organic foods

I have a problem. I am a meat lover and a devotee of all things rich, creamy and sweet. Eggs are my favorite breakfast food. When I eat a Hostess Cupcake, I enjoy it immensely and without a trace of irony.

So what's the problem? Is there anything easier, gastronomically speaking, than to find a good cut of meat or low-cost dairy products or processed foods in the United States? Even consumers who balk at the worst and most cruel aspects of modern industrial farming can, with relative ease, find sources of  grass-fed beef (humanely raised and slaughtered), free-range eggs, milk and cheese from benign family farms if they're willing to spend a few dollars. The world should be my oyster. Pun intended.

I remember having this odd experience when my wife was pregnant with our first child. For 30 years, I'd lived my life completely unaware of "baby culture," and now, as we'd stroll through the Galleria, Lake Harriet, Southdale mall, or one of our favorite Minnesota food spots, we were surrounded. Pregnant women and babies were suddenly everywhere.

Just wanted to make you aware that I've recently started to build an Organic foods MN directory, seeing as no satisfactory directory of organic foods, growers, companies, markets, and artisan producers seems to exist. I'll be building out the directory over time, very much looking forward to your suggestions. In the meantime, you can find the directory under the "Food Related Links" tab above.

No big surprise in the Wall Street Journal's recent article about local businesses suffering when a Wal-mart comes to town. But there's also some interesting advice for small business owners and local grocers when it comes to staying alive. For one thing, the article cautions these businesses against trying to match Wal-mart on price, suggesting that this will simply compound the problem, reducing sales by 25% rather than 17%.