While eating locally and gardening are ideal, it is not always possible to get all you need in this fashion. When this is the case, refer to "The Better World Shopping Guide." This pocket size guide is a great reference at the grocery store or shopping anywhere. You can also use the website to learn more from home.

Here is an excerpt from the site, talking about the idea behind it:

"the.problem

Money is power. And wherever large amounts of money collect, so also new centers of power form. The latest historical manifestation of this is the modern corporation.

Make no mistake, these new power centers are not democracies. We don't vote for the CEO's or their policies (unless we are: rich enough to be significant shareholders, informed enough to know what's going one, and compassionate enough to care about more than just personal profit), yet our destinies are increasingly in their hands.

the.solution

As these power centers shift, we must shift our own voices if we wish to be heard. As citizens, on average, we might vote once ever 4 years, if at all. As consumers, we vote every single day with the purest form of power...money.

The average American family spends around $18,000 each year on goods and services. Think of it as casting 18,000 votes every year for the kind of world you want to live in. Use this site to take back your power.

the.idea

voting with your wallet

THE.WEBSITE

BETTER WORLD SHOPPER is a site dedicated to providing people with a comprehensive, up-to-date, reliable account of the social and environmental responsibility of every company on the planet AND making it available in practical forms that individuals can use in their everyday lives. Coming out of more than 5 years of intensive research, this work is based on a comprehensive database of over 1000 companies and utilizes 25+ reliable sources of data to cover everything from the environment to human rights, community development to animal protection.

5 key.issues

HUMAN RIGHTS: sweatshops, 3rd world community exploitation, international health issues, divestment, child labor, code of conduct.

THE ENVIRONMENT: global warming, rainforest destruction, pollution, recycling, renewable energy, greenwashing, toxic waste, eco-innovations, illegal dumping, sustainable farming.

ANIMAL PROTECTION: factory farming, animal testing, humane treatment, wild animal habitat.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: family farms, local business support, volunteer efforts, sustainable growth, philanthropic donations, nonprofit alliances, establishing foundations.

SOCIAL JUSTICE : fair wages, fatalities, union busting efforts, health & safety records, discrimination based on: race, gender, age, ability, religion, sexuality, ethnicity."
© 2006 better world shopper. All rights reserved

This Friday I ventured out to the Athens' Community Gardens on the West side of town. I had never been there before and managed to get a little lost, but I eventually found them and Cait, who I was interviewing. It was extremely windy so the audio definitely picked that up, but it still went really well. Cait covered a lot of the things I wanted to discuss and supplied me with some information that I didn't know. For example, the community gardens require the people using plots to donate 20% of their food to one of the initiatives here in Athens. 

As for my last post, my external hard drive did die, but I luckily still had the footage file on another PC. Unfortunately, I had to start all over editing in Final Cut. Oh well. On Thursday we critiqued the first video and things are going well. I still need to edit more and add footage from the Farmer's Market and around town.

All may be lost! External hard drive won't work.

Stay tuned...

Today I continued the editing of my first interview. I also heard back from a representative of the Farmer's Market on State and she recommended trying to do my interviews on a Wednesday session of the market when it's less busy and vendors would have more time to talk. Now it just needs to stop raining so I can bike out there! 

On Monday I really got started on this project. I biked over to South May St to interview my sister, Darcy Shaffner. We talked about her backyard garden and living and working in Athens. Unfortunately, it was raining a bit and not much has sprouted yet in her garden so I will definitely be back for more filming. In class on Tuesday I began editing the footage in Final Cut Pro--which I am learning while doing this documentary.

My name is Kerry Shaffner and I am a junior art major at Ohio University. This blog is designed as a corollary to a documentary I am producing on gardening and local food here in Athens, Ohio.

As of now, my plan is to explore 3 different tiers of local growing: the personal (standard backyard gardens), student and local access (community gardens of Athens), as well as the culmination of gardening works: the Farmer's Market on State Street.

I would like to interview various people in each of these areas to find out what inspired them to garden and eat locally and learn more about what they plant and why. By exploring these spaces I hope to not only give more information about ways people can support local food and business, but also encourage more people to start their own gardens.