The MacArthur Foundation doesn’t like the term “genius awards” anymore, but among this year’s winners are two people who have authored great books that support sustainable ag - urban farmer Will Allen (”The War on Bugs”) and geomorphologist David Montgomery (Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations).
Amazon says that War on Bugs ” reveals how advertisers, editors, […]

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Science Daily (a wonderful resource) reports that quercetin may counteract the effects of stressors that make us more vulnerable to falling ill with the flu.
The site reports on a recent study that used exercise to stress mice to see whether giving them quercetin offered protection against a common flu virus. The mice that exercised who […]

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A recent issue of one of my vegetarian cooking magazines suggested that the PLU (Price Look Up) codes printed on those annoyingly sticky labels on fruits and vegetables offer a way to tell whether the food is conventional, organic or GMO.
GMO, as you probably know, refers to Genetically Modified Organisms, known in Europe as Frankenfoods […]

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My friend Casey Williamson is not only an extraordinary gardener but a first-class food photographer, as this image attests. She grew most of these vegetables in her plot in a community garden in Lansing, Michigan, far from Austin, Texas, where she honed many of her skills.
And now for the tour . . .
The Okra […]

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Thanks to Melinda Young Stuart for sharing this great picture. That’s Susan Broadhead, Kate Mathews, and Cynthia Camilleri at last year’s Big Ivy Farmers Market heirloom tomato tasting in Asheville, North Carolina.
Even the names of heirloom tomatoes sound delicious, don’t they? San Marzano, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Azyocha, Nebraska Wedding. Even more than their taste […]

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