CRAFTSMANSHIP Magazine Re-examines Farming In An Age Of Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The drought that hit the American West in 2014, and its threat to our food supply, puts the future of agriculture in an entirely new light, CRAFTSMANSHIP, a new online magazine, reports.

For this reason, the magazine has chosen to devote its first issue (available for no charge at http://craftsmanship.net) to examining one of farming's most often touted principles—sustainability. "Sustainability means making a food system that's built to last," said Todd Oppenheimer, a noted author and magazine writer who is founding editor and publisher of the magazine. "Building things that are meant to last is what craftsmanship is all about, making the topic an ideal focus for our first issue."

CRAFTSMANSHIP examines a range of issues that rarely get discussed in the world of farming and food. These include:

• A profile of Paul Kaiser, a controversial farmer in California who is exploring an entirely new way of dealing with the West's likely future of continued droughts. Kaiser and his wife, Elizabeth, run Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol. Kaiser today is generating amazing results, but skeptics warn he may be creating some real environmental dangers.
• The shortcomings of common organic agriculture practices as seen through the lens of sustainability - and some ideas of what Organic Farming 2.0 might look like.
• What the tiny island of Cuba might teach U.S. agribusiness (now that relations have resumed between the two countries) about how to become more productive—and more sustainable.
• How a master composter in Oregon is raising the art of compost tea brewing to a new level.
• An expert's guide to the confusing world of non-conventional farming "camps," from the ultra-organic to the ultra-high tech.

CRAFTSMANSHIP magazine is being published quarterly online. After this month's debut, future issues will focus on innovations in the world of food, the art of working in miniature, and the principles of craftsmanship in everything from sporting gear to music. "We will explore craftsmanship in its widest sense, with stories about the most interesting people in the world who work with their hands," Oppenheimer said. "Their work, and sometimes even their lives, illuminate what I like to call the architecture of excellence."

Oppenheimer, a past National Magazine Award winner, is author of The Flickering Mind: Saving Education from The False Promise of Technology, a landmark examination of the impact of the computer era on our schools.

SOURCE CRAFTSMANSHIP

Related Links

http://craftsmanship.net