Locavore News – World by Elbert van Donkersgoed

Author: Katie Rabinowicz

Posted: January 7, 2010

Categories: Food in the News / News from Sustain Ontario

January 6, 2010

The Decade in Business

What do you call these last 10 years: Were they the two-thousands? The ohs?  Maybe the aughts? Regardless, it was, I think, the Decade of Good Business—the one where corporations suddenly cared about social responsibility—or some did. It’s also the Decade Where You Got Sick of the Word Green. It’s when some big businesses realized they could use their influence to do great things and when others were exposed for simply acting the part. It’s when “Buy American” shifted to “locavore” and when “recycling” became “upcycling.” Whatever they were called, they certainly left their mark. Here are some cardinal moments. Joe Ippolito writing on GOOD.s/Diary of a Social Media Start-Up.

Project Locavore: “I paint farmers because I like to eat”

KrisCan explores the relationship between Peak Oil and food security & eating locally. With James Howard Kunstler, Nate Darrow & Matt Anderson, people confronting this issue through their livelihoods. Video.

Eat’n Park’s director of sustainability passionately connects farms and forks

As Time magazine said in August: “So what will it take for sustainable food production to spread? … scaling up must begin with … scaling down — a distributed system of many local or regional food producers, as opposed to just a few massive ones.” Lauren Smith, development director of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture: “Of course I know him very well, have for years. Eat’n Park, look how far they’ve come, and to have had that insight. To have an industry leader touting farmers on the menu? People are really starting to sit up and take notice. It comes down to who the people are. He is a chef. He knows food. He is very compassionate. He is a committed individual. He has such a grace about him. A respectful manner. There’s sort of a natural leadership. A real gift of understanding. Pittsburgh Post Gazette story.

Local author suggests becoming a ‘Locavore’

While most people are making resolutions to eat less and exercise more, local author Amy Cotler is urging people to add one more resolution to their list: Become a “locavore.” She says the trick to eating locally produced food is eating seasonally — during the natural growing season — and eating plenty of it. Cotler’s book, “The Locavore Way: Discover and Enjoy the Pleasure of Locally Grown Food,” retails for $12.95. Bennington Banner (Vermont) story.

The year of eating locally

For Kristofer and Joanne Young, organizing a New Year’s Day potluck at their Ojai home isn’t so much a matter of guessing who’s coming to dinner as figuring out how many will show up. On the guest list: anyone who made it across the 365th-day finish line for Eat Local One Year, the local-foods project the Youngs kicked off with a similar gathering on Jan. 1, 2009. “We started with 21 people and there are nine of us completing the project, although I’m still waiting for an RSVP from one of them,” said Kristofer Young. “That’s pretty good, considering the commitment it takes to completely change the way you eat.” Ventura County Star (California) story

Rare Breeds, Frozen in Time

“These animals lend themselves well to the locavore movement,” Mr. Borden said. “They don’t need a lot of attention. They do well on small pastures, and require no grain.” IT didn’t take long for Chip, a Tennessee fainting goat sporting a luxuriant Vandyke beard and an impressive pair of curlicue horns, to live up to his breed’s name. When Peter Borden, accompanied by a stranger, entered the immaculate stable that Chip calls home, the goat pressed his velvety nose through the bars of his stall, begging for a scratch. But at the visitor’s approach, Chip apparently had second thoughts. His left foreleg stiffened, his brown eyes went glassy and he began to list to one side. New York Times story.

Salad days of winter

Eating a salad of fresh greens topped with wedges of gas-ripened tomatoes in winter means wracking up food miles, increasing your meal’s carbon footprint and usually disappointing the palate. Fortunately, there are delicious solutions to this locavore’s dilemma. Instead of doing without salad in winter, we just need to redefine it. According to the culinary encyclopaedia, Larousse Gastronomique, a salad is, “a dish of raw, cold or warm cooked foods, usually dressed and seasoned, served as an appetizer, side dish or main course.” That definition certainly provides ample room for experimentation, and addresses the “salad in winter” problem. Here are a few suggestions to whet your appetite. Albany Times Union (NY) story.

Research and Action Priorities for Linking Public Health, Food Systems, and Sustainable Agriculture: Recommendations from the Airlie Conference

One hundred leading researchers, practitioners, and advocates in public health, health care, nutrition, obesity, economics, sustainable agriculture, and food systems met at the Airlie Conference Center in April 2009 to discuss creating linkages among food systems, public health, and sustainable agriculture in order to achieve healthier diets, healthier communities, and a healthier planet. Participants convened in small groups to explore and discuss research that is needed to create a health-based and sustainable food system. The discussion and key recommendations from the small breakout sessions are presented. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition article.

Why are (some) farmers afraid of Michael Pollan?

Author Michael Pollan is no stranger to controversy. He has broadened the discussion of what we eat, where and how it is grown, big vs. small, organic farming vs. conventional. When he speaks some in the audience will love him, some will not. Advocates of large scale agriculture see Pollan as the enemy, they believe he stands against everything they see as the future of agriculture. Pollan however is not an absolutist, his basic premise is that people need to think more about their food; where it was grown, how it was grown, was the farmer paid fairly, is it good for you? Pollan wants people to think about cooking, about food freshness and flavor, about the dinner table as more than a “filling station.” Grist article.

Colleges: Less Green in the Bank, More Green on Campus

Despite budget-breaking investment losses and widely fluctuating energy costs, many schools became greener during the last year, earning higher grades on the College Sustainability Report Card 2010. The annual publication provides school profiles and grades along with exclusive insights about sustainability in higher education. The Food & Recycling category examines dining services policies for responsible food procurement, as well as schools’ waste management practices. Points are given based on the quantity and availability of organic and sustainably produced food, as well as locally grown food, taking into account geographic region. The College Sustainability Report Card on the GreenReportCard.org website.

AND if You Have Time

Midtown Lunch 2009 in One Gigantic Photo

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, we always end the year with a gigantic photo of every lunch consumed in Midtown that year. Once again I can’t decide whether or not to be proud or ashamed…. but one thing is for sure, the photo is much larger than last year. (As is my gut.) Midtown Lunch photo. (Finding Lunch in the Food Wasteland of Midtown, Manhattan)