Locavore News by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Posted: November 10, 2009
Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario
Perspectives on good food and farming
November 10, 2009
First Lady Michelle Obama Graces Season Premiere of Iron Chef America
First Lady Michelle Obama will make a special appearance on the season premiere of the popular Food Network show Iron Chef America in January, in a savvy move to extend her healthy food messaging to a new audience. Mrs. Obama will be revealing the “secret ingredient” that the chefs will use in their televised cook-off. The “secret ingredient” in this case is anything that grows in the White House Kitchen Garden, which leaves things wiiiide open, because the Kitchen Garden has produced a stunning variety of crops this year. Obama Foodorama story
Sowing the Seeds of a Good Food Revolution
It’s a time of change in many ways. Our nation is grappling with the daunting challenges of health care and global warming. Another change is coming as well. It’s called the good food revolution. By bringing locally grown, organic, nutritiously rich food to a table near you, the good food revolution can help us tackle these larger societal issues, and benefit us all. Will Allenwriting on GreenBiz.com.
Chef Lidia celebrates Italy’s regional cuisines in new cookbook
The locavore movement may seem novel to Americans – but Bastianich says Italians have been eating locally forever. Yesterday’s publication of “Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy†(Knopf, $35) is good news for Lidia Bastianich fans. In this, her sixth cookbook, the popular New York chef/restaurateur and PBS host takes readers back to her homeland to explore regional cooking. Boston Herald story.
In Winter, What’s a Locavore to Do?
Many experienced locavores start working hard in early spring to preserve each harvest’s bounty for the lean months of winter. Locavores who are still a bit green may find themselves behind the curve, but don’t worry, there is still plenty to do in the next months. And, for those locavores who don’t prefer these do-it-yourself tips, there are some suggestions for you, too! Food Safety News story.
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer
What is it that makes her so tough? What is it that makes me heart her big time? Simple. She became a farmer. In the middle of Oakland, California. Yeah, that Oakland. And her address was not in one of the “nice” parts of Oakland, either. She started her farm in an abandoned lot next to her apartment on a dead-end street in the Ghosttown neighbourhood. Denver Westword book review.
Obama’s chef and policy wonk
On any given day, White House chef Sam Kass can be found grilling fish for the Obama family, tending the first lady’s organic garden or hashing out food policy ideas with senior administration advisers. Indeed, it is a unique role for a 29-year-old chef described as “part chef and part policy wonk,†by the New York Times. But for Kass, his affinity for healthy eating has propelled him from the kitchen and into the spotlight, as a vocal advocate for Michelle Obama’s healthy eating and healthy living agenda. Mother Nature Network story.
Ag producers, consumers pushing farm-to-table concept
To Hoff, these beans are seeds of hope. Discouraged by a global farm economy offering profit margins as thin as 3 percent, Hoff is trying something that hasn’t been done in these parts for decades. He’s raising food for his neighbors, for the local school lunch program and Montanans wanting to know from where their food comes. The townies call this emerging trend farm-to-table. Farmers like Hoff call it a second chance at feeding the state, which Montana farmers once did well. Montana billings Gazettestory.
NYS Council on Food Policy to Meet October 20 in Ithaca
The Governor’s New York State Council on Food Policy will hold its annual fall meeting on at the Moakley House, 215 Warren Road in Ithaca, New York. The meeting, which is open to the public, will begin with presentations from Cornell University academics from 11:00 a.m. until 12 noon. The New York State Council on Food Policy is tasked to establish food policies for the State that will help ensure the availability of safe, fresh, nutritious and affordable food for all New Yorkers, and expanding agricultural food production. New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets news release.
Campus greenhouse provides UAF students with produce
Some of the salad greens that University of Alaska Fairbanks students are eating this fall are coming from just a few hundred yards outside the dining hall. The food, which includes salad greens, tomatoes, peppers and other produce, comes from a greenhouse tucked behind the power plant on campus.Anchorage Daily News story.
New study says “going local†the best energy option
But, to state the obvious: electrons are not cherries. So does it matter that these particular electrons began life 1,00o miles from the microphone they powered? That question is at the heart of the report, “Energy Self-Reliant States,†published in October by the New Rules Project. The 37-page report shows why “local energy†matters and then looks at the renewable energy potential of each state. The Energy Collective blog.
Canadian Association for Food Studies, Fall 2009Â Newsletter (4MB PDF)
AND if You Have Time
Wing craze manifests itself via … iPhone app?
As if evidence of chicken wings’ popularity was not already abundant enough, now there’s yet another example: an iPhone application that allows users to locate and review wing joints across the country. The current wing craze has commanded plenty of press attention lately, and the National Chicken Council is among those that expect it to continue. Meatingplace story.