If you’ve been thinking about jumping on the local bandwagon, the latest Local Harvest newsletter had some good pointers:

• Start small and easy.   Don’t think of “going local” as all-or-nothing, or it will seem impossible.   Face it, local coffee just isn’t going to happen for most people!
• Switch to more whole foods and less processed.  Whole foods are easier to get locally.  The more processed, the more likely the ingredients are broadly sourced.
• Find and shop your local farmer’s markets.  You may find this to become one of your favorite parts of the week (and when was the last time you felt that way about going to the super?).  My market days do more to renew my faith in humanity and hope for our future than almost anything I do.
• Utilize web resources to find farmers, markets and vendors.  Two good places to start are LocalHarvest.org and EatWild.com.
• Be prepared to pay more for some items.  Your total food bill doesn’t have to be higher, however.  Eating at home, eating whole foods and concentrating on in-season items usually lowers the total cost of food to balance out the higher per-item cost.
• Consider growing your own.  Start small, with a few herbs, perhaps.  I use peppers and lettuce in my flower beds as edible ornamentals.

Remember, the main idea behind eating locally is making the most of your region’s agricultural strengths.  Be conscious and do what you can, but don’t worry about being fanatic.

We’ve had chickens at our ranch going on three years now.  I think I’m only beginning to appreciate their value to us. We got them initially to help control the grasshoppers and flies around our ranch cabin.  We thought we’d get a few “yard eggs” and maybe have some extra to sell.  Now, we’re planning to expand our flock by 100 hens, and have chickens follow our herd as we rotate them through the fields.  The main economic benefit is still likely to be from the pest control, but egg demand is sky-rocketing, too.

At the moment, I only live at the ranch on weekends and school holidays, so I’m stuck in a suburban neighborhood during the week.  I miss my chickens when I’m in town. Every time I throw food into the garbage or even put it into the compost barrel, I think about them.  Our chickens eat virtually everything we don’t.  Between the dog and the chickens, not much goes to waste at the ranch.

The chickens have become my boys’ main chore out at the ranch.  They take pride in gathering the eggs each day, feeding them and helping keep the nest boxes freshly stocked with hay.  Our latest batch of hens are Ameraucaunas, which tend to like to lay their eggs in places other than their nest boxes. So every day is like an Easter Egg hunt,  especially since this breed lays green-blue eggs of varying hues.

And the taste of the eggs is out of this world!  The deep golden yolks have a better nutritional profile as well.

The hens have also become an integral part of our gardening.  Besides keeping insects down, we have learned that if we turn the soil a few weeks before we plant, the chickens will do a great job nipping all the little weeds that sprout and our garden is much more weed-free.  They love the grubs we turn over too.  I’ve got one black hen that comes running every time I head to the garden, in the hope she’ll get grubs or discarded greens.  The flip side is that we’ve established a running battle with the flock to keep then out of the garden once it’s planted, but I’ve gotten pretty handy with a roll of chicken wire and some pliers.

NPR’s Morning Edition this morning reported the economy has more people looking to raising a few backyard chickens and more cities passing ordinances allowing small urban flocks.

If you’re interested in getting started, you can find plenty of help on the internet: Backyard Chickens.com is a great place to start.  Mother Earth News printed a good series a few years ago, too.

In case you haven’t heard, the new Secretary of Agriculture has struck a blow for bringing production back to the people.  On the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday, Vilsak literally broke ground at the USDA’s headquarters, declaring a patch of pavement to be returned back to green. 

It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water resources,” said Vilsack. “President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water and other natural resources, and one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - “breaking pavement” for The People’s Garden.”

This is the first in what Vilsak plans to be a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide.  Hooray!  Nice to see the government leading by example, for a change.

I just received an e-mail from a well-meaning acquaintance urging me to boycott McDonalds because they are importing South American beef.  The e-mail encourages boycotting McDonalds in order to help American ranchers.  It supposedly originated from the Texas Cattle Feeders and is signed by a Texas A&M University Animal Science professor.  I saw a version of this a couple years ago, too.

As much as I, as a Texas Cattle Raiser, want everyone to eat American Beef, I have to step in and say this is one of those e-mail perpetuated urban myths.  When it doubt, Snope it out. In addition, I know the professor whose name appears on the e-mail from my days as a TAMU professor, and checked this out with him a year or so ago.  He never put his name to this and has nothing to do with it.

Where’s the truth/ (or is it the beef)?  McD’s does import beef to supplement their mainly American beef supply, but from Australia and New Zealand where regulations are actually MORE stringent  and the beef is primarily grass-fed.  McD does so because they say they can’t get enough American beef that meets their standards for lean beef.  Believe it or not, McD’s has about the highest quality standards of any fast-food chain in the country for things like foreign material, leanness and source. (not sure that saying much, though).

As far as every rancher in the US having to signing papers at the auction barn.  There is a feed ban in most countries prohibiting feeding cow parts back to cows.  I can assure you that the average Joe rancher doesn’t sign any papers certifying anything about feed when his cattle go to an auction barn.

I can’t believe I’m defending McD’s, but couldn’t let the myth pervade.  So boycott away, if you want, but you’re not helping Texas cattle ranchers by doing so.

Allergic reaction to the products of introduced gene products (the ‘foreign’ genes)  is one of the primary concerns about GMO’s.  It is a concern that is legitimate, but, like “unknown consequences” needs to be put into perspective of the non-GMO food we eat every day.

Fanatic Cook (among many others) has been writing about it.  Bix links to a very helpful monograph on the subject of allergenicity in GMO foods. Predicting allergic potential is difficult and an inaccurate process, at best.  All genes used in GMOs at least go through screening for potential allergenicity.  Compare this to the vast majority of other foods that are effectively only screened on people through trial and error through a long history of eating.

The main reason the use of GMO grains is not required to be listed on labels is that the grains are not any more likely to cause allergies (or any other adverse affect) than their  non-GMO counterparts.  Voluntary labelling such as “no-GMO” is allowed, which is something I applaud and support in the interest of freedom of choice and information.

I’ve been asked if eating meat from animals fed GMO grain means that we are eating the GMO proteins themselves?  Only to the extent that the particular modified protein passes through the digestive system wall.  In a healthy animal, most proteins are broken down before they are passed into the blood.  If this were a concern, we should be far more concerned that my pasture-raised cattle graze ragweed and other highly allergenic plants.

I am a small beef producer.  Last year, Wild Type Ranch sold about 11,000 pounds of beef at Farmer’s Markets and through local delivery.  Not only do I know the life history of each animal we harvested, I also tasted the beef from each one.  Often, I know the entire pedigree.  All this information helps us design our breeding program and select genetics that make our pasture-raised beef more tender and tasty than anything Donald Trump puts his over-priced name on.

I also know the names of the animals we harvest.

It freaks people out; “how can you eat something with a name?” they’ll ask in horror.  “Don’t tell me it’s name, just sell it to me!” is another common comment.

We name ALL the cattle born on our ranch, not just those we believe will go on to reproductive glory as cows or bulls.  Not to do so would be hypocritical.  The founding principle of our ranch is “respect for all life”.  The cattle destined for beef are no less worthy (in the most universal sense) than those destined for breeding.  Their “best use” is just different.

Our registered cattle mostly have names related to music (such as Pink Floyd, Sinatra, Layla).  I give the kids free rein on the unregistered calves.  Last year, we had all the planets-starting with Jupiter who was the biggest, Mars was red, etc.  I had to draw the line at Uranus, though.  Even I don’t want to eat beef from Uranus.

*****

For additional discussion, visit Rebecca, over at Honest Meat who is bravely delving into our disconnect from our meat and how it affects our food choices.

Since last month’s post on the role of technology in feeding the world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the fundamental issue of GMO’s.

A primary GMO-related fear is the unknown consequences of the genetic manipulation.  I won’t discount this concern, but I would like to put it into perspective.

Every bit of variation in all the food crops (plant or animal) we consume arises by genetic mutation.  As humans domesticated plants and animals, we selected mutants (sounds a lot scarier than ‘variants’, doesn’t it?) that suited our needs better.  These mutations had some visible difference (color, faster growth, better taste), but beyond what we could see, we had NO idea what other changes were caused by the mutation.

Since early in this century, plant breeders have produced new varieties of all sorts of plants by something called “mutation breeding“.  Seeds are subjected to some form of mutagenizing agent, such as a chemical, UV light or x-rays.  Thousands are planted to screen for and select desirable mutations.  This is a primary way in which disease-resistant varieties of vegetables, fruits and other crops are developed.  The FAO maintains a database with thousands of catalogued varieties.

Even heirloom varieties are mutants.  Are you familiar with those cool zebra-striped heirloom tomatoes?  Those stripes are caused by a “jumping gene” that randomly inserts itself in the genome, sometimes disrupting a color gene.

At least the GMO varieties had to go through some sort of characterization of their biochemical properties.

 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer posted a commentary on a food safety laywer’s Top Ten Food Safety Challenges for 2009.  Number two on the list of concerns is local food.  We’ve posted about “Big food vs. Small Food Safety” here before.  Small food isn’t necessarily safer just because it’s locally produced.

The longer I sell at farmer’s markets, the more I am convinced that the accountability I have as a producer who also interacts with the final consumer is both a great asset and great responsibility.  My customers trust me to tell them the truth. I have to look them in the eyes directly when they ask about what I mean by “Angus beef” or “Pastured” or “Natural”.    I can’t hide behind the USDA label definitions while working loopholes to sell something other than what people think they are getting. I also know my customers will tell me next week or next month if I’ve sold them an unsatisfactory product.

By the same token, because I am a producer-vendor, I find that although my customers want beef that fits the general definition of “natural” (no antibiotics, no hormone implants)  they are comfortable purchasing beef from cattle that may have been treated with antibiotics if they were sick, so long as it wasn’t a daily part of their feed ration.   Similarly, most of my customers are quite happy with “pastured beef” which receives a small amount of grain supplementation to maintain a minimal growth rate during droughts and tough times rather than being purely grass-fed.  Those I’ve asked said that if they were purchasing at a larger store, however, they would purchase only a “no antibiotics” and/or “grass-fed” label just to make sure.

Shortening the food chain CAN be a viable alternative to some of the very complicated, but necessary regulations that safeguard our food supply.  I think accountability is a vital part of a viable local food economy.

Food for Thought: Excerpted from Feedstuffs

ANOTHER 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year, primarily due to higher food prices, according to the U.N.’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).  The group’s just-released estimate brings the overall number of undernourished people in the world to 963 million, which compares to 923 million in 2007.

In the next 40 years, it is estimated that the amount of food that will need to be produced to feed the world’s growing population will be greater than the amount already produced throughout the history of humankind. That is a huge challenge for farmers and ranchers around the world, and as Erpelding [of Elanco] explained, it is only achievable through continued access to technology, improvements in genetics, proper animal care and efficiency in production.

Sustainability, availability and affordability are equally important in feeding the world.  

I often get involved in discussions where technology is painted with a broad black brush.  Technologies, such as hybrid crops, effective veterinary treatments and even GMOs are primarily responsible for the the availability of affordable food.  Technology can support sustainability, like some crops that can grow in salt-poisoned soils or with less nitrogen.

It is important not to reject technology just because it is technology.  It is also important to look at the entire impact and cost of technologies, not just the bottom cash line.  Policies and production decisions should be made based on facts (all of them) and not emotions.

Among a basketball coach, pro-golfer and military doctors, ABC World News has named a vegetable farmer as one of their “extraordinary people who make a difference“.

Bob Blair, whose original story aired in June, runs Volunteer Farm in Woodstock, Virginia.  The farm, with volunteer labor, produces fresh vegetables for those in need.  Since June, they have produced and distributed 35 tons of vegetables with the help of 3,100 volunteers.

Blair started the farm 5 years ago, originally intending it to be a Christmas tree farm.  But, Blair had an epiphany to grow nutritious food for those who need it.  Now, with the help of his volunteers, he provides good, healthy and nutritious food to a local food bank.

In an era of increasing obesity AND food insecurity, I applaud Bob and the army of volunteers that support him.  It’s a humbling reminder that any of us can make a real difference, to at least a few people.  Bob, you’ve inspired me to see what we can with production from our own Wild Type Ranch this winter, to help feed those in need.