Author: Eric

To the Editors:

Mr. Levy (“The Maggots in Your Mushrooms” 2/13/2009) is dangerously naive to believe that it’s possible to produce food with zero contaminants. I challenge him to grow, store, and process a years worth of any food he eats and show that none of it contained “icky” insects. Then, if successful, to do so for the general population. Insect contamination is unavoidable if our foods are to have any connection with the natural world (something I hope he would not advocate against).

The problem in this most recent food scare is not the insect parts, but that they carried salmonella. The FDA does not overlook salmonella contamination, nor should it. But to link their tolerance for non-hazardous contaminants directly to hazardous contaminant appears to advocate for a food supply that does not, cannot, and should not exist if we want to continue to be able to eat real food.

–Eric Rector

The Times’ letter policy limits letters to 150 words (barely made it), but there is much more to say about this topic, especially about why I think it’s so dangerous.
Continue reading “An Icky Idea” →

“Rocky Road” Rector (a bull calf) was born Monday night around 6pm. It was a mild winter evening (28 degrees F), and his coat dried pretty quickly, helped by his mother’s licking. He stood up and nursed within 15 minutes of being born — amazing. He is a day old in this picture, standing with his mother, Raindrop. Alison named him because he looks like chocolate ice cream with marshmallows. Raindrop is half Jersey(via our Jersey “steer” named ‘Chuck’) and half Dexter, so the mash-up must have resulted in the mottling, though his full sister “Red Sox” was pure black when born and grown. Continue reading “Rocky Rector Arrives” →

It’s that time of the year again, folks: I got the early morning phone call from the Post Office announcing that the chicks that we had ordered had arrived and were ready for pick-up.

This year there were a few remarkable aspects. First, when I called to place my order, there was a striking lack of chickens left to order — apparently there is a surging demand for chicks, egg birds and meat birds. I I was interested in getting a few egg layers, but there were only a few varieties left. I ended up getting a rare type that lays chocolate brown eggs (“Cuckoo Maran”), which will complement our regular brown, white, and blue/green egg layers. We also got the last batch of the “Barbecue Special” meat birds in June.
Continue reading “Lay Pool-Ay Ay R-E-Vay” →

Following is a copy of a Letter I sent to the NY Times regarding an idiotic Op-Ed they published last Monday by someone pretending to be an expert on sustainable food sources, but who really wants to blame fish farming for all the evils in the world. [Hyperbole intended.] It’s so frustrating to hear people who know little of what they would criticize repeat exaggerated platitudes to support their arguement. It’s even more frustrating when those people purport to be speaking up for ideas I care a great deal about. It’s lazy, and it ultimately reflects badly on the cause.

In any case, hear my righteous wrath:

To the Editor:

Regarding “Sardines With Your Bagel” by Taras Grescoe (published 9 June 2008 as an Op-Ed) — Mr. Grescoe addresses an important question — human impact on wild fish species, specifically the Pacific salmon so prized for their culinary qualities — but quickly digresses into an ill-informed and misleading attack on farmed salmon that shows little knowledge of agriculture or basic aquaculture. Surely Mr. Grescoe knows that commercially raised salmon are not the only conventionally raised livestock treated with pesticides — conventionally raised chickens are routinely fed them to reduce the viability of fly larvae in their manure…not to mention that worming medicines fed to all non-organically raised ungulate livestock are insecticides. He should point out that farmed salmon, like ALL farmed meats, may contain residues of the pesticides used to treat various maladies (organic meats included — though the pesticides allowed for use on organic livestock are limited to known list of active ingredients). However, I also challenge his implication that these chemicals (which are very expensive) are widely and regularly used on commercial salmon. If they were, farmed salmon might be as expensive as the Copper River Chinook!.

Continue reading “The Know Nothing Club” →