The billion dollar growth of local food at the 2012 Seedstock Sustainable Agriculture Conference

Local food is an $8 billion industry and growing rapidly every year. But all that success has brought a series of problems, mostly because the food industry is not set-up for sustainable agriculture. Which means focusing as much on the land as on the food, with such ideas as organic, seasonal, free range, grass-fed, non-GMO, …

Finding the best food – what do they really mean, organic, GMO, and seasonal?

There is a lot of confusion about healthy, high-quality food. Does organic mean high-quality? What does genetically modified (GMO) mean? What about fruits and vegetables in supermarkets? The explanation starts with organic food. This is a farming method that focuses on the land, not food. Organic farming started in opposition to the use of chemical …

How Farmers Markets can give you a superior workout

Ok, you’re probably starting to think I’m crazy. First, I suggest you buy all your food at farmers markets. Then, I tell you it will improve your health and start talking about getting to know your baker and making winter stores. Now, I’m going to make the argument that it will give you a superior …

How zero waste, local food, and sustainable transport are a part of the London 2012 Olympics

Pulled from the London 2012 Olympics Sustainability report (pdf):   If everyone lived as we do in the UK we would need three planets. Our unsustainable lifestyles have meant that for the last 30 years we have been ‘eating into the Earth’s capital’ rather than ‘living off its interest’. The promotion of sustainable development has become one of the …

2011 Mandzik-Senger Christmas Farm Spectacular

A German Christmas Eve Bratwurst Sausage Blaukraut (sauerkraut with red cabbage) Bundt cake (“bundt” is derived from the German Bundkuchen) The City Diner Breakfast Coffee Eggs with Potatoes Flapjacks Breakfast sausage or bacon Butter (regular for me, soy butter for everybody else) Maple Syrup with Cinnamon Sliced Apples Chesapeake Christmas Dinner Fish with Brussels sprouts Cauliflower Soup …