“We’ve had 50 years of unusually stable weather… What do we need to do now, to garden in times that are less predictable?” Plant breeder Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, suggests growing a wider variety of … [Read more...]
Pine Mountain Ranch — Where the Buffalo Roam (334)
“A rancher could really be called a grass farmer,” contends rancher Alan Rousseau. “But let’s go further. Let’s go to the soil.” The soils in his Oregon high-mountain ranch are rich in minerals, producing grasses with higher protein to nourish his pastured animals, producing … [Read more...]
For Humans, Bugs and Beauty — An Urban Food Forest Demonstration (333)
“This place is famous. People loving coming by here because at any time of year you can get something to eat.” Architect Mark Lakeman, co-founder of the City Repair project, gives a tour of the corner sidewalk outside his Portland office building, where a food forest is … [Read more...]
Milking “Buttercup” the Cow (327)
“The faster you go in the beginning, the more milk you get. Beginning milkers have a rough time because of this.” Alexandra King, co-owner of Inspiration Farm shows how she milks the family cow, Buttercup. A stall holds the Jersey cow in place while being milked. Alexandra … [Read more...]
The Open Source Seed Initiative — Protecting Our Food Commons (323)
Plant breeder Carol Deppe is passionate about making seeds available for all growers, rather than being in the control of a handful of corporations. “If we want to control the kind of food available and the kind of agricultural system that we want, we have to do our own … [Read more...]
Deep Nutrition — Eating the Way We Used to Eat (321)
“Nature knows Best,” says Cate Shanahan, M.D. “Just eat the way people used to eat….” For their book Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food, she and her partner Luke researched early American cookbooks and worldwide cultures with intact cuisines. They came up … [Read more...]
Food, Community and Our Place on Earth (320)
If the trucks stopped rolling, how long could locally-produced food sustain your community? A farmer friend of Whidbey Islander (WA) Vicki Robin calculated “Two weeks in August [peak harvest time].” Vicki went on a one-year 10-mile diet, building relationships with her … [Read more...]
Tour Salt Spring Island’s Local Meat Processing Facility (311)
(No animals or meat products are portrayed in this program). When new regulations required Salt Spring Island's meat producers to take their animals off-island for processing, local production plummeted nearly in half. In response, the Salt Spring Agricultural Alliance … [Read more...]
Seeds for Our Future — How Shall We Feed Ourselves? (310)
"We've alienated ourselves so much from nature that our whole way of producing food is by trying to dominate nature. We're not really connected." Dan Jason, owner of Salt Spring Seeds (B.C.), points out how corporations now control most of the seeds and food products … [Read more...]
Sooke Harbour House & Restaurant — Pioneers of Local (307)
Nestled beside Sooke Bay on Vancouver Island, Sooke Harbour House Hotel has gardens boasting hundreds of edible plants, including sea plants at ocean's edge. Innkeepers Frederique and Sinclair Phillip have pioneered locally-sourced cuisine, art, and decor for decades because … [Read more...]