Food Activist and Chef Camilla Marcus Is On a Mission to Better Our Food System

By Stacey Lindsay

Several years ago, I stopped into west~bourne, an eclectic all-day café in NYC’s Soho neighborhood, and had one of my favorite lunches to date: a simple grain bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli, and kale topped with pickled beets and savory tahini. The food was fresh and delicious. But it was the vibe of that warmly lit café that stuck with me. west~bourne exuded the breezy feel of California blended with the sound feeling that the staff truly cared about what they were doing—and serving.

That integrity stems from west~bourne’s founder and owner, Camilla Marcus. A California native and longtime food activist, Marcus has always put the why, how, and who behind what we eat first. She fights for zero waste and honors those who grow, cultivate, cook, and serve our food by giving back to various non-profits. For Marcus, creating food that is “naturally delicious and nutritious” and “better supports a sustainable food system” has always been her drive, she tells us. “It’s the only way to forge a future that we can be proud of passing to the next generation.”

Marcus closed the physical café doors to west~bourne in 2020, but its greater purpose lives on via her new provisions collection of the same name. The west~bourne line consists of sweet and savory snacks (think: organic yellow mushroom popcorn with maple and vanilla and crunchy rice squares with smoked almonds and Japanese togarashi spices), sustainably sourced avocado oil, and spices. Marcus considers everything, from ingredient sourcing to supply chain. “Our production is locally centered with our carbon footprint in mind, and so we can create products that are made up of traceable, responsibly grown ingredients, all while supporting local communities,” she says.

Still fueled by my memorable lunch in NYC, I dug a little deeper into west~bourne’s latest iteration by asking Marcus about her mission and how we all can take part. As Marcus proves, we all can take steps—big and small—toward building a more inclusive and transparent food system. “We love to eat and drink, but our food consumption accounts for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions—one of the largest contributors to climate change. Good news is, we can do something about it.”

 A Conversation with Camilla Marcus

Let’s start out with your new provisions line, west~bourne. Walk us through its zero-waste and inclusive ethos.

Our production is locally centered with our carbon footprint in mind, and so we can create products that are made up of traceable, responsibly grown ingredients, all while supporting local communities.  Our packaging is on the cutting edge of sustainability technology and is made with a variety of low-impact, recyclable, and compostable materials. We’re obsessive about our supply chain as well, which includes a proprietary network of local partners to minimize transportation impact and utilize innovative and regenerative farming practices as well.

We offset the carbon footprint of all orders by purchasing climate credits through The Garcia River Forest Project, a redwood forest preservation and management project in Northern California that protects carbon reservoirs, preserves wildlife habitats, reduces risk of wildfires, and safeguards the California watershed. Our customers can also match our donation directly during checkout as well, which gives them the opportunity to make their orders carbon negative. 

What is the greater social mission behind west~bourne?

Food has the power to forge connections and nourish a community. Our mission is to harness the supernatural power of vegetables to invite more people to the table together to transform plant based, zero waste eating that sustains our health—of our own bodies and our planet. 

What sparked your advocacy work for giving back and paying attention to people first?

My upbringing centered around being a generous and thoughtful member of our community.  Both of my parents were active through regular volunteering and leadership in philanthropic organizations throughout Los Angeles. Being an active part of my neighborhood fueled my soul.

While I was in culinary school, I was also part of the opening team at dell’anima, which had an incredible decade run in the West Village. That experience was a crash course in figuring out all the elements that come together to make a restaurant run smoothly—and it’s also where I fell in love with the hospitality industry and the people who dedicate everything to taking care of others. My first restaurant family was where I started integrating my environmentally focused practices that I grew up into how food is crafted for our neighborhoods, through creating a composting system for the restaurant and implementing an energy-efficient lighting system. This ultimately drove me to want to build west~bourne the cafe, which was the first zero waste certified restaurant in Manhattan. We partnered with The Robin Hood Foundation to forge a unique closed loop giveback system with The Door to support our team growth and local job development. When COVID started, I knew I could not be idle while our whole industry and our beloved teams were left without government support, particularly given those who work in restaurants can’t work from home.  So, I jumped into action immediately as a founding member of both ROAR and the IRC, fighting daily for relief. 

The other element of advocacy work that is very important to me is centered around childcare. Hospitality workers do not work a traditional 9-5, Monday through Friday job. Women and in particular mothers make up a significant portion of this industry, but the structural childcare system in this country categorically excludes hospitality workers, which is shocking when you consider restaurants are the second largest private employer in the country. You are faced with having to choose between your work or your family—which is no choice at all—and it's imperative that this changes. I’m very focused on driving legislative policy to address this inequity so all parents, especially those in our industry who dedicate so much to others, can have the right to earn a living, build a career, and take care of their families. 

How can we all be advocates of zero waste at home?

Everyone can take little steps to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle at home for themselves.

·   Plan your meals out ahead of your weekly shopping routine so that you are not buying in excess.

·   Use the full fruit or vegetable. The ends of carrots, radish greens, or even onion peels can be repurposed into more than we think if we get creative.

·   If space and resources permit, grow your own vegetables. Even an apartment dweller can grow herbs in a kitchen windowsill.

·   It’s equally important to address proper food storage in your home.  Small adjustments like keeping produce in organic cotton mesh bags to keep them fresh and dairy in the back of the fridge where it stays coldest or separating out the items, such as bananas or avocados, that can speed up the ripening of everything around them can have a significant compound effect. 

·   Lastly, composting goes a long way. Start with a compost system you could keep on the counter or under the sink and use it to collect scraps, eggs shells, banana peels and other biodegradable matter. If you have an outdoor space, you can compost the materials in your backyard, or you can dispose of it at a collection site or community garden. Many major cities are making composting a requirement and can provide additional resources. 

Simple, mindful steps can add up if we do it together.  We can all be part of a collective work in progress. Just put one foot in front of the other. 

Furthermore, how can we all advocate for more inclusivity in the food industry?

Each of us has the power in our daily lives as individuals or through our businesses to take some action to promote food access.  Our system has deeply rooted issues that can only be addressed over time through committed collective effort, whether that’s helping build awareness, supporting others in their equity work, or creating programs through your own ventures.

You can learn more about Camilla Marcus, her advocacy work, and west~bourne at west-bourne.com

Composting: Why Is It So Important?

In early 2022, a law passed in California requiring residents to compost their food waste. The law, which is part of the state’s aggressive plan to reduce food waste and up recycling efforts, doesn’t require residents to do their own composting at home per se. Rather the charge mandates that every person or household must separate their tossed food from their trash and then dump those scraps into the city- and state-provided composting bins outside.

The idea behind California’s progressive effort is to get a handle on the amount of perishable food waste that ends up in landfills. (Food waste is the largest category of matter that fills landfills.) When food is tossed, it breaks down and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and climate change contributor. Experts see this as both a detrimental habit and a lost opportunity: Trashed food emits gas and adds to landfill bulk when instead its nutrients could be benefitting soil and crops.

What Are the Benefits of Composting?

With its composting law, California is looking to mirror the work of the natural world: In nature, an uneaten piece of fruit decomposes on the ground before getting digested by microorganisms and fungi and then converted into nutrients that nurture new plant growth. Composting, essentially, does this in contained settings within our communities and cities—all the while reducing reliance on landfills. It is a win-win.

Two more reasons why composting is beneficial on a municipal and individual level include:

It enables sustainable and healthy agriculture. A challenge of modern-day farming is a depleting topsoil layer. Research shows that land degradation is happening at a rapid rate. Roughly 25 percent of the total land area in the world has been degraded, according to the Global Environment Facility: “When land is degraded, soil carbon and nitrous oxide are released into the atmosphere, making land degradation one of the most important contributors to climate change,” as stated on GEF’s site. Composting helps to replenish soil’s lost nutrients, aiding in restoring land fertility for agriculture. 

Composting supports cleaner agricultural practices.

The United States’s reliance on toxic and potentially carcinogenic pesticides and herbicides is grave. The Environmental Working Group states more than 70 percent of non-organic fruits and vegetables have residue of potentially harmful pesticides. This is serious given how these chemicals have been linked to negative health and environmental effects. Experts say that replacing pesticides with composted matter naturally emboldens the soil, thus reducing the need for pesticides. 

How Do You Start Composting in Your City?

Ideally, we would all compost our scraps at home. This isn’t too hefty of a feat, given how the marketplace for chic and easy composting bins has grown. We’d all live in cities and states that mirror California’s compost mandate. Thankfully, a growing number of cities, including Boston, are making composting easy by providing compost waste drop-off sites. To find out if your city offers this, look to the following:

1. Your city’s waste removal department. Reach out to our local City Hall or city government headquarters for a contact in the waste removal department. This contact will inform you if your town, city, or county offers compost removal services or drop-off locations. If they do not, push and ask why. (The pressing questions of residents often spark new city ordinances.)

2. Your local recycling or trash service. Your town or city may have resident waste removed by an outside non-municipal organization—something that is quite common. The name and contact can be found via your local government, homeowners association, or landlord.

3. Your local schools. More schools are developing unused land into working community and educational gardens to teach children about growing and cultivating produce. 

4. Your local farmers’ market. This is always a win for any sustainably-founded question. Chances are the local farmers and purveyors in your region have a composting system in place. Ask to see if they would accept your scraps or refer you to a service they use.

To learn more about composting visit the National Resources Defense Council. 

Getting Real about Food Dyes: A Conversation with Dr. Tania Dempsey

Artificial food coloring is everywhere. In our food, our pharmaceuticals, even our mouthwash. Pick up a conventional or processed product from the shelves and you’re likely to find one of the nine FDA-approved artificial dyes listed in the ingredients.

The question then is: Why—and what harm does this cause to our health? To answer this, we reached out to Dr. Tania Dempsey, a Board-Certified physician specializing in internal medicine and integrative and holistic medicine. As Dr. Dempsey illuminates, food coloring represents the even larger issue of all the additives that go into what we eat.

Let’s start with how common food dyes are today. What are the main culprits?

Food coloring is pervasive throughout the food, drug, and cosmetic industries. 

The foods that most commonly contain artificial dyes are in the processed food category.  Breakfast cereal, chips, candies, cookies and other baked goods frequently have color added to them for appearance and to make them look more inviting.  Other packaged food, such as flavored oatmeal and macaroni and cheese,  often have food dyes listed in their ingredient list. Beverages like sports drinks, fruit juice and soda can also contain food dyes.  However, the really shocking thing is the number of foods that would not necessarily be considered “junk” food that contain dyes.

Many pharmaceutical pills, over the counter or prescription strength, whether they are capsules, tablets, contain some kind of coloring in the outer coating of their pills or capsules.

Liquid preparations, particularly for pediatric use like medications for fever or colds, often contain food dye.  The coloring probably serves as a way to distinguish the pills for the company, the pharmacist and the patient.  It also looks more attractive to the patient.   Hygiene products like toothpaste and mouthwash are usually found in various colors, with various food dyes added.   

These dyes are also found in unexpected places. What are those?

Some brands of pickles contain a yellow dye to make the pickles look brighter.  Non-organic oranges can be sprayed with a dye to give them a more vibrant orange color.  As mentioned previously, dyes are found in pharmaceuticals, even in infant and children’s products, as well as cosmetics, like face washes and creams, and personal care products like toothpaste and mouthwash. 

What are the main artificial food dyes to look out for? And what hazards or health concerns are they linked to?

There are nine FDA approved artificial dyes: Blue 1, Blue 2, Citrus Red 2, Green 3, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Studies have shown that all have some associated health risks. The literature has been extensively reviewed by several organizations and researchers. A summary of the dangers of each is outlined in a document published by The Center for Science in Public Interest.  

More than half of the approved artificial food dyes have carcinogenic potential and have been linked to tumor growths and cancer. Red 3, also known as Erythrosine, was shown to increase thyroid tumors in animal studies.  Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 contain a chemical called benzidine, which is a carcinogen that can cause cancer.  Several dyes, notably Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6, have been shown to cause hypersensitivity reactions, with symptoms that can include: itching, hives, face swelling, headaches, dizziness, trouble breathing, and even anaphylaxis.  Yellow 5 has the potential for being genotoxic, which means that it can damage DNA, potentially affecting future generations of children.

Many of the dyes have been shown through various studies and meta-analyses to cause behavioral issues in children, including ADHD, which is concerning especially since children are the predominant consumers of food products that contain food coloring. *

We’ve read that some dyes are made of unappealing—and appalling—ingredients. Would you talk about this?  

Most of the artificial dyes are made from petroleum. FD&C Blue No. 2 Aluminum Lake is made from aluminum, which is a toxic metal.

There are natural dyes that contain insects, like carmine, which is a red coloring made from crushed cochineal bugs.  But many of the natural dyes come from fruits and vegetables, like beets, spinach, cabbage, or pomegranates.

What is the psychology behind using food coloring? Is it necessary?

From a health perspective, food coloring is certainly not necessary.  However, from a business and marketing perspective, food coloring sells.  Consumers, including children, are attracted to the colors, which make them excited about eating the food or taking the pill or swallowing the liquid medication, for instance. It is more enticing to eat something bright in color rather than something beige and bland. Food coloring has no purpose in any product other than aesthetics- it doesn’t make the food taste better or make the medication work better.   

What are some healthier swaps?

Generally speaking, organic food will be healthier and less likely to contain artificial food dyes. Choose organic oranges instead of non-organic, as an example.  Choose packaged products that contain fewer ingredients and avoid foods with bright colors.  Cutting back on packaged products and eating a more whole food based diet will be healthier and will avoid additional colorings or flavorings. Some products that are marketed as healthier, like fruit gummies, use natural dyes, but still carry their own set of side effects.  They may be less toxic but they can still cause hypersensitivity reactions in some people and contain excessive amounts of carbohydrates and sugars.  Staying away from foods that are colored may be difficult but there are plenty of options out there.  

Food dyes are just one example of a larger problem of copious food additives. What else is critical to know?

Beyond the issue with food dyes, we should also consider artificial or even natural flavors used in packaged food that might also be problematic.  Many products not only have color added for the visual effects but also contain flavors to make them appeal to the palate.  Artificial and natural flavorings may contain chemicals and solvents that can be toxic and can cause a variety of reactions.

Dr. Tania Dempsey, MD, ABIHM is Board-Certified in Internal Medicine and Integrative and Holistic Medicine. She received her MD degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her BS degree from Cornell University. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at New York University Medical Center. She is currently a community staff member of Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, CT.

In 2011, she founded Armonk Integrative Medicine (AIM) which has evolved into the AIM Center for Personalized Medicine, a destination practice in Purchase, NY, focusing on complex, multi-system diseases. Dr. Dempsey is an expert in Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, Dysautonomia, ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), Tick-Borne Infections and Autoimmunity. She is a member of the U.S. ME/CFS Clinician Coalition and is actively involved in their Infection Workgroup subcommittee. She is the co-author of the chapter on “Urogynecology and Hypermobility” in the 2020 book, Disjointed Navigating the Diagnosis and Management of hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorders. She has recently published several ground-breaking articles in the medical literature, including the review article “Diagnosis of mast cell activation syndrome: a global "consensus-2" published in Diagnosis in April 2020 and the newly published case series from January 2022 titled: “Post-HPV-Vaccination Mast Cell Activation Syndrome: Possible Vaccine-Triggered Escalation of Undiagnosed Pre-Existing Mast Cell Disease?” To learn more about Dr. Dempsey visit aimcentrepm.com.

* Additional reference:  Kobylewski S, Jacobson MF. Toxicology of food dyes. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2012 Jul-Sep;18(3):220-46. doi: 10.1179/1077352512Z.00000000034. PMID: 23026007.

The PrimaFoodie Guide to Amazon Alternatives

Choosing to support smaller brands and companies can be harder than expected. It requires determination and the time to research and vet alternative options. Making such a change can be particularly daunting when you’re aiming to forgo the services of one of the world’s largest online retailers: Amazon. 

Since its inception, Amazon has seen its share of employee and customer boycotts. Some people withdraw from Amazon due to reports of poor employee working conditions. Others aim to support channels that encourage and help to sustain small brands and companies. 

Whatever the case may be, a growing swell of interest to exit the services and goods of Amazon continues. If this is of interest, there are alternative shopping platforms—thankfully, an increasing number. We’ve rounded up the top six to consider when purchasing clean, local, sustainably sourced foods, self-care items, and home goods. 

Thrive Market

We’ve applauded this community-focused online marketplace many times before. With a giant curated selection of organic, non-GMO, and sustainably made foods, pantry items, and home and personal goods, Thrive offers a clean e-commerce selection that is hard to beat. The site is easy to shop, with items divided into obvious market sections and dietary and lifestyle needs. The company creates its own line of products and offers carbon-neutral shipping in recyclable packaging.

Package Free Shop

Lauren Singer, the founder of this Brooklyn-based online shop, is a true plastic-free pioneer. With the founding of Package Free Shop she and her team have helped to offer a fun, convenient way to shop for personal, pet, and home goods free of unnecessary plastics and coverings. The range, which is all from independently owned brands. (We absolutely love the kitchen section.)

World Market

This online marketplace, which also has stores across the country, continues to surprise us in the food and kitchen department. With a strong emphasis on global, fair-trade, and niche, the specialty spices, nuts, and jarred goods here are varied and hard to find. While this retailer is by no means perfect (there is still a wide range of mass-produced items, including furniture, here) it does provide a solid default option for finding smaller brands that value sustainability and ethics. 

Etsy

When Etsy sprouted out of Brooklyn in 2005, no one ever expected it to have the impact that it does today. This global online hub allows small artisans to sell their goods and has grown to be a premier go-to resource for supporting local, small and consciously made products. Etsy now has B Corporation status, which means it must consider the welfare of its employees and the environment in all that it does. With an assortment from personal care to furniture to jewelry, this company offers a giant selection. (It is also the first online shop to offset all its carbon emissions from shipping.) In this time of uncertainty, many have turned to support Ukrainian Etsy makers as an alternative means of helping those in need.

Bookshop

It’s common to look to Amazon as the default option for buying books online. Thankfully, Bookshop.org has sprouted and made both buying books and supporting small, independently owned bookstores easy.  Another certified B Corporation, Bookshop partners with small shops across the nation to offer essentially any and every book title. This company is generous with its profits, giving away more than 75 percent of its margin to the authors and shops. This is the PrimaFoodie go-to for all new cookbook releases.

Grove Collaborative

Grove Collaborative, which launched only a few years ago, aims to be completely plastic-free by 2025. An online retailer, it offers an assortment of personal, beauty, and household items, all of which have been vetted by their very strict set of standards that includes ingredient transparency (including no items that include artificial “fragrances”), no animal testing, and item that comes from ethical supply chains. 

The Main Reason for Global Hunger Is Conflict. Here Are 4 Organizations Feeding Those In Need

As a brand that explores healthy eating and changing the food system to be more equitable and inclusive, we have our eye on food-related issues all over the world. Currently, more than 800 million people globally do not have enough to eat—and this includes people here in the US. Furthermore, nearly 45 million people are at risk of living in a famine state. 

The main driver of hunger is conflict, according to the World Food Programme. As we witness crises unfolding near and far, our hearts go out to the individuals and families gravely impacted. We know a lack of food is—and likely will continue to be—an issue many face. But we can all work to change this. We applaud the efforts of various people and organizations doing all that they can to provide sustenance to those in precarious settings. Here are four notable organizations worth supporting today. 

World Central Kitchen

José Andrés first built a name for himself as one of the world’s most notable chefs. But over the last decade, he has become one of the well-known front-line fighters of hunger. In short, if there’s a crisis, Andrés and his team are there feeding those in need. He founded World Central Kitchen to offer an immediate way to feed people when disaster hits. (World Central Kitchen volunteers also work to help re-establish local food systems.) Most recently, Andrés and his World Central Kitchen team have been providing fresh meals to people in and around Ukraine, as well as to those in Madagascar impacted by the deadly cyclone in February. Donate to World Central Kitchen

Care 

While this multi-hyphenate humanitarian organization offers a plethora of aid in more than 100 countries, Care most commonly provides nourishing food to those in places of war. Currently, team organizers and volunteers are on the front lines providing meals and medical attention to those impacted by conflict in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, and numerous other nations. A one-time donation can help to feed those facing hunger and acute malnutrition. Donate to Care

Action Against Hunger

Action Against Hunger strives to fight the causes, effects, and impacts of global hunger. Organizers here work to provide people in nearly 50 countries with consistent access to food and clean water, as well as medical attention. This worldwide humanitarian organization has been in existence for close to five decades now and aims to end undernutrition by 2030. Donate to Action Against Hunger

Feeding America

With a presence in every state, Feeding America is the largest hunger-focused organization in the US. For more than four decades this team of workers and volunteers has pushed to get wholesome food to children, adults, and families facing food insecurity. They also provide education around building a stronger, healthier, more equitable food system. Donate to Feeding America

A final note: In addition to supporting global organizations, there is also ample opportunity to give back to your local city. Grassroots movements working to provide meals and mutual aid are abounding today, much in response to the pandemic. The Mutual Aid Hub is a great place to research volunteer and donation opportunities in your area. 

What We Really Need to Know about the Bees: A Conversation with Noel Patterson

It can be quite easy these days to imagine a bleak future for the bees. That is the narrative that a vast amount of the media portrays. We hear about colony collapse, dwindling hives, the increased use of toxic chemicals in beekeeping. These are real issues that have been happening—and that continue to take place. But where the light is often not cast is on the other end of the problem: What in our food systems and in the market are propelling this to happen? “It’s difficult to cover a story in all its complexity,” says beekeeper and educator Noel Patterson, “and it is simple to say that keeping [some of] these practices is bad. But I do think that the full context of the story is: Why are those practices necessitated?”

Patterson, who has a rich history as a sommelier and wine distributor and now educates and leads workshops about beekeeping at Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson, aims to widen the conversation around our food and where it comes from. His work as an independent beekeeper incites us to ask more questions. And while Patterson sticks to beekeeping practices that align with his values, he is adamant about respecting the need of beekeepers to employ certain practices—even if they don’t align with his standards—to make a living. As he says, the story is complex and requires the full context—which is why we recently asked to speak with him about honey, the bees, and the greater context of contributing toward a better food system. 

The work Patterson does today, he says, has become a way to give back—one that he never imagined. “It’s given me a purpose. I'm not just working for the paycheck. My work actually makes the world a better place, which has been the most rewarding thing for me.”

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

A Conversation with Noel Patterson

We read that professional beekeeping was never in your plan. Yet here you are, 13-some years later, with a thriving small beekeeping business. What was the catalyst?

I had a girlfriend who was an organic farmer. The local community food bank here is wonderfully progressive and they had a farm for a period of time where they were growing food to supply a series of farmers’ markets that they were starting around town. The intention of the farmers’ market was to accept WIC coupons and food stamps, and to bring the market to the people and places where good food was needed the most.

She was working on the farm, so we came together over issues regarding food and how it intersects with many other issues, including environmental and social justice issues. Years later she just gifted me with a hive. I grow a lot of my own food in my own yard. I’ve a bunch of fruit trees. I grow vegetables, raise chickens… but the one thing that I didn't have was sweet. And her logic was that [the hive] filled in an important gap in my personal food production system. Now that being said, it still completely took me by surprise.

And then beekeeping really evolved for you…

When you’re selling wine to restaurants, you're really just hanging out in restaurants, talking to people who care about food. They have a passion for it to have dedicated their livelihood to it, to feed their community. These are people who understand good foods. So it made sense for me to share what I was doing with them. I was proud of what I was doing. I knew they could tell a difference. Feeding people is a profound act, a deeply nurturing act. So I started to share my honey with people that I was doing business with.

One thing led to another, and I wound up partnering with a number of restaurants where they would pay for the startup cost of a hive. The intention was not necessarily to try to make a business out of it, but I found myself engaging with my community in a really meaningful way. It deepened my connection. Part of the sadness of modern American living today is that most of us don’t feel like we have purpose-driven lives. And this introduced some purpose into mine. And I was doing some good for my community. Some years later one of my accounts in my wine business formed an initiative examining sustainability. As part of that conversation, they wanted to talk about all the stuff we're hearing about with bees. So one thing continued to lead to another.

What are your values when it comes to managing your bees and how you treat your hives?

There is a range of practices. Let’s look at chickens: You have everything from people who keep backyard chickens where they give them names and treat them like pets. Then you have factory farms where you might have 10,000 chickens in a cage that's a couple hundred square feet. They’re just producing machines and not even treated like the living sentient beings that they are. And there’s a whole range of practices in between those two ends of the spectrum. The same exists with bees. And there are a lot of practices out there that are a common place that I do feel are not good for the bees. But I am sympathetic to the needs of beekeepers who follow those practices to create a living—because this is a market-driven phenomenon. Every beekeeper that I've ever known, regardless of where they are on the spectrum, is a good person. They're doing good work and they would be following what I feel are the best practices if the market could support the costs of production for people to make it that way. The matter is, until Americans are willing to spend $30 or $40 on a jar of honey, which is what it costs, then people are going to have to follow those practices. So the fault doesn’t lie with the beekeeper so much as it does with the market.

Ultimately, it’s an education issue. So it is very important to me to be clear that I'm not judgmental of beekeepers who have to make a living. I’m in a very fortunate position where I make my living teaching classes. I can afford to treat my bees in a way that's completely just not economical. But if I had to make honey for living, I couldn't follow these practices. It’s difficult to cover a story in all its complexity, and it is simple to say that keeping these practices are bad, but I do think that the full context of the story is: Why are those practices necessitated?

Dually noted—and appreciated that you’ve said this because this is symptomatic of other aspects of the food industry, where small farmers are up against a lot. With this said, what are some things you prioritize in your beekeeping?

If I have healthier bees, they're going to be more productive over the long term. Many beekeepers will harvest almost all the honey and feed the bees back sugar syrup. To be clear, I will do that in an emergency. I had to this past year because there's a severe drought. If I didn't the bees would have died, but I try to keep it to a minimum.

Beekeeping is a chemical-intensive industry; there are a number of parasites that can exist on bees that they have to be treated for. I use organic treatments, but there are a number of non-organic treatments that I feel long-term or are not healthy for the bees or humans who are consuming products of the hive. I have no problem with moving bees to pollinate crops, but the way that it's done can involve a number of practices that can be compromising the health of the bees—so that’s not something that I participate in. A lot of beekeepers use artificial comb that dictates the structure in the hive. I think if you allow bees to build things that they see fit, you don't impose the structure on them, that it gives them a tool to be resilient in the face of a lot of these environmental stresses.

But with all this said, this means that my yields for honey are probably about 30 percent of an average beekeepers’. But I see it like wine: You can either produce a lot of crappy wine or you can produce a small, very focused amount of much higher quality wine. And there's an inverse ratio between quantity and quality that is as true of honey as it is for wine.

Let’s take a wider look at things. Why are bees so critical to our existence? 

Bees are important very simply because they pollinate our crops. So pretty much anything that you see that has a flower on it, if a pollinator does not visit the female flower of a plant, it cannot turn into a seed pod. So virtually nothing that you see around us, except for grass, would be here without the bees because these plants couldn’t produce seeds. There are some exceptions to that, but by and large, that's true. So without pollination, we wouldn't have apples, oranges, watermelons, mangoes, or coffee.

Bees are generalists. There are many other pollinators, including hummingbirds, but hummingbirds tend to have more specialized relationships with a narrower range of plants. Whereas bees can pollinate probably multiple thousands of different species. Their impact on the environment is exponentially more impactful. So we are dependent on the service bees provide for our survival. [If} the bees go, we [humans] are done in a very short amount of time.

There are problems with bees. Scientists are saying that the bees are dying. What do we need to know?

In part of why I prefaced things earlier, I don't want to come across as judgmental of other beekeepers, but I do feel that our management practices are a big part of the issue. But the way that this story is covered often quite frankly frustrates me. There are problems with bees. There's a major issue called colony collapse disorder. It is a genuinely big issue, yet to this day they haven't identified a single smoking gun to say that it is due to a single causative factor. But they have identified about a dozen different phenomena that have some clear correlation to colony collapse. There is a category of pesticides called neonicotinoids that’s considered to be neurotoxic to bees. There's a parasitic mite called the Varroa mite, which latches onto the body of a bee and it sucks the blood out, and it can spread bloodborne disease from bee to bee. It’s a ubiquitous problem; I deal with it as much as any beekeeper.

So the media does a pretty good job covering those issues. What frustrates me is that nobody ever really talks to the beekeepers about management practices. In a culture that keeps livestock in some pretty horrible conditions, these are livestock too. For some reason we tend to categorize bees differently, but if you had 90 percent of chickens in factory farms that died off, what's the first thing you would think? Maybe we shouldn't keep 10,000 chickens in a [small] cage. You would immediately go to the farmer and management practices. So my opinion is there are many practices followed in larger scale, industrial scale beekeeping that are somewhat equivalent to the way that we keep pigs in confinement operations.

So there are environmental stresses, but the beekeeper has 100 percent control over how they manage their hives and their management to a large degree tilts the scale towards resilience in the face of these stresses or succumbing to those stresses.

In terms of lobbying for change, on a governmental level or an individual level, that could change this, where are we going?

My take on it is that it’s a system that by design is going to break at some point. We’re a reactive species. If we weren't, climate change would not be an issue—because we see it coming and we've seen it coming for a long time. But we are not proactive in the face of these problems. And it takes a long time to build enough momentum to steer the course of humanity or the government's approach to these problems. The question is, does that momentum for change acquire a certain power before the system breaks? I don't know. But it will tell you, by and large, the bees in the wild here are fine. A lot of these pressures that the bees face, let's say for example, that, you know, something happened in the wild here at Miraval, let's say 90 percent of the bees in the wild died. The 10 percent that survived would've been selected for genes that had some ability to survive exposure to these stresses. And frankly, I'm a part of this. I use organic treatments on my hives, primarily for the mites, and if there is a colony that would succumb to the mites and I apply an organic treatment to those bees, what I'm doing is I'm preserving genes that are susceptible to the mites and will in perpetuity require my intervention to keep them alive.

The wild bees here are tough, they're resilient, but they're very defensive. The wild populations of bees here are fine. This valley has such a healthy population of bees. So my take on things is that it's actually less of a species issue than it is an industrial agriculture issue. The bees are going to be around long after we're gone. But the bees that we're using to provide services that are a benefit to human beings, those are the bees that are suffering. So if you're concerned for the species, I wouldn't worry too much. If you're concerned for humans and the value that bees provide for us, I'd be deeply concerned.

What can we do on an individual level to better this issue?

We get to vote for the president once every four years. Every time we spend a dollar, we are voting for something to exist in this world. And this is simple. It is a privilege to be able to spend more money on a jar, honey—but I’ll tell you what: Privileged people have an obligation to use that privilege for good. And if you're in a position to do it, then by all means you should use those resources to support people who are creating the change in the world that we want to see happen. You can buy a jar of honey at Whole Foods and make Jeff Bezos more money, or you can go to your farmers’ market and you can spend money where it is going to make a difference.

The single biggest difference the people can make, if you want to affect the overall health of the bees in our food systems, is to buy small-scale, locally grown organic food. It doesn’t even have to be honey. Really, the concentration of these practices that are most impactful on bees really comes from the pollination services that they're used for, and those happen mostly in large-scale monocultural environments. The majority of the bees in America that are used for pollination services are in California. ​​ These hives are kept all around the country for the majority of the year, but in the spring they are trucked to the  Central Valley of CA to pollinate the almond crop. That is where you have the concentration of what, in my opinion, are the most harmful practices. If you are buying from a five-acre farm on the outskirts of town, they're pollinating a variety of crops. So if you have a five acre farm, you have multiple crops that are blooming throughout the year, more than likely you have hedges or you are in an environment where there's native habitat around and you can have a year-round population of bees. And that means you can either keep bees there without having to follow these negative practices, or maybe you even have a healthy enough population of native pollinators that you don't even need to bring bees into the picture. So if you divert resources away from models that necessitate harmful practices, then shift that to models that don't require those practices to be functional, that's the biggest impact. And that’s an easy thing to do.

Noel Patterson is the founder of Dos Manos Apiaries. You can learn more here, and also about his workshops at Miraval here.

How the Fresh Approach Mobile Farmers' Market Is Making Local Organic Foods More Accessible

There is a food crisis in America. In 2020, the USDA estimates more than 38 million people lived in households that were food insecure, meaning they lacked consistent access to nourishing foods. As the pandemic has caused jobs to be lost and precarity to become a greater reality for more and more people, lines to soup kitchens and food banks have swelled over the last year and a half, covering miles of ground as more than 60 million individuals sought the assistance of free or reduced food programs. Across the country cities are teeming with contrasts: On one corner of a neighborhood, a farmers’ market abounds with shoppers who can afford to buy fresh produce. On the other corner, a mother struggles to keep her children fed. (And many Americans with a need for food assistance do not qualify for federal programs, such as SNAP.)

These grave facts sit in juxtaposition to the harsh realities on the other end of the US food spectrum: Nearly 40 percent of our food supply gets wasted, meaning sustenance that could have nourished people instead rots in landfills. In addition to the severe issues, swaths of the US are defined as food deserts, areas where residents have very few, or sometimes no, access to affordable, fresh, nutrient-dense foods. “Disproportionately found in high-poverty areas, food deserts create extra, everyday hurdles that can make it harder for kids, families, and communities to grow healthy and strong,” states the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

As a media and educational platform that explores food and how it impacts our lives, we cannot look away from this reality. We have an obligation to fight this. To do our part. In this light, we will be amplifying the voices and endeavors of those who are on the front lines working to eradicate the existence of food insecurity and hunger. There is serious work being done to build larger awareness around the gaps in the food system, all led by steadfast workers that stem from various walks spanning various industries, from the restaurant world to the nonprofit sector. In our new series, Prima for Good, we’ll be spotlighting organizations and individuals doing just this. Up first: The Fresh Approach Mobile Farmers’ Market, which you can learn about below.

Our conversations around food need to expand. It is imperative we recognize that with every recipe created, every restaurant visited, and every farmers’ market shopped there are people lacking equity and access to the most basic human right. We hope this series helps to build stronger awareness and understanding of the fight we must fight until every person has unobstructed, life-long access to fresh food.

Prima for Good Spotlight: Fresh Approach Mobile Farmers’ Market

Thirteen years ago, the Pacific Coast Farmers’ Market Association founded Fresh Approach, a non-profit dedicated to bridging the gap between access to fresh farmers’ market offerings and low-income customers across the Bay Area of California. Over the years, Fresh Approach’s programs have evolved in various areas, including community gardening and urban agriculture; nutrition education; and fresh food access—which includes their Mobile Farmers’ Market program, an endeavor they started in 2013.

The Mobile Farmers’ Market concept is simple and positive: Take the freshest, seasonally picked produce grown by local farmers and bring it to nearby communities (mainly those that are low income and lacking access to fresh foods) at affordable prices—with a 50 percent discount offered to those who qualify for federal assistance benefits (or who identify as needing the benefit). A pint of organic locally picked strawberries, for instance, goes for $1.50.  “Every week, we’re providing really high-quality, California grown produce that’s better than anything nearby,” Fresh Approach food access program director Andy Ollove tells us.

When we spoke with Ollove, he told us about the plight of too many people across the US not having access—either financial, geographical, or both—to fresh produce. He says the concept of putting nourishment on wheels to bridge the gap is one he’s seeing have a continued promise. “In the last few years, the mobile farmers’ market model has been quite successful and replicated around the country,” he says. “We are actually working on beginning coalitions around mobile farmers market groups in California and have other partners nationally.”

But like any non-profit proves, the mobile farmers’ market project—albeit promising and positive—is not a sustainable business model and therefore requires grant-funding and activist minds to keep it running. While the federal program has been helpful for shoppers on CalFresh, California’s food stamp program, Ollove says those programs only help about 30 percent of the Fresh Approach Mobile Farmers’ Market shoppers. This requires Fresh Approach to continuously fundraise to be able to subsidize the remaining 70 percent of its customers who need food or financial assistance.  

Considering this, Ollove says shopping locally at your farmers’ market and finding those who are “facilitating the connections between the local farmers and the low-income populations'' is a critical way to support the efforts of nonprofits focused on food equity. “There are groups like us scattered in every city in the country, at least small and mid-size cities,” says Ollove. “There all in the same ecosystem of improving the food system toward access.”

To learn more about Fresh Approach and their Mobile Farmers’ Market, as well as ways to support their work, visit freshapproach.org.

Our Food System is Corrupt—and One Massive Part Is the Pet Food Industry. Here’s What We Need to Know.

By Stacey Lindsay

It was the early 2000s in San Francisco. Diana and David Vogel were living in the Mission District, and a food renaissance was happening. “Everybody wanted to know where their food came from,” says David. “They wanted to know about their farmer, the sources—and we were there and wrapped up by it all.”

At the time, Diana was working as a dog walker and in a pet store, and David was in the pet food manufacturing business. The couple, who were pet owners and submerged in what Diana calls “a dog community,” started thinking: Humans wanted to know about the how and why and who behind their food, but what about what went into their pets’ meals? These questions were fueled by their first-hand understanding of the unethical aspects of pet food manufacturing, from the heinous inclusion of meats (and parts) from euthanized animals to plastic ingredients. (One recent study found high levels of potentially toxic metals in various conventional dog foods.) 

There is also the ubiquitous issue of greenwashing: providing misleading information to trick consumers into thinking a product is more natural, sustainable, or overall healthy than it truly is. “That was frustrating for us early on,” David says of the cryptic marketing of pet food. “You see the bag, you’re going to fill it, and you know that’s just not in there.”

So Diana and David did a radical thing. They began making dog food from scratch with whole, local ingredients—organic produce, humanely raised grass-fed raw meats—right in their San Francisco apartment and selling it to their surrounding community.

That is the creation story of Diana and David’s progressive raw dog and cat food company Smallbatch, which officially launched in 2005. It started small with 15 loyal customers and now is available nationwide via direct orders and local pet shops. “The worlds of food and quality and pets just made a lot of sense,” says Diana, who constantly fields emails and calls from customers that range from comments on how switching to pure pet food helped their pet overcome ailments to inquiries about all the hidden additives and fillers in dog food.

That transparency is key to what Diana and David do, and it’s what they advocate for daily. The issue with pet food is multifaceted, and, in many ways, parallel to issues with the broken food system. Feeding pets high-quality, humanely raised meats and organic produce are critical for good health. The same goes for avoiding potentially harmful ingredients that serve little to no nutritional value and only stretch a product so the company can make a bigger profit. “Where there’s profit, there’s always compromise,” says David. “And it happens in every sector of the natural food space—and pet food has a lot of gray areas. There’s no ingredient police.”

That is why Diana and David push for people to know what goes into their pet’s food—and where it’s sourced and the values of the company creating it. Here they offer us some main takes on what to know and what to look out for when sourcing pet nutrition. 

Because knowing the story behind our animals’ food is, in many ways, activism toward a more transparent food system at-large—for both humans and animals. 

#1: Ask questions. Diana and David cannot stress this enough. Pick up the phone or send a cold email to a company and ask about their sourcing, their practices, and their values. If a company is hesitant to offer detail, take this as a red flag. “We’ve even had store owners asking for receipts,” says Diana about their sourcing questions—which they happily hand over. “So when in doubt, trust your gut.”

#2: Look for wholesome ingredients. These include real meat that is ethically and humanely raised (not factory farmed); produce that is organic (ideally), and pure whole-derived supplements.

3#: Avoid cryptic fillers and additives. There is technical oversight of the pet food industry from the FDA and AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials), but the main concentration goes toward making sure there is adequate nutrition present in the food with little to no regard for manufacturing and sourcing standards.  Also, the FDA doesn’t even “get involved until something is wrong, or until something needs a recall,” says David. So this leaves many gateways for adulteration and the inclusion of cheap, unethical sources of food and additives.  To steer clear of this, Diana and David recommend vetting ingredients and avoiding the following: factory-farmed meats, meat that has been mechanically separated (a huge problem in the raw pet food world, says David), pink slime, animal discards, synthetic preservatives, and synthetic vitamin packs.

#4: Don’t fall for the jargon. Greenwashing is real. And it’s everywhere. This goes for pet food. Human food. Personal care items. Beauty products. Everything. So just because something is deemed organic, natural, or—in the pet food world—raw, doesn’t mean it should be accepted as the absolute most humane and healthy choice. Go deeper and ask questions about the sourcing. “Marketing is sometimes genius,” says Diana.

To learn more about Smallbatch, visit smallbatchpets.com.

More resources:

The Truth about Pet Food

The Cornucopia Institute

10-Minute Bliss, an Eye-Opening Documentary, and More PrimaFavorites

We’re always looking to inspiring brands, services, projects, and changemakers that make life more beautiful. Here’s a look at what’s educating and intriguing us this fall.

(And if you love what you find here, be sure to check out all of our PrimaFavorites—and more!—in the newly opened PrimaShop.)

PrimaFavorites Autumn 2021 Edition

Green Chef

“I recently subscribed to a weekly meal-kit home delivery. As someone new to home cooking, I find the recipes easy to follow, especially because some items are already proportioned. This makes cooking less intimidating and decidedly more enjoyable for a beginner like me.” —Emila Akrapovic, Associate Marketing Project Manager

Balmuda Toaster

“A game-changer. This toaster uses steam technology to create the perfect flavor, texture, and aroma for every type of bread. The science is in the use of steam, which heats more rapidly than air and locks in the bread’s inner moisture, leaving the surface toasted to a golden brown finish with a moist inside. It has five specific modes to cater to whatever you are toasting or baking. The result is breads and pastries that smell, taste, and feel like they’re fresh out of the oven.” —Nichole Perkins, Founder and CEO

Wilding Gua Sha

“Lately, I’ve really been into Gua Sha, a traditional Chinese beauty technique. I use the Wilding Empress stone to give myself a 10-minute mini facial. It boosts circulation, helps with lymphatic drainage, and even de-puffs swollen eyes. It’s a wonderful way to slow down and sneak in some relaxation and self-care time.” —Adrienne Levy, Creative Director

‘The Next Thing You Eat’ on HULU"

“In this brilliant documentary series, David Chang, the lauded chef and revolutionary behind the Momofuku restaurant group, is looking ahead at what our experience with our food, as well as the means of how it’s made, will be like in the future. In the first episode, Chang explores how our food gets into our homes, be it by automated robots in Hollywood or via dabbawala, a cyclist-run delivery service in India. He takes a close look at automation and the role machines—both large and small—will have on our food system at large. This is merely the surface of what Chang explores and I can’t wait to see what else he reveals. I’m grateful for how both fascinated and uncomfortable I felt watching this. Chang is asking the questions about our global corporate food system that need to be asked.” —Stacey Lindsay, Editorial Director 

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

“This book is a must-read read for all CEOs, execs, and bosses—women and men alike. Kim Scott covers personal relationships, gender, politics, and much more. Her message—to care deeply and challenge directly—is so relevant.” —Nichole Perkins

P.F. Candle Co.

“I love P.F. Candle Co.’s candles, especially their Los Angeles scent which is not too overpowering. Their candles are 100 percent soy wax based, paraben-free, and phthalate-free—and I love how they also donate a portion of their profits to charities.” —Emila Akrapovic

10-Inch Dutch Oven

“This is a true one-pot pot. Right now I’m making vegetable noodle soup in it: Sear your meat, sauté your vegetables, pour the bone broth over it. Bon appétit.” —Nichole Perkins

Faherty Paloma Duster

“I use this sweater as a lounge robe around the house and with a simple jeans and t-shirt around town.  It is so warm and cozy. Although I live in LA, it has a very Aspen vibe to it, which makes me feel like I’m in the mountains.” —Adrienne Levy

Levels Blood Glucose Monitor

“The most interesting things I’m learning from this monitor are: How many different foods cause a blood sugar spike for me. (And wow, portion size really does matter!) What stress does to blood sugar. And the impact of movement, like walking after carb-heavy meals, cannot be underestimated.” —Nichole Perkins

Here’s Why a CSA Can Change Your Kitchen Game

The main appeal of a CSA box delivery is straightforward: Each week, a bounty of fruits and vegetables (and often meats and eggs) arrives at your door. They’re fresh. They’re local. They’re in season. What’s not to love?

But take a closer look, and the benefits of joining a CSA—which stands for Community Supported Agriculture—greatly exceed mere convenience. This box of goods cultivated by a local farm provides another way to support conscious small producers and ensure the freshest produce lands in your kitchen. Simply put, it can be a game-changer.  

The 5 Upsides to a CSA Box

#1: Local Farmer Support

We think of a CSA as the delivered version of the farmers’ market. The fruits and veggies that land here are local and  from smaller farmers within your region. This proximity eradicates the middle players, which means the profits go into the farmers’ pockets. Signing up for a CSA box will open up your knowledge of local farms in your area.

#2: Fresh and Seasonal Produce

A CSA’s fruits and vegetables come from local farmers, not from across state or nation lines.  This means everything in terms of freshness because the produce is plucked at peak ripeness, not weeks prior to make up for long ship and grocery store display times. It also ensures the bounty you get is always in-season.

#3: Endless Surprises and Discoveries

The seasonality of a CSA box is like an evolving game of guess-the-vegetable. Aside from the consistent produce stalwarts, like squashes in fall and stone fruits in summer, you never totally know what you’re going to get each week—which is part of the fun. This mystery is also a way to discover heirloom varieties and relatively unknown and obscure produce that rarely (if ever) makes it to the grocery store shelves. (Note: Some farmers are getting more active on Instagram, thus updating their CSA box devotees on what produce to expect that week.)

#4: Meal-Time Inspiration

We admit: The unknown aspect may be a bit daunting, particularly if you don’t know how to cook a certain vegetable. But rather than thinking that you must create an entire meal out of a rutabaga, think more in terms of additions and swaps. A few PrimaFoodie favorite for unique veggies includes: making fresh “noodles” from celeriac root to pair with your favorite sauce; lightly steaming kohlrabi and topping with ghee and sea salt to go with a main protein; and adding any starchy vegetable to a purée to top a turkey leg. (If you’re seeking more ideas, send us a note on Instagram!)

Getting Started

Every farm operates its CSA program uniquely, meaning the offerings, schedule, costs, and delivery methods will vary. To ensure you find a CSA box that fits what you’re looking for, consider the following

• Do some sleuthing—this can mean asking friends or inquiring with farmers at the farmers’ market—to catch wind of available and respected CSA box delivery options near you. LocalHarvest.org is an excellent online directory for finding nearby CSA farmers. Simply input your zip code to their directory to find local options near you.

• Inquire—just like you’re at the farmers’ market. Before opting into a CSA delivery, make sure the farm is aligned with your values. Don’t be shy about calling, emailing, or sending a message via social media to ask about their farming methods and how they treat their animals. Some farms also let you opt in for one box before committing to something regular.  

The PrimaFoodie Guide to Conscious Small Brands: Boston Edition

If you’re not from or familiar with Boston, this city will surprise you. It’s a metropolis small in geographical size (the city and surrounding region is about 90 square miles) yet abundant in ideas that shift the world. Some of the world’s greatest think tanks and universities call this New England town home, as do thousands of careerists from all fields.

But what adds such a layer of surprise to this city is its humility. Boston doesn’t brag (except when it comes to sports) but it certainly produces. Artists, athletes, entrepreneurs, blue-collar employees, white-collar employees, advocates, and activists all lend a vibrance that makes this city one of the most productive and unique. Here you’ll find a consistent swell of small-scale conscious entrepreneurs, innovative (and inclusive) food producers, organic farmers, and dedicated artisans creating goods that are clean, sustainable, and nourishing. Our round-up here highlights just a few of our PrimaFoodie-approved favorites.

Boston Honey Company

As its name suggests, Boston Honey Company produces small-batch, local honey from established apiaries across Massachusetts. The bees are allowed to openly pollinate, thus resulting in various multi-flower varieties of the sweet sap. Everything is kept raw and unfiltered, from the hive to the jar, and is available at local New England markets and farm stands.   

Copicut Farms

If you were to visit this Dartmouth, Massachusetts farm you’d be greeted by hens freely roaming the property and cows grazing in acres of emerald grass. Everything from Copicut, from the pasture-raised meats and poultry to the organic vegetables, is grown, cultivated, and processed on the farm.  The family uses no pesticides on its grasses and offers certified organic CSA boxes for local delivery.

C&C Lobsters and Fish

Maine may get all the praise when it comes to East Coast lobsters, but the waters bordering Massachusetts easily rival in quality. This small family-run fishery has been sustainably catching local lobsters since 1982. Everything is sold the day of its catch, offering local citizens and restaurateurs some of the freshest fish and lobsters in New England.

Sweetness Foods

Will Hansen, the founder of this small frozen treat company, has brought the humble sweet potato to new heights. After facing health and weight issues, he went on a quest to clean up his diet and eat only real whole foods. This included hand-creating this creamy frozen dessert made with whipped sweet potatoes, maple syrup, chia seeds, grapeseed oil, and fresh fruit, spices, and nuts.

Riddle Brook Farm

Tucked in the Blackstone River Valley, a lush region that runs through southern Massachusetts and northern Rhode Island, is Riddle Brook Farm: a quaint family-owned and run farm specializing in pasture-raised eggs, flowers, and gourmet oyster mushrooms. Their offerings, which are all humanely sourced and raised, are available at Boston farmers’ markets and local CSA boxes.

Follain

Nearly a decade ago, Tara Foley set out to change the beauty world by educating consumers about the need for more transparency when it comes to personal care products. So she opened Follain in Beacon Hill, a tiny apothecary that stocks 100 percent clean beauty, personal, and home products—and people came in droves. Today Foley has several Follain locations, as well as her own skincare line named after her boutiques.

Soluna Garden Farm

Just north of Boston, Soluna Garden Farm grows seasonal organic herbs and flowers, most of which is then incorporated into their natural vinegars, spice blends, and herbal teas. They make their specialty products at Food Evolution, a shared women-owned collective kitchen that focuses on food system education.

Langwater Farm

Langwater is another stunning family-owned farm in Massachusetts that produces organically grown (and some heirloom) vegetables and fruits that are on offer via CSA boxes and at Boston farmers’ markets. The family also puts their more than 80 acres to community use by offering seasonal public vegetable picking and a pumpkin patch every fall.

For further exploring, read our PrimaFoodie Guides to Austin and Portland.

3 Ways to Fight for a Healthier Food System

First, the dark truth: We know the food system in the U.S. is broken. Copious food is left wasted each year while millions face food insecurity. People are sick from diet-related issues. Animals in factory farms suffer abuse. There is a lack of access to fresh foods. These examples, as well as the others we’ve written about, are unsettling.

What is even more disturbing is the fact that these issues are not natural occurrences. They’re entirely human-caused. You can’t look at any of these problems without seeing the direct line to the giant corporations set on one goal: profit. As dark as this is, acknowledging this fact opens the gate for the light: We can fight back.

We don’t say this lightly. Fighting the massive corrupt food system is a gigantic battle. Policies need to change, as do allowances for systemic corruption and moneyed lobbyists. But pushing back and fighting for a world in which the way we grow, source, and distribute our food is equitable and humane is a feat we cannot avoid—and it takes every one of us.

Considering all time and financial budgets, here are three ways to start.

1.)   Shop the farmers’ market. It’s more nutritious. It’s tastier. It’s even more fun. But that’s not the only reason we always tout shopping at your farmers’ market. Getting your produce, meats, and other goods from local farmers and purveyors means you’re putting dollars in their pockets rather than in the bank accounts of Walmart and Tyson. It comes down to supply and demand. Take the power out of the giants’ hands and back into those who care.

2.)   Shop small. It’s common and disheartening: You pick up an “organic” food item thinking you’re making the healthier choice. Then you look closely and see the name ‘ConAgra’ on the label. A handful of corrupt food giants have a monopoly on the foods available in markets, including those labeled as organic, natural, and the like. It can be hard to avoid these companies all together, but sourcing some staples from small, local, independently owned brands can help to take some wind out of the giants’ sails. It’s also a way to connect with your community. (Note: If you’re looking for tips on small brands to shop in your city, send us a note and we’ll sleuth some finds for our next Conscious Small Brands Guide.)

3.)   Support the organizations doing the legwork. A varied mix of non-profits and other organizations are working to fight corporate control and food injustice. The Institute for Local Self Reliance, which focuses on empowering local business, and The Human League, which fights for humane and just food practices, are two endeavors doing noble work. Supporting their efforts can come in many forms, such as signing up for their newsletters, following them on social media, making a donation, or signing a petition.

Curious to learn more about sustainable food systems? Join Nichole and ethnoecologist Robin Currey for their conversation on food resilience, local sourcing, and more at our upcoming HEAL with PrimaFoodie Summer Health Summit. Learn more and get your tickets HERE.

Game-Changing Clean Products, Incredible Heroines, and More PrimaFavorites

Whether it’s discovering a new inclusive cookbook author or reaching for our tried-and-true clean products, we’re always looking to inspiring brands, projects, and people that make life more beautiful. Here’s a look at what we’re currently coveting, exploring, trying, and genuinely enjoying at PrimaFoodie.

PrimaFavorites: Summer 2021 Edition

School of Lunch Training Academy: “This new cooking academy is top of my list for summer fun. It is an investment, for sure, but a worthwhile one.” —Nichole Perkins, Founder and CEO

Jojoba Oil by Cliganic: “I used this oil all throughout my pregnancy and I’m still using it. I swear it’s why I didn’t get stretch marks—or at least part of the reason. Cliganic stands by using only clean, organic, natural oils and ingredients in their products, so there’s nothing added or potentially harmful.” —Adrienne Levy, Creative Director

Lorena, Light-Footed Woman Short Documentary: “Lorena is an ultra-marathon runner who lives in the mountainous Chihuahua region in Mexico. She has become well-known for winning national and international marathons—always running in her skirt and sandals. Lorena’s determination and simple love for running is what makes her story so refreshing and inspiring. This documentary is a gentle reminder that our passion and love for what we do is sometimes the best thing we can wear.“ —Emila Akrapovic, Associate Marketing Project Manager

Imperfect Foods: “The USDA estimates between 30 and 40 percent of our food supply is wasted. This is horrific considering the plight of food insecurity and the need for better access to nutritious meals. The team at Imperfect Foods is on the front lines fighting food waste. They corral rejected “ugly” produce, imperfect clean self-care items, excess inventory, and undervalued goods from local grocery stores and health food markets. You shop the site just like a regular market and it gets shipped directly to you in a recyclable box. And you generally spend around 30 percent less than you would at a regular grocer. While I aim to shop for all my produce at the farmers market, Imperfect Produce makes an excellent option for filling in pantry needs and making sure perfectly good organic treats, rice, and even nuts don't go wasted. “ —Stacey Lindsay, Editorial Director

Augustinus Bader: “I received this gem in my stocking this last year. It’s a clean version of a fancy face cream. I like ‘The Cream’ for Los Angeles and more humid climates like Tennessee and Texas, and ‘The Rich Cream’ for extremely dry climates like Utah and Colorado.” —Nichole

Mindful Goods Mesh Produce Bags: “I found that most of my plastic use came from using plastic produce bags at the grocery store, so I sought out reusable bags to bring with me to the market. These mesh bags come in three different sizes and they are easy to wash since they are made with cotton.” —Emila

Round Beach Towel: “I love round beach towels, there’s just something about the shape that makes me feel more elegant- These by Serena and Lily are especially comfy.” —Adrienne

Shhhowercap: “I’m a big fan of anything that serves both form and function. This shower cap is chic and looks good in your shower while it’s hanging, and it only takes a few minutes to dry. It’s waterproof, antibacterial, anti-humidity, machine-washable, and big enough to cover long hair in a top knot. The rubber grip around the hairline doesn’t ever stretch and wear out. Made of a patented fabric that feels better than plastic, these caps never wear out, which makes them sustainable.” —Nichole

Kuumba Made Amber & Sandalwood Fragrance Oil: “This oil-based scent is warm and sweet. I use the petite roll-on, but they also have up to 4oz sizes. This is my go-to fragrance because it’s natural and not overwhelming. A little goes a long way. I love how Kuumba made products are centered around creating natural skin care products that soothe, heal, and excite the senses.“ —Emila

Rosewater Spray: “I love a good rosewater mist—especially when I’m at the beach!” —Adrienne

‘Alice Waters Says People Who Call Her Elitist Just Don’t Get It’: “Alice Waters has unequivocally changed the way I approach food. From eating at her legendary restaurant Chez Panisse (and at her former petit eatery Cafe Fanny, a dreamlike spot) to reading her many cookbooks, I’ve found both inspiration and solace in her words about food accessibility and equity and seasonal cooking. Today, at 77, she’s just released a new book, a food manifesto of sorts. This New York Times article captures her fervor for food education and her constant fight to disabuse people of the notion that eating well and organic means spending a lot of money. “ —Stacey

Ursa Major Face Wipes: “Clean, soothing, and hydrating, these natural face wipes are my favorites to bring while traveling. It’s a quick way to refresh while on-the-go.” —Adrienne

The PrimaFoodie Guide to Conscious Small Brands: Austin Edition

Lately the most popular response to “where are you moving?” seems to be: “Austin.” This Texas city is attracting droves of people. We get why. Long famous for its vibrant music world, Austin is brimming with creativity and quality-of-life factors, including its local food business scene. A growing number of ethically focused purveyors and farmers are behind a bounty of conscious brands offering some of the country’s best in edible goods, from organic meats and eggs to sustainably sourced coffees. That is why we’ve been inspired to do our due diligence and vet the offerings. This shortlist sheds light on some of the best brands delivering quality and transparency to Austin (with a few shipping goods nationwide).

We say “shortlist” because—like all of our Conscious Small Brands Guides—this roundup is a work-in-progress. We’ll be adding to it as we continue to dig deeper into the offerings of this amazing city. (We’d love to hear from you: What are your go-to Austin brands that put sustainability and transparency first? Send us a note!) And if you’re in town, we urge you to chat face-to-face with the people behind the following companies. You can catch them on their farms or at the farmers’ markets, likely willing to answer your questions—as good folks behind transparent small brands tend to be.

Animal Farm Center

Animal Farm Center produces certified organic flowers, fruits, and vegetables via the practices of permaculture, a self-sustaining agricultural system. Although located closer to Houston, the team sells their goods at farmers’ markets in both the Houston and Austin regions.   

Austin Honey Company

Longtime farmer and Chile native Raul Vegara has been ethically harvesting honey in the States since 2004. Now as a beekeeper in Austin, he’s partnered with local Green Gate Farms to help establish his apiaries and provide pollination to organic agricultural production in the Austin region. Local residents flock to Vegara to buy his starter bee colonies, honey, and beeswax candles—but if you’re not in Texas you can find many of his goods for purchase online.

Bouldin Food Forest

The farmers at Bouldin Food Forest follow no-till or low-till farming methods, which means they employ practices that require the least amount of disturbance to the soil as possible. (This is aligned with regenerative farming.) The result is a bounty of vegetables and fruits that are nutrient-dense and sustainably produced that they sell at various Austin farmers’ markets.

Casper Fermented Vegetables

Inspired by traditional Jewish and Korean ancestral fermenting methods, Casper Fermented Vegetables offers sourdough, raw fermented vegetables, and kombucha that are produced in a sustainable East Austin food center. Founder Ben Hollander first fell in love with the process after watching his mother ferment their foods at home. He later earned a microbiology degree before creating Casper, which now sells at local farmers’ markets and retailers.

GFY Kitchen

GFY stands for “Gluten Free Yourself,” a catchy name to describe the handmade bread of this small brand. Baked daily, GFY’s breads are certified gluten-, corn-, and nut-free and made without preservatives. The endeavor all started when founder Tim Elias experienced anaphylaxis that was later determined to be triggered by gluten. Since he’s been on a quest to educate and provide clean, accessible, gluten-free products.

Happy Hendrix Farms

Happy Hendrix Farms started when Mike Hendrix and his partner, Chris Rutz raised a few baby chicks who grew to lay gorgeous eggs. Today the couple offers their free-range, organic eggs at local farmers' markets. What we most love is their love: When their hens stop laying, Mike and Chris continue to love and care for them for the rest of their lives.  

Hi-Fi Mycology

This tiny-but-mighty company initially began growing medicinal mushrooms to sell at the local Austin farmers markets, as well as to supply to the city’s restaurateurs. However, when word got out about their varieties—from immunity-boosting oyster to memory-promoting Lion’s Mane—Hi-Fi now offers their mushrooms to purchase online and ship nation-wide. 

New Leaf Agriculture

The concept behind New Leaf is extraordinarily inspiring. An Austin-based nonprofit, this social enterprise is part of the Multicultural Refugee Coalition that supports refugee families. The New Leaf team trains refugee farmers for paid organic and sustainable agricultural work that is” dignified, in-demand, and familiar from their countries of origin.” The produce is available through CSA box delivery and at various farmers’ markets.

Peeler Farms

The Peeler Family refers to themselves as “grass farmers'' because they see this as the foundation of their entire operation. Stemming from 100 years of cattle ranching history, the current team touts their Wagyu beef that is sustainably and ethically raised and sourced. Everything is conducted within their sight and control, from the breeding and raising to the finishing and packaging.

Shirttail Creek Farm

“Bugs, grass, lots of sass.” That’s how Shirttail Creek Farm describes the life and diet of its chickens. Everything offered from this Brenham, Texas farm, from its eggs to its chickens to its beef, stems from an animal that was allowed year-round sunshine and swaths of pasture on which to roam and graze.

Talisman Coffee

Talisman Coffee is steeped in family tradition: Sandro and Johanna are the coffee farmers who oversee the thirty-five-acre Nicaragua farm that supplies the shade-grown, hand-picked, sustainably processed, chemical-free beans, which brother and sister Fernando and Jo roast in Austin. Their varieties can be purchased at the local farmers' markets and online.

Zhi Tea

The self-proclaimed “tea freaks” behind Zhi Tea hold paramount practices that are ethical, sustainable, and fair-trade when sourcing, blending, and packaging their varieties of teas—all of which are grown without chemicals. Ranging from Pu-Erh to Matcha to Rooibos, and everything in between, this boutique company is a destination for high-end tea when in Austin or browsing online.    

 
For further exploring, read our Guide to Portland, Oregon’s Best Conscious Small Brands

A Look at Regenerative Agriculture—and 3 Reasons Why It Matters for Everyone

For the past several decades, agricultural research has presented a startling trend: The nutrition content of the fruits and vegetables we grow in the US has been declining. Vitamins, proteins, and minerals have dropped—in some crops by approximately 50 percent since the 1950s.

The reasons for this point to the way we grow and cultivate fruits and vegetables today. Industrialized farming is extractive and harmful. These methods put an emphasis on higher yields, which fuels the use of toxic chemicals and the implementation of other egregious practices. The consequences of this is great suffering. The Earth’s soil is becoming more and more depleted (resulting in greater carbon dioxide levels in the air). Our fruits and vegetables are lacking nutrients. And humanity’s health is suffering.

Farmer Lee Jones sees—and lives—part of the solution. The head farmer at The Chef’s Garden, his family farm in Ohio, Farmer (as he’s called) practices regenerative agriculture, a method of farming that works to honor the Earth, rebuild soil and biodiversity, and reverse the detriments of climate change. Rather than solely extracting from the land, regenerative farming is about “rebuilding, regrowth, and rebirth,” as Farmer puts it, so that all stakeholders—people, animals, and planet—are honored. It focuses on “healthy soil, healthy vegetables, healthy people, healthy environment,” he says.

But again, this is only part of the solution. The other (arguably just as critical) part focuses on us: Consumers need to create the demand for regenerative farming and the produce it yields. The following points provide a jolt of awareness to get us all supporting better practices.

3 Reasons to Support Regenerative Agriculture

1. This method can rebuild the nutrients in our fruits and vegetables. Farmer’s work at The Chef’s Garden is proof. “What we’re seeing is nutrient levels of 300 to 500 times higher than the USDA average,” he says of his and his family’s yields.

2. Our health depends on it. “We produce food cheaper than any other country in the world yet we have the highest healthcare [costs],” says farmer. By continuing to support industrialized farming methods we are continuing to deprive ourselves of clean, nutrient-dense food, which puts our immunity and health at risk. 

3. The flavor and taste of our food will improve. Research shows that over the last 50-plus years, consumers’ satisfaction from fruits and vegetables have plummeted because of a decline in taste and texture. Regenerative methods will not only bolster nutrient content; it will bring the sweetness and snap back to fresh peas and the juiciness to just-picked tomatoes.

As Farmer says, “we didn’t get into this mess overnight and we’re not going to fix it overnight. What we can do is educate ourselves, share our knowledge, and “get out to the farmers markets” and support the farmers and efforts that are working in the right direction. 

Let’s all create the demand.  

We Need to Dismantle and Recreate the American Food Industry

The lack of transparency about how our food is grown and distributed, and the corrupt politics that have come to rule our most basic needs, impacts all of us. In the US, transparency and truth have been taken over by profit and monopolization, pushing two vital things that we need to thrive—clean water and nutritious food—further away from our reach. 

We need to be talking about this. If we don’t scrutinize it, we may not see it clearly in our day-to-day lives, but the issue will worsen. Some may not want to examine the facts. There’s too much to worry about in the world. Why can’t we simply trust that the food presented on the shelves in our local market is the best for us? I hear this, and I understand. But still: We cannot look away.

My advocacy for accessibility and transparency in food was born out of several things. My heath journey was the first catalyst. I have struggled with various autoimmune conditions throughout the majority of my life. I haven’t been taken seriously by conventional doctors when I broached taking a more holistic path. I’ve been brushed off by colleagues and friends, quickly told to try this prescription or avoid this ingredient. These obstacles prompted me to charter my own course; to educate myself in various protocols and disciplines to rid my system of toxins and nourish my body.

As I began to heal and to see the vitality that can come from eating a nutrient-rich diet that complements my constitutional needs, I faced a dichotomy. On one hand, I was empowered. Food really is medicine, and it is both the root cause and answer to so many health-related issues. This is incredible. On the other hand, nutritious food, and the information surrounding it, is not ubiquitous. So often, it is inaccessible, and a privilege. To make matters worse, our food system uses certain marketing tactics that make certain food appear to be healthier than they truly are. This is wrong.

This injustice became even more glaring when I became a mother. As any mother is, the health of my child became paramount. How can I ensure that the food my daughter eats isn’t going to hurt her? I can lead by example and teach her how to source and cook quality foods. I can embolden her to make the best choices for herself. To read food labels and follow her instinct. I can teach her to be a self-empowered, discerning consumer. But what about the larger world? What can I do about a food industry that cares more for corporate special interests than her health? Why do I need to worry about her being exposed to cancer-causing chemicals that are legally added to foods? How is this even allowed in this country?

In the US, large corporations have a chokehold on the very systems that are meant to protect us. We have this big ominous organization, the FDA, that is supposed to be looking out for us. The FDA approves certain foods and food-like substances, stating they are “safe” to claim space on our plates and in our bodies. What this does is give us a false sense of security. We think: This is FDA-approved, so it must be okay.

In truth, that is not the case. The FDA, and the entire food industry, is manipulated by the organizations with the most money and that have the most invested interest.  Look at any conventional brand, and the chances are great that it is owned or controlled by one of the large corporations, like Tyson. These corporations are more focused on profit than health, therefore they employ practices that cut costs and push large amounts of product into production. This is seen in the vast amounts of large-scale monoculture farming (like corn and soy), confined animal feeding systems, and the constant use of chemical fertilizers and antibiotics. All of these practices, and the many others, are bad for our health and planet.

Furthermore, the majority of the large-scale, corporate crops grown in the US are considered to be “commodity crops,” that are quickly turned into mass-produced, mass-marketed processed foods. How is that justified? How do we rationalize that in our minds?

Where it gets even more maddening (and scary), is when we look at other nations. During my international travels, I’ve researched the local food systems and talked to local farmers and chefs. The deplorable practices allowed in the US are often a distant concept across another border. What we pay a premium for here in the US—grass-fed, free-range, pesticide-free, organic, fresh—is the default in other countries.The European Nation is stricter with labeling. In the US, shelves are filled with food products covered in misleading food labels with meaningless buzzwords like “natural” and “made with organic ingredients.” The EU allows no such manipulation. Items can be labeled organic only if they are, in fact, 95 to 100 percent organic. Any shrewd claims are not allowed. 

The corruption woven through our food system is one of the most immediate threats to our health and planet today—and it extends to every part of our lives. This is why I want to unravel why it matters to care about the whole food system—on a national and global scale—just as much as it matters to care about what comes into our homes and onto our plates. We need to fight for transparency so we can make more informed choices in our day-to-day lives.

Using our voices, time, and dollars to expose the corrupt food industry can have an immediate effect that national politics cannot replicate. We are living during a time of global uncertainty and immense challenges and changes. When we fight as a team, we can galvanize efforts that are much stronger than going it alone. Today, tomorrow, and every day we can take actions—small and large—to participate in and protect the health of ourselves, our families, and our community. 

This can start on our plates.  

xPrimaFoodie

Why We Need to Talk about Our Food System: A Conversation with Dr. Robin Currey

To say there were learnings from Nichole’s recent conversation with Dr. Robin Currey would be a massive understatement. Our minds were stretched.

Dr. Currey, who is an ethnoecologist specializing in small-scale agricultural systems, teaches resilient sustainable communities and foods systems at Prescott College. Across the globe, she’s advised about the dire need for us to consider the small and big pictures about how our food is grown, distributed, and consumed. She also clarifies the often-misunderstood question of: What does a “sustainable” food system mean today? In essence, it encompasses “everything that has to do with keeping us nourished,” says Dr. Currey. “Anyone can eat, but the nourishment in terms of the kinds of foods that are going to help support our wellness, own individual health and wellness, in addition to the health of the planet[…] that’s what we’re looking at.”

Dr. Currey’s area of expertise is the raison d'être of PrimaFoodie. When Nichole set out to shift the tide of food awareness and clean eating, her motivation touched far beyond our plates. She wanted to reveal the layers of why there are such disparities when it comes to nutritional food access, how we can make clean eating equitable and accessible, and where we can start to make the system just—so it works to nourish every person. Her talk with Dr. Currey spotlights all of this.

We invite you to give their conversation a watch. We’d love to hear your biggest takeaways (send us a note on Instagram). Dr. Currey gives us much to consider, a lot of which is hard to face (particularly about the injustice issues surrounding the distribution channels of our food), but the upside is that we can all take part in making the system better—starting in our own homes. Every action counts.  As Dr. Currey says, we get focused on the specific foods that we eat “that we forget how all the different pieces work together.”

4 Women Advocating for Equity and Inclusivity in Clean Eating

Advocacy has endless means of expression—and one of our favorites is food. Think of the ideas spawned, cultures honored, and barriers broken in the kitchen and at the table. It’s incredible. We’re honored by the bold leaders in the food world who are fighting for inclusivity and equity. This week, we wanted to shed light on four women doing just this. Varied in their approach but united by their goal, these women are working to make the table longer to ensure that every person always has a seat.

Julia Turshen

 Julia Turshen contains multitudes. She is an incredible inspiration in the kitchen. Her cookbooks, including her latest, Simply Julia, thoughtfully outline recipes that are accessible and comforting, and somehow always manage to satiate everyone. She is also a fierce advocate for the BIPOC, female identifying, and queer communities. As founder of Equity at the Table, a digital resource that corrals gender nonconforming chefs, cooks, and restauranteurs, she fights to end the blatant sexism and racial injustices that have long plagued the food world.

Michelle Obama

When she was First Lady, Michelle Obama campaigned for healthier foods in schools across America, food labeling transparency, and ways to get kids to exercising more. Years after her time in the White House she’s still fighting. This month, the former First Lady unveils her latest project, Waffles + Mochi, a Netflix children’s special that explores the curious world of ingredients and food. We admire her courage to educate the younger generations to not only eat more healthily, but to make inclusivity paramount in the kitchen.

Hawa Hassan

 In 1993, right in the midst of the Somalia civil war, Hawa Hassan was sent by her mother to leave her worn-torn country and move to Seattle with a group of refugees. Her mother did this so Hassan could be safe. Hassan was seven at the time, and she didn’t see anyone from her family until fifteen years later. Since she has grown to become a lauded chef who honors her Somali heritage and her mother’s courage in her cooking and line of Somali foods, Basbaas. She also tells the narratives of other African women in her recent cookbook, In Bibi’s Kitchen. In all her work, Hassan uses food to perpetuate traditions that many refugees often lose. 

Larayia Gaston

Eating organic and clean should be an option for all, not just those with the means. This is the mission of food activist LaRayia Gaston. At her tiny-but-mighty plant-based bodega and lunch spot in LA’s Koreatown, Gaston serves up fresh kale salads and homemade soups all under $10 (many under $5) to ensure customers of all means can afford them. The idea spawned from Gaston’s ‘Lunch on Me’ initiative that feeds vegan meals to those facing homelessness in LA. In everything she does, Gaston seeks to break the barriers that ban too many people from getting the nourishment and empowerment they need to thrive.  

Rethinking Our School Meal Programs

In the US, we count on schools to provide accessible, nutritious meals for our kids. In many cases, the meals children eat at school account for half of their caloric intake each day. For children living in income households that face food insecurity, school meals are seen as “a nutritional safety net.”  This underscores two critical things: the role school lunches play in a child’s health and development, and our need—as parents and guardians—to ensure the food served is nutritious and accessible.

We can do better with our children. I believe there is a healthier approach within reach, if we’re willing to move away from the entrenched norms, buck the system, and start from scratch.

The Healthiest Head Start

Before looking at the solutions, it’s important to see school lunches for what they are. Many see the meals provided to children as a given in exchange for paying taxes or tuition. But what is the quality? Research over the past two decades shows that cafeteria meals to be high in sodium and processed foods, which means they fall short of feeding our children in the most life-affirming ways possible. It’s important to note that children are in an unfair position. Obesity affects approximately 13.7 million children and adolescents ages 2-19 in the US, and its prevalence is greatly affected by socioeconomic status. 

While various pieces of legislation have passed to ensure children receive higher quality meals with more vegetables (a great deal of effort was made by First Lady Michelle Obama), these intentions still fall short, which means it can’t be left to our government to solve the issue. We need to step in.

A High-Profile Advocate Kick-Starts the Conversation

You may remember Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, the series that chronicled the celebrity British chef’s campaign to take on heart disease, diabetes, and other weight-related diseases in the US and UK by starting with the way our kids eat. In Season 1, which aired in 2010, Oliver focused his efforts on Huntington, West Virginia, statistically one of the unhealthiest cities in the US. The popular chef and health campaigner sought to make strides in the school meal systems in West Virginia, changing minds and transforming menus in a predominantly feel-good experiment in rural America. 

In its second season in 2011, Oliver brought his crusade to Los Angeles, home to the second largest school system in the country. Unlike In West Virginia, here he faced pushback. The Los Angeles Unified School District board of education refused to allow Oliver to film in schools and his subsequent attempts to circumvent their decisions in creative ways. The Los Angeles Times reported the drama centered around school district officials’ fears that the series wouldn’t paint the districts’ prior efforts in a positive light. As quoted in the article, “There certainly was drama and conflict in Huntington as Oliver cajoled cafeteria workers and met with families to try to reform eating habits.,” said district spokesman Jedd Flowers.”

After two episodes, the second season ended abruptly, as did the chance to expose viewers to the changes that could be made possible in our country’s school systems’ meal programs.

Setting the Table for Future Generations’ Success

While Food Revolution fell short of its promises, what lessons can public school systems learn from these game-changing attempts? I believe a lot—as well as a great deal of inspiration.

Here are a few promising case studies that represent programs enacted in schools across the nation, both private and public. Each of these programs has committed to changes ranging from small updates to complete overhauls, but all are headed in the right direction to make a real difference in a child’s health and success.

Hilary Boynton at Manzanita School

One of my most important missions with PrimaFoodie is helping parents educate their children about the food they eat. Kids are powerful advocates; by involving them in these daily decisions, they become more engaged and empowered. Hilary Boynton, a certified holistic health counselor, cook, and author, believes this. A mother of five, Boynton was dissatisfied with the quality of lunches her kids received at their local school in Southern California. She refused to accept the status quo and eventually took over the lunch program at Manzanita School, working hand-in-hand with local farmers and food producers to create affordable, nutrient-rich meals every day. Boynton shares her extensive nutritional knowledge with parents, educators, and home chefs through her Lunch Leader Training Academy, a week-long intensive retreat that offers hands-on strategies for cultivating a healthier approach to nourishing families and communities.

Food2You

Starting with locally sourced, seasonal ingredients, the Chicago-based catering and food service management company Food2You feeds children in daycare centers throughout the city and suburbs. Founded by Chicago native Gregory Ingles in 2005, Food2You specializes in nutritionist-approved breakfast, lunch, and snack meal plans that exceed all Federal and Illinois State Board of Education guidelines, as well as those in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Executive Chef Charles Jones and his team craft delicious dishes that kids actually enjoy eating. Food2You works in tandem with the Partnership for a Healthier America, supporting the organization’s Shaping Early Palates initiative. The goal of this ambitious program is to create options to help parents raise veggie lovers by cultivating healthy palates and creating a lifelong desire for nutrient-rich foods — especially vegetables — among children. 

Project Bread’s Chefs in Schools  

Project Bread is an anti-hunger organization that connects communities to stable food sources and advocates for policies that make food more accessible. The program’s innovative Chefs in Schools initiative highlights the importance of food education.  The program, which launched in 2006, partners chef educators with school cafeteria staff to boost menus and provide food choices that are more nutritious, appealing, and culturally appropriate.

Corry Area Primary School

In a dynamic demonstration of what is possible when school administrations collaborate with private health-focused organizations, Corry Area Primary School in Erie, Pennsylvania, was named one of the nation’s first Blue Zones Project Approved schools. Stemming from the influential New York Times bestseller The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, the Blue Zones Project aims to improve health and wellbeing by making healthier choices easier and more accessible for everyone.  As part of a larger, community-wide initiative, school officials collaborated with Blue Zones Project experts to implement the essential elements that make up a Blue Zone: nutrition education, increased physical activity, and more mindful choices incorporated into each day.  

The Case for Doing Better

Revamping school meal programs can seem like an overwhelming (perhaps impossible) task, especially during a time of great need in our nation. But it is one of the most critical issues we need to face. Research conducted by the School Nutrition Association summarizes what’s at stake: “Balanced nutrition throughout the day contributes to student success in and out of the classroom. Research demonstrates that school meal programs play an important role in supporting obesity prevention, overall student health and academic achievement by improving children’s diets and combating hunger.”

Here are ways you can make a difference in your children’s food choices and your area’s school meal programs: 

• Start early at home. Create connections between your children and the foods they eat. You can make this fun—bring your kids to your local farmers’ market and grocery store, have them help you with meal preparation in the kitchen, and encourage the development of their palates as soon as they start eating solids (and even sooner through the mother’s in utero diet) with a wide variety of healthy options. 

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions of your school’s administration. Short of complete overhauls, what easy, affordable solutions exist to make the meal programs at your children’s school healthier? Can you, as a parent, become more involved in proactive, productive ways? 

• Think outside the (lunch) box: What resources are available in your community? Are there like-minded local chefs, farmers, food producers, and food service organizations whose products and services you could tap into? Are there government programs or other grants that could help improve the quality of your school’s meal programs? 

The chances of schools adopting changes are much higher if you make it easy for them to adapt. Start by demonstrating the problem, then present them with viable solutions. As parents and community members, we can all do better, and those steps start with us. Our kids are counting on us.

Why We Need to Be Thinking about What’s in Our Wine

By Stacey Lindsay

For those of us fortunate enough to be able to consider what we put in and on our bodies, our awareness creates a quilt of information. Learning jarring facts about one product weaves into questions about another: If these chemicals are in this olive oil then what’s allowed in my face cream? Yet for many Americans, wine—one of the most popular drinks in the US—is still consumed without a thought about its ingredients. And this is a concern. 

Commercially made wines are often created from industrial farmed grapes laced with chemicals that are manipulated with artificial additives and technological tricks. Makers will resort to using egregious practices to ensure the greatest volume and perceived quality results—without any concern for the impact this has on consumers. “The commercial wine industry is much like the commercial food industry,” says Todd White, founder of Dry Farm Wines, a health-focused, lab tested natural wine merchant. “The goal is to produce more volume for less cost, which ultimately increases profits.” 

In the US, the FDA approves of 76 additives for wine. These include artificial dyes, genetically modified yeast, and various animal byproducts like isinglass (dried fish bladders that are used as a filtering agent), and casein. (Not to mention, adding sugar to wine is widespread in the commercial industry.) For people who drink wine regularly, these chemicals can build up in the body, potentially causing harm. Some researchers in the field have begun measuring the amounts of glyphosate in wine. Other experts link the common wine hangover to all the junk allowed in the juice. 

What this all reveals is a critical missing piece: transparency in labeling. Currently the only ingredient mandated to appear on a wine label in the US is added sulfites. This means all the extras—the thickeners, the dyes, the flavor manipulators—get swallowed without an inkling. If we knew our ’97 Napa pinot had a hint of PVPP, an artificially made plastic substance, we’d likely pass. 

Consumers aren’t the only victims. The commercial wine industry is rife with exploitive and ecologically disruptive practices that include heavy machinery, monoculture practices, and widespread irrigation that wreak havoc on the earth. “As a whole, these practices are often depleting nature instead of supporting it,” says White. “They can remove the diverse plant and animal life as well as decrease the health and balance in soils.”

These days, activism around cleaning up the wine industry exists at every point of the process. Farmers, vintners, distributors, and sommeliers are shedding light on what’s in and around the bottle. Believers are supporting the movement for natural wine, also called low-intervention or clean wine, which touts juice that is made with organic or biodynamic grapes and the least amount of intervention, additives, technological hacks, and chemicals. Although it is nebulous, as there are no labeling requirements for a clean or natural wine, this movement is very promising—and it encourages us to look at our wine the same way we do our food.  

Much of the deep work is happening within smaller distributors and companies, like Dry Farm Wines, that are both acting as educators and gatekeepers of certain ingredients and practices. “It’s almost impossible to know exactly what’s in the majority of wines, which is why we are extremely strict about the criteria that makes up a ‘Dry Farm Wines certified wine,’ says White.

Still, the responsibility lands on us, the consumer. What we choose to support and purchase will echo and perpetuate the problem. Or what we seek to uncover and divest from will help to shift the energy toward a healthier, safer, more ecological wine industry. There is no quick fix. Just like our eggs, personal care, and everything else, we are left to do the parsing ourselves—and this gets trickier than ever without an ingredients label providing some compass. 

But we can start by asking questions.

Tips for Discovering Clean(er) Wines

It’s the wild west when it comes to seeking a wine that is unadulterated and made from environmentally ethical practices. But thankfully, great strides have been made and more people are looking for less additives and more of the real juice. Although we can’t (just yet) give you a straight shot to the best wines, we can give you a checklist that works for us here at PrimaFoodie.

1.)   Ask your local wine shop owner. Small wine shops are abundant in the US and so many are stocking their shelves with more clean wines. These owners are often passionate about what they do (and friendly—they work around wine, after all!) and willing to answer your questions and inform you about the clean wine they stock. Simply asking “I’m looking for wines with minimal additives and responsibly farmed grapes” is a powerful way to start.

2.)   Follow the distributors doing the work. Dry Farm Wines is one of a handful of excellent pioneers in the field right now. As a wine merchant, Dry Farm only sells and supports wines that come from farmers and makers supporting organic agriculture, small farms across the globe, biodiversity in soil, and saving water. They also lab test their wines for additives and toxic chemicals.

3.)   Explore the makers. The clean and natural wine movement is filled with knowledgeable people. Many of them are women- and family-owned. A few American makers to start with include: Subject to Change, Martha Stouman, Horse & Plow, lady of the sunshine, and Donkey & Goat. Like other products, it’s important to shop small and support the conscious makers who care to make a difference.

4.)   Look for the biodynamic and organic label. This certification speaks to the grapes only. Unfortunately, a certified organic wine can still mean that there have been toxic chemicals added to the wine after the grapes been harvested. Still, it’s an excellent start. It assures you that no toxic chemicals have been used in the farming, and that the wine producer likely cares about their product remaining clean—all the way to the glass.

5.)   Have fun with it. The wine world is confusing and huge. Don’t get frustrated if it seems like too vast of an ocean. Follow some amazing activists like Isabelle Legeron, founder of RAW Wine, to learn more. And enjoy it. The more you explore, the more you’ll likely want to keep going—and never drink animal byproducts in your wine again.