Comments PermieWriter has made

I don't understand why Santa Cruz's is so horrid - the rest of their sodas are pretty tasty. I once stopped off at a brewery in Ukiah with a powerful root beer float jones. Since they make their own ice cream, I thought it was a safe bet. Nope, the wonderful ice cream was ruined by SC's lame root beer. What a waste!

My best regional rb was Powerhouse's in Sebastopol, but since they had the indecency to go out of business (particularly horrid since they were right across the street from Screamin' Mimi's, and a float made with Mimi's vanilla and Powerhouse rb is a magical combination, indeed). Since then I've been drinking Weinhard's, which has no eco-claims and contains HFCS. But at least it comes in glass bottles. Root beer from cans is just wrong.

I haven't eaten at Chipotle for quite a while, both because the East Bay has the far superior Cactus Taqueria and because Chipotle's food is salty enough to be nearly inedible (if you go, steer clear of the chips). This is just more typical corporate BS that scrapes away some of the thin layer of greenwashing.

It's usually pretty obvious when someone has been spraying herbicides. If there are a bunch of dead plants in a spray pattern and a nasty, chemical smell in the air, don't pick the flowers.

Croplife bugging Mrs. Obama about her garden is their equivilant of anti-abortion nutjobs heckling President Obama at Notre Dame. Both are clearly the dying gasps of bad ideas heaving their last. I hope.

The real question is: If Mrs. Obama doesn't cave and buy the Round Up, is she going to wake up next to a snail head? I wouldn't put it past the M -- I mean, Croplife.

We kept both sheep and goats for lawn mowing when we lived in a rural area, and ruminants have great advantages over lawn mowers (particularly high weed mowers). But the experience led my husband to make a firm rule: Never keep livestock that, in a pinch, you can't wrestle to the ground. This after a frisky sheep dragged him across the yard.

Goats have the advantage of eating almost anything (including your shirt if you get too near). They're very playful, but their idea of play tends to be what humans view as getting butted really hard. When they eat down a weed-infested area, they tend to leave it very uneven, and will girdle any trees they have consistent access to.

Sheep are much more difficult to lead around than goats (an area without sheep in it is the most terrifying thing ever to a sheep). They are exceedingly stupid. But they crop an area down flat. If you want an England-quality lawn, and have enough pasturage to make it work, you want sheep.

Miniature goats and sheep, though they are easier to handle than the standard varieties, take forever to mow even a small area. But if you have children, they'll adore them. Miniature angora goats are pretty much the cutest thing ever, particularly when they're kids.

Lentils and quinoa have the advantage over rice of short cooking times. If you're planning to cook, make sure you stock up on cooking fuel. We have three five-gallon propane tanks that we rotate through. We usually use them for the grill, but got an adapter so they can serve the camp stove (which usually uses those little bottles) in case of emergency.

We buy gallon jugs of the Nature's Gate stuff and use it to fill up a wall-mounted dispenser. I hate dealing with bottles in the shower (or in the recycling bin for that matter). It takes years to go through a gallon, which means I only have to go to Whole Foods every year or so (the Berkeley WF is one of the least shoppable grocery stores IME).

For a rinse, witchhazel also works very well for certain hair types.

We certainly improved our lifetyle when we moved from a rural area (two cars used daily, big house with electric heat) to an urban area (public transit, small house with gas heat). I think that Richard Register ("Ecocity Berkeley") has the right gesture about how to make human civilization carbon-negative and more human.

Please, no. Gods no.

I'm surprised at how much traction the off-the-grid thing has. Being off the electrical grid means you have to invest in a lot of batteries or resign yourself to not having electricity when the sun isn't shining or the wind isn't blowing. You don't get to use the grid as a battery, which means that if you produce any more juice than you can use or store, it goes to waste.

Instead of going off the grid, I think it's more positive to think of how much you can give back to the systems on which we all depend. That means using electricity during off-peak hours, growing food and giving it away or trading it, being a part of your communities rather than pulling back into some sort of imagined self-sufficiency. You'll do more good in the long run.

I'm always amazed at how many drivers speed up to a red light. Are they worried that it won't still be red when they get there, or are they under the delusion that they have the "Green, please," power? I hardly have to drive anymore since I got these awesome panniers on my bike and it stopped raining all of the time. But when I do drive (an '88 Honda Accord, manual transmission, 30-35 mpg, nothing but a pile of canvas bags in the trunk), I'm amazed at how far I can go without touching the gas pedal. Momentum is your friend.

I hope the design is hardened to withstand bombarding by orbital debris. Maybe we should wait until we clean up LEO before we start orbiting power satellites.
And of course the money would be better spent on conservation. But insulation isn't nearly as cool as rockets. At least we're not going for a beanstalk. PG&E would probably manage to split the planet if they built one.

The Songbird Friendly label is also one to look for. My favorite companies are Taylor Maid in Sebastopol: They have awesome relationships with their growers. And Ritual Roasters in San Francisco goes beyond anything sane.
My husband's morning brew is made with Ritual Roasters espresso beans, Dagoba Fair Trade chocolate syrup and Clover milk. It's basically a mocha of righteousness.

While you're at it, make sure your bananas are organic and Fair Trade. For one thing, if they're not organic, they were probably steeped in methyl bromide, one of the worst greenhouse gasses you can imagine.

Canvas bags rock. I don't know how many times I've gotten envious looks at the checkout. A lot of the bags grocery stores sell are those plastic things, which are okay but the handles tend to wear out and they're harder to fix. I have a pile of canvas sacks - never bought any, they just materialize at some rate. Start your own collection today. They're great to have around. And if you need to return something, just stick it in the sack.

Also, I just bought these awesome panniers for my bike that come off easily. Integrated grocery bags. w00t!

Excellent points, Umbra. Education of women and girls and lifestyle improvement are pretty much the only ways to control population that don't have unfortunate side effects. Important, however, that the extra impact of lifestyle improvements doesn't exceed the lessening impact of population reduction.

Very cool. Here in the SF Bay Area we mostly get holy moly, i.e. wild garlic. It grows rampant (ha) along sidewalks and is a pretty invasive weed, though it has these lovely white bell flowers. Maybe this spring I'll try it.

Thanks for the clarification. I hope you can develop a taste for tilapia. That and catfish are, I think, going to be the fish of the future, maybe the only fish our grandkids ever taste, if this goes on.

It is a protection racket, one with ever-increasing payments for ever-weakening protection. Down with Monsanto!

I don't know that two failed business models can procreate to make a successful one, however much I like the idea of GM switching out its Hummer aparatus to make cool golf cart things.

Very bad. As if we didn't have enough multiple-antiobiotic-resistant disease woes. Yet another reason that ethanol, like other wishful thinking silver bullets, is a bad idea for large scale production. Anything that needs CAFOs to exist is built on very unsound (as well as squishy and stinky) footing.

We so need to rebrand effiency as being smart about our use, getting more out of it, rather than sacrificing. On that line, check out this home performance testing musical video (yes, you heard me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pezKEkBIhqA

Not surprising

It's not surprising that the commercial building folks would react defensively to this perceived threat. They are completely unprepared to deal with providing reasonable spaces for humans to work in. They're used to dealing with circa 50s codes and standards, and now they're being expected to leapfrog into the 21st century.

Remember that the building industry has not drawn the best and the brightest engineers for many decades. If buildings are going to stop being energy hogs, we're going to have to figure out how to deal with the building professionals - and their baggage.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Yeah for California

We Ecotopians can drink local and organic. w00t!On In our latest tasting, organic beer comes of age posted 9 months ago 10 Responses

Cider

Yeah to making your own cider. The leftover apple mash makes an excellent compost, and I always give the lees (the dead yeast cells that accumulate on the bottom of the carboy) to my woodruff patch, which seems to like it.

But I must plug Gravensteins as the choice apple for cider. Alas for its brief season and lack of shippability. Plant or graft one today!On Umbra on beer and wine posted 9 months, 1 week ago 15 Responses

Take a breath

I really don't think that any of our vegan colleagues here can complain that they read this article thinking it would be a vegetarian recipe. It's strange that they would expose themselves to something that would be so upsetting to them, but I don't expect to understand everything about my fellow human beings. None of the vegetarians I know personally feel any need to evangelize about their diets.

Anyone reading a meat-containing recipe on Grist and assuming it suggests that they buy anything but the most humane and sustainably sourced meat (for both human and animal) has some serious issues.

BTW, if you simply can't do without fried chicken (brown mushrooms make an excellent buttermilk fried dish), try raising your own rabbits. It's very easy, generates high quality manure for potting and your garden and assures that you know exactly how your meat was raised and slaughtered. And rabbits are much easier to slaughter than chickens.On Cheap-chicken ad from KFC hides true cost of food; here's a tastier, low-cost alternative posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago 17 Responses

Since you mention Oakland...

City Slicker Farms is doing amazing work in supporting back yard food gardening in West Oakland, which has 300 liquor stores and no grocery store.

The woman I worked with learned gardening from her mother in the deep South, but the conditions (i.e. extremely sandy soil) here are very different. Her mother also never needed to deal with the threat of lead or other toxicity that's the legacy of the area.On Reflections on community gardens and the legacy of MLK posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago 3 Responses

Obama chia

That may be the worst representation of our president that I've seen yet (that wasn't on a conservative hate site).On From Chia to Chard posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago 2 Responses

Antimony

On the one hand, I think public art is a good idea because it encourages community, etc.

On the other hand, most public art looks like helicopter wrecks, but without the charm.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Soft hankies

Try making them from the fabric called bubble gauze. It's not extremely durable but it's cheap and a yard will make a whole lot of hankies. It's incredibly soft.

As Miss Manners wrote, you should always carry a handkerchief.  You might have the occasion to weep, and while weeping into linen is high drama, weeping into a kleenex is disgusting.On A nosy review of recycled facial tissue posted 10 months ago 12 Responses

Salad in winter

We lucky Bay Area folks can grow fresh greens year round. If you plant in a spot that gets 6-8 hours of light a day and cover the plants with floating row cover. If the rain is good (which, alas, it is not this year), one doesn't even need to water.

I plant a lot of mache, butter and romaine lettuces, as well as tatsoi, celery, parsley and other interesting herbs. It doesn't get any more local than your back yard, and is 50x tastier than those bags from TJs.On Ask Umbra's video advice on eating local in winter posted 10 months, 1 week ago 6 Responses

Bird damage

And skyscrapers hit a lot more birds than cars or planes (okay, it's the bird hitting the building, but same deal). Buildings kill about a billion birds a year in the U.S., three times as many as are killed by cats (take that, Audubon Society).

Okay, who's going to tell the air cannon chicken joke?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

More on the real farmer

Don't forget that he's spending his days off the farm - as is his wife - working a factory job so that they can afford to keep the farm while dancing to ADM's tune.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Put your faith in...

I'm always a little surprised when folks ask if the sustainable option is healthier. Follow me here: Sustainable = better for planet. You = completely dependent on said planet. Therefore, sustainable option is better for you, whatever the short-term effect on your particular set of arteries, etc.

Northern California sustainably minded gourmets can indulge in Cowgirl Creamery brie. I think the Mt. Tam is best, but they're all made with Straus Dairy milk, and are therefore dangerously tasty. Straus is a Marin County dairy so extremely green and cow-friendly that their products practically glow with virtue. Definitely a sometimes food, given the butterfat content.

Speaking of Straus, they're not pleased about the proposed USDA rules on organic dairies.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Natural and non-alcoholic

Try a bottle of Sonoma Sparkler. The maker, Dave Cordtz, used to work for Ace Cider, but now makes good stuff (non-alcoholic, he didn't find much market for good, alcoholic cider) in Healdsburg, buying from Northern California apple growers. He's one of the few buyers left for our region's apples, since China has been flooding the market with cheap juice.

Sonoma Sparkler comes in several, all-natural flavors. My favorites are peach and blood orange, but it's hard to beat the apple, raspberry and pear flavors. Happy holidays, and looking forward to 2009!On Ring in the new with a 'natural' bottle of bubbly posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 1 Response

Dead plant genitalia

No kidding. Next time you're tempted to give flowers, go buy a six-pack of organic lettuce instead. Try mache. It's pretty, tasty and won't have to be tossed (okay, maybe with a vinaigrette).

It might take some time to get your loved ones around to your POV, but you won't be poisoning them in the meantime. Or the workers, for that matter.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Meaningless gesture

The Broad Breasted White turkey, the modern commercial standard, is so overbred for breast size that it can't live for more than a year. I know a farmer who adopted such a bird. In her second year, she couldn't walk anymore and had to be slaughtered. All those pardoned birds are going to get killed in the next six months. Another reason to prefer heritage birds.

Does anyone really like that awful, cottony breast meat, anyway? I've been buying (organic, humanely raised) turkey thighs in recent years. Much faster cooking, no carcass to deal with and nice, rich meat for the Thanksgiving feast.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Brine and fungi

A great way of getting the classic turkey flavor and moisture into heritage or pastured birds is a salt brine. Harvest some fresh sage, parsley, marjoram and rosemary from your garden, wash them, macerate them with some salt (you'll use one cup salt per quart of water you need to cover your bird). Mix it up with some sugar (I preferred the local honey I bartered some eggs for, but YMMV) a few splashes of vinegar (I like apple cider), lots of pepper and smashed garlic. Submerge the bird and refrigerate for a few hours to a day (more if you like a saltier bird, but beware the corned turkey if you leave it too long).

I think that the carbon-smart thing for a lot of folks to do is to abandon roasting a whole bird. A whole bird is fine if you have folks you're feeding who will eat every part, but so many folks will only eat breast meet that it might make more sense to buy and cook one or two breasts, or legs if your eatees are dark meat eaters. Whole birds are a pain to carve, harder to bring and cook and way more likely to have a lot go to waste (thrown away food being a top contributor to waste in our ag system).

For the veggeterians, try marinating portobello mushrooms with the same herbs, but pureed with some nice oil and vinegar, then roasting or grilling. Wonderful taste (and 33 percent protein - by dry weight). I find that when I serve mushrooms along with meat, it reduces greatly the amount of meat folks eat, which is a good thing all around (given that humanely raised, local meat costs about as much as local, organic mushrooms).

On the other hand, I suppose some vegans might not eat fungi since they're, genetically speaking, more similar to animals than vegetables. If they're collected responsibly, the impact on the mycelium (the underground part of the mushroom) is positive (since a good collector will spread the spores far and wide). And if they're raised responsibly from sustainable feedstocks (manure, compost, wood chips, etc.), then the energy cost is probably less than animals (I haven't run the numbers. There is a considerably heat outlay for mushrooms for sterilizing the feedstock which may only slightly be exceeded by the energy costs of raising the crops to feed meat animals).

I suppose conversations about dietary requirements will always be a part of the negotiations leading up to a Thanksgiving feast. Let us hope for more goodwill on the subject at the table than in the forum.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Putting by

What would one do without a large supply of canning jars, a couple of five-gallon kettles and one of those jar lifter things? Without these, plum season would see me completely covered in slowly composting fruit. With them, I have plum jam to eat and give away through the winter.

I recommend "Stocking Up III" for anyone interested in preserving the harvest's abundance. There are also classes - like those at the Institute for Urban Homesteading in Oakland (the one I'm partial to since we taught a backyard chicken class for them earlier this year).

I've noticed that more and more tomato growers are only offering the yellow and orange slicers. Though these are great for fresh eating, I wouldn't recommend them for preservation since their delicate flavor would be lost. In general, the darker the tomato, the better it will be from the can or jar. That's why we grow lots of black cherries, black krim, black prince, etc. Lots of flavor and versatile in application.On How to make a meal from your market basket posted 1 year ago 6 Responses

The house that straw built

I've helped make a few clay/straw structures and it's wonderful stuff to work with and yields excellent results. Some folks tend to get caught up with straw bales. Make sure you look around. There's a whole continuum of techniques using the basic components of straw, clay, sand and water: cob, straw/clay infill, etc. Straw bale is overkill in most climates, but one of the other techniques might well work for your area. Don't forget the boots and hat!On Umbra on straw-bale homes posted 1 year, 1 month ago 11 Responses

Comebacks

It's interesting how the term hippy has become a pejorative. In these circumstances, a big smile is probably your best defense. Or a smaller smile and, "We prefer tree-hugging dirt worshippers, thank you." You can back that up by planting some sunflowers in your front yard.
I prefer not to let folks categorize me, since it makes it easier for them to dismiss what I'm saying. Remember: they're getting defensive because you're doing something virtuous that on some level they know that they should be doing, too. Be gentle with them and you might be able to bring them around.On Umbra on deflecting eco-insults posted 1 year, 1 month ago 18 Responses

Passing the troll bridge

DR held out hope that in the upcoming upgrade of the site that one would be able to block certain commenters from one's view. That would certainly make Gristmill more enjoyable once again.

I have to wonder if Palin's mangling of English is entirely unplanned. Some people (i.e. those of room-temp IQ) seem to find it endearing. Gods help us. And I guess she isn't watching Letterman in the time she's not reading newspapers.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Many options

I'm an omnivore, but cook for several vegetarians regularly. A veggie diet doesn't need to be boring. Quinoa is an excellent grain that's easy to prepare, tasty and easy to buy organic. Squash of all sorts make an excellent centerpiece - I like making lasagna using slices of grilled or broiled zucchini instead of noodles. Stay away from the processed foods if you're trying to minimize your mouth's carbon footprint. Remember: if your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, you probably shouldn't eat it.

If I were going veggie, I would be sure to include small bits of animal protein (humane, sustainable, of course) every so often so that your internal flora that break the stuff down don't all die off. I've known some strict veggie friends who got really sick after eating a restaurant or potluck meal that contained some animal product, and it was no fun at all. I don't think it takes much to keep those enzymes, etc. active and you could save yourself much misery down the road.On Umbra on shifting to vegetarianism posted 1 year, 1 month ago 19 Responses

Criminal or paternal

Oh that's what he said. McCain was muttering so much that it was hard to make that out. Interesting. So was he accusing Obama of unnatural relations with a bear? Does that mean we can accuse Palin of unnatural relations with a seal?

I imagine that the bear DNA funding attack came from some of his staffers looking through appropriations bills and finding items they thought would play as ridiculous in redneckland. Alas, it will probably work with those of room-temp IQ.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Bogarting the bogus

Indeed. People who say that artificial selection (i.e. breeding of plants and animals for certain traits) is in any important way identical to firing bits of DNA at a petri dish must have a conflict of interest in the matter. Either they're getting money from the chemical corporations or they desperately want to retain their worldview. Either one is poisonous.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

DIY meat

Perhaps you can be absolutely certain your meat was raised and slaughtered humanely by doing it yourself. Chickens, rabbits, even goats can be raised easily in an average backyard, local code permitting.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Palin in dismay

I hope folks realize that she's not so much a woman as she's the Republican's best hope for holding onto their screwhold on America. Her climate change denial is just the topper on her immense cake of lack of qualification to lead the U.S. through the coming tough times.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Food for all

I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't participate. Can I beg off by saying I had to feed my rabbits and cook a big dish of veggies from my backyard and the local farmers market for a gathering of my dearest friends?

I think the big problem facing the Slow Food movement is that the food problem is (at least) two-fold: making good food available to poor people and getting the rest of us to pay enough to make sustainable farming practical. The two get confused, and until the Slowies get some good PR help (and here I'm thinking of George Lakoff) on board, they're going to continue to come across as arugula-sniffing elites.On Slow Food Nation was magnificent in many ways, but overshot its mandate posted 1 year, 2 months ago 17 Responses

Purslane

Purslane used to be a popular European food in the middle ages. It's a nice salad ingredient, if you harvest it young. As it gets older it gets a really slimy texture, much like okra. It has a nice, lemony flavor, though.

I've been keeping my eye out for huitlacoche. It's English name is terribly venal: corn smut. But I have heard that it's delicious, and my fungophilia will not rest...

Good on you for avoiding mystery meat. It's tough, but if we all did so, there would be big changes in the works - fast.On Notes on a recent trip to Mexico posted 1 year, 3 months ago 8 Responses

I don't know about the product

but the Method bottle we inherited when we rented our house does great at dispensing foamy soap. We put our tea tree oil soap in there, which is a great grease cutter and does wonders for acne-prone skin.On Umbra on Method cleansers posted 1 year, 3 months ago 23 Responses

Composting

We use a stacked worm bin and a Biostack for our garbage, very successfully. Don't listen to people who say that earthworms can't survive in wormbins - ours do just fine. We put fine stuff like tea bags (tag and all), greens, leftover rice, etc. in for the worms and the bigger stuff like avocado peels, some yard waste, egg shells, etc. into the Biostack.

If you put your Biostack in the sun, its contents will compost much more quickly than in the shade. Our marauding raccoons can't seem to get into the Biostack (thank goodness) but some rodents do like nesting in there. More work for the cat.On How to start composting posted 1 year, 3 months ago 7 Responses

Interesting

I've been recruiting participants for an energy efficiency study by phone and have been amazed by how many more women agree to participate than men. I've been attributing it to the fact that I'm a woman, and therefore women are more likely to sympathize and say yes, but I'm not sure how far that goes. I've also noticed that most of the people I've met who work in green engineering are women. I'm not sure that one can generalize from that to say that women are more environmentally conscious than men (at least without being labeled a misandronist troglodyte). But it is some anecdotal evidence.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

The organic label

A lot of work has gone into making the organic label as sticky as it has. The USGBC has done much the same thing in a much shorter time with its LEED rating system. I think much of the charm of the LEED system is the tiered rating system, and it might work for an organic rating to work the same way. You get points based on how eco-friendly and responsible your practices are, and that includes how close to the farm you're selling your products.

It would certainly make things simpler at the farmers market. "Hey honey, this farmer's apples are rated Organic Plus and they're only five cents more expensive than the Organic Basic over there. Let's get these."

This is, of course, after the organic community finishes the discussion about what consititutes best organic practices in each region and if biodynamic practices should count. That is, probably somewhere around 2100.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

People get turned off

I talk to a lot of people about energy efficiency (I'm a researcher for an energy efficiency consulting firm), and the thing that turns people off more than anything about efficiency measure is their being mandated.
Time and time again, when people get defensive and say, "Hell no, I don't use CFLs," or insulation or double-paned windows, it's not about the money they'd have to invest or the look, it's about being told that they have to do something. Many, many people just hate being told to do something that is in their and the rest of our best interest simply because they're being told to do it. Efficiency marketing has a long way to go.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Our seeds

It sounds like Cummings is making some excellent points about agricultural transgenics. The problem isn't what the plants do (thought that's been bad enough, but what we don't know. Maybe they're as dangerous as Dr. Pusztai's test indicates, but since that experiment has never been repeated because of pressure from the biotech companies, we don't know. We don't know how much farmers are suffering because of the agro-chem corporations' practices because those farmers are systematically silenced. We don't know if the GMOs we eat every day are affecting our health because those foods aren't labeled - again due to systematic efforts by the companies that develop and sell those technology/crops.
I have no objection to transgenic technology in the lab, it's when it gets into the rest of the world that it bothers me, particularly when it's released in an irresponsible way by companies that make it clear that their only concern is short-term profits.
To get involved in the fight to keep those corporations under control, check out Californians for GE-Free Agriculture.
BTW, I'm growing calendula and it rocks. The petals are great in salad!
 On Author Claire Hope Cummings dishes the dirt on genetically modified food posted 1 year, 3 months ago 12 Responses

Defending grass-fed beef

Last week I picked up our share of the harvest from Markegard Family Grass-Fed Cattle in Half Moon Bay, and on Sunday cooked up the first of it. This is the first true all-grass-fed beef I've had (most operations use some grain), and I have to say this chef has different taste buds than I do. The taste was fresher, tastier and - dare I say - beefier than any of the grass-finished beef I've eaten.

Maybe some of the good taste is psychosomatic, knowing that the cow I'm eating had a good life and a decent death and that my contribution to the farm will help them continue practices that are healthy for the environment and their animals. But I'm looking forward to enjoying my eighth-share (we split a quarter-share with another family) over the course of the year. I even got some of the bones, so I can make mincemeat the traditional way.

I agree that Bissonette doesn't sound like he was much of a vegan. Let's hear about whole grains, fresh veggies and mushrooms, lots of mushrooms. Cheetos and Pepsi do not a sound diet make, even with the occasional feast.On Getting to the meat of the matter with Boston chef Jamie Bissonnette posted 1 year, 3 months ago 21 Responses

Bag of worms

That's some sticky terrain there. The farmers that are receiving those subsidies are holding onto them with both hands, both feet, pitchforks and tractors. Weaning them from the public teat is going to be quite an exercise.

I'm a bit surprised to hear the WTO cited as good for farming. My understanding is that the organization has encouraged a lot of big, cash crop practices that has undermined local food security and led to disaster for farmers, particularly in developing nations.

GMOs do sound amazing, don't they? It's too bad the reality doesn't live up to the promise. Bigger yields, fewer pesticides and herbicides... the bigger yields have never happened and the chemical reductions backfire in a few years. Monsanto, etc. need to spend a lot more lab time before they come up with viable transgenic crops that don't endanger natural fecundity or the farmers who plant them.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Yes!

I first encountered aebleskivers in Cambria, CA many years ago. They're more like a cross between a pancake and a doughnut, really. I started with this recipe for buttermilk aebleskivers but have changed it over time. The idea of making them spicy is pretty strange. Maybe I'll serve them with spiced apple butter next time and see how it goes.

Re: bikes
AFAIC, bikes need separate, protected paths. Riding with cars is suicidal.On After a mass bike ride across Iowa, a slow-food chef picks up the pace posted 1 year, 4 months ago 4 Responses

Prop 2

It's a start. Unless things go very badly, it looks like it will pass.
Unfortunately, California hosts few of  America's CAFOs, so most of the animals caught in those horrible systems won't even have that little improvement. But we do have a fair few chicken operations, so it will be something.
I see the pro-cruelty folks have gotten a thumbs-up from the Merced county supes and UC Davis. "If we can't torture chickens, you can't have eggs," they whine. Like all such statements, I don't see any actual farmers on the endorsements list. Damn chem-egg industry and their externalized costs.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Share-a-gardener

A business has just started up in San Francisco with the same model. I think it's a great idea. It gives well-paying work to a farmer who can't afford their own land, fresh, uber-local veggies to someone who can afford to pay a premium for them and uses land that would otherwise be planted in lawn or ornamentals for food. Sure, it sounds silly to those of us who love to garden, but some people just don't make it a priority. But I bet a lot of those folks' kids will grow up fascinated by food gardening.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Storing salad

Salad keeps best - and crispiest - if you wash it, then store it wet in a plastic bag. You wouldn't believe how crunchy butter lettuce gets after a few hours, and it keeps for days.

For a lot of veggies, it really pays to cook them fresh, right when the box is delivered, and then store them in glass, ready to incorporate into your dishes. It makes dinner prep a lot faster and the veggies seem to keep more of their kick.

Force-ripening fruit tends to lead to mushiness. Never refrigerate strawberries whole! If they're going bad, wash, cut and mix with a little sugar, then refrigerate. Then, within a day, have strawberry shortcake.On Umbra on storing produce posted 1 year, 4 months ago 15 Responses

A crumby deal

I suppose we should be grateful for the crumbs. Vital programs like ALBA have been subsisting on scraps from the big ag feast for years.

It's really hard to get into farming unless you were born into it, particularly in California where land is so expensive. We need small farms near the cities, where transportation costs can be contained, but farmers are vying for that land with developers. If the government doesn't step in to help, that land will host more mouths rather than crops.

Thank goodness for farmers like the Florentinos, who grow food where the people are. We'll need more and more farmers like them as food and fuel costs rise. An investment in local food security is one of the wisest long-term investments we can make right now.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Surprised?

Is someone expecting PETA to be rational or consistent? I believe they have proved beyond any sort of reasonable doubt that they are incapable of such.

On the other hand, I wouldn't necessarily call what PETA did with their interns abusive, or any more abusive than what folks usually do with interns. I mean, they're volunteers. Tacky, certainly. If they don't like it, they can walk away. That would mean doing without that tasty PETA reference on their resume, which could be handy when... Actually, why would someone intern with PETA?

Ye gods, the link is to Reason. You can't believe what those people say. Next to CATO, they're the most sold-out branch of the LP. Well, maybe recently they've been exceeded by the LP, itself. But everyone should feel free to disregard anything a libertarian says from now on. The party and movement are both failures and intellectually bankrupt.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Re: banned fruit

Guerilla tactic: Graft fruiting varieties onto non-fruiting trees.

Some of the progressive members of the Sebastopol City Council had a fight with the public works department over fruit trees in public spaces. The mayor thought that apple trees would be great for the Gravenstein apple capital of the world. Sebastopol hosts two apple festivals, therefore should have some actual apple trees. The public works guys thought that the fruit would be a mess and high school kids would have fights with the fruit. They're both right, of course. It would be a struggle to teach kids to appreciate and eat the fruit, but I think it's a struggle worth engaging.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Fruity idea

Yeah! There are a few folks trying to get a similar plan going in SF and the East Bay. There is so much food going to waste. A lot of people don't even know that loquats are edible. They taste a little bit like mango and a bit like apricot, only more tart.

My kitchen has already been overflowing with gifted apricots and plums this summer. Time to pull out the pectin again.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Chicken off switch

The off-when-upside-down phenomena is very much like a computer glitch. It's something you really have to do to fully appreciate. Catch a fully aware chicken (not as easy as it sounds), wrestle it into a comfortable hold, then turn it upside down. It is very much like going into standby mode. They're still awake, but not accepting input until conditions change. The computer analogy is a good one.

A biologist buddy of mine took us newt hunting a couple of years ago. He handled them with aplomb (too slimy for my tastes). Most folks should probably not be encouraged to handle the wildlife because they'll get themselves or the wildlife hurt, but well-informed types can do it safely.

Thanks for the car camping with Prius report. I had suspected that they would perform admirably, and your experience certainly bears that up.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Thank goodness

It's been way too long that the EPA has been phasing out methyl bromide. It's nasty stuff used by conventional farmers to sterilize the soil before planting crops like strawberries and grapes, destroying all of the beneficial organisms along with the problematic ones. It's also used to gas bananas before shipment (one more reason I buy organic, fair trade bananas).

I know some organic farmers up in Sonoma County who got sick after a neighboring farmer was using the stuff on his fields and the wind shifted (as it will do up in the hills around Healdsburg), exposing the farmer and his family to the poisonous gas. It's not fair that farm workers get exposed to this poison on an ongoing basis. Also, methyl bromide has 60 times the ozone-destroying power of chlorine. Not really what our atmosphere needs right now.

Remember the precautionary principle. We can do what we need to without nasty chemicals. Really.On EPA cracks down on the pesticides on your peppers posted 1 year, 4 months ago 3 Responses

Don't

Don't feed the troll, dear. It only encourages it.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

*Wild applause*

Wow, this is the best news I've heard since -- well, since the last news I heard about Obama.

Seriously, awesome that he knows something about the horrendous food problem that is American agriculture. Waters' suggestions is a bit lightweight on the face of it, but I'm sure she has something more ambitious in mind. Kitchen cabinet, indeed.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Green your business model

Of course none of this really makes any difference if your business manufactures unnecessary plastic widgets, encourages needless consumption, etc. You can make a bigger impact by steering your company toward a more sustainable business plan than by any number of duplex print jobs (though, of course, it may be easier to get the boss to do the big green stuff once you've gotten him going on the small green stuff). Don't neglect any greening angle.On How to green your day job posted 1 year, 4 months ago 3 Responses

Almondvore's dilemna

Almond's are a tough case for me. They're tasty, versatile and they're grown mostly right here in Northern California. But they're a big part of the whole agro-industrial system that's killing the bees. I suppose one could limit their consumption to uber-sustainable acorns like the ones grown in Davis's Village Homes.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

The economics

Chipotle could make the extra $.01 for tomatoes pencil out by cutting their salt use by two-thirds. I'll be eating my burritos at Cactus until Chipotle figures out that salt is a seasoning, not a major ingredient.

Hell, if they cut their salt use by 75 percent they could kick in an extra penny for the tomato-pickers, who undoubtedly deserve the compensation.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Green books

We've found it useful to buy certain green books to give away. Sure, a dedicated person can find all they need online or through talking to folks to go ultra-low-carbon, but it's helpful when convincing other people to make the leap to give them something written.

We loan many copies of Toby Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home Scale Permaculture," which is the best book for someone taking up backyard gardening. Also, McDonough's "Cradle to Cradle," which is published on reusable plastic and is waterproof. "Natural Capitalism" is also a big hit and has great examples of how business can go green.

We're still auditioning more practical books. We have "The Low Carbon Diet" and a few others, but haven't picked our favorite that we'll buy many copies of yet.On Should you add the latest green-living books to your library? posted 1 year, 4 months ago 4 Responses

Wildfires

These fires are a symptom of the ecological disaster that is the California wildlands. Centuries of fire suppression (did you know the first law passed in California by the Spanish was banning Indian fires, which had maintained the fire-dependent ecology for thousands of years?) have led to completely unmanageable timber loading. Unsustainable forestry practices have left dense stands of Douglas fir of minimal commercial value but high fire potential.

I've spent some time doing fire load thinning, and it is very hard work, and there is plenty of poison oak to keep you on your toes. We must have a century worth of youth service projects just in the North SF Bay area. If we got the fuel load managed, we could start rounds of controlled burns, but in most areas that's simply impossible now. One biologist I know partially blames the broken fire cycle for the devestating consequences of Phytopthera ramorum (aka Sudden Oak Death) because the lack of fire is altering the soil pH, making the trees more susceptible to the pathogen.

The air quality here in the East Bay hasn't been all that bad, particularly this week, but I've smelled it every morning, and I can imagine how difficult it is for people with less robust lungs. We have to manage our wildlands better or climate change is going to kick our suntanned butts.On California wildfires mucking up state's air quality posted 1 year, 4 months ago 5 Responses

Big John

And the Daily Show has already spoofed this ad, generating a campaign ad from Cornyn's supposed opponent. The word elitist is used many times, as well as several jokes Stewart can only get away with making because of his own religious and ethnic heritage.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Agricultural GE

It's hard to have a rational discussion about genetic engineering in agriculture because the issue is so confused. It pushes many of our (that is, progressive activists) hot buttons: corporations, muddy science, monoculture, threats to wildlife. And Monsanto and the few other corporations that are doing transgenics for crops have been behaving in such untrustworthy and, PR-wise, stupid ways (suing Ben & Jerry's for advertising that their cows don't get treated with rBST or buying up small seed companies and destroying their stocks, for example).

The other big problem is that GE crops just haven't shown their stuff. Year after year, the pesticide requirements rise, yields fall and farmers sink more into the hole. While I'd like to believe that genetic engineering could be a benefit to the environment or humans, neither the current science nor the governmental review is working. I know scientists who do GE (not agricultural) in the lab and they are horrified at the thought of the release of transgenic organisms into the environment - we just don't know enough about what happens to the DNA during the process.On How the organic movement can regain its relevance posted 1 year, 5 months ago 24 Responses

Re: Energy prize?

What part of "campaign promise" don't you understand?
Lovely idea, though. Even if the government doesn't come through with the cash, I'm sure the promise will spur some budding young chemists.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Good topic!

Child's car seats are one of the items I see most frequently abandoned along streets in the SF Bay Area. They always give me a moment of panic: Did someone leave their baby behind? No, just one more harried parent whose kid outgrew the seat and couldn't figure out what else to do with it. I'm sure each one would fail Umbra's guidelines for re-use. I hope parents push the manufacturers for a take-back plan.On Umbra on car seat recycling posted 1 year, 5 months ago 8 Responses

Good job, Gore!

Excellent points. I'm glad Gore waited until the nomination was clear (or as clear as it seems likely to get), to avoid distracting attacks by the anti-Obama crowd.

I think this candidacy, and Obama's presidency, will give us save-the-world folks a real and much-needed boost. Come on, let's do it for the children! And the great-great-great-great-great grandchildren.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

*sniff*

Thanks for making me cry at work, David. I'm not sure I can handle SPHC or interminable Potter, but I'm ready to go with the rest of it. Please.

These folks sure have an eye for detail (and a great liking for yoga, apparently). Ah, they're software developers. That explains it.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

The label

The organic wine label seems to be reviving from its previous bad reputation. In the '70s, or so I hear, some well-meaning but oenignorant folks produced quite a few organic wines that were less than quaffable. Like some of the shoddy solar work of that era, the reputation has lingered. Fortunately lots of very knowledgable winemakers are finally coming out of the closet as organic, or even biodynamic (which is weird, but turns out some excellent food, probably because only really dedicated farmers try it).

When I was first started winemaking I used camden in the must. I stopped because it added an off flavor and haven't had any problems. Of course, I'm not making grape wine (mostly Gravenstein apple cider and some plum wine, kiwi wine and mead). I also don't boil the must and use a lot of very robust yeast (cotes de blanc) and pectic enzyme. Works every time. I also use the superfine brewing sugar made from corn. YMMVOn A primer on organic wines, and a sweet way to bring them to the table posted 1 year, 5 months ago 4 Responses

Marginal quality?

gmama wrote:
something which is not addressed by Fair Trade and which regularly results in overpriced, marginal quality beverages.

Everything I've ever tasted that came with the Transfair Fair Trade label was of exceptional quality, whether it be coffee, chocolate or tea. Particularly Taylor Maid of Sebastopol.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Tomato pests

My sympathies, kmp. Too many critters like chomping on tender tomato greenery. Have you tried cutting back on the nitrogen-heavy fertilizers? That can make them less appealing to pests.

We've had terrible problems with wilt, so we have to grow all the non-hybrids in raised containers with purchased soil. At least it gives us something useful to do with the driveway.

I'm looking forward to the advent of tomato season. The farmers markets have had them for a while, but I can tell they're not the real thing yet (i.e. they're raised in greenhouses).

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Protesters

Best wishes to the European truckers!

And the Spanish fishermen. And the Canadian draft horse owners. Indonesian students. Thai truckers. British fishermen. German farmers. Heck, I winced during our once-every-couple-of-months fill-up yesterday. Might as well protest the rising tide. We're all going to feel the pinch.On Protests erupt worldwide over fuel prices posted 1 year, 5 months ago 25 Responses

Protests

What's going to happen when folks figure out that the prices won't go back down? Scary.On Protests erupt worldwide over fuel prices posted 1 year, 5 months ago 25 Responses

Lord (don't) have MRSA on us

Yet another reason to buy Niman Ranch or another sustainable operation's meat when you're indulging in pork.

It was only ever a matter of time for this kind of outbreak given the horrendous conditions in CAFOs and battery egg factories. I'm terrified of what will happen if we don't shut them all down as soon as possible.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

The real threat

Heifer International does great work and deserves our support. As Erik says, isolated people using livestock to make a living is not a threat to the environment. Given training in restorative practices, it could even be a good thing for their local environments. The real threat the environment through animals is irresponsible grazing and - most of all - CAFOs that spew huge quantities of pollutants into the environment. It's CAFOs that need shutting down.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

My vote is pro-feline

Folks wouldn't need to expose themselves to this poison at all if they just got a cat to take care of their rodent issues. And by cat, I mean a real cat. Not some breeder-farmed furball that is clueless when it comes to killing. I mean a scrappy tabby that goes from 0 to lethal in 2.0 seconds. Bat, bat, crunch, munch.

Rodent predation has long been the basis of the human/feline relationship, and it's up to us to maintain it by favoring cats with excellent rat hunting skills.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

A big opportunity

The small, food farmers I've spoken to said the big problem is that they're not able to pay farm workers enough money to keep good workers around. And that is rooted in the basic problem that we Americans aren't paying enough for food.

We're chronically misled by the artificially low prices at grocery stores that do not represent all the externalized costs, including underpaid farm workers. How do we convince Americans to pay more for less, higher quality food? If that happens, that whacks a big part of the medical industry problems as well (obesity, diabetes, etc.).On To create a truly sustainable food system, we'll have to confront the farm-labor crisis posted 1 year, 6 months ago 14 Responses

Hear, hear

I agree. Pesticides and herbicides that are labeled organic are either for the desperate or the clueless. Unfortunately, that market seems large and is certainly larger than the market in ladybugs.

BTW, you don't really need to buy ladybugs. Plant yarrow and they'll come.

This is just one more part of the large, pseudo-organic trend, which is making me yet more skeptical of products with the organic label. I'll stick with the farmers I know and the food I've raised myself, thank you, Big Ag.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Don't be the guy

Town meetings are good, clean fun, but don't be the guy who gets up to rant interminably on every item with a public comment period. Sonoma County was graced with several of those when I was covering Board of Supervisors meetings, and there were two or three guys who would  make the meetings much longer by always getting up to air old gripes in long, rambling monologues that the board were completely unequipped to deal with.

One of them in particular had a radical environmentalist bent but was, himself, completely bent. Those folks do us no favors, particularly when they insist that the board plant a fence of prickly pear all through the county.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Re: land access

Those three categories are the ones I have seen, as well, though most of my direct experience with farmers has been in Sonoma County, which is not perhaps the most representative sample. The people who raised food (as opposed to wine grapes) were mostly retired people who had made a bundle in the city or young, driven people who were leasing land from a kindly rich person or the county. The rich people who were farming, themselves, were all growing grapes (mostly pinot noir and chardonnay).

My knowledge of people going in to farming stems from interviews with staff at UC extensions and the Santa Rosa branch of the USDA and hearing them lament about the quality and quantity of people lining up to be farmers. All of the best ones studying ag, they said, want to go into something cleaner, like policy, rather than field work. Which was, of course, what they were doing. It's easy to want other people to break their backs doing farm work, which is very hard work indeed when done the conventional way. That is why I'm so in love with permaculture, which advocates doing things the intelligent, easy way.

What, it's not obvious I'm a XX sort? Weird...

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Negawatts

I'm afraid that conservation has gotten a very bad rap. I'm a researcher for an energy efficiency consulting firm, and I get amazingly different stories from folks I talk to, businesspeople, homeowners, building engineers, etc. A lot of them just seem convinced on a fundamental level that no practical amount of effort and money will save a substantial amount of energy/money. It seems bizarre to me, given the rising cost of energy, but I suppose they have their reasons for believing. Just not good ones.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Ooh, ooh, ooh!

Can we please, please be able to block certain posters from the blog view? That's assuming the magical ponies will be too busy to simply kick them to death.

I'll be so happy to see greater integration betwixt Grist and Gristmill.

Thanks for all your hard work.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Bear policy

Too bad we can't have a back door climate policy. It is all of our rear ends on the line, after all.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Taking the delicious step

Awesome picture of the person taking a big mouthful of mache (also called corn salad), which, by the way, is seriously easy to grow, nearly immune to pests and never gets bitter, even when it bolts (the gardeners' term for going to seed when you don't want it to).

The big thing to remember when you start gardening is to start small. How many people start off with huge plans for garden plots out in the back 40, plans that shortly founder because of the long walk just to get out there. Start with a few herbs outside your kitchen window. When you're used to that, start some salad in a container or a partly sunny spot right outside your door, someplace you walk every day. After that, get some strawberries and plant them not too far away. Once you've found how sweet that is, you can start getting more ambitious.

And don't neglect the drip irrigation. Believe me, it will make your life much easier.

Lots of directions for how to get going gardening in my blog, linked below.On How to green your yard -- even more posted 1 year, 6 months ago 9 Responses

Public perception

Remember: to most folks, rail service translates as public boondoggle rather than public service (thanks, Amtrak). If he stumps for rail, McClinton will tear into him for threatening to waste taxpayer money.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Questions

You'd think that, "How do you intend to keep America in power?" would be a more interesting question than any of those. But what's the downfall of technological civilization mean when we're talking about something really important, like giving the Democrats their chance to throw the election the old-fashioned way?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Fulfillment

Amen. I think having fulfilling familial contacts will provide many positive impacts. If we are satisfied by loving relationships, then where is the frantic need for all the unnecessary consumer artifacts? Save that money for something important, like the OAEC plant sale. Now gardening, there's something that feeds the soul. And the family, genetic or otherwise.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Protein and humor deficiency

I think the vegangelical missionary position is in the produce aisle, with a finger in the air pointed at your nose.

I ran into a fair few vegangelicals when I was covering the fur protests on the Russian River a few years back for the local paper. The PETA folks made themselves extremely unpopular with the locals and managed to create a huge rift in the community, as well as a considerable backlash: The meat-minded folks in the community started a weekly barbecue in support of the store that was getting boycotted for selling vintage fur.

The PETA types are shooting their cause in the foot with their strident antics. Yes, many of them are reasonable, but it only takes a few unreasonable ones to discredit the movement.

And remember: portabello (Agaricus brunnescens)is 30 percent protein (by dry weight). Just because you're vegan doesn't mean you have to be protein deficient.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Gods help us

I'd say Lee is serious. He certainly cites Quinn in an earnest manner.

Ishmael.org doesn't need that kind of traffic, not does the movement need this kind of representation. Is there someone in Maryland who might help gently educate this person?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

She's right

I have been reading Novella's writing, first her columns in the North Bay Bohemian, then her blog and her stories in the Chron, for many years. I think she is one of the few truly sensible writers in the field of local food and fuel sustainability. Novella is willing to take responsibility for herself (to the tune of dumpter-diving to feed her pigs - how many Gristians could say they would do as much?) and starting a bio-fuel cooperative to provide auto fuel, not only for herself, but many veggie-car drivers around the Bay Area. Since I buy my chicken feed at Biofuel Oasis, I can testify that it is a good operation, much neater than any of the others I have visited.

I got to visit Novella's pigs last June, and they seemed to be very happy porkers. She also has an impressive garden in the vacant lot next door. If you read her posts, you see that she also manages, in that tiny space, to raise rabbits and chickens. She's a real inspiration to me and many other urban gardeners, those of us who are dedicated to really walking our talk about local sustainability.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Local solutions to local problems

If the groping/frottage situation is bad enough in Mexico City to warrant special, women-only transit, then it is a fine thing to provide that male-free transit. Though I would hope that males who could prove themselves civilized enough to go the duration of a bus trip with a woman without attempting to impregnate her would also be welcome.

Obviously this is not called for in places like San Francisco, where the harrasment tends to be equal opportunity. But in areas where women's only transporation options are public, to effectively deny them transit by making that transit have an unacceptable personal cost is reprehensible.On Mexico City encourages transit ridership with women-only buses posted 1 year, 10 months ago 8 Responses

Canvas bags

It's amazing how defensive some folks get at the grocery store when I haul out my canvas bags. I have had many people volunteer to me that they forgot their bags, that they keep meaning to get some and so forth.

One hardly needs to be an environmentalist to see that they're a good idea: they don't split and spill your groceries, have handles that dig into your hands, etc.

If we could get rid of plastic bags, think of how much less litter would be blowing around our cities, and swirling around the Pacific. One less object for people to be irresponsible with (one jillion to go).On Whole Foods to stop giving out plastic grocery bags by Earth Day posted 1 year, 10 months ago 18 Responses

Meaningful use

I agree with llj that it is best (not to mention wisest) to wear the coat with the fur on the inside. It is unfortunate that such a useful fabric has been tainted by a horrible industrial process.

What is really unfortunate is that so much righteous fervor is spent upon fur when there are so many other inhumane processes (trucking, glass-walled office buildings, conventional farming) that have animal impacts in orders of magnitude more severe that go nearly unprotested.On Umbra on (inherited) fur coats posted 1 year, 10 months ago 60 Responses

Halloween karma

I spent so much time trick-or-treating as a kid that I feel bound to give as good as I got. As long as they're in costume, they're getting those highly packaged morsels of hydrogenated fats. If they're in street clothes, they get what they deserve, from me at least.

I nearly bought little fair trade chocolates this year. But kids' palates aren't sophistocated enough to appreciate them. Yeah, I'd love to make popcorn balls or something more wholesome -- sure, Halloween is only one day of the year, but kids are eating crap every single day -- but I'd get burned at the stake by outraged parents. How dare I threaten their children with organic corn, sugar, butter and nuts?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Food news

What excellent timing for Cornell's press release about food footprints.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

More information

The upcoming, winter issue of Permaculture Activist Magazine will focus on animals, with articles on reclaimed-materials chicken tractor design, pastured poultry and small livestock intergration into the backyard permaculture garden.

Those who are interested in real opportunities to engage in a healthy relationship with the animals that we, as a species, have domesticated, will find a lot to think about in that issue.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

In the park(ing) lot

I helped organize one of these in SF (in front of City Hall in one of the supervisor's parking spaces, actually) last year and it was a blast. Talk about consciousness-raising. Bicyclists in particular enjoyed the transformation, and I saw many people internally questioning fundamental assumptions about the use of public space after witnessing our little park.

All praise reBAR. Blessed revelation.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

That darn gravity well

It's getting the payload into orbit that's the big drain on the pocketbook. Since humanity isn't responsible enough to build a beanstalk, build 'em on orbit -- as long as getting the energy back down here won't fry something vital.

But, really, the sunlight that hits the ground is more than enough. Beware of falling energy.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Key West chickens

Interesting group. I've been fascinated by Key West since Spider Robinson started writing about it. He said it's a really bike-friendly town and that there are fearless chickens. True?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Chicken welfare

We're expecting the chickens we bought as started chicks (i.e. fully feathered and month to six weeks old) will start laying in another few weeks. That's one way to know your eggs are being laid in humane conditions. Well, that is if you provide humane conditions.

They're also really entertaining to watch and will eat a lot of your kitchen scraps. Many municipalities will let you keep a few chickens, as long as you don't have a rooster (which are unnecessary to egg production and hen happiness). And if your neighbors don't object.

If you can't raise them yourself, your next best bet is to buy them from a farmer who will let you visit the farm. Otherwise goodness knows what's going on in the coop.

A few certifications, like the AHA's Free Farmed label are worth paying attention to. There's also Sustainable Table, which has good recommendations for animal-friendly products.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Story

Story is a complex idea. There are stories, that come out in films and books and novellas and video clips, etc.

Then there is Story, as in the story we are telling ourselves as we do what we do. Daniel Quinn has a lot to say about that. So does George Lakoff.

Our stories shore up our Story. We listen to the stories that support what we are telling ourselves as our Story. But stories can also shift the Story, I believe, if it's done right. That's an epic task, and one that needs doing greatly. I only have the vaguest notion about how to go about it.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Ecological illiteracy

As Douglas Adams said, "We must have beaver genes or something. ... There's just this kind of sensational desire to build dams, and maybe that should be looked at and excised from human nature. Maybe the Human Genome Project can locate the beaver/dam-building gene and cut that out.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the Corps. They demonstrate an ecological illiteracy that staggers the imagination. The few times I got to interview a Corps engineer, he wasn't even defensive about the damage they've done. Their attitude is that their methods are the only viable ones and the results are inevietable.

On the other hand, the Corps have built community. I've seen lots of groups brought together in to un-rip-rap waterways, remove dams, rebuild wetlands and restore habitat.

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Going the extra green mile

This article proves (just like the food miles article) that green branding is no substitute for research.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Sharing doesn't work

In my experience sharing doesn't work. It's a laudable goal, to be sure, but the physics don't work. Cars need much bigger, more solid roads. Cars leave horrible oil slicks that bikes can skid on. shows you a nifty scar on her knee
Drivers just don't pay attention. shows you bent handlebars
And some drivers are psycho and will run you down. shows you police report
Seperate bike paths are the way to go. I'll ride in traffic when I have to, but it makes me nervous as hell.

Now if we can do something about the joggers with strollers that run two or three abreast on the multi-use paths...

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Farmers feed people

Excellent! It's to wonderful to hear about younger folks getting into farming, a rapidly aging profession.

It's frustrating that they have to apply for grants to make it work financially. Just about every farmer I've ever spoken to was either retired, had a spouse with a high-paying job or worked another job off the farm themselves. I've heard of a few who don't, like Joe Salatin and Scott Matthieson, but they both inherited their land.

Until our farm policy and economics make farming a viable job, our food situation is going to get worse and worse. A lot of it is out-of-control land prices (I live in the Bay Area so perhaps I have an inflated sense of this). A reformed ag bill is a start, but what else is going to have to change?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

The 2008 FUV

Yeah, it's an old meme, but I couldn't resist.

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Winter tomatoes

If you don't want to go to the expense of building a greenhouse, it's still possible to get a late tomato harvest. I've had good luck with the Russian Black varieties giving me harvests as late as winter solstice. The quality isn't too exciting by that point, but they're still tomatoes, unlike those red things you can buy at the supermarket.

The fungus/mildew usually gets them before old age does, so protecting the leaves against moisture will extend their lives considerably.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Mushrooms

For those trying to cut down on the amount of meat they eat - which is a good idea when buying higher quality, humanely raised meat, which is budget-busting - mushrooms are an excellent substitute.

Mushrooms satisfy much of the meat-craving and leave one (at least this one) very satisfied. Agaricus brunnescens (brown mushrooms - button or portabello) have 30 percent protein. That's why they're an excellent burger - they're protein. And they're actually food, which is a hell of an advantage over those horrible patty things.

For years I've been convinced that the whole raison d'etre of the Morning Star product line is to convince people to go back to eating pork. Kind of like the actual business model of Lipton Tea: to get people to drink coffee instead.

But mushrooms are actually an excellent meat substitute, unlike processed meat substitutes.

I once made a lasagna with strips of sauteed porcini instead of noodles, and it remains one of the most ecstatic gustatory experiences of my life.

Plus, you can grow them yourself. You can do that with meat, too, but only the most dedicated will do so.

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat

Re: carbon question

How about if it's an apple tree and so you don't have to buy apples shipped 3,000 miles anymore (at least while your apples are in season)?

Eat what you grow, grow what you eat