Stories about farmers and small farms, as well as issues related to growing sustainably and marketing locally
Stories and information about homesteading, gardening, urban agriculture, community plots and food programs
Stories and reviews about small food businesses, artisan food crafts, butchers, restaurants, grocers, and markets
Articles on sourcing, preparing, preserving and integrating locally and responsibly sourced foods into one’s lifestyle
Articles on issues affecting the larger profood community, including political and grassroots initiatives
Part 2 of my video interview with Steve Jenkins of Fairway Market is above. Produced and directed by Stacey Szewczyk, the second half of our interview finds Steve and I discussing the search for authenticity within the food movement, the viability of a Fairway in Williamsburg and the evolution of Brooklyn as an eating destination.
The most healthful vegetables growing in your backyard could be weeds. Lambsquarters and purslane, described by Michael Pollan as “two of the most nutritious plants in the world,” are common wild greens. They thrive in urban environments, popping up in garden plots and sidewalk cracks from Toronto to Texas.
Joe and Debbie Thomas began as a teacher and marketing executive, respectively. But today, they run a ten-acre organic farm in the east hills of Paso Robles, California. With more than 900 fruit and nut trees, a vineyard of Italian varietals, and beds of specialty greens, garlic, tomatoes and herbs, they began a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, sharing baskets of fresh produce weekly with their neighbors. A few years later, they opened Thomas Hill Organics, a market bistro and wine bar, where they serve seasonal, organic produce from the farm, wines from the Central Coast, and locally-sourced beef, poultry, and fish.
File Appeal in OSGATA vs. Monsanto
Battle over Farmers’ Rights Against Monsanto Continues to Brew
NEW YORK – March 28, 2012 – Today, in Federal District Court in Manhattan, family farmers filed their Notice of Appeal to Judge Naomi Buchwald’s February 24th ruling dismissing Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al v. Monsanto. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hear the farmers’ appeal, seeking to reinstate the case, which has received worldwide attention. The farmers are determined to move forward with their lawsuit challenging Monsanto’s patents on genetically engineered seed technologies in order to continue their pursuit of Declaratory Judgment Act court protection from Monsanto’s claims of patent infringement should their crops become contaminated by Monsanto’s seed.
Reposted from Charlotte Locavore
In early December, my family spent a wonderful weekend in Charleston, South Carolina, a delightful culinary road trip that was a feast to our senses.
On Friday evening, after exploring the French Quarter neighborhood, we headed to Bowens Island Restaurant. Located in the marshlands, Bowens Island Restaurant serves the freshest seafood in Charleston. The oysters, shrimp, fish, and crabs that make up the menu are sourced from the river and creeks that surround the island. You can’t get more local than that!
Joe Dressner, the revered wine importer and veritable poster child for the “natural wine” movement in the United States, passed away recently, bringing a wash of sadness over the wine world, but also inciting a flurry of pointed discussions centered around natural wine—including what that designation really means, and whether natural wines actually taste better than “un-natural” or commercially produced wines.
I’m an ardent proponent of natural wines not because of the philosophical or environmental connotations that they carry, but because of what’s in the bottle. It’s as simple as that. Mr. Dressner was of the same persuasion.
Gimmicks and shticks are good for marketing, but in the end, the juice in the bottle speaks louder than any sort of larger validation. So what sets natural wines apart from their commercial or “un-natural” counterparts and what makes them taste better—or, shall we say—taste more interesting?
Be part of the Real Food Revolution by following, subscribing, writing or syndicating with Farm to Table.
even better than Part I.
Two groups of researchers and extension educators in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received grants exceeding $1.3 million to help newly minted ag entrepreneurs get started in the capital-intensive business. The funding is part of more than $17 million in grants authorized in the 2008 federal farm bill under the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative designed to address the education, training and technical assistance needs of this next wave of farm operators.
Young people looking to turn their back on “the cubicle life” and enter small scale farming will find that making a living at farming is – as it has always been – an ongoing challenge.
Zach, when are you going to start your farm?
I think he gave great insights!
[...] a short interview with Steve Jenkins in Fairway Market’s cheese department and produced an interview between Steve and Zach Cohen, a devoted foodie and [...]