the Heirloom Expo - September 2017

 the Heirloom Expo - September 5^th – 7^th, 2017 in Santa Rosa, CA2017

7th annual National Heirloom Exposition on September 5, 6, 7 in Santa Rosa, California.  We are again seeking volunteers to help us spread the word. We need your help especially if you live on the West Coast and would like to distribute brochures to let people know about the expo, please email us at info@theheirloomexpo.com.  Please consider sharing the info with your garden groups, educational organizations, churches, pure food societies, etc.
   
The National Heirloom Expo features three full days of nationally and internationally acclaimed speakers that include Vandana Shiva, Ronnie Cummins, Jeffrey Smith, Robert Kennedy, Jr., along with many more.  More than 4000 varieties of local produce will by displayed.  Purchase gardening supplies, seeds, sustainable living goods, and so much more from 300 vendors.  The exhibit hall will be home to more than 150 heirloom related exhibits.
 
Please email us at info@theheirloomexpo.com and let us know how many brochures you can distribute to let more people know about this exciting event.

Why send them photos and stories pertaining to your or another’s garden.

Please email your photos and stories to seeds@rareseeds.com and to the attention of Kathy.
 

Local Food is Asking the question:

“Why is seed preservation of great importance to all Eaters?”. 

Hope you, or someone you know makes it to 

Heirloom Expo 2017!

Local Food Updates and Food News

Hello Local Food Readers,

A lot has happened since the last posting of food events.  It is now easy to see the updating that I have been speaking of for many months.  Many of Local Food pages have been updated (more to come), including  Food News  that has of information about food both in the Bloomington area, but global connections of interest.

2016 is the Year of Pulses which are legumes, beans and peas.  The intro page to Local Food has a list of some remaining heirloom seeds; some names are familiar and many are not.  Following are links to a few of the Food News Articles.  Disturbing article on 90% of the certified organic corn now sold in the US comes from Europe!  A pleasing interview with Executive Chef Padraig Cullen of the Upland in Bloomington, Indiana as well as a luscious pear processing article by Glenda Breeden who has been processing food for her family table most of her life.   There is lots going on in the EU as more than 50% of countries have now banned Monsanto and many others pulling Roundup and other products off their shelves.  We continue to keep a focus on bees, fraking (as water must be protected) and much more.  

Follow us on this blog and explore the Local Food website

Follow us on Twitter  though new to this, we hope to regularly post.

Chef Interview - Padraig Cullen

Food Preservation

Shoppers Guide to GMO's

Bloomington Area Food News

Indiana Food News

Bees

EU Banning Genetically Modified Crops

Internation Year of Pulses

Brain Health and Functional Foods

Fracking

Seaweed and Your Heart

Sheppard's Pies - a David Bowie's Favorite

BPA in Canned Foods

90% of US Corn Crop GMO

Children's Health and Food News

Endocrine Disruptors

Global Tribunal for Monsanto

Why Buy Organic Strawberries?  Thanks for stopping by! Good local and regional eats to you, Food Fairy

Food News Updated

 Click for Food News

A new issue of Food News is now live!  Since it is spring the focus is on seeds and their importance to sustainable communities.  I appreciate all who are out there supporting and promoting real food that can be accessible and maintained by any gardener or farmer.

~In this issue we offer Shout Outs to some small businesses and some really large organizations and mention a few things that seem to pop up regularly in conversations
~We look at what is happening to the Family Farm and the real cost of big agriculture as we know it
~Chemicals in the water, cost to our land and children
~Bees
~Urban Agriculture
~Green Schools
~Why Say No to GMO and Ask for labeling
~Fraking
~Seafood update
And more

Click Here for Food News

Thank you for your interest and may you plant some open-pollinated seeds.  And may you hold onto good gardening and husbandry practices.

Regards

Open Polinated Seeds Only, Please!

I have often been asked, "When did you decide to garden organically and why do you prefer open pollinated seeds"? It was in the late 70's while living in Arizona. I knew that I wanted to pursue a simple lifestyle that included gardening. I was reading some Ruth Stout, Scott and Helen Nearing and Communities Magazines. One Tucson spring, I signed up for a class presented by "Meals for Millions"; a group working to develop a traditional approach to local gardening. I fell in love with the entire process of growing my own food, consuming it and saving seeds for the next season. I poured over Farmstead Magazine and Organic Garden and became very interested in saving seed, which led me to the Seed Savers Exchange, Gardens for All, biodynamics and alleopathy.

By the time I arrived in Bloomington, I was very interested in seed saving and establishing an heirloom garden. It was in searching for info on setting up my seed storehouse, that I found the Graham Center. I think that was in 1982 or 83. Some information in the publication sent ( I still have it in my garden files) shocked me. There was information about the poor state of our USDA Seed Banks and a statement (this is not verbatim) that of all the food resources that the USDA had cataloged at the turn of the century, less than three percent were left according to the current catalog and that the majority of the seeds maintained were mostly in tomatoes! I was horrified at the staggering losses and have never gotten over the shock of those numbers. The thousands of years of human work in creating a stable food source, and its loss in a short time, because of lack of attention and appreciation. I was already for open-pollinated seeds, and now knew that I would have trouble purchasing any other type.

Even then, it was clear that there were patterns at work to take control of food away from people. I learned that a number of countries had seed laws, that other countries were fighting to keep them off of their seeds. That there were places where it was illegal for farmers to save, and in some cases to sell, saved seeds.
That there are seed list and that there were a few companies beginning to buy up seeds. I saw companies pushing hybrid seeds out left and right, and people gobbling them up along with the fertilizers. I had never been fond of fertilizers. Even as a kid, I had decided that they were connected to my allergies.

Something in me said that the greedy folks were going to make things worse for everyone. I became further committed to open-pollinated seeds and in 1983 I hosted my first seed exchange in Brown County. I shared seeds I had gotten from gardeners all over the country. I shared seed I had gotten on my search in the community. I contacted old farmers and got seeds or starts. One year, I had a small seed business, Clear Sky. I saw the blooming of people interested in sustainability and community on my local level.

Now I leap into the present, and the nightmare of seed loss has increased. The seed companies have been reduced in numbers, of course the varieties available for use have been reduced, farmers are being sued. Some companies are working hard to make laws to take control of our food (and water), modify them and couple the seeds ability to grow with varieties of chemicals, many petroleum based.

Genetically modified seeds and chemical weed killers, are poison and toxic to the life on this planet.