A panel of local food experts at the MDI Historical Society's annual baked bean supper including ...A panel of local food experts at the MDI Historical Society's annual baked bean supper including C.J. Walke, manager of College of the Atlantic Peggy Rockefeller Farms, center-left,
focuses on Mount Desert Island food traditions 

BAR HARBOR — Whether or not beans are a musical fruit, an estimated 150 people turned up at the annual Mount Desert Island Historical Society bean supper Monday to have some.

The evening featured speakers, panels, and, of course, plenty of traditional, and not so traditional, New England baked beans.

Speaking on a panel, College of the Atlantic Peggy Rockefeller Farms manager C.J. Walke said that pesticide use increased yields on local farms mid-century, but was also detrimental to the quality of the soil. He said he is noticing a shift away from pesticides toward maintaining healthy growing conditions for crops. Walke also is an orchard educator with the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association…

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