Here and There

25 September 2006

Too busy to write much, but here are some things I recommend that you read, if you're a mind.

FED UP WITH THE GOVERNMENT'S BULLSH-T ABOUT SPINACH?

I am. Read what Alton Brown has to say about it.

“And to make matters worse, our ever-wise government has told us to eat no fresh spinach at all. They could have advised us to eat only locally grown spinach but Noooooooo. Let’s shoot every poor farmer in America that’s doing his or her job in the foot. And why? Because we can’t sort out what went there when and how and what it might have touched or been near. Here’s the news kids: when the system gets this big and out of whack, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men (and the USDA and the CDC, and the FDA) cannot keep us safe.”

Nina Planck, in The New York Times, has a startling revelation:

Where does this particularly virulent strain [of E.Coli] come from? It’s not found in the intestinal tracts of cattle raised on their natural diet of grass, hay and other fibrous forage. No, O157 thrives in a new — that is, recent in the history of animal diets — biological niche: the unnaturally acidic stomachs of beef and dairy cattle fed on grain, the typical ration on most industrial farms. It’s the infected manure from these grain-fed cattle that contaminates the groundwater and spreads the bacteria to produce, like spinach, growing on neighboring farms.

She says to give the spinach growers a break, and to look to the cattle industry to stop feeding corn to animals who are not meant to eat it.

Last but never least, Sam has a good head of steam going over at Becks & Posh, directly related to both of these issues (the spinach and the grass-fed vs. corn-fed beef). She caught CNN in a massive blunder. While you're there, read about how she nearly drenched her Kimbies at the farmers market. Sam makes me laugh.

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Are you a fan of goats? Thinking of raising them yourself? Read 20 Truths about Raising Goats, over at Rooster Hill Farm.

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Did you see the article about ranches in the San Francisco Chronicle? Well, then, you saw Bonnie (aka "Dairy Queen") of The Ethicurean interviewed. And mention of my friends at Deep Roots Ranch and TLC Ranch.

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A great post about Siena is over at Jam Faced. Warning to the squeamish: an entire roasted pig is pictured. The photos made me nostalgic.

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Apropos of absolutely nothing, this video linked from Ze Frank cracked me up. And it's going to crack up Logan, too.

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Finally, a personal note. Something I have been fearing, something that a month ago (before my breakthrough) would have sent me running, finally happened. It was nothing. It washed over me like a small wave on the beach, and I walked away from it, free. I think going to the gym every day is working miracles in my life. I feel so good.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: “My biggest fear in life is fear.” — Sheryl Lee

Thanks for visiting.

25 September 2006 in Current Affairs, Farmers markets, Farms & Farmers, Food and Drink, My work, Recommendations, Weblogs | Permalink