Thank you Oat fanatics for visiting eatmoreoats.com. Another check for $112 is heading straight over to the Vermont Foodbank!

Climate change isn't just some lefty conspiracy theory. Its real. Ask a scientist and read all about it. And oats are under threat. Last year saw the first discussion of climate change at the American Oat Workers Meeting. Check out this USDA powerpoint presentation, the last few slides in particular.

If the oats genetic database in the previous post got you all worked up like an Oatmeal Souffle, then you might finally be ready to attend the next American Oat Workers’ Meeting, which will be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana from April 18 -21, 2010 (the program is still in very early stages of development). A record of 2008's meeting can be found here. This is a chance to meet a wide range of people including those doing various sorts of research, people from the food and cosmetics industries, farmers, millers, seed company reps, etc. Check back on the AOW link above for updates.

Then break off a piece of this oats genetic database, kindly provided by the USDA. This is a species portal of GrainGenes database. Submit your double-helix puns to the oatmaster.

Its official. Nairns Oatcakes are dangerously addictive and delicious. And healthy. Whats not to like? Buy them at the The Scottish Grocer for example. Yum. See the shameless product plug on the the Products page.

Recently a researcher from the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre emailed in this interesting document about themselves. One of these researchers, Vern Burrows, developed the oats used by Cream Hill Estates. These oats were recently taken to the International Oat Conference in Minneapolis.

Some of you might be wondering, "Where has the Oatmaster been for the last 2+ years ? OEA (Oat Eaters Anonymous)?". The answer is : baby land. We had a son who is pictured below at about 1 year old (he's now almost 2). And yes, thats oatmeal he's eating!

Today the first profits from sales of eatmoreoats bumper stickers came in. This money will go directly to the Vermont Food Bank!

Spotted an Eat More Oats bumper sticker - in action!

The Oatmaster handing the profits of eatmoreoats.com to Melissa Baptiewright of the Vermont Foodbank. A very satisfying moment. Some facts about the Vermont Foodbank :

• Vermont ranks 13th in the US states for food insecurity
• The Vermont Foodbank is the only foodbank in Vermont
• It serves roughly 20% of Vermonters, about 120,000
• Roughly 6.5 million pounds of food was distributed in '06
• The goal is to increase this to 14 million pounds
• For every $1, three pounds of food is distributed
• About 20,000 people receive assistance from the foodbank's food shelves and meal sites in any given week
• About 10,000 Vermont households are served per month
• Food shelf case loads have grown by 23% since 2003
• About 11,500 Vermont children are being aided by the foodbank - a 21% increase in 2 years
• The foodbank has 30 fulltime employees
• It also has 1000 volunteers, equivalent to 12 fulltimers
• It has over 250 partners around the state, and belongs to the America's Second Harvest organization
• The foodbank not only distributes nutritionally balanced packages of foods, but also cooks and distributes hot meals - 'Heat and Eat' - especially for elderly
• To donate, see Vermont Foodbank, or go here

Elizabeth at the Hunger Mountain Coop making oat scones whilst sporting a rather stylish Eat More Oats hat - hot !!