance in Festival…

  • Florida Loquat News #33 – March 2019

    Florida Loquat News #33 – March 2019

    The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival No. 33 March 8, 2019 Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit An Ecology Florida/Friendship Farms & Fare Annual Event Here Comes the Festival! Sixth Annual Florida Loquat Festival March 23, 2019 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Frances Avenue Park New Port Richey Mark Your Calendars The sixth annual Florida Loquat…

  • 500 Million Plastic Straws a Day? Let’s Go With the Paper

    500 Million Plastic Straws a Day? Let’s Go With the Paper

    Part I of a three-part series on plastics an Ecology Florida Editorial A trending ecological initiative is the contra-straw movement.  USA Today has a good short article on the “anti-straw movement,” and Fast Company has an article about cities that have banned or are considering banning the plastic drinking tubes.  As it pertains to Florida,…

  • Florida Loquat Festival News – No. 30 – September 2018

    Florida Loquat Festival News – No. 30 – September 2018

    Florida Loquat Festival News – No. 30 September 2018 Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit An Ecology Florida/Friendship Farms & Fare Annual Event Florida Loquat News The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival No. 30 September 10, 2018 ANNUAL LABOR DAY EDITION Published by Ecology Florida and Friendship Farms & Fare First Flowers Edition Florida Loquat News…