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Our Food and Farming Program
Our Taste the Local Difference program links shoppers and retail buyers to area farms. Healthy Food for All helps families, schools, and other institutions serve fresh local food. Get Farming! connects farmers to farmland and business resources. Our Entrepreneurial Agriculture program makes the case for local food as economic development, and helps coordinate northwest Michigan's Food and Farming Network.
Jim Lively Janice Benson Taste the Local Difference Project Director janice@mlui.org Diane Conners Senior Policy Specialist Healthy Food for All diane@mluil.org
Jim Sluyter Coordinator Get Farming! jimsluyter
@mlui.org
   
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Special Reports
Northwest Michigan's Farm Factor
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Agriculture contributes substantially to the economy of the six-county northwest Lower Michigan region. Ample opportunities also exist to significantly expand its economic footprint.


See the Local Difference
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Regional food systems become essential ingredient for Michigan's future


Perspectives from Surveys of Northwest Michigan Growers and Buyers
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The northwest Michigan region is home to almost a quarter-million people and hosts around 50 percent more seasonal residents and tourists through the year. It also has a diverse and unique agricultural industry that is struggling as rapid development inflates land values and economic pressures drive down prices for agricultural products. The region's growing population and vibrant tourist industry, however, together make a potentially large market for local farm products. To the extent that local growers can better access this market, greater local food sales could help the agricultural industry survive, and even thrive, in the face of population growth and development.


Our Journalism
Snyder Samples Traverse’ Local Food Efforts


Snyder Samples Traverse' Local Food Efforts

When Governor Snyder visited a Traverse City school recently, he heard about “10 Cents a Meal for School Kids and Farms,” a new...more

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Know Your Farmer



Know Your Farmer

The Michigan Land Use Institute is launching a new Know Your Farmer marketing tool as a companion to the successful Taste the Local...more

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MLUI Brings Governor, State Officials to Traverse City

Governor Snyder brought an encouraging message to Traverse City about the importance of sustainable, regional economic development....more

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Gaps in Produce Supply Chain Offer Local Food Opportunities


Gaps in Produce Supply Chain Offer Local Food Opportunities

Joe Pirrone knows what’s driving growth for his packing and shipping business: the “tremendous opportunity” in the market...more

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MLUI's Winter Celebration



MLUI's Winter Celebration

Crystal Mountain to host MLUI’s very first winter local food event Feb. 25....more

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Schools Seek Local Foods; Set Meeting with Farmers

Farmers and local food distributors interested in selling to schools in Leelanau and Grand Traverse counties will meet Jan. 30....more

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Suttons Bay Schools Celebrate Local Harvest

Suttons Bay High School will host a Farm to School Fall Food Festival on Tuesday, November 8, from 5 to 7 p.m....more

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The Scoop

Electric Cars Bring New Jobs, so the Built By Michigan Campaign is petitioning Lansing for strong incentives to help that industry.

The Koch Brothers Are Trying to Kill Wind Power off the New Jersey coast, according to Climate Crock of the Week.

Michigan Has Many Fine Rivers, and a new Web site, michiganrivers.com, reports the good, the bad, and the encouraging news about them.

Is Grass-fed Meat Meant Only for the Elite? Food Chain radio looks at the turn away from corn, soy, and antibiotics and toward more natural grazing.

Climate Change Is Changing Alaska, and a new book, Kivalina: A Climate Change Story, visits an Eskimo village whose days seem numbered.

Michelle Obama Wants to Eliminate ‘Food Desserts,’ and she’s got grocers promising to open 500 new food stores to combat the problem.

Duke Energy Is Closing Down Six Coal Plants, and enviros who pushed the firm to do it are taking some credit.

The Great Corn Con Is Driving Up Food Prices just to put more gas in our tanks, writes a longtime investment banker.

With More Extreme Weather Becoming the New Normal, Scientific American launches a three-part look at current research on climate change.

NYC Local Food Advocates Are Bringing Low-Income Communities more access to fresh, healthy produce.

How Noisy Is Wind Power? Here’s fresh audio/video from McBain’s Stony Corners Wind Park, plus a cost comparison between wind turbines and coal plants.

Streams Near Hudson-Area Livestock Factories Have Drug-Resistant Bacteria, according to a study by Eastern Michigan University.  

Worried about Offshore Wind Power? Then this greatest hit from The Daily Show is for you!

Bill McKibben’s Pithy ‘Don’t Connect the Dots’ Essay is now a provocative video about bad weather and global warming.

Fair Food Author and Pioneer Oran Hesterman, who visits Traverse City in the fall, has a video about his hopeful new book.

Michigan Boomers Will Have Big Mobility Problems as seniors, unless lawmakers improve public transit funding.

Farmers, Filming, and Flint, a documentary about urban agriculture in that town, is now in production.

Most Utility Chiefs Want a Strong U.S. Energy Policy because they want America to win the race for renewable energy.

The Mother Earth Water Walk Continues, and a Web site for the ongoing project has this summer’s schedule.

The Press Is Missing the Real Green Jobs Story, one of the few bright spots in the American economy.

Electric Cars and a Smart Grid can provide a quantum leap for renewables in America.

Got Tornadoes? Bill McKibben Connects the Dots in his extra-pithy Washington Post essay.

Garbage In, Electricity Out: A Novi company’s new, anaerobic, omnivorous scraps digester can power 1,500 homes.

Detroit’s Future Can Include Local Farms and Food and a New York Times visitor sees lots of confirming evidence.

Ted Turner Told a Windpower Conference that it’s time to kick some oil and gas company butt for trying to slow down wind.

MLUI’s Food and Farming Program Headlines on UpNorthTV, with our own Diane Conners, Janice Benson, and host Dave Barrons.

Michigan’s a Leader on Downtown Placemaking according to the Project for Public Spaces.

Videos by the World’s Largest Wind Turbine Firm reveal just how high-tech these giant, elegant machines are becoming.

Big Oil’s Tax Breaks Get Quite a Bashing from a Grand Rapids TV news personality.

Scholars Are Serious about Local Food, too, according to a report from a recent economic development conference.

Great Lakes Water Defender Maude Barlow’s People’s Plan” is now online.

To Birthers and Climate Deniers, Add Windbaggers—a funny name for a head-scratching phenomenon.

Want to Protect Your Inland Lake Shoreline? Here’s how.

With High-Speed Rail, Florida’s Loss Is Michigan’s Gain$200 million worth!

How’s that Energy Efficiency Thing Workin’ Out? Just fine, DTE Energy reports.

Wisconsin Is a Bunch of Yimbis—except for some confused lawmakers—according to a recent poll about wind power.

Talk Radio Hosts Our Glenn Puit to Chat About Families on the Edge

Sing Along to the Monsanto Rag, about genetically modified seeds, with no apologies to Country Joe and the Fish.

Bill McKibben and Al Gore Gave Barnburner Speeches at Power Shift 2011 in Washington.

Save a Trillion Bucks on Farm Subsidies, writes Mark Bittman.

Wind and Solar Power Prices Are Falling Sharply, and new wind power is now often cheaper than new coal power.

Who Should Control What We Eat? Food Chain Radio profiles a food rebellion in Maine.

You Can Help Defend Black Lake’s Rare Sturgeon through a volunteer program.

America Dropped to 3rd Place in Clean Energy Investment, behind China and Germany.

The National Environmental Summit Comes to Detroit in July, and concentrates on growing the green economy.

Meet Nine Michigan Green Leaders, just picked by the Detroit Free Press.  

Solar Power Is Getting Cheaper more quickly than some had hoped.

Google Wants More Mixed-Use Development in its hometown.

Our ‘Families on the Edge’ Series made the evening news.

Can Sustainable Farming Feed the World? A UN report says it can and should.

TC’s Recent Placemaking Summit got some good local press.

Riding the Train or Bus Soon? MDOT may survey you to help them plan next steps in public transit services.

A Good Morning America Host Flunked a Hair Test—the kind that measures mercury, that is—during ABC’s coverage of new EPA coal plant pollution rules.

Big Cuts to High-Speed Rail, Amtrak, and Walkability Projects are in the U.S. House budget, but you can urge U.S. senators to reverse them.

More Young People Are Eyeing Farming, thanks to growing interest in fresh and local food.

Tougher Coal Ash Storage Regulations are still almost a year away, and EPA says it’s about the 450,000 public comments the agency still has to read through.

Can Sustainable Farming Feed the World? Mark Bittman says Yes!

Color-coded Buses Are Moving People in Seoul, South Korea.

Renewable Energy Summer Camps for Kids are lined up and accepting applications.

Dave Barrons Talks Local Food Movement with our own Patty Cantrell and Jim Sluyter.

Are You Ready for ‘Mad Men on Trains’? Watch and vote for it at Funny or Die.

Circle of Blue Debuts Its Choke Point: China Series, looking at energy and water scarcity in the world’s largest country.

Traverse City’s Eco-Building Products just won a Small Business of the Year award.

Michigan SAVES Home Efficiency Loans are now available statewide.

Tighter Power Plant Pollution Rules Would Create Jobs, a new study confirms.

The Michigan Clean Water Corps’ Annual Report is out, and they’re looking for volunteer monitors for 2011.

Traverse City Area Public Schools are serving some of the best school lunches in America.

Peak Oil Is On Its Way, and James Howard Kunstler talks to TV host Max Keiser about it.

Farmers Can Get Low-Interest Efficiency and Clean Energy Loans via Michigan’s Farm Energy Audit Program.

Take a Ride on Detroit’s Woodward Light Rail Project via a cool CGI video, and learn more about Motown’s hottest project from Metro Times.

Do Americans Like EPA’s Clean Air Regulations? You bet, says a recent poll. 

Close-In Suburbs Face a Housing Shortage, according to our pals at the Urban Land Institute.

What’s with Congressman Fred Upton, the once-reasonable Michigan pol who’s attacking clean-energy programs he once supported?

Obama Will Veto Any Clean-Air Rollbacks, including Supreme Court-endorsed greenhouse gas regulations, says E.P.A. Administrator Lisa Jackson.

Bakers Green Acres, near Cadillac, got a very nice write-up about its family-based, small-scale, local-food operation.

Grand Rapids’ Rapid Bus Seeks a Millage Boost—about $26 more per home—for more service and a longer “fast bus” route.

Generation HOT Author Mark Hertzgaard invites you to help shut down the country’s dangerous “climate cranks,” who are dominating D.C. politics.

Financing Community-based Windpower remains tricky, but local ownership seems to increase community acceptance.

Friends of Benzie Bus, which meets every Tuesday in Benzonia, now has a Web site, a Facebook page, and a video supporting the May 3 bus millage renewable.

Environmentalists Are Resisting Many Clean-Energy Projects, and Keith Schneider has some pithy observations.

Michiganders’ Right to Sue Polluters Is Under Attack Again thanks to new Republican State A.G. Bill Schuette.

What Are Your Home’s Biggest Energy Hogs? You might be surprised!

A Gas-Fracking Leak, Reportedly the State’s First, bubbled up in Benzie County’s Joyfield Township last week.

There Are More Jobs for Michigan in New Transit and old-road maintenance, says a new study by Smart Growth America.

Texas Windpower Helped Prevent Blackouts during the big blizzard that raked that state.

Friends of Benzie Bus Just Launched a Millage Renewal Campaign, and need your help.

Al Gore Reminds Bill O’Reilly That Global Warming was long predicted to produce extra-severe winters.

Onekema and Its Township May Get Married, and local folks will soon talk things over.

Some Californians Say Smart Meters Cause Cancer, and Grist says they’re crazy. (Warning: Adult Language!)

The New York Times Has a New Food Column, and it’s not about recipes.

The Dark-Sky Movement Is Growing, and a British island just won special recognition.

Our Video Picks
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