Sustainability: It's A Lot More Than Meat & Potatoes
http://www.montereypeninsula.org/articles/39/1/Sustainability-It039s-A-Lot-More-Than-Meat-amp-Potatoes/Page1.html
James Raia
James Raia has been writing about the Monterey Peninsula for more than 20 years. He's also editor and publisher of the web sites:ByJamesRaia.com
GolfTribune.com
MontereyPeninsula.org
TheWeeklyDriver.com
By James Raia
Published on 06/3/2007
Cooking Solutions
2007, an outgrowth of the Seafood Watch program ochestrated by the
Monterey Bay Aquarium, was held in mid-May, and featured the
sponsorship of Bon Appetit Management Company, Whole Foods, Inc.,
Earthbound Farm and many additional restaurants, wineries and other
food product companies concerned about sustainability and organics.
The goal of the yearly three-day conference, according to program literature, is "to raise consumer awareness about the connection between individual seafood choices and the health of ocean ecosystems; and to transform the seafood market so that it favors sustainable fisheries and fish farming.
As a newcomer to organics and sustainability, I wrote this essay following the conference. It details my childhood raised in a family where good food ruled, but also at a time when sustainability and organics weren't yet in the public consciousness.
Cooking Solutions
2007, an outgrowth of the Seafood Watch program ochestrated by the
Monterey Bay Aquarium, was held in mid-May, and featured the
sponsorship of Bon Appetit Management Company, Whole Foods, Inc.,
Earthbound Farm and many additional restaurants, wineries and other
food product companies concerned about sustainability and organics.The goal of the yearly three-day conference, according to program literature, is "to raise consumer awareness about the connection between individual seafood choices and the health of ocean ecosystems; and to transform the seafood market so that it favors sustainable fisheries and fish farming.
As a newcomer to organics and sustainability, I wrote this essay following the conference. It details my childhood raised in a family where good food ruled, but also at a time when sustainability and organics weren't yet in the public consciousness.
More than childhood baseball with my father as coach, home-cooked meals are what I remember most about my youth.
My parents enjoyed preparing and eating food with our family of four. My mother is of German heritage, my father Sicilian. Through the years, that meant the cuisine in our home ranged from Pasta Fasul (white bean with spaghetti) to Rouladen (bacon rolled inside red meat slices).
My mother was (and still is at nearly age 80), as good a cook as any renowned chef. My father learned along the way during their 42-year marriage.
"What would you like to have for dinner?" my mother often asked when we were sick, celebrating birthdays or visiting from college. (Even today, she still treats us to "comfort food.")
The term comfort food wasn't commonly used, but that's what the occurrences were — family visits centered around the comforts of home-cooked food.
One of my favorite meals was "steak, potatoes and salad." That usually meant marinated flank steak, baked russet potatoes and a green salad of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions seasoned with olive oil and vinegar (we never used bottled dressing.) And there were other favorites, all made from scratch — thick crust pizza with anchovies and fresh tomato sauce, minestrone, lasagna, pot roast with elbow noodles and gravy, corned beef and cabbage and macaroni and cheese. My family, friends and dinner guests always ate well.
A lot has changed. The issues of certified organics (food grown without artificial pesticides) and sustainability (food supplies that don't infringe on fragile ecosystems) weren't yet in the public consciousness the 1960s.
The health and environmental concerns of crops grown with artificial fertilizers, pesticides and processed with radiation, food additives wasn't news. Animals raised with antibiotics and growth hormones wasn't on the health radar, either.
These issues were addressed at the sustainable food conference, an outgrowth of the aquarium's Seafood Watch program (www.seafoodwatch.org). Among other advocacy efforts, organizers have distributed 22 million pocket guides in the past seven years. The wallet-sized guides, divided into seven regions of the country, help individuals, chefs, retailers and food service businesses choose seafood. The conference's wide-ranging expert speakers included representatives from WalMart to Whole Foods.
As a sustainable food novice, I sought out the advice of Dr. Gail Feenstra, a conference speaker and a food systems analyst at the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) based in Davis.
Feenstra and I spoke during a tour and media luncheon hosted by Earthbound Farm in Carmel Valley,
Myra and her husband Drew Goodman began Earthbound Farm on a 2 1/2-acre plot in Carmel Valley in 1984. By 1998, the business expanded to 5,800 acres of certified organic farmland, the largest in the United States. Last year, Earthbound Farm had grown to more than 26,000 acres, and it now offers more than 100 products.
"If I had friends over for dinner and wanted to be a person more concerned about sustainability, where do you suggest I start?," I asked Feenstra.
"I would say go to a farmers' market," she said. "That's an easy thing to do. You can get food there which is all local and probably organic. It wouldn't have to be the full meal. But the fresh fruits and vegetables could be your showcase. And try to go to the farmers' market the day of your meal.
"Tell the people you're having over for dinner that the produce is from a farmers' market. It might interest them. They might say, 'Gee, where is that farmers' market? I might want to do that.' "
Feenstra encourages sustainable community development that links farmers, communities and consumers. And she influenced me. I can't say I'm now dedicated to shopping organically or with sustainable ethics in mind. But I plan to incorporate some of what I learned when preparing a meal for future dinner guests.
My parents enjoyed preparing and eating food with our family of four. My mother is of German heritage, my father Sicilian. Through the years, that meant the cuisine in our home ranged from Pasta Fasul (white bean with spaghetti) to Rouladen (bacon rolled inside red meat slices).My mother was (and still is at nearly age 80), as good a cook as any renowned chef. My father learned along the way during their 42-year marriage.
"What would you like to have for dinner?" my mother often asked when we were sick, celebrating birthdays or visiting from college. (Even today, she still treats us to "comfort food.")
The term comfort food wasn't commonly used, but that's what the occurrences were — family visits centered around the comforts of home-cooked food.
One of my favorite meals was "steak, potatoes and salad." That usually meant marinated flank steak, baked russet potatoes and a green salad of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions seasoned with olive oil and vinegar (we never used bottled dressing.) And there were other favorites, all made from scratch — thick crust pizza with anchovies and fresh tomato sauce, minestrone, lasagna, pot roast with elbow noodles and gravy, corned beef and cabbage and macaroni and cheese. My family, friends and dinner guests always ate well.
A lot has changed. The issues of certified organics (food grown without artificial pesticides) and sustainability (food supplies that don't infringe on fragile ecosystems) weren't yet in the public consciousness the 1960s.
The health and environmental concerns of crops grown with artificial fertilizers, pesticides and processed with radiation, food additives wasn't news. Animals raised with antibiotics and growth hormones wasn't on the health radar, either.
These issues were addressed at the sustainable food conference, an outgrowth of the aquarium's Seafood Watch program (www.seafoodwatch.org). Among other advocacy efforts, organizers have distributed 22 million pocket guides in the past seven years. The wallet-sized guides, divided into seven regions of the country, help individuals, chefs, retailers and food service businesses choose seafood. The conference's wide-ranging expert speakers included representatives from WalMart to Whole Foods.
As a sustainable food novice, I sought out the advice of Dr. Gail Feenstra, a conference speaker and a food systems analyst at the University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP) based in Davis.Feenstra and I spoke during a tour and media luncheon hosted by Earthbound Farm in Carmel Valley,
Myra and her husband Drew Goodman began Earthbound Farm on a 2 1/2-acre plot in Carmel Valley in 1984. By 1998, the business expanded to 5,800 acres of certified organic farmland, the largest in the United States. Last year, Earthbound Farm had grown to more than 26,000 acres, and it now offers more than 100 products.
"If I had friends over for dinner and wanted to be a person more concerned about sustainability, where do you suggest I start?," I asked Feenstra.
"I would say go to a farmers' market," she said. "That's an easy thing to do. You can get food there which is all local and probably organic. It wouldn't have to be the full meal. But the fresh fruits and vegetables could be your showcase. And try to go to the farmers' market the day of your meal.
"Tell the people you're having over for dinner that the produce is from a farmers' market. It might interest them. They might say, 'Gee, where is that farmers' market? I might want to do that.' "
Feenstra encourages sustainable community development that links farmers, communities and consumers. And she influenced me. I can't say I'm now dedicated to shopping organically or with sustainable ethics in mind. But I plan to incorporate some of what I learned when preparing a meal for future dinner guests.