Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Save Family Farms, Save America

By Willie Nelson

"It's time to abandon the failed model of industrial agriculture and join the Good Food movement: embrace healthy, delicious food that makes the entire country stronger.

"As one of the founders of Farm Aid, I have watched with admiration and a good amount of satisfaction the growth of what many now call the "Good Food Movement" -- the growing interest in and demand for organic, humanely-raised and family farm-identified food that is transforming the way America grows its food and how our food gets to our tables.

"While it might seem obvious to many, good food comes from farms with healthy soil and clean water. I've always believed that the most important people on the planet are the ones who plant the seeds and care for the soil where they grow. As the stewards of the land, family farmers are the foundation of this movement, as well as its guarantor.

"No one can say they planted the original seed that gave rise to this movement, but many can claim they have helped nurture and cultivate its growth. Farm Aid's vision for America is to have many family farmers on the land -- a vision born out of our strong conviction that who grows our food and who cares for the land and water is of vital national importance; that farmers and their fields are the fabric that holds our country together..."

Read the rest of the article

Potato Facts

- The potato is about 80% water and 20% solids.

- An 8-ounce baked or boiled potato has only about 100 calories.

- The average American eats 137.9 pounds of potatoes each year. Based on 2000 census population data, that's 38,808,080,837 (thirty-eight billion, eight hundred eight million, eighty thousand, eight hundred thirty-seven) pounds of potatoes in a year.

- The world's largest potato chip was produced by the Pringle's Company in Jackson, TN in 1990. It measures 23" x 14.5".

- In 1974, an Englishman named Eric Jenkins grew 370 pounds of potatoes from one plant.