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looked up our homeowner's insurance and now I'm low-key rooting for the house to get obliterated
gonna win this hurricane one way or the other
gonna win this hurricane one way or the other
tired: flipping houses
inspired: buying a house & homeowner's insurance before the baby boomers rigging it figure out climate change is real
inspired: buying a house & homeowner's insurance before the baby boomers rigging it figure out climate change is real
*dear twitter:
this is a JOKE
this is a JOKE
welp USAA is texting out info about how to file an insurance claim 36 hours before landfall
#HurricaneFlorence is gonna be lit
#HurricaneFlorence is gonna be lit
Semi-related: the @WaffleHouse Index is an important measure of how fucked up a city/neighborhood is by a hurricane, and is so effective that's actually used by FEMA.
fema.gov/blog/2011-07-0…
fema.gov/blog/2011-07-0…
Waffle House sets up stores to bounce right back after storms (generators, simple store, etc). The index runs as follows-
Green: Waffle House is open, serving full menu
Yellow: Waffle house open, serving reduced menu
Red: so fucked that even Waffle House is shut down. Very rare
Green: Waffle House is open, serving full menu
Yellow: Waffle house open, serving reduced menu
Red: so fucked that even Waffle House is shut down. Very rare
Threading some replies for better readability. (@Noahpinion)
"Famers of Forty Centuries" is a great source that gets into more detail on how traditional east Asian rice culture worked. tl;dr, it was a sophisticated human system closely adapted to its environment over millennia- including social systems of credit & investment.
East Asian rice culture is done on small plots, but that's where the similarity ends. It's not "small family farming" the way North Americans conceive of it. And that's... why it actually works.
coffee ($5) or help for the 
server cost ($10):
Have run audits on 100's of orchards. The *one* farm out of all of them that managed to deal w pest birds the cheap way by putting up kestrel boxes?
Also had a rock-solid relationship. It really set them apart from a lot of their neighbors. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also had a rock-solid relationship. It really set them apart from a lot of their neighbors. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A lot of mom & pop farms put on this weird Gender Theater act during food safety checks. The audit starts out with the wife being super deferential to the husband, but it's clear he has no idea about any of the farm recordkeeping and she's doing all of it.
So really, *she* should be the one running the farm side of the audit. But neither mom nor pop could seem to bring themselves to actually put her in charge of it, bc that would mean... the man is not in charge of something? And that's Simply Not Done.
If you want answers on making better farm jobs, check out @zeynepton's book "The Good Jobs Strategy."
google.com/search?ei=HD2J…
google.com/search?ei=HD2J…
The book focuses on low-cost retail bc like ag, it's also a job category that everyone assumes has to be basement wages w/o benefits. However there are low-cost retail co's out there that actually treat workers well (Costco, QuikTrip).
Mostly it has to do with management thinking through their business processes & minimizing the time workers spend doing not-work.
The vast majority of "farm work" is not farm work- it's running around looking for tools, walking up & down rows to get to the work, etc.
The vast majority of "farm work" is not farm work- it's running around looking for tools, walking up & down rows to get to the work, etc.
Thought it would be fun to read this here local magazine about local food but no, it's like a catalogue of fecklessness.
This magazine issue has everything!
Chefs "foraging for ingredients," which is what they call selling off wild vegetation when it's gentrified
Chefs "foraging for ingredients," which is what they call selling off wild vegetation when it's gentrified
ooh a breathless tale of how they're Bringing Back Local Grain!
Only when you read it, it's actually just 15 acres of wheat & $25K worth of milling eqpmt and somehow it took a multi-year effort : /
Only when you read it, it's actually just 15 acres of wheat & $25K worth of milling eqpmt and somehow it took a multi-year effort : /
This. Things were so rough during grad school that I got dangerously underweight... while studying agriculture.
It led to some bizarre situations. Most of my studies were on mainstream ag-type stuff, but I got as much training on sustainable ag as I could.
In contrast to rest of ag school, these courses were full of well-groomed children of the upper middle class.
In contrast to rest of ag school, these courses were full of well-groomed children of the upper middle class.
The rest of the ag school was mostly good ol' boys and/or immigrants doing really high-end epidemiological modeling for predicting & averting crop disease epidemics.
Aaaand then there was the sustainable ag program. That major was like flypaper for rich white kids.
Aaaand then there was the sustainable ag program. That major was like flypaper for rich white kids.
Guys I'm reading @CC_Rosenthal's book & going wild bc the plantation records she worked with are almost identical* to how farm recordkeeping is still done today. It's a trippy experience to read this book if you audit farm records for a living.
*minus the inventory sheets of human property
This is more a comment on the state of agricultural IT than on labor practices, which vary widely & would make a better 3-volume book that Twitter thread
This is more a comment on the state of agricultural IT than on labor practices, which vary widely & would make a better 3-volume book that Twitter thread
what the heck let's do a draft horse thread
This thicc boy is a Brabant, same really cool blue roan coloring as the Ardennes horse from earlier.
This thicc boy is a Brabant, same really cool blue roan coloring as the Ardennes horse from earlier.
Before about the 1940s, the Brabant & the (US) Belgian were the same breed. But after that they diverged. In Europe they bred them to be ... uh ... meatier. Like literally shorter & blocky because after WW2, the main reason to raise draft horses in Europe was for meat.
Meanwhile in the US Belgians became the horse of choice for those still using horses for work. So they were bred to be taller & leggier, the better to cover ground with.
Also bred out most of the feathering around the feet bc it collects mud- not very fun for a working horse.
Also bred out most of the feathering around the feet bc it collects mud- not very fun for a working horse.
Every time more news breaks on Tesla
Last time I talked about Tesla (July '18), it was because Cal-OSHA had launched an investigation into the company.
Tesla fanboys were convinced it was just blowback from earlier incidents and they've, like, totally for sure fixed all their problems by now, & Cal-OSHA needs to just be cool man.
Factories that fixed their problems don't have their parking lots catch on fire, y'all.
Factories that fixed their problems don't have their parking lots catch on fire, y'all.
Ugh local "economic development associations" are the biggest crock of bullshit.
Just gonna point out, as a business owner, that folks who actually know how to "grow business" don't take jobs at nonprofits.
Just gonna point out, as a business owner, that folks who actually know how to "grow business" don't take jobs at nonprofits.
n.b. This is re: North Carolina "economic development nonprofits" filing letters to FERC asking for more pipelines, please.
These "business orgs" are social clubs for bored realtors. But they think they're qualified to give out policy advice on manufacturing.
#NoMVP #NoACP
These "business orgs" are social clubs for bored realtors. But they think they're qualified to give out policy advice on manufacturing.
#NoMVP #NoACP
Listen. If you're gonna give advice on a state's industrial development, you better know some things about its natural resource base. Its supply chain. What resources different industries need. Because then you can actually pursue growth strategies that can, like, y'know, work.
For all the folks wishing Silent Sam had been taken down "in peaceful dialogue" instead of a night mob, it's time to get read up on the realities of North Carolina politics.
The NC state legislature has:
• Criminalized any removal Confederate statues- *including orderly removal processes driven by local votes.*
• Gerrymandered itself a veto-proof majority
• Threatened to impeach state supreme court judges who disagree w them
• Criminalized any removal Confederate statues- *including orderly removal processes driven by local votes.*
• Gerrymandered itself a veto-proof majority
• Threatened to impeach state supreme court judges who disagree w them
• Eroded governor's authority so severely, GOP officials have come out against it
• Eradicated local decisionmaking power on a huge swath of issues- labor law, housing, civil rights, etc.
• Eradicated local decisionmaking power on a huge swath of issues- labor law, housing, civil rights, etc.
Yeah this is why I'm such a stick in the mud about how "luxury goods don't really count." They're expensive enough that they can travel through 300 middlemen. That's WHY jewelry etc were the only things still moving to/from Europe in the middle ages.
Grain shipments from Egypt to Europe? The global olive oil trade? wine? pottery? textiles? That was stuff that had to be shipped pretty directly from where it was made to where it was actually used; wasn't valuable enough to support a bajillion middlemen along the way.
Which means looots of people had to have the ships/caravans, navigational knowledge, & trade contacts to voyage deliberately from one region or continent to another.
You guys this article by @miriamkp is a GREAT intro to the human systems challenges that face supply chains. No, bitcoin can't fix it.
I think it's really telling that in a world full of certifications & new hotness traceability tech,
the most effective labor protection tool I've ever seen is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers @ciw.
The reasons for CIW's effectiveness are deeply rooted in human systems.
the most effective labor protection tool I've ever seen is the Coalition of Immokalee Workers @ciw.
The reasons for CIW's effectiveness are deeply rooted in human systems.
CIW is run by farmworkers, for farmworkers. There's no conflict of interest like with most of today's labor welfare certifications, where it's corporate management controlling the program & paying for the inspection.
So: CIW actually holds management accountable.
So: CIW actually holds management accountable.
In other news, this happened: the 2nd to last county in NC to ban school paddlings, finally banned school paddlings
but not without some interesting demographic notes
cw anti-native racism
fayobserver.com/opinion/201808…
but not without some interesting demographic notes
cw anti-native racism
fayobserver.com/opinion/201808…
For context, Robeson County NC has the biggest Native population east of the Mississippi River. There's a lot of Dank Southern History & other issues that have prevented many SE Native groups from being federally recognized, but everyone down here knows the Lumbee anyway.
"Robeson schools had administered disciplinary paddling 41 times in the 2016-17 school year, and 28 times in the most recent school year. The practice was used in only two of the county’s elementary schools and the recipients were all American Indians."
hmmmm
hmmmm
Right? Mary Mallon is a great example of human systems on safety.
In her time, Irish women in the US got hired for just 2 jobs: cooking or doing laundry.
Doing laundry paid way less than cooking. She did laundry for a while, & came back to cooking bc fuck poverty.
In her time, Irish women in the US got hired for just 2 jobs: cooking or doing laundry.
Doing laundry paid way less than cooking. She did laundry for a while, & came back to cooking bc fuck poverty.
Public health officials at the time tried to fix it all up by ordering her to stop working as a cook.
AKA ordering her to voluntarily commit to lifelong poverty.
AKA ordering her to voluntarily commit to lifelong poverty.
Even under the primitive hygiene of the time, here are a ton of jobs she could have been doing that wouldn't have put people at risk like cooking did. Tailoring or anything else in the textile trades; non-food gardening; laundry, if it had paid a living wage.
honestly the only food I don't eat for food safety reasons is sprouts
and that's mostly bc I just fuckin hate sprouts. it's like taking a big ol' bite of pubes, which is not something I personally would pay money to do
and that's mostly bc I just fuckin hate sprouts. it's like taking a big ol' bite of pubes, which is not something I personally would pay money to do
But also, I'm a healthy adult, & healthy adults have more leeway than the rest of us w food poisoning.
Different people have different susceptibility to food poisoning. Kids under 5, the elderly, & folks w compromised immune systems would want to be a lot more rigorous.
Different people have different susceptibility to food poisoning. Kids under 5, the elderly, & folks w compromised immune systems would want to be a lot more rigorous.
A lot of food safety folks have a list of stuff they won't eat.
Me, never have I gotten food poisoning from something where I thought "this is a food likely to lead to puking" while eating it (like cut melons or leafy greens or sthing). So why bother getting all het up about it.
Me, never have I gotten food poisoning from something where I thought "this is a food likely to lead to puking" while eating it (like cut melons or leafy greens or sthing). So why bother getting all het up about it.
1) Food poisoning by customer mishandling vs mishandling on the farm or in distribution chain.
This is actually pretty easy to figure out. If just the one person/family gets sick, it was probably customer mishandling.
This is actually pretty easy to figure out. If just the one person/family gets sick, it was probably customer mishandling.
When a whole bunch of people start showing up in hospitals with diarrhea, stool cultures show they all have the same strain of Salmonella causing it, then interviews show they all ate at the same restaurant/bought the same tomatoes
Then we test that food & it has that same strain of Salmonella?
That's open & shut. It ain't complicated.
That's open & shut. It ain't complicated.
Food hubs. Where to start.
The whole point of local food is supposed to be "shorten the supply chain." Food hubs are supposed to facilitate that.
What they *actually* do is just add another layer of middleman.
The whole point of local food is supposed to be "shorten the supply chain." Food hubs are supposed to facilitate that.
What they *actually* do is just add another layer of middleman.
There's an inevitable cycle with food hubs (touched on in passing in the article but never really examined).
1. Sell food to niche bougie outlets
2. Saturate those niche outlets, bc they're niche
1. Sell food to niche bougie outlets
2. Saturate those niche outlets, bc they're niche
3. Realize that if you want to live & participate in the world of modern food, you gotta pull on the big kid pants & sell to big distributors like Sysco & Aramark
4. Congrats now you're just another layer of middleman, & kind of an unnecessary one at that
4. Congrats now you're just another layer of middleman, & kind of an unnecessary one at that
Q for #Twitterstorians: say there was massive brain drain from US ag in early 1900s bc of racial persecution (Great Migration, Japanese jailed in WW2, Mexican Repatriation), & you suspect this may have helped the of rise of agribusiness.
Anyone have any thoughts on primary or secondary sources that may touch on this?
ack my feed disappeared this thread & I thought it hadn't posted, sorry for the late replies guys
very important farm beef update
CA farmers are filing to keep Devin Nunes from calling himself a "farmer" on the ballot because he is not a farmer
he's a limited partner in two Napa Valley & SLO wineries, which is the bougiest shit I have ever heard
fresnobee.com/news/politics-…
CA farmers are filing to keep Devin Nunes from calling himself a "farmer" on the ballot because he is not a farmer
he's a limited partner in two Napa Valley & SLO wineries, which is the bougiest shit I have ever heard
fresnobee.com/news/politics-…
also can I just add that OF COURSE it's an orchard farmer filing
Nunes keeps selling himself as a dairy guy, & there's sooooo much beef btwn produce farms & dairies in the central valley
does he even know what hell he brought on himself by pretending to be a dairy farmer
Nunes keeps selling himself as a dairy guy, & there's sooooo much beef btwn produce farms & dairies in the central valley
does he even know what hell he brought on himself by pretending to be a dairy farmer
The orchard vs dairy beef boils down to "dairy farms are disgusting." In the CA desert, the manure crusts up & blows away onto neighboring orchards' fruit.
There's also just *so much fucking shit* on dairy farms that dairy farmers have a warped sense of hygiene in general.
There's also just *so much fucking shit* on dairy farms that dairy farmers have a warped sense of hygiene in general.
brb gonna fill a bathtub with this thread and just roll around in it
Fruits & veggies are more labor- and skill intensive to grow than grains. Post harvest handling is trickier & more time sensitive.
Policy didn't make it this way. It just IS this way.
Policy didn't make it this way. It just IS this way.
lmao getting a lot of replies that basically boil down to "are you sure?"
20 years in crop science & supply chain management, folks. Yes I'm sure.
20 years in crop science & supply chain management, folks. Yes I'm sure.
*batman theme*
nananananananana nananananananana SNOT CORRRRRRRN
it's the thread you've all been waiting for
ucdavis.edu/food/news/grow…
nananananananana nananananananana SNOT CORRRRRRRN
it's the thread you've all been waiting for
ucdavis.edu/food/news/grow…
where to start. oh my god
Ok first of all this research was done in an Access & Benefits Sharing partnership with the local community and the gov't of Mexico under the Nagoya Protocol, because Latin America's gotten wise to biopiracy.
cbd.int/abs/
Ok first of all this research was done in an Access & Benefits Sharing partnership with the local community and the gov't of Mexico under the Nagoya Protocol, because Latin America's gotten wise to biopiracy.
cbd.int/abs/
You guys this post by @greenwoodae is everything. A great rundown, from a working farm operator, on the need for planning & discipline in farm management- & how a lot of farms' problems ultimately stem from poor management.
arielgreenwood.com/new-blog/2018/…
arielgreenwood.com/new-blog/2018/…
It's very popular to blame farming woes on external forces. Don't get me wrong, those exist.
And they're so far from the entire story. So much of farms' problems ultimately come from poor decisionmaking on the farm.
And they're so far from the entire story. So much of farms' problems ultimately come from poor decisionmaking on the farm.
(If folks are wondering why I talk so much about farm problems that come from the farm instead of policy, it's bc it seems like there are already 10 Food Policy Experts for every person who actually does farm & supply chain management. That'd be beating a dead horse.)