Slashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gifSlashfoodhttp://www.slashfood.comen-usCopyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Bat Epidemic Could Lead to Higher Grocery Billshttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/05/bat-epidemic-could-lead-to-higher-grocery-bills/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/05/bat-epidemic-could-lead-to-higher-grocery-bills/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/05/bat-epidemic-could-lead-to-higher-grocery-bills/#commentsFiled under: ,

Brown BatPhoto: Alamy


With the vampire craze currently sweeping Hollywood, you'd think bats would be getting a little more attention these days. The flying creatures of the night are in trouble -- and it could cause food costs to go way up, reports Fast Company.

Bats hunt insects, and their eating habits are a major boon for both organic and traditional farmers. Reuters estimates that bats' total value to agriculture is $22.9 billion annually. The little brown bat, Montana's most common bat species, eats about 1,200 insects per hour and in one 2006 study, bats in South-Central Texas were shown to have an annual pest control value of over $740,000 (29% of the value of the area's cotton crop), according to Fast Company.

They also pollinate crops -- papayas, mangos, and figs all benefit from our furry flying friends. But a deadly fungal infection --something called white-nose syndrome -- has put the U.S. bat population in jeopardy. According to Reuters, more than one million bats have died since the syndrome was discovered in 2006. But researchers aren't sure that it's simply white-nose syndrome that's to blame, since European bats with the same syndrome don't usually die.

Conservation groups and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service are on the case, but consumers should also be following the news closely. If we loose our bats, it's going to be a lot harder -- and more expensive -- to farm. And that means higher prices at the market.

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]]>bat epidemicbatsorganic farmingSlashfood EditorTue, 05 Apr 2011 16:00:00 ESTThe End of Food Documentaries?http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/15/the-end-of-food-documentaries/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/15/the-end-of-food-documentaries/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/15/the-end-of-food-documentaries/#commentsFiled under: ,

cattle agriculturePhoto: Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images


Cramped cows and abused chickens are at risk of losing a powerful ally: filmmakers. A new bill up for House ruling in Iowa today would make whistle-blowing documentarians like Robert Kenner of "Food, Inc." fame criminals, reports the Iowa Independent. And similar action is on the table in Florida.

Any undercover videotaping or photographing of livestock or farm operations would be a classified aggravated misdemeanor calling for two years in prison and a penalty fine of up to $6,250; subsequent offenses would be class D felonies (five years and up to $7,500 in penalties). Tough break for journalism.

The risky work of undercover reporters has often led to legislation or at least further investigation of unjust acts, namely in the case of animal rights violations. We've all seen the videos -- cramped pigs with rail wounds; crippled chickens living in dark, feces-ridden barns. Heck, some even turned us vegetarian, or led us to greener (ahem, more humane) pastures. But that'd all be cutting room floor dust if this law were enacted mere years ago, or before YouTube turned it all insta-viral.

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]]>food documentariesundercover farm videoundercover videoJessie CacciolaTue, 15 Mar 2011 16:00:00 ESTNew Potatoes Developed to Make Better Potato Chipshttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/01/new-potatoes-developed-to-make-better-potato-chips/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/01/new-potatoes-developed-to-make-better-potato-chips/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/01/new-potatoes-developed-to-make-better-potato-chips/#commentsFiled under: ,

potato chipsPhoto: Jupiterimages


Americans love their potato chips -- in fact, about 13 percent of the nation's potatoes become them. Now, thanks to Cornell's potato-breeding program, we'll soon have two new varieties designed specifically for chip-making, reports The Cornell News Service.

Waneta and Lamoka potatoes, named after two twin lakes in the Finger Lakes region that Cornell calls home, both have long storage life and an appealing color when sliced. Since potatoes are usually harvested in the fall but don't head for the chipper till spring, it's important to have a potato that stores well. These new varieties are also resistant to common potato diseases in the area: golden nematode, which infects roots, and scab, which forms pits in the root vegetable.

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]]>Herrslamokapotato chipsutzwanetaJessie CacciolaTue, 01 Mar 2011 11:00:00 ESTVeterans Come Home To Farminghttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/11/veterans-come-home-to-farming/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/11/veterans-come-home-to-farming/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/11/veterans-come-home-to-farming/#commentsFiled under: ,

Farmer-Veteran CoalitionPhoto: Farmer-Veteran Coalition


Here's an agricultural trend we can all get behind. Combat veterans are making the transition to civilian life by way of farming, reports Cooking Up A Story. Even better, they're not being asked to hoe that row on their own. Groups like California's Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training program; Nebraska's Combat Boots to Cowboy Boots program and the California-based Farmer Veteran Coalition are providing training, funding and support to get veterans back on the land that they fought to protect.

"This is an excellent path for veterans," says Weldon Sleight, dean of University of Nebraska's College of Technical Agriculture (NCTA). "There are huge numbers of veterans that come from rural communities -- 17 percent of the U.S. population is rural, yet 45 percent of the military come from those communities."

The problem, he says, is that there are few economic opportunities in rural America, and many veterans end up in urban cities.

"They don't know how to go home, so we teach them that," said Sleight.

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]]>farmingmilitaryorganicveteransClare Leschin-HoarFri, 11 Feb 2011 13:00:00 ESTGMO Alfalfa is Officially Approvedhttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/31/gmo-alfalfa-is-officially-approved/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/31/gmo-alfalfa-is-officially-approved/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/31/gmo-alfalfa-is-officially-approved/#commentsFiled under: ,

alfalfa in a fieldPhoto: daryl_mitchell, Flickr


Got organic milk? Maybe not for long.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced its approval of "unrestricted planting" of genetically modified alfalfa sold by Monsanto, according to The Atlantic. So what does that have to do with organic milk?

Cows eat more alfalfa hay than anything else, and as a crop, alfalfa is what The Atlantic calls "notoriously promiscuous." Bees and other insects can spread alfalfa pollen for up to five miles, meaning it's only a matter of time before the unrestricted GMO alfalfa cross-pollinates with non-GMO varieties.

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]]>alfalfaGMO alfalfaGMO cropsOrganic MilkJason BestMon, 31 Jan 2011 13:00:00 ESTOrganic Milk Beats Conventional Milk for Nutrition, Says UK Studyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/19/organic-milk-beats-conventional-milk-for-nutrition-says-uk-stud/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/19/organic-milk-beats-conventional-milk-for-nutrition-says-uk-stud/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/19/organic-milk-beats-conventional-milk-for-nutrition-says-uk-stud/#commentsFiled under: , ,

organic milk bottlePhoto: sarah sosiak, Flickr


It's long been exasperating to the organic food industry -- the oft-stated belief that organic food is most notable for what it doesn't give you - all those yummy pesticides and chemicals. Nutritionally, common wisdom goes, organic food is no better for you than the conventional stuff.

Maybe not.

A study by researchers at Newcastle University,in England, published in the Journal of Dairy Science, has poked a hole in that thinking, showing that organic milk does have some nutritional advantages over conventional -- less saturated fat and more "good" fatty acids -- specifically omega-3s.

Testing 10 organic and 12 conventional milks sold in British grocery stores (not raw at the farm), seasonally over two years, lead researcher Gillian Butler found the organic milk more consistently showed healthier fat levels, which she believes is a result of the cows' greater reliance on grazing and their ingestion of larger amounts of clover -- typically planted in organic operations for the nitrogen that conventional fertilizers would otherwise provide.

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]]>milknutritionorganic farmingorganic milkstoneyfieldJan Ellen SpiegelWed, 19 Jan 2011 16:00:00 ESTEgg Prices Falsely Inflated, Says Grocers Grouphttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/12/egg-prices-falsely-inflated-says-grocers-group/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/12/egg-prices-falsely-inflated-says-grocers-group/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/12/egg-prices-falsely-inflated-says-grocers-group/#commentsFiled under: , ,

egg cartonsPhoto: bfraz, Flickr


As if we didn't have enough reason to distrust our egg supply (remember the recall in November?), now we know why prices have gone up. And grocery wholesalers are suing.

Word is, four industry trade groups -- United Egg Producers, United Egg Association, United States Egg Marketers and the Missouri Egg Council -- conspired to manipulate supply to increase demand, thereby falsely inflating the price of eggs in the U.S. The prominent egg producers include Land O'Lakes, Cal-Maine Foods, Hillandale Farms and Ohio Fresh Eggs, among 14 others, according to a press release sent out by prosecuting firm Stueve Siegel Hanson, representing Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc, among six others.

In order to cut down on supply, producers allegedly agreed to kill off hens, which resulted in at least a 40 percent increase in egg prices in 2008, reports the L.A. Times from the following civil complaint filed by Sodexo Inc. The trade groups also increased exports (to further dwindle U.S. supply) and reduced the number of hens per cage, which they marketed as a move towards animal health. That's just wrong.

The plan is said to have gone down as early as 1999, says The Kansas City Star (home of the lawsuit), and since then, egg prices have more than doubled, with a peak of $2.20 per dozen in March 2008 from $1 a dozen in March 2002.

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]]>eggslawsuitprice increaseJessie CacciolaWed, 12 Jan 2011 16:00:00 ESTStrawberry Pesticide Approved: Fruit Lovers, Bewarehttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/10/strawberry-pesticide-approved-fruit-lovers-beware/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/10/strawberry-pesticide-approved-fruit-lovers-beware/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/10/strawberry-pesticide-approved-fruit-lovers-beware/#commentsFiled under: ,

strawberry plantsPhoto: phoenixlily, Flickr


The newest pesticide to be approved? It's a nasty one. Methyl iodide, for use on strawberry fields. The highly reactive stuff has been deemed toxic and carcinogenic but is now licensed in 47 states, including, most recently, California, where most of our country's strawberries are grown. Environmental groups and farmworkers are in an uproar.

The San Francisco Chronicle notes that even though "more than two dozen California legislators and 54 scientists, including six Nobel laureates," signed a letter opposing registration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved of the pesticide as an alternative to methyl bromide "which was being phased out because it was found to damage the ozone layer" back in 2007.

California approved use of the chemical late last month, right before Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger left office, but opposing groups -- "Earthjustice and California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. on behalf of the United Farm Workers of America and several pesticide reform groups" -- filed suit on account of an "irresponsible and illegal" decision by the state to approve such a toxic product, which "violates the California Environmental Quality Act, the California Birth Defects Prevention Act and the Pesticide Contamination Prevention Act."

Produced by Arysta Life-Science Corp, methyl iodide is said to be injected into the ground and can be applied to the plant and the fruit but claims no detectable effect on the fruit. Farmworkers feeling the burning effects in their eyes and throats would disagree.

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]]>californiapesticidesstrawberriesJessie CacciolaMon, 10 Jan 2011 15:00:00 ESTKiss Bananas Good-bye?http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/04/kiss-bananas-good-bye/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/04/kiss-bananas-good-bye/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/04/kiss-bananas-good-bye/#commentsFiled under: , ,

bananasPhoto: Getty Images


Should you prepare to buy your last bunch of bananas? According to a recent story in The New Yorker, the answer may be yes. The problem (which has also been deftly reported by writer Craig Canine, in Gourmet magazine and in an award-winning 2005 story for Smithsonian), is that growers have been relying on a single variety, the Cavendish and its genetic clones. What happens when you have a crop without genetic diversity? A disease, such as fungus Tropical Race Four, which is now running rampant, can take down an entire fruit. It wouldn't be the first time.

The Cavendish became popular with good reason: "They are the only variety that provides farmers with a high yield of palatable fruit that can endure overseas trips without ripening too quickly or bruising too easily," says New Yorker writer Mike Peed. Canine, who visited a Belgian lab that houses the world's largest collection of banana varieties, tasted some of the varieties that may one day replace the Cavendish, including the Yangambi Km5, which just so happens to be hundreds of years old. "When I tasted it, I imagined I was tasting the future," Canine wrote.

So will we be eating the Yangambi 5 on our Corn Flakes in a few years?

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]]>bananasendangered foodsfungusSlashfood EditorTue, 04 Jan 2011 14:00:00 ESTSo Where's The Good Beef? Five Labels For The Humanely Raisedhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/24/so-wheres-the-good-beef-five-labels-for-the-humanely-raised/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/24/so-wheres-the-good-beef-five-labels-for-the-humanely-raised/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/24/so-wheres-the-good-beef-five-labels-for-the-humanely-raised/#commentsFiled under: ,

beef meat counterPhoto: brian.ch, Flickr


Ever since man made the crossbow, he decided it a necessary evil to kill or raise an animal for food. It's not something most of us think about much since few of us need to do it ourselves. But the more that recalls, seedy reports and gruesome videos surface, like the recent undercover clips at Smithfield Foods, we're reminded that we very much need to be aware of where our meat comes from and how the animals are treated before they become ribs, steaks and drumsticks. Or how chickens are housed and treated while producing the eggs that will become tomorrow's omelet.

That's a lot easier now. There are at least five labels out there letting consumers know which meat comes from humanely raised livestock. And thanks to a new report (.pdf) released this week by Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), each organization's standards have been categorized in a comparison chart so we know exactly what conditions are factored in to warrant certification for cattle, chickens and pigs. This includes air quality, slaughter method and whether livestock are finished on feedlots. They even specify how many hours a chicken should have darkness (because under fluorescent lights, chickens continue to eat if they think it's day, and factory farms love to fatten chickens in a hurry).

HFAC/Certified Humane and Animal Welfare Approved require the most humane practices and are the most transparent (with no conflicts of interest) of the five labels, which also include USDA/Organic, American Humane Certified and Global Animal Partnership (that is, Whole Foods Market).

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]]>animal welfareanimal welfare approvedfactory farmshumanely raisedJessie CacciolaFri, 24 Dec 2010 13:00:00 ESTGulf Coast Update: Growing Better Oystershttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/gulf-coast-update-growing-better-oysters/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/gulf-coast-update-growing-better-oysters/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/gulf-coast-update-growing-better-oysters/#commentsFiled under:

farmed oystersPhoto: Steve Helber / AP Photo


Nearly eight months after the Deepwater Horizon rig blew out into the Gulf, the U.S. has filed suit with BP and other companies over the spill "in its effort to get billions of dollars for untold economic and environmental damage," reported the New York Times late yesterday. "Under the Clean Water Act alone, BP faces fines of up to $1,100 for each barrel of oil spilled."

And we hear that Gulf fishermen are up to new tricks themselves -- with a new oyster-harvesting method that may result in better (healthier) oysters.

Announced yesterday, by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board (the organization behind Friends of the Fishermen, which had top chefs like Tom Colicchio on board), this new initiative "promises to increase production and open up entrepreneurial opportunities for oystermen."

Normally oysters are grown on reefs attached to the ocean floor, but Gulf oyster farmers are now looking into a not-so-new but new-to-the-Gulf, off-bottom approach where oysters are suspended on water columns and easily pulled to the surface in hunks. Oysters can then grow "in areas where a traditional bottom harvest is impossible" like over sand, notes the Board. It also "protects oysters from predators, provides a means to reduce fouling, increases oyster growth rates and allows for pruning, which results in oysters with fatter meat."

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]]>gulf coastgulf of mexicogulf oil spilloystersJessie CacciolaThu, 16 Dec 2010 15:00:00 ESTWhat's in Your Meat? FDA Reveals Antibiotic Use in Livestockhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/15/whats-in-your-meat-fda-reveals-antibiotic-use-in-livestock/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/15/whats-in-your-meat-fda-reveals-antibiotic-use-in-livestock/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/15/whats-in-your-meat-fda-reveals-antibiotic-use-in-livestock/#commentsFiled under: ,

beef cattle livestockPhoto: Alex E. Proimos, Flickr


Until now, we've only guessed the amount of antibiotics used were high to keep our pig, cattle and poultry stocks healthy. In fact, the Animal Health Institute predicted 11.1 million kilograms were used nationwide in 2005. But the Food and Drug Administration's records don't go back that far.

For the first time, the FDA has released an estimate. In 2009 alone, "13.1 million kilograms of antimicrobial drugs were sold or distributed for use in food-producing animals" in the U.S., cites Livable Future from the report (.pdf) made available to the public last Thursday. There's also a chart listing approved antibiotics in each drug class.

That 13.1 million kilograms is just short of 29 million pounds. "That's a lot," writes Maryn McKenna on her Wired magazine blog. (McKenna is a journalist specializing in infectious diseases, and the author of Superbug, notes Food Safety News.)

We think of antibiotics as a good thing, something to rid ourselves of disease, but overuse can lower resistance, and that's exactly what we're seeing in meat production. This in turn calls for stronger antibiotics, which don't just stay with the animal. It carries through to the land and those working on it, not to mention its unidentified consequences to those who consume the meat.

Nutritionist Marion Nestle notes in The Atlantic that since this is the first report, "it is not possible to say whether the numbers are going up or down. But the agency is now requiring meat producers to report on antibiotic use so we now have a baseline for measuring progress."

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]]>antibioticsfdalivestockJessie CacciolaWed, 15 Dec 2010 16:00:00 ESTFresh Off the Press: Olio Nuovohttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/fresh-off-the-press-olio-nuovo/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/fresh-off-the-press-olio-nuovo/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/fresh-off-the-press-olio-nuovo/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo:Getty Images


You might not think this time of year could be filled with coveted first-of-the-season treats, but let us shine a light on that for you. Dungeness crab season is newly opened. Francophiles will be busy celebrating the arrival of Beaujolais nouveau. And in California, where 99 percent of the nation's olive oil is produced, growers are readying their presses for their own season opener: olio nuovo. Italian for "new oil", olio nuovo marks the beginning of the olive oil pressing season.

"Olio nuovo is meant to be a celebration of the harvest," says olive grower Albert Katz, Katz & Company. "In Italy, you would have sat outside the mill with your family and friends and cooked up a meal with the new oil. It's as fresh as you can get."

Crushed and bottled within 24-hours of picking, olio nuovo is viscous, deep green in color, clouded with sediment, and packed with intense flavor. There's no confusing it with a mellow cooking oil. This baby is all about flavor. Depending on the grower and olive varietals chosen for blending, this robust treat can carry flavors of apple, artichoke or pepper.

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]]>CaliforniaCalifornia Olive Oil Councilholiday giftsolio nuovoolive growersolive oilClare Leschin-HoarThu, 18 Nov 2010 15:00:00 ESTCompost, The New Recyclinghttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/05/compost-the-new-recycling/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/05/compost-the-new-recycling/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/05/compost-the-new-recycling/#commentsFiled under: ,

food compost bucketPhoto: elaine faith, Flickr


The meal is done: Dishes hit the sink; plastic bottles and tin cans go into the recycling bin. But the scraps from dinner and cooking prep -- egg shells, garlic skins, vegetable stems and cheese rinds? A few counties in California have come up with a simple, smart solution for utilizing those, too.

"You put a small bin on your kitchen counter, divert all your organic waste into it, and then just dump it in the larger bin outside when it's full. The rest is taken care of," says Sarah Rich, co-founder of Foodprint Project, a traveling advocacy group and educational panel on urban agricultural. The larger bin is picked up at the end of the week during regular garbage collection. "You don't need to be a gardener yourself in order to make good use of your food scraps," she says. Foodprint Project was formed early this year to evaluate the viability and potential of local food in urban areas. So far, they've hosted panels in New York City and Toronto, and this coming January, they're headed for Los Angeles.

If you look at a landfill, most of the waste is food -- it'll decompose, sure, but then what? Where does all that nutrient-rich soil go? That was the thinking behind the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority's new Food Scrap Recycling Program, which started in September 2007 and is expanding this month to California's Walnut Creek area, along with existing areas: Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga in Contra Costa County.

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]]>compostcompost-bincompostingcomposting-food-scrapsenvironmentalrecyclingsustainableurban agricultureJessie CacciolaTue, 05 Oct 2010 11:00:00 ESTDon't GMO with Greenpeace Italyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/04/dont-gmo-with-greenpeace-italy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/04/dont-gmo-with-greenpeace-italy/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/04/dont-gmo-with-greenpeace-italy/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Peter Blanchard, Flickr


Saving whales; closing BP service stations: Greenpeace accomplishes things many of us fainter environmentalists only dream of, and last week was no different. A courageous bunch snuck into a field of GMO corn to deactivate the crop's pollinating tassels -- by way of machete or delicate plucking, we cannot say, but we'd like to think they had some fun.

The event took place in -- where else? -- Italy, the heirloom-touting country responsible for constructing Slow Food's global umbrella in the '80s, from which all sustainable, green, local and such movements have sprung since. Specifically, the crop-beheading went down on a field in the northern region of Friuli, one of the country's 16 regions (out of 20) that were gradually designated as GMO-free zones starting in 2007.

Greenpeace Italia first took a sample from the field in question and brought it to a certified lab to confirm that it was, in fact, the patented Monsanto GE maize type MON810. Since pollen can quickly spread to other fields, further contaminating non-GMO land, Greenpeace decided to nip it in the bud and send a message to the Italian government to follow through. GMO-free zone or not, a landowner would still need to obtain a permit to grow GMO crop in Italy, which Greenpeace claims the owner had not done.

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]]>cornGMOgreenpeaceitalymonsantoJessie CacciolaWed, 04 Aug 2010 17:00:00 ESTAfter 378 Years in the Family, Farm for Salehttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/after-378-years-in-the-family-farm-for-sale/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/after-378-years-in-the-family-farm-for-sale/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/after-378-years-in-the-family-farm-for-sale/#commentsFiled under:

Lucy and Will TuttleLucy and Will Tuttle. Photo: Jim Cole / AP Photo


Eleven generations of Tuttles have worked the land at the family farm in Dover, N.H., but this generation may be the last.

The family has put the 378-year-old farm on the market, CNN reported.

"We've been here for 40 years, doing what we love to do," Lucy Tuttle, 65, told the Associated Press . "But we're not able to work to our full capacity any longer, unfortunately." She runs the 134-acre farm with her brother Will, 63.

The farm, started in 1632, grows sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. It was listed last Tuesday for $3.35 million, the AP reported. The farm carries a deed restriction stating that as conservation land, it cannot be developed into strip malls or a housing development.

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]]>farmsfeaturedtuttle family farmtuttle farmTuttleFamilyFarmTuttleFarmJennifer LawinskiMon, 02 Aug 2010 15:00:00 ESTFresh & Easy Delivers "Farm to Store in 24"http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/fresh-and-easy-farm-to-store-in-24/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/fresh-and-easy-farm-to-store-in-24/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/02/fresh-and-easy-farm-to-store-in-24/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Photo: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market(TM)


Our desire for fresh(er) food has been heard, though the responses have sometimes been questionable. We've got everyone from Walmart to McDonald's touting "organic" and "local" but we're perhaps most excited when grocery stores, other than standbys Whole Foods Market and Stew Leonard's, start delivering from their neighboring farms.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, an energy-efficient supermarket chain in California, Arizona and Nevada, started their "Farm to Store in 24" pilot program earlier this summer with grapes and strawberries picked and shelved within 24 hours. Their customers liked it so much, the company has decided to roll it right into fall, introducing local stone fruit for August and root vegetables come September.

A "Farm to Store in 24" logo on a package of produce signifies that it has not only been shipped but also picked from a nearby farm in California within 24 hours. This accounts for up to 65% of the store's produce.

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]]>californiafarm to storefeaturedfresh and easyfresh and easy neighborhood marketsupermarketwhole foodsJessie CacciolaMon, 02 Aug 2010 13:00:00 ESTWine-fed Okanagan: The Next Great Beef?http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/26/wine-fed-okanagan-the-next-great-beef/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/26/wine-fed-okanagan-the-next-great-beef/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/26/wine-fed-okanagan-the-next-great-beef/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Urban Mixer, Flickr


It looks like some folks in British Columbia are aiming to give purveyors of Kobe beef a run for their money. If they have their way, wine-fed Okanagan beef may soon be turning up next to Japan's prime bovine on the menu of high-end steakhouses.

That's right, "wine-fed" cattle -- as in, each cow gets a liter of Okanagan Valley red wine mixed into its feed every day for the last 90 days before it is processed. Yes, it seems strange at first, but when you stop to think about it, red wine and beef are one of the most classic pairings imaginable. What seems even stranger, then, is why didn't someone think of this sooner?

According to the Vancouver Sun (Vancouver is about four hours west of the Okanagan Valley), the genius credit here goes to Janice Ravndahl, a local meat purveyor from the town of Kelowna who also happens to come from five generations of Canadian cattle ranchers.

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]]>cowsfarmingwineJason BestMon, 26 Jul 2010 15:00:00 ESTScenic Farmers Marketshttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/23/scenic-farmers-markets/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/23/scenic-farmers-markets/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/23/scenic-farmers-markets/#commentsFiled under: ,

farmers market vegetables local producePhoto: avlxyz, Flickr


Just because you're on the road doesn't mean you can't enjoy the bounty of local farmers' markets, even if you can't exactly pick up a few grass-fed steaks to throw on the grill.

But where are the best farmers' markets in America for travelers? CNN asked food writers and chefs to pick their favorite farmers' markets for experiencing local food culture while on the road.

"You can still get a wonderful sense of what's grown in that community, and what you can find in restaurants when you dine there," Janet Fletcher, author of Fresh From the Farmers' Market, told CNN.

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]]>cnnfarmers marketproduceJennifer LawinskiFri, 23 Jul 2010 15:00:00 ESTOzark Forest Mushrooms, Missouri Ozarks - Ask a Shopkeeperhttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/07/ozark-forest-mushrooms-missouri-ozarks-ask-a-shopkeeper/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/07/ozark-forest-mushrooms-missouri-ozarks-ask-a-shopkeeper/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/07/07/ozark-forest-mushrooms-missouri-ozarks-ask-a-shopkeeper/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Photo: gynti_46, Flickr


The Big Springs region of the Missouri Ozarks has been designated as one of the "Last Great Places" by the Nature Conservancy, thanks in no small part to people like Nicola MacPherson. As owner of Ozark Forest Mushrooms, she's doing her part to preserve the unique ecology of the region while at the same time bringing its best culinary offerings to the masses. Her operation, run from a family-owned farm located along a picturesque, limestone ridge detour of Sinking Creek, grows shiitakes as nature intended: on logs, in the forest.

Read more about Ms. MacPherson's adventures in fungal farming after the jump.

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]]>missourimushroomsorganic foodsOrganicFoodsozarksshiitakeshiitake mushroomsst. louisChris DudleyWed, 07 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST