Chews Wise

Las Vegas’s Daily Diet of 60,000 Pounds of Shrimp

That figure comes from Rick Moonen, the chef at RM Seafood in Las Vegas who has a passion for sustainable fish. He mentioned that Las Vegas’s daily consumption of 60,000 pounds per day is more than the rest of the nation combined.

Where does that shrimp come from? Largely from farms in southeast Asia, which have a number of problems: the destruction of mangrove swamps where the farms are based, the application of pesticides and antibiotics in the fish farms that are banned in the U.S., the reliance of low-wage labor. His solution? He uses only wild caught US species.

This came out of a panel at the Cooking for Solutions conference at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which brings together about 60 journalists to learn about sustainable food. It’s one of the few conferences that gathers terrestrial and oceans experts in one forum and is flat-out one of the best conferences I’ve attended on these issues.

The day was opened by Gene Kahn, a founder of the organic food industry, who has since moved onto greener pastures at General Mills. As global sustainability officer, he set the theme of “continual improvement” -- that there is not one singular solution to sustainable food systems and that it demands incremental gains, not either/or approaches.

Kahn said he’s most interested in changing the mainstream since 1 percent change at General Mills is “revolutionary.” As a former organic food entrepreneur, he said he’s no longer interested in “selling food to yuppies” and that the mainstreaming of these values in everyday products represents a “democratization.”

Interestingly, he said the biggest risk to this entire movement is “greenwashing,” that is the practice of companies making claims that are so limited as to be functionally meaningless. The solution was to have transparent goals, processes and results. 

But back to shrimp, which along with tuna and salmon were the topics of the first panel.

The major issue with salmon is the destructive practices of farmed fish, both in pollution and the use of wild caught fish as feeder stocks. None on the four-person panel could endorse any farmed product. Indeed, the only positive farmed products mentioned were tilapia, trout, with a nod to Kona kampachi and barramundi. And of course, mollusks, such as mussels and oysters, which have been highly successful in farmed systems.

Tuna is one of the most widely eaten species, but the only population that won an endorsement from the panel was the pole caught albacore on the West Coast (low in mercury toxins, high in omega 3 fatty acids) and a few poll caught species off of Hawaii. The other major issue with tuna is that governmental norms over its harvest differ or are non-existant. Illegal fishing is also rampant.

“It’s a highly migratory species and requires international agreements that have not been forthcoming,” said Brad Ack of the Marine Stewardship Council. “The (consumer) market has not begun to drive that change, and that’s going to have the biggest influence.”

Pen-raised tuna (much of it in Australia and the Mediterranean) has been put forward as one solution, but Corey Peet of the Aquarium mentioned that these tuna require 25 pounds of feeder fish to create one pound of tuna - a horrendous ratio that is not sustainable. Furthermore, wild caught  juvenile fish are farmed in these pens, depleting wild stocks in which they might breed.

Paul Johnson, owner of the Monterey Seafood Market, said he expected some blue fin tuna populations to be extinct within the next three or four years. Whether he’s right or not is only a matter of degree.

As for salmon, the familiar advice to buy Alaskan wild salmon was widespread; species such as coho and sockeye will be more prevalent and cheaper than king salmon.

But Johnson said, “We are going to pay more for seafood if it’s sustainable.”

The solution: eat a smaller portion ... or different species.

Moonen said that smaller species are generally more sustainable - mackerel, sardines, trout - but that consumers have to learn how to cook them. To that aim, he recently published a cook book on this topic, Fish Without a Doubt, which we soon hope to review.

- Samuel Fromartz

What about those Organic Pesticides?

At an organic conference I attended last fall, I heard a farmer from the Central Valley of California, new to organic farming, bemoan the lack of organic-approved pesticides for production. "You just see aphids wipe out the crop," he said.

"I call that first generation organics," one industry veteran sitting next to me said. "They are just looking for replacements to the chemicals they use. They don't understand that what they really have to do is learn an entirely different method of farming."

A few "natural" pesticides are allowed under organic regulations, such as Rotenone, Pyrethrins (pdf) and Neem oil, and while they break down quickly when exposed to air or light they have various levels of toxicity. (Rotenone is the most controversial). The advocacy group, Beyond Pesticides, notes: "It is important to remember that just because a pesticide is derived from a plant does not mean that it is safe for humans and other mammals or that it cannot kill a wide variety of other life." (This was updated to note that Rotenone is no longer registered with the EPA, as a certifier pointed out in the comments section below).

A farmer or a gardener reaching for these insecticides to replace the chemicals he formerly used isn't truly following the organic method. If organic methods are truly followed -- composting, crop rotation, relying on specific cultivars and the nurturing of beneficial habitat for friendly bugs (that eat the bad guys) -- natural pesticides only become necessary as a last resort.

On this score, a horticulture professor, Jeff Gillman, has just written a book looking at the issue, and, according to the WaPo's gardening columnist Adrian Higgins, appears to have arrived at a reasoned approach: organic methods at heart are about feeding the soil and farming in such a way that reduces the need for pesticides. Higgins writes:

Gillman's fundamental argument -- to which I subscribe wholeheartedly -- is that if you are simply replacing synthetic products with organic ones, you are missing the point. The aim is to reduce the need for fertilizers and, especially, pesticides. How do you do that?

You build the soil with correct amounts of compost and mulch, choose plants that do well and place them in their optimum locations. "These are the true parts of organic gardening," says Gillman, a professor of horticultural science at the University of Minnesota.

But do organic farmers really follow these methods and avoid even those pesticides allowed in their arsenal?

The only work I've seen on this issue was in an annual farmer survey by the Organic Farming Research Foundation in 1998. It found that 52 percent of all organic farmers never used botanical insecticides and only 9 percent used them regularly. Other more benign methods such as insecticidal soap and Bt (a bacteria toxic to insects but not to humans) were cited slightly more frequently.

But what method did organic farmers most rely upon?  Crop rotation, cited by 74 percent. The reason rotation works is that it breaks up the habitat favored by a pest, never giving the pest a chance to breed in an ever-plentiful food supply.

Following Gillman's definition, it would appear that most organic farmers are, indeed, organic, though I would encourage OFRF to do a follow-up survey on organic pest and disease-reduction methods.

Image source: Biconet

- Samuel Fromartz

Honest Tea Founder Talks on Coke Deal

By Samuel Fromartz

Though I took a critical look at Honest Tea's deal with Coke last week, company co-founder and CEO, Seth Goldman, agreed to chew it over with me in an interview.

I've admired Honest Tea for awhile and profiled the company here. It sources from organic and fair trade tea estates, has  looked hard at packaging and shipping, and has been open and transparent in its practices - as this interview attests. These are all key practices in sustainability.

Their "less-sweet" drinks offer a tasty alternative to sugar-laden calorie-busting sodas - yes, just the kind Coke sells. The formula drove Honest Tea sales up 70 percent to $23 million last year.

But I worried Coke's deal to buy a 40 percent stake would throw Seth and his team off track, or worse. There's more than a few examples of companies that stagnated or died a slow death after a giant took them over.

Seth countered that Coke will actually give him a major push in the market -- starting with two new products he's launching this year. Here's the edited interview:

(Photo: Seth Goldman via Honest Tea)

Organic Style Rag Rises From Ashes!

Organic Style Magazine - founded by Maria Rodale, then mothballed, then sold by Rodale Inc. - has been resurrected online by Gerald Prolman, better known as the organic rose guy.

I just got the link to it, so haven't read it cover to cover (pixel to pixel?) but it looks like it's going for the same audience as Yoga Journal, without the yoga.

It has an interview with Maria Rodale and an excerpt from Amy Stewart's book, Flower Confidential, on - you guessed it - organic roses. She visits a rose farm in Equador and explains how it gets by without chemicals. This is a cozy world, for those roses end up at Prolman's company, Organic Bouquet.

My only quibble is that it's a little tricky navigating from page to page -- maybe that's the nature of this digital beast. But it's not a biggee.

May a thousand flowers bloom.

(Photo of Prolman from Organic Style)

First, It Was Organic v. Local

Now it's Organic v. Fair Trade. William G. Moseley points out in the San Francisco Chronicle that tensions are growing acute between these two movements, spurred out by the demand for local food. (Via Lainie's awesome Organic Confidential blog).

If local is the new organic, and demand for imported organic food drops off, then African farmers who depend on organic export markets will have no alternative but to produce conventionally grown food for export. Local activists respond that these farmers should focus on local markets in Africa, but Moseley says they've already done that.

Many farmers in the poorest of African nations - where I do my research - already supply local markets with their grains and produce. While not formally recognized as such, these markets are virtually organic because most poor African farmers restrict pesticide use to traditional export crops such as cotton, cacao and coffee, while local foodstuffs are grown with few or no chemical inputs.

If the local food movements in Europe and North America reduce their demand for organic and fair trade products from afar, the most likely consequence is that African farmers who have entered these niche markets will return to producing their export crops in the conventional, pesticide-intensive manner. While local food markets can provide some income for these farmers, they still are reliant on export opportunities for the bulk of their cash income.

Food miles gives a one-dimensional view of socially responsible food production, though the reality is more complicated. The Soil Association tried to tackle this issue by seeking a fair trade designation for any air shipments of organic food -- a noble step, but one which might still limit these markets.

The question I had after reading Moseley's piece was whether some, all or most exports actually create cash for farmers, or whether these markets follow the plantation model and siphon cash out of the local economy. Again, I would think the answer is not simple.
 

In UK, Air-Freighted Organic To Be Fair Trade

By Samuel Fromartz

In a significant decision for global organic food markets, Britain's Soil Association, the nation's premier certification body, has decided to continue certifying air-freighted organic food so long as the products meet ethical standards.

This would bring a "fair trade" designation to organic food, balancing the benefits of trade in developing countries with concerns about rising carbon emissions. "The association rejected calls from the public, environmentalists and some of its own producers for a ban on all air-freighted organic food, deciding this would penalize many poor countries which benefit in terms of jobs and wages from growing organic food for British consumers," the Guardian newspaper reported.

"It is neither sustainable nor responsible to encourage poorer farmers to be reliant on air freight but we recognize that building alternative markets that offer the same social and economic benefits as organic exports will take time," Anna Bradley, chair of the Soil Association's standards board, said.

The proposed standards require organic food producers in developing countries to contribute substantially to the social needs of communities and workers, and guarantee wages and good working conditions.

Significantly, sea-container shipped organic foods will not need to comply with the new standard, a Soil Association press officer said. That means spices and other foods with a long-shelf life that are often shipped by sea will get a pass. So will goods shipped by truck from, say, Turkey.

Although developing countries were the focus of the new standard, it does apply to any air-shipped organic foods, whether from Africa or from the US, Europe, and New Zealand. Perishables such as produce are often air-freighted. The London Telegraph reported that sweet potatoes and salad flown in from the U.S. would likely be stripped of their organic status.

"It's right to continue to allow some organic air freight. Most people say that they only support air freight if it delivers real environmental and social benefits. This linking of organic and fair trade standards does that," Peter Melchett, the Soil Association's policy director, said in the Guardian.

Image source: Soil Association

Aurora Plays Affordability Card

Responding to the class action law suits it faces, Aurora Organic Dairy said they were without merit. "There is absolutely no basis for claims we defrauded consumers by selling milk that isn't organic," CEO Marc Peperzak said in a statement.

He noted that a settlement agreement with the USDA confirmed that "AOD currently has eight valid organic certifications."

In its public relations battle with Cornucopia Institute, Aurora is playing the affordability card. Aurora's critics "want to limit the supply of organic milk and drive up the price paid by American families. This would harm consumers and slow the spread of organic agriculture. If they win, consumers lose," Peperzak said.

Fromartz take: Price has not been the main issue of this fight -- rather it has focused on whether large-scale organic dairy farms are truly following the USDA regulations. Aurora's critics say that by flouting rules, Aurora created a low-cost production model that unfairly competed with those who do follow the rules at a higher cost. But as Peperzak noted, the agreement with the USDA did affirm its organic certificates, much to the chagrin of many of Aurora's critics. Now, for consumers at least, it's up to the courts to decide.

- Samuel Fromartz

Aurora Organic Slapped With Class Action Suits

(Updated with impending Denver Lawsuit)

Two mothers in St. Louis have filed a class action lawsuit against Aurora Organic Dairy (AOD), claiming that the milk they consumed from the nation's largest private-label organic dairy company was not organic, according to Sustainable Food News ($).

Leonie Lloyd and Kristine Mothershead claim they suffered harm by being “tricked” into buying Aurora's private label organic milk at Costco that was not organic. The plaintiffs, represented by the St. Louis law firm Simon Passanante, are seeking compensatory, consequential and punitive damages. The suit also seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting AOD from engaging in “illegal activities.”

In April, the USDA's National Organic Program sent a letter to Aurora, citing 14 "willful violations" of the organic regulations by the company. In a subsequent settlement of those allegations, Aurora, which has $100 million in sales, agreed to amend its farming practices and stop selling certain milk. It was allowed to keep its organic certification.

AOD's Senior Vice President Clark Driftmier told Sustainable Food News he had not seen the lawsuit and that the company had not been served.

Meanwhile, the Cornucopia Institute reported late in the day that the St. Louis action is one of two lawsuits.

Law firms based in Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri have so far have filed one of the lawsuits in Missouri, with another suit, covering dozens of additional states where plaintiffs live, due to be filed in Denver tomorrow.  The attorneys are seeking damages from Aurora to reimburse consumers harmed by the company’s actions and are requesting that the U.S. District Courts put an injunction in place to halt the ongoing sale of Aurora’s organic milk in the nation’s grocery stores until it can be demonstrated that the company is complying with federal organic regulations.

Cornucopia says the Denver suit is being handled by attorneys from Lane, Alton, Horst  in Columbus, Ohio; Wolf, Haldenstein, Adler, Freeman, and Herz in Chicago; and Gray, Ritter, and Graham, also based in St. Louis. Attorneys in both suits are seeking additional plaintiffs.

Behind the O-Market

Where do organic consumers live?
Primarily in the West, according to a recent survey by Scarborough Research. Here are the top regions for organic food purchases (percentage of consumers buying organic food at least once a month in brackets).

1. San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (35 percent)
2. Seattle/Tacoma (32 percent)
3. Portland (27 percent)
4. Washington, D.C. (26 percent)
5. Denver (26 percent)
6. San Diego (24 percent)
7. Austin (23 percent)
8. Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto (22 percent)
9. Boston (21 percent)
10. Phoenix (21 percent)

My take: Other surveys have shown that frequent buyers of organic food represent about 8 percent of all consumers. The figures measured here - once monthly - are a pretty low threshold and would drop sharply if they measured consumers buying at least several organic items in each trip to the store. Overall, organic sales represent about 3 percent of all supermarket purchases.

About those Organic Ingredients

The Daily Green has a very comprehensive run-down of the 38 non-organic agricultural ingredients proposed to be used in organic foods. If your curious about this controversy, check out the actual substances and the reasons for the petitions. It's part of a larger Truth in Organics series the blog is running. (Image: Daily Green)