In “Chewing the Scenery,” we round up interesting food-related video from around the Web.
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Back in November, Grist’s own Bonnie Powell wrote a piece for the Ethicurean about the plight of Soul Food Farm, a Bay Area farm destroyed by a wildfire:
Around 1:30 a.m. on the night of September 3, engineer-turned-chicken farmer Eric Koefed awoke thirsty, then saw a terrifying orange glow through the windows. A couple hundred yards away, just past the creek behind the house, a wall of fire was devouring the trees and back pasture of Soul Food Farm.
“The farm is burning!” he screamed. “Wake up!”
…In the end, it took more than 150 fire fighters to subdue the six-alarm fire on this ridge and valley in Vacaville. (The cause was later determined to have been arson.) The fire crew stayed to patrol for two days, and no houses were affected. The Koefoeds, however, lost roughly 1,200 baby chicks (destined to become broiler chickens representing two weeks’ income the following month); a barn and mature plum trees dating to the 1880s; and about 30 acres of lush, diverse green pasture (the salad bar for their chickens).
But instead of giving up, the Koefoeds soldiered on and with the financial and physical help of the community were able to restart operations.
It is an unquestionably inspiring story — and more than enough to catch the attention of CNN’s Anderson Cooper, whose show, AC360, recently featured the farm’s resurrection. Check it out:
