This last weekend, in one of the more lively Earth Day activities, a group of 300 people took over the Gill Tract in Albany, and promptly began preparing the land to farm 10,000 plant starts. With banners reading “Occupy the Farm: Take Back the Tract” and “Whole food not Whole Foods,” the organizers are evolving the tactics of the Occupy movement to address issues of land and food access. The site is owned by UC Berkeley, and is purported to be “the last remaining 10 acres of Class I agricultural soil in the urbanized East Bay area.” With proposals on the table to sell the land to developers, including the grocery chain Whole Foods, the members of Occupy the Farm are cultivating their own vision for the future of the land.
There have been plenty of local media sources covering this movement:
* Albany Patch put out this update yesterday.
* The San Francisco Chronicle published this article.
To find out more about the group, or to get involved, check out their website and youtube video:
* http://www.takebackthetract.com/
* http://youtu.be/w8QzFUmii58
[Photo by Susie Cagle]
