Introducing – The Mercado
A solution to fragile foliage
Even during my hiatus from editing Not Quite Hippie, I still received quite a few press releases about things in the world of green and environmental progress. Big businesses who switched over to low-output light bulbs, notices about bike parades and various local food movements.
Only $25 at Quirky.com
Yesterday’s notice: The Mercado.
The latest invention from Quirky – the website geared around social invention – is a bag designed specifically for those who frequent the farmers’ markets. And with the market season upon us (at least those of us in climates that usually see snow several months out of the year) how could I not give some attention to this item that gives a “well DUH!” answer to a problem most of us have?
Instead of letting yet another haul of fresh food get crushed, Darya Pino (of Summer Tomatoes) worked with the Quirky community to develop the Mercado.
The concept is simple – a reuseable bag that doesn’t mangle your vegetable haul together. The nylon construction keeps your veggies fresh, the pockets keep them from crushing each other.
The Mercado went from a simple idea to a very real thing that you can acquire at the Quirky website.
What are some of the solutions you used to transport your own Farmers’ Market hauls?
read moreShowcase: Denver Urban Homesteading
Today’s post comes from Spencer Essey, a food activist blogger and publisher of Food State.
As the frost of winter begins to thaw and our minds turn to the outdoors and our lawns and gardens, so do our palates. For those of us out there who aren’t huge fans of root vegetables, the winter can be a time of getting away from the local and healthy mantras we might subscribe to in the spring and summer months when fresh local produce abounds all around us.
And of course the best place to get all these fresh wonderful foods is from the farmers themselves, or at least their representatives at your local farmers market.
While it may still be too early for most farmers markets to get up and running in your communities, you don’t have to let your palate or your plate suffer any longer, because at least here in Denver, there is one farmers market that doesn’t let those pesky seasons determine their hours; Denver Urban Homesteading.
This dog is upset he couldn't go inside and get some raw cheese.
Located on the corner of 2ndand Santa Fe, Denver Urban Homesteading resides in an old commercial-industrial building which enables them to stay open year round, catering to the farmers and ranchers who also continue to produce year round.
From producers like Leffler Family Farms and their bounty of radishes, turnips and carrots, to Windsor Dairy who raise Swiss and Heritage Breed cattle which are capable of weathering Colorado’s harsh winters, Denver Urban Homesteading is here for us lucky Denver residents year round. I’d be remiss, however, to not mention the regulars like Rob from Mini Moos and Kids Too who brings in the freshest goat milk you can possibly buy on weekends, or the folks at Callicrate Beef bringing in some of the finest cuts around.
Anthony Zimora of Leffler Family Farms (he married in) located in Eaton, CO shows off his extensive offerings of turnips, radishes and carrots.
More than just a market however, DUH also offers classes on just about anything you could ever want to live a greener more sustainable lifestyle, with offerings that range from the basics of a vegetable garden to raising angora goats for fiber, the good folks at DUH have built a truly extensive network of people who want to share their knowledge with you. Check out there events calender to see if something piques your interest and see some photos of some adorable angora goats.
Want to raise chickens for eggs? Goats for milk? How about bees for your own allergy alleviating honey? Then check out what they have to offer and give them a visit. Anyone interested in living a more sustainable and self-sufficient lifestyle is sure to find something that interests them.
These are rainbow radishes from Laffler Family Farms ... delicious!
The market is open Thursday and Friday from 3 to 7 pm and Saturday from 9am to 3pm but for the true experience go on Saturday when all the farmers, chicken swappers, goat keepers and apiarists are there in person just chomping at the bit to share and enjoy with you.
Live well, eat well, and take a trip to Denver Urban Homesteading and be thankful we don’t have to buy our vegetables like this. It might just awaken something in you that you never knew was there.
read moreGMO Primer Part 1 – What is GMO?
GE gives desireable and marketable traits to common veggies.
It’s easy to get buried in the wash of information available on GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). The stuff is everywhere; Dave provided an excellent piece in November of last year in “The GMO Seed – the root of the evil” in which he explores the consequences of distributing a genetically modified seed that kills everything that eats it, is genetically altered to be resistant to pesticides (manufactured and sold by the same company BTW), and the cross contamination of non-genetically engineered crops through natural pollination. While the information is out there, it’s hard to figure out where to begin. Today we’ll start with the basics and go from there.
What exactly is a GMO or Genetic Engineering? Genetic modification is the technologies and practices used to alter the genetic makeup of an organism. This is generally done by introducing DNA from another species (plant, animal, bacteria, etc.) into the organism.
This is not the same as cross breeding two similar animals, or selectively breeding plants by the most desired traits, but a completely artificial alteration of the genome. Other terms commonly used are “Genetically Engineered” or “Transgenic”. The idea is to incorporate a quality not normally expressed in the recipient. One example is inserting genes from cold water fish like a flounder into strawberries to make them less susceptible to cold.
Genetic engineering is also used on mammals. GE salmon are given an additional growth hormone that causes them to grow faster. Similar practices are used extensively in medical and biotechnology research, altering bacteria to create specific microorganisms such as growth hormones or proteins, insulin being an example. The first successful attempts at genetic engineering go back to the early 1970s, and have been increasing on massive scales ever since. We will likely see more and more research in the areas of food and medicine, but if that’s a good thing or not is questionable.
Dig up your own research, evaluate objectively, and make your own decisions.
Next time, we will start looking at arguments for and against genetic engineering in the agricultural system.
[div class="note" class2="typo-icon"] David Martin is a passionate advocate for sustainable living and holistic nutritional health. He has spent a good part of the last 10 years improving his diet, reducing his carbon footprint, and learning as much as he can about restoring the balance of humans and nature. By day he works the system to beat it, by night he plans his ideal self-sufficient future. When not slaving away in the office, you can find him tending to plants, camping under the stars, or practicing his latest discovery: Tai Chi.
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Local or Organic? What’s the better choice?
@CreativeCommons
Over the past year Not Quite Hippie has grown to a point where people I meet consider me something of an influence (or, blegh, an authority?) on food, gardening, and other related green-junk. That’s all fine, I guess I can handle it. My initial goal was to present something that would just get people talking about living a more sustainable lifestyle with the idea that they would start to live one.
The one question everyone wants to know the answer to?
“Is it better to eat food that is local? Or food that is organic?”
Fair question. I’m kind of sad that it even has to be a question and that all to often the two definitions are exclusive of one another. Yes, there are local food growers who are also organic, but they seem to be few and far between and they are almost never in your grocery store.
So do you buy food that is better for the earth (local) or food that is better for you (organic)?
I’d say, when push comes to shove, go for organic. Yes, even if it comes from Chile or China.
Studies have shown that only about 11% of the carbon produced from food production is associated with transportation. The rest of that, especially in conventional agriculture, goes into everything from the farm machinery to the nitrogen based pesticides and fertilizers.
However, a New York Times story that ran last week showed how the demand for farms that produce organically is straining the water supply of several Mexican provinces. Organic is no longer sustainable and a whole new set of problems occurs.
Food should be sustainable. I’m not sure how much clearer that needs to be. Creating a sustainable food system comes from a combination of food being produced locally, organically, and food that is consumed responsibly and disposed of with great care.
In a perfect world, this means we only eat what we can grow within our own climate. No more bananas for Colorado! Or coffee.
And already the perfect world starts to fall apart.
There will always be a demand for food. But the business acumen that has been applied to agriculture is not: “We need to grow enough” but instead “We need to grow more.” This “more growth” idea has been fueled forever by irresponsible subsidies and farmer debt.
The need to increase doesn’t seem to come from the demand, as something to the tune of 30% of all food in America is wasted and around 12% of all our garbage is food-related waste. This food, which is rarely recovered properly,is wasted energy as the energy burned to create and transport those calories are essentially lost in the waste stream.
Rather quickly, the idea of sustainable food falls apart.
What is one to do?
Obviously, you can grow some of your own food. And compost what is leftover. Just poke around this blog, I’m sure you’ll find a dozen bits to help. Or straight up contact me on how you can get started.
Every few years they pass a Farm Bill in Washington D.C. It’s usually allocates agriculture funding for the next few years. Inform yourself about it and encourage your representatives to do something about moving towards a sustainable
At the very least, eat smarter. Think about where you’re food is coming from, what had to happen for it to get to you, and what’s going to happen with the leftovers. Take the time to do the research on what you’re eating – it is, after all, going inside of you.
A quick guide to eating within season
Taking action against the Secret Farm Bill (which shouldn’t be a secret at all)
Why are we still surprised that politics comes in secret? Yes, we are a “Democratic Republic”, which means we elect representatives to handle most of the decision making, to do most of the research, and to craft bills and laws that will benefit the people they represent. When something can’t be decided on in Washington, it goes to the people in the form of elections.As a result, a lot of what goes on happens in relative secrecy. Bills end up being encyclopedic in length and no one actually wants to review them. Not surprisingly, what the bill is supposed to do and what it actually does end up being two different things.
The farm bill is one of those things that happens under the radar because 1) most citizens wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it and 2) it has become super-greasy with the hundreds of lobbyist, corporate, and special interest paws that are all over it.
The Farm Bill is, for the most part, pretty important and well-intended. It does, after all, determine what crops and practices will be subsidized. However, in recent decades the bill has become more and more of a machine to allow for the greatest profits in BigAgriculture and the huge food corporations. The Farm Bill is more or less the reason corn and soy is in absolutely everything.
Food authority and writer Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both great reads) speaks his mind in this short video.
What can you do? Well, take a few moments to educate yourself. This does, after all, concern your food – the very thing you eat every day. Why not do it right?
