Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Interesting Story

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Kevin Ancell" <kancell AT goodearthgardens.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Interesting Story
  • Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2002 06:33:02 -0700


Sustaining America

New attitudes involve more than just producing, cooking food

The Associated Press

WILTON, Conn. - It's not hard to find examples of Americans' interest in
making healthier and more socially responsible choices when it comes to
buying and cooking food. And there are easy ways for home cooks to follow
some of the ideas of leaders in this thinking.

The group called Chefs Collaborative defines itself as "a national network
of more than 1,000 members of the food community who promote sustainable
cuisine by celebrating the joys of local, seasonal, and artisanal cooking."
Their goals center on "sustaining the heritage and the economy of whole
communities." Respecting local economies, traditions and habitats, they say,
are all important parts of participating in a sustainable food system.

In interviews, several members of the Chefs Collaborative were asked what
this means in practical terms, and how some of the ways they run their
restaurants sustainably could be applied in the home kitchen. Here are some
of their suggestions:

'Compromise a little'
"When you are looking for meat or fish seek out a market, butcher, or fish
shop interested in sustainable ideas," says Suzanne Goin, chef-owner of
Lucques, West Hollywood, Calif.

Always remember you can effect change by demanding sustainable products, she
says.

"Use Web sites such as Seafood Choices Alliance or Monterey Bay Aquarium to
guide you to sustainable choices in fish. Use the Internet to research
options for meats.

"Check out local butchers and ask questions. Also, sometimes you find
ranchers or other growers who are doing things the 'old-fashioned' way, and
they end up also doing things the sustainable way. Ask questions - has the
animal been given antibiotics and hormones, what is it fed, is it
free-range?"

Talk to growers at your local farmers' market or growers, she suggests, and
ask them if they use pesticides, how they fertilize, and what is their
philosophy on farming.

"Learn to cook with the seasons, use available local ingredients whenever
possible," Goin says, adding that you can also switch recipes, to use those
that are timely.

"Compromise a little if you have to, depending on where you live. For
example, don't give up if you can't find organic. Try to find
pesticide-free. Sometimes farmers are in transition or don't want to pay the
fees to be certified organic."

Composting is probably the biggest difference you can make, she says. It
reduces your contribution to land fills and feeds your soil. Use the
Internet to learn how to compost at home.

Reuse plastic containers from yogurt and other purchased products, she
advises. "At home we use Ziplock bags when necessary, but you can use them
more than once."

Shop locally
Jesse Ziff Cool, chef-owner of the Flea St. Cafe and JZ Cool Eatery in Menlo
Park, Calif., says she has been using organic ingredients in her restaurants
for more than 26 years. She estimates she uses about 85 percent organic.

"I have chickens at home, and compost everywhere and recycle, so I practice
at home what we do at work," she says. At the restaurant and at home,
suitable trimmings and peelings from vegetables don't go for compost: They
are saved until there is enough to make into stock.
She, too, urges that you save and reuse plastic containers, especially for
small amounts of leftovers.

From Chris Douglass, chef-owner of Icarus restaurant in Boston, comes the
basic recommendation: Shop at your local farmers' markets.

He also suggests you join a community-supported agriculture group, and
establish relationships with your supermarkets and grocers, to ask about
where the food they sell comes from.

"Be specific. For example, ask, 'Can you tell me where the beef you sell
comes from? Do you know how it was raised?'

"Support those markets that offer sustainable choices," he says. "Let the
management know that you shop there because they offer sustainable choices.
Request organic and cleanly raised foods at your markets."

Inspired by the earth

Earth Pledge is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote a
sustainable lifestyle and demonstrate the connection between architecture
and agriculture.

The group is based in a 1902 New York City town house that belonged to
Abraham Lincoln's granddaughter. Its kitchen incorporates recycled
materials, and its rooftop garden is part of its Green Roof Initiative.
"Green" roofs help to keep buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter
than conventional materials do, the group explains.

Earth Pledge also offers sustainable-cuisine cooking classes, focusing on
seasonal menus and how to make the best use of specific items such as
grass-fed beef, organic vegetables and wild-caught fish.

Earth Pledge publishes books on sustainability, including "Sustainable
Cuisine White Papers." They also offer a virtual farmers market,
www.farmtotable.org, which puts consumers looking for fresh local food in
touch with organic farmers in New York State.

Natural Home magazine offers readers information on what it calls
"earth-inspired living."

Robyn Griggs Lawrence, the magazine's editor-in-chief, has these suggestions
for homeowners:

. Vacuum the coils on the back of your refrigerator every six months. This
will keep the compressor pump from having to work so hard.

. Use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. They will use
only three-quarters as much electricity to produce the same amount of light
and last four times as long as incandescent bulbs. They will pay for
themselves in 2 years.

. When boiling water for pasta, put a lid on the pot to bring it to a boil
more quickly. Save the water in which you boil pasta or corn to water your
plants.

. If your stove has burner pans, keep them clean so they will reflect more
heat.

. For your refrigerator to be most effective, keep it three-quarters full.

. In the morning after you make coffee, pour it into a thermos to keep it
hot, and unplug the coffee maker.

. Buy chemical-free products. Use your grandmother's techniques, such as
baking soda to clean, borax to disinfect, and vinegar to cut grease.

. Don't use anti-bacterial products, to avoid building up super-strains of
germs.




  • Interesting Story, Kevin Ancell, 11/06/2002

Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page