Just How Organic Are Organic Strawberries?

While organic crops are grown without conventional pesticides and other chemicals, berry “starts” are treated as non-fruiting nursery plants and they can be treated with chemicals at that stage and still be considered organic once they are moved organic land and grown to fruiting stage.

Hey, Whole Foods – PR Event or Serious Conversation?

We attended one of Whole Foods Market™ Speaker Series events; this one titled “Consumer’s Conflict: The Cost of Fresh Picked Produce in the 21st Century.” The guest speaker was Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland – How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit. In the end, there was too much Whole Foods and too little discussion of the real cost of fresh produce and what to do about it. And we paid $40 to hear it…

Be a Light Unto the World… Just Do It!

The default that rules the game of American food and health is our culture.Unchallenged, one’s environment wins (in determining our lifestyle) and lower income areas are supported with ubiquitous fast-food crap. At best, the corporate guise of care under the name of nutritionism tries to educate, through advertisements, food packaging labels, magazine and news stories of the latest wonder food component.

Cavemen, Monks, and Slow Food: A History of Eating Well by Devra Gartenstein

This is a transitional time and we need transitional food. The Slow Food movement, the locavore movement, and other “food movements” can be “all or nothing” approaches. That way of thinking is standing in the way of getting people to eat better. I would love to see everybody eat fresh, local, and organic food, but until we get there, I would just like to see more people eat more lentils and fewer people eat industrial meat. The lentils don’t have to be organic, just not part of the industrial food system.

Carrots for Carrot Cake: Where Do They Come From? (Part 2)

Kim Antieau is on a quest to trace all the ingredients for her homemade carrot cake, from ground to place, and write a book about it. In this excerpt from The Carrot Cake, Kim talks about what she discovered about both organic and conventional carrot farming and processing.

From Local Farms to Corner Stores: Increasing Access to Healthy Foods

With an eye to the future, a federally-funded program is underway that is designed to help Americans eat healthier foods and fend off ailments stemming from obesity, including heart disease and diabetes by bringing together retailers, farmers, and consumers. Seattle’s Healthy Foods Here (HFH) program operates synergistically.

Carrots for Carrot Cake: Where Do They Come From?

Kim Antieau is on a quest to trace all the ingredients for her homemade carrot cake, from ground to place, and write a book about it. In this excerpt from The Carrot Cake, Kim talks about what she discovered about carrot production.

2011 Provender Conference: Planting Seeds, Harvesting Wisdom

The 2011 Provender Conference, the premier Northwest event for retailers, food producers and processors, distributors and brokers, will be held this year in Hood River, Oregon, October 5-7. Launched in 1977, Provender Alliance presents its 35th annual event designed to help businesses and organizations in the natural food industry to do business together better. Plenty of time to sign up!