Years ago it was thought that Tempeh was a good source of B-12 in a macrobiotic / vegan diet, only later was it discovered that this only held true for Tempeh produced in  Indonesia were it originates from. In Indonesia, traditionally-produced tempeh is loaded with B12 producing bacteria, which grow on the molds commonly growing on the food, but with the cleaner production techniques in the US and Europe, the same does not hold so, and tempeh is just does not provide a significant source of B12. In this same vein of thought, Dorcas tells us about a ready source of B12 that we can obtain from garden fresh and stand vegetables if we take care in not over cleaning them.

Howdy!

Now that it is summer and you might have access to fruit tree orchards, or friends who grow organic vegies, you can use this opportunity to eat them right out of the garden w i t h o u t washing them so you can have some beneficial B-12. Usually it gets washed off before we buy our produce, or we do it ourselves. Of course, when it comes to the root vegies, we need to wash off the dirt, but go slow and don't do it too vigorously on their greens, ie carrot tops. Some people have a sensitivity to root vegies or ground ones that they are cautioned not to eat them because they might get sick from the bacteria on the vegies even after washed: They just don't have a healthy flora to protect themselves.

Eating our produce when we can control the way we might be able to pick fresh or get fresh picked produce that has not been sprayed during its growing season in our immediate locus is a pleasure and the price is right to get the B-12 riding on the produce from rainwater! I am looking forward to passing by an orchard again, hopefully a U-Pick one where I do my own selecting and buy a few pieces of fruit. Or a U-Pick field to find unsprayed produce and get some B-12 stocked up in my body. Then in the wintertime, we have our miso soup to supply us with the B-12 until the next season.

Dorcas

Dorcas Teaching at the GOMF Summer Camp 2003
Photo by Gerard Lum

Dorcas Gerace resides in Lake Montezuma, AZ and at present is not taking appointments.
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