If you're looking for a creepy, cool Halloween idea for your table setting, try making eyeballs with Swan gourds.  The kids really got into this art project and had a blast!  I did, too.

Keep an eye out for Swan gourds at your local farmers' market or the grocery store.  I recommend picking gourds with the most dark green color you can find, and the smoother the better.

• Use a sheet of newsprint to cover your table.
• Craft acrylic gloss paints, black, blue, white/silver, and dark red
• small paint brushes
• small fan to quickly dry the paint

Start with a base coat of white for the eyeball area and dark red for the neck of the Swan gourd.  Allow each coat to thoroughly dry before painting the next layer.

Paint the iris and pupil of the eye next.

Finally, add fine lines with the dark red paint for the blood vessels in the eye.  The more vessels the better it looks.  Practice making fine lines on the newsprint with your brush, before starting on the gourd.  It helps.

HAVE FUN!

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

It's been almost a year since the last time I inquired and I know there are new folks to meet.

Who are the folks behind Simple Daily Recipes' RSS number?

I watch the RSS Readers number get higher and higher. But I don't know ALL the people behind that number.  And that bothers me.

Do me this favor right now, it won't take but a minute of your time.

* Leave me a "Hello" in the comment box of this post.

If you have a few moments, tell me a little about yourself.

* What is it about this blog that keeps you reading?
* Are you single learning to cook, a single parent, have picky eaters, a big family, a small family, on a budget...

I'm not looking for your mailing address, I just want to get to know you better. I want to know who I'm talking to when I'm alone at my desk with a latte sitting under my chin, typing out all these recipes. I sure would appreciate you doing this for me.

Seriously, I'm waiting and watching to hear from you.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

I just wanted you to see the differences in the yolks from chickens that eat grains, mixed grain & grass & insects, and chickens that only feed on grass and insects.

Their flavors are as distinctive as the colors indicate.  The bottom yolks shown are FAR BETTER than the flavorless yolk at top.  And that's all I've got to say about that.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

WHAT IS GARLIC?
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a member of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae), which also includes leeks, onions, and shallots. It is a perennial with an underground bulb (head) composed of pungent bulblets commonly called cloves. Approximately 90 percent of the garlic grown in the United States is grown in California. California Early and California Late are the two major commercial varieties. California Early has white skins and is planted in December for harvest in July and August. The largest garlic variety, Elephant Garlic, has a very mild-flavored clove and is a close relative of the leek.

The pungent flavor of garlic is caused by a chemical reaction that occurs when the garlic cells are broken. The flavor is most intense shortly after cutting or chopping. This chemical reaction cannot occur after garlic is cooked, which is why roasted garlic is sweet rather than pungent.

BOTULISM WARNING
Regardless of its flavor potency, garlic is a low-acid vegetable. The pH of a clove of garlic typically ranges from 5.3 to 6.3. As with all low-acid vegetables, garlic will support the growth and subsequent toxin production of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum when given the right conditions. These conditions include improper home canning and improper preparation and storage of fresh herb and garlic-in-oil mixtures. Moisture, room temperature, lack of oxygen, and low-acid conditions all favor the growth of Clostridium botulinum. When growing, this bacterium produces an extremely potent toxin that causes the illness botulism. If untreated, death can result within a few days of consuming the toxic food.

HARVESTING GARLIC
If you grow your own garlic, it is important to let it mature after harvest. Spread the harvested garlic heads or bulbs on newspapers or wire racks out of direct sunlight in a well-ventilated place to cure for 2 to 3 weeks or until skins are papery.

STORING GARLIC
Commercially, garlic is stored near 32 degrees F. However, most home refrigerators are too warm for ideal long-term storage of garlic. Instead, store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place in well-ventilated containers such as mesh bags. Storage life is 3 to 5 months under cool (60 degree F) dry, dark conditions.

PEELING GARLIC CLOVES
Peeling whole cloves requires that the papery skin be removed without cutting into the clove. If the garlic is going to be chopped or sliced., the skin can be removed by pressing the clove with the flat side of a knife until the clove and skin crack. The skin can then be easily removed.

ROASTING GARLIC
Roasted garlic, which has become popular in recent years, is sweet to the taste and is delicious on bread or crackers as an appetizer or served as a vegetable side dish. To prepare roasted garlic, leave the head whole and cut off the tip of the head, exposing the cloves. Allow one-half to one head per person. Put the head (or heads) in a baking dish or wrap them in aluminum foil, sprinkle with olive oil or pat with butter, and season with a little salt and pepper and some fresh or dried thyme if desired. Bake at 350 degrees F until very soft and tender (about 45 minutes to 1 hour). The roasted garlic cloves can be easily squeezed from their skins and spread with a knife.

FREEZING GARLIC
Garlic can be frozen in a number of ways.
1. Chop the garlic, wrap it tightly in a plastic freezer bag or in plastic wrap, and freeze. To use, grate or break off the amount needed.
2. Freeze the garlic unpeeled and remove cloves as needed.
3. Peel the cloves and puree them with oil in a blender or food processor using 2 parts oil to 1 part garlic. The puree will stay soft enough in the freezer to scrape out parts to use in sautéing. Freeze this mixture immediately - do not store it at room temperature. The combination of the low-acid garlic, the exclusion of air (by mixing with oil), and room-temperature storage can support the growth of Clostridium botulinum.

DRYING GARLIC
Dry only fresh, firm garlic cloves with no bruises. To prepare, separate and peel the cloves. Cut in half lengthwise. No additional predrying treatment is necessary. Dry at 140 degrees for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 130 degrees until completely dry or crisp. If desired, garlic salt may be made from dried garlic. Powder dried garlic by processing in a blender or food processor until fine. Add 4 parts salt to 1 part garlic powder and blend 1 to 2 seconds. If blended longer, the salt will become too fine and cake together in clumps.

STORING GARLIC IN WINE OR VINEGAR
Peeled cloves may be submerged in wine or vinegar and stored in the refrigerator. A dry white or red wine is suggested; white or wine vinegars also work well. The garlic/liquid should be kept for about 4 months in the refrigerator. Discard both the cloves and the liquid if there are signs of mold or yeast growth on the surface of the wine or vinegar. The garlic-flavored liquid and the garlic cloves may be used to flavor dishes. Do not store the garlic/liquid mixture at room temperature because it will rapidly develop mold growth.

STORING GARLIC IN OIL
Extreme care must be taken when preparing flavored oils with garlic or when storing garlic in oil. Peeled garlic cloves may be submerged in oil and stored in the freezer for several months. Do not store garlic in oil at room temperature. Garlic-in-oil mixtures stored at room temperature provide perfect conditions for producing botulism toxin (low acidity, no free oxygen in the oil, and warm temperatures). The same hazard exists for roasted garlic stored in oil. At least three outbreaks of botulism associated with garlic-in-oil mixtures have been reported in North America.

By law, commercially prepared garlic in oil has been prepared using strict guidelines and must contain citric or phosphoric acid to increase the acidity. Unfortunately, there is no easy or reliable method to acidify garlic in the home. Acidifying garlic in vinegar is a lengthy and highly variable process; a whole clove of garlic covered with vinegar can take from 3 days to more than 1 week to sufficiently acidify. As an alternative, properly dried garlic cloves may be safely added to flavor oils.

_______________________________________________________

Copied and republished with written permission from Calaveras County Agriculture Extension.  Source link: http://cecalaveras.ucdavis.edu/garlic.htm, May 6, 2009

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

It's rare of me to make personal journal posts on Simple Daily Recipes, however, I REALLY wanted to share some photos with y'all.

A few weeks back the City Manager of Sulphur Springs, Marc Maxwell CALLED ME asking if I would do a cooking demonstration for our local Main Street Farmer's Market.  As maturely and calmly as I could, I said "YES!" It wasn't until I hung up with Marc that I remembered - I can't cook and talk at the same time!  Oh pickles!

Marc asked if I would bake Spinach Feta Bread on location and fill the air with fresh baked bread.  This particular recipe would bring attention to the vendors selling spinach and homemade feta cheese.  Again, I said, "Sure!"

This was such an opportunity for me and SimpleDailyRecipes.com.  You see, YOU know of me, but my own home town doesn't have a clue I'm here.  This was my chance to get the word out around town.

Seeing how I've NEVER cooked in public before, especially baking bread outdoors, I called on my facebook friend and cookbook co-author of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Zoe Francois, for help.  Zoe was a real sweetheart, giving advice and support with every question that came to my mind.  Zoe advised me to bake loaves ahead of time, then warm them on location to have ready to give out as samples.  She's so smart.

Four days before kick off, I quickly learned how to calculate large amounts of ingredients and determine my expenses.  I created a classy looking flyer that promoted Simple Daily Recipes and sent it off for printing.

Three days before, I made all the doughs.  Besides Spinach Feta Bread, I prepared the Onion Rye Bread on page 63 of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  (That was an excellent choice!)

The day before the cooking demonstration was baking day.  I started at 7:30 in the morning and finished packing up everything by 8 0'clock that evening.  I ended up with 18 loaves of Spinach Feta and uh, I think 14 loaves of Onion Rye.

Packed and ready for the Main Street Farmer's Market.

I can confidently say that I can make bread with my eyes closed now.  And it's no problem Showing others how easy it is to make Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

I had a wonderful time at the Main Street Farmer's Market.  My dearest friend, Kim Sellers (shown in first photo), stayed by my side.  Kim was an excellent promoter.  She's the Nutritionist at the local hospital and knew most of the people walking by.  When I would finish demonstrating the bread, Kim would step in and talk about the food blog.  It was as if we rehearsed, yet we had not considered one word. Totally smooth, full on smokin'!

Folks crowded around the booth, drawn by the aroma of fresh bread, excited to taste the crispy loaves.  I talked and baked and talked and baked and talked some more.  So many good people, friendly faces, and all happy to learn of SimpleDailyRecipes.com.  It was a fantastic experience that I will never forget.

I cannot close without saying thank you to Charles and John, our dear husbands.  They took turns watching all the kids while Kim & I rocked the farmer's market.  THANK YOU Charles & John!

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Folks!  I can hardly express the excitement and hope for prosperity I have for Sulphur Springs (Texas) Farmers' Market.  I just about came out of my shoes when I heard there would be locally grown foods for sale just five minutes from my home!

Herbs, fruits, vegetables, organic-free-range eggs, fresh breads, fresh cheese, fresh salsas, gourmet cookies and patio plants & flowers.

Downtown Sulphur Springs is working hard to revitalize this historic area by bringing in new shops and fine dining.  Last year, Main Street was the first to get an extreme makeover with new red brick pavement, lamp posts, flower beds, water fountain, and jazz music floating through the air.
Remember when I told you about the ribbon cutting of the new Main Street last October?  Read it here: A New Main Street and Chili Dogs

SO WHO WAS THERE? Well, just to name a few...

Be ready to stock up!  Juarez Chile Co. makes delicious salsas, sweet-n-hot jalapenos pickles and more! It's  Impossible to decide which ones to bring home first.

CiboVino restaurant is the BEST, MOST FABULOUS, OUT OF THIS WORLD, I-Could-NEVER-Make-This-AT-Home fine dining experience in ALL of Texas.  Yes, I said "all of Texas".   CiboVino's Italian menu is loaded with incredible foods ALL made from scratch.

The gentleman in black in the photo above is Rick Murray, owner of CiboVino restaurant.  Rick has big plans and he's not stopping with Italian dining.  In the works and COMING SOON is ciboBQ in Winnsboro, Texas and ciboVino Steaks will open in 2010 in downtown Sulphur Springs Texas. I can't wait!

You can find ciboVino Italian restaurant at 218 North Main Street, Winnsboro, Texas 75494, See Google Map link.

SW Farms is new for me.  I don't have much to report, except that they make a tasty homemade ricotta cheese.  I will keep you posted as I come to learn more.

And finally,

Webb really knows how to put on a spread and works endlessly to put out fresh vegetables.  I was glad to see him at the farmers market.  Webb doesn't have a website; you'll just have to come to Sulphur Springs Farmers' Market EVERY SATURDAY 'til October from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to meet him yourself.

I'll see you there!

Check out the NEW WEBSITE: Main Street Farmers' Market

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Maggie being a mom at Windy Meadows Family Farm

Windy Meadows Family Farm is run by a the friendliest family.  Tucked within the tall pines and peaceful country side, you'll find Windy Meadows in Campbell, Texas, North of interstate highway 30, off highway 50.  They sell the healthiest chickens and freshest hand picked chicken eggs you will ever eat!

From their site:

The Mike and Connie Hale Family and their children have raised pastured chicken and grass fed beef and lamb on their 40 acres of  Windy Meadows Family Farm  in North East Texas for nearly twenty years.  Their concerns for food safety for their own children led them to the decision for raise natural meats without added hormones, antibiotics or feed stimulants. They now have a state-inspected poultry processing facility on their farm that produces pastured chicken and sausage for taste-discriminating palates in the Dallas area. Their customers fall into two categories: those who want pastured meats because they are raise in a more responsible manner, and those who simply want the best-tasting chicken.  Some of the chicken raised by Windy Meadows Family Farm grace the tables of some of the finest four-star restaurants in Dallas that are seeking  locally grown and responsibly raised nataural meats.  Their chicken is available at several loctions in the Metroplex, including several buying clubs and farmers markets.

I'm fortunate enough to live down the road from their farm.  I drive out on Mondays, I call first, and pick up my usual order (3 whole chickens, 2 dozens eggs, and bag of chicken soup bones).  For everyone living near downtown Dallas, one convenient place to get their pastured meats is from the Texas Meats Supernatural at the Dallas Farmers Market booth in Shed 2.  Look for the wood cabin.

The first thing I noticed after buying my first order from Windy Meadows was the minimal amount of fat on the whole chickens.  I slathered that first chicken with butter, smoked salt & fresh ground pepper, stuffed it with a cut lemon and few cloves of garlic then baked it at 425ºF for 1 1/2 hours.  Oh ho ho ho BABY!

Very little fat came off that chicken, I had just enough of the juices to make up a scrumptious sauce to pour over mashed potatoes.  It was beautiful, I almost cried when I tasted the difference.  All this time, wasted eating store bought chickens and having to cover it other ingredients to help them to have flavor.  When all along, I could have been serving my family chicken that was raised as God intended.  I'm glad to have Windy Meadows meats within reach.

As for the eggs, same praise is shouted here.  For years now, I've paid extra to have the cage free chicken eggs from the grocery store.  But even their flavor & yolk color does not compare to eggs from chickens raised on fresh grass, roaming around chasing & eating grasshoppers, worms & other insects.  The happy chicken's yolk is a golden orange with notably more flavor you want on your plate for breakfast and in your baking.  You haven't eaten the best quiche, unless it's been made from happy chicken eggs.

Check out Windy Meadows Family Farm website to learn more about them.

If you don't live anywhere near Dallas or Campbell, Texas, that's okay.  You can still find grass fed chickens and their eggs near you.  Go to Local Harvest.org, they have a wealthy database of farms, farmer's markets, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), food clubs and their own online store.  I recommend joining their newsletter to learn about new farms opening up, festival information and when fresh season crops are available.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

There's nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with this glass of milk before you.  IT'S COMPLETELY NATURAL, as GOD INTENDED For Us To DRINK IT. Those little floaties are actual bits of wholesome cream.  And let me tell you, it's the most wonderful glass of milk I've ever tasted.  Even my kiddos were instantly hooked and are asking for the jug of "real milk" instead of juice.

I have befriended a dairyman and family man, Kent Jisha.  He runs Remember When Dairy in Yantis, Texas.

Kent's milk is the REAL THING. Just as God had intended; All Natural Milk straight from a bunch of happy, healthy cows.  Kent's cows leisurely live across 1000 acres in Yantis, Texas, with plenty of room to roam about.  As a veterinarian and animal lover, Kent is able to monitor and provide the very best for his animals.

As a family man, he wants to provide his kids with the most nutritious, highest quality food nature can offer.  Kent's passions for going back to the ways we use to naturally farm our foods runs deep.  He wants to share this goodness with us; help us to taste the difference and come to expect a better quality.

Well next to come on the market, Kent is gearing up to make Organic Texas cheese.  He operates a second dairy, the name has yet to be decided, that is USDA Certified Organic.  As far as he can tell there is no certified organic, pasture (grass) based cow cheese on the market shelves, at least not in Texas.

Kent's new Organic Texas cheese will be

• Grade A
• No Antibiotics
• No Genetically Modified Grains or Soy Products Used
• No rBST
• No rBGH

If you haven't had the chance to watch the two newest videos I've put together, check them out. Both involve Kent telling us about the dairy practices of making butter and separating milk.
Here's the video about separating milk.

This morning, he emailed me and asked if I could help him come up with a good brand name for his Organic Texas Cheese.

We have not come up with a brand name. We would like to at least reference Texas and family somehow.  We would like to get a brand recognition so when go into chickens, eggs, vegetable and maybe pork it will be known. Any Ideas?

Kent

Well, I immediately thought of y'all.  Why not ask Simple Daily Recipes' readers to help come up with a name?  You folks are smart, family oriented, budget minded folks.  You want the best for your family and you're always shopping for high quality foods.  If we put our minds together, we could help Kent come up with a name.

Now, we've all been told "you can't judge a book by it's cover".  However, we know that a name of a product can resonate feelings of quality & stability better that any book cover.

So can you help out?  Help come up with a name that resonates a Texas pride in family goodness? We have a month to mull it over. But DON'T WAIT till the end.  Don't be afraid to shout out the first names that come to mind.  The best ideas are several good ideas joined together.

Put Your Thinking Caps On & Be a part of something BIG!

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

SUPER HEALTHY MILK

By Jo Robinson

Most cartons of milk in the supermarket show a picture of cows contentedly grazing on grass. Unfortunately, 85 to 95 percent of the cows in the United States are now being raised in confinement, not on pasture. The only grass they eat comes in the form of hay, and the ground that they stand on is a blend of dirt and manure.

The reason for confining our cows in feedlots and feeding them grain rather than grass is that they produce more milk—especially when injected with bi-weekly hormones. Today's grainfed cows produce three times as much milk as the old family cow of days gone by.

With the current emphasis on quantity, the quality of our milk has suffered. One of the biggest losses has been in its CLA content. CLA or "conjugated linoleic acid" is a type of fat that may prove to be one of our most potent cancer fighters. Milk from a pastured cow can have five times as much CLA as a grainfed animal. To date, most of the proof of the health benefits of CLA has come from test tube or animal studies. But a few recent human studies have produced encouraging results. For example, French researchers compared CLA levels in the breast tissues of 360 women. The women with the most CLA in their tissue (and thus the most CLA in their diets) had a 74 percent lower risk of breast cancer than the women with the least CLA.(Bougnoux et al, Inform, 10:S43, 1999.) If an American woman were to switch from grain fed to grassfed dairy products, she would have levels of CLA similar to those with the lowest risk of cancer. Got CLA milk?

Milk from pastured cows also contains an ideal ratio of essential fatty acids or EFAs. There are two families of EFAs—omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Studies suggest that if your diet contains roughly equal amounts of these two fats, you will have a lower risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disorders, allergies, obesity, diabetes, dementia, and various other mental disorders.[1]

Take a few moments to study the chart below showing EFA levels in milk from cows fed varying amounts of grass and grain.[2] The green bars represent omega-3 fatty acids in the milk, and the yellow bars represent omega-6 fatty acids. As you can see, when a cow is raised on pasture (represented by the two bars on the far left), her milk has an ideal ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Take away one third of the grass and replace it with grain or other supplements (represented by the two bars in the middle) and the omega-3 fatty acid content of the milk goes down while the omega-6 fatty acid content goes up, upsetting an essential balance. Replace two-thirds of the pasture with a grain-based diet (illustrated by the two bars on the far right) and the milk will have a very top-heavy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids, a ratio that has been linked with an increased risk of a wide variety of conditions, including obesity, diabetes, depression, and cancer. Much of the milk you buy in the supermarket has an even more lopsided ratio than the final set of measurements because they get no pasture whatsoever.

100% pasture creates ideal EFA balance

Milk from pastured cows offers additional health benefits. (I'm beginning to sound like a TV infomercial: "But wait! There's more!") Besides giving you five times more CLA and an ideal balance of EFAs, grassfed milk is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E. This vitamin bonus comes, in part, from the fact that fresh pasture has more of these nutrients than grain or hay. (When grass is dried and turned into hay, it loses a significant amount of its vitamin content.) These extra helpings of vitamins are then transferred to the cow's milk.

There's another factor involved as well. A grazing cow produces less milk than a cow fed a grain-based diet. This turns out to be a bane for the farmer but a blessing for the consumer. The less milk a cow produces, the more vitamins in her milk.[3] This is because a cow has a set amount of vitamins to transfer to her milk, and if she's bred, fed, and injected to be a Super Producer, her milk has fewer vitamins per glass. It's a watered down version of the real thing.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part of all. Dairy products from grassfed cows taste delicious, and they have a bright yellow color that is visible proof of their bonus supply of carotenes. Serve cheese or butter from a grass-based dairy, and everyone will notice the difference. Also, your cookies and cakes will have that rich buttery color that hasn't been seen since Grandma's day. (You do bake, don't you?)

So where can you find milk from pastured cows? All of the dairies listed on www.eatwild.com keep their cows outdoors on grass whenever possible. Some farmers supplement the cows with small amounts of grain. If so, their listing will detail the type and amount. To find a local producer, go to our list of grass-fed suppliers (link) and click on your state. We also have a special section devoted to farmers who feed their cows 100 percent forage-based diets.

Can you find grass-fed milk in the supermarkets? Unfortunately, an organic label is no guarantee that the cows are raised outdoors on grass. If the label does not mention pasture-feeding, you can assume that the cows were raised in confinement and fed a high-grain diet supplemented with hay. Two large organic brands make a point of contracting with grass-based dairy farmers—Organic Valley, a national brand, and Natural by Nature, which is sold in select stores around. (Go to their website to find a local distributor. http://www.natural-by-nature.com)

____________________________________________________________

Jo Robinson is a New York Times bestselling writer. She is the author or coauthor of 11 nationally published books including Pasture Perfect, which is a comprehensive overview of the benefits of choosing products from pasture-raised animals, and The Omega Diet (with Dr. Artemis Simopoulos) that describes an omega-3 enriched Mediterranean diet that may be the healthiest eating program of all. To order her books or learn more about grassfed products, visit http://eatwild.com.

[1] For more information about essential fatty acid balance, read The Omega Diet, a book I co-authored with internationally acclaimed fatty acid expert, Dr. Artemis Simopoulos. The Omega Diet has 24 pages of pertinent scientific references.

[2] The data comes from: Dhiman, T. R., G. R. Anand, et al. (1999). "Conjugated linoleic acid content of milk from cows fed different diets." J Dairy Sci 82(10): 2146-56.

[3] Jensen, S. K., A. K. Johannsen, et al. (1999). "Quantitative secretion and maximal secretion capacity of retinol, beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol into cows' milk." J Dairy Res 66(4): 511-22.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

You Are What Your Animals Eat

by Jo Robinson

In my investigation into pasture-based farming, I've stumbled upon an alarming state of affairs: few animal scientists see any link between animal feed and human food. "Feed animals anything you want," say the experts, "and it makes no difference to their meat, milk, or eggs." Because of this mindset, our animals are being fed just about anything that enhances the bottom line, including chicken feathers, sawdust, chicken manure, stale pizza dough, potato chips, and candy bars.

Here's a glaring example. A 1996 study explored the desirability of feeding stale chewing gum to cattle.(1) Amazingly, the gum was still in its aluminum foil wrappers. Wonder of wonders, the experts concluded that bubblegum diet was a net benefit---at least for the producers. I quote: "Results of both experiments suggest that [gum and packaging material] may be fed to safely replace up to 30% of corn-alfalfa hay diets for growing steers with advantages in improving dry matter intake and digestibility." In other words, feed a steer a diet that is 30 percent bubblegum and aluminum foil wrappers, and it will be a more efficient eater. With a nod to public safety, the researchers did check to see how much aluminum was deposited in the various organs of the cattle. Not to worry. The aluminum content was "within normal expected ranges." As always, there was no mention of the nutritional content of the resulting meat.

When I first read the bubblegum studies, I assumed that no one would actually feed bubblegum to their animals, despite the "positive outcome" of the research.. Then a professor of animal science drove me by a Beechnut gum factory in upstate New York where dairy farmers bought truckloads of bubble gum to feed to their cows.

The view from the other side of the fence is just as sobering. Most experts in human nutrition are equally blind to the feed/food connection. To them, beef is beef, eggs are eggs, and milk is milk. Thus, when the USDA says "eat less red meat," the edict applies to all red meat, whether it's a fatty steak from a grainfed cow, or a lean steak from a grassfed cow with its invisible bounty of omega-3s, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and CLA.

I've spent the past four years trying to forge the missing link between animal and human nutrition. It's been tough going, especially when it comes pasture-raised animals because virtually all the studies focus on feedlot animals. To fill in the gap, I've searched through yellowing journals published before the advent of factory farming, pieced together small studies financed by farmers, and combed through the research from Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand—parts of the world where animals are still kept home on the range.

Finding the amount of vitamin E in grassfed meat has been one of my biggest challenges. I began tthe search when I learned that grass has 20 times more vitamin E than corn or soy. Given the magnitude of this difference, I reasoned that meat from grassfed animals must have an extra helping of vitamin E.

At long last, I located one American study that broached the subject. The impetus for the study came from disgruntled Japanese buyers who complained that American beef spoiled more quickly than Australian free-range beef. Knowing that vitamin E helped prolong shelf life, the American researchers investigated the amount of vitamin E in the two types of meat. Lo and behold, they discovered that the meat from grassfed cattle had three to four times more vitamin E than feedlot beef, thanks to all that vitamin E-rich grass.

Now, what did the researchers do with this finding? True to form, they began studying how much synthetic vitamin E to add to synthetic feedlot diets. I doubt that it even occurred to them to investigate pasture-based ranching.

Why this lack of interest in the natural model? Much of our animal research is funded by commercial interests—specifically the grain, chemical, pharmaceutical, farm equipment, and meat-packing companies. Together, these vertically integrated behemoths have a multi-billion dollar stake in perpetuating factory farming. The USDA, meanwhile, aids and abets the feedlot industry by focusing virtually all of its efforts—and our tax dollars!—on tweaking the system. For example, the USDA Meat and Animal Research Center in Lincoln, Nebraska, is more willing to spend $100,000 researching how quickly feedlot manure seeps into the water table than to spend a similar amount of money investigating pasture-based ranching, the holistic model that keeps the contamination from happening in the first place.

What will it take to draw more scientific attention to pasture-based ranching? Pressure from an enlightened public. And what will it take to enlighten the public? The national media.

I have a fantasy how this might happen. First, a prominent media source such as "60 minutes" or The New York Times will decide to spotlight pasture-based farming. Building on this ground-breaking work, an award-winning TV producer will create a documentary that deepens the discussion. The program will conclude—as it must—-that raising animals on pasture is better for consumers, the animals, the environment, and small farmers. Before long, dozens of news shows, newspapers, and magazines will follow suit.

As the momentum builds, grassfarming will become the talk of the town. Serving organic meat won't win points in Los Angeles anymore unless it's grassfed as well. Meanwhile, Ted Turner will stop sending all of his bison to feedlots to be fattened like cattle, and by 2005, his "Turner Reserve Grassfed Bison" will be the thing to serve at celebrity gatherings. Propelled by this groundswell of interest, private and government institutions will finally devote more time, money and energy to exploring pasture-based farming.

Will grassfarming ever become the darling of the media? Only time will tell. But even if the media misses the boat, the good news about grassfarming will keep spreading on the grassroots level, one satisfied customer at a time!

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Jo Robinson is a New York Times bestselling writer. She is the author or coauthor of 11 nationally published books including Pasture Perfect, which is a comprehensive overview of the benefits of choosing products from pasture-raised animals, and The Omega Diet (with Dr. Artemis Simopoulos) that describes an omega-3 enriched Mediterranean diet that may be the healthiest eating program of all. To order her books or learn more about grassfed products, visit http://eatwild.com.

1) Wolf, B. W., L. L. Berger, et al. (1996). "Effects of feeding a return chewing gum/packaging material mixture on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle." J Anim Sci 74(11): 2559-65.

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