Dr. Alan Greene at the Organic Farming Conference (Part 2)

"Good food, grown right is at the core of human health."

The folks at MOSES (that's the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service) were kind enough to allow me to reprint this summary of Dr. Alan Greene's keynote at the 2009 Organic Farming Conference, written by colleague and friend Bridget O'Meara; this is part two.

Crisis and Transformation 
Dr. Greene did not always understand the link between farming practices and human health, however. In fact, although he has long had a keen interest in nutrition, his pediatric medical training and his early years in practice were very conventional--until an unforeseen series of events changed the course of his life.

As pediatrician in the 1990s, Greene enjoyed his relationship with families in his care. Then the payment system changed and, in a year and a half, he went from seeing 3 families an hour to 8 families an hour; visits went from 20 minutes to 7 minutes. This changed quality of healthcare he could provide. He and his wife Cheryl started Dr. Greene's website (www.drgreene.com), the first of its kind, to stay connected and make health information available to families. The response was enormous, as more and more people sought out information online.

It was during this time that a lump was found in Cheryl's breast. Greene pauses and, with his voice full of emotion, recalls that Cheryl's primary concern was what to feed Austin, their nine-month old son. "There is this deep instinct in all of us to feed our kids the best.  Sometimes we run into obstacles and it might be something like cancer or it might be school lunch program or TV advertising or fast food, but the instinct is there, in all of us, to feed our kids great stuff." The crisis led Greene to explore more deeply the questions of "What is best?" and "What are real differences in the quality of food we feed our children?" He could no longer say it was all the same. "How we feed babies and all of us changes us--it changes our minds, how we think; it changes our immune system; it changes how we grow; it changes our mood, our behavior, our attention. It changes so much about our lives." He began to realize that conventional medicine had significant gaps regarding the relationship between nutrition and health.

Further research into causes of breast cancer revealed direct and well-substantiated links between pesticide use and cancer rates in agricultural communities. Cheryl had grown up on a seedless-grape farm in central California and had been exposed to pesticides throughout her childhood. The pesticides used on her farm when she was girl had already been linked to breast cancer. "In fact," as Greene notes, "the closer that a woman's room is to the field the higher the risk of breast cancer--you can measure it in feet." He had learned nothing in his conventional training about this research... it was outside the vision of medicine.

"It was then I really got it: Good food, grown right is not just some optional nice little side-dish but it is actually the core issue of human health."

(Cheryl survived and is healthy today, thirteen years later, in large part to good food.)

In the Kitchen

When you get this box home, you'll want to put it all in the refrigerator. Remove the beets from the greens first. Everything goes in plastic bags in the crisper drawer.

Bunched Mini Red Onions are basically what the name implies, small red onions that you can use just like a large red onion. In general onion terms, these have a milder flavor than a standard yellow onion. The greens have a nice flavor as well, although they lack the tenderness of a scallion.

The earthy flavor of beets comes from the same chemical compound that soil organisms secrete to make the characteristic smell of freshly-tilled soil. If you are reluctant to try beets because of some leftover trepidation resulting from canned and boiled conventional beets from you childhood, then please try our beets. The best simple preparation is to bake them in a covered baking dish at 425 for about an hour, although these quick beets are a household favorite, as well.

Quick Beets

1 1/2 lbs Beets, julienned
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

Heat a medium pan and add olive oil and beets. Cover for 5 minutes to lightly steam in own moisture. Uncover and saute (you may need to add a tich more oil) until lightly browned. Toss the beets with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and dill. Serve.

Beet greens are awfully good, too. Use them just like you would spinach, especially cooked.

While peas have been cultivated for some 8,000 years, Snap Peas only became popular in the late 1970's. This is our last picking for 2009, in a significantly smaller quantity than last week. Don't forget to take the strings out by pulling on the peduncle.

I've never understood why Red Russian Kale is called a kale, since it's the same species as turnips. The flavor and texture lack traditional green kale's hearty overtones, as well as the spicy flavor and almost ethereal texture of turnip greens. Cut into thin ribbons, you can serve it as a salad. I like it best with strong flavors of soy sauce or red pepper flakes.

Red Russian Kale with Pancetta

2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced pancetta
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bunch Red Russian kale, stemmed and chopped into 1-inch ribbons
1-1/2 cups chicken broth

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion and pancetta until the onion is translucent and the fat has rendered from the pancetta. Add the kale and toss to coat the leaves with oil. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the leaves are tender, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat and boil, uncovered, until the pan is dry. Season with fresh ground pepper and serve.

Sweetly pungent and sharp tasting, fern-y Dill Leaf is used as a seasoning in everything from green salads to fish dishes.

Yogurt-Dill Sauce

1 cup plain yogurt
3 Tbsp fresh dill leaf
1/2 cup chopped onions or scallions (mini-onions work great!)
1/2 tsp salt

Mix ingredients together to make a sauce for fish or raw vegetables.

We grow Baby Bok Choy because I am slightly afraid of the huge size of the regular-old bok choy. The vase-like shape is very appealing, and the stems have a delightful raw crunch, while the leaves have a contrasting mild tang to them. One of my favorite treatments here is to use the spoon-shaped ends to hold a dollop of something delicious, like a thick red-pepper sauce or spicy tuna salad. On the other hand, I have been loving the grill this spring, and bok choy responds quite nicely to the smoky flavor it adds.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy

Slice the bok choy head in half lengthwise (it will still look like a vase.). Soak in cool water for ten minutes and rinse vigorously, then shake and pat to dry. Slice off the tender leaves and set aside. Brush bok choy heads with oil, sprinkle the cut sides with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and place cut side down on a heated grill for about 8 minutes. Turn the heads when they have have begun to show a golden color, and drizzle a little soy sauce over the cut side. Cook for a few minutes before turning again. Remove from grill when fork-tender. If desired, chop and sauté the leaves and serve over the grilled stems.