Help Cayuga Pure Organics, An Organic Non-GMO Farm, Rebuild After Fire -
Cayuga Pure Organics grows and supplies organic and heirloom beans and grains. They lost their facilities in a devastating fire and must rebuild before harvest.
Cayuga Pure Organics is a small farm near Ithaca, New York that grows organic, non-GMO dry beans and grains, including several heirloom varieties. Working with a few other local organic farmers, they distribute this healthy food to restaurants, stores, farmers markets and CSAs throughout New York and the Northeast. Cayuga Pure Organics is the only major supplier of locally grown organic dried beans in the region. CPO truly occupies a unique position in the food system and plays a key role in the movement to rebuild our food system on a local, sustainable basis.On May 30, 2013, a devastating fire, started accidentally by a minor, destroyed the barn that housed all of CPO’s cleaning and packaging equipment and a considerable amount of inventory. With the new harvest starting in July, they need to replace the equipment before any of these new crops can be sold.Insurance policies will only cover a small percentage of the necessary funds to replace the lost facilities and most of this is needed just for ongoing expenses while a new facility is built. If Cayuga Pure Organics cannot raise funds to rebuild, the farm will not survive.
The additional amount needed for rebuilding the facility is estimated to be $238,350. Two local donors have offered to put in the last $25,000, meaning that as soon as our campaign reaches $213,850, the last $25,000 will be added automatically. In order to raise the balance of $213,850 we need the support of the broad community. Every dollar counts so please remember that even small amounts add up.
Here are a couple of attempts at making Shakshuka. I adapted some of the elements of Melissa Clark’s Shakshuka With Feta recipe.
Bittman: Welfare For The Wealthy -
Bittman continues in his activist role, this time commenting on the Farm Bill. I like his activism.
Damning New Study Demonstrates Harm to Animals Raised on GMO Feed -
Just when you thought the market for controversy over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was completely saturated, a new study published in the Journal of Organic Systems finds that pigs raised on a mixed diet of GM corn and GM soy had higher rates of intestinal problems, “including inflammation of the stomach and small intestine, stomach ulcers, a thinning of intestinal walls and an increase in haemorrhagic bowel disease, where a pig can rapidly ‘bleed-out’ from their bowel and die.” Both male and female pigs reared on the GM diet were more likely to have severe stomach inflammation, at a rate of four times and 2.2 times the control group, respectively. There were also reproductive effects: the uteri of female pigs raised on GM feed were 25 percent larger (in proportion to body size) than those of control sows. (All male pigs were neutered, so scientists were unable to study any effects on the male reproductive systems.)
…The scientists behind the study report having chosen pigs as their subject for the similarity between their digestive systems and those of humans, and the mixed GM diet for its similarity to the real-life diets of both swine and humans, so this is really damning stuff. They also describe their findings as conservative, noting that even the control group is likely to have been exposed to GMOs in indirect ways they couldn’t avoid, such as trace amounts of GMOs in non-GM feed, and parents fed GM diets.
I joined the Cape Ann Fresh Catch CSA for a 3 week subscription. They have “whole fish” and fillet options, and I chose the former. They don’t tell you what kind of fish you’ll get until the morning of your pickup (because they don’t know). Details after the break.
[E. coli] contamination can come from anything — from feces on a hide to dirty hands to stomach bile that wasn’t properly washed off a carcass. It takes time to slaughter and clean right. The giant operations rush to slaughter up to twenty-five thousand steers a day. When you see enormous numbers like 143 million pounds of beef recalled, it’s because that’s the “stop number”: that’s how much grind before they clean or that’s how many pounds ago they tested for pathogens.
The Butcher’s Guide to Well-Raised Meat, Joshua and Jessica Applestone of Fleisher’s Grass-Fed & Organic Meats
This was pretty much like the last time I ate there. The wings were the star of the show and I had three different types: the garlic chipotle, the hot, and the mild. All had great flavor and the meat was very moist. The brisket was ok, but not stellar. Of the three slices, two were a bit dry and the third more moist since it was from the fattier part. Ditto for the pulled pork. Mine didn’t have any bark, but there was good smoke ring in several of the pieces. It was a mixed bag between moist and slightly dry. The ribs were perfectly cooked: not falling off the bone, but easily pulled off the bone. The rib-meat quality was excellent with a good amount of it on each bone and not excessively fatty. This leaner style of rib seems to be the trend these days. L had a sausage which was delicious.
The sides were good. Brussels sprouts with bacon (a special, and upper left in the picture) were solid, and the turkey neck greens were a standard item on the menu and solid: not too salty as they often are in other places. The mac and cheese had really nice runny cheese texture and a great mouth feel. The fried green tomatoes topped with shaved pecorino were excellent.
Next time I will probably just concentrate on the wings.
Frankenfoods: Good for Big Business, bad for the rest of us -
The smart people at Nature tell us that GMOs will save us, despite their shortcomings. But we’ve heard all this before.
Nella Pasta Ravioli With Poached Pete & Jen’s Backyard Birds Egg
Nella Pasta is available at the Lexington Farmers’ Market.