tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34520981156063352222012-02-16T15:12:00.819-05:00cultivating health through food and actionAlex Lewinnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-90708561585873406682012-01-17T18:32:00.000-05:002012-01-17T18:32:47.808-05:00

My blog, Feed Me Like You Mean It, is going black tomorrow to protest the US House and Senate bills known as SOPA and PIPA. For information about how you can do the same for your site, visit here. For information about calling your senators, go here.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-23349098920368788472011-10-25T13:31:00.014-04:002011-10-25T13:35:24.047-04:00

Today, the only food that I consume will be raw milk. Why? A man named Michael Schmidt is on day 25 of a hunger strike in Ontario, Canada. His demands are simple: a meeting with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to discuss the legal status of raw milk. An Ontario court recently found that Schmidt's raw milk was legal--only to have the Ontario government appeal the decision, and win the appeal.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-28522486772834880062011-10-24T11:15:00.003-04:002011-11-02T12:56:00.287-04:00

I just had a great visit to Rossotti Ranch in Petaluma, California. It was a clear hot day in Northern California, perfect for a farm visit. On the farm they have a store where they sell grass-fed goat meat, pasture-raised veal, grass-fed beef, fruit preserves, porcini mushrooms, herbs, and other goodies. You can get everything goat, from goat sausages (I got merguez) to goat chops to whole

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-55361872168444216792011-09-15T16:20:00.002-04:002011-09-15T16:30:50.181-04:00

Kristin Canty, a Concord, MA native and friend of mine, has made an important documentary film called Farmageddon. It is about small farmers and individuals who raise animals and make food according to their beliefs about what is healthy and right, and it is also about state and federal authorities who try to stop them. It is amazing and horrifying to watch guns-drawn SWAT-style raids, property

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-9694639287030474982011-09-06T11:07:00.000-04:002011-09-06T11:07:14.185-04:00

Mainstream science publications are talking about the importance of gut flora. This has only really been happening for the last year or so. It is heartening. Nature published this article about antibiotic overuse. Unfortunately, Nature wants $32 to let you read the article. Fortunately, Wired magazine published this excellent post summarizing the Nature article.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-78983109959143921532011-08-31T11:31:00.004-04:002011-08-31T11:31:00.125-04:00

A few items on genetically-modified corn: In the US, two-thirds of the corn we grow is genetically modified. Some countries, however, have banned the import or use of GM seeds of any kind. Hungary is one of them. This article tells of the Hungarian government ploughing under GM corn that had found its way within its borders. And this article indicates that GM corn is losing its pest resistance

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-43804155677110342462011-08-27T12:04:00.011-04:002011-08-28T15:44:36.641-04:00

Coming to a lawn near you: Scotts Roundup-Ready Kentucky Bluegrass, courtesy of Monsanto. Do we really want to see our neighbors growing genetically-modified plants, and dousing them with Roundup? Some background: Roundup is an herbicide (plant-killer) manufactured by Monsanto. Historically, herbicides been used on small, concentrated areas of weeds on farms, in gardens, and in yards, and for

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-23558062447182052402011-07-27T07:06:00.000-04:002011-07-27T07:06:00.735-04:00

When we buy bottled water, we create incentive for corporations to make plastic bottles; rob people of their water rights; ship large quantities of water all over the world, with the fuel consumption that entails; and paint bottled water as a status symbol and "healthy lifestyle" marker (which is, ironically, quite unsustainable). When we drink tap water, we create incentive for the maintenance

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-80982314765212853292011-07-24T20:36:00.004-04:002011-08-28T15:47:03.913-04:00

In just the past year, I've seen a lot of articles in mainstream publications refuting long-cherished dietary doctrine, and supporting many of the ideas put forward by "alternative" health systems. Here are a few. First, according to Scientific American: "It's Time to End the War on Salt. The zealous drive by politicians to limit our salt intake has little basis in science." They cite articles

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-61815930052706408322011-06-13T09:36:00.004-04:002011-06-16T21:42:51.980-04:00

The Boston Public Market Association's goal is to create a year-round, indoor public market selling local food in the Boston area. I have been on its board of directors for a few years. Please join us from 4PM to 8PM on Sunday, June 26 at the Sam Adams Brewery in Jamaica Plain, Boston, for a summer party. Our event will feature Meat Of Known Origin from Stillman's Farm, and other food from

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-64381583907519413372011-06-09T11:11:00.001-04:002011-11-02T12:57:25.341-04:00

A michelada is a Mexican drink made with beer, ice, salt, and something sour—depending where you are, it might be some combination of lime juice, tomato juice, clam juice, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or the like. It's a great drink for hot weather, like we're having here in Boston (98 and humid tomorrow!). But here's the thing—I don't like tomato juice, I didn't have any clam juice, and I

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-25152073440374179572011-05-31T10:17:00.002-04:002011-05-31T11:53:09.382-04:00

Have you ever come across "natural flavors" on a food label? A can of soup, or a bottled sauce or dressing, or a dessert? Or perhaps a bottle of sparkling water? "Natural"...sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong. Here's what the US Code of Federal Regulations says about "natural flavors": the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-51755382196590572432011-05-29T11:38:00.001-04:002011-05-29T13:14:39.860-04:00

"I just killed a pig and a goat," Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly said in a Facebook post on May 4. Bravo, Mark. He has said publicly that for 2011, he will only eat meat that he has killed, as part of his growing interest in where food comes from. I have every hope that his exploration of food will continue. He is in a great position to help shape the public dialog about food

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-91453034409598583092011-05-25T02:18:00.001-04:002011-05-25T02:18:29.706-04:00

No one has gotten sick. It's debatable whether laws have been broken. And yet the FDA has spent a year and a half's worth of time and taxpayers' money on an undercover operation to catch and prosecute Dan Allgyer, a small dairy farmer who has been providing fresh milk to co-owners of his herd of cows. US marshalls, federal agents, and state troopers were dispatched to his farm in a 5AM raid.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-84321632523020172432011-05-20T02:17:00.000-04:002011-05-20T02:17:17.764-04:00

This past Monday, May 16, there was a demonstration for freedom of food choice on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. One of the motivations for the rally was outrage at an elaborate, expensive, year-and-a-half long sting operation mounted by the FDA against a peaceful Amish farmer who was distributing his milk to members of a private buying club. Here's a video in which Adam Kokesh (talk show host

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-20780734284788426922011-04-27T07:05:00.002-04:002011-04-27T09:29:10.740-04:00

Monsanto is the most noxious corporation on the earth. I've been saying this for a while. Now the Organic Consumers Association has put together a brilliant, well-organized campaign to do something about it: Millions Against Monsanto. This isn't an issue of Democrat vs. Republican, or liberal vs. conservative, or anything like that. It's human vs. corporation. Or even, the survival of our

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-19668946850925566962011-04-20T07:01:00.009-04:002011-04-20T07:01:00.281-04:00

Nationwide study finds U.S. meat and poultry is widely contaminated: Multi-drug-resistant Staph found in nearly 1 in 4 samples, review shows. According to this article from a non-profit biomedical research institute, when a survey was done of supermarket meat from five cities, Nearly half of the meat and poultry samples — 47 percent — were contaminated with S. aureus, and more than half of those

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-74886678678030531572011-04-15T14:45:00.000-04:002011-04-15T14:45:20.259-04:00

This weekend's New York Times Magazine contains an article by Gary Taubes entitled Is Sugar Toxic? Taubes, author of the best-selling Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat, starts by citing a lecture given by UCSF professor Robert Lustig arguing that sugar is toxic in the amounts that we are consuming today in the United States, and that sugar consumption is implicated in heart disease,

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-86444346338547813852011-04-13T13:45:00.001-04:002011-04-13T13:46:05.437-04:00

A friend of mine has co-authored an important book. The authors are trying to make it a best-seller on Amazon by getting as many people as possible to buy it TODAY! It's called Walk Out Walk On: A Learning Journey into Communities Daring to Live the Future Now. Sitting around fretting about the future of the human race is a favorite modern activity. Too many people, not enough food, climate

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-89933607282731694112011-04-01T14:55:00.000-04:002011-04-01T14:55:44.716-04:00

Here's a a brief report on what's happening with food in Japan, via David O'Neil, a leading expert and consultant in the field of public markets and their local economies. The biggest issues may be (1) public perception, and (2) problems with refrigeration due to power outages. "…[F]ood from japan is still far safer & of higher quality than most products from elsewhere." The rest of David

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-60636026323160599182011-02-14T11:05:00.001-05:002011-02-14T11:05:00.513-05:00

Calling all fermentation fanciers: Check out the Freestone Fermentation Festival. It's happening on May 21 in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco. Ninth-degree fermentation black belt Sandor Katz will be there (as will I). I'm looking forward to it!

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-36673558034860150012011-02-08T13:52:00.000-05:002011-02-08T13:52:52.923-05:00

This past weekend, I attended the Fourfold Path To Healing Conference near San Francisco. Sally Fallon Morell quoted Schopenhauer: All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.She observed that with respect to raw milk, we're well into the second stage.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-66268964567726476452011-01-24T23:08:00.001-05:002011-01-24T23:14:47.136-05:00

Food miles may not be over-extravagant in their energy use, but they are thickly implicated in a centralized distribution system which multiplies our energy expenditure at every opportunity and whose impacts include excessive packaging and refrigeration, waste, traffic congestion, road-building, noise, accidents, loss of local distinctiveness, exploitation and displacement of peasants, excessive

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-87798237447860826612011-01-01T14:30:00.000-05:002011-01-01T14:30:09.164-05:00

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth drinks raw milk? Here's what I say: If it's good enough for her, it's good enough for me. Ironically, selling raw milk is illegal in at least one of the countries over which Queen Elizabeth reigns (Canada). For more, see here and here.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-64463498030600124762010-12-20T11:07:00.000-05:002010-12-20T11:07:25.029-05:00

Last night, the US Senate unexpectedly passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, a bill granting the FDA broad new powers to regulate food. It is expected to cost $1.4 billion over the next four years, and require the hiring of thousands of new FDA inspectors (link). The bill now goes back to the House, which is almost certain to pass it, and on to the President, who will sign it. Aside from

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-29595899432111032012010-12-17T08:15:00.003-05:002010-12-17T08:32:20.417-05:00

For many of us, the fact that our food system is broken is not news. The US government subsidizes crops we don't need more of (like "number 2 field corn"), which get processed into foods that are bad for us (high-fructose corn syrup), and are fed to animals who get sick from eating them (cows). Vegetable farmers receive no subsidies. Government incentives and regulatory agencies encourage

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-8051652112555513382010-12-14T09:03:00.001-05:002010-12-14T09:38:44.278-05:00

If you drink milk or eat butter, you should be willing to eat veal. Or at the very least you should be okay with the idea that someone, somewhere is eating veal. Here's why: Dairy cows, in order to give milk, must have calves. Half the calves are male. Male calves don't have a role to play on a dairy farm. Hence, veal. Am I saying that we should all go to the big supermarket and buy veal? No.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-16692482341938685752010-12-06T08:03:00.001-05:002010-12-06T09:04:46.274-05:00

Organic, "free-range" eggs from the grocery store are all pretty good, right? Wrong. The word "organic" on the package does not guarantee that the hens had humane treatment, space to move around, or access to the outdoors. And it doesn't guarantee that the eggs are healthy for you to eat, especially if you choose to eat your eggs raw. Pretty much all the word "organic" guarantees is that the

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-8620678341442766552010-12-03T12:31:00.000-05:002010-12-03T12:31:23.513-05:00

At the beginning of 2010, Forbes Magazine named Monsanto "Company of the Year", and wrote a long paean to them. I responded here. It's worth reading the comments posted to the Forbes website in response to their article, here. I looked through the first page of them: no one supported Monsanto; everyone expressed dismay at Monsanto's business. Among other useful links that came out of the

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-55905993234790204902010-11-29T12:52:00.000-05:002010-11-29T12:52:21.947-05:00

Tasha, author of the top-ten vegan blog The Voracious Vegan, has started eating meat, and has renamed her blog VoraciousEats.com. This has stirred up quite a controversy. She posted here, ten days ago, about the medical and spiritual journey that led her back to eating meat, after years as a vegan. (Her story is similar to the story told by Lierre Keith in the excellent book, The Vegetarian

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-58111221751483367782010-11-27T11:54:00.000-05:002010-11-27T11:54:08.576-05:00

Lots of people obsess over calories and fat and vitamins, in the hopes of being healthier. I say that the biggest step you can take to being healthier is cooking your own food. To that end, I'd like to recommend the Happy & Healthy Holidays e-course from Jenny at Nourished Kitchen. She has put together a cooking course including 29 videos, 50 menus, and 175 recipes presenting healthy,

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-63746005023562526492010-10-29T11:08:00.001-04:002010-10-29T11:08:00.326-04:00

This year's Weston A. Price Foundation Wise Traditions Conference starts two weeks from today, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. I went to the conference last year in Schaumburg, IL, and it blew me away. Really. It played a very significant role in helping to shape and refine my thoughts about food and health and nutrition. Check out the list of presentations for this year's conference. Then

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-36215321958544901502010-10-22T11:32:00.003-04:002010-10-22T11:32:00.419-04:00

"4 deaths tied to bacteria at food processing plant" in Texas. What was the food in question? Celery. What was celery doing in a processing plant? Details here. We've seen the same story before, with eggs, luncheon meats, organic tomatoes, spinach, and so on. It seems like the frequency of these crises is increasing. Are these foods all inherently risky? I think that's beside the point. The

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-60449796005072576832010-10-18T01:11:00.001-04:002011-07-28T16:08:08.660-04:00

Last weekend, I did a fermentation demo as part of the Urban Homesteaders' League Market Stand at the Union Square farmers' market in Somervile, MA. (Photos.) The Market Stand is a great project that brings together skill-sharing presenters with farmers' market attendees. Among other things, it features a reference library (that UHL mastermind Lisa Gross schleps back and forth to the stand), a

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-77499450373060332072010-10-15T12:58:00.000-04:002010-10-15T12:58:20.473-04:00

I feel compelled to comment on the "Mechanically-Separated Chicken" (aka "Chicken Nuggets") story that has been making the rounds (Google search here) (weird and/or cool videos here, here, here). It turns out that the situation was a bit sensationalized. Someone did some fact-checking, rather than simply citing other blogs (ahem), and posted their findings here. Having said that, I would like to

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-50786977827185810332010-10-13T13:11:00.000-04:002010-10-13T13:11:55.290-04:00

Check it out here. "It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers." Anyone out there want to set up a rent-a-goat business? I would consider investing, and I bet others would too. Or maybe you could get an SBA loan.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-38966117615145276502010-10-06T11:00:00.001-04:002010-10-06T11:00:04.956-04:00

I'll be doing a fermentation demo using whatever autumn vegetables fall readily to hand at the Union Square Farmers' Market this Saturday at 10:45AM. I'll be doing this as part of the Urban Homesteaders' League UHL Market Stand, which hosts a series of how-to workshops every few Saturdays. Joining the UHL meetup page is the best way to hear about local sustainability events, including a lot of

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-70795770468574223152010-09-28T18:19:00.001-04:002010-09-28T18:20:17.085-04:00

I'll be giving a vegetable fermentation demo at the how2heroes table at noon sharp tomorrow at the Cambridge Center Farmers' Market, at 5 Cambridge Center: I'll be done, packed up, and out of there by 12:45PM at the latest. My plan is to get some turnips or rutabagas, beets, and parsnips, peel them all, shred them on a box grater, salt them, and start them fermenting. Low-tech. Keepin' it

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-64149712055088045622010-09-24T13:16:00.001-04:002010-09-25T21:47:54.794-04:00

Meant to post this a while ago: a video from the demo I did on August 4 at the Cambridge Center Farmer's Market. My take on a spicy cole slaw—I called it "Cortido Americano" ("Americano" so that no one could complain that it was inauthentic…).

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-87134929896698408342010-09-24T11:18:00.000-04:002010-09-24T11:18:00.393-04:00

A sophisticated, $25 million ad campaign has been launched promoting baby carrots, by a coalition of carrot farmers. Article here, videos here. For instance: Watch some of the videos. Slightly surreal. A good thing, all in all.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-79226240482706200222010-09-23T11:07:00.000-04:002010-09-23T11:07:19.595-04:00

I just came across this excellent article about raising rabbits entitled, amusingly, Backyard Bunnies Are the New Urban Chickens. Backyard is pretty much as local as it gets. Raising rabbits is tempting. I've also thought about raising guinea pigs for meat, as 98% (!) of rural households do in the Peruvian Andes (according to this article). Rabbits and guinea pigs eat scraps, peels, and other

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-40892679334697641272010-09-17T10:07:00.001-04:002010-09-17T10:07:00.691-04:00

I was very excited when I learned that someone was opening a butcher shop selling Meat Of Known Origin half a mile from my house. That someone is Vadim Akimenko. His shop will be at 1164 Cambridge Street, and is scheduled to open in November. I had the pleasure of talking with him a few days ago. I will detail our conversation in a future post. In the meantime, for a little taste of what he's

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-54056611690682590162010-08-24T15:00:00.001-04:002010-08-24T15:26:16.895-04:00

When I was in cooking school, I took a food safety class. At the end of the class, I passed a test, and received a ServSafe food safety certification. The class was quite fun. Our teacher was hilarious. She gave us clever ways to remember the things we'd need to know for the test. You could get staph infections when the staff didn't wash their hands. And you could get listeria from luncheon

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-8214146362368774972010-08-23T11:05:00.001-04:002010-08-23T22:17:46.178-04:00

Salmonella outbreaks, probably affecting 1,300 people, have put eggs in the news recently. 550 million eggs have been recalled from Wright County Egg and from Hillandale Farms in Iowa. 550 million eggs. From two farms. A large egg is about 2.25 inches long. If you laid 550 million eggs end to end, it would reach more than 3/4 of the way around the earth. That's a lot of eggs. Both of these

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-17483769825740697312010-08-20T16:34:00.002-04:002010-08-20T17:05:27.731-04:00

Many people have emailed me about a New York Times Op-Ed from August 19, 2010: Math Lessons for Locavores, by Stephen Budiansky. I've started to feel a little silly continually cutting-and-pasting my response, so I decided to blog it! Briefly: Budiansky's blog is called liberalcurmudgeon.com, a name which may reflect his wish to be seen as controversial or contrary—and what better liberal

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-61263696745257663572010-08-02T11:29:00.000-04:002010-08-02T11:29:12.306-04:00

I'm doing a demo for how2heroes at 1PM on Wednesday at the Cambridge Center Farmer's Market, located at 5 Cambridge Center right next to the Kendall Square T stop. (Click here for interactive map.) If you haven't seen the how2heroes website, check it out! It's full of awesome cooking videos. I'm making a fermented spicy cole slaw that I have dubbed "Cortido Americano". It is a clean, tangy

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-70360006158745391832010-07-29T12:07:00.000-04:002010-07-29T12:07:03.838-04:00

The Boston Public Market Association, on whose board I serve, has been promised $10M and a home in an existing building. BPMA will use that money to plan and build a public food market selling local food. The building will provide more than twenty thousand square feet of space for vendors, and is located in a neighborhood with heavy foot traffic near subway lines, bus lines, and commuter rail

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-36837205011331884082010-07-26T23:56:00.003-04:002010-07-27T00:09:29.339-04:00

Click here to see the story in the LA Times. Not only are there no victims here—it's clear to me that no laws are being broken. [UPDATE: I mean to say that Rawesome is breaking no laws. LAPD is another matter.] There's good government and there's bad government, just like there's good touching and bad touching. I'll let you decide which one this is.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-88771870722250769682010-07-15T09:05:00.008-04:002010-07-15T09:05:00.122-04:00

I have decided not to buy anything unnecessary for a month, starting July 15. (Not precisely No-Buy July, but I thought the name was catchy.) I will opt out of being a "consumer", and attempt simply to be a human being for a while. I will still buy animal and vegetable products as I see fit, but I will avoid buying prepared foods, and I will avoid going to restaurants when I have a choice (

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-3805877714765453402010-07-12T09:05:00.053-04:002010-07-12T09:05:00.669-04:00

The China Study, sponsored by Cornell and Oxford Universities and conducted by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, concludes that consuming animal products causes chronic disease, and advocates a plant-based diet. It is often cited by people who favor plant-based diets. Establishing causal relationships between diet and disease via statistics-based population studies can be difficult. Correlations in data

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-40001465244809768492010-07-06T09:50:00.006-04:002011-01-02T23:29:59.465-05:00

I stopped using mainstream antiperspirant a long time ago, both because it irritated my skin and because I was concerned about the health implications of the aluminum it contained. I tried a variety of "natural" deodorants, like Tom's of Maine, but wasn't able to find one that was completely satisfactory. Some of them irritated my skin, perhaps because of the base—propylene glycol, alcohol,

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-86482957990402206802010-07-02T09:20:00.001-04:002010-07-02T09:20:00.829-04:00

I believe that anything I routinely put on my skin should be edible. It makes sense. If I'm not willing to eat it, why should I be smearing it all over my body? It all gets absorbed and goes to the same place, right? The skin is the biggest organ, and all of that? Are your personal care products edible? Mine are getting there. In order, roughly, from most delicious to least: Coconut Oil.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-59226256963642252492010-06-30T10:05:00.037-04:002010-06-30T10:16:05.406-04:00

VERSUS Pickl-ItA couple of months ago, I posted a Fermenting And Pickling Resource List. In response to my post, someone mentioned a device called Pickl-It (http://www.pickl-it.com/). I updated my resource list to include Pickl-It. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by the makers of Pickl-It, who offered to send me a free sample. I accepted their offer. I have been using Pickl-It

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-90940591442885885662010-06-25T14:26:00.000-04:002010-06-25T14:26:49.060-04:00

Last Sunday, I rode in a 65-mile bike-a-thon, to support Bikes Not Bombs. It was a great success, both for me and for the organization. THANK YOU to everyone who donated and supported me! I raised $2,205, making me the fourth-biggest fundraiser. There were over 458 registered riders who together raised over $125,000. That's huge for an organization whose annual budget is something like $1

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-58632617406857439292010-06-25T11:15:00.000-04:002010-06-25T11:15:00.600-04:00

People make all sorts of arguments against "local food". A common one is that larger farming operations are "more efficient". Since larger operations are usually farther away from population centers, the implication is that local food is a less efficient use of resources than "distant food". Next time someone makes that argument, I'll point them to this excerpt from Eat Here by Brian Halweil (

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-16717803795772776132010-06-23T13:06:00.000-04:002010-06-23T13:06:45.881-04:00

With a little patience, you can make your own kombucha. It's easier than keeping a sourdough culture. In order to make kombucha, you need a starter (also known as a mother or a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast), you need some black and/or green tea, and you need some sugar. If you can get a starter from a friend or from craigslist, then follow these straightforward instructions to

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-39265630386687523502010-06-21T09:10:00.017-04:002010-06-21T09:10:00.176-04:00

Citing concerns over its alcohol content, Whole Foods has pulled leading brands of kombucha off the shelves in its stores. Kombucha is generally thought to have less than 0.5% alcohol-by-volume, but since it is a live, raw food that continues to ferment even once it's bottled, I can imagine its alcohol content varying from bottle to bottle. That said, I have never heard of anyone getting drunk

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-27188925892097152952010-06-18T15:27:00.001-04:002010-06-18T18:23:33.715-04:00

For the past year or so, the Urban Homesteaders' League and its leader Lisa Gross have been hosting, co-hosting, and publicizing a variety of cool events in the Boston area—things like urban livestock workshops, food foraging, cheesemaking, skill-shares of various sorts, film screenings, and so on. They have a very active meetup group here. If you're interested in hearing about Boston-area

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-84670927294153017672010-06-17T16:35:00.000-04:002010-06-17T16:35:43.813-04:00

A chef friend of mine just emailed me the following note (I've redacted the names of the farms): i have been thinking lately that the world is on this local kick (from which i benefit of course). however, within the farming community there are great variations in quality. for instance, XXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX produce by far the best stuff. they never water and fertilize and the result is smaller

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-45142210649203884572010-06-09T08:06:00.008-04:002010-06-09T12:45:04.787-04:00

When I eat meat, I want to know where it's from: Meat Of Known Origin. Usually I wind up eating meat from a farmer or a farmers' market, or at an expensive restaurant that can tell me where they get their ingredients. I'm always on the lookout for less-expensive restaurants serving Meat Of Known Origin. The other day, I was walking by a place that had just opened near where I live in Cambridge,

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-20670935189305223512010-06-07T11:05:00.002-04:002010-06-07T18:01:31.288-04:00

Last month saw a raw milk drink-in on the Boston Common, followed by a Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) hearing about raw milk buying clubs (but it wasn't, really). For a full recap, see here. Many folks who wanted to attend the hearing were denied access, because the hearing room was inadequate. The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has called on Massachusetts

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-84934750279776862402010-06-06T17:04:00.000-04:002010-06-06T17:04:26.459-04:00

Due to the threat of inclement weather, including some tornado alerts (we get lots of interesting weather in Boston, but I've never heard of a tornado), my bike-a-thon has been postponed! The new event date is Sunday, June 20. A BIG thank-you to all who have donated so far! I'm a little disappointed that the event had to be rescheduled, since I was psyched for the ride. But I'll be even more

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-85697918388028517052010-06-01T14:34:00.002-04:002010-06-01T14:34:00.778-04:00

This coming Sunday, I'll be riding 65 miles to benefit a non-profit called Bikes Not Bombs. I've done this ride twice before, in 2008 and 2009. In 2008 it was 95 degrees out! Click here to visit my fundraising page. Here's a picture of me on that very hot day in 2008. Note silly, but appropriate, bike jersey:   Bikes Not Bombs is a great organization. From their website: Bikes Not Bombs

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-47801171783204255562010-06-01T09:05:00.001-04:002010-06-02T14:56:35.669-04:00

Farmers' market season has begun here in Boston! To find local markets, check the boston localvores. This site has a great interactive Google map, so you can zoom in on the locations you're interested in, and click to get opening times. There are some other sites that can provide you with further details about markets, such as vendor names, products, and WIC/Senior Coupons. None of these sites

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-33150831325688857572010-05-28T14:46:00.003-04:002010-05-28T14:47:54.995-04:00

Jenny McGruther of Nourished Kitchen, a friend of mine and a fellow Real Food Media blogger, is launching her "How to Cook Real Food" e-course on June 1st, just a few days from now. It is a thorough course in cooking real food from scratch, including video tutorials, printable materials, charts, and so on. I thought the course might be of interest to some of my readers. Click here for full

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-21074946700389424492010-05-18T08:55:00.003-04:002010-05-18T20:50:38.040-04:00

Last week there was a raw milk rally and drink-in on the Boston Common, followed by a public hearing with Commissioner Scott Soares of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR). Mainstream press covered the events (Boston Globe; Fox News). I believe the most important testimony in the hearing came from Harvey Schwartz, a Boston-area attorney and raw milk drinker. He urged

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-4570660899138328342010-05-11T11:07:00.001-04:002010-05-11T11:17:16.729-04:00

By guest blogger Max Kane of WisconsinPhotos by Alex Lewin PRE-HEARING EVENTS ERUPT AS RAW MILK SUPPORTERS HAND MILK SUZANNE THE JERSEY COW AS SHE GRAZES PARK GRASS IN DOWNTOWN BOSTONAn affirmative message was sent to food regulators around the U.S. as a raw milk freedom rally, centered at the Boston Common (a park area in downtown Boston), proved that unprocessed food supporters have the courage

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-20219109508772724352010-05-09T16:48:00.000-04:002010-05-09T16:48:08.183-04:00

There will be a hearing on the subject of raw milk tomorrow, Monday, as described here: 10AM, 100 Cambridge Street second floor, Boston MA, USA. There will also be a rally tomorrow before the hearing, starting at 8AM, on the corner of the Boston Common near the Park Street T station. I heard a rumor that a cow was coming to the rally! Bring cameras, cow bells, cow outfits, and shiny distracting

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-38305760462592836832010-04-30T16:28:00.005-04:002010-05-01T02:16:36.673-04:00

If you are in favor of the right to decide for yourself what foods are healthy for you, and not have it decided by corporations; and the continued existence of small dairy farms in Massachusetts then it's vital that you come to this public hearing and make your presence felt and your voice heard. What: Mass Department of Agricultural Resources hearing regarding proposed changes to raw milk

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-55554469036823547982010-04-26T08:07:00.007-04:002010-11-30T16:20:22.198-05:00

I do not condemn vegans. As far as I'm concerned, people can eat what they want, and what they believe works for them. But if someone tells me that they are vegan and I'm a bad person because I am not, I will ask them to consider some of the following: The Ethics of Eating Meat, by Charles Eisenstein [UPDATED: outdated link fixed] Charles Eisenstein, author of The Yoga of Eating:

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-53927598280355634722010-04-23T15:46:00.000-04:002010-04-25T01:49:57.572-04:00

"A meta-analysis of prospective epidemiologic studies showed that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD," says a piece recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Click here to read the abstract. This directly contradicts the mainstream nutrition "party line" of the last 30-some

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-1420924955730533502010-04-23T09:30:00.004-04:002010-04-26T11:41:37.744-04:00

Prominent Brands Using “Organic” in Their Name When Products Don’t QualifyIf you went into a store and saw products from Oskri Organics, Organic Bistro, or Newman’s Own Organics, would you assume that the products were organic? If you assumed this, you could be wrong. Currently, there's nothing to stop companies from using the words “Organic” and “Organics” in their brands, even if their

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-65869710469153533122010-04-20T13:21:00.001-04:002010-04-20T15:10:16.038-04:00

Justice was served yesterday in Wisconsin—or at least it will be allowed to run its course. Max Kane, a raw milk activist, was served a court order to provide information about private trade in which he had been involved, trade which is not regulated by the law. He filed a Motion of Appeal, and a Motion for Stay of Order Pending Appeal. The purpose of these orders was to have a higher court

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-33809414849460881902010-04-14T20:15:00.002-04:002010-04-17T22:17:20.216-04:00

Here's what's new in raw milk in Massachusetts, as of today: Buying Clubs In PerilThe State of Massachusetts is considering a regulation change that would make raw milk buying clubs illegal. Depending how the regulation is interpreted, it might even become illegal for me to go to the farm, buy raw milk for myself, and bring some back for my friend. For more information, see here. Please consider

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-32576690905995996842010-04-11T17:29:00.001-04:002010-04-12T11:04:18.812-04:00

I just did a fermentation demo at down:2:earth, Boston's Sustainable Living Expo. My demo was arranged by Ilene Bezahler, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of Edible Boston, d:2:e Advisory Board member, and powerful force for real food in the Boston area. I had 20 or 30 people in the audience (give or take), and as usual, the time was much too short! I told them I would put together a list of

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-63329911119410012412010-04-11T16:25:00.008-04:002010-09-13T23:38:58.557-04:00

I've put together a short list of fermentation-related resources. It will never be complete—I will always be updating it—so come back and visit now and then! If you have resources that you think I should include on my list, please comment, and I'll add them. My blog postsNotes from workshop with Sandor Ellix Katz Sauerkraut video Kimchi recipe and video Rutabagas video Web links (some serious,

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-68754213361292403862010-04-07T13:52:00.000-04:002010-04-11T16:32:54.475-04:00

down:2:earth, Boston's sustainable living expo, is this weekend at the Hynes Convention Center. Come see me do a fermenting/pickling demo this Sunday at 11:30AM!

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-71554068970707005362010-04-06T10:57:00.013-04:002010-10-06T13:40:11.031-04:00

I'm in a book club that reads books about food sustainability. Here is the list of all the books we have read, are currently reading, or are about to read, along with a sentence or two about most of them. This page will be updated every month, so check back periodically for the latest books. The current book is: The Jungle: The Uncensored Original Edition, by Upton Sinclair. Past and future

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-59445584737769883502010-04-03T00:47:00.000-04:002010-04-03T00:47:48.305-04:00

I came across this post entitled "7 Must-See TED Talks About Sustainable Food" and thought I would share it: http://indianapublicmedia.org/eartheats/ted-talks-food/ I've watched a couple so far—Jamie Oliver on school lunches and Dan Barber on foie gras. I'll probably make my way through the rest eventually.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-19297017706891297342010-03-30T21:48:00.004-04:002010-04-24T23:45:23.957-04:00

Greater Boston Kimchi FestivalSustainable, traditional, fermented! This is the final post on the subject. Rather than doing more posts, I will update this post as new bits come in.   If there's anything missing here, please put it in a comment and I'll add it. Press and blogs: 2010-04-24 GardenGirltv (video) 2010-04-06 Boston Korea (in English) 2010-03-29 Boston Korea 2010-03-27 Boston

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-80603787228843286012010-03-30T16:01:00.000-04:002010-03-30T16:01:10.851-04:00

A few hours ago, Eastleigh Farm in Framingham, Massachusetts announced that they are open for business selling raw milk. Here's what they said: Eastleigh Farm is pleased to announce that we have obtained all of our permits to sell raw milk and we are open for business. Initially, we will be open from 2 PM until 7 PM, every day. Milk sales are available to the general public and to Eastleigh Farm

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-52183039663683770142010-03-30T12:01:00.002-04:002010-03-30T12:22:54.571-04:00

In the news: On Friday, the FDA reported 12 new cases of illness in the Midwest linked to raw milk from a dairy contaminated with a dangerous bacterium, campylobacter. "Raw milk is inherently dangerous and should not be consumed by anyone, at any time, for any reason," says John Sheehan, director of the FDA's division of plant- and dairy-food safety.This from the Wall Street Journal and many

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-73645680923018537872010-03-26T20:48:00.000-04:002010-03-26T20:48:55.033-04:00

Ike Sriskandarajah did this cool piece for Living on Earth: http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=10-P13-00013&segmentID=8

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-12644016736673380142010-03-22T12:04:00.001-04:002010-03-22T14:50:06.073-04:00

Stuff Boston is a variety magazine serving the Boston area. Award-winning food writer Louisa Kasdon penned this excellent and hilarious article: http://stuffboston.com/feed/archive/2010/03/22/kiss-my-kimchi.aspx An excerpt: The kimchi craze is the kind of thing that makes food writing addictive: there is no greater fun than reporting on the passion of zealots with highly developed palates.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-87520048378066809272010-03-22T11:42:00.003-04:002010-03-22T14:50:06.084-04:00

bostonist is "a website about Boston and everything that happens in it". This great post by Rick Sawyer appeared a few weeks ago, and somehow we missed it. The headline was Get Fermenting: The Greater Boston Kimchi Festival Wants Your Cabbage. And the funniest line: "…the largest kimchi festival this Bostonist has ever heard of." Hah! Awesome. http://bostonist.com/2010/03/03/

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-77905874240584948362010-03-21T23:10:00.002-04:002010-03-21T23:11:08.475-04:00

Huge thanks to the sponsors and supporters of the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival, who donated prizes and/or services. Their donations helped make the Festival possible. JP Seafood Cafe Debra Samuels Chris Yoder Atlas True Value Hardware, 1871 Centre Street, West Roxbury Sun Lee, Lic. Acupuncturist, West Roxbury, 617-327-1812 Haley House City Feed And Supply H-Mart of Burlington MA Korean Garden

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-52775040569042663392010-03-21T22:44:00.002-04:002010-03-21T23:23:30.577-04:00

The First Annual Greater Boston Kimchi Festival has concluded! Twenty-one kimchis entered the contest, and as I said during the awards ceremony, I would have been psyched to have had any of them on my dinner plate next to my favorite barbequed something. I was thrilled with the event. Here are the award-winners: Best Professional Kimchi: Jum Nam of Shabu Ya Restaurant, Cucumber Kimchi Most

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-14623256597429253682010-03-18T14:27:00.001-04:002010-03-18T14:29:40.222-04:00

Lierre Keith, author of The Vegetarian Myth (which I reviewed last week), was assaulted while on stage at a book fair, while talking about her book. This past Saturday, March 13, Keith was presenting at the 15th Annual San Francisco Anarchist Bookfair. As she was explaining the cruelty of factory farming to the crowd and her objections to this system, three hooded thugs shouted "Go vegan!",

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-60659056952127349012010-03-13T20:53:00.003-05:002010-03-13T21:04:23.757-05:00

Up until yesterday, Whole Foods sold raw milk in many states where they could. As of today, Whole Foods no longer sells raw milk in CA, CT, PA, and WA (and maybe others). The above sign, seen outside a Whole Foods Market in Washington, makes it sound like they may start selling raw milk again at some future time. We shall see. Mark McAfee suggests that this decision came from difficulties Whole

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-6627994012537831552010-03-10T17:40:00.000-05:002010-03-22T14:50:06.094-04:00

With a week and a half to go before the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival, the Boston Globe have covered it, on page 10 of the Food section (and also on their web site). Click here to see their article, A spicy cabbage pitch! For full details on the Kimchi Festival, including how to enter your kimchi in the contest and how to get an early-bird discount, go to http://kimchi.lactoferment.com.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-4209712514445964302010-03-08T23:12:00.006-05:002010-11-29T11:08:26.711-05:00

In her book, The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, Lierre Keith successfully assails not only vegetarianism, but also industrial civilization and agriculture itself. The effectiveness of her assault may dishearten anyone with abiding fondness for these institutions. She puts the puzzle pieces together excellently and without holes; the resulting picture challenges the

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-10497130180663896442010-03-05T02:15:00.000-05:002010-03-05T02:15:20.970-05:00

According to Associated Press: A wide range of processed foods — including soups, snack foods, dips and dressings — is being recalled after salmonella was discovered in a flavor-enhancing ingredient. Food and Drug Administration officials said Thursday that the ingredient, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, is used in thousands of food products, though it was unclear how many of them

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-58221672708185162362010-02-23T09:40:00.000-05:002010-02-23T09:40:07.728-05:00

And now for something completely different… My friend Katie over at Kitchen Stewardship has been running a Tuesday series called Real Food Face-Off. Every week, she posts interviews with two real food bloggers. It's not so much a contest as it is a getting-to-know-you, and a way to find kindred spirits and other interesting food blogs. Anyway, this week, I was interviewed! Click here to see

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-29796342335907551672010-02-19T20:31:00.000-05:002010-02-19T20:31:17.689-05:00

If you're new to my blog, you might easily conclude that I'm interested in only kimchi and raw milk. Which I don't recommend combining. I can see why you might come to this conclusion. It's not true, I assure you. Nonetheless: Here's an excellent interview with Winton Pitcoff, who heads the Raw Milk Network for the Massachusetts chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association: http://

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-47311399263199078392010-02-14T13:55:00.001-05:002010-03-22T14:50:06.104-04:00

An article at BostonKorea.com about the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival (or at least I hope that's what it's about...): http://bostonkorea.com/news.php?code=&mode=view&num=8802 UPDATE: Click below for English (from the print edition):

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-62726233129441543962010-02-11T17:31:00.001-05:002010-02-11T19:32:22.237-05:00

Breaking news: The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources has been sending cease-and-desist orders to a number of raw milk buying clubs. Because of this, I will not name any of them, or talk about how to find them on the Internet. Buying clubs have served many Massachusetts raw milk drinkers for many years with ZERO incidents, and it is very sad to see the government creating problems

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-1292518287658706822010-02-11T15:01:00.000-05:002010-02-11T15:01:40.144-05:00

A biological mother. Not your mommy, though. I'm talking about a mother culture: kombucha, sourdough, vinegar, and so on! My friend just brought this event to my attention. I wish I could go. Wrong coast. Here are the details: The Mother Cultural Exchange Saturday, February 20 from 2-4PM Cost: Free 3579 17th Street (between Dolores and Guerrero) San Francisco, CA RSVP to crittersalon AT

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-85482866616387282662010-02-10T19:19:00.015-05:002010-03-14T00:46:35.833-05:00

Sustainable, traditional, fermented! Announcing the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival. 3PM-6PM, Sunday March 21, 2010. There will be kimchi, a kimchi contest, and a whole lot of kimchi-related activities and entertainment. The awards ceremony will take place at 5:30PM. Contest And Attendance If you would like to attend the Greater Boston Kimchi Festival, it is $5. No advance registration is

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-10488396311683901352010-02-08T14:54:00.001-05:002010-02-08T15:13:44.999-05:00

In Cambridge, MA, there is a kerfuffle over three ducks and two chickens (all female) named Potassium, Ferdinand, Penelope, Henrietta, and Frances, who live at 218-220 Putnam Avenue. They provide eggs and companionship to the humans who share the same address. What's the problem? Cambridge law does not specifically address the keeping of chickens and ducks. Ordinance allows "accessory use" of

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3452098115606335222.post-73590505715332689192010-02-04T19:01:00.001-05:002010-02-12T12:11:33.354-05:00

Last week, Michael Pollan was on the Oprah Show. (Click here to watch.) What does this mean? Has "real food" hit the mainstream? Perhaps. At the very least, Michael Pollan's particular flavor of common-sense, easy-to-understand real food philosophy has reached a new level of mainstream audience. And he has continued his ascendancy in fame and fortune. Which is fantastic, as far as I'm concerned.

Alex Lewinnoreply@blogger.com3