Tofu at the Market

One of my friends, Krissi, is going to start selling Twin Oaks tofu at the SOJ market! She will have a booth on the first and third Saturdays of the month. Twin Oaks tofu is not just any tofu- it is substantial and flavorful protein. Just think- with all of the veggies, fruits, breads, cheeses, coffee, eggs, herbs, pasta and now tofu, a vegetarian could buy most of their weekly groceries at the farmers market! Sounds good to me...

True Work

"Nature is morally messy. The only way to really learn it is to get your hands dirty and your feet wet. Distancing from food sources hides the morals of where food comes from, and disconnects kids. More and more kids aren't understanding the sacredness of life, because of that distancing. It's tough to understand the depth and meaning of life if it is covered in plastic."
-Richard Louv

Dogs and Corn

I was reading Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma when I got my dog, Clyde. So, I was really conscious of food ingredients when I was thinking about what food to buy for him. Guess what is one of the top three ingredients in most dog food? Yep- corn. In addition to being a significant contributer to all the reasons I am uncomfortable with industrial agriculture, corn is also an allergen for some animals. So, I decided that if I wasn't going to eat food that included processed forms of corn or soy, neither were my animals.

There are several brands of dog (and cat) food sold at major pet supply stores which do not include corn meal or corn gluten. Consider really reading the labels of the food you buy. It may be more expensive to buy a different brand, but consider your impact on the health of your animals and of the planet.

King Corn Update

Thank you to everyone who came out to see King Corn out of doors!!

I would also like to thank Kirsten for providing a nice edible arrangement, and for helping to get the word out about this event. Thanks to Victory Farms for growing such wonderful tomatoes in such variety as well.

It was great to see so many familiar faces. It was also great to meet and talk with some of you about supporting local food.

Well, for all of you who did come out to join us, my "update" is that the very next day, July 18th, NPR did a story on the Bush Administration's plans to do away with a 30 year old conservation program that protects "wild land" areas on private property. The Conservation Reserve Program was described as "the most successful private land conservation program in United States history." To the best of my understanding, this program works by paying farmers not to plow under, or put animals to pasture on or near ecologically important land features (wetland marshes, shady streams). According to the NPR piece, this program has 450,000 farmers currently participating . Among other benefits, the program has prevented 400 million tons of soil erosion, and resulted in the addition of 2.2 million ducks each year. Apparently, that is about how many ducks are killed off by hunting each year, so these areas are holding the balance.
According to the story, the Secretary of Agriculture's plan to be announced any day now, would allow farmers to keep the money they were paid to protects these areas, and then pay them again to turn the areas in corn fields, in order to produce more low grade commodity corn for beef, ethanol, and High Fructose Corn Syrup production.
Most interestingly, the individual that spoke in this piece for the farmers need to lift the wild area protections was the spokesman for "The American Meat Institute".

Center for Rural Culture Education on Meat Safety

Brookview Farms sent out this e-mail to all of those on their listserve...

Dear Customers, There is still time to sign up!Join local farmers for education, discussion, food tasting, socialization and fun! The Center for Rural Culture will hold a workshop on "IS YOUR MEAT SAFE TO EAT??" which is an educational program on the benefits of locally grown, grass-fed meats. The workshop will be held this Monday, July 21, 2008, 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Brookview Farm. Preregistration is required by calling 804/314-9141 or email admin@centerforruralculture.org. Cost is $12 at the door (CRC members $10). All participants will get a coupon valued at $5.00 for the Goochland Farmers Market. "The Meatrix" dvd series will be showing at 5:30, 5:50 and 6:10 p.m. A moderated discussion with local farmers will follow, along with samplings of local, grass-fed meats including beef, poultry, pork and bison. Local cheeses, salads and veggies will also be offered. All vendors will have food available for purchase. Sorry, no children under 12 please.

King Corn Recap

You may remember that this Thursday, the 17th, the Richmond Food Collective held its first event: a free outdoor showing of the movie King Corn held at Once Upon a Vine, the wine and beer shop located on MacArthur Ave. in Northside Richmond. We are pleased to report the event was a great success and we hope to hold many more like it!

Natalie and Erin chatting at the RFC booth.

We had a small booth where we set up some books from the 'RFC Library' -- great volumes on food, gardening and eating. There were several arrangements of flowers from edible plants, and of course the delicious tomato tasting! Tomatoes were all locally grown and acquired at the market. The tasting list included Cherokee Purple, Valencia, Pink Beauty, Green Zebra, Black Brandywine, Roma, Sungold and Yellow Pear.

Shannon prepares tomatoes.

Lovely.

There was a great turnout -- at one person's count we had 70 people present for the film. Some brought picnic dinners and sat on the ground as the movie began.

The crowd settles in.

King Corn starts.

And yes -- we did watch the movie projected on the side of a building! It's a great place to hold summer events, and the atmosphere was very relaxed and enjoyable. I was happy to see all the members of the neighborhood community had shown up to support and learn about great eating in Richmond! Afterwards some interested attendees even asked to write guest posts for the RFC -- look for their contributions soon!

We welcome and encourage your input on future goings on and/or your comments on the King Corn night if you attended. What did you think? We had a great time and we hope you did too!

This Week in Food

Thursday, July 17th, 8:30 - 10:00
Richmond Food Collective hosts a free, outside showing of King Corn at Once Upon a Vine in Bellevue. The film will begin at sundown. Click here for more details. We hope to see you there!

Saturday, July 19th, 8:00 - 11:00
Market Vibe Chef's Challenge, a free, friendly competition of chefs using South of the James market wares for their dishes. Chefs will begin shopping at 8, they will post menus by 9 and tasting will begin at 11:30. Sounds like a raucous, good time!