The Honest Plate

The Greenhorns.

There's an exciting film project in the works called The Greenhorns -- a feature-length documentary about the new world of sustainable agriculture and the young farmers who have committed their lives to it.  The trailer is here:

This is an independent, boot-strapped production, but they've been able to gather an impressive advisory board, including Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, Bonnie Powell (of Ethicurian.com), and others.  The film's blog is here:  The Irresistible Fleet of Bicycles.

Local is everywhere.

There's a mathematical function called the "s-curve" (or sigmoid curve); it looks like this:

Economists, sociologists and business-types use it to describe trends.  Typically the vertical axis will represent units of product or number of users, and the horizontal axis represents time.  Right in the middle of the graph is the inflection point, where the trend changes sign -- it's still growing, but the rate of growth begins to slow down.  But in the lower left-hand portion of the graph is where the growth sharply accelerates, giving the curve a "hockey stick" shape.  This is sometimes referred to as the tipping point -- when a previously rare or niche product suddenly and rapidly becomes common. 

I think the Summer of 2008 might be remembered as the point when local food tipped. Marian Burros has a feature on the front page of the New York Times food section on the growth of local food -- "Supermarket Chains Narrow Their Sights".  Loads of sound bites in her article, such as Wal-Mart announcing that it will spend $400 million this year on locally grown produce, and Wegman's Food Markets seeing a 20% increase in sales of local produce this past year.  Sure, it may be tempting to view some of this with a suspicious eye (Wal-Mart?).  But on the whole, that major chain retailers are shifting their focus toward local food systems is a very good thing. 

Michael Pollan at Slow Food Martha's Vineyard Potluck.

I was fortunate enough to attend the Slow Food Martha's Vineyard Potluck this past Tuesday (7/22/08), and in addition to having a really great time (the world needs more potluck dinners!), I got to hear Michael Pollan speak.   

There wasn't much new in his presentation; essentially, he outlined the main ideas in his book In Defense of Food, including:  1) The American Paradox (the country most obsessed with healthy food is actually the least healthy) ; 2) The Ideology of Nutritionism (food is a delivery vehicle for nutrients, you need experts to explain which nutrients are good);  3) Industrialization of Food; 4) Eater's Manifesto (Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.)  But he did offer a few anecdotes about his relationship with Martha's Vineyard.  For starters, he's been a regular visitor since the 1970's, and still visits with his family today.  And when he was younger, started a small business on the island that delivered New York City bagels, lox, cream cheese and a copy of The New York Times (although he admitted that the carbon footprint was nothing to be proud of). 

Both Martha's Vineyard and Michael Pollan have come a long way since then.  Thirty-five years ago, there were only a handful of farms on the island, which meant that nearly all of the produce, diary and eggs had to be shipped in by boat.  Today, there are dozens of amazing farms on Martha's Vineyard, and nearly all of them practice organic, sustainable agriculture.

And whereas Michael Pollan used to deliver the New York Times, he now writes for them. 

New Michael Pollan interview.

Great new interview with Michael Pollan, in which he talks about grass-fed beef, sustainability, and the current food crisis.

Link to interview on Alternet.

HFCS and other four-letter words.

According to the FDA, High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is a "natural" ingredient, just like honey or refined table sugar.  The ruling, issued last week by the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, states that the government (with their clearer understanding of the HFCS manufacturing process -- shout-out to the Corn Refiners Association and Archer Daniels Midland!), is now comfortable with this ingredient bearing an "all natural" label.  Click here to see the FDA's letter to the Corn Refiners Association.

Doesn't this make your blood boil?  Over at the excellent Ethicurian blog, Bonnie really unleashes on this topic.   

Yet the more I dug into this, it strikes me that the term "natural" is untenable.  When we hear "natural", we presume that it comes from nature.  That an ordinary person could go outside, obtain the ingredient, process it in their barn or kitchen, and presto -- natural ingredient.  HFCS, for all the hair-splitting with the FDA's definition, doesn't meet our intuitive understanding of the concept.  How could something that requires such specialized equipment to manufacture (grinders, pumps, centrifuges, catalyzers, etc), be natural?

The problem is that technically, everything on earth is natural.  If you fight the Corn Refiners Association's argument hard enough, then the counter-punch might be that lots of things we think of (and label) today as natural -- table sugar, for example -- aren't necessarily any more un-natural than corn syrup.  Consider the extensive refining that sugar cane must go through to become white sugar.  Or how about chocolate? 

What I think we mean is that HFCS is not traditional.  We can't make a rough facsimile of it by hand; our grandparents and great-grandparents wouldn't recognize it; it has no history in any traditional cultures or societies.  Couple this with the the evidence that, while safe, corn syrup may not be good for us, and I think we're justified in being wary of it.  My family avoids it entirely.

What we really need is a new, impartial institution (or set of institutions) to create smarter, perhaps stricter definitions for our food.  Perhaps an institution that can accommodate producers of all sizes (rather than just the very big), and tailored to producers who want to bring us organic, ethical, sustainable, local and traditional foods (rather than inexpensive, value-added convenience foods).  Such an institution would have no place for obscenities like "all-natural HFCS" -- that's for the FDA to handle.

Scapes rule.

What's not to like about garlic scapes?  They're crunchy and fresh, suprisingly mild on the garlic-ness scale, and superlatively sustainable. As the unwanted shoots of young garlic, scapes would otherwise be tossed in the compost heap. Now farmers, chefs and home cooks are starting to appreciate them.  In fact, about a month ago, Melissa Clark of The New York Times, went into some detail about garlic scapes in A Garlic Festival Without a Single Clove.

So we picked some up over the weekend at the Farmer's Market in West Tisbury, on Martha's Vineyard.  And I'd say we got the last of them, as the season for scapes more or less over.  We prepared them simply with olive oil, salt, a few cloves of fresh minced garlic; sauteed at medium-high to medium until soft and just starting to carmelize; finished with a squeeze of lemon.  Totally declious, and tasting precisely of early summer. 

Back home in Providence, RI, we went to the Tuesday Farmers Market (there are one or more every day of the week) , and picked up a container of garlic scape pesto from Wishing Stone Farm. 

Scapes rule; one more thing to look forward to again next summer.

Enlightened approach to raising, processing chicken.

A feature in the UK Guardian introduces us to Sheepdrove Organic Farm, run by Peter Kindersley, one of the entrepreneurs behind Dorling Kindersley -- publishers of very cool illustrated reference books.  Lots of inspiring stuff here about Mr. Kindersley's farm (they supply high-end UK grocer Waitrose), but of particular interest:  he has developed a new steam-based process for removing feathers from chickens.  This approach significantly reduces bacterial contamination in comparison to the industry-standard "scalding tank" method. And yes, even organically-raised chickens are dipped in scalding tanks. 

Also, it was great to hear that Sheepdrove Farm built an abattoir on the premises in order to minimize stress on the animals and the environment; the animals would otherwise need to be transported to an off-site processing facility.  Very sensible idea.  Link:  Sheepdrove Organic Farm.

A label to look for.

Keep an eye out for products with the Certified Humane label.  Nice video tells their story:

And, a helpful comparison chart, showing products labeled "Certified Humane" vs. USDA Organic, Whole Foods, etc.

Conscious.

No, not conscience -- conscious.  As in being deliberately aware, thoughtful, reflective and curious.

Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle, Carlo Petrini, Eric Schlossberg and others have inspired us to be conscious about the food we consume.  That what we buy, cook and eat really matters. 

An example – you’re shopping at the supermarket, thinking about what to have for dinner.  The ground beef at $1.99/lb catches your eye – it has a beautiful red bloom and appears to have been freshly ground.  You consider for a few moments how much you’ll need and how you’ll prepare it.  Maybe you’ll even think about upgrading to the leaner ground beef at $3.99/lb.  Ten, fifteen, maybe twenty seconds of deliberation, and it’s done – the meat goes into your cart, into your home, and eventually, into your body. 

For most of us, that’s as far as it goes – the ground beef is trivial.  It’s just one of the thousands of small, half-conscious decisions we make every day, not worthy of comment or further thought.

But, there’s a problem.  Like it or not, when you buy, you unwittingly send a signal to the market that you’re ok with everything about that product at that price.  This is really important, and worth repeating:  when you buy, you are telling the market that you are ok with everything about it.  You are agreeing that the price is a fair exchange.  Sure, you’d prefer it if it were $0.10 less; you’d probably be alright with it costing $0.10 more.  In the ground beef example, $1.99/lb seems fair.  If for some strange reason the same ground beef were $99.99/lb, that won’t be a fair deal; you’d tell the market – no, I’m not ok with that.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the ground beef in our example (and just about every other industrially manufactured product) is the presence of negative externalities– e.g. costs that society incurs that aren’t paid for by the consumer or producer.  In the $1.99/lb ground beef example, these hidden costs include:  the manure waste run-off from the feedlot that pollutes rivers, streams and coastal waterways; the risks associated with increasingly resistant bacteria due to excessive use of antibiotics in cattle; the costs to public health through over-consumption of meat; the cost of green-house gasses generated by the industrial food system; the cost to the animals, who endure unfathomably miserable lives. 

Problem number two with our example:  the “unwittingly” part.  The externalities are hidden, or are very abstract.  You can’t see any of these negative impacts – no warnings printed on the package, no history lessons posted at the meat counter, no tax on the $1.99/lb price to accurately reflect its true cost. 

The catch (problem number three):  we ultimately pay for the externalities, one way or another, at some point.  We’re paying that price today, and it keeps going up.

So that’s where conscious consumption comes in.  We can be deliberately, aware, thoughtful, reflective and curious about what we eat.  Being aware (and helping others be more aware) of the hidden costs of our food is a key component of changing our seriously broken industrial food system.  When we’re aware/conscious of this stuff, we can send new signals to the market.  For instance, we can choose to eat less of the high external cost foods (like meat), or choose to avoid it entirely (vegan).  We can send a signal that we prefer foods that are lighter in impact – locally grown, humanely raised, organic.  If we have the space, we can even step outside the system further by growing some of our own food.  Also, if we commit the time and develop the skill, we can bypass parts of the system by preparing our own meals from scratch (e.g., whole or minimally processed ingredients), rather than relying on convenience or fast foods.

The beauty in this approach is that it’s win-win.  When food requires more of our attention and resources, we’re apt to appreciate it more and consume less of it (healthier spiritually and physically).  When we’re closer to food production or participate in it directly, we have more of a choice (and voice) in the impact this activity has on the environment, our health, and on the lives of the plants and animals we consume.  We not only eat better, we save the world too.

Further thoughts on being a conscious food consumer:

The Slow Food Manifesto

An Eater's Manifesto