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October 23rd, 2009
When I started vegetable gardening, I ordered the big catalog from Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. Their mission is to preserve heirloom garden seeds. This means that the green tomatoes that someone grew long ago in the hills of Western Kentucky, or even in more distant corners of the world, are available to us today.
Thousands of varieties and thousands of years of combined selection bring us to the present. There are several seed banks around the world that store seeds. They are effectively storing a map of the evolution of food. Every living thing contains genetic code, and with food in particular, human and natural selection have shaped that code over hundreds and even thousands of years. For plants, adaptability is an insurance policy to guarantee that there will be a next generation of their species.
Consider modern tomatoes and field corn. According to the 1937 Yearbook of Agriculture published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “Of about 40 varieties that had attained a distinct status prior to 1910, a third were productions or introductions by the Livingston Seed Company. If we add those varieties derived directly from Livingston productions and introductions, it appears that half of the major varieties were due to the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato.” That’s not very much genetic diversity, especially considering that there are thousands of varieties of tomatoes that were derived from the work done by the Aztecs since 500 BC.
Attempts to preserve all those varieties means that there is much more genetic material to work with. Most people dislike the taste of winter tomatoes from the store, and part of that comes from forcing them to grow out of season. Other factors include breeders selecting for ship-ability, uniform size and color, appearance (no cracking), disease resistance, plant size, days to maturity, and even cold tolerance. Unfortunately, lost in all this is taste.
Having heirloom ancestors allows us to manipulate the genetic code even more, so that perhaps someday there will be a tomato with all the desired traits and good taste. Modern corn varieties have been bred to respond to petroleum-based fertilizers, namely nitrogen, as it was cheap and plentiful after World War II. As efforts continue to wean ourselves off of the dwindling supply of oil, we will undoubtedly reach back into history and use some of the ancient varieties to breed new characteristics into our modern varieties.
I urge you to support heirloom growers and heirloom seed companies. Don’t judge food by its color; judge it by its uniqueness, its smell and how it and tastes. Is it really necessary for every tomato to be nearly the same size, shape, and color? Variety is the spice of life!
Andy Hazzard
Hazzard Free Farm
First Hand Harvest CSA
Local Food Systems Coordinator
University of Illinois Extension
October 15th, 2009
Submitted photo: Volunteers Earl DeLong and Debbie Okeson load clothing brought to Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful’s Fall Clothing Drive.
Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful reports that 2,020 people dropped off clothing and other goods to 168 volunteers at last weekend’s Fall Clothing Drive at Hilander stores and the Forest Hills Lodge.
“This event is the perfect opportunity to help those in need by finding a new home for outgrown school clothes and other items that no longer fit or are needed. With the current economic conditions, second hand clothing in good condition is in high demand,” Lori Gummow, executive director, said in a news release.
Next spring’s date? May 8.
October 8th, 2009
Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful’s fall clothing drive is Saturday.
Take acceptable clothing, shoes, accessories in plastic garbage bags to any Hilander location or Forest Hills Lodge in Machesney Park. Hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Call 815-637-1343 if you have questions or want to volunteer.
September 18th, 2009
Did you know it’s Healthcare Environmental Awareness Week? Did you know there’s an Eco-Dentistry Association?
Now that you do, you can join the“Save 90-A-Day!”campaign by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth twice a day.
According to the EDA:
The average person wastes approximately 90 glasses of water every day by leaving the tap running while they brush their teeth. That means in the United States alone, we’re literally pouring down the drain as much as 27 billion glasses of clean, drinkable water every day, just brushing our teeth. While it may seem like a small thing, according to the World Water Council, one out of every six people on the planet lives without clean drinking water.
It recommends this routine:
1. Wetting your toothbrush under the water
2. Turning off the tap
3. Applying toothpaste
4. Brushing your teeth for 2 minutes
5. Filling a small glass with water
6. Rinsing and swishing with water from the glass.
7. Tell a friend or family member to do the same.
I didn’t find a member of the EDA within 50 miles of this area, but the tip is still worthy. You also can ask your dentist about his or her environmental practices.
September 2nd, 2009
It is a common misconception that the 1200-pound beef animal in the field will give you 1200 pounds of meat. In fact, that 1200-pound animal will only yield 420 pounds of meat that can come home to your freezer. That creates a lot of “waste” in the consumer’s eyes. However, that waste is put to good use.
To begin with, as a company we try to save out anything that we can reuse or sell. The most obvious is the cattle hides. We do save the hides and sell them for leather production. This allows us to charge our customers a lower slaughter charge. If they wish to keep their hide, we have to charge more for slaughter to make up the difference. After the hide though, we have some other options for making use of the waste.
We do provide specimens to various schools and colleges. We can provide items to be dissected, to help others learn. Hearts with all the valves, lungs and kidneys are just a few items we save to help others learn. We also will save items for the medical field. Being that we are not in a sterile environment, we save items that they can practice on. Currently, hog stomachs are a big item. As gastro by-pass surgery is becoming popular, doctors need something to practice on before they attempt on a person. Pork stomachs make a great item to practice on. We also save lamb necks with heads attached for use in practicing intubating humans. That way when the EMT shows up, he has had practice opening up your airways. We have also provided eyes for lasik surgery practice, and blood for open-heart surgery on hogs.
Once we have taken what we can, a rendering company picks up the remainder. They will take what is left, and render the product, or cook it to separate off tallow and grease. The items that do not cook off will become pet food material. This material smells and looks like dry pet food, but it’s not in the fun shapes that we pour into our pet bowls every morning. Out of the tallow, they isolate different acids such as linoleic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid and glycerine. To most consumers, these do not mean much, but if you know that paint, plastic and lubricants contain linoleic acid, and that cosmetics contain oleic acid, and that plastics, tires, and rubber have stearic acid, then we use these in our everyday life. There are many items that are produced from the “waste” material. The meat industry tries to use all those items so that nothing goes to waste.
July 16th, 2009
…writes about global warming.
Pat Cunningham, author of our most popular blog, Applesauce, which focuses on national politics, regularly posts links and videos that mock those who think it’s a hoax. Love him or hate him, he’s entertaining!
July 8th, 2009
July is here, and along with it, comes the kick off to one of our busiest seasons, the county fairs. Most people think of the food that is consumed at the fairs, and while we do supply some food stands at the various fairs, what keeps us going most is the processing of the livestock animals that are shown at the fair.
While some people may browse the farmers markets for produce and cuts of meat, at the county fairs you can actually browse for whole animals to purchase. There really is no better time for anyone thinking to put a hog, or a beef into the freezer then at the fair. You have the producers of the animal on site, and you have a selection to choose from. If you don’t have a farm contact, you can build one. If you were raised your whole life not understanding how livestock are cared for, the young individuals that raised their project animals are more than willing to share what they learned, and what it takes to produce a great animal.
Often, fair animals that are going to be sold are sold in one of two ways. The easiest way to purchase one of these animals is by attending the quality livestock auction. Each fair holds one of these auctions, and businesses and individuals come together to purchase animals and support the youth. I will warn you, these are live auctions, and you need to understand how they are run before bidding.
The second method is to roam the barns. Not all the animals on the fairgrounds will go through the auction. Often, individuals have extra animals that are going to go to traditional markets after the fair is over. These individuals can tell you all the details of the care of their animals, the feed, and the love that went into raising them. They can also set up transportation of these animals to a local processor, so that after the fair, you can enjoy the hard work put into the project to make a quality meat product.
Even if you’re not in the market to have a lamb, or hog in your freezer, please feel free to talk to the producers. These may be the people that produce your food already, and you never even knew it. The more educated you are about your food, the better it seems to taste.
If you have questions, please contact your local U of I extension office, or your local processor. Stephenson County fair is coming up the in the middle of July, followed by Ogle County, Dekalb County 4-H Show, McHenry County, Boone County, and Winnebago County. What better time to shop to stock up the freezer.
June 26th, 2009
If you missed the Openfields Dinner at the Celtic Thistle on Sunday night, you missed a lovely evening. It was filled with the most mouthwatering steaks I’ve seen in years, thanks to Tom Eickman of Eickman’s Processing in Seward. And the dessert was to die for, with strawberries picked lovingly from Harrison Market Garden by Jill and Bill Beyer. Succulent jewels ladled over a puff of meringue.
If you weren’t in attendance, don’t fret, as there will be more opportunities. The next Openfields dinner featuring local foods will be on July 18 at Pine Row Farm in Roscoe, with catering by Kiki B’s and A Movable Feast. Other local foods dinners will be held on July 23 at Octane and August 6 at Brio, plus more opportunities to finish out the summer and head into fall. All of these dinners are being planned to take advantage of the bounty of what is in season.
An Openfields dinner is as much about enjoying the company of kindred spirits as it is about the mouthwatering local food. It is an opportunity to meet new people, and exchange ideas and philosophies, as well as recipes. It is an ancient ritual repeated in a modern world. Bread and wine shared amongst a diverse and growing clan.
Now that we’ve considered the wine, on to the weather! Rain, rain, rain, and more rain. There are springs seeping upward through the earth in my fields. More springs than anyone can remember, and it is a good thing that hope springs eternal, as well. We keep planting, while some things grow and thrive and others rot in the rich dark soil that had been so productive in previous years. Ah, the life of a farmer!
The beauty of local food is that it is the tie that binds. It binds the farmer to the community, and it binds the community back to the earth. Those ties have been severed for decades and we have the ability to respond…responsibility… to recreate those frayed threads. To create anew a system that will sustain and nourish not just our bodies, but, our minds and our souls.
Raise your glass to a new paradigm, and join us as we celebrate a new understanding. To make reservations to join us at future Openfields dinners, visit web.extension.uiuc.edu/winnebago or phone the University of Illinois Extension Winnebago County office at (815) 986-4357. Andrea Hazzard is the Farmer at Hazzard Free Farm, partner in First Hand Harvest CSA and the Local Food Systems Coordinator for Winnebago County
May 8th, 2009
Spring has arrived, and the excitement of a new season surrounds us. Our farm is brimming with little seedlings that are anxiously waiting to be planted. We are busily preparing our planting beds to accommodate them, spreading compost, mulching, pulling the weeds that do no belong — all to assure a bountiful season.
In recent years, there has been a renaissance of small, local farms, many of which are following organic or sustainable farming methods, or using alternate means to produce food for local markets. Farmers sell their products at local farmers markets, through community supported agriculture (CSAs), local grocers, and local restaurants. Customers can meet the person who is responsible for growing the food that they enjoy, and can develop a relationship with that farmer. It is important to know who grows your food, to be able to understand how the food was grown.
Lately, the “green” concept has been everywhere around us. This is wonderful to see, but it can be overwhelming for many people. Sometimes it seems that one must change many things in one’s life to make a difference: buy organic, buy local, go green for everything one does, or not at all. But people can make a huge impact by changing just one thing, one day a week, for themselves and the environment. For example, if you use a to-go mug for your coffee instead of a disposable paper cup four mornings each week, this will save 208 cups over the course of one year.
Or, consider dedicating one meal a week to local and/or organic products. It may not seem like much, but it could have a significant impact on the local food system by providing a market for area farmers. After a while, you can try expanding to two or even three meals per week. The secret to changing anything in one’s life is to start small. Each month, or sometimes each week, we would try something different. A different grocer, a different type of food, organic instead of conventional, local instead of industrial. At first it was a struggle, and took a lot of planning and time to make these changes. However, it was a great adventure to learn how to cook again with basic ingredients, and discover local businesses.
At the end of the day, I think all of us can learn something from the “Go Green” campaign. Even if you feel that it is not for you, or you do not want to make those changes in your life, go out and enjoy some of the events throughout the summer that are part of this movement. Visit a farmer’s market, a farm tour, or a local restaurant that serves local produce. Enjoy the bounty of the harvest, and meet the people behind the food. After tasting a delicious heirloom tomato or an artisan loaf of bread, you just might be swayed into the romance of enjoying the harvest in the end.
February 13th, 2009
Did you know there is a Green Pride Flag featuring six horizontal bars? For 50 bucks?
Per the press release:
“I’m personally working to lessen the negative impact I have on the environment and my businesses are built upon that commitment, as well. I’m proud of that and there are lots of other people and organizations doing the same thing and feeling the same way. I designed the Green Pride flag so that they have a way to show that they’re taking their commitment seriously and are proud of it,” said Mike Aaron, creator of the Green Pride flag.
This comes from the founder of Greensender.com, an eco-friendly gift/products site. Hmmm. Seems like a waste, but to each his own. Note: He has 153 fans on Facebook. Well, this is amusing, ala the Aretha “hat trick.”
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