The Ethicurean: Chew the right thing. » Digest

Farming groups resort to Machiavellian defense of indefensible practices

Ethicurean — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:10:38 +0000

Spin-dustrial ag: Two dozen of the nation's largest and best-funded farm groups have formed a coalition to counter poor publicity, reports the AP (LAtimes.com). What are they mad about? "Videos that show male chicks being put into grinders, egg-laying hens in battery cages and the mistreatment of hogs in large confinement operations," -- you know, evidence of industrial farming's everyday practices. (It's all about the) money quote:

Joe Cornely, a spokesman for the Ohio Farm Bureau, said the alliance may help create more realistic expectations among consumers. "So often people advocate for a utopian world and it's not doable," Cornely said. "Feeding the world requires us to kick up some dirt and create a few odors. That is just a reality of producing food and fiber that may not fit in with the utopian vision. The vast majority of people are reasonable people, they just need to know that you can't have the perfect world."

Bullshit-calling fact check: Aside from their moral and ethical depredations, American meat and poultry production depend on highly inefficient and unsustainable method of feeding resource-intensive grain to animals, which cannot possibly be scaled up to "feed the world."

Meet Roll International, the biggest dastardly agribiz mega-corps you’ve never heard of

Ethicurean — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 22:56:27 +0000

Pom not-so-wonderful at all: John Gibler's epic, top-notch feature on Roll International – "or, as their website proclaims: 'the largest
privately held company you’ve never heard of,' owner of Paramount Farming, the largest grower and processor of almonds and
pistachios in the world; Paramount Citrus; Fiji Water; Suterra, a
pesticide brand; Teleflora; PomWonderful; and the Neptune Pacific Line, a
global shipping company -- is a must-read. Gibler details how thanks to Roll owners Stewart and Lynda Resnick, farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley "have effectively had their water privatized. Their communities have been left out of the major water projects. The groundwater basins have been depleted and contaminated by pesticides and nitrates from the very agribusinesses that employ them. Little to no state funding makes it to their local water systems, leaving them to buy bottled water at the store or from a vending machine." (Earth Island Institute)

Chicago drugstores begin selling fresh food

Ethicurean — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 03:23:27 +0000

Rx for health: Chicago-area Walgreens have begun selling "an expanded selection of food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, at 10 locations selected because they were in food deserts." Turns out that drugstores are one of the few chain businesses operating in the low-income areas that lack access to fresh food. And since they're already there, they don't have much to lose by adding a few items, even ones that might spoil. Walgreens says the experiment is going well enough that other neighborhoods have begun asking their stores when the food is coming. (New York Times)

Farmers caught lying about produce origins and pesticide-free-ness

Ethicurean — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 22:12:08 +0000

Rotten tomatoes: It had to happen. With demand for SOLE food surging, and farmers able to charge a premium for it, it's no surprise that some unscrupulous characters would see an opportunity to make a quick buck without getting their hands dirty. An NBCLA undercover investigation caught farmers at markets in Los Angeles markets lying about whether they grew produce that they bought wholesale, and whether it in fact was pesticide free. (MSNBC.com) What really makes this worrying is that one of the appeals of buying directly from farmers is that you can look them in the eye. Ones who can blithely lie to your face about their practices will have a chilling effect on all farmers trying to do the right thing.

“Wise Guyer”: MA state rep plans CDC with agricultural focus

Ali — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:20:37 +0000

Denis Guyer, a state representative from Western Massachusetts (2nd Berkshire District) plans a community development corporation (CDC) that will foster "agrepreneurs." The proposed mixed-use space would include a combination of affordable housing, a cooperative food processing facility, retail space for that food, CSA restaurant and a winter farmers' market. iBerkshires.com.

Hey USDA & DoJ: Ranchers want more competition in the cattle industry

Ethicurean — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:52:23 +0000

Big hats carrying small sticks: The CEO of R-Calf, which represents cattle raisers, has been criss-crossing the country, exhorting people to get to Fort Collins, Colorado, on Aug. 27th for a federal-level workshop about competition in the cattle industry. He wants 25,000 to show up and "send a message to the Dept. of Agriculture and Dept. of Justice. That message: More competition in the cattle industry." The government needs to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921, he says, and do something about the market-changing consolidation. Buses are being chartered from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and
Nebraska; and carpools and vanpools are
coming from as far away as Washington state. Stampede! (NewWest.Net)

Even fishermen suspicious of Gulf shrimp

Ethicurean — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:10:36 +0000

Po' po-boys: Monday marked the opening of shrimp season in Louisiana. Federal officials say Gulf seafood safe to eat, but shrimpers themselves are dubious, reports the Washington Post. Some worry that the government's testing -- which has yet to turn up a tainted sample from the BP oil spill -- is inadequate, and that if any seafood diners get sick from oil-tainted scampi, that's the death knell for their industry. Disturbingly, the "sniff tests" are followed by chemical ones for oil; "there is no chemical test for dispersants." (Washington Post) As much as we want to support Gulf fishers, this information gives us pause.

San Francisco set to approve zoning changes for backyard farming for cash

Ethicurean — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:33:14 +0000

Summer of urban-ag love: The Bay Area is known as a bastion of urban farming and the local food movement, but "laws governing land use are
still stuck in another era, one that frowned on farming in the city,
especially in residential areas," reports Zusha Elinson. When Little City Gardens ran into trouble with neighbors, it decided to fight instead of pay the $3,000 for a conditional-use permit. Now, San Francisco is set to roll out significant changes in zoning code this fall, following cities like Detroit, Kansas City, Mo., and Seattle, which will let city farmers sell their produce. Money quote: “It’s actually easier in Berkeley to have a pot collective than to have a vegetable collective,” says one urban farmer. (The Bay Citizen - NYTimes.com)

Foraging restaurant and suppliers adapt to new rules

Ethicurean — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:05:41 +0000

Forage gleans a new strategy: When Forage restaurant opened in Los Angeles's Silver Lake neighborhood, they used produce from customers' backyards to supplement their normal produce purchases, paying for the backyard produce with food or drink from the restaurant and often noting the donor's name on the menu ("Judy's lemonade", "Jim's tangerine sorbet"). It worked great for a while -- with one Sunday seeing 300 pounds of produce arrive -- but before long the county health department took notice and informed Forage that 'unapproved sources' like backyard produce were not acceptable. This knocked out Forage's informal sourcing policy, but there is a silver lining to this Silver Lake tale. A state program administered by the Los Angeles County agricultural commission allows home growers to get a Certified Producer's Certificate by paying a small fee and undergoing an inspection (this is the process followed by sellers at certified farmers markets). Five contributors have gone through the process already and five more are expected soon. While going through the licensing process, one of the growers has realized that because he and his wife can grow exotic produce that is unavailable from other suppliers and highly desired by restaurants, their backyard might become a serious source of income. For example, they might start growing loroco, a flower used as a flavoring element in pupusas and currently only available frozen, for a neighborhood Salvadoran restaurant. (The Atlantic; and earlier, pre-business permit coverage in the Los Angeles Times)

Corrected, 8/7/10: In the original version, the Ethicurean mistakenly convoluted two pieces of government regulation in the Atlantic article, incorrectly stating that the Food and Flowers Freedom Act is related to the Certified Producer's Certificate used by some of Forage's suppliers. This has been corrected above.

Richmond has a farmers market on wheels

Ethicurean — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:29:47 +0000

The meals on the bus go round and round: In Richmond, Virginia, Mark Lilly has transformed a 1987 diesel school bus into a mobile produce market called Farm to Family, which also has a CSA program. The interior is really cool looking -- what a great idea for recycling an old vehicle. (Blog on Interior Design)