We’ve talked a lot about
localized economies, specifically in terms of localized food systems. We’ve
asked what this ideal might look like, and whether it is a feasible way to
solve many of the problems and injustices of our contemporary world. Amy has
posed the question, “Couldn’t we envision something more beautiful?”
I want to share an organization I learned
about last year during my time in Philly. BALLE (Business Alliance for
Localized Living Economies) is working to “nurture and curate the emergence of
a new economy…to identify and connect pioneering leaders, spread solutions, and
attract investment toward local economies.” I think they have collaboratively
envisioned a “more beautiful” system, and are actively working towards that
vision.
BALLE
was co-founded by Judy Wicks, who started the first ‘farm to table’ restaurant
in Philly 25 years ago, The White Dog Cafe. (She also started Urban Outfitters
– quite a busy lady). I heard about her right before I went to Philly, and then
followed the work of a few of her organizations while I was there. I didn’t
meet Judy until the following fall when she happened to come to Kalamazoo to
speak at Western. I found her talk to be incredibly inspiring, bringing up new
ways to talk about our culture’s way of doing business. You can watch her talk
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2wMJg0HGKA (But I will summarize a bit of it in class, so
this one’s optional.)
Do
a bit of browsing on the website: https://bealocalist.org
This
page is especially interesting: https://bealocalist.org/whatworks
And
check out this video of the executive director, Michelle Long. https://bealocalist.org/balle-executive-director-michelle-long-socap12
(I’d
like to focus on the first 8 minutes for our discussion, but the rest is
interesting if you have time to watch.)
Long presents us with ‘the
opportunity of our lifetime’: “To cultivate
the emergence of a new economic system, gradually displacing failing structures
and systems and redefining the purpose of finance and the economy – shifting
from a mind-set of ‘every-man-for-himself’ to the realizations that real
security comes from community, from sharing not greed, from partnership not
domination.”
I’d also like to focus on a
few of the key points of her talk:
“When we are closer to the
impacts of our decisions we make better choices.”
“We are well when we are in
our purpose; we are well when we are generous when we share; we are well when
in relationship with our community; we are well in relationship with our
natural world.”
“The purpose of business is
not to make money it’s to create value.”
What is your reaction to
her talk? And to these points specifically? Other points you found especially
interesting?
In bringing this all back
to Kalamazoo, let’s think about the work of local businesses here in relation
to BALLE’s work. What are the amazing resources we have here in our community?
Who are the leaders you know doing great work with innovative ideas? Let’s
stick with mostly food-related businesses/orgs to narrow the focus and keep it
relevant to class.
Is there a certain
component of your diet that you’ve committed to purchasing locally? That you’ve
found to be exceptional and affordable?
I’ll provide a few examples
in class, and I’d love it if we all shared one or two.
Also, Here’s an
organization close to us that partners with BALLE: http://www.localfirst.com
Looking forward to hearing
your thoughts!
I really appreciated her proactive, solutions-based approach to our failing system. From a political science perspective, I thought that the concept of Gross Domestic Product changing to Genuine Progress Indicator was especially awesome as an example of ideological change and a reorientation, as she says, from a profit (money) based economy to one that is based in the creation of value. I looked a little bit more into this idea of a Genuine Progress Indicator and found that such a model looks to “take fuller account of the health of a nation's economy by incorporating environmental and social factors which are not measured by GDP.” (pollution, poverty, etc).Data bases that could conduct such an analysis are being developed as well as policy initiatives that “internalize externalities” by taxing corporations for negative externalities. This measurement of a country’s value would be revolutionary if implemented in an honest and accountable way and it is exciting to hear that US states and countries are reconsidering profit-based definitions of success.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genuine_progress_indicator
An example of a value based business is Confections with Convictions here in Kalamazoo. Through intentional hiring practices meant to combat oppressive societal structures, Dale, the owner, promotes a relationship based business that enriches the lives of everyone involved from the people who grow the fair-trade chocolate to the formerly incarcerated youth who work in the shop, and the greater Kalamazoo community which benefits from his commitment to envisioning, and acting on, something more beautiful than the current system.
I am very excited about Michelle Long’s ideas about where we could go from here in relation to food and the local. We’ve discussed this in class before but I think that there is a lot of emphasis on the issues rather than the solutions. I loved the video that you posted with Long. She makes this excellent point in the beginning of the video about how people don’t know where their food comes from or where their food waste goes after they toss it in the garbage. She emphasizes that a huge issue is disconnection regarding the relationship between people and their food. BALLE aims to reconnect and I think that the city of Kalamazoo could really use this ideology.
ReplyDeleteThe quote that you posted on the blog from her speech that made the largest impact on me was the one about when we make the best choices, “when we are closer to the impacts of our decisions we make better choices.” Personally, I find this to be completely true. When people see the consequences of their lifestyles they act according to what is best for themselves, their community, and their environment.
This past weekend I went to the farmers market in Kalamazoo and found the prices to be extraordinary. I especially found all of the greens to be very low in price. I will definitely be waking up early on Saturdays to spend my money on the locally grown greens. Maybe I’ll even buy duck eggs next week.
I'm grateful that you brought up BALLE, Katherine, as it seems like a really exciting and necessary organization that deserves recognition. My favorite quote of Michelle Long's is "when we are closer to the impact of our decisions we make better choices." This pairs well with BALLE's mission, of grounding local economy to foster business, community and the environment. It also reminds me of Winona LaDuke's statement from the first week that philosophy isn't worth much if we can't even grow our own corn. The detachment we face in so many aspects of our lives (not just food, but finances, where many of our clothes and daily household products come from) is very concerning to me, particularly when we have the means to grow and make many of these goods locally. Yes, a farmers market tomato may cost more than one from Meijer, and a shirt made in Taiwan may cost more than one from Michigan, but having the privilege to make these decisions consciously is something I am currently trying to take advantage of. Making these purchasing decisions is one small but extremely important way we can help shape our community's economy.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the movement behind BALLE. Especially after past discussions about our frustrations with our damaging and failing economy, it was interesting to actually listen to Michelle Long’s person thoughts and beliefs and the actions that she takes in order to regenerate a healthier and more cohesive society. I completely agreed with her statement, “the purpose of business is not to make money...it’s to create value.” However, I wonder if many other people would agree with such an observation as it goes against the capitalist norms. That is why I found her other statement (“When we are closer to the impacts of our decisions, we make better choices”) to be so enlightening. I don’t think our society will make the decisions that go against money and, in place, create value until they honestly recognize the harsh realities of such decisions, through education, awareness, etc. Personally, I like to take an active part by purchasing local food and produce at local farmer’s market or people’s food co-op. While it’s not completely feasible to purchase all of my groceries on a student budget, I think it’s really important to pick a few things, like greens (as they often are cheaper), and other times splurge on tomatoes (because heirlooms are where it’s at). I’m really looking forward to this discussion on Thursday in order to hear what other students have committed to. Perhaps I’ll get a few new ideas.
ReplyDeleteMuch of my academic study at Kalamazoo has centered on globalization and the impacts of growing interconnectedness between people around the world. I’m passionate about making connections globally, learning with people from other countries, and working together to make change. However, I’m also very invested in the idea of localized economies and I really enjoyed learning about BALLE. And I wonder if and/or how globalization and localization can work together to promote local, just, sustainable food systems. My thoughts on this aren’t very clear, and this is a conversation I would love to have in the larger group.
ReplyDeleteI was inspired by BALLE’s approach because there seems to have been a lot of thought put in to addressing the nuances and difficulties of developing a local economy. The eight stepping-stones, especially the values of shared ownership and community capital, really resonated with me. I really think that organizing centered on relationships and community goals is what will make radical change. However, I was reading the article on ‘real prsoperity’ that was linked to the “what works” page and I’m struggling with the idea of ‘inclusive capitalism’. Can capitalism ever really be truly inclusive? I’m not convinced, as I think capitalism is fundamentally built off of dividing and segregating people in order to have laborers and owners of capital, but I’d love to hear what others think. It’s interesting to me that Michelle Long is connecting BALLE to the inclusive capitalism movement because her idea of the “opportunity of our lifetime” seems to be promoting anti-capitalist thought, especially by challenging the ‘every-man-for-himself’ attitude that I think is inherent in capitalism.
My response is a bit all over the place, but I appreciate the post because it is making me think critically about what envisioning a ‘more beautiful’ system would be like. For me, I think it would be based in creating and maintaining thriving local communities that are confident, sovereign. At the same time, I envision communities able to connect with others in mutually beneficial ways because both communities have the basic essentials and would be able to grow together, not on top of one another. I think it would be a model completely outside of capitalism. I’m not sure one has been developed yet, but I do think that the Boggs School in Detriot and its program of Place-Based Education (http://boggsschool.org/place-based-education), might be a good start. The School and this system prioritize the local, in order to develop communities able to later connect regionally and globally on more of a mutual playing field.
I really appreciated the opportunity to focus on an organization and a movement of people that is currently, actively working on solutions and providing people with avenues into tangible ways to engage in those solutions while also raising awareness for the systemic issues BALLE is working to get away from. I think that BALLE’s website touches on some really important aspects of building solutions and healthy, connected communities as a result of empowerment from within those communities. I also think it is cool that BALLE works with a bigger picture in mind; not just addressing local food as a solution, but business and the economy on a more local level as a whole.
ReplyDeleteDon’t get me wrong, I think that BALLE and Long, the executive director, present a really important solution-based approach to connecting communities and focusing on the true ‘genuine progress indicator.’ It seems to me that BALLE focuses on cultural appreciation and strength and growth from within communities as opposed to outside forces attempting to bring those strengths into a community that they do not belong to. However, I think it is also important just to keep in mind while talking about and thinking about BALLE as a solution to some of the oppressive and detrimental aspects of our system, that Long is a white. Judy Wicks, who co-founded BALLE, is also white, middle-upper class (she started Free People, Urban Outfitters, and by association, Anthropologie). This is not to say that both of these women cannot also do very important work and play an important role by starting organizations such as BALLE, I just think that it is important to bring her demographics and background into the conversation when talking about solutions for communities that she may not be able to identify with.
Judy Wicks is fast becoming one of my heroes. I hope everyone will have a chance to listen to her talk--it's so inspiring! I think what inspires me most about Judy's story is that she seems genuinely motivated by love and deeply committed to her deepest values. Rather than giving in to "well-informed futility" and deciding that as one business owner she couldn't change the larger system, when she became aware of how her business was perpetuating the suffering of animals that she cared about, she was willing to not serve animal products at all until she could find humane sources for her restaurant. And it wasn't that she didn't have fears about the profitability of her business, especially when she decided to share her model with her "competitors" (my word, not hers)--but she didn't let those fears or her desire for personal gain stand in the way of acting on her deeper values and making the choices she knew were necessary to create the kind of world she wants. What an amazingly different world we'd have if business ran by Judy's example. And she's such a great example of focusing on joy and deep pleasure rather than sacrifice in creating change.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that Judy said that struck me and is echoed in Long's talk is the importance of choosing a place and committing to it. Wendell Berry talks about this a lot. He believes that we as humans haven't evolved to love things we can't touch. So, it's hard to love people and places that we don't have direct interactions with. So even though our moral sensibilities may tell us that we should care about the plight of migrant workers planting and picking our food, because we don't have to interact with them, it's easy to make choices that impact them negatively. But if you see the direct effects of your actions in your local community, you are more likely to make choices for the larger good, not just your own personal gain.
I don't know that I entirely agree with Berry, but having spent 3/4 of my life on one piece of ground, I know both the pleasures and the struggles of being wedded to a place and a community. What I'm curious about is--as students about to graduate and disperse out "into the world," how are you thinking about place and community? Are you looking for a specific place to settle or do you want to wander a bit? What sort of community do you want to end up in eventually?
BALLE seems like a great organization! It's also impressive to me that someone involved in the start up of urban outfitters would also be interested in such localized organization and action. I really appreciated the highlighted importance of soil on the what works page, just as Amy has mentioned to us on the farm, good soil is the substrate of life.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Long's quote about being closer to the impacts of our decisions as helping us to make better choices is for me so relevant. It reminds me very much of the utilitarian philosopher Peter Singer. He believes it to be our moral duty as humans to look out for the well-being of humans and is very much against contributing to a system of consumerism where someone somewhere is paying the price for the lifestyles of others. I think in a lot of ways I see this in our food systems in this country, as well as at our school in that we care and want to educate ourselves about social issues, but then do not follow through in where we are choosing to spend our money. This is why I appreciate that although Judy Wick may have worked to create urban outfitters she also seems to care about counteracting our flawed economic system, so thank you for sharing this Katherine!
The Co-Op for me has been a great resource during my time in Kalamazoo. I appreciate their efforts to source food within a 100 mile radius of town, and they are actively working to improve on this! I took the Environmental Studies seminar last quarter and the class was mostly focused in mapping data. One of the previous projects we discussed was a group had worked with the Peoples Co-Op to determine where the bulk of different grocery items were coming from (this was maybe 5 years ago?). Using this data the Co-Op has worked to source a greater amount of its food items more locally and is hoping to have their spatial data recalculated.
I purchase about 90% of my food locally, and it’s something I am really proud of. As I follow a paleo diet (no grains, legumes, refined sugar, or artificial ingredients), my diet consists largely of meat and vegetables, with some fruit. I source my meat from a Michigan farm that produces organic, 100% grass-fed meat and delivers bulk frozen orders. For fruit and vegetables, I get as much as I can from the Kalamazoo Farmer’s Market, because I really like to talk to farmers directly and know where and with what growing practices my food was produced. What I can’t get at the market, I get at the co-op (which is mostly local, except for maybe avocados and bananas). And I get a few things at Trader Joe’s when I go home, like wild Alaskan salmon, olive oil, and coconut oil.
ReplyDeleteOne of my biggest criteria in deciding where I wanted to go for graduate school was finding somewhere that has a very active local food system. On my first trip to Urbana-Champaign, I visited the local co-op and was astounded by how large and busy it seemed to be (they are even opening a second location!). Being involved in the local food movement is something that will continue to be important to me.
I think supporting local, organic farmers is one of the best ways we can affect change in the system. If I were to envision a better, more beautiful future, it would be one where farmer’s markets and co/ops were the norm, and big chain grocery stores were a rarity. Everyone would be much more connected to their food, and CSAs would be abundant. Doctors would prescribe fruits and vegetables instead of jumping right to drugs as a solution. People would appreciate the earth and all it gives us, and work hard to preserve it.
Some of the local food businesses/organizations that I know of in Kalamazoo are the various Farmer’s Markets, the Co-op, the Fresh Food Fairy, Food Dance, Pretty Lake Camp, and Tribal Revival Garden. I’m really looking forward to learn if anyone else knows of additional places!
I really appreciate that you took a solutions based approach to your blog post! Michelle Long has some really valuable points! Thank you for sharing this video and information about BALLE. It is so hard to be aware of issues when we are so distanced from our food system. BALLE’s emphasis on bottom-up solutions rather than top-down is extremely important. A ‘relationship economy’ helps give everyone ownership over the businesses they are supporting. I think farmers markets are great examples of getting consumers to establish relationships with important members of the community and collaborate towards meaningful change. I personally want to focus more on supporting local farmers in Kalamazoo and I think the farmers market is a great place to start. As Long said small scale economies, such as farmers markets, focus on creating more wealth and more jobs for more people. I like that she mentioned how our economy is meant to serve the people rather than people serving the economy. We have become so disconnected with the industries involved in producing our goods we end up supporting an economy that does not match our values.
ReplyDeleteAnother point she made was that ‘real security comes from community not money’. I have been thinking about this idea a lot lately. Many of us in the United States have lost touch with the source of our food and clothing products, and as a result have lost touch with our local ecosystems and each other. I am glad she brought up clothing purchases because this is another human necessity we tend to outsource from other countries. I am very curious about her efforts to support local clothing industries especially as the creator of urban outfitters!
I really enjoyed exploring the BALLE website and listening to Michelle's talk. The organization itself and Michelle focus on things that I find really important. I think all of the quotes you brought up, and the core values of BALLE all are under the guise that we need a serious shifting of values in this country. Like Michelle says, the economy is supposed to serve us, we aren't supposed to serve it. I really resonated with her when she said business is supposed to create value, not money. I think people have lost sight of that. Money has taken over, and people have forgotten that work can be fulfilling and valuable. I completely agree that we need to restructure our economy and also our values.
ReplyDeleteI think one business I know about that is doing work aligned with the BALLE core values is confections with convictions a local chocalate shop in Kalamazoo. Dale Anderson runs a chocolate shop and he hires youth with criminal records to work in his shop. He addressed a huge problem in this community (and in this country) mass incarceration of black and brown young men. Originally a counselor for youth in the court system, he wanted to do something to actually make a change. Confections with Convictions gives those with criminal record a job (which many businesses do not) allowing youth to change their situation. He beleives in their potential and teaches them skills. He gives them opportunities to break a cycle that they are trapped in. Confections with Convictions is addressing problems in the community, builiding relationships with members of the community, and providing a service to a community. Talk about creating value! He is creating valuable prodcuts and recognizing the value in people (when most businesses decide to label people with criminal records as invaluable). I would love to see more buisnesses like Dale's around Kalamazoo where mass incarceration is a huge problem.
I really enjoyed exploring the BALLE website and listening to Michelle's talk. The organization itself and Michelle focus on things that I find really important. I think all of the quotes you brought up, and the core values of BALLE all are under the guise that we need a serious shifting of values in this country. Like Michelle says, the economy is supposed to serve us, we aren't supposed to serve it. I really resonated with her when she said business is supposed to create value, not money. I think people have lost sight of that. Money has taken over, and people have forgotten that work can be fulfilling and valuable. I completely agree that we need to restructure our economy and also our values.
ReplyDeleteI think one business I know about that is doing work aligned with the BALLE core values is confections with convictions a local chocalate shop in Kalamazoo. Dale Anderson runs a chocolate shop and he hires youth with criminal records to work in his shop. He addressed a huge problem in this community (and in this country) mass incarceration of black and brown young men. Originally a counselor for youth in the court system, he wanted to do something to actually make a change. Confections with Convictions gives those with criminal record a job (which many businesses do not) allowing youth to change their situation. He beleives in their potential and teaches them skills. He gives them opportunities to break a cycle that they are trapped in. Confections with Convictions is addressing problems in the community, builiding relationships with members of the community, and providing a service to a community. Talk about creating value! He is creating valuable prodcuts and recognizing the value in people (when most businesses decide to label people with criminal records as invaluable). I would love to see more buisnesses like Dale's around Kalamazoo where mass incarceration is a huge problem.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, thank you for sharing this with us. I thought the video was great and I especially resonated with her views on the idea that a shared local economy would be able to be accessible to more than just a specific percent of the community. I also really liked her idea that the economy should be of service to us and not the other way around. She has many great ideas and philosophies.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated it when she said that the purpose of business is not to make money is s to create value. This message is important and I am glad that she is standing up behind it. When she said, “When we are closer to the impacts of our decisions we make better choices”, I wonder what she means by “better”. I believe that people would be much more inclined to make more educated and conscious choices when the ramifications of those decisions immediately influence them absolutely. Specifically, when it comes to food, it is important that people are aware of where their food comes from and how much energy it took to emerge at the grocery, or market or box that it was purchased from. I agree with her in that the connection and relationship between consumers and products is vital to the essence and character of the economy that we live in. Thus, having a community and local based system would increase the chases of those relationships holding real meaning and value. I could make better choices as to where I shop for food and if it is truly local or not. I only shop at the coop, Sawalls and the farmers market but I know that there are more productive ways to go about cultivating a community here in Kalamazoo.
As I believe in much of what Judy is promoting and spending her life’s work on, I also want to keep in mind Hannah’s discussion last week. These cooperative community ideas may only be able to pertain to certain communities. Her ideas and values may not resonate with other communities who are suffering from the oppression of our economic system.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas that Long presents are very interesting. What I like about the approach is that it acknowledges that large-scale overhauls are unlikely to occur, and that changes need to come on a community level. Working from the ground up to create a new economic system that puts value on relationships sounds almost too good to be true, but if communities take on the challenge I think it really could work. I especially liked her statement: "When we are closer to the impacts of our decisions we make better choices." Shifting to a more community-first mindset would put us much closer to the impacts of our decisions; I just wonder if jane/john q. public is really ready for that shift. Working from the ground up is great, but I expect that some Urban Outfitters revenue helped to make the BALLE organization as strong as it is today. Although I agree with the principle, "real security comes from community not money," some funding would no doubt be needed in the first place to set up the communities/programs for success. We do need to start from the bottom if we want to see improvements, but we will require some help from the top.
ReplyDeleteAs far as local food in Kalamazoo, I'm a supporter of the People's Food Co-op. I have never had the money to become an owner of the co-op, though. I'm also aware of Camp Pretty Lake after doing some farm work there with the soccer team this summer. I don't think I'll end up in Kalamazoo after graduating, but I am curious to learn more about local food leaders and innovators.
Learning about BALLE was important because it brings some real possible solutions to the table. I appreciated the eight stepping-stones for creating local prosperity because they seem specific while also being flexible to adapt to any community. As others have said, we are extremely disconnected from our food, so I like that BALLE works to connect people to their food. I also really like the idea of sharing, in every sense of the word. Sharing food, but also sharing our thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. To me, this is how I envision something more beautiful. I think that if we all treated each other, the land, and the food we’re eating with respect, we’d become more of a community and could work toward truly being in harmony with the earth.
ReplyDeleteI make a conscious effort to buy my produce locally from the farmer’s market. However, I still go to Meijer once in a while and don’t utilize the co-op as much as I could. I’ll continue shopping locally when I can, but will also try to change my mindset in regards to how I view food and my community. I think it's crucial that we try to get away from viewing food as simply commodities. Also, I’m excited to hear about some cool, innovative organizations in Kalamazoo from all of you!
The most detrimental effects of our capitalist society on the condition of the human spirit is the prioritization of innovation over community. Capitalism is based around capital. People are rewarded for innovation and it is claimed that that drives the economy. This implies that community is not included in the way we trade goods and services and disconnects individuals from one another. This is terrible because if have learned anything from Darwin, it is that the purpose of survival is in the living thing's relationship with those around them. This is why he uses the term "love" 98 times in The Origin of Species, whereas he only uses the term "survival of the fittest" twice, which is used to justify and support the way individuals treat each other in a capitalist society (irony). I think food and agriculture is what creates communities and unities people because it creates a set of shared burdens and benefits, which is what brings communities of animals together. Love is needed for a functional set of shared burdens and benefits. This is why off-the-grid communities and the alternative movement is so revolutionary in our society rather than societies such as in Switzerland or Sweden where their economies are more focused on community and less focused on innovation. Maybe everyone in our class could go live off the grid and drink unfluorinated water and love each other. Amy and John know enough about farming and I could chop wood or something. Kay I'm kinda going off topic now. Looking forward to our discussion tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteSo excited that you shared Judy Wicks’ work with us; she is certainly a legend in Philly! She is such an inspiring, action-based leader. I appreciated the approaches shared on the “What Works” page. I know that when I have worked in local, community-based groups that I have often wondered if I was doing enough.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that BALLE celebrates the local approach. Much like the National People’s Action (NPA) conference that I just attended, BALLE shows how working in local community groups, and focusing on localist policies is vital to making positive change. When these locally based networks are seen as part of a larger local movement, small successes no longer seem so small. It’s exciting to see networks such as NPA and BALLE bringing small, local groups together to learn from each other’s gains and to strategically organize together.
Bringing it back to Kalamazoo, I try to buy things locally when they are in season, as that usually when prices are more workable on a college budget. Last year Kari Paine did her SIP on comparing prices at the Kalamazoo farmer’s market with those at the Kalamazoo Meijer and found that a lot of produce is actually cheaper at the farmer’s market. You can find the data sorted by time of year and produce in the CACHE under the Economics/Buisnesss Department SIP section!
Also as I noted in my response to Werner’s post, please forgive me for not posting my comment before class. While I found exploring BALLE and watching the video very interesting before class, I did not have time to post about it at that time, so please do not take my tardiness personally.