We Don't Eat Raspberries in the Winter 01/30/2010
 We don’t eat raspberries in the winter. It’s simple. They don’t grow the in the winter. We eat locally as much as possible, so that means if we haven’t canned or frozen raspberries from last summer’s harvest we’ll wait until they ripen again. Eating locally isn’t a trend. It’s a return to a way of life that makes sense. Why is it worth the trouble? 1. Save energy and reduce your carbon footprint. Food travels an average of 1,500 miles before reaching the consumer's fork. Combination foods travel even farther. One study found that the sugar, yogurt and strawberries in fruit yogurt traveled over 2,200 miles. Buying locally can slash these numbers by more than 90 percent. It isn't hard to buy local yogurt, honey and fruit to mix up a homemade snack. This also cuts down on global warming gasses, making the end product more sustainable. In fact, the World Watch Institute reports that a typical North American meal uses up to 17 times more fossil fuel than a locally sourced meal. 2. Preserve flavor. Because today's crops are grown to be shipped long distances, growers plant varieties that will survive transport best. That means the peaches are not grown for flavor but hardiness, the tomatoes are chosen for their thick skins and standardized size. Growers pick produce long before natural ripening. The taste suffers even more during cold storage and shipping. As a result, who really wants to eat the cardboard-like fruits and vegetables available most of the year at the supermarket? Few of us know what straight-off-the-vine grapes taste like, not many of us have ever tried freshly picked sweet corn or cherries still warm from the sun. But when you buy locally, you get a powerhouse of flavor. Farmers can pick the fruits and vegetables at peak ripeness because their customers are an hour or two away. The taste will convince you that buying foods in season from local growers is the only choice worth making. 3. Gain nutrients. According to USDA data, random samples of fruits and vegetables show 26 percent less calcium, 36 percent less iron and 29 percent less vitamin C compared to 1975. Not only do food crops need to reach peak nutritional levels by fully ripening on the plant, recent studies have shown that organic farming methods lead to improved nutrient levels. A four year, 25 million dollar study conducted by researchers at the Tesco Centre for Organic Agriculture at Newcastle University, United Kingdom found that organically grown foods contain higher levels of cancer fighting and heart healthy antioxidants. The study concluded that, compared to standard commercially grown fruits and vegetables, organic produce has on average 40 percent more antioxidants. Other studies have shown similar results for animal products. Consult Eat Wild at (http://www.eatwild.com/) for similar results pertaining to pastured, organic milk, meat and eggs. 4. Preserve family farms. For every dollar spent on food, approximately a dime goes to the farmer. The remaining 90 cents has a lot to do with profits made by corporations when wholesome food are converted into high calorie, low-nutrient products. Local growers who find direct sales for their products with restaurateurs, farmers' markets and grocers can get full retail price for their food, meaning they can afford to remain on the land. This maintains the bedrock lifestyle that formed this country. Only one percent of Americans now farm as their primary occupation. Get to know the farmers who grow your food when you join a CSA, buy on the farm or see the growers week after week at market stands. You can ask questions about how your food has been grown, find out how to prepare it and learn what it takes to support non-industrialized food in this country. 5. Help your local economy. Money spent on processed foods and products produced elsewhere does little to sustain your local economy. One study followed the funds spent on food as it persisted in the local economy. It was found that a dollar spent at a supermarket was less than half as valuable in local reinvestment as one spent with an area grower or producer. You also build an invisible economy of connections, people to people, when you are committed to buying locally. Once you are a regular customer at a locally owned bakery, participate in community gardening, and meet up with the same folks each week at a farmers' market, you'll get to know people who live by similar values. These ties support and sustain communities. 6. Understand ecosystems. By voting with your dollar for locally and often organically grown foods you are swaying the marketplace towards sustainable agricultural practices. Such practices include erosion control, cover crops, windbreaks and habitats for natural pollinators. You are proactively making a difference in supporting viable land use. When you begin to eat seasonally rather than making do with tasteless raspberries in December you are learning to reconnect with natural rhythms. Other than food they preserved, our ancestors ate exactly what came from the surrounding area. Once you eat local foods you begin to cherish the short time that blueberries are ripe, and may master the art of making jam. Winter may find you enjoying root crops and sturdy grains. Our bodies seem to be more in sync when we live in concert with the seasons. 7. Save genetic diversity. While commercial agribusiness relies on a limited number of seed varieties, often genetically modified and patented, local farms can grow any of thousands of varieties passed down for generations. These hardy stocks provide more than flavor and disease resistance, they also are genetically diverse. The potato famine in Ireland taught farmers to use diverse varieties to prevent tragedy. The new seed varieties of agribusiness do not permit diversity nor seed saving. Heirloom varieties are natural insurance for a changing climate and altering global conditions. They also give us a gift of wonderful taste since we are accustomed to the same few varieties. Ever try Wren's Egg beans, Noir des Carmes melons or Tolman Sweet apples? There are literally thousands of heirloom fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains grown on small farms. How does one get started? The concept may seem daunting at first. There's no need to jump in full force. Rather than an all or nothing approach, do what you can and increase your commitment as your comfort level grows. 1. One product at a time. If you are accustomed to a diet of convenience foods then take it in moderation. Every time you shop, replace a category of food on your list that is provided by a distant corporate entity with a local provider. If you normally buy bread from a corporate conglomerate, start buying it locally or make it yourself. In another week or two when you are at ease with that change, make another change. Eventually your shift to local food will be complete without disruption or difficulty. 2. Try something new. Explore farmers' markets, the offerings from ethnic restaurants and new ideas from slow food cookbooks. Oftentimes if you are a member of a CSA, you'll find yourself with an abundance of something you haven't used before. A bumper crop of butternut squash will help you discover curried soups and casseroles you hadn't imagined before you had to deal with this nutrient-packed treasure. 3. Preserve. When you have extra you'll find it worthwhile to freeze, can or dry. You'll notice it is also helpful to double recipes so you can make your efforts worthwhile. Try getting together with friends to make spaghetti sauce, chutney or pies. The results can be an excuse for a party or give you plenty to use later. 4. Share the pleasure. Join or create a network of others who appreciate local food and/or slow food, (www.slowfoodusa.org/) . 5. Proceed wisely. Become acquainted with growing times and growers. Once you are familiar with ripening schedules for raspberries, tomatoes, eggplant and your other favorites get to know local growers by visiting farm stands, farmers' markets and orchards. You can get better prices by buying in bulk, going to pick-your-own farms, asking for seconds (smaller apples, oddly sized potatoes, etc) and bidding at produce auctions. To find local farms, Community Supported Agriculture and stores selling locally produced crops consult Local Harvest at (www.localharvest.org/) . 6. Garden. Homesteaders have been eating local food for years and community gardeners haven't been far behind. If you don't have the space for your own garden, locate one near you through the American Community Gardening Association, (http://www.communitygarden.org/) . 7. Curl up with a book. A number of books on the concept of local eating have sprouted on the bestseller lists. Try "The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating" by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon, "Coming Home to Eat: The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods" by Gary Paul Nabhan, or "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. Buying local food brings the solution back home. It doesn't assume that corporate or political answers will provide the solution. Polls show a majority of us care deeply about the environment and health. Now our day-to-day decisions are beginning to reflect this consciousness. Each time a choice is made to eat healthy, locally grown food we put sustainability on the menu.  Creative Commons images www.flickr.com/photos/benstephenson/22016712/commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Raspberries_(... Setting a Place for Kindness 11/28/2009
 Years ago my friend Liz described a dream of walking into an expansive dining room set with plates and bowls of amazing artistry. She realized each one was unique and compelling, but there was something more. As she looked closer it occurred to her that each place was specific to an individual. She wandered from place setting to place setting marveling at the color, design and shape of each plate and cup while seeking her own place at the table. If I recall correctly, she woke before finding that place. She also woke with the gift of wonderment. Here were some questions that dream evoked. Do we all have a place at the table? Are we aware of the nourishment we give and receive? How do we honor these vessels, our bodies, which take in life’s sustenance? We may answer those questions for ourselves in our own ways, but the answers are more complicated for people who struggle with unemployment, illness and family crises. Those who have made it their life's work to set tables around the world with hand made ceramics both beautiful and useful are Steve and Debra Bures, of Bures Pottery in Peninsula, Ohio. But their concerns extend to wider issues of sustenance. Last year they challenged artists to face down hunger by starting Cups of Kindness.This art show and sale benefits The Akron-Canton Foodbank In its first year 150 pieces of artwork were donated by both local and national artists. The logo, photography, site design and hosting---all donated. Publicity came from bloggers and local press. Thus far, Cups of Kindness has raised enough money to purchase 28,000 meals through the Akron-Canton Foodbank. It’s time again. This year’s show will open Saturday, December 5th, 10 to 2, at the Elements Gallery (home to the Bures Pottery studio) and across the street at the Peninsula Art Academy. The show will continue through January 10, 2010. Check Cups of Kindness for details about online purchases and other ways to help. And enjoy Debra Bure’s blog, From Skilled Hands. She's one of those people who finds an extra helping of beauty and meaning in what others might see as an ordinary serving of life. . Gates Funds Green-Washed Green Revolution 10/23/2009
 Big money gathers eagerly around short-sighted concepts, never bothering to notice the long-term suffering it can cause. Or maybe that’s an easy way to see the messy collection of hubris, lofty goals, corporate influence and cultural ignorance behind the announcement that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are calling for a second Green Revolution. They are donating $10.4 million to alleviate hunger using methods including the promotion of genetically modified crops. The first Green Revolution was not regarded as a success by those “lucky” recipients of First World largess. Their carefully cultivated (often perennial) plantings were torn up and traditional methods well suited for local conditions (rocky hillsides, monsoons, lack of irrigation) ignored. Farmers were provided hybrid seeds which produced astonishing yields on test plots using high quality irrigation and modern intensive farming methods. But these seeds could not be saved to replant the next year. These crops had to be coddled with petroleum-based fertilizer and pesticides. The farmers needed to use equipment no one could afford to repair or fuel. This first Green Revolution was considered a success by much of the First World. But it failed because it didn’t address, perhaps made worse the larger issue. As Food First explains, the Green Revolution imposed industrial farming methods without addressing unequal access. In South America per capita food supplies went up 8% while the number of hungry people increased 19%. Today yields continue to improve around the world. As Sharon Astyk notes in her brilliant blog Casaubon’s Book,“We presently grow enough food to feed 9 billion people. That’s an astonishing realization for most people – that the world produces about double the number of calories we need.” Yet people starve while grain rots in warehouses and famine-struck regions export food. Why? Because it’s not as much about the volume of food as it is about who controls it. Now, another Green Revolution. This time it’s not just hybrid seeds but genetically modified (GM) crops. These crops are highly profitable to Monsanto, DuPont and other mega corporations. Typically they require the timed use of specifically matched herbicides and pesticides. But the extra cost of these seeds (and their chemical companions) are a waste because they don’t increase crop yield, despite what the slick PR might allege. Let’s repeat. GM seeds are not the hope of the hungry because no they don’t magically make more food than the seeds nature designed. The Union of Concerned Scientists “…reviewed two dozen academic studies of corn and soybeans, the two primary genetically engineered food and feed crops grown in the United States. Based on those studies, the UCS report concluded that genetically engineering herbicide-tolerant soybeans and herbicide-tolerant corn has not increased yields. Insect-resistant corn, meanwhile, has improved yields only marginally. The increase in yields for both crops over the last 13 years, the report found, was largely due to traditional breeding or improvements in agricultural practices.” In fact, organic farms produce consistently high yields with good pest resistance. And big surprise, traditional farming methods are much more suited to the areas where they've been used. Maybe, just maybe respecting methods that honor the life of the land makes more sense than imposing industrial agriculture. You’d think we humans would have noticed the We Know Better Than Nature approach hasn’t worked out too well. A paper in the African Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences noted, "Viable agro-ecology models have been reported in widely disparate places like the United States and India [20]. In the United States, a landmark study by the prestigious National Research Council found that “alternative farmers often produce high per-acre yields with significant reductions in costs per unit of crop harvested, despite the fact that many federal policies discourage adoption of alternative practices”. The Council concluded that Federal commodity programs must be restructured to help farmers realize the full benefits of the productivity gains possible through alternative practices [20]. In South India, a 1993 study was carried out to compare “ecological farms” with matched “conventional” or chemical-intensive farms. Ausubel found that the ecological farms were just as productive and profitable as the chemical ones [21]. He concluded that if extrapolated nationally, ecological farming would have “no negative impact on food security,” and would reduce soil erosion and the depletion of soil fertility while greatly lessening dependence on external inputs." One would think the world's richest man might put money into solving world hunger through equal access to justice, education and cultural understanding.  | Laura
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