Items Tagged With Community

The 2nd Grass-fed Party New York City Cowcus brought a lot of like-minded people together for conversation, drinks, and excellent food last night. Among the attendees was a grass-fed beef producer from Arkansas, a documentary filmmaker who is working on a film on grass-fed farming, a man who works for the New York City Coalition Against Hunger, a woman who works for the New York State Governor’s Office, a young woman who has worked on organic farms in Oregon, and many others who were passionate about the Party and making our food sources sustainable. We talked about grass-fed farming and food ALL night!  What struck me most about everyone at the Cowcus was that although we all had different reasons for supporting the Grass-fed Party, we all could agree on how exciting and promising grass-fed farming is.  Whether as farmers, cooks, environmentalists, policymakers, teachers, or business people we could all agree on one thing: grass-fed farming provides real solutions to so many problems. Whether we were talking about its health benefits, or its environmental benefits, or even its benefit to family farmers and rural communities, each conversation inspired me to think about how important it is to inform more Americans about grass-fed farming. Our hope for this community site is that it will become a platform for people across the country to talk about grass-fed issues.

Here are some of the topics covered at the Cowcus last night:

The need to create better access to fresh foods within walking distance of more homes in urban neighborhoods.

The potential to create more economic balance between upstate farmers and New York City eaters.

The need for more financial support from banks or the government to help new grass-fed ranchers make a start at a viable business.

How can we bridge the gap between the need for providing healthy foods for the hungry and the growing movement that advocates artisanally produced foods?

How can small farmers achieve a fair share of farm subsidies when faced against the powerful lobbies of big agribusiness?  Can a political leader address this problem and make a change in the status quo?

Over Labor Day weekend, La Cense Beef had the opportunity to serve some of their grass-fed beef to the young eaters at the Slow Food Nation Eat In, which was the culminating event of the Youth Movement of Slowfood Nation.   It was a beautiful day – the meal came together very naturally, and the speakers rallied and inspired the crowd. 

The event was free, and gathered 250 young people who registered online and showed up to share the fruits of their labor across one long table that wound around Dolores Park in San Francisco.  Slow Food Nation saw the Eat In as “an opportunity for the young people inheriting our food system to share stories, break bread and discuss the next steps in building a global movement of young people committed to bringing good, clean and fair food to everyone.”

Speakers included, Meghan Cohorst representing the Student/Farmworker Alliance; Trevor Paque, founder of MyFarm; and Sam Levin, who founded a student-run organic garden and sustainable dining program at his high school.

The participants worked in groups with chefs to prepare food they picked up at the farmers markets over the weekend.  Chef and noted food writer, Clodagh McKenna, helped lead a group in preparing our La Cense grass-fed beef.   Chef McKenna has been involved in the farm to plate movement largely in her native Ireland, beginning as a chef and teacher at the Ballymaloe Cookery School.   She went on to run her own stall at a farmers market, and later worked to develop more farmers markets throughout Ireland.  McKenna has two books out, including The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook, and also hosts a TV show called, ‘Fresh from the Farmers Markets’.   She stood out that afternoon as great mentor for those involved in the Youth Movement.  McKenna had a few nice words for us, and was very enthusiastic about the roast she prepared: "The beef was marvelous.  The quality was super, the marbling was just perfect.  All it really needed was a little salt, pepper and rosemary'.  

We met a lot wonderful people like Chef McKenna - many young farmers, chefs, and eaters who all shared a vision for making a good, clean, fair food system possible for our generation.   Everyone parted that evening feeling nourished and confident we are on the right track, and that we have a generation who understands that the work of providing food to this country and the world in the coming decades will take a lot of ingenuity, cooperation, and hard work.

Photo by Jack Delano
Mountain farm along Skyline Drive, Va. ca. 1940

Michael Pollan spent a week with Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm which is located in rural Virginia and chronicled his grass-fed experience in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.” Joel Salatin really is the star of the book and has a lot to say about what is wrong with how America eats and raises its food. What struck me most about Joel’s farming and philosophy was that he wanted his farm to reflect, and be in harmony, with the community he lived in. Basically, he wanted to provide his community with food because he was part of it.  In his mind his farm does not create commodities it creates food that should sustain community not errode it.   He could hire migrant workers to help with his chicken slaughter and produce more chicken and eggs but instead he asks neighbors to come and help, and for their work they get to partake in the experience and receive food. To me this really represents what sustainable agriculture means, it is about connections: connections to the land, to our animals and to each other.
Community has suffered with the industrialization of food; we all eat the same food which is out of sync with the land we live on and the communities around us.  This has implications that are seen throughout our land.  I spoke a bit about how BBQ’s in the south were community affairs where neighbors got together to harvest feral pigs and cook them together, relying on each other and celebrating the bounty of their shared local harvest.  Today is different, whole foods seem alien to many, Americans want their food packaged and prepared. As families we eat separately, in front of TV’s where there is no conservation or connection.

This is not the case with grass-fed meats, which are about connection not alienation; grass-fed meats come whole, and from farms we know and trust. This connection does not end when you buy the meat, you also bring this connection to your family when you cook them wholesome food that must be shared and savored. Conversation and interaction marks the whole grass-fed process: the farmer’s connection to the land and his animals, your connection to the rancher and then your connection to those you cook for.   It is all about commitment and community; we are rebuilding this together, one meal at a time.

At our Grass-fed Party holiday dinner we made it seasonal. I made butter pecan roasted butternut squash, mashed fingerling potatoes, a sweet potato gratin, curried brussel sprouts and roasted beets. The star of the evening was a show stopping La Cense Boneless Prime Rib that I seasoned with rosemary and garlic. I love prime rib, it is one of my favorite roasts, and this grass-fed version was just delicious---I really mean it, it was fantastic!

The conversation was great, so where the guests. My sister and Franny made dessert; a delicious and spicy apple pie and a smooth chocolate cake with sour cherries! All in all it was a lovely evening: frugal, seasonal and filled with love!



Roasted La Cense Boneless Prime Rib Roast

Ingredients:
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Boneless La Cense Prime Rib Roast- about 3 pounds
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive oil

Preparation: Defrost the roast in water the day before keeping it in the plastic in a large bowl. This should take about 5 hours. Place in the refrigerator. Two hours before you cook the roast take the roast out letting it reach room temperature. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, season the roast and slather it with olive oil, roughly chop rosemary and place on top with garlic, set in a roasting pan. You will be roasting this quickly at about 5 minutes per pound I had mine in the oven for about 20 minutes. It is important to have a meat thermometer so that you can monitor the doneness, as most ovens vary greatly(mine takes a long time) you will want it roasted to an internal temperature around 130°F to 140°F which is medium rare.Let it rest for 10 minutes before you serve! Enjoy!

The Mobile Processing Unit (MPU) was developed by the Lopez Community Land Trust on Lopez Island in Washington State.  The MPU is a 26 ft-long trailer that carries a state of the art processing facility for slaughtering livestock on the farm. The mobile facility is inspected by a USDA representative, allowing the meat to legally be sold to consumers, restaurants, and stores directly from the farmer.  The unit is operated by the Island Grown Farmers Co-op, and rented out by Lopez Island farmers. In the absence of local slaughter facilities, most farmers and ranchers must ship their cattle hundreds of miles, often across state lines, to have their cattle processed.  The transport is costly, often stressful for the animals, and prevents many farmers from being able to sell their meat locally.  The MPU offers a localized solution.

The Lopez Island Community Land Trust (LCLT) operates a program for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) under which the MPU was developed.  I had the opportunity to interview Henning Sehmsdorf, owner of S&S Homestead Farm on Lopez Island.  Sehmsdorf served as director of the Lopez Island Community Land Trust and chair of the SARD committee when the concept for the MPU was initially developed.

What kind of options did farmers on Lopez Island have for selling beef locally before the MPU? Were citizens of the island able to eat grass-fed beef raised on the island?

 As far as I know, the only option people on the island had to eat grass-fed beef, was to buy a live animal and have a local butcher slaughter it for them. The usual procedure was for farmers to sell quarters of more of a beef animal to customers and then hire a state registered (not USDA-inspected) butcher who would come to the farm and slaughter the designated animal there. With the USDA-inspected mobile unit, the farmer has the additional option of selling to restaurants, local food stores, institutions such as the local school, at farmers' markets, as well as by the piece off the farm.

Do you think, with the cooperation of the USDA, that the MPU has the potential to revolutionize beef production and distribution in America?

 With the cooperation of USDA, the MPU could indeed revolutionize beef production and distribution in the U.S. by making it possible for small farmers to supply the food needs of their own communities. Today the bulk of beef production, processing and distribution is in the hands of some five giant corporations, to the detriment of food safety and of the quality and nutritional wholeness of meat products. Huge feed lots create largely unregulated bio-hazards (ground and air pollution), and they waste non-renewable energy. Large-scale food production produces cheap food but not good food, and it strips local communities of their own resources, while laying waste to the environment. If the USDA would prioritize small-scale, local food production, it would revolutionize how meat is produced and distributed in America, namely by making the type of small-scale infrastructure exemplified by the MPU generally available in rural communities throughout the land.

How is the MPU another step in reducing agricultural dependence on non-renewable energy in this country?

Use of he MPU by itself does, of course, not guarantee that the animals slaughtered have been grass-fed. The unit is available to organic as well as non-organic producers, who may raise and finish their cattle on grass or on grain, as they see fit. As a biodynamic producer who raises cattle entirely on farm-produced feeds, meaning grass-based forages, and uses only fertilizers produced from the manures of the animals, I am convinced that such methods also are the most energy-efficient and least dependent upon non-renewable energy since grass is grown using the inexhaustibly renewable energies of the sun. So the question whether the MPU could be "another step in reducing agricultural dependence on non-renewable energy" needs to be answered in the context of how individual farmers produce the animal to be slaughtered.

What kind of difference have you seen in the lives of the farmers and consumers of your community since the MPU was developed?

I do not have statistical data to answer this question; but anecdotal evidence tells me that the majority of consumers on our island continue to prioritize price, choice and convenience over food or ecological quality in purchasing meat for their tables. There is, however, a growing awareness in the community of how important our personal food choices are in shaping not only our personal health, but the economic and social health of our communities, as well ecological health. Direct sales off the farm are strong. What is needed are more small farmers who know how to produce healthful food in an ecologically responsible manner, and more consumers who understand the importance of such food, and are willing to put their money where their mouth is.

How does the Lopez Community Land Trust see the development of the MPU as part of their mission?

I am no longer a member of the board of directors of the Lopez Community Land Trust, and therefore cannot speak for how the Land Trust currently thinks about the MPU in the context of its mission.  [See note below from Sandy Bishop, Executive Director of Lopez CLT]  However, I was a director of LCLT and chairman of SARD (Committee on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) when the MPU project was proposed (in fact I brought the proposal to the land trust and pursued it for a couple of years before funding could be found). At the time, the argument for LCLT to adopt the project was that it would support local, small-scale agriculture and community-based food security, offer nutritionally superior meat to local consumers, and improve animal welfare (by making shipment of slaughter animals to feed lots and off-island slaughter facilities unnecessary).

Note from Sandy Bishop: The goal of the Lopez Community Land Trust is to build a diverse, sustainable island community, specifically through programs that primarily support low-income households with the following integrated purposes: 

a. To acquire and hold land in trust in order to provide for permanently affordable housing. Homes shall be built and lands shall be used in an environmentally sensitive and socially responsible manner.
b. To provide permanently affordable access to land for such purposes as quality housing, sustainable agriculture and forestry, cottage industries and co-operatives by forever removing the land from the speculative market.
c. To develop and exercise responsible and ecological practices, which preserve, protect and enhance the land's natural attributes.
d. To serve as a model in land stewardship and community development by providing information, resources and expertise.

The MPU serves LCLT's purpose in several ways: it helps to maintain Lopez Island’s diversity by supporting small local meat producers who care deeply about their animals and the community of people they help feed.  The MPU also models sustainable community development by providing information, resources and expertise and is a responsible and ecological response to the ever faster disintegrating state of options for humane, safe animal slaughter.