How Does it Taste?

I'm sitting here sipping on a mug of warm Happy Cow milk. Thinking about how I'm going to prepare that ground lamb I just bought. Maybe serve it with some of the Split Creek feta. And finish with some fudge. Mmmm. Fudge.

But I'm also wondering what you all are doing with your local food. What cooking ideas do you have to share?

Several people expressed interest in learning cooking techinques...we all have something to contribute...please share what you know.

Some of you bought things you might not normally buy because you're adventuring. What have you discovered?...any newfound likes?

What a Whirlwind!

As each of you who came by to pick up this evening can attest, there was a whirlwind of activity in doling out the good stuff tonight. We learned a lot in the process and I greatly appreciate your patience!

Each of the farmers I visited with today expressed their deep appreciation for the support your orders give them. It's been a very hard year for our local farms between the drought and the increased feed costs due to the rising price of corn. One farm shared that they are having to cut back production as a result; another indicated that they won't be able to give raises to their staff this year. So the support that we as a group bring to these farms is greatly valued, both from an economic and a morale standpoint. Todays' runs brought about $2200 to our local farm community. Thank you for your support of their hard efforts.

I'd also like to give a special thanks to Leslie and Phillips Bragg. They went above and beyond with their volunteerism tonight...even hired a sitter so that they could run around in the cold doing math problems in the dark. Thank you both so much.

If you found that you had a problem with your order that we did not address at pick-up, please let me know via email and we'll figure out how to resolve it.

Locavore Pledge

Thanks to club member Brian Little for the following:

From Tennessee Locavore (http://tnlocavore.typepad.com/), a slightly modified version of the Locavore's Pledge.

Local first.

If not locally produced, then organic.

If not organic, then family farm.

If not family farm, then local business.

If not local business, then Fair Trade.

Corn ethanol takes more energy than it makes

I had brunch today with family and friends. We started talking about ethanol and how its production has an impact on agriculture. One friend asked why more people didn't know about the serious drawbacks of ethanol and its negative impact. Thought I would share with you all the article I shared with my friend...

http://www.newfarm.org/news/2005/0705/070705/ethanol.shtml

A Homegrown Festival

Excerpted from New Farm Newsletter October 18, 2007.

"Farm Aid brought 100-percent local, organic, humanely raised and family-farm generated food for its concessions in 2007. Besides serving up local, sustainably produced food to the crowd of 25,000, all vendors used compostable containers. Farm Aid volunteers at every refuse station made sure the right items went into the right receptacles. "

http://www.newfarm.org/features/2007/1007/farmaid/homegrown1.shtml

Do Food Labels Make a Difference? . . . Sometimes

Excerpted from AmberWaves, publication by USDA, November 2007:

"The economics behind food labeling provides insight into the dynamics of voluntary and mandatory food labeling and the influence labeling has on consumers’ food choices.

• Competition drives food manufacturers to voluntarily label their products’ desirable attributes and to use third-party certifiers to bolster credibility.
• Mandatory food labeling is usually more successful at filling information gaps than at addressing externalities such as environmental or health spillovers associated with food production and consumption.
• Mandatory labeling may initially have a larger impact on manufacturers’ production decisions than on consumers’ food choices."

Read more here: http://www.ers.usda.gov/AmberWaves/November07/Features/FoodLabels.htm