Farm to Table

The Department of Ag Wants Your Opinion

scleaver — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

This week, the Department of Agriculture is starting to make it easier to grow corn that’s genetically engineered to be used for ethanol, but safety advocates are concerned that some of that genetically engineered corn might end up in the food we eat as well as in gas tanks. The corn (developed by Syngenta Seeds, Inc) would be designed to produce an enzyme that makes it easier to convert into ethanol.

On one hand, the Department of Ag insists that there won’t be any environmental, food, or human safety concern with the corn. On the other, the Center for Food Safety argues that the gene in the corn could impact allergies in humans. “This is the first crop proposed for industrial use,” Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety, told the Associated Press, “and in a widely used food crop, we need to be extremely cautious.”

The good news, by 2009, the U.S. will be using at least 9 billion gallons of alternative fuel, thanks to new federal mandates. And, already, 30 percent of U.S. corn goes to producing ethanol.

As the The Detroit News and the AP reported, before it makes a final decision, the Department of Ag is asking for public comment. (Here’s more information from The Department of Agriculture about the request for comment.) Leave your comments before January 20, 2009 at Regulations.gov.

Image from the World Community Cookbook.

The Future of Fish

scleaver — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:02:12 -0500

Forget the image that you have of hundreds of fish swimming downstream, waiting to be caught by an eager fisherman, then ending up stacked on ice in the grocery store. According to The New York Times, by 2050, most of the farm we eat will be raised on huge aquaculture farms, and our favorite species may be harder to find. Thanks to over-fishing, many of our favorite species demand more energy, money, and equipment to produce the same amount of fish (85 million tons each year) even as demand is sky-rocketing—global consumption has doubled since 1973.

But, fish-lovers, all hope is not lost! Well-managed fisheries can bring around a declining species. How to help the world get its fisheries under control so that your favorite maki roll is safe?

Expand your palate. Right now, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, “”the maximum wild-capture fisheries potential from the world’s oceans has probably been reached” (quoted in the New York Times). So, to give fisheries time to re-grow depleted populations of bluefin tuna, shark, Chilean sea bass, cod, and others, start buying lesser-known fish, like wild sardines or anchovies.
Buy wild fish, or catch it yourself. The aquaculture industry is feeding fish to fish, and it’s an inefficient industry. It takes five kilograms of smaller fish to produce one kilogram of farmed cod, and 20 kilogram of smaller fish to produce one kilogram of tuna. Not to mention that farmed fish hurts the surrounding water and doesn’t taste as good.
Support catch shares. Shares that allow fishermen to buy into an industry and the right to catch a sustainable harvest keeps the number of fish caught at a fixed number and has worked in Alaska.
For more info on fish, see the posts on sustainable sushi, seafood, and salmon.

Photo from Green Peace.

See How One Family Raises 6,000 pounds of Food and 350 Veggie Varieties on One-Tenth of an Acre

scleaver — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

If you want to look at your garden and feel like an underachiever, check out the upcoming documentary, HomeGrown about the Dervaes family in Pasadena, CA. The Dervaeses run an organic farm and are able to produce 6,000 pounds of food, more than 350 different types of veggies, herbs, berries, and fruits on just 3,900 square feet, or less than one-tenth of an acre. This year they're hoping to increase that yield to 10,000 pounds.

As The Ethicurean reported, HomeGrown is screening at Lincoln Center in New York City on November 3 as part of the Green Screens series. Or, if you’re in St. Louis, check out the film at the St. Louis International Film Festival on November 16.

Learn more about the Dervaes family and their farm at their web site: Path to Freedom

Photo from The Ethicurean.

Take A Stand

scleaver — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:45:21 -0400

If you’re going to add your signature to one food petition this year, check out the Food Declaration or the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture, started by Roots of Change. The Declaration, as the Eat. Drink. Better. blog explained, “calls for a visionary 21st Century Food, Farm, and Agriculture Policy” by moving away from the current industrial-ag system and into a cleaner, healthier system that’s more about health, accessibility, and affordability than the bottom line.

It’s currently in draft form, so check it out, comment on it, endorse it, or suggest your own declaration. You have until November 30, 2008. Next year, look for Slow Food International to be collecting signatures for the final Declaration that will, hopefully, end up in next year’s food policy agenda.

Image from Food Declaration.

An Oyster's Bed of Dreams

scleaver — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Once, oysters covered the banks of the great island of Manhattan and were so plentiful, and so good at filtering water that the now murky waters around New York were probably clear.

But, oyster beds in New York and all along the East Coast have long been decimated from overharvesting, disease, and pollution. Around New York, oysters were all but extinct by the mid-20th Century. The water is cleaner now, thanks to the Clean Water Act, but scientists are still working on a way to bring the oysters back. The latest attempt: electric oyster beds.

The Christian Science Monitor recently described a new project by James Cervino, professor of marine biology at Pace University in New York City who wants to use electricity to reharvest oyster beds. Cervino has installed the Electric Oyster Reef Project, spiral shaped bands that maintain a low voltage of electricity thanks to solar panels, along College Point, Queens. The electricity reacts with the water and creates limestone build ups on the metal that helps oysters grow. Recreating the reefs could help clean the water, the way nature intended, or it could upset the new balance of the bay. Some are concerned that trying to bring the oyster back is a lost cause—once an organism is out of the food chain it’s hard to bring back.

In the meantime, learn more about coral restoration around the world (oyster beds are considered the coral reefs of the East Coast) at the Global Coral Reef Alliance. Or, if all you want to do is eat oysters, get your Oyster guide at Chow.

Image from Chow.

Seafood Delight

scleaver — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:16:42 -0400

For those of us who love a good sushi dinner or fried seafood platter, sustainable fishing is high on the list of sustainable farming practices to watch. Over at the Chocolate & Zucchini blog, fish were a hot topic this week. Apparently, because of overfishing, unsustainable fishing, overconsumption, and pollution, some fish species (including those that we like to eat) may be extinct by 2050.

How to address this?

Chocolate & Zucchini suggests becoming a more informed consumer—pick up a pocket seafood guide that you can refer to next time you sit down to dinner or stand in front of the fish counter. Here’s a regional guide from The Monterey Bay Aquarium.

I like the services from the Blue Ocean Institute. Find your favorite species to see sustainability and health concerns, or download a fish guide.

When you are shopping or dining out, don’t be afraid to ask questions, like, is this farmed? How was it caught? Where did this come from?

And, of course, the number one defense is a good offense, become better informed: Read more RiverWired posts about seafood and the environment: Sustainable seafood gained traction earlier this year, The Monterey Bay Aquarium is working to address seafood sustainability, and, earlier this year, Salmon were in trouble.

Photo from The Sydney Morning Herald about a wholesale fish market.

One Seed At A Time

scleaver — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:00:38 -0400

If you were hoping to save grandma’s heirloom tomato seeds for the next generation, get your seed packets ready. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway is preparing to store copies of crops and other plants in a tunnel deep in a permafrost mountain. So far, according to Scientific American, the vault has 268,000 samples and can hold up to 4.3 million more. They’ll start accepting donations in February 2009.

There are other seed banks around the world, but the Svalbard will out-store them all. In response to concerns over what global warming and monoculture farming practices will do to the variety of our seeds, the vault will be able to withstand any natural disaster, war, and temperature, and can store duplicates of seeds as well. Which seeds would you save, and why?

Photo from Kitchen Gardeners International.

A Real Hamburger Helper

scleaver — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:54:55 -0400

Figuring out your food miles will get easier by October.

As the Chicago Tribune reported, starting September 30, a new federal law will require meat labels that show the country of origin on beef, pork, chicken, lamb, as well as fruits, veggies, and some nuts.

Country of Origin Labels (also known as COOL) will tell you whether the animal was raised in the U.S. or another country so you can identify food that comes from countries with safety concerns, or so you can keep your food dollars in the U.S. But, some labels may be more complicated than you realize: ground beef labels may have more than one country listed, because the process to make a hamburger requires meat from more than one country.

As COOL starts up, some (the USDA, the Consumers Union) are against the law either because it doesn’t cover enough (the Consumers Union) or because they think consumers will know too much and are concerned about cost (the USDA). We’ll see how the COOL labels play out, but in the meantime, how much information do you want on your meat label?

Photo from the Dvorak Uncensored blog.

Become a Tuesday-Tarian

scleaver — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In the spirit of Tuesday-Tarianism (or Wednesday or Thursday-tarianism, whichever day you prefer to go meat-less), here are five ways to reduce your meat intake without feeling like there’s a hole on your dinner plate.

Increase variety as you decrease meat: Eat.Drink.Better.’s Robin Shreeves suggests filling a dinner plate with two vegetables (choose two different colors of veggie to make the plate more appealing), beans, pasta, and more, instead of the typical potato, meat, and one vegetable combination.
Expand your options: Vegetarian options (even tofu) don’t have to be bland and mushy. Consider when you can take meat out of the equation (a spicy Thai curry might not really need chicken) and when you absolutely must have it (for the annual grill-off).
Buy healthy meat: If you do buy meat, make sure it’s the good stuff. Organic, grass fed, free-range, meat from cows or chickens that are raised the way nature intended. It's a win-win: they’re happier while they’re running around the farm producing less harm to the environment, and they’re healthier on your plate.
Consider food miles: One way to know you’re reducing your carbon footprint, and that of your dinner, is to get your meat locally. Check out Eat Wild or The Eat Well Guide to find meat in your area.
Rethink what meat means to you: If it’s a garnish or a side dish instead of the main event, you’ll use a lot less. For more tips, see this blog post on grilling.

Photo from the From Whence It Came art project at Carnegie Mellon University taken from Neatorama.

Save The World One Day A Week

scleaver — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Have you had meat yet today? If you have, you might want to rethink tomorrow’s menu. According to South Africa's The Star newspaper, meat eaters’ diets are responsible for double the amount of emissions than vegetarian diets. Eat meat, said the Institute for Ecological Economy Research, and you’re responsible for producing the same amount of greenhouse gas as a mid-sized car 4,758 kilometers; a vegetarian would only have driven that car 2,427 kilometers.

Meat is so costly in terms of greenhouse gases because of the production methods, the methane produced at huge feed lots, transportation and habitat destruction. But, even as we learn just how costly our daily burgers are, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization thinks that meat consumption will double by 2050.

In response to this, according to Citizen Sugar, the non-profit World Farming wants governments to start campaigning to reduce meat eating by 60 percent by 2020. And, as Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests, making the easy change of going meat-free one day a week would make a huge difference. The meat industry thinks that they’re being unfairly targeted, but what do you think? Could you go meat free for a day?

Image of a 1947 American Meat Council ad from Plan59.