The 2 Most Important Words in Food

Originally posted on October 7th, 2011.

For your family, the two most important words in food are, without a doubt,

“shop local”!

I have written before about the fraudulent description of products as “free-range.” The label “organic” is often used to promote food when it doesn’t much matter whether the food is organic or not, in some cases glossing over more important issues. And, of course, you can go almost nowhere without seeing the designation “natural.”

Forget these marketing catchphrases. If you’re looking for genuinely wholesome, healthy food, shop local at farmers’ markets or locally owned specialty food stores like the wonderful Food & Thought in Naples, Florida. (Do yourself a huge favor and seek out the owner, Frank. The fresh local food in the store is often from Frank’s own farm.) In the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, eating local is huge. We love Gigi Trattoria in scenic Rhinebeck. In Rhode Island, we benefit from Consumer Supported Agriculture, which offers a chance to join a local fresh food club.

Patronize fresh food restaurants where the sources of the food you are served are identified on the menu. And don’t be led astray by the Prime beef designations, which mean little more than well-marbled and -aged commercial feedlot beef loaded to the nines with antibiotics. (Cattle cannot tolerate corn and must be pumped with antibiotics to live through the nightmare experience of a crammed feedlot.)

My focus is on local food resources for your family—the ones we use. Joel Salatin, Allan Nation, Jo Robinson, and Dr. Mary Enig are among America’s leaders in fresh and local food, especially in promoting the powerful health benefits of grass-fed-to-finish meat and eggs, butter, and raw milk. The higher the altitude (i.e. Switzerland), the better the health benefits.

Next week, I will introduce you to a type of cattle you should search out if you’re in the market for healthful grass-fed beef. I have firsthand experience and some neat stories and photos for you, your kids, and your grand kids. Make it a great week.