Feature: Fresh Baby Ginger

By Andrea Yoder

Ginger growing in the greenhouse

Ginger is a very interesting and unique crop, unlike anything else we grow on the farm. It is actually a rhizome, which is a stem that grows horizontally underground. It produces roots to anchor it and sends up shoots to grow into foliage above ground as it grows and expands. We grow the plant in one of our greenhouses that has a dirt floor. Ginger grows best in an ideal soil temperature of about 65°F, so trapping heat within the greenhouse helps us provide a longer period of warmth so we can maximize growth. Given our shorter growing season, we will never reach a full-sized ginger, so our ginger is actually “Baby Ginger.”

Ginger has thin skin with pink to purple scales

Ginger is used as both medicine and food. As a medicine, it is said to have an anti-inflammatory effect and can sooth a whole host of gastrointestinal maladies. It can also be an effective pain reliever and part of a treatment plan for cancer. It is a common ingredient in many Asian cultures, often pairing with garlic and scallions in Chinese stir-frys or combine it with chiles, lemongrass and a variety of other ingredients to make Thai curry pastes. Ginger has a spicy, warm flavor which also makes it an excellent ingredient to pair with other spices and rich, comforting foods such as sweet potatoes, winter squash, mushrooms, broccoli, etc. It can be used extensively to make beverages, teas, baked goods, stir-frys, salad dressings, vegetable dishes, curries and much, much more!

Baby ginger has a very thin skin with pink to purple scales. You don’t need to peel the thin, delicate skin of fresh, baby ginger. Simply trim away the scales and you are ready to use the ginger. You’ll find baby ginger to be tender, juicy and very flavorful. Baby ginger is excellent to use for making pickled ginger. The leaves and stems also contain quite a bit of flavor. Use them to flavor soups or stocks or steep them in hot water to make tea. You could also use the ginger stems as a stirring stick for a tropical beverage. Fresh baby ginger can be stored at room temperature for several days. For longer storage, you can put it in the refrigerator or freezer.

We hope you have as much fun experimenting with and experiencing the delicious flavors of fresh ginger. We’ve had a lot of fun growing this crop for you!

 

Brussles Sprouts with Ginger & Cranberries

Recipe by Andrea Yoder

Serves 4

4 oz bacon, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 heaping Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

1 small onion, small diced

3 cups Brussels sprouts, halved

Salt & Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup fresh cranberries, finely chopped

1. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is just turning golden and is crispy. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, put them in a bowl and set them aside. Pour the bacon grease out of the pan and into a glass jar. Reserve one tablespoon of the bacon grease. 

2. Put 1 Tbsp of bacon grease back into the pan. Add garlic, ginger and onions and sauté 1-2 minutes or until the vegetables are fragrant and slightly sizzling.

3. Add the brussels sprouts and continue to sauté until the sprouts are tender and browned on the cut side. Remove from the heat and add the cooked bacon and cranberries.

4. Gently stir to combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Ginger Bug

“This is a marvelous fermented concoction that mixes well with a variety of syrups and juices to create carbonated drinks with added ginger flavor. It takes some tending and up to 10 days to really carbonate well, but the tending is very minor…easier than feeding the cat!” –Recipe and introduction by Eugenia Bone from her book The Kitchen Ecosystem.

Yield: 1 quart

1 quart water

1 Tbsp plus 10 tsps minced, unpeeled fresh ginger, divided

1 Tbsp plus 10 tsps unrefined cane sugar, divided

1. Place the water in a gallon jar, leaving about 2 inches of headroom at the top. Add 1 tablespoon each of the ginger and sugar, place a lid on the jar, screw on the band fingertip tight, and give it a good shake. Leave the jar out on your counter.

2. Every day for the next ten days, add 1 tsp ginger and 1 tsp sugar to the jar. This feeds the fermentation, increasing the amount of carbonation. When you give the jar a shake, you will see the bubbles along the top of the liquid, and if you open it, it may really bubble up..and out!

3. After 10 days, strain and pour the ginger bug into bottles and close them with a cap or cork and refrigerate. The ginger bug will hold for about 1 month.

NOTE: You can find additional information about Ginger Bug & how to use it at www.nourishedkitchen.com

The Future of Food Series, Part VI: Carnivore’s Dilemma

by Sarah Janes Ugoretz

In this most recent Future of Food article, Robert Kunzig—senior environmental editor for National Geographic—explores the Carnivore’s Dilemma (or, as I would comically rephrase it: How I Decided to Embrace the Feedlot System and Love Industrial Beef). Kunzig’s guiding question is one that asks whether it’s ok for Americans to eat beef, given what we know about expected population growth, rising global demand for meat, the associated and/or potential environmental and health implications of industrial meat production and livestock’s contributions to global warming. In attempting to arrive at a deeper understanding of this question, Kunzig spent one week in Texas amongst the cowboys, the nutritionists, the veterinarians and the higher-up executives of Cactus Feeders and its subsidiary, Wrangler Feedyard.

In Texas, the number of calves born each year outnumbers babies by a ratio of 10:1, while feedlots the size of Wrangler tend to ship, on average, one million head of cattle to slaughter. The existence of such industrial operations has secured the United States’ place as the world’s leader in both meat production and consumption. Last year, each American consumed an average of 54 pounds of beef, while only allocating 11 percent of their income towards food purchases (though I’ve come across numerous sources—notably, The Economist—that put this number closer to 6 percent). This is to say that we’re able to eat a lot of meat, for not a lot of money. Indeed, that appears to have been the point. Paul Engler, CEO of Cactus Feeders, recounts how his father, who founded the business in 1975, envisioned a world where beef was cheap enough for all. Considering that in 2013, the U.S. produced the same amount of beef as in 1976 but did so by slaughtering 10 million fewer cattle, the elder Engler appears to have gotten his wish.

Efficiency is the commonly held goal amongst the Wranglers and the Cactus Feeders of the world. Cactus’ creed says it all: “Conversion of Feed Energy Into the Maximum Production of Beef at the Lowest Possible Cost.” Indeed, the consensus amongst those that Kunzig cites throughout the article confirms that this level of efficiency is paramount if the U.S. is to meet the rising demand for meat across the globe—a responsibility that Kunzig adopts from the article’s onset. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a place for anything but industrial production in this most humble of quests. Other types of systems appear unable to keep up with the amount of beef needed to satiate demand. Jason Clay, a food expert with World Wildlife Fund, confirms this suspicion, stating: “Feedlots are better than grass fed, no question.” Clay insists that what we really need to do is intensify—to produce more with less.

When it comes to the question of emissions, industrial production systems come out on top again. Pointing to data collected by scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kunzig explains that cows allowed to graze on pasture produce twice as much methane as their commercially raised counterparts. With more time to belch, expel waste and gain weight, these cows appear to do little more than contribute to global warming. In terms of livestock-related emissions in general, however, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggests that we needn’t be very worried. At present, beef production accounts for 6 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. If the world were to abstain from beef entirely, we’d see a reduction in emissions of less than 6 percent. This is because the fertilizer and fossil fuels used in producing and shipping grain would continue to contribute to emissions, since farmers would keep growing grain. But what if Americans in particular ate less beef? Would there then be more grain with which to “feed the world?” The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) used an economic model of the world food system to ask this question and found that, apart from minor benefits, the impact on global food security would be minimal at best. Basically, if Americans were to eat less beef, American farmers would be less likely to export wheat and rice—two staples in the global food chain—to Asia and Africa.

At this point, it appears that Kunzig’s question—can Americans keep eating beef?—has a favorable answer. However, we’ve now reached the topic of sustainability. If feedlots are the model through which we’re to feed ourselves as well as the rest of the world, we must ask how sustainable they are. Kunzig states that this question is too complex to really address in this space, which I think speaks to the major limitations of this piece in general. He does take the time to mention concerns about antibiotic use in feedlots and their possible connection to the development of antibiotic resistance in humans. The environment gets a few sentences, mainly relating to the unclear effects the excretion of antibiotics might have on the environment, and the very real possibility that grain production might succeed in exhausting the Ogallala aquifer by the end of the 21st century.

When all is said and done, however, Kunzig’s conclusion is basically this: “Here’s the inconvenient truth: Feedlots, with their troubling use of pharmaceuticals, save land and lower greenhouse gas emissions.” What Kunzig doesn’t say in this space says quite a lot. He breezes over the issue of ethics and animal welfare when it comes to beef production, and his discussion of the local environmental impacts of feedlots is virtually non-existent. What strikes me most, however, is that despite discussing in detail the various cocktails of hormones, steroids and antibiotics required to keep feedlot cows healthy and able to digest a diet that they’re unable to process naturally, Kunzig doesn’t discuss the superficiality that has become inherent in this type of system. If feedlots are, as this article suggests, the way to ensure that the world gets its meat, then these questions cannot be so quickly overlooked. Kunzig expresses his wish that Americans would stop “reducing complex social problems…to morality tales populated by heroes and villains.” While I agree that too often food system discussions devolve into this “easy way out” conclusion, Kunzig seems to paint a picture that, to people who are concerned with and widely read on this issue, does not give equal weight to all of the major concerns.

I encourage you to sit down with this article and consider your own reactions, but for now, I’ll leave you with mine. In their current state, feedlot systems strike me as far from sustainable. In order to keep pace with global demand, production would need to be scaled way up, which, to put it mildly, concerns me. Alternative production systems are only mentioned in detail towards the end of the article—and briefly, at that—and yet there is great potential in smaller scale grass-based systems, like what we at Harmony Valley are committed to, and in management intensive grazing systems. These models are almost certainly accompanied by an ecological component, in which the environment and the animals themselves are afforded a considerable degree of consideration. While reading this article, I couldn’t help but think of Black Earth Meats, a nearby slaughterhouse that is humane-handling certified and that works with farmers committed to such alternative systems. The contrast between their creed and Cactus Feeders’, which I stated earlier, could not be more stark: “We Honor These Animals, for By Their Death, We Gain Life.” Efficiency is still a concern—after all, everyone needs to make a living. The difference here is that it’s obviously not the be-all end-all goal. I think it is a mistake to conclude that industrial feedlot systems are the only way in which to meet global demand for meat, and I would go as far as to say that attempting to do so would be a deeply regrettable and environmentally costly mistake. You can read the full article online at www.food.nationalgeographic.com.

We are what we eat….so we better make sure it’s good!

by Farmer Richard

There is a lot happening at the farm this time of year. We’re running a race against time to harvest as much as we can before winter sets in for good. We’re busy planting some of next year’s crops already…garlic, sunchokes and horseradish are just a few. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, we also have to start thinking ahead to the next season as this is a crucial time of the year to lay the foundation for next year’s crops. The nutritional well-being of our soils and plants is paramount to the success of our crops, our health and yours! Our philosophy has long been to provide our plants with everything they need for healthy, vigorous growth. Healthy plants are strong & can defend themselves. They can outgrow the weed competition and insects are not attracted to them. They are also more resistant to disease. The result is dependable production, higher yields, and food that tastes really good! While this is a basic concept of good organic farming, it is not easy. However, we can attest to the fact that it actually works!

Just as with human health, a lot has to go into the system for everything to function optimally. Right now we’re in the midst of reviewing our annual soil tests. Every fall we take samples from our fields and send them off to a soil lab where they are analyzed for a variety of nutrients and indicators of soil health. One of the important results we always look at on our soil test is the CEC, cation exchange capacity. Simply put, CEC is an indicator of the organic matter in the soil and the soil’s ability to hold nutrients. We are blessed with some very rich soil in our valley. In particular, the fields on our home farm are a soil type known as silt loam. These fields have a high CEC, which we can see on our test results, but also in the quality of the crops that grow in these fields. Soils with high CEC are more resilient and have a more stable soil structure. They hold water and nutrients that can support plants during periods of drought, yet at the same time they drain well during times of excess moisture. We strive to increase the CEC and amount of organic matter in all of our fields. But how?

Organic matter is built by adding compost, growing cover crops, and by supporting microbes in the soil that break down crop residue thereby returning it back to the soil. Many of our farm’s fields are vibrant colors of green right now, as they were seeded to a cover crop earlier this fall. As soon as we finish harvesting a crop we immediately plant a cover crop. This fall we planted a diverse mix of oats, millet, rye, winter peas, vetch and clovers. The purpose of a cover crop is to keep the soil covered and protected from wind and water erosion that can occur over the winter. They also support soil microbial life, capture and hold available nutrients and produce nutrients by capturing sunshine. We have found that cover crops are one of the most efficient ways to maintain and build soil fertility. After the crop is planted, there is no further buying, hauling or spreading necessary. Everything happens right in place in the field. The cover crops will go into the soil to be digested by soil organisms (ie tiny microbes to earthworms) and become food for our next vegetable crop.

Cover crops and soil building are still just part of the big nutrition picture. Our fall soil tests also help guide us in making decisions as to what additional minerals we will apply in the fall for each field. Every year we take nutrients out of the soil in the form of vegetables which we send your way. In order for the complex system to work, we have to make sure we replenish them and provide them with a balance of nutrients to draw from for their critical life processes. So we buy and spread mixed mined minerals to replace the ones that left the farm in the form of food for others. Does this really make a difference? We think so! Minerals and trace elements are key components to many plant and soil processes. If they are not present or are not in appropriate balance, systems do not function optimally and the crop may not have as many nutrients.

While much of our soil building efforts happen in the fall, we also invest in the nutrition of our plants during the growing season by providing them with additional minerals and nutrients at critical stages of their growth. We do this by adding nutrients to irrigation water delivered through drip lines to the roots and also foliar feeding which feeds the plant through the leaves.

Many farmers question whether all this nutritional hoopla is worth the extra effort and expense. As stewards of the land, we feel that it is our responsibility to not just take from it, but to also care for it so it can be productive for many years to come. We also feel that it is our responsibility to grow the highest quality food we can grow. Isn’t the whole point of eating to nourish our bodies? So when we’re asked if it is worth it to spread minerals and compost, plant cover crops or provide additional nutrients, we find it hard to not answer “YES!” Maybe you can taste those nutrients too?

VEGETABLE FEATURE: TAT SOI

by Andrea Yoder

Tat Soi with Garlic

Tat soi is a unique fall vegetable we look forward to every year, both for its beauty and its flavor. You’ll recognize the tat soi in your box this week as the large, flat, flower-like green. Tat soi is related to bok choi and mustard greens. It has dark green, spoon-shaped leaves that grow from a main base on the plant. The leaves are tender and very flavorful with a mild, sweet mustard flavor. The stem of the tat soi is edible as well and you’ll find it to be sweet and crispy since this is where the plant stores most of its sugars.

We intentionally plant this green late in the season with the intention to harvest it from the field as late as possible. This year it is a little early, but it should survive into November. As the temperatures start to decrease, the plant lays itself flat to hug the ground for warmth. The result is a very open, flat rosette that is a gorgeous deep, dark green. Tat soi is very resilient to cold temperatures and can recover after being frozen. If you see some leaves on the outside of your tat soi that have a whitish hue to them, this is a little bit of frost damage. If you can be forgiving of a few frosted leaves, I think you’ll be very happy with the flavor of this green.

Tat soi can be eaten raw or cooked. As a raw vegetable, tat soi makes a delicious salad. Combined with other veggies such as carrots, beauty heart or daikon radishes, carrots, and cabbage, tat soi only needs a light, simple vinaigrette to enhance its rich flavors. It can also be lightly sautéed, stir-fried or steamed, similar to bok choi. Tat soi pairs well with onions, garlic, mushrooms, winter radishes, carrots, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice, cilantro, toasted almonds and sesame seeds. It adds a wonderful flavor and texture to brothy soups such as hot and sour soup or a basic chicken and rice soup.

To prepare tat soi for use, turn it over with the bottom facing up and carefully trim each stem from the base. Wash the stems and leaves vigorously in a sink of clean, cold water. Remember, tat soi lives very close to the ground so there is often dirt on the stems at the base of the plant. Once the leaves and stems are clean, spin them dry in a salad spinner or loosely wrap them in a large kitchen towel and shake them to remove excess water. If you are cooking the greens, it is a good idea to trim the stems from the leaves and put them in the pan first to give them a 1-2 minute head start before you add the leafy portion. To store your tat soi, place it in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Winter Greens Salad with 

Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Recipe adapted from one published in the October 2014 Yoga Journal magazine. 

Serves 4
2 medium carrots, grated (about 1 cup packed)
3 Tbsp sesame oil
⅓ cup sunflower oil
2 Tbsp peeled ginger, chopped
2 Tbsp rice vinegar or apple-cider vinegar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp honey
Salt & Ground black pepper, to taste
6-8 cups Tat soi, cut into bite-sized pieces

Additional salad toppings of your choosing may include: sliced onions, radishes, nuts or seeds and chicken or fish.

In a blender or food processor, process carrots, oils, ginger, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, soy sauce and honey until smooth. Thin the dressing with ¼ to ½ cup water if desired. Toss the dressing in a bowl with the greens and any other salad toppings and serve immediately. You may also refrigerate dressing in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Moroccan Stuffed Squash

Recipe borrowed from Sara Forte's book, The Sprouted Kitchen-A Tastier Take on Whole Foods.

 Serves 4

2 medium sugar dumpling or festival squash

3 Tbsp coconut oil, divided

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup quinoa

1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk

1 tsp sweet paprika

¼ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint

3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

½ cup pomegranate seeds

½ cup feta cheese, plus more for garnish

½ cup chopped toasted pistachios (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Rub 1 Tbsp of the coconut oil on the cut sides of the squash halves and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet and pierce the skin a few times with a fork. Roast for 20 minutes. Flip them over and continue cooking, cut side up, until you can easily poke a knife through the flesh at its thickest part, another 10 to 20 minutes depending on its size. Remove from the oven and let cool.
2. While the squash are cooking, bring the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, with a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the quinoa, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 18 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the quinoa steam in the pot for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 Tbsp coconut oil, the paprika, coriander, and cumin to the quinoa and toss to combine. Add the lemon zest, mint, cilantro, orange juice, pomegranate seeds and feta and toss together. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
3. Divide the mixture between the cavities of the squash. Garnish with a sprinkle of feta and the pistachios. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potatoes

by Farmer Richard and Farmer Andrea

First there was the rush to get them planted, then the waiting and hoping game…will they get enough
warm days to form sizeable sweet potatoes? Next came the threat of frost, which for this tropical vegetable would mark the end of its life cycle. We scurried to get covers on them and just in time. Safe from frost and warm under their covers, they pushed through a few more weeks of growing time. Finally, it was time to harvest. After several good, hard days of harvest, over 45,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were safe in the greenhouse! Every year we anticipate the first tastes of sweet potatoes, and they are finally ready!

So where did sweet potatoes come from? Who knew a sweet little vegetable could have such a sordid history and cause so much controversy. The answer is, well– it depends on where you look for the answer. There are a lot of different theories and stories. In our research, we found they have been domesticated for at least 5,000 years. While there are no definite answers as to their origin, which was more than likely South America, it seems they made their way to Europe via Columbus somewhere in the late 15th century. There are references to sweet potatoes dating back to the 16th century in China. Asia and Africa come into the picture in the 17th and 18th centuries. Sweet potatoes are the most widely grown root by quantity in the world, although China feeds quite a bit of them to their animals. (How silly!) Most of the sweet potatoes grown in this country come from southern states and California.

Sweet potatoes are a member of the Morning Glory family, not the ‘Potato’ family also known as the Solanaceae family. It is true that the sweet potatoes pre-date the ‘regular’ potato. Now that we’ve made that distinction, lets tackle the controversy between sweet potatoes and yams. George Washington started calling them ‘sweet potatoes’ to distinguish them from the traditional ‘Irish’ potatoes. The term yam was used to distinguish the orange flesh sweet potatoes from the traditional white flesh sweet potato in Louisiana. Yams and sweet potatoes are not related. Yams have dry, starchy and often white-colored flesh. Sweet potatoes have a more sweet and moist flesh. While both the yam and the sweet potato are considered tropical plants, the sweet potatoes are also a temperate plant. Yams will only grow in tropical climates.

Sweet potatoes are not senescent, which means they do not grow old and die. Tropical countries are able to replant a piece of the vine to regrow them year to year. We ‘propagate’ our sweet potatoes from a new shoot or vine growing from selected potatoes saved from last year’s crop. This does require quite a bit of greenhouse space in April, so we supplement our plants with ‘slips’ from the south. In the warmer climate, they can be produced in outside beds. This year we had a new supplier from North Carolina who is certified organic. It has been challenging to source organic sweet potatoes slips in the past, but this farm sent us a timely shipment of very nice slips. We plant a total of 16,000 slips on raised, plastic covered beds. We used a variety called Covington, which originated from The University of North Carolina. There are really only 3 (maybe 4) varieties of sweet potatoes that will yield well in our area of the North. Thus far, we like the Covington variety better than the Beauregard or the Georgia Jets.

Covers extend the growing season of our sweet potatoes.

Because it was a cool summer, we covered our 2 acre field in September to protect the sweet potatoes from frost and trap heat under the cover. They grew up very well to yield 46,000 pounds of very nice size and shaped tubers. The national average yield is 14,500 pounds per acre, so we are well above that number! Although that number is still below the 30,000 pound average per acre that a good southern grower might get, we are still pretty happy with our yield.

The average sweet potato consumption in the United States is down to about 5 pounds per person per year, although I bet the average CSA member’s annual sweet potato consumption is much greater than this. In the 1920’s that number was closer to 29 pounds per year, which is a huge change. In recent years, the average number is again on the rise, and that is being attributed to a renewed interest in their high nutritional value, including the beta carotene content.

Sweet potatoes curing in greenhouse at high temperatures
and high humidity.

Because the sweet potato is not senescent, it will never develop a thicker skin in the field. We must harvest them with ‘kid gloves’ so to speak and handle them with extreme care until they have cured fully. We cure our sweet potatoes in our greenhouse a full week at temperatures of 85° – 90°F and the same high humidity. This will ‘toughen’ up the skin so they can be easily handled and have a longer storage potential. The curing process also converts the starches in the sweet potatoes to sugars, thereby making them a truly “sweet” potato.

Sweet potatoes do store very well and they are so versatile that it’s hard to grow tired of them! They can be baked, roasted, boiled, pan-fried and even deep-fried. You can dice them up and add them to soups and stews. You can bake them and then scoop the flesh out and puree it. The puree can then be used in baked goods, desserts (sweet potato pie or cheesecake!), breads or as a spread or ingredient for pizza, quesadillas, lasagna, etc.

Because sweet potatoes are part of cultures all around the world, you’ll find many different ways to prepare them. They pair well with a variety of ingredients including apples, oranges, coconut, cranberries and limes. Common spices used with sweet potatoes include cumin, coriander, chiles, thyme, rosemary, chili powder, curry powder and more. Sweet potatoes can be accompanied by a variety of cheese, including Parmesan, fresh goat cheese, gouda or others. One of the most basic ways to enjoy a sweet potato is to simply pop the whole sweet potato into the oven and bake it until it is tender. Cut it open and garnish it with coconut oil or butter and a dash of cinnamon or chile powder. Captain Jack’s all-time favorite way to eat sweet potatoes is sweet potato French fries….hold the spice and add a side of gravy if you really want to win him over.

Sweet potatoes will only get better with time, so don’t feel like you have to eat them all within a week (although it’s hard not to!) The ideal storage temperature for sweet potatoes is about 55°- 60°F. If you want to store sweet potatoes well into the winter, try to find the spot in your home that is closest to this temperature range. Sweet potatoes are sensitive to cold temperatures, so if you don’t have an ideal storage location it’s better to err on the side of a little warmer instead of a colder temperature.

We have a lot more sweet potatoes to come your way. While we have our favorite ways to prepare them, we’re always looking for new recipes. If you have a favorite recipe, we’d love for you to share it with us! You can email them to csa@harmonyvalleyfarm.com.

Sweet Potato Vinaigrette

Recipe adapted from Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen. 

Yield: About 1 cup
1 medium (8 oz) sweet potato, baked until very soft
¼ cup plus 2 Tbsp sunflower oil
3 to 4 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
Large pinch ground cloves
½ tsp cumin
⅛ tsp cayenne
Sea salt, to taste
¼ cup water, approximately

1. Peel and mash the baked sweet potato. (You should have about ½ to ¾ cup)

2. In a blender or food processor, combine the sweet potato, oil, 3 Tbsp vinegar, maple syrup, cloves, cumin, cayenne, salt and enough water to create a thick but pourable dressing.

3. Taste and add more vinegar and salt as required. Allow the vinaigrette to set for about 15 minutes, then taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Use immediately or refrigerate in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days. If the dressing thickens in the refrigerator, thin it with a tablespoon or two of water.

Variation: Add complexity to the dressing by substituting ¼ cup hazelnut or walnut oil for ¼ cup of the sunflower oil.

Serving suggestions: I (Andrea) was intrigued by this recipe and had to give it a try…I would never have thought to use sweet potatoes to make vinaigrette! I recommend using this vinaigrette to dress a fall spinach salad garnished with thinly sliced red onions, chunks of apples and toasted nuts. You could also use this vinaigrette as a dipping sauce or sandwich spread. You might even toss roasted vegetables with this vinaigrette for the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking time.

Peanut & Sweet Potato Soup

“This Africa-inspired peanut soup is roundly seasoned with spices, enriched with peanut butter, and given a crunchy, aromatic finish with roasted peanuts, cilantro and red pepper flakes.” –Deborah Madison, Vegetable Literacy.

Yield: 6 servings

1 small bunch cilantro

2 to 3 Tbsp roasted peanut oil

1 large onion, diced

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground turmeric

½ tsp red pepper flakes

2 pinches of ground cloves

1 cup crushed canned tomatoes

3 cups sweet potato, medium diced (about 1½ pounds)

Sea salt, to taste

½ cup organic peanut butter

½ cup salted, roasted peanuts

Juice of 1 small lime

Red pepper flakes, to taste

1. Wash the cilantro, including the stems, then separate the stems from the leaves. Finely slice the stems and set the leaves aside.

2. Warm the oil in a wide soup pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cilantro stems, give them a stir, and cook until the onions have begun to soften and even brown in places, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, pepper flakes and cloves. Add the tomatoes, sweet potatoes, 1¼ tsp salt and 4½ cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter. Taste for salt.

3. Puree 3 cups of the soup in a blender until creamy. Stir the puree back into the pot. Or, if you prefer a completely creamy textured soup, puree the whole amount. Taste for salt and stir in half the chopped cilantro leaves.

4. Chop the rest of the cilantro with the peanuts, leaving some texture, and mix in a few pinches of pepper flakes and the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and add a spoonful of the peanut-cilantro mixture to each. 

Vegetable Feature: Winter Squash

by Andrea Yoder

Front: Delicata squash, Festival Squash, Butternut Squash, Sweet Winter Squash
Back: Red Kuri squash, Sugar Dumpling Squash, Spaghetti Squash, Honeynut Butternut Squash

Honeynut Butternut Squash

Sugar Dumpling Squash

As the leaves turn to shades of orange, red and yellow and the nights get chilly, we welcome the changing of the seasons and transition from cool, refreshing summer vegetables to those that offer us warmth and comfort. Winter squash holds a special place in a seasonal Midwestern diet, with the potential to feed us all the way from September through the cold winter until spring comes again. We grow several different types of winter squash, several varieties you’ve already had in your boxes. We start off our squash season with delicata and spaghetti squash, followed by two of our sweetest varieties—Sugar Dumpling & Honeynut Butternut. Both of these varieties are higher in natural sugars making them very tasty, but the downside is they don’t store as well as some of the other varieties. The little honeynut butternut squash in your boxes this week are a special treat with their rich, sweet flavorful flesh. They are personal sized squashes that need nothing more than to be cut in half and baked cut side down until tender. Season the squash with salt, pepper and a pat of butter and you’ll find they taste like pumpkin pie filling!

Butternut Squash

Kabocha Squash

Soon we’ll be delivering the more familiar butternut variety with buff colored skin followed later in the season by the multi-colored festival squash and red kuri squash. The red kuri squash is a small, round, bright orange squash with dark orange flesh resembling a kabocha squash (a variety we’ve grown in previous years). These three varieties are amongst the varieties that are best for storing. But wait…there’s one more variety! We recently discovered a variety called Winter Sweet. It has a dusky blue-gray skin with a dense, dry yellow flesh. The beauty of this squash is its amazing ability to store well into the winter, and thus this will be the last one we send your way.

Winter Sweet Squash

Winter squash pairs well with a wide variety of other ingredients. You will often see it prepared with fruits including apples, pears, pomegranate, citrus and coconut. It is often flavored with herbs and spices including sage, rosemary, thyme, curry, cumin, coriander and chile powder. As we transition from summer to winter, we find ways to prepare squash alongside summer vegetables including sweet and hot peppers and tomatoes. As we venture deeper into the winter, squash finds its way into dishes alongside other root vegetables, onions, leeks, garlic, dried chiles and dried beans. You’ll find recipes for winter squash from cuisines from all around the world including many Asian countries, Europe and the Americas.

The simplest way to prepare any winter squash is to cut it in half, scoop out the seed cavity, and bake them cut-side down in a baking dish with a little water until they are tender. Remove them from the oven and turn the squash over to cool. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the shell using a spoon. The flesh can be mashed or pureed and eaten simply with salt, pepper and butter, or use the puree for other preparations. Squash can also be peeled and sauteed, pan-fried, steamed or roasted. It is often used in soups, stews and curry dishes. It can become a filling for tarts, quiche, turnovers, and ravioli. It pairs well with grains and can be used to make risotto or even incorporated into warm or cold grain salads, such as wild rice, barley or quinoa. For a more sweet approach, incorporate squash into baked goods such as pie, quick breads, bread pudding, custards and even cheesecake. You can substitute squash puree in any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree. As you can see, there are a lot of different ways to enjoy squash! If you find yourself growing tired of eating squash in the middle of the long winter, look around for some new recipes and try a different approach to how you prepare it.

An added bonus with several of the squash varieties is that the seeds are edible. Generally the seeds from the delicata, sugar dumpling and festival squash are tender enough to eat. Sometimes the butternut and orange kuri squash seeds are also tender enough to eat. After you remove them from the squash, rinse the seeds in a colander to remove any squash flesh. Dry them out a little bit by spreading them on a cookie sheet and put them in a dry location overnight or in a low temp oven. Once the seeds are dry, toss them with oil, salt, pepper and any seasonings you might desire. Spread the seasoned seeds on a cookie sheet and toast them in a 350°F oven until they are golden and crispy.

If you want to store your squash for a longer period, it is best to store it in a cool, dry environment between 45-55°F. If you just have a few squash in your collection, you might want to adorn your tables or countertops with their beauty until you’re ready to eat them. Check them frequently and if you see any spots starting to form, that’s your cue that it’s time to cook them.

Corsican Turnovers with Winter Squash

Recipe borrowed from The French Market Cookbook by Clotilde Dusoulier.

Serves 4
Winter Squash Filling
1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking
3 small red onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt, to taste
1 small kuri, butternut or kabocha squash, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tsp dried rosemary, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Olive Oil Tart Dough

¼ cup olive oil for cooking, plus more for the pan

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 tsp fine sea salt

1 large egg

1 large egg white

1. First, prepare the filling. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and ½ tsp salt and cook, stirring often to prevent coloring, until soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the squash, rosemary, and ¾ tsp salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the squash is soft, 15 to 20 minutes. If the squash has released juices—this will depend on the variety—turn the heat up to high and cook for a few minutes longer, uncovered, until the juices have evaporated. Sprinkle with black pepper, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Set aside to cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Now prepare the dough. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the oil, egg, and ¼ cup cold water and mix them in with a fork until absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly until it comes together into a ball. Add a little more water or flour as necessary.

5. Dust the ball of dough and a rolling pin with flour. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the pieces into an 8-inch square. Scoop one-fourth of the squash mixture onto the middle of the square. Bring two opposite corners of the dough into the center of the square and pinch them together. Lift the two remaining corners up to the center, matching the seams so they meet to form raised ridges. Crimp to seal. You’ll get a square turnover, with ridges forming an “X” on top. Lift carefully with a spatula and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

6. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to form 3 more turnovers.

7. Brush each turnover with egg white.

8. Bake, rotating the sheet in the oven halfway through cooking for even coloring, until golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving

Winter Squash and Leeks Baked in Parchment

Recipe borrowed from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison. 

Serves 4

2 cups winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼-inch cubes

¾ cup leeks, chopped into ½–inch squares

1 tsp garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup olive oil

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 pieces parchment paper, cut to about 12” x 15” 

1-2 Tbsp butter

8 fresh sage leaves

1. Toss the squash, leeks, garlic, and olive oil together, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Fold the parchment papers in half to make a crease. Open them up and generously butter the bottom half, covering all but an inch from the edge. It is important to coat the surface thoroughly, or the sugars in the squash will stick to the paper and burn. 

3. Divide the vegetables evenly amongst the 4 papers, heaping them into the center of the buttered area. Tuck 2 sage leaves into each one. Lay a few small pieces of butter on top of the vegetables. Fold the top half of the paper down and tightly roll the edges over onto themselves to make a half circle. Give the paper a good twist at the end to hold the packet firmly closed. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and open carefully to allow the steam to escape.

October Madness…Time to Harvest!

by Farmer Richard and Farmer Andrea

Last Saturday we awoke to a chilly morning as we experienced our first frost of the season. With it came the sense of urgency we feel every fall as the reality of the changing seasons sets in. Richard made his annual fall harvest & “projects” list to outline the work that needs to be done over the next several weeks. We have a lot of crops to harvest and put into storage, fields need to be put to bed for the winter with compost, minerals and cover crops. Several crops need to be replanted for next year, equipment needs to be prepared for winter storage, the final boxes of the CSA season need to be planned AND plane tickets back to Mexico need to be booked for our seasonal field crew members who are anxiously awaiting their return to sunny, warm Mexico to spend the winter with their families. Whew!! There’s a lot to accomplish over the next several weeks! It’s an exciting time of the season with a lot of crucial tasks to complete. Here’s a little glimpse of some of the things we’ll be doing over the next several weeks.

The Asa-Lift is used to harvest root crops such as parsnips, carrots, celeriac,
turnips and winter radishes.

While we continue to do our weekly harvests of salad greens, fresh herbs, bunched greens, etc, we now add some of our major harvests to the “To-Do” list as well. All of our root crops need to be harvested and put into storage for the winter. We have several different methods for harvesting root crops. Some of them we do by hand, while others are harvested mechanically. Last year we invested in a new harvester called the Asa-Lift. This is a machine that is used to harvest root vegetables that have tops, including parsnips, carrots, celeriac, turnips and winter radishes. This requires a crew of 4 to operate, and when conditions are just right they can harvest tons of roots in a day! Celeriac is one of the more vulnerable crops that could be damaged by a hard frost, so it’s top on the list for harvest this week. Other crops including parsnips and turnips will survive a frost better, so they are further down on the priority list.

Burdock has a very deep root which adds to the
challenge of the harvest.

Burdock root is a major crop for our farm with a high value return per acre and it is an important crop that contributes to the overall sustainability of our farm. We are one of just a handful of farms in the country that produce burdock. We do not include this vegetable in CSA boxes as we realize it has a limited following, but nonetheless there are many people who rely on this crop for medicinal purposes or as part of a traditional diet (it is more commonly eaten in countries such as Japan). If you’ve ever attempted to dig burdock root out of your yard, you’ll quickly realize the roots have the potential to go very deep. We utilize two of our most powerful 4-wheel drive tractors connected by a chain with a lifter on the second tractor to cut deep into the ground and loosen the dirt so a crew of our strongest men can pull the roots out of the ground. This is a very tiring task, so they pace themselves by trading off and taking some time to rest their backs. While it’s a challenging harvest, it’s also a very rewarding one. Burdock can be stored for up to one year. It is one of the few crops we can sell year-round, which means work for our crew in the winter and winter income.

Sunchoke roots are brought to the surface where they
are picked up by hand.

Ok, what else is on the list? Sunchokes! This crop employs yet another means of harvest with a different digger that brings the roots to the surface of the ground where they are picked up by hand and put into bins. One of the important parts of this harvest is selecting nice seed pieces for next year’s crop which needs to be planted yet this fall. The same is true for horseradish. We’ll dig the horseradish and put it into the cooler, then on frosty mornings the harvest crew will sort the horseradish roots and select pieces that are best for planting next year’s crop.

Sweet potatoes on their way to the
greenhouse for curing.

While we’re in the midst of harvesting, we can’t forget about some of the other things we need to get done. By the end of this week, we hope to have our garlic field planted for next year’s crop. We’ve already saved the best bulbs of garlic from this year’s crop to be replanted. Each bulb will need to be cracked to separate the individual cloves. It will take the crew several days to crack all the garlic, plant it, cover it and then mulch the field to insulate it for the winter. It’s crucial to plant the garlic at just the right time in the fall so it can send down roots and become established before winter.

In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, we can’t forget to harvest the brussels sprouts and tat soi for your boxes in November! We’ll still be harvesting spinach, bok choi, and several other greens for a few weeks as well. In just one short week the sweet potatoes will be cured and we’ll spend mornings in the toasty warm greenhouse where they will be washed.

We take each day as it comes hoping for dry weather to dig roots and hoping that the hard freeze holds off until the end of the month. Our crew members are starting to count down the days until they return to their homes in Mexico where their families and children anxiously await their return. As we near the end of the month, our focus will shift to yet another season as we head into winter. Plans for next year’s crops are already underway as we keep looking forward. After a little time to rest and rejuvenate, we’ll be ready to dive into another growing season!

Vegetable Feature: Jicama

by Andrea Yoder

Jicama is a tropical plant that resembles a bean plant and is also known as yam bean, Mexican potato, chop suey bean, or “cooling tuber.” We grow jicama on plastic covered beds to trap additional heat and make the plants think they are in a warmer, tropical location. The plant forms blossoms that produce a pod containing seeds that can be planted to propagate the next year’s crop. While this is happening above ground, a tuber is swelling below ground. Sometimes a plant will produce a single tuber and sometimes a second one develops below the first.

Jicama bears resemblance to a potato or turnip. It has a thick, light brown skin that should be peeled away prior to eating. Jicama’s beauty lies inside with its crisp, crunchy white flesh. It is a mild, neutral flavored vegetable that is slightly starchy with a touch of sweetness. Jicama can be eaten raw or cooked. One of the most basic ways to eat jicama is to slice it into sticks and give it a squeeze of lime juice and a light sprinkling of chili powder. This is a common street food in many parts of Mexico. Jicama is most often used in salads and slaws, which are a nice accompaniment to grilled fish, chicken or beef dishes. It pairs well with citrus fruits and juice including limes and oranges. It also goes well with sweet & hot peppers, cilantro, mint, apples, mango, onions, chipotle, and sesame oil. While jicama is typically eaten raw, it can also be cooked. In Asia it is used in a variety of stir-fry type preparations. When stir-fried, jicama should be added towards the end of cooking to retain the crisp texture. If you let it get just slightly soft, it has an almost potato-like flavor and buttery texture.

It is best to eat jicama within a week or so. Because it is a tropical vegetable, it is susceptible to chill injury if stored at temperatures less than 55 degrees. Thus, we recommend storing your jicama at room temperature until you are ready to use it.

Apple-Jicama Slaw

Recipe borrowed from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook. 

Serves 6
1 medium jicama, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks (about 3 cups)
3 crisp red apples, cut into very thin matchsticks (about 3 cups)
1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 small fresh jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sunflower or olive oil
2 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp honey
Salt and black pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, combine the jicama, apples, onion, jalapeño and cilantro.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, orange juice, lime juice and honey. Add the dressing to the vegetables and toss to evenly coat. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sautéed Jicama

Recipe borrowed from The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook. 

Serves 4
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound jicama, peeled, halved and cut into thick matchsticks
1 carrot, cut into thick matchsticks
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
⅓ cup water
Salt, to taste

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the jicama, carrot and garlic. Cook, tossing frequently, until the jicama is golden brown around the edges, about 7 minutes.
2. Add the water and cook until the jicama and carrot are crisp-tender and the water has evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Note: This is a basic recipe that you could do any number of spin-offs with. In addition to or in place of carrots, you could also include sliced sweet peppers, broccoli stems or celery. For an additional touch of flavor, add a little bit of soy sauce and orange juice in place of the water. You could also add a drizzle of a flavorful nut or toasted sesame oil just before serving.

The Future of Food Series, Part V

by Sarah Janes Ugoretz

This week we return to our Future of Food series with Tom Folger’s article “The Next Green Revolution,” a piece that discusses the potential role of biotechnology in the quest to feed the world. I’ll say at the outset that this is one of the more contentious issues we’ve delved into up to this point. It is very likely that each person coming to this discussion already has a strong opinion surrounding the creation and application of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Since the space that we have to discuss this issue is minimal, I’ve included a few resources at the end of this article for people who are interested in continuing the conversation.

Folger begins his piece in Tanzania, where the whitefly—invisible to the farmer’s eye—is silently ravaging cassava crops throughout the countryside. Alongside an agent from the Agricultural Research Institute, he witnesses Juma, the farmer at the center of this opening story, being told that he must immediately harvest his whole crop in order to avoid losing all of it. Harvesting one month early will hopefully allow him to feed his family, but he will have made no financial gains over the course of the growing season. Like 90 percent of Africa’s farmers, Juma practices variations of small-scale and subsistence agriculture. For these farmers who are already operating on the margins, the implications of a lost crop can be wholly devastating and may very likely have consequences that resound for years.

With Juma, Folger quickly establishes the moral imperative that appears to largely guide his argument for advancing GM crops: we need them to keep farmers like Juma alive. We’re reminded that by 2050, our population will likely reach nine billion, with half of that growth occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and another 30 percent taking place throughout South and Southeast Asia. Incidentally, Folger points out, “those regions are also where the effects of climate change—drought, heat waves, extreme weather generally—are expected to hit hardest.” With a nod to the Malthusian panic preceding the emergence of the Green Revolution in the 1960s, Folger insists that we need another green revolution in order to once again stave off the starvation of billions.

While he does acknowledge the possibility that solutions to these dilemmas may be found within the low-tech arena, one could easily contend that Folger’s allegiance lies with the high-tech agenda. We are introduced to Robert Fraley, chief technology officer at Monsanto, and to Robert Zeigler, director of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), who expound on modern geneticists’ and plant breeders’ ability to identify and manipulate an ever-increasing number of plant genes. The ability to do so, Fraley argues, will make farming “more productive and resilient.” It follows that the geneticist’s ever evolving toolkit can be used as a force for good in a world rife with hunger and malnutrition. Folger points to Golden Rice, a GM variety produced at IRRI that contains corn genes. These genes enable the rice to produce beta carotene, the consumption of which is essential in the fight against vitamin A deficiency. Additional examples are found in salt-tolerant and flood-tolerant rice which, Folger discusses, have already been used with a certain degree of success by farmers in parts of Asia.

As a graduate student whose research revolves around small-scale and subsistence agricultural development in the Global South, I have to admit that the heavy and, at times, seemingly insurmountable burden of hunger and malnutrition makes part of me wish that there was an overarching, just solution to be found in biotechnology. But, as Janet Maro—a Tanzanian woman who co-founded and runs a nonprofit called Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT)—insists, heralding biotechnology as the solution to smallholders’ plights is simply “not realistic.” She goes on, asking: “How likely is it, in a country where few farmers ever see a government agricultural adviser, or are even aware of the diseases threatening their crops, that they’ll get the support they need to grow GM crops properly?” What this article comes down to, for me, is this question. Biotech leaders are pointing to small-scale farmers like Juma as one of the main drivers of their research and development efforts, but when it comes down to it, the introduction of new technology—whether it be GM crops or a mechanical milking machine—must be met with the extension of knowledge, of training, of ongoing support. Moreover, these approaches must be tailored to fit each local context. Folger makes no mention of this, but any student of development knows that these components are absolutely essential if the goal is long-term, effective use. In using GM crops, small-scale farmers would not only be adopting new seed varieties, they would also be tying themselves to the associated inputs—the specific fertilizer, irrigation and pesticide requirements of that particular seed. As Maro discusses, before some of the farmers she works with transitioned to organic methods, they were spending US$300 on the fertilizer and pesticides needed to treat just one acre of land (this in a country where the per capita income is US$1600). One farmer who spoke with Folger mentioned that after incurring these expenses she had no money left over to send her children to school.

An additional concern, which Folger breezes over, is the minimal safety trials that GM crops are subject to, and our subsequent limited knowledge and understanding of the possible implications of consuming GMOs. For example, Monsanto tests newly developed GMOs over the course of 45 or 90 days, using either broiler chickens or rats. In one study, a team of independent researchers reanalyzed the test results of an approved GM variety of maize. The raw data in fact revealed signs of kidney and liver toxicity in the study rats, a discovery that led to this team’s results being published in The International Journal of Biological Sciences, a peer-reviewed publication.

Folger closes his discussion in Tanzania, where he provides us with a glimpse of the low-tech alternative. With an eye on farmers, on the environment, on the local economy—this approach looks somewhat more promising, especially when considering these factors within a whole-systems framework. Farmers, some working with Maro and SAT, have begun planting a greater variety of crops, which not only works to control for pests but also provides households with a safety net in the event that one of their crops fails. The use of a specific wild sunflower variety, planted between rows, has proven effective in deterring the whitefly from cassava crops. Meanwhile, compost is being promoted as a means of improving soil quality, and the decrease in fertilizer use has had a positive impact on water quality in the region. Owing in part to the efforts of SAT, today Tanzania has the fourth highest number of certified organic farmers in the world.

It goes without saying that, like the biotechnology approach, organic farming is not a simple, straightforward solution. It too, requires the ongoing training and support that I mentioned above. However, at this point let’s return to the overall concern in this Future of Food series: how we’re going to feed the world. I would argue that perhaps a narrower focus is appropriate here—rather than this large-scale, macro question, we might instead want to ask how farmers might acquire the tools, the knowledge and the skills to continue feeding themselves and their communities. While biotechnology might provide farmers with climate-tailored seeds, lower tech approaches have the potential to place power in the hands of the farmers themselves—power in the form of knowledge and real skills that they might use in deliberately cultivating a healthy, resilient, and diverse landscape. As the climate changes, farmers will have to change with it, but if they’re starting from a position of power and understanding grounded in a deep-rooted connection with their environment, this adaptation might prove to be more manageable over time.

Reading list:

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Trade and Environment Review 2013, “Wake Up Before it is Too Late” 

Benbrook, Charles, M. “Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the U.S. -- the first sixteen years”, Environmental Sciences Europe, 2012.

de Vendomois, J. S., Roullier, F., Cellier, D., & Séralini, G.E. (2009). A comparison of the effects of three GM corn varieties on mammalian health. International Journal of Biological Sciences, 5(7), 706–726.

Ford Foundation, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Mann, Charles C. “Diversity on the Farm” 

Patel, Raj, “How to be Curious about the Green Revolution”, rajpatel.org, 29 Aug. 2014.

Tomorrow’s table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food by Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak