Actually looking into where my food comes from... novel concept, right? (2nd post in food series)

I adapted an essay from my Local/Global Food and Farm Systems class, where we had to write a Food Diary:

I am a vegetarian, so I let some of my food habits slide because of the many ways that vegetarianism avoids environmental problems associated with factory farming. I have not yet admitted to myself that processed vegetarian foods also have negative environmental impacts and can also be part of the industrial animal-abusive food chain. I eat many unprocessed foods, like salads and vegetables, but they are rarely local, and often eaten with other processed foods like salad dressings.
Most of my food is organic or otherwise labelled as eco-friendly and targeted to concerned consumers like me. I have to look beyond the images of trees and the claims of "natural" and "green." For example, instead of butter, I use Smart Balance because it is labelled as healthier, yet its ingredient list is filled with names I cannot decipher, and one I wish I couldn't: “TBHQ for freshness,” a form of butane described by Pollan as  “the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget.”[i]

Farming Extraordinaire Joel Salatin

This past week, I had the true pleasure of speaking to Joel Salatin, the author, farmer, and most important, owner of Polyface Farms, a holistic “beyond organic” farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Salatin describes himself as a “Christian-Libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist farmer,” and after hearing his lecture I can tell you, none of those is an exaggeration.



To me, Salatin represents everything that could be right in agriculture, and if extrapolated, in business. Polyface Farms is a for-profit entity whose goal is simple: create value through their core competency of producing great meat. However, this value-generating purpose is couched in an understanding that most industries ignore: the fact that every successful long-term business venture must internalize the costs of its actions. Right now, the American food system relies on petroleum-based fertilizers and federal government subsidies. These create several external costs that go unrecognized by the market, including soil erosion, dead zones in our seas, and aquifer depletion (the list can go on and on, but I’ll spare you, dear reader). What does it mean to externalize these costs? Well, basically, our food system is causing long-term costs for which we will have to eventually pay, but fails to include these costs in their prices. This is why Americans spend less on food (as a percentage of income) than any other society in the history of the world, why McDonalds French fries might be cheaper than the potatoes at your farmers market, why our food system is obsessed with cramming extra calories into any processed food it can find.

Joel Salatin defies this system at Polyface Farms. Polyface Farms, in its current operation, could still be around 500 years from now. Think you can say that about Monsanto, or any other food giant?

The lessons Salatin is teaching to the agriculture industry are valuable for all business ventures. The baseline responsibility for all businesses should and must be to internalize the costs of all tangible externalities their operations create, whether environmental, social, or health-related. This is easily accomplishable if done voluntarily, rather than by government regulation. Salatin understands farming, his farm, and his land. For these reasons, he is in the best position to make his operations sustainable, and it shows in his product. It also shows in his costs and, subsequently, his prices.

It has been said that the slave of destructive business practices is the consumer who makes purchasing decisions based on price. It doesn’t need to be that way. If the food industry internalized costs the way Salatin does, Polyface Farms would be the cheapest meat you could find.

Farmer's Market Closer Than Ever!

It's summer time and that means all sorts of yummy fruits are in season - and what better place to go than the NEW farmer's market in Glover Park/Burleith, located at Wisconsin and 34th, right across from where Safeway is (was?).

It's open Saturdays from tomorrow until the beginning of October until 1pm.

For more information, go here. This is a great addition to the other set of great farmer's markets in DC (including the one in Georgetown at Rose Park on Wednesdays from April to October from 4-7pm and the one in Dupont on Sundays year round until 1pm).

Surviving without Safeway: an Exploration and Ethics for Eating in DC

So, as you all probably know already, the Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue (termed by many as "social Safeway,") is going to be closed for a year during a reconstruction phase. Many Georgetown students are probably very upset about this; however, if life teaches us anything, when one door closes, many more open.

What I mean by this is that I encourage all of you to explore the many other opportunities near Georgetown--many of them not much farther away than Safeway.

-Whole Foods
-Trader Joe's
-Farmer's Markets

The first two are just about a mile away (not much farther than Safeway is), and you can get to the markets in Dupont and Foggy Bottom easily.

So what is there to discover?

Whole Foods:
If you love beautiful bright organic produce, Whole Foods is beckoning you. It is located at 2323 Wisconsin Avenue, a short walk from campus or a GUTS bus ride away (the last stop). Many people believe that Whole Foods is overpriced, but it, in some cases, is cheaper than Safeway (at least in the case of Silk soymilk). You have a wealth of organic and all-natural brands from which to choose, and, as an added plus, there are free samples of fruit and cheese EVERYWHERE. You can almost make a meal out of the samples!

If you want to venture off campus a bit, there are two other Whole Foods locations inside the district:

1) 15th & P (between Dupont and Logan Circles): You can get here by the G2 bus or a 2 mile walk (great for the good weather). What's the added bonus? There is an Asian bistro/sushi bar attached to the store--a great complement to your shopping.
2) Tenleytown: This is right next to the titular metro station; it is a 3 mile walk away, and it is accessible by the 30 buses. Added bonus? The Art-o-mat. Sponsored by Artists in Cellophane, art-o-mats are old cigarette vending machines converted to sell fine art (books, cds, and more). (FUTURE BLOG ENTRY)

TRADER JOE'S:
Trader Joe's is located at 25th & L, a mile from campus down M Street. Trader Joe's has the friendliest cashiers--they will almost always start up a conversation with you! Trader Joe's has free samples as well, which vary by time of day and day of the week. Trader Joe's also has excellent prices--I am always amazed at how cheap things are. If I am not mistaken, TJ's does not heat its stores (or keeps the heat low), relying on the large volume of people to keep the store heated. Many organic and natural options are available as well.

FARMER'S MARKETS:
Do you want to meet the person growing your food? There are Farmer's Markets all across the DC area. Fresh Farm Markets has locations in Dupont Circle (Sunday mornings) and Foggy Bottom (Wednesday afternoons). Dupont Circle, in the past at least, has had free apples and cheese sampling, and in the fall there are great pumpkin yogurt smoothies. You can also buy food from Polyface Farms in Dupont. There are also a few more farmer's markets in Arlington, too!

So, make the most of Safeway's construction phase. Eat organically, naturally, locally (or all three), and expand your knowledge of the city a bit! You won't regret it!