Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.
Mission Statement
Conserve, steward, and advocate for the unique rural landscape of the Eastern Shore.
Food. With the exception of water, perhaps our most basic human need. In addition to shelter and clothing, it’s one of the few absolute commodities that every one of us needs to survive. Then why is approximately one-third of the food the world produces going to waste – simultaneously producing another estimated 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases in the process? All of this while more than 800 million human beings go to bed hungry every night. The problem isn’t just global. In this country alone, the USDA estimates 40% of all food goes uneaten while 15.3 million children live in food insecure households. Why, right here in Talbot County, approximately 40% of the children who attend Easton Elementary School come from households receiving some sort of food assistance. The problem of food waste, whether in the production, distribution, consumption, or waste management aspects of its lifespan, is an almost unescapable topic. Just today I was forwarded an article about how world-famous chefs are working together at the Olympic Games in Rio to salvage the copious amounts of wasted food from the Olympic village and transforming it into restaurant-quality dishes for hungry locals. The Eastern Shore might play a bigger role than you think, too. Sure, the Shore is a region that doesn’t normally come to mind when discussing widespread hunger. But, it does produce roughly 6% of the nation’s chicken; and a majority of Maryland’s wheat, soybeans, and corn, therefore representing a significant spoke in a food production wheel that doesn’t seem to be rolling as smoothly as everyone would like. To this degree, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy (ESLC) has planned for its 17th Annual Planning Conference to be focused on this very topic. “Food Fight! Healthy? Sustainable? Realistic?”, happening on Thursday, November 10th at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, will host interested
EASTON -- All three Delmarva secretaries of agriculture will participate in a panel discussion at Eastern Shore Land Conservancy's 15th Eastern Shore Planning Conference: The Future of Eastern Shore Agriculture. Moderated by radio host Marc Steiner, the conversation will focus on learning from the past and looking to the future. Register now to reserve your seat for this important talk. EARL F. (BUDDY) HANCE Governor Martin O'Malley appointed fourth generation Southern Maryland farmer, Earl F. Hance as secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture in May 2009. He served as deputy secretary of agriculture from February 2007 until May 2009. Prior to these appointments, Buddy Hance served as president of the Maryland Farm Bureau, chairman of the Maryland State Tobacco Authority, and as chairman of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Commission among other farm and community activities. Hance also was active in numerous local, state, and national farm and civic organizations. At the national level, he represented the Northeastern states on the American Farm Bureau Federation and was a member of the Nationwide Insurance Company Board Council. In Maryland, he served as a member of the Rural Maryland Council, the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department, the Patuxent River Commission, the Southern Maryland Tourism Council, the Maryland State Tobacco Authority, the Calvert Farmland Trust, the Board of the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum and the Board of the Calvert County Farm Bureau. A former tobacco farmer, Secretary Hance and his family farm 400 acres of corn and soybeans and operate several commercial greenhouses. Buddy and his wife Robin live in Port Republic, Calvert County and have three children and one grandchild. Ed Kee Ed Kee is a native Delawarean who was born in New Castle and now lives in Sussex County. He has spent his entire career in Delaware Agriculture. Kee began his professional agricultural career as the farm manager
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