Channeling Woody Allen at the Farm

In this youtube video, first seen via Megnut a few days ago, Chef Dan Barber related a hilarious story about his stud pig that has, well, shot its wad.

The question: What to do with Boris?

In this talk at the Taste3 conference (which we actually don't know much about), he relates all the various answers he got from the staff at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture (where he has a restaurant), and, in a neurotic, New York kind of way, ends up channelling a bit of Woody Allen.

The Boris saga actually begins with another story about a carrot that appeared in the New York Times magazine recently. So if you're time-pressed, and want to hear about poor Boris, jump to 6:15 into the clip and hit play. It lasts another 15 minutes but is well worth it. Click on the picture to view it.

A Local Foods Boom: A Few Facts

Whole Foods local produce sales in 2006: $163 million (1)

Percentage of WF's total produce sales that were local in 2006: 16.8 percent (1)

Percentage of WF's total produce sales that will be local in 2007: 20 percent (1)

Percentage of WF's total produce sales that will be local in 2010: 25 percent (1)

WF's total produce sales in 2006: $970 million (2)

Percentage of WF's total produce sales that were organic in 2006: 50 percent (3)

WF's total organic produce sales in 2006: $485 million (2)

Percentage of WF's sales that are fresh produce: 17 percent (2)

WF's total sales 2006: $5.6 billion (4)

WF's expected sales in 2010: $12 billion (1)

Estimated local produce sales at WF in 2010: $510 million (2)*

Estimated annual growth rate in WF's local produce sales until 2010: 33 percent

(1) Comments by CEO John Mackey at 2007 annual meeting, March 5, 2007
(2) My estimates extrapolating from Whole Foods data and projections
(3) Comments by Mackey
(4) Annual Report
*Assuming that $12 billion in sales will be reached, produce remains 17 percent of total sales, and local is 25 percent of all produce sales.

FOOD fight for Tougher Organic Rule

Organic dairy farmers, who for several years have been trying to get a tougher organic grazing regulation, formed a group last week to get this measure passed.

Organic dairy farmers from Maine to California met in LaCrosse, Wisconsin - home of the Organic Valley dairy co-op - on February 23rd and formed FOOD Farmers (Federation of Organic Dairy Farmers).

Why is this an issue? Because some larger-scale dairies have been loosely interpreting the requirement that livestock have "access to pasture." The regulation is so vague it allows some operations to feed their cows primarily on feedlots - not on pasture.

The group is pushing for a regulation for organic dairy animals to consume at least 30% of their food needs (dry matter intake) from pasture for the entire growing season, but for no less than 120 days. The USDA’s National Organic Program is currently in the process of more clearly defining the current standard that requires all ruminant animals, which includes dairy cows, to have access to pasture. "The addition of feed and time requirements will result in a verifiable nationwide standard unlike any other organic standard in the world," the group said.

Let's cut to the chase: this proposed regulation has been around since 2005, but the USDA has so far dragged its heels on implementing it. The vast majority of organic dairy farmers want it. Consumers support it. The only thing standing in the way is the regulatory machinery of the government.

So expect a FOOD fight to make it happen.

Considering Local in a World of Pesticides

By Samuel Fromartz

While you chew over the Time magazine cover story on local and organic foods, consider the latest report from the USDA on pesticide residues. The watchdogs over at Beyond Pesticides - an NGO long fighting against pesticides in our food supply, homes, workplaces and, yes, golf courses - reports on the latest pesticide data from the USDA.

Every year, the USDA grinds up food samples around the country and then measures the pesticide residues it finds. Beyond Pesticides looked over the Pesticide Data Report:

In fruits and vegetables, 73 percent of fresh and 61 percent of processed produce had detectable residues. Drinking water analyses primarily found widely used herbicides and their metabolites; forty-eight different residues were found in untreated intake water and 43 in treated water.

It doesn't end there. Sixteen percent of bottled water samples had pesticide residues. So did 22 percent of soybeans, 75 percent of wheat, 98 percent of apples and 99 percent of heavy cream.

Milk generally contains pesticide residues, primary DDE (the substance that DDT breaks down into when it is metabolized). Why does it show up in milk? Because long-lasting pesticides like DDT concentrate in fatty tissues. This is still the case, even though DDT has been banned since 1972. Since it exists in the soil, plants take it up and then it is consumed by cows. (The FDA, however, says these detectable levels do not pose a health risk). DDE was in 85 percent of milk samples, which is about the same level when the USDA last tested milk.

The PDP report, incidentally, is one of the data sets that Environmental Working Group relies upon to find the foods with the most pesticide residues. They take this data, crunch the numbers, and then come up with a list of the foods with the highest and lowest numbers. That way you can try to make an intelligent choice about what organic foods to buy if you can only afford a few items.

Studies show organic food has lower pesticide residues. A widely publicized study in 2002, looking at 94,000 food samples from 1994-1999, found that organic had about two-thirds less residues than conventional food. It would be interesting if this study were repeated, especially now that so much more food is available organically.

In light of this rather consistent body of data, I've argued elsewhere that the choice between local and organic is a false one: both are good choices for different reasons. And both are such a tiny fraction of the food supply that choosing between them is virtually meaningless.

What's Behind Whole Food's VC Fund?

By Samuel Fromartz

Whole Food's CEO John Mackey this week let drop another news nugget in his discussion with Michael Pollan - a new $30 million venture fund to back "artisanal" food companies.

So what's the thinking behind this money? Is Whole Foods just trying to nurture the Slow Foodies of the world?

If you step back, you can see a couple of things. First off, Whole Foods is facing increasing competition in organic foods from mainstream retailers. Sales growth has slowed. (That's why the stock took a hit this year - not because of the unflattering things Pollan had to say about them in his book). Secondly, those competing retailers are getting into this business by stocking many products that initially got their start at natural food retailers like Whole Foods.

Think of how this works from Whole Foods point of view: Hundreds of entrpreneurs are constantly knocking on your door, trying to get their products on your store shelf. You like some of them. You give them a shot in the store. Customers like them too - and start buying them.

Suddenly, the little start-up that got its first leg up from Whole Foods isn't so little anymore. Now, the start-up says, "Let's go for the bigger opportunity - in Target, Wal-Mart, Safeway." Start-ups have to do that because they are usually backed by investors who are looking to cash out, and they can only cash out if the company gets large enough to generate a sufficient return.

Essentially, what Whole Foods has done is offered that first crucial distribution pipeline for these young companies, in a sense, legitimizing them, and then they move on.

Well, guess what? Whole Foods is pissed about that. "We feel like we're being used," one insider said.

That's why you see some Whole Foods stores removing products from their shelves that are also appearing in Wal-Mart.

This dynamic could change, though, if Whole Foods actually had a stake in its suppliers. Not only would they be providing capital to money-starved entrepreneurs and artisans but they would also keep them in the tribe. It's like the Japanese kieretsu model of business that links companies with their suppliers in long-term relationships.

Unlke a traditional venture capitalist, Whole Foods wouldn't need to cash out to get a return. The "return" is measured in having a pipeline to great products.

Plus, Whole Foods can afford to do it: they generate $500 million or so in cash a year.

Whether it will give them enough of edge, well, that's the big question down the road.

Mackey-Pollan Smackdown Turns Love Fest

By Carmel Wroth

AMUSE-BOUCHE: Local, of course

The pre-event reception to the Michael Pollan-John Mackey discussion drew quite a crowd.

Hungry (and penniless) graduate students rubbed shoulders with well-heeled foodies, including superstar chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, nutritionist and best-selling author Marion Nestle, and Bill Niman, co-founder of Niman Ranch meats.

Of course you’re wondering what there was to eat.

Guests munched on goat cheese fritata, artisanal salami, and crostini, decked with green olive tapenade, warm hedgehog mushroom spread with fresh grated romano, and duck liver pate.

All locally sourced, naturally!

Conversation buzzed—everyone was excited to see the two food luminaries talk. Or maybe they were just pleased they had scored tickets (people were soliciting them on Craig’s List before the event.)

Whole Foods employees had come from far and wide to see their boss.

“John Mackey is cool,” said Elizabeth Wade, a team leader at the Petaluma, California, store.

David Evans, Marin Sun Farms’ owner, who sells his grass-fed meat locally (and not in Whole Foods), said he hoped the Pollan-Mackey conversation would shed light on how “small farms can access a bigger market without sacrificing integrity.”

Yes, indeed, the question of the night.

FIRST COURSE: History Lesson

To start things off, John Mackey - co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods - gave the crowd of nearly 2000 people a 45-minute food history lesson, complete with colorful Powerpoint slides.

He walked us through the entire history of food procurement and production. Six discreet stages of food history from hunting and gathering to Whole Foods Market!

Okay, that’s not entirely fair. Mackey believes that a new era of food is emerging to replace industrial agriculture--what he calls ecological agriculture--and naturally it’s bigger than Whole Foods.

He seems to think his company is the heart of the movement (it may well be), and he clearly articulated a vision for a sustainable alternative to industrial food.

He also broke some news (as he seems to do every time he appears with Pollan). Whole Foods has established a $30 million venture capital fund to make equity investments in artisanal food companies. This presumably comes on top of a $10 million fund set up for farmers last year.

Secondly, the company is launching a “Whole Trade Guarantee” fo the company’s commitment to source certified ethically traded products.

How can you be cynical about this man?

SECOND COURSE: Smack-down Letdown

As the dialogue got under way, there was a rustling of expectation in the audience. The provocative debate was about to begin, right?

After all, these were the two men who disagreed so strongly about whether the organic food business was lapsing into industrialism that they conducted a heated, months-long online argument. (See our previous post for links on the debate)

In person, though, they were almost painfully gentle with one another. They sparred, a little, I guess, but it was more like couple's counseling than a duel.

For starters, there were admissions of mutual gratitude and admiration. Mackey had learned from Pollan. Pollan appreciated Mackey.

The denouement came when Pollan asked Mackey if he blamed the company’s recent stock devaluation on his less than flattering chapter on the Whole Foods. It went like this:

“Well you probably cost us about $2 billion,” said the natural foods tycoon. “Easy come, easy go.”

(Audience laughs)

“Seriously???” (Culinary poet laureate grimaces painfully).

Mackey described how a flurry of unflattering press followed the book, including frequent comparisons to Wal-Mart.

Pollan looked contrite.

Mackey melted: “Aw, I’m just pulling your chain a little bit, Michael!”

What are righteous eco-consumers to make of this not-so-spirited interchange? If you want to see a debate, as one audience member suggested, invite people who are really on opposing sides of an issue.

Pollan and Mackey originally did have their differences, but when Pollan came up with his eloquent critique, Mackey moved rapidly to turn Whole Foods' sustainable battleship in line with Pollan’s vision—or to emphasize the ways it already was already doing so (sourcing more local foods in stores and moving forward with supporting domestic grass-fed meat, for example).

Pollan, for his part, politely closed ranks with perhaps the most influential man in organic and natural food circles, which is, you'll recall, the alternative to 98 percent of the food supply.

Mackey had his own criticism of Pollan, saying “big organic” is not as big and bad as the author claimed.

“You exaggerated the extent of industrialization of organic,” he said, even adding his most contentious comment, “you’ve done some damage!”

Pollan said he “didn’t intend to demonize” big organic. Organic Coca-Cola would be fine by him. (Say what?)

Which leads us back to a fundamental question raised by the evening's discussion, can organic scale up without selling out? Is there a way to produce and distribute enough organic food to reach the vast majority of the population, or will organic food remain in its gilded 2 percent niche?

DESSERT: A challenge

With all these weighty issues on our minds, Mackey asked one last question.

“What is your contribution going to be? What are you going to do to support ecological agriculture?”

Other than shopping at Whole Foods and the farmers' market? We're still pondering that one.

(The Webcast of the event is archived here)

Tailgate Party: Mackey Comments Pre-Debate

John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, made a guest appearance in Michael Pollan’s graduate level journalism class on food issues, hours before their much-anticipated discussion.

We got an inside-the-classroom look at Mackey from a new contributor, Carmel Wroth.

Pollan had cautioned the class against being too aggressive, but maybe it wasn't needed.

There was something about Mackey that makes you want to be on his side. He's so optimistic you get swept up in his good vibes and forward-looking energy. He even challenged the students to take on the mission of expanding the organic food movement beyond the 2 percent of food sales that his generation has managed to carve out.

Through a winding conversation, Mackey never let go of his theme: that natural and organic foods are in the early stages of evolution, but with imagination, faith and the entrepreneurial spirit, it can and will grow.

The subtext wasn’t hard to discern either—Whole Foods is the leader of that evolution, and deserves admiration, not criticism.

Mackey described his company’s plans to keep pushing natural foods forward, including their embrace the “Fair Trade” and “Rainforest Alliance” labels (both focusing on sustainability in the Third World) and their new “Animal Compassion Standards” which he hopes will eventually be adopted industry-wide.

In his all-embracing stance, he was quick to try to find common ground with local food supporters, like Pollan. He called it a “waste of time to have these arguments between local and organic” when both are such small niches.

He predicted a future when local agriculture would be in such a resurgence that there would be no need to fly in fresh produce from international markets (such as the much-maligned mushy asparagus Pollan described in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma). The only globally sourced goods would be things that can’t be grown locally like coffee and bananas.

Yet, somehow all the think-positive talk seemed to be blowing smoke over the very real challenges of scaling up the organic movement without betraying its ideals, or the small farmers once at its heart. Mackey simply brushed aside concerns that scaled-up large, organic farms are likely to be less in line with organic and ecological principles.

Humm ... We'll see how Mackey's positive mojo plays with the Berkeley crowd later this evening.

- Carmel Wroth

The Whole Dilemma: John Mackey Debates Michael Pollan

Last year, Michael Pollan published a bold critique of Whole Foods in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, taking the natural foods giant to task for selling what he dubbed industrial organic food.

Exhibit A: a limp bunch of organic asparagus flown in from South America rather than the local foods burgeoning at places like farmers' markets.

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey responded, thoroughly engaging his critic in a spirited debate. (Somewhere in there Mackey also handed Pollan a $25 gift certificate for the asparagus &#8212 not sure if Pollan spent it, but we'll check it out).

This was all followed closely in foodie circles, with the back-and-forth discussion at both Pollan's and Mackey's web sites.

Now, the two are back, meeting Tuesday evening at the University of California Berkeley, where Pollan teaches in the journalism program, for a "discussion" about the past, present and future of food. The event proved so popular it had to be moved to a larger hall to accommodate the audience. Now it's sold out.

It should be entertaining. The inside word is that Mackey will be provocative - but it's unlear what that means.

U.C. Berkeley will be running a live Webcast of the event here.

A new contributor to Chews Wise will also be blogging from Berkeley so stay tuned for our take on it.
- Samuel Fromartz

How to Grow Heirloom Tomatoes

What's the fastest way to get heirloom tomatoes growing? For all of you thinking about compost, seaweed nutrients and other farming esoterica, add this to your list: credit cards.

This last tip comes from my friend Jim, who has an organic farm in Pennsylvania.

At the farmers' market in D.C. this weekend, I was chatting with Jim about, you know, farmer things &#8212 the weather, when to put my onions in the ground, the chefs in town, finances.

Actually, this last topic came up because I told him another farmer I know on the West Coast &#8212 who is also named Jim &#8212 had tapped $240,000 from a $250,000 credit line. It was only late February, two weeks before his early season strawberry sales started kicking in.

So, Jim tells me, he solves that problem with credit cards.

Each year he carefully accepts those offers that fly into his mailbox for zero percentage balance transfers and bonus points and cash back on purchases.

He took on $40,000 in credit card debt this way last year, transferring balances from his working capital credit line that charges more than 9 percent interest. He even tapped out one card and stuck the money into a CD and made several hundred dollars.

In the fall, he's usually cash rich, so pays down the credit cards and then cancels them. But like new seed packets, the credit card offers roll in through the winter in time for his spring spending.

Credit cards are a common way of financing start-ups; entrepreneurs use them all the time. They key is to pay all minimum balances due on time. So you need to stay on top of your credit card statements if you're going to play this game.

I think I'll pass this tip on to Jim on the West Coast, but I'm not sure what it will do to his $240,000 debt. Maybe allow him to take on $40,000 more.
- Samuel Fromartz

How to Sell a Carrot

Chefs and farmers wax poetic about their food, farms, and dishes, but let's face it: what sometimes works best is a little marketing magic. Customers want it. They consume it. And images can be as easily manufactured in the kitchen as in Tinseltown.

Dan Barber, chef and owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, comes clean about how this works in an interesting New York Times piece about carrots - specifically, carrots that he attempted to infuse with the scent of almonds by sprinkling some of their nutty dust in his greenhouse garden.

He then marketed prodigiously, spreading the word that his almond carrots would be harvested and served at dinner one evening in a salad. What happened next is pretty hilarious, but it just goes to show you, as any Madison Avenue guru would tell you, it's the sizzle that sells.

Perhaps coincidentally, the title of this essay, "The Great Carrot Caper," was the name given to another incident in 1988 - when workers in California were photographed putting conventional carrots into bags marked organic. This was outright fraud.

Barber's antics are more innocent, but still a disguise, and one that customers end up rating with four stars.

I'd give Barber four stars too, having eaten at his restaurants, but - full disclosure - he also blurbed my book.

- Samuel Fromartz

Milking Time

As expected, the exclusive we broke Thursday on Dean Foods got a bit of attention, raising questions about where cloning is headed.

Tom Philpot over at Grist opined that Dean's decision showed the power of consumer choice: "If Dean holds to its promise, the whole cloned-cow thing could die an ignominious death, rejected by increasingly aware consumers. Similar consumer outrage is also convincing big dairy users to stop buying milk from cows treated with Monsanto's odious bovine growth hormones."

Karen Robinson-Jacobs, giving Chews Wise credit for breaking the story at The Dallas Morning News, also raised the question of what this means for cloning. She called it "a decision from the nation's largest dairy producer that could put a damper on the commercial viability of such products in the United States."

Meanwhile, The Ethicurean noted that "the parts of Dean Foods’ official statement that Fromartz quotes do not mention whether the company will take a position on dairy products from the progeny of cloned cows." This is a very important point, but also a complicated one that I will take up in a later post. It's especially muddy when it comes to organic milk, because of other loopholes in the regulations regarding the source of organic livestock. But it's complicated so needs a story on its own.

As for the AP, Libby Quaid blasted the news through the nation, but failed to give credit to the news source that broke it (as is customary in the news biz). We wonder if the AP would have done the same had the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or Washington Post broke the story. We broke it. Quaid confirmed it and should have noted where it originated.

Addendum: AP apologies in this email from Quaid

Congrats on your Dean Foods scoop. We've updated the latest version of our Dean Foods story to include that your blog was first to report the company's policy. My apologies ... Was rushed trying to match your story late yesterday.

EXCLUSIVE - Dean Foods Cloning Document

At the request of readers, here is a copy of the document we obtained.