Tyson Foods, the nation’s largest producer of poultry and other meats, says sustainability will play a major role in the company’s strategic planning. Now a campaign, called Clean It Up, Tyson!, has emerged to press the corporation to live up to that commitment.
The folks attending the Frontera 30th Anniversary Celebration fundraiser on April 30 at The Art Institute of Chicago will be able to bid on some mind-boggling prizes, including a food field trip to Mexico with Chef Rick Bayless, whose 30 years of achievement is being celebrated at the event. But guess what? You can bid for all of those prizes too. That’s because the auction, already under way, is taking place online, and you can compete wherever you are. All you have to do is visit the auction portal, click the prizes your heart desires, and bid.
Crate Free Illinois is a nonprofit group that works to inform the public about inhumane treatment at industrial livestock operations and urges consumers to use their dollars to support farmers who use humane practices. The organization will take part in FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival for the second consecutive year.
The growing public demand for pasture-raised, sustainably produced meats has prompted increased interest among farmers. For Marina and John Backes, it prompted a move from suburban New Jersey to rural southwest Missouri, where since 2009 they have raised heritage breeds of hogs on pasture at their Circle B Ranch.
This is national Meat Week. We at FamilyFarmed advocate for foods, including meat, that are produced as locally as possible using sustainable, humane and fair practices. So who better to help us inform readers about why this is important than Chicago’s Rob Levitt, whose store The Butcher & Larder embeds those principles in how they source and sell their beef, pork, lamb and poultry.
by Kara Gunthorp, guest contributor Kara Gunthorp joined the family sustainably raised livestock business — Indiana’s Gunthorp Farms — shortly after her graduation last year from Purdue University, an experience she shared in the initial article in our Growing Young Farmers series. Kara is making a return appearance here, discussing how her younger brother Evan Read more about Gunthorp Farms: When Growing Young Farmers Is All In The Family[…]
FamilyFarmed’s Good Food on Every Table website is launching a new series titled “Growing Young Farmers.” This series will provide a platform for members of this new generation to discuss why they have chosen farming, the opportunities that motivate them, and the challenges as well. And we could not be happier to kick off the series than with this following essay written by Kara Gunthorp of Indiana’s Gunthorp Farms, a leader in sustainable livestock production.
Rob Levitt has been one of Chicago’s leading butchers for several years, and his store, The Butcher & Larder, has gained an even higher profile since moving from its tiny original shop to the Local Foods retail store that opened last June. Customer service and information is part of the store’s stock in trade — so it was not surprising when the news broke Thursday that fans voted The Butcher & Larder as Best Butcher Shop in Chicago in an online poll.
Until recently, dried meat jerky was none something most people associated with Good Food. But one sign of the growing influence of the movement is that many products not normally seen as part of a well-balanced diet are being adapted into healthier and more sustainably produced versions — such as Think Jerky, the subject of this article.
There was plenty of food to eat at FamilyFarmed’s March 26 Good Food Festival, which drew thousands of attendees for the annual big public celebration of the fast-growing Good Food movement. But the program at the Festival, which included expert panels, artisan workshops and chef demonstrations, also provided plenty of food for thought. This photo essay provides a flavor of the event.
Rob Levitt of The Butcher & Larder at Local Foods, one of Chicago’s leading butcher shops, is conducting a ham-curing workshop at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival on March 26. Read here about Levitt’s love of ham, his dedication to providing the highest quality products, and his devotion to consumer education about meat.
Rob Levitt, who co-owns Chicago’s popular The Butcher & Larder meat shop with his wife Allie, was very generous with his time prior to his charcuterie workshop at FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Festival Saturday. It turns out that Rob is also very generous with recipes.
Rob Levitt established himself as a major figure on Chicago’s food scene when he and his wife Allie opened The Butcher & Larder meat shop four years ago. Here Rob Levitt discusses his somewhat unexpected career as a butcher and his hopes for bigger things with his upcoming move, expected this spring, into a larger space in the new Local Foods retail store.
Mark Wilhelms is founder and chief executive of Red Meat Market, which retails local and sustainably produced meat online. One of his inspirations for the company was Frank Morgan, whose pioneering effort to raise grass-fed beef for the nearby Chicago market was the basis for a short film Wilhelm produced shortly before Morgan’s death.
Rob Levitt of The Butcher & Larder began his culinary career with the aim of becoming a top chef. But he developed an expertise in charcuterie that ultimately piqued his interest in the art of butchery, and four years ago, he and wife Allie opened the Butcher & Larder and quickly developed it into one of Chicago’s favored spots among meat lovers. Now they are preparing for a big step up.
Concerns about the routine use of antibiotics in livestock production is rising among consumers, prompting an increase in both market demand and supply of meat labeled as “antibiotic-free.” And efforts to get the attention of policy makers to this issue are increasing.
When you write about the launch of a start-up business, it is often worthwhile checking back in to see how things are working out. It is especially rewarding to do when the enterprise has flourished — which is the case for Chicago’s Honey Butter Fried Chicken, which on Sept. 14 rounded out a smashing first year in business.
You know that the Good Food movement has taken another step into the mainstream when the protagonist of a new children’s book is a butcher producing “Good Meat.”