Authors: Nina Planck
Real Food (33 page)
For Nina's current shopping list, see www.ninaplanck.com
Local Foods
Local food is sold in all kinds of venues. These two national sites cover all the options, from farmers' markets to farm stands
and farm shares.
www.foodroutes.org
www.localharvest.org
American Farmers' Markets
Find your local farmers' market. The USDA keeps a reasonably comprehensive list of farmers' markets in the United States.
www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets
British Farmers' Markets
In London: www.lfm.org.uk
FARMA lists farmers' markets in the United Kingdom.
www.farma.org.uk
American Farm Shares or Community-Supported Agriculture Buy a farm share and get a weekly delivery of local foods all season.
Most farm shares include produce and flowers; some add meat, dairy, poultry, and eggs.
www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa
Grass-Fed and Pastured Meat, Dairy, Poultry, Eggs, and Game
Jo Robinson, author of
Pasture Perfect,
provides excellent information on the benefits of grass-fed meat, dairy, eggs, poultry, and game, and posts an extensive directory
of foods.
www.eatwild.com
Niman Ranch is a network of several hundred independent farmers and ranchers who raise traditional beef, lamb, and pork. Look
for
lardo,
ham, bacon, and other cured meats without nitrites.
www.nimanranch.com or 510-808-0340
In Virginia, Buffalo Hunter Meats sells American bison, grass-fed beef, pastured pork and poultry, and rabbit. Try the jerky
and bacon.
www.buffalohuntermeats.com or 540-727-8590
The American Pastured Poultry Producers Association lists farmers who raise pastured poultry.
www.apppa.org
The Campaign for Real Milk describes raw milk laws in each state and will lead you to buying clubs and cow shares for raw
milk, butter, cream, yogurt, and cheese.
www.realmilk.com
Organic Pastures Dairy sells organic, grass-fed raw milk, cheese, and butter in California. It ships raw dairy foods frozen,
exclusively for feeding pets (nod, wink).
www.organicpastures.com or 877-729-6455
Wild and Farmed Fish and Seafood
All Alaskan salmon is wild. Because the state banned fish farming, wild salmon and other fish are abundant in Alaska's clean,
icy waters. The best fish is "frozen at sea" and vacuum packed. The following fishing boats, fishing co-ops, and purveyors
sell wild salmon, halibut, sablefish, tuna, and other seafood from the Pacific Northwest.
Cape Cleare Fishery, www.capecleare.com or 360-385-7486
Dungeness Seaworks, www.freshfrozenfish.com
Dungeness Seaworks, www.freshfrozenfish.com
Marbled Chinook Salmon, www.marbledsalmon.com
Prime Select Seafood, www.pssifish.com or 888-870-7292
Vital Choice, www.vitalchoice.com or 800-608-4825 Vital Choice, www.vitalchoice.com or 800-608-4825
Troll-caught Albacore Tuna, www.albatuna.com
Fish Oil
The nanny was right. Cod liver oil is the most valuable fish oil supplement because it contains vitamins A and D along with
omega3 fats. All cod liver oil is refined to some degree, which reduces vitamins. Most manufacturers add synthetic vitamins
back. According to an article by David Wetzel in the Fall 2005 issue of
Wise Traditions,
the brands listed below use only natural vitamin A and D. Some are flavored with mint, cinnamon, or citrus. (Nannies served
cod liver oil in orange juice, another good method.) If you don't care for cod liver oil, try wild salmon oil capsules from
Vital Choice.
Dr. Ron's Ultra-Pure, www.drrons.com or 877-472-8701
Green Pastures, www.greenpasture.org or 402-338-5551
Radiant Life, www.radiantlifecatalog.com or 888-593-8333
Vital Choice, www.vitalchoice.com or 800-608-4825
Traditional American Corn, Wheat, and Rice
Anson Mills sells organic whole heirloom seed corn, wheat, and Carolina gold rice grown on farms in Georgia, Virginia, and
the Carolinas. Grits and biscuit flour are cold-milled to preserve flavor and nutrients. Carolina gold and white rice are
buffered and milled with colonial methods.
www.ansonmills.com or 803-467-4122
Hoppin' John Taylor sells whole-grain grits, cornmeal, and corn flour ground from heirloom Appalachian dent corn grown with
ecological methods in Georgia. A high-fat variety, the corn is grown above twenty-five hundred feet (to reduce pest, mold,
and mildew damage), left to dry fully in the field, and then ground between blue granite stones. The ground corn is never
sifted, which leaves the bran, fat, and flavor intact. An expert on southern foods, Taylor is the author of several cookbooks,
including
Hoppin'
John's Low country Cooking.
www.hoppinjohns.com or 800-828-4412
Chocolate
Scharffen Berger makes chocolate in small batches with vintage European equipment and traditional methods. The unsweetened
chocolate and cacao nibs are superb.
www.scharffenberger.com or 800-930-4528
Chocosphere sells many international chocolates. I like the French Pralus, British Green & Black's, and Grenada.
www.chocosphere.com or 877-992-4626
Sweeteners
Find local raw honey and pure maple syrup at farmers' markets, farm stands, and health food stores. For mail order, try these:
Deep Mountain Maple Syrup sells pure maple syrup and pure maple sugar made with traditional methods in West Glover, Vermont.
www.deepmountainmaple.com or 802-525-4162
Tropical Traditions and the Grain and Salt Society sell organic whole sugar.
www.tropicaltraditions.com or 866-311-2626
www.celticseasalt.com or 800-867-7528
Various Traditional Foods
Radiant Life sells traditional foods based on the research of Weston Price, including grass-fed, raw butter, unrefined sea
salt, unfiltered olive oil, and cod-liver oil.
www.radiantlifecatalog.com or 888-593-8333
Members of the Weston A. Price Foundation receive a newsletter,
Wise Traditions.
The classified section features local grass-fed and pastured meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy, and other traditional foods such
as coconut oil and salmon roe.
www.westonaprice.org or 202-363-4394
The Grain and Salt Society sells traditional foods, including unrefined sea salt, wild salmon, and fermented foods.
www.celticseasalt.com or 800-867-7528
Traditional Soy Foods
You will find miso, natto, and tempeh in health food stores, good grocery stores, and Asian markets. Clearspring is a good
brand of organic and fermented Asian foods.
Coconut Oil
Tropical Traditions sells wet-milled, virgin coconut oil and a rich coconut cream from small organic farms in the Philippines.
It also sells coconut soap and skin cream.
www.tropicaltraditions.com or 866-311-2626
Unrefined Salt
Only unrefined sea salt contains the essential trace elements. Most sea salt is refined, but the better health food stores
and grocers sell unrefined salt. An excellent brand is Celtic. Saltworks sells European and other unrefined sea salts. Real
Salt sells unrefined salt from ancient Utah salt mines. Originally (in the Jurassic era) it was sea salt, although I understand
some magnesium is lost with time. The Grain and Salt Society sells many types of Celtic sea salt.
www.saltworks.us or 425-885-7258
www.realsalt.com or 800-367-7258
www.celticseasalt.com or 800-867-7258
Breast-Feeding and Infant Formula
For information and encouragement about breast-feeding, contact La Leche League.
www.lalecheleague.org or 847-519-7730
If you cannot feed your baby with breast milk, find a recipe for the next best thing at www.westonaprice.org. Many of the
ingredients can be found at www.radiantlife.com.can be found at www.radiantlife.com.
Citrus Fruit
Citrus is one of the regional foods I buy from small, independent, and ecological producers. Two I like: La Vigne Organics
grows biodynamic and organic citrus in San Diego Country, California, including unusual fruits such as minneolas, blood oranges,
kumquats, and persimmons. South Tex Organics grows organic grapefruit, oranges, and Meyer lemons.
www.lavignefruits.com
www.stxorganics.com
All these books are for the general reader. Most are less famous than they should be. Together, they represent a mountain
of good sense on food, cooking, diet, health, and agriculture. Every one ought to be a best seller.
Food and Cooking
Appetite,
Nigel Slater
An English home cook with a taste for simple things, Slater is my favorite food writer.
Appetite
is a bible for daily home cooking, teaching you how to cook by loose recipes and general principles.
The Complete Dairy Foods Cookbook,
Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols
This wonderful book on homemade dairy is sadly out of print and worth buying used.
Good Fat,
Fran McCullough
A cookbook that makes sense of real and industrial fats.
The Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook,
Shannon Hayes Cooking grass-fed beef properly takes some practice. Get it here.
Last Chance to Eat: The Fate of Taste in a Fast Food World,
Gina Mallet
A lyrical memoir told via the fate of four foods— eggs, fish, beef, raw milk cheese— with lots of facts for the serious and
curious.
Nourishing Traditions,
Sally Fallon and Mary Enig
A kitchen bible, with all the recipes you need, plus tons of useful information on traditional food.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen,
Harold McGee
McGee is indispensable on the science of the kitchen. You will refer to him often.
The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging, and Love,
Susan Allport Allport writes with the naturalist's eye on the human omnivore, why women hoard and share food, how farming
caused our health to decline, food cravings, and more.
The Whole Beast,
Fergus Henderson Henderson
is the chef at St. John, a superb London restaurant dedicated to the whole beast, from meat to feet, cheek to marrow.
Health and Diet
The Cholesterol Myths: Exposing the Fallacy That Cholesterol and
Saturated Fat Cause Heart Disease,
Uffe Ravnskov
If you know someone who's afraid to eat butter and eggs, this book will do the trick. See www.thincs.org.
The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil,
Bruce Fife
If you read this slim book and are still unsure about
eating
coconut oil, it will, I hope, at least persuade you to use it on your skin. I swear by pure coconut oil soap and lotion from
Tropical Traditions. (See "Where to Find Real Food".)
The Heart Revolution: The Extraordinary Discovery That Finally
Laid the Cholesterol Myth to Rest and Put Good Food Back on
the Table,
Kilmer McCully and Martha McCully
This readable paperback explains why cholesterol is not the enemy and how real food rich in B vitamins prevents heart disease.
The Omega-3 Connection: The Ground-Breaking Anti-Depression
and Diet Program,
Andrew Stoll
Fish prevents obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy Eating the Food
You Were Designed to Eat,
Loren Cordain Cordain recommends we eat like hunter-gatherers. His research on obesity, diabetes, and heart disease is very
useful.
See www.thepaleodiet.com.
Farming
Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization,
Richard Manning An unforgettable account of the triumph of cereal crops in agriculture.
Keeping a Family Cow,
Joann S. Grohman An expert in cow and human nutrition, Grohman writes for (very) small dairy farmers, but anyone who cares
about milk will be fascinated. Buy her book at www.real-food.com.
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals,
Michael Pollan Pollan is America's most talented writer on food and agriculture.
For recent writings, try www.michaelpollan.com.
Pasture Perfect: The Far-Reaching Benefits of Choosing Meat,
Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-Fed Animals,
Jo Robinson Robinson is the best exponent of the benefits of grass-fed and pastured foods. See www.eatwild.com.
Salad Bar Beef,
Joel Salatin Salatin is America's most famous grass farmer. This compelling primer on grass-fed beef is for farmers, but anyone
will appreciate it.
Organizations
Traditional Foods
The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS) A loose affiliation of scientists, doctors, and other researchers
who doubt the cholesterol hypothesis of heart disease. Says the founder, Uffe Ravnskov: "Members represent different views
about the causation of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Some conflict with others, but this is a normal part of
science. What we all oppose is that animal fat and high cholesterol play a role. The aim is to inform our colleagues and the
public that this idea is not supported by scientific evidence; in fact, for many years a huge number of scientific studies
have directly contradicted it."
www.thincs.org
Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
Dedicated to the work of Dr. Francis Pottenger, famous for his experiments with raw milk and cats, and to Weston Price, the
PPNF offers a newsletter and a library of research about health and nutrition.
www.price-pottenger.org
Slow Food
An international organization founded in Italy with members all over the world, Slow Food protects "the pleasures of the table
from the homogenization of modern fast food." Join your local chapter to meet like-minded people and to find local, traditional,
and artisanal foods.
www.slowfood.com or www.slowfoodusa.org
Weston A. Price Foundation
Dedicated to the work of Weston Price, this membership organization campaigns for traditional foods, publishes a newsletter
on nutrition and disease, and encourages people to buy real food in season from independent, local farmers.
www.westonaprice.org
Sustainable Agriculture
Glynwood Center
Glynwood's Agricultural Initiative promotes local and traditional foods, with an emphasis on small farmers, financially viable
farms, scenic habitats, and diverse wildlife.
www.glynwood.org
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy IATP works for environmentally sound and financially viable rural and trade policies.
www.iatp.org
National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
An alliance of groups promoting ecological farm policies.
www.sustainableagriculture.net
Movies
The Future of Food
A smart, thorough, and moving documentary on the threat of genetic engineering to small farmers, biodiversity, ecology, and
food security for entire nations. Buy the DVD.
www.thefutureoffood.com
The Meatrix
A spoof on the hit film
The Matrix, The Meatrix
is a four-minute flash animation skewering factory farming. Ten million people have seen it. You're next.
www.themeatrix.com
The Real Dirt on Farmer John
A
third-generation Illinois farmer turns combines into farm shares.
www.therealdirt.net
Super Size Me
Morgan Spurlock ate industrial foods for thirty days and wrecked his health. Rent the PG version for any kid you love.
www.supersizeme.com
Clothing and Accessories
FoodGoods designs beautiful T-shirts, tote bags, and aprons with amusing slogans about traditional and local foods.
www.foodgoods.com