Market Farming

[Allan Balliett <igg AT igg.com>]

> "Fava beans contain a substance, which is not neutralized by 
> soaking, sprouting or fermenting, that can cause a type of 
> life-threatening anemia in persons with an inherited susceptibility 
> and are therefore best avoided."  p.495 Nourishing Traditions

Margaret - She is referring to the problem some Meditteraneans have 
with fava beans. Favas are a favorite ingredient of nutritionally 
conscious chef, Alice Waters, co-founder of Chef's Collaborative, a 
nutritionally oriented chef's group and a leading member of SLOW 
FOOD, a group that works to bring value back into the food system. 
She knows her ingredients and she loves favas, big or baby. Favas are 
considered by many to be the very first food plant brought into 
cultivation and, as such, one of the cultivated foods we Europeans 
have the longest food history with. They are a good, meaty, main meal 
, stick-to-your ribs almost-as-good as flesh bean, one that is 
difficult to find fresh in grocery stores. Better than that, they are 
consummate soil builders, Chadwick claiming that fungus diseases will 
never be found in beds they have grown in (such was his own 
experience). Good stuff!

-Allan