Summer 2005 Vol. 1, Num. II

If you would like to receive our newsletter by email, please visit our Sign Up page. If you join our newsletter list, you’ll also receive occasional updates on breaking news and important alerts about what Sustainable Table is doing. (On average, you’ll receive one email every few weeks.)

Want to see past issues? Visit our Newsletter Archives to browse through old copies of The Pasture Post.

In this Issue

News

Updates
EWG Growth
Second Case of Mad Cow Confirmed
Reserve Your Bird...
Sustainable Table Enters the Blogosphere!
EWG Goes Postal...

Special Features

Eat Well Guide Partner Feature: Chefs Collaborative

Actions

Testimonial Request

News

Updates
Hello! And welcome to The Pasture Post, the second edition of the Eat Well Guide Newsletter.

With 1,557 updated and 653 added entries since the last newsletter in March, one thing is clear, the Eat Well Guide is not static. It is under a constant state of renewal and growth. With that in mind, we're excited to announce that we've planned some significant additions to the guide, which, in the very near future, will make it much more extensive and user friendly.

EWG Growth
The Eat Well Guide is expanding! In the coming months, the guide will feature new source types and more meat options.

New Source Types:

• Inns and Hotels - Category will include any type of overnight lodging (bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, hostels, etc.) where sustainable food is made available to its guests.
• CSAs and Cooperatives - Will feature community supported agriculture (CSA) programs run by single farms and farm cooperatives. Moreover, listings of farm cooperatives or conglomerates that are not necessarily CSAs will also be provided. This new category will not be visible until early 2006, as the 2005 CSA season is already well under way.

New Meat Types:

• Elk
• Ostrich
• Separate listings for various types of poultry other than chicken and turkey, such as duck, goose, and quail.
• Exotic - for meats like yak, emu, and even water buffalo.

Updates:

• "Online Resources" will be renamed to "Online Shopping"
• The "Add a Listing" tab will be re-labeled as "Update/Add a Listing" to better accommodate those seeking to revise their entries.
• Partner groups, those organizations that have helped promote or bolster the guide in some way, will enjoy more exposure.

Second Case of Mad Cow Confirmed
On Friday, June 24th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the confirmation of the second case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in the United States. This time it wasn't a dairy cow imported from Canada. It was a beef cow born and raised in the United States, or more specifically, Texas.

When the news broke, Mike Johanns, the recently appointed Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor of Nebraska, declared, "I enjoyed beef this noon for lunch," and asserted that U.S. beef is the "safest beef in the world." But can consumers share his confidence?

The infected, 12-year-old cow, which, according to the Washington Post, spent its entire life on the same ranch and never left the property, actually tested positive for BSE seven months ago. In November 2004 the cow was given two tests - the usual test and a new experimental test. The traditional "gold standard" test came up negative, while the experimental procedure produced a positive result. As the Los Angeles Times notes, nothing progressed beyond that point until the USDA's Inspector General, Phyllis Fong, recently ordered a third test using a procedure called the "Western blot." This final test, which was conducted in England, came up positive.

The USDA denies a cover up and points to lack of communication amongst its ranks for the seven month silence. Secretary Johanns also insists that the annual testing of 338,000 cows and the implementation of the "Western blot" procedure will provide a sufficient "firewall" to protect the food supply from infected meat. Yet, if 338,000 cattle are tested out of the roughly 36.2 million that are processed annually (2000 data), less than 1% of the total number of cattle entering our food supply are actually screened for Mad Cow. And with the USDA's handling of this recent case, one must wonder whether the public has been kept in the dark about other cases of Mad Cow and whether they'll continue to be so in the future.

While authorities insist that this cow was infected before the 1997 FDA feed ban which outlawed ruminant-to-ruminant feeding, loopholes still allow the use of cattle blood, waste from the floors of chicken houses, and processed restaurant and food plate waste to be fed to cattle as protein filler. The bans also allow the remains of slaughtered cattle to be fed to hogs and poultry. Then, the remains of slaughtered pigs and chickens are allowed to be fed back to the cattle, creating a dangerous backdoor for potentially infected tissue to enter the cattle feed. Over a year ago, the USDA announced that it would close these loopholes, but has yet to do so.

Consumers can't wait for a shake up at the USDA or for a more effective testing procedure to be put in place. The best way to eat red meat and protect oneself from Mad Cow is to purchase meats directly from a sustainable farm (or a farmers' market) or by purchasing organic. The Eat Well Guide provides consumers with the resources to do both. The guide currently lists over 1,200 farms that offer direct sales of beef, an equally large number of stores that offer organic meats, and over 100 online catalogs that sell organic meat over the internet.

For more information on Mad Cow visit Sustainable Table's Mad Cow section or, for a more in-depth analysis, the GRACE Factory Farm Project's Mad Cow feature .

Reserve Your Bird...

It's about time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. That is, if you want a heritage turkey. It may seem early, but chances are your local heritage turkey farmer will run out of birds by early October or maybe even August. Most farmers process the turkeys about a week or so before Thanksgiving, yet the birds are usually reserved months ahead of time.

Heritage or heirloom foods are derived from rare and endangered breeds of livestock and crops. Animals are purebreds, a specific breed of animal that is threatened or near extinction. This method of production saves animals from extinction and preserves genetic diversity.

Common heritage turkey breeds include Bourbon Red , Standard and Broad Breasted Bronze , Royal Palm , Narragansett , Blue and Black Slate , and Jersey Buff . All of these breeds were developed and raised on small farms in the United States until about 50 years ago, when the factory farm system began producing the "Large White" - a single genetic line that produces the 270 million turkeys consumed annually in the U.S.

Due to constant genetic manipulation, "Large Whites," experience a host of health problems, such as hypertension and bone and joint problems, and quite often can't mate properly--the vast majority of holiday turkeys are products of artificial insemination. Many "Large Whites" can't even walk because their oversized breasts make them too top-heavy.

Heritage turkey breeds are smaller on average and take longer to develop. The conventional tom turkey will reach 25 to 40lbs in five months, while a heritage tom will reach 15 to 20lbs in seven months.

Brad Guidi, a heritage turkey farmer in Illinois, asserts that what the heritage birds lack in meat, however, they make up for in flavor. Since most heritage birds are raised in free-range or pastured environments, they are much healthier. "They're great foragers out on pasture," Brad states. And not only that, but they're feistier too. Brad dons a face mask and hard hat when he goes out to catch them. A healthier bird, he says, results in a fuller, more "distinctively rich" flavor "akin to darker meat." Conventional turkey meat is oftentimes infused with brine and other mixtures to lend some semblance of flavor.

The Eat Well Guide currently lists over 140 producers of heritage turkeys. If you can't find one in your area, consult Heritage Foods USA , a company that specializes in bringing hard to find heritage foods directly from small, sustainable farms to American homes for holidays and special occasions.

Detailed information on heritage breeds can be found on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy's website

EWG Goes Postal...
A sizeable mailing campaign marked the onset of summer for the Eat Well Guide. All the independent stores and restaurants in the guide, about 1,200 total, received an Eat Well Guide packet that included an Eat Well Guide window sticker, Meatrix magnets, various handouts and brochures, and the new Eat Well Guide pins.

The mailing was a great success. A large number of outlets from Maine to California requested more materials to share with their customers. Chances are the next time you visit your local health food store, you'll see the Eat Well Guide logo emblazoned on the storefront window, Moopheus magnetized to the meat freezer, or maybe even some copies of our brochure "Is Your Meat Fit to Eat?"

Please note that all materials sent to the stores and restaurants are also available to individuals. Feel free to contact us at info@eatwellguide.org to submit a request or inquire about available materials. A full list of materials can be found on the Sustainable Table tabling page.

Special Features

Eat Well Guide Partner Feature: Chefs Collaborative
Each newsletter will run a feature on an Eat Well Guide partner organization. Eat Well Guide partners are those organizations that have helped bring exposure to the guide and make it as thorough, up-to-date, and extensive as possible.

The Chefs Collaborative Advances with Time
As a partner of the Eat Well Guide and ardent promoter of sustainable cuisine, the Chefs Collaborative is proud to recognize and celebrate those in the food community who honor choices today being choices tomorrow, in addition to the many environmental and health concerns related to food choices and purchases. The Collaborative's Mission is to work "with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply. The Collaborative inspires action by translating information about our food into tools for making knowledgeable purchasing decisions. Through these actions, our members embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies."

Chefs Collaborative has been working to establish a foundation for the organization to grow and continue to reproduce itself, to use the life within its membership to reach out beyond current boundaries, establish new goals and fulfill the organization?s mission.

Our newly established Goals for the coming 3-5 years are:

• Be the Leader in Sustainable Culinary Education
• Promote Relationships between Sustainable Producers and Chefs
• Build a Vibrant & Interactive Member Base that Contributes to the Goals of the Organization
• Operate from a Base of Strength and Stability
• Increase Visibility and Credibility of the Organization and its Mission

As an organization, we are striving to create living relationships to other organizations with similar goals. We continue our work with current partners to create a cycle of information and action that educates people about better food choices. We need to make sure this network grows with new and different partners and voices - isolation and piety of purpose will only alienate us from the community we seek to serve.

Together, we stand to affect real change in the food supply - we look forward to doing this work with partners like the Eat Well Guide and GRACE.

Sustainable Table Enters the Blogosphere!

What is a blog? A blog, which is short for "weblog," is an online journal, published frequently (often daily), and structured in reverse chronological order so that the most recent information is listed first. Blogs allow readers to post comments on each journal entry so that the blog grows into an online forum for the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

Launched in March, the Sustainable Table blog is developing its own such online community centered on sustainable food. We encourage you to visit the blog , read over the daily submissions, and post comments. The blog regularly features updates and briefs on pertinent food issues, such as Mad Cow,summaries on Sustainable Table features, such as Cooler Treats and Hot Dog Meats and posts about the Eat Well Guide and The Meatrix. We're looking to highlight the Eat Well Guide more in the near future.

Drop by the blog. Read up on what Moopheus has been up to lately or how heritage foods are making a comeback. And post your comments!

Actions

Testimonial Request
One of the new additions to the Eat Well Guide will be a testimonials page. Your feedback is needed!

If you've used the guide in any way--it's helped you find sustainable food through a local farm, store, restaurant, or online catalog--or if you're actually listed on the guide, we would love to hear your thoughts. Write us at info@eatwellguide.org and let us know how you feel about the guide and what sorts of experiences you've had using it.

Here's an example from a Canadian user:
"I was extremely impressed that I was able to enter my Canadian postal code in your shopping guide area and find a source of humanely raised, antibiotic free chicken. Thanks for doing this!" - Laura