Over the past couple of years, I had the unpleasant experience of having bloodwork done to confirm that I am gluten intolerant, only to have it come back and say, “Nope, you’re just crazy.” The same thing happened to my good friend Melissa Melton, who was terribly ill before she cut wheat out of her life. It’s happened to scores of other people, who pass the test for the … [Read more...]
The next great famine
Seven hundred years ago this month, people across northern Europe saw a comet in the sky and feared the worst. They were already running out of food. It had rained too much in 1315—sometimes every day for weeks at a stretch. Wheat, barley, and oats rotted in the fields, and it was too wet to make hay. Then, after an unusually cold winter, the rains started again, and the 1316 … [Read more...]
Catching ‘cereal killers’ in the quest for safer food
Detecting infected maize early can help prevent contaminated crops from entering the food chain, and also reduce the risk of throat cancer linked to the consumption of infected maize products. In a recent study a specialised camera was used to produce chemical images of maize kernels infected with fungi that pose a threat to human and animal health. Through a process called … [Read more...]
Foxglove organic stories Part 3: Organic farming is not for sissies
Organic farming is not for sissies. If your city neighbour doesn’t bulldoze your carefully planted cervitude road into oblivion, then too much work for one set of hands can challenge a strong woman even in this idyllic setting. We offer you another installment by Sue Vingerhoets, farmer at Foxglove, to illustrate what she has to deal with during this very hot month of … [Read more...]
