Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

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What is Sustainable Food?

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

I recently happened upon an interesting site, titled “American Feast’s Sustainable Food Blog.” I have added this link to our Food and Ag Links (in the right-hand column of ESP’s site). This blog includes articles about sustainable and slow food around the country, and also mouth-watering recipes; for example:  North Fork Peach Raspberry Pie.

Sustainable Ag, Defined

A post titled “What is Sustainable Food” (by Jeff Deasy on April 29, 2007) caught my attention.  This is an excellent piece, well worth the short read.

Did you know that Congress officially defined “sustainable agriculture” in the 1990 farm bill?  According to Mr. Deasy:

Under that law, the term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:

• Satisfy human food and fiber needs.
• Enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends.
• Make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls.
• Sustain the economic viability of farm operations.
• Enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.

Sounds pretty good to me.  Read the entire article for more, at blog.americanfeast.com/2007/04/what_is_sustainable.html

Food Alliance Certification for Sustainably Produced Food

food alliance logoAnother Post (by Jeff Deasy on June 19, 2009) concerns Food Alliance’s certification program for farms, ranches and food handlers for producing sustainable food.  Look for their label, pictured here, on foods at your market.

To learn more about this certification program, check out their website: www.foodalliance.org.

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Honey and Other Natural Sweeteners

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

by Catherine Haug, July 2009; revised oct 2011 to add link to related article

We hear so much these days about how sugar is bad for us, and we all know that too much sugar in our diet can cause weight issues. Consequently, many of our foods today are sweetened with so-called zero-calorie sweeteners:  sucralose (Splenda), asartame (Equal, NutraSweet), saccharin, and stevia derivatives (Truvia, PureVia). Many processed foods have the controversial HFCS (high fructose corn syrup, or its new name: corn sugar) as an ingredient. And now there is controversy over agave nectar. What is a health-conscious person to do, and still enjoy a little sweetness?

We look toward natural, minimally-processed sweeteners as a reasonable alternative. The following are discussed in this article: honey, agave syrup, maple syrup, molasses, sorghum, and dried sugar cane juice (Sucanat or Rapadura) are all forms of sugar. Xylitol is a refined, naturally-occurring sugar-alcohol. Stevia is not a sugar, but rather an herb whose leaves contain intensely sweet substances called steviosides.  All of these are discussed in this article.

Oct 2, 2011 update: See also Natural Alternative Sugars for an update on xylitol and agave nectar, and a discussion of a new kid on the block: coconut crystals and nectar.

(more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Industrial Food Expose: “Food, Inc.”

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

by Catherine Haugn

You can watch a 2 minute trailer for this feature length film on the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) website: Web video of the week: Food, Inc..  Here’s a synopsis from the OCA: (more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Notes from Herbology 101 (Crop Circle Event, June 29, 2009

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

Jean H. and I attended the Crop Circle presentation on herbology yesterday evening, in the basement of the Kalispell Public Library. What follows are my notes from this 2-hour presentation.

Presenter:  Sheryl Eaglewoman

Sheryl is a health consultant in the Wise Woman tradition.  She has over 20 years experience in midwifery, healing, wellness, nutrition, and energy work as a medical intuitive. Her website is LivingResponsibly.com; check out her articles (“Columns“), via a link on the left-hand side of her website.

Her teacher and mentor is Susun Weed (www.susunweed.com). In addition, she worked for many years in the supplements aisle of Whole Foods.

Next month, Sheryl will discuss homeopathy (July 29, 2009). See also her article on the subject: Living Responsibly-Homeopathy (also saved: Health-Nutrition / Podcasts-Articles / SherylEaglewoman > LivingResponsibly_Homeopathy_SEaglewoman.pdf

See also Cat’s article (July 2009): Introduction to Homeopathy [Cat’s Note: Here’s an updated October 2022 version: Introduction to Homeopathy (from Cat’s Kitchen)] (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Health | Comments Closed

Foraging in the Wild: Poison Plants to Avoid

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

by Catherine Haug

In a recent newsletter from the Three Rivers Land Conservancy’s Backyard Habitat Certification Program (Portland, OR), I found a link to an article titled “Poison plants: Many look edible.”  As times continue to get tough, foraging for food may become a necessity; knowledge of poisonous plants can be life-saving.

Of course, this list is for western Oregon, but many of these also grow here, and also can be bought at local nurseries. Please note this list is NOT all inclusive! (more…)

Posted in Food-Nutrition-Health, Landscaping | Comments Closed

Local Restaurant Features Locally-raised Meats and Produce

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

by Catherine Haug

Several local restaurants feature local produce, including Showthyme, La Provence, and the Culinary Design Studio.  And now, another restaurant offers locally raised meats:

From The Raven newsletter:

“This summer we are focusing on Montana Growers.  We are serving Natural Beef, Chicken and Local Pork from Farm to Market, and we are thrilled to serve Ceres Bakery Buns – a FANTASTIC Bakery on Main Street in Kalispell.  Help us in supporting the local economy and healthy food!”

The Raven is located on the lake in Woods Bay.  Call 837-5472 for more information.

Be sure to check out the Farm Hands Map to help you support local growers.  The map includes farms, gardens, farmers’ markets, restaurants, and stores featuring locally-produced foods.

Who is Your Farmer?

Posted in Community, Food-Nutrition-Health, Shop Local | Comments Closed

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