Category Archives: Posts from Jeff Conant

How Occupy the Farm Gave a Breath of Fresh Air to the Occupy Movement and Asserted its Right to Reclaim the Commons

A Climate Connections Exclusive, by Jeff Conant  Note: this is an update of an article first written for Climate Connections on May 8. When the original was published, the Gill Tract Farmers Collective was actively engaging local community members in reclaiming the … Continue reading

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Filed under Food Sovereignty, Posts from Jeff Conant, Urban agrciculture

Breaking News: UC Police Descend on Gill Tract Farm Collective, Evict Farmers

May 14, 2012 – This morning beginning at 6:00 a.m. 100 police from at least 8 different University of California campuses and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department blocked access to the Gill Tract, the UC-owned property that has been occupied, … Continue reading

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Filed under Posts from Jeff Conant, Urban agrciculture

Gill Tract Raid Results in Standoff, Enclosure…and Dry-Farmed Tomatoes

NOTE: Yesterday, we posted this lengthy look at Occupy the Farm in light of the Commons. Less than twelve hours after posting that piece, UC Police raided the Gill Tract. As this breaking news report reveals, the Farm continues — … Continue reading

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Filed under Occupy Wall Street, Posts from Jeff Conant, Urban agrciculture

A Breath of Fresh Air for the Occupy Movement: How Occupy the Farm Hopes to Reclaim the Commons

By Jeff Conant When hundreds of people took up the banner of “Occupy the Farm” on April 22nd and laid claim to a patch of urban farmland owned by UC Berkeley, it was not the first time this 5-acre parcel … Continue reading

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Filed under Occupy Wall Street, Posts from Jeff Conant, Urban agrciculture

This MayDay: Occupy the Farm!

MayDay began as an ancient celebration of renewal of springtime, and continues today as a celebration of Immigrant and International Workers’ Day. Among myriad others, Rosa Luxembourg wrote about the origins of May Day as a workers holiday. This MayDay, as … Continue reading

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Filed under Climate Change, Nuclear power, Posts from Jeff Conant

Occupy v. Whole Foods? Activists Take Over Land Slated for Development and Start a Farm

By Jeff Conant, cross-posted from AlterNet [Note: When Alternet ran this article today, the title they gave it put the spotlight on Whole Foods. This is certainly part of the story; more to the point, though, is not this one … Continue reading

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Occupy the Farm! Bay Area Activists Kick off the Spring Season by Reclaiming Urban Farm Land

NOTE: The Climate Connections blog has been mildly neglected today, as I’ve been attending to the newest story in the Occupy movement: the takeover of a five acre plot of University of California-owned farmland in Berkeley yesterday. Below is the … Continue reading

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Filed under Food Sovereignty, Occupy Wall Street, Posts from Jeff Conant

GJEP’s Jeff Conant, and Friends of the Earth Biotechnology Policy Director Eric Hoffman talk about synthetic biology on Terra Verde, KPFA

To listen to the 30 minute segment, click below: http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/79658

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Filed under Bioenergy / Agrofuels, False Solutions to Climate Change, Genetic Engineering, Green Economy, Posts from Jeff Conant, synthetic biology

Almost Pizza?: Synthetic Biology hits Saturday Night Live…

There’s an old Saturday Night Live episode where they introduce a new product in a spray can with the question: “Is it a floor wax, or is it a dessert topping? It’s BOTH!” In a timely reworking of that theme, … Continue reading

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Filed under Climate Change, Genetic Engineering, Humor, Posts from Jeff Conant, synthetic biology

Bay Area Biotech Labs May Bring Unforeseen Risks, Says Civil Society Coalition

Community Groups Raise Concerns Over Untold Story of ‘Green’ Development March 28, 2012 – Synbiowatch, a newly formed coalition of labor, environmental, and bioscience watchdog groups, has come together to host a public forum on March 29 called Unmasking the Bay … Continue reading

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Filed under Bioenergy / Agrofuels, False Solutions to Climate Change, Geoengineering, Green Economy, Posts from Jeff Conant, synthetic biology