Colorado Farm & Food Alliance Takes a Summer Road Trip

This summer the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance for Resource Balance will again be taking to the road to visit some Farmers’ Markets around the state, with trips in July to Ridgway, Gunnison, Crested Butte … and more announced soon.

We will be setting up to help spread the word on some important resource issues affecting Colorado farms and food producers and consumers, from oil and gas development to climate change.

Making sure that protection of our lands, water, and air quality remains a policy priority will help ensure that Colorado’s farms and food supplies stay healthy as well.  And for many of our partners and friends, balancing oil and gas development with safeguarding our clean water and productive agricultural lands remains a top priority. This summer we’ll be sharing stories about, and gathering support for, the communities where some of these issues are playing out.

Another BIG issue we want to bring attention to is climate change.  Because although it is driven by global warming, it has many local effects– including impacts that could harm Colorado farm and food economy.

Top among these is the impact on water supplies, and the effect climate change has on bees, butterflies and other pollinators.  Our award winning fruit, the market stalls full of vegetables, all this bounty relies on the service of pollinators, many of which are being adversely impacted by climate change.  Among the many studies that make this link, one out this month (July 2015) shows the impact climate change is having on bumblebees across two continents.

“Pollinators are vital for food security and our economy, and widespread losses of pollinators due to climate change will diminish both,” [researcher Leif Richardson] said. “We need to figure out how we can improve the outlook for pollinators at continental scales, but the most important thing we can do is begin to take serious action to reduce the rate of climate change.”

So we are circulating a statement asking that elected leaders remember pollinators when they take positions on climate change.

The other issue we will be highlighting, is the effect that climate change might have on the unique ‘terroirs,’ the unique characteristics of clime and place, that comprise the backbone of our growing wine industry.  A Colorado Wine Country blogpost notes:

Shifting temperatures and climate patterns may mean a lot of grape stock gets ripped up and replanted, and perhaps that the “sunny mountainside in Colorado” mentioned by the Post is the Grand Mesa. From ski resorts to wineries to evergreen forests, rising temperatures are changing a lot of what Coloradans hold dear.

What is at stake with climate change is no less than our amazing ‘Colorado Proud’ locally-sourced food and drink.  So, if you love wine and wineries, microbrews, peaches, pears, apples, or cherries – you have a direct interest in working to address climate change and ensuring the protection of our healthy lands and water. And you have a reason to stop by the Colorado Farm & Food Alliance booth when we are in a town near you.