Happenings on the Ranch

I’ve been watching a fair bit more t.v. lately than usual.  This is the time of year when I actually have some time to do so.   I love watching food-related shows and can generally find something on Food Network worth watching.  What I saw Sunday night was an eye-opener, even for a know-it-all like me.

The show was “The Big Waste.”  The premise was to take four big-named chefs – Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Alex Guarnaschelli and Anne Burrell – and charge them with making a gourmet multi-course meal for one hundred people using nothing but FOOD WASTE.

According to Wikipedia, Food Waste is defined as “food that is discarded or lost uneaten.”  As of 2011, 1.3 billion tons of food, about 33% of the global food production, was lost or wasted annually in all stages of the food supply chain.  Folks, that’s over 2 TRILLION pounds of food.  It’s hard to fathom.

Like me, I think most folks figure the majority of this waste is comprised of what we throw away after we’ve cooked or prepared it.  Telling kids to “clean their plate” is an old mantra.  “There are starving kids in …” whatever part of the world is another one.  While this may be true, much of that food waste happens well before the food even gets to our plate and, often, before it gets to the store.

As a sustainable farm that uses no pesticides or herbicides we rarely have much “store perfect” produce.  Bumps, cracks, bruises, etc. are all part of what we sell. Some customers come to our stands and dig for what they think is the perfect tomato, cucumber or squash.  Most of our customers don’t mind that our produce is sometimes a little ugly because it tastes so darn good.

This is not the case in most instances.  Grocery stores will only accept what is considered “Number 1 Grade” produce for their stores because that’s all most customers will buy.  No cracks, no bruises, no blemishes, perfectly symetrical, perfectly colored.  As Chef Guarnaschelli said during the program, “We’ve trained the consumer to look for visual perfection.”  But how much produce actually looks like that when it comes out of the field?  And what happens to all that food that’s not perfect, gets bruised in delivery, or may be slightly wilted?  Trash.  One of the you-pick farms Chef Flay visited stated they had 40 to 50% waste in their orchards and fields, simply because the fruit or vegetable looked less than “perfect.”  40 to 50%???  That’s an enormous number for any farm.  On our farm that would equate to probably 10,000 pounds of produce, and we’ve only been operating on 5 acres.  Imagine what that translates to on a farm of 80 acres – or 800 acres!

Even I didn’t realize how bad this problem is.  You really need to see the show in order to understand what mounds and mounds of wasted food really looks like.  Beautiful tomatoes, crisp cabbage, fresh fish, heritage chicken, eggs that were the wrong size or shape … all bound for the garbage or, if lucky, a compost pile.  It’s sad, disgusting and discouraging.  All in the name of “perfection.”

These four chefs managed to make fantastic meals out of nothing but unwanted food.  Meals that three notoriously tough food critics and a host of chefs and patrons were praising.  From “garbage.”

What can you do to help save some of this food from the garbage or compost pile?  First, shop your local farmers market or go directly to the local farm.  Tell them you’re willing to buy their “seconds” or “culls.”  There is nothing wrong with these items; they are still fresh and tasty.  They just don’t have the prisitine appearance we’ve been trained to look for as consumers and most of it will be chopped up anyway when you prepare your meal.  More than likely, since there is very little demand for these items, the grower will charge you less for these items.  You’re saving this food from the garbage and you’re also helping the farmer earn back a little bit more on their investment.  And, if you buy it in bulk and preserve what you don’t eat right away (either through canning, freezing or dehydrating) you’ll be saving yourself even more money in the winter months.

Second, find uses for more parts of what makes up your meal.  Ask the butcher what do to with end-cut beef short ribs or pork trotters.  Adventurous?  Go even further and find a use for heart or tongue, even if it’s just to flavor stock or stew.  Use more of what’s in season to create your meals.  Farmers will generally have periods where they have a large amount of one crop for several weeks so more of this is likely to get wasted if customers don’t buy a lot at once.  Again, buy more than you need right now and preserve the rest for later.

Proponents of genetically engineered foods (like Monsanto and Pioneer Dow) claim we can’t feed the world without the help of GMOs or chemical pesticides and herbicides.  I disagree.  If we can save billions of tons (trillions of pounds) of food from being wasted there will be much more left for those that can’t produce their own.  If the “food police” would get out of the way, much more food could be donated to shelters and food banks instead of ending up in the garbage.

It means standing up and being heard.  Use your food dollars to send a message … we don’t need our food to look pretty.  It needs to be healthy and flavorful.  Remember the generations that came before us and what they’ve known for decades.  Waste not, want not.

~Karin

I must sound a bit like an infomercial at this point …

“Yes, you too can save money with this amazing product!  Don’t just save money, save the environment!  But you must call now!”

Really, though, it’s all true (except the “call now” part).  The more yard area you devote to growing your own fruits and veggies, the more money you will save and the less of an impact you will make on the environment.

Saving Green.  It’s no secret that prices in the grocery have continued to skyrocket the past few years.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are the hardest hit because they are affected by weather conditions, water shortages, fuel prices and infestations when processed foods aren’t.  So why not grow your own?  It doesn’t take much room to grow most of what you need to feed your family.  Leafy greens, radishes, carrots, and even potatoes can all be grown in small spaces.  Even vining or bushing-type plants, like cucumbers and green beans, and fruits, like strawberries and blueberries, can be grown in containers.  With a little bit of planning, everyone can have a garden.

Growing Green.  How does this help the environment?  Less grass means less time spent mowing.  That translates into less gasoline or electricity being used by your mower.  You also avoid some of the fossil fuels used to ship foods to your local grocery store.  Plus, growing your own can make you really appreciate the taste difference in foods that are picked at the peak of ripeness which may make you more prone to shop at farmer’s markets.  This will further cut down on your carbon footprint by supporting local farmers whose products usually travel less than 150 miles to get to market.

And nevermind the pesticides and herbicides.  You’ll have more control over your small garden and won’t have to resort to chemicals to control bugs and weeds.  All the better for the environment and your health!

Living Green.  Having a garden may also encourage you to make more changes in your life that are environmentally friendly.  You may need to purchase soil to start your beds, but you’ll quickly realize that composting your table scraps and dead weeds is a great, cheap, carbon-free way to maintain that soil.  Then, you may add a rain barrel to collect water from your roof to water your plants, relying less on city pumped water and helping conserve.  You may decide to buy some pre-started plants which are always best when purchased from local suppliers because you know they’ll do well in your climate.  And maybe you’ll even start your own seedlings, using recycled materials, or save some of those seeds from heirloom varieties you choose to grow!  One little garden could lead to several lifestyle changes that make a big impact.

So, how do you do it?  Here are a few tips from Scott Belan, program information coordinator for climate change at the Nature Conservancy.

1. Make a plan. A good vegetable garden usually starts in the cold of winter, on a piece of graph paper or a design program. This will help you put things in the right place the first time around.

2. Start small. It’s easy to get overwhelmed, so start with one or two beds, perhaps herbs and lettuce. Grow your garden by adding a couple of new beds every year.

3. Check out your farmers’ market. If you have a farmers’ market near you, spring is a great time to pick up bedding plants, herbs and that most valuable commodity of all: advice from people who know what they are doing!

So, grow, Grow, GROW!  It’s good for you, it’s good for your wallet, and it’s good for the environment. 

I have just had it with the mainstream “organic” and “natural” movement.  What started as a grass-roots effort for people to live healthier lives while rejecting the constant pollution of our soil, air and water with chemicals and monster seeds has now, obviously, turned into nothing but a hypocrital money maker.  I will henceforth be boycotting Whole Foods, Stonyfield Farm, Organic Valley, all their sub-companies and any other two-faced, money-hungry, “natural” company I see.

Let me take a step back for a moment.  This rant of mine has been prompted, once again, by Monsanto and their GMO monstrosities.  Organic dairies and farmers have been fighting to keep another in a long line of Roundup Ready seeds out of the market.  This time it’s alfalfa.  Anybody heard of an alfalfa shortage?  Anybody hear any farmers complaining of too many weeds and too little yield from their alfalfa fields?  No?  Me neither.  But the chemical giant decided years ago they wanted to add another seed to their long line of genetically engineered, herbicide resistent, superweed-creating GMOs by producing Roundup Ready alfalfa.

Obviously, organic farmers and dairy producers don’t want this.  We’ve had enough problems of cross contamination of fields from Monsanto planted farms.  For years we’ve been fighting to keep these crops from contaminating organic produce and feed crops.  For a while I thought we had an ally in Whole Foods and some other major organic companies.  I know Whole Foods has plenty of downfalls … why would I buy organic garlic from China or organic tomatoes from Chile when local producers can grow it?  Besides, I rarely by vegetables out of season or that’s been shipped in.  And many of their supposedly “natural” products are produced from GMO crops.  But WF does have a good selection of other non-edible organic goods and by shopping carefully and paying close attention I could get the things I needed and support local (or at least U.S.) farmers while still occasionally treating myself to some off-season organic produce.

I hereby withdraw my support for Whole Foods after seeing they have now surrendered to Monsanto.  Two days before WFs blog post announcing this, the CEO of Organic Valley publically caved in on their website.  Two days before that, the CEO of Stonyfield Organic did the same thing.

They all say it in a roundabout, thinly veiled attempt to make it look like they are fighting against GMOs.  All three companies basically state that the only choices we have are to either allow the complete deregulation of genetically engineered seeds or to find a way to co-exist.  All three companies have decided we should opt to co-exist, as the lesser evil to allowing full deregulation.  Excuse me?  What about a third option of complete and total regulation of GE seeds, research (real research) into the effects of GMO foods, and real punishments for contamination of organic and non-GMO crops?  How about some truth in labeling?  If you’re using GMO crops to create my “all natural” cereal or granola bars, I want to know.  Nope, the organic elite don’t think that’s an option.  Better to lay down with the devil to “co-exist” than to use your significant market power to battle against them instead.

Sorry, guys.  I have a better option.  I’ll continue to grow my own food, buy from local producers whose sources I can verify, eat with the seasons and leave your Frankenstein crops blowing in the tainted wind.  I will no longer support your stores or your products.  I will make my own, find my own or do without.