| August 2006 | A mirador is "A turret, window or balcony that commands an extensive view" |
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to School Supplies New Items New Books New DVDs Sale Items Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma Lael on KBOO Murals Get Their Day in Court Class: Marketing Your Food Product Muddy Boot Festival Salmon Nation Party Gift Registry The bounty of summer is evident at the Farmers' Markets and grocery stores. We are so fortunate to live in a part of the world where so much good food can be grown close by. And more and more people all over are getting interested in eating local food and supporting local farmers (and their own economies) – not just in Oregon, but all over the world. To take full advantage of that bounty, we have tools and information for canning, freezing, drying, fermenting and other methods of food preservation. This area of our business has really taken off in the last two or three years. It is really encouraging to us and gives us hope in a time of great darkness. If you are new to food preserving don't be afraid to ask us questions. If we don't know the answer we will do our best to find it for you. Also, see our last newsletter for Summer Items that might still come in handy this summer. Back to School Supplies
Review by Lynn & Steve We first read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma via a library copy and then jumped at the chance to order it for the store when it became available to us. It is still in hardcover, but like other folks we've spoken with say, having a "hard" copy of it might be good because you'll want to loan this book out. It is a compelling read, and here is why: First off, Michael Pollan's writing draws one in with a balance of education, information and personal anecdotes that makes it like sailing through a great novel. His subtitle for the book is "A Natural History of Four Meals" and what this boils down to is examining a fast food meal, a Whole Foods Market meal, a sustainable agriculture meal and a completely foraged meal. In the fast food meal, the reader comes face to face with factory farming and the role of corn in the industrialized food supply. It is fascinating and sad to learn that growing corn is so subsidized that it is actually grown at a loss and hurts the US family farms, but allows large corporations such as Archers Daniel Midland to get a cheap input that they can then process (and sell at huge profits) and then shows up in many of our foods (most especially if you are eating the Standard American Diet) and contributes to our obesity problems. Corn also gets fed to cattle (that by nature eat grass), causing them misery and disease . It also gets sent to Mexico and is so cheap that the Mexican farmers, who have been growing corn for a really long time (so long that the Mexicans call themselves the "corn people"), are forced to leave their farms and look elsewhere for work (one reason for our immigration problem). The story of how the animals are raised on the factory farms is despicable and he doesn't let "organic" cattle raising completely off the hook. The Whole Foods meal section discusses the rise of industrial organic agriculture and the dilemmas it raises – whether it's better to have organic food trucked in from 1500 miles away or locally grown food that may not be organic, for example. The sustainable agriculture meal focuses on small growers who are trying to grow food in a manner that honors natural processes and reduces or eliminates fossil fuel inputs. This is the kind of agriculture that many of us try to support by buying from local farmers who are doing their best to farm sustainably. The fourth meal was food that Pollan hunted, gathered or grew himself. He is honest about is hunting experiences, both positive and negative, and his qualms about it. In fact, one great characteristic Pollan has is is unremitting honesty about his feelings towards food and agriculture and his real effort to figure how how he should eat to satisfy both his appetite and his ethics. Pollan is not trying to tell us what to eat but rather that we really should know more about the ethical, environmental and cultural impacts of how we eat and make our choices from there. Lael on KBOO Lael will be on KBOO's Food Show Monday, August 21 (the show starts at 10:00 AM but we don't know at what time the preserving segment will be) to talk about food preserving. Lael is our resident canning expert; she was quoted recently in a Oregonian Food Day article about canning and did a class at last year's Spring ReDirect Green Fair. Of course she also answers a lot of questions for our customers. Tune in for an interesting show. KBOO is at 90.7 FM. Murals Get Their Day in Court If you agree that public murals enhance our neighborhoods, now is the time to take a stand! After the 1998 Clear Channel Outdoor v City of Portland lawsuit, murals effectively became "illegal" in Portland. Join Portland Mural Defense in advocating for murals and the important role they play in building community and beautifying our public spaces. This fall, the Regional Arts and Culture Council's Public Art Murals Program (devised as a compromise in 2004 to allow murals), will face a serious constitutional challenge. The 1998 lawsuit was re-opened in August 2005 by Clear Channel Outdoor. At the company's request a trail was scheduled for October, 2006 in Multnomah County Court. This time, however, artists and art advocates will be in the courtroom to personally defend art and murals. We encourage you to attend! Portland Mural Defense is planning educational events and public outreach to build and strengthen support for murals in Portland. Get involved! To learn more, please contact: Portland Mural Defense PO Box 33098 Portland, OR 97292 portlandmuraldefense@yahoo.com Class: Marketing Your Food Product If you or someone you know is making or wants to make a food product to sell, a class offered by the Food Innovation Center of OSU and the Small Business Development Center will help you figure out how to do that. But you need to hurry – the classes start August 23. Go to http://foodbizstartup.com to find out more. Muddy Boot Festival The Muddy Boot Festival is an organic celebration of nature and of the spirit. Robert Kennedy, Jr will be speaking Friday, September 9. Also at this organic festival you can: • Learn about how you can live more sustainably • Taste local and healthy organic foods • Enjoy local music and good company • Sample organic beer • Catch the organic spirit! The Muddy Boot Organic Festival will be held outdoors September 8-10 at the St. Philp Neri church at 2408 S.E. 16th Avenue (near 18th & Division) in Portland, Oregon. Tickets for the keynote speaker on Friday are $45, suggested donation is $5 for entrance on Saturday and Sunday. Mirador will have a booth there on Saturday. For more information about Muddy Boot and the festival, see their website. Salmon Nation Block Party Ecotrust is hosting a Salmon Nation Block party September 9 from 10 AM – 6 PM at the Ecotrust Building, 721 NW 9th Avenue. Events include speaker Paul Hawken (an inspiration for Mirador), March Fourth Marching Band, Gamelan X gamelan and chant, street performers, food, Rogue Salmon Nation ale on tap, and a lot more. See the Salmon Nation site for more details. Gift Registry Our gift registry has really taken off this year. If you have friends that are registered here you can see their registry here. If you would like to register at Mirador for an event, here are some instructions on how to do it. This is a great way to get what you want and support a local business that shares your values. |
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