F  O   U   N   D   E   R   '   S    L  E   T   T   E  R   .   J  A   N   1  4  ,  2  0  1  4

D E A R   B L O G G E R S ,   S U P P O R T E R S ,   A N D   F R I E N D S , 

The Giving Table is back! And we have some big goals for 2014.

To those of you who have been following this journey from the beginning, I appreciate your patience immensely as I've prepared for the next iteration of this movement. After a highly successful social action campaign last April, I took some much-needed time to consider our lessons learned,  dream about what can be achieved moving forward, plan a campaign strategy, and redesign the website. So thank you.

I hope you're just as excited as I am about what's on the horizon! 

Our mission of doing good with food hasn't changed, but a new giving model will help ensure that the impact we make in 2014 will be felt worldwide. You can read more about it here, as well as take a peek at The Giving Table's manifesto and FAQ sections.

F U N D I N G   T H E   F O O D   S Y S T E M 

After much consideration, I've decided to host future campaigns on the Causes platform. Causes is integrated with Facebook, the largest social media site in the world, and has the potential to draw even more participants to our activism and fundraising campaigns. If you have a Facebook account (and I'm guessing most of you do), you can access Causes seamlessly. Stop by today and support us! ("Supporting" a cause is the Facebook equivalent of "liking" a page.)

You may have noticed a new word: fundraising. Causes supports donations, which means we'll have the ability to directly impact food projects throughout the world. Through strategic partnerships with food nonprofits, bloggers will donate their posts to causes with tangible results, and micro-transactions from readers (less than $20), offer enormous potential to raise significant funding.

Consider this: Collectively, we have hundreds of thousands of readers. If just 1,000 of them donated $10, we'd have $10,000 for charity! By working together, it really is that simple, and I can't wait to get started.

If you're ready to join The Giving Table in 2014, here's how you can help.

G E T   I N V O L V E D  -  T H E   L U N C H B O X   F U N D   2 . 1 0 . 1 4 

The first campaign of 2014 will be held on FEBRUARY 10, 2014. Here's everything you need to know to get involved.

1. Visit the campaign page and pledge to donate your post. 

2. Review the guidelines to prepare your recipe and post.

3. Tell your friends, invite fellow bloggers, and help spread the word!

T H E   N E W   W E B S I T E 

I'm thrilled about our new space, and hope it inspires you to get more involved in food philanthropy. The photography was generously provided by my friend and fellow food blogger Erin Alderson, and I can't imagine the site without her spectacular images.

As you reacquaint yourself, here are a few places you'll want to visit.

About us. Brush up on our mission, manifesto, and find answers to your questions.

Activism. Learn more about our giving model and what it truly means to "donate a post" to The Giving Table.

Social Media. Stop by the Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, and check out our offerings on Pinterest.

Newsletter. If you haven't signed up for the newsletter, I encourage you to do so. This will ensure you'll stay updated about news and future campaigns.

Cheers to 2014, and all that we'll accomplish together!

Very sincerely, 

Nicole Gulotta
Founder, The Giving Table

“The price of a farm bill should not be making more people hungry in America,” -Rep. Jim McGovern 

Last week, the proposed Farm Bill FAILED on the House floor by a vote of 195-234.

There are many unanswered questions about where we go from here and what it means if a farm bill is not approved later this year, but for now, it's worth relishing in the fact that this time around, the farm bill didn't simply sail through Congress.

This farm bill proposal included over $20 billion in cuts to SNAP (formerly food stamps), $2.5 billion in cuts to food aid, and policy changes that would have substantially increased hunger for years to come. The House bill also included amendments that would have instituted a lifetime ban on SNAP for ex-offenders and imposed harsher work requirements on all beneficiaries.

For the past few months, individuals (like all of you who participated in Food Bloggers Against Hunger and sent letters to your representatives), and numerous organizations have been fighting to make a difference in our food system, and although there is still much to accomplish, our collective voice is starting to be heard.

Here are a few responses from around the web:

Washington Post: The House farm bill unexpectedly failed. So what happens next?

New York Times: House Rejects Farm Bill as Food Stamp Cuts Prove Divisive

Huffington Post: Food Stamp Cuts Derail Farm Bill

AN OPEN LETTER TO CHIPOTLE

Dear Chipotle,

We've come to know you as a leader in sustainable fast food. Your business model includes unconventional practices in the fast food industry, including sourcing ingredients from local farmers, avoiding antibiotics in your meat, and cooking food fresh, on-site every day. We hope to see more companies embracing these strategies in the future.

When you released your ingredients statement yesterday, including a listing of the GMOs found in your products, my first reaction was anger. How can a sustainable fast food company use GMOs? Isn't it against everything they stand for? Chipotle is the only fast food chain I'm willing to eat at. What will I do on nights when I don't want to cook?

When I realized that the ingredients I often consume, including brown rice, crispy chips, and tortillas, contained GMOs, I contemplated what my life might look like without Chipotle. I'll boycott Chipotle, I thought! I'll make burritos at home instead, using ingredients I can source back to the farm they came from! I'll make my own tortillas from scratch! I'll start a petition! This went on for several minutes, but after reading through your statement and really considering it, I came to a different conclusion.

Transparency across all sectors is something consumers are demanding and companies are wrestling with. It's easier to hide behind websites and office buildings, and not come clean. But you chose the path of resistance. You risked losing customers. You chose to do the right thing.

Not only have you clearly stated which ingredients contain GMOs, you also outlined the measures you're taking to eliminate GMOs from your business. Switching from soybean to sunflower oil, working to improve the shelf life of tortillas naturally, and reducing artificial preservatives are important steps.

But even more importantly, you gave me a choice. As a consumer, your transparency has empowered me to make informed decisions about which toppings I'll choose for my salad bowl, or whether I'll eat at your restaurants at all.

Thank you for your honesty, for acknowledging the areas where you can do better, and for actively taking steps to improve your business practices, the fast food industry, and our food system.

Sincerely,

A loyal customer

This month, a fresh-from-the-farm cookbook has been released by Tracey Medeiros, who moved to Vermont nine years ago for her husband's airline job and fell in love with the food culture in the process. Small, independent farms are the lifeblood of Vermont's agriculture, and the farm-to-table movement has been a staple in local life for generations. As a state, Vermont exemplifies a standard of small-scale, community-minded, unadulterated agriculture that has become a national model.

She said in a recent interview that her hope with this The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook is "to keep these farmers employed and help them succeed. I also want to excite the younger generations, to plant that seed in our youth that says, ‘Maybe I will try to be a farmer one day.’"

In an effort to continue supporting local organizations, 10 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Vermont Food Bank to help sustain the important work they do. This is a wonderful opportunity to get your hands on a new cookbook and do some food philanthropy in the process.

Inside, you'll find classics like Vermont Cheddar Soup alongside fresh ideas like Ramp Dumplings or Raisin Hell Pie. No matter where you are in the country, you'll enjoy incorporating a piece of Vermont into your weekly menus.

Resources

Amazon

Facebook Page

Michael Pollan's latest book, Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, hit the shelves this week. He's since appeared on many news outlets, blog posts, and television shows discussing what it means to cook and why it's critical to helping change the food system.

Today's Friday Food for Thought comes from an interview Pollan did with The Atlantic, where he shares that the now-famous Wendell Berry adage, "eating is an agricultural act" is what inspired him to pursue food. Buried deep in the interview is a quote befitting our recent event, Food Bloggers Against Hunger. "When people are more conscious about their food choices," he says, "they can change the food system." This optomism is inspiring, and I hope it starts your weekend off on a good note.

"When people are more conscious about their food choices, they can change the food chain. They can change what happens on the farm. I think it's one reason that so many people are finding their way to food as an interest and as a focus of their political energies. Food issues have a tremendous bearing on everything from the environment to public health to monopolization of the economy, and food activism is producing results that you can see. At a discouraging time, it's a very empowering issue."

-Michael Pollan

With fresh energy from Food Bloggers Against Hunger, many of you have expressed interest in continuing to fight for this cause. If you're ready to do more, put on your oven mits and break out your mixing bowls, because Share Our Strength has another opportunity to do good with food this spring. Just $1 can help connect a child in need with up to 10 meals, so bake sales both big and small can "bake" a real difference!

What Bloggers Can Do to Help

Whether your friends call you the next Martha Stewart, or you're better off leaving the baking to the pros, there are easy ways you can help.
 
1.  Encourage Your Readers to Host a Bake Sale
Explain how easy it is to host bake sales, and you can inspire hundreds of people to sign up for Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry! The Bake Sale Resource Center provides tools like planning checklists, templates for flyers, location and pricing advice, and other helpful tips to make events successful and fun.
 
Participants will be rewarded for completing their bake sales with a variety of gifts on a monthly basis. For bake sales raising between $250 - $1,000+, bakers will receive select items from Kmart's Sandra by Sandra Lee collection, ranging from silicone oven mitts to ceramic ramekins to a travel cake keeper.
 
Readers can sign up here.
 
2.  Host a Virtual Bake Sale
If baking isn't your thing, you can recruit friends and family to contribute to your own personal Virtual Bake Sale and raise funds online. This easy-to-use guide helps you set up your very own fundraising webpage and provides an email template to share with friends and family. In four simple steps, your Virtual Bake Sale can make a great contribution to Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry.
 
3. Host Your Own Actual Bake Sale
Break out those mixing bowls, join in on the fun, and host an actual bake sale in your own hometown! Document your experience on your blog, and inspire your loyal readers to get involved as well.
 
Bonus: Duncan Hines will donate $10,000 on behalf of the blogger bake sale that raises the most funds!

Ready to host your own bake sale? Sign up here!

Food Bloggers Against Hunger Results from Nicole Gulotta on Vimeo.

The results are in!

On April 8th, food bloggers joined forces to help make a difference in the food system and support Share Our Strength and the new documentary A Place at the Table. Today, the ripple effect of this event is still making its way across the nation. (If you missed it, check out the event on Storify!) There are a series of impressive numbers, like almost 17,000 pins on Pinterest, and 2,400 letters submitted to Congress, but the real strength lies in the proof that our collective voice is more powerful than anything we could accomplish alone.

Tom Colicchio shared Anne Coleman's post when he met with 40 members of Congress on April 9th. Representative Jim McGovern tweeted about the work we were doing. The New York Times, Huffington Post, and Civil Eats took notice. And when policies begin to change (and they will), over the coming months, and this issue continues to remain in the spotlight, you will know that you had something to do with it. A big something.

Representatives like John Matheson (UT) have responded to your letters: "While I firmly believe that we all need to make tough decisions and share in the sacrifice to reduce our federal deficit, I do not support balancing the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens."

Many of you have expressed your gratitude for my organizing this event, for giving you a platform to discuss these issues. But I have to extend the same gratitude back to you, because none of this would have been possible without you. Had I posted about this on my own blog, it would have made almost no difference. But the power of 250 bloggers behind this cause made for an incredible day.

Here are some highlights from your blog posts:

"Today, food bloggers across the country are writing about food insecurity. This is not to be confused with foodie insecurity, the worry that your salted caramel bacon doughnut on a stick isn’t photogenic enough for your Pinterest followers."  -Plant & Plate

"Far too many people understand what true hunger is, to not have enough to eat, to feel the twisting agony of real hunger as they lay in the dark night; to open cupboards, the refrigerator and see nothing for sustenance or thirst."   -Kate in the Kitchen

"I am angry that we are a nation of great wealth, and people are going hungry.  I am angry that those people are not given the appropriate tools to eat a nutritious diet.  I am angry that obesity and hunger are relatives.  But, I am also inspired.  I am inspired by people who give a damn!" -Corbin in the Dell

"I feel sickened to my core when I think what it must be like for moms who have to watch their children suffer the pangs of hunger, who have to tell their kids that she’s sorry but there’s just not anything for breakfast today." -Em-i-lis

"The real tragedy of food allergies and food insecurity is that families may take risks with their children's well being." -The Allergic Kid

Congratulations to everyone who participated and supported this event! Special thanks to Feastie and Share Our Strength for providing analytics.

If you're browsing through your RSS feed or checking your Twitter stream this morning, you might notice a common theme. Today, 200 food bloggers are donating their posts to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in America. And we're planning to make some noise.

This event began last August, when I had the opportunity attend an early screening of A Place at the Table through a local professional network. This was well before Participant Media had designed an action center, but I walked away knowing that this would be a wonderful partnership with The Giving Table. (If you haven't had a chance to see the film yet, I encourage you to do so. If it's not playing in your town, you can also watch it on demand on iTunes and Amazon.)

In preparing for this event during the past few weeks, I've been humbled by the reception in the food blog community, and proud of what we've set out to accomplish together. This event (and this website, really) began because I believe I'm not the only one who cares about these issues. All my feelings have been affirmed as I've watched my inbox fill with RSVPs from fellow bloggers who are standing with us today.

We're all joining together for one reason: to make a difference in our food system. Millions are hungry, and as many as 50 million people are food insecure and don't know where their next meal is coming from. SNAP—the nation’s food stamp program—is at risk for severe cuts that would impact millions of families, especially children, that rely on school meals and food stamps to survive. In response to the film, the country's leading anti-hunger organizations, Share Our Strength, Bread for the World, Feeding America, and The Food and Research Action Center, are asking supporters to help spread the word.

Private sector programs and charities aren’t enough. The only sustainable solution is for government policies to change, so we must make our voices heard.

Here's how you can get involved:

1. See the film

2. Spread the word on social media (follow the #takeyourplace hashtag!)

3. Join thousands of other advocates and send a letter to Congress TODAY (it only takes 30 seconds!)

If you'd like more information about the event and how to get involved, click here.

In case you missed them, here are some media stories you might be interested in.

A Paycheck Doesn't Mean You Won't Go Hungry In America

“The stereotypes about who gets governmental help, in our experience, that’s not the reality,” says Ross Fraser, spokesman for Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in America. “SNAP was created as a supplement for working people to help feed their families. The average monthly benefit is $134 a month. That works out to about $1.50 per meal. That’s hardly enough to live off of on its own.”

Taking A Place at the Table

With hunger at near record levels, including one of two American children expected to be on food assistance at some point during their lives, and with few elected officials talking about it or media focusing on it, filmmakers Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush perform an invaluable service by giving a voice to those who are too often voiceless, and in conveying that hunger can be solved.

Documentary Inspired Food Bloggers to Unite Against Hunger

In response to the dire situation, GivingTable.org has come together to start "Food Bloggers Against Hunger." The idea of the movement and charity event is to unite food bloggers together on April 8 to take actions towards improving food assistance for families in need.

A Serving of Hard-to-Swallow Truths

This young woman — proud and strong and ambitious — looks into her refrigerator, nearly bare only five days after the last paycheck and the tears start to flow. “It’s tiring,” she says.

Food Bloggers Unite to Fight Hunger

The Giving Table, a blog whose motto is “Doing good with food,” has organized a campaign for food bloggers to join in the fight against hunger. Bloggers are being asked to dedicate their posts on April 8 to raising awareness about hunger and telling readers what they can do to advocate for changes in food policy. The campaign comes in response to the documentary “A Place at the Table,” about hunger in America. Thanks to @bittman for this tip.

Mission

Heifer International's mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.

History

It all started with a cow. Moved by the plight of orphans and refugees of the Spanish Civil War as he ladled out meager rations of powdered milk, Dan West, an Indiana farmer, volunteer relief worker and Church of the Brethren member, grasped that the people needed "a cow, not a cup"—cows that could produce milk so families would not have to depend on temporary aid. From that simple idea, Heifer International was born.

Today, Heifer empowers families to turn hunger and poverty into hope and prosperity by linking communities with markets and sustainable agricultural practices. New incomes provided by Heifer's animals combined with training programs, allows recipients to provide for their families and send children to school.

Program Overview

Heifer's 12 "Cornerstones" have been used for more than 65 years, and guide communities to self-reliance. They include practices like nutrition and income, improving the environment, and improved animal management.

It's most fundamental cornerstone, and most widely recognized, is its "passing on the gift" program. Participants are required to pay it forward in their own communities by donating offspring to another family in need. 

Three of the twelve cornerstones focus on food and agriculture:

Nutrition and Income. Heifer recipients enjoy improved diets and finances through the consumption and/or sale of milk, eggs, cheese, honey, meat and wool. Other Heifer recipients use draft power to increase crop yields or get products to market more easily. It's not uncommon for project participants to share extra milk with their neighbors or to loan out their oxen to help other farmers till their fields.

Improved Animal Management.  In order for livestock to be a healthy and productive part of any farm, Heifer first ensures that the species and breed is an appropriate fit for the area and for the families who will receive the gift animals. Project participants then attend trainings to ensure they can provide the animals with adequate feed, water, shelter and health care. When animals are healthy and productive, families benefit and there is a favorable impact on the environment.

Improving the Environment. Caring for the Earth is a huge part of every Heifer project. Animals are chosen based largely on how appropriate they are for the local environment. Will they overburden or pollute the water supply? Will it be difficult to find or grow abundant fodder? Reforestation is a facet of Heifer projects in denuded areas, and manure and crop residues are used to reinvigorate anemic soil.

Impact

Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 12 million families in more than 125 countries move toward greater self-reliance through the gifts of livestock and training in environmentally sound agriculture. Independent evaluators from Western Michigan University report, “It is beyond doubt that in all 20 of the countries we have examined, Heifer has brought large overall benefits to very large numbers of low-income rural families.”

Heifer's learning centers in Rutland, Massachusetts and Perryville, Arkansas attract more than 50,000 people a year to particpate in seminars, service projects, and in-depth learning experiences.

Get Involved

CEO Pierre Ferrari describes giving to Heifer as "an opportunity for people to do what most humans want to do all the time, which is to extend love to other people." He emphasizes that it's not just a one-time gift, but that Heifer's model is "an opportunity to give a gift to someone who can use it and leverage it dramatically for a better life."

Heifer pioneered the nonprofit gift catalog by enabling donors to purchase the gift of a heifer for a family in need. Today, you can choose from dozens of animals including honeybees, ducks, and pigs. This is a very tangible way to give back and know that your contribution is making a difference.

Heifer is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Participate in a local Library Program, recruit friends and family to fundraise with Team Heifer on your own donation page, or sign up for Heifer's newsletter to learn more.

Have you supported Heifer International in the past?

Share your experience in the comments!

My first reaction after seeing the Dodge commercial that aired during the Super Bowl went something like this: That was a car commercial? Why wasn't it sponsored by the Organic Trade Association? What does farming have to do with selling cars? Why is Dodge making our farming industry look like a pastoral dreamland instead of what it really is?

That's probably not what Dodge wanted me to think. Dodge got everybody talking about the company and scored its best publicity since the government-funded bailout, but it painted a false picture of what farming looks like in this country. The video above really drives this point home.

Here are a few more reactions from inside the food industry.

"Dodge missed a great opportunity to provide a contemporary view of the American farm.  They were going for nostalgia and heart strings here - and they nailed it. Even so, they could have been more accurate by showing more farmworkers, more women, more minorities, and emerging young farmers..." -Farmer Jane READ MORE.

"The contradictions evident in the Dodge commercial—and in many of the reactions to it—have been ingrained in America’s farm policy since the early- to mid-1900s. This is, after all, a country in which First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had both to request and receive permission from her husband’s USDA, which was “skeptical of amateur farmers,” before she could plant her White House garden." -Reason.com READ MORE.

"God may have made farmers all around the world, but man continues to make new ways to exploit them." -Huffington Post READ MORE.

On March 1st, the new food documentary A Place at the Tablewill release nationwide in theatres, on demand, and on iTunes. (Check out the trailer below.)

I was able to preview the film last year, and have been eager to share it with you ever since. Here's what Participant Media (the studio that brought you Food, Inc.), has to say about the film.

"Fifty million people in the U.S.—including one in five children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.

Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides – as they have in the past – that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all."

Consider how much water you use each day. Brushing your teeth, washing hands, washing dishes, taking a shower, spraying your car with a hose, and filling up a pot of water to boil pasta or brew tea. In the United States, we can access water without giving it a second thought, but almost one billion people in the world do not have access to this luxury.

Food Bloggers Give Back

It's the season of giving, and the duo behind Minimalist Baker is doing something to help. Food Bloggers are a generous, passionate group, and 2012 has been a very philanthropic year for the food community. This summer, they rallied behind a campaign to end slavery in U.S. tomato fields. This fall, the husband and wife team behind A Couple Cooks released their cookbook for charity, and just in time for the holidays, a FREE E-Cookbook has been released.

Minimalist Baker teamed up with Kelsey of Happyolks, Erin of Naturally Ella, Kate of Cookie and Kate, Ashley of Edible Perspective and Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats to bring you an amazing E-Cookbook that is completely FREE to download.

The 1 Cup Water e-Cookbook contains 19 delicious recipes. All of the recipes contain at least one cup of water, which serves as a reminder to us that the abundance of clean water we have access to truly is a luxury.

The catch? All they ask in return is that you visit the Charity Water campaign page and consider making a donation. Charity Water puts 100% of funds raised directly toward the cause, which in this case will be to fund water projects in Ethiopia where 60% of the population does not have access to clean, drinking water.

I asked Dana and John to share a little bit about how the project came about, and what inspired them to give back.

Questions for Minimalist Baker

1. What inspired you to collaborate on a digital cookbook this season?

Minimalist Baker: One of the most exciting parts of foodblogging has been networking with other bloggers and foodies. We developed the original concept (each recipe contains one cup of water as a reminder of the luxury we have in abundant clean water), but we knew other food bloggers would bring new variety and creativity that we wouldn't have found any other way.

2. There are so many nonprofit organizations to choose from. What drew you to charity:water?

Minimalist Baker: The charity:water founder, Scott Harrison, spoke at an event I attended last summer. Beyond his remarkable story, he explained not only the great need for water, but the need for great charities. He finished by demonstrating that water changes everything. Water increases overall health of a nation, allows families to work, allows children to return to school, and so much more. Once humbled to realize the luxury I have in ridiculously easy access to water, involving myself in raising money for this cause was unquestionable - I had to do it.

Finally, charity:water has an amazing structure that really makes it unique to other charities. First, 100% of donations go straight to water projects. They have a foundation that pays for all of the credit card processing fees and administration fees. Second, you can track your donation to see what area of the world your donation benefited. Charity:water will email you with periodic updates and the exact location of the well you helped build.

3. What is your goal for this project, and how can readers help?

Minimalist Baker: We are going to raise $1,000 for charity:water by December 31st. We ask that donations be made directly to charity:water. We understand that not everybody can donate, so we ask that everyone at least consider donating their birthday to charity:water.

Lastly, just check out, share, and enjoy our cookbook!

A carrot isn’t just a carrot anymore. Today, the question of what to eat is loaded with implications about the life you live, your views on health, animal rights, farming, and the food future you envision for yourself and your family.  This means that the side dish you may have roasted for last night’s dinner came sprinkled with salt, pepper and politics.

What is the true origin of your carrots? Are they organic or pesticide-coated? Local or trucked from across country? Part of a seasonal CSA box or purchased on sale from your neighborhood grocery store?

It’s good to ask these questions and to know more about our food system, but as Michael Pollan points out in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, it can easily produce a fair amount of stress.  

“As a culture we seem to have arrived at a place where whatever native wisdom about eating has been replaced by confusion and anxiety. Somehow this most elemental of activities—figuring out what to eat—has come to require a remarkable amount of expert help.”

Of all the questions surrounding the food industry, one of the most basic we each must ask ourselves is What exactly should we be eating? The resources below are designed to give you the tools to learn more about the three most popular ways to eat, but the questions don't end here.

As a vegetarian, will you eat fish? If so, all fish, or only sustainable varieties? For omnivores, there are questions surrounding how often you will eat meat, which farms your meat will be sourced from, and if you’ll buy corn fed or grass fed beef. For vegans, will you ease in, gradually giving up dairy, or commit entirely by not only modifying your food habits but also the clothing and skin care products you use?

Coming to terms with our food values will take time, but simply by being here you’re on the right track. Your decision is a personal one, and will affect your giving later on, as well as the way you interact with the food community. Take a look at the resources below and begin considering where you fit on the food spectrum.

om·ni·vore/ˈämnəˌvôr/

Noun: An animal or person that eats food of both plant and animal origin.

• Eat Well Guide // A directory of sustainably-raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs.
• Eat Wild // The clearinghouse for information about pasture-based farming.
• Mark Bittman // New York Times columnist Mark Bittman reports on the depressing transition in our relationship to food: more fast-food chains, prepared meals and junk food, and an accompanying increase in chronic diseases and environmental degradation.
• MichaelPollan.com // Michael Pollan writes about the places where nature and culture intersect: on our plates, in our farms and gardens, and in the built environment.
• Seafood Watch // A consumer's guide for sustainable seafood, The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program helps consumers and businesses make choices for healthy oceans.

veg·e·tar·i·an/ˌvejiˈte(ə)rēən/

Noun: A person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other animal products, esp. for moral, religious, or health reasons.

• Mercy for Animals // Mercy For Animals is a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal rights organization focused on promoting a vegetarian diet.
• VegOnline // VegOnline strives to provide its readership with the best tips, advice and information on all things vegetarian from nutrition to recipes to lifestyle.
• The Vegetarian Resource Group // Vegetarian recipes and nutrition information dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, and ethics.
• Vegetarian Society // The Vegetarian Society is an educational charity working to support, represent and increase the number of vegetarians in the UK and around the world.
• Vegetarian Times // The world's largest collection of vegetarian recipes.
• WildPlanet // Sustainably caught wild seafood

veg·an/ˈvēgən/

Noun: A person who does not eat or use animal products including meat, fish, eggs, dairy and honey. In addition to health, one of the most common reasons people choose a vegan diet is because of concerns over animal cruelty.

• Farm Sanctuary // Farm Sanctuary works to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living.
• Go Vegan USA // The mission of Go Vegan USA is to provide information and resources to our members and local chapters, to be a hub for activist networking, and to encourage others to oppose cruelty and create positive social change by adopting a plant-based diet.
• KathyFreston.com // Kathy Freston is a New York Times best-selling author of Veganist concentrates on healthy living and conscious eating.
• Mercy for Animals // Mercy For Animals is a 501(c)(3) non-profit animal rights organization focused on promoting a vegetarian diet.
• Vegan.com // Vegan.com publishes useful information for both aspiring and long-term vegans. It's also the home of Erik Marcus' daily blog and his VegTalk podcast.

This is what it's come to. If you look at the photo on the left, you'll see the light. I think we should take a moment to mourn its loss, don't you? The earlier sunrise does make it easier for me to wake up at 6 am, but the 5 pm sunset makes me utterly helpless when it comes to taking blog pictures. If you look at the photo on the right, you'll see the glare from my kitchen bulb, and my shadow from standing over the plate with iPhone in hand. Sigh.

But onto the recipe! It's quite good, with bright flavors, and easy to prep in advance. When it came to making the fritters, I followed Mark Bittman's recipe, but decided to use a lone avocado and Greek yogurt to slather alongside instead of the Thai dipping sauce.

For the original recipe, visit Aura's blog. 

I spent my post-election day at a philanthropy conference pondering the role foundations play in civil society, and how we can work together to change local communities. As it turned out, this was the most therapudic place I could have been. 

The first speaker, Benjamin R. Barber, had a lot to say about our role as citizens. If liberty were only about voting, he said, we would only be free on election day. Citizenship, not voting, is how democracy plays out locally. It's about engagement, participation, listening, and putting our differences aside for the greater good. The next thing he said turned my perspective around.

"We either will join together to confront problems, or we will be defeated by them one by one."

My day had begun in disappointment, not about the outcome of the presidency, but about Proposition 37, the California measure that would require GMO labeling. During the course of this election season, Monsanto and friends spent over $40 million to keep Proposition 37 from passing, and their marketing push worked. The results were close, as only 500,000 votes divided the state. (See the official results here.)

I hoped this would be our tipping point, that my home state would set an example for the rest of the country and demand that our voices be heard. My glass half-empty scenario went like this: Almost 5 million people voted against GMO labeling. But when I changed perspectives and saw the glass as half-full, I realized that there were another 4.3 million Californians that spoke up. Even though the measure didn't pass, our collective voice was heard, and this campaign has pushed the GMO labeling issue into the mainstream. It might take a few more years, but the good food movement that Michael Pollan hopes is real, is here to stay.  

We still have work to do and more battles to fight with our forks and our votes, but we must view this as merely a bump in the road. We can choose to remain angry in our homes, or turn our disappointment into activism. I'll be choosing the latter, and I hope you'll join me.

Fall is the season to embrace your oven for the workhorse it is and roast, roast, roast. Sometimes there's nothing I love more than roasting cauliflower florets and eating them straight off the pan. I usually make double the amount I need for a recipe because I know what will happen the second I pull them from the oven.

After a brief hiatus, I'm finally getting back in the swing of things with The Food Matters Project. This week's recipe was chosen by Camilla (check out her blog for the original recipe!). This kind of salad is a great way to use up bits and ends that might normally be discarded. I had planned to focus more on parsnips and carrots, but it turned out that I had half of a sweet potato, a knob of celery root, and some cauliflower leftover in the refrigerator, so I put them to good use.

BARLEY SALAD WITH ROASTED FALL VEGETABLES

1 cup barley

A variety of fall vegetables, diced (I used 5 carrots, 1 sweet potato, 1/2 a celery root, 1/2 a head of cauliflower)

Parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place all the vegetables on a roasting pan, season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and toss to combine. Roast until tender and beginning to brown, about 35 minutes.

While the vegetables cook, bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the barley, and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain the barley, then pour it back into the same pan. When the vegetables are done, scrape them into the pot with the barley, season with salt, more olive oil, and add in the chopped parsley.

Many trips abroad result in meaningful experiences that fade to memory once your feet are firmly planted on American soil again. But that's not what happened to Sonja and Alex. This husband and wife duo from the food blog A Couple Cooks cares deeply about human trafficking, and wanted to find a way to use their skills to benefit a unique vocational program in Cambodia called The Green Mango Cafe.

The cafe, run by the Center for Global Impact, offers two-year vocational training programs for at-risk women in Cambodia. Sonja and Alex traveled to the cafe, cooked with the students, and took detailed notes for their return home. Back in their Indianapolis kitchen, they developed and tested recipes, designed the layout, and prepared for this exciting moment. 

If you're like me, the arrival of fall also means that the year's best cookbooks will soon be released. I hope you'll watch their video below, learn more about the cause, and consider purchasing this cookbook. (It's $10 for a digital copy and $19.95 for the paperback version, and would make a great Christmas gift for your sisters, friends, and mothers!)

The best part? Not only will you be receiving a meaningful, practical, photo-driven cookbook, but all the proceeds will support The Green Mango Cafe! This is food philanthropy at its best.

And just in case you're on the fence because you think Cambodian cooking isn't your style, the cookbook is well-rounded, featuring a wide range of ethic cuisine including Italian, Mexican, French, American, and some traditional Cambodian dishes, too.

Click here to purchase your cookbook today!