It’s the weekend and I hope you’re heading to a farmers market. The best ones are always on the weekends. Lots of farmers and variety, as well as crowds, but if you arrive early you can avoid them and get the best selection. Here are a few tips for shopping at the farmers market this …
Continue reading “Three tips for visiting the farmers market this weekend (and a story)”
Through the crowds and into the market a world awaits me. Exotic fruits, luscious vegetables, and peculiar personalities. An uncharted world for one raised on the supermarkets of America. I learn simple things like knowing to smell a melon or mush a peach (but only on top). It is a food education and the market …
Continue reading “Sharing my joy of visiting the farmers market”
Curbing tobacco use by growing less In China, 350 million people smoke. Each year, 1 million die from smoking. Many more become disabled. Approximately 20 million Chinese farmers produce the world’s largest share of tobacco, nearly 40 percent of the global supply. A compelling story of how one scientist created a for-profit organization for the …
Local farmer Megan Paska has witnessed beekeeping as it morphed from an illegal (and possibly crazy) habit to a sustainable, community-supported skill. Mirroring beekeeping’s own ascendance, she found more than just a living: “This is the first time in my life when I’ve just felt absolutely on the right path.” thisismadebyhand.com brooklynhomesteader.com growingchefs.org rooftopfarms.org sonoio.org/ …
Something scary is happening in the turkey world. Our scientists and farmers have created a Frankenstein-like beast called the broad breasted white. This creature is created in a lab, through artificial insemination, and then grows fat so fast that it often cannot walk. It usually needs antibiotics to survive to be butchered. Needless to say, …
Continue reading “Artificial insemination and too-fat-to-fly – the real Thanksgiving turkey”
With all this talk about eating local and counting miles I thought it would be good to explain what it really means. The foundation for local eating starts with a foodshed. Foodshed: a region or area from which a population draws its food. The typical limit on these regions is 100 miles. Draw a 100-mile …
The following is a response to an email asking me about food, health, and nutrition. The initial email is included at bottom and the person’s name has been excised. —- Hey #### – thanks for reaching out to me. I too was raised on processed foods and so a lot of this was new to …
A set of beautiful pictures of Virginia vineyards from Silverthorn Films (copyrighted).