The Japanese Food System Experience (So Far)

Greetings from Hayashima, Japan!

It's been about a month and a half since I left Connecticut to spend a year teaching English in Japan, and in that time I (and my stomach) have begun to get used to life here. I am by no means an expert on Japan's food system at this point, nor will I likely ever be, but there are some similarities and differences between the American way of producing and consuming food and the Japanese way of doing so that became clear almost as soon as I arrived.

Similarity: Both Japan and the United States have a country-wide food distribution network

This is a picture of Marunaka, a supermarket chain with a store right here in my town. This particular picture isn't of my town's store, but the one in Hayashima looks similar. There is parking available for both bikes and cars as many people (myself included) ride bikes around town. Marunaka stocks foods and household goods from all over Japan and is fairly sizable, although nowhere near as giant as a Costco or Super Walmart. Since arriving in Japan I haven't heard of or seen anything like that.


Difference: Japan's food distribution network focuses heavily on Japanese products
Or at least it does in my experience so far. And not only does it focus on Japanese-grown products, but also regional and local products. The Pione grape and white peach are both specialties of the region I am living in, and are available, seasonally, right as you walk into the store. Local fish from the inland sea near my town makes up a large percentage of the seafood selection, and even dry goods like rice have labels displaying what prefecture the grains came from.

Get Ready for Spring Crops!

Although you can grow or buy a bounty of foods year-round in Connecticut, now is the time that the season for a wide array of spring and summer crops really starts to pick up.  This week as you're contemplating your grocery list, check out the above Connecticut Grown calendar (also available online here) to see what's growing in the area right now. 

Then, check out our brand new Farm and Food Guide that just came out for a listing of organic and sustainable farms near you!  The Guide provides not only a list of farms and farmers markets with maps that show where each farm is located, but also contains information about which Connecticut Grown farm products are available from each farm.  Starting right now, you can use the Guide and the CT Grown map together to get more of your produce from local sources.

And don't forget, CT farmers offer all of the produce listed in the map, plus more!  Check out the Guide to learn about additional types of produce as well as baked goods, dairy items, meat and seafood, and so much more! Buying local is an easy and delicious way to keep your food dollars where they count - in the local economy supporting Connecticut's own farmers!

Have a great afternoon!
-Melissa

Make This Year's Farm Bill Count - Support Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act 2013

The Farm Bill. You know, that large (about $300 billion large) legislative package that rolls around every 5 years or so, intended to shape the future of our food system by setting standards for food production, food cost, nutrition, environmental health and rural development? Oh yeah, that one.

Five years have passed since 2008 when the last Farm Bill was implemented and while it was largely geared towards supporting industrial agriculture, progress was made to add new provisions that supported local and regional food systems in the United States. But like every Farm Bill, this one came with an expiration date of September 30th, 2012 and when Congress failed to agree on a new Farm Bill before that date (no surprise here) the bill was extended, returning the bill to it's permanent legislation and erasing those new provisions supporting healthy food and farms. Battle lost.

That is why supporting the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act is so important. It is a proposal to improve the upcoming 2013 Farm Bill and implement legislation that will allow for greater sustainable production of fruits, vegetables, and meats, expand access to healthy foods to consumers, and further improve the infrastructure and markets of regional and local food systems.

The Union of Concerned Scientists is one of the many organizations that is supporting this Act and is providing ways for you to take action as well. You can click here to show your support and tell Congress to cosponsor the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013!

Best,

Katie

You Can Take Control of the Food System Right Now

Food corporations aren't in business to help us eat healthier - they're in business to make money, since they are ultimately accountable to their shareholders. So when big food reassures us that they care about what's in our best interests - namely reducing lifestyle diseases like obesity and diabetes that stem from over-consumption of their products - that's really only a partial truth. It's a truth only in the sense that they care about how our interests will affect whether or not we purchase their products.  The idea that big food has any moral obligation to care about whether or not we get sick from their products is false, regardless of how their advertising might spin it. (Remember this ad by coke?  That's what I'm talking about.) And even that supposed "truth" that we as consumers are powerful enough to sway product development with our concerns could be considered a stretch.  Really, psychology is king in this industry, trumping public opinion and moral outrage, and the only thing we can do about it is to eat critically and move toward greater government regulation.

I was recently sent this article by a colleague that explains what I mean.  The article is long, but I'm glad I read the whole thing because it really gets into the nuts and bolts of how the food industry operates.  The fact that big food tries to create and optimize products for maximum addictiveness isn't all that surprising, but it does speak to the need for each of us as individuals to take control of our own health by making informed food choices, and to push for greater government oversight in order to regulate the production and marketing of these products.  Again, the industry isn't interested in pleasing the consumer; it's interested in pleasing its shareholders by selling product.  If the best way to sell product is to placate consumers with hollow reassurances while at the same time marketing them highly addictive and nutritionally poor goods, so be it.  There is no ethical compass here. In this system, the vast complexity of a human being is reduced to a set of psychological impulses.  If a company can capitalize on those impulses to make more money, all the better for them, but not necessarily all the better for you.

The point is, it's not about big food being good or evil.  Morally corrupt or not, they're looking after their best interests, and so should you.  It's easy to slip into eating unhealthy foods because we perceive them to be cheaper, tastier, and more convenient than their healthful wholesome cousins (I've fallen into that trap more than I'd like to admit) but when you're about to go for that prepared meal or snack because you think it's less expensive and less time consuming than making a real meal, consider whether or not that perception is really true, or if it's just the result of effective corporate marketing.  More and more I'm finding that I can make meals that are easily prepared and more delicious and satisfying than anything processed, despite what any food commercials tell me. There are thousands of variations on the sandwich, for instance, many of which are very quick and easy to make with local healthy ingredients, and are much cheaper and more delicious than fast food versions of the sandwich like burgers.  And if I really have no time for a full meal, or are just bored with the meal options I've been preparing for myself, I'll go the snack route, but not in the conventional chips and cookies way.  A combination of fruit, nuts, veggies, and cheeses makes a great on the go snack, and if you focus more heavily on the fruits and veggies it can be very affordable.

Regardless of your approach, buying locally produced food and preparing your meals yourself is a great way to feel empowered about your place in the food system.  On a larger scale, that empowerment means communities can work more effectively together to make lasting changes in government policy at all levels of the system, which translates into a better standard of living for everyone.  But it all starts with how we as individuals respond to the current food system, and who we choose to support with the one thing that big food cares about the most.  Money talks - how will you spend your opinion?

Have a great afternoon,
Melissa

Want to Get More Involved with CT NOFA?

CT NOFA Board Members Sought!
CT NOFA is looking for board members with Fundraising, Legal and/or Volunteer Coordination Experience.

The Board member will:

1. Attend in-person meetings approximately every other month
2. Participate in conference call meetings on the alternate month
3. Participate or lead the appropriate committee of the Board, with separate meetings for committee
4. Attend CT NOFA events, have fun, eat great food and advocate for local, organic food and organic land care

Interested?
Please contact John Turenne, Vice-President of the CT NOFA Board.  You can learn more about the current CT NOFA board here.

CT NOFA is a growing community of farmers, gardeners, land care professionals, and consumers that encourages a healthy relationship to the natural world.  We are the largest and oldest organization in the state that educates about and advocates for local organic food, farming, and land care.  You can learn more about us and our mission here.

Working Together for a Sustainable Future in Connecticut

Greetings, At this joyous time of year, we ask you to do what you can to support sustainable organic agriculture and land care in Connecticut. For our part, we are working smarter and harder to maintain the high level of programming and distribute the timely, relevant content you have come to expect from us. However, we cannot do it alone. Thank you, and let's keep it going. Together we've made important strides and have had a great impact creating a strong demand for locally-produced organic foods in Connecticut. Here are just a few of the things we've accomplished Hidden Brook Gardens on-farm workshop 125 local farms and businesses are listed in Connecticut NOFA's 2012-2013 Farm and Food Guide Annually, 10,000 free copies the Farm and Food Guide are distributed across the state 4000 people receive CT NOFA's Gleanings e-Newsletter monthly  Over 400 farmers receive The Farmer e-News Thousands of people are reached each week using social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook Over 200 people receive our new CT School Garden Network e-Newsletter, Growing and Learning The CT NOFA Facebook page has an average 5000 person weekly reach 300 people have taken our on-farm workshops on winter food growing techniques and other topics  60 women over four years have taken the Beginning Women Farmer Program Over 800 people have attended CT NOFA's educational programs so far this year  Impact of the NOFA Organic Land Care Program (OLC) The NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care are the only standards of their kind that have been accepted into the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Family of Standards. These standards include the Basic Organic Principles-Health, Ecology, Fairness and Care as the foundation for all land care programs and projects. Here's what we've accomplished: In 10 years over 1200 professional landscapers have taken the NOFA Accreditation Course in OLC Compost Tea Advanced Workshop  526 of these professionals maintain their Accreditation with the NOFA Organic Land Care Program 300 professional landscapers have taken the NOFA Organic Lawn and Turf Course Over 2,000 copies of the Introduction to Organic Lawns and Yards were distributed  1000 land care professionals receive the monthly NOFA AOLCP eNewsletter 1000 Homeowners receive our quarterly newsletter NOFA Organic Land Care's Facebook page has over 300 fans and reaches 1200 people each week Over 200 homeowners have attended our 90 minute workshops on organic land care Our program has been copied by Oregon Tilth, the State of New York and Rutgers University

And there's more to be done! Will you give a year-end gift to help carry our work forward? Now more than ever, we need your continued support of CT NOFA for our Annual Appeal.  This is a 100% tax-deductible gift that supports our operations and allows us to build a sustainable local food system and a healthier environment for all the residents of this beautiful state we live in and learn from. Please help us to help others and together we will weather these uncertain economic times. We are reaching out and asking for you to consider an Annual Appeal gift of $100 or more.      We've made it easy    You can donate securely online by clicking the button above.  You can join by clicking the button below.  If you're already a member, renew by December 31st to extend your current membership at 2012 membership prices. You can contact the office directly by email atdeb@ctnofa.org or by telephone at 203.888.5146. Do you work for a company with a Matching Gift Program? If so, please submit a matching gift form with your donation and double the impact of your gift to CT NOFA.  We thank you for your continued support. Please know that your contribution and membership will be gratefully received and deeply appreciated. With gratitude, Bill Duesing Executive Director CT NOFA

Urge Congress to Pass a Farm Bill This Year

From the National Center for Appropriate Technology:

As of this month, our nation’s food and farm policy in the form of the 2008 Farm Bill has officially expired, with no workable replacement moving forward in Congress. This has left critical low-cost but very high-value programs high and dry with no funding— and it means Congress missed the chance to make real reforms and an investment in an equitable, sustainable future for food and farms in America.

With no new farm bill or extension of the 2008 Farm Bill, the programs that address rural and urban job creation, training opportunities for beginning farmers, natural resource conservation, and access to healthy food are in big trouble. These are programs that NCAT has been part of and support our work to assist farmers and ranchers in building a more sustainable future.

Can Congress still finish a farm bill this year? YES!

There is a short window of time for Congress to finish the bill after Election Day. So when Congress returns to Washington, we’ll need YOU and other farmers and advocates across the country to tell them loud and clear: we need an equitable, sustainable 2012 Farm Bill!

Sign your name and tell Congress we need a 2012 Farm Bill that:
• Invests in the future of healthy farms, food, and people
• Protects our precious air, soil, and water
• Reforms farm subsidies and levels the playing field

Without a working Farm Bill, funding for many of the resources CT NOFA promotes to farmers will be in jeopardy.  The farm bill is one of the most important and influential pieces of legislation the United States government is in charge of.  Please sign the petition urging Congress to pass a farm bill by the end of the year.

Click here to sign the petition

Get Ready for Food Day!

Yesterday was World Food Day, and Food Day in the US is less than a week away!  Food Day's priorities include promoting safer, healthier diets, supporting sustainable and organic farms, reducing hunger, reforming factory farms to protect the environment and animals, and supporting fair working conditions for food and farm workers. To reach these goals, organizations across the country are holding events to raise awareness about food in the United States and foster excitement about affecting change for the better.  Below are just a few of the upcoming Food Day events going on in Connecticut.  If you want to learn more about events in your area, check out Food Day's Find an Event page.

Food Day in New Britain
October 24, 2012 at 12pm - 9pm
Urban Oaks Organic Farm
225 Oak St
New Britain, CT 06051
A celebration of fresh, organic, and local!

Barnum School holds Food Day Event in Bridgeport, Connecticut 
October 24, 2012 at 3pm - 6pm
Barnum School
945 Waterview Ave
Bridgeport, CT 06608
An event to celebrate local farms supporting the Bridgeport community. There will be booths set-up for nutrition workshops for students and parents, a Cooking Matters booth doing tastings, local pumpkins and apples for applesauce to talk about a healthy halloween, local eggs for omlette station, produce from the the school gardens around Bridgeport for tastings and much more!

Food Day at the Rowayton Library
October 24, 2012, all day
Rowayton Library
33 Highland Avenue, Rowayton, CT
The Rowayton library is holding three events in celebration of Food Day: The French Twist: Twelve Secrets of Decadent Dining and Natural Weight Management, Design Your Own Smoothies - For Kids, and Guilty Pleasures – Healthier Choices: Sports Night REDO! – for Adults.

Since the purpose of Food Day is as much to facilitate discussion about the past, present, and future of our food system as it is about celebrating healthy, affordable, and sustainable food, why not use Food Day as an excuse to have a diner party?  To help make the process of planning such a Food Day party relaxing and fun, Food Day has developed a Dinner Party Kit that includes Food Day recipes from Mario Batali, Dan Barber, Ellie Krieger, and other celebrity chefs; conversation cards; and a pumpkin stencil so that even your jack-o’-lantern can eat real!  What a great way to enjoy the company of friends, family, and coworkers while enjoying a great meal and becoming more well-versed on that state of food in America.

Have a deliciously thoughtful day!
-Melissa

A Farm for the Future - a Documentary

The BBC series Natural World focuses on wildlife around the globe.  One 45 minute episode, titled A Farm For the Future, delves into the idea of low energy farming as compared to our current high energy model, and the reasons why an immediate change in agricultural methods is necessary.  In my opinion, it's a well-developed film that provides not only a clear wake up call for farmers and consumers, but also tangible solutions for the future.  Here is the BBC's synopsis:

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is. Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

Check out there first ten minutes of the film below.  View the full film here.

The documentary goes on to explain that a food system based on permaculture can not only eliminate the detrimental effects of conventional farming, but also, if done correctly and with care, be more productive with less effort in the long run than conventional agriculture.  That notion may seem a bit far fetched until you start to think about the power of nature.  Conventional farming today is so labor intensive in large part because it works against nature instead of with it.  It takes a lot of time and energy to force a forest into pasture, for example, but it requires a much smaller input to work with that same forested space to produce an equal quantity of food in a manner more consistent with how the forest would have grown in the first place.  Nature does an excellent job growing plants and raising animals, so why not use that to our own agricultural advantage instead of fighting with it?

To ensure an agricultural model that can feed all of us in the near future, it is essential that we all become informed farmers, gardeners, and consumers.  If you watch the film and agree with the argument it makes, share it with your friends.  Let's start looking at agriculture from a new perspective, and be open to the more sustainable possibilities that are available to us.

Have a great weekend!
-Melissa

The Drought and Supporting Local Farming

These photos were taken by NASA satellites almost exactly one year apart.  The bottom photo shows the Mississippi river in August, 2011 and the top photo shows the same section of river in August, 2012.  The large tan areas visible in the 2012 photo are huge sandbars that are exposed by the drought.  The drought threatens drinking water near the Mississippi River delta as a wedge of saltwater slowly moves up the river against the weakening current, and has also impacted shipping along the river since barges can no longer carry as many goods for fear of running aground. You can read more about this unprecedented situation here.

As we are all becoming increasingly aware, the drought has also had a huge impact on the corn crop in the US.  The USDA has released this map that details the extent of the drought, showing it's spread across much of the corn belt and other highly agricultural states.  However, the vast majority of the corn affected by the drought isn't used for direct human consumption - most of it is ultimately consumed, but in a processed or changed form.  The corn in question is mainly used for conventional animal feed, with some also going to create ethanol and additives for processed foods, like corn syrup.

This infographic shows that the drought won't greatly affect food prices in the grocery store since 86% of retail food costs are from third party fees like packaging, transportation, and processing.  This brings up another issue tangentially related to the drought - the issue of supporting your farmer. An average of around 20 cents of every dollar spent on conventionally produced food goes to the farmer, with slightly higher amounts going to farmers and ranchers raising livestock, and much lower amounts going to farmers who produce grains.  For a six pack of beer that costs $7.19, the farmer who grew the grain to produce it only got paid $.05. 

In a conventional food system, the vast majority of the money you spend on your food supports transportation, packaging, processing, and marketing costs.  It's true that this money employs people in those industries, but a local food system creates many farming jobs near home while reducing fossil fuel consumption and increasing the nutritional value of the food grown.  This would connect people to their communities, making life better overall.  And in drought situations like the one we're in now, a local system made up of smaller more diverse farms growing many crops rather than monocultures would be much less susceptible to drought than the large one-crop farms we have now.

So what can you do?  The number one thing is to support your local farmer!  You can learn about farms, farmers markets, and CSA programs near you on our website.  Check them out, and make an effort to buy a significant portion of your food locally.  If you or someone you know is thinking about becoming a farmer, you can also check out our beginning farmer program which helps connect new farmers or people thinking about becoming farmers with the resources they need to become established. 

As a society, we can take control of our food system and make ourselves less vulnerable to extreme weather while ensuring a better future for our children - a future of better nutrition, a healthier environment, and a greater connectedness to the local community.  A future where farmers are an important part of every community, and receive just compensation for their hard work.  It can be done, one farmer and one consumer at a time.

Have a great Thursday,
Melissa

Enjoy the Bounty of Summer All Year!

It's nearly August! The bounty of summer is in full swing, and in Connecticut there is no shortage of delicious, fresh, and varied produce to put in our kitchens. Produce, however, has a pesky habit of going bad over time, especially when you're dealing with highly perishable fruits like berries. This month, when all the tomatoes in your garden are ripening at the same time and you have more access to fresh local produce at the market than you know what to do with, use some of these methods to preserve the harvest so you can enjoy it all year!

Drying: Out of the three major food preservation options, drying is the most economical. It requires the least amount of energy input, and much of the work is done in the background while you're off doing other things. Here's an article by Jean Nick from Rodale that details the process of dehydration, complete with tips and recipes sure to make your mouth water.

Canning: Canning takes some time and skill, but it's the only way wet foods can be preserved without refrigeration. If you want to learn how to can just about anything, peruse this blog by Canning Granny. She provides a wide variety of recipes and tips from her own kitchen and from readers' submissions.

Freezing: Freezing is arguably the easiest food preservation technique, requiring relatively little time or preparation, but it requires a lot of freezer storage space and, therefore, a lot of energy. Good Housekeeping gives a good introduction to freezing, including what not to freeze and how to properly prepare and wrap food for freezing.

And if you want to learn more in depth guidelines and tips, the Cornell Extension has a great webpage about all three food preservation techniques. Check out our webpage as the summer draws to a close to learn about our fall food preservation workshops as they are scheduled.

Have a bountiful day!
-Melissa

CT NOFA Member Farms Spotted at the Coventry Farmers Market!

Sweet Acre Farm in Mansfield

Running June through October, the Coventry Farmers Market is the largest farmers market in the state of Connecticut, with dozens of vendors, many of whom are members of CT NOFA. Our Board Secretary, Janet Heller, went to visit the market recently and documented many of the CT NOFA member farms that were there to represent local organic farms and food.  Check out the farms' websites listed in the captions below their photos and pay them or the market a visit.  Shopping at a farmers market or visiting a local farm is a great way to spend some time outside on a nice summer's day while getting your grocery shopping done at the same time.  It's also a lot of fun for kids! 

Topmost Herb Farm in Coventry

Grow Hartford CSA

If you want to learn more about our other member farms and the farmers markets they attend, check out our listing online.  You can also download a PDF of our Farm and Food Guide, a listing by county of all our member farms, markets, and supporting businesses, complete with descriptions and maps, here.

Maggie's Farm in Lebanon

The Coventry Market specializes in organic, heirloom, ethnic and gourmet varieties of fruits and vegetables, and offers grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, milk, yogurt, smoked bacon, rustic breads, farmstead cheeses, European pastries, salsa, pesto, fresh herbs, cut flowers, chocolate, fudge, honey, and maple syrup, and also features the work of local artists and artisans including hemp clothing, goat’s milk soaps, beeswax candles, stoneware, herbal tinctures, handcrafted beadwork, vintage cotton tote bags, and handspun yarns.

Terra Firma Farm in Stonington

Provider Farm in Salem

What a wonderful way to support your local farmers and all the hard work they do to produce healthy, nutritious, and delicious food!

Happy Shopping!
-Melissa