| Welcome to GoodFood World | March 4, 2012
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 The illusion - or is it delusion - of diversity?
It's Spring - and produce season is ostensibly months away. I say that with my tongue firmly planted in my cheek because we can buy hot weather fruit and vegetables year 'round thanks to the "miracle" of modern transportation.
OK, so we're told that we have the world of food at our fingertips, and the supermarkets lay out a spread that leads us to believe the choices are unlimited.
Note that only about 11% of the total $443 billion in supermarket sales is allotted to produce, while "Dry Grocery (Food)" - all those packages, boxes, and bags on the center aisles of the stores comes to more than 25% of all sales.
Yes, there are lots and lots of things to choose from, unfortunately most of them are not fresh fruits and vegetables.
What can you do? Shop seasonally - preferably small and local - or grow your own. At the same time, be very aware that food crop diversity - not the "diversity" of food products on the store shelves - will be the critical determinant in what (and how well) we eat in the future.
After all, look at what happened the last time limited crop diversity resulted in the failure of a major food source: A True Example of the End of Crop Diversity: The Great Irish Potato Famine.
There's more, keep reading! Get a cup of coffee and join us at GoodFood World, where we get to the source by talking to the people who produce, process, and deliver good food. Take care, eat well, and be well! |
Kate's in the Kitchen ; Lessons Learned
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 Our Good Food on a Budget contributor, Kate Hilmer, has had a busy month full of "learnings." Here is what she has to say this week:
Looking back, this last month has been a little roller-coaster ride. Ian and I have taken on a number of new challenges, some individual and some joint.
I took on a new job while he took on more practice hours in preparation for his recital. I launched a new website and we started saving our food scraps for compost.
As I mentally ticked off the events of the last few weeks, it was clear that we weren't wasting time. In between each hiccup we celebrated little successes, and even our low points left us with lessons learned.
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 Our Minnesota shepherdess, Lea McEvilly, is back at her keyboard and filling us in on life on the farm. Here are her latest installments:
Keep reading, there will be more!
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 The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan
What if you can't afford nine-dollar tomatoes? That was the question award-winning journalist Tracie McMillan couldn't escape as she watched the debate about America's meals unfold, one that urges us to pay food's true cost - which is to say, pay more. So in 2009 McMillan embarked on a groundbreaking undercover journey to see what it takes to eat well in America. For nearly a year, she worked, ate, and lived alongside the working poor to examine how Americans eat when price matters.
Fresh: A Perishable History by Susanne Freidberg
 That rosy tomato perched on your plate in December is at the end of a great journey - not just over land and sea, but across a vast and varied cultural history. This is the territory charted in Fresh. Opening the door of an ordinary refrigerator, it tells the curious story of the quality stored inside: freshness. We want fresh foods to keep us healthy, and to connect us to nature and community. We also want them convenient, pretty, and cheap. Fresh traces our paradoxical hunger to its roots in the rise of mass consumption, when freshness seemed both proof of and an antidote to progress.
We've also put together two "Recommended Reading" lists; thematic selections, as it were.
There are more books on GoodFood World and more coming every week.
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 Doing Well by Doing Good - Theo Chocolates
Joseph Whinney founded Theo Chocolate to realize his passion for chocolate, sustainability and economic justice. As one of the only artisan chocolate makers in the United States, Theo Chocolate is committed to product excellence, supporting sustainable agriculture and improving the lives of farmers and their families.
Michael Pollan's Food Rules - Animated
 Based on Michael Pollan's talk "Food Rules," this animation was created using a mixture of stop-motion and compositing. The challenge was to convey the topic in a visually interesting way using a variety of different food products.
There are more audios and videos on GoodFood World and more coming every week. |
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 We post a new food-related word or phrase every week. This week's phrase is: Sawmill gravy - Sawdust mixed with engine oil?
The Dictionary of American Regional English is a multi-volume reference that documents words, phrases, and pronunciations as they vary from place to place across the United States.
Read about today's GoodFood Word at DARE.
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 We can help you get your products to market! You put your heart and soul into growing, preparing, packaging, and delivering whole, minimally processed, local/regional, and organic or sustainable food. Marketing your products to discerning consumers can be a challenge.
 We can fix that! I am a former corporate marketing professional seeking clients in the good food world - organic and sustainable farmers, food processors, retailers, restaurateurs - who want to reach more customers and buyers through a creative, affordable, collaborative process that includes business planning, marketing program development, a bold web presence, and social media marketing. Let's get you more customers, generate more sales, and boost your bottom line.
Consulting and business services for small socially-innovative businesses and grass-roots "good food" producers and processors. Visit Green Business Strategies and learn more.
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Your Chance to Contribute Content, Advice, Input
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We welcome photos, tips, observations, and links to stories about the world of good food. Send us stories about what you've seen or heard. Tell us what we're doing right. We like "atta boys!" Got a beef? Send it on... we need to know! Here's the place to do it.
See you next week!
Gail Nickel-Kailing and Ken Kailing
Co-Publishers/Editors
Reach us at:    
P.S. And as always, if you just want us to leave you alone, use the "unsubscribe" button below. |
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