Bob Quinn - Organic Farmer & American Hero - Grain By Grain

Bob Quinn is one of my heroes and he should be one of yours, too! He's an awesome agricultural scientist, organic farmer, and nutritional advocate who's making a major impact on global food production.

Check out his recent book, "Grain by Grain" for his inspiring story and forward-thinking perspectives for U.S. and global organic farming. A totally inspiring discussion; let's DO IT!

Add Pulses to your diet!

The pulses.org website is a great resource to learn more about the many benefits of Pulses and how to include them into your diet easily. Check it out!

Image attribution: pulses.org

Does it have GMOs or Not?

Here's a useful on-line Non-GMO Shopping List from the Institute for Responsible Technology. So if you're wondering if your favorite strawberry jam contains GMO fruit, this list can help!

And here's a helpful explanation from cpr.com concerning how to identify conventional, GMO, and organic foods in the grocery store.

Rethinking the Corn System

Here are a couple of thought-provoking articles about America's Corn System and how it will likely have to adapt ahead. Some diversification is already being seen from local farmers who have gone organic, remained independent, and have moved forward to producing specialty crops such as pulses and legacy grains (although the total acreage involved is just the tip of the iceberg). One thing to note is the flawed approach of Big Ag's proposal to use GMOs to increase yield. Yield is not the problem; it's how the crop is used that's the issue. It's more efficient to send calories to feeding people than to feeding animals and cars.

• Scientific American, It's Time to Rethink America's Corn System
• Sustainable Table, Animal Feed

Golden grains

See this article for a great intro to heritage grains that provide healthy alternatives to wheat and rice. Nice to see these grains are gaining cultivation and favor nowadays! Montana's organic farmers are helping with it, too.

Neat article on the lentils revolution

Saw this on Michael Pollan's Facebook page. Neat article on lentils and one UCB graduate's journey into chronicling family farming, renovation, and organic innovation.

And while we're on the topic of meat...

One reason I became vegetarian is because I think it will become fairly commonplace in the future. I believe more people will consume primarily vegetarian diets because meat production takes so many resources and it's so damaging to the environment, too (no, I'm not a space case; as Earth's population increases, decreasing meat production in favor of veg* will become a given; we simply can feed more people through plants than animals). Anyway, what if everyone became a veg* consumer? What would the world be like then?

Tasty and simple potato salad

I received some purple fingerling potatoes this week and was wondering what to do with them. I saw this recipe on a flyer and decided to give it a try. It's easy to make and quite good, a great salad for those summer picnics ahead, too. Take care not to overcook the potatoes, otherwise they'll fall apart and the salad will become pasty (I almost ended up there!) I didn't have radishes on hand, so I substituted chopped celery, and it worked out fine.

Chipotle delivers a powerful message

Chipotle's promotional video for their mobile game app gets some key points out in under four minutes that some people may never otherwise consider. A personal epiphany came for me some years ago, while visiting in-laws in Iowa, where there's corn and soy as far as the eye can see but the vast majority of it is destined for animal feed only.

A personal food philosophy is about as hard to explain and discuss as religion, because it's usually an intimately held belief. Despite the diverse viewpoints this promotional video is already raising, the message is powerful and will promote discussion, which is a good thing!

See the video and the behind the scenes presentation by the creating studio members.

Why perfection isn't perfect

Yet another instance of how retailers attempt to sell consumers perfectly spotless and healthy plants and vegetables can actually introduce potentially adverse consequences to the ecosystem (see the article). And it isn't even discussed what happens to our physiology upon ingesting systemic neonics, either - but I bet it ain't good!

Whole Foods demo: Why the health of the bee population matters

Over half of produce at grocery stores depends on natural pollination.

Local produce

Like many, I'm buying more produce closer to the source - or at least at our local farmer's market and also from a field to fork provider. It costs more, but I like the quality of what I'm getting and I've become introduced to some vegetables that I otherwise would have never come to enjoy. For example, check out these kale salads. And here's my recipe for balsamic salad dressing that I made off the cuff that's easy and works well:

Balsamic salad dressing:
 
2 Tbs. EVOO
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. red wine balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning mix

Mix all ingredients well, pour over your salad, and enjoy!

Going veggie!

See this article in the UCLA magazine (July 2012) and this one from Time magazine. It's becoming evident that tilting towards, or going veggie, is not only good for you, but ultimately good for the planet, too. Simply put, it just takes too much feed, water, and petroleum to raise and harvest stock animals as protein sources. If there's going to be enough food to go around as the population increases, then we have to move away from dependence on high-cost, high-energy protein sources - to more sustainable and healthy ones!

In my experience, the more adapted to veggie eating I become, the less I miss meat. In fact, it's even become a little unappetizing for me to consider now. Consider giving it a try yourself and see!

Big picture resources

These two films are worthwhile views for gaining a better appreciation of healthy eating and making wise food choices that will assist feeding earth's growing population in the decades ahead, too. You may not agree with every premise presented in these films, but I guarantee they'll open your thinking to new possibilities about nutrition, sustainability, and making a difference by what you bring home to eat:

• Food, Inc., 2008 - on Amazon and Netflix.
• Vegucated, 2011 - on Amazon.

Another under appreciated topic: Fresh, potable water for a thirsty world. See Fred Pearce's book for an stimulating presentation about the concerns and potential on this front, too.