Our first seeds in open ground emerging
Seeds and Chaff.
“Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit cannot be severed; for the effect already blooms in the cause, the end preexists in the means, the fruit in the seed”
Emerson
People are talking, lots of people and not just the foodie preachers and the choir. People like my mom and co-workers and people I meet out that usually just talk about things like Jersey Shore Show and really like it, not just people who watch it for its train wreck astonishments.
Jaime Oliver’s new Food Revolution, Food Inc. and The Future of Food.
Honestly I never cared for Oliver and his young jumping around Naked Chief days, but go old ma, she liked him and sometimes you just have to listen to your mom. For my birthday one year she gave me his ‘Jamie at Home’ I was hooked; he also did a show in England called 15. 15 was based around a restaurant of the same name, that took in 15 troubled kids and gave them mad skills and a real appreciation for food and where it comes from and how much work goes into it. Jaime then went on national English TV with his friend Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (my hero and host of The River Cottage) they went into chicken batteries (factories that chickens are raised in, oh yeah the English learned how to grow chickens by mass production from us.) People all over Europe where shocked and the shock wave even hit our shores. But by the time it got to us it was just a slow methodical ripple, like you would find in an Iraq oil field.
So Mr. Oliver came to the states to teach fat pizza eating yanks to eat real food. The show is really great and makes me so sad for the state of our food systems in this country. Getting chicken nugget addicted children in West Virginia to eat salads, may not be musket fire at Concord, but the trigger has been pulled and oddly enough a Brit has started a new revolution in America.
Wow I really wanted to write about seeds. (Hence the Emerson quote)
I touch seeds everyday, I clean them, I plant them, I eat them, I sell them, so I get the connection between putting seeds in the ground and the food that I put into my body, but watching those kids made me sick, I bet if I showed them seeds they would want pizza and chicken nugget seeds. Very few people get this connection, and that is why I was so happy with the response our seeds have gotten from the greater Philadelphia region.
Philly is a really a cool town and a great place to eat and now buy locally produced sustainable seeds.
So check out Milk and Honey Market out at 44th and Baltimore, a great store for lots of locally grow produce and cheese. I really wise I lived around the corner. The owners are cool the staff is hip and the space is beautiful.
Fair Food Farm Stand at the Reading Terminal, after Central Market in Lancaster City it is the second best market in this country. Fair Food anchors the 12th street side of the market; go get seeds a hotdog with a knish on it and a shoeshine.
Speaking of Lancaster’s Central Market Green Circle Organics just got our seeds for all my old peeps in the LC.
Also in the Northern Liberties Almanac Market also carries our seeds and sells such a great selection products it makes me want to move to the city.
The last shout out for the region has to go to Terry and Hannah at Kimberton Whole foods they have our seeds in multiple stores.
Lastly I have the best staff in the world. Holly and Elise cranked it out in my Kennett sweatshop. Holly is fresh off of her one women worldwide trip of peace and justice, she make me laugh, she makes me want to be a better person and she works really hard.
Elise just got back from sledging rubble in Haiti, and like the next day was wackin out the seed orders, she is awesome and inspiring.
Later
P.S. Veg Transplants are coming and this year we have over 100 varieties.