Locavore

This is Part 2 of my interview with Jackson Landers, the...

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:16:17 -0400

This is Part 2 of my interview with Jackson Landers, the locavore hunter, heard on my local food show, “Locavore”, on CFRU-FM on Thursdays at 10:30 am EST.

Hunting for food in your backyard - Part 1

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:34:11 -0400

Jackson Landers is a locavore hunter, author, teacher, guide, and local food and hunting activist. He lives in Virginia and teaches people how to hunt for food such as deer. He has also hunted invasive species including geese, feral pigs, starlings, iguanas, and nutria. He does work with the Slow Food movement and often travels to New York City to discuss how to prepare various game and invasive species, discussing such topics as how to break up a venison hind quarter. Many of the people who take his courses are people who have never lived outside of an urban environment or handled a gun. In his class for beginners on how to hunt deer for food he teaches ecology, ballistics, evolutionary history of deer, and anatomy. He has also written a book about hunting and preparing deer. He is currently writing a book on hunting and eating alien animal species. More information about what Jackson Landers does can be found on his blog called The Locavore Hunter at http://rule-303.blogspot.com/.

Jackson Landers interview audio This is the audio of my...

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:24:00 -0400

Jackson Landers interview audio

This is the audio of my interview with Jackson Landers, the Locavore Hunter, broadcast on my radio show, Locavore, heard on CFRU 93.3 FM.

Paskapoo Poplar

Sun, 29 May 2011 15:31:00 -0400

Paskapoo Poplar:

This is from the website of Bow Point Nursery which shows the beauty of Paskapoo poplar as a landscape tree for the prairies.

Ken Wright, owner and grower at Bow Point Nursery in Calgary,...

Sun, 29 May 2011 11:31:04 -0400

Ken Wright, owner and grower at Bow Point Nursery in Calgary, Alberta, discusses how to grow lodgepole pine successfully in the prairies.

Ken Wright, owner and grower at Bow Point Nursery in Calgary,...

Sun, 29 May 2011 11:24:41 -0400

Ken Wright, owner and grower at Bow Point Nursery in Calgary, Alberta, discusses why Paskapoo Poplar is a great tree for the prairie landscape.

Patrick Conner describes how the daily operations of The Big...

Thu, 05 May 2011 11:00:00 -0400

Patrick Conner describes how the daily operations of The Big Carrot, Toronto’s original organic health food store.

The Big Carrot

Thu, 05 May 2011 10:30:00 -0400

The Big Carrot is a worker owned organic co-op which provides one-stop shopping for organic food needs of Toronto-area residents. In the last six years there has been a huge increase in demand from customers for locally-grown food products. The co-op has grown from dealing with only individual farmers to dealing with wholesalers to meet the demands. They also work with artisanal food processors to sell their products. Processors selling to the co-op have sourced local flour in order to bake products. It is in a constant race with their customers. The Big Carrot features products from over 50 certified organic Ontario farms.

Patrick Conner started as a part-time cashier at The Big Carrot, got onto an ownership track, and now is a member-owner. The co-op has 65 owners at present. Mr. Conner discusses the co-op’s operation below.

Their customers range from back-to-the landers, old school hippies, to new Canadians searching for hard-to-find foods. It is very important to their customers that foods are sourced locally. While the Big Carrot has increased in size they are still “bursting at the seams.” There is a huge demand among their clientele for the carrot to replicate themselves. The co-op was Canada’s first retailer to be certified with Canada’s national organic standard which includes their produce, bulk dept., juice bar, kitchen, deli, and bakery.

The co-op examines each new innovation they make carefully to determine potential benefits and risks in their adoption including hot water heating from Bullfrog power to a waste audit they recently had performed. The Big Carrot has a standards committee which looks at the listing of new products and address any issues that arise if it has an ingredient that forces them to study it more closely, for example, any product that has potentially been genetically modified.

Mr. Conner believes that the integrity of the organic movement is its greatest asset. In supporting local agriculture, Mr. Conner cites the Organic Council of Ontario, which is attempting to reverse trend of raw product being shipped to U.S., processed, and then shipped back to Canada with the U.S. company charging a premium for this. Some products can be 100% Canadian, but consumers have to be comfortable with the fact that some products have to be sourced from outside the country. Listen to the rest of my interview with Patrick Conner of the Big Carrot in my next post.

Homestead Organics produces mixed grains for livestock feed for...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:30:00 -0400

Homestead Organics produces mixed grains for livestock feed for the poultry, dairy industry for Ontario, western Quebec, and New York state. They clean and process soybeans for soybean processors

Also supply cleaned soybean seed to soya milk industry which is used in the Natura and Soya nice organic brand of soy milk. Homestead also supplies feed to growers that supply Burnbrae with their organic eggs. Homestead Organics is located in Berwick, Ontario, ½ hour between Cornwall and Ottawa. Their website is www.homesteadorganics.ca. To hear my interview with Tom, click play.

Shaun Becker from Filsinger’s Organic Apples describes...

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0400

Shaun Becker from Filsinger’s Organic Apples describes their daily operation.

An organic apple a day keeps the doctor away

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400

I interviewed Shaun Becker from Filsinger’s organic apples.

Welcome to Locavore!

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 19:56:00 -0400

My name is Walter and this is my blog dedicated to food. Local food. Organic food. Real food. The stories of people who grow it, process it, sell it, buy it, consume it. We will host information on where to get great food while giving you a real-life picture of how it got to your plate or shopping bag. We are interested in linking up with people who are interested in promoting local and sustainable food initiatives, with the ecological, economic, and social aspects of food production being discussed. Links to fantastic food producers, great recipes, and nutritional info that you can use - all these are part of this site.

Listen to the radio show “Locavore!” heard Thursdays at 10:30 am EST on CFRU 93.3 FM.

Wolfgang Pfenning from Pfenning’s organic produce explains...

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0400

Wolfgang Pfenning from Pfenning’s organic produce explains the daily operations at Pfenning’s.

Pfenning's Organic

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400

This is my interview with Wolfgang Pfenning from Pfenning’s Organic.

This is an interview with Peter McClusky from the Aberfoyle...

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0400

This is an interview with Peter McClusky from the Aberfoyle Farmer’s Market.

Aberfoyle Farmer's Market

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400

The Aberfoyle Farmer’s Market is opening on May 28, 2011.

Mike Smith, head farmer at Ignatius Farm CSA, discusses the...

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:00:00 -0400

Mike Smith, head farmer at Ignatius Farm CSA, discusses the upcoming growing season.

CSA Farm grows for another season

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400

Mike Smith, the head farmer at Ignatius Farm CSA, discusses the upcoming growing season.

This is my interview with David Trott, an urban chicken farmer...

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:00:00 -0400

This is my interview with David Trott, an urban chicken farmer located in Guelph, Ontario.

Urban Chicken Farming comes to Guelph

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:30:00 -0400

This is my interview with David Trott, urban Chicken Farmer from urbanchicken.ca.