http://www.organicfoodguy.com Read articles by Jeff Cox about the organic food movement Society & Culture en Copyright 2010 jeffcox@sonic.net (Jeff Cox) julie@twinwebdesign.com http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpghttp://www.organicfoodguy.com Sat, 20 Nov 2010 22:24:10 GMT Sat, 20 Nov 2010 22:24:10 GMT RSS DreamFeeder v 2.5.2 How does the conventional grower think of his garden or farm? And how does that differ from an organic grower's view? Very differently, it turns out. How does the conventional grower think of his garden or farm? And how does that differ from an organic grower's view? Very differently, it turns out. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/archives.html Thu, 18 Nov 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss Not a gardener, you say? That's because you haven't grown garlic. Not a gardener, you say? That's because you haven't grown garlic. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/archives.html Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss Most of us eat chicken all the time. We may be vaguely aware of problems with the production of chickens. Most of us eat chicken all the time. We may be vaguely aware of problems with the production of chickens. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/archives.html Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss I could at this point overwhelm you with studies and scientific figures showing how contaminated our world is with industrial and agricultural chemicals. And I could scare you with the gory details of what these chemicals do to developing fetuses, but I'm not going to do that. I could at this point overwhelm you with studies and scientific figures showing how contaminated our world is with industrial and agricultural chemicals. And I could scare you with the gory details of what these chemicals do to developing fetuses, but I'm not going to do that. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/archives.html Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Dennis Cardoza is a Democrat, a Representative to Congress from California’s 18th Congressional District in the Central Valley from Stockton to Fresno, home to intense agriculture, most of it conventional, some organic. He is Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Farming. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/topic.html Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The Economist magazine chooses a topic for debate from time to time and invites readers to agree or disagree with the premise of the debate. The readers’ remarks are often cogent. Such was the case during a recent debate as to whether genetic modification of food crops and other techniques of bioengineering are compatible with sustainable agriculture, a term that I take to include organic agriculture. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 5 Dec 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" And now, a quick run-through of some topical news stories of interest to the organic community. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" At the core of organic gardening and farming is the quality of health. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" One of the aspects of a midwife's work is to give her clients good information about nutrition during pregnancy and lactation. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 26 Dec 2010 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" A recent article in The Huffington Post reported that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Department of Pesticide Regulation has approved methyl iodide for use by fruit and vegetable growers despite heavy opposition from environmental and farmworker groups that cited its links to cancer. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 2 Jan 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Rudyard Kipling once famously said in regard to China, “There lies a sleeping giant.” Well, the giant is awake and comes roaring economically into the 21st Century. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 9 Jan 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Estimates are that the organic food industry in the United States hit $30 billion in sales by the end of 2010. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 16 Jan 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" At the first sip of this indispensible broth, your face will light up, you’ll smile, and a feeling of warm goodness and nutritive power will sweep over you. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" You can buy high quality, organic canned pet food these days, but it’s expensive and not as high quality as pet food you can make yourself. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" I know it’s tempting. It’s around noon. You are on the run. You have little time for a sit-down lunch. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 6 Feb 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The news isn’t good. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has authorized the unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa, http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 13 Feb 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" You can raise a pig with plenty of fresh air and sunshine, a pen for it to root in, nothing but wholesome food to eat, and make that pig as organic as a pig can be. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" What do you think is the most popular garden plant in the world? Tomatoes? Hot peppers? Potatoes? No—it’s none of those. In fact, it isn’t even a food plant. It’s the rose. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Our honeybees have had a tough time of it lately. First it was an outbreak of mites that attack and kill honeybees, causing immense damage to hives nationwide. Then Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) started showing up. Bees would fly off to work the flowering fields and never return. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 6 Mar 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The world’s standard of quality for chickens is for birds raised in Bresse, France. Bresse chickens—the name both of the town in the Alps-Rhone Department where they are grown and the name of the breed of chicken—have been given their own appellation--a particular place where they must come from. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The Obama administration really blew it when it approved unrestricted production and use of Monsanto’s “Round-Up Ready” alfalfa and soybean seeds. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" It showed a guy standing at a crossroads by a directional sign. One direction was labeled, “Fountain of Youth.” The other direction was labeled, “Fountain of Bacon.” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 3 Apr 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Sometimes the word organic doesn’t just mean the USDA rules for growing crops and raising animals. It can have a broader sense... http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" There’s no denying that raw milk can be a source of deadly listeria bacteria and other diseases that can affect humans—if the cows that produce the milk and the conditions in the milking barn aren’t properly cared for. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" About a decade ago, one of the members of the Garden Writer’s Association of America (GWA) came up with a good idea. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Ever notice how the news channels on TV preface every story with a shout about “Breaking News” or “News Update?” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 1 May 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Many of us no longer eat bacon the way we once did—that is, as often as possible. Yes, it’s yummy, but it also contains a lot of salt and lard and we’re trying to cut down on salty, fatty foods. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 8 May 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Although the word “natural” has no legal meaning the way “organic” does, it is often thought of as a synonym for “organic.” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 15 May 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" There’s an old saying that you can tell the quality of a gardener by the quality of his or her melons. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 22 May 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Gardening season is here, and if you want an organic garden, you won’t need to buy a lot of expensive, toxic chemicals. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 29 May 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" When most people think of farms and farmers, they think of a bucolic landscape with bright, sunny skies, fields of corn, and pastures of plenty. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 5 June 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Humus is what’s left over after soil organisms finish digesting the remains of plants. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 12 June 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Scientists have a term for the bacteria that colonize your skin—commensals. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 19 June 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" People often ask me, “What foods should I make sure are organic?” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 26 June 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The short answer is: it depends. It depends on what you mean by “kill.” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 3 July 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Isn’t this just the best time of the year? For so long, market fruits have been limited to apples from controlled atmosphere warehouses in Washington, http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 10 July 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Let’s start by listing some reasons why you would want to buy conventionally grown foods. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 17 July 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The short answer is no. There are rules for what makes a product organic—a lot of rules. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 24 July 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" We Americans don’t realize what suckers we’re being played for. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 31 July 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Maybe—or maybe not. Several U.S. lawsuits are now challenging popular beauty and personal care products labeled as organic, because there’s a lack of stringent across-the-board certification in one of the fastest-growing segments of the cosmetics industry, a more than $10 billion business. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 7 August 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Here are some tips for getting the most bang for your buck when buying organic chicken. Buy skin-on, bone-in thighs and drumsticks. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 14 August 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Is there such a thing as organic junk food, or is all organic food good for you? The answers are yes and no. Yes, there is organic junk food. Once the idea of organic food caught on with the general public, food processors realized that there was a market for highly processed foods made from organic ingredients. The main food groups in junk food are sugar, fat, and salt. So they make sure the sugar is organic, the fat is organic, and the salt takes care of itself. Voila! Organic pizza. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 21 August 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" America has many regional specialty dinners—fried chicken down south, Kansas City barbecue, San Francisco cioppino—but perhaps none is as scrumptious as a true Down East clambake from the coast of Maine. With overnight shipping, the Maine experience can be yours. Some of it will be wild caught, some organic, but all will be a very special treat for whomever you invite.
It won’t be cheap but it will be worth it. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 28 August 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" America is more polarized now than at any time in my lifetime, at least—probably since the reform movement between 1890 and 1910 and possibly since the Civil War. The culture clash comes down to this: On one hand stand the oligarchs, those richest 400 people you keep hearing about who own more than the next 150 million of us combined. Arrayed on the side of the oligarchs are big corporations, lobbyists, the Republican Party and many blue dog Democrats, conservatives of many stripes including the Tea Party, and all the henchmen and henchwomen paid to protect the ever-increasing wealth of the richest few, their power, their influence, and their perks. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 4 September 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Most people think of beans as a benign part of the diet—and that they are, but not when they’re raw. Even when they’re organic. A word of warning right up front: don’t nibble raw shell beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) while you’re shelling them out of their pods or otherwise preparing them for cooking. They contain glycosides that can produce hydrocyanic acid in the human digestive system, and there are cases of children dying from eating raw beans. Just 10 minutes of cooking detoxifies them. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 11 September 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Is it just me, or does everyone think peach melba is heaven in a bowl? I don’t exactly remember where I first had this luscious dessert, but I think it might have been a small French restaurant called Le Cheval Blanc in midtown Manhattan in 1958. Peach melba, of course, was invented by Escoffier himself to honor Dame Nellie Melba, a popular Australian opera singer of the late 19th Century. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 18 September 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Did you know that Australia, Japan, and the European Union ban the import of U.S. milk and milk products because so much of it contains rBST (also known as rBGH), a genetically engineered hormone that forces a cow to produce excessive amounts of milk? Are you aware that the European Union also bans the importation of many American farm products other than milk because they have been genetically altered?
What do the European nations know that we don’t know? http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 25 September 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Once upon a time, I planted three filbert bushes arranged in a triangle around a large rock on my property. Over about five or six years, they grew to 12 to 15 feet tall, and sent up many trunks from their roots, so that the bushes turned into a filbert—or hazelnut as some call them—grove. And they started to bear. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 2 October 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Believe it or not, now is the time to start planning for next season’s organic tomato patch. Why now? Because you are going to have the earliest tomatoes of anyone in your county and you need to know which seeds to order to get the right varieties and plant them at the right time. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 9 October 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" My wife Susanna and I both want to keep some chickens. We have the room. The birds could scratch around the property and eat bugs—meaning really, really good eggs, the kind with thick whites and deep orange yolks that stand up proudly. Right now we feed kitchen scraps to our red wiggler worms, but we could easily divert some to the hen pen, where the chickens can scratch them to shreds and poop all over them, and we can then rake up the mess and fertilize our garden crops and fruit trees with it. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,16 October 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" As it stands right now, it’s pretty obvious that our politics is all about money. Those with the most money win elections, research reveals. Once in office, the politicians have to keep amassing money to get re-elected. Uh-oh, here come the lobbyists with fistfuls of dollars to give to the Congressperson or state assembly member or mayor or county commissioner or whoever will vote their way. The money taken, the politician then gets to vote on legislation and lo and behold, we have a politics that supports the lobbyists’ money sources. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,23 October 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Killing things is not the way to control them. Organic gardening and farming teaches us that. Let’s say you have a nice crop of Asian greens in your garden, but European Cabbageworms are eating their leaves. And so you use an insecticide to kill the worms. Used often enough, there will eventually be some cabbageworms that are resistant to the insecticide. The idea of “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger” comes into play. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,30 October 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Whether your garden is just a small plot of flowers by the front door or a full-on truck patch, you’ll want to put it to bed for the winter. The purpose is to prepare the garden beds for next spring, when you’ll be planting again. Start by pulling out any weeds that you’ve let grow as summer turned to fall and garden work became less appealing. Especially pull out any weeds that have gone to seed. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,6 November 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Wild foraged food might not be organic, in the strict sense of that word, but it grows without the use of agricultural chemicals and feeds on the decaying residue of previous year’s plants. So, in the spirit if not the letter of the National Organic Program, it’s organic with a small “o.” I don’t know about you, but as a youngster, I grew up roaming the wild hills of the Northeastern U.S.; in the Pocono Mountains, to be specific. There was a feast of wild food in those forests and meadows, along and in its streams, and by its pathways and roadsides. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,13 November 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The short answer is no. Oysters are grown in ocean bays, inlets, and estuaries where the water’s quality cannot be controlled, only monitored. If there’s a water quality problem—such as after a rain where dairy animal waste may make its way into the water or there’s a red tide—the Federal Government has inspectors in place that quickly shut down oystering in affected beds. But that doesn’t mean that raw oysters on the half shell can’t be a part of a healthy, organic diet. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,20 November 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Making your own homemade, organic sauerkraut is easy and fun, and you’ll get a better crunch and flavor than store-bought. The lactobacilli that actual do the work of making the kraut are already in the air. You just set things up so they can go to work. Use a ceramic crock with a fired, non-porous surface, a glass jar or jug, or a food-grade plastic container. Make sure it’s food grade plastic or it will leach toxic chemicals into your kraut. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,27 November 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" There are vegans and vegetarians who tell me that it’s immoral to eat meat. They have been telling me that for years, but it hasn’t swayed me. Quite the contrary. When someone gets judgmental about my behavior, it tends to focus my attention on their rigidity. I listen to their arguments. They will call the killing of animals murder. They will quote the passage in Genesis that enumerates the edible plants that should be our food. They will point to scientific studies that show that a diet heavy on meat, especially well-done or charred meat, can cause cancer and other health problems. Still, I am not swayed. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,4 December 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" To hear some people explain it, organic agriculture is some kind of weird, hippie, tree-hugging, groat-eating scheme to deny the technological marvels of conventional agriculture and plunge the world into wholesale starvation. As former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz said, “If we return to organic agriculture, who will decide which 50 percent of the world’s people will have to starve?” http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,11 December 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" The food processing industry is the single largest source of chemicals that humans ingest—and as a species, we ingest many hundreds of chemicals through food, water, and absorption through the skin. If we could do one thing to severely restrict the amount of chemicals in our bodies, it would be to replace all processed foods with whole, organic foods.
Sometimes, we don’t even recognize processed foods for what they are. I know I didn’t realize that orange juice—even the kind labeled “Not from Concentrate”—is processed. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,18 December 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Composting is great, but it’s a lot of work. I’ve found a way to hire thousands of little employees who do the work of composting for me. They are red wiggler worms, and they live in three “Can-O-Worms” worm bins in the space under my front steps. I have a pretty enameled pot on my kitchen counter. All vegetable and fruit scraps go in there, but no meat or animal products, no members of the onion family, no spicy-hot peppers, and no citrus rinds—the little worms don’t like those things. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,25 December 2011 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" What’s up with all these “probiotic” products on the shelves these days? Are they organic—not only certified, but do they figure into a truly healthy organic lifestyle? The answer is yes, probiotics are a part of a healthy lifestyle even if you never buy a probiotic product. That’s because probiotics refers to beneficial bacteria that inhabit our intestines. Did you know that nine out of every 10 cells in your body—and 99 percent of the DNA in your body—are your intestinal flora. These are bacteria that have important functions within each of us. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,1 January 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" If you’ve never grown your own onions, you have a treat coming. How many kinds of onions do you find at your market? Two or three, maybe four? Well, if you look at a seed catalogue, you’ll find many more. Some will be sweet onions with a short shelf life. Others will be skinny-necked onions that will keep through next winter. Some will be big slicers, like the red onions you put on hamburgers. Choices run into the hundreds. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,8 January 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" You see the word “sustainable” a lot in regard to agriculture these days. But it’s rarely explained. Some people use it as a broad term to indicate that farms are using environmentally-friendly methods. Others use it merely as a marketing gimmick. Mostly it’s a mushy word without a precise meaning. But forget about “sustainable” as jargon, and let’s go back to what the word meant before it became trendy. It meant something that could continue in perpetuity, using whatever renewable resources were available. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,15 January 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" From midsummer to late fall, it’s easy to eat local. The summer fields and orchards are full of locally grown vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits. But what about the other seven months of the year, from December to June? How can one eat locally when nothing is growing? Remember that when a food is in season in your area, it is at its best quality and its lowest price. If it’s a wild food, like wild berries, it is not only at its peak quality, it’s free. So when foods are in season locally, that’s the time to stock up for the off months. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,22 January 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Have you noticed that more and more products at the organic markets are simply the same kind of processed foods you can buy at the conventional supermarkets, only made from organic ingredients? Mmm—organic pizzas, frozen dinners, snack crackers and chips; heavy on the organic fats, organic sugars, and organic sea salt. How long before we find organic Hot Pockets, donuts, and Twinkies? http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun,29 January 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" There came a day in 1976 when I first heard that snap peas had been invented and that we—the editors at Organic Gardening magazine—were going to get pea seed to plant and sample. I erected trellising in the garden and planted the peas on St. Patty’s Day, March 17, the traditional day for planting peas in USDA Climate Zone 6, where I was living while working at the magazine. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 5 February 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" About two months ago, I bought a kit to make kefir (pronounced keh-FEER, although Americans, with our penchant for putting the emphasis on the first syllable, tend to call it KEE-fur) from a seller on eBay. The cost was $26. The kit included a baggie of milk kefir grains and one of water kefir grains, a plastic strainer, and instructions for use. It has turned out to be one of the best $26 purchases I’ve ever made. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 12 February 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Raw milk, like any raw food, comes equipped with all its natural enzymes and other health-promoting factors that are destroyed by pasteurization and ultra-pasteurization (sterilization). It is also a breeding ground for Lactobacillus lactic, one of the good bacteria that inhabit our intestines and make our cheeses, yogurts, kefir, and other curdled milk products. Remember Little Miss Muffet.
One of the other good things this and other beneficial bacteria do is to curb the growth of pathogenic bacteria. So raw milk has its own, built-in disease suppressing system. However, just as pests can “break out” and destroy a crop on a farm, a deadly germ like listeria can infect milk—if the cows are not properly raised. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 19 February 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" Not every example of an organic food is going to beat its conventional counterpart in the taste department 100 percent of the time. In a well-known taste test conducted by Time magazine, using New York City chefs as the tasters, the chefs preferred the taste of organic over conventional foods 66 percent of the time. http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 26 February 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss "http://www.organicfoodguy.com/jeffcox.jpg" I’m gratified to see more and more food products certified as organic, but now I’m seeing other labels attached to them, too. I’m thinking about terms like “air-chilled chicken,” and “grass-fed beef,” and “pastured cows” for milk production, and “wildcrafted,” and so on. What are these terms? Are they valid? Even moreso, are they valuable? http://www.organicfoodguy.com/index.html Sun, 26 February 2012 21:39:45 GMT Jeff Cox data:text/plain,manual:1290116503830:6900975347448229:http://www.organicfoodguy.com/rss1114.rss