A Very Thoughtful Article About Agricultural Sustainability

Mother Jones:  Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008 by Paul Roberts

This is a great article from ths March/April 2009 that discusses the reality of what we need to consider when it comes to the idea of sustainable agriculture.

“…Fred Kirschenmann, former director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Real sustainability, he argues, is defined not by a food system’s capacity to ensure happy workers or organic lima beans, but by whether the food system can sustain itself—that is, keep going, indefinitely, in a world of finite resources.”

Food & “Farm” Update – Summer 2009

This summer has been very interesting and busy! Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Garden:

• Two tomatoes plants (out of the original 4 varieties that I planted in March) have produced fruit – the Tomatoberry and the yellow Marvel Stripe heirloom – those most are still green.  I have one (color TBD) bell pepper still growing, a row of too-tiny-to-mention purple carrots and a handful of fava bean plants that may or may not be unhappy. All but two of the other plants that I bought as seedlings have survived in pots for months and are now happily residing in a big pile of soil enriched with the compost I’ve been preparing for months: oregano, sage, mint, strawberries and two kinds of lavender. The 3rd kind of lavender was trampled by a construction worker and the basil – well, so far I cannot get basil to work in the clay and debris filled soil back there. See garden photos here.

Events:

• Eat Real Fest – held on the weekend before labor day in Oakland, CA. It was hot. No, I mean HOT – like nearly 100 degrees and for the Bay Area… that is HOT.  But it was much more interesting that the Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco last year. Eat Real Fest was all about food for the masses – not just the people who could afford to spend hundreds of dollars for exclusive tasting events.  The food was great – local, organic and inexpensive. Street food vendors and taco trucks filled Jack London square and sold a variety of dishes – all $5 or less. The also had a large indoor farmers’ market. I’d definitely go again.  See pictures here.
• Ghost Town Farm tour – This was held on the same weekend as the East Real Fest as both were in Oakland. Novella Carpenter and her partner Bill are essentially squatting on a lot next to the apartment in which they live and have turned it in to a little urban farm. Novella has since written a book, Farm City, about her experiences with developing the farm and raising plants and animals in such an urban environment. It’s a great read and a great inspiration. I think what I love most is how they put something together pretty much out of nothing and created not only a garden, but a community as well. Her blog is here and my pictures are here.
• A reading from the book, Cooking Beyond Measure,  by cultural historian, hippie, cook and writer Jean Johnson.  The reading was a joint venture between the Culinary Historians of Northern California and Omnivore Books in San Francisco. I have been to a few CHoNC events now and usually feel a bit out of place since most of the other members are professional chefs, food writers and culinary historians and even though Jean is a bit of all of those, I feel like she could make anyone feel at ease. She came of age in the 60′s, lived for a decade on Native American reservations in the Southwest and is just a genuinely nice person. When the reading was over I went up to her and said “You’ve just written the book I was planning on writing in a few years after I got my act together.” Somehow, I’d love to grow up to be the combination of Novella Carpenter and Jean Johnson! Jean’s blog is here.

Classes:

• UrbanKitchenSF is my new best friend! With one-off, 2-3 hour classes that are fun, informative and inexpensive. They are all about slow food and cooking styles for the urban dweller. My first podcast was about their first pickling class and I plan on doing an interview with the founders of UrbanKitchenSF in a future podcast. I’ve taken all but two of the classes – one I had already taken and one I missed – including kombucha, pickling, butchery, cheesemaking and bread baking. I have pictures of most of the classes here. My kombucha and homemade pickles have turned out quite well!

Books:

• Occassionally, I lament the fact that I never got my undergrad degree. While the study of food history and culinary anthrolopogy are becoming more well known and wide spread, it is a challenge to find classes for the beginner or hobbyist. So, instead of allowing myself to pine, I finally got myself a Library card. Seems a bit sad since I’ve been living in San Francisco for 7 years now. My first two books are Food in the USA and The History of Taste - both a relatively large collection of essays and heavier than most of the school and college books I’ve had over the years. It does make me happy to know that there are others like me – who are fascinated by the evolution of food and its impact on human development, society and culture and who can explain it a heck of a lot better than I can.
• Wild Fermentation – not only a cookbook but a really good read as well. As the title states, this book is about fermentation and not only provides many, very approachable recipes, but talks about the health benefits, taste and history of the craft.  I have successfully made a bright pink sauerkraut and am now trying a batch of kvass which seems like a lovely way to use up stale bread!

Food:

• Ah, well, I am always trying new experiments and recipes. Lately, it has been all about sourdough and some of my favorites of late I have found online and am happy to share them!
  • Sourdough Crackers: http://www.cuesa.org/seasonality/recipes/appetizers/app_sp3.php
  • Sourdough Pancakes: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughPancakes.htm
• I have also just tried my hand at sprouting grains and as I type, they are slowly toasting in the oven. Studies suggest that sprouts are one of the most nutritious foods on the planet and the act of sprouting (as well as fermenting) breaks down the harmful but natural enzime inhibitors present in seeds. My first try was with some local red wheat berries which, when sprouted, kinda tasted a bit like grass.  But since wheat is a grass, this makes perfect sense.
  • http://www.sproutpeople.com/cookery.html

Ok, well that’s all for now!

Good food & friends!

MindfulCast #1 – Fermentation: The Final Frontier

After years of thinking about it, I have finally created a podcast call “MindfulCast”. The goal of this podcast series is to discuss the rewards and challenges of living a balanced life in these modern, urban times. The first episode, Fermentation: The Final Frontier, focuses on a recent Pickling Party workshop hosted by UrbanKitchenSF and Happy Girl Kitchen Co. To subscribe to the podcast feed, check the box at the top of the sidebar!

The workshop was held on a pier under the Bay Bridge…

From left to Right: Todd Gonzales and Todd Champange from Happy Girl Kitchen

Chopping and filling jars

and adding salt water…

Pickled Cherries, Lemons and Spicy Carrots

mmm.. Pretty Pickles…

Getting Local Food, Locally Part II: Chipotle

Chipotle is a chain of Mexican Style fast food restaurants in the United States – and they don’t buy their pork from factory farms. That is only the start! While they are not 100% organic or sustainable yet, they have a fantastic “Food With Integrity” philosophy which includes “unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal” foods.

There is a great Nightline Segment from 6/16/09 all about this Chipotle philosophy with a cameo from Joel of Polyface Farms.

The craziest thing about all this is that I have not yet been to this restaurant! Fortunately, we have two in San Francisco. We sent an email to Chipotle asking about their produce and rice as this is not discussed on their website as much as their meat and beans. They sent us a great response!

“We have currently committed to buying 35 percent of one bulk produce item for all of our restaurants, when seasonally available, from local farmers. We’re looking to build on this program for the future. Last year, when we began the program, we sourced 25 percent of one bulk produce item used in each store from a local farm. This year we have upped our goals to 35 percent so we are making some progress.

We need a lot of ingredients. Unfortunately these better suppliers are more of a niche than a mainstream. Our plan is just to start small, just as we did with our naturally-raised meats, and to grow the program from there as supply increases to meet demand.

With our program, our produce is generally coming from within 200 miles or less of our restaurants. This might also be on a seasonal basis. As you might be able to imagine, it would be quite a challenge to buy certain items, such as romaine lettuce in Minneapolis, in the middle of the winter.

Unfortunately, I cannot give you specifics for rice, lettuce or tomatoes as different restaurant are focusing on different things that will work better for that region. However, we are really focused on making a difference. As part of our Food with Integrity initiative, we are trying to operate our restaurants in a manner which is better for the environment, better for the animals, and better for the farmers who raise the animals and grow the produce. We also happen to think fresh food tastes better. In this way, we hope it is also better for our customers.”

www.chipotle.com

Spotlight: Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market: A Photo Story

Though the farmers’ market I usually shop at is the Heart of the City, I stop by the Ferry Plaza a few times a year. This is not so much for the produce, as I find that the fruit and vegetables at the Heart of the City are quite fabulous and much less expensive, but for the items that are harder to find, The Ferry Plaza Market is great!

Since today was such a lovely San Francisco day, I decided to head out early to see if I could get to some of the market goodies that tend to vanish before 10am, beat the lunch crowd and take some photos.

I am also starting to keep a list of the farms that I learn about and how far they are from San Francisco. To see a map of North California farms that travel to or sell in San Francisco markets click here: Northern California Farms

http://www.massaorganics.com/ Chico, California

Massa Organics

I have been a fan of Massa Organics since I first encountered them. They are one of the few grain producers in the area (currently brown rice and red wheat berries) and their almonds are wonderful too! You can even follow them on twitter now @MassaOrganics and get updates direct from the tractor. Which, if you are an agro-nerd like me, will make you giddy. But maybe that is just me. ..

Reporter’s Notes: Food Safety

Reporter’s Notes: Food Safety

“Here’s another item for President-Elect Barack Obama’s to-do list when he takes office in January: food safety. Especially imported foods. Recent scares over melamine-laced cookies from China and salmonella-tainted Mexican jalapenos have raised stark questions: Who’s monitoring the safety of imported food? And does the system work?”

http://www.kqed.org/quest/radio/food-safety

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Eaten by the Chronophage

It’s been months since I’ve written anything of any interest, and much has happened: Slow Food Nation, an unexpected move, the presidential election and the Green Fest. All of which I will touch on at some point in this post. It’s been a tumultuous 3 months and I now feel that I am finally settling down a bit and after some periods of stress and worry, disappointment and disillusionment, I am now feeling hopeful and more inspired. Thank goodness.

Urban Farming in San Francisco

A couple of years ago, I was listening to one of the Deconstructing Dinner shows about Urban Farming and one of the guests was discussing the use of city backyards as a way to use the existing green space to grow crops. I have been fascinated with this idea ever since and have been trying to find information about a similar project in San Francisco. Today I stumbled upon Victory Gardens which, according to the website, is a pilot project funded by the City of San Francisco to support the transition of backyard, front yard, window
boxes, rooftops, and unused land into organic food production areas.

It is still early days yet, but I am very interested to see where this goes.

Summer Observations

This is most definitely the best time of year for produce at the farmers’ market. Just about everything that is available at any time of year in the Bay Area is in season. My favorite things available right now are the fresh beans (black-eyed peas, cranberry and edamame) the wonderful berries (blueberry, strawberry, blackberry and raspberry,) fresh mission figs and dry farmed heirloom and early bird tomatoes. There are plenty of squash varieties too and lots of interesting melons. I love keeping track of when certain things are in season. Blueberries, edamame and figs tend to have a relatively small window of availability and I look forward to the different seasons of produce.

This is also the time of year for tourists. The city is full of visitors right now and, as I live in one of the most visited parts of San Francisco, I run into them frequently. It is interesting to see the different kinds of tourists, where the are from and how they respond to the small mountain of steps they must walk up or down when visiting Coit Tower. The gardens on Telegraph Hill are in full bloom right now, and continental Europeans walk up and down the hundreds of steps with ease, while British and American tourists voice there disbelief at the thought of anyone actually living here. How do people go shopping? Do they have to CARRY everything up and down these steps? How much further is it? What do you do if you need to run and get some milk?

Sometimes I feel like a bit of an oddity as I turn towards the building I live in and away from the people-filled steps as they watch me carrying groceries or household items. My cat is fond of following us up and down the steps as well and sometimes I catch her posing for photographs with the tourists. It’s terribly adorable and I often get the urge to tell people that she is my cat. She walks around like she owns the place.

Now, back to the food! Below are the recipes that I have made today, using the wonderful local ingredients that we picked up today.

Health, Food and Human History: The All-American Banana?

As part of my move toward eating locally produced food, I have cut out certain fruits and vegetables from my diet. In an attempt to have some sort of balance, and in cases where they are available, I will purchase organic and fairly traded varieties of coffee, chocolate, tea and coconut products but have nearly cut out the consumption of all fruit that cannot be grown within California. This includes pineapple, papaya, mango, and of course: bananas.

I’ve recently become somewhat fascinated with the banana. I often wonder why it is so popular. Perhaps it is because the banana is so easy to carry and eat. But the banana is not a local fruit. Not unless you live in South America, Hawaii, or parts of Asia. How did it get here and when? And how have banana prices remained so low, even though the fruit travels thousands of miles to reach our markets and tables?

Not just Organic, but Fair Trade!

Most of us have seen organic produce varieties popping up in supermarkets across the United States. Though knowing how food is grown is extremely important, so too is knowing how the farmers and workers are paid and treated in the process. Finding Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolate is becoming easier and easier and I find it interesting that there doesn’t seem to be as much of a movement to engage fresh fruit producers and distributors. I have no doubt there are many challenges with storage, shipping and USDA guidelines though I have not found any specific information as yet. Fair Trade fruit is available now, though can be difficult to find and I have not seen any form of labelling system to indicate that the fruit is in fact Fair Trade.

Below are some resources about the Banana and Fair Trade Fruit:

Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World

Yes, We Will Have No Bananas

The Banana

Banana.com

Fair Trade Banana Cooperative

Fair Trade: Fresh Fruit Program

The State of Food in San Francisco

As many people know, San Francisco is one of the wonders of the foodie world. With it’s melting pot population, coastal location, climate that offers year-round produce and upwards of 10,000 restaurants, foodies are spoiled for choice.

San Francisco Magazine‘s recent issue focuses on food in the Bay Area. Though it’s not my favorite magazine it did definitely have some very good articles this month.

To eat local, kill local With just one slaughterhouse remaining within 80 miles of San Francisco, we stand to lose not only our local beef industry, but our grazing lands as well. Now a thick-skinned herd of ranchers and environmentalists are determined to keep the cows close to home.

The State of the Plate When it comes to dining out, is San Francisco becoming a Valhalla or a Vegas with hills? Josh Sens looks back on a confounding 12 months of meals and takes the measure of a region and its restaurants.

Moth Class What the light brown apple moth—and the pesticide shower it nearly unleashed—taught us about the future of our fruits and vegetables.

Weapons of Moth Destruction How the Bay Area maneuvered to beat back an impending pesticide assault.

The Case for Reducing Soy Consumption

As mentioned in my first post on this blog “You are what you eat.. a Vegan Food Activist” I discuss the fact that I stay away from processed food as much as possible. Frankly, this has become even more important to me since then with the top reasons being health: knowing what’s in the food and that is it fresh and full of nutrients, social and economic justice: knowing that everyone involved is getting paid a decent wage and being treated fairly as well as putting money into the local economy, and environmental justice: knowing where the food came from and knowing its impact on the environment.

With this in mind, it can make life difficult when not eating meat. Most people automatically assume that eating soy-based meat substitute products is par for the course and when I tell them that I generally don’t eat those products, they have trouble imagining what I could possibly be eating for a protein. First, I tell them that there are many wonderful proteins available in beans, nuts and grains. Second, though I do occasionally eat organic tofu and soy sauce, I tend to avoid soy products as a rule.

As someone who, first and foremost, avoids processed food, this automatically cuts out soy that is somehow made to look and taste like sausage. I used to be quite impressed with how the companies were doing this. How could you possibly make soy look and taste like sausage? Well.. exactly! The more ingredients on the list, the more manufacturers involved, the more people involved in the process, the more likely it is that the ingredients came from a large variety of sources and locations, and the less information we have available to us for an informed decision.

When walking through a grocery store, take a look at the ingredients of the products you pick up. Especially with foods like crackers and breads; how many of them have some sort of soy product listed? Sure, soy has proven to be one of the most versatile and nutritious plants on the planet and because of this the demand has skyrocketed. We are vegetarians and vegans (or trying to have a more healthful diet), but we still want our meat and dairy. And our soap, cosmetics, plastics, inks, solvents, clothing, alcohol, oil, biodiesel, flour, livestock feed and many other products.

Our desire for soy and beef and exotic woods are the primary causes for the depletion of one of the world’s greatest sources of biodiversity and oxygen: The Amazon Rainforest. Yes, people are cutting down the amazon for soy production.

Keep that in mind the next time you reach for that soyburger.

More information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soy

http://www.ajc.com/news…amazon_rainforest_shrinking.html

Video: Mark Bittman: What’s wrong with what we eat

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/263

A 20 minute video from the chef who wrote “How to Cook Everything”.

Farmers’ Market Excursion and a New Recipe.

So I was finally able to meet up with a good (and busy) friend of mine and took him to the farmers’ market. He brought his 3 year old son, who is adorable and smart and calls his father by the nickname of Gravel Balloon Face. How can you not love that? I recorded most of the trip and, assuming it all sounds pretty good, will be putting together my first podcast.

The weather has been really warm this weekend and I got a pretty good sunburn while walking around today. Due to the heat and not wanting to stand over a hot stove and cook dinner, I made a chilled soup which turned out great. The recipe is below.

Chilled Pea Soup
This recipe gets 4 Purkle Stars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups steamed fresh English peas
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 cup fresh lettuce/mixed salad greens
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1-2 Tbs
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut the zucchini into a few pieces and put in food processor. Put all other ingredients (leave the salt and pepper until last) into processor and blend until creamy. This recipe is similar to others out there but has less liquid and is lower fat so it won’t get perfectly smooth. You can add cream or stock if you are going for that texture. Otherwise, this is a pretty bright, crisp and fresh soup.

Serves 2-3.

3 interesting events in 3 days…

1) Earth Hour. No doubt many of you have already heard about the move to turn off all lights from 8-9pm today, March 29th 2008. We’ll be taking part tonight – lighting some candles and spending time with friends. More info at http://www.earthhourus.org/

2) meatpaper,  a new magazine with ideas about and art inspired by meat.  It does sound a bit strange – but they are celebrating their 3rd issue  in San Francisco tomorrow night on March 30th 2008. More details at http://www.meatpaper.com/news/index.html

3) Environmentally Conscious Food Choices – a discussion with panelists from Bon Apetit, UC Davis, the Ethicurian and more. March 31st 2008 in San Francisco. More info here: http://tinyurl.com/2s4vxu

Farmers’ Markets and Affordability

Today I came across an interesting article in Edible San Francisco about the affordability and accessibility of farmers’ markets in San Francisco. My favorite market is highlighted in this piece!

http://tinyurl.com/2tohcb

Sharing the Purkle…

So last night my significant other made the main course for dinner. In my opinion, it’s the best thing he’s ever made and wanted to ‘share the yum’ with the rest of the world. Or, at least the people that read this blog.

Red Snapper with Capers and Mushrooms
This recipe gets 4 Purkle Stars

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs Red Snapper (I bought ours at Whole Foods)
• 6 Portabellini mushrooms sliced, (8-10 brown mushrooms would also work well)
• 2 Tbs capers (or so)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• Tbs white Balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut the snapper into 2 inch thick strips. Place in skillet (already warm with olive oil) with mushrooms and add the rest of the ingredients. Keep in mind that aside from the fish and mushrooms, I guessed on the amount that was used as the information was not written down and I was busy with friends and drinking the rest of the white wine. Adding a bit at a time and tasting along the way probably won’t hurt. The end result should be a perfectly cooked, flaky fish and mushrooms that have absorbed all of the liquid.

This was served with a nice salad! I wasn’t smart enough to get a photo!

Organic Gardening on NPR

The Bay Area’s local NPR station, KQED, recently did an hour on local organic gardening. It was a good show and provided lots of information and local resources. I suggest a listen!

http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R803101000 

Mindful Clothing…

There are many things that impact society and the environment. Clothing is one of the culprits, and most don’t seem to be talking about it yet. Of course people are aware of the problem with sweatshops, but do we think enough about the environmental impact of all the clothes we buy? The financial impact? As with food, our society and culture generally demands low prices and in many cases, quantity over quality. I used to be the kind of person that would buy things that perhaps didn’t fit me properly, or pieces that I knew deep inside I would never wear. Over the last few years I’ve broken myself of this habit. If it doesn’t fit well and I don’t love it, I don’t buy it. The next step was to take better advantage of second hand shops. Finances played a large role in that, but I’ve also been thinking more about quality. I want clothes that are made well, that last, and that I can feel good about buying.

I’ve started doing some pretty extensive research online looking for fair trade, organic and natural clothing. But this has been a challenge, for a number of reasons.

1. Availability:  Let’s face it, most clothing retailers don’t offer eco-friendly items. There are a few shops out there, and the demand is certainly growing but we have a long way to go.
2. Selection: Unfortunately, many fair trade and eco-friendly shops (at least online) are quite limited in what they sell. Searching for pants mostly brings up options for yoga, outdoor activities, or items that are highly ethnic (Thai fishing pants, for example.) Don’t get me wrong, I love clothes made in an inspired by countries around the world, but sometimes a girl needs something a little more professional. This is difficult to find.
3. Size: I guess some have the opinion that only skinny people care about the environment…
4. Price: If you are looking for eco-friendly clothing, expect to pay more for it.  Keep in mind that these pieces tend to be made more fairly and with much more care and at a higher standard that your average department store. We *should* be paying more for this.  Though that doesn’t mean that everyone can afford to spend $180 for a pair of organic, bamboo jeans. Also, a number of fashion designers are going into the eco-chic business. Designer clothes are more expensive and organic designer clothes even more so. But I am certainly happy about this trend. Like any business, prices will come down with demand and availability.

So with all those things in mind, I went searching for some nice-looking, everyday wear not-made-for-hippies. After a couple of hours, I came back to the same company that I had purchased a jacket from a few months ago: Fair Indigo. So far, they seem to have the best selection, best quality and prices I have found for women’s clothes. The don’t have everything, but they have a lot. Quite a few different styles to choose from, affordable, prompt with shipping and a great return policy. Each item has a description of the where and how it was manufactured and the website always has sale and clearance items (I bought my jacket on sale at $40 and now it’s down to $20!!) I recently purchased four items for a total of $200 including shipping. I haven’t received the items yet but have high hopes. The items also have comments from customers and relatively detailed and easy to use size charts are very helpful when choosing to buy an item. Fair Indigo is a unique company.

Links:

http//www.fairindigo.com

SF Stores:

http://www.ecologiquesf.com/

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5983661

Articles and Information:

http://dailybruin.com/news/2007/jan/26/icheap_clothes_can_have_high_costi/ 

http://www.ecobedroom.com/1/cotton_statistics.html 

SPOTLIGHT: TerraCycle

 The TerraCycle story…

…is a tale of ultimate Eco-Capitalism. The company’s flagship product, TerraCycle Plant Food™, is an all-natural, all-organic, ‘goof-proof’ liquid plant food made from waste (worm poop) and packaged in waste (reused soda bottles)!

Check out this AWESOME company here: http://www.terracycle.net/index.htm