Time To Begin

Originally I contemplated doing a blog on local food for the El Paso area. I did so because I had for a long time before moving back to Texas written a weekly e-letter for the Carnation Farmers Market in Washington State and done a blog (Conkey’s Tavern) on farming, food and agricultural issues. However, other issues immediately confronted me: environmental care (especially in this bit of the Chihuahuan desert), water use and xeriscaping, sustainable living and permaculture. Before I was dealing with the more parochial issues of local farming and supporting local farmers, and the grander issues of organic farming in general, the dangers caused by corporate farms and a food chain dominated by a few mega-corporations, and the benefits of locally-generated solutions.

Along the way I have also become interested in ethnobotany and the preservation of native plants and seeds. This small region of the world is rich with food resources in spite of being related on every level with the “high fructose corn syrup” diet of corporate America, large box stores and grocery chains.

I have learned that the ordinances of the City of El Paso do not always encourage the development of farmers markets, sustainable community living, the restoration and development of a native canopy, the promotion of urban agriculture, the utilization of organic solutions rather than the overuse of toxic chemicals.

There certainly are progressive steps being taken for the first time in El Paso including new development codes and an open space ordinance. On the other hand, the City is hampered by the laws of the State of Texas that protect private property to a fault. The City is also hampered by its long tradition of politics that promotes development without regard to the environment, community building and infrastructure. On the other hand, there is a new creative class in El Paso that values keeping El Paso beautiful, preserving open spaces and arroyos, protecting the desert and mountain ecosystems, and building and living “green”.

This blog is dedicated to promoting the new environmental and ecological creativity in the city and region of El Paso, Texas. It is also dedicated to promoting local food and encouraging local farmers and agriculture, and re-capturing our ethno-botanical roots – a reclamation that is an essential part of regional sustainability, permaculture and environmental care.

Finally, it is the region that will be the focus of this blog and not just what goes on inside of the city limits of El Paso, Texas. Discussion of local food is often defined by 100 mile diets or 150 mile diets. We must include parts of Mexico and New Mexico, since they are part of our local food, eco-, and commercial systems. Although I may write more often about relevant political issues in the City of El Paso, there will be times when I will be talking about happenings around the El Paso Del Norte region including New Mexico and the State of Chihuahua, Mexico.

It is time to begin.