Part 3 of a rapid fire series left unedited so that I can go outside and play.
Until Google's little alert sent me the bit of news that Farm Aid was doing some greening, I'd completely forgotten about the long-running festival. Which is odd, since as a festival nut, I'm kind of their target audience. I guess the marketing budget's been a bit low in recent years. Anyway, on to business.
Farm Aid had its 22nd event this year in NYC, with a new focus on buying food from local organic family farms. I'm a member of a CSA and I am here to tell you that local veggies taste better. Honestly, the environmental benefits are simply the icing on the cake--the veggies I get taste ridiculously good, and I don't have to go to the grocery store nearly as often, plus I get to try out all kinds of new stuff I've never heard of. Eat local!
But enough proselytizing. Was the festival green? By outward appearances, not really, at least not in the traditional sense. The press release doesn't mention any of the usual green items except recycling. No carbon offsets, no ridiculous "reforestation program," no holier-than-thou pledges to sign, no talk about global warming or pictures of polar bears. But then again, this is one of the few festivals NOT to jump on the green bandwagon.
So why am I blogging about Farm Aid if it's not green and doesn't claim to be? For a few reasons. First, they are a great organization, doing good things to help good people. The whole cause is inherently green. And unlike pointless pledges to print out fewer emails, you really can make a difference to the environment and to your community if you search out locally-grown produce. Second, we all know that Willie Nelson is all about the biodiesel, so there's a pretty good chance he's done some stuff behind the scenes on the festival but hasn't been out there rubbing our noses in it. And third, they do a lot more with the one action they did take than most other festivals I've seen.
Check it out:
Farm Aid "will be the first major music event to serve local, organic and
family-farm foods at its concessions and to artists, crews and VIP’s
backstage. Every concessions stand at Farm Aid’s September 9 benefit
concert at Randall’s Island in New York City will meet these criteria.
Farm Aid hopes its unprecedented food procurement will demonstrate how
family-farm foods can be integrated into everyday life.
Menu items with local, organic and family-farm ingredients include
traditional festival snacks like pizza, burritos, hamburgers, corn
dogs, sandwiches, pitas, ice cream and baked goods, as well as fresh
fruits and vegetables. More than 80 percent of all ingredients found in
these menu items are local, organic and/or sourced from family farms."
That's a big deal. Farm Aid was able to line up a lot of food in
the NYC area from local farmers, so if you live in or around the Big
Apple, take the time to find out where you can get some of the same. The food ethic also spreads to their recycling and composting program:
"Farm Aid will also implement a recycling and composting program at
the event. The Council on the Environment of New York City (CENYC) and
its office of Recycling, Outreach and Education has assembled a team of
400 volunteers that will work to ensure that paper, glass, plastic, and
aluminum are recycled and Farm Aid will also have compost bins for food
waste and compostable food utensils.
Sprint Recycling of New York, will reclaim recyclables and transport
the compostable waste collected at the festival to McEnroe Organic Farm
in Millerton, New York. At McEnroe Organic Farm, what was once waste,
will be turned into valuable compost that will sustain future crops."
That's what a recycling and composting effort should look like--volunteers to help out, since many people are lazy or new to the concept. Transparency in the composting process, with a good local organization benefiting. And a reasonably modest announcement about the whole thing. Kudos! Hopefully in future years, we'll see the event go green in other ways, too.