Sustainable Bites

Even though it’s fall, I’ve still been able to enjoy weekly trips to the farmers market and am savoring each visit because soon, the ground will stop yielding produce. A winter CSA could keep me going with spinach, kale, chard, and other greens coming from high tunnels, and potatoes, squash, beets, and other root vegetables found in cold storage, but I need to find one of those first. In the mean time, I’ll keep enjoying the farmers market. While the vendors at the market have plastic bags just like at the grocery store, I always bring my Reisenthel basket like the one pictured above. Mine is now 5 years old and still going strong. There is nothing better than filling up my basket with fresh vegetables that will sustain me for a week, and not having to deal with any plastic bags once I get home.

My parents used to have a kitchen cabinet for plastic bags. Each time my mom got back from the store, she simply added the bags to it. Once when I was in middle school, I decided that the cabinet was too full and started pulling the bags out…for what seemed like eternity. When our entire kitchen floor was covered with white and yellow plastic, my mom and I decided that we needed to change. We went online and got some reusable shopping bags (this was before they could be purchased at the register of nearly every retail location) and my mom has been using them ever since. When I went off to college, I got my own set of bags and still use them, but when I go to the grocery store or farmers market, I just take my basket. I know that what I need will fit inside, so when it’s full, I’m done shopping. It also is also lightweight, stylish, the handle folds down, and the entire body is collapsible too, making it easy to transport over short and long distances.

An article in Rolling Stone from July of last year said that

“American shoppers use an estimated 102 billion plastic shopping bags each year — more than 500 per consumer.” Named by Guinness World Records as “the most ubiquitous consumer item in the world,” the ultrathin bags have become a leading source of pollution worldwide.” (http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-plastic-bag-wars-20110725)

So do the world and your kitchen cabinets a favor…ditch the plastic bags and get yourself a basket.

A recent NY Times article by Mark Hertsgaard, was on point with its evaluation of both Farm Bill proposals floating around congress, as the September 30th end of the existing Farm Bill approaches.  With the drought in the Midwest on every farmer’s mind and much if it being attributed to global warming and climate change, Hertsgaard did well to point out that both versions of the new farm bill don’t actually address the future and aim at reducing emissions, they simply pass on the cost of our current industrial agriculture system onto tax-payers by offering increased crop insurance for farmers and mostly to those who farm the “big five - wheat, rice, soybeans, cotton, and above all corn”. Due to the incredible amounts of fossil fuels necessary to farm on the large scale that we do, our carbon emissions are going to remain the same if not increase. The fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that get spread on vulnerable monocultures also add to our greenhouse gas emissions, making both Farm Bill proposals inadequate band-aids to a problem that needs much more than more insurance for farmers. Unless substantial action is taken to change the way we farm, our farmers will indeed need that extra insurance and our problems will continue to increase. 

Towards the end of the article, Hertsgaard advocates for a shift in federal policy towards organic practices that will increase the strength of our farms and food supply through biodiversity and lower our overall emissions, helping reduce our contributions to climate change. He’s right. I hope the people over at Stanford read The NY Times. 

In a recent post from the NY Times, (clicking the picture will get you there), the author discussed a study from Stanford University researchers that concluded that there was not a significant difference between the nutritional content of organic and conventionally grown produce and animals “nor were they any less likely to be contaminated by dangerous bacteria like E.coli.” The rest of the article discusses the reasons why so many people by organic and why we should continue to buy organic or why it might be a moot point or something with little value beyond the images of animals frolicking in nature or friendly faces pulling out food from the soil that make us feel good when we buy organic over conventional. A few other criteria other than nutrition and pesticide residue were mentioned but nutrition was the main thing that he study focused on and I wish it had gone into more depth about other factors that are involved when it comes to organic vs. conventional farming. 

For starters, nowhere did it say which farms were a part of the study. Were they all industrial sized organic farms (yes, you can do large scale organic)? Or small scale operations? Size does matter because even a large scale organic farm isn’t great given that it is a monoculture, which depletes the soil of the same nutrients for hundreds of acres and also creates a dead zone for pollinators, which results in bees being trucked in to do the pollinating that can’t happen naturally. Almonds are a great example of this. In California during the almond tree flowering season, millions of bees are brought in to pollinate. They have to be brought in because almond trees only flower for a limited time (two weeks or something) and so once they’re done, the bees run out of a food source. So they get drugged while in the hive and then whisked away to another monoculture area to do their duty again so we can have food in spite of a very unnatural way of growing it (check out the film: Queen of the Sun). 

Back to my questions…Were they farms in the U.S.? Abroad? Both? How many were tested? These questions are important because a lot of food that gets imported to the U.S., especially during the winter months, is from Central and South America, Mexico, and China, which all have different standards and regulations when it comes to pesticide use, labor conditions, and the like. So even though the nutrients might be similar, buying organic can mean a lot when it comes to social justice and overall environmental stewardship.

For example, GMO (genetically modified organisms) can’t be organic since GMO’s are made to be grown with the use of a variety of chemicals and organics are chemical free (some naturally derived pesticides and such can be used). So, buying organic also means buying Non-GMO, which is very worthwhile for both peace of mind and health..not to mention keeping money out of the pockets of bodies like Monsanto, the giant chemical turned seed company. Buying organic also often means that farms limit their impact on the surrounding environment. Some of these might include fertilizer runoff that pollutes waterways, monocultures instead of diversified farms that practice crop rotation, pesticides as opposed to integrated pest management, the list goes on. Buying organic has come to mean so much and very often, represents what we think it does.

However, the term organic itself doesn’t ensure that those things are true, happening, or exist, which is why this article and the benefits of “organic” should be considered. So many large scale organic farms are profit driven, not planet driven, they’re run by corporations and investors, not farmers and stewards of the land, and even though they might not be farmed with certain chemicals, they aren’t doing a whole lot for the land or our bodies even though they might be slightly higher in nutrients.

At the end of the day, in order to feel really good about what you put into your body, you should do your best to know where exactly your food comes from and who grew it. Many small scale farmers who farm organically or pretty darn close to it can’t afford organic certification or just choose to not get it because they can rely on the trust they’ve established with their customers. They also tend to do many of the things I mentioned above that are essentials for sustainable farming (crop rotation, soil health management, high levels of biodiversity, appreciation for wildlife, use of antibiotics only when animals are sick and need them, etc.) even if within conventional systems.

Obviously to some degree, farmers farm to make money and maintain a certain way of life, but many of them also farm because they love it. They love the soil, being outside, growing food, feeding people, enhancing community, and living in harmony with nature. It’s these things that are of most value when it comes to making food choices. Buying organic is usually a good rule of thumb and the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen” guide is a wonderful resource, but the best thing is to buy from someone you trust, whether it’s the farmer or a shop owner who knows the farmers.

The more the organic sector grows and has the potential for profits, the more it will be corrupted, and the more studies like the one will become moot points. We can’t just go by “organic” any more as the test of what is good and what is right. 

In an August 21st post in the NY Times, Mark Bittman wrote a great piece called “Celebrate the Farmer!” (to read it, click the picture above). In it, he notices and celebrates the trend of people not only appreciating the chef that makes food, but the farmers who grow and raise it. He then gets into some issues facing farming and farmers in today’s system of mega-farms that are linked to corporate buyers who often manipulate the farmers and force them to either get bigger or get out. Our system is based on commodity monocultures and the efficiency that comes with it. This model, while productive in many ways, is not sustainable and our soil, water supplies, and surrounding ecosystems are all suffering. Bittman calls for all of us to support small scale farmers who are stewards of the land and operate diversified farms that produce a variety of food stuffs and exist in harmony with nature.

Sure, local food is often more expensive, but cheap food comes with additional costs that we often don’t pay for…at least immediately. Many of our tax dollars go into government subsidies that support corn, soybean, and wheat farmers, which produce cheap food for animals, which make the hamburger on the dollar menu able to be sold for a dollar. The mass scale of production bring prices down for us. But the environmental costs of producing food like this is high in terms of water pollution, loss of biodiversity, health costs (obesity, heart disease, diabetes, etc), social justice issues like labor, the list goes on. In considering the “true cost” of cheap food, Bittman offers some points/ideas of how we can help support farmers and change this system, creating a more holistic, sustainable, equal, and healthy one. He also calls for us to not only celebrate farmers, but advocate for them. 

One way in which I’m trying to do just that is by buying a lot of local, seasonal produce from small farms stands in the area, from farmers I know and trust. With this cornucopia of summer, I have been processing the many fruits and veggies to have during the winter months when buying local is difficult and I usually end up buying “fresh” produce at the supermarket that is from California, Mexico, New Zealand, and other places nowhere near my east coast residence. Last night, I made tomato sauce with capers and fennel and baked some ratatouille, which I plan to enjoy with the Disney movie of the same name. Today and tomorrow, I plan on roasting eggplant for some baba ganoush, and also making some pesto and freezing it in cubes for some fresh pesto to enjoy with a smattering of things later on. What will you “put up” this season so that you’ll have it in the winter when fresh food can only be from hundreds of miles away?

Go ahead…advocate for our small farmers by seeking them out, buying the fruits of their labor, and then preserving them so you can celebrate their hard work for months until the first asparagus shoots up in March and you can start the whole process over again. 

Clicking on the picture above will bring you to a great little list of ways to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable when eating and procuring the foodstuffs you will eat. Some of my favorites are:

- “Shop Different” - many people don’t think about what they buy beyond price - especially beyond food. If you need new shoes, for example, which brands out there are doing good things for the environment and the local and global communities? Check out ClimateCounts.org as well as StoryofStuff.org for info on which companies you should support with your dollar as well as consider whether you need to buy something new in the first place.

- “Eat Raw” and “Eat in Season” - Such good benefits are to be had by eating raw and eating things that are in season. I recently got a bunch of tomatoes and plan to make a variety of sauces and ragouts, which I’ll then freeze so I can have fresh sauce in the winter when the best tomatoes to be found at the supermarket are pink and grown in horrible conditions in probably either Florida or California (to read more about Tomaotes, read Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook).

- “East Less Meat” - Do it. If you don’t, if WE don’t, then we’re in for some trouble ahead. As the developing world progresses, so do the palates and appetites of its people. Not everyone can eat a western diet - the world cannot sustain such energy usage, expenditure and such consumption. As the demand for meat rises, there is a cascade of effects that negatively impact the environment (release of methane, burning of fossil fuels used to grow things like corn, which are the primary food source of cattle and other animals, what to do with all of the manure?, fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide runoff from farming the food animals eat, loss of forrest as trees get cut down to grow grass for grazing, the list goes on…). People need to eat less meat period. So start today and do your part in preserving our future.

- All of the restaurant tips are great and really simple things to do and keep in mind. 

I hope you find them helpful!

A recent post by The Atlantic (click the picture above to read it) said that Americans throw away 40% of our food every day. That percentage is alarming but sadly very true. Thinking I knew a fair amount about composting and food waste in general, this summer, I read the book American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of its Food and What We Can Do About it. As I read about all of the different steps that are involved between the field and my fork, and all of the waste that occurs at each step, I saw our agricultural systems in a new light as well as our own culture. I realized how grocery store displays are connected to our expectation of perfect produce all year round, how refrigerators and freezers and restaurants contribute to our waste, and how our habits do as well. I learned that the importance of composting is paramount moving forward if we want to decrease the amount of methane in the air (methane is emitted when organic matter decomposes in landfills) and significantly combat global warming, and that in general, we are a wasteful society that devalues food because we’ve become so disconnected from it - who grows it, where it’s grown, and what it takes to get “fresh” produce to our plates. 

I encourage you to read American Wasteland or any of the other books on waste that are out there (another is simply called WASTE and is by Tristram Stuart) and seriously think about how you can reduce your food waste. Especially when people are debating our ability (or lack there of) to feed the world and its rapidly increasing population, decreasing, controlling, and harnessing the power of food waste will be more and more important in the future.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of traveling north of San Francisco, to J Vineyards and Winery in Healdsburg, CA. After getting to know Judy Jordan, the founder and director or J and her daughter, Nicole, who was my student a few years ago, I was thrilled to visit the winery to reconnect with them and enjoy that part of California. J produces wonderful sparking wines, a variety of whites, and a few pinot noirs.

Since discovering my love for wine (red specifically), I have become increasingly invested in my wine literacy and regularly try wines from different regions around the world, that are blends or single varietals, produced according to organic and biodynamic standards, or ones that come highly recommended by wine shop workers who I trust. Tasting wines from different years from around the world is a great way to taste the world and I think it’s neat that we have systems that make such experiences possible. However, I recently read an article in Wine Spectator Magazine about the carbon footprint of wine and the eco-steps that many wineries are taking to reduce their own and still make their products available. Some things happening are boxed wines made out of recycled paper products and plastics (the bladder inside) as well as barrels that can be tapped like a beer keg for restaurants so fewer glass bottles get used. The thing that really got me thinking though was the carbon footprint of my hobby. Drinking wines from around the world meant that they had to get transported thousands of miles in order to make it to my dinner table and I wondered what that meant for the environment. 

The first thing I thought I should do, is buy more local wines because I assumed they would be more environmentally responsible choices. Given that I live in NJ and I’m not particularly fond of the wines coming out of the northeast, I focused on wines from California, Oregon, and Washington. Then, I stumbled upon a report produced by the American Association of Wine Economists (accessed by clicking on the picture at the top of this post), which told me that my east coast residency means that drinking a wine from France or even Australia has a lower carbon footprint than wines from the west coast. That’s because wines from the west are trucked across the country at a very high energy cost, whereas wines from Europe and Australia/New Zealand are usually shipped by boat, which is much more efficient energy wise. So “local” in the case of wine isn’t necessarily better at all. How crazy is that?! The report hit home the fact that not all food transportation miles are equal. Interestingly, “efficiencies of shipping drive a “green line” all the way to Columbus, Ohio, the point where a wine from Bordeaux and Napa has the same carbon intensity.”

The report also mentions the potential of a carbon tax for wines according to their footprint. Would I be willing to pay more for wine to help offset the carbon that it takes for me to have access to it? Yes. Would I alter my buying habits and probably drink less wine? Yes. Would I be ok with that given the effect that it would have on the environment? Yes. Would others feel the same way about such a tax? Maybe, maybe not. Will a carbon tax happen? I hope it does. Not only will it make people aware of the carbon footprint of their habits (wine being just one of many things that could have such a tax), but it has the potential to change people’s habits, and also raise funds to help develop alternate energy sources.

I’d toast to that…

Since 5:30am, I’ve been sitting, reading, chatting, and thinking at the lovely Bread & Butter Cafe, on the corner of Hayes and Ashbury in San Francisco. After finishing up teaching at a summer program in New Hampshire, I arrived in the city by the bay for a sojourn to visit a friend from college and enjoy the remainder of my summer vacation. Soon I will report back to the east coast for faculty meetings and everything else that comes along with my job as a boarding school teacher, but until then, I will keep enjoying my coffee shop time and other things that this fine city has to offer such as playing soccer with a dachshund I met, named Sawyer, who will accompany me to the park tomorrow for a spirited game that I’m sure will rival the Olympic final of today between the US and Japan. 

The Bread & Butter Cafe has some tasty coffee and a nice culture of regular customers who have been trickling in with smiles and out with paper cups full of black gold. These paper cups are in fact what I want to focus on today…

According to the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch, San Francisco has 2.2 coffee shops per capita and comes in as the #3 city in America with this ratio, only being outdone by Anchorage, Alaska (#1) and Seattle, Washington, (#2). As a coffee lover, I am thrilled with the copious opportunities for coffee experiences with which this vacation presents me, but in thinking about the environmental impact of this massively popular habit, I felt compelled to investigate and see just what this daily habit for so many means for the earth and our future.

When searching for how many paper cups get used each year, I found a great site called “Sustainability is Sexy”(SIS - click on the coffee cup to check it out!), which focuses on the paper cup issue specifically. There, I found that “According to the paper industry, Americans will consume an estimated 23 billion paper coffee cups in 2010.”  Dang. That number is so high, I can’t even fathom what that many would even look like. Could you build the empire state building with that? Would they be able to cover the state of Delaware? Without some sort of reference point, I’ll have to due with the simple fact that 23 billion paper cups used in just one year is mind boggling and horrifying (oh, and don’t forget about the plastic lids and cardboard sleeves). The environmental effects of trashing paper cups is detailed on the SIS website, but basically boils down to the creation of virgin paper (non-recycled), the release of methane from decomposition in landfills, and the large quantity of energy that is used during production. 

The good news is that using paper to-go cups can be entirely avoided. I haven’t used a paper to-go cup in years thanks to my trusty stainless steel reusable travel mug. I even have a summer version for iced coffee drinks that is also handy for taking homemade versions of coffee and tea beverages with me when I’m on the go. For a relatively low upfront cost, you will save the environment in significant ways and often receive a discount at many establishments because bringing your own mug saves them money. It just makes *cents* to bring your own mug. 

One of my favorite sites for everything reusable is: http://www.reuseit.com/store/bottles-more-travel-mugs-cups-flasks-c-253_255.html

So check it out and get your own mug!! The earth will thank you. Just make sure it’s either stainless steel or BPA free plastic.

NOTE: Styrofoam cups are a whole other bag of coffee beans and are arguably worse than paper due to how they are produced, how long it takes them to break down, and what those byproducts are. So don’t think that using styrofoam is a good alternative. Just get your own mug.