Addendum to the Butter List—Spring Hill

I knew I was missing something. Thanks to Julie C. at CUESA for reminding me.

In the Butter: Don't Hate. Embrace. article I forgot to mention that Spring Hill Cheese Company also has an organic cultured butter. It's made from Jersey cow milk which is, as I mentioned, TDF. Spring Hill sells at a few (mostly northern county) retail stores, at various farmer's markets in the bay area as well as in their online store.

Spring Hill has about 320 acres out in Petaluma with about 400 Jerseys. I keep meaning to pick some up of their cultured butter at the Alemany farmers market. Julie says it tastes really terrific, but you need to eat it fairly quickly after purchase even though it's a pasteurized product.

Besides peddling butter, Spring Hill has a rotating selection of more than 25 cheese varieties including raw cheddar, sun-dried tomato jack, dry jack, Old World Portuguese (on the cheddar/gouda continuum) and three varieties of quark, a low-fat cheese made from strained yogurt.

Butter -- Don't Hate. Embrace.

Sportsfans and Foragers, it's time for butter facts:

• Properly produced butter contains many nutrients that protect against disease*
• Butter and cream contain little lactose or casein and are usually well tolerated in their natural state, even by those who are lactose intolerant.
• Fermented (aka cultured) or soured butter and cream are even more digestible than regular butter.
• Organic, cultured butter has restored enzymes for better digestion.
• Those with an extreme intolerance for milk protein can often take butter in the form of ghee or clarified butter from which the milk solids have been removed.
• There is no scientific evidence that butter contributes to heart disease or cancer.
• At the turn of the century, butter consumption in America was 18 pounds per person per year. Today it is a mere five pounds.

The quality of the dairy products you are consuming boils down to what the cows are being fed on the farm. As many of you know, I am a big fan of raw milk. Compared to conventional pasteurized dairy, raw dairy products are more delicious, more nutritious and are the product of more humane treatment of cows. Cows that are fed concentrates containing grain and soy (which is typical in this country), in addition to large amounts of corn silage and with only a little hay produce incredibly large amounts of milk— 20,000 pounds or more per year. These cows have have constant low-level diarrhea and often have diseased livers, as is evidenced in the slaughterhouse. This is not what nature intended. The milk of these stressed cows is of a totally different quality than the milk of a cow fed with grass and hay. Here's a fact that says it all -- the average lifespan of a conventionally raised factory-farm cow is five or six years. This is half (half!) the 12-15 year lifespan of a properly fed cow.

Raw milk dairies, at least the ones here in the bay area (Claravale and Organic Pastures), feed their cows grass and hay. Their cows are living longer than conventional cows and the cows' milk doesn't have to be pasteurized in order to get the microbial count down. Their microbial count is low because they're fed right and treated right. Try testing the microbial count of conventional milk prior to getting pasteurized --not pretty, peeps.

Another thing...I've mentioned this before here, but studies show that CLA levels in the milk of pastured cows can be as much as 500% greater than milk from cows fed typical grain-based diets. Among other things, CLA can improve the way the body uses and stores energy by regulating the accumulation of body fat and improving muscle tone. CLA has also been shown to prevent thickening of the arteries and to help regulate the immune system.

*People laugh at me when I put butter on a croissant. They think it's redundant. Aside from that fantastic feeling of my teeth cutting through fresh, cold, creamy butter, let me count the ways that butter is beautiful. First, butter provides vitamin A. Vitamin A is needed for the health of the thyroid and adrenal glands, both of which play a role in maintaining the proper functioning of the heart and cardiovascular system. Abnormalities of the heart and larger blood vessels occur in babies born to vitamin-A-deficient mothers. Butter is our best and most easily absorbed source of vitamin A. Second, butter contains lecithin, a substance that assists in the proper assimilation and metabolism of cholesterol and other fat constituents. Third, butter contains a number of anti-oxidants (betacarotene and vitamin E, for example) that protect against the kind of free radical damage that weakens the arteries. Fourth, butter is a very rich source of selenium, a vital anti-oxidant, containing more per gram than herring or wheat germ.

Never considered buying cultured butter before? Here are some sources to get you started:

Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. Cultured Butter. My favorite. Whole Foods, Andronicos, Mollie Stones, Berkeley Bowl, and Rainbow Grocery all carry it. Find a store that carries it in your area.

Organic Valley Cultured Unsalted Butter. Organic Valley products are sold at Rainbow Grocery, Cal Mart, Mollie Stones, Bryans, Haight Street Market, Golden Produce, Bi-Rite, Real Foods, Harvest, etc. Find a store that carries it in your area.

Organic Valley European Style Cultured Butter (churned longer, lowering the moisture content and increasing the fat content.)

Added 7/25/08 Spring Hill Cheese Company Cultured Butter. Sold at bay area farmers markets, marin/sonoma retail stores, and through their online store.

Raw butter sources:

Organic Pastures raw butter
While I like OP milk and have great respect for Mark McAfee, I must mention that I personally I haven't had a great experience with OP raw butter. Perhaps it's due to refrigeration issues at the stores, but it always tastes a little off to me. It's possible that mail order could deliver a more stable product if they're packing with dry ice. Might be worth a try if you can't get raw butter in your area.

Claravale Dairy - Unfortunately Claravale doesn't carry butter. Too bad because their herd is all Jersey. Jerseys produce the best milk I have ever tasted.

For more on butter, see Butter is Better article at the Weston A. Price foundation web site.

The Sourceror - Raw Milk. Local Forage's Guide to sources for raw dairy in the bay area. (with delivery times)
The Sourceror LA - Raw Milk:  Local Forage's Guide to sources for raw dairy in the greater LA area.

Photo credit: zappowbang   

 

A Few Seats Left for Food Matters Film, 7/17

We sold out for the screening of the Food Matters documentary the day after I announced it. However, as of this moment at 11:20pm Monday, 10 or so more seats are available due to cancellations.

It's this Thursday, July 17 at 7pm. Are there any takers? Follow the links ASAP and sign up!

Silly Rabbit, Statins Are for Kids!

 

I listened incredulously yesterday as the news on the radio announced that the American Academy of Pediatrics is now recommending that powerful cholesterol-reducing drugs (i.e. Lipitor) to be used on kids.

Dr. Ronald Hoffman, prominent NY complementary medicine practitioner/author/radio host/lecturer has this to say about it: "Pediatric statins are the worst idea since those chocolate cigarettes they used to give us as kids." He goes on to say:

"These ham-handed guidelines will ensure that millions of kids are enrolled as lab rats in an experiment of unprecedented proportions.

While statins can help a limited number of older people with demonstrable cardiovascular disease, their use to prevent disease in otherwise healthy individuals is a total EXTRAPOLATION (Translation: a wild leap of faith). They seem to work best in people with high calcium scores or angina, after a heart attack, bypass or stent, and in middle aged men.

NO research shows they work in children, and it would take fifty years of careful study in thousands or even millions of kids to prove they provide one iota of benefit." Read the full article.

I hope that this recommendation will encounter as much resistance as Merck's Gardasil, the pre-pubescent HPV vaccine.

 

All this reminds me of how important Food Matters is. That's the film that the Healthful Living peeps and I are screening on 7/17 at the Randall Museum theater here in SF. One of the things it discusses is the enormous influence of the pharmaceutical industry on regulation and medical practices. Are you coming? I see that some of you signed up. It's sold out but I'm sure we'll have a few seats available at the door. Come early to get on the waiting list. Plans are coming together for a panel discussion with some docs and nutrition experts after the film. Should be a worthwhile evening.

Organic vs. Sustainable

(To those of you receiving this via RSS, I apologize. You are seeing this post twice because of some weird glitch; it wasn't showing up in the Daily Digest so I had to repost under a different date)

In the previous post, I mentioned that Hardin Gardens in Sonoma is a sustainable farm. Sustainable farming can actually be healthier and more environmentally friendly than certified organic farming. The increased demand for organic has attracted large agribusiness corporations to create "organic" brands. These corporations have found loopholes in the organic rules that allow them to make more money, sacrifice the integrity of the products and raise the carbon footprint of their operation. For example, many large corporate-run dairies raise cows in confinement, use massively large acreages to plant crops (monoculture), and ship food thousands of miles (think: Chilean peaches in winter) to sell.

This is a wide topic, but in this post I'd like to examine the difference between "sustainable" and "organic". You can create a checklist from the comparison below when you're at a farm stand or store and want to ask the right questions to fully understand the quality and impact of you're eating.

O= Organic
S= Sustainable

O:  An organic farm must be certified every year by and approved by the USDA.
S: There is no certification process for a "sustainable" farm. Sustainable farming is more a philosophy or way of life and doesn't have independent certification. You generally need to ask the farmer questions about their production methods and then decide which food you think is best for you and your family.

O:  Can confine animals. Only need to give animals "access" to outdoors; don't actually have to let them out.
S: Animals must be permitted to carry out their natural behaviors, i.e. rooting, pecking or grazing. A sustainable farmer might keep his animals indoors in bad weather, but the health and well-being of the animal comes first.

O:  No antibiotics are used.
S:  No legal restrictions, though sustainable farmers either will not give any antibiotics at all or only when animals are sick and need to be treated. And then, they are not put back into the herd until they are better and all medication has left their system. But, antibiotics are not routinely put in feed or water to promote growth or ward off potential disease.

O:  No hormones allowed.
S:  No hormones used.

O:  Large and small operations raise food organically.
S:  Sustainable food production is often carried out by families who live and work on the land.

O:  There is no limitation on how many acres can be used to grow crops.
S: Sustainable farmers use variously placements of crops and plants as a form of pest control and to build soil fertility. Crops are generally not raised on massive amounts of acreage.

O:  Food can travel thousands of miles before reaching your dinner plate. Certified organic does not necessarily consider the use of fossil fuels or extended amounts of time that can result between harvesting/processing and eating.
S: Food is raised and sold as close to the farm as possible. Buying locally and eating as seasonally as possible are sustainable practices.

Gang, don't get me wrong, there are many, many organic farmers that are raising food in the most humane, ethical and sustainable ways. You'll most likely find these types of farmers at farmers markets. I am suggesting here that you ask the tough questions to fully understand how your food is being raised and processed.

If you're in a store and all you see is organic but you have no idea where it's from or who produced it, don't freak out. It's still going to be better than conventional factory-farmed food. We don't always have the time to ask all the questions - just do the best you can and try to transition to full knowledge of the provenance of your food over time.

(BTW, this is your prep for my future post on the Alemany Farmer's market. Many of the farmers I'll identify aren't certified organic but they use sustainable methods.)

A Closer Look: Check out this 7/07 Organic Industry Chart from Michigan State University to see what organic brands are owned by large multinational corporations.

Menacing red tractor photo by Andrew Stawarz

July: What's in Season

Since so much of the nation's produce comes from California, this list of what's in season may be helpful not only to Northern Californians but to other Local Foragers around the country.

Woo hoo, tomatoes are IN! And, while I haven't gotten my hands on any yet, I'm really excited to see that Romano beans (pictured) are also in. They're a staple of my summer diet.

Peppers haven't quite hit. Or maybe they did this weekend but I missed them at Al's booth (most northeasterly covered booth) at Alemany because I was in Sonoma* for the holiday.

-JUNE-

Returning this month (weather willing): Okra, figs, plums, field-grown tomatoes, melons, dahlias, new potatoes, peanuts, shelling and Romano beans, tomatillos, crabapples, grapes

Plentiful: Summer squash, nectarines, peaches, pluots, radishes, basil, sunflowers, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, garlic, onions, lettuces, French and green beans

Winding down/limited supply: Hot house tomatoes, apricots, cherries, blueberries, dates (they will return in September), rhubarb

(Source: CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture. CUESA promotes food system sustainability through the operation of the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and its educational programs.)

* On the way home from Sonoma, I discovered a cool little vegetable stand - Hardin Gardens. It's located about 3 miles south of the town plaza, on Broadway on the way to Hwy 121. Hardin is family-owned and operated, 5-acre sustainable farm. They sell direct to the public from their stand which is at the front of the property. Hours are noon to 5pm Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Everything is freshly picked on the morning of each business day.

The lettuces were a sight to behold. They specialize in heirloom and hybrid tomatoes, but there weren't any when I arrived today. In addition to a couple different varieties of lettuce, I saw peaches, dino kale, collards, freestone peaches, several varieties of summer squash, daikon, incredibly cute carrots, herbs of all kinds. Prices were very reasonable.

CSA + Your Garden = MyFarm

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Trevor Paque. (Pictured above with one of his employees.)

Trevor has a very unique vision of transforming private urban yards into abundant gardens that supply a decentralized CSA model. CSA = Community Supported Agriculture program where members receive a vegetable box directly from a farm.

Paque follows organic as well as permaculture farming methods. Permaculture is an agro-ecological design theory which allows man-made ecosystems (farms) to have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. In other words, watch and learn how nature makes food, and design a system to replicate that. It's about working with, rather than against nature. 

Trevor's MyFarm venture is a for-profit firm that aims to conserve energy by growing produce where people eat it, and to beautify and make use of underutilized land. Here's how it works. MyFarm designs and installs a garden which consists of raised 4'x4' foot beds. Design includes site analysis where Trevor evaluates sunlight and tests the soil for contaminants and nutrient levels. He even installs drip irrigation. Once the garden is planted, Trevor and crew do everything to maintain it: weed, harvest and compost.

The cost to design and install is $600 to $1,000 and maintenance costs $20 to $35 per week depending on size. Those who sign up for larger gardens pay a smaller weekly fee and provide food to MyFarm CSA customers who will receive a weekly vegetable box collected from MyFarm backyards. So in theory, if you live in the Avenues where tomatoes can't be grown, your fellow MyFarm members in the Mission can supply you with the elusive red orbs.

Two other cool things.

• Instead of having your compost trucked by the city to be processed in Vacaville and then hauled to organic farms around the northern parts of the state wasting fossil fuel, MyFarm sets up a compost heap in your backyard. They use your own scraps to enrich your garden. Interesting fact: In SF, 350 tons of the stuff in the green bins is transported to Vacaville every day.

• Instead of using tractors, Trevor and crew do their work by hand and travel by bicycle as much as possible. Even for deliveries. 

While visiting Trevor at one of his installations here in Cole Valley, I tasted some of the broccoli he grows. In its raw state, the broccoli was succulent and tender.  I could have eaten a whole bowl of it.

So far, Trevor has installed 10 gardens with several other families signed up. By the way, if you don't have a garden installed by him, you can still subscribe to the CSA and get a box every week for $35.

I hope that you SF readers will consider becoming a member or subscriber of MyFarm. It's a terrific concept with an admirable goal of reducing our reliance on food/compost being trucked in/out over distance.

MyFarm website

SF Chronicle article on MyFarm (mentions similar decentralized urban farms in other parts of the country and gives more details about Trevor's background.)

Get your tickets now! LF film screening, FOOD MATTERS, Thurs 7/17

Yo peeps, you must come to this event. Tickets are going fast. We expect to sell out within a few days. Only 44 seats are left, capacity is 180.

Local Forage and Healthful Living presents:

SF Screening of FOOD MATTERS, documentary film.
Thursday, July 17, 7pm, Randall Museum, SF, $3 ticket price.

SIGN UP HERE

FOOD MATTERS is a hard-hitting, fast-paced look at our current state of health. Despite the billions of dollars of funding and research into new so-called cures, we continue to suffer from a raft of chronic ills and every day maladies. Approaching a toxic and over indulgent population with a continuing onslaught of toxic therapies and nutrient-sparse foods is worsening the situation. FOOD MATTERS seeks to uncover the business of disease and explore the safe, cheap and effective use of nutrition and supplementation for preventing and often curing the underlying causative aspects of our ills.

In a personal and independent quest, film makers James Colquhoun & Laurentine ten Bosch set out to uncover the truth. After traveling around the globe to speak with world authorities in nutrition and natural healing and adding in a dash of investigative journalists for spice, the dish is a perfectly balanced look at how we should be using conventional medicine and nutritional therapy as humanity advances.

The movie starts at 7pm.  We're still planning the evening, but after the film we hope to have either a panel discussion or perhaps a remote video discussion with the film makers.

SIGN UP HERE

Watch the FOOD MATTERS trailer:

OFFICIAL FILM WEB SITE (buy the DVD if you can't make it July 17)

Cooking To Heal Class, 6/22 Berkeley

I wanted to let everyone know about a fantastic class being given by nutrition guru Julie Matthews on June 22 in Berkeley. The class is not only for people with health challenges. It's for anyone who wants to know how to prepare food in the healthiest possible manner and understand why certain foods are better than others for maximum digestion, nutrient absorption and assimilation. She goes into depth on a lot of topics that are covered here on Local Forage -- raw milk, ferments, bone broths, pastured animal products.

(For those of you not in the SF bay area, Julie's web site has a lot of great information on nutritional intervention for autism, pregnancy, conception and healthy baby.)

Daylong Class: Cooking to Heal
by Julie Matthews, Certified Nutrition Consultant

A cooking class with nutrition education to address conditions such as

• Digestive disorders
• Autoimmunce conditions
• Autism
• ADHD
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Multiple chemical sensitivities

...and more

There will be recipes, cooking demonstration, and tips for implementing many special diets like:

Gluten-free casein-free diet, specific carbohydrate diet, low oxalate, body ecology, more...

Principles include: Fermented food, broths and soups, raw dairy and fermented dairy, soaking and fermenting, pasture raised animals.

Options for:  Gluten-free, grain-free, starch-free, egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, corn-free.

Sunday, June 22nd in Berkeley.

See all the details at http://CookingToHeal.org

The Great Con-ola

The Great Con-ola is the title of an article published in several magazines/journals by Sally Fallon of the Weston Price Foundation and Mary Enig, fat researcher and author of Know Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Nutrition of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol. It's a must-read for all Foragers.

Synopsis:
In the mid 1980s, researchers determined that that polyunsaturated oils, particularly corn oil and soybean oil, caused numerous health problems, including cancer. Olive oil, while a healthy monounsaturated fat, is high-priced. The industry needed a less expensive monounsaturated oil. Enter canola.

Canola oil came to the rescue when the promotion of polyunsaturated corn and soybean oils had become more and more untenable. Scientists could endorse canola oil in good conscience because it was a "heart-healthy" oil, low in saturated fat, high in monounsaturates and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.

In reality, studies indicate that canola oil is not healthy for the cardiovascular system. Like rapeseed oil, canola oil is associated with fibrotic lesions of the heart. It also causes vitamin E deficiency, undesirable changes in the blood platelets and shortened life-span in stroke-prone rats when it was the only oil in the animals' diet. Furthermore, it seems to retard growth, which is why the FDA does not allow the use of canola oil in infant formula.

Prior to 1985, rapeseed (predecessor to canola) was never given GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status by the US Food and Drug Administration. A change in regulation was necessary before canola could be marketed in the US. Just how this was done has not been revealed, but GRAS status was granted in 1985, for which, it is rumored, the Canadian government spent $50 million to obtain.

For more intrigue, read the whole article, The Great Con-ola.