The idea of eating meat grown in a lab is admittedly unappetizing. For many, this is an unfortunate step beyond the genetically mutated animals currently waiting to be approved for use in retail foods. But for me, it’s a welcome alternative to our current industrial meat system. Test tube meat may not be so far-fetched, according to the above article, and it offers a great way to meet the current demand for meat while using less land, less oil, and less plant matter, and generating a lot less pollution.

I’m happy to see that the Dutch scientist working on this new laboratory meat is aware of what his research could do for the planet and for our energy crisis, though I’m surprised no companies have offered to fund his work. That suggests to me that test-tube meat that is clearly labeled would be harder to sell than genetically modified, factory farmed meat that is not. In other words, it’s easier to keep something hidden than it is to cast the truth in a positive light. It doesn’t take a marketing genius to figure that out, I suppose. But it also means that the truth is not, on its own, very appealing.

If you find it strange that I support such an unnatural form of production when everything else I promote is wholly natural, consider this: Searching for ways to increase meat production to meet the rising demand for meat is like looking for ways to collect more oil to meet greater demands for energy. It makes sense, from an economical standpoint, but we all know that oil is not a renewable resource and that supplies are starting to dwindle. We simply can’t keep trying to squeeze more oil out of the planet — we have to look for alternative forms of energy. In the same way, the ideal solution for balancing meat production with our planet’s limited space and resources would be to just stop eating meat or cut back on consumption substantially. (It would certainly help our obesity problem.) But, since that is not the popular opinion, let’s put out test-tube meat — a way for everyone to eat as much meat as they want with far fewer negative consequences.

Monterey Farms Mushroom Loaf
by Dandelion CommuniTEA Café

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
3/4 cup chopped cashews
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup Marsala cooking wine
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Vegan gravy, for serving

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan; cook onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, mushrooms, cashews and walnuts; cook, stirring often, adding oil as needed to keep mixture from burning. Add sorghum flour, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add Marsala, lemon juice, arrowroot, dried thyme, salt and rosemary. Cook until thick, about 2 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.

Press into a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve with gravy.

One of them, MeatMythCrushers.com, deliberately offers references to make itself more credible. So far, though, following these references does not leave me overly confident. I found that one source was a study sponsored by state beef councils, hardly an unbiased viewpoint. Another study had been unfairly simplified to fit the point the author was trying to make. I plan on looking deeper into these sites, but I remain convinced that our current food system is NOT sustainable and will NOT remain in its current state for much longer.

Years from now, the industry will probably claim that they were right after all, because they will still be around, still providing much of the world’s food. And yet, I’ve no doubt that much will have changed and evolved by then. Just because the same players are around doesn’t mean they’re playing the same game!

Of course, I can see the other side as well. Based on everything I know, many owners of commercial egg-laying operations have a lot of debt and struggle to meet quotas set by the companies who distribute their eggs. More space and more luxuries for the birds means more money for the poultry-producers, which I think will be a major sticking point. Nevertheless, I’m hopeful that we’ll see the federal government take a more active role in our country’s food production.

You can read more details in this LA Times article.

Changing the way we eat is more than just being healthy and reducing pollution — it’s an opportunity to build community. We just watched a presentation by Stephen Ritz at the TEDx Manhattan conference “Changing the Way We Eat,” and it’s incredibly hard to remember and describe everything he is doing, but he gave me chills of excitement. He possesses more energy than a class full of sixth graders, which is exactly what he teaches — in the Bronx, the poorest congressional district in the country.

Every day, Stephen faces children who don’t know vegetables come from the ground, whose parents are unemployed, who face a bleak future in our current economy. But he does an amazing thing: He turns these kids into urban farmers. Working with them, he builds wall gardens, starts community gardens, installs roof gardens, and creates and supports programs that bring greater fresh food accessibility to the Bronx.

Stephen Ritz has been recognized by lots of people in New York, but I think he is just starting to shine throughout the country as proof of what is possible and exactly what is lacking in our current food system.

I really hate to say that his TED talk is not currently available online, but as soon as it is, I will share it. Until then, Google “Stephen Ritz Bronx” and you’ll find lots of information about his organization, The Green Bronx Machine, and his many efforts in and around the Bronx.

Help fill in those gaps by signing up for free and contributing. You can add a restaurant or a producer, or you can post photos. Real Time Farms is set up very nicely to make connections for us, linking both ends of the food chain. If you eat food, you should really be interested in this.

This is a great idea for someone who is only renting, or someone who owns but doesn’t have much land. It would also be great in an office window. It’s basically just a miniature hydroponic system, which means it’s pretty much maintenance free once you set it up. I think I’m gong to try building one to put in my office…

You can find the plans for two different systems here: Build your own system.

On this coming Saturday, January 21, Laura and I will be attending a free web conference at the Winter Park Welcome Center. We will be watching a live video feed from a TEDx conference in Manhattan called “Changing the Way We Eat.” The lineup of speakers is impressive and should prove to be both eye-opening and reassuring.

Respect for food really is about changing the way we eat, because our current culture and infrastructure are focused on quantity over quality and cost over authenticity. In other words, industrial food is impersonal. It completely lacks context — where it came from, how it was grown, who grew it — and for this reason, it’s completely disrespectful, not just to the plants and animals who produced the food, but to ourselves, humans who are part of and quite dependent on the process of food production.

Hopefully, we’ll bring back some good notes from the web conference and be able to share some great resources.

For those not familiar with TED, it is a non-profit dedicated to spreading good ideas. No, really, that’s what they do. They organize conferences with lots of smart, passionate speakers based on a theme. The conferences became so popular, people started organizing them independent of TED, and they call them TEDx conferences.

Happy meat isn’t just about animal welfare; it’s also about human welfare. I’m talking about community, human interaction, accountability — the difference between anonymity and personality. When I try to find out who raised the animals that provided my meat, I want to see this:

The owners and representatives of Deep Roots Meat

What I don’t particularly want to see is this:

The representative for Jimmy Dean

One of these looks like a good cattle rancher, experienced in animal husbandry, well-versed in the habits and needs of the herd, a good steward for the environment. One of these looks like a cheap distraction.

We recently bought some Deep Roots Meat sausage from Homegrown Co-Op and immediately shelved it in the freezer. As is usual for local, pastured meat, it was painfully expensive, but we are always comforted by the knowledge that we will be able to make it last a long time. I first tried the sausage as an accompaniment to pierogi casserole, a specialty that Laura adapted from her grandmother’s genuine Polish pierogi. (She layers lasagna noodles with mashed potatoes, mushrooms, spinach and sauteed onions — a perfect accompaniment to sausage, I believe.) Although the sausage tastes wonderful, and has a great consistency, I think it would be more appropriate with breakfast. It just didn’t have that earthy taste of fennel that makes a good dinner great.

You can order many cuts of meat and different types of sausage from Deep Roots Meat through the Homegrown Co-Op, either online or in the store. To find out lots more about Deep Roots Meat, visit their website: http://www.deeprootsmeat.com/.