Fermenting a New Culture – Has Begun!

The news from Occupy Wall Street is BIG – the country is in ferment, and yes – we are fermenting a new culture in many ways!  Slow Food is one way we can all participate even if we can’t drive to Washington, New York…SF…

WE CAN ALL Stop shopping at Corporate stores, stop eating corporate food, it is all owned by the same guys & their brothers, the ones that brought us loss of jobs, loss of our homes, loss of our monetary independence.  It makes dollars & sense, it puts money back in the local community, it is sustainable.

It-is-all-connected… & the destination for any continuing abuse of the body politic & your body, temple of our spirit – is sickness in community & in health.

What I am saying is we start spending our precious dollars in our own community, buy locally grown food, go to the Farmer’s Market, make a statement with our pocketbooks – we will feel good about it & will feel better physically too!

I spent the last few days creating and presenting a workshop on Fermentation, the live food chemistry kind.  It fits in with my political rant here as you have let me say – Fermentation of simple, garden grown, local food gives many health benefits & helps stretch inexpensive food dollars, as well as using produce from field & garden.  It keeps us out of the stores & helps us gather some “stores” of REAL FOOD.

We all loved the experience of making sauerkraut together, finding tastes that are new yet delightful & generally getting more deeply informed around the topics of yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, vinegar, kombucha & sourdough.  You can buy all these things or you can make them at a fraction of the cost, finding many ingredients in your locally owned farm stand or market. I encourage you to find such a class in your area or make one happen, it is about LIVE Food, Bio-available nutrients, Happy enzymes & intestines…all good stuff.   I give thanks to my students who trusted me to guide them into the shallow waters of Live Fermentation…simple cottage ferments, political ferments…  may we all find our way to the middle of the river, where deeper information resides, and a lifetime of experimentation brings new thoughts to the mix!

Certainly discovering the vast stores of knowledge at Sandor Katz’s website will be a beginning no Fermenter will regret.

And, oh yes – it is very political to grow & eat your own food, or get raw milk from a farmer down the road, let’s take that to the streets too!

LOCAL FOOD AT RISK! Raw Milk shut down

…right here in teeny Willits, it has happened >> the eye of Sauron has turned in our direction & the yummiest raw goat milk filled with goodness, love & really potent nutrition has been made illegal.  Now, who is going to tell those goats that they cannot produce anymore?

You have a right to know what is in your food, and further – you have a right to eat what you think is healthy & good for you.  it is a matter of Freedom to choose.  Why cry over spilt milk?

Here are the facts…

Green Uprising Farm has received notice of violation from the California Department of Food and Agriculture demanding that they “cease and desist” the sale or giving away of milk produced at their small dairy.  Green Uprising has been providing wholesome, fresh milk to shareholders who have purchased an ownership interest in their herd for some time.

They are going to be supported by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund.

The long story is posted on my friend Dave Smith’s blog, and here’s the short version…

As Sara Grusky, who manages the dairy herd, says:

“According to the Calif Dept. of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) this is a threat to the public health. Our children, our grandchildren, friends, family, neighbors and shareholders all drink raw milk directly from the teats of goats boarded at our farm (my goodness!) and we are all alive and well, happy and healthy. In fact, if you go back three or four generations most everyone who consumed milk drank it raw from a family farm in their community. But, according to CDFA, our shareholders don’t have the right to drink raw milk from a goat herd they have purchased an ownership interest in. According to CDFA, they know better than you what’s good for you. And, they think that pasteurized milk from a feedlot dairy where large amounts of antibiotics are used (due to the unhealthy conditions) and Bovine Growth Hormone (a genetically engineered artificial growth hormone) may be given to stimulate milk production, is healthier than the milk I hand milk into glass jars from my ten precious goats. You have got to be kidding…”

Friends…this is a frontal assault on our right to choose our food.
Action Alert-  GET INVOLVED!  This is not a test!.. or a meeting to plan
for an idealized future – this is action needed …on the ground… right
now - a need for all of us who love local food to show up & create our future of food, keep our ancient human food rights!

What can you do???

1- Come to the movie showing & community discussion on July 15th at the Willits Grange -7pm

FARMAGEDDON – The Film

Link to Trailer >>see it & click here…

Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under
attack.  Farmageddon highlights the urgency of food freedom, encouraging
farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights
to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods
safely and free from unreasonably burdensome regulations. The film serves
to put policymakers and regulators on notice that there is a growing
movement of people aware that their freedom to choose the foods they want
is in danger, a movement that is taking action with its dollars and its
voting power to protect and preserve the dwindling number of family farms that are struggling to survive.

2- Come on the 15th & hear what Sara, her husband, and their shareholders plan to do in the face of CDFA’s demands and how you can help.
3- ALSO READ MORE ABOUT RAW MILK & YOUR RIGHTS:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/15/ron-paul-vs-the-fda-milk-police.aspx

4-  To take action on National Milk issues, send a Fax to Your Legislators – Ask Them to Co-Sponsor & Pass HR 1830

112th U.S. Congress – House Bill HR 1830

(Go to http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/petitions/pnum1079.php)

Congressman Ron Paul has once again introduced a bill that would allow the
interstate shipment of raw milk and raw milk products for human
consumption, HR 1830.

* We believe that there is a fundamental right to produce and consume the
foods of our choice including raw milk, contrary to FDA’s claim that there
is no such right in its response to a lawsuit over this same matter.

* We believe the federal ban against transporting raw milk for human
consumption across state lines is a violation of our rights, despite FDA’s
assertion that any transaction that involves crossing state lines with
such milk is illegal.
http://www.farmtoconsumer.org/petitions/pnum1079.php

ALSO READ MORE ABOUT RAW MILK & YOUR RIGHTS:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/15/ron-paul-vs-the-fda-milk-police.aspx

Annie Brigit Waters

Thus does the public evil come home to each of us:
Straining, the courtyard gates no longer hold fast,
The evil leaps o’er the high walls; it finds everyone,
Even him fleeing to the inmost chamber.

– Solon

“The survival of the fittest is the ageless law of nature, but the fittest
are rarely the strong. The fittest are those endowed with the
qualifications for adaptation, the ability to accept the inevitable and
conform to the unavoidable, to harmonize with existing or changing
conditions.”

The SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW

A day to play at a Festival!  Hooray!

The best part of my day at Harmony Festival (and there were some great moments!) was discovering the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW and the Eco-Grove…

a variety of attractions and vendors – ranging from live art to a living mandala to a “guess your carbon footprint” calculator and a whole myriad of other things in between.  Well – yes- seeing Caroline W. Casey was an unequaled unrivaled wordsmithing  blast…but that’s a subject for another day…

A rare family day for me & walking into the Eco-Grove took us right into a carnival!  Five year old Adrien was immediately completely at home & wanted to be there more than anything else all day long – including the climbing structure.  Why not?  Brilliant – the eco-carnival games – yes, getting out sustainability information – not as a lecture or a blog – or any other wordy attempt to educate, but rather – as fun!

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Tossing out Fossil Fuels – a favorite.  You toss bean bags at pictures of ugly drilling rigs or big trucks & if you hit it- it turns to a colorful image of a solar panel or a bus (They forgot to put in a train, darn it!)  All for a donation of – whatever you want.

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Eco-opolis, a Model Green City was a favorite! Here you invest money (tossing coins) into various structures & areas of a Dream Green city built entirely from discards & trash.

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Very fun & punny too!  Best place of all – the LOVE Factory, definitely my next job will be working here…Hard to hit, but Adrien did it, that’s my boy – a love factory investor.

I am sure that what these folks are doing is making a big difference in kids & adult lives, how can you not think about use of fuels or what we are doing for public health when you play these games!?

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Or – how about getting completely covered in mud while you help build a house!  That would have appealed more if I had a change of clothes

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The Earth Mandala was housed under a bamboo structure made by one of their amazing interns,  Ben.  He spent weeks leading up to the festival working on the project – and I must say that all his hard work paid off.  The bamboo structure only added to the impressiveness of the mandala – I mean, it’s an amazing thing on its own, but with this beautifully designed structure, it was incredible! 

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Best of all – way up inside were huge flying honeybees letting us know how important their work is – can you read it?  [1/3 of the human diet requires pollination from our friends - the honeybees]

 

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~Carbon Footprint anyone?  I am stoked that my carbon footprint appears to be on the extreme lower edge of normal.  Well, I thought I would register even better – but, without cheating on the numbers – it is time for that solar hot water heater!  Maybe that NEV (Neighborhood Electric Car) that I keep threatening to find.

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~Or keeping chickens – that’s it!  Eggs galore & no more slugs, now – that would be paradise…

Back on track (sayings about trains abound!) – I want to mention that you can visit the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW at their website – even if they don’t come soon to a city near you…you won’t be sorry!

 

 

Ethical Eating – Food and Environmental Justice

I have been watching movies & reading so many diet & health books lately – trying to get my head around the deeper ethics of diet. Beyond eating for best health – what are the other issues? For one – Food Ethics – finding a worldview that incorporates the rights of humans to choose their food with the rights of all Beings to live successfully in harmony on this finite planet. That sounds simple enough – yet, why the raging controversy? You’d think we are discussing religion or politics! Well, maybe we are…

While studying for the endocrine nutrition classes I recently taught, it became very clear that references & resources are now legion in any one camp of belief, especially with Internet resources, multiple books promoting any one theory, and very few of us capable of reading actual peer-reviewed studies. In fact – my own history of study using peer-reviews in technical journals, is that the studies themselves seem to be funded by a well-off corporation who managed to get some academics to perform the study with an intended result. Am I being cruel? Is there no way out of this entanglement of beliefs & truth?

I can only reach deep inside myself & feel my way out when this happens. The heart “knows” more than the brain when it comes to first perception. I choose from there.

Have I lost you yet?
If not – back to my topic in mind – food ethics – determining what foods humans should choose with full consideration of planetary balance & the rights of all living beings. (Let’s say all of those still alive & those who have died due to our lack of eco-ethics)

Let’s say also that… we need to BE healthy instead of BELIEVE healthy.

What food choices really work for YOU? Can you know now what to eat – in advance of the probably years it will take to see the results… once your health is compromised – or worse – wrecked?

Simple thoughts:
Whenever I can – I choose to eat locally & organically, a variety of foods produced with minimal impact on water use, soil degradation & while also recycling maximum nutrient back into an almost closed loop system. Can we artfully achieve this noble goal in our daily life – replete as it is with the temptations & delights – indeed – the wondrous tastes of foreign foods- rich roasted coffee drinks, creamy chocolate desserts, bananas, blueberries in winter, fish from foreign shores, the entire range at Trader Joes for Gods sake! In order to eat ethically you have to stay home & garden, or shop quickly with a list & get out before your eyes linger on the specialties waiting to grab your attention at checkout. The demons of imported foods are all around us.

Oh, now where was I? (as she eats cute small tangerine & handful of almonds -where were they grown? – during mini-break) I was hoping to at least give you a list of ethical discussions now in print…recommended by me in my own slanted style of current favorites…reader warning – they don’t all agree!
Viola! Finally you come to it….(forget cultural bias, availability, health theory or practice when considering this aspect of food choice)

(a partial list of “Ethical Eating” resources)

BOOKS:

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats by Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig PhD (A full-spectrum nutritional cookbook with a startling message–animal fats and cholesterol are vital factors in the human diet, necessary for reproduction and normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels. Includes information on how to prepare grains, health benefits of bone broths and enzyme-rich lacto-fermented foods.)

The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability - Lierre Keith (discusses alternatives to industrial farming, reveals the risks of a vegan diet, and explains why animals belong on ecologically sound farms.)

Full Moon Feast – Jessica Prentice (Jessica Prentice champions locally grown, humanely raised, nutrient-rich foods and traditional cooking methods as she recounts her relationships with local farmers alongside ancient harvest legends and methods of food preparation from indigenous cultures around the world.)

Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall (Goodall focuses more on the product of “factory farming” techniques: mountains of waste, nutritionally depleted soil, polluted water, displaced organic farmers, and severely compromised food.)

The Art of Simple Food: Notes, Lessons, and Recipes from a Delicious Revolution by Alice Waters (the Waters mantra: eat locally and sustainably; eat seasonally; shop at farmers markets)

Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe (eating lower on the food chain -i.e. more grains and vegetables- is crucial the key to ending worldwide hunger, author’s theory is that non-meat proteins are much more efficient and sustainable to produce)

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (In a journey that takes us from an “organic” California chicken farm to Vermont, Pollan asks basic questions about the moral and ecological consequences of our food)

How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine by John Jeavons (Jeavons lays out a comprehensive guide to growing the most food you can on the least amount of land in the most sustainable way – on an ongoing basis into perpetuity, most healthy both for your family, your land, and the wider world.)

MOVIES:

I am happy to see more and more “good food” documentaries coming out. While I think movies like “Food, Inc.” are important to educate us on food issues, I appreciate the solution based films even more.

DIRT! The Movie, tells the amazing and little known story of the relationship between humans and living dirt. Why Dirt?

Dirt feeds us and gives us shelter. Dirt holds and cleans our water. Dirt heals us and makes us beautiful. Dirt regulates the earth’s climate. Dirt is the ultimate natural resource for all life on earth.

Edible City: A new (more grassroots) film prides itself in showing what people are doing in their own backyards in an urban environment, and with their own resources. It shows the movers and shakers in sustainable ag in the SF Bay Area.

FRESH - Ana Joanes (“FRESH brings more of the solutions and ideas for positive change to the table while Food Inc. focuses on the overwhelming power of industrial ag, its problems and challenges, leaving the viewer very troubled.”) I really enjoyed seeing the film “Fresh” recently on the shift towards sustainable food. It was great to see Will Allen’s Growing Power. He was growing sooo much food on a small urban plot, and loves his composting worms! And I loved finally meeting farmer Joel Salatin.

Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan (takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world – seen from the plants’ point of view – the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato – evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control)

Nourish: Food + Community: (With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective and suggests the steps individuals can take to create a more sustainable food system and live more healthful lives.)

Want more?
Read some great thoughts…

Lia Huber about Nourish -

Further interesting discussion threads form on this vegan web page – a China Study critique. Vegan insights – yet of course – in support of my current theme of moderate eating of all healthy foods, animal or vegetable – locally grown with closed loop inputs….plus a questioning of the results of our last 10,000 years of agricultural practices & the future of food…

Invite response? Yes! I may be impatient & a poor scientist, but am an eater of food therefore deserve an opinion. Also – as avid debater in the realms of art – in which I have always thought that nutrition & food belonged – I get to enjoy my own my “taste”.

How should we eat? Damned if I truly know…yet. Can we even afford to debate this matter of ethics & choice considering the spiraling descent of food availability planetary -wide? Best to debate it while we work in the garden & rest a moment on our shovels – just in case the narrowing gap between the starving & the well-fed continues to affect more & more eaters, mainly those of us in the USA blessed with choice & variety of nutrient & taste. The debate continues even while the deserts enlarge & the waters are poisoned.

PS For those who are still concerned with the effects of diet on personal health – and I am one of them….the important discussion on health & community should remind us that it doesn’t matter how much conviction these various authorities have on their own theories, if it doesn’t work for you it’s worthless. We’ve each got to find out on our own what we should include in our own diets using the advice of others merely as a framework. Wholeness & Health? Cancer? Perfect energy? Endocrine disruption? Arthritis? Athletic prowess? It’s all around us, let’s perceive with our hearts & choose with our deepest feelings before we say grace over that next meal.

Peace is Not a Goal, but a Way of Life

PEACE!  I am not the only one who is using this word – peace – since the murders in Tucson…in fact, many a good word has been typed in the last few days by writers better than me.  I want to focus this post on the opportunity to feel peace.  Peace within, peace of mind, peace of heart – peace in a daily small way – peace that improves our health, our love for self & others, and by extension – our way of interacting & creating community.  Certainly stronger community has been created around this horrific event in Tucson, but at what price? How can we learn to love & look around, meet by candlelight & look into each other’s eyes without a catastrophic event as a tipping point?  I suggest that we need community events – cyclical, & often – to remind us of the value of each other & the love that exists when we open to it.  The Annual Spiral dance in Willits is one such opportunity we have created & the 200 or so humans that come together always leave with a deeper sense of inner peace & hope for a future of peaceful co-existence.  If we could create such events several times a year – the feelings would deepen & merge into something much greater that our dreams can imagine!

Ultimately peace is a way of life – it is not a goal – as Martin Luther King so simply put it.  Our American values support peace when it is Christmas or when it is about “us” and our special land of peaceful neighborhoods & quiet towns, but are we supporting Peace on Earth?  The proliferation of wars, bombings, and increasing acts of violence show the truth, that we want anything if it helps us be more comfortable – our cars on the road, our homes warmed by fuel driven electrics, and our local Wal-Mart filled with toys & electronics made of plastic by poorly treated “commodity slaves” overseas somewhere – as long is it is not in our faces, we so easily forget.

I saw a great short film last night – A CIRCLE AND THREE LINES – on the history of the peace sign, and during it – I was moved by our historic love of peace, our willingness as a people to join in cause for this deep value.  The peace sign offers us hope in a  change for the better.  It is time to reignite the peace sign again – this time in honor of true love, a deep community wide common ground of love – wanting a future of greatness & possibility for our children, all of them.  The memorial candles surrounding Gifford’s office equate love with peace.  I agree.  Pass it on.  Play it forward.  Give someone the peace sign – and mean it!

These photos of the Tucson candlelight memorial were gathered by Lauren Raine -

See her wonderful

post on this same message of Peace at www.threadsofspiderwoman.blogspot.com

More on peace & the peace sign:

http://www.teachpeace.com/peacesymbolhistory.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_sign

You can even buy a book on the history of the peace sign:

Peace: The Biography of a Symbol tells the surprising story of the sign in words and pictures, from its origins in the nuclear disarmament efforts of the late 1950s to its adoption by the antiwar movement of the 1960s, through its stint as a mass-marketed commodity and its enduring relevance now.

As the symbol’s popularity blossomed, so did an entire generation, and author Ken Kolsbun’s expertly selected images—from his own collections as well as a variety of historical archives—illustrate both the sign itself and the larger history that it helped to shape. Along the way, the book recounts the controversy inspired by the peace symbol, bringing to light several trials that challenged its very existence. Drawing on exclusive archival interviews with Gerald Holtom, the late creator of the symbol, Peace recounts its birth and goes on to build a historic portrait using both iconic and rarely seen photographs.

WINTER SOLSTICE SPIRAL DANCE

SPIRAL DANCE ~ 16th ANNUAL SOLSTICE CELEBRATION!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 ~ 6:30pm

Little Lake Grange, 291 School St – Willits, CA

Theme: A Council of All Beings

We celebrate the turning of the Wheel as Yule comes to the forest

*The trees, the salmon, the sacred deer & animals…

All have something to share with us about the future

and our human interconnectedness with the Web of Life*
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~ a family friendly program ~  Candle lighting & sing along  to be followed by the Spiral Dance!

We invite you to wear a costume or mask or head piece

that celebrates your love of nature – animal, bird,  tree, fairy, bee…

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A Benefit for the Grange Remodel Project  ~  $5-10 at the door (CHILDREN FREE)

Midwinter Traditions –

for Willits and Beyond!

by Ann Waters

Event Calendar – Willits Winter Solstice Celebration & Spiral Dance

December 21st, 2010 at 6:30pm at Little Lake Grange, 291 School St, Willits

What is Midwinter, and why do we celebrate it?  The longest night of the year and the dawn that followed was considered a special turning point in the solar year for our ancestors.  Looking for the Sun’s return is still a bright thought on our dark winter nights.

The ancient traditions of old Europe would have found us dancing the longest night into dawn. The drum jam and dancing needs YOU to bring your drum and rattles and join in the merriment as we dance together as long as we can stand up.

“COUNCIL OF ALL BEINGS” is the theme for our 16^th Annual Willits Winter Solstice Celebration & Spiral Dance. We will all participate in a wonderful play that is about Solstice, the forest creatures, human community & the Earth. This traditional Willits celebration is an evening of songs, dance, theater, candle lighting, making wishes, and ends with a spiral dance and drum jam. Children of all ages are invited to join in the Dance of the Faires & Creatures as well as in the opening procession.

This year is incredible…we hope you will come dressed as your favorite animal, plant, tree or fairie, elf, or as yourself in your brightest ceremonial garb!

More about this seasonal celebration…The marking of the yearly cycles of the seasons was a matter of life & death for our ancestors.  – they measured and noted the sun’s path and length of days for reasons of weather and agriculture, or for their own nomadic changes.  We might do well to begin to note the natural cycles as a part of our return to nature- our own bio-logic consciousness…our shift into a new way of being…solar values.

Peoples all over the world and throughout time have celebrated the turning of the  wheel, the cycles of the seasons upon which all life depends. One of the most celebrated the world over is Midwinter – celebrated with lights as we honor the Sun’s return on December 21st!

Winter Solstice has a special magic that resonates deep within us.  It is the season of hope and love, of goodwill and sharing, of making merry, making wishes and giving blessings. On this, the darkest night, they come together, to honor the time of gestation, of dreaming and inner sight.

Winter Solstice Eve is the darkest, longest night of the year – midwinter to our ancestors,  the very beginning of winter to us.  The long dark nights are a time to sleep more and eat less, to rejuvenate, to be still and quiet, to go within to know and heal oneself,  to awaken our curiosity and nurture our creativity, to tell our stories,  to incubate our  ideas and our dreams.

Worldwide – through the years, most cultures have held festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations – quite often involving light and candles around this time.

Community celebrations that mark the seasons bring us together regularly and promote deeper relationships.

Come to the Spiral Dance December 21st, 2010 at 6:30pm at Little Lake Grange, 291 School St, Willits – and make a seasonal tradition for your family that goes beyond the commercial feeling that now pervades this time of year!

This non-denominational event is open to all ages and families are encouraged.

Bring the family, drums, rattles, and your costumed self.

Suggested donation of $5-10 for adults, families $10. Children free.  No-one turned away for lack of funds.

Donations will be used to repair and maintain the beloved Great Hall of the Grange Building.

For more information contact: abweller@pacific.net – see notices on www.anniegreenjeans.com or  call 459-2418

Blessings of Yule!

—by Ken Humphreys—

Slow and slow turns the Wheel of the Year.

To the season of silence, cold, bleak and drear.

Hope’s to be born, from the dark, wintry night—

The feast is prepared, and the Yule-log alight.

Round is the wreath, as the year turns round;

Green is the Holly—Life midst Death found;

The berries red as the Sunrise of Birth

Of Hope to the world, and Joy to the Earth.

Bright blessings of Yule! May they shine on your life!

May you feast, and rejoice, and set aside strife!

Hope and gladness be with you, gloom and misery fly

Away, at the Birth of the Lord of the Sky!

DIG IN ! a LOCAL DINNER at LITTLE LAKE GRANGE

HARVEST DINNER MENU

LOCAL SOURCES 2010

The 5^th Annual Little Lake Grange Harvest Dinner is one of over 400 many Slow Food & Gardening Events happening around the country this weekend!

This year we feature a gourmet multi-course meal created from locally grown food products. Our reason for producing a “LOCAL” dinner is to showcase the best of farm products available in our valley and within 100 miles of  Willits.

We want to offer  a  fine dining experience celebrating local sustainable food and farming.  The finest and freshest of foods  prepared with loving care by our extraordinary local chefs – Patty Rede & Linda Relin, and their joyful crew of talented kitchen sou-chefs & assistants.

This is a Grange sponsored all-volunteer community collaboration that brings us all closer together in the supply of food for our health & our future

* ALL DONATIONS listed below are marked with a * (ASTERICK)

* Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts! *

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Local Organic Wines: (Organic wines from Mendocino County)

–     *Frey Winery, *Barra Winery, *Parducci Winery, Fetzer, *Vin De Tevis, *Husch Vineyard

–        Decorative Wine Grapes – *Marsha Pratt

Appetizers:

Almonds, Fresh Fruit & Grapes, (the Santa Rosa farm of Don Rosenburg)

Walnuts, *Baldo Farms  ~  Pepper Jelly, *Fairall  ~ Fig Chutney, *Stella Bonnet

Artisan Cheeses – Triple Creme Brie (*Marin French Cheese), Classic Cheddar (*Clover)

Local Goat Chevre’ (*Redwood Hill Farm), Dry Jack  (*Springhill farm)

Crackers – Wheat harvested in Mendocino, Handmade Italian crackers by our own local cooks

- Olive Oil, Local Sea Salt

Dinner & Buffet Table:

Moroccan Tagines - Ford Ranch beef and local vegetables from Brookside Farm, *Golden Rule Garden, *Senior Center Garden, *Wendy Wilmes & Chris Baldo, Covelo Organics, *Mariposa Market, *Inland Ranch Organics, *Salt Hollow farm

-         Fava beans from *John Wagenet, October beans from *Golden Rule Garden

-         Walnuts from  *Chris Baldo & Baldo Farms

-         Paprika from Richard Jeske

Moroccan Chermoula Sauce

– Parsley from *The Drell Farm, Mint from *Karina McAbee

Rice Pilaf – Rice from our own Granary stores (origin- Sacramento Valley)

Olive Oil  and Spices

Tomato Platters & Seasonal Local Vegetables with Moroccan spices – Many local farmers:

*Hue de Laroque,  *Wendy Wilmes & Chris Baldo, Brookside Farm, *Annie Waters – thanks to you all!

Pickles – from Brookside Farm & Amy Rouse

Local & Seasonal Mixed Greens – *Green Uprising Farm

Lemon vinaigrette dressing – Lemon juice from *Golden Rule Garden, Local Olive Oil – *Chris Baldo

Dessert Table:

Fruit Gallettes & Crisps  – *Sweetie Pies (fruit from Green Uprising Farm)  Thanks Allegra Foley!

Local Pears by *Green Uprising Farm with *Mendocino Queen Honey

Whipped Cream from *Clover Dairy

Pan Forte’ by Mary Senerchia

Beverages:

Local Filtered Water

Herbal Tea (Mint & Lemon Balm) – *Sara O’Brian, *Annie Waters

with Honey from Karina McAbee’s hives

Pressed Apple Cider from *Golden Rule Garden

PS to all – LOCAL NOTES:

~Locally grown grain is still in limited supply- Golden Rule is experimenting with teff, quinoa, amaranth.  Doug Mosel is growing some wheat, rye, oats & barley, but the supply is still limited.

~There are few beans or other vegan proteins easily available from local sources except Fava beans.  This limits the ability of our dinner to supply vegan food and we apologize for that.

~ Locally madeVinegar cannot be found!  It is easy to make & should be available from local apples or grapes – seems like a business opportunity for someone…

~Salt is also available from the ocean 24 miles away, but is expensive in the quantities now available.  We have used just a pinch of  local salt, with our apologies since it seems unaffordable for this large dinner.

~Spices have been traded from the Far East for thousands of years & we hope will always be available and will probably always be an “imported item” on our LOCAL menu ingredients.

What Spices can we grow here that will give us our beloved cinnamon & spice & all things nice?

updated 9-24-2010 – Ann Waters, Producer coordinator

Front Page News

NOW & THEN FILM SERIES PRESENTS!

In Willits – Thursday, November 19th, 7pm

Little Lake Grange Film Night

What Would Jesus Buy?

- 2007PG 91 minutes

Taking on rampant American consumerism with a focus on Christmas shopping, the Rev. Billy (Bill Talen) and the Church of Stop Shopping go on a cross-country journey to save citizens from the Shopocalypse in this hilarious documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock.

Reminding shoppers of the true meaning of Christmas, Reverend Billy exorcises demons at Wal-Mart’s headquarters and preaches his message at the Mall of America and Disneyland.

Cast: Bill Talen

Director: Rob VanAlkemade

PLUS – a  Heartening Film of the true nature of Gifting that makes a difference in people’s lives…

Heifer International “12 Stones” documentary

See this sample – a Five-minute short of 22-minute Heifer International “12 Stones” documentary produced by Sandy Smolen.

“12 Stones” illustrates the heart of Heifer’s work: Passing on the Gift, through the transformation of a community of women in Nepal, from helplessness to hope

Join us for movies, discussion, fair trade chocolate & Organic Popcorn.  Suggested Donation $5

AVATAR – A MYTH FOR OUR FUTURE

AVATAR!

Hollywood has brought us yet another opportunity to tune into a possible future…

I loved it deeply, have seen it twice so far (3D was great!) and will see it again, I know.

Reading so many descriptions, reviews, got to give my own…

For me it was at least an offering to the vision of a beautiful future for our own planet – a vision of  community, shared food, simple life in nature.  Ok – that is merely the surface – I am trying to speak of DEEP ECOLOGY, the right relationships that can come with reverence for other Beings – be they trees or animals.  All of this was implied in the world of the Tribal Forest People.

I want to speak right now of our relationship to the meat we eat.  As a cook & nutritionist I have been through many phases of vegetarianism since 1970 when I discovered brown rice & macrobiotics.  I now eat a small amount of local or organic poultry & wild fish, as well as using broth from bones.  Although I do not kill my own meat, I have done so.  years ago I was a communal caretaker of goats, chickens, rabbits, ducks.  We fished and certainly i gutted, descaled & cleaned lots of fish as a child with my grandfather. I believe that we each should be able & willing to do that – to clean the organs, cleave meat from bone, access the animal’s raw biology & flesh.  If we cannot bear to think about that – how can we justify being carnivores – eating such an offering from the life blood & sacrifice of this Being?   And, so – I ask us all to question our inner truth, what do we eat, how do we offer it into our very metabolism, as it becomes part of our own flesh, do we give thanks, do we revere the life that has been lost to save our own?  It is the true spirituality of food, and an opportunity to again – say Grace, give thanks and make the food into love & a blessing to our bodies.  (And I am talking about plants here too, by the way)

So, let’s think about the hunting scenes…using bow & arrow, knife, a more equal challenge between the prey & the hunter…

In the words of Lauren Raine – www.threadsofspiderwoman.blogspot.com

…They even had enough anthropological understanding to include the hunter who prays over the body of the fallen prey, offering thanks for the gift of its meat – this is, indeed, what native peoples universally did in both myth and in practice, recognizing and honoring that the animal has sacrificed its life to sustain the life of the tribe. Most Americans do not equate the hamburger they buy with an animal that has lost its life, let alone do they comprehend a spiritual system that respects the exchange of life force and energy that has taken place. What a wonderful concept to introduce to the young people who watched the movie…

To finish – I invite each of you readers to see this movie as a deeper symbol of more than the politics between conqueror & conquered (European Invaders vs Indians, etc) and other wonderful analogies that can be made about resource extraction, but rather – as a mythology for the spirituality of nature & our place in it, the very Gaian Philosophy of Lovelock & Deep Ecologists such as Joanna Macy!  I will even take it one step further – in the scenes at the Tree of Life - we witnessed a ritual of healing involving the synthesis of an entire community acting & tuning as one – the possibilities of which break open our own limited beliefs in “Self & Other”.  Tune to each other, become true community, unite in compassion & shared life, healing.  Enjoy, live in joy, fly!  I think I got it.

Localization, Relocalization, Futurization

What is localization? Let’s look at the leading localization movement description – by the localization group of WELL in the small town of Willits, CA

 

The WELL Vision:  An enduring local economy that provides health and security for our community.

The Mission of WELL To foster the creation of a local, sustainable economy in the Willits area by partnering with other organizations to watch for opportunities and vulnerabilities, incubate and coordinate projects and facilitate dialogue, action and education within our community.

 

Why Are We Doing This? Willits is a great place to live for many reasons. We have a strong sense of community, creative and dedicated residents, and surrounding natural beauty.

Economic, demographic and environmental trends concern many in our community. Rising fuel costs, climate change, and the importation of most of our essential goods leaves our community vulnerable.

Localizing our economy means that we will produce more of our essentials here in Willits. This behavior models the great American values of self and community reliance. Creating local food and energy systems will tap the vast wealth of knowledge and ingenuity in our area. Benefits include:

Diverse local employment Clean, efficient and more responsible options for food, energy and transportation Securing the future for our families and children Having a stronger connection to each other and the natural beauty around us

Through economic localization we strive to protect and enhance existing qualities of our community and meet the challenges of the future.

 

At foremost issue is the coming decline of petroleum resources and the impact it will have on all of us. The goal is to find creative methods to sustain and empower the local community while moving away from global (imported) resources — in essence, to ‘localize’ our community. WELL is made up of a network of citizens and community organizations that meet regularly to create a common vision, foster education, plan work, and carry out projects.

The simple idea is to remember what we all used to do – before the boats, trains & trucks rolled into town bringing all the supplies of modern life to be purchased by the “consumer”.

What did we do? We used to MAKE things and had local food supply, grain and flour mills, manufacturers & suppliers of conveniences and dry goods…you remember olde time “Main Street” with its shops – each one a distinct and different entity – the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker…not just a children’s poem, but a real community. We even picked our own fruit

from trees that our grandparents planted! I love those stories of possible past and possible future. An emblem of hope in TURBULENT TIMES.

Other groups are helping pioneer the change to a “Post carbon” future with more local evolution of services and goods. The time too begin is now – with oil at over $120/barrel, we can re-apply efforts to discovering old ways, using new low-technologies for energy and transport, and mentoring local “green transition” skills.

Join the pioneers of future and start a localization movement in your town – it can be as simple as plantiing a community garden, publically showing films like “Escape from Suburbia”, promoting energy farms.

Energy Farms are a response to the dominant agricultural model of the so-called “Green Revolution” that turns soil to dust, chemicals to food, and food to fuel.

Using science, proven tools, and evolving methodologies the Energy Farm Initiative seeks to demonstrate systems of agriculture that can sustain both farms and communities in the face of climate change and peak oil. This program weaves threads of the Relocalization vision into a fabric of local currency, local food and biofuel systems, revitalization of local industry, and community cooperation.

 

Ok, so – lots to do!!! In fact, I gotta run – plants to water, bee swarms to manage…see you later,

-anniegreenjeans