Recently the Chicago Tribune published the article, “Pesticides on peaches: What we found…” This article discusses the chemicals that are commonly found on peaches without delving into all of the health and environmental issues that go along with fruit production and consumption. The GGM’s primary fruit vendor, Hillside Orchard, uses Integrated Pest Management. The Environmental Protection Agency explains IPM on their website: http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/tipm.html
For more information, feel free to ask Hillside Orchard how they grow their fruit.
IPM is not a single pest control method but, rather, a series of pest management evaluations, decisions, and controls. In practicing IPM, growers who are aware of the potential for pest infestation follow a four-tiered approach. The four steps include:
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In case you missed it, The GGM appeared in the Chicago Tribune on July 22nd in “Chicago area green markets growing…” The article discusses different approaches to sustainable farming including organic, naturally raised and where you can find sustainable food in the Chicagoland area:
… Fresh, local and sustainably grown also are at the heart of the Geneva Green Market, which opened in 2007, according to Karen Stark, co-founder with Connie Weaver. Farmers must come from within 200 miles and fill out a “sustainability” statement with their application.
Raised on a Minnesota dairy farm, Stark is passionate about the market and extended it indoors last winter. “Even though we do a kids corner and chefs’ demos, this is teaching people about the food. It’s not about entertainment value,” she said. “It’s about sustaining your lifestyle with the most nutrition value in your food you can possibly buy locally”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires farmers to be certified by a third party to use the term organic. Non-organic farmers use a variety of terms to show their practices: “sustainable,” “chemical free” and “naturally grown.” Or “healthy farming practices used,” “no spray,” free-ranged,” “pastured,” “grass fed” and “no antibiotics or hormones.” In those cases, it is up to the consumer to decide what is acceptable…
For the full article visit the Chicago Tribune: “Chicago area green markets growing…”
The Chicago Tribune August 6, 2008 Good Eating section featured an article entitled Roadside Americana: The farm stand has a place in our hearts- and we’re happy to report, on MapQuest too by Emily Nunn:
And with the help of readers, who sent us their favorites by e-mail and post (see list), we headed straight to two contrasting but charming examples of what “farm stand” (and even “family farm”) can mean today.
Now, we have hope for an America that cares more about farming to feed its people than farming to feed its cars.At the suggestion of Mary Ann Schwarzbach of Geneva, we drove 35 miles from the heart of Chicago past the modern menagerie of big brand-name stores, through affluent lanes of Lincolnshire to a different land altogether, to Prairie View, where we paid a surprise visit to Mary Sue Didier and her son, John, at Didier Farms.
They are part of a family that has hung on through two World Wars, the Great Depression, the land squeeze of suburban sprawl and the precipitous rise of global agribusiness giants like Cargill (whose profits from commodity trading for the first quarter of 2008 were 86 percent higher than the same period in 2007). Which is something special, because since the 1940s, the number of farms has dropped to 2 million from 6 million Read more
The Chicago Tribune August 1, 2008 Metro section featured an article on the 3rd Annual Veggie Fest, a two day community event, the largest event of this kind in Chicagoland, expected to draw 10,000 people in Naperville Illinois.
Enjoy delicious healthy food, live bands, and great talks from professionals. Visit the vendors and pick up valuable information on healthy living. Discover something new about your own health by participating in on site screenings. All of this with no admission charge and free drawings for prizes.
- Children programs-face paintings, crafts, singing
- Live music‚ bluegrass, folk, jazz and latino
- Cooking demonstrations with sampling
- Health talks by medical experts
- 40 food vendors-restaurants-exhibitors
- 11 health-education booths
- Blood pressure, lung capacity, body fat, & sugar level measurements
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The Chicago Tribune, May 14, 2008 newspaper featured the Geneva Green Market in the Good Eating section about green farmers markets entitled “The Greening of Chicago” by Elizabeth Owens-Schiele:
[Geneva Green Market is ] devoted to education of the health-giving nature of locally grown food, sustainability and conservation of resources… The market has local farmers from within a 200-mile radius of Geneva.
West Suburban Living magazine, May/June 2008 issue featured the Geneva Green Market in a piece entitled “Going Green” by Sara Pearsaul Vice.
Exciting news – food is something we all share everyday, getting the word out to people who seek to be greener in their everyday lives is always great and bodes well for the success of the 2008 Geneva Green Market season!
