food museum blog

On Thirsty Bees, and Benevolent Bee Removal

For many days in a row I delightedly had noted at least three dozen honey bees buzzing around my fountain, many of them lined up in a row drinking from it like winged mini cows along a trough. Each morning I gently refilled the fountain to the top so that the insects would not have to struggle ( and likely drown) for their water.  I told a friend of mine in the neighborhood about it and she said she had no bees at all among her apple blossoms. It was " a puzzlement," to quote the King from The King and I.

Then, the other evening, my "everything-is-of-intense-interest" terrier, Lillian J. Russell, went into a major barkathon at the front door. The low key man standing there was asking if he could "borrow some power" from us so as to extract the bees from an impromptu hive on the foreclosed  property next door.

Well!  I went next door with him, dragging my extension cord, explaining about the major bee drinking marathons going on at my place. Mountain Bee Man, Dennis Parks,  said I had been keeping them well-irrigated during  an extremely dry period in Albuquerque.  And bees en masse, who knew, can drink as much water in a day as a large, hairy dog!  Apparently, I, Foodie, was an unlikely heroine to the inadvertent bees next door.

Feeling chuffed and halo-deserving,  I watched as Dennis and his apprentice began to set up the vaccuum-cleaner-like machine that would gently remove the bees from their dog house and into their new portable home. Their efforts to save these creatures and make them comfortable genuinely touched me, given the times we live in, or rather the violent news with which we are bombarded each day.  Credit, too, goes to the realty company or the bank people or someone who chose to hire a professional bee crew to relocate rather than eliminate this unlikely colony.  ( Bee Man expected the bees would be moved to either the east mountains of Albuquerque or to Corrales, a rural Spanish land grant community along the Rio Grande.)

My physical reward, not that I needed one, came a few hours later in the form of a plastic bear filled with honey from the Bee Man's honey farm. Readers, it was sublime.

( Since I did not take a pic of the bees drinking,  I am grateful to http://www.tonitoni.org/images/050422_beesdrinking.jpg for the shot above.)

SSF Mainiacs Visit Fabled Indian Farm

The Summit Springs Farm-ers, ( you may recall their ongoing effort to erect a large greenhouse on their spread,) recently have returned to Maine after an incredible 5-week trip to India, and their spokesperson on all things ag, John Sayles, sent us this report:

" One of the most rewarding experiences of the trip was a visit to Navdanya, an organic research farm and seed bank about 10 kilometers outside the city of Dehra Dun in the Indian state of Uttranchal. The 20-acre site was founded in the 1980’s by Dr. Vandana Shiva, a scientist, environmentalist, and activist, “to support local farmers, rescue and conserve crops and plants that are being pushed to extinction and make them available through direct marketing.” The Navdanya website also notes that the farm is “actively involved in the rejuvenation of indigenous knowledge and culture. [Navdanya] has created awareness on the hazards of genetic engineering,  ( and)defended people's knowledge from biopiracy and food rights in the face of globalization.”

After looking through the small bookstore and administrative center, we walked around this unique farm with a guide. In small plots, different combinations of crops are grown together to see how they do. One plot may have carrots and onions together; another may have carrots, onions, and coriander (cilantro). Crop density is also studied. One plot of wheat has been intensively planted, and another less so, and another even less, but perhaps also interspersed with another grain or even another variety of wheat. Dozens and dozens of these plots cover the farm’s open spaces. Nearby is an orchard, and in the opposite direction is the seed bank.

We took a short walk down a tree-lined lane with bright green parrots flitting about overhead, to reach the seed bank, a modest rectangular building with an adobe appearance. We all took off our shoes and filed in. Over 300 varieties of rice are kept here in metal boxes, plus about 70 varieties of wheat, numerous other grains, and vegetable and fruit seeds. It is probably the most extensive private seed bank of its kind in all of India. The building itself, though, was much smaller than expected, quite modest, and decorated with lively paintings of flora and fauna on the walls. Outside, the spirit of experimentation and variety continued with the compost area. We saw four or five different composting methods being tried, everything from pit composting to compost bins with removable sides to elaborate composting trenches designed to make the worms happy.

  Our friend and traveling companion, Nicole, is an amateur herbalist and was thrilled to spend some time with the farm’s herbal guru. He showed us around his modest plots of medicinal and cooking herbs and also allowed us a peek into his rooms where he dries and prepares the herbs. All of this was followed by an excellent buffet-style lunch in the farm’s mess hall. We took a brief look around the farm’s library and bookstore and purchased a few books, including an Indian cookbook, before thanking our new friends and hitting the road for the drive back to our ashram in Laksman Jhula. The Navdanya experience was moving, inspiring, and thought-provoking. I would love to return for a longer stay and perhaps do some volunteer work there as a way to help this noble effort. "

For more information on the remarkable visionary Dr. Vandana Shiva, a physicist trained at the University of Western Ontario, click here.

(Pix by shaggy, baggy Farmer John who can be seen just above on the right.)

Food News From All Over

Tired of all the U.S. presidential candidates already? Then consider Mr. Breakfast for President.  It's a campaign launched by the wacky entrepreneur behind Mr. Breakfast.com, Eddy Chavey, a fellow who has seized on his matutinal subject and won't let it go. ( Apparently he does good works, too.)

Tired of abused cows providing your milk? ( Tired of all those commercials that start with a dumb question? )Anyway--fellow Blogger Kathy F, based on the cusp of London over thar, sent us this link to something called Cows Unite!  It's an entertaining, time-consuming, clever website but I am still fuzzy as to what they are or what they do--but then, I am sure you fervent websters can find out.

  And finally,  this all sushi all-the-time-website, Sushi 4 Me, tumbled down our rabbit hole recently--it's sassy, and full of info, including glimpses of sushi culture, funny videos, the whole California roll. Go here.

Bravo Delhaize! The Greening of the Supermarket--Part One

Back in the olden days, when we lived in Brussels, no supermarkets ( there were no mega grocery stores either)  offered plastic bags, or bags of any kind, for that matter.  Then slowly they crept in and you could get them, but you had to pay for them. After that, the bags were available for free.

Now, according to a piece from expatica.com, supermarket chain Delhaize has announced it will no longer hand over free plastic bags but will sell you a reusable biodegradable bag for Euros 0.05. Most such bags are made of corn starch, sometimes potato, too--with sugarcane, cassava and soy also now being tapped to replace plastic, especially in Brazil.

Earlier this year:  "On 1 January 2007 Delhaize also made a complete changeover to renewable energy from hydro-power plants on the Rhône. Delhaize says this move has made it the largest consumer of green energy in Belgium."

Delhaize Group owns supermarkets elsewhere in the world, including the Food Lion stores in North Carolina. ( It operates 1500 stores in 16 eastern US states.) The symbol of the company has always been the lion, starting back in 1867 when Jules Delhaize began the company.

As the company history relates:  "Jules Delhaize, professor of commercial sciences, dreamt of revolutionizing food retailing in Belgium, creating a branch network, charging set prices and cutting down on the succession of intermediaries by opening a warehouse. He was helped in this by his brother Edouard and his brother-in-law Jules Vieujant, also teachers. For their new company, they chose the lion, the symbol of strength, which is the emblem of Belgium, together with its motto: unity is strength."

Another historic supermarket chain--past its glory--the Great Atlantic and Pacific Company or A&P, founded in 1859 in New York by two tea and spice merchants--is selling reusable heavy duty plastic bags at its stores.

We know other retailers are contributing to this trend--one hitch--the consumer must remember to bring the bags into the store...and then back out to the car, or bike, or stroller again for the next time.

Pass the Percholate, Please...

Gotta love this headline in the WaPost:

Perchlorate Levels in Food Safe for Most, FDA Says

Huh?  Here's some background into this delightful inadvertent food additive from the FDA's own website:

"Most of the perchlorate manufactured in the United States is used as the primary ingredient of solid rocket propellant. Perchlorate is also used in pyrotechnics, such as fireworks, gun powder, explosives, and highway flares. In addition, perchlorate is used in a wide variety of industrial processes, including tanning and leather finishing, rubber manufacture, paint and enamel production, and additives in lubricating oils.

In recent years there has been increasing interest in perchlorate levels in soil, ground water, drinking water, and irrigation water around the country and what health effects these levels may have. Human exposure to sufficient doses of perchlorate can interfere with iodide uptake into the thyroid gland, disrupting its functions and potentially leading to a reduction in the production of thyroid hormones."

Today the FDA assures us that:

"Levels of a chemical used to make rocket fuel found in commonly consumed food are not high enough to pose a health risk to most people, including children and pregnant women, U.S. regulators said."

Barging into Veggies

As I launch my own green revolution here in the high desert--growing veggies in large pots and bins, in order to conserve water--I read with great delight about the Science Barge  moored at Pier 84 in New York City's Hudson River. It's growing veggies with recirculated water and no pesticides and is intended as a model, along with green rooftop growing, for sustainable urban agriculture.

Designed by the New York Sun Works Center for Sustainable Engineering, the Science Barge operates this way, according to a report on CNET news:

"Powered by a combination of solar energy from photovoltaic panels, five wind turbines and a generator that runs on biodiesel and waste vegetable oil (commonly known as "french fry grease"), the Science Barge generates zero carbon dioxide emissions.

An on-board greenhouse uses hydroponic technologies to grow vegetables using a quarter of the water that traditional agriculture would. Inside the greenhouse, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, herbs and lettuce are germinated in "rock wool" made from basaltic rock spun into cotton candy-like fibers. They're grown using recirculated water, and a mix of coconut husks and rice hulls--waste products that otherwise would be sent to landfills--in lieu of soil."

( Barge pic from http://nysunworks.org/science_barge/about_the_barge.html)

Food News From All Over

Continuing pet food saga   The alleged Chinese supplier of melamine-laced wheat gluten denies and denies any wrong-doing,  even though records indicate the company, Xuzhou Anying , was reportedly buying up as much melamine as it could find, even after the beginning of the pet food recall.  According to the NYTimes, an executive of the company has been arrested by Chinese authorities.

2007 Asian Excellence Award for Chef Nobu   Japanese-born Nobu Matsuhisa, owner of multiple restaurants in beautiful-people cities, (well, also Las Vegas, ) will receive the Pioneer award on AZN tv, May 28, honoring his influential cooking style. Apparently he specializes in a combo South American and Asian cookery, so maybe it's known as SoAs food, who knows?  Memo to pr lady: As we will be in NYC in June, perhaps lunch at Nobu's, pls? Thank you. ( At left, Nobu New York.)

Taking Note Belatedly of 2006 Sexiest Man's Food Habits/ Thoughts    Once again, an elderly People Magazine perused at the gym from a bike informs me that Celebrity Food Eater (Gorgeous )George Clooney adores tacos, and does a helluva Thanksgiving dinner spread. Also he lives in Italy for the best of reasons: "...( Italians have) learned to celebrate dinner and lunch, whereas we sort of eat as quickly as we can to get through it."

Bye, Bye, Bees--II

Alert reader Cloudzilla sent us a link to a report in The Independent that points the finger at mobile phones as possible culprits in the rapidly disappearing bee colony mystery.

According to the article, some scientists theorize that" radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world - the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon - which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe - was beginning to hit Britain as well.

The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up."

Mobile use may be sickening humans as well, as the article goes on to note. I am hopeful that dark chocolate will prove to be the antidote for that ails us telephonically as well.

The Perils of Eating, PLUS, Is the Homeland Secure?

The world's number one exporter of fruits and vegetables, China, is finally coming under scrutiny as its customers get a hint that tainted pet food ingredients could well lead to iffy items aimed at humans.

According to a piece in today's Washington Post, "China has been especially poor at meeting international standards. The United States subjects only a small fraction of its food imports to close inspection, but each month rejects about 200 shipments from China, mostly because of concerns about pesticides and antibiotics and about misleading labeling. In February, border inspectors for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration blocked peas tainted by pesticides, dried white plums containing banned additives, pepper contaminated with salmonella and frozen crawfish that were filthy.

Since 2000, some countries have temporarily banned whole categories of Chinese imports. The European Union stopped shipments of shrimp because of banned antibiotics. Japan blocked tea and spinach, citing excessive antibiotic residue. And South Korea banned fermented cabbage after finding parasites in some shipments.

As globalization of the food supply progresses, "the food gets more anonymous and gradually you get into a situation where you don't know where exactly it came from and you get more vulnerable to poor quality," said Michiel Keyzer, director of the Centre for World Food Studies at Vrije University in Amsterdam, who researches China's exports to the European Union."

Meanwhile, back home, Congress held hearings about the American spinach and salmonella- afflicted peanut butter that caused sickness and, in the case of the E.coli-tainted spinach, death.

Seldom mentioned is that fact that the numerous US regulatory agencies involved in food safety are understaffed and lacking adequate lines of communication and cooperation with one another.  They often overlap on or duplicate some tasks, while leaving other areas of concern unexplored.

But worse---get a load of this April 22 report by Elizabeth Williamson in the Washington Post.

"The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people, sickened hundreds, and forced one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history, documents and interviews show.

Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, the documents show."

Before the hearings began panel chairman Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich said this:  "This administration does not like regulation, this administration does not like spending money, and it has a hostility toward government. The poisonous result is that a program like the FDA is going to suffer at every turn of the road."

Food safety is as much a national security issue as my audacious attempt to carry on an airplane a sealed bottle of water and 4.1 ounces of face cream. Please.

The Bard's Bday, and Blight

First of all, to honor the birthday of the Bard, whomever he may be, a little foodish real estate advice from Falstaff (Henry IV, Part I) : "...you may buy land now as cheap as stinking mackerel."

And now, today's serious depressing news portion--not war, no, but pestilence.  African and Asian wheat crops are being laid low by blight.

According to The Guardian, "Scientists say millions of people face starvation following an outbreak of a deadly new strain of crop disease ...Experts believe the disease - Puccinia graminis ( or Ug99)- will spread to Egypt, Turkey, the Middle East and finally India and Pakistan, which would lead to the destruction of the principal source of food for more than a billion people. Some observers warn that the disease could reach Egypt, which is heavily dependent on wheat, before the end of this year.

'This thing has immense potential for social and human destruction,' the international agriculture expert and Nobel prize-winner Norman Borlaug warned this month.

Black stem rust has blighted wheat production in many parts of the world for thousands of years. So pernicious were its effects that the Romans prayed to a stem rust god called Robigus."

We have spent time with the amazingly energetic Norman Borlaug, 93 year-old father of the Green Revolution, and the man who created the World Food Prize. He undoubtedly sees the irony in one aspect of this blight situation. As reported in a more thorough exploration of the subject in the New Scientist, "  ...Ug99 will find agriculture has changed to its liking in the decades stem rust has been away. "Forty years ago most wheat wasn't irrigated and heavily fertilised," says Borlaug. Now, thanks to the Green Revolution he helped bring about, it is. That means modern wheat fields are a damper, denser thicket of stems, where dew can linger till noon - just right for fungus."

(As hideous as this situation is, I could not help but zero in on the Roman god thing. Apparently the Robigalia was  celebrated on April 25, rapidly upcoming. And Robigus was often celebrated along with Flora, goddess of blossoms, in a kind of horticultural/agricultural Ying Yang event.)