Living La Vida Local (and Grass-Fed)

Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms, from the movie Food Inc.

(this guy rocks!)

As you know (or maybe you don't) I haven't eaten meat in 14 years. I began eating seafood a year ago, and I do it responsibly, only ordering and buying fish that's not over-fished. (the easiest way to do this is to carry around Monterey Bay Aquarium's pocket-sized safe list, which you can print out here).

I recently watched Food Inc., which was was nominated for Best Documentary Feature in the Academy Awards. And even though I'm 100% nuts about the seafood I put into my body and the beef, chicken, and pork that my husband buys, and I avoid high fructose corn syrup and processed foods as best I can, I confess, I don't always make the trek to the farmers market for fresh produce.

Seeing the movie reminded me about the effects mass-produced meat and produce has on our bodies and on the globe. Even more, it uncovers what's wrong with the industry of mass-produced food. It's all fresh on my mind, so I'll try to make it fresh on yours too.

There are a number of respected books on the issue. I'm ashamed to say that I've only read Fast Food Nation - the others are The Omnivore's Dilemma and The China Study. A third, more recently published book that's on my reading list is Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas, which profiles eleven Texas farm families.

Today, while reading Edible Dallas & Fort Worth magazine I discovered even more resources:

• Eat Wild is fantastic place to source your next food purchase. It's "the source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry, pork, dairy and other wild edibles," and will lead you to responsible farmers.

• Rusty's Grass-Finished Food is a grass-fed beef farm in East Texas.

• Sloans Creek Farm raises grass-fed beef, lamb, goat, and pastured pork, 75 miles north of Dallas.

Right here in the city, Dan goes to VonGeertsem Butcher Shoppe on Oak Lawn Ave. Greg, the butcher is a jolly fellow who will hook you up and answer all your questions (and supply you with some damn good steak, according to Dan).

Of course, there's the Dallas Farmers Market, and I swear I will go there more often. And up until last fall, Celebration Restaurant had a farmers market (it was stopped by the city due to some crazy regulations - follow that story here).


But you can get more local that growing your own greens, which we've been dying to do. After the move on April 1, we finally can!