Missoula urged to protect farmland

Missoula County’s farms and ranches are in danger of growing more houses than crops, food supply specialists told members of the Missoula City Council on Wednesday morning. And local government is key in setting policy that protects local agriculture and a local food supply.

Historically, Missoula County produced and processed lots of food, said University of Montana professor Neva Hassanein – in the early 20th century, just about all that Missoula ate. Today, 85 percent to 90 percent of our food comes from somewhere else.

"The processing is almost completely gone," she said, "and we are losing our working farms."

For more information on the Missoula County Community Food Assessment and the proposal for a Missoula County Food Policy Council, call Neva Hassanein at 243-6271 or Maxine Jacobson at 243-6384. To see the reports on the Internet, go to http://www.umt.edu/cfa.

By GINNY MERRIAM of the Missoulian

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/articles/2005/01/28/news/local/znews01.txt