Category Archives: Local Events

Call To Action: Raw Milk and Food Freedom

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I received an email today from Barbara Schellentberg of the Weston A Price Foundation Vancouver Chapter. She is one of the shareholders with Our Cows, once called Home On The Range, a herdshare program in Chilliwack, BC. They are trying to get 10,000 signatures in the hope of stopping the government from infringing on their right to enjoy the products of their herd. If you would like to support this group’s right to drink raw milk from their own herd, without onerous government interference, please sign the petition:
Support Food Freedom Petition

Here is Alice Jongerden speaking at Occupy Vancouver about how she was once a farmer until the Government said “No!”:
Alice Jongerden Speaks out at Occupy Vancouver

Here is a link to a video about a Raw Milk Rally with Michael Schmidt on October 12, 2011. Michael Schmidt should be an inspiration to all citizens of Canada opposing oppressive bureaucracies. Michael Schmidt has been fighting the Government of Canada for over seventeen years trying to ensure you have food freedom. If you would like to learn more about his work please see this link.

Cheers,

Caroline Cooper
Weston A Price Foundation Kamloops Chapter
eatkamloops.org

Updated October 17, 2011: Here is an essay by Karen Selick of the Canadian Constitution Foundation about liberty and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. She says: “Totalitarianism is the name for a political regime in which virtually all aspects of citizens’ lives are subject to state control.”
The Courts Are Milking Their Power for All It’s Worth

Kamloops, Listen Up: Seed Saving Seminar

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When: Saturday August 20, 2011
Time: 10:00am to 12:00noon
Where: Sahali Mall
Contact: Call Fawn Knox at 250.579.5768 to reserve your space
Cost: Free

If you would like to learn about saving seeds, New Victory Gardens has invited Master Gardeners Leslie Welch and Sarah Bradshaw to guide you through the process of seed saving. We will learn“when to harvest them how to dry them and what are the best methods of storing them.” I hope to see you there!

WAPF Kamloops Chapter at Kamloops Wellness Festival on June 17-19, 2011

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Where: Let’s Move Studio, 925 McGill Place, Kamloops, BC V2C 6N9
When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 17-19, 2011
Time: Friday: 6:30pm-10:30pm; Saturday: 10:00am-10:00pm; Sunday: 9:30am-2:00pm

I will be at the Kamloops Wellness Festival on June 17-19, 2011. I will have information about the Weston A. Price Foundation and information about eatkamloops.org. There will be free brochures on a number of topics such as: real milk, trans fats, why butter is better, cod liver oil, diet for cancer, alert on soy, and myths about cholesterol.

I will have copies of the WAPF booklet which gives guidelines about healthy eating. This is a great booklet which normally sells for $1.00 but will be free at the Kamloops Wellness Festival. This booklet is also good for giving to family members to help them understand more about nourishing traditional foods.

I have just received the new WAPF Healthy 4 Life Booklet. You can download a free PDF file of the booklet here. This booklet is a guide for eating nourishing traditional foods. If you would prefer a hard copy of the booklet, it will be available at the festival. The booklet normally sells for $10.00 but at the festival it will be only $6.00. This is the cost of production. WAPF Membership is $50.00 and includes the quarterly journal Wise Traditions. You can go online and join. Membership is how WAPF funds their good works. They do not receive funding from industry.

I will have the current copy of the Wise Traditions quarterly journal and some copies of back issues for sale. I have copies of the Wise Traditions special issue on Growing Healthy Babies and Heart Disease. There are fridge magnets for your favorite pregnant woman to help remind her to eat nourishing traditional foods. I will have some fun items like bumper stickers and buttons to tell the world where you stand!

We are having a draw for the Healthy 4 Life Booklet and a Weston A Price Foundation apron. We have a second draw for some homemade cosmetics: Rosemary Rose Shampoo, Rosemary Rose Wash, Sage Tooth Powder, Erika’s Salve, Pure Bee Wax Candles and Patchouli Soap. All the homemade cosmetic recipes are can be found in Healthy Household. If you would like to have a chance to win our draw, please put your name and number into our draw box. We will do the draw on June 19, 2011 at the end of the festival day and call the winners.

Local Farmers & Ranchers in the Kamloops Region – FREE Download

To help celebrate the Kamloops Wellness Festival and all the wonderful local food producers that bring healthy food to our family’s table, we have just completed two PDF files called Local Farmers & Ranchers in the Kamloops Region. These PDF files give you all the information about our local farms and ranches in an easy to read format. There are two options available for free download:

Easy Printing Option: The first option is a standard letter size format (8.5″ x 11″) and is easy to print, but uses more paper. There are 19 pages printed on one side.

Local Farmers & Ranchers in the Kamloops Region, Version 1

Booklet Printing Option: The second option is a booklet format, printed on 11″ x 8.5″ paper.  It uses ten sheets, but you need to know how to print on both sides of a page using your home printer. Print page 1 then print page 2 on the back of the first sheet. Continue like this until you have printed all 20 pages on 10 sheets of paper. When all the printing is done, you fold the pages in half and staple. In the end you will have a booklet that conveniently fits into a purse.

Local Farmers & Ranchers in the Kamloops Region, Version 2

Updated June 18, 2011: If you haven’t gotten to the Kamloops Wellness Festival yet, make it a priority. It was an exciting first day. There was belly dancing, drumming, and fire hula hooping. No one can say Kamloops is a dull place! You don’t just get to watch. Come and have a chance to dance with all the beautiful, graceful dancers.

Updated June 19, 2011: Our winner for the WAPF apron and Healthy 4 Life Booklet was Coreena McBurnie of Kamloops. Our winner for an assortment of homemade cosmetics was Caroline Johnson of Kamloops.

Kamloops Seedy Saturday

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girls-planting

Here are the girls planting their seeds for spring. There is no better way to get children learning about nature then letting them care for a garden.

Seedy Saturday is a local event to exchange seeds and enjoy free gardening seminars. Bring your saved seeds or leftover packaged seeds. If you do not have any seeds, don’t worry. There are plenty available for everyone!

Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Where: Sahali Centre Mall, ‪945 Columbia Street West‬, Kamloops, BC

Time: 11:00am to 2:00pm
Contact: Leslie Welch: plants444(a)gmail.com
Cost: Free, but a donation to the Kamloops Food Bank is greatly appreciated
.

Schedule of Free Gardening Seminars:
11:10am – 11:55am
Dr Penny Powers is a market gardener and will explain preserving foods with a root cellar.
11:15am – 12:00pm
Afke Zonderland is a raw food chef for Food Alive and will explain the process of dehydrating.
12:10pm – 12:35pm
Ann Sutherland is a horticulturalist and will explain storage methods without a root cellar.
12:15pm – 1:00pm
David Wides is a sustainable agricultural specialist with Sorrento Farm and will discuss Heirloom seeds.
12:35pm-1:00pm
Kendra Bessinger is a vermiculturist and will explain worm composting. Here is a link to a Kamloops business for people interested in vericulture called All Things Organic.
1:10pm – 2:00pm
Anne Grube will explain the process of canning your produce for home storage.
1:15pm – 2:00pm
Dr Joanne Harness will explain the science behind composting and biosolids.

Updated February 23, 2011: Here is another good reason to save local seeds and grow your own food. If you haven’t heard, on January 27, 2011 the US Government has allowed Monsanto to release their GM alfalfa. Please read Scientists warn of link between dangerous new pathogen and Monsanto’s Roundup and note the letter from Dr Don Huber to Secretary Tom Vilsack of the USDA. Please note some of the possible dangers of this GM perennial being released in North America. Here is an interview with Dr Don Huber called Scientist warns of dire consequences with widespread use of glyphosate. Here is an article explaining why organic and pastured based foods will become contaminated with Monsanto’s genetically modified organisms. Please read GM alfalfa will be everywhere.
According to a paper by Geertson Seed Farms, one of the biggest potential problems is that GM alfalfa will cross pollinate with wild alfalfa, which will become the dominant weed variety because it has the Roundup Ready herbicide tolerant trait. Weedy GM alfalfa will in turn become a source of pollen and seed that will contaminate conventional and organic alfalfa fields.

Updated February 26, 2011: I hope you had a change to get to Seedy Saturday. There was a LOT of people! If you couldn’t make it, the organizers said that videos of all the seminars will be available at some point on the Salhali Mall website.

Kamloops Garden Box Project

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About a week ago Joel Dyck contacted me about his project to build box planters in Kamloops for FREE. If you are interested in having someone give you a box planter for your deck or patio please read the following outline for the Kamloops Garden Box Project. If you are interested in participating in this project, Joel’s contact information is below:

This project will be called Kamloops Garden Boxes. The purpose of this project is to get more people interested in small-scale urban gardening.

PHASE 1 Building the Garden Boxes The core of the project will be building garden boxes and giving them to a diverse group of people. I will start with a group of 11 families/participants and possibly have additional groups of eleven. To begin with I will need to build four different demonstration boxes and have at least eleven extras to get the first group started. I will aim to build the boxes out of recycled and reusable materials. I will learn to use an Alaskan Mill to make lumber out of waste wood primarily from trees killed by the Mountain Pine Beetle and the Tussock Moth. I have some designs drawn out already and hope to build boxes that will look somewhat natural out of mainly pine and fir. I will also weave a trellis of smaller boughs from wood that is recycled as yard waste when people prune their trees in the spring. I will ask for community support for wood, dirt, and compost. Kamloops has an excellent composting facility and a plethora of available compost.

PHASE 2 Gathering the Garden Box Community As previously mentioned, I will gather an initial group of eleven families/individuals. The idea is that they will be diverse in age, gardening experience, and in their homes. I specifically want to include people who are renters and live in small dwellings to promote gardening in smaller urban spaces. I will start by picking people I know and then ask them to refer other people who might be interested. I already have an extensive list of people who are interested in learning how to garden and others with a lifetime of experience, who want to learn new things. I want to set up this community with a wide range of experience so that they can help each other and work together. My job will be to set people up for gardening success in a community minded environment. I will be responsible for the following aspects of the project:
1. I will build the garden box and deliver it to the person/family.
2. I will provide guidance for setting up a small and realistic garden in their location with personal and email support.
3. I will give each participant a package that will include some basic advice as well as an overview of the project.
4. I will set up a feedback blog and monitor it until I can find a community member to follow through with this. The blog will be a place for all participants to communicate their successes.
5. I will provide some technical support for participants who might have some issues with using a blog and posting photos on the Internet.
6. I will share a positive spirit of kindness and have an open mind to whatever unique situations might arise. I want to provide the same kind of leadership that I would appreciate receiving.

Kamloops Garden Box Participants will be expected to:
1. Plant something edible in their box e.g. lettuce, squash, chives, etc.
2. Take pictures twice a month to measure progress or lack of it.
3. Post a picture and a small write up (perhaps asking for advice) on the blog at least once a month.
4. Take a final picture of produce when it is ready to eat.
5. Share at least one meal using produce with a friend/neighbor and post the recipe.
6. Share some produce with a person that they don’t know very well.
7. Send a thank you email to any sponsors and cc it to me so I know all the sponsors have received recognition.
8. Have an open-minded attitude towards small-scale gardening!

PHASE 3 BC Sustainable Energy Association Kamloops Energy Fair The third part of this project will be attending the BCSEA Kamloops Energy Fair as a presenter. I will build a wide array of boxes for the energy fair. Some of these boxes will be used as props and others as door prizes. I will use my existing documentation and presentation material to educate energy fair attendees about the project and how to build their own box or pursue a project that fits their lifestyle and living space. This would be the media capstone of the project and the time to share it with as many people as possible. This will be an opportunity to show some simple ways to make sustainable lifestyle choices and show evidence of the BCSEA’s mission in the community: “Our mission is to facilitate the transition to a sustainable energy future in British Columbia through education, advocacy and tangible community projects.”

PHASE 4 Education The fourth and final part of this project would be to document it and turn it in to a collective of lesson plans and presentation material. There will be opportunities to share it before, during and after the BCSEA Energy Fair. I will present the design and construction aspect to home school students prior to the Kamloops BCSEA Energy Fair. I hope to bring the project into the public school system as well. If I can get enough students interested it would be great to have a community of teenage gardeners bring the project to completion. Watching students combine building, gardening, and technology would be an excellent learning opportunity for me. Having this material and presenting it will give me invaluable teaching practice prior to my career as a shop teacher.

Project Director: Joel Dyck
Email: joelfish(a)hotmail.com
Sponsored by Garfield Weston Award and the Kamloops Chapter of BC Sustainable Energy Association

Updated July 8, 2010: I received an email update from Joel Dyck. The Kamloops (& Kelowna) Garden Boxes is now on Facebook.

Joel Salatin’s Vision of a Local Food System

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This last weekend I had the great pleasure of meeting Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm. He was speaking to a sold-out crowd hosted by the Cowichan Agricultural Society in Duncan, BC. Joel Salatin speaks passionately about family run, grass-based farming. In his own words, he is “in the redemption business: healing the land, healing the food, healing the economy, and healing the culture.” The guiding principles behind “Polyface are:
TRANSPARENCY: Anyone is welcome to visit the farm anytime. No trade secrets, no locked doors, every corner is camera-accessible.
GRASS-BASED: Pastured livestock and poultry, moved frequently to new “salad bars,” offer landscape healing and nutritional superiority.
INDIVIDUALITY: Plants and animals should be provided a habitat that allows them to express their physiological distinctiveness. Respecting and honoring the pigness of the pig is a foundation for societal health.
COMMUNITY: We do not ship food. We should all seek food closer to home, in our foodshed, our own bioregion. This means enjoying seasonality and reacquainting ourselves with our home kitchens.
NATURE’S TEMPLATE: Mimicking natural patterns on a commercial domestic scale insures moral and ethical boundaries to human cleverness. Cows are herbivores, not omnivores; that is why we’ve never fed them dead cows like the United States Department of Agriculture encouraged (the alleged cause of mad cows).
EARTHWORMS: We’re really in the earthworm enhancement business. Stimulating soil biota is our first priority. Soil health creates healthy food.”

My husband Shaen has read most of Joel Salatin’s books, so much of the information in the lecture wasn’t new to him. Near the end of the lecture, Shaen asked Joel Salatin if there was any big differences in his thinking now compared to when he wrote his books. Joel Salatin answered that in the past he believed thousands of farmers would communicate directly with customers. But most farmers find marketing and distribution very difficult and don’t like the work. Now he sees “clusters of farms” working with “local streams of marketing and distribution”. Joel talked about a six part system for a successful local food supply: producer, processor, accountant, marketer, distributor and customer. My husband and I looked at each other and wondered if there is a place for GO BOX Storage and eatkamloops.org in this new vision.

We realized we could become a local food distribution center for Kamloops. We could form a buyer’s group for Kamloops. We could increase the size of our orders and get better prices for everyone. We could run pocket markets or personal deliveries for a cost. If you do not know about pocket markets please read: Pocket Market Toolkit.

It was exciting thinking that we could become part of a successful local food system which helps all of us get the best in local food at a reasonable price. If we could develop a successful local food system, Joel Salatin believes “we could give the big-box stores a run for their money.”

Update November 25, 2009: I contacted Sally Fallon and asked if she knew of anyone who could mentor me to start a buyer’s group for Kamloops. She suggested John Moody who started a buyer’s club called Whole Life Buying Club. Before a new member can join the Whole Life Buying Club, they recommend the new member watch The Story of Stuff. The Whole Life Buying Club follows a Food Philosophy which defines the type of products the buying club will bring in for members. John Moody has written an essay for the journal Wise Traditions called Building a Local Food Buying Club.

Updated December 23, 2009: I have just learned from Sandra Burkholder that Joel Salatin will be coming to Quesnel, BC on March 27, 2010. Joel Salatin will be speaking at the 2nd Annual Poultry and Rabbit Forum being put on by the Cariboo Central Interior Poultry Producers Association. Sandra Burkholder and her husband Chris Newton are building a earthship house in Darfield, BC. An earthship house is made from recycled materials and is designed to be completely self-sufficient housing system requiring no outside support. The earthship is the brain child of Mike Reynolds of Earthship Biotecture.

Updated February 28, 2010: I found a series about Polyface Farm on Watch.MeetTheFarmer.TV. You will get a personal tour of Polyface Farm with Joel Salatin. There is an incredible amount of information in this video series about his pasturing systems for the watchful viewer. He will go into the types of grasses and herbage plus the effect of mass group grazing and resting of the pasture. He goes in to some theory but most of the videos are very practice. If you are interested in the theory behind his practices please read his books for more information. Here is Part I, Part II and Part III.

[The road to] hell is paved with good intentions.
English Proverbs

25 Steps to Eating Nourishing Traditional Foods

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  1. Purchase your food as whole ingredients and as close to the original natural state as possible. Avoid processed foods. Avoid all additives, coloring, stabilizers and fillers. Avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). Here is a link to the Non-GMO Shopping Guide. If you are wondering what is wrong with GMOs please see the numerous video presentations by Jeffery Smith on GMOs. Make it a point to understand the system used to process your food. If you cannot understand the process, do not eat the food.
  2. Try to source your food locally. Get to know your farmers and ranchers. Show appreciation for all the work that goes into producing your food. Look for pastured raised or organic. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raised animals please listen to Jill Eisen, on CBC Ideas program, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too! Find the local suppliers for un-sprayed products. There are many local suppliers which are not certified organic but follow organic principles. Un-sprayed products are usually cheaper than certified organic. Use eatkamloops.org to find local farmers and ranchers. For some guidelines about assessing food quality read WAPF Shopping Guide for Canada.
  3. Eat local foods seasonally. The food has better nutrition and is cheaper. If you would like to eat these foods out of season, find a suitable storage method. Get a large deep freezer and find an area in your home for dried stores. Consider building a root cellar or cold room. For more information read Winter Storage Part I and Winter Storage Part II.
  4. When buying from non-local sources try to buy certified organic. When we can’t talk to the producers about their practices, having a third party certification is a good idea. If certified organic foods are not in the budget, read about The Dirty Dozen and avoid foods with the most contamination.
  5. Consider growing your own food. Use container gardening on small properties or a big garden on larger lots. If labor is an issue, you might be able to trade garden space for labor. Depending on your zoning, you might be able to have laying hens for eggs or a miniature goat for raw milk.
  6. Start a grease bucket. Save all your drippings and fat from roasted meat and fowl. Use the grease for any high heat frying or roasting. For more information read The Grease Bucket – Something from Nothing.
  7. If you eat industrial vegetable oils or foods containing industrial vegetable oil, stop now. For cooking, replace these industrial vegetable oils with your grease bucket, butter, or coconut oil. Save your extra virgin olive oil for salads and uncooked foods. Other cold-pressed oils may be used occasionally in very small amounts. If you have any condition involving inflammation, removing even quality cold-pressed oils may improve your condition.
  8. Make bone broth. Save all your bones from meals and store in the freezer until you have a pot full. Cover the bones with water and add 4T cider vinegar and simmer for 6-24 hours. For more information read Beautiful Bone Broth.
  9. Eat some fermented foods each day or with each meal. Fermented foods improve our digestion. Fermentation can remove anti-nutrients from our food and increase nutrient availability. Fermented foods are not commonly available in the Industrial Food System and must be made at home. For more information read Wild Fermentation.
  10. Start making some fermented foods at home. A good place to start is making yoghurt or kefir. If you do not consume dairy, try making lacto-fermented vegetables or use sourdough for breads and biscuits. Contact eatkamloops.org for free starter cultures. For more information about what starters we have read I Got Culture!
  11. If you eat grains, beans, and legumes, soak them overnight in water, salt and fresh lemon juice before cooking. This soaking will remove the anti-nutrients from the food and make it easier to digest. Use bone broth when appropriate for the recipe in place of water. This will improve your digestion of these foods. If you are wondering why you need to soak grains read Be Kind to Your Grains. Here are FAQ about traditional food processing of grains, nuts, seeds and beans.
  12. Purchase all of your grains whole. If you are making flour, grind it yourself, and use it within four days. Flour is very perishable and will go rancid very quickly. Freshly ground flour can be stored in the freezer for later use.
  13. If you eat nuts and seeds, soak them overnight in water and salt. Nuts and seeds can be then dried and consumed uncooked. These store well in the freezer for quick use.
  14. Look for a local supply of grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. There are many local varieties which will be fresher. Look for un-sprayed or organically grown.
  15. If you eat rice, buy organic brown rice. Since this is not a local product, buy certified organic. Brown rice does not need to be soaked overnight but cooking in bone broth will help with digestion and improve flavor. If you would like to try fermenting rice to improve mineral availability read A New Way to Soak Brown Rice.
  16. Buy your meat by the whole animal. This allows you to have a variety of cuts, offal, fat and bones. The butcher will package the meats in sizes that are best for your family. Get all the products from the animal even parts you do not know how to cook. They can always be used to make bone broth. For more information read Cooking with Grass-Fed Meat and Fowl and Visit to the Killing Floor at Kam Lake View Meat.
  17. If you consume dairy, find a source of raw milk or raw milk products. This will involve having your own cow, goat or sheep or being a member of a herd share program. If you are wondering what is so great about pastured raw milk please read Let’s Talk about Raw Milk Safety. For more information about herd share programs in the province read Birdsong Farm – Cow Share Program.
  18. If you are concerned that you have a deficiency in your diet and want to take a supplement, consider using whole foods, sometimes called superfoods. Examples of superfoods are: fermented cod liver oil, high vitamin butter, liver, spring and fall butter, raw milk products, bone broth and fermented foods. Other superfoods are related to the health problem of the person such as: various fresh or dried glands, kelp, assorted clays, probiotics, assorted high vitamin berries and herbs. For more information about superfoods read Supplement or Superfoods.
  19. Look at your cosmetics and decide if you would eat them. If you would not like to eat them, consider stopping use. Our skin is far more porous than was once believed. The use of coconut oil can be a excellent moisturizer. Consider making your own soap or buying brands with very few ingredients. A good source of information about the safety of your cosmetics can be found on Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database. If you would like recipes for making cosmetics, cleaners and simple medicines please read Healthy Household: Staying Clean Safely and Saving Money.
  20. Look through your medicine chest and decide if you can do without most of your medication. Many medications mask symptoms while the condition worsens. It is better to feel the pain and make fundamental changes in our lives, rather than masking symptoms while the condition gets worse. Think about the other drugs you take on a daily basis. Assess if these drugs might be adding to your health problems.
  21. Think about food preparation in the home and how the task can be done efficiently. The job of running a traditional household is more work than eating convenience foods. This means someone must be willing to allot time for this important work. Some people use one day a week where they spend a morning in the kitchen producing meals for the whole week. Others cook larger meals and consume the leftovers.
  22. Remove all plastics from your kitchen and replace with glass containers. Remove Teflon and aluminum from your kitchen and use stainless steel, glass, cast iron or enameled cast iron. Stop using a microwave for cooking or reheating foods.
  23. If you are thinking about having a child, start thinking about what you eat before you conceive. All traditional populations had a special feeding schedule for mothers and fathers to be. For more information read Thinking about Motherhood.
  24. If you continue to have health problems after changing over to a nourishing traditional diet, consider looking at the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This diet is also known as Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS). This diet is for very sick people. For more information about SCD and GAPS please read Specific Carbohydrate Diet. Please read this very good article by Dr Ron Schmid called Diet and Recovery from Chronic Disease.
  25. Continue getting educated about health. eatkamloops.org has donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library. For a list of donated books read Recommended Reading List.

Slaughtering Chickens

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We just finished two days of slaughtering chickens. It was a big job because our “fingers” for the Whizbang Chicken Plucker were out of stock. If you have ever plucked a chicken you know this is the most tedious job in processing chickens. Commercial chicken pluckers cost in the thousands of dollars. I decided to look for a used model online but found Herrick Kimball’s book Anyone Can Build a Tub-Style Mechanical Chicken Plucker. I bought the book but the rubber picker fingers, which his son Robert sells, were out of stock. If you would like to see a video on the process, please watch Whizbang Chicken Plucker. You’ve got to love these guys!

The day before yesterday, Shaen set up the assembly line:
1. The first area is for killing cones. He uses inexpensive roadside cones that are cut down to accommodate the chicken’s head.
2. The second step is located outside. The scalding area uses a turkey deep-fryer attached to a 20 pound propane tank. This is a big pot full of water which is heated to 150 degrees. The chickens are dunked for about one minute to loosen the feathers.
3. The third area is the plucking seat. There is a big bin for feathers and a seat for the plucker. An upside-down pail acts as a table to rest the chicken being plucked.
4. The fourth area is a washing area for cleaning and removal of pin-feathers.
5. The fifth area was for cutting off the feet, gutting and final cleaning. The “dressed” chickens then go into a cooler full of ice and water.
6. The sixth area is for wrapping the chickens and packing up the organs. We saved the feet, liver, heart and gizzards. The chickens were then put into our massive old-style freezer. This freezer has a special setting for maximum cool down which isn’t normally available on new freezers. People are just not freezing large amounts of meat at one time anymore.

We started processing the chickens yesterday morning. Shaen caught the chickens and worked at the killing cones. He did double time dunking the chickens in the scalder which loosens the feathers before plucking. I was the main chicken plucker. Christine washed, checked over the birds, and removed any pin feathers. Chris Harder, our welcome volunteer, worked at the gutting table and wrapping area.

It took the four of us about 10 hours to process about 50 chickens. If we called in a professional team to do this job it would have cost about $4.00 per chicken. It will take far less time when we have the Whizbang Chicken Plucker finished.

Update September 13, 2009: I have been asked if I can sell the chickens we are producing. Unfortunately, if I sold even one chicken, I become a criminal. The government wants to keep you safe from people like me. They know their “government inspected meat” is far safer than my chickens wash in the kitchen sink. If you are wondering about the governments record of safety regarding inspected meats, please read: Slaughtering in BC: Information You Need to Know.

WAPF Kamloops Chapter at Farmer’s Market on August 15 and 22, 2009

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Where: 200 block of St. Paul Street, Kamloops, BC
When: Saturday, August 15 and 22, 2009
Time: 8:00am to 12:00noon

I will be at the Kamloops Farmer’s Market on August 15 and 22, 2009. I will have information about the Weston A. Price Foundation. There will be free brochures on a number of topics such as: real milk, trans fats, why butter is better, diet for cancer, alert on soy, and myths about cholesterol. I will have copies of the WAPF booklet which gives guidelines about healthy eating. This is a great booklet which normally sells for $1.00 but will be free at the market. This booklet is also good for giving to family members to help them understand more about nourishing traditional foods.

I have just received the WAPF 2009 Canadian Shopping Guide. It will sell for $1.50 and is full of information about Canadian suppliers of nourishing traditional foods. If you buy a WAPF membership or are presently a member, I will give you a Canadian Shopping Guide for free. Membership is $50.00 and includes the quarterly journal Wise Traditions and can be purchased at the market or you can go online and join. Membership is how WAPF funds their good works. They do not receive funding from industry. WAPF membership is not required to join in on local potlucks and informational sessions.

I will have the present copy of the Wise Traditions quarterly journal and some copies of back issues for sale. I have copies of the Wise Traditions special issue on Growing Healthy Babies and Heart Disease. There are fridge magnets for your favorite pregnant woman to help remind her to eat nourishing traditional foods. I will have some fun items like bumper stickers and buttons to tell the world where you stand!

We are having a free draw for Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions! If you would like a copy remember to put your name and number into our draw box. We will do the draw on August 22, 2009 at the end of market day and call the winner.

Hope to see you there!

Update August 22, 2009: It was great meeting people interesting in healthy food at the Kamloops Farmer’s Market. Our winner for Nourishing Traditions was Michelle Wells of Kamloops. For those of you that entered the draw but did not win, please remember we have donated a number of books to the Kamloops Public Library, Nourishing Traditions being one of them. There was a number of families interested in starting a Cow-Share Program in Kamloops. I will forward this list to a farmer interested in starting a Cow-Share Program. There was some interest in monthly potlucks and informational sessions.

Absinthe Tasting in Venon, BC on August 13, 2009

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Absinthe is a distilled spirit with an anise flavor made with Artemisia absinthium, better known as wormwood. The Green Fairy was enjoyed by many famous Bohemian artists and writers. It was thought to have an addictive psychoactive drug-like quality to the drink. It was outlawed in Canada, the United States and most countries in Europe.

I first drank Absinthe in Spain when I was 13 years old. My Mother took the summer off from her studies and took her daughters on a grand tour of Europe. At the time, Spain was one of the few countries still allowing the drinking of Absinthe. I still remember the rich anise flavor of the drink consumed in an ancient tasting room. Of course, being 13 and drinking isn’t a worry for Europeans.

It was nearly thirty years before my next taste of Absinthe. I was visiting the liquor store to find brandy for cooking pate and I saw a bottle of Absinthe. At first I thought it mustn’t be the real thing. After talking to the resident liquor specialists, I found out that the prohibition of Absinthe was finally over. In fact, there was a distiller called Okanagan Spirits in Vernon, BC making Absinthe. I bought a bottle of Taboo Absinthe.

My sister and I sat down and had a drink. She had hers straight up. I cooled mine on ice until the drink became cloudy. The Absinthe was wonderful. I understand why it won a silver metal in Europe. It is a world class drink.

If you would like to try some Absinthe and learn more about the drink’s history, there will be a tasting in Vernon, BC on August 13, 2009.

Updated April 21, 2010: Okanagan Spirits has done it again. They entered eleven products in the World Spirit Competition in Klagenfurt, Austria. They won five Gold and six Silver medals and are now recognized as a Master Class Distillery. Okanagan Spirits has introduced a new Sour Cherry and Wild Huckleberry liqueur, both won Gold in the competition:
The Cherry liqueur is made with locally sourced sour cherries and if current sales continue, it could become our most popular liqueur. Not sickly sweet like many liqueurs but with a true emphasis on the Sour Cherry taste. Its fantastic. Delicious Wild Huckleberries sourced from Grand Forks British Columbia, are used to make this liqueur. With so much fruit required for a small return in liqueur, you will need to act fast to secure yourself a bottle of this award winner.