Subsidy hell

If you've been reading Folks Gotta Eat for long, you know that I really struggle with subsidies for industries that are environmentally destructive and/or obsolete. It reminds me of that movie from the late 80's, "Weekend at Bernie's," where they drag the dead guy around with them - propping him up and pretending he's still alive. I can't even talk about corn subsidies, as I get a twitch in my right eye.

Does purple food just taste better?

Urban gardening takes root in Seattle...

This piece is fully lifted from Mr. P - the fabulous Phillip Smith, producer and advisor of this blog. It seems Folks Gotta Eat is having an impact on him. He used to only write about technology, technology, technology. As he's writing about my old stomping ground, Seattle, I thought I would share. Read on...

They say corn is king

Like many of us, Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, co-producers of the film "King Corn," wanted to understand corn. They started off their journey by getting a professional hair analysis. Turns out, the carbon in their bodies originates from corn. It seems most of us these days are made of commodity corn that must be processed before we can eat it. (Fact: An Iowa farmer can no longer feed herself by the corn on her farm.) 

PETA supports "in vitro" meat

Oh god. How did I miss this? Did you know that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offered a $1 million reward for the first to make "in vitro" meat? To be honest, I think I'm going to be sick.

Garden tomato recipe goodness

I'll be honest right away - I made this same dinner two nights in a row. I did it, dear readers, as my camera battery died the moment I plated the pasta the first night, so I never got a photo of my finished product.  So I shrugged my shoulders and was like oh well can't win 'em all and sat down to tuck in. Well a few moments later after eating - who am I kidding - horking back the dinner without speaking and when I was using some stale bread to sop up the rest of the juices I said to hubs "Do you like this? Cause I'm making it again tomorrow cause the camera battery died right and the readers (all 4 of you) need to see this!" Isn't he so lucky to have found such a charming wife?

Flooded with peaches

Ontario peaches are in season. They are ranging in price from $6 a basket at the farmers' market and $2.99 a basket at the mega grocery store, and they are all proudly bearing the Foodland Ontario logo (speaking of which their website is excellent and features a great recipe search by ingredient function and videos showing preserving techniques here).  There is nothing like a local, in-season peach - I look forward to this time of summer all year

To yield or not to yield?

One of the questions I struggle with most is whether or not we actually do have enough food in the world to feed the population now, and in the future as the population grows. I see so much conflicting information in the food security sphere. My fall-back position is that the whole "we MUST get more yield from our crops" argument is a bit on the whack side of things. It seems to be a justification for more GM seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. However, I don't KNOW that (and I'm not too sure anyone really does...). 

Not so wild about poaching

As you may have noticed from earlier posts, I come from a place and a family that understands "food security" to mean having a freezer full of wild game (usually deer) and another freezer full of frozen veggies and fruits from the summer garden to see us through the winter. Only in the leanest of times (often during a strike at the mines), would my family even consider poaching. I do not begrudge families in desperate situations the right to acquire food. However, a recent piece on The Huffington Post about Animal Enemy #1, Ted Nugent, really upsets me.

Eating organic on modest means

I'm always a little wary when someone gives me tips on how to do this or that on what they are calling "modest means." Depending on who you are and where you come from, the term can mean very different things.

Recycling plastic water bottles

Wow. I'm humbled. I was perusing the Earth First website and found this handy-dandy little video that explains all the different things you can do with a recycled plastic water bottle.

Shana makes oven-dried tomatoes

There is nothing more delicious than a perfectly sun-ripened tomato. Usually at this time of year, I busy myself gorging on heirloom tomatoes from farmers' markets, and now, from my own garden. While a BLT is grand (hell, this article even reports Canadians will pay more for bacon during tomato season in order to make their precious BLTs) there is something to be said for even the most simple, toasted tomato sandwich. For me, all you need is nice light rye, butter and salt and pepper to have a really great sandwich. Sometimes I'll add cheese or a spread of Dijon or mayonnaise, but really, all those are just frills.

Maybe I'll wait to break out the omelette pan

Remember when I posted about my shitake log? Well, the picture of the mushrooms in the header were some I'd bought at the store - we buy fresh shitakes every week and I always keep a store of dried mushrooms in the cupboard for risottos and soups and we easily go through a pound at a time hence my desire to get a log in the first place. Well a friend asked about my log and I said I was still waiting for something/anything to happen and she immediately said "but that post makes it seem like those are some of your harvest!" and she was mildly irate. So apologies if I mislead in anyway folks. But now MONTHS later I can finally show you the first of my harvest - one mushroom so far (see photo above).

Food noise

We're humans. We're naturally drawn to pleasure. Good food gives pleasure. I get that. I love food, and I'm damn grateful I have access to it! I can completely understand why folks would want to think about and talk about food a lot - especially online. 7x7 asks if San Francisco has a food discussion overload in the piece The Feed Frenzy: Is SF Suffering from a Gluttony of Food Information?

Open Data in agriculture

Thanks to the fabulous Mark Kuznicki, I just finished reading a piece on Food+Tech Connect about Open Data in agriculture. If you're not yet familiar with the Open Everything movement, don't feel bad. You probably understand it and agree with it inherently, as the ideas just make sense.

Food wasted, energy wasted

My girl Yvonne sent over a piece from Boing Boing about the atrocious amount of food waste, therefore energy waste, inherent in the U.S. farm to fork (often via food processing plant hell) to refrigerator to garbage thread. It was a brief little piece with the core argument being that the Gulf of Mexico oil/energy waste has nothing on the food production system. 

Let them eat insects?

I'm reminded again and again how amazing it is to have choices. In my life, I have a choice about what I eat and what I don't eat. Just this week I recommitted to a vegetarian lifestyle after my Maine lobster fest. As I often say to my partner when he's down about something, "You know, a lot of folks don't have food" (don't I sound like a fun date?) Well, the UN has some ideas about how to meet the nutritional needs of the world's growing population - feed them insects!

Reminded where my food comes from

Last night here in Damariscotta, Maine, I stuffed my travel-weary tummy with crab cakes, local beer and small-batch bourbon. Oh, I can't forget the signature salad with locally-made chevre and walnuts. I was as happy as a clam and reminded that, depending on which arm of the food system beast I slice off and examine, a good portion of my "good fortune" and what I know as "food security" comes on the backs of others.

Local dining on the road

I'm on holiday right now, heading out to Maine for my dear friend's wedding. For the next few days, I'll do a little reporting from the road concerning the food politics and experiences I encounter. This morning, I'm in Burlington, Vermont, at Cafe Magnolia, where the giant sign that greets folks at the door proclaims, "Vermont Fresh Network: Farm & Chef Partnership." Now that's what I like to see.

Can mini cows save the planet?

Knowing what I know about cows, land use and methane, I find it hard to believe that a mini version of the "cow culprit" is the planet's saving grace. But, hell, what do I really know? Maybe mini cows are the key. 

Keeping the Gulf on our plates

Folks, there is quite a lot of focus on the Gulf, for obvious reasons, and a lot of talk about the sustainability of the fishing industry in the region. Edible Radio just gave me a gentle reminder that the food producers and culinary legacy at stake are so much more than what can be found in the sea.

Squirrel on the plate

Oh, I'm a happy little beaver on this Sunday morning. Why? I was just reading the The Guardian, and it seems that the owner of a local Budgens supermarket in London has defended selling squirrel meat as a sustainable way of feeding people, saying it has a "lovely" taste. Horrified? Well guess what, folks - I grew up eating squirrel meat too!