November is Native American Heritage Month, and provides us with abundant opportunities to celebrate, honor, learn and (of course) be thankful. Before diving into the rich history (though even the history of the month itself is a fascinating read-click here to see how the boy scouts contributed to its establishment), it’s worth noting that this is very much a living legacy.

Having spent my childhood in Canada’s Pacific Northwest, my landscape was as likely to include a totem pole as a tree. The artistry of the figures made me curious about the legends that went along with them, inspiring both my imagination and my sense of interconnectedness with nature.

This relationship to the land is often described as stewardship, a concept it shares with organic agriculture, and one that has always made sense to me. Describing a relationship of care and management, of responsibility and sustainability, stewardship is in effect the natural reciprocity of a give and take system.

In a year that has been full of discussion on the state of the environment and our place in it, this legacy of stewardship is once again on the rise., with Native American and First Nation’s people at the forefront on the issues that effect us all- water, soil, and air.

Here are just a few examples of causes to celebrate this month:

The Indian Nations Conservation Alliance

Indigenous Environmental Network

Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE)

The Great Lakes Commons

As well as the Intertribal Buffalo Council, a group near and dear to colleague Dave Carter’s heart. (And mine, for that matter; America without Buffalo feels somehow incomplete).

Okay, I know you’d never eat a potato with pink “ears” and a mustache.

But what about one that looks kind of green tinged, either when you cut it open or sometimes just after washing it?

We know right away that it’s bad to eat green meat, green bread or green cheese – and to toss anything that meets that description.

But the green-ish potato is sort of a half-baked confusion. It doesn’t look right, but still, is it bad?

The answer is an unmistakable “yes.”

That’s because a potato that’s gone green can actually be a toxic tuber. Specifically, it contains a kind of poison called solanine, which is a result of improper storage, age and exposure to light (especially fluorescent light).

Also present in leaves and stems (and in those “sprouts” that form on potatoes), solanine, a glycoalkaloid which may also be present in other nightshade plants like tomatoes and peppers, is intended to protect the plant from disease, insects and predators. And it’s something that can make you really, really sick if you eat enough of it – with severe gastrointestinal problems similar to food poisoning.

And consumed in mega amounts, it can cause depression of the nervous system resulting in fever, convulsions, weak pulse, rapid breathing, coma, hallucinations and even death.

Now perhaps you’ve noticed a green tinge or green patches on some potatoes and ignored them or cut them off.  On the skin, that’s chlorophyll – but it should be a warning that solanine is present just under the skin (as should a bitter taste).  If you didn’t get sick after eating them, it’s because your body has some ability to handle very small amounts of this poison (traces of which are apt to be present in perfectly good potatoes). But depending on factors like your body weight and sensitivity, ingesting significant levels can cause you to experience ill effects anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 to 12 hours afterwards.

While large-scale cases of potato poisoning are not something you often hear about, they have occurred – especially in situations where people have eaten rotting potatoes, or where potatoes were left over from the previous year and poorly stored.

The bottom line: keep all potatoes in a cool, relatively dark place.  Never eat a potato once it’s started sprouting — and if a potato appears to be green, it’s a far better idea to discard it than simply cut off the green part.

In other words, go by the old rule: When in doubt, throw it out.

Looking for a different side to go along with your Thanksgiving turkey?  Try this hearty, creamy slow cooker side instead of traditional stuffing.

Pumpkin makes an excellent addition to rich risotto.  Pumpkin is dense and creamy on its own, and brings a seasonal element to this Italian dish.

Risotto can be a bit time intensive, but this unique side is prepared in the slow cooker, so it will actually save time and oven space on the big day.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Risotto With Fresh Sage And Parm

4 cups Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Chicken Broth or organic vegetable broth

1 1/4 cups Arborio rice

2 cup fresh pumpkin, diced

1 small onion, minced

2 tablespoons fresh sage leaves

1/4 cup Wild Oats Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2/3 cup Fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

Method: Mix all ingredients except parmesan cheese into slow cooker. Cook on High for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until liquid is absorbed and pumpkin is tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese; cook uncovered until Parmesan cheese is melted, about 15 minutes more. Enjoy!

Is it a medicinal food?  In the latest issue of the Journal of Medicinal Food there is a research article entitled:  “Sweet Potato – A Valuable Medicinal Food”.  So, evidently, the answer is yes!!

What is “Medicinal Food” anyway?  Well, there isn’t an official definition but I think we can figure it out.  Medicinal Foods are foods that have been shown to have definite health promoting and/or disease fighting properties.  There are so many examples!  The documented heart benefits of walnuts is one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of medicinal food examples.  When a food shows scientific promise or evidence of health benefits, it is not uncommon for the pharmaceutical industry to take that gem of information and set about the difficult path of creating a drug that mimics or enhances the benefit found in the natural product. The pharmaceutical companies need to be able to have a patent on a product to control competition and recover the massive costs of research and development that it took to create the product. The US Supreme Court has ruled that “nature cannot be patented”.  I love nature … and I am personally glad that it can’t be patented!!

OK, back to sweet potatoes!  Is there a difference between sweet potatoes and yams?  All the yams and sweet potatoes that we grow in North America are from the Ipomoea genus of plants.  For that reason, all varieties of yams and sweet potatoes are actually sweet potatoes. The “yams” grown in the Caribbean are from the Dioacorea genus and are very different from our “yams”.  In the article mentioned above  it was the Ipomoea genus that was included … our sweet potatoes and yams!  Quoting the article: “ It is also a valuable medicinal plant having anti-cancer, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities.”  In a study published last year titled “Anticancer effects of sweet potato protein on human colorectal cancer cells”  the researchers found that sweet potato protein obtained from fresh sweet potatoes decreased the growth of these colon cancer cells and blocked cancer spread (metastasis) in the test animals.

In our world, we should look at the sweet potato as a healthy and delicious part of our good diet.  Especially now, with the holidays at hand!  Even the glycemic index value  of sweet potatoes is good for us.  Sweet potatoes average about 60 points and regular potatoes average about 80.  Remember, with glycemic index, the lower, the better.

Is the sweet potato a medicinal food?   Well, yes, but don’t tell the kids!!

Organizers estimate that roughly 70,000 students and advisors attended the event at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds this year. I feel like I must have visited with about 69,000 of them from the booth hosted by the National Bison Association.  It was exhausting. But it was fun. And, it gave me a strong shot of encouragement for the future of agriculture and our food system.

For those unfamiliar, the FFA is what was formerly known as Future Farmers of America. It is composed primarily of high school students involved in vocational agricultural studies, along with their adult advisors.  For three days each year, tens of thousands of students dressed neatly in blue corduroy jackets and black slacks and skirts wander the exhibition hall as they consider their career path.

The major chemical and biotech companies show up each year with dazzling pavilions and giveaways designed to entice the students and teachers to continue along the path of conventional agriculture, with its dependence on chemicals, GMO’s and capital-intensive machinery. Those pavilions attract long lines of FFA members.

But the students and advisors can see beyond the free Frisbees and glitzy light shows.

At a simple booth with little more than a large head-mount of a bison bull, the FFA members peppered us with questions about getting started in a growing sector of alternative agriculture. I checked with the people staffing the handful of booths from companies and agencies involved in organic agriculture. They reported the same experience.

Students are seeking solid answers. Teachers want to expose their classes to a broad range of alternatives. We have to show up to provide the answers and information.