Sunday, August 31, 2008
Moving House
Time for a change. I've decided to move my blog to Wordpress, so if you'd like to continue following my life, please go here. See you on the other side!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Omnivore's Dilemma
I've been wanting to read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma for months, but just finally picked it up yesterday. I'm only on chapter two, but I already I know that this is a very well written, thought provoking book. In the following excerpt, he writes about a corn and soybean farm in Iowa owned by George Naylor (note that I have edited this for length).
The story of the Naylor farm since 1919, when George's grandfather bought it, closely tracks the twentieth-century story of American agriculture. It begins with a farmer supporting a family on a dozen different species of plants and animals. There would have been a fair amount of corn then too, but also pigs, cattle, chickens, and horses. One of every four Americans lived on a farm when Naylor's grandfather arriver here; his land and labor supplied enough food to feed his family and twelve other Americans besides. Less than a century after, fewer than 2 million Americans still farm - and they grow enough to feed the rest of us. What that means is that Naylor's grandson, raising nothing but corn and soybeans on a fairly typical Iowa farm, is in effect feeding some 129 Americans.
Yet George Naylor is all but going broke - and he's doing better than many of his neighbors. For though this farm might feed 129, it can no longer support the four who live in it, nor can it literally feed the Naylor family, as it did in grandfather Naylor's day. George's crops are basically inedible - they're commodities that must be processed or fed to livestock before they can feed people. Water, water everwhere and not a drop to drink: like most of Iowa, which now imports 80 percent of its food, George's farm (apart from his garden, his laying hens and his fruit trees) is basically a food desert.
Reading this book, I had a bit of an aha moment. All my life I have been one of the fortunate few who has never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from. Food was something I took for granted; I didn't really give it too much thought. Of course I tried to cook and eat healthy meals (although that certainly didn't always happen - I've eaten my fair share of junk food and fast food) but food wasn't a great deal more than a way to fuel my body and satisfy my hunger.
At some point recently (I don't even know when this happened - I think it was a gradual shift) I came to see just how precious our food is and how important it is that I put some thought into what I put into my mouth. I think growing a vegetable garden had something to do with it (although maybe it was because of my shift in thinking that I decided to grow my own food, and not the other way around).
Whatever has happened, I have become quite militant about the issue to the point where I must be insufferable to live with at times. The latest example of this is when I pronounced to Joe (after the Maple Leaf meat recall) that I would not be buying any more sliced meats: that we had plenty of caribou sausages in the freezer and that would serve us quite well thank you very much. When he ventured to suggest that perhaps having sliced meat once in a while wouldn't hurt, I quite adamently disagreed and declared that it was my job to keep my family healthy and therefore I would certainly not be buying these chemically-laden, processed, disease ridden meats. Insufferable, right?
But my point is this: food is a big deal. Our choices do make a difference.
Of course I'm not totally naive: I realize it's a heck of a lot easier for me to eat thoughtfully than it is for a single mom who's struggling to make ends meet or a kid living on the streets or the family in India that barely has enough food to keep themselves alive. It's because I am so priviledged that I have an even greater responsibility to try to do the right thing when it comes to food. The selections we 'haves' make will ultimately affect the 'have-nots'. It will also affect most other living things on this planet, not to mention the earth itself.
OK - I'll get off my soap box now. I told you...insufferable!
The story of the Naylor farm since 1919, when George's grandfather bought it, closely tracks the twentieth-century story of American agriculture. It begins with a farmer supporting a family on a dozen different species of plants and animals. There would have been a fair amount of corn then too, but also pigs, cattle, chickens, and horses. One of every four Americans lived on a farm when Naylor's grandfather arriver here; his land and labor supplied enough food to feed his family and twelve other Americans besides. Less than a century after, fewer than 2 million Americans still farm - and they grow enough to feed the rest of us. What that means is that Naylor's grandson, raising nothing but corn and soybeans on a fairly typical Iowa farm, is in effect feeding some 129 Americans.
Yet George Naylor is all but going broke - and he's doing better than many of his neighbors. For though this farm might feed 129, it can no longer support the four who live in it, nor can it literally feed the Naylor family, as it did in grandfather Naylor's day. George's crops are basically inedible - they're commodities that must be processed or fed to livestock before they can feed people. Water, water everwhere and not a drop to drink: like most of Iowa, which now imports 80 percent of its food, George's farm (apart from his garden, his laying hens and his fruit trees) is basically a food desert.
Reading this book, I had a bit of an aha moment. All my life I have been one of the fortunate few who has never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from. Food was something I took for granted; I didn't really give it too much thought. Of course I tried to cook and eat healthy meals (although that certainly didn't always happen - I've eaten my fair share of junk food and fast food) but food wasn't a great deal more than a way to fuel my body and satisfy my hunger.
At some point recently (I don't even know when this happened - I think it was a gradual shift) I came to see just how precious our food is and how important it is that I put some thought into what I put into my mouth. I think growing a vegetable garden had something to do with it (although maybe it was because of my shift in thinking that I decided to grow my own food, and not the other way around).
Whatever has happened, I have become quite militant about the issue to the point where I must be insufferable to live with at times. The latest example of this is when I pronounced to Joe (after the Maple Leaf meat recall) that I would not be buying any more sliced meats: that we had plenty of caribou sausages in the freezer and that would serve us quite well thank you very much. When he ventured to suggest that perhaps having sliced meat once in a while wouldn't hurt, I quite adamently disagreed and declared that it was my job to keep my family healthy and therefore I would certainly not be buying these chemically-laden, processed, disease ridden meats. Insufferable, right?
But my point is this: food is a big deal. Our choices do make a difference.
Of course I'm not totally naive: I realize it's a heck of a lot easier for me to eat thoughtfully than it is for a single mom who's struggling to make ends meet or a kid living on the streets or the family in India that barely has enough food to keep themselves alive. It's because I am so priviledged that I have an even greater responsibility to try to do the right thing when it comes to food. The selections we 'haves' make will ultimately affect the 'have-nots'. It will also affect most other living things on this planet, not to mention the earth itself.
OK - I'll get off my soap box now. I told you...insufferable!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Girl Who Silenced the U.N. for Five Minutes
Lady MacBeth
The dirty deed is done.
After reading an article in What's Up Yukon, I learned that in order to speed up the ripening of tomatoes, it's good to prune back the plants. That way, the plant will devote its energy to developing and ripening the fruit it already has instead of working on producing more. Like the woman who wrote the article, I was full of trepidation about the whole thing. But I have tonnes of tomato flowers, not that much fruit, and not one as yet ripened tomato, so I decided that drastic action was called for.
So this morning, scissors in hand, I cut back my plants. They were so overgrown I could hardly get in the greenhouse. Now there will be much more air circulation and hopefully some tomatoes. But I still can't help but feel a bit like Lady MacBeth, hands stained with tomato juice.
After reading an article in What's Up Yukon, I learned that in order to speed up the ripening of tomatoes, it's good to prune back the plants. That way, the plant will devote its energy to developing and ripening the fruit it already has instead of working on producing more. Like the woman who wrote the article, I was full of trepidation about the whole thing. But I have tonnes of tomato flowers, not that much fruit, and not one as yet ripened tomato, so I decided that drastic action was called for.
So this morning, scissors in hand, I cut back my plants. They were so overgrown I could hardly get in the greenhouse. Now there will be much more air circulation and hopefully some tomatoes. But I still can't help but feel a bit like Lady MacBeth, hands stained with tomato juice.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Takhini Salt Flats
About a half hour's drive from Whitehorse, there is one of the most unusual natural features in the Yukon. Although I've lived here for almost 25 years, last night was the first time I've visited the Takhini Salt Flats, although now that I know how to find the area, it certainly won't be the last.
What an amazing world we live in!
The mountains around this location are very alkalin (salty). Over the years, these mountains have eroded and silt has washed down into the flats. As well, artisian wells bubble underneath the flats and infuse the area with minerals such as sodium sulfates. Normally these minerals would be washed into the ground, but the permafrost keeps the water near the surface. There is no river or other body of water it can drain in to, so it sits there until the summer sun evaporates it, leaving salt crystals.
What's interesting too is that there are salt-loving plants here that aren't seen anywhere else in the Yukon. One of the most distinctive plants is a bright-red sea asparagus, which you will see in the photos below. Apparently this plant is so unusual that its species name is still in doubt.
Photos, from top to bottom: 1) long shot of the flats; 2) salt flats detail; 3) chunk of salt; 4) another detail of the flats; 5) salt covered log; 6) bear track; 7) another bear track we saw on the way in to the flats; 8) salt pool; 9) salty ant hill; and 10) section of the inside of a salty ant hill.
What an amazing world we live in!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A Happening Place
There is a wonderful trail in Whitehorse that runs either side of the Yukon River, with bridges linking each end. It is used by hundreds of runners, walkers, bikers, strollers and the like. There's always something to see on the trail, whether it be wildflowers, water fowl or even spawning salmon.
Last night though it was particularly interesting. Just down from the Whitehorse dam, the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club was holding their annual white water rodeo. I've never been in a kayak in fast water, but this certainly made me want to experience it. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun.
Last night though it was particularly interesting. Just down from the Whitehorse dam, the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club was holding their annual white water rodeo. I've never been in a kayak in fast water, but this certainly made me want to experience it. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun.
A few minutes further along the trail, near the fishladder, someone from Icy Waters was giving a demonstration about how to fillet and cook arctic char. Yup, the Millennium Trail certainly was a happening place last night!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Where Have all the Salmon Gone?
Last night was Appreciation Night at the Whitehorse Rapids Fishway. There were kids' games, door prizes and refreshments, but sadly, few chinook salmon. One female arrived in the morning and two males showed up in the evening...a far cry from the dozens that typically navigate their way through the ladder in the run of a day. In all, only 70 salmon have reached the fishladder this summer.
A rare sight
With the real thing in short supply, visitors had to look elsewhere to get their salmon fix:
A silk painting commissioned by a local artist.
Cake anyone?
A tank of salmon fry. They'll be released in a few weeks and will find their way to the Bering Sea next year. Hopefully we'll see some of them return to the ladder in five or six years. Photo credit for this shot: Yukon News.
Salmon scales: did you know that you can tell the age of a fish by counting the rings on its scales, much like you count tree rings? There's lots to be learned by visiting the fishladder.
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