Jake Levin is passionate about educating others, in particular about the merits of having respect for farmers, where your food came from, and how it got onto the dinner plate.
And at the center of this work is connecting people who are already interested in local food and farm-to-table ideas but don’t have on the ground experience; getting folks on the farms and in the field.
Farming at Climbing Tree is particularly labor-intensive given its hillside location, but there is a significant upside: the view. The farm looks out on a small lake, forests and the mountainous terrain of Massachusetts.
“There are a lot of people trying to do organic farming around here. This [resolution] is about protecting our local organic farmers. If you get GMO seed into your field, you’re done.”
-- Selectboard member Bill Cooke, who introduced a draft resolution intended to protect the integrity of organic farms and their produce.
The next time you are at the butcher’s counter, give a thought to where your food comes from, what it required of the fully committed people who get it to your table.
The anti-oxidants in leeks are associated with reducing cholesterol production in the liver cells. They also appear to impart anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities.
Over the past decade or so, Great Barrington has emerged as a mini-culinary capital in New England. Michael Ballon has been at the forefront of our growing culinary awareness, appreciation and practices.