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 Earth-Friendly
Farming
Resources
on sustainable agriculture
Sustain
http://www.sustainweb.org
Alliance for better food and farming (UK).
USDA
list of local farmers markets
http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm
USDA
list of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/
Worldwatch
Institute
http://http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/163/
Membership
and professional resources
GlobalChefs
www.globalchefs.com
Online
magazine features Environmental Kitchen
section.
Chefs Collaborative
www.chefscollaborative.org Oldways
Preservation and Exchange Trust
www.oldwayspt.org
Promoting healthy
eating, sustainable food choices and traditional
food ways.
Slow
Food
www.slowfood.com
www.slowfoodusa.org
www.slowfoodchicago.org
Focuses on sustainability, cultural diversity, pleasure and quality of
everyday life.
Food
Lovers Britain
www.foodloversbritain.org
Supports small specialty farmers and growers (UK).
Seed
Savers Exchange
www.seedsavers.org
Saving heirloom garden seeds from extinction.
What food professionals can do
At the 2003 annual conference of the International
Association of Culinary Professionals, Janine
MacLachlan moderated a panel discussion on “A
call to action: supporting sustainability one
step at a time.” Joining her were Suzy
Friedman of Environmental Defense (www.environmentaldefense.org),
Chef Greg Atkinson of Islandwood Environmental
Learning Center (www.islandwood.org), pinch
hitting for Chef John Ash, author and culinary
director of Fetzer Vineyards (www.chefjohnash.com)
and Darina Allen of Ireland’s Ballymaloe
Cookery School (www.ballymaloe-cookery-school.ie),
whose professional students learn compost
as their first recipe. She offered these
tips
for food pros who want to support sustainable
production methods:
Source
quality food. Start with something fresh and wonderful and
you’ll need to
do little to make it taste good.
Fair
trade begins at home. We should be making a fuss that we’re
not paying our own farmers and food producers
enough for the food they produce.
Educate
ourselves. Get out there and see how food is produced.
See feedlots, even though it may not be easy to get in. We must
see how
things are produced and decide whether we can
serve food produced in ways that are not humane.
On a positive side, visit the cheesemakers,
vegetable growers and fish smokers and learn
about how they produce the food as well.
Make
links with farmers. It’s rewarding to meet the people
who produce our food. In the U.S., you have community
supported agriculture organizations. In Europe
we could use more of that.
When
traveling to teach, use local food. Incorporate
local food into your classes
to make
people more aware of food that ’s available. Ask for local food in restaurants and shops, so proprietors are more
aware.
Write
and praise those who support sustainably-produced food. Talk about issues on the radio, and in writing.
Start
a free choice consumer group. This group meets to help each other learn
about and source local foods. We have a different topic
each month and now we have standing room only
every time. It makes people more willing
to pay more once they understand what goes into
food production.
Produce
a guide to the small producers in your area
so people who are concerned can find it..
Do
we practice what we preach? Look in your fridge and see if you are making
a difference with your food dollar.
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