Editor's Message

THANK YOU

INSPIRATION WAS EASY TO COME BY FOR THIS ISSUE. A second Alberta BSE-infected cow prompted a renewed flurry of questions in and outside of Alberta’s agriculture and food industry.Will the industry survive? What is next? Most important, is it safe to eat beef? In this issue, we attempt to answer a few of your questions and give you some peace of mind.

BSE is a critical situation, one that is challenging for our industry and top of mind for you as health conscious-consumers. Yet, through it all, farmers and ranchers manage to keep their chins up. That’s because you continue to support them by loading your grocery cart and filling your plate with homegrown, Alberta meat and food products. Everyone’s commitment to getting Alberta through this latest crisis is not only inspiration for Food for Thought but something for all of us to have pride in.

On the home front (yours, that is) we’d like to help you slow down with recipes and ideas from Alberta’s Slow Food movement (page 10).We’ll give you some practical tips to juggle the seemingly impossible task of cooking for a family with different tastes (page 22).We also provide an inside look at how agriculture and the field of medicine are working together to find answers, treatments and cures that offer hope and healing (page 34). And, naturally, we’ve sprinkled in a healthy dose of tips and ideas to help you carve a little balance into your busy world.

This is our tenth issue (where has the time gone?), and we look forward to giving you more in the future. Even though we only publish three times a year,we know that you want more Food for Thought. Did you know Food for Thought On-line will give you the same great recipes, helpful articles and information right in your e-mail box? Sign up at www.growingalberta.com before April 1 and enter to win your own personal library of Alberta cookbooks so you can keep cooking with Alberta style.

Jennifer Fisk
Editor