Lard Ad from 1916.

In the early 1900’s, there was a tin pail of lard in nearly every kitchen in America.  Lard was the universal shortening.

The demise of lard began in 1906, when Upton Sinclair published his book, The Jungle, which exposed the gruesome reality of the Chicago meat-packing plants.  Sinclair claimed that workers would sometimes fall into the boiling vats of lard and became part of the product.

The Jungle was a work of fiction, and President Teddy Roosevelt called Sinclair a “crackpot” who was “hysterical, unbalanced, and untruthful.”  Nevertheless, Sinclair set the stage for a bold new competitor to lard.

Around this time, William Proctor and James Gamble realized that the rise of electric lighting was about to put their candle-making company out of business.  But Proctor and Gamble made a key scientific breakthrough:  they discovered that hydrogenating the process to make their cottonseed oil candles would turn the candles into a white, lard-like substance.  They called this invention Crisco vegetable shortening (the vegetable was cotton).

Proctor and Gamble launched Crisco in one of the brilliant marketing campaigns of the 20^th Century.  P&G positioned Crisco as a new type of food, clean and pure, a product of science, healthier and safer than lard.

In 1912, P&G released a beautifully-written and gorgeously-illustrated cookbook with hundreds of recipes using Crisco.  This cookbook, The Story of Crisco, was printed in numerous languages to target niche ethnic markets.  Jewish homemakers in particular were early adopters of Crisco as a kosher product.

P&G gave away the cookbook with their product and mailed it all over America, which was a very big deal at the time.  The Story of Crisco was treasured by early 20^th Century homemakers and stands to this day as a monument to food marketing genius.

P&G paid celebrity chefs to lead cooking classes featuring Crisco to establish the credibility of the brand.  The company claimed in advertising that Crisco would instill good moral character in children.  They paid scientists to produce research that supported their health claims.  Crisco hammered away at the health theme for decades.

Crisco was a pioneer of print media during WWI, radio in the 1920’s, and television in the 1930’s.  The dual marketing strategy was to promote the purity of Crisco while subtly undermining lard.

The lard industry, controlled by a consortium of good old boys, mistakenly believed they held an eternal monopoly on shortening.  Lard industry leaders failed to recognize the threat from Crisco in time, or to successfully defend and promote their product.  Lard was demonized to the extent that even today the word lard itself invites disgust.  Eventually, Crisco completely replaced lard in the kitchens of America.

Crisco’s product health claims were seriously challenged in the 1990’s when scientists revealed the truth about trans fats.  Despite numerous product reformulations, Proctor and Gamble divested itself from the Crisco brand in 2001.

The Crisco campaign of the 20^th Century was enormously effective in shaping attitudes and beliefs among consumers.  Lard, a wholesome product that had been loved by Americans for centuries, was utterly destroyed in the marketing arena by an imitation food that was created in a lab and manufactured from cotton.

Modern food companies are even more sophisticated and more effective in their food marketing messages.  We are bombarded constantly with these highly compelling messages.

As a consumer, it can be difficult to know what to believe, to know the real story behind the advertising.  But the closer we eat to home, to local farms, and to our own backyard gardens, the easier it is to know the truth about our food.

(I found the following vintage advertisements for lard on the site ecofriendlyfreckles.com.   It is no wonder lard lost the advertising war!)

All You Need is a (LARGE) Spoonful!

Sunset in the Garden

Scientists have announced a fascinating discovery about the secret life of plants.  It turns out that plants are governed by circadian rhythms, just like people.  And the circadian rhythm operates in plants even after they are harvested—even while the plants are sitting in warehouses, on grocery store shelves, or in your refrigerator.

And not only that, scientists have learned that circadian rhythms have a significant impact on the nutritional value of the plants we eat.

In plants, just as in people, circadian rhythms are endogenous, which means they originate in the cellular memory of the individual.  Our personal circadian rhythms are programmed into our DNA.  Circadian rhythms are also heavily influenced by environmental factors, such as day and night, and the rhythm can be altered with changes in the light/dark cycle.

The peak of a plant’s circadian rhythm is in the afternoon, when plants most require energy to fight heat stress and protect themselves from insect attacks.  The low ebb of the circadian rhythm for plants is the middle of the night, the same as in people.

In the recent study, scientists observed how the circadian rhythm affected the concentration of glucosinolates in plants.  Glucosinolates are compounds produced by plants to strip toxic substances from their cells.  In humans, glucosinolates are cancer-fighting agents that remove carcinogens from our bodies.  To do the most good for our health, we want to eat produce with the highest concentration of glucosinolates in every bite.

Scientists manipulated the light/dark cycle for certain plants to produce 12 hours of light and 12 hours darkness, to simulate the day and night conditions of plants in the field.  They found that plants achieved their highest concentration of glucosinolates during the afternoon, when the plants were at the peak of their circadian rhythm.

In fact, the concentration of these cancer-fighting compounds was twice as high during the afternoon compared to the middle of the night, when the plants were at the low ebb of their circadian rhythm.

It is remarkable to consider how much the nutritional density of plants can fluctuate in twelve hours simply due to changes in light.  And the circadian rhythm is only one of many factors that influence the health and taste of produce.

Scientists continue to learn new information about the nutritional density of our food.  Plants are living matter–living energy–even after the plants are harvested.  This living energy fuels our work, our growth, our wellness, our busy lives.  The quality of the plants, and the quality of the potential nutrition of the food, depends largely upon how it is grown.

To get the most nutritional density from your produce, harvest it fresh from your own garden or buy it from a source that offers locally grown and freshly picked vegetables.  Thanks to scientists, we now know that we can enjoy our produce not only at the peak of ripeness, but also at the top of the circadian rhythm, as well.

Kimmi Norvell Moake and I will be in the studio tomorrow, Tuesday morning, from 8:00am to 9:00am with radio host Leanne Winkler.  Tune in to 90.3 FM in Corpus Christi and 90.7 FM in Victoria to listen.

We will be in the studio to discuss Coastal Bend Health Foods’ underwriting of “Your Wholesome Heritage Garden” and also to support KEDT during their Fall membership drive.

We ask you to tune in to the program and call in with your support!  Call 361-855-2000 to join us with a pledge for quality public radio programming–you can pledge $20 or $5 or even a dollar.  Every single pledge is appreciated and goes to support KEDT and their excellent radio programming.

You can call in from wherever you are to say hello, even outside our listening area, and we sincerely thank you!  We look forward to hearing from you Tuesday morning!

Friends, I am pleased to announce a new underwriting partnership for our radio program.

Coastal Bend Health Foods, Latitude 28 02, and Chartroom of Rockport have signed an agreement with KEDT/KVRT to underwrite “Your Wholesome Heritage Garden”.

As underwriters of the program, these companies will be featured in sponsorship messages associated with our weekly radio program,  “Your Wholesome Heritage Garden”, and other quality programming on KEDT-FM 90.3 in Corpus Christi and KVRT-FM 90.7 in Victoria.

KEDT and KVRT enjoy the largest radio audience in South Texas.  The listening area covers 20 counties and runs from north of Victoria all the way to the south of Kingsville.  Each time our program is broadcast, the listenership is in the tens of thousands, and the audience is growing.  KEDT/KVRT programming has a considerable reach and impact.

Many of these listeners will be introduced for the first time to Coastal Bend Health Foods, Latitude 28 02, and Chartroom.  I am so excited about the many connections that will be made; the good people who will learn about these wonderful businesses and come to Rockport to try them out.  Our neighbors in South Texas will be delighted with what they find in our little town.

These business owners in Rockport sponsored “Your Wholesome Heritage Garden” because they believe in the program and because they want to support public radio and our community.  I am so thrilled and honored to partner with Kimmi, Ramona and Craig, and Chris Veatch.

Friends, I ask you to support these businesses by paying them a visit.

Kimmi Norvell Moake, Coastal Bend Health Foods

Thank you to Kimmi Norvell Moake of Coastal Bend Health Foods for your radio sponsorship.  Kayla and I cannot say enough good things about Kimmi, she is like family to us and she is the most wonderful person you will ever met.

She offers the freshest produce in town, grass-fed beef, pastured chicken and pork, farm fresh eggs, a full range of supplements, specialty groceries, and natural beauty products.   Please stop in and visit.

Ramona and Craig Day of Latitude 28 02

Thank you to Ramona and Craig Day of Latitude 28 02 for your radio sponsorship.  I became friends with Ramona and Craig more than thirteen years ago when they opened the restaurant, and they have created a true work of art in our town.

Latitude 28 02 is fine dining in an art gallery.  The most beautiful paintings in South Texas line the walls of this restaurant, but the food is the star of the show, and I believe the best artist in the place is the chef.  Call to make a reservation, and enjoy!

Chef Chris Veatch of Chartroom

Thank you to Chef Chris Veatch of Chartroom for your radio sponsorship.  Chef Chris spent thirty years up in Vermont perfecting his craft, where he shopped daily among the local farms for his produce.  When Chef Chris and I partnered to host a dinner featuring ingredients fresh from our farm, he truly blew us away.  We are all still talking about that amazing dinner, and Chef Chris serves up these kinds of meals every day.

The view from Chartroom is the marina in Key Allegro.  You can enjoy your dinner and drinks while watching folks pull up in their sailboats and yachts and walk down the pier and come sit at the next table for a delicious supper.  It is quite an experience.  Please stop by the Chartroom for dinner, you will be so glad you did.

There will be more to share soon about these wonderful sponsors.  Thank you for your support of our local businesses in Rockport!

An Ancient Wild Barley Sample (photo courtesy TISARP and NPR)

Archeologists recently discovered the ruins of a 12,000-year-old farmstead in the rugged mountains of Western Iran.  This site—situated in the long-vanished Fertile Crescent, the cradle of civilization–is one of the earliest documented farmsteads in the world.

These ancient farmers grew wheat, barley, lentils, and peas.  They domesticated these plants by collecting wild seeds and then planting them in a concentrated space.  The seeds were perfectly preserved at the archeological dig along with a few stone tools, a sickle, and a mortar and pestle for grinding grains.

For historical context about this time period, 12,000 years ago, the dinosaurs were gone, but the progenitors of Native American Indians were still crossing the frozen land bridge from Asia into North America.  As they worked their way south, these first Americans still hunted wooly mammoths with their fire-hardened spears.

Meanwhile, in the remote mountains of the Fertile Crescent, the first farmers developed practical and sophisticated agricultural techniques.  They selected the plants that were easiest to cultivate in their soil and climate.  They used wood ash as a soil amendment, homemade compost, and native leaves as mulch.  These techniques, the most ancient of heritage methods, are just as effective today for backyard gardeners.

An Ancient Farmstead in the Zagros Mtns of Iran (photo courtesy TISRP/Univ of Tugengen/NPR)

But how did those first farmers figure it out?  How did they put it all together?  It may have been as simple as a husband and wife at this farmstead discussing it over a dinner of freshly-picked wild grains.  They figured it would be easier to relocate the wild plants to their own garden, rather than roaming for miles every day hoping to forage something to eat.  This simple innovation is how farming was invented.

Around the same time, in the nearby mountains of Iraq, the very first sheep were being domesticated.  Hunters caught living wild lambs, and instead of butchering and eating them right away, they bred them into tame flocks.  By domesticating wild seeds and wild animals, and raising them in permanent locations, these first-ever farmers changed the world.

In this ancient farmstead, archaeologists also found clay pots and bowls decorated with artistic renderings.  The first farmer grew food in abundance, which freed up someone else’s time to make pottery, to store this new surplus.  And that freed up time for the first artists to decorate these clay pots, and to paint dramatic images of animals on the walls of their caves.

But that first farmer, standing in the first field ever planted, was simply doing his best, her best, to cultivate their own little patch of land, to grow enough food to feed their family—doing their best to survive in this great wide-open world.  And farmers are still doing the same thing today.