What’s All the Fuss About Raw Milk?

When it comes to food choices, there is no end of subjects to debate. Soft cheeses versus hard cheeses. Cabernet versus Zinfandel. Pasture-fed versus corn-fed beef. Broccoli versus asparagus.  Poached versus scrambled eggs.

But one particular food topic is nearly guaranteed to generate more emotion than any of these: raw versus pasteurized milk.

And this debate isn’t just about which tastes better, even though it’s generally conceded that raw milk tastes richer and creamier than pasteurized milk, and makes more sophisticated-tasting cheeses. It’s about which is safer, which is healthier, which is more sustainable to produce.

Maybe it is because milk is the first food most of us are fed, first from our mothers, and then from cows, that there is an important emotional component attached to milk—in the bonding it helps promote between mother and baby and in the nutritional benefits it confers on children. Certainly in the view of public health officials, the fact that milk is heavily consumed by children makes its safety a high priority.

Whatever the reasons, a widening gulf has sprung up between those who advocate and those who oppose raw cow’s milk.

Sally Fallon, the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, an organization that promotes not only raw milk but diets rich in pasture-fed meats and cod liver oil, feels raw milk is so nutritionally beneficial to children and adults alike that she considers it to be “a magic food.”

On the other side, John Sheehan, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s dairy division, has declared that drinking raw milk “is like playing Russian roulette with your health.”

The subject might well remain one of those emotional theoretical debates—with individual consumers making their own personal decisions about whether or not to serve it to their families-except for one important reality: the FDA has felt compelled to enforce its view of raw milk as a terribly dangerous food via an aggressive enforcement campaign and via its influence with state departments of agriculture and public health.

As just one example, it conducted an undercover investigation of Maryland food club in 2010 and 2011 that made raw milk available to its 900 members, and eventually via a federal court action put the Pennsylvania farmer supplying the milk out of business.  It has also teamed up with state agriculture agencies in Georgia, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and California to raid raw milk producers and food clubs, and put farmers on trial for allegedly violating regulatory restrictions on raw milk distribution.

The divergent views on raw milk are reflected in the legalities around raw milk, which vary widely from state to state. Roughly ten states allow retail sales of raw milk, while another twenty allow sales direct from dairy farms. And about twenty prohibit its sale. Yet among these twenty, most allow distribution via cooperative arrangements known as herdshares and cowshares.  The FDA’s authority comes into play when raw milk crosses state lines.

What is the truth about raw milk? Here are a few of the questions that most commonly come up, with answers from both sides of the issue.

1. How risky is raw milk compared with pasteurized milk? It’s difficult to make an accurate comparison because we don’t have good data either on the number of people drinking raw milk or the amount that is sold. One survey carried out by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in 2007 showed that about three per cent of consumers in each of a dozen states said they were drinking raw milk. Whatever the numbers, the reality is that dairy as a category is considered one of the least dangerous, say, compared to leafy green vegetables, eggs, and tuna, according to the Center for Science and the Public Interest. Its list of most dangerous foods, from 2009, didn’t include milk (though it did include cheese and ice cream).

   I have analyzed data from the CDC, going back to 1973, and found that the number of reported illnesses from raw milk generally ranges between 50 and 150 each year, out of a total of about 24,000 reported illnesses from food-borne pathogens. Even at the high end, raw milk would still account for only about one-half of one per cent of all food-related illnesses.

   Opponents of raw milk say that the numbers don’t tell the whole story. They argue that a larger proportion of raw milk illnesses hit children than do illnesses from other foods. The illnesses can be more severe as well. An outbreak of illnesses from E.coli O157:H7 in raw milk from a dairy in Oregon sickened 19 people last March and April, including four children who were hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a dangerous complication that can damage the kidneys.

2. Does raw milk confer certain health benefits that pasteurized milk doesn’t? Advocates of raw milk say the heat of pasteurization destroys certain proteins and beneficial bacteria that help alleviate all sorts of chronic conditions, including Crohn’s disease, autism, asthma, and allergies.

   They point to two large-scale studies out of Europe in recent years—one of 8,000 and another of 15,000 children- indicating that raw milk helps reduce the incidence of asthma and allergies.

   Raw milk opponents say the European studies weren’t conclusive. Moreover, they say that raw milk has nearly the same nutrient composition as vitamins and minerals.

3. Is raw milk more sustainable economically and environmentally?America has lost about 90% of its dairies since 1970, in significant measure because the prices processors pay for milk destined for pasteurization—currently in the range of $1.50 to $2 a gallon- aren’t high enough for small-scale dairy farmers to make a reasonable profit. Because raw-milk dairies sell directly to consumers, avoiding all the middlemen, the dairies can realize much higher profit margins, especially since raw milk sells for more than pasteurized milk at retail—on the order of $6 to as much as $12 or $15 a gallon. And because raw dairies mostly put their cows out to graze on grass, rather than being fed grain, their operations are more environmentally sustainable, it’s said. The financial and ecological benefits of raw milk have attracted dozens of new small raw dairy providers in places like California and Wisconsin.
4. What to do? In my experience, the decision to try raw milk is one that is invariably made as part of a larger commitment by individuals to reduce their reliance on processed foods (pasteurized milk can be said to be our first processed food), and broaden their use of foods sometimes referred to as “nutrient dense” foods.  I suggest, in making your own decision, doing some reading—there’s a huge amount on the Internet pro and con. There’s my book as well, The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights.

If you are uncomfortable, put off your decision, or decide against it. If you decide to go ahead, check with friends and neighbors for references to the best local sources. Generally, stick with producers that have been in business more than just a couple or three years, and have a clean record. Also try to go with sources that conduct regular testing of their milk. Ask for a tour of the farm, to gauge the attention given to safety and sanitation. Then, start out slowly, with small amounts of raw milk at a time—just a couple ounces each day for the first week or two, to test your reaction.

The controversy over raw milk doesn’t seem likely to end any time soon. Rather, the market appears to be expanding, and the government’s determination to limit access appears to be increasing.

More butting of heads, and glasses, seems in order.

Additional Sources:

• Real Milk site of the Weston A. Price Foundation
• The Bovine, from Canadian  raw dairy farmer and activist Michael Schmidt
• The Complete Patient, a blog from writer David Gumpert
• Real Raw Milk Facts, an anti-raw-milk site from food safety lawyer Bill Marler

David E. Gumpert reports and writes about health and food issues. He is the author of The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America’s Emerging Battle Over Food Rights, which includes a preface by Joel Salatin. His popular blog, The Complete Patient, has over the last five years been instrumental in launching a national discussion about government-imposed restrictions on the availability of nutrient-dense food and in highlighting an emerging debate over food rights.

Sometimes the foodie community is perceived as being elitist, and if we all had ample amounts of money to spend on fresh and local food, it would be easier to pay attention to where our food comes from, and perhaps to buy mostly organic food if so desired.

Chef Lisa Schroeder who is no stranger to good food has a little different take on the matter. Schroeder believes that just cooking whole ingredients at home is a step up, an important step up from eating at any restaurant.

This may not seem all that surprising a view, but consider, she is chef and owner of her own restaurant, and though she serves home style meals, she knows first-hand the pleasures and the benefits of cooking at home.

“Being a mom is really connected to feeding your kids”, says Sarah Gilbert, a stay-at-home working mother. As she learned from her mother growing up, Gilbert strives to educate and instill an appreciation for fresh, locally produced food with her three young boys.

(See main recipe below) Mother’s Bistro’ chef Lisa Schroeder shares her professional, culinary skills in the making the quintessential home-made chicken soup. Not only does Schroeder offer an easy recipe to follow, she provides shortcuts to save time and effort along the way, and delivers additional dishes (and recipes) for making so much more from the chicken soup stock, and a great way to create your own healthy fast-food alternatives.

Next, in the Field: A Mom teaches Her Children the Importance of Food

By Lisa Schroeder, Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland

Mother’s Chicken and Dumplings and Chicken Soup

Soup
serves 10 people

Soup Ingredients:
• 2 whole chickens & other carcasses, if available
• 2 whole onions, peeled
• 4 stalks celery
• 4 whole carrots, peeled
• 4 parsnips, peeled
• 1 bunch flat leaf (Italian) parsley
• fresh cold water to cover
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 cups finely diced carrots
• 2 cups finely diced celery

Instructions:

1. In a big pot, put in the chickens and vegetables (up to the diced veggies). Cover with at least 1 1/2 gallons of cold water. Bring to a boil and skim scum.
2. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Simmer the broth, uncovered, for at least 3 hours. Lift the chicken from the pot and set aside until cool enough to handle.
4. Strain the rest of the broth into a clean pot.
5. Add the diced celery and carrots and cook until just tender.
6. While the vegetables are cooking, pick through the chicken, trying to leave the pieces as large as possible, discarding the bones. Set aside.

To Serve Soup:
Instructions:

1. Make egg noodles or cook packaged egg noodles according to directions and set aside.
2. Add some of the cooked, picked chicken back to soup pot (you can make chicken salad with the rest of the boiled chicken), taste soup for seasoning.
3. Place noodles in serving bowls. Ladle broth, chicken and vegetables into bowls and serve.

For Chicken and Dumplings:

Roux
Ingredients:

• half-pound unsalted butter
• 3/4 pound flour

Instructions:

1. While the soup is cooking, make the roux. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mix with a whisk to ensure that there are no lumps. Cook over medium heat while stirring for about 5 minutes, until the mixture resembles sand on the beach. It should not darken. Set aside.
2. Add the roux to the broth mixture and return to a boil while whisking to remove any lumps. Let cook for a bit to cook out the flour taste.
3. While this is cooking, make the dumpling dough.

Dumplings
Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 tbsp. solid shortening (like Crisco)
• 1-1/3 cups milk

Instructions:
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and parsley in a bowl.
2. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
3. Add 1 cup of milk and stir briefly to blend. Add only enough of the remaining milk to make the dough hold together.
4. Drop spoonfuls of dumpling dough into the rouxed broth.
5. Cover and cook for 20 minutes (do not lift cover during cooking).

To Serve Dumplings:
Instructions:

1. Place a piece of chicken in a serving bowl. Add dumplings and broth.
2. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

See Related Recipes:

Chicken and Biscuits Recipe

Mother’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Belle’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland

Light buttermilk biscuits topped with a rich creamy chicken gravy is serious comfort food. This recipe calls for Belle’s Chicken Soup as well as the chicken used to make the soup, so it’s like getting two meals for the price of one!

If you can’t make Belle’s Chicken Soup, you can use canned low-sodium chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken and still have a good meal. When you add the chicken, feel free to stir in any leftover vegetables you have lurking in the fridge, such as steamed broccoli or green beans or braised greens.

This recipe calls for a roux.

Ingredients to make Roux: Serves 6

• Roux is a mixture of equal parts butter (or other fat) and all-purpose flour. We use white or blond roux a lot in our cooking, usually to thicken soups, stews, sauces and gravies (as in this recipe). The longer the roux cooks, the less thickening power it has, but the more color and flavor it adds.

Instructions:

1. A “white” roux is cooked over low heat for about 3 to 4 minutes until it has a sandy consistency and a beige color. A “blond” roux is cooked a minute or two longer for a light gold color.
2. You only need a small amount of roux to thicken sauces or soups, usually 2 tablespoons for every cup of liquid.
3. A “brown” roux is often made with oil or lard instead of butter and cooked for nearly an hour over low heat until it achieves the consistency of clay and a specific shade of brown, from peanut butter to light coffee or even a dark mahogany color. This roux is used to add depth of flavor and color to gumbo and étouffées, but will hardly thicken the soup or sauce at all. That’s why recipes requiring a brown roux call for a lot more of it – at least a cup.
4. Roux should always be cooked over even, moderate heat so it doesn’t burn. If it’s going to be used as a thickener, as it is here, use a heavy-bottomed pan and medium heat, making sure to stir it frequently to keep it from scorching.

Chicken gravy:
Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 cups chicken broth from Belle’s Chicken Soup
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups diced carrots (about 2 large)
• 2 cups diced celery (about 5 stalks)
• Meat from 1 (3-pound) cooked chicken (about 5 cups; you can use the ones from making Belle’s Chicken Soup. Remove the skin, and pick the meat off the bones, keeping the meat in large chunks)
• ¾ cup peas, fresh or frozen
• ¾ cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen

To serve:
12 buttermilk biscuits, warmed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, for garnish

Instructions:

1. In a heavy-bottomed large (8- to 10-quart) saucepan or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add flour and mix well with a wooden spoon to make a roux. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is pale yellow and resembles fine, wet sand, about 3 minutes.
2. Whisk the soup into the roux a little at a time, allowing the roux to absorb the liquid before adding more. (This will help avoid lumps.) Add the salt, pepper, carrots and celery. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, then lower the heat and gently simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally and skim any scum that rises to the surface and stirring frequently with a wooden spoon.
3. Gently stir the cooked chicken (try not to break it up too much), peas, and corn into the gravy, return the liquid to a simmer, and cook five more minutes to heat the chicken and vegetables thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Cut the biscuits in half widthwise (so there is a top and bottom). Lay cut biscuits on a plate (two per person, four half biscuits) and ladle a generous cup of gravy over the biscuits making sure to cover them completely. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Mother’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe

Belle’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe





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Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland, Oregon

Makes 18 biscuits

Ingredients:

• 6 cups self-rising flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons salt
• 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, for dredging

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with pan spray (use a smaller pan if you want to cook some biscuits now and freeze the rest for later).




2. In a large bowl, combine the self-rising flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, two knives, or a whisk, cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is the size of peas.

Alternatively, you can combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the butter pieces, and mix first on slow, then on medium-low speed until pieces are the size of peas, about 1 minute.

3. Combine the buttermilk and heavy cream in a measuring cup. Pour it into the butter-flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until mostly incorporated. Then, using your hands, mix just until incorporated — no more than 3 or 4 little kneadings. Or briefly mix on low speed with the mixer, turning it on for a couple seconds then off to scrape the sides of the bowl. Repeat until just combined. (Don’t over mix, and don’t worry that the batter is wet, goopy and non-uniform. It is okay to have some pockets of flour and chunks of butter. That’s what will make the biscuits flaky and moist.)




4. Put the 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour in another shallow bowl. Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/3 cup capacity or a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop out a heaping portion of the batter and drop it into the flour. Sprinkle some of flour on top, pick up the dough and cup it in the palm of your hand. Gently jiggle the dough in your palm so the excess flour falls away leaving just a light coating (or lightly toss the dough between both hands).




5. Starting in the corner, arrange the biscuits in a row down the long side of the pan so you have a row of six (you must start the first one very close to the corner and the next one nearly on top of the first in order for all six biscuits to fit. After filling the row, place two biscuits across the short side (you should now have 3 across and 6 down). Continue scooping and arranging the remaining dough directly next to each other (they should be touching and just slightly squished) in rows until you have used all the dough. (If you used a different sized baking pan, or aren’t cooking all the biscuits at once, your baking pan may not be filled corner to corner with biscuits. In this case, crumple a piece of foil to fit into the blank spaces to help the biscuits keep their shape during baking.)




6. Bake for 10 minutes or until biscuits start to brown, then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake until the biscuits are light brown all over, being sure to rotate the pans now and then (so they bake evenly). That should take another 20 to 25 minutes. You’ll know when they’re done when the biscuits start to pull away from each other, they don’t have any bounce when poked, and a knife inserted between some of the biscuits in the middle of the pan comes out clean.




7. Remove from oven, brush the tops with the melted butter, and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into individual biscuits and serving (you could pull them apart, but I like to cut the biscuits along the obvious separations to make them a little straighter and prettier.

Notes:
To bake frozen biscuits, place the still-frozen biscuits on the prepared pan and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, then reduce heat to 375 and bake about 25 more minutes until toasty brown all over.

If you can’t find self-rising flour, you can make your own by combining 2 tablespoons baking powder and 2 teaspoons salt for every 4 cups all-purpose flour.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Chicken and Biscuits Recipe

Belle’s Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe





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Mother’s Bistro and Bar, Portland, Oregon

My mother Belle always made this soup for the Jewish holidays, so there was no question about what would be the signature soup at Mother’s. We offer it with egg noodles or matzoh balls, and it can easily become Chicken and Dumplings with a few more steps.  

Sometimes called “Jewish penicillin,” this soup is simple to make and devotees know when it’s time for their fix – a sniffly nose, a rough day or just because. Whenever my daughter Stephanie got sick, we had our routine:  First stop was the doctor, then to the pharmacy to get the prescribed medicine, and finally to the supermarket to pick up the ingredients for this soup. Once home, the soup was simmering on the stove within 15 minutes.

Please note, this is a two-part process: first, you make the broth, then you make the soup. Some people think that soup and broth are the same, but they are not.

The longer a stock or broth cooks, the larger the vegetables used to flavor them can be.  For example, vegetables used to flavor a veal stock can be cut larger than those for a chicken stock, because veal stock cooks longer (ideally overnight), and there is more time to extract the vegetables’ flavors.  In the case of chicken soup, I don’t even cut the vegetables because that’s the way my mother did it, and it saves time, too. But if it makes it easier to fit everything in the pot, feel free to cut the veggies in half.

Here’s a tip — buy a thin, two-pronged fork. Working in a four-star restaurant can be very stressful because everything must be done to perfection. As entremetier at Le Cirque, my job was to cook the vegetables that went with most of the entrées served. It was imperative to know the exact moment something was done. I did this with my favorite tool: a thin, two-pronged fork. It had long, narrow tines that allowed me to pierce the cooking vegetables without leaving a trace. I still use it to this day.  When vegetables offer no resistance, I know they are cooked to perfection and stop the cooking immediately or they overcook.  If the tines of the fork don’t slide in and out easily, the vegetables are not done and need to be cooked some more.

Broth  
Makes 4 1/2 quarts or 9 2-cup servings
Ingredients:

• 2 whole chickens, plus other carcasses if available
• 2 yellow onions, peeled
• 4 ribs celery (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 carrots, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 4 parsnips, peeled (cut in half to fit the pot, if necessary)
• 1 bunch Italian parsley, with stems (about 20 sprigs)
• 4 1/2 teaspoons salt (divided)
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (divided)

Instructions To make broth:

1. In a narrow, deep pot just large enough to hold the chickens (about 10 to 12-quart capacity), place chickens, onions, celery, carrots, parsnips and parsley. (Make sure you use a narrow pot rather than a wide one.  Otherwise, you may have to use too much water to cover the chickens). Add just enough cold water to barely cover the chickens (ideally, not more than 5 quarts or 20 cups). Bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Reduce heat to a simmer (rapidly boiling soup or stock often makes it look cloudy instead of clear) and season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. (You’re seasoning here because you want the chicken to have some flavor when you use it later in other dishes. The soup will be seasoned again later.)
2. Simmer the broth, uncovered, for at least 3 hours. Season with 2 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Taste. If it tastes like chicken, it’s ready.  If not, let it cook a bit longer and taste again. It can cook for another hour as long as it is barely simmering, but no more than 4 hours or the chicken will dry out.
3. When soup is done, turn off the heat, lift chicken from the pot with slotted spoons or a spider, and set aside in a shallow bowl or baking sheet until cool enough to handle.
4. Strain the broth into a clean 6- to 8-quart pot; discard the solids. If not making the soup right away, cool and refrigerate so you can scrape off the solidified fat from the surface before continuing.  Otherwise, allow the stock to sit undisturbed for at least 10 minutes and spoon off the fat that rises to the surface.
5. Set pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer.

Soup:
Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely diced carrots
• 2 cups finely diced celery
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, for garnish
• 2 cups cooked chicken (reserved from making broth)
• 1 pound cooked egg noodles

Instructions to make soup:

1. Add diced carrots and celery to the simmering broth, and cook until just tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with more salt and pepper, if necessary.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, pick the meat from the chicken, leaving the pieces as large as possible, and set aside. Discard the bones.

Instructions to Serve:

1. Add 2 cups of the cooked chicken to the soup.
2. Place cooked noodles in serving bowls. Ladle the broth, chicken and vegetables into bowls, sprinkle with fresh chopped dill, and serve.

Variation: Italian Straciatella

Instead of serving this soup with noodles, you can stir in beaten eggs, parmesan and spinach for an entirely different and classically Italian soup:

Omit the diced carrots and celery and bring the strained broth to a simmer.  Meanwhile, beat 3 eggs with ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Pour the egg mixture into the gently simmering soup in a slow steady stream, going from one side of the pot to the other and back again in a zigzag motion. Allow eggs to cook for 1 minute without stirring. Gently run a long handled spoon through the eggs to break them up a little. Stir in 1 cup baby spinach leaves, taste and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread.

See Related Video and recipes:

in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Mother’s Chicken Soup and More

Chicken and Biscuits Recipe

Mother’s Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe





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She’s a chef extraordinaire; a whirling dervish force of nature. Lisa Schroeder, owner of Portland, Oregon’s popular restaurant—Mother’s Bistro— explains the vision behind her restaurant, and her passion to preserve the fine art of simple, mother-style, home cooked meals.

Coming next: in the kitchen with Lisa Schroeder: Chicken Soup and So Much More





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/mother-food/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/mother-food http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/eVnF_Kr6cr4/the-future-of-small-family-farms http://cookingupastory.com/the-future-of-small-family-farms#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 12:00:39 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27596

Farmer Rick Steffen, and culinary instructor Katherine Deumling share their views about the future of small family farms.

According to the most current USDA census data (2007), and the recently published survey data from the Economic Research Service (ERS) for 2010, small commercial farms (those generating revenues between $100,000-$250,000) have declined only slightly from 2007-2010. In 2007, small farms in this particular sales class numbered 147,751 versus 146,788 in 2010, a drop of less than .7%.

From 2002 to 2007, the drop was much steeper, a net decline of about -7%. Considering the general state of the economy in 2008-2009, these recent numbers may be seen as a positive indicator of somewhat improved stability in this group.

All categories of large farms (family farms, partnerships, and corporations), those with revenues of $500,000 and greater, grew in number by 60% from 2002-2007. The only other farm category to grow significantly over this same period, indeed showed any signs of growth in number, were the extremely small farms, those with revenues less than $1000.

The vast majority of US farms (roughly 90%), are classified as small farms, as defined as generating up to $250,000 in annual revenue. According to the 2007 USDA census data, “Operators of farms with value of sales between $100,000 and $249,999 are younger than average and are more likely to be full time farmers. Operators of farms with sales of less than $10,000 typically work off farm.”

Thanks to the Economic Research Service for their assistance in providing the published data for 2010, and in the interpretation of some of the data. Also thanks to the National Agriculture Statistics Service for help in finding specific information out of an ocean of data.





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Rick Steffen could be thought of as a small farmer for all seasons. That’s because he grows a variety of crops, some unusual like his fruit orchards—inside a series of 55 greenhouses, some up to a half-acre in size, near Portland, Oregon. As a result, he has been able to extend the growing season, and bring earlier to the local Portland Farmers Market food (like cherries) that traditionally are still out of season here.





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Culinary educator, and food activist Katherine Deumling demonstrates how to make cauliflower mac and cheese, a dish she describes as being a gateway food into the world of fresh vegetables for those not yet aficionados.

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese
-adapted from Food Matters by Mark Bittman
Recipe courtesy of Katherine Deumling, of Cook With What You Have.

Serves 6 people

Veggies can make for great comfort food and this recipe proves it and if you love Mac & Cheese (or your children do) you’ll love this too. If you don’t want to bother with the blender or food processor you can just mash the cauliflower in the pot in which you cooked it. You won’t get as smooth of a texture but it’s just as delicious.

Wonderful additions to this dish are: chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme, and chives;

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 ½ cups veggie bouillon or chicken stock
• 1 medium-large cauliflower, cored and separated into pieces
• 1lb pasta (ziti, elbow, penne, rotini and corkscrew all work well)
• ¾ – 1 cup grated cheese (sharp cheddar, gruyere . . .)
• 3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, to taste
• ¼ – ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated is best
• Black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
• ½ cup or more bread crumbs (optional)

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 F.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the cauliflower in the boiling water until very tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Scoop the cauliflower out of the water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a food processor or blender.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until still somewhat chalky inside and not quite yet al dente, about 5-6 minutes.
5. Drain the pasta and put it in a 9 x 13 baking dish or other similar casserole dish.
6. Carefully process the cauliflower with 2 cups of the veggie bouillon or stock, 2 tablespoons olive oil, the cheddar, mustard, chili flakes, nutmeg and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. (You may have to work in batches.) If the sauce seems to thick add the remaining ½ cup of stock.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning.
8. Pour the sauce over the pasta, toss, and spread mixture evenly in dish. (You can make the dish to this point, cover, and refrigerate for up to a day)
9. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan and breadcrumbs, if using them.
10. Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the crumbs turn brown, about 20 minutes. Pass under broiler if you need to.





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/in-the-kitchen-with-katherine-deumling-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/in-the-kitchen-with-katherine-deumling-cauliflower-mac-and-cheese http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/Pqfi2YZqS98/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work http://cookingupastory.com/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 16:57:27 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27549 The rallying cry of the “Tea Party Movement” and many other conservative groups in this country is to “shrink the government”; make it less big, less expensive, and yes (without offering any apologies), make it less effective an institution. As Ronald Reagan often quipped: “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem”.

If government truly is the problem, perhaps we have only two real choices: help to make it better by being more responsive to the public interest, or send our complaints to the Offices of Corporate Domination. For as ineffective, and at times, seemingly corrupt as our government agencies appear, they still must ultimately answer to the people.

I’m unaware of any corporate charter that offers anything remotely similar, and indeed, the bigger the corporation, the more power it can wield, not only in the political realm, but in the marketplace, as well.

That’s why as citizens we must all become more engaged with what is going on in our society today. To that end, this is an excellent article written by a veteran EPA regulator (now retired) who has spent his professional career fighting against the forces of inertia, and corruption, and whose career trajectory has been permanently limited as a result of his honest efforts.

William Sanjour offers an insightful critique of the entire regulatory apparatus, why the role of government regulations are necessary, and why decades of “regulatory reforms” after “regulatory reforms” have consistently failed, and what to do about it.

For those in a hurry, here’s a brief summary of his recommendations:

“To summarize, this is what I believe needs to be done:

1) Agencies which enforce regulations should not write the regulations.

2) The revolving door should be shut.

3) Whistle blowers should be protected, encouraged and rewarded.

4) To the greatest extent feasible, those who the regulations are intended to protect should participate in writing and enforcing the regulations.”


From the original Independent Science News post titled: Designed to Fail: Why Regulatory Agencies Don’t Work





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/designed-to-fail-why-regulatory-agencies-dont-work http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/cH8Fbsx_dxw/katherine-deumling-profile http://cookingupastory.com/katherine-deumling-profile#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:44 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27537

Katherine Deumling is a culinary teacher, cook, avid gardener, and food activist. Deumling studied food and culture in Italy and Mexico, and grew up in Germany. Combining her personal life experiences, and professional studies, Deumling offers classes to “bring better food and more fun into the kitchen”.

in the Kitchen with Katherine Deumling: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese— coming May 1, 2012 to Food.Farmer.Earth.





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/katherine-deumling-profile/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/katherine-deumling-profile http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/yqW_DqnYd4U/documenting-the-urban-farming-boom http://cookingupastory.com/documenting-the-urban-farming-boom#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:52:02 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27528 April 30, 2012 After traveling 12,000 miles and talking to over 80 urban farmers, filmmakers Dan Susman and Andrew Monbouquette are ready to get down to the nitty-gritty task of editing in order to tell their tale in Growing Cities.

“The film follows my friend Andrew and me as we visit the folks who are challenging the way this country grows and distributes its food one vacant city lot and backyard chicken coop at a time. The film focuses on what we can all do to engage more deeply with growing food in our communities—whether that means planting your first seed or starting a flock of urban chickens, these agricultural acts are all of vital importance and the first step in rethinking the role of city dwellers in our society. Traditionally, we think of urban people as consumers and rural folks as producers. Given that we’re running out of land to ‘go back to’ we need to turn that notion on its head. And we want our film to do just that.”

If you’d like to help them finish their film so we can all see it on the screen, please consider checking out their Kickstarter campaign. Deadline is May 16, 2012.

Originally spotted on National Young Farmers’ Coalition.





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/documenting-the-urban-farming-boom/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/documenting-the-urban-farming-boom http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/gu9vkZTZXuU/fake-versus-real-wasabi http://cookingupastory.com/fake-versus-real-wasabi#comments Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:00:44 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27503

It’s an ubiquitous ingredient found in just about every Sushi restaurant in the country: wasabi. But cover your eyes — most of it, is not real wasabi!

Find out more on this week’s episode of Food Wisdoms: Fake Versus Real Wasabi





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/fake-versus-real-wasabi/feed 1 http://cookingupastory.com/fake-versus-real-wasabi http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/dq8rNI5lMgg/visit-to-a-rare-wasabi-farm http://cookingupastory.com/visit-to-a-rare-wasabi-farm#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:00:15 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27494

There are only 4 Wasabi farms in North America, and Frog Eyes Wasabi on the Oregon Coast is one of them. The Wasabi plant is difficult to grow commercially, and because of its value, these farms tend to be hidden from public view. Join us as we visit a Wasabi farm in Oregon, whose only commercial crop are two varieties of Wasabi: Daruma and Mazuma.

Next on Food Wisdoms: Fake Versus Real Wasabi





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/visit-to-a-rare-wasabi-farm/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/visit-to-a-rare-wasabi-farm http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/Le7ZdfgOVVk/in-the-kitchen-with-david-padberg-cooking-with-wasabi http://cookingupastory.com/in-the-kitchen-with-david-padberg-cooking-with-wasabi#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:00:01 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27483

David Padberg, Executive chef at Park Kitchen in Portland, Oregon, demonstrates how to make real Wasabi, and shows some of the excellent foods that it can be used on as a garnish.

Coming next: in the Field—Visit to a Rare Wasabi Farm

Recipes courtesy of Chef David Padberg, Park Kitchen:
Wasabi Butter:

Instructions:

• For one 4oz stick of salted butter, add one teaspoon grated wasabi. If you want a more heroic potency, add up to one tablespoon.

Wasabi Puree:

• A puree of only wasabi leaves is a little too strong for most people. I recommend using equal parts wasabi leaves and spinach leaves.
• To stabilize the vibrant green pigment, plunge the leaves in boiling salted water for 15 seconds, then transfer into an ice water bath. Once they are cooled, drain the excess water. A good ratio to start with is 3 oz blanched spinach, 3 oz blanched wasabi leaves, and 12 oz vegetable broth or water.
• To make the work easier on the blender, rough chop the leaves, then add them to the blender with the broth and puree. Once the leaves are spinning in the blender, add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (a vegetable starch available in most grocery and health food stores). Allow the blender enough time to break up the leaves entirely, about three minutes.
• Pass the puree through a fine sieve and press on the solids to release all the juices. Discard the solid fibers.

Wasabi Leaves:

• Make a mixture of two parts granulated sugar and one part salt.
• Take about one dozen wasabi leaves and/or stems and sprinkle them with the mixture, probably little more than a tablespoon will do.
• In a stainless steel bowl, crush the leaves with your hands, massaging the mixture into the bruised and ruptured cell walls.
• Cover with plastic wrap and allow the leaves to macerate with the mixture for about thirty minutes, then rinse in cold water and strain the liquid.
• Chop the leaves and/or stems and fold into the grain salad or mayonnaise or whatever you want to use with them.





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/in-the-kitchen-with-david-padberg-cooking-with-wasabi/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/in-the-kitchen-with-david-padberg-cooking-with-wasabi http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/-hRUrPoT62Q/profile-of-an-executive-chef http://cookingupastory.com/profile-of-an-executive-chef#comments Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:00:15 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27472

On Food Farmer Earth, a short profile of David Padberg, executive chef at Park Kitchen, one of Portland’s leading, innovative, and sustainably focused restaurants. Padberg’s love of the hospitality field and preparing foods, he partly attributes to his grandparents farm where he developed a love for gardening and plants, and later in his adult life to his interest in science that he studied at college. Being a professional chef allows Padberg to combine all these interests together into an satisfying, ever-changing, ongoing stew.

Next, in the Kitchen with David Padberg: Wasabi





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/profile-of-an-executive-chef/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/profile-of-an-executive-chef http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/Nw-f6GmONMY/wild-flavors-one-chefs-transformative-year-cooking-from-evas-farm-review http://cookingupastory.com/wild-flavors-one-chefs-transformative-year-cooking-from-evas-farm-review#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:00:03 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27460


Wild Flavors: One Chef’s Transformative Year Cooking from Eva’s Farm


Wild Flavors
Didi Emmons
ISBN 9781603582858
Chelsea Green Publishing

However Didi met Eva, you will be glad they connected. Boston-based Didi Emmons describes herself as a “roving eco-chef, cookbook author, consultant and educator.” And the time she spent near Dartmouth, Massachusetts with the “near legendary farmer” Eva Sommaripa, whose 200 plus varieties of uncommon herbs, greens, flowers and wild edibles enliven menus of many famous northeast restaurants, resulted in the rare and wonderful “Wild Flavors.”

Author Emmons was inspired by their blossoming friendship and by Eva’s Gardens, which she describes as “… like the botanical version of the Louvre, plugged into some greater life force.” Eva, who hasn’t visited a grocery store in over a decade, believes that “…the supermarket is the great disconnect. Like a good relationship, there needs to be intimacy with food.”

Emmons says, “Eva’s creativity and the unusual herbs and foraged foods she cultivated were a continuous revelation.” And “Wild Flavors” is much more than a cookbook, highlighting four of Eva’s core principals, woven throughout the year: salvaging, community, bartering and preserving. The book features 46 plant profiles and 150 amazing recipes, along with important basics like vital gadgets for your kitchen, foraging and preparation techniques, how to best grow and snip your own herbs and just the right time to add them to a dish you’re cooking.

As the seasons passed, “I let the garden speak to me directly,” says Emmons, and “Wild Flavors” captures that conversation in the poetry of botany and delicious seasonal repast.

Rugosa rose. Bronze fennel. Spruce shoots. Calaminth. Juniper berries. Curly dock. Purslane. Goosefoot. Cardoon. Autumn olive. Stinging nettle. Claytonia. Spruce shoots. Chickweed. Sun chokes. I didn’t even realize some of those plants were edible, much less so delicious! “Wild Flavors” offers ways to include these and more humble and sublime elements in your meal planning, plus new ideas about familiar ingredients like beets, cabbage, kale, potatoes, leeks and more. From delicate herb and flower butters to savory soups and gratins, from unusual soups and salads and pasta dishes to “laryngitis tea” and robust stews, even desserts, the book follows one of Eva’s passions: to “not be afraid to try eating a plant in a new way, and to use every part of the plant.”

Emmons’s hope is to pique our curiosity enough so we slow down our hike through the farmer’s market or hillside or fields, that we discover and grow and cook these plants to add a little seasonal “Wild Flavor” to our own dinner tables, all year long.



With family roots in the fertile Red River Valley of North Dakota, Lynn Torrance Redlin has been part of the Cooking Up a Story team for a number of years. An avid gardener and home cook, Redlin is also a voracious reader, and enjoys exploring new information and ideas about our food system.





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/wild-flavors-one-chefs-transformative-year-cooking-from-evas-farm-review/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/wild-flavors-one-chefs-transformative-year-cooking-from-evas-farm-review http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/0ozxv1vqbKs/eating-bambi http://cookingupastory.com/eating-bambi#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:21 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27454

Susan Wilson of Sudan Farm talks about why some people find it difficult to eat lamb. If a livestock animal happens to be cute, why does that make it harder for people to eat?

Next week on Food Farmer Earth: Wasabi





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/eating-bambi/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/eating-bambi http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/T6rRIElWB-E/lambing-season-on-the-farm http://cookingupastory.com/lambing-season-on-the-farm#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:00:04 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27438

Spring is lambing season, and so we wanted to visit a farm that specializes in raising lambs. Sudan Farm, located in Canby, Oregon does just that, it raises lambs for meat, breeding stock, and for value added wool products. Farm owner Susan Wilson takes us on a tour to see her lambs she considers to be her “business partners”. The lambs are Leicester and Coopworth breeds from New Zealand.

Coming Next: Eating Bambi





]]> http://cookingupastory.com/lambing-season-on-the-farm/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/lambing-season-on-the-farm http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/88S0YorA1Kk/braised-fennel-in-butter http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:02:28 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27426 Instead of braised lamb, this is another braised recipe from Melinda Casady, co-owner and culinary educator for the Portland Culinary Workshop.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fennel quartered and cored
• 4 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup Chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• salt to taste
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated fine

Instructions:

1. Heat the butter in a sauté pan or pan with high sides (enough room that the fennel is in a single layer), add fennel and coat with butter.
2. Add stock and lemon juice bring to a simmer and then turn heat to low with a lid.
3. Cook until tender but still holds its shape.
4. Remove cover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place under broiler until parmesan is golden brown.

   Serves 4-6 people.

   See Related recipe and in the Kitchen video: Braised Lamb with Hazelnut Brown Ale

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/braised-fennel-in-butter http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/kRv3g7RZ600/braised-lamb-with-hazelnut-brown-ale http://cookingupastory.com/braised-lamb-with-hazelnut-brown-ale#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:01:58 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27414 in the Kitchen

   Culinary instructor, Melinda Casady demonstrates how to cook a favorite lamb dish in her Portland’s Culinary Workshop studio in Portland, Oregon.

   Recipe included below:

   • 2# Lamb shoulder or shanks (whole or ossobucco style)
   • 1 ea Onions large dice
   • 4 cloves Garlic minced
   • 1 cup Mushrooms (whatever you like) whole, quartered or sliced
   • 1 cup Tomatoes chopped
   • 1 bottle Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Ale (there might be leftover be prepared to drink)
   • 1-2 cups Lamb or Beef stock
   • t Salt
   • t Pepper
   • 1-2 T High temperature cooking oil (safflower/grapeseed)

   Instructions:

   1. Sprinkle lamb with salt and peper. Put oil in a pan with high sides, turn on high heat, when pan is smoking hot add lamb and sear until brown on all sides.
   2. Remove from pan and turn down heat a little, add onions and mushrooms and saute until soft and turning brown.
   3. Add garlic and saute until lightly brown, add tomatoes, put the lamb back in and put in equal parts beer and stock until liquid is half way up the side of the product.
   4. Bring liquid to a boil, turn down heat to low and put on a lid. Cook until meat is fork tender and starting to fall off the bones.
   5. Season liquid to taste and serve by itself or over noodles, rice, potatoes, cous cous, polenta or other desired starch.

   Serves 8-10 people.

   Recipes courtesy of Melinda Casady of the Portland Culinary Workshop

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/braised-lamb-with-hazelnut-brown-ale/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/braised-lamb-with-hazelnut-brown-ale http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/6UubvQZDd8w/short-profile-of-a-culinary-educator http://cookingupastory.com/short-profile-of-a-culinary-educator#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:00:54 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27401

   A profile of Melinda Casady, co-owner of Portland’s Culinary Workshop, a hands-on training center designed to educate aspiring food enthusiasts how to expand their potential in the kitchen, and promote more cooking at home.

   Coming tomorrow: in the kitchen with Melinda Casady: Braised Lamb with Hazelnut Brown Ale

   Check out our new Food Farmer Earth channel on YouTube.

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/short-profile-of-a-culinary-educator/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/short-profile-of-a-culinary-educator http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/5PX2pES7zcE/food-farmer-earth-katherine-deumling-profile http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-katherine-deumling-profile#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:00:37 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27373

   Introducing Katherine Deumling, a Portland, Oregon culinary teacher, cook, avid gardener, and food activist. Deumling studied food and culture in Italy and Mexico, and grew up in Germany. Combining her personal life experiences, and professional studies, Deumling offers classes to “bring better food and more fun into the kitchen”.

   Join us on May 1, 2012 to see Food Farmer Earth segment: in the Kitchen with Katherine Deumling: Cauliflower Mac and Cheese.

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-katherine-deumling-profile/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-katherine-deumling-profile http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/7fIzxf6ljH4/food-farmer-earth-series-preview http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-series-preview#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:08:19 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27344

   Introducing Food Farmer Earth (FFE), a new Cooking Up a Story series that launches April 17 on YouTube. If you wish to become a YouTube subscriber, to this channel, you may do so here:

   This series is really about the food we eat, where it’s grown, and the people behind our food. We hope you will join us here and on both our channels on YouTube, become a subscriber, favorite the videos on YoutUbe, comment, let us know how we are doing.

   As with all that we continue to produce with Cooking Up a Story, and our new Food Farmer Earth series, there’s a deep and abiding respect for nature, for the food itself, and for those who work so tirelessly to bring fresh, delicious, and wholesome food to market.

   A brief description of each of the weekly segments:

   Each week on FFE, (Tuesday) we begin in the Kitchen to learn how to prepare a fresh, seasonal dish from a professional chef, or serious home cook enthusiast. Not just the cooking of food, we will also explore the craft behind food making, for example, the art of food preservation from food preservation experts.

   Wednesday, to the Field explores where our food is grown, raised, or distributed. We learn about the farmer, the artisan, the person responsible for a food demonstrated in the prior “in the Kitchen” segment, and their personal stories.

   On Thursday, Food Wisdoms delves into some of the related food issues of the week, sometimes thorny issues, sometimes just useful information to know, from people whose lives center around the producing and selling of food.

   Food Farmer Earth, by connecting the dots, we hope to share the amazing stories of true heros who are responsible for the food we eat, and celebrate the joy of eating good food.

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-series-preview/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/food-farmer-earth-series-preview http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/3Q2KfnN1-eE/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-princes-speech-on-the-future-of-food-review http://cookingupastory.com/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-princes-speech-on-the-future-of-food-review#comments Thu, 05 Apr 2012 12:00:06 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27312

   HRH-Prince-of-Wales-On the Future of Food

   The Prince’s Speech: On the Future of Food
   HRH The Prince of Wales
   ISBN 978-1-60961-471-3
   Rodale

   If you want to know what’s at stake with our ailing global food system, just listen to a farmer with calloused hands. He knows what its like to try to feed more and more hungry people while fertile farmlands turn into parking lots and subdivisions. She understands the imperative to protect and preserve non-renewable natural resources like soil and fresh water.  They all struggle with dependence on fossil fuels while seeing diminishing yields of staple crops.

   And if that farmer just happens to be His Royal Highness Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, maybe the world will take notice… and take action.

   “The Prince’s Speech: On the Future of Food” is a very small book that tackles the huge issue of how to fix our broken food system.  At its heart is the pivotal keynote address HRH Prince Charles gave to The Future of Food conference at Georgetown University in May of 2011, put into clear context with comments from the phenomenal Wendell Berry, author and journalist Eric Schlosser, and Growing Power, Inc.’s “Farmer-in-Chief” Will Allen.

   For over thirty years, HRH Prince Charles has been speaking up about the future of food with “…all the scars to prove it.”  Back in 1985, he converted his Highgrove farms to organic, wildlife friendly practices and has been tireless in his efforts to spread the word about the vital need for a sustainable food system, which he defines as one that “maintains the resilience of the entire ecosystem.”

   “We are going to have to take some very brave steps,” he says.  “We will have to develop much more sustainable or durable forms of food production because the ways we have done things up to now are no longer as viable as they once appeared to be.”  As it stands today, HRH believes “… in one way or another, half the world finds itself on the wrong side of the food equation,” with over a billion people hungry, a billion people lacking essential nutrition, and over a billion people overweight or obese.

   And if you think things are bad now, just wait until 2050 when it is estimated over 9 billion more people will be crowding the dinner table.  For answers, HRH cites a United Nations’ study that deserves more attention: Agriculture at a Crossroads – International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development.  “The report drew on evidence from more than 400 scientists worldwide and concluded that small-scale, family-based farming systems, adopting so-called agro-ecological approaches, were among the most productive systems in developing countries,” he said.  “This was a major study and a very explicit statement. And yet, for some strange reason, the conclusions of this exhaustive report seem to have vanished without trace. This is the heart of the problem, it seems to me – why it is that an industrialized system, deeply dependent on fossil fuels and chemical treatments, is promoted as viable, while a much less damaging one is rubbished and condemned as unfit for purpose?”

   He cautions, “We need to include in the bottom line the true costs of food production – the true financial costs and the true costs to the Earth.”  HRH calls this “Accounting for Sustainability.”  “The point, surely, is to achieve a situation where the production of healthier food is rewarded and becomes more affordable and the Earth’s (natural) capital is not so eroded.”

   “The Prince’s Speech: On the Future of Food” has gotten a lot of attention among the choir that often sings about sustainability.  Here’s several links to some of their wise thoughts about this topic and this book:

   • Food Politics
   • Civil Eats
   • Super Chef
   • Serious Eats

   The Aspen Institute also offers a video discussion on the book, featuring Applegate Farms Founder and CEO Stephen McDonnell, Founding Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future Robert Lawrence, MD, and President of Slow Food USA Josh Viertel.

   Are you hungry for more?  Start by reading this little book, and passing it along to your friends.  Watch the speech by yourself or with a crowd.  And when you’re ready, lets all take action to help safeguard the future of our food.

   

   With family roots in the fertile Red River Valley of North Dakota, Lynn Torrance Redlin has been part of the Cooking Up a Story team for a number of years. An avid gardener and home cook, Redlin is also a voracious reader, and enjoys exploring new information and ideas about our food system.

   
   

   
   ]]> http://cookingupastory.com/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-princes-speech-on-the-future-of-food-review/feed 0 http://cookingupastory.com/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-the-princes-speech-on-the-future-of-food-review http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CookingUpAStory/~3/VaP3oKjipaE/the-wisdom-of-the-radish-a-review http://cookingupastory.com/the-wisdom-of-the-radish-a-review#comments Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:12:29 +0000 Cooking Up A Story http://cookingupastory.com/?p=27263
   

   The Wisdom Of The Radish by Lynda Browning

   
   The Wisdom of the Radish
   Lynda Hopkins
   ISBN 978-1-57061-642-6
   Sasquatch Books

   Welcome to Foggy River Farm, where an “aspiring farmer’s suburban girlfriend” trades her Stanford degrees for a pastoral dream and lives to tell the tale. In “The Wisdom of the Radish,” Lynda Hopkins shares “lessons learned on a small farm” through the eyes and hearts of a young couple digging into a growing life near Healdsburg, California.

   Hopkins and her beloved co-proprietor, Emmett, are inspired role models in the “Greenhorn Movement” of today’s new wave of young farmers committed to local, sustainable agriculture – bucking the trend of the aging farmer (according to 2007 Census of Agriculture, the average age of American farmers is creeping up toward 60.)

   “…Farming is an ancient choice but a fluid line, granting each new generation both heritage and a unique personal challenge,” Hopkins writes. This twenty-something couple started their venture “armed with good intentions” and hands-on experience from organizing educational food gardens, work-trade participation, and working on New Zealand farms in exchange for room and board through WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). They also relied on the Internet, a vital tool for 21st century farmers with “… a decidedly different approach to agricultural problem-solving.”

   From a rough start – their first $300 worth of seedlings were over-watered to death – to farmers’ market success, the book follows the couple as they work to make a couple of acres carved from Emmett’s family’s Sonoma County vineyard into Foggy River Farm, a small, diversified, directly-marketed agricultural operation. The first fifty bucks earned at their “rickety, borrowed” card table at market comes from bravely selling bags of the only produce they had – buggy, hole-riddled salad greens. Their entire first season is peppered by problems: beetles, hungry native foxes and raccoons, “nuked” heirloom tomato starts, broken water pipe floods, a corn worm convention, unexpected frost, and a bounty of beans that just won’t quit. Through it all, their farm life (and love) grows, along with the flock of chickens, sheep, goats, alpacas, and a Border collie pup – natural extensions to their farm family. (There’s a special place in my heart for Hope, the chicken formerly known as Penguin, or the one that got away.)

   “The Wisdom of the Radish” is a view of the local food system from the front lines, with tidbits of history and lore, fascinating facts and growing tips. It illuminates “the difference between food as sustenance and food as pleasure” with earthy good humor and refutes the “elitist” label sometimes stuck to people who shop farmers’ markets. In the end, there are radishes, and then there are “…fresh, local, heritage radishes, harvested while young and tender by young and tender (and slightly foolish) farmers.”

   - Lynn Torrance Redlin

   

   With family roots in the fertile Red River Valley of North Dakota, Lynn Torrance Redlin has been part of the Cooking Up a Story team for a number of years. An avid gardener and home cook, Redlin is also a voracious reader, and enjoys exploring new information and ideas about our food system.

   
   

   
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