The Demon in the Milk

I recently found out that the raw (unpasturized) milk Mark and I have been drinking may have been contaminated with campylobacter bacteria.  If we were exposed to it, it didn't have much of an affect, lucky for us.  Unfortunately another family wasn't so lucky.  The Pittsburgh Tribune reported on their story:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_677255.html

It's very sad that that happened to Mr. Orchard, however, I really don't think they should be suing the farmer.  There are known risks from drinking unpasturized milk, and there is a warning label letting the consumer know about these risks.  I really hope that the state doesn't decide to make selling raw milk illegal based on this event.  I believe we should still have the right to choose to buy unpasturized milk (although I probably won't be buying it again for a while).  But hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

The Future of Food

I just watched a terrifying documentary called "The Future of Food".  It discussed issues with current big business farming practices; including monocultures (which are destroying biodiversity) and genetically modified (GM) foods.  GM food, primarily corn, soybeans and canola, are becoming incorporated into farmers fields, even without their knowledge or consent.  And because the GM foods are patented, the companies creating them can sue (and win) against farmers for having the plants of their property, even if they did not want them there.  Not only that, but no safety tests have been done on GM foods, and the United States is one of the few countries that does not require foods that contain GM foods to be labeled (because the companies that sell them pay lobbyists big bucks to prevent this).  And now that corn is in pretty much everything at the supermarket (juice, yogurt, peanut butter, salad dressing, etc.) in the form of high fructose corn syrup we could be in trouble. Luckily, organic certification requires that food not contain GM products, so there's some assurance there.  Now that I am throughly afraid for the future of farming, I am happy that I will soon be supporting local small farmers who grow sustainably.

Discovering Kohl Slaw

When I first signed up for my CSA last year I thought "it's going to be tough to not decide on what I get every week like I do at the grocery store".  But it turned out to be great!  It was like an Iron Chef competition every week...  And the secret ingredient is.... KOHLRABI!!!  "What the heck is that???"  I wondered as I first stared at the green ball with chutes sticking out all over it.  Luckily there is a list of what is in your CSA box each week- so I was able to determine that it was a Kohlrabi.  I found a great recipe for Kohlrabi Cole-Slaw (aka Kohl Slaw) online.  Had I not had a farm share I could have gone my whole life without getting to know about the Kohlrabi.  

It can be quite difficult to transition from shopping for ingredients that suite your recipes to shopping for recipes that suite your ingredients.  There are some great cookbooks that help you with the switch to eating seasonal.  One of my favorites is Simply in Season.  It sorts the recipes by season, and by key ingredients.  So if you have a pile of green onions and radishes, the book has some great ideas for what to do with them.  

The CSA selection

I investigated my options and I decided to get my CSA from Dillner Family Farm.  There were tons of great options in the Pittsburgh area, and my main criteria were location of the drop-off point, cost, and whether the farm minimizes the use of pesticides and fertilizer.  With the last criteria it was tough to decide between organic and non-organic farms but I read quite a bit about how the "organic" certification can be difficult for small farmers to get because there is a lot of cost and paperwork associated with the certification itself.  I like that although Dillner Family Farm is not certified organic they use sustainable farming methods.  

Here's the farm website:

Dillner Family Farm http://www.dillnerfamilyfarm.com

what's a CSA??

So what is a CSA?  According to the USDA website (http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/csa/csa.shtml):

Community Supported Agriculture consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm, with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production. Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

There are plenty of resources for finding a CSA or other local food near you.  A great website for nationwide local farm resources is:


Local Harvest
http://www.localharvest.org/


For Pittsburgh locals:


Grow Pittsburgh
http://www.growpittsburgh.org/

what's a locavore??

With encouragement from my friends I have decided to start a blog about my year-long local food adventure (with my husband).  I'm obviously not the first to take on this challenge, but I may be the first "low income" household to write about it.  My husband and I currently make a combined income of about $25,000 a year.  We are both students, so money is tight.  I often hear people say things like "it's too expensive to buy healthy food".  I'd like to show that it's not expensive, and support local farms in the process.  I have many reasons for choosing to eat local, which I will share over the next year.

According to Wikipedia: A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles (240 km).

I will define local as within 150 miles from Pittsburgh, and at least 80% of what I spend on food will be local.  Since I'm going to be doing this for a whole year there will be the added challenge of preserving food for the winter.  To do this I bought a chest freezer to save fruits, veggies and meat through the winter. Maybe I'll even venture into canning... we'll see.

I will begin on 6/1/10- when my community supported agriculture (CSA) program starts.  In the meantime I need to eat all the non-local food I have in the house, and find local farms that will supply me for the next year.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming challenge!