ChewsWise Blog

ChewsWise Blog

Cornography: New Doc Reveals All!

KingcornKing Corn might be part of a new genre, cornography, in which row after row of yellow haired, crunchy, leggy babes reveal all.

The first blockbuster in the genre was actually literary, via Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. Now two innocents, Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis, follow in Pollan's footsteps, relying on the often-used but still effective device of dropping into the picture. They decide to become corn farmers, albeit on a very small, one-acre, site. Filmmaker Aaron Woolf follows the two on their highly entertaining quest to find out how corn really grows, enters our national diet and what it all means.

Unlike other in-your-face shock documentaries of the recent past, the camera keeps a respectful eye on the midwestern farm and the choices such endeavors entail. More than a couple of farmers admit, in effect, that they are growing crap - whether in cornfields or feedlots - but that they have no choice. The doc also shows how amazingly easy the venture is, given chemicals and genetic breeds, but that the profit only comes by dipping several ways into the taxpayer's pocket.

The film opens in several markets, including Washington, D.C. Go see it and find new meaning in that bucket of popcorn you're eating.

- Samuel Fromartz

A Tight Fist on Farm Money

Keep the money flowing to king corn - that's the clear implication of comments by Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agricultural Committee.

He told the Financial Times that organic produce and grass-fed beef producers for local consumers need little federal help. "It is growing, and it has nothing to do with the government, and that is good," he told the FT. "For whatever reason, people are willing to pay two or three times as much for something that says ‘organic’ or ‘local’. Far be it from me to understand what that’s about, but that’s reality. And if people are dumb enough to pay that much then hallelujah."

Which means that Peterson wants to keep the billions of subsidies flowing to conventional farm interests, preventing any serious programs for organic or smaller local farmers. (Via Ethicurean and FarmPolicy.com)

More on the policy at Gristmill Blog's post on "Local Food for All."

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.

Bean There, Done That

When I was working on Organic Inc., I marveled at the passions the prolific soybean fueled, from vegans dishing up tofu, tempe and soy milk; to raw milk proponents who view the bean as little more than a nasty toxin; to agribusiness giants who process it into soy protein isolate and then add it, like corn, to everything; to Asian cuisine, where the most sublime soy foods are found. Rarely has a bean meant so much to so many.

I knew there was more here than meets the digestive tract, so was pleasantly surprised to see a new book on the subject, Beans: A History by Ken Albala. The passions I encountered while researching soybeans were by no means unique. A “social stigma” against most beans, Albala writes, “remains firmly in place from the time of the ancient Greeks up to the 20th century.”

"The matter is not only gas but class," the Times review points out. "Because beans are cheap to raise and offer a protein payoff that is comparable to meat’s, poor people have traditionally eaten them. The plants that bear beans don’t appeal to the aspirational bourgeoisie. Beans are, in the developed world, markers of a hand-to-mouth lifestyle best left behind. 'In any culture where a proportion of people can obtain protein from animal sources,' Albala observes, 'beans will be reviled as food fit only for peasants.'”

A pity, since the lowly legumes are high in protein and fiber and low in fat. But as history shows, as incomes rise, people want meat.

- Samuel Fromartz

Image: soybeans, Wikipedia

Embargo, Weight Loss and the Cuban Sandwich

The Slow Cook has a provocative post on what the collapse of the Soviet Union did to Cuba: it improved the diet, according to a study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The Cuban economy had become highly dependent on the financial supportas well as fuel, fertilizers and pesticides provided by the Soviet regime. When that ended in 1989, Cubans had to reinvent the way they feed themselves. Nationwide, Cubans consumed one-third fewer calories and most were forced to walk or bike to work. The average Cuban lost 20 pounds, and over a period of years the country reverted to an organic system of agriculture and planted every available green space for food crops.

During the decade-long period of adjustment, the prevalence of obesity in Cuban declined from 14 percent to 7 percent. Deaths from diabetes dropped 51 percent. Deaths from heart disease declined 35 percent. Overall, Cuba's death rate was reduced by 18 percent.

Sounds like the post-Peak Oil diet... One major casualty - the beloved Cubano sandwich.

- Samuel Fromartz

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.

What drives purchases?
Availability. "Whole Foods and Trader Joe's have established themselves in the organics market, and as such are more popular among organics users. However, a high percentage of organics users shop prominent U.S. stores such as Wal-Mart due to its significant local market penetration," said Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser agency services, Scarborough Research.

My take: Surveys have shown this repeatedly. Purchases are determined by availability, though price helps too. Hence, Wal-Mart's entry into the field. This is also why the West Coast in particular has a high concentration of organic consumers: items such as fresh produce (the top segment for organic foods) are widely available.

Who are they?
The annual household income of organic consumers is $86,000 a year, 22 percent higher than the national average. They also skew toward younger families, with 19 percent more likely than the national average to be ages 18-34 and 13 percent more likely to have two or more children. 

My take: these income figures don't jive with other surveys I've seen from the Hartman Group, which has found organic consumers are close to the national median in income. Despite the widespread perception that organic shoppers are wealthier, I'm not convinced -- especially among those consumers buying very discretely, which is most. Why else would Wal-Mart rank high for purchases? As for age, I've seen other surveys that peg younger people and older consumers as more likely to buy organic food. This seems in line with those findings.

Unrepentant Foodie Makes Lunch

Today's Times had a piece on pesto that got me hungry, so I decided to make some myself. (Click the image for a slide show of the process, which begins in the garden).

Contrary to the article, I think the key to good pesto is a mortar and pestle. Why? Because a solid pounding releases moisture in the basil leaves, which means you use less olive oil. And I hate greasy noodles. It also takes less time than a food processor, since you don't have to clean up the machine. But this advice works best for a small batch, which is all I ever make these days since the stuff you make and put in the freezer doesn't compare.

I kept a loose eye on my watch during the process and found it takes about three minutes to pound basil into pesto. The key is to pound it with salt, garlic and pine nuts, which help the leaves break down. While the pasta was boiling, I made and ate a salad.

It was an extremely pleasant repast and took all of 35 minutes.

Organic History, Circa 1963

Here's one of the earliest recorded discussions of organic food by regulators in the state of California. Ray Green, manager of the organic program for the state department of agriculture, tells me he saved it on the way to the shredder. Click image to enlarge:

1963_organic_memo_2

As you can see, California took a pass on deciding what Organically Grown meant. Although Europe had earlier certification schemes defining the organic method, the first one that got traction in the US was begun by JI Rodale, through his Organic Gardening magazine in the early 1970s. (If anyone knows of anything earlier, feel free to post a comment).