Natural/organic foods
The recent trends towards natural and organic foods have affected Mennonites as well as the rest of society. While more traditional and Old Order groups would find the issue somewhat frivolous, there is increasing concern about our health, and the welfare of the environment. Longer ago, Mennonites and many others who worked on farms from dawn until dusk, could traditionally eat the high-fat meat and potatoes diet of our heritage without the ill effects we experience today since most of us have sedentary jobs and lifestyles. Therefore, some Mennonites are starting to pay attention to what goes into their food. There are a number of Mennonite farmers who have started organic farms, or who raise free-range and/or hormone-free livestock.
Lester and Mary Beth Lind of Harman, West Virginia, are two Mennonites who are farmers and have done a lot of thinking, writing and working in the area of natural/organic foods. Mary Beth and Cathleen Hockman-Wert co-authored a noteworthy cookbook on the topic of eating more local and simpler foods, Simply in Season. Another example is Glen-Eco Farms run by Marlin and Christine Burkholder in Singers Glen, Virginia.
