Category Archives: Eco Bites

Monterey Bay Aquarium: Turning the Tide on Seafood

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Seafood can seem a conundrum. In one ear we hear “eat more fish” for the benefit they bring our bodies, in the other we hear “the oceans are being overfished.” So what’s the answer . . . how are we supposed to feed a growing global appetite for seafood when supplies in the world’s oceans are dwindling? That’s the question Monterey Bay Aquarium has been asking for years alongside other groups like the Blue Ocean Institute and the Ocean Conservancy.

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And according to a ground-breaking report released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium entitled Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood, they’re closer than ever to knowing the answer. “Ocean life is still in decline and we clearly need to take urgent action to turn things around,” says aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard in the report. “The good news is that we know what it will take, and that key players are working more closely than ever to solve the problems. I’m confident that we can and will create a future with healthy oceans.”

So, just what will it take?

There are many factors that play into the health of the oceans that can be roughly boiled down to two golden rules: that fish species aren’t captured faster than they can reproduce, and that the environment remains healthy so that those fish—and the entire ecosystem–can thrive. Here is a snapshot of what Turning the Tide has to say about the state of seafood:

In the Wild

The major stakeholders in ocean affairs–environmental scientists and those who manage the fishing operations (which are called fisheries)–have in the past butted heads on which course of action to take to restore fish populations. But now there is considerable consensus on what can be done to change course. “Fishing communities and conservationists are crafting innovative solutions to ensure that there will be fish to catch—and people to catch them—for generations to come.” Solutions like regulating the type of fishing gear used and the amount caught, and a system called “catch shares” in which fishermen, cooperatives and communities are allowed a specified share of the annual catch. The result of these initiatives is an eco-friendly balance that enables fish, fishermen and fishing communities to thrive long-term.

On the Farms

The report also announced that, for the first time ever in 2009, we as a global community will consume more farmed fish than wild. Aquaculture is indeed one of the solutions for feeding global demand for seafood, but it must be regulated on an international level in order to protect both the health of marine ecosystems and the health of the consumers who eat it. Groups like the Pew Charitable Trust and the World Wildlife Fund are working to set healthy, sustainable aquaculture standards on both a national and international scale.

At the Market

There is no question that consumers’ desire to make sustainable choices is at an all-time high, due in large part to programs (like the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch) empowering them to do so. The report spotlights several positive initiatives that this interest has spurred. For instance, several leading chefs upped the ante to “Save Our Seafood” by pledging not to serve any fish on the Seafood Watch red “avoid” list (think the Give Swordfish a Break campaign rolled out across much of a menu’s best-sellers). It’s a bold move, and one that will inevitably broaden our seafood palate as a nation. So expect to see more fish like sardines and Acrtic char on menus in the very near future.

Other highlights from Turning the Tide are the huge strides made in making sustainable seafood more accessible in mass market channels, from WalMart to major food service companies. It’s getting easier to identify sustainable seafood at the counter too. The Marine Stewardship Council’s blue “MSC Certified” label backs up a robust program of sustainable standards, traceability and accountability for wild-caught fish throughout the supply chain, from producer to plate. Its sister program, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, is in development and will offer a similar certification and labeling program for sustainably farmed seafood.

What You Can Do

All this talk of sustainability and reports can sound daunting, but all in all the message of the State of Seafood was a positive one. There is a lot that can be done to restore our oceans and fish populations to health while providing the world’s human population with delicious seafood.

How’s this for empowering: every time you make a seafood purchase you’re contributing either to the decline or rejuvenation our seas. Here are three things you can do to help turn the tide in the right direction:

1)      Memorize a short list – Seafood Watch released their Super Green List. We at published our Super Seven. Both of these lists are great to have down pat for when you’re at the fish counter.

2)      Be aware and adventurous – There is a plethora of resources out there, including , to help you choose wisely, and  sometimes those choices may take you out of your comfort zone. Delve in with an open mind and give new species a try.

3)      Talk back – Let people know that you’re concerned about our oceans, whether it’s your policymakers or the guy behind the fish counter. Our combined voice equals market demand which goes a long way towards driving change.

Go Meatless on Monday (or Tuesday . . . Or Wednesday . . . )

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Here’s a nibble that falls under the “small change, big impact” category: designate one day a week where you take a break from meat. Why? Given that most of us fall short of our veggie quota and tend to eat more meat than we need, it’s a chance to even out the scales for a healthier body. And it’s good for the earth too; meat and poultry are much more energy-intensive to raise than vegetables. Cutting out meat just once a week (which adds up to 15% of your total diet, by the way) means your weekly meals have a smaller footprint on the planet.

Here are a few tips to help you go meatless any day of the week:

  • Choose Meaty Vegetables – Vegetables like mushrooms, eggplant and winter squash have a succulent mouth feel to them that mimics that of meat.
  • Experiment with Alternate Proteins and Whole Grains – Feature side dishes (like lentils or rice) and garnishes (think nuts) in more prominent roles. Lentils, nuts, eggs and tofu are all packed with protein and, paired with whole grains and vegetables, are surprisingly satisfying as a main meal.
  • Be Liberal with Your Healthy Fats – Since plant-based foods tend to be less calorically-dense than meats, there’s freedom to indulge a bit more than usual in healthy fats. Using a liberal amount of Canola oil to crisp up tofu slices or drizzling your best extra virgin over slow-cooked white beans, for instance, will add considerably to the dish.

This week, make a day of your choosing meatless . . . you’ll be surprised how satisfying it can be.

For more information on the Meatless Monday initiative, visit the website—thanks to Kim O’Donnel for bringing it to my attention!

Know Why Organic Matters

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As farmers’ markets shutter for the season and backyard gardens go to seed, many of us will retreat to the grocery store for the bulk of our food purchases. The question is, when “local” options dwindle, will you opt to buy organic?

There seems to have been a sort of backlash against organic in recent months. Some people say it’s too expensive, that in this economy organic food just isn’t relevant. Others say the complex bureaucracy of USDA Organic Certification shuts out small farmers who can’t afford the manpower to keep up with the paperwork. There’s some truth to both of those arguments.

But there’s another fact that’s been left out: The organic label is still consumers’ only institutionalized way of having a say in what kind of food they buy. When I buy organic carrots, I know at the very least they’ve been grown without chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and that, ideally, they’ve been grown in a way that nurtures soil, surrounding ecosystems and community. When I buy organic cookies, I know they don’t contain genetically modified ingredients. When I buy organic meat and milk, I know they don’t contain synthetic hormones or come from cloned offspring. Whether any of these things factor directly into our health is still being debated, but there are enough reputable studies saying yes–or even maybe–to make me dubious of putting blind trust into the conventional food system.

Does an organic sticker mean that something is going to taste better? Not necessarily. Are organic standards the end-all be-all answer to fixing our food system? Probably not. Sure, “organic” may be flawed, but until there is another structure in place that consumers can trust, organic does matter.

This week as you shop, whichever way you pick, be aware of the role the organic sticker plays in protecting our rights to choose our food.

Book Find: ECO LOGICAL

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ECO LOGICAL, by Joanna Yarrow (Duncan Baird Publishers, 2009)

As a writer, quite a few books and gadgets show up on my doorstep hoping for some sort of review. Some get one. Most don’t. But something recently came in that I thought would be perfect for the first review here on NOURISH Evolution.

Joanna Yarrow’s ECO LOGICAL is like a groovy guidebook for navigating eco topics. Where a DK book on Paris might give you a room by room breakdown of the Louvre, arming you with just enough information in an at-a-glance format for you to gain a working knowledge of the art within its walls, Yarrow takes us through various realms of green living. She uses similar boiled-down-to-the-essence graphics and info-bites to tease out the main arguments of a topic and help us understand what’s at stake on both sides, and then leaves us to choose how to incorporate the information into our daily practices; much as we strive to do here at NOURISH Evolution.

In the section on food (one of five other sections), Yarrow tackles the dueling views that “the planet needs to go organic” and “only conventional farming can feed the world” with simple, nifty graphics and summaries that speak volumes. She also looks at fair trade; the wide-ranging impacts of an omnivorous diet versus a vegetarian; sustainable seafood; and buying locally and seasonally.

This book is not an end-all-be-all treatise on how to save the earth, but what I love about it is that it doesn’t purport to be. Rather than trying to answer all the questions, Yarrow instead stirs the pot with ECO LOGICAL and asks us to think for ourselves. The book’s tagline says, “Join the debate—all the facts and figures, pros and cons you need to make up your mind.” While ECO LOGICAL may not offer conclusions, it does spark the questions that do eventually lead to choices that are right for each of us.

Note: My philosophy with books or any other product that shows up on my doorstep is this: if it ends up being heavily used on my own shelves and I enjoy it so much I get excited about telling people, I’ll most likely write about it at some point. If it’s something that I have no use for, I won’t put words to it.

Yes . . . We Can

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Odds are you have a food bank in your community. It’s not something we think of often, if at all; yet it’s nice to know it’s there to take care of those in need. But what if that food bank were to run out of food? Who, then, would feed the growing number of hungry in our communities? That’s the question that Aletha Soule from Slow Harvest, a program that connects excess food in western Sonoma County with the people who need it, is helping to answer.

The need is becoming critical. According to a survey by Feeding America, the country’s leading domestic hunger-relief agency, more than half of food banks reported that they had to turn people away due to lack of food in the last year. There are a record number of new clients relying on America’s food banks and over 20 percent more food dispersed this year over last. Federal and state programs are certainly a help, but people like Aletha are tapping into a resource closer to home—the manpower of community members themselves.

tomato-can

Last Tuesday I was part of a canning initiative through Aletha’s Slow Harvest. Fifteen of us signed on to can 400 pounds of tomatoes gleaned from local growers, a number that climbed to 1,000 pounds due to incredibly generous donors, to donate to two local food pantries.

We gathered at Relish Culinary Center here in Healdsburg and made a quick round of introductions before setting to work. A crew manned the stove, plunging bunch after bunch of tomatoes into boiling water to loosen their skins. Then onto the table the tomatoes rolled to be peeled, chopped and—what to call it—squished by hand into a sort of chunky sauce. That sauce got poured into huge stock pots and brought to a boil, then ladled into jars to be ‘processed’ in a steam bath.

After about half an hour we’d all found our groove and conversation began to blossom, despite the fact that most of us were strangers. This is the type of activity that has been the glue of families and communities for countless generations and there was something humbling—for me, anyway—about stepping into such well-worn shoes. Even just a century ago, the majority of Americans were intimately tied to agriculture; their very survival depended on what they could bring up from the land, and canning and preserving were part of that cycle. Nowadays, very few of us are connected to the farms that feed us, and our family size and generational span has dwindled. So in many ways a gathering like this—using surplus food picked from neighboring farms and labor supplied by willing hands—is really just an extension of a much deeper, traditional pattern that has been playing out over millennia.

And the “extended family” of our communities needs us now. Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, noted that “most economists project that unemployment lags the return of economic stability following a recession by one to two years. This means that the incredible strain on the nation’s charitable food assistance network is not likely to dissipate any time in the foreseeable future.”

The good news is . . . you can help. If you want to join a gleaning project near you, click here. If you’d like to learn more about preserving so that you can organize a gathering similar to the one I attended on Tuesday, check out the canvolution. Or if you’ve got an excess of those darned zucchini we talked about earlier this week, call your food bank or contact a gleaning organization near you to donate.

With all of us coming together, we’ve got enough. We can do this.

Time for Lunch

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It seems I’m meant to talk about kids’ lunches right now. This past Tuesday, I did a segment on ABC-TV’s View from the Bay on making healthy lunches fun for kids. But even better than peanut butter banana spirals is the fact that, right now, we have an opportunity to be a part of re-framing the school lunch program in America. Here to tell us all about it and how we can get involved is one of our talented new Contributors, Kurt Michael Friese.

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Fifty-three years ago when President Truman signed the first School Lunch Act, he said at the ceremony that “In the long view, no nation is healthier than its children, or more prosperous than its farmers.”  Yet today in America we have steadily rising rates of childhood obesity and early-onset diabetes, so much so that if you were born after 2000 you have a startling one-in-three chance of developing diabetes before you’re old enough to vote.  If you’re a minority, that number rises to one-in-two.  America, too, has more prisoners than farmers now, and among those few remaining the average age is 57 and rising.  It seems America has failed President Truman’s vision in both the health of its children and the prosperity of its farmers. An interesting proposition: fewer farmers=less healthy food.

Yet we have the opportunity to better both sides of that equation. The Child Nutrition Act, the piece of legislation that governs what 30 million kids eat in school each day, is up for re-authorization and Slow Food USA has launched the Time for Lunch Campaign to bring about some needed change. Among the modifications they’re petitioning Congress to make are investing in healthy food (right now, schools are given roughly $1 day per student to spend on food); protecting against foods that are a proven risk to kids’ health; and fostering healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime, in part by getting kids and schools involved with local farms and gardens.

What you can do

•    Sign the petition. If you want to voice your desire for change, sign Slow Food’s petition to get real food in schools. As of this writing, more than 13,000 people have signed.

•    Go to an Eat-in. Think of an Eat-In as the marriage of the traditional picnic to the classic activism of the 1960’s Sit-Ins; this is old-fashioned activism with a hot dish to share.  In all 50 states, local Slow Food members and friends of the organization have put together more than 280 grass-roots potluck picnics to occur simultaneously on September 7th, Labor Day. From Bellingham to Bay St. Louis, Carlsbad to Cambridge, people will gather with their friends and neighbors to show their support for getting real food in schools and everyone—whether or not you’re a Slow Food member—is welcome.  Bring some food to share, preferably something homemade with local ingredients (for ideas on eco-friendly picnic ware, click here).

•    Spread the word. If you do attend a sit-in, or even if you just want to help, tell people—post on Facebook, tweet, send an e-mail blast, start a conversation in the school parking lot—about the Eat-ins and the need to bring real food into our schools.

What is “real food?” you may ask. The answer is simple: real food is food that is and does good from the ground up. It’s good for the earth, it’s good for those who grow it, it’s good for our bodies, it tastes good and makes our community, country and planet a better place. As Truman alluded to all those years ago, real food grown by real people is essential for our health–as individuals, as families and as a nation.

kurt-thumbKurt Michael Friese is the founding leader of Slow Food Iowa, serves on the Slow Food USA National Board of Directors, and is editor and publisher of the local food magazine Edible Iowa River Valley. He’s also Chef and co-owner of the Iowa City restaurant Devotay, a freelance food writer and photographer, and author of A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland.

Three Tips for Greener Summer Entertaining

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Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, I thought it a good time for a post on how to make your summer get-togethers a touch more green. For help, I turned to our new Green Entertaining Expert, Nicole Aloni, author of the website and upcoming book A Conscious Feast and passionate advocate of environmentally-wise entertaining.

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Greener Grilling

“Natural gas or propane is the most environmentally-friendly choice,” says Nicole. Yet she acknowledges the smoky appeal of charcoal. If you must go gasless, a good solution is to use lump charcoal, which is made from hardwood (you can find bags in most hardware and grilling stores nowadays). “Regular briquettes use fillers that let off toxic fumes into the environment . . . and your food.” Skip the lighter fluid, which Nicole says is also “a big no-no” for the same reasons as briquettes, and use a chimney starter instead; you’ll be surprised how effective it is despite its simplistic design.

Greener Picnicking

While disposable paper plates are the embodiment of ease, they’re not the most friendly on the environment. But don’t feel like you need to spring for a set of eco-groovy bamboo or palm leaf dishes (although boy they are nice) every time you picnic, instead just tote along the dishes you normally use. We stack cloth napkins in between our plates to keep them from knocking together and wrap them (after scraping off the food) in the tablecloth when we’re done. If your dishes are especially messy (or your tablecloth especially nice), Nicole suggests wrapping them tight with plastic wrap and tying them up in a garbage bag. “That way they don’t rattle around and slosh goo all over the car.” Either way, just unwrap and run through the dishwasher when you get home.

Greener Bug Control

We’ve all had cookouts tainted by the scent of bug spray. Instead, swap the can for a spade and plant a hedge of alliums coffee-burningor marigolds, suggests Nicole. They’re beautiful for guests to behold but unappealing to many pests. If it’s yellowjackets you’re plagued by, fill small bowls with dry ground coffee and light them on fire so they smolder, then set them around the yard. I picked up this gem of a tip while at Rancho La Puerta and was astounded by how well it worked.

So light up your gas grill (or fire up your chimney starter), pack up your porcelain plates and light some coffee . . . then cook up these savory chicken legs for a green summery feast.

The Kitchen That Sings

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La Cocina Que Canta; the kitchen that sings. It’s the name of the cooking school at Rancho La Puerta Spa in Mexico where I’ve been teaching classes this week. My aim here, as it is with NOURISH Evolution, is to show people how to enjoy food that’s healthy for both our bodies and the earth. Nothing fancy, nothing extravagant; just incredible flavor coaxed from inherently healthy ingredients eager to give it.

RLP-1
[ photos clockwise from top left: a storm brewing; one of the many fountains gracing the grounds; sunrise on ancient “metate” divets in stone; sunny flowers swaying along the pathways ]

We start in the garden harvesting basil or spinach or greens or eggplant—and a bundle of fresh herbs for centerpieces—with Salvadore. Salvadore is the man in charge of the six acres of organic gardens. The man whose eyes twinkle with pride as he lifts handfuls of soil up to people’s noses. The man who brings me “dancing carrots” each morning, of roots entwined together in odd shapes. The man who stops to point out a bee burrowing in a head of romaine to explain that it, too, is looking for food.

RLP-2
[ photos clockwise from top left: a sculpture blessing the garden; rich, organic earth; Salvadore’s “dancing carrots”; students ready for the garden ]

Then it’s inside to the airy tiled kitchen where I encourage the students through chopping and slicing and pounding and grilling their way towards our meal. Some learn new techniques for chopping garlic. Others reconnect with roots through long-forgotten words and scents. Still others discover the ease and enjoyment of pounding the day’s pesto with the basalt molcajete mortar and pestle.

RLP-3[ photos clockwise from left: slicing figs for the mini oatmeal tarts with figs and honey; a very content instructor; pounding several varieties of basil for the pesto ]

What we do in the kitchen is really just gilding the lily on what’s already been accomplished outside in Salvadore’s soil, whether the end form is a creamy corn polenta, a fig and oatmeal tart or a smoky melizansalata with Mexican spices.  This is healthy cooking. This is cooking that’s gentle on the earth. This is cooking that brings a smile to the soul . . . and to everyone seated at the table.

Si, this kitchen sings indeed.

Salvadore’s Garden

Leaves rustle,
A rooster crows,
Laughter wafts over fields of green

And gold and crimson
And plum and rose.
More than a meal, a feast.

A Farm by Any Other Name . . .

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Here’s a question. If you bought a pickled cucumber from Marge’s Farm at the farmers’ market and it made you sick, would you need to sift through a mound of paperwork to find out where that pickle came from? Not so much. But if the pickle that made you sick came from a jar on a supermarket shelf, you (or more accurately, others) would be grateful that the paper trail existed, so that source of bum pickles could be singled out before it caused harm to others. Two completely different scenarios, right? Not, right now anyway, according to the Food Safety Enhancement Act just passed by the House.

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This bill embodies both great opportunity (to improve food safety in a largely industrialized food system) and great threat (to quash the burgeoning small and organic farm movement in America), and I could write at length about any number of issues on either side of the coin. Right now, though, I’d like to focus in one aspect that I feel must be addressed not just in this bill, but in the way we view agriculture in America: specifically, that there is a fundamental difference in the way small—particularly organic—farms function and the way large, industrial outfits do.

One takes a long-term view with the goal of creating a healthy ecosystem. The farmer is continually observing, experimenting and adapting to foster the health of his land. It’s an inherently intimate relationship. The other depends largely upon efficiencies: soil amendments to boost short-term production; pesticides and herbicides to kill weeds and pests with minimal labor and cost; seeds that are engineered to increase yield. It, by contrast, is an inherently impersonal relationship.

Now I’m not arguing that all agriculture should be one way or the other; in the world we live in, there’s a need for some form of both. I’m simply saying that the first step to creating legislation that truly protects our food supply—all aspects of it—needs to acknowledge that there are some major differences between small and large.

The good news is, lawmakers are willing to address concerns about the bill before it goes before the Senate this fall. So stay tuned on NOURISH Evolution to learn more about the issues and how to make your voice heard.

Start a Conversation About Seafood

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Sometimes, at seafood sustainability conferences, talk can get circular. Buyers from big chains speak about wanting to change but needing demand from the market to do so. Scientists and chefs talk about sustainable fish that most of us can’t find. So how are we individuals supposed to create a demand for something not on the shelves? When I posed this question in back in May at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s annual Cooking for Solutions Conference, the answer from both sides was unanimous and surprisingly simple: just ask.

start-a-conversation-about-seafoodWhile it’s easy to feel that we alone have no say in what’s available at the fish counter, that’s just not so. When it comes to voicing a desire for more eco-friendly alternatives, now more than ever companies are likely to listen. Here are a few tips to jump-start the conversation:

Know what you want and why. Take shrimp, for example. Rather than asking for “sustainable shrimp” and leaving it to the fishmonger to decide the details, take a moment to browse Seafood Watch before you go (or do it at the store on your iPhone). In about 30 seconds, you’ll see that all imported shrimp are ranked “avoid”and that all US shrimp, whether farmed or wild-caught, are rated “best choice” or “good alternatives”. You could certainly dig deeper to find out why, but just knowing ahead of time what to buy and what to avoid is a great start.

Be bold in both your questions and your answers. So let’s say that you’ve asked for domestic shrimp and the guy behind the counter answers with, “These are from Thailand, I think, or maybe Vietnam. They’re on sale. It’s a great deal.” Hmm. Not exactly on the same page. Now here is where you can clarify exactly what you’re looking for and why. It may sound pushy, but it’s perfectly acceptable to say something like, “You know, Seafood Watch didn’t rate imported shrimp very high on the sustainability scale, which is why I was looking to buy domestic. Do you think you could get me some?” Regardless of whether or not he (or his manager) will actually put in an order, he now knows that the shrimp he’s selling isn’t super eco-friendly and that at least one of his customers would prefer a more sustainable choice.

Be open to hearing and sharing new ideas. Once you’ve established a rapport with your fishmonger, you can start to take it further. If you learn about a fish you hadn’t heard of before but want to try, challenge your purveyor to find it for you. And if he knows you’re interested in sustainable seafood, he might just pick up the mantle and start seeking new sources himself.

The truth is, change is often spurred within the context of a relationship and moving the needle on sustainable seafood is no exception. You don’t have to be a chef or a big corporate buyer to have an impact; all you have to do is ask.

This week, start a conversation with your fishmonger and see where it leads the both of you.