Today's notes on national stories, local trends, random tastes, and other bycatch dredged up from the food media.
1. Urban farming under attack. Yesterday, SFist spotted a post on Novella Carpenter's blog stating that the Oakland backyard farmer and Farm City author just been fined $5,000 [UPDATE: threatened with a $5,000 fine] for not having the appropriate agricultural use permits, and that her pop-up farm stand has been shut down. She wrote:
Last year, when I bought my lot, I went to the planning department to find out what I needed to get a business license and all that stuff. The very nice planning person told me that by the spring, the City of Oakland would be changing the laws about urban agriculture in the city, so I should just wait. Guess that hasn't happened.
