Hudson Valley Community College
November 5th & 6th
10:00am - 8:00pm
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ECO SHOW
The 2010 Eco Show will be held this year at the Hudson Valley Community College McDonough Complex. Held on November 5th and 6th this year, the ECO Show is the premier event of its kind in Upstate New York and Western Massachusetts. Its purpose is to provide a venue that will educate, inform and enlighten both consumers and businesses about eco-friendly "Green" products/services as well as organic alternatives to their lifestyles. It is also an event which provides information about the many forms of alternative, renewable and sustainable energy, as well as conservation, and recycling. We invite you to come and enjoy 100+ exhibitor booths, interactive seminars as well as keynote speakers, who are true advocates and care for our environment.

ADMISSION
$3.00 admission per person is suggested
(17 and under no charge).
All proceeds fund the Eco Ambassador programs and help further the IERCC, ECOS, and USGBC’s educational mission to build a sustainable future.

by, Shannon Hayes of Sap Bush Hollow Farm

Shannon Hayes is the host of grassfedcooking.com and the author of The Farmer and the Grill and The Grassfed Gourmet. She works with her family on Sap Bush Hollow Farm in Upstate New York. Her newest book, Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture, is due out really really really soon….

1. Please be flexible. If you are buying your pasture-raised turkey from a small, local, sustainable farmer, thank you VERY much for supporting us. That said, please remember that pasture-raised turkeys are not like factory-farmed birds. Outside of conscientious animal husbandry, we are unable to control the size of our Thanksgiving turkeys. Please be forgiving if the bird we have for you is a little larger or a little smaller than you anticipated. Cook a sizeable quantity of sausage stuffing if it is too small (a recipe appears below), or enjoy the leftovers if it is too large.  If the bird is so large that it cannot fit in your oven, simply remove the legs before roasting it.
2. Know what you are buying. If you don’t personally know the farmer who is growing your turkey, take the time to know what you are buying! “Pastured” is not necessarily the same as “free-range.” Some grass-based farmers use the word “free-range” to describe their pasture-raised birds, but any conventional factory farm can also label their birds “free-range” if they are not in individual cages, and if they have “access” to the outdoors – even if the “outdoors” happens to be feces-laden penned-in concrete pads outside the barn door, with no access to grass. “Pastured” implies that the bird was out on grass for most of its life, where it ate grass and foraged for bugs, in addition to receiving some grain.
3. Brining optional. If tradition dictates that you season your meat by brining your bird, by all means, do so. However, many people brine in order to keep the bird from drying out. This is not at all necessary. Pastured birds are significantly juicier and more flavorful than factory farmed birds. You can spare yourself this extra step as a reward for making the sustainable holiday choice!
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(Ithaca) Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for Governor, today called for a ban on the planting of genetically modified crops in New York State. The Greens have previously drafted state legislation to impose a five year moratorium on the planting of such crops.

"Americans have become guinea pigs for the biotechnology industry due to the negligence of federal and state  policies to protect consumers. Genetic engineering represents nothing less than a going-out-of-business sale on genetic diversity.  GMOs should not be released into the environment since there is no adequate scientific understanding of their impact on the environment and human health," said Hawkins.

Hawkins said the introduction of genetically engineered foods amounts to a dangerous global experiment by giant transnational biotechnology companies who control large segments of the world's food supply, including food patents, seed companies and other aspects of the food chain. The unpredictable nature of climate change increases the risk.

• US Households will begin to mirror the more typical extended family structures found abroad. The number of multi-generational households will increase due to economic, work, childcare, and eldercare challenges.
• Around the world, work-life balance will improve as more people work locally or from home, building community ties.
• With the help of increased connectivity, impersonal city life will morph into clusters of active neighborhood communities.
• The global "Buy Local" commercial movement will expand, with local governments offering incentives to support neighborhood businesses and consumers choosing to buy from familiar, close-to-home merchants."