Good Food is Everybody's Business
Found throughout the U.S., Canada, and much of Europe and Asia, nettles have long been prized as an early source of greens, and used medicinally for various ailments. Stinging nettles are high in protein, iron, vitamins A, C, and K, and other nutrients. Their taste is similar to that of spinach. Nettles are anti-inflammatory, and have often been used to soothe allergic reactions. (Included is a recipe for nettle soup.)
Mel and Sue Brown milk more than 150 goats and, in their small cheese plant, they turn out award-winning chevre, ricotta, and feta cheese. The chevre comes in four flavors and Sue is experimenting with aged cheeses.
Locally grown beans and grains have returned to the Willamette Valley, expanding local options with nutritious, storable foods that were used for centuries to get through the winter. Calypso Beans
Locally grown beans and grains have returned to the Willamette Valley, expanding local options with nutritious, storable foods that were used for centuries to get through the winter. Jeff Broadie and Kasey White of Lonesome Whistle Farm even offer a “Bean CSA.”
Despite the sustainable seafood movement gaining steam globally, the devastation wrought by global industrialized fishing continues on a massive scale. While sardines, mackerels, and other small, rapidly growing fish are becoming more common in supermarkets, most seafood merchants continue to focus on large, predatory fish such as cod, sharks, and tuna. A new Greenpeace report identifies the top supermarkets working to make a difference.
Intuitively, the benefit of spending food dollars locally is fairly obvious – right? More dollars circulating locally means greater support to local businesses for a healthier community economy. Simple enough, but in explaining the local multiplier to local food advocates and policy-makers, things can get complicated fast.
The Danish Parliament, the “Folketinget,” has voted by a large majority to introduce a tax on saturated fat, putting meat and dairy products in the same category as cigarettes and alcohol. The tax is to be imposed on meat, meat products, oils and processed foods containing saturated fats, and dairy products.
In August, 2010, a half million pounds of sausages and hog head cheese were pulled off Louisiana grocery shelves in a recall triggered by what the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry said were Listeria monocytogenes isolates detected in a product sample from Veron Foods. It was the SECOND recall of contaminated product from the company in 4 years.
The “Good Food Movement” is a reaction to the global food system. Like much of our economy, food production is dominated by large corporations and industrial food processes, and consumers are looking for a sustainable food system. At the same time, the conventional food chain provides work for millions of people, in production, processing, distribution, and preparation. The future of good food cannot ignore these workers; they are most often people of color limited to low-wage service and production jobs, where at least 6 out of 10 farmworkers is undocumented.
