Simply: Home Cooking

Irene, farmers, loyalty, and gratitude

Having grown up in Vermont, I have been following the post-Irene news out of the state with horror. Pictures of washed out roads (difficult for someone to understand the gravity of that when there is no concept that it may be the ONLY road in and out of a town), flooded fields, crops laid waste. What can you do to help, if you're inclined to do so? There's the always-welcome local Red Cross donation, a number of tshirt companies are donating proceeds from sales (check out Vermont Clothing Company and the Vermont Strong Store), and not surprisingly, a number of benefit concerts and similar events sprang up - it's hard to keep Vermonters down for long! And I saw some truly original ideas floated by my Facebook friends: how about a produce "round-up" day at the farmers' markets, where buyers voluntarily round every purchase up to the next $5 or $10? But isn't there a bigger picture, one that will last beyond the news headlines and the desire to help in a time of need?

Vermont, of course, wasn't the only state affected. Grist.org had a brief roundup of news from farmers throughout the swath cut by Irene. And if the producer end of our food system has suffered, the consumer must also pay the price - literally! And how I dread hearing (most) people complain about the price of food....

I recently watched a series of short films by Nourish, and I was once again struck by a statistic mentioned: in the last 50 years, Americans have gone from spending 18% of our national income on food to spending 9.9% on food. (In same time period, we've gone from spending 5% of national income on health care to spending 16% on health care.) Yes, there are those who truly cannot spend more on food, but what about the vast majority of us, who can?

As someone who tries to buy local and sustainable food whenever possible and one who is fortunate enough to be able to pay the premium often demanded by organic, this recent crop devastation, coupled with what seems to be a weird growing season nationally, has given me a lot to ponder. My first thought about the affected farmers was, "I hope the majority of them run CSAs!" Those farmers who run CSAs (community supported agriculture programs) charge a flat fee per share at the beginning of the growing season, then provide an equal amount of produce to each shareholder throughout the harvest season. If the farm does well and the harvest is good, the consumer gets a bountiful share each week. If there is bad weather or a natural disaster, then the harvest is poor or nonexistent, and the consumer supplements the share with food sourced elsewhere. So in a sense, it's a gamble for the consumer, but how much less of a gamble for the farmer who produces our food? And in this age of disappearing small and mid-size farms, isn't it important for those of us who can afford it to stack the deck in the farmers' favor?

Now is the time to start thinking about next year's crops and signing on for a CSA with a local farmer - out of loyalty, and because we can. And now is also the time to start supporting measures in upcoming Farm Bill legislation that will help small and mid-size farmers with crop insurance for situations like the one caused by Irene.

The LocalHarvest blog has a wonderful post about eating locally in a poor season that was supposed to be the height of harvest bounty. Erin Barnett concludes,

Ultimately, the thing that supports this loyalty and flexibility and acceptance is a sense of gratitude. Things change when we find the space within ourselves to feel thankful for what the land is providing, even, and perhaps especially, in challenging seasons.

Good news on the local food front

Tired of the bad news on food? Can't get your head around 36 million pounds of salmonella-tainted ground turkey (not to mention the tons of packaging that went to waste on 36 million pounds of salmonella-tainted ground turkey)?

There IS good news on the local/regional food front, and you can find it in "Market Forces," a report produced by the Union of Concerned Scientists. If you don't want to plow through the entire report, a quick browse of the executive summary is well worth a few minutes of your time.

USDA map of farmers' markets in the 50 United States

For more discussion on why buying local makes sense, check out "Buying Local Makes Economic Sense."

The Meat Issue

I was a vegetarian (and even tried to be a vegan) for several years before moving in with my husband, who is a committed carnivore. At that point, I had to make a choice: cook 2 meals for each mealtime (or add an animal protein on top of a vegetarian entree) or go back to eating meat. I have to admit, I was a vegetarian for health reasons more than for ethical ones, and I have always liked the taste of meat, fish, and poultry. I was a miserable vegan - love dairy and eggs to much for that to work. When I took a look at my vegetarian diet, I came to realize that I was probably better off eating some lean animal protein in place of so much dairy, so that was ultimately the choice I made.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I suddenly discovered that animal protein, particularly chicken, always tasted "off" to me, even after the initial morning sickness wore off. The first time it happened, I thought the chicken was just bad and returned it to the store. The second time, my husband swore it was fine, but I could not bring myself to touch it - it didn't taste spoiled, it tasted chemical. I started buying organic chicken - that seemed a bit better. We went that route until we lived in California, right next to a fabulous farmers' market that housed a pastured chicken vendor. Wow. I was shocked by the difference in taste and texture and never thought to buy another chicken from the store.

When we moved to Michigan a bit more than a year ago, I found a wonderful organic farm that also raises chickens - Two Creeks Organics. We have bought all our chickens and most of our eggs from them over the past year and happily joined their chicken CSA this summer. There's nothing quite like a chicken that has been happily ranging around eating what it was born to eat, then cooked before it's been frozen! Once last winter, we had a craving for a roast chicken but no Two Creeks birds in the freezer. I decided to buy an organic, cage free bird at a very high end local supermarket and paid a lot for it. Imagine my shock when I got home, opened the package, and could smell nothing but bleach rising from the bird! Not making that mistake again.

We've switched to buying local beef from McLaughlin Farms, pork, duck, turkey and lamb from Back Forty Acres and we belong to a buying club that delivers sustainably caught frozen fish to our group twice a year. The flavor and texture of these locally raised products are incredible - even my husband, who used to order steak any chance he got in a restaurant, now takes one bite and sighs disappointedly, "It's just not the same." If we eat in a restaurant that does not specifically advertise that they source locally and sustainably raised meat, my daughter and I often choose vegetarian options in restaurants simply because we know we'll be disappointed in the meat dishes and we don't want to support conventional meat production.

The point is, by choosing to eat locally, sustainably raised animals, we are not only being kinder to our bodies and our environment, we are also supporting our local food economy. Many small growers of sustainably raised animals are struggling - they face tight rules and regulations that are often applied across the board, whether one is a tiny producer or a huge industrial feed lot and slaughter house. These rules will ultimately put the small producer out of business. Yet where do we hear about massive recalls of hamburger, chicken, eggs, etc.? Invariably, it's the large-scale producers who are at fault. Want to feel good about the protein you bring into your house and onto your cutting board? Go local and sustainably raised. If you choose to support your local farmer, you will be shaking the hand that feeds you - and being acquainted with the owner of that hand goes a long way toward ensuring you will be getting the highest quality, safest product to your family.

Where to look? Local Harvest and Local Orbit are two organizations that work to connect consumers with local products, most of them sustainably raised/organic.

Of course, the major issue is cost. As odd as it seems, it does cost more to buy food that is not processed, has no additives, etc. Want local, sustainably raised animal protein? You will pay a premium price. But is the alternative to throw up your hands and go back to buying "cheap" meat from those horrific CAFOs (confined feeding operations), encouraging further deterioration of our environment and our communities? If you can afford to buy in bulk (1/2 a hog, 1/2 a lamb, 1/4 or 1/8 of a steer) and have a meat freezer, you will see savings - it won't seem that way when you write the check for the meat, but when you don't spend the money at the supermarket on a weekly basis, the savings will add up.

We've made the adjustment by buying the premium meat but eating less of it. Our weekly menus regularly include vegetarian meals, Chinese food (which uses meat as a condiment, not as the focus of the dish), and dishes where 1 lb of ground beef can be stretched to make 2 meals for 4 plus leftovers for packed lunches.

If you are serious about changing the food system, for your health, your environment's health, and the health of the economy, check out this blog post on Grist.org. Written by a producer of sustainable meat, it contains lists of questions/suggestions for those who are really ready to jump into the movement. Although I am not wild about the sometimes hostile tone of the piece and my inner niggler hates the lack of good editing, if you read through the lists, you will definitely see how far along you are in the journey from the perspective of the small producer - it's eye-opening to walk a mile in her shoes, for sure!

Most importantly, don't become discouraged - as the Chinese saying goes, a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Just make sure the step is in the right direction, and that you keep on, even when the going gets rough.

Ingredients: Eggs

In Ann Arbor, we're lucky enough to have a "chicken ordinance" that says something along the lines of "if you don't keep a rooster and your neighbors aren't against it, you can keep chickens." As much as I'd like to try it, Katia (our soon-to-be-11-year-old) has nixed the idea, and I can't imagine how we're going to a) keep them warm through the winter and b) find them a babysitter if we go away on vacation.

But reading the egg options at a conventional grocery store is just asking for a headache. Conventional? Organic? Free Range? Cage-free? Omega-3 added? The list goes on seemingly forever, and the difference in price between "regular" and the others can be as much as $3 or even more. There is a vast amount of information about these labels (and a lot of others) available online, but a good summary can be found at the Humane Society website.

Besides coming from happier chickens-producers, pastured eggs have been shown to have greater health benefits for us, the consumers. The debate about the study results continues, but you can read the pro-pastured side on Mother Earth News.

To top it all off - pastured eggs taste better. A lot better.

Of course, there is a huge difference in price at the grocery store between "factory" eggs and those from free-range, organic-fed, etc. chickens. But much to my delight, I have discovered that a dozen pastured eggs from several farmers in our area (visit Two Creeks Organics to learn about their eggs and chicken CSA) costs a lot less than a dozen organic, free-range eggs from the grocery store, even a little less than those at Trader Joe's. And occasionally you can find CSAs that include eggs in their weekly box. Part of the fun of buying locally is that our kids have actually visited the Two Creeks Organics chickens and know exactly who is producing our omelets and frittatas!

As with all ingredients, you'll have to decide whether you want to pay more for pastured eggs, but my feeling is that I'd rather buy high-quality ingredients that are better for our health, better for the environment, and allow me to support our local food system.

And here's a fun visual aid for this discussion (be sure to watch to the end)!

 

Egg Cage Match! Local Cage Free Vs. Conventional Eggs from Big Wheel Provisions on Vimeo.