Since Top 10 lists are so last week, fine journalists from across the country have moved on to trends and predictions of the new year.  And there is no more important question to be answered than, what will we be wearing in 2010?  I don’t know Fido, but I’m sure that the fashion pages of the LA Times can set us straight.

From the prognostications of Booth Moore, we now know the following is coming:

• Tacky and cheap is all the rage via Forever 21
• For a new duds, try a trip down the rabbit hole literary-wise
• Gisele, and more surprisingly, Ronaldo are this year’s icons
• Home Shopping Networks (can’t tell if the author was cracked out or just paid off by QVC when declaring this a trend)
• Brand America, which can be defined as “a classic-looking trucker’s jacket with the front panels cut out so that it resembled a bondage harness”
• New Bridge - high end labels like Posen offering somewhat-affordable lines.  They must have finally noticed this recession thingee

Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will be hosting a live Facebook chat on Oct 1st to talk about local food systems. Last month, Merrigan put out a memo outlining proposed programs to strengthen local food systems:

1. The Community Facilities Program

The Community Facilities (CF) Program supports the success of rural communities by providing loans and grants for the construction, acquisition, or renovation of community facilities or the purchase of equipment for community projects.

As examples, she says an NGO (non-governmental organization) could receive USDA grant money to construct a community kitchen to teach healthy cooking classes using produce from farmers, a farmers’ market, or cold storage to help a school buy and serve fresh produce directly from farmers.
2. The Business and Industry (B&I) Guarantee Loan Program

The purpose of the B&I Program is to help new and existing businesses in rural areas gain access to affordable capital.

As examples, she says the loans can be used to aggregate local farm products so they achieve enough volume to serve a school system, to build a mobile slaughterhouse, or to add equipment and storage facilities for a local food processor.
3. Value-Added Producer Grant Program

The Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) Program provides grant funding for agricultural producers who add value to their raw products through processing and/or marketing, thereby increasing farm income.

Selling value-added products is a very important tool for farmers to capture more of the retail dollar from the food they grow. I’ve actually met a few farmers who have received this particular grant. Merrigan’s examples are an organic cooperative receiving a grant to conduct a feasibility study and develop a marketing plan to provide locally grown produce to schools, a farmer receiving a grant to direct market pasture-raised lamb to restaurants and stores, or a dairy farm receiving a grant to plan and execute a marketing campaign for their ice cream.

For those who don’t know, Merrigan is a member of the “Sustainable Dozen“.  She’s got a crazy resume that includes heading up Tuft’s Center on Agriculture, Food, and the Environment and was one of the main authors of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. As Sam Hurst at Gourmet points out:

At Tufts, Merrigan has directed a group of projects designed to stimulate community gardens, develop regional marketing strategies between consumers and local farmers, and promote food and gardening education in local schools. This is not the traditional career path of high-ranking USDA officials.

And she’ll be taking your questions.  That’s government accessibility you can believe in.

The Problem:

The state spends tens of billions of dollars on imported food, much of which already is or could be grown in state, and exports its own farm produce. Local food systems developed at the community level have flourished—in the last decade, the number of farmers’ markets in Illinois has grown from 97 to 270, while the number of community-supported agriculture organizations, groups that sell shares of farm harvests directly to consumers, has more than quadrupled. But large consumers—like hospitals, museums, restaurants, grocery stores, corporate kitchens, schools, and universities—have found it difficult to procure local food in the quantities they need. And, many inner-city and rural communities in Illinois lack access to grocery stores, markets, or other sources of fresh, healthy foods.

The Solution:

Specifically, the legislation sets up a grown-in-Illinois label and certification program, directs state agencies to purchase at least 20 percent of their food locally by 2020, and allows them to pay premium prices for local food. One particular goal is to increase the amount of local food served in public schools.

The law also establishes a new agency that will encourage farmers to grow food for local markets and will help build the statewide distribution networks needed to get their fresh produce to the people who want to eat it.

Pretty cool.  Check out the whole article on how Illinois is trying to go local by Brooke Jarvis over at Yes! Magazine.

So Obama wants a farmers market outside of the White House.  I figured it was so overplayed I wasn’t going to write about it here.  Even if this endeavor comes to fruitition, do you really think anyone is going to be rubbing elbows with Barack over the best bunch of kale?  Secret Service must already be developing stress ulcers.

That being said, people are getting (overly) excited about this idea.  And everyone has an opinion.  Even Ben Buchwalter from Mother Jones, who seems to think he has the recipe for success.  As he claims, all Obama has to do is:

Booths must provide free samples. And I’m not just talking about peaches. A farmers’ market has got to be more than a place for people to buy produce. Consumers need to roam freely to get a feel for the lay of the land before making buying decisions. Free samples of bread, veggies, and hummus-type spreads make this possible.

Don’t try to sell me $8 eggs. Yes, it’s important to buy products that come from humane farms. But some studies have even shown that cage-free eggs may not be “all they’re cracked up to be.” And you can find organic, humane eggs for a reasonable price.

How about some hot meal options? After a good hour of farmers’ market roaming, I tend to work up an appetite and a red pepper just doesn’t cut it. But farmers’ markets are often tempted to bring in chains so that they can charge higher booth fees. Including Chipotle or Panda Express is a quick way to destroy the market’s legitimacy.

And throw some live music in there for good measure. But President Obama, resist the urge to go for star power. I don’t want to see Bono and Mary J. Blige headlining the main stage at your farmer’s market. Like the vendors at the market, the live musicians should be locals.

So let me quickly explain why Ben should not quit his day job and open a stand in Dupont Market.

1. Nobody has to provide anything, and trust me no one wants a bite of raw onion.  But product samples are always welcome. BTW - I’ve yet to find a local farmers market that sells homegrown hummus.  This is DC not Tel Aviv.
2. I agree on the eggs.  Its true that DC area farmers markets are over priced and its the most obvious in the egg prices.
3. Apparently you, unlike me, has never tried to beg the fresh crab cake guys to cook up a serving for me while I shop.  They won’t do it.  Requires all sorts of licensing that’s just not worth it.
4. Live music is always fun.  Can I recommend Bonjour, Ganesh!?

No, silly, its not where cows go when they die.  It’s the future of agriculture:

The NYT had an op-ed by Dickinson Despommier, a professor who’s been on the forefront of vertical farming.

Over the past few years we’ve been bombarded with buzz words like locavore, food deserts, organically grown, obesity epidemic and caloric denisty when it comes to talking about modern food.  Left in the shadows is a term that had gained steam in the earlier part of this decade - fair trade.

In short, the Fair Trade label means that a product was grown ethically, following these principles:

• Fair prices: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.
• Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.
• Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.
• Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
• Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification.
• Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.

Compared to some of the other standards out there, Fair Trade is the full package - addressing environmental, economic, political and physical health of both the producer and the consumer.

While Fair Trade may not be basking in the spot light as much as it should, it’s still making progress.  In a huge move, Cadbury has announced that it will be offering Fair Trade chocolate throughout Canada, which they believe will double the amount of Fair Trade chocolate being sold in the country. This is great news for Ghana, where Cadbury is expected to quadruple their Fair Trade chocolate purchases from 5,000 tonnes to 20,000 tonnes, affecting 40,000 farmers.

Pushing major food processors to offer Fair Trade lines is not only a great way to bring income into Africa, it also stability and sustainable economic advances.  It would be interesting to see whether major aid organizations like the UN or the Gates Foundation  ever pick up the cause as a way to meet their goals.

Finally, yes, Fair Trade products must travel further and may have a larger carbon footprint than local products. However, Fair Trade does address environmental concerns in the area where the product is grown, and also, a stable and democratic government is that much less likely to allow environmental disasters under their watch.

God Bless the New York Times! Their paper is often a foodie’s paradise, and once again, they’ve come through for all of us in a big way.

I’m one of those strange seasonal eaters. I can’t bring myself to do soup in the summer, or if I do, I regret it afterward, but I find myself craving lots of warm soups and stews in the colder months.

Nom Salads

On the other hand, salads are great nearly anytime of the year, but when the local produce is abundant and ripe in the summer months, I find myself really craving them, and in all varieties - fruit, vegetable, and every other assortment you could come up with. I also find myself looking for new recipes to experiment with. Somehow I always seem to end up with the same 6 or 7 and then end up frustrated.

Thanks to the NYT, I will no longer have any kind of excuse whatsoever. Yesterday they published The Minimalist - Recipes for 101 Simple Salads and every single one of the recipes should take less than 20 minutes to prepare and all of them capitalize on the fresh produce we find ourselves surrounded with.

A quick breeze through all 101 recipes reveals that the recipes are quite amazing and simple. There’s recipes for the vegans, the vegetarians, the carnivores (Bacon!!), the seafood lover, the noodle enthusiast, and even some with grains. Chances are you’d be hard-pressed to find a salad that you won’t start drooling over just at first glance.

So take a look-see, and I’m gonna head out to my victory garden. The toughest part is deciding which salad I try first - 23, 31, 56, 71, or 76.

Today I got a smaller haul at my local Farmers Market, but it was still delicious.

Locally-grown shrimp (in Michigan!)

- 1/2 lbs of large fresh shrimp, grown and harvested locally at The Shrimp Farm Market, the country’s only inland shrimp farm. ($5)

- 1 small bag of freshly popped kettle corn from JW Kettle Corn ($3)

- 1 pint of fresh, locally grown raspberries ($4)

- 1 pint shelled peas, locally grown ($3)

- 4 oz of “Ohhh Maple” Chevre (goat cheese) from Greenbush Farms, a certified environmentally-conscious  local farm. The cheese is flavored with maple syrup, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves ($5)

- 2 zucchini, locally-grown ($1)

- 1 quart of locally grown Michigan cherries ($5)

- 1 lbs of hot Italian sausage, made with locally-grown, sustainable grass-fed, dry-aged beef from McLaughlin Farms Ltd ($6.75)

Total spent: $32.75

While it may seem high, I’ve noticed that what I’m spending at the grocery store has significantly gone down. Frankly, I’d much rather spend my money supporting local agriculture at a Farmer’s Market than at a supermarket that’s shipping in foods from out of state, and in some cases, out of the country.

Not a bad day at the Farmers Market! (h/t to Betsy for the fabulous food photos of our trip today!)

2 artichokes - $2 ($1 a piece)

sugar babies watermellon, small - $4

2 pints of jalepenos - $5 ($3 each)

1 yellow onion - $1

2 cucumbers - $1 ($.50 each)

carrots - $3

2 red onions - $2

2 nectarines - $2 ($3.49/lb)

3 peaches - $2.75 ($3.49/lb)

What you got?

I don’t know if defending elitism is the best strategy for dealing with people who attack organics and locavores. Yet, Marion Nestle does just that in the SF Chronicle by pointing out that other important social movements started with elites.

I once heard Eric Schlosser answer a similar question aimed at his book, “Fast Food Nation.” He pointed out that social movements have to begin somewhere and that several began with elites but ended up helping the poor and disenfranchised - the civil rights, environmental and women’s movements, for example.

I would add the organic movement to this list. It has already forced mainstream food producers to start cutting down on pesticides and to raise farm animals more humanely. As the supply of organic foods increases, and the Wal-Marts of the world sell more of them, organics should become more democratic.

This isn’t the most helpful narrative to be pushing.  If the food movement wants to escape from this line of attack, they need to focus on access and education.  Marion, please see: Bittman, Mark. The sooner that people like Ms. Nestle realize they need to work towards getting real food into the hands of the working poor and teaching them how to cook and enjoy produce, the naysayers will continue to cry “Elitist!”. And they are not totally wrong. We all need to home in on how to make good food more affordable, getting them to eat organic comes second.

Rhea Kennedy from the Examiner comes in for the assist:

Sure, you could drop $5 on a loaf of bread and $6 on a quart of cucumbers at one of DC’s farmers markets, but there is another side. Markets now serve low-income residents of Ward 8, H Street, Mount Pleasant, and the Dupont Circle area by accepting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program coupons, commonly known as food stamps. Several markets also give extra produce to corner stores and nonprofits.

Greetings from the Mitten State! I’m the newest foodie on the block, and am honored to be joining the ranks of some of my favorite fellow foodies and friends, Ali S. and Robin M.

I’m originally from the most populated part of the state, and for the better part of a decade, I’ve lived in the Capitol City. I got to know both Ali and Robin through my work as a political blogger aka Liberal Lucy, and now I’m a small-business owner. That aside, behind my political work, being a foodie is my next favorite thing to do in the entire world. I’m a big fan of Asian foods, organics, and all things locavore. I think cooking food is one of the most pleasurable things you can do, and it’s an amazing way to not only give of your talent, but also of yourself, because ultimately what you create can embody every emotion the heart can feel - from the playful to the passionate to the sensuous. But enough about me.

Every weekend, I make a point to head over to one of my favorite local farmer’s markets. Michigan’s second-largest industry is agriculture, and our farmers don’t let us down. In case you didn’t hear about the collapse of the Auto Industry (ha!) things are even tougher here in Michigan than they are in many other states. With the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler, unemployment could reach up to 20%. For many of us foodies, a trip to the Farmer’s Market used to be just a trip of fun and choice. With such tight times upon us, I’ve noticed larger than normal crowds both this year and last at the Market as folks are looking to do more with less, making it more a trip of necessity than anything.

On a typical weekend, I can find eggs, veggies, fruits, herbs, fresh cut flowers, plants, home made Middle Eastern, Chinese, Czech, and gluten and dairy-free food, along with canned goods, meats, fresh fish, cheeses, honey, and a local favorite, freshly popped kettle corn. Also within the last several years, I’ve seen an increasing number of markets that are accepting food stamps, and it’s something that our state has aggressively promoted. It’s good to see that even our poorest citizens are getting increased access to the healthiest of foods, all while promoting the spirit of locavorism.

I find this trend of getting back to basics in both in how we spend, where we spend, and what we spend it on both interesting and reflective of the tough times we’re in. Perhaps like it did for our parents and grandparents before us, this time will lead us all to a lifestyle of healthier eating done more consciously.

Seventh Street Community Garden was one of the most productive and effective community garden in DC.  The garden incorporated training programs to teach the neighbors how to grow their own food. So it was a great loss when their landlords told them time was up and that they were finally ready to build on the parcel of land they had been lending to the locel gardeners.

Happily, the Seventh Street Community Garden found a new home, and now has a new name - Common Good City Farm.  The new digs really is a farm with almost half an acre which sits on the the baseball field of one of number of schools that have been closed in the city.

The farm runs several training and education programs, but the coolest by far is the Green Tomorrows program. In exchange for just 2 hours of work per week, low income individuals get a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables, not to mention a great farming education.  Sustainability at work.

Check out The Nightly News with Brian Williams visiting Common Good City Farm.

Amanda Hesser had an op-ed in the NYT this weekend, scolding Michele Obama for not cooking.  While Ms. Hesser brings up a good point - cooking education is a vital part of getting people eating healthier, her target is misplaced. Unfortunately for FLOTUS she has become so popular that now everyone wants her to be everything to everyone.  She has already done a ton as far as local and organic awareness.  Can’t we just appreciate that? Does she have to cook, too?

A couple of weeks back I stopped by the nearby Harris Teeter to puck up some bell peppers. Harris Teeter is more of a high end storre, so they try real hard to make it pretty.  To decorate the produce section, they had several large blackboard-esque looking signs over the bins of fruits and veggies.

Isn’t “their” farmer just adorable?? He’s a cute little old guy who loves his apples and lives in a quaint place called ‘Yakima’. Except Yakima is in Washington State and I am in Washington, DC - 3,000 miles away. That carbon footprint is not so cute. Especially when my farmer’s market that sets up their booths just 10 blocks away from Harris Teeter had their own apples, and sure could use the support.

I’m not saying that Harris Teeter shouldn’t sell apples from Washington State.  But they sure shouldn’t try to sell their produce by leaching off the ‘local’ label by adding some folksy chalkboards with a photo of a disarming farmer and claiming you, Mr. Consumer can now feel better about buying our apples since we told you which farm they come from.

We’ll be seeing more and more of these type of advertising tactics.

Will it star Will Smith? Even without Will Smith, I do think this petition encouraging people to eat locally for the 4th of July is a good idea as a way to encourage people to at least try out the “Eat Local” lifestyle and see how it works for them. I would say that the petition would be even better if it provided concrete ways that signers could find local food, as in many parts of the country people don’t have the luxury of a farmer’s market or CSA. And those that do may not know where to find one.  www.localharvest.org is a good place to start BTW.

Even with some resources in hand, it can be very, very difficult to find certain things locally, and even if they are grown locally they have to be sent out of state for processing which kind defeats the point.  For example, residents of Vermont may find it hard to acquire local steaks since they no longer have meat processing facilities in state. And Barbara Kingsolver attests to how difficult it is to acquire flour locally in her tome Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

I once met a guy who had a little wallet size listing of which fish were safe to eat, which ones were endangered, and which ones were OK.  That would probably be a great resource to have for local foods, to identify which ones you could reasonably acquire locally, which staples you’re going to have to swallow hard and buy no matter what, good local substitutions, and which items are available at different times in the year. This would probably be a significant project, as the pamphelets would have to be customized to different regions of the country.  But I would definitely carry one!

When you think of the word ‘locavore’, what types of food do you think of?  I can tell you one food item that definitely does not come to mind - a bag of potato chips. But Frito-Lay has a plan to change all that, and that plan is called “Lay’s Locals“.

It is not clear who these chips are local to, and indeed, in their press release there was no mention of carbon footprints or food miles.  Rather, Frito-Lay wants you to feel better about eating their chips because somewhere, somehow, there is a farmer that exists that planted those potatoes. And they are going to run lots and lots of ads on your teevee showcasing these modern marvels.

I’m not even sure where to start, hence the brain melting.  Never mind that this campaign appears to have nothing to do with making our food chain shorter or food supply safer. Nor does it really address supporting local economies - how do I know their farmers are being paid a far price? Supporting the Maine Potato Blossom Festival isn’t going to cut it with me, buddy. Nothing on environmentally friendly farming practices either, just in case you were wondering.

And then there is the issue of the potato itself. Not that I have anything against spuds, but it’s been a while since I have seen a recommended diet or nutritionist proclaiming that what Americans really need to do is eat more potatoes. Here’s a big piece of the locavore philosophy that Frito-Lay doesn’t get - eating local is a way of consuming more produce, and hence healthier foods, and less packaged foods - packaged foods like Frito-Lay’s bags of chips.

Oh well, at the end of the day at least we agree on one thing:

But food executives who measure marketing budgets in the millions say they are mining the concept because consumers care more than ever about where their food comes from.

At the end of the day this is a problem more for locavore branding than anything else.  The public at large is just beginning to warm to the concept of eating locally, and now Big Food sweeps in and muddies the waters.  Something tells me this is a tactic we’ve seen before…