Farmer John Redux, Etc.

(Pictured at left, Farmer John, star of "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," in San Francisco last May.)

This post is brought to you from the haven of my bedroom, where I've been laid up sicker than I've been in a long time. Energy comes in tiny waves, so I'm catching this one to share some really important news. The film I saw twice last year, "The Real Dirt on Farmer John," is coming soon to a theater near you, if you're lucky. When we saw the film at the San Francisco Film Festival, introduced by Vice President Albert Gore (you may remember him: he was elected President in 2000), the producers said they'd be opening in limited release (eight cities) in the fall of 2005. Well, eight has turned into thirty-six! In fact, if you're in San Francisco tonight, you can catch it. Film screenings are listed here.

Farmer John is going to be making quite a tour, so check to see if he's appearing at your local screening for Q & A. I have written previously about this wonderful film here. From a recent newsletter sent out by the film's production company:

The months leading up to the theatrical release have built a lot of momentum for the film, as it has now won 15 film festival awards, including most recently Audience awards at the Milwaukee International Film Festival, and the Bend Film Festival in Oregon. The film was named as one of Shawn Levy‘s (Oregonian Film Critic) Top Ten films of the year. But the real excitement came when Farmer John and Lesley Littlefield (a.k.a. the cute bumblebee) screened the film in a cornfield in the middle of downtown Los Angeles!!

The opportunity has arrived for us to share John’s story, and further the cause for sustainable agriculture, and small family farms. We hope that this film will inspire, as well as educate people in terms of the importance of alternative farming practices, and the value of organics. We appreciate all of the support you have shown, and hope you will continue by inviting 10 friends or family to a screening.

If you like farms, food, CSAs, quirky first-person narratives, brazen courage in the face of neighbors who insist things be done as they've always been done, this film is for you. It's an amazing story, alternately hilarious and poignant, and it is sewn with love from one end to the other.

Here is a little more from Angelic Organics, where farmer John Peterson has farmed his entire life in Caledonia, Illinois. It's coming to San Francisco and Santa Cruz on January 27, smack in the middle of the Eco-Farm Conference, dang it.

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BOOK RECOMMENDATION: While reading the reviews of Sherri Brooks Vinton's The Real Food Revival today, I came across a notice for an upcoming book by Nina Planck, called Real Food: What to Eat and Why. I'll be interested to learn if there is anything new to be said, given that Sherri Brooks Vinton covered such vast territory, with reasons and sources and recipes. But I will be getting the book myself: it's simply too pretty not to buy. If you don't know who Nina Planck is, she is—first and foremost—a farmer's daughter who grew up into a powerhouse and an advocate for farms and farmers markets. In 2003, she was the director of Greenmarket, which is a network of 54 farmers markets on 40 sites in New York City. This woman gets things done, and I bet I'm safe in assuming that she could use Susie Bright's tagline: "Could not be accused of shutting up" (said Rolling Stone). (Nina has a reputation for being outspoken: I like that in a farmer's advocate.)

Read more of Nina's bio here. And poke around her links: she clearly knows what she's talking about.

BLOG RECOMMENDATION: Raining Sideways: "Sally Vincent's Diary of Food and Life on a Devon Farm" is worth checking out. 

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Just one little reminder that one day is left for you to cast your vote in the 2005 Food Bloggers Awards. Small Farms: A Blog from the Heart is a finalist for Best Food Blog with a Theme, and you can go here to cast your ballot. (One vote per person, and they know if you've voted already.)

Finally, if you are a food blogger who hasn't yet done so, come and stick a pin in the Food Bloggers Global Map. Center the map  by clicking, holding, and dragging. Then zoom in. Repeat as needed. If you make a mistake, e-mail me and I will delete your pin so you can start over. We are currently at 322 pins!

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THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action."—Frank Tibolt

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Okay kids, that's all for today. I'm outta gas. Thanks for visiting.

Comments

[Iwillfarmthisyear]

Sorry to hear you've been so sick. Get better by next week for the big farm conference!

[Jen]

Hi Tana, thanks for your nice comment on my blog. I am glad to have found yours also. As a supporter of local farms and small businesses, I would like to see more blogs like yours! I'm def coming back.