Dan Barber - A Perfect Expression of Nature (Conscientious Cooks VI) / Backyard Chickens IX

Deconstructing Dinner

Dan Barber - A Perfect Expression of Nature (Conscientious Cooks VI)

However we try to look at it, agriculture itself - as it's existed for 10,000 years, will always be a departure from acquiring our food as nature intended. By extension, agricultural and food production methods will always be debated on their merits of balancing natural systems with the social needs of human populations. But what if the line between social needs and natural systems disappeared and the two were to become one and the same? On this episode, we hear how such a scenario is playing itself out on a farm in Spain and which is producing a food most often associated with being one of the most controversial - foie gras. Telling the story is chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill restaurant in New York City. Dan was recorded in 2008 at the E.F. Schumacher Society lecture series held in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Backyard Chickens IX On part IX of our ongoing Backyard Chickens series (a sub-series of Farming in the City, Bucky Buckaw lends his wisdom to backyard chickeners on the options available to decrease your reliance on processed chicken feed. Bucky also encourages President Barack Obama to help push Bucky's backyard chicken agenda by establishing a White House backyard chicken flock! Guests Dan Barber, executive chef / co-owner, Blue Hill (New York, NY) - Dan Barber began farming and cooking for family and friends at Blue Hill Farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. In May of 2000, Dan opened Blue Hill restaurant with family members David and Laureen Barber, and in 2002, Food and Wine Magazine named him one of the country's "Best New Chefs." Since then, he has addressed local food issues through op-eds in the New York Times and articles in Gourmet, Saveur and Food and Wine Magazine. Dan has been featured in the New Yorker, CBS Sunday Morning, House and Garden, and Martha Stewart Living; his writing has been incorporated into the annual "Best Food Writing" anthology for the past five years. Blue Hill's menu showcases local food and a wine list with producers who respect artisanal techniques. Ingredients come from nearby farms, including Blue Hill Farm in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, a forty-five minute drive from New York City. Bucky Buckaw - host, Bucky Buckaw's Backyard Chicken Broadcast (New York, NY) - Bucky Buckaw gives advice on raising backyard chickens as just one example of how a locally based economy can work. Through this segment, he informs listeners about the downside of factory farming and what kinds of toxic chemicals you can expect to find in the resultant livestock. He promotes organic gardening and composting, and supporting local farmers.