Local organic producers are receiving some wonderful support from colleges throughout the U.S. What am I talking about?

There’s a new blog out there called Organic on the Green. Its purpose is to support the development of organic food programs on colleges nationwide. The initiative, which has been brought to life by Nina Merrill, a senior at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, provides a wonderful insight into the hearts and minds of the organic industry’s future leaders. Whether it’s a personal account of involvement in the SAFE program or a discussion about the relative merits of organic certification for a large university dining service, the posts are well-written, thoughtful and interesting. Well worth checking out!

In other news, Bates College recently received a $2.5 million donation that is to be used to increase the college’s use of local, organic and natural food.

The gift, which was received from an anonymous alumni donor, carries with it the requirement that it be used to meet the additional costs associated with serving more local, natural and organic food at Bates. Since 1986 about 22 percent of the Bates annual food budget had been spent on local, natural and organic food.

The gift has allowed the College to increase that number to 28 percent in the past fiscal year. For context, the national student initiative “Real Food Challenge” has as its target to redirect 20 percent of all food purchased by colleges and universities (currently $4 billion) toward “real food” by 2020.

In remarks prepared for delivery at Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 3, Bates President Elaine Tuttle Hansen said: “In their own characteristically ambitious yet modest way, so many Bates faculty, students, staff members and alumni are clearly part of a quiet movement — national and international — that is tackling the problems of our food system. By contemplating food, we want to celebrate and share even more widely many powerful stories about Bates and food.”

Besides celebrating and making visible what already occurs at Bates, the initiative has a second objective, Hansen explained.

“We want to add to the understanding and knowledge about food on campus — where our food comes from, the food system at Bates, the larger food system in which Bates is embedded. So we don’t want to forget in celebrating how we all eat, that there are growing social problems associated with the food system. We want to raise consciousness. We want to educate ourselves. We want to dispel our own ignorance and complacency by considering these issues. We want to explore why, for Bates, a strong and healthy food culture is so important to the educational mission.”

Bates’ focus on food has included a summer reading assignment for this fall’s incoming first-year students and plans for a variety of panels and presentations throughout the academic year.

Bates’ exploration of food took root last spring when President Hansen gathered a small number of students, faculty and staff who share an interest in food and eating to consider the concept.

The group, she said, was “overwhelmed by how much was already going on at Bates. We felt we should develop a kind of clearinghouse, making it all more visible. With food as the thread that connects us, to each other and to our larger community, we will spend the next year celebrating and contemplating more deeply the ways that gathering together around food enhances and supports the college’s mission,” she said.

How many elderly folk in the U.S. depend on Meals on Wheels each day? If you said somewhere between 1.3 and 1.4 million people you wouldn’t be far off the mark. That’s a lot of people who, without the help of Meals on Wheels, wouldn’t be eating a hot meal tonight.

Even though my family and I eat modestly, it’s hard for me to imagine what it must be like not to have something warm to eat each night. It must be tough, particularly when you’re older.

Unfortunately, things are becoming increasingly challenging for Meals on Wheels. Faced with a sharp upturn in demand for its services, coupled with a shortage in volunteer labor (as a result of record-high gas prices) their task seems almost overwhelming.

The good news is that there are companies out there willing to assist where they can. Aurora Organic Dairy, a leading organic dairy company, recently donated 920lb of high quality beef to the Dumas Meals on Wheels Association. The beef came from their newest organic dairy farm – the Coldwater farm – in Stratford, Texas.

That’s a lot of beef. And it makes me feel happy knowing that there’ll be a lot of good folk in Dumas who’ll be a lot less hungry tonight. Well done Aurora Organic Dairy!

According to an article appearing in today’s Otago Daily Times, Stu Burt and Lyn Williamson, owners of Destination Organic – an organic superstore in Queenstown New Zealand – are so confident that organic food is cheaper than conventional food that they’re stumping up their own cash to prove it. Essentially, they’re asking the people of Queenstown to try organic food for themselves so that they can realise first hand the associated taste and health benefits.

They want to find two families to be an organic test case. They will track their shopping for four weeks, keeping note of their expenditure, and will then subsidise their shopping at Destination Organic by $150 a week for four weeks, to make a comparison between the costs and benefits of both organic and non-organic products.

Well done Stu and Lyn – we’d love to hear how it goes!

Organic Dairy FarmingIn Keeping Organic Dairy Traditions Alive, we were introduced to Jon Bansen, an organic dairy farmer. Jon’s knowledge and insights regarding what it means, and what it takes, to be an organic farmer are wonderfully captured in Part II of Cooking Up a Story’s video weblog entitled, Organic Dairyman: The Farmer.

Jon Bansen, and other organic farmers like him, will in time prove to be the future of food. Human beings can’t – and shouldn’t be aiming to – change natural processes. Whenever we do, we generally have to deal with the oftentimes unfortunate consequences of the guesswork masqueraded as the scientific underpinning for our interference with natural processes. Fortunately, the pendulum is swinging back in favour of organic farming practices. Why is this the case? It would be hard to say things any more eloquently than Jon has himself in this video.

Agriculture is a biological process; not an industrial process. Somewhere along the way, we missed that whole idea. That’s the wonderful thing about organics. Organics is about bringing biology back to our food.

I’m fast becoming a huge fan of Cooking Up A Story. Their video stories avoid the monotonous narration and self-absorbed opinion and introspection delivered by the presenters of some other video blogs. By allowing their interviewee to speak openly and honestly, and through careful editing, Cooking Up A Story manages to succinctly capture the essence of their subject matter. In doing so, they provide their audience with a slice of life that would otherwise be inaccessible. Great stuff! I strongly recommend that you take a look at the other wonderfully captured stories on their website.

Not everyone enjoys dried fruit. But I do. Don’t get me wrong; given the choice I’ll usually reach for a fresh organic apple in preference to the dried alternative. But there are times when dried fruit comes in handy. One example that springs to mind is when I’m out hiking or tramping. Generally speaking, when I’m out hiking – usually in mountainous terrain – the last thing I want to be doing is carting around bulky provisions. Instead, I want food that’s light, nutritious, calorie dense and – if at all possible – tasty. Dried fruit fits the bill.

Drying fruit is an ancient tradition. The Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians and Persians used drying techniques to preserve highly perishable foods such as grapes, prunes and figs. According to the Greek Historian, Theodore Vallis, competitions were routinely held in parts of Ancient Greece to identify those within society most adept at maintaining the vigour and colour of seasonal fruits. Those who were judged capable of displaying counter-seasonal varieties with superb form, texture and taste were able to profit in both an economic and social sense.

While drying fruit with aplomb is unlikely to result in a speedy ascension to the top of society in today’s fast-paced world full of gimmicks and gadgetry, it’s interesting to note that many of the preservation techniques used by today’s organic food processors are identical to those practiced and mastered by our ancient friends. 

Enough history – what about the nutritional value of dried fruit? In general, dried fruit is high in dietary fibre, low in fat and cholesterol, and provides an excellent source of anti-oxidants. While the drying process generally results in a small reduction in water-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin C, the fat-soluble nutrients such as potassium and beta-carotene are capable of withstanding the drying process and remain in significant quantities.

Sulphur dioxide – a potential hazard

One potential concern for those suffering from allergies, and particularly for children with asthma, relates to the large quantities of sulphur dioxide routinely used in conventionally dried fruit. Although sulphur dioxide speeds the preservation process and ensures fruit retains its bright (almost fluorescent) colour, sulphur dioxide has been found to be harmful to children, particularly for those suffering from asthma and/or food sensitivities. If you’re keen to avoid sulphur dioxide for health reasons, make sure you read all labels carefully. The presence of Preservative 220 (221,222, 223, 224, 225) is another way conventional food processors legally acknowledge the presence of Sulphur Dioxide within their products. Be vigilant.

Unlike conventionally dried fruit, organic dried fruit undergoes a natural drying process. The use of sulphur dioxide is specifically banned. No additives, colours or preservatives are used. And obviously, the fruit used is organic. This might not seem too important until you realize that approximately two thirds of all dried fruit sampled in a United Kingdom Government-led 2005 study was found to contain significant levels of trace pesticides.

Buying and storing dried fruit

For some, the darker (less fluorescent) colour of organic dried fruit comes as a shock. Many of us have become accustomed to walking down our local supermarket aisle seeing nothing but brilliantly coloured (almost unreal looking) bright orange dried apricots and pears. You won’t find that dried organic fruit looks this way. But it’s not meant to either. When fruit is not pumped full of sulphur dioxide it takes on a decidedly more natural, somewhat earthy hue. Don’t be disappointed; it’s just the way dried fruit is meant to look.

Try and store your dried organic fruit in a cool, dry place. Avoid direct sunlight. Once you’ve opened whatever packaging your dried fruit originally came in, transfer your fruit to an airtight container and store in your refrigerator.

Drying your own fruit

It’s definitely possible to dry your own fruit. Although drying your own fruit tends to be a time-consuming process, which we’ll go into in more detail in a future post, there is also the sense of reward that comes with knowing you’ve done something for yourself. This is a particularly good option for those fortunate enough to have their own organic orchard brimming with fabulous fruit.