Tagged Interview

Fruition Restaurant Denver

Chef & Farmer: Alex Seidel of Fruition Restaurant

Restaurants with their own farms gain a unique appreciation for what it takes to produce quality food. Chef Alex Seidel has gotten a lot of positive attention for his expertly prepared, eco-conscious cuisine at Denver’s Fruition Restaurant. The Wisconsin native was recognized in 2010 by Food and Wine Magazine as one of the best new…

Farm to Table Restaurants: Chef Daniel Corey of Luce San Francisco

Chef Daniel Corey talks to us about seasonal menus, Luce’s green certification and the trend toward sustainability in the restaurant industry. Long before San Francisco-based restaurant Luce received its official Green Dining Certification from the Green Restaurant Association, the establishment had already committed to keeping things fresh, local, seasonal and sustainable. Today Luce is one…
Alchemy Raw Vegan Restaurant Ubud Bali
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Shanti Allen of Alchemy Bali Raw Vegan Restaurant

Meet Shanti Allen, Executive Chef and founder of Alchemy, Ubud’s first completely raw vegan restaurant. Shanti meets me for our interview in a sundress and sandals, her long blonde hair loosely braided to one side.  I follow her through the kitchen, where a bank of food dehydrators are concentrating flavors, and creating the textures raw…
Smart Chicken Tecumseh Farms
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Smart Chicken: Tecumseh Farms Interview on Sustainable Humane Chicken

A lot of people are wondering what brands of chicken are healthy and humane. The answers may surprise you. In this interview we take a fresh look at Smart Chicken. What do we discover? A new take on “food miles” — killing chickens gently and humanely is possible — thoughts about antibiotics and animal byproducts…

Slow Fast Food: Forager Project Cold Pressed Juice

Juicing is a big business with dozens of companies vying for a corner of this booming market. Where most rely on heat treating produce and packing their juices with grams upon grams of sugar, Forager Project has taken a different route. With ingredients such as apples, cucumbers, kale and sweet potatoes—to more unusual additions like turmeric, balsamic vinegar, matcha…
small scale organic farming
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Small Local Farms Producing Humanely Raised Quail Eggs

Quail eggs are a common street snack in Peru, and often used in Thailand and China. In the US, however, quail eggs are just hitting the food scene. You’ll find them served raw in sushi restaurants, atop a bed of tobiko and wrapped in nori; pickled and served as cocktail snacks; poached and served on…
New Forest Farm Mark Shepard

Interview With Mark Shepard of New Forest Farm

Working with and within nature using perennial food crops and restoration agriculture. Mark Shepard has created something of an environmental oasis at his Wisconsin homestead, New Forest Farm. Shepard, a farmer and author, is a longtime proponent of restoration agriculture, the practice of recreating healthy, naturally occurring, economically viable perennial farms. Packed with biodiversity, these…

Meet Greg Nielsen Of Numi Tea

Greg talks about where Fair Trade ends and Fair Labor begins, the role of B corporations and the importance of choosing organic tea. Greg Nielsen is the Director of Marketing for Numi Tea—an organic tea company founded in Oakland, California by siblings Reem and Ahmed Rahim.  Numi Tea is a Fair Trade, Fair Labor B…

Food Is Free Project

Fresh, healthy, nourishing food is a human necessity. However, in modern society, food often comes with high out-of-pocket and environmental costs, is increasingly depleted of nutrients and is produced miles from where it is enjoyed, offering consumers little to no connection to the farmer or the growing process. These troubling aspects of modern food production…
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Daily Bread: Doing Business and Doing Good

JP and Michelle MacFadyen are dedicated to sustainable practices in their restaurant and to sharing the bounty of their bakery with others through local food donations to feed the hungry. By now we’re all familiar with the locavore ideal: buy food from local producers, family farms and businesses. In the pursuit of this ideal, sometimes…
how to make ricotta cheese

Healing Your Body: Affordable Clean Food Diet

A wholesome diet of carefully sourced clean food is the foundation of good health. If you are struggling with IBS or intolerance to common foods such as dairy, soy or gluten, this is especially important. Charlotte shares her insights about discovering the diet that’s perfect for you, and how to eat well on a limited…
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Humane Pasture Raised Heritage Breed Pork

With so many labels vying for your sustainable food dollar, it is becoming increasingly difficult to decide which is best. The labels should make it easier, but how many of us really know what the certified Organic or the various steps of the GAP animal welfare labels really entail? When it comes to pork, there…

Good Eggs NOLA: New Orleans Gets Artisinal Local Food Online

Caroline Gray is a New Orleans native and local food activist who wholeheartedly believes that “a better world can be delicious.” In under 2 years, she has helped Good Eggs more than double its operations, connecting over 200 local food producers to communities through its online green market, or “foodhub”. We talk with her about…
vegan restaurant chain

Native Foods Vegan Cafe

Vegan is going mainstream It wasn’t long ago that eating vegan was a difficult thing to commit to, and eating out was nearly impossible.  The past few years have seen interest in plant based eating on the rise in the United States, and with it a flourishing of vegan cuisine.  Whether you’re baking up a…

Annabelle Randles: What are the benefits of being flexitarian?

For some people, adopting a strict vegan or vegetarian diet — whether it’s for health, social, environmental or animal welfare-related reasons — can be a challenge. Embracing the flexitarian approach, however, offers meat lovers the perfect, self-determined degree of wiggle room. Flexitarianism simply advocates plant-based diets that include the occasional steak or pork chop, allowing adherents the flexibility…

The Importance of Choosing Humanely Raised High Welfare Pork

Although the United Kingdom has established some of the highest animal welfare standards in Europe, meat produced under far less humane conditions continues to flood the market. In response to this proliferation of low quality meat – and the subsequent social and environmental abuses required to produce it – filmmaker and activist Tracy Worcester founded…

Claire Hope Cummings on Seeds, Synbio, GMO and the Future

Claire Hope Cummings does not mince words when it comes to the state of global food production and sustainability. The award-winning author, journalist and environmental lawyer has been speaking out about the dangers of genetic modification for years, and has traveled the world documenting both the changing climate and the proliferation of genetically modified seeds. Her book Uncertain Peril: Genetic Engineering and the Future of Seeds, received high praise from Michael Pollan and the New Yorker, and was described by fellow author Vandana Shiva as “a wake-up call about the threats facing our seeds and the freedom of the seed.”…

Michael Arnstein: Fruitarianism and the 80/10/10 Diet

Can you imagine living on mostly fruit? As a kid, long distance runner and fruitarian advocate Michael Arnstein grew up on staples like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the occasional soda. Today, his kitchen is packed with high quality organic fruits and veggies like papayas, bananas, melons, tomatoes and little else. After experimenting with…
reusable straws

Ending Plastic Pollution in Bali: Reusable Bags and Straws

Following a stroll on a lovely, yet plastic-strewn, Balinese beach, Glenn Adams and daughter Gaia Shekhinah set out on a mission. The two formed The Last Straw, a campaign that encourages island businesses to end their use of plastic straws and embrace reusable alternatives.  The two spoke enthusiastically about their efforts, and their next plan…

Long Meadow Ranch Restaurant St Helena

Long Meadow Ranch restaurant, winery, olive grove and ranch in California’s Napa Valley Ted, Laddie and Chris Hall, owners of Napa Valley’s beautiful Long Meadow Ranch, live and work by four simple words: Excellence through responsible farming. This strict focus on stewardship, respect and balance has helped the Hall family develop quality wines, heritage olive…
grass fed beef

Local Seasonal and Grass-fed 50’s Diner Food at Grazin’

High Welfare Burgers and Classic American Diner Fare At Grazin’, a 1950s-style diner in Hudson, N.Y., owners Dan and Susan Gibson, together with their daughter and son-in-law, serve only the best. For them, that means delicious burgers, fries, shakes and sodas made from local, seasonal, organic and biodynamic ingredients. The restaurant uses only 100 percent…
forage sf iso rabins

Foraging Your Dinner: Iso Rabins of forageSF

As a cook, entrepreneur and food advocate, Rabins is something of a pioneer. In just six short years he has developed San Francisco’s first foraged food delivery service, started a highly popular roving underground supper club, and his formerly under-the-radar Batch Made Market events are now the talk of the town.
Marji Guyler-Alaniz FarmHer

FarmHer: Interview with Marji Guyler-Alaniz

Iowa photographer Marji Guyler-Alaniz has been getting lots of attention for FarmHer, her captivating photography series highlighting female farmers. We interviewed Marji about her project, her inspiration, and future plans.
Local Sustainable Food

The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture

A must-read interview with Dr William L. Preston about the effects of climate change on agriculture, and what you can do, what we all must do, to ensure we have safe and available food in the midst of extreme weather transition.
Chef Tory Miller

Your Chef and Climate Change: Tory Miller of Graze

As Executive Chef for both Graze and L’Etoile in Madison, Wisconsin, Tory Miller chooses only the finest farm-fresh ingredients from his local producers.  At his restaurant, Chef Miller produces a grand selection of artisan cured meats, breads, butters, fruit preserves, pastas, pickled vegetables—all from scratch. Why source sustainable food from local suppliers? The short answer?…

Family Cooking From Scratch

How to cook healthy, home made meals and snacks your kids will love. We all know by now that the best way to ensure healthy eating is to get in the kitchen and cook. Cooking your own food allows you to know and control what’s in it, and to source the best quality ingredients. But for many there is a gulf between knowing they should be cooking more and actually figuring out how to put home cooked healthy meals on their family’s table and in their kids’ lunch boxes day after day. That’s when clean food bloggers like Jacquelyn of…

Artisan Cheese Making: Cowgirl Creamery

Eden Canon interviews Sue Conley, co-founder of Cowgirl Creamery, to discuss the practice of artisan cheese making, the importance of sourcing locally, and the environmental impact of cheese production. When we pick up groceries at the store, we rarely consider each product’s environmental impact in light of its production chain—from farm, to processor, to distributor,…

Carriage House Farm

Meet farm manager Richard Stewart, garden manager Kate Cook, and native plant specialist Abby Artemisia of Carriage House Farm. In a recent interview with EthicalFoods.com, they discuss the reasoning behind switching from conventional farming to using no pesticides or chemical fertilizers, why they are not certified organic, and how large agricultural corporations try to gain advantages over small independent farms.
Starting A Free Communal Food Exchange In Your Neighborhood

Starting A Free Communal Food Exchange In Your Neighborhood

Owen Dell talks about his experience starting a free neighborhood food exchange and working toward food security through converting ornamental suburban landscaping to edible ones. Owen Dell is a sustainable landscape architect and advocate of edible landscaping in suburbia.  In my interview with Owen, he describes how a free food exchange that he and a…
Urban Homesteading in the UK

UK Urban Homesteaders Tim and Ros Payne

UK homesteader Tim Payne explains that his reasons for embarking on homesteading extended beyond his family’s desire to become more independent from a food and resource distribution system which relies on a dwindling natural resource.
Farmers weigh the costs of organic certification.

Organic Certification: Farmers Weigh The Costs

Some farmers who practice organic farming, and even those whose methods achieve a higher level of environmental and ethical cultivation, have decided against getting certified organic. Farmers share their thoughts about the pros and cons of certification.
three sisters bioshelter market farm

Three Sisters Permaculture Farm

Darrell Frey talks about permaculture farming, the danger of GMOs and how to choose the best local, seasonal foods. Darrell Frey is the author of Bioshelter Market Garden and farmer/owner of Three Sisters Farm in Pennsylvania, which provides fresh, organic produce to the local foodshed, even in the cold winter months. Frey’s initial interest in…

Meet The Farmer: Brambleberry Permaculture Farm

Darren Bender-Beauregard talks about the differences between certified organic farming and a farm designed around permaculture principles. Take an inside look at how one American family farm is bringing good, healthy food to the community.
Bowl of vegetables.

Meet Simon Richard

Simon Richard talks about building relationships with local farmers, the cost of organic and the pleasure of growing your own food. Simon Richard is the produce buyer and in-house farmer for Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco’s trendy Mission district.  Bi-Rite offers a variety of local, sustainable, and organic produce sourced through its relationships with local…

San Francisco Bay Area Restaurants Sourcing Local Food: Nick’s Cove

Originally a fish shack and roadhouse, Nick’s underwent a major renovation in 2007, emerging as an elegant waterside restaurant featuring seasonal farm-to-table and sea-to-table California cuisine. Executive chef Austin Perkins spoke with us about sourcing local, sustainable seafood, meat, dairy and produce from the Marin Sonoma foodshed.