Locavore world news by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: January 11, 2010
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
January 11, 2010
The facts about food and farming
One of the more pleasing developments of the last decade has been the long-overdue beginning of a national conversation about food — not just the arcane techniques used to prepare it and the luxurious restaurants in which it is served, but, much more important, how it is grown and produced. The only problem is that so far it hasn’t been much of a conversation. Instead, what we have are two armed camps deeply suspicious of one another shouting past each other (sound familiar?).On the one side, the hard-line aggies seem convinced that a bunch of know-nothing urbanites want to send them back to Stone Age farming techniques. On the other side, there’s a tendency by agricultural reformers to lump together all farms (or at least those that aren’t purely organic, hemp-clad mom-and-pop operations) as thoughtless ravagers of the environment. Los Angeles Times story.
Downing Street under fire over food procurement
Downing Streetis under fire for failing to record how much British food is being served either there – or at Chequers – during official functions. The Countryside Alliance sent Freedom of Information requests to the departments responsible for the six main government residences to see how much of the food served at official functions was domestically produced. The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for No 10 Downing Street and Chequers, admitted: “There is no information on whether the proportion of food procured in the past 12 months was domestically produced.” Farmers Weekly Interactive (UK) story.
Kentuck program blends food, art
What inspires creativity? And can a person get it well-done? This week, Kentuck will kick off its a la cARTe series, a new program that will focus on engaging the community and perpetuating the arts through art, conversation, demonstrations and local cuisine. The program will be held the third Saturday of every month in the Kentuck courtyard. “Art and food. It’s like a brown-bag idea where we want to incorporate art and food in a more intimate, relaxing environment for people to come and spend a couple of hours. A la cARTe will feature local food every time,†Lisa Blewitt of Kentuck said. Tuscaloosa News story.
Hot locavore breakfast returns to the Dane County Farmers’ Market this Saturday
The Dane County Farmers’ Market draws out significantly fewer go-getters on Saturday mornings during the winter, when it scales down and moves into the Madison Senior Center (330 W. Mifflin St.). Luckily, it does offer the one thing that can get people to willingly leave their beds and trudge through the freeze: A hot, locally sourced breakfast that changes from week to week, and will return at this Saturday’s market. Even when the local produce options are reduced to potatoes, potatoes, cheese, potatoes, and jerky, the rotating cast of local chefs preparing the meal always manages to deliver. A.V. Club Madison (Wisconsin) website.
Going underground
The locavore’s dilemma with respect to seasonal vegetables in winter can easily be solved with the application of root vegetables: High in vitamins, fiber and taste, low in fat and calories, they’re a gorgeous solution. Local carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, beets and more are available, and my favorite quick fix is below. It’s worth braving the chill and drizzle to hit the farmers’ markets for varieties seldom seen in the produce section of your grocery store. Sacramento News & Review story.
Dark Days Challenge – Week 7 & Eating More Duck Fat
For the first Dark Days meal of 2010, I thought I’d also make sure to get some bonus points by figuring out a way to add some duck fat in it – it’s local and I’ve resolved to eat more of it in 2010! Last week, Marcus and I drove into Maryville to visit Laurel Creek Farms at their new venture, The Market. It’s a wonderful store and they have a full selection of what they usually sell at the various local farmer’s markets. I went looking for duck fat – I want to make duck confit (another resolution) and to make that, I need a decent amount of fat. I also thought we could make duck fat fried potatoes for New Year’s Eve. They were sold out of duck fat but they did have some beautiful leg quarters and I thought we could make those work. So New Year’s Eve, we had a small portion of potatoes (I needed to save most of the fat for this dish) and crackly, crunchy duck skin. There are few things in life that are tastier. Tennessee Locavore.
Salatin snags Heinz Endowment, Person of the Year honor
Joel Salatin, the farmer made famous by his appearance in Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, had a heck of a year in 2009. His sustainable agricultural practices earned him a Heinz Endowment of $100,000, he was featured in numerous food documentaries, and, most recently, The Hook News Blog named him Person of the Year. A passionate locavore, Salatin refuses to ship his pastured meat and encourages people to eat food from within 100 miles of their homes. Mother Nature Network story.
Events company’s planning bags environment award
AN events company has won a top gong after planning an environmentally friendly bash.
WorldEvents, which is based in Cleckheaton, won the inaugural EIBTM ‘Sustainable Initiative of the Year’ Award. A TripleImpact event being one that minimizes the impact on the environment, delivers a social impact by putting something back into the local community and delivers a commercial impact by way of a return on investment. WorldEvents worked with local caterers to create a menu that was locally sourced, organic and healthy, looking at food miles and how this impacts on the events overall carbon footprint. Spenborough Guardian (UK) story.
The politics of sustainable ag at Iowa State
One of the shining gems of the nation’s Land Grant university system, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, begins 2010 in deep fescue over an internal controversy on who will lead the institution-a candidate strongly favored by most involved in the search process or another favored by the state’s influential farm groups. Alan Guebert is a freelance agricultural journalist writing in the Lincoln Journal Star.
Top 10 Tech Tools for Sustainable Eating
Going green in the kitchen can be one of the biggest ways to reduce your impact on the planet. Luckily, in our tech-savvy world, we have access to some great online and electronic tools that help us eat more eco-friendly without adding any hassle to our daily lives. Here are ten resources that will help you make your kitchen an earth-friendly and incredibly appetizing place to hang out. Jaymi Heimbuch from Planet Green shares her favourite online resources on the Care2 website.
AND if You Have Time
A Visit to the Largest Dairy Farm in the US
The TV show “America’s Heartland” recently aired a feature about Fair Oaks Farms which is located midway between Chicago and Indianapolis. Cows, dairy products, education and fun come together at Fair Oaks Farms, one of the country’s growing northwest Indiana agri-tourism destination. Fair Oaks Farms features all kinds of family fun activities, from a climbing wall in the shape of a giant milk bottle to a look inside a birthing barn where about 80 calves are born every day. Five-minute video.