08.11.08
Deidre Currie Festival - September 13 - A Celebration of Food, Farms, Community, and one Beautiful Person
Deidre Currie Festival - Sept 13, 2008
You won’t want to miss the Deidre Currie Festival on September 13, 2008, at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Featuring Sally Fallon, Natasha Campbell-McBride, Jerry Brunetti, and Karen Lubbers. Register online! A highlight of the event will be the one-of-a-kind Gourmet Farmers Market - free and open to the public!
Dinner and a movie!
Join us this summer for
Dinner and a movie!
When:
Friday, July 25 - “What Will We Eat?” and “The Organic Opportunity” by Michigan filmmaker Chris Bedford
Friday, August 15 - “The Future of Food”
Dinner at 6pm; film at 7pm
Where: Great Oak Cohousing, 500 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor
Salad bar with fresh, local ingredients will be provided - donations appreciated; bring a side
dish or dessert to pass if possible
RSVP (info@aawapf.org) appreciated for potluck. Let me know if you can help with set-up or clean-up.
Invite your family and friends for a fun, relaxing evening with good food and friends.
About the films:
THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.
Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world’s food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.
WHAT WILL WE EAT (26 mins) by Michigan filmmaker Chris Bedford reveals the growing crisis in industrial agriculture and how a grassroots coalition of consumers and small farmers is inventing a healthy, humane, homegrown alternative. Filmed primarily in West Michigan, “What Will We Eat?” focuses on the success of the Sweetwater Local Foods Market in Muskegon – Michigan’s first farmers market to exclusively sell local produce raised according to organic standards and products from animals raised humanely. The story is told through the voices and experiences of small farmers and their customers.
THE ORGANIC OPPORTUNITY (25 mins) tells the story of the first county in the US to promote local organic agriculture as economic development. Woodbury County, Iowa, became the first county in the nation to offer tax rebates to farmers who transition to organic agriculture in 2005. A year later the county became the first in the nation to mandate purchase of locally grown organic food by county institutions. In 2007, the county began an Organic Homestead program that offered no-cost loans and free building lots to farmers who relocated to Woodbury County to farm organically. THE ORGANIC OPPORTUNITY looks at these developments in-depth, offering anyone interested in economic development and healthy local food a model for change in their communities.
02.11.08
2008 MOFFA Michigan Organic Conference
Visit the MOFFA site for registration and conference schedule information. Sessions on topics such as CSAs, milk share programs, organic farming, as well as screenings of several films.
Classes on fresh, unprocessed milk
- Saturday, Feb. 23, 9:30 to 11:30 AM: “Introduction to Fresh, Unprocessed Milk” Health benefits of fresh, unprocessed milk; how to choose your source of milk; how to care for your milk; what fresh milk means to the economy of the small farm; and a history of the problems of industrialization
- Saturday, March 22, 9:30 to 11:30 AM: “Using Fresh, Unprocessed Milk - Lactic Acid Fermentation” How to organize a culture area in your home; making whey (clabber); troubleshooting tips when clabbering; culturing kefir
- Saturday, April 19, 9:30 to 11:30 AM: “Using Fresh, Unprocessed Milk - Using all of the milk, freshest to oldest” Principles of cooking with milk and several recipes; butter-making demonstration
All classes held at the Sunward Cohousing common house, 424 Little Lake Road, Ann Arbor
$15 per class payable to “AAWAPF”; fee includes a light and delicious “Nourishing Traditions” lunch.
Mail to AAWAPF, P.O. Box 4477, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, no later than one week before the class.
Click here for downloadable PDF flyer.
Questions? Contact info@aawapf.org
01.06.08
Winter Potluck
Winter Potluck - Saturday, February 2, 2008 - noon to 2p.m. - Great Oak Cohousing common house, 500 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor. Storyteller Laura Lee Hayes will entertain with a story she is writing just for the event, and Dr. Darren Schmidt will speak on the relationship between Dr. Weston Price and Dr. Royal Lee of the Standard Process company. Please RSVP.
01.02.08
Michigan First Annual Real Food Conference
First Annual Real Food Conference presented by the Michigan Independent Consumers and Farmers Association (MIICFA) on January 26, 2008 at the Gaylord Evangelical Free Church in Gaylord, Michigan. Speakers include Sally Fallon, Gerald Fry, Dr. Richard Olree, Greg Niewendorp, Dr. Ted Beal, Ed Chambers, Randy Cook, Mark Purdey (by proxy) and others to be announced. Preregistration $10, or $20 at the door. See http://www.nicfa.org/MICHICFA/index.html for more information.
11.26.07
“Lick the Sugar Habit”
Garden Patch Farm is hosting a free lecture/discussion titled “Lick the Sugar Habit” on Wednesday, December 5th from 7pm - 8pm. Dr. Darren Schmidt will share how sugar affects us and what we can do to prevent cravings. This event will take place at The Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor, 3610 W. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 (734-302-7575). Please RSVP to Robin Leonard, Garden Patch Farm, email: robin@gardenpatchfarm.com call: 734-878-2920
11.25.07
Help protect farmers and your right to real food!
In case you haven’t heard yet about the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, or in case you have heard but haven’t acted yet, I wanted to draw everyone’s attention to this new and vitally important organization. Spearheaded by the Weston A. Price Foundation, the Fund was launched this past summer to support the consumer’s right to access local, real food and to protect small and medium-size farmers and ranchers from the increasing threats and harassment by misguided government entities. The FTCLDF will provide legal counsel to farmers and consumers and promote our interests to the government. Some of the topics they may be tackling in the future include GMOs, NAIS, and raw milk issues. The Fund was set up not a moment too soon, just in time to address several raw milk issues, including AB 1735 in California that threatens to disrupt fresh milk availability in the state that has, up until now, been a beacon of hope for fresh milk consumers everywhere.
You can support the FTCLDF by making a one-time donation or through an annual membership.
Unfortunately, our rights to choose clean local foods are being diminished and many small farms are facing legal threats. Who would have thought that we’d have to set up a legal defense fund just to obtain farm-fresh foods from farmers we know and trust? But I sure am glad that we now have the strength and wisdom of the FTCLDF. Let’s do what we can, and every little bit absolutely does help, to support this organization so that they can, in turn, help protect our basic rights.
11.14.07
Wise Traditions 2007 Conference - What a weekend!
I returned yesterday from the amazing Wise Traditions 2007 conference. It was a fantastic, whirlwind weekend featuring brilliant speakers, fascinating vendors, and, of course, delicious food. I was planning to blog the event while I was there, but the hotel charged quite a bit for wireless (Who even charges for wireless anymore?!) and I couldn’t bear to cough up the money. But I took copious notes and I’m so excited to share with you all the things I learned. I’ll write a few posts in the coming days about the conference, and I also hope we can get together soon so that those of us that went can share what we learned.
A highlight for me was, of course, seeing the brilliant and inspiring Sally Fallon. She taught some excellent “Making It Practical” classes where she shared really useful tips and menus for applying the Nourishing Traditions diet to your everyday meal planning. I’d love to be able to offer classes similar to these here at home. She also led the chapter leader meeting on Monday-more on that later. For now let me just say…WOW! WAPF chapters around the world are doing some amazing things, from raw milk political activism that is really making a difference, to writing textbooks for young adults and teaching materials for parents.
Another highlight for me was meeting Joel Salatin, the powerhouse farmer-cum-writer, activist, world-changer, and all-around really cool guy. He signed my copy of his book Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal and also gave a rousing, energetic, and very impressive closing address on Sunday evening.
And speaking of that, I’d like to get the audio recording of all the conference sessions for the chapter and then hold some get-togethers for those interested in hearing them. Check out the conference schedule here to see what you might be interested in.
Overall, I was incredibly awed and impressed by the high caliber of the speakers and the conference as a whole. It really expanded by understanding of the restorative power of nutrient-dense food. I was struck by the large number of beautiful, chubby, healthy babies present at the conference, reinforcing the imperativeness of reinstating a traditional, nutrient-dense diet in our families to improve our quality of life and ensure future healthy generations.
11.01.07
Fall WAPF Events
Here’s a recap of some of the great local WAPF events from this fall:
1. Wise Traditions Michigan Cheers to Deidre Currie and the many volunteers who put on a great conference in Livonia, September 28 and 29. The great speaker line-up included: Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, Dr. Kaayla Daniel, Dr. Janet Lang, Karen Lubbers, Mark McAfee, Pat Murphy, Dr. Richard Olree, Kathleen Rafter, Katie Singer, Jeffrey Smith, Sandra Steingraber. I really enjoyed hearing from Karen Lubbers about her experiences running a sustainable farm in West Michigan, Dr. Kaayla Daniel present research on the dangers of soy, Jeffrey Smith’s excellent keynote address on the scary news from the GMO world, and Dr. Sandra Steingraber tell about some of her fascinating research on the links between environmental toxins and cancer. I was truly inspired by the whole conference, and the Schoolcraft College chefs provided delicious snacks and lunch for us. You definitely don’t want to miss this local conference next year, and get involved and volunteer to help if you can.
2. On October 12, the Healthy Traditions Network presented a night with Jordan Rubin. Jordan gave a fun and interesting talk about how America can battle its obesity problem through, surprise, surprise, healthy eating, exercise, and healthy lifestyle changes. It was refreshing to hear him speak about how to lose weight and gain health through natural lifestyle changes and a return to healthy, natural foods. Many local farmers were there to talk about their products.
3. On October 27 the Nutritional Healing Center of Ann Arbor held an open house and fall harvest festival with local farmers, natural food grocers, and health practitioners. The Ann Arbor chapter of the WAPF had a table with information about the WAPF, brochures, relevant books, and information about the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. There was a great turnout and we met a lot of new people.
I hope you were able to participate in some of these great events. Stay tuned for more.
