Food author and activist Michael Pollan, author of ‘In Defense of Food’ is visiting the Twin Cities this week to talk food. Local newspaper, The Star Tribune, had a chance to speak with Pollan yesterday regarding his food activism.
Here are a few of my favorite bits from the interview:
Q: With the recent contamination scares, people may be feeling a sense of security in processed foods, which are exactly what you argue against. How do you respond?
A: A lot of people think processed food is safer because it’s so sanitized, but that really means that everything’s been killed. It’s dead. There’s definitely a fear coming of food grown in the soil, which is really sad. A lot of the problem with produce comes in the processing.
People are relying on companies washing fresh lettuce and putting it in a bag with an 18-day shelf life instead of doing it themselves. The consumer should assume that whenever they outsource food preparation, there’s a certain amount of risk involved. Not that you’re always going to get it right yourself, but the scale of the problem is a lot smaller.
Q: With people looking to stretch their food dollars, is the message to eat organically and locally, which often means more expensively, losing steam?
A: I’ve heard contradictory things. I know Whole Foods is struggling, but I’ve also talked to people who make organic food, and they’re doing just fine. This spring, we’ll see what happens in the farmers markets.
Thanks to the Twitterverse, we’ve stumbled across a great collection of food blogs at Real Food Media. Today, the Kelly the Kitchen Kop is hosting Real Food Wednesdays, packed with great links to real food posts! Check it out here!
As an organic advocate, I was very interested in attending the recent ‘Farm to Table’ panel at the Vegas Uncork’d festival. Top chefs, including Bellagio Executive Chef Edmund Wong and sustainability advocate Rick Moonen, discussed the importance of supporting local and sustainable farms by designing menus that feature those food items. However, during the panel discussion, Bon Appetit’s Restaurant Editor, Andrew Knowlton, posed a great question: If you had the choice to purchase organic asparagus from another country or locally grown asparagus, which would you choose? Hands down, all four participating chefs opted for the local option, with BA’s Editor in Chief, Barbara Fairchild, noting that we needed to ‘get people to buy fresh and local’.
The New York Times had an interesting article about companies who are starting to use the appeal of local food production to sell more products. The article highlights the Frito-Lay company and their utilization of local potato producers for their potato products. With the interest in local markets, Frito-Lay announced the launch of a new marketing program specifically noting their use of local food producers.
“Local for us has two appeals,” said Aurora Gonzalez, director of public relations for Frito-Lay North America, which is owned by PepsiCo. “We are interested in quality and quickness because we want consumers to get the freshest product possible, but we have a fairly significant sustainability program, and local is part of that. We want to do business more efficiently, but do it in a more environmentally conscious way.”
‘Locavore’ advocates, however, have difficulty adopting this new drive for ‘local’ promotion. While companies are promoting the use of local farms, the producers are generally local to wherever the food product is manufactured, and not necessarily local to the consumer, leading to what some consider misleading advertising.
“The ingenuity of the food manufacturers and marketers never ceases to amaze me,” said Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food” and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine. “They can turn any critique into a new way to sell food. You’ve got to hand it to them.”
While I’m certainly encouraged by the growing use of local food producers, I’m concerned as well about possible ‘greenwashing’, or ‘localwashing’ – the practice by some companies of utilizing key terms, like ‘local’, ‘green’, ‘organic’, ’sustainable’, or ‘natural’ to merely sell more food products.
To ensure that you’re not being ‘localwashed’, become an educated consumer. Ask where your food stuffs are produced. Inquire as to whether the production is sustainable, organic, and/or natural. Best of all, don’t believe everything you read. Sometimes, it’s just for the sale!
While the United States continues to build it’s green and sustainable following, Australia’s Vogue Entertaining + Travel recently handed out their annual Produce Awards, recognizing sustainable farms and food producers within the country down under, in categories including ‘from the paddock’, ‘from the dairy’, ‘from the earth’ and ‘from the sea’.
“The Awards are dedicated to discovering and celebrating the finest food growers and suppliers in the country. Whether you’re a three-hat chef, or someone who enjoys cooking at home, these are the producers and products you need to know about. This year, the produce was of such a high standard that rather than presenting just one runner-up to each winner, we decided to add a new ‘gold medal’ category,” says Trudi Jenkins, editor-in-chief of Vogue Entertaining + Travel.
“The Awards are not just a celebration of Australia’s fantastic produce; they acknowledge the people who are committed to quality and consistency in what they grow and make, and those who promote small producers through restaurants, providores and markets,” she says.
National judges included a number of well-known Australian chefs, including Alla Wolf-Tasker, Matt Moran, Cheong Liew, and Philip Johnson.
The winners list (minus the long list of regional recognitions):
From The Earth: Daylesford Organics Heirloom Vegetables, Victoria, AUS
From The Sea: Pristine Oyster Farm, South Australia, AUS; Spanner Crabs Noosa, Queensland, AUS
From The Paddock: White Rocks Veal, Western Australia, AUS
Best New Product: Redgate Farm Jurassic Quail, New South Wales, AUS
Consistently Excellent Product: Blackmore Wagyu, Victoria, AUS
Outstanding Use of Regional Produce By A Chef: Dan Hunter, Royal Mail Hotel, Victoria, AUS Outstanding Farmers Market: Willunga, South Australia, AUS
The Maggie Beer Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Australian Food: Stephanie Alexander, “The Cook’s Companion”
This year’s award ceremony also included a new award, Food Heritage and Sustainability, with Spring Bay Mussels of Tasmania, AUS taking home the prize.
Good on ya, mates, for your support of sustainable food production!
Yesterday’s presentation of the ‘Farm to Table’ panel, as part of the Vegas Uncork’d festivities, was outstanding! Four top Las Vegas chefs – Edmund Wong, Bradley Ogden, Rick Moonen, and recent James Beard Award winner Paul Bartolotta – sat side by side to discuss the importance of sustainability and the support of local food production, with Barbara Fairchild, Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appetit, Andrew Knowlton, BA’s BA Foodist, and Vegas’s top restaurant reviewer, John Curtas.
The panel discussed everything from fishing to farm production, even out here in the dry region of Vegas. Surprisingly, there are a number of farms within the local area who are utilized to provide menu ingredients. All of the chefs encouraged their consumers, and restaurant guests, to continue their education on organics and local food availability, noting how important it is as chefs to develop sustainable menus themselves.
“As a definite, you shouldn’t ever have [the outrageously over-fished] Chilean Sea Bass on your menu,” noted chef Rick Moonen.
All four chefs thanked their ‘foragers’, or staff members who are dedicated to finding local produce, and building relationships with farmers and producers. Wong, the Executive Chef of the Bellagio, with over twenty members in his food purchasing team, mentioned having a staff member who’s sole responsibility is to check ripeness of his produce inventory.
Moonen, with a long history of sustainable interest and support, noted that his restaurants even require questionnaires for their wine producers to ensure proper, sustainable production of their wines.
“I never thought I’d see this tipping point [of restaurants/consumers going green and sustainable],” Moonen commented.
On the importance of consumer education of food production:
“Let’s get people to buy fresh first, and then we’ll try to get them to buy organic…consumers have a bigger pull with what’s going on in their grocery stores [than they realize].” – Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appetit
On understanding the cost of local/organic vs. traditionally harvested food items:
“As a consumer, you must realize that the cost to produce unique food is not cheap.” – Paul Bartolotta
Paul Bartolotta, John Curtas, Andrew Knowlton, Barbara Fairchild, Bradley Ogden, Edmund Wong, Rick Moonen
Organics, sustainability, ‘locovores’, oh my! In honor of today’s Earth Day celebrations, I’ve compiled a small pile of newsbits with a green focus. Remember – you don’t have to think about sustainability just one day a year. Reduce, reuse, recycle every day! Be cognizant of your carbon footprint, from your car to your lunch! Encourage your favorite restaurants to utilize locally produced, organic food stuffs. Build a composter in your own backyard! The environmental-friendly possibilities are endless. Happy Earth Day!
Today’s Los Angeles Times has a great article on ‘tackling the ethics of eating’. From buying local to producing food in your own backyard, you can incorporate sustainability with every meal. Love that steak dinner? According to author Mark Bittman, “Eating a typical family-of-four steak dinner is the rough equivalent, energy-wise, of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.” Ouch.
Thinking about developing your own organic garden? The Wall Street Journal’s Neal Templin takes a look at just how much money you can save by producing your own veggies at home. Especially in these tough economic times, a garden space may just the money-saver you’re looking for. Even the Obamas are doing it!
CNN also took a look at the benefits of buying your food items from local producers. Supporting regional farms and farmers by becoming a ‘locovore’ can help to reduce your family’s carbon footprint, not to mention the advantage of knowing how your food is being produced, from pesticide use to distribution.
Finally, as I’ve preached to many other restaurant and food service owners, offering a sustainable, earth-friendly business can oftentimes edge out your competitors. Nation’s Restaurant News reported on a recent study finding that 73% of consumers are purchasing ‘green’ products when making their buying choices. This includes supporting companies with sustainable business practices as well as providing recycled items, biodegradable items, and, of course, organics. Just keep your eyes open for greenwashing!
The 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is nearly here! Hosted by the Food Network, the Miami-area festival swings into town next week, February 19-22, and includes such events as a Kidz Kitchen and the fabulous Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ, hosted by chef Tom Colicchio. The King and Queen of Spain will also be on hand for a wonderful gala benefiting the School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Florida International University and Fundación España-Florida. Restaurant Editor Kate Krader over at Food & Wine even chimed in today with her top five reasons for wanting to attend. (Oh, Billy Joel! Possibly my favorite moment from the NYC Wine & Food Fest!)
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced recently intentions to expand their brandwide Green Cuisine program to include sustainable seafood choices. The hotel chain plans to remove threatened fish species, such as the Chilean Sea Bass and Bluefin Tuna, from their menus in an effort to create a more sustainable menu in line with seafood watch groups. You can read more about Fairmont’s Green Cuisine program here at their website.
In an effort to help curb the obesity rate in Australia, The Independentis reporting that the Australian Food and Grocery Council are currently considering an increased tax on the food staple down under. The yeast spread, initially created from waste yeast at a Melbourne brewery in 1922, is much considered an Australian national food.
I was thrilled to read in the NY Times yesterday that in addition to keeping White House chef Cristeta Comerford, the First Lady’s spokesperson, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, has confirmed that chef Sam Kass has been appointed to assist in White House meal preparations.
With many notables in the sustainable food community hoping for a more eco-friendly administration, it’s encouraging to see that someone like Kass, who supports local food production and consumption, has been invited into the mix. A native of the Chicago area, and former private chef for the Obamas, Mr. Kass founded Inevitable Table, a private chef service combining food stuffs from local farmers and sustainable wineries in order to provide ‘clean simple quality food.’
You can read chef Alice Waters’s thoughts on the importance of a sustainable White House kitchen here.
Boo hiss! Portland Food Dude is reporting this morning that natural market New Seasons has lost their case to bar internal documents from being released to competitor Whole Foods. As I noted a few weeks ago, New Seasons is locked in a legal battle with Whole Foods and the Federal Trade Commission over Whole Foods’ violation of FTC laws in the purchase of Northwest market chain Wild Oats. New Seasons was subpoenaed in early October by Whole Foods, requesting everything from internal documents discussing the merger to documents discussing ‘plans to renovate or improve stores…’.
New Seasons’ CEO Brian Rohter blogged about his subpoena shock on December 1st:
When I received this subpoena my immediate reaction was disbelief. I was confident there was no way our legal system would force us to give our private business records to one of our competitors. It looks like I may have been wrong about that.
Losing this case is certainly a blow to local stores everywhere. Releasing such confidential documents to a competitive giant, particularly one who’s been known to play dirty, will be devastating to the New Seasons market.
It takes away the level playing field, creates an unnecessary risk for our business and has the potential to have a negative impact on our network of local growers, ranchers and suppliers. It also could permanently damage the fragile regional food system that we’ve been working to create and, in the end, could reduce options for Portlanders who choose to shop at locally owned stores.
Rohter assured his readers that he’s not ready to give up the fight.
In an effort to assist in the reduction of greenhouse gasses, Oregon’s largest dairy farm, Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Oregon, will begin testing a methane-fueled energy system beginning March 2009. According to MSNBC, the $1 million methane digesting technology will be utilized to power all dairy operations. In addition, the dairy can substitute methane for propane use as well.
The project is funded by NW Natural and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, both of which will receive half of the capital costs of the project back in state energy tax credits over the next five years. NW Natural hopes to utilize the methane digesting technology for it’s own natural gas services once thorough impurity-removal processes have been developed.
As an organic advocate, I was very interested in attending the recent 
While the United States continues to build it’s green and sustainable following, Australia’s Vogue Entertaining + Travel recently handed out their annual 
