Looking for Something Different for Dinner?

(Another of my features originally published in the Times Leader. Check out the two Wheeling businesses, and Wegmans carries Kalettes. No word yet on local bug flour.)

Are you an adventurous eater? Tired of standard beef, potatoes and chicken? If the thought of a Moroccan market sets your heart a-flutter, there may be some foods stateside to satisfy that pioneer spirit.

On the tame end of the spectrum are Kalettes (pronounced kay-lets.) This new vegetable is a combination of kale and Brussels sprouts. Scientists in the UK spent 15 years developing this hybrid through natural plant breeding rather than genetic modification, hence they are non-GMO. Trader Joe’s, Wegmans and Whole Foods began carrying them last year.

To some people, crossing these two vegetables is the ultimate “awful” given kale’s sometimes sharp, bitter taste and the sprouts’ somewhat sour flavor, but researchers have tried to bring out the best qualities of each and say the result is more appealing. It looks like a tiny dark green and purple cabbage with ruffled leaves and has a taste that is both sweet and nutty.

They are actually from the same plant family, Brassica oleracea, which also includes broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Of course a one cup serving is packed with nutrition: 15 percent of the RDA in iron; 27 percent of the RDA in Vitamin C; 80 percent of the RDA in Vitamin K; 90 percent of the RDA in iron; 5 grams of fiber. Blanching and roasting seem to be the most popular ways to prepare them, and there are recipes online.

Carnivores may want to give beefalo a try. Just as it sounds, the meat is a cross between cattle and American bison. This is not a new concept or breed. Settlers in North America noticed the results of accidental crossings in the mid-1700s, and in the 1800s ranchers in the United States and Canada began efforts to intentionally crossbreed to develop hardier cattle for harsh winters. For the next 80 years breeders tried to find the optimum combination of bloodlines and determined that 3/8 buffalo to 5/8 cow (usually a beef breed) is that ratio.

Nutritionally, beefalo is lower in fat and cholesterol and has 5 percent more protein than regular beef. Beefalo are grass fed without grain supplements, so they are more self-sufficient eaters and less expensive for ranchers.  The meat is lean and with a slightly sweeter flavor than beef.

Matt Welsch, chef/owner of The Vagabond Kitchen (on Facebook) in Wheeling, has beefalo on his menu regularly saying he “fell in love” when a West Virginia producer had him try it. 

“I have a longstanding relationship with the Utterbacks at Brookside Farm in Aurora,” Welsch explains. “When Mark told me about his lamb and beefalo production, I was excited to try it, and when I did I fell in love. It makes it even better that I know his animals are treated well and they are a good hardworking family.”

While a local grocery store carries regular buffalo meat, Welsch adds that he doesn’t know of another producer in this area, though Pittsburgh stores may carry beefalo. Meanwhile those interested could contact Brookside and stop in for a sandwich or steak at Vagabond Kitchen.

“Beefalo is one of many things we’re proud and excited to bring to the area. We invite folks to come in and give it a try,” notes Welsch. “They’re often pleasantly surprised.”

This is a chicken-fried beefalo steak burger, one of the menu items at The Vagabond Kitchen. Chef Matt Welsch says customers love his beefalo entrees. 

 People may also be surprised at the benefits of hemp seeds and hemp seed oil. To start, Cannabis sativa grown for hemp is not the same as the Cannabis sativa grown for medical or recreational marijuana. By law, the hemp plant can have no more than .03 percent of the psychoactive substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC,) and any seeds used for commerce must be sterilized so they cannot produce plants. The hemp plant is fibrous and has been used to make fabric, rope and medicine for over a thousand years in Asia, and it is also legal in the European Union.

Hemp is a nutritional star. One tablespoon of hemp seed oil per day contains the full recommended daily allowance for all essential fatty acids (EFAs,) is a source for gamma linoleic acid (GLA,) as well as being desirably low in saturated fatty acids. Hemp seeds contain 35 to 50 percent high quality, easily-digestible protein.

Benefits to the body include improved cardiovascular health thanks to a 3:1 ratio of (mercury free) omega 6 to omega 3 acids. This also helps beneficial gut flora and aids the autoimmune system. Hemp is high in Vitamin E and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that can alleviate skin dryness and slow the aging process. It has been shown to aid in weight loss and regulation of blood sugar.

Douglas Flight, owner of Winkin’ Sun Hemp (www.winkinsunhemp.com,) notes that people using flax seed oil or chia seed, borage oil or evening primrose oil may want to check out hemp seed oil because it has higher omega fatty acids as well as the GLA. Since the seeds contain so much protein, those wanting to reduce animal protein in their diets may also find hemp seeds to their liking.

He says that seeds taste similar to walnuts, sunflower seeds or pine nuts. Eating them in the shell is crunchier and provides more fiber. Seeds come in a variety of flavors, even chocolate covered.   

  Is there something buyers should look for on the label when comparing hemp seeds and oil?

 “If you're picky about ‘organic certification’ then look for the certified logo or emblem. Typically, most hemp seed IS organically grown as it needs no pesticides to grow healthy by nature,” Flight points out. “You'll want to make sure packaging has a nutrition guide outlining the serving size and nutrition content as well as a freshness date stamp or sticker. Seeds and oil have about a 6 to 8 month shelf life, and it should be stored in the refrigerator to extend freshness after opening. We also recommend Canadian seed over other imported brands in regards to taste and nutrient content.”

 Finally, who knew that bugs in flour could be a good thing? Other cultures have eaten crawly, crunchy critters for centuries, and now climate changes and trying to feed people in drought-affected countries have necessitated alternative methods of providing nutrient rich foods. As it happens, insects are an excellent source of protein, are gluten free and contain minerals like magnesium and iron.

There are now farms that raise crickets for human consumption.  Proponents of insects as food say that growing them uses less food and water and is more environmentally friendly, that a cricket becomes an adult in six weeks producing fast harvest turnovers, and a female can lay 15,000 eggs in her lifetime. Once harvested, they are sterilized and roasted, then milled into a powder that has about half as much protein as beef—unless you’re comparing it to dried beef. Crickets have 22 percent more protein than dried beef.  

 In 2013 a group of Canadian MBA students were awarded $1 million to develop insect –based programs that would produce flour for undernourished populations. They were beginning  their “Power Flour” program in Mexico with grasshoppers and had researched opportunities in Africa and Thailand. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization supports this, noting that popular insects like grasshoppers, crickets and mealworms contain not only protein, but fat and amino acids lysine and tryptophan that are not plentiful in cereal grains like soy.

Companies like Bitty Foods in San Francisco are introducing baked goods made with insect flour to customers, and other bakeries in New York and Los Angeles may follow. There is even some discussion in the pizza industry about cricket flour crusts, though taking it to Western culture mainstream is still only speculation for the future. Maybe just starting by adding anchovies isn’t such a bad idea. 

Food Security, Part 2

This feature installment appeared in the Times Leader on Sunday, April 19, and is the continuation of last week's "Food Security" feature on this site. 

Family farming has been on the decline in the past few decades, but the smaller, local farms would be vital during an emergency that could raise food costs or stop production, such as drought and earthquakes in major agricultural areas of the United States to South America. Fresh, locally grown produce is available at the Ohio Valley Farmers Market twice a week from June until October.   

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations identifies several global challenges to food security which could have local impact. Water deficits and shortages are appearing throughout the world and affecting grain production in some of the most populated countries, including China and India. Closer to home, California has instituted a statewide mandatory 25 percent water use reduction to conserve what the drought-ridden state has available.  Climate change and the extreme weather events (like droughts and floods) associated with it is another challenge on the FAO list.

Though originally intended to optimize food production for growing world populations, industrial agriculture has instead become a threat to food security, according to the FAO. Large scale mono-cropping, or planting one type of crop on the same land over consecutive years, depletes the soil of valuable nutrients and increases the risk of pests and diseases. As a result, more pesticides and fertilizers are necessary.

Livestock raised on feedlots instead of pasture land are fed cheap chemically-enhanced grain-based diets instead of grass and hay. They may be given growth hormones to get them to market sooner and antibiotics to stave off diseases inherent in poor quality living conditions and breeding practices. The FAO’s concerns relate to industrial agriculture’s creating hazards for the environment, water supplies and even the food itself. 

Kacey Orr of Grow Ohio Valley presents information on trends in farming at a recent conference on local food security.  

Ohio Valley experts believe that stepping up production here would be a start in addressing the food security issue. Susan West, owner of Lone Oak Farms and founder of the Ohio Valley Farmers Market (www.ovfarmersmarket.org,) thinks self-reliance, especially in the event of an emergency, begins with more farmers.

“There are not enough producers to sustain this region should we have to depend on ourselves. I believe the majority of the people in the Ohio Valley are uneducated about the need to secure our food supply. Years of access to food shipped from around the world and never dealing with a food being 'out of season' have contributed to people's lack of understanding about where their food is produced,” West explains. “At one time, the Ohio Valley had many small produce farmers and orchardists. Those numbers have fallen off in recent years as older farmers retire or pass away. I have seen a recent but small resurgence in interest in growing food.”

Holmes agrees with West.

“On the community resiliency side we need more farmers. The average US farmer is nearly 60 years old, and there are not enough new people entering the business,” he says. “Fortunately the type of small-scale, diversified farming necessary for true security is becoming profitable again for the first time in decades, so there is opportunity for those who are interested. We also need people to grow more food--in their backyard, the terrace of their apartment, in community gardens--everywhere.”

And that is where Kacey Orr and Grow Ohio Valley can be of assistance. The nonprofit is tackling two challenges related to food security, in part with assistance from a national “Local Foods, Local Places” grant awarded in December.

“Food security starts at a local level when we learn to eat locally and seasonally. Then we don’t depend as strongly on other geographic locations or decrease fossil fuel use by transporting food long distances,” notes Orr. “[Currently] there are not enough local food producers. There are some dairies and livestock farms in the area, but there are fewer farms focused on growing local produce. In addition, people also need to be educated on the importance of healthy food options. Health is a major concern. Grow Ohio Valley puts a great emphasis on education and teaching children and adults about farming, gardening, and healthy food.” 

Grow Ohio Valley has constructed a greenhouse in downtown Wheeling that will help supply flowers and produce for their distribution programs. Kacey Orr notes that they mixed all of the potting soil themselves by purchasing the organic ingredients, saving hundreds of dollars. The greenhouse was designed using the angles of the sun to maximize light and heat and utilizes found materials to minimize costs and environmental impact. 

Grow OV already has an urban farm, a mobile farm market that visits area sites with fresh produce, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program, children’s programs with Head Start and churches and a new downtown greenhouse growing seedlings and tomatoes now.

With the new grant, Peralta explained at the conference, Grow OV has secured two tracts of land on Wheeling’s Vineyard Hill over the Ft. Henry Tunnel. They will be planting apple and berry orchards on one tract and use the other as a demonstration and interactive farm for educating students. Peralta says there will be crops and animals at the farm to illustrate a sustainable and interconnected system.

Sister Kathleen Durkin, CSJ, says the Sisters of St. Joseph organized and hosted the recent conference to raise awareness and start an open discussion about food security.

“For me, the first priority would be assuring that food is a right and not a privilege and that nutritious food is essential for healthy brain development from early childhood on,” Sr. Kathleen continues. “Food security means that children and families can count on having enough food to meet even their basic needs. To be food insecure doesn't necessarily mean not having any food, but not enough food.  Beyond that, to be food-secure means also having access to healthy foods which provide the necessary nutrients for health and well-being.”

She shared a story of stopping a woman walking along the road alone. The woman was on her way to the grocery store--five miles away. Durkin drove her to the store and realized how lack of transportation affects people on the outskirts of town and their access to food.

“I believe we need to be awakened to this issue for many reasons, the first being that of our common, shared humanity...people who lack food security are our brothers and sisters. We are one!” she adds. “The health and well-being of generations to come depends on access to affordable, nutritious food and education about how to benefit from it.  The development and potential of children are influenced by a nutritious diet.”

Numerous studies show that good nutrition makes a noticeable difference in a child’s ability to concentrate, behave, learn and perform better in school. Some eligible schools are now offering breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner for students at no or reduced charge. For some students, their only food comes from the school.

“For individuals and families the root causes of food insecurity stem from poverty, and children are hit particularly hard,” Holmes notes. “Hungry kids have a hard time learning. They do poorly in school, and the cycle of poverty continues. Programs like free hot breakfast, after school meals, and the [weekend] backpack program help, but in the long term we need to strengthen our local economy.”  

Part of Grow Ohio Valley’s mission is education for children and adults. These are “seed balls” ready for one of the children’s interactive programs that demonstrates gardening.  

While the food situation is far from secure, more customers are visiting the Ohio Valley Farmers Market  and are taking an interest in county extension Master Gardener programs such as the St. Clairsville community garden, as well as classes at Oglebay’s Schrader Environmental Education Center (www.oionline.com.) Grow OV has enlisted new farmer/suppliers for this season’s produce and will be expanding their educational opportunities.

“I think it is important to know that the issue of food security and access to healthy, local food is a movement that is happening all over the country,” Sr. Kathleen concludes. “A parallel benefit is that it’s promoting relationships and building community among individuals and groups of people who we might not otherwise have the privilege of knowing. The issue of food security and nutritious, local food is a context for lifting up and celebrating the gifts, creativity and generosity of local community members.”

Food Security, Part 1

The following is a feature article that appeared in the Sunday, April 12 Times Leader. As with most global issues, it is complicated and huge. I wrote the piece as an introduction to promote thought and attention toward something that affects everyone at some level.  

Almost 90 million acres of corn is grown in the United States, 40 percent of the world’s total. The majority of the crop is used for livestock feed (43 percent) and ethanol (30 percent,) and only 3 percent is grown for human consumption.

If there were an earthquake or other disaster that rendered the area inaccessible, how would Ohio Valley residents get food? What if fires, drought or an earthquake destroyed crops in California, Mexico or Chile where much of the Ohio Valley’s—and United States’—food is grown? Even though there is food available now, how many people know families or elderly neighbors who are not able to provide enough food for their households, or cannot provide nutritious food on a regular basis?

Food security is a growing concern throughout the world. Its definition, per the 1996 World Food Summit and echoed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA,) is “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”  USDA research indicates that, in 2012, 49 million people did not have households with food security, including 8.3 million children.

Experts have decided on four pillars with which to measure food security: availability, access, utilization and stability. Availability pertains to food supply and its production, distribution and exchange or trading systems. It begins with the soil—or pasture or feedlot—and ends at the cash register. It encompasses what farmers plant or raise, how food is fertilized and watered, how it is harvested and transported to be distributed or sold, and how it is packaged and marketed to consumers.

Research has found that poverty more than scarcity affects access to food. Is food affordable? How much food can a family afford? Is the food they can afford nutritious? Direct access to food means that a household can grow its own (vegetables, fruits, or livestock) in order to sustain a healthy diet. Economic access means that food is grown somewhere else and purchased by the consumer. 

Ken Peralta, director of Grow Ohio Valley, explains the importance of developing more agriculture programs and training the next generation in how to grow food. The Sisters of St. Joseph recently hosted the conference on food security, “Growing Food, Health and Hope,” at which Peralta spoke.

Utilization of food is basically the dietary habits of the households and whether the food eaten is safe to eat (regarding freshness and proper handling) and whether it meets recommended requirements for nutrients and dietary restrictions. Families below the poverty level may only purchase “cheap” processed food because of its low cost, but much of it is high in sugar and low in nutrients, creating long-term health issues.

Stability means that the household is able to have access to available, nourishing food over an extended time. It may be affected by weather, growing seasons or natural disasters in the overall picture or by individual issues like unemployment or illness in the household.    

How is the food security issue relevant to the Ohio Valley? First, this region ranks consistently above the national average in diagnoses and deaths from diabetes and cardiopulmonary disease. Low incomes and high poverty rates have helped create the habit of purchasing inexpensive, highly processed food in boxes and packages. Processing and chemicals diminish the nutritional value of the food, and cheap additives like high fructose corn syrup only enhance the flavor and add calories. The body, however, isn’t receiving the nutrients it requires and stays “hungry” while chemicals that it can’t use in the food pass through the digestive system or spark undesirable reactions (like inflammation response.)

Sugar in particular causes the body to crave more food; people respond by eating more processed food, increasing calories and perpetuating the unhealthy cycle. This has become so prevalent that, at the recent “Growing Food, Health and Hope” conference sponsored by the St. Joseph Retreat Center in Wheeling, Kate Long of Try This West Virginia stated that a study of 11 year-olds in West Virginia determined one out of four (25 percent) has high blood pressure. 

Buying locally grown berries not only supports a local family, but is healthier food. Produce harvested that day or the day before still has most of its valuable nutrients. Produce picked in South America a week before arriving in stores has most likely lost much of its nutritional value, and the money spent goes to large corporations.

As far as food supply and availability, as mentioned, much of the Ohio Valley’s food comes from at least 1,000 miles away. This gives local consumers less control over their food supply, and the longer the time between harvest and table, the fewer nutrients the food retains. By the time tomatoes or blueberries arrive in stores from the west coast or South America, as much as 50 percent or more of the nutritional value is gone. Relying on long-distance production also uses more fossil fuels for transportation. Oil price fluctuations often affect food prices for this reason. By purchasing from local growers who have harvested within the past 48 hours, consumers can nearly double the food’s value to the body. Buying local also keeps money in the area, while purchasing from large retailers takes money from this community.

Ken Peralta, director of Grow Ohio Valley (www.growov.org) who also spoke at the conference, noted that Walmart controls one out of six food dollars in the United States. While the Ohio Valley is somewhat rural-- especially Belmont, Harrison, Monroe and Guernsey Counties—there are fewer than 11 acres being farmed for vegetables in Ohio County, and fruit orchards have moved out of the area. Peralta and Brandon Holmes, policy analyst for West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, conducted a study that found that increasing consumption of locally produced food by 10 percent would create nearly 400 jobs in production, processing, distribution and other industries in the Ohio Valley.

“It’s great that we can get relatively fresh produce in the middle of February here in the Ohio Valley, and in very real and important ways that adds to our food security,” Holmes says. “But 1,500 miles becomes a lot farther away in the event of a spike in fuel prices, drought, hurricane, etc. One reason to be concerned right now is the severe drought affecting many key growing regions in California, the southwest, and Mexico. Producers there are adapting, and prices have remained stable, but it shows how vulnerable we are by having all of our eggs in just a few baskets. As production shifts in the West, local farmers can cash in on new opportunities, and make our area more resilient in the process. Having more food production capacity here in the area would boost our ability to withstand problems in the international food supply, while still enjoying food from all over the world.” 

(Part 2 will be published in the Sunday, April 19 edition of the Times Leader and posted here next week.)

The number of small dairy and beef farms is decreasing in the Ohio Valley as farmers age and their children opt for non-farming careers. Fewer farms mean  less food and food security in the event of an emergency.