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The art of ice cream: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and The Steven Kasher Gallery

With the mercury hitting 90 degrees today here in New York, I think it is pretty much safe to say that summer has officially arrived (conveniently, just as the calendar hits June 21st).  I don’t know about you guys, but when the temperature rises, I start to think of cool summer treats: margaritas, white wine, gazpacho, Arnold Palmers, and, of course, ice cream.  Especially when that humidity breaks 80 percent, nothing hits the spot like some smooth and velvety ice cream.

Conveniently enough for me, the “Inspire your palate!” event this weekend at the Steven Kasher Gallery allowed me to get some of the cool stuff, while also expanding my cultural horizons and take in some art.  Since 90 percent of my photography intake consists of pictures found on Photograzing and Smitten Kitchen, I figured it would be good to expand my purview.  And an added bonus: Jeni of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams was there sampling some of her wares!

Continue reading ‘The art of ice cream: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and The Steven Kasher Gallery’

A couple of articles worth reading.

As featured on the Farm and Dairy.com commentary section, I wanted to direct my readers to a two-part commentary by Susan Crowell about the keys to achieving sustainable agriculture.

Both halves feature some great, simple thoughts about how sustainable agriculture can be a realistic possibility in this country, and she also directs her readers to check out some of the recent statements by the USDA’s Roger Beachy, whose background may be seen as controversial in the hardcore sustainablist’s camp.

Give the articles a read:

Part I

Part II

Beachy Keen Comments

Food 2030: A Sustainability Odyssey

The UK is way ahead of the US when it comes to being mindful of sustainable food sourcing and all that jazz.  Maybe it’s their European sensibilities or funny accents that makes them so.  In any case, the UK’s government has put together a manifesto of sorts, called Food 2030 complete with sofly-lit images of food and farms, which makes me think of a corporate presentation than an official government report.

The report is aggressive in the country’s goals for food production by the year 2030.  They specifically talk about increasing domestic UK food production and lowering greenhouse emissions, and all of the major themes that come to mind when talking about food production.

However, not wanting to let this slip by without a little jabbing, the USDA released the following “report” on the UK document, saying that:

“In general, Food 2030 is considered to be ambitious in its vision, but short in detail about how to achieve that vision. Its strategy very much relies on all stakeholders working together to deliver its aim of a secure and sustainable food supply, and on consumer demand rewarding that investment. That has been the UK government‟s favored approach to food policy of late, and is unlikely to change as competition for ever smaller public funds increases across government departments.”  – USDA GAIN Report, 1/21/2020

Now, it is not an official response or communication from the USDA.  It is merely an assessment of a document that may have effects on US trade. Even still, this type of reaction seems a little harsh, especially coming from the USDA, which has engaged in some equally vague rhetoric about sustainable food production.

Let’s take a little journey back in time, to September of 2009.  The USDA launches the “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, which has a lot of great ideas, but not too many suggestions on how to get there.  Rather than sweat the details, the USDA posted videos of Willie Nelson talking about farms on YouTube, and set up a whole channel dedicated to sustainable food.  There are certainly a lot of good ideas out there, but there’s been little action on any of these fronts, with the exception of maybe the White House Garden, which is more of a PR play than anything.  The most tangible piece of legislature on the subject could be the Farm Bill, which is still the foundation for most of these programs, and that was passed two years ago (NB, Obama did not vote, but voiced his support).  That bill is surely flawed, but it is basically the only source of any actual funding to help support local farming practices without only using images of little kids picking beets in the country.

But who knows what will happen, since many of the subsidies (including those marked for local farmers) are likely to be cut as part of the 2011 budget.  While I applaud the larger farm subsidies going away (which seems unlikely given the strength of the lobby), it does seem a little misdirected in light of what the government is saying it wants to do.  That makes the “Know Your Farmer” project seem, well, ambitious and short in detail.  Until there is some concrete action, let’s take it easy on the criticism of other countries’ proposed policies.  Sounds a little unfair to me.

On a positive note, the FDA is suggesting some serious changes to packaging and portion size, to help curb the rise in obesity.  Read here.

When Hollywood takes notice…

It was announced earlier this week that Food, Inc, has been nominated for an Oscar for best documentary!  For all of you who have not seen it, the film is a documentary focusing on modern food production and an in-depth look at what it takes to bring food to our tables every day.  It is a sobering look at the realities of industrialized food production that makes one think about moving to a farm and eating sprouts all year-round.  It also has a relatively long featured about the Polyface farm, with which I had been fascinated while reading Omnivore’s Dilemma.  It’s near Charlottesville, where I will be headed next weekend.  Perhaps I will get to indulge in some of their wares.

Contrary to some people, the film did not make me want to give up meat nor did it make me nauseous (similar to how reading The Jungle actually made me have a craving for Chicago hot dogs).  But, it does make you think about changing your ways and what you value as being important.  In my honest opinion, it vilifies big business a bit too much (but you all know my position on that), but directionally I am totally in alignment with what the filmmakers are saying.

In a related note, the midtown farmer’s market is not a sad representation of what it once was.  Apples and potatoes are about all that you get, with the odd head of cabbage here or there.  It makes me feel sad inside.

Ronnybrook still shows up, at least, so that makes me happy.

I wish my groceries got frequent flier miles.

So I was at Fairway today, and I decided that I was going to log how many miles my food had traveled to get to my kitchen.  I was just curious.

Below is a quick tally of what I bought and where it came from.  I made some assumptions in the case of the eggplant and the fennel, but still, my food for the next couple of days came from almost 17,000 miles to get to me.  That is pretty crazy.  Not sure what that really says, but I should probably start planting some trees.  And I can’t help the San Marzanos… those are just the best.

Live Culture: Looking for a new employee?

Live Culture's Logo

A little homage to the sustainability tip this morning.  After a quick Google news check, I found a write-up today about Anya Fernald in the NY Times blog about the Nifty 50, highlighting America’s up-and-coming talent.  Two questions immediately came to mind:

– Why am I not on this list?

– Who is Anya Fernald?
While the answer to the first question continues to elude me, the second was quickly answered in the linked article.  Anya (we’re on a first-name basis since I’m a casual guy) is a food consultant who founded Live Culture, which helps companies trying to move to a more eco-friendly/sustainable food.

From the company’s website:

“Anya Fernald founded Live Culture Company in 2008 with the goal of supporting the development of viable, thriving food businesses that produce good food. Live Culture Company has built a strong track record of creating market-based change, overcoming complex infrastructure and organizational challenges, and business planning and has emerged as a unique service provider at the intersection of artisan, sustainable and quality food and business consulting.”

Awesome stuff.

This is the type of independent, small business that will prove to be influential (and profitable) in the coming years, particularly in this space.  These experts will be in higher demand as consumers start to not only request, but require, more knowledge about where their food is coming from and how it impacts the environment.  And these consumers tend to have deeper pockets, meaning all of this good work can lead to big profits.

Based on the client roster at Live Culture, it looks like the biggest market niche remains in smaller-scale producers and companies.  This is the beginning of the riptide, however, as the larger companies start to take notice.  It looks like the consultancy also is equipped to handle the more complex business realities associated with sourcing locally grown and sustainable food.  Even with innovators like Anya, I still struggle with the question, “how is the industry really going to change?”

The short answer from me at this exact moment is, “I don’t know.”  Part of me thinks the damage is largely irrevocable, and a vast majority of consumers don’t really care.  It has been said by others that business change in the industry will need to be preceded by a social change, and I think that is a valid point.  I have a lot of friends who don’t really care about “eating local,” and I’m not sure there is a way to make them want to, unless it’s a) cheaper or b) markedly more healthy.

The other, more optimistic, part of me thinks that the changes need to start small, and groups like Live Culture, Karen Karp, Sustainable Food Systems, and Chefs Collaborative are leading the charge.  Let us all recall that Food Network started as a fledgling TV station with a handful of shows, and now it actually has enough leverage to get itself pulled from a cable provider (sorry to all those folks with Cablevision…).  My optimistic side sees that there is a passionate and influential group of people who can eventually make significant changes to the food system.  The rubber will really hit the road when there is a business case for doing so, and I think we are there.  Here’s to staying optimistic.  Check out Anya’s write-up.