24/7 Stream
Specials and Highlights
First Aired - 07/18/2010 12:00PM
Download MP3 (Full Episode)
Download MP3 (Full Episode)
Hosted By
Sponsored by
This week on The Main Course Patrick and Katy spoke to Wes Gillingham of the Catskill Mountainkeepers. Wes layed out the startling process of "hydro-frac" mining: drilling a myriad of holes in what could otherwise be active farmland, injecting super toxic "frac fluid", and extracting natural gas. Not only do these companies poison aquifers, reservoirs and ground water, but they recieve unprecedented tax breaks and government subsidies. David Haight then called in from American Farmland Trust to discuss how he helps farmers and land owners keep their farmland active and understand their rights, especially in leasing situations (like when Halliburton leases a farmer's land to cut down trees, lay down pipes, and hydro-frac!) Plus Erica DeMane, a seasoned chef who penned the Italian section of the new Joy of Cooking, stopped by to ponder whether cooking is art or science, question whether taste is objective or subjective, and talk traditional Sicilian regional cuisine. This episode was sponsored by Edwards of Surry Virginia: www.EdwardsVAHam.com.
Photo explaining how hydrofracking works
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
The Main Course Introduction (17:21)
Tags:
The Main Course, Heritage Radio Network, Patrick Martins, Katy Keiffer, Cherryholmes, hydrofracking, Hydraulic fracturing, Pensacola, business is down 80% compare dto the norm at this time of year, Florida seafood industry, concealing information from the public, BP came out with a claims ad campaign, Patrick loved Shutter Island, Patrick used to work at a pysch ward in Poughkeepsie, why aren't more groups helping family farms put product into market?, dairy industry, Northern New York, the health care bill saves the lives of millions of Americans, to view it as a failed policy because it cost us money is evil, Americans should be proud that we passed the health care bill, Edwards Ham,Hydraulic Fracturing with Wes Gillingham (30:37)
Tags:
Wes Gillingham, Catskill Mountainkeeper, a regional non-profit grassroots environmental organization working to protect the Catskills, Hydraulic Fracturing, source rocks, there are a lot of wild areas left in the Catksills, Sullivan County, Borscht, Tannersville, extracting natural gas, getting the gas out of tiny foundations, industry wants grid work across the land, wells spaced close together, a lot of drilling and infrastructure required, Marcellus Shale, releasing gas to power electric grids in the Northeast instead of using coal, the gas industry gets complicated, Chesapeake, the energy portfolio needs to change, isn't it better to burn natural gas than coal?, not if they get it improperly, water contamination, community impacts, Waste Recovery Act, is coal the other option?, there's a glut of national gas, more than we can use, is this profit making or is this a bona fide solution, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental Conservation, www.dec.ny.gov, environmental review, leaves some concerns unanswered, Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, compensation liability, the industry get many exemptions, they are raping the landscapes, plus they get tax incentives, taxpayers are subsidizing the cost of oil and gas production, we pay for 70 to 100% of the equipment, companies have to be held accountable to environmental standards, if this was active farmland we wouldn't have these problems, these companies need to pay a fair share for the land, the real issue is to enforce strict cleanup policies, New York has highly fractured geology, earthquakes can be a consequence, natural gas drilling,David Haight of American Farmland Trust (28:19)
Tags:
David Haight, American Farmland Trust, celebrating their 30th birthday this year!, they protect the loss of farmland to development, controlling the greed of the natural gas and energy industries, they work hard to help land owners understand that there are options, they are good guy lobbyists!, advocacy in Albany and Washington DC, funding to make sure farmers have options, farmers could lease part of the land and eventually get that land back, New York has had a long history of oil and gas exploration, we have more than ten thousand gas wells in New York, not all of them active, There Will Be Blood, there are major public concerns about water, potential impact to drinking water, New York has behind the scenes oil extraction, there is a farm developed every three days in New York, people aren't making enough money growing the crops they have on their farm, Heritage Foods USA, get the food to the market!, why aren't there more cooperative groups, Heritage Foods USA puts $80k into small farmers pockets a week, it takes vigilantism to change federal policies, just do it!, you need a truck driver, a bookkeeper, somebody to work the phones, we need to find a way to protect the public interest, the EPA is finally doing a nation wide assessment of hydrofracking, what are the secondary impacts of the drilling?, 10k new wells in New York, disasters happen even under the best intentions, www.farmland.org,Secret Knifeshow Segment (6:37)
Tags:
www.myspace.com/knifeshowmusic, knifeshow, Jack Inslee, Wreck Tech,Erica DeMane on Farmers Markets, Southern Italian Food & New Recipes (20:04)
Tags:
Erica DeMane, she supplied the Italian section for the new Joy of Cooking, she is interested in getting imported products and using them, Sam Edwards, Surryano ham, Fairway Market alone could be the entire solution to Sullivan County dairy producers, is the Union Square farmers market good by international standards?, yes!, the markets in Barcelona are not entirely local, Erica comes from a southern Italian background, her father was a hardcore gardener, Nassau county used to have tons of farmers markets, how do you still find novelty?, are there new recipes or ingredients?, what can still be made up?, avocado zucchini, no seeds, genetically modified ingredients vs purist approach, Southern Italian Regions, Emilia Romagna, Erica is freewheeling with her recipes, traditional Sicilian recipes, Ferran Adria, Dave Arnold, Wylie Dufresne, WD50, what is the state of gastronomy as an independent science in the US?, comfort food, memories, psychology, when you crave something it's usually because of a memory, finding balances between sweet salty sour and umami, Japanese cuisine may be the most sophisticated in the world, a recipe is only a guideline, for Erica cooking is more of an art than a science,More with Erica DeMane (18:30)
Tags:
gastronomy has certain truths, just because it's local doesn't mean it's good, taste truths, parmigiano reggiano is the best cheese in the world, southern Italian cheeses are not that good, not every artisan will produce a great cheese, most restaurants are bad, 40% of chefs are over salting their food in Manhattan, Top 3 Food Movies, Babette's Feast, Eat Drink Man Woman, Le Grande Bouffe, NYC Food Film Festival, Tampopo, sperm tastings,Gwen Schantz of the Brooklyn Grange (12:06)
Tags:
Gwen Schantz, Brooklyn Grange, the biggest rooftop farm in the world, you cannot rooftop farm on any roof, they are selling produce at Roberta's on Sundays!, salad greens, head lettuces, kale, heirloom tomatoes, they require a few cool nights to ripen, heat has been tough on lettuces, Swiss chard, heat isn't that big of a deal, everything has been grown successfully this year, Patrick absolutely loves the Brooklyn Grange, vigilante energy, nonprofits don't do enough, the Grange has 200 volunteers, they haven't paid off initial costs yet, 5 year return, they sell at competitive prices, they will hopefully accept EBT and food stamps soon, you can get a Bibb salad and margarita pizza at Roberta's for the price of going to the movies,To comment on this episode click here. There are currently Comments
