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Lundberg Family Farms of California, a Leader in NON GMO Agriculture

By Linda Eckhardt on March 13, 2012

Lundberg Family Farms of California, a Leader in NON GMO Agriculture

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California Rice Field

Since 1937, the Lundberg family of California has been growing rice in a sustainable, eco-friendly and often organic way. They understood from the very beginning that their first duty was to the soil. And they have enriched and improved the land from the first day they put a plow to it.

The Lundbergs’ policy of using NO GMO seed makes them stand out in a crowded industrial farming field where the pressures to yield to big business’ idea of success is tempting.

But the Lundbergs have always understood that in order to succeed, their land needed to succeed, and that means using eco-friendly farm practices. And they’ve done this from the very beginning.

The difference in their eco-friendly and organic plots? The organic plots have only organic fertilizers and herbicides, where as the eco-friendly ones may use some chemicals, but, the Lundbergs say, none of the bad ones. This means NO Roundup, none of the harsh chemicals that damage not only the pests and weeds, but also the ground and water.

We applaud the Lundbergs for their thoughtful stand on GMO’s and wish that other farmers would follow suit. Here’s what their stated policy is:

“Lundberg Family Farms opposes the creation and propagation of genetically modified food and fiber for the following reasons:

They may cause adverse health conditions in humans

They may have adverse environmental and ecological impacts, as well as reduce the biodiversity of crop varieties

They have the potential to cross over to conventional, non-modified types

They are not generally accepted in world trade

They have an adverse impact on organic agriculture

They can cause a proliferation of chemical use, negatively affecting agricultural sustainability of soils and water

They create dependence on chemical suppliers

They create dependence on proprietary seed corporations

Oversight of development is ineffective and once released, GMO’s may be uncontrollable

There are not clear liability protections for farmers whose crops become contaminated with GMO’s

Lundberg Family Farms is an official Participant of the Non-GMO Project.

The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies.

The Non-GMO Project started in Berkeley, at The Natural Grocery Co., in 2003 when a group of employees initiated the “People Want to Know Campaign,” rallying 161 grocery stores and co-ops throughout the United States in a letter-writing campaign. The goal was to discover the GMO status of products, as to inform consumers.”

Lundberg Family Farms offers many varieties of rice and rice products from the simplest of white long grain rices, to the more exotic black and brown varietals.

Look for their products in your grocery store. You will be taking a stand against GMO, you will be supporting a business that stands with us on NON-GMO, and most importantly, you will be providing your family with the most healthy product available. For more information, www.lundberg.com.

Rice is a gluten free product.

We’ve come to adore Lundberg mixed rices with Louisiana Duck Gumbo which is rich with a roux. Making the gumbo and serving it over a brown and black rice mix from Lundberg is just plain heaven.

Duck and Sausage Gumbo with Lundberg’s Country Wild Rice Mix

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Duck and Sausage Gumbo with Lundberg's Country Wild Rice Mix

For the gumbo:
1 domestic or 2 wild ducks, plucked, cleaned with excess fat discarded and ducks cut into serving pieces (ask the butcher to do this for you)

1pounds kielbasa (Polish smoked sausage), cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds)
6 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup butter
2 large yellow onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cups fresh whole okra
1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

1 teaspoon file powder
2 cups thinly sliced scallion greens

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

For the rice:
1 1/2 cups Lundberg’s Country Wild Rice Mix (or equivalent)

To prepare the gumbo:

Prick duck skin all over with tip of a knife. In a heavy cast iron skillet brown kielbasa and duck in batches over moderately high heat, transferring as browned to paper towels to drain. Combine kielbasa and duck with broth and water in a large soup pot and bring to a simmer.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add butter and flour and cook roux over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until the color of milk chocolate, about 20 minutes. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are beginning to brown. Add the vegetable mixture to the soup pot and stir until the roux is dissolved. Add the okra and file powder. Simmer the gumbo, uncovered, 2 hours then cover and let it cool completely. Bone the duck, discarding skin and bones. Gumbo may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and chilled. Discard fat on surface and reheat the gumbo with cayenne, scallions, and salt to taste over moderate heat. Garnish with minced fresh parsley.
To prepare the rice:

The best way to cook brown and mixed whole grain rice is to treat it like spaghetti. Cook in a large vessel of boiling water about 30 minutes, then drain and steam a couple minutes. It will be perfect.

To a kettle of boiling salted water add rice, stirring, and boil 30 minutes. Drain rice in a large colander and rinse. Then steam the rice 2 minutes to finish cooking and dry.r. Rice may be made 2 days in advance and kept chilled in resealable plastic bags. Steam rice to reheat.

Serve gumbo over rice. Garnish with minced fresh parsley.

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About Linda Eckhardt

Linda West Eckhardt, is an award winning journalist, food writer, and nutritionist. Her more than 20 cookbooks have garnered prizes including the James Beard prize for the best cookbook for a text she wrote with her daughter, Katherine West DeFoyd, entitled Entertaining 101, Doubleday. Their follow-up book, Stylish One Dish Dinners, Doubleday, was also nominated for a James Beard prize. Their next book, The High Protein Cookbook, Clarkson Potter, remains a best seller after 12 years. That book was designed to accompany low carb diet plans. Her ground-breaking book, Bread in Half The Time, Broadway Books, was named the Best Cookbook in America by the prestigious IACP, The Julia Child award. Her award winning radio work with Jennifer English, for a national show on the Food and Wine radio network, was nominated for a James Beard Prize for a show called, “I Know What You Ate Last Summer.”