Food of the Week - Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Did you know that countries where people use olive oil regularly, especially in place of other fats, have much lower rates of heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and asthma? These countries enjoy a Mediterranean-style diet, which studies continue to uncover as being among the healthiest in the world. For example, one study, which followed participants for over six years, discovered that those most closely following a Mediterranean 'olive oil and salad' dietary pattern had a 50% reduced risk of overall mortality! Another study published in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests that the naturally high concentration of phenolic compounds with their antioxidant properties found in extra-virgin olive oil, (that is properly cold pressed and stored in opaque containers), may be one of the key reasons for the lower incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease in the Mediterranean region. The monounsaturated fats in olive oil have also been found to be used by the body to produce substances which are relatively anti-inflammatory. By reducing inflammation, these fats can help reduce the severity of arthritis symptoms, and may be able to prevent or reduce the severity of asthma. And not least of all, let's not forget it's great flavor! Read More ...

CUESA’S SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE - Ten Good Reasons to Shop at the Farmers Market

Taste Real Flavors: The fruits and vegetables you buy at the farmers market are the freshest and tastiest available. Fruits are allowed to ripen in the field and brought directly to you - no long-distance shipping, no gassing to simulate the ripening process, no sitting for weeks in storage. This food is as real as it gets -food fresh from the farm.

Enjoy the Season: The food you buy at the farmers market is seasonal. It is fresh and delicious and reflects the truest flavors. Shopping and cooking from the farmers market helps you to reconnect with the cycles of nature in our region. As you look forward to asparagus in spring, savor sweet corn in summer, or bake pumpkins in autumn, you reconnect with the earth, the weather, and the turning of the year.

Support Family Farmers: Family farmers are becoming increasingly rare as large agribusiness farms and ranches steadily take over food production in the U.S. Small family farms have a hard time competing in the food marketplace. Buying directly from farmers gives them a better return for their produce and gives them a fighting chance in today's globalized economy.

Protect the Environment: Food in the U.S. travels an average of 1500 miles to get to your plate. All this shipping uses large amounts of natural resources (especially fossil fuels), contributes greatly to pollution and creates excess trash with extra packaging. Conventional agriculture also uses many more resources than sustainable agriculture and pollutes water, land and air with toxic agricultural by-products. Food at the farmers market is transported shorter distances and grown using methods that minimize the impact on the earth.

Nourish Yourself: Much food found in grocery stores is highly processed. The fresh produce you do find is often grown using pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and genetic modification. In many cases it has been irradiated, waxed, or gassed in transit. All of these practices have potentially damaging effects on the health of those who eat these foods. In contrast, most food found at the farmers market is minimally processed, and many of our farmers go to great lengths to grow the most nutritious produce possible by building their soil's fertility and giving their crops the nutrients they need to flourish in the ground and nourish those who eat them.

Discover the Spice of Life ~ Variety: At the Farmers Market you find an amazing array of produce that you don't see in your supermarket: red carrots, a rainbow of heirloom tomatoes, white peaches, stinging nettles, green garlic, watermelon radishes, quail eggs, maitake mushrooms, gigande beans, whole pheasants, and much, much more. It is a wonderful opportunity to experience first hand the diversity (and biodiversity) of our planet, both cultivated and wild!

Promote Humane Treatment of Animals: At the farmers market, you can find meats, cheeses, and eggs from animals that have been raised without hormones or antibiotics, who have grazed on green grass and been fed natural diets, and who have been spared the cramped and unnatural living conditions of so many of their brethren on feedlots.

Know Where Your Food Comes From: A regular trip to a farmers market is one of the best ways to reconnect with where your food comes from. Farmers themselves sell their produce at the farm stands. Meeting and talking to farmers is a great opportunity to learn more about how food is grown, where it is grown, when it is grown, and why! CUESA's "Meet the Producer" program and our Farmer Profiles that hang at the booths give you even more opportunities to learn about the people who work so hard to bring you the most delicious and nutritious food around.

Learn Cooking Tips, Recipes, and Meal Ideas: Few grocery store cashiers or produce stockers will give you tips on how to cook the ingredients you buy, but farmers, ranchers, and vendors at the farmers market are often passionate cooks with plenty of free advice about how to cook the foods they are selling. They'll give you ideas for what to have for supper, hand out recipes, and troubleshoot your culinary conundrums. At the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, you can attend cooking workshops such as Shop with the Chef - a weekly program featuring seasonal ingredients prepared by leading Bay Area chefs - with free recipes and samples!

Connect with Your Community: Wouldn't you rather stroll amidst outdoor stalls of fresh produce on a sunny day than roll your cart around a grocery store with artificial lights and piped in music? Coming to the Farmers Market makes shopping a pleasure rather than a chore. The Farmers Market is a community gathering place - a place to meet up with your friends, bring your children, or just get a taste of small-town life in the midst of our wonderful big city.

CUESA’S SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE - A DOLLAR WELL SPENT

"Our never-ending quest for cheap food is the root cause of the transformation of American Agriculture from a system of small, diversified, independently operated family farms into a system of large-scale, industrialized, corporately controlled agribusinesses." - John Ikerd, in "The High Cost of Cheap Food," published in Small Farm Today, July/Aug 2001.

Are farmers’ market prices really too high? A dollar spent on food from a local farm buys more than just groceries. In addition to sustenance, real nutrition and good flavor, it also buys vibrant rural communities, food security, and confidence in your food supply.

Nobody likes to pay high prices for food, and few people can afford to. But good food is not cheap, and price is a complex issue that can only be discussed in conjunction with other factors like flavor, quality, sustainability, and nutrition. Farmers charge what they believe is a fair price, and a growing number of loyal farmers' market shoppers agree. When people are willing to spend money on good local food, it benefits the farmer, the local economy, the consumer, and the environment.

When you shop at the farmers' market, here's what you get for your money:

Food grown by hand Labor is generally the largest expense for farmers at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.* Sustainable and diverse farms often use labor-intensive practices, such as hand-weeding, as an alternative to spraying herbicides or other conventional techniques. Small farms (and those that offer better wages or benefits) have higher labor costs than more mechanized large farms, and the average size of Ferry Plaza Farmers Market farms, excluding ranchlands, is only 79 acres. When people object to her prices, Jill Kayne of Four Sisters Farm takes the opportunity to educate. "On a small farm like ours, everything must be done by hand and there are very high labor costs," she tells customers. "I wish you could watch the guys hand-pick each stem of kale."

High quality produce
Unlike fruit in supermarkets that’s often picked green to prevent damage during long-distance transit, food at the farmers' market is sold at its freshest. “I bring my produce so ripe that I end up losing some of what I don’t sell,” says Bill Crepps of Everything Under the Sun. “It gets bruised from customer handling. I dehydrate it when I can, or donate it to Food Runners. But I have to factor these losses into my prices.”

Excellent value
When thrifty shoppers buy an appliance or a pair of shoes, they don't necessarily choose the cheapest product. They also look at quality and value. Food here is some of the freshest and best available. Better farming practices result in better tasting food, and the flavor of the food at Ferry Plaza speaks for itself. Nigel Walker of Eatwell Farm says of his popular eggs from pasture-raised hens, "If you don't want to pay this price for eggs, don't ever try them--because once you taste these, you won't ever want to buy anything else."

Farmland stewardship
Many of the farmers that sell at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market care deeply about their land and are willing to spend a little more on high quality soil amendments and other inputs for their crops. Half of the farms are certified organic; many more use environmentally sustainable practices. The materials that are better for people and the planet often cost more. Michele Ross of Ella Bella Farm says, "Our ability to charge retail prices at the farmers' market allows us to take care of the land the way we want and to do more long term planning. When farmers are at the mercy of wholesale prices, they often cut corners. A lot of farmers have to take out loans just to get their crops in the ground."

Unique fruits and vegetables
Many of the produce varieties sold at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market are selected for flavor and may have lower yields than the varieties you see in the supermarket. This makes them more expensive for farmers to grow. In addition, some farmers use methods that result in better taste, nutrition, and/or sustainability, but produce a smaller harvest. For example, the dry-farmed tomato plants of Dirty Girl Produce generate only about 1/3 the yield of irrigated tomatoes.

Local farms stay in business
Farming is financially risky and not very lucrative. Excluding the largest 7% of farms (those with annual sales greater than $250,000), U.S. farm households have, on average, negative farm operating profits. Most farmers must seek other income in order to stay in business. If consumers don't pay enough to make farming profitable, we run the risk of losing our region's farmers, our local food security and our agricultural landscape.

Even with these many benefits, produce at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market is not much more expensive, and frequently costs less, than that at nearby supermarkets (for detailed data, see CUESA’s price comparison handout).

No matter where you buy them, though, fresh vegetables and fruits are far more expensive per calorie than fats, sugars, and cereals. According to one recent study, a day's worth of calories from oil or sugar could be purchased for under $1, whereas the same amount of calories from strawberries or lettuce was several hundred times that. Though vegetables and fruits are pricier than more filling foods like grains and legumes, they are a crucial component of human nutrition. When the USDA recommends 5-9 servings per day of fruits and vegetables, we can’t afford not to eat them.

So why does produce cost more than dry goods? In part, because it is perishable and harder to transport, but the low prices of processed foods are even more a result of subsidies. The main building blocks of processed food, such as the corn from which high fructose corn syrup is made, are heavily funded by the U.S. government. While these products may seem cheap at the cash register, we pay for them again through our taxes. Until America restructures our food policies and ensures that all residents have access to nutritious food, those who want a healthy diet must be willing to spend more.

To put it all into perspective: America has some of the most affordable food in the world. Though food here may not seem cheap, Americans spend only about 10% of their household budget on food--less than most other countries in the world. In addition, the percentage of our income spent on food has been decreasing over time and is half what it was in 1950. Spending is a value decision, and our culture encourages us to spend more on amenities like cable television and designer clothing and less on nutritious food. As managers of a farmers' market, our bias is obvious, but we think that good food is worth paying for.

CUESA’S SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE FRAMEWORK

Mission : The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture is dedicated to promoting a sustainable food system through the operation of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market and its educational programs.

Vision : We envision a healthy world nourished by sustainable food systems, and shall contribute to this vision by:

1. actively connecting, engaging and supporting all participants within our regional food system; presenting
2. substantive education programs and serving as a resource for information on sustainable food systems;
3. operating world-class farmers markets that develop and support regional sustainable farm operations.

Statement of Sustainability Components

A food system is the inter-relationship of agricultural systems, their economic, social, cultural, and technological support systems, and systems of food distribution and consumption. A sustainable food system uses practices that are environmentally sound, humane, economically viable and socially just. Sustainable agriculture uses these same practices.

CUESA’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION

Environmentally Sound Producers actively work to create and sustain cultivated landscapes that are complex, diverse and balanced biological systems. Producers use practices that conserve and restore resources.

Humane Animal Management While being raised, animals are allowed to engage in the natural behaviors that are important to their well-being, and are harvested in ways that minimize stress to the animals and the environment.

Economically Viable Producers operate within a framework of sound business planning and pursue integrated and proactive approaches to marketing and sales.

Socially Just Producers and their employees receive fair and reasonable compensation and work in a safe and respectful environment.

PRINCIPLE: ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND Producers actively work to create and sustain cultivated landscapes that are complex, diverse and balanced biological systems. Producers use practices that conserve and restore resources.

EXAMPLE BEST PRACTICES Producers use production practices that are supported by current sustainable agriculture research and knowledge. Such practices may include but are not limited to the following examples:

1. Producers build and conserve soil structure and fertility (Examples: no till/reduced till farming, cover crops, rotational cropping, mulching, composting and incorporating crop residues, using manures, enhancing beneficial biota)
2. Producers conserve water and protect water quality (Examples: dry farming, efficient irrigation systems, mulching, minimizing use of toxic pesticides, buffer zones, bio-filtration systems)
3. Producers protect air quality (Examples: harvesting practices that reduce dust, lowering or eliminating emissions, reducing or eliminating use of toxic spray applications)
4. Producers minimize use of toxics (Examples: reducing or eliminating use of toxic pesticides, reducing or eliminating use of synthetic fertilizers, eliminate burning)
5. Producers conserve energy and use renewable resources (Examples: using energy efficient technologies, minimize farming and transportation fossil fuel inputs, solar; wind, biomass, geothermal, minimize use of fertilizers and pesticides derived from fossil fuels)
6. Producers maximize biodiversity and conserve genetic resources (Examples: seed saving, using heirloom varieties, buffer zones, contour and strip tillage, rotational grazing, retaining native habitats, intercropping, rotating crops, integrating multiple species of crops and animals, providing habitat for native species and pollinators)
7. Producers avoid the intentional use of genetically modified seeds and organisms

PRINCIPLE: HUMANE ANIMAL MANAGEMENT While being raised, animals are allowed to engage in the natural behaviors that are important to their well-being, and are harvested in ways that minimize stress to the animals and the environment.

EXAMPLE BEST PRACTICES Producers, including those farming aquatic species, use animal production and harvesting practices that are supported by current sustainable agriculture research and knowledge. Such practices may include but are not limited to the following examples:

1. Animals not raised in their natural habitat are raised with sufficient space, shelter and appropriate handling to limit stress (Examples: clean and dry bedding, ventilated structures, non-slip flooring, access to outdoors; no undue competition for space to lie down, stretch or eliminate; allowances for herding, daily migrations, wallowing)
2. Animals have ample fresh water and a healthy diet free of performance stimulants and without routinely added antibiotics (Examples: unrestricted access to fresh water, no undue competition for water sources, no use of growth hormones, nutritional guidelines, no undue competition for food sources, grazing)
3. Animals are harvested, transported, and handled in the least stressful manner possible (Examples: passageways do not impede movement, noise reduction mechanisms, no using electric prods, pre-slaughter handling kept to minimum; fishing by trolling, jigging, trapping, hook and line, or encircling seine nets)
4. Producers implement an animal health plan that is in accordance with sound veterinary and husbandry practices (Examples: general herd health plan, individual animal health plan and records, segregation areas, ongoing training for managers and caretakers, herd management guidelines or handbook)
5. Producers actively work to protect and conserve genetic resources and diversity (Examples: no using cloned species, no intentionally using genetically modified organisms in feed or care, harvesting only from sustainable fishery populations)

PRINCIPLE: ECONOMICALLY VIABLE Producers operate within a framework of sound business planning and pursue integrated and proactive approaches to marketing and sales.

EXAMPLE BEST PRACTICES Producers use business planning and management practices that are supported by current sustainable business management research and recommendations. Such practices may include but are not limited to the following examples:

1. Businesses operate within a framework of sound financial planning (Examples: business plan, incorporating risk management strategies, record keeping, estate planning; crop, health, accident, and property insurance)
2. Businesses conserve capital (Examples: managing bank debt, managing expenditures) Businesses consider diversifying products, service offerings and sales outlets (Examples: diversifying crops and herds, value-added products, agritourism, farmer’s markets, CSA programs, restaurants, online sales, direct to retailers)
3. Businesses pursue integrated and proactive approaches to marketing (Examples: farm cooperatives, internet, direct marketing pieces)
4. Busiensses provide quality customer service and cultivate positive customer relations
5. (Examples: actively educate and inform customers, customer service standards, sales staff training, attractive and compelling displays, business website or newsletter, full disclosure of ingredients and processes, adopt code of business ethics)

PRINCIPLE: SOCIALLY JUST Producers and their employees receive fair and reasonable compensation and work in a safe and respectful environment.

EXAMPLE BEST PRACTICES Producers use labor compensation and management practices that are supported by current sustainable agricultural labor management recommendations. Such practices may include but are not limited to the following examples:

1. Employers and employees receive fair and reasonable compensation
2. Employers and employees receive appropriate benefits (Examples: workers compensation, health care, housing, food from the farm)
3. Employers provide a respectful work environment that empowers employees (Examples: non-discrimination policies, employee participation in decision making)
4. Employers and employees have safe working conditions (Examples: safety training, safety incentives)
5. Employers optimize employees’ work experiences and opportunities (Examples: appropriate training and supervision, mechanisms for communication and information sharing; opportunities for skill development, diversity of tasks and advancement)

Pest Munches Up China Fields After GM Crop Sprays Halt

A once minor pest has ravaged fruit orchards and cotton fields in China after farmers stopped spraying insecticide in crops of a genetically-modified type of cotton resistant to bollworms, experts said.

China started growing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton in 1997 because it gave better yields and stood up to bollworms, but a key fallout has been a thriving population of mirid bugs, which were earlier just an insignificant pest.

"Entire swathes of agricultural land that never had any problem with this pest are facing a major problem," said Kongming Wu at the State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests in Beijing. The bug had infested plantations of apples, strawberries, pears, peaches and vegetables, Wu told Reuters by telephone, adding that the problem emerged after regular insecticide spraying had been halted.

"Bollworms love to go to cotton fields in June," he said. "So when we were cultivating normal cotton in the past, we would spray insecticides every June. That meant every June, other pests were also eradicated. "After we started cultivating Bt cotton, we no longer needed to spray insecticides. That's why other pests like the mirid bug are thriving in cotton fields and have become a major pest."

In a paper published in the journal Science on Friday, Wu and his colleagues said they began monitoring cotton fields and fruit orchards in six major cotton-growing provinces in northern China -- Anhui, Henan, Hebei, Jiangsu, Shandong and Shanxi -- in 1997. The study covered 3 million hectares of cotton and 26 million hectares of other crops grown by more than 10 million farmers.

As mirid bugs eat a wide variety of plants, the researchers warned the pest was emerging as a threat to other crops for the first time. "Before 1997, it was never a problem. It couldn't even be seen and we needn't guard against it. Now we have to spray insecticide every year to fight it," Wu said. "In fact, from 2000, the problem was already seen in cotton fields, and from 2005 was seen in other cultivated land."

The findings show how controlling one pest can trigger the spread of others, the scientists said, urging the need to study such scenarios before adopting large-scale farming strategies. "We have to develop a centralized system to control it," Wu said. "We have to study the whole ecosystem." Author: Tan Ee Lyn

Study Finds Higher CO2 Levels Do Not Help Plant Growth

In the May 14 issue of Science, scientists reported that increased carbon dioxide (CO2) levels ultimately hinder plant growth as it inhibits plants’ ability to assimilate nitrates from the soil, which are needed to make enzymes and other essential proteins. Scientists had earlier proposed that increased CO2 levels, which accumulate in the atmosphere in part from the burning of fossil fuels, might increase photosynthesis. The study found that an initial increase in the production of sugar soon levels off and plant growth slows.

The scientists who conducted the study said these findings have significant implications for agriculture as CO2 levels rise and temperatures warm. Should food become poorer in quality and nutrition, farmers will have to shift their use of fertilizers. “This indicates that as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations rise and nitrate assimilation in plant tissues diminishes, crops will become depleted in organic nitrogen compounds, including protein, and food quality will suffer,” said lead author Arnold Bloom from the University of California Davis. “Increasing nitrogen fertilization might compensate for slower nitrate assimilation rates, but this might not be economically or environmentally feasible.”

For additional information see: Los Angeles Times, UC Davis Press Release, Study Abstract

Swanton Berry Farms Jim Cochran of Davenport

Despite what many consumers may think, organic rules don't ensure fair treatment of workers—and tight profit margins mean that working conditions and pay on organic farms are too often no different from those in conventional operations. But Jim Cochran, 62, who launched California's first organic strawberry farm in 1987, refused to accept the established norms. In 1998, he became the first organic grower to sign a contract with the United Farm Workers union—and he approached them. Then, in 2005, Cochran rolled out what might be the nation's first stock-ownership plan for farm employees; workers begin earning stock in the operation after putting in 500 hours. "The dignity of farm labor is a founding principle of Swanton Berry Farm," Cochran says. If the farm's crowded stands at Bay Area farmers markets are any indication, it is possible to protect the earth, treat workers well, and make a profit at the same time.