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Chickens will soon be eating local wheat at Eatwell Farm in California

By Marc

When Nigel Walker of Eatwell Farm near Dixon, California, discovered that much of his certified organic chicken feed was coming from China, he realized that he wouldn't feel right marketing his eggs as "local," so he started to look for a new supply of feed. It turns out that he didn't need to look far — just over to the next farm.

A neighboring wheat farmer was looking to transition to organic practices — with the goal of eventually gaining certification — and so the farmer and Walker started a collaboration to grow wheat for the Eatwell chickens.

Eating Locally in Madison, Wisconsin.

Locavores in the Madison, Wisconsin area now have a new tool to find locally grown food.  Built by a group of geography students for the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the local food map is interactive and allows a user to search by Co-op, Market, CSA, Farm, Restaurant, or Community Garden and to further segment by Meat/Poultry, Produce and Dairy.  It's well worth checking out!

Summer Without Tomatoes? No Way

by Expat Chef

We had a lovely surprise in our CSA bag, amidst all the latest news of Salmonella outbreaks: ripe, round, red tomatoes. Ones we can eat without worry. As hundreds get sick from this latest food safety issue, I am pondering things like food supply chain — over a tomato salad.

First, Slate.com has a good overview of how tomatoes can end up contaminated with what has traditionally been a meat-related bacteria. Note that the photos shows green tomatoes. These are not green zebra heirlooms. Tomatoes are picked green, then ripened with gas enroute to the store so that they survive shipping. They look good. They have no flavor. And, now, they can make you sick in some instances.

WebMD also has an interesting visual guide to the latest outbreak, what is Salmonella, and "tomato safety."

Perhaps the most interesting story on the subject, however, was on NPR today. The interview by Melissa Block with David Acheson who heads up the Food and Drug Administration food safety division. In the interivew, Acheson explains how difficult it is to track the source of the outbreak with the current food supply chain and distribution process. He mentions in the interview that the FDA may never be able to find the actual source.

Well, I think, if I get sick from a tomato, it's a whole different situation. I've just got one phone call to make directly to the farmer who grew it. And that's nice to know.

For consumers who are looking to farmers markets for tomatoes this season, be sure to only buy from a reputable farmer who actually grows the produce he is selling. Many vendors at farmers markets, if not regulated, sell wholesale produce that is the same stuff that ends up on the grocery store shelves, inclusive of the risks and convoluted path to arrive there.