What's in store for the future of farmland in the US?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the value of agricultural land and how we can keep from losing it. Between 1982 and 2007, over 41 million acres of rural land in the US were developed. How much viable farmland is left? Where is it? Who owns it? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. Should we have a policy to protect farmland? What would that look like? How does the loss of farm land impact food production and local agriculture? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar, and You.

Guests:
Ed Thompson, California director & senior associate with the American Farmland Trust

Ned Conwell, co-founder of Blue House Farm in Pescadero and regional advocate for land access through Pie Ranch in San Mateo county.

Constance Washburn, community outreach director with the Marin Agricultural Land Trust

Click to Listen: What's in store for the future of farmland in the US?

How are genetically engineered crops affecting food?

How are genetically engineered crops affecting agriculture and the food supply? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how they are changing the landscape of food and farming. An estimated 70 percent of processed foods contain genetically engineered ingredients. And more than 270,000 organic farmers filed a lawsuit against Monsanto this year for the right to keep a portion of the world food supply organic. So what do we need to know about how GMOs are affecting farmers and consumers? Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive director of Food First and author of Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice

 Ignacio Chapela, associate professor of microbial ecology at UC Berkeley

 Mike Ludwig, Truthout reporter who covers the biotech industry

 Jim Gerritsen, organic seed farmer in northern Maine and one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Monsanto

 Click to Listen: How are genetically engineered crops affecting food?

How are food banks faring?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation about the challenges facing food banks and the services they provide. Individual donations to food banks are down, but demand is on the rise. Some food banks are actually expanding and hiring. They're also providing fresh produce to the community. How are they doing it? Join us live at 10 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. From food banks to community gardens--what is the best way to meet our community's food needs? It's Your Call with Holly Kernan and you.

Guests:

Sue Sigler, executive director of the California Association of Food Banks

Willy Elliott-McCrea, executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz

Brian Higgins, communications director for the Alameda County Community Food Bank

Click to Listen: How are food banks faring?

What is the future of wild seafood?

On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food. A few decades ago, most of the seafood we ate was wild. But we may be the last generation to enjoy wild fish, if we don't change our practices. How can we help restore fish populations through our food choices? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. What factors do you consider when you buy fish? It's Your Call, with Sandip Roy and you.

Guest:
Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food

Click to Listen: What is the future of wild seafood?

How does our food system reflect our society and our history?

On the next Your Call we'll talk to the authors of Empires of Food: Feast, Famine, and the Rise and Fall of Civilizations. With climate change, population growth, genetically modified organisms, market globalization, and corporate consolidation--what is happening to our food systems? And to us? Is the modern agricultural machine that feeds the world also destroying it? Join us live at 11 or send us an email at feedback@yourcallradio.org. Could local food systems be a solution to global food crises? It's Your Call, with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Andrew Rimas, a journalist and the managing editor at the Improper Bostonian magazine

Evan Fraser, adjunct professor of geography at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and a Senior Lecturer at the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds in the UK with a focus on farming, climate change and the environment

Click to Listen: How does our food system reflect our society and our history?

Your Call 070808 Victory Gardens

Could planting a garden help save the world? On the next Your Call we'll talk about the pleasures and politics of tending and harvesting your own food right here in the center of our cities. We'll discuss the Civic Center Garden project, where volunteers are transforming a patch of city owned dirt and grass into "a living quilt of plants and people." Is growing your own fruits and vegetables something more than just a healthy hobby? Is there a better use for that small patch of land than a nice green lawn? It's locally grown, organic, and practically free on the next Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guests:
Willow Rosenthal is the founder of City Slicker Farms

John Bela, Civic Center Victory Garden Coordinator

Dajuana Turner, Summer intern at City Slicker Farms

Click to Listen: Victory Gardens

Your Call 042108 What caused the global food crisis?

What's behind the current global food crisis? On the next Your Call, we'll have a conversation with Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Since 2007, there has been a 40 percent rise in food prices worldwide, making rice, corn, and wheat unaffordable for many people. As a result, food riots are on the rise. How did this crisis happen? Who's been impacted? And where should we look for solutions? It's Your Call with Rose Aguilar and you.

Guest:
Raj Patel, visiting scholar in the Center for African Studies at the University of California at Berkeley

Click to Listen: What caused the global food crisis?