Locavore News – World by Elbert van Donkersgoed

Things looking a bit different?
Nope, you're not on the wrong site – we're updating our look and content! Keep your eyes peeled for more changes!

Author: Kyle L. McGregor

Posted: April 6, 2010

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Food Inc. Movie to Be Broadcast on PBS and the Web
  • State Assembly committee in Wisconsin approved bill that legalizes the sale of raw milk
  • Got a recipe? It’s Locavore Monday at the Sun
  • Brick oven bread baker to open in Phoenixville
  • Berkshire Region to Celebrate Earth Day Throughout April
  • CABE scholar claims golf course margins could provide space for growing food
  • Chefs to processors: Tell us your story
  • Re-moralise the market, re-localise the economy, re-capitalise the poor
  • Study finds no health risks in compost use
  • International Field Studies in Sustainable Agriculture – Cuba

Perspectives on good food and farming
April 6, 2010

Food Inc. Movie to Be Broadcast on PBS and the Web

Food, Inc. asks: How much do we know about the food we buy at our local supermarkets and serve to our families? Though our food appears the same as ever, it has been radically transformed. Whether you’re a foodie or just a food lover … Whether your tastes lean towards comfort food or haute cuisine, the POV (Point of View) series invites you to get your pots, pans, televisions, computers and friends ready for the special broadcast of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Food, Inc., on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 9 p.m. on PBS, in celebration of Earth Day. (Check local listings) AgriMarketing story.

State Assembly committee in Wisconsin approved bill that legalizes the sale of raw milk

They don’t call it the Dairy State for nothing: a State Assembly committee in Wisconsin voted 8 to 1 to approved a bill that would legalize the sale of raw (that is, unpasteurized) milk. While the bill still has to be approved by the entire Assembly, there’s high pressure from the dairy lobby as well as consumer choice advocacy groups. The danger in selling raw milk is that it can easily become contaminated with bacteria, and Federal law prohibits its sale in the US, although there are certain routes for individual states to bypass regulations. Proponents of the bill argue that banning raw milk is akin to banning sushi: “It’s about allowing adults to make decisions,” says Assemblyman Chris Danou, the bill’s sponsor. Pierce County Herald (Wisconsin) story.

Got a recipe? It’s Locavore Monday at the Sun

We got a copy of “Dishing Up Maryland” in the mail, and in the spirit of the book, we want to give it away to a reader with the best local recipe. That means a recipe that incorporates the most local foods, that is the most creative use of local foods or that has such a wonderful story behind it that we can’t resist. It’s spring, and a seasonal recipe would be nice, but we won’t hold you to that.Baltimore Sun story.

Brick oven bread baker to open in Phoenixville

Seeking an escape from the chains of corporate America, Jerome Sheehan sought to embrace a fresh, localized trade that would allow for him to individually give back to the community. A resident of Wayne, soon Phoenixville, the corporate accountant transformed into a courageous locavore, and through discussions with Rich Holck Jr. of Artisans Gallery and Cafe, became invested in the techniques of artisanal brick oven baking. A speedy alteration of lifestyle encapsulated Sheehan as he was inspired to immerse himself in learning the desirable and intense craft of bread baking by volunteering at Camp Hills Village of Kimberton, as well as accepting a full-time apprenticeship under Sweetwater Bakery’s artisan bakers Jolynn and Saul Schwartz. The Phoenix story.

Berkshire Region to Celebrate Earth Day Throughout April

Berkshire Living presents Amy Cotler, author of “The Locavore Way,” on Sunday, April 11, at 11 a.m. at Triplex Cinema. The free public forum is part of the magazine’s “Rest of the Story” series and an outgrowth of “Livin’ La Vida Locavore” in the March-April special food and dining issue. Editor-in-Chief Seth Rogovoy will moderate. Cotler will discuss how to prepare, preserve and eat fresh, seasonal food year-round. A book signing will follow. Berkshire Guide to Community story (Massachusetts).

CABE scholar claims golf course margins could provide space for growing food

Golf courses could help the drive for urban food production by creating allotments on their margins, according to Lantra and English Heritage botanical and heritage consultant and 2009 CABE scholar Pamela Smith. She suggested using golf courses for grow your own at a London Parks & Green Spaces Forum meeting on food growing after seeing the idea in action at Jackson Park in Chicago.Horticulture Week story.

Chefs to processors: Tell us your story

Foodservice customers want beef, pork and poultry processors to tell them more about the proteins they are buying — where the animal lived, how it was treated, how it was slaughtered and how the cuts were prepared — a panel of chefs told processors at the annual North American Meat Processors Management Conference in Chicago on Saturday. MeatingPlaced story.

Re-moralise the market, re-localise the economy, re-capitalise the poor

It is now clear that we are at one of those epoch-changing moments in British political history. Just as the ‘Winter of Discontent’ in 78/79 marked a paradigm shift, an utter and complete reversal of the pre-existing order and the arrival of something new, something revolutionary and something transformative – so the present unprecedented debt crisis of 2008/2009 is doing the same. Phillip Blond writing in ResPublica.

Study finds no health risks in compost use

Growers who use compost can feel doubly confident about its benefits after research commissioned by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) showed that it poses no health risks to humans, animals or the environment. Horticulture Week story.

International Field Studies in Sustainable Agriculture – Cuba

When the Soviet Union collapsed, Cuba went from high input monoculture to world leadership in sustainable agriculture virtually overnight. By combining the interactive learning capabilities of an online course and a three week field studies trip to Cuba in May, students explore the Cuban model and its relevance for food production in other countries, in particular Canada. Course posting on University of British Columbia Distance Learning website.

AND if You Have Time

Marketing Junk Food: Hey Kid, Eat This

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest has analyzed 128 food and entertainment companies on how they market to children, and most came up way short. Though McDonald’s only scored a C-, it did better than most companies in the study. Mars Inc. came out on top with a B+, mostly because of its policy of not advertising directly to children under the age of 12.Watch some of the videos on Eat Me Daily.