Today I picked the grapes from my vineyard.  I got 366 usable pounds from my 25 vines even though I lost at least 100 pounds to birds that somehow penetrated my elaborate net system.  The harvest will still give me between 90 and 115 bottles of what I hope will be decent wine - at least as decent as the ‘06 I’m happily sipping right now.

I used the term “Suburban Farmer” as a shameless lure to get folks to read this blog.  To be honest, I’m not a “Farmer”  at all.   I grow grapes as a hobby, and since I am a self-employed consultant, the time I spend growing these grapes has an “opportunity cost” far greater than what the Syrah I bottle will be worth as a reduction in my substantial wine budget.  I think it is great to garden or do home wine making, and I wish even more people had the opportunity to do it.  It is good for body and soul - better than the money I could have made.  But this is still not farming.  I have too much respect for real farmers to call it that.

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Lots of people in America are worried about their food - usually not about having enough food, but mostly about things that might be in their food that could potentially hurt them or their children.  People also worry about the environmental impacts of food production.  At one level I’m glad that people are engaged in this way and I do believe that there are legitimate concerns.   I happen to think that some of the fear about food is misplaced.

I believe that much of this fear stems from a limited understanding of toxicology, molecular genetics, and also what farming is actually about today.  Very few Americans have any real contact with farming.  Frankly, some of this fear is also driven by the activities of businesses and organizations with a vested economic interest in alarming people.

I’ve been working as an agricultural scientist for 32 years.  I’ve had the opportunity to learn about lots of crops grown all over the world.  I’ve been involved with all sorts of different technologies.  I’ve seen huge changes in agriculture over time. So from all of this experience, do I worry about anything to do with food?  Yes, absolutely I do worry! But my list of worries is a little different from the norm

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]]> http://sustainablog.org/2009/09/17/what-does-an-agricultural-scientist-worry-about-in-the-food-supply-part-1/feed/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/05/who-are-these-ecopreneurs/ http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/05/who-are-these-ecopreneurs/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:44:38 +0000 Scott Cooney http://ecopreneurist.com/2009/01/05/who-are-these-ecopreneurs/ Ecopreneurs come in all shapes and styles.  Big thinkers and lifestyle advocates satisfied with a small business;  poor and rich; opportunists seeing a hot trend and sustainability advocates just looking to do something good with their career.  What do they have in common?  What background do they have?  Did they think about what it takes to be an ecopreneur before they just jumped right in? 

We all know a successful ecopreneur or two (or ten).  What characteristics unify ecopreneurs?  Are they all young?  Are they all progressive?  Are they all spending quality time with their organic gardens to get away from it all? 

In conducting the research for Build a Green Small Business:  Profitable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur, I interviewed hundreds of ecopreneurs to find out just what made them tick. 

I asked ecopreneurs about their business, hoping to learn what made them greener than their conventional counterparts, and what might help others succeed.  I was amazed to find out how willing ecopreneurs were to share their business secrets with someone who was going to write a book about it.  The main finding, therefore, is that this ‘ecopreneur personality’, if there is one, is selfless and committed to the betterment of society. 

But we probably suspected that.  What other trends are there? 

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While twentysomethings may be the cheerleaders of the green movement, a new report from i-com reveals that the ranks of actual users of green products are grey haired and wrinkled.

Both male and female groups 55 years and over reported above average usage of environmentally friendly home goods. Leading the way was the 55-59 year-old female demographic, who was more than twice as likely as the average consumer to use green products. Males 65-69 years old were second, more than 1.7 times as likely to use than the average American.

I don’t find this terribly surprising for a number of reasons including what the survey found out: 50% of non-adopters cited high prices as the main factor behind their decision not to purchase green products. As is well know, the bulk of this country’s wealth is concentrated in the baby boomer generation. If you were lucky enough to be born in the first half of the boom (and now find yourself wondering why your kids have such trouble getting ahead in a vastly different economic landscape than the 60s and 70s) then you know what I mean.

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