Meredith Buck

"[T]here is no such thing as 'ancestral foods' in today's multi ethnic families."

exactly the reason i brought this up! i am portuguese, romanian, chinese, german, french, italian, and at least a few other nationalities that my family has completely forgotten over time.
i spend a lot of time trying to figure out what foods i do best with. sometimes it seems like heritage has at least some influence on that, but maybe not.


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suki, you make a very strong point about nutrition being so difficult long ago. i didn't think about that - but i wonder if those patterns can/should still be applied today, with the luxury of choice and balance.
maybe so, maybe no!

i agree, this is a great thread! thanks for opening it up!

my blog: http://maukamakai.tumblr.com
my website: http://www.meredithbuck.com

neither of these are specifically permaculture geared, but i end up posting relevant stuff (when i do post).
and i don't own any land. yet!
right now i'm living in san francisco, with "one foot out the door," so to speak, as i gather all the knowledge and skills i'll need to make my dreams come true. said dreams include homesteading, community living, working with animals in addition to plant foods, and all related skills! being a jill of all trades, i want to put all my skills to good use (and share them)!
i currently work at an urban farm called hayes valley farm. i'm a volunteer coordinator there. it's a 2.2 acre lot in the middle of sf, so plenty of space to grow in.
being only 19 and a relatively recent cross-country transplant - and relatively new to permaculture itself - i'd say i'm headed in the right direction.

anyway feel free to check out my blogs, which range in topic from knitting to painting to food to farming!
thanks for reading and i look forward to seeing others' blogs

i've heard sally fallon (author of nourishing traditions) talk about this, and it's something that's constantly on my mind:

anyone think it's best to eat according to your ethnic background and the traditional foods associated with it? and if so, what do you do when your heritage is thoroughly mixed?

let's say we have three individuals who have all eaten a traditional, whole food diet their entire life.
someone who is scottish might eat mostly cod and oats.
someone who is swiss might eat lots of dairy with some bread.
someone who is polynesian might eat lots of fish and boar and taro and coconut.

but what if they all traded? would that affect their health? or do you think that all traditional diets are equally appropriate for all?
obviously a traditional diet is based on what's immediately available, and obviously people travel.
i just can't help but think that it's "a good idea" to follow one's ancestral eating practices, and so am wondering what others think.

discuss!

this is awesome to hear, both sharon and rebecca! great to hear that your food choices are working for you.

i've had a similar experience....
for years i was vegetarian, and always extremely introverted and nervous and shy around people. i had pretty low self esteem, and just felt stressed all the time.
long story short, i read nourishing traditions. when i decided to put a little butter into my diet, everything changed! suddenly i had energy, a better mood, higher self esteem, and more confidence.
i'm still more introverted, of course, but i can relax about it! my mind is more free now, and my relationships are being strengthened.

all of my friends and family have commented on how good i look (or sound, if we're talking on the phone)!!


as a side note....
i'm 19, just a few years younger and experiencing tooth decay.
i thought my diet was great, until i did some further research, and found that i just had too many nuts, legumes, and dried fruit in my diet (things that block nutrient absorption) - and not enough animal!
now that i'm making a conscious effort to health my teeth through food, i'm finding that my body wants what it needs. never thought i'd have such intense cravings for liver

one of my teeth is less sensitive now than it was, so i'm holding onto hope!

cheers to good health!
-meredith

you might check out ramiel nagel's work. he has a book out called "cure tooth decay," which is based on weston a. price's research.

basically he suggests, for healthy teeth, organ meats, seafood, raw milk, and cod liver oil and/or high vitamin butter oil.
for unhealthy teeth, he suggests a lack of *fat-soluble* vitamins and minerals, exacerbated by a diet high in sugar and phytates.
examples of "bad" foods are grains improperly prepared, vegetable oils, false sweeteners, and refined sweeteners.
i think stimulants like chocolate and coffee and tea are off the list, too.

i'm experimenting with his findings right now, as my teeth are starting to decay.
i thought my teeth were great, but apparently i was eating too many nuts/legumes and dried fruit.

just wanted to tip you off to a few cool projects in san francisco:

http://www.hayesvalleyfarm.com/ (sweet urban farm, very permy indeed... i am a full time volunteer farm manager here.)
http://www.alemanyfarm.org/
http://www.permaculture-sf.org/projects/18th-a-rhode-island.html
http://www.thefreefarm.org/

still on the fence about grabbing a hammock spot... lo siento.

Just wanted to let you know I'm interested in joining. I can't really give you anything more than that right now, since I don't know what that end of the summer looks like for me yet. But I thought I should speak up now just in case.