Local Food

The average person consumes around 260 eggs each year. And in the United States, most of those eggs come from the Midwest and California. Crop to Cuisine looks into what it takes to keep our food local - and when it comes to eggs - there are lots of options.

In this episode we will be visiting a small family "free range" egg farm. We will also be joined by Kelly Simmons. She is the Director for the Boulder Sustainability Education Center, and teaches people how to care for and raise egg laying hens in household backyards.

This week on Crop To Cuisine, we check out a local restaurant making it a point to utilize locally grown and raised ingredients. We also speak with Roxanne Christenson, the President of the Institute for Innovation in Local Farming in Philadelphia. And Kipp Nash joins us in the studio to talk about his experiences with SPIN Farming in Boulder, Colorado. To find out more, go to www.croptocuisine.org

Sharon Astyk is a writer, teacher and subsistence farmer, and the author of two forthcoming books on Peak Oil and Climate Change — Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front (Fall ‘08) and A Nation of Farmers (And Cooks) (Spring ‘09), the latter co-authored with Aaron Newton. Both books are forthcoming from New Society Publishers.

In summer 2006 Judy Alexander embarked on an experiment to see how much food she could grow, and how many neighbors could benefit, from the garden around her house. Check out her homegrown rainwater collection and irrigation system -- watering her 60+ edible crops. Meet the bees, the chickens and the worms. And catch her joy in producing so much food for so little effort. Episode 87. Now with transcript.

Localization of our food supply is one of the most critical ways we will improve the condition of our planet. There are many things we can be doing in the way of environmental sustainability. But none of them play as central a role in everyone's life as food. In this episode, we launch Crop To Cuisine onto the airwaves discussing the reasons that localization of our food supply is so important, including the historical context, environmental impacts, and even economic benefits. Our guests include Amy Trubek, PhD, Dawn Thilmany, PhD, and Jon Ash, Chef and Author.

Recorded at the 2008 annual conference of the Certified Organic Associations of British Columbia, we hear segments from a workshop titled "Starting Your Organic Farm". Also featured is a short segment from a recent event titled, "Write to a Farmer Who Inspires You".

This episode highlights the dialogue that a regional food security conference can help inspire, and emphasizes the wealth of knowledge and talent that may be hidden in the recesses of North American communities. Host Jon Steinman also visits with a Conscientious Cook in Saskatoon, Canada - Daniel Walker.

Linda Buzzell-Saltzman and Larry Saltzman of Santa Barbara share a love for their garden in more ways than one. Larry is creating a lush food forest and teaches permaculture to promote local food security. Ecotherapist Linda helps people heal their relationship with nature, noting that many problems are rooted in this disconnection. http://www.forthefuture.org. Episode 96.

What happens when a city of 80,000 without a farmers' market hosts a trial market in this new age of increasing awareness of local food?

Els Cooperrider is an energetic lady. She co-founded the Mendocino Organic Network, which began an organic peer-certification service for local growers. Their Mendocino Renegade label means products are "beyond organic" and local. She also led Mendocino to become the first U.S. county to be GMO-free -- genetically-modified organisms cannot be grown there. Her eatery, Ukiah Brewing Co. & Restaurant, is America's first certified organic brew pub, which serves seasonal local ingredients. Episode 93.