This month I’m writing to my HOMEGROWN friends about the ominous tale of what could have been.

I could have written about happy things.

I could have written about morel mushroom season, one of life’s glorious pleasures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have written about our booming garden produce. We’re harvesting small volumes of mixed salad greens, spinach, turnips, mixed mustards, brassicas for braising, and beautiful radishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could have written about the continued love-hate relationship I have with my goat herd, the goats having broken into our house one Saturday while we were out on the soccer field. They broke a lot of stuff, including lamps, coffee mugs, various canned goods, my son’s favorite illustrated poster of Greek deities, dozens of house plants, a prized National Geographic poster from the former Soviet Union, my sons’ taxonomy project (two months in the making), and much more. They got on both boys’ beds and tracked up their bedclothes with mud and manure and fur. Well, this wasn’t funny at the time, but in hindsight I suppose I can laugh about it.

But instead I’m going to write about a more serious matter that has reared its head on the western Missouri plains. Big oil is expanding, and it has me and many others in my small community deeply concerned.

You’ve probably heard about the fight against TransCanada and their Keystone XL Pipeline proposal from Northern Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico. The Keystone XL Pipeline would be carrying some of the most toxic and polluting oil on Earth, made by destroying Canada’s boreal forest in the Tar Sands region. The Tar Sands oil project has been called “game over for the climate” by NASA’s pre-eminent climate scientist, James Hansen. Climate activists, including 350.org and many others, have thus far been able to delay construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline since it crosses international borders, and the president/State Department has to sign off on it. It’s a great story about citizens fighting back against environmental destruction from the oil companies and winning—at least for now.

Enter our local situation, and the Enbridge Flanagan South Pipeline. This proposed pipeline is actually Enbridge’s play as the alternative to Keystone XL. It is being done with a lower profile, more piecemeal approach. So far it has gotten very little public scrutiny. We’re hoping our little group of concerned citizens can help change that.

We live in a rural community in West Missouri that has invested millions of dollars to improve the cleanliness of our public water infrastructure and to upgrade our it. The proposed Flanagan South pipeline would carry highly toxic diluted bitumen through it, and that pipeline crosses one mile from the water intake of our local water supply. There are other towns along the route facing similar risks.

And while this fight is about the destruction of the climate and Northern Canadian tar sands development, it’s also a local fight about the risks associated with toxic oil coming through a pipeline that could rupture and foul our water and local ecology. Here are some concerns we’ve discovered about diluted bitumen, which the oil industry refers to as “dilbit,” as we’ve learned about the project:

• Dilbit contains benzene, mixed hydrocarbons, and n-hexane. All three are toxins that can affect the human brain and central nervous system.

• Dilbit contains hydrogen sulfide gas. Hydrogen sulfide can cause suffocation in humans in concentrations over 100 parts per million. This is a serious risk to workers breathing in vapors from the chemical mixture.

• Dilbit contains many toxic heavy metals that do not break down in the environment. Vanadium, nickel, arsenic, and other heavy metals can accumulate and cause toxicity in plants, wildlife, and people.

• Dilbit’s characteristics make it very different than conventional petroleum, therefore it operates very differently than conventional oil as it flows through the pipeline. Dilbit has much higher acidity, viscosity, sulfur content, pipeline temperature, and pipeline pressure than conventional oil pipelines. Dilbit also contains higher rates of flow per second of quartz and silicates than commercial sand blasters. These factors create concerns regarding pipeline spill risks.

• Unlike conventional oil, dilbit does not float when it spills into water. Dilbit sinks, making surface water containment strategies ineffective.

• Despite industry promises of safety and pipeline integrity, spills happen. Often. In fact, there are more than 100 petrochemical spills every year, flowing toxic poisons into our forests, fields, waterways, and communities.

• If you’ve read or heard about the recent dilbit spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, or the destructive pipeline that burst along the Kalamazoo River in Michigan a couple of summers ago, both spills were pipeline ruptures involving dilbit.

• To top off the risks of the pipeline operations, there is very little legislation or regulatory framework that we’ve found that addresses these concerns. Pipeline development, contrary to the popular imagination, is exempt from most national and local environmental standards. Even if they wanted to (and, yes, that’s a questionable proposition), the EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources could do very little about this proposed pipeline. Instead, pipeline permits and inspections are governed by the Department of Transportation, which only requires inspections every six years.

So what’s going to happen? I don’t know. This is one of those situations where locals are shocked when they hear about what’s coming through our region—and yet, there has been almost no public information about the proposed Flanagan South Pipeline. We’re trying to change that. So stay tuned. There might be something interesting to tell in future months. Wish us luck, because we’re not tilting at windmills here. (We love windmills, after all.) We’re tilting at billions of dollars backing a highly toxic project that could spell real disaster in our region.

Bryce Oates is a farmer, father, writer, and rural economic development entrepreneur. He works with his family to raise organic vegetables, beef, lamb, chickens, goats and manage the bottomland forest woodlot in Western Missouri. He has helped to launch numerous social enterprises, including a sustainable wood processing cooperative, a dairy goat cheese processing facility, and a conservation-based land management company that incentivizes carbon sequestration in forests and grasslands. Bryce currently co-owns the Root Cellar Grocery in Downtown Columbia, Missouri, a local food store that operates a weekly produce subscription program called the Missouri Bounty Box. Bryce, along with 135 other farmers, sells his produce through this program.

For those of you who might not know me personally, I should probably help set the table by telling you a little bit about myself. First off, I’m the butcher’s son of a butcher’s son. I live in one of those rural tribal places where I’m kin to many people throughout the area, my family having been in West Missouri now for going on seven generations.

But I’ve had a pretty different life than most of my friends, family, and neighbors out here on the Osage Plains. I’ve dabbled in poetry. I found a wife all the way over on Missouri’s East Coast (that’s St. Louis). I’ve eaten raw oysters right out of the Puget Sound and the Chesapeake Bay. Heck, once I even joined with several hundred people protesting on Karl Rove’s lawn on a sunny Sunday afternoon for blocking the DREAM Act that would have protected immigrant children from getting deported when they turn 18 years old.

For several years I worked as a community organizer, trying to help stop industrial livestock facilities from further encroaching in rural Missouri. (Note: Farm Aid was a key partner in helping to support this organizing effort by funding great organizations like the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.) It was challenging and fulfilling work that involved equal parts politicking, translation of confusing legalese into legislative language, and haranguing people to hold their public officials accountable. There were wins and losses in this struggle. And today, the battle for the future of agriculture rages on.

In reflecting on these experiences and my return to living and working on the family farm where I grew up, I am haunted by the concepts of efficiency, of productivity, of sustainability. Industrial agriculture would have you believe that “modern agriculture,” as they call it, is the only way to feed the world. In this circle, genetically modifying seeds, driving gigantic machines from satellite-positioning systems, and producing fossil-fuel-based chemicals are thought to be the most efficient practices. In this circle, housing livestock in giant indoor factories or crowded feedlots is the only way to be a productive member of the modern livestock-producing class. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard politicians parrot the line, “America’s farmers are the best and most efficient in the world,” in an attempt to claim their undying allegiance to those of us in the food-producing regions.

But in this era of post-truth politics (coined by the great blogger David Roberts over at Grist), it’s easy to cherry pick data and come to whatever conclusion you desire. If you don’t take into account local pollution and rural depopulation, perhaps industrial crop production has some merit. If you don’t have to see it or smell it or pray about it, perhaps industrial livestock production is “a reasonable response to increasing consumer demand for protein in the developing world.” If you don’t have concerns about the social costs of increased concentration of wealth and land resources, the trend toward smaller numbers of people managing more acres per farm probably seems trivial. If you’re a row crop farmer who inherits lots of land and equipment, it’s probably easy to assume that anyone can get a loan for their farming operation and that capital-intensive agriculture is the only way to go.

There are lots of us out here in farm country who are living a different narrative. We are re-creating productive soils with compost and organic soil amendments. We are using low-cost and high-labor practices to try and produce real food for people instead of feeding an industrial ingredient machine of fat and sugar and carbohydrates. We are many, although our voice within agriculture circles is minimal at times. We don’t have the money to be hiring lobbyists or propping up professionally staffed organizations (a la the Farm Bureau, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association) that constantly promote our message. We define efficiency very differently, as a measure of maximizing production with whatever you have in a way that enhances the long-term productivity of the land.

So enough with the chip-on-the-shoulder rant. Here’s the rub. Here’s the reason I even wanted to write down this rambling mess. I can’t truthfully give you the metrics of the tale I’m trying to tell. I’m a data-driven guy who can’t give you the numbers. The scientific consensus is still out. Is it really more efficient for me to shovel goat manure, let it age, plant some lettuce in it, and truck it to local consumers? Or is it more efficient for Missourians to keep buying lettuce from California that was picked by migrant workers in unsafe conditions who were likely paid poorly, and with said lettuce robbing the withering Colorado River of its flow? There are people who try to figure these things out, but a lot of it centers on the pivot of what one means by efficiency and productivity and measurement.

One thing I know for sure is that many in the local farm and food scene are working through the same issue. We are numbers people in search of numbers. We aren’t crazy unscientific loons like our industrial brothers and sisters think we are. We’re not trying to “take agriculture back to some romantic golden age.” Instead, we understand biology, biodiversity, and ecology. We are concerned about humans as a keystone species dependent upon a fragile food chain in a living world. We embrace technology. We live in the modern world. We take our periodic table of elements very seriously. And for these reasons, plus the grand questions about ethics and morality that are best discussed over campfires and beers, we look forward to expanding the conversation in the years and decades and centuries to come. Because there might be answers out there somewhere. And where there are answers, there are sure to be more question.

 

Bryce Oates is a farmer, father, writer and rural economic development entrepreneur. He works with his family to raise organic vegetables, beef, lamb, chickens, goats and manage the bottomland forest woodlot in Western Missouri. He has helped to launch numerous social enterprises including a sustainable wood processing cooperative, a dairy goat cheese processing facility and a conservation-based land management company that incentivizes carbon sequestration in forests and grasslands. Bryce currently co-owns the Root Cellar Grocery in Downtown Columbia, Missouri, where the local food store operates a weekly produce subscription program, the Missouri Bounty Box. Bryce, along with 135 other farmers, sells his produce through this program.

We are so excited for Maker Faire this year! The HOMEGROWN Village — the food and sustainability area of the Faire — is better than ever!

Here is a list of the exhibitors participating in the Village. For more about Maker Faire, and The HOMEGROWN Village at Maker Faire, you can check out the links, but it really must be experienced to fully “get” it. Hope to see you there!

Beekeepers Guild of San Mateo

The Beekeepers Guild of San Mateo is an organization dedicated to educating both new and experienced beekeepers. Our exhibit will be staffed by experienced beekeepers to answer questions, offer support and provide products form their hives for sale.

Build A Bug Habitat!

Create a wildlife habitat full of nooks and crannies for a variety of insects. Re-purpose materials such as wooden wine boxes, used lumber and natural organic materials. Attract pollinators!

Disconnect from the Water Grid: Greywater, Rainwater, Composting Toilets

From Greywater Action: Learn how to reduce dependence on the water grid with simple, low-tech, low-cost options. Greywater Action is a collaborative group of educators, designers, builders and artists who educate and empower people to build sustainable water culture and infrastructure.

East Bay Urban Agriculture Alliance

EBUAA: educates on sustainable practices for growing and raising healthy food in an urban environment; develops infrastructure to support agriculture throughout the East Bay; and advocates for policies that enable productive use of urban land. (Plus you can meet Tom and Rachel from Dog Island Farm and The HOMEGROWN Life column!)

Farming FOR Mother Nature

Find out what organic agriculture really means and how including Mother Nature in our food production is both mutually beneficial and necessary for our future; learn ecological farming techniques for your own backyard garden! From Singing Frogs Farm.

 

Guerrilla Gardens

Become a modern Johnny Appleseed, spreading seed balls to restore natural beauty! These guerrilla gardens are full of wildflowers native to North America, enjoyed by humans and wildlife alike. Just throw & don’t mow! Also, don’t miss Edward’s seed ball-making workshops happening each afternoon!

Hacking Agriculture

Meet Pilar Reber and Rick Wesson a husband and wife team living a sustainable, organic life while hacking seven acres of local urban biodynamic farmland in Richmond, CA.

Happy Girl Kitchen

Happy Girl Kitchen Co. makes a variety of preserved goods using locally harvested produce and is a part of the DIY local food revolution. Happy Girl Kitchen Co. is making change in a delicious way, “one jar at a time”.

Letterpress Printing The Old-fashioned Way

Letterpress printing has been around since Johannes Gutenberg invented it in the mid-15th Century. Visit Peach Farm Studio to learn about letterpress printing the old fashioned way and print a letterpress label or recipe card to take home with you.

Milkin’ In The City

Goat milk? Learn how you can have some too with your very own urban goats. We’ll discuss the ins and outs of keeping dairy goats in the city. From Heidi Kooy of Itty Bitty Farm In The City.

Poo Garden

Feed greedy plants – not greedy banks!
This composting toilet was designed for the Occupy movement. What started out as a urine-diverting, dry-composting toilet ended up as a permanent fixture that reclaims a place for nature.

Ritual Coffee

At the Ritual Coffee booth, you’ll get to taste different coffees and learn about how varietal, processing and origin contribute to the natural flavors of a particular coffee. All brewing will be done on equipment that is available for home use. Ask the experts how you can improve your coffee at home.

Sonatas of the Soil

Lily Films (makers of the documentary, The Future of Food) will show three shorts from their new film project, Symphony of the Soil. These short Sonatas of the Soil are each 10-15 minutes long and delve deeply into one topic.

Tiny Homes

There’s a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. In this book are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes on land, on wheels, on the road, on water, even homes in trees. Be inspired to MAKE your own. From Shelter Publications. Also see Lloyd Kahn’s presentation on Tiny Homes

Trackers

Trackers is an education organization dedicated to teaching old school outdoor skills: wilderness survival, wild plants, homesteading crafts, kayak building, tracking, and more. We run weekend programs for adults, summer camps, and after school groups.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Co.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. will teach you how to reduce your carbon footprint, eliminate reliance on mortgages and have the freedom of living with less “stuff” by building your own little house.

Urban Biofilter

Our Mobile Greenbelts are fabricated out of upcycled and palletized totes. The plants we select for these modular systems grow quickly and provide dense foliage for air filtration and wastewater reuse and treatment.

Worms, Worms, Worms!

Did you know that there are hundreds of millions of microscopic soil critters in a teaspoon of healthy soil? Learn how to grow a healthy garden by feeding these soil critters. Compost and create a garden that is life sustaining. The County of San Mateo/RecycleWorks Master Composter Program encourages composting, IPM and reuse for sustainable gardening in San Mateo County.