Natural Pool in St Maarten

While visiting St Maarten this summer, a friend who is a native of the island took me on a hike seriously off the beaten path.  The hike is along a cliff, and looks down on waves crashing over jagged rocks-- it's ruggedly beautiful, but starkly not ideal for swimming.  If you're going without a local, this is a short but tricky trek.  Be careful, but enjoy the view.

We started by parking near a basketball court on the Dutch side of the island.  We walked through the court and a neighborhood dog trotted up to us.  This dog literally accompanied for the hike along the cliff, our swim in the pool, and the hike back.  Once you're on the other side of the court, you'll come across a faint path.  Take it.

Keep walking, and don't be deterred by the abandoned garbage dump that you'll pass.  It's an eye sore, but the destination compensates for it.  It's roughly halfway to the pool.


You'll catch a glimpse of your destination before you reach it.  The waves in this area are high, but a ring of big rocks breaks them outside of this pool.  The pool is perpetually calm and surges only slightly when the waves seep in around the rocks.  The water is clear enough to see bright and colorful little fish that live in the rock crevices.  Bring a mask for a better look.  Be careful scaling the rocks down to the pool, and look out for sea urchins while you're swimming.  Enjoy the clear water while you cool off from the hike.

 

Janee Hartman Photography

Janee Hartman is an artist from Chicago who specializes in photographing unique and poignant landscapes.  She shoots both natural and built environments.  Her work is inspiring because she documents specific places in a rapidly changing world.  Some of the landscapes she documents looked very different 10 years ago and are continuing to change with great celerity.  Her work is also important because it shares a view of the natural world that many people haven't experienced.  I've noticed that people rarely support causes which are unfamiliar to them.  Not everyone has had the opportunity to hike in some of the parks and forests that Janee documents, but support for conservation is critical for the preservation of many of these locations.  Janee's work gives you a static window into a dynamic world.

She created the following two images in the Smoky Mountain National Park.

 

The next two images were taken at the Savannah National Wildlife Reguge near Savannah, Georgia.  This unique habitat is especially important for migratory birds.  As humans develop landscapes, migratory birds lose critical resting spots for their southern winter and northern summer migrations.  Migratory birds' reproductive cycles match their migratory patterns.  Without resting grounds, they can neither migrate nor reproduce.

These images were taken in the agrarian landscape of Galena, Illinois.  Janee says that she doesn't select the places that she shoots because her best images happen when she stumbles upon an inspiring location.

In contrast to her bucolic images, she also specializes in documenting architecture.  Her architectural pictures capture landscapes which also change very suddenly, and preserve the spirit of these places.

Visit Janee's website to view more of her talent or to contact her.  She sells prints of her images and is available for free lancing.

Savannah Gardening Nuances

Although Georgia is undeniably awesome (see proof here, here, and here), Savannah does not have the easiest climate for vegetable gardening.  I often hear experienced gardeners who have recently moved to the lowcountry express confusion and frustration about the growing conditions.  There are both problems and advantages of growing food in this region, and some of the problems can be addressed with a little insider knowledge.

1)  The soil here is acidic.

Most of the United States experiences acid rain which can alter the pH of soil.  However, the soil here is acidic to begin with.  Leaf litter from pine trees lowers the pH of soil, causing is to be more acidic.  Many experienced gardeners know that mulching their gardens helps to contain moisture, enhance the aesthetics of the space, and control the weeds.  However, mulching with pine mulch, the most common local mulch, can cause the soil to become even more acidic.  If you mulch, use oak or tree mulch that tends to be less acidic.  Some gardeners add a bit of lime to the soil as well.

2)  The peak of the summer is really hot.

July and August can be pretty sweltering in the lowcountry.  A lot of crops suffer in the intense heat.  Sometimes, the plants will tough it out if they get lots and lots of water.  However, certain crops are nearly impossible to grow well in that kind of heat.  Tomatoes, for instance, usually develop cracks if they are given enough water to survive that kind of heat.  Here's how to reap a heavy harvest despite the heat.  Start your more sensitive plants early or late.  Savannah is cold for so few months out of the year that I try to cultivate 2 major seasons.  You can usually start your tomatoes (and other sensitive plants) as early as late March.  You'll get a good harvest before it gets hot.  If they are especially hardy, you may even get veggies throughout the heat.  Plant a new batch of seedlings in August, and put them in the ground in September.  You can also try your luck with hardy varieties.  Most eggplants and watermelons grow exceptionally despite the heat.

3)  Grass grows like a house on fire.

Most grass species can perform C4 photosynthesis.  Basically, it's an advantageous process in hot conditions.  While C3 plants (essentially, the basic method of performing photosynthesis) suffer, they thrive.  They can crowd your already struggling plants and make weeding a nightmare.  Use oak, or other higher pH trees, mulch.  Also plant cover crops like buckwheat in unused areas.  This will keep the grass at bay, and buckwheat fixes nitrogen so it fertilizes your soil while weeding it for you.

4)  Corporate stores are less strain savvy.

Certain varieties of vegetables are specialized for different areas.  Ask anyone who owns or operates a mom-and-pop garden stores for their recommended varieties.  They usually have valuable suggestions for time-tested varieties.  Home Depot and Lowe's often decide which plants to stock on a corporate level instead of a local level.  This means that the people picking plants for the stores to sell don't always know the climate and soil nuances of the regions where the stores are actually located.  Research varieties and request them if the stores don't have them.

Hopefully this helps to demystify lowcountry gardening.  Do you have any tips or favorite varieties of crops?  I'd love to hear about them!

What the hell is "industrialized" meat?

It seems that people's interest has been piqued by organic and sustainable food these days.  However, I've also noticed that there is a lot of confusion about what constitutes "organic" and "sustainable."  Furthermore, I've heard a lot of talk about "evil," "cruel," and "unhealthy" methods of food production, especially in the meat industry.  It seems that the most natural foods are the best, whereas the most industrialized foods conjure grotesque and unhealthy impressions.  The average American, however, may be so far removed from the processes that make food that they may not even know what's "natural" in food.  For instance, does the average American know the importance of biodiversity in a farm?  Would he or she know that pigs will eat virtually any flesh-- animal, plant, or fungal?  Does the average American know how to kill and dress meat?  Probably not.  Therefore, many Americans can't accurately visualize natural and healthy conditions for livestock.  Although it's a complicated issue, industrial meats tend to be exposed to some common phenomenon which include use of antibiotics, concentrated confinement, and monoculture.  These three factors indicate that meat has not been produced in a naturally healthful way.

Antibiotics are medicines that control bacterial infections by killing off bacteria.  Usually this involves disrupting a cellular process, protein, or structure within the bacteria.  Not all bacteria cause disease; some are beneficial and necessary.  Farmers found that using antibiotics to treat livestock increased survival rates, because fewer were dying due to infections.  They also increase growth rates, because juvenile animals can invest more energy in growing that into their immune system.  However, this means that livestock genetics with naturally weaker immune systems survived and reproduced.  Using antibiotics prevents natural selection from ensuring that the hardiest animals lived to reproduce.  Simultaneously, bacteria that evolved methods and structures to survive antibiotics were naturally selected.  Today, antibiotics are an ingredient in most commercial livestock feeds.

Animals are often housed in CAFOs, or concentrated animal feeding operations.  These are structures which contain animals at the highest density that is both legal and profitable.  Diseases spread more readily in crowded conditions, but animals in CAFOs typically eat antibiotics in their feed.  CAFOs range from cruel to grotesque.  They are associated with unsanitary conditions and poor mental health of both the employees and livestock.

Monoculture exists when only one species of plant of animal is cultivated in an area.  The nature of farming economy today makes it profitable for farmers to specialize in one (or at least very few) products.  Diverse farm ecosystems cycle nutrients and waste which minimizes the impact on the surrounding environment.  Monocultures cause waste to accumulate.  Most CAFOs are monocultures of one type of livestock.  Because they are contained in such high densities, their manure literally piles up inside the building as well as in manure lagoons outside.

Different states in the US have different definitions of organic, and some of them are neither environmentally conscious, healthy, nor humane.  If these are priorities to you, seek meat that is free of antibiotics, has been openly pastured, and comes from a diverse farm.  The easiest way to ensure that these criteria have been met is to buy meat from farmers in your community.

Southern Stuffed Eggplant

I don't cook vegetarian food often, but I probably should.  Recipes like these have so much flavor that I don't even miss the meat when I eat them, and they are very healthy.  I've gotten numerous compliments on my stuffed eggplant from both carnivores and vegetarians, so I think it's a good one.

Start by taking an eggplant and cut it in half.  In Savannah, eggplants are one of the few crops that can really cope with our viciously hot and humid summers.  My eggplants are abundant.  I like to grow the Listada de Gandia, a french strain, and the Rosa Bianca variety, which is an Italian heirloom.  The fruits from both varieties are really pretty with white and purple striations and they are very hardy.  They have a mild and creamy flavor.

Score the halved eggplant with a sharp knife.  Don't cut all the way through the exterior of the eggplant.  Scoop out the flesh with a spoon.  You should have two little eggplant bowls.  Toss the scooped out eggplant flesh into a pan with coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer).

Mix in other veggies.  I used onion, a spicy pepper, and garlic.  Use whatever is local and flavorful for best results.  Season with pepper.  I don't like to add any salt to my veggies.  Fry them in the coconut oil.  Stuff the fried veggies into the eggplant bowls.

Sometimes I add cheese to the stuffed eggplants (something dry like parmesan is extra tasty).  I didn't have any on hand today though, so I just topped them with some salty breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  Bake time can vary a bit based on the size of the eggplant.  Remove when the breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy.

Eat them warm for lunch or dinner.  It makes two perfectly portioned servings, so be sure to share it with someone special.  Bonus points if you eat it al fresco.

Why Georgia Is Awesome, Part 3

Georgia's great because of its rivers!  I know I'm a bit of a river fanatic, but I honestly think it's impossible not to appreciate the diversity of Georgia's rivers.  We've got fast moving mountain streams and broad lazy rivers.

River ecology is really interesting because they all follow a basic pattern.  They typically originate as small, fast moving mountain streams.  This section of the river is usually at a higher elevation and has the clearest water.  The intermediate section slows down a bit and gets cloudier from more accumulated debris entering the river.  Most of the debris is leaf litter from trees.  As it approaches its terminus, the river widens, slows, and gets less clear.  This stretch is usually the most nutrient-rich.

Although almost all rivers follow a pattern similar to that one, they can support very different ecosystems.  Near Savannah, we see a lot of blackwater rivers, like the Ogeechee and Canoochee.  In north Georgia, there are numerous whitewater streams which are a literal contrast to the blackwater.  The Oconee River is one of my personal favorites, and it's one of the longest ones in Georgia.  Plus, it's got a few fun rapids for rafting.

Whether you enjoy fishing, hiking, swimming, boating, rafting, or paddling, I'm pretty sure Georgia has a river for you.  I'm definitely making a point to float down a few this summer.

Ginnie Springs

Ginnie Springs is a destination worth telling people about.  It's located near Gainesville, Florida.  I recently had the opportunity to visit friends in Gainesville, and they took me to Ginnie Springs.  It's located along the Santa Fe River.  The Santa Fe, like the Ogeechee River (another of my favorites!!), is a blackwater river.  The water moves slowly, and cypress forests in the basin shed their tannins to the river.  The tannins stain it, giving it the mysterious pigmentation.  The Santa Fe River is a beautiful one with a unique ecology characteristic of blackwater.  The river flows by several freshwater springs.

The contrast of the blackwater and spring water is immediately apparent.  The spring water is 100% transparent- unlike the dark river water.  I went on a warm day, so the blackwater felt like bath water.  The spring water apparently comes out at 72 degrees year round.  It's cool and refreshing, especially when it's hot out.

Not only is the water striking, but so is the abundance of the springs.  There are some gorgeous ones that are very popular, but also small ones that people don't seem to notice.  I swam in the Devil's Eye spring and another popular one that is a long, deep crack in the ground.  But I also found a few that have no names.  I know for certain that I didn't explore every single spring, but I'm equally positive that they are all worth checking out.

If you're interested in going, you can camp in the cypress forest.  People ride down the Santa Fe in tubes, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards.  You can even scuba dive in some of the springs.  I struck up a conversation with a couple divers who were going to dive in the crevice and then follow the caves.  They were using rebreathers because they planned to be under for several hours.  I asked them how far they planned to penetrate into the caves.  They said, "At least two miles."  Apparently the caves go for miles and make for crazy dives.  Definitely something to add to the bucket list.

Here's the link for the park's website.

http://www.ginniespringsoutdoors.com/

Agricultural Pollution

Agricultural pollution occurs when a farmer saturates their watershed with excessive nutrient run off.  Agricultural runoff typically comes from either livestock waste or fertilizers.  Both of these materials contain nutrients that help plants and microbes grow, especially phosphorus and nitrogen.  When applied to growing crops, nutrient loading can increase yields and profit.  However, when they are deposited in marine and aquatic environments they cause eutrophication.  Eutrophication results in blooms of nuisance populations, especially algae, followed by crashes.  Eutrophication causes murky green water that is actually congested with photosynthetic life and hypoxic zones beneath the light penetration zone.  Animals that are subjected to the hypoxic zone die and oxygen is further depleted as decomposers respire while breaking down their bodies.

Citizens in North Carolina were outraged when the hog industry invaded their homes and marshes.  In 1992, North Carolina was home to 2 million hogs.  Within 6 years, the state became home to 10 million (North Carolina in the Global Economy).  Facilities called concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, are machine-like complexes that pack animals together as tightly as possible without harming their profit. Sows are stored in sow stalls so small that the animals cannot even turn around.  In North Carolina, hog CAFOs require lagoons, which are basically cesspools of hog excrement.  When Hurricane Floyd struck the coast of North Carolina, the content of the lagoons contaminated the water supply.  One operation leaked 20 million gallons of hog excrement into the New River in 1995 (North Carolina in the Global Economy).  “CAFOs house them as tightly as possible where they never see grass or sunlight. If you can envision one thousand chickens in your bathroom, in cages stacked to the ceiling, you're honestly getting the picture. (Actually a six-foot by eight room could house 1,152)” (Kingsolver).  Feeding operations like these have no use for the animal waste, so they either store it indefinitely or allow it to seep into the water table either through leaks or during storms.  Uncontrollable animal waste is dangerous for people in the community because it pollutes the water source.  It also threatens the environments that ultimately absorb the chemicals contained in the waste.

 

Traditionally, farms grew both livestock and crops.  When both animals and plants coexisted on the same properties, manure composting was more common than it is today.  Composting is a microbial process that breaks down dead plants and animal waste, thereby releasing organic nutrients.  Once composted, the nutrients can be taken by plant roots.  Farm waste was once produced, composted, and applied to plants as fertilizer at the same facility.  Now most farms either grow crops or livestock but not both.  Furthermore, many plant-growing farms grow monocultures of just one crop, and many CAFOs house one type of animal.  When food production is segregated by species, farms produce massive quantities of useless waste.  Since they cannot use it, they have to store it in manure lagoons, which are unreliable at preventing the waste from entering the water table.

Corn, the primary crop grown in the United States, is a plant with a tremendous appetite for fertilizer.  According to Michael Pollan, traditional methods of growing food were less expensive for farmers but took longer to grow a smaller harvest.  Therefore, farmers treat their plants with synthetic fertilizers that typically include nitrogen and phosphorus.  Vegetable farmers squeeze every ounce of profit that they can from their land by saturating their soil with fertilizers.  Nitrogen is among the most limiting nutrients for plant growth, so fertilizers add it to fields in shocking numbers.  “Worldwide, humans create about 160 million metric tons of nitrogen each year, compared to natural rates of terrestrial biological nitrogen fixation, which are between 90 and 120 million metric tons annually” (Dybas).  American farmers now feel pressure to grow crops using methods that they themselves do not trust for their own health.  Peggy Naylor, wife of a corn farmer close to the Des Moines River, does not drink water from her own well without filtering it through a special reverse-osmosis faucet to remove the excess nitrates from fertilizers on the farm (Pollan).  Sadly, the fertilizers impact the healthfulness of her own resources, but they also flow down the Des Moines River which eventually joins the Mississippi River.  The Mississippi River carries fertilizers accumulated from, “31 states and 40 percent of the contiguous United States” (Dybas). The Mississippi River delta marshes cannot sufficiently filter the quantity of agricultural pollution it is subjected to.  Fertilizer companies recommend using a hundred pounds of fertilizer per acre, but farmers like Peggy Naylor’s husband exceed the recommended use by an additional 80 percent to ensure a lucrative harvest (Pollan).  This may be the quickest way for Naylor to turn a profit, but it’s a short term method.  Ultimately, it is harmful to the environment because it causes eutrophication.  Eutrophication occurs when microbial life grows faster than their habitat can sustain.  It causes nuisance blooms which rapidly deplete oxygen.

Eutrophication can cause nuisance blooms and hypoxic zones on a small scale, but it also causes massive lifeless zones in the oceans.  The Gulf dead zone is a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico that experiences progressively lower levels of oxygen every summer.  Dead zones destroy and displace marine life.  Either animals flee the hypoxic zones, or they are trapped and suffocate.    Dan Leonard, a clam farmer interviewed by Cheryl Lyn Dybas, sees the impact of farm runoff on his business every year.  Fertilizer runoff is heaviest following spring fertilization, when most farmers have applied it to seedlings and young crops to nourish them for the rest of the growing season.  Populations bloom following the runoff, and the hypoxic zones are most depraved of oxygen by the summer.  Leonard says that, “’Every summer, the dead zone grows, snuffing out more fish, crabs, and other animals.  And we’re the perpetrators of the crime, with our excess fertilizer and untreated sewage and other waste flowing into the gulf’” (Dybas).  Sadly, the Gulf of Mexico is only one of 146 dead zones reported by Cheryl Dybas.  Even more sadly, this figure doubles every decade.  Furthermore, 43 of 146 reported dead zones occur in United States waters (Dybas).  These figures illustrate that popular farming methods in the United States, which transmit untreated livestock waste and fertilizer runoff to the water table, deposit gluttonous quantities of agricultural pollution into oceans and salt marshes.

In addition to causing dead zones, agricultural pollution erodes soil.  R. Eugene Turner describes the effects of nutrient inundation, “One way is that the belowground biomass may be inversely related to the nutrient loading.  Root and rhizome biomass declines with increased nutrient loading in many freshwater, brackish, and saltwater coastal wetlands.”  Because nitrogen and phosphorus are abundant in polluted soils, plants expend less energy developing root structures to seek nutrients.  Instead, they focus their energy on growing aboveground biomass.  Although the aboveground vegetation seems healthy, the soil and sediment disintegrate without the root mats to hold them together.

Farms that keep openly pastured livestock are less likely to accumulate hazardous amounts of waste than CAFO’s because the waste is less concentrated and can break down more rapidly.  A more sustainable approach to farming would incorporate livestock and vegetable growing at the same facility so that livestock waste could be composted on site for vegetable fertilizer.  A system like this does not rely on synthetic fertilizers because the plants get all of the nutrients they need from the compost.  Plants that use industrial fertilizers only absorb about 20 percent of the amount applied to the soil (Pollan).  Livestock waste runs off from both CAFOs and sustainably managed livestock-vegetable farms.  However, more waste runs off from CAFOs because they house far more animals in far smaller spaces and there is typically no need for them to compost the waste and apply it to plants.  Furthermore, farms that rely on compost for fertilizer do not transmit additional nutrients to the water basin, whereas 80 percent of commercial fertilizers, on top of CAFO livestock waste, flows through salt marshes.

Sustainable farming is not only possible but pragmatic.  “According to the USDA records from the 1990s, farms less than four acres in size had an average net income of $1,400 per acre.  The per-acre profit declines steadily as farm size grows, to less than $40 per acre for farms above a thousand acres” (Kingsolver).  Small scale farms do not need to rely on fertilizers in order to make a profit because of three factors.  First, they grow diverse products, instead of monocultures which are susceptible to disease and parasites.  They also use their space more efficiently and carefully, without trashing areas that seem unimportant.  Lastly, they sell more directly to customers than major corporations who have nation-wide distribution through supermarkets. 

Sources

Alvarez-Rogel, J., F.J. Jiminez-Carceles, and C. Egea Nicolas.  “Phosphorus and Nitrogen Content in the Water of a Coastal Wetland in the Mar Menor Lagoon (Se Spain):  Relationships with Effluents from Urban and Agricultural Areas.”  Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, Volume 173 (2006): 21-38.

Butler, Carol A., & Weis, Judith S.  Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History.  New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.  2009.

Callaway, John C. “The Challenge of Restoring Functioning Salt Marsh Ecosystems.”  Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue 40 (2005): 24-35.

Corman, Sarah S., Charles T. Roman, John W. King, and Peter G. Appleby.  “Salt Marsh Mosquito-Control Ditches:  Sedimentation, Landscape Change, and Restoration Implications.”  Journal of Coastal Research, 28.4 (2012): 874-880.

Dybas, Cheryl Lyn.  “Dead Zones Spreading in World Oceans.”  BioScience 55.7 (2005): 552-557.

Kingsolver, Barbara.  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  New York: Harper Perennial.  2007.

Nelson, Joanna L. and Erika S. Zavaleta.  “Salt Marsh as a Coastal Filter for the Oceans:  Changes in Function with Experimental Increases in Nitrogen Loading and Sea-Level Rise.”  PLoS ONE, 7.8 (2012): 1-14.

“Overview.”  North Carolina in the Global Economy.  Duke University Center on Globalization, Competitiveness & Governance, 2011.  Web 18 April 2013.  <http://www.soc.duke.edu/NC_GlobalEconomy/hog/overview.shtml>.

Pollan, Michael.  The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  New York: Penguin Books.  2006.

Stagg, Camille L. and Irving A Mendelssohn.  “Restoring Ecological Function to a Submerged Salt Marsh.”  Restoration Ecology, 18.S1 (2010): 10-17.

Turner, R. Eugene.  “Beneath the Salt Marsh Canopy:  Loss of Soil Strength with Increasing Nutrient Loads.”  Estuaries and Coasts, Volume 34 (2011): 1084-1093.

Easy All Natural Spaghetti Recipe

Spaghetti from scratch is a lot easier to make than most people would imagine.  It's great because it's an easy one to make from 100% local/natural/organic ingredients, and it's even better the day after you make it.  Here's how I make mine.

I collected tomatoes from my tomato plants all week.  I have found that Italian strains of many vegetable species excel in my area.  For instance, Rosa Bianca eggplant, Roma tomatoes, and Italian Rose beans are some of my favorites.  Most of the tomatoes that I used are Roma, but I supplemented with Black Krim and a few others.  I cut each tomato in half and tossed them in a pot on low-medium heat.  In all, I used about 6 cups of halved tomatoes.  I added about 1 cup of water for them to simmer in.  Add seasoning to your taste.  I like to go heavy-handed with whole peppercorns.  I also add a dash of salt and a tablespoon of honey.  Add a dash of balsamic vinegar.  Later on, I'll add fresh herbs.  Cover the pot, and stir occasionally.

I browned 1 pound of ground beef with ground pepper and chopped garlic.  Drain the fat and mix into the tomato mixture.  Turn the heat to medium.  Mix together and mash the tomatoes a bit.  They should liquefy somewhat as you stir in the beef.

Here is where I get kind of creative with my ingredients.  Basically, I just clear veggies out of my fridge and throw them in the pot.  I really like using mushrooms, peppers, squash, and eggplant.  I've even tried beans, which I thought was great, but wasn't very popular with the boyfriend.  Add lots of garlic and fresh herbs.  Oregano, basil, and scallions are my favorites.  Tonight, I used some cubes of pesto that I had frozen in an ice cube tray.  I used 3 cubes of pesto.  (My pesto ingredients were just olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil.)  I like to add about 1 glass of red wine to my stomach while I cook, and 1 more to the sauce while it simmers.

Gradually turn the heat up to medium-high as the pot gets full of ingredients.  Let it simmer for as long as your stomach allows.  The sauces get richer and more flavorful the longer they cook-- just make sure that it doesn't burn as you turn the heat up.  Enjoy with noodles the same night, and make sure to leave enough for lunch or dinner the next day.

I Found Out What Happened to Los Tres Hermanos Grocery

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia.  When I was a teenager, it seemed as though there was a Mexican grocery store in practically every neighborhood.  Atlanta had many Hispanic communities, so it made sense that these chains of grocery stores were so successful.  I moved out of Atlanta in 2009 to go to college.  I rarely went home during my first year away from my motherland.  Honestly, I didn't start feeling homesick until 2011.  During my frequent visits to Atlanta in 2011, I gradually realized that former Mexican grocery stores were no longer in business.  I always assumed that they had lost their markets or given way to competitors, but I recently found out that there's a more complicated reason for the closure of Los Tres Hermanos groceries.  It involves the Tyson corporation and exploitation of human workers in industrial food manufacturing.  Naturally, I was intrigued.

Steve Striffler explained the history behind Los Tres Hermanos in Chicken: the dangerous transformation of America's favorite food.  To understand why the groceries closed, you must know a little bit about food production in the USA.  Amador Anchondo-Rascon is a Mexican immigrant who slipped the border to pursue agricultural work in California.  Finding season work and high living expenses, he eventually moved to Florida where married and became a US citizen.  In 1990, he began working for the Tyson corporation in Shelbyville, Tennessee.  Shelbyville experienced a boom in its Hispanic population in following years.

Amador opened the first Los Tres Hermanos in Shelbyville.  In addition to selling groceries, he sold illegal documents for immigrants.  Striffler says, "If a town's Latino population is large enough to support a Los Tres Hermanos, then it is almost certain that this sort of store will either provide these kinds of services or know where to arrange for them."   His business was so successful that he became a wealthy man who owned 5 homes, until some of the false documents caught the attention of local authorities.  He sold illegal documents to undercover INS agents.  Subsequently, he cooperated with the authorities and confided that Tyson offered him up to $200 "recruitment fees" if he furnished illegal workers with false documents.  In a sting, a Tyson executive asked Amador and an undercover agent to provide 2,000 illegal Guatemalans with documents.  They were offered either $100 or $200 per head.

According to United States Justice Department, 15 Tyson plants conspired to smuggle and provide illegal documentation for Mexican immigrants.  They exploited the workers' fear of deportation to force them to work intolerable conditions for low wages.  A meat-packing supervisor even expressed that he preferred his workers "right off the bus."  Initially, the senior vice president of the Tyson corporation denied the company's involvement with immigrant smuggling.  Three Tyson managers eventually confessed, and one committed suicide.  Ultimately the case passed without much distinction.  Although the company was caught paying for large numbers of illegals workers (fortified by 3 confessions), the highest levels of management were able to evade the accusations.

Ultimately, small business owners like Amador pay the price for the corruption of the Tyson corporation.  The case and publicity force small businesses to close, an additional grievance on top of the exploitation of immigrant workers.  However, I would be willing to bet that you didn't hear about Tyson's transgressions in the news nor did their business suffer as result of their actions.

St. Catherine's Island

St. Catherine's Island is one of Georgia's barrier islands that sits between the mainland and the open ocean.  It has an enthralling history as it was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before it was colonized.  In fact, shell circles facing the sea are still visible.  The location of the shell circles has a distinctively soothing atmosphere.  Perhaps this is a relic of the people past or maybe it's the reason they selected this space for their ceremonies.  Additionally, St. Catherine's Island is the site of the first Christian church in the United States.

The island is about 50 miles south of Savannah- the drive takes about an hour.  However, the island is only accessible by boat.  Although it's a private island, I was able to tour the entire thing with a salt marsh ecology class.  Staff from the island picked us up and ferried us across before turning us loose on the island with some antiquated trucks.  If you're not lucky enough to get invited on a tour, don't fret.  Although the island is private, its beaches are public.  You may not be able to check out the interior of the island, but you can still enjoy the beaches if you can find a boat to take you to them.  Any one you can get to it, St. Catherine's hosts possibly the most beautiful beach in Georgia.

Possession of the island changed handy many times, especially in the colonial era.  At one point it was a plantation.  It's rumored that student interns are housed in the old slave quarters.  I found the plantation history of the island especially interested because of my interest in both historical and modern methods for producing food.  Remnants of relics like hog ditches reveal time-tested strategies for maintaining crops.

This photograph shows me looking across the marsh with binoculars.  The beaches at St. Catherine's are surrounded by salt marsh dominated by smooth cordgrass.  Wildlife is abundant in the marsh, and contains a number of unique species like diamondback terrapins.  Salt marshes are characterized by vertical zonation which means that species are found in bands of distribution according to the vertical distance from the water.

St. Catherine's has live oak forests beyond the salt marsh.  Within a very close proximity, you can see 3 distinct ecosystems: the marine environment, the salt marsh habitat, and the hardwood forest.

This is a piece of driftwood that I found on the beach.  I thought it had an exceptionally beautiful pattern.  Because the beaches can only be accessed by boat, they are virtually untouched.

Diamondback Terrapins in the News

This morning, the Savannah Morning News featured an article about diamondback terrapins on the front page.  Diamondback terrapins are a protected species of turtle in the state of Georgia, but TERPS (Terrapin Educational Research Program of Savannah) has observed a rapid decrease in their estimated population size.  The article was written by Mary Landers, who met with me and Andrew Neidlinger to collect some information about the turtles and watch us release 4 captive baby turtles.  The article is available online, and includes a video interview with Andrew.  Here's the link for it.
http://savannahnow.com/news/2013-06-23/crossing-us-80-treacherous-trip-savannah-nesting-turtles#.Uch_G9hByjc

It's a fortuitous day for the turtles for sure.  Not only are they in the news today, Andrew, Samuel Peabody, and I collected a dozen eggs from wild females last night.  We will hatch them in captivity, conduct research on them, and release them next summer.  Here is a photo of one of the clutches of eggs.

We collected data from the wild females that we caught, and marked them before releasing them.  One of the females was actually a survivor of a traffic accident.  We could see damage on her shell, but obviously she is continuing to thrive in her natural habitat.  Click on the link above to read Mary Landers's article and watch a video of Andrew's interview.  You might even see me as I release some of the baby turtles.

Guide to Savannah Area Farmers Markets, Part 2: Bethesda Farm Stand

The next market I want to talk about for my Guide to Savannah Area Farmers Markets is a very stark contrast to the Forsyth Farmers Market.  The Bethesda Farm Stand is a totally different pace from the Forsyth market; it's way quieter and more remote.  The Bethesda Academy for Boys originated as an orphanage in 1740.  Now it is a boarding school where kids come for classes and live during the week, but go home on weekends.  One of the school's programs includes an on site organic farm that grows produce, raises free-range egg-laying chickens, and breeds Nigerian dwarf goats.  They use the goats' milk to make soap through a partnership with Nourish.  They sell produce, eggs, soap, and fresh flowers at the farm stand.

Bethesda's prices are reasonable and the quality is exceptional.  Another advantage of visiting the farm stand is that it's usually not too crowded, whereas the Forsyth market is consistently thronging.  At Forsyth, it's nearly impossible to get in and get out quickly with your groceries, but it's easy to shop at your own pace (whether that be in a rush or taking your time) at Bethesda.  Also, you can practically hear the goats and chickens from the stand.  It's refreshing to to be in such close proximity to the source of the food that you're buying.

Another great quality of the stand is that it's in a pretty unique location.  To my knowledge, there are no other markets or organic groceries in this neighborhood.  It's very convenient for people in both Sandly and Southside Savannah.  It's only a 10 minute drive from both Savannah State University and Armstrong Atlantic State University, so it's very accessible to students.  Check out the Bethesda Farm Stand on Thursdays from 3:00-5:30 in the afternoon.  Here's the link.

http://www.bethesdaacademy.org/academics/work-experience/bethesda-farm-gardens/

Why I Killed a Chicken on Friday

I killed a chicken on Friday because I wanted to prove to myself that I really am ok with eating meat.  I recently read a book called Chicken: The dangerous transformation of America's favorite food by Steve Striffler which discusses the commercial methods for raising, butchering, and selling chicken as an industrial product.  After reading this book, I realized that I am uninterested in supporting industrial chicken manufacturers and that I'd rather grow my own or purchase meat from small scale local farmers.  Unfortunately, buying pasture-raised chicken from local farmers can get expensive.  Realistically, I'd like to raise my own.  Before investing in a coop and some birds, I wanted to make sure that I could stomach the process of killing and cooking my own food.

There are many reasons why industrial chicken is less healthy and less humane than free range, organic fed chickens.  Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) certainly don't keep the animals' welfare in mind.  According to Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle, "If you can envision one thousand chickens in your bathroom, in cages stacked to the ceiling, you're honestly getting the picture.  (Actually a six-foot by eight room could house 1,152)"  CAFOs also use methods like antibiotics and hormones to produce plump birds fast.  Operations like these not only exploit the chickens, but also their laborers.  They seem to have neither the animals', laborers', nor customers' safety in mind.

That being said, I love eating meat, especially chicken.  Although the animals obviously have to die to produce meat, I feel better about consuming meat that I know lived a happy, natural existence and died in the least painful way possible.  So I learned to slaughter and dress a chicken from a one year old free range rooster at my job on an organic farm.  He lived with about 300 hens and was the king of the roost until his spurs began growing in.  When his spurs started growing, he became more like the dictator of the roost.  He got increasingly aggressive with both the hens and the people on the farm.  So we decided that it was time to overthrow this dictator rooster.

We put him upside down in a cone and cut the arteries in his neck so he would bleed out quickly.  If you sever the esophagus by cutting too deeply or removing the head, they struggle to breathe while they bleed out and this causes additional pain and panic to the bird.  While he died, I felt a distinct sadness for the animal and the process that I was apart of.  It certainly wasn't a pleasant experience, but it was a respectful and peaceful one.  We'll be cooking him in a coq au vin recipe this week.  After having this experience, I will not stop eating meat, but I will have a greater appreciation for the animals that produce it.

Guide to Savannah Area Farmers Markets, Part 1: Forsyth Farmers Market

If you ask anyone in Savannah about the Forsyth Farmers Market, they'll probably be happy to tell you about the farmers market.  This market is certainly well-loved in the community and is the best known and most widely attended farmers market in the greater Savannah area.  It's popular for good reasons.  The Forsyth Farmers Market ensures that the products it sells area organic and the market does not permit resale.  It also takes place in iconic Forsyth Park, which is both beautiful and historically significant.  It's also a central location- easily accessible for urban pedestrians.  For these reasons, the Forsyth Farmers Market is a natural first in an upcoming installation of posts about this region's markets.

One of my favorite things about farmers markets is how they cultivate healthy communities.  This one is certainly no exception.  In fact, I'd say it goes above and beyond in multiple ways.  In the United States, it is commonly accepted that impoverished communities suffer diminished health as a result of dietary factors.  Even NBC News acknowledges this fact in an article entitled "Living in poor neighborhood can hurt health."  There's the link if ya don't believe me.  There are certainly many causes for poor health in a community, but access to fresh and healthful foods is crucial for maintaining a healthy body.  Impoverished neighborhoods don't often provide access to these types of food, especially for those that walk or ride public transit.

The Forsyth Market accommodates these under-served individuals in several significant ways.  Anyone can purchase directly from the farm stands with cash, but the market also provides a service for those paying with a card.  If you use a regular debit or check card, you get tokens equivalent to the dollar amount that you choose to spend.  If you pay with EBT (essentially the new face of food stamps and other government benefits), you get twice the token value of the dollar amount you spend.  I'm proud to support a market that makes quality food affordable for anyone, despite the caveat of serving luxury organic products.  How's that for cultivating healthy change??

Speaking of cultivation, this market ensures that buyers (anyone who visits the market with money to spend) connect directly with growers.  The market forbids resale.  Resale occurs when a distributor purchases goods from a grower or even another middleman and then sells them to the public.  While this is not an inherently bad method of doing business, it creates a separation between the grower and the customer.  Banning resale makes farmers directly accountable to their customers and keeps the produce local.

Whether you live in the town or visit, the Savannah experience is incomplete without visiting the Forsyth Farmers Market.  Check it out this summer on Saturdays from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm.  You'll love the fresh flavor of local veggies, meat, honey, and more and you'll feel good about supporting the people who grow them.  Plus, look how gorgeous these fresh veggies are!

Here's the link if you want some information about the market directly from the source.
http://forsythfarmersmarket.com/

Some Thoughts on Fashion

I'm not really much of a fashionista, but I love splurging on something cute once in a while.  Honestly though, fashion is one component of our consumer culture that has not lent itself well toward sustainable innovation.  Only occasionally does one see locally produced styles that use local materials.  All too often, a nation-wide trend demands that women update their wardrobes with articles of clothing produced overseas and shipped in.  Some companies treat their employees decently, but far too many of them exploit labor in places with low or nonexistent minimum wages.  This allows them to serve consumers a cheap product, but is unfair to the laborers.  Although the south produces cotton as an important cash crop, it is rarely converted into clothing and sold at stores in the same region where it was grow.  More realistically, the cotton is grown here, shipped overseas, turned into fabric, designed into fashion in New York, and then redistributed to our local Wal Marts.  Not very sustainable, nor practical if you think about it.  With these thoughts in mind, how do I indulge my love of cute clothes without feeling guilty about it?

My talented friend Caroline Sansone has some innovative approaches to sustainable fashion.  For instance, she uses as many repurposed materials as she can get her hands on.  This is less wasteful of labor and resources because her techniques reuse outdated clothes.  Also, she can buy her materials locally instead of having them shipped from across the world.

These shorts are a favorite of her designs.  She can even restyle your old favorite pair of jeans if you send them to her!

Check out her blog and Etsy shop for her creative designs, always with an emphasis on sustainability!  Her style is always breezy and feminine-- perfect for summertime!  I also love her furniture redesigns.

cityofsognidoro.blogspot.com

etsy.com/shop/whydontyouhaveaseat

Enjoy and indulge!

Why Georgia Is Awesome, Part 2

I think we have already established that Georgia has beautiful beaches for both wildlife and people in Why Georgia Is Awesome, Part 1.  People treasure the west coast states for having both mountains and oceans, but I'd argue that we have better swimming beaches and scenic mountains of our very own right here in Georgia.  South of Atlanta, the land seems to flatten out into the low country.  North of Atlanta, it rolls gently into foothills before the steep ascent to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Georgia even contains 75 miles of the Appalachian Trail.  I've had the pleasure of taking numerous beautiful hikes in North Georgia.  While I am a lover of the ocean and enjoy living near it, hiking in North Georgia is definitely my favorite way to spend a weekend during this time of year.  Georgia has both gentle and strenuous hikes suited for any fitness level.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Amicalola Falls is a destination about an hour and a half outside of Atlanta.  It is well worth the trip, and the view from the top of the falls is a must see.  The park here has an 8 mile long access trail to the Appalachian Trail.  The waterfall itself is 729 feet of steeply rushing cascade and you can climb steps to the top.  I highly recommend taking the steps up for the view.  However, they tend to attract a lot of hikers on beautiful weekends.  Make a detour to the approach trail for the AT or hike one of the ridges on your descent to get some peace and quiet.  They tend not to be very crowded.  This is a photo I took about halfway up the fall.

Cloudland Canyon lies just north of Lookout Mountain.  It's about two and a half hours from Atlanta and has miles of waterfall trails.  Some of the trails include steps.  Take the 1 mile long trail to approach a fall with a nice pool.  My little dog loved splashing around in the catchment pool beneath this fall.  Take the longer trail into the gulch to see more great views and to get away from the stairs.  My little dog bounded nimbly down the steps, but my big dog was skeptical of them because they are made of grated metal-- he could see the open air beneath his feet and wasn't such a big fan of it.  Once your off the steps the trail is both beautiful and remote.  Catch the falls after a lot of rain to watch them flow vigorously.  If the weather has been dry prior to your expedition, I suggest hiking the rim.  The views are incredible.

Another favorite of mine is Indian Springs which is south of Atlanta.  According to legend, Creek Indians believed it to be a place of physical and spiritual healing.  I don't know if there's any scientific basis for these beliefs, but it definitely heals my soul to splash around in the springs.  This one is an easy hike and a great swimming spot.  It's perfect for a hot, summer day in Atlanta.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this spot, but I'm sure you'll find loads of great shots if you search for them.

Happy trailblazing, and just remember that Georgia really does have the best of both worlds-- mountains and beaches in the same state!!