Eating Thoughtfully - In August and Year-round

It's time for the Eat Local Challenge once again! The particulars for our local effort are much as they have been before, except that this year the challenge runs from August 1 to August 31.

Of course, the bounty of fresh, delicious, local produce at this time of year makes such a challenge about as easy as it could be in Minnesota. (Ooh, have you noticed that Grisim's sweet corn stand is now open on Water St. in Northfield?!) But it's not superfluous, because even for those who would be eating a lot of their food from local sources in midsummer anyway, the challenge nudges us to consider why we eat what we eat and how we think about food.

My own thinking about food has come quite a long way in the last couple of years. My very first Penelopedia post spoke of the inspiration I'd gained from Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and my feeling that by eating more locally, organically, and sustainably, I could "do some good for the local land, the global environment, and the local economy." I still believe that.

But I've learned more. In particular, I've learned about the benefits of grass.

To make a long and very interesting story short*, the evidence is powerful that when cows eat primarily grass (their natural food), not corn and other grains, they are healthier. Their meat is healthier for us to eat. The fats in their meat and milk are healthier - downright good for a body, in fact. (Really!) And the land, air, and water where they are raised is healthier (natural fertilizer is automatically provided, no need to raise lots of pesticide-intensive corn, more natural and diverse ecosystems to support birds and other creatures, and so on).

As I've quoted before and will doubtless quote again, "Eating is an agricultural act." (Wendell Berry) Where you buy your food and what you eat have effects far beyond your own household. Cheap industrial food comes at a real cost. Especially in the area of meat, dairy, and other animal products, I now find the hidden costs of "cheap" food unacceptable for myself. The high rate of production and resulting low price of meat or milk come at the cost of the animals' quality of life, the waste-disposal challenges caused by large concentrated animal production facilities, and a significant portion of the traditional healthfulness of the meat or milk itself. It's not a trade-off I can routinely make in good conscience anymore.

If you haven't put much thought into where your food comes from and how it is produced, perhaps the annual Eat Local Challenge is a good time to give it some thought. Consider cooking more whole foods from scratch, so you have more control over your ingredients. Buy from a farmers' market or a co-op or other source where you can determine something about how and where the food was raised. If you eat meat, choose meat from animals raised humanely and provided a traditional diet for which they are biologically suited. Seek out dairy products and beef from grass-fed cows. Favor traditional foods, raised well, over industrial foods.

And enjoy some wonderful local food this August.

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*If you want longer versions of the story, here are some books I recommend:

• Real Food - Nina Plank (a book that may well turn your ideas about dairy products and about traditional fats like butter and lard on their heads)
• The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
• In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan
• The Compassionate Carnivore - Catherine Friend (a local farmer and author)

Answers to Hidden Pictures

Below are closer crops of the photos from my Hidden Pictures post, showing the hidden birds.

We thought the bird above was a downy woodpecker, but it may have been a hairy woodpecker, as participant Richard suggested. The two are difficult to distinguish from a distance.

Honestly, we don't remember what we thought the bird above was at the time -- it is quite nuthatch-like, but at this point you're free to tell ME what it is. The photo was taken looking directly overhead, catching the underside of whatever it was.

This was a very difficult one, and if I hadn't remembered where the downy (or hairy) woodpecker was from when I snapped the shot, I doubt I would ever have found it in the photo. If you still can't quite make it out, the light-colored breast is framed on the left by the darker wing color. The breast extends up above where the branch divides, and there is a hint of head and dark beak above that.

Thanks to all who played the game! Jim H. said he didn't know if it was fun... or torture. What do you think?

Hidden Pictures

Trying to photograph smallish birds in trees leads mostly to photographs that will never win awards or even be considered to be examples of bird photography. Making the best of a bad situation, I offer up to bored souls out there these three photos as "Hidden Pictures" such as you may have enjoyed in your youth. Find the bird in each scene - click on the photo for a larger view if you want the easier version (or clearer confirmation of your guesses). I believe I have put them in order of difficulty. Good luck!

Juvenile Grebe?

I wonder where this little guy came from - suddenly late last week there was a small, almost-duckling on the Cannon River near all the usual growing families of mallards and Canada geese. But this is not a duckling - its beak is noticeably sharper, and it's not nearly as fuzzy as a duckling of this size would be. The backlighting doesn't help much with the identification, but our best guess is that it is a young eared grebe. I like the two-headed effect of the reflection.

Skyful of Pelicans

Wheeling joyously on Saturday morning over this pond between Lonsdale and New Prague, Minn., were dozens of American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) -- about 50 are visible in this photo (I recommend you click on the photo to see the larger version), with hints of more in the distance. These are enormous birds, with a nine-foot wingspan. Although the heavy orange bills aren't very visible here, their black-edged wings are easy to recognize in the air; the link above has a photo that shows the wings clearly.

While some may think of pelicans as coastal birds, white pelicans breed on freshwater lakes and ponds in the interior of the continent. They eat fish while swimming and do not dive from the air.

It was an inspiring sight to see this flock in the sky, their white bodies and wings glinting in the early morning light.