Happenings on the Ranch

In December, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would upgrade the ingredients in federally subsidized school meals and cut down on junk food in school vending machines.  The bill alotted an additional .06 per subsidized lunch (which doesn’t sound like a lot, but does go a long way when feeding in bulk).  It also bans whole milk and restricts fat and calories in student meals.

Now, the USDA has taken things one step further.  A new rule encourages schools to partner with nearby farms as a way to get more healthy, locally grown fruits and veggies into school lunches.  This rule encourages schools to bring in more “unprocessed locally grown and locally raised agricultural products” by letting the schools give local providers preference when they bid for school food contracts.

By “unprocessed” the department means it’s okay to chill or freeze, peel and slice, cold pasteurize, butcher, or dehydrate the food. But cooking it or adding a bunch of preservatives is discouraged.  The definition of “local” is a bit more flexible, since the USDA defines local as anything produced within 400 miles, but it’s a good start.

Of course, there are always nay-sayers.  Jennifer Grossman, senior VP at the Dole Nutrition Institute, says she likes the administration’s efforts to encourage better school nutrition, but schools have bigger problems.

“For schools that are really very pressed on those dollars, I think that they need to be able to have access to affordable choices and sometimes those won’t be grown locally… Bananas don’t grow in Michigan,” she says.

That may be true, but not necessarily accurate.  Our school district, Raymore-Peculiar Unified, was proud to announce last year the child nutrition deparment is purchasing many fruits and vegetables from local producers east of us in Windsor, MO.  Many of the producers are Amish families.  This is a way for the district to provide the “best products and freshest produce while reducing costs.”  The district has purchased watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, onions, peppers and cucumbers and had saved over $800 within the first few months.  So what if it didn’t include bananas?  Of course, Dole is the largest seller of bananas in the country, so we know where their concerns really lie.

RayPec School District using fresh, local produce at lunch

We are encouraged by the new law which falls in line with many more porgrams that have been encouraging districts to feed our children better foods.  Celebrity Chef Jaime Oliver has been campaigning for better school lunches on his show, Food Revolution.  He was shot down by the LA School District, but that’s not deterring him.  And, of course, Farm to School has been connecting local farms and schools for years.  Hopefully this new law will help get better foods into our schools and help support local farmers in the process!

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.

Frank Barrie does.  He’s the owner/operator/blogger/editor/book reviewer extraordinaire for KnowWhereYourFoodComesFrom.com.  I was introduced to the site by a simple email from Frank informing me they had included our farm in their directory of CSAs and asking I check it for accuracy.  When I did I was surprised to see how comprehensive the site is and wanted to know more.

I emailed Frank to make a correction to our listing (which he immediately did) and to find out more about their organization.  Turns out, it’s really just Frank with a few design folks and some contributors who help do reviews for farm-to-table restaurants – a gig I wouldn’t mind having.  I asked him what motivated him to start the site.

“I’ve had a vegetable garden for 30+ years and have been a member of my local food coop for 10+.  I was working in the produce dept. at the Honest Weight Food coop (love the name) unpacking “organic” garlic from China and thought how nutty – so easy to grow in a home garden or on a local farm. (The local garlic crop sells out in my hometown area-Albany in upstate NY-That’s why the coop was purchasing organic garlic from China.)

I also work in the bulk foods department of the co-op and take great interest in seeing where the grains and nuts and flours, etc. etc. are coming from.  AND Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma hit me to my core. What an important book.”

Frank says he is enjoying developing the site and it shows.  He’s got everything from gardening tips to food news, book and film reviews to recipes.  He’s also compiling a very comprehensive directory of where to find just about everything  that promotes local, sustainable, organic agriculture: farm-to-table restaurants, CSAs, farmer’s markets, co-ops, and local producers of meats, eggs, honeys and more.

I applaud Frank for taking on this task, especially pretty much on his own.  I know from experience how much time is involved in just keeping a website updated much less what it takes to continually add fresh content and provide the type of directories he is giving us.

If you get a chance, check out the KnowWhereYourFoodComesFrom website.  I’m sure you’ll be as impressed as I am.