FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Seed saving is important. In recent years we have seen the effects of climate change on agriculture more and more. From food shortages and droughts to changes in terrain and growing conditions, it becomes increasingly important to maintain a wide range of biologically diverse crops so that they can survive in many different growing conditions. Many of the seeds in the Native Seeds/SEARCH collection are extremely drought tolerant, others have a built-in resistance to certain pests or diseases. Growing a number of different crops all with different skills and strengths is the best way to protect against drought and famine.
In addition to Native Seed/SEARCH there are a number of other organizations across the globe that work towards promoting biodiversity in crops, the list below highlights just a few:
Svalbard Global Seed Bank - Located in Northern Norway, the Svalbard Global Seed Bank serves as a safety deposit box for all the worlds seed. In recent years wars and political instability have ravaged the seed collections of many countries, this seed bank currently contains some 150 million seeds in frozen conditions and can accomodate samples of every seed in existence.
Seed Savers Exchange - Seed Savers Exchange maintains a collection of heirloom seeds on their 23 acre farm in Iowa, they also serve as a resource for gardeners wishing to grow their own
ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas has a large seed bank in Aleppo, Syria and works to rebuild agricultural diversity in areas such as Afghanistan.
By Emma Piper-Burket
COOKING SHOW
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
By Emma Piper-Burket
Recently, mainstream media has experienced a growth spurt in its awareness of how food choices impact the health of our planet and our bodies. An illustration of this is the public (and publicized) return of the Victory Garden.
The modern Victory Garden takes many forms: rooftop gardens in inner city schools; public arts projects like WORK Architecture Company’s functioning farm- smartly title PF1- installed on the grounds of PS1 (the farm supplied eggs and produce to the museum café during the summer of 2008); and Slow Food Nation and San Francisco Victory Garden’s temporary garden in front of the City Hall that donated 1,000 pounds of produce to area food banks.
This time around the Victory Garden is grown in the name of environmentalism, education, health, and increased quality of life. Michael Pollan writes of, “a new Victory Garden movement, this one seeking ‘victory’ over three critical challenges we face today: high food prices, poor diets, and a sedentary population.” Though patriotism might not be a word to toss around at liberal dinner parties these days, Victory Gardens might still be a relevant way of helping our country.
For many Americans erratic gas prices or the occasional news headline are the only noticeable indications that our nation is at war. With a seeming abundance of wealth and resources, the vast majority of Americans have not had to alter their daily routine in any way during the past 7 years of war.
Contrast this with World War II when all around the country citizens were encouraged to save scraps of metal to be converted into bullets, to “Eat less bread” in order to save grains for the troops, and of course to grow a Victory Garden.
Providing up to 40% of the country’s food needs during World War II, towns, schools and families across the United States took part in the production of their food by way of these Victory Gardens. The Department of Defense produced pamphlets and films teaching children and adults how to grow the necessary varieties and quantities of vegetables to sustain them throughout the year. People were encouraged to can and preserve vegetables for the barren winter months and no one was to take more than they needed. Growing one’s own food was seen as a way of helping the country and everyone took part.
Today, while we may not need to grow our own food to support the troops, growing victory gardens could help us avoid future wars. Industrial farming techniques and transporting food to markets consumes vast quantities of petroleum. The war in Iraq and much of America's strategic interests abroad are linked to oil. Michael Pollan has said the removal of petroleum from our food system could help improve our national security, but perhaps more importantly, it would contribute to the survival of our planet.
Growing a garden in your backyard or neighborhood and taking an active role in the food production process is the best way to do your part.
Sources & Resources for Victory Gardens:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/24/HOFK13LPVD.D...
http://www.thewhofarm.org
http://www.eattheview.org/
http://www.futurefarmers.com/
http://www.gardenfortheenvironment.org/
http://www.sfvictorygardens.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/victorygarden/
http://sidewalksprouts.wordpress.com/history/vg/
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
By Sophia Brittan
Last week I invited some friends over for a local cheese tasting to be accompanied by Eve’s Cidery Bittersweet Cider. I selected six cheeses from different farms around the Northeast. We tried Lively Run Goat Dairy’s Cayuga Blue, Bobolink’s Aged Cheddar, Patches of Star’s Lightly Salted Fresh Chèvre, Twig Farm’s Goat Tomme, and 3 Corner Field Farm’s Frère Fumant and Shushan Snow. The point of the cheese tasting was to delve more in depth into the flavors of the artesian cheeses of our region, exploring their textures and variations according to where they are from. My friends are fromage fanatics, so it was great to have their seasoned palates tasting along with me. The end result was that we got to know 6 cheeses that we might not have tried before. And the cheeses that we had tried, we explored their flavors more closely. To accompany the cheeses I served Bread Alone’s Multigrain Baguette (a new favorite), along with fresh slices of Golden Russet apples, Concord grapes, husk cherries, quince compote, and almonds mixed with honey. I have to say that I might have a thing or two to learn about putting together a cheese plate, as it could have been a bit more diverse- so I look forward to learning even more about that part of it.
We set it up so that everyone wrote notes on the same sheet for each cheese. We tried each cheese with the different accompaniments and the cider. We were open about sharing notes and talking about why or why not we liked the different cheeses. The chèvre was well liked- it was mild and creamy, almost as if it were a cream cheese/chèvre. The next mildest was definitely the Goat Tomme. It went well with all of the accompaniments, and seemed like a nice cheese that would incorporate well with fall recipes. The Cayuga Blue was one of the favorites. The “blue” flavor does not dominate the palate, and has a medium sharpness that gives it great flavor without being too strong. Even those among us who don’t like blue cheese easily fell in love. The Bobolink Aged Cheddar was an interesting one. Everyone agreed that it was “really sharp”, and had a strong aftertaste, but loved the way it paired with the fruit and the cider. The last two were the Fumant and the Shushan Snow. The Frère Fumant was applauded all around. It has a great smoked flavor, similar to the type of Spanish Basque cheese it takes after. However, the Shushan Snow was the all around winner. People said it was one of the best cheeses they had ever tasted. They loved its “incredible creaminess” and subtle taste. It did not go well with the grapes at all, but was a great match for the cider.
The cheese tasting was a great way to spend the afternoon together. We are not professional cheese-tasters or conosseurs of any high degree, but we love cheese. It was great to introduce my friends to more regional cheeses and to learn what they liked and disliked. I encourage you all to buy a bunch of cheeses and some cider and do your own tasting as well.
Here are short descriptions of the cheeses and the farms where they come from:
Lively Run Goat Dairy is a family farm located in Interlaken, NY, in the heart of the Finger Lakes. Their Cayuga Blue is a great blue cheese for beginners to try, as the texture is perfectly creamy, and the blue does not dominate the flavor.
Twig Farm is a goat dairy farm located in West Cornwall, VT. They specialize in raw aged goats milk cheeses using traditional methods and equipment. Their Tomme is aged for 80 days, and is semi-hard in texture.
Bobolink Dairy produces 100% grass-fed, raw cow’s milk cheeses in New Jersey. Their cheeses are strong and robust. The cheddar was considered “really sharp”, and paired very well with all of the accompaniments.
Patches of Star is another goat dairy located in Nazareth, PA. They have fresh chevres, fetas, and halloumi cheese, as well as yogurts.
3 Corner Field Farm is a Sheep Dairy located in Northeastern New York, near the Vermont Border in the Green Mountains. They practice organic farming methods, and the sheep feed on grass, clover, and alfalfa exclusively.
COOKING SHOW
Yield per acre and disease resistance are just some of the ways fruit trees can be effected by climate change. James' family have been orchardists for generations, in this video he shares the effects he has noticed due to climate change on his orchards in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
The Unsettling of America
Wendell Berry makes me want to do everything slowly and to make sure that I do it well. I'm reading The Unsettling of America right now, a book that has been on my father's shelf since long before I was born. After hearing Mr. Berry speak at Slow Food Nation a few weeks ago, I went back to my dad's apartment and scoured his shelves to find it (my dad claims his books are organized into categories, I have yet to find the key that breaks the code of this organization, but looking through them is always a fun journey). This is the first time in a long time that I have read a book slowly, not just going for essence, but making sure that I am aware of every sentence (I'm still only on page 80).
Thinking back to the panel Mr. Berry spoke at I wonder if maybe he has this effect on everyone; he prepared some opening remarks for the culminating panel of the weekend (the all-star one with Michael Pollan, Vandana Shiva, Eric Schlosser, Wendell Berry, Alice Waters and Carlo Petrini). After reading these remarks, Corby Kummer (the moderator) asked him to re-read them so that the audience could more fully digest. Within the context of the weekend this resonated with me. I was glad that not just food was valued as something to be prepared, enjoyed and discussed with integrity, but also the ideas and exchanges themselves. I had never seen anyone take the time at a panel like that to allow something to be respoken, to just get to sit with it for awhile. Now that I'm actually reading Wendell Berry's work, I see that this is the effect he has. I want everyone to read his book, and maybe we can all start doing less a little better.
His remarks from the panel were about the neccessity of local adaptation, I've transcribed them here:
"For too long humans have been spared, mainly by the cheapness of the fossil fuels, from the universal necessity of local adaptation. It is ultimately an inescapable biological imperative that human land use economies should correspond as closely as possible to the ecological mosaic. To this we no longer have even the illusion of a second choice. The increasing cost of energy and the vulnerability of long distance transportation in an age of violence show the importance of local food and forest communities and the reasonable extent of local economic self-sufficiency everywhere. This would require:
1) Diversity of locally adapted domestic species, crops and animals, increasing the acreage of perennials.
2) Conservation of land and water involving the proper use of woodlands and wetlands.
3) Fences. Fenced roads, permanent pastures, farm woodlands, boundaries and edges, which would increase the diversified populations of wild species.
4) More farmers, foresters, and other workers in land economy.
5) Local facilities for processing, distributing and marketing local products.
6) Propriety of state. And I want to include in that propriety the necessity of scaling down in our confidence in our own intelligence. We obviously have to be fairly smart to contrive imposing mechanical, chemical, electronic, genetic and nuclear technologies, but we have little evidence that we can deal intelligently with the results. All these remarkably intelligent, beautifully engineered technologies leave messes behind."
COOKING SHOW
COOKING SHOW
