Although nearly 80 percent of Americans say sustainability is important to them in buying food, they don't appear to be acting on that solicited expression. "For all its successes, farm-to-table has not, in any fundamental way, reworked the economic and political forces that dictate how our food is grown and raised," Dan Barber writes for The New York Times.
Instead of declining, Big Food is growing. In fact, nearly 100,000 farms—mostly midsize ones—have disappeared in the past five years, and only 1.1 percent of U.S. farms are responsible for almost 45 percent of farm revenues. Also, corn and soy, which are the farm-to-table movement's favorite targets, made up more than half of harvested acres for the first time.
California, the nation's most productive agricultural state, is taking steps to improve its outlook, with the state Assembly voting 75-0 last week to create an Office of Farm to Fork, which "is geared toward broader efforts related to food access and sustaining healthy communities . . . would be integrated within the California Department of Food and Agriculture," Chris Macias reports for The Sacramento Bee. The bill "would coordinate with agri-business, schools and community organizations to achieve its goals of improving access to nutritious foods." (Read more)
Barber asks, "How do we make sense of this odd duality: food revolution on one hand, an entrenched status quo on the other?" He discovered part of the answer several years ago on a grain farm operated by Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens. Klaas was growing emmer wheat, which helped make some delicious whole wheat bread. Barber wanted to figure out what made the emmer so good. "I realized I was missing the point entirely. The secret to great-tasting wheat, Klaas told me, is that it's not about the wheat. It's about the soil," Barber writes.
Klaas planted crops based on planned rotations designed to preserve and improve the quality of the soil. He often starts with a cover crop like the mustard plant, which helps restore nutrients in the soil. After that, Klaas plants a legume—such as soybeans or kidney beans—which helps take nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in the plant's roots. Then he plants oats or rye, which creates soil structure and helps prevent weeds. Then the soil is ready for the wheat.
"Depending on what the soil is telling him, he may roll out an entirely different rotation," Barber writes. Barber realized that he had been "cherry-picking" what he wanted for a menu without taking care of the whole farm. Farmers often neglect producing some crops that are necessary for supporting the soil needed to produce the more popular crops—and the most delicious food. Barber writes that eating more local grains and legumes would improve the food system, but including cover crops such as cowpeas and mustard in our diets might be more challenging.
"Today, the best farmers are tying up valuable real estate for long periods of time (in an agonizingly short growing season) simply to benefit their soil," Barber reports. If somehow a market were created for the crops necessary to sustain the land, the food system would improve. "Imagining the food chain as a field on one end and a plate of food at the other is not only reductive, it also puts us in the position of end users. It's a passive system—a grocery-aisle mentality—when really, as cooks and eaters, we need to engage in the nuts and bolts of true agricultural sustainability," Barber writes. (Read more)
Instead of declining, Big Food is growing. In fact, nearly 100,000 farms—mostly midsize ones—have disappeared in the past five years, and only 1.1 percent of U.S. farms are responsible for almost 45 percent of farm revenues. Also, corn and soy, which are the farm-to-table movement's favorite targets, made up more than half of harvested acres for the first time.
California, the nation's most productive agricultural state, is taking steps to improve its outlook, with the state Assembly voting 75-0 last week to create an Office of Farm to Fork, which "is geared toward broader efforts related to food access and sustaining healthy communities . . . would be integrated within the California Department of Food and Agriculture," Chris Macias reports for The Sacramento Bee. The bill "would coordinate with agri-business, schools and community organizations to achieve its goals of improving access to nutritious foods." (Read more)
Barber asks, "How do we make sense of this odd duality: food revolution on one hand, an entrenched status quo on the other?" He discovered part of the answer several years ago on a grain farm operated by Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens. Klaas was growing emmer wheat, which helped make some delicious whole wheat bread. Barber wanted to figure out what made the emmer so good. "I realized I was missing the point entirely. The secret to great-tasting wheat, Klaas told me, is that it's not about the wheat. It's about the soil," Barber writes.
Klaas planted crops based on planned rotations designed to preserve and improve the quality of the soil. He often starts with a cover crop like the mustard plant, which helps restore nutrients in the soil. After that, Klaas plants a legume—such as soybeans or kidney beans—which helps take nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in the plant's roots. Then he plants oats or rye, which creates soil structure and helps prevent weeds. Then the soil is ready for the wheat.
"Depending on what the soil is telling him, he may roll out an entirely different rotation," Barber writes. Barber realized that he had been "cherry-picking" what he wanted for a menu without taking care of the whole farm. Farmers often neglect producing some crops that are necessary for supporting the soil needed to produce the more popular crops—and the most delicious food. Barber writes that eating more local grains and legumes would improve the food system, but including cover crops such as cowpeas and mustard in our diets might be more challenging.
"Today, the best farmers are tying up valuable real estate for long periods of time (in an agonizingly short growing season) simply to benefit their soil," Barber reports. If somehow a market were created for the crops necessary to sustain the land, the food system would improve. "Imagining the food chain as a field on one end and a plate of food at the other is not only reductive, it also puts us in the position of end users. It's a passive system—a grocery-aisle mentality—when really, as cooks and eaters, we need to engage in the nuts and bolts of true agricultural sustainability," Barber writes. (Read more)
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