Post Script

Will Allen will be First Lady's guest

From Obamafoodorama:

The White House has just announced some of the special guests who will john Mrs Obama when her (childhood obesity) campaign debuts (tomorrow). Will Allen, the foremost urban farming expert in the United States, will attend the event. Allen founded and runs Growing Power, a path-breaking urban farm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which has developed many innovative techniques to grow fresh and healthy foods in inner cities. Allen is also the recipient of a MacArthur fellowship, among his many other awards.

Apologies for the double post about Allen, but we're sure you understand.

Will Allen takes message to Seattle

Growing Power's Facebook page has updates and links about Will Allen's recent trip to Seattle. Allen was there to answer questions about Growing Power and the urban agriculture model. Seattle mayor Mike McGinn has declared 2010 The Year of Urban Agriculture.

Photo of Growing Power's greenhouse produce, by Liz Setterfield.

The latest hangout for celebrity chefs? Chez Obama

"The White House has now become the center of the culinary universe."

So says the blogger at ObamaFoodorama, and she might be right. Top chefs were in DC in late January for "Sunday Suppers," a fund-raiser for area food banks. Private dinners cooked by those chefs brought in around $180,000 for DC Central Kitchen and Martha's Table. 

And the chefs about town were invited to the White House to tour the kitchens and Michelle Obama's famous garden. Most notable tourist? Alice Waters, of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., celebrated chef renowned for her work to bring vegetable gardens to schoolyards. 

No more money down the drain

What if the water running down the drain from your bathroom sink was diverted to the toilet cistern and used for flushing?

Funny how obvious it seems, now that someone thought of it.

Via @jakedavidrohde, Twitter.

UWM's French Film Fest features food flick

The alliteration in that title was unintentional, we promise.

The UWM French Film Fest begins today, and the calendar reveals a foodie film that seems hard to resist. Nos Enfants Nous Accuseront (Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution) will air at 7 p.m., Wednesday Feb. 10th and Saturday Feb. 13th, at the UWM Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.

From the UWM web site, a synopsis: Food Beware begins with a visit to a small village in France, where the town's mayor has decided to make the school lunch menu organic and locally grown. It then talks to a wide variety of people with differing perspectives to find common ground - children, parents, teachers, health care workers, farmers, elected officials, scientists, researchers and the victims of illnesses. Revealed in these moving and often surprising conversations are the abuses of the food industry, the competing interests of agribusiness and public health, the challenges and rewards of safe food production, and the practical solutions that we can all take part in. Food Beware is food for thought - and a blueprint for a growing revolution.

For the film festival calendar, click here.

Love perch? Get it fresh at Sweet Water this weekend

Here's your chance to get some fresh perch for a few dollars. Sweet Water Organics is selling $5 perch this Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2151 S. Robinson (one block west of KK in Bay View).

Here's the thing: They're selling the fish unprocessed and whole, but they will show you how to filet and cook them. Our Pantry Raid columnists will head down there on Sunday to film some fish prep for our YouTube channel, so if you forget the lesson, you'll be able to review it.

And - call it good timing - Karen Herzog at the Journal Sentinel picked up the Sweet Water story today.

Interview with an ethical butcher

Some people are surprised that Outpost sells meat; the perception of some is that Outpost employees and owners are all vegan or vegetarian. That's simply not so; Outpost caters to meat-eating shoppers, but with a careful view to offering grass-fed and humanely-raised, antibiotic-free meat.

That's why we found this an interesting read: GOOD Magazine interviews "the ethical butcher" who "saw that he could address the toxicity of the meat industry by changing it rather than just avoiding it."

Chicago taxi fleet goes green

Milwaukee has its charms a-plenty, but we always enjoyed that a really big city fix is a mere 90 minutes away in Chicago. Now there's another reason to enjoy a day in Chi-Town; the city's Yellow Group taxi fleet is soon adding 100 green cabs. 

The cars will run on compressed natural gas, with two fueling stations that will also be open to the public.

Full story at Inhabitat.

Obama talks food

From Care2.com, an article about Obama's budget and plans for better access to healthy food for residents of poorer communities. 

An excerpt: "In his 2011 budget proposal, President Barack Obama is attempting to address the urgent need for bringing healthy food options to underserved communities by calling for more than $400 million in investments in new and expanded supermarkets, farmer's markets and other food stores."

Jobs and food? Can't argue with that.

LA gets tough on water laws

Mandatory water-harvesting. That's the law that could be on the books in Los Angeles, Calif., as early as 2011. And builders will have to do their part by ensuring rainwater finds its way back to the groundwater table, rather than running off concrete toward storm drains. Options include rain gardens, permeable pavement and diversion and mulch. Builders failing to comply will face a $13 fee per gallon of runoff water. Via Treehugger.