Just peachy

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to spend a few hours at the Crossroads farmers' market playing with fresh, local kale and peaches in a variation on my favorite massaged kale salad -- this time with a lovely honey vinaigrette. A steady stream of folks from eight-year-olds to eighty-year-olds scarfed samples as quickly as I could set them out. I love kids who love kale, even if none of us could definitively determine the Spanish word for my most favorite leafy green....

When I wasn't mangling the Spanish language during the cooking demonstration itself -- actually, we collectively decided on col rizada ("curly member of the cabbage family") for kale, and I only mixed up pepino (cucumber) and pimiento (pepper) a few times -- I had a great time listening to families, kids, and seniors happily chat with me about their favorite things to buy at the market and what they liked to cook at home. It made my heart smile. I've never seen such a successful connection of families in need with local farmers as I have at this market.

Crossroads is perhaps one of my favorite markets in the greater DC area, and it's really a pity that I don't make it out to this Wednesday afternoon gathering more often. It's especially great when Michelle and Michele -- Takoma Park's dynamic duo -- are in attendance, as they were yesterday. No, I promise it's not just because the women making pupusas are always trying to feed me and get me to drink their hibiscus tea. I always learn so much while I'm there about what a real community is all about, as well as important policy goings-on. (And, okay, fine, I may once again have left with a pannierful of beautiful, seasonal produce.)

During a brief lull in the bustling activity, Michelle clued me in on a very serious matter of food access currently on the government's chopping block: a pending $16.5 billion cut to SNAP -- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka food stamps) -- was recently proposed in the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill. Mind you, SNAP enrollment has gone up 70% since 2007, with roughly 1 in 8 Marylanders benefitting from the program, and a comparable number in DC. At a time when SNAP participation is at an all-time high, and the public health community is growing hoarse from shouting about the obesity epidemic and the need for more widespread healthy food choices, the House version of the Farm Bill up for debate would remove 2-3 million people from the program nationally and nearly 300,000 schoolchildren would lose their free meals. Because poor kids must learn better on an empty stomach? That will surely help break the cycle of poverty. Yes, this is just peachy....

Ugh! Who makes these decisions??

The Crossroads team was not about to take this blow to local food security sitting down. For the three hours I was at the market, I noticed many families bringing red construction paper cutouts of apples to the information table. Turns out they're part of a campaign to save critical food assistance, visuals that regular market patrons were filling out to illustrate the vast number of families that food stamps support with fresh fruits and vegetables. The "Paper Apple Campaign" asks Marylanders to draw or write their solution to hunger in Maryland. According to Maryland Hunger Solutions, "since launching in December 2011, more than 800 apples have been collected, coming from every county. In the past month alone, hundreds of apples with the message of “SNAP Works” have been collected. Apples are pouring in from senior citizens, service providers, kids, the faith community, advocates, and parents who have turned to SNAP to help feed their families." The apples collected at yesterday's Crossroads market were to be delivered to some key officials today, namely the district offices of Representatives Steny Hoyer and Chris Van Hollen.

Is this something we could replicate in other states (and non-states like DC)? I sure hope so....

Schooled by school children?

Last Wednesday marked the fifth Sustainable DC meeting since Mayor Gray gave his opening remarks at the inaugural gathering back in November. Session 5 was the first meeting to reconvene members of all 9 working groups for a larger sharing session on what we've been up to in our specific work areas. "Oh, boy," I mumbled to myself as lactic acid built up in my legs along the near endless uphill stretch of Tilden Street on my bike ride to UDC amid wind and sleet on Wednesday night, "another whah-whah-whah-whah, talkety-talk, official meeting where everyone blathers on in government speak and pretends to care about sustainability and then nobody actually does anything." And yet... as much as I dread these sorts of government-talking-and-little-action sorts of gatherings, I must say that I was surprised and impressed with what my peers -- a pretty good cross-section of DC citizens and advocates and, yes, a handful of city government officials -- had to say about what our city needs and ways we can get to a more sustainable way of living here in the nation's capital.

I know, I wouldn't have believed it had I not been sitting in the UDC auditorium myself.

There were some darn good goals and specific action items put forth by each of the working groups. After we heard each group's vision statement and their recommendations for the top 10 high impact changes needed in areas like water and waste management, food, nature, energy, green economies, and the built environment, DC residents circulated around a series of stations just outside of the auditorium -- each with a giant poster of possible goals and action items for a given topic -- and voted on overall priorities... using stickers, of which each attendee had exactly 25... just like we used to vote with in the 4th grade. (Only with less of an obvious black market sticker trade, perhaps.) Everyone had equal say -- democracy in action, for better or worse -- and it was fascinating to see how folks voted, which items outside of their own group's work garnered support. I can certainly say that I hadn't anticipated using so many stickers on transportation priorities, but that group had some excellent ideas.

Collectively, we voted for things like increasing double dollars at farmers' markets across the city (yeah, that got more than one of my stickers). Things like offering incentives to retrofit old buildings to be more energy efficient, requiring government agencies to source food locally, insisting that food businesses use biodegradable packaging. (Where am I, Portlandia?? It could happen.) Things like implementing a city-wide, 3-stream waste collection system to collect separated trash, recyclables, and compostables. Frankly, I am baffled as to why we don't already have a 3-stream system and am resisting the urge to look up how long the much larger city of San Francisco has had such a system in place. It's not hard, people, I've been doing with my middle school garden club since October. (Occasionally an apple core will end up in the recycling bin, but we're working on that.)

We've 4 more working group sessions to go over the next 2 months. There's a lot of potential here, some good ideas and momentum. I'm curious to see what the city government actually *does* with our collective ideas and votes. I've yet to see or hear any kind of follow-up from Councilman Wells' similarly ambitious urban agriculture public hearing last December, and I worry that our current mayor may similarly lose the good faith of the citizenry if he does not follow through with meaningful and timely actions.

It's not rocket science. I know some 7th graders that could offer some practical recommendations on how to live more sustainably.

Not exactly walking on eggshells

I’ve gotten quite a food education talking with my main egg supplier, Tom Hubric, over the course of the past few years. He’s shared some pretty thoughtful ideas on things like egg regulations. It’s actually kind of fascinating. And a bit scary. For instance, lthough one cannot legally sell anything less than “grade A” eggs – those less than 40 days old – in Maryland or DC farmers’ markets, there is a bit of a habit of egg farmers from West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania selling mixed sizes of eggs as “unclassified” (no date stamped on the package) and “ungraded” (no uniform size requirement) in DC.

And that’s just at farmers’ markets. I was startled when I learned of the common practice of supermarkets to denote “fresh eggs” as those that had been on the shelf for up to nine months! NINE MONTHS?? Even before becoming a devoted local foodie that shelf life would’ve scandalized me.

In fact, it is standard practice in large-scale operations – aka egg factories – to remove the thin protective coating on the egg (known as the “cuticle” or “bloom”) using a power washer before spraying each egg with a light coating of vegetable oil to seal the egg’s shell. In grocery stores, such eggs usually stay on the shelf from 6 weeks to 2 months before they’re sold… but they can still be sold as “Grade A Fresh” for up to nine months. (Sorry for the repetition here, but I am still flabbergasted.) Tom, in contrast, cleans but doesn’t “wash” his eggs, and because the shells are not made porous by removing the protective cuticle, they could theoretically keep for longer. However, my egg farmer’s wares are consistently grade AA (less than 21 days old, according to Maryland grading standards), and labeled accordingly.

You can read more about Tom (and his mentee farmers, Ned and Eileen – my other favorite local egg farmers) in the February issue of Acres, USA. Yup, next month marks my fourth article for Acres. Guess that makes me officially a food writer. Or something. (Dang, did I not even mention the article on gourmet garlic that I wrote for the January issue? Guess it's tough for us food writers to keep track of all of our writings.)

Should you want to meet these local celebrity farmers and understand what the hullabaloo surrounding farm-fresh, pastured eggs is all about, you can pick up a dozen eggs of your very own, even during the winter months, from Ned in front of Meridian Pint (Feb 4 & 18 from 11am-1pm) or from Tom at the Dupont Circle farmers' market (any Sunday from 10am-1pm). Maybe I’ll see you there. I’ll be the short person bundled up against the winter chill and invariably talking about recipes... including the one for a familiar and much-beloved flourless chocolate torte (using 5 pastured chicken eggs) in the upcoming Acres article....

For the record

Have I mentioned how I dread public speaking?

No, really. I'm not talking about when I'm teaching boisterous middle schoolers how to make pickles or instructing a roomful of ladies at a community center on how to can applesauce or doing a kale salad demonstration at the farmers' market -- shoot, I could do that all day long. (Some days I do.) I mean the kind of public speaking where you are standing at the front of the room with everybody looking at you, or, more frighteningly, behind a microphone, and you're expected not to faint but rather to present something thought-provoking in front of a roomful of people, most of whom know a heck of a lot more than you do about just about anything. Still, when I learned that City Councilman Tommy Wells was chairing an open forum on community gardens and urban agriculture, seeking advice on what was working, what changes are needed, and recommendations to move forward with integrating growing spaces more deliberately into the city's overall Plan, I had to master my natural chicken-heartedness and step up to the plate. Or in this case, the televised mic. (Eep.)

I spent most of Wednesday night agonizing and continued into the wee hours of Thursday morning preparing my 3-minute testimony for the public oversight roundtable. I'd considered submitting something in writing, thus circumventing the whole need for public speaking, but I wanted to be absolutely sure some of the things I've been talking with my local farmers and food advocates over the past year and a half made it onto the public record. An email or piece of paper can get lost, I reasoned with myself, but if I say it out loud it at this official meeting, well, it has to be noted in the official transcript. (Thank the lord I didn't know the session was going to be broadcast on live television or I never would have made it through the door to the conference room. "It has to get onto the public record" would've been right out the window.)

With the fate of urban agriculture in the District hanging in the balance, I joined more than 30 other DC residents -- gardeners, educators, park rangers, ANC commissioners, for-profit and non-profit farmers and small business folks -- and made my statement before Councilman Wells and his staff, as well as officials from Parks & Recreation, the Planning Office, Tax & Revenue, and UDC (our city's equivalent of a land grant university). I pleaded for a better system of cataloging and leasing land for those who want to grow food, and a means to sell the fresh fruits and vegetables and herbs they grow. Did you know that food grown on park land in the city cannot be sold? For heaven's sake, I argued (and, no, I didn't actually say "for heaven's sake," but I suspect it was implied in my tone), there are parts of the city where vacant land is way more common than healthy food options. We need some of that land to grow food and get it into the communities in which I work. We can build urban oases in these food deserts, we just need access to the land. (I wish I'd thought of the metaphor before this blogpost, alas.) Zoning and code in DC was not written with urban agriculture in mind, clearly, and we need to change it.

[BTW, speaking of city code, what are these silly stipulations I've heard about honey bees in the District needing to be contained in the hive? I actually first heard about that during the Sustainable DC food working group meeting the night before. (Seriously, 3 meetings on DC food policy held by 3 unaffiliated groups within 24 hours is a bit much. I will confess I missed the middle one, the Thursday morning HAFA planning meeting, still in bed and totally drained by the Sustainable DC meeting and then speech writing and hand wringing until all hours.) The whole point of having honey bees is to let them roam and pollinate. And make delicious honey, of course -- some jars of which have anonymously made their way onto the Councilman's desk down at City Hall. Bees can't do any of that when they're kept in the hive. Who is writing these policies?? Probably someone who was stung as a child and had a bad reaction. Get that guy an EpiPen, we need those bees out there working! And don't even get me started on the ridiculous anti-composting code.]

Collectively, we addressed existing successes, current issues with the way things are set up and suggestions for fixing them, and the need for the Planning Department to figure urban agriculture and community garden growing space into their future development of our city. It was pretty awesome listening to all of the knowledgeable, passionate urban food and garden experts. And a good thing, too, since I was there listening for five solid hours before I had my chance to speak on a panel, and then another half hour as things wrapped up. I didn't faint or anything. I will admit to having a bit of a deathgrip on the paper I read from and not looking up nearly as frequently as I previously encouraged students of mine to do while delivering a speech. But I was proud of myself for following through, and the Councilman commented that I'd given him quite a list of items to follow up on. (Good, that's his homework. Due...?)

I'm not sure what's going to come of all this, or the Mayor's Sustainable DC initiative, but at the end of the day, I'm glad to have said my piece on the public record. Someone, some day, might be accountable. Hopefully moreso than they were following the release of the District of Columbia's Food Production and Urban Gardens Program Act of 1986... with requirements for regular public listing and updating of a cataloging of land available for public leasing to grow food. Hmmm. That assignment's a bit overdue, no?

A local celebrity

I listen to my local NPR station every morning. This morning as I was warming up some breakfast I heard an excerpt from my very first radio interview on WAMU: a piece on the challenge faced by aspiring urban farmers to identify and secure a plot of vacant land to farm here in the District. Those who have tried to grow food on city, federal, or park land can tell you better than I can how circuitous and frustrating the process can be in this town. I happen to know a lot of them.

In fact, there are a number of challenges facing folks who want to raise crops, start a compost operation of any magnitude (thus building soil instead of loading up landfills), keep laying hens or honeybees, build aquaponics (fish farming) systems, or pursue other sustainable agricultural projects here in the city. Creating jobs, providing access to healthy food, improving the soil -- seems like a no-brainer that any politician or government office would love to support. (They could certainly use the positive press.) And yet.... In terms of the interview, I was speaking on behalf of the informally-named DC Urban Agriculture Coalition, a collection of local experts -- farmers, gardeners, educators, advocates, land developers, and policy folks -- who have come together to discuss ways we might inform city officials about the benefits of a robust urban agriculture sector, identify the barriers that currently prevent (or strongly discourage) food production and composting in our nation's capital, offer models from other cities, and propose a set of recommendations to encourage sustainable urban agriculture. (No, it's not one of my 6 paid part-time jobs; it's one of my 4 unpaid ones, and some days managing the group felt a bit like herding cats. Nice cats, mind you, but still tough to shepherd.) In the weeks since we drafted an advisory white paper and letter to the Mayor, many of us Coalition members have joined up with the recently announced Sustainable DC initiative. If there's even a chance of sincere commitment from city government to address some of the barriers to urban food production, I'll bike myself to the series of 8 meetings over the next few months.

I mean, seriously, what are our alternatives as supporters of healthy, local food? Some folks who have tried to grow here have given up. Some have started guerrilla gardening. Some have gotten jobs in the government to try and change things from within. Some have gone elsewhere to grow food, to places like... Baltimore??

Most in the sustainable food world know that Detroit is leaps and bounds ahead of DC in terms of urban food production. Some may have heard of similarly cool urban ag projects in Cleveland and Philadelphia. Okay, fine. But when, a few months ago, I learned how city officials in nearby Baltimore have been working with urban growers to revamp zoning regulations and streamline land assessment/leasing to encourage urban food production, I really got worked up. I mean, for crying out loud, the First Lady has an organic garden on the White House lawn... how are there not urban growing spaces on every street corner here in DC? I never thought we'd be looking up to Baltimore as a model for urban food production, but these are strange times. (Even so, I would not advise biking around there when you go to visit the urban farms.)

Anyway, at least three different friends sent me a message within a few minutes of the short broadcast this morning to say they were excited to hear me on WAMU. Yes, a five-second blurb on local radio. Well, I hope it helps spread the word on the urgent need for reforming the way vacant land is used in DC -- especially in areas of DC that are considered "food deserts," where fresh food is hard to find -- but I'm not exactly a local celebrity.

Too hot to garden? There are other ways to be active...

DC is a political town. There are at least three protests or marches every weekend (and I know this because tourists clog both streets and metro trains every weekend and talk about their causes rather more loudly than necessary). It seems to happen every time I leave my apartment. Yes, it's nearly impossible to avoid political engagement in these parts, but it is the nation's capital and so it -- like the plethora of free museums -- comes with the territory.

Now, I'll be honest, summer weather can be a little brutal -- whose idea was it to build this city in a swamp, anyway? -- and schlepping around with clipboards collecting signatures or waiting to see your representative can wear a politically active citizen out. But fear not: you can be an activist without leaving the comfort of your living room. Um. Er. I mean home office. Here are a few things that lovers of food access, bicycling, and empowerment might like to support by virtual means:

Act Locally

Make the DC Dept of Transportation accountable to their pledge to increase and improve bicycle lanes in the city. (Seriously, between aggressive traffic and potholes, I almost died about five times on my ride out to ECO City Farm last Thursday; once I hit the Anacostia River Trail System I was golden, but how about some more east-west bike lanes, DC?) I've definitely noticed a marked uptick in bike lane use (by cyclists as well as by cars, grrr) even just in the past year since my return.

With one online form you can send an email to the Mayor, the director and bicycle coordinator of the DDOT, and Tommy Wells (the Ward 6 councilman) and urge them to push for bike lanes along L and M streets downtown. Thanks, WABA, for helping us advocate for a more bike-friendly city!

Act Nationally

Save SNAP (aka food stamp) benefits in danger of being cut as part of the Deficit Reduction Plan. Thanks to the DC Hunger Solutions/Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) website, it's as easy as sending an email or calling your senator (if you have one, ahem). The letter that you can sign -- or edit, if you're a former English teacher like me (what, I can't help myself) -- urges the president to reduce the deficit in ways that won't increase poverty. You know, a little responsible policy making. (Those of you who followed the passing of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act may recall the bittersweet victory that funded improved school food while slashing SNAP benefits. And speaking of bittersweet....)

Act Globally

Perhaps you are more of a "pocketbook activist" -- yes, I just coined a term -- an online shopper who likes to put her money where her values are. Well, then you'll want to check out some of the items offered via Bittersweet -- a local group I've become somewhat enamored with recently. They are putting out a quarterly magazine focused on DC's most pressing social issues, but they also serve as an online outlet for responsibly produced goods from socially conscious groups around the world. (Not cheap, but very cool.) One thing that captured my attention in Bittersweet Zine's winter 2010/2011 issue on economic empowerment was the micro-loan gift cards. (Darn it, I can't find a link to this issue online, but you can go to the Opportunity International website.) If you're on the lookout for a cool birthday gift for a friend or family member, consider giving them a gift card to support a small-scale entrepreneur of their choice.

Speaking of Bittersweet Zine, keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming issue, featuring an article by yours truly on food communities in DC.... (Don't worry, mom and dad, I'll be sure to send you a copy.)

Walmart??

I don't mean to draw a parallel to the arms-for-hostages deal with Iran a few decades ago, but I can't help looking around for Ollie North's fingerprints on a recent arrangement between my beloved First Lady's campaign to improve the health of our nation's children and one of the most notoriously exploitative corporations ever. She may think she can dance with the devil in the pale incandescent light for some kind of greater good, but I just don't trust 'em....

When founder Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in 1962, it was with the belief that he could help people stretch their dollars further. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. He was a businessman who dreamed of helping his fellow Americans get what they needed and not going broke in the process. Sure, I can see why this might seem to align with the work that Mrs. Obama is doing to make affordable, healthy food more widely available, but....

Okay, maybe the company has done some good things, like demanding that manufacturers use less packaging. This was a measure put in place to cut costs, mind you, not because of any environmental concern, but it did cut down on millions of tons of waste that would've ended up in landfills. And the measure did, in fact, cut down on cost and the savings were passed on to consumers. (It also cut down on packaging at non-Walmarts, as competitors struggled to keep up with consumer expectations for cost and waste.) There are probably other positive changes that the chain brought about, but I never managed to make it more than 50 pages into The Walmart Effect. What can I say, it started to get a bit redundant. (Like my lecture about wearing bike helmets. But still: wear a helmet!)

Considering the disproportionate percentage of the market that it controls, the sheer volume of stuff that it moves, and all of the locations it maintains, Walmart has been a major game-changer for a few years now, selling bajillions of dollars worth of (often unnecessary) stuff to people across the country (and via affiliates abroad -- like the "Bodega" grocery chain that I used to unwittingly support during my time in Mexico, though the yellow smiley face signs should've tipped me off). There is potential for good, but I just don't see Walmart executives doing ANYTHING simply out of the goodness of their hearts. (Do they even have hearts? The treatment of employees and cutthroat pricing schemes would suggest otherwise.) A number of months ago, I mentioned the superstore's decision to begin carrying organic food items. Well, that seemed to be a step in the right direction, even if the motive was profit or PR. Considering the purchasing power of this corporate giant, the supply required for even a small amount of organic produce or dairy in each store had the potential to support a large number of organic producers across the country, thereby making organics more available to consumers and creating a steady, paying market for producers. And Industrial Organics were born.

I'm sure Mrs. Obama is trying to focus on Walmart's potential to get more (somewhat) healthy food to more places, perhaps including the five stores the company is hoping to open in the District in coming months. Because it seems that "D.C. residents can't access some resources that suburban residents take for granted." Such as...? That must-have 46" flat screen TV? Adequate parking? A yard? A voting member of Congress? Oh, like more pesticide-laden, under-priced bell peppers imported from a country that most Americans probably can't identify on a world map. Thanks, Walmart.

[Note to readers: because I strive to maintain a G-rated blog that former students may peruse, I am refraining from unleashing a torrent of expletives here.]

While Mrs. Obama points to Walmart's potential as a major food supplier to bring healthier, cheaper, more clearly labeled food products to their expansive empire of stores in poorer parts of the country, I can only just barely resist the temptation to point out Walmart's propensity for preying on the selfsame poor they claim to be helping with their "everyday low prices." It makes my skin crawl. If there were a possibility of a reverse endorsement, I would urge the First Lady to make one immediately.

Food for all

One of the regrets I have is that I missed visiting Bill and Nicolette Niman's ranch in Bolinas, CA on my way down the Pacific Coast. I was getting over the random bacterial infection in my thumb, as some of you may recall, and was laying low, relatively speaking, in the Bay Area for a few days. But after reading Nicolette's impassioned op-ed in this Sunday's LA Times, I realize I truly missed a brush with a kindred spirit. Drat. I need to get myself out there one day. We'd have lots to talk about....

Nicolette brings up a number of points that I've been grappling with, including the seemingly mainstream perception that good (aka organic/sustainably produced) food is something that only the wealthy can afford and have the luxury of choosing, and that those who talk of access of all Americans, or, really, all people around the world, to this sort of food are ignorant or elitist. No. There are many problems, but the lack of access to fresh, healthy food for all is not something that just young, well-to-do, over-educated white people sit around yapping about. From urban farmers in Detroit and Milwaukee to activists in Oakland to school gardeners in Houston, we're all working on it. Take the ethnically and age diverse DSLBD (Department of Small and Local Business Development... welcome to DC gov't acronymns) meeting on getting more fresh food into corner stores last Friday: I was one of only a handful of people who looked and sounded like me in the room. We were all there for a common purpose, though we brought a broad range of experience and perspectives to the table. Everyone deserves access to good food. Period.

And producers of that good food should be paid a fair price for it. At the risk of climbing up onto my soapbox -- mom has a gentle way of pointing out how my tone has a tendency to get a little emphatic and borderline preachy, but here goes -- I agree with Nicolette that Americans have got our priorities all wrong. Really, we spend less than 10% of our income on food? What the heck else are we spending our money on? Healthcare? (That's another soapbox, watch out.) Housing? iPhones? Please, after living on a shoestring budget for the past two years, I know what it's like to not have much money to spend. I'll hardly be rolling in it working for a small, start-up nonprofit. And yet I continue to choose to spend a good-sized chunk of it on food -- specifically local, sustainable food -- and put money directly into the hands of small farmers whenever possible. I'm not saying that everyone can (or should) spend nearly a third of their monthly budget on food; I'm saying that we can (and should) spend more than we currently do on feeding ourselves. Better to pay the grocer than the doctor, right?

Responsibly-produced food does seem to cost more when you reach into your wallet to pay for things at the farmers' market. Don't I know it. Certified organic produce and pastured meats cost a pretty penny these days. But consider what you're paying for. In her op-ed, Nicolette references the "true cost of food" that sustainable growers charge, then points to commodity crop subsidies, tax breaks, and other incentives offered to farmers whose operations are decidedly unsustainable, whose practices have hidden but substantial health, environmental, and social costs that consumers pay for indirectly. I'm not saying that the government should do away with subsidies, but how about rethinking what is subsidized and how?

Unemployment is rampant in our country and many can barely afford to feed their families. And yet there is potential for enough healthy food for everyone in the country (and the world) if we change the way the system works. Thankfully, not only does Ms. Niman point out systemic problems, but she offers solutions, some of which are the very things up for discussion during last week's DSLBD meeting: more widespread acceptance of food stamps, local initiatives to increase food access in underserved communities.

I can't exactly speak for Nicolette -- as I said, regrettably, we've never met -- but I wholeheartedly agree with her that together we can (and should) demand fresh, healthy, sustainably-produced food for all.

(You know, I just might add another seat for her at my fantasy dinner party....)

Leveling the farming field

[photo courtesy of Ed Coper, New Media, Slow Food USA]

Yep, that's me with my big mouth open, standing among fellow Slow Foodies on the steps of the USDA during the lunch break. I swear I thought Ed had already snapped the picture when I turned to... actually, I have no idea what I was doing. Yelling? Singing? Talking with someone coming out of a door? Yawning? Hmmm. Reason #423 there aren't more photos of me on this blog: I don't stand still very well.

I spent most of yesterday at the last of a 5-part series of workshops on Competition and Antitrust issues in the agricultural sector. (Funny, I've lived in DC on and off since the late 1980s and been obsessed with food my entire life, and yet this was my first time inside the USDA building. Next time I need to scope out the People's Garden.) The sessions mark an unprecedented joint effort led by the USDA and the Department of Justice to learn from producers and consumers about the current state of agriculture in this country and possible paths forward, with a specific eye to cultivating a playing field in which small, sustainable producers have a fighting chance to get (and stay) in business. At least that's my take on it. It was quite a diverse group, from the panelists to the onlookers to the folks giving testimony. People from across the spectrum of the food reform movement and around the country sidled up to the microphone during the public testimony segments and I had a chance to hear folks offer their stories, their suggestions, their hopes for a fairer food system. If our country is going to be able to feed itself, each speaker urged, we're going to need to level the playing field.

I'd first heard of the meetings a number of months ago from the folks at Food Democracy Now. (Hold on. Are you on their mailing list yet? You should be. Even my mom is impressed with the advocacy work they are doing. I get an e mail from her every time she signs a petition. Ah, moms. I'm proud of her.) I ran into the FDN dream team (Dave, Lisa, and Paul) in the hallway between sessions, returning from the Hill where they'd delivered a giant box of comments -- printouts from nearly a quarter of a million concerned citizens around the country, pleas for policymakers to break up domineering food monopolies and give family farmers a chance. It's always good to see some of my favorite food advocates. While the sessions themselves were somewhat meandering -- I don't want to say that the questions panel leaders posed could've been better, but, well, they could've been more probing -- I was proud to be a part of the larger effort of groups ranging from Slow Food USA to Why Hunger to Food & Water Watch to Farm Aid who had come together to demand safer, healthier food and support for the dedicated farmers who produce it.

During the session, I learned that our country has lost more than 800,000 farmers over the past 40 years and meanwhile the remaining farming population continues to age. While many of the folks going into organic farming are relatively young -- at least according to the informal data I gathered from farms around the country during the bikeable feast -- the recent trend of young people going into farming is not on a large enough scale to compensate for the aging general farming population. Not only is the work incredibly hard and poorly paid (reminds me of my days as a high school teacher), I also worry about the ability of these young farmers to handle the debt they are taking on to start these small but critical operations. In an economy like the one we're in, will they be around in 5 years? Then there is the competition they are facing from large, commodity-focused farms subsidized by the government and a food system that depends on cheap labor and low-quality products. My take home message: we need to encourage and support regional food systems led by these small, sustainable farmers. We cannot continue to be controlled by gigantic, self-interested food conglomerates that rake what few farmers remain over the coals.

While the next Farm Bill isn't up for debate until 2012, this first dipping of my toe into federal ag policy has definitely shown me that I've much to learn between now and then so that I can be a more educated and effective advocate for regional, responsible food systems. I'm hoping such learning opportunities in the future don't involve biking in 20-degree headwinds at 7am....