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Around 100 years ago there were hundreds of varieties of vegetable and fruit seed available to the farmer and home gardener. By 1983 those varieties had been reduced by more than a factor of 10. Or in the case of potatoes, by a factor of 1000… 
2019 ApplePalooza: 1720 pounds of apples, 43 cartons to share, and 60-some of your closest friends: a do-it-yourself buying club. Here’s how Sarah Oien Page did it. 
Over and over again “healthy living” articles, magazines, and newsletters remind us that we need to consume “probiotics” for a healthy gut. Yes, you can take probiotic supplements, many of which are costly; however, there are readily available foods that contain probiotics. In fact, you are probably eating or drinking them already. 
Supermarkets and big box stores offer nearly 50,000 – or more – products for us to choose from to feed ourselves and our families. A nation-wide analysis of U.S. grocery purchases revealed that highly processed foods make up more than 60 percent of the calories in food we buy, and these items tend to have more fat, sugar and salt than less-processed foods. If we don’t understand the high cost of bad food – to ourselves, our families, our communities, and our economy – we will see life expectancy shorten, chronic diseases increase, and healthcare costs continue to spiral. Selecting locally grown and minimally processed food items – good food – can mean more healthful and nutritious food on your plate. 
Just imagine – what if we could no longer import our food? Or bring it in from the “produce corridor” that extends from Mexico to British Columbia up and down Interstate 5? Or even get it from neighboring states or provinces? What we thought was science fiction, is turning out to be fact! 
Bob Quinn is a “local boy done good:” a serial entrepreneur, an organic farmer, and contributor to nutritional research studying the health benefits of ancient wheat compared to modern wheat.Grain by Grain covers all three areas in detail and describes how they are interrelated and contribute to better local and regional economics. 
Most of the US forgets – or is simply ignorant of the fact – that the Northern Great Plains are a major part of the nation’s “bread basket.” They’ve been raised to think that wheat comes from Kansas. Our goal at GoodFood World is to stimulate discussion by reporting on the critical issues affecting the production and use of organic wheat and other grains, especially the challenges to small-scale organic family farms, millers, and bakers. 
Farmers markets and CSAs sprout up every spring along with the lettuce and tomato plants. Supermarkets across the country, from small family-owned stores to big box chains, are all offering organic options throughout the store, not just produce any more. So, we all think – or would like to think – that we’re eating nutritious food. Do we even know what good “nutrition” is? 
Every year or so, when the first California berries make their appearance, we’re seduced into buying one – just one – box of strawberries at the supermarket. They always look so beautiful: large berries, bright red, the leaves still attached and fresh… 
Stand Together or Starve Alone: Unity and Chaos in the U.S. Food Movement, Mark Winne (Praeger, 2017) “The Food Movement” is a pretty big concept – it can incorporate anything and everything from farming and food production to distribution, marketing, and retail sales. Then toss in farmers markets, food co-ops, and CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) |
Book of the MonthFood From the Radical Center: Healing Our Land and Communities By Gary Paul Nabhan 
America has never felt more divided. But in the midst of all the acrimony comes one of the most promising movements in our country’s history. People of all races, faiths, and political persuasions are coming together to restore America’s natural wealth: its ability to produce healthy foods. In Food from the Radical Center, Gary Nabhan tells the stories of diverse communities who are getting their hands dirty and bringing back North America’s unique fare. Read on...  The Voice of Eco-Agriculture North America’s premier publisher on production-scale organic and sustainable farming. Learn more here. A Video You Don't Want to Miss!Clara Coleman, daughter of renowned farming pioneer Eliot Coleman, has a clear plan for a new collaborative farming model called the ARC Farming Project—Agrarian Resource Collaborative Farming. 
It is in response to today's particular agricultural challenges and embraces farmer entrepreneurial diversification. Watch the video here. |
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