Endangered Food

By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.

According to Gary Nabhan, if you love something, chop it down and eat it. Well, sort of. Gary's gathered a list of more than 1,000 native plants and animals that were once commonly found in American kitchens, but are now endangered, or on the brink of extinction.

The solution, he says? Eat 'em up!

Whether it’s Kentucky burgoo with squirrel, Hoppin’ John with clay field peas, or pawpaw custard, traditional American foods are part of the natural and cultural history of this nation, and many are quickly dying out.

Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott speaks with Gary Paul Nabhan, director of the Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University, and the author of "Renewing America's Food Traditions." It’s part cookbook, part history lesson, and part call to action to revive America's diverse food traditions.

She also speaks with Stephen Wood, owner of Poverty Lane Orchards and Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon, NH, about his own varieties of heirloom apples.

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Hi, as a listener from Arizona who, on trips to New Hampshire, purchases copious amounts of Farnum Hills ciders I was thrilled to hear this story. I have long been interested in eating local/indigenous foods, and was really excited to hear more from the community... If I could also recommend Lull Farm in Hollis for Heirloom tomatoes (last summer they had 52 varieties!) -- or for your other AZ listeners Native Seed/Search (nativeseeds.org) for all of your indigenous food needs from Southern AZ (including Chitlepines, the Mother of All Chilies!)...

Thanks again!

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