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Agriculture Policy and Food Safety

This is the second in a series based on the Berkeley paper that covers agriculture policy's impact on food safety, health, and the environment.

Excuse me while I step up on the soapbox. Ahem. I’ve been chided before about being too political on my food blog. More recipes, Woman! But the thing is, food is all tied up with politics, and there are a few things we eaters need to understand about this. For our own safety. So we can make better choices. This is a pretty short primer on the basics, but there are a lot of great links in here that can help you get the full picture of our food system.

How does food policy impact the safety of what we eat?
I mean, it’s just legislation, right? Laws that are supposed to keep the food supply safe. The basis for these laws was established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt in response to the publication of Upton Sinclair’s book, The Jungle. Ironically, one of these laws, the Meat Inspection Act, was supposed to eradicate the use of “4-D” cattle in meats, meaning dead, diseased, decaying and downed. Over 100 years later we are still facing the same issues.

The other act, the Pure Food and Drug Act, was designed to insure the safety of drugs and non-meat food items. However, the two agencies overlap. A raw egg, in the shell, is the responsibility of the FDA. Once the shell is broken, the USDA is in charge. If a processed sandwich is to be inspected, the USDA would have jurisdiction over the meat, the FDA over the bread. Makes all kind of sense, right?

Learn what you need to know about food safety, policy and what you can do as a consumer after the jump.

So, the system doesn’t work. Worse, it’s not even enforceable.
Case in point, 2007 had a record number of meat recalls, followed closely in 2008 by the largest recall ever. Thus far, absolutely no action has ever been taken to penalize these companies. The two USDA inspectors who failed to report the downer cow incidents at Hallmark/Westland are currently only suspended — with pay. Further, neither agency actually has the authority to demand a recall, unless the recalled item is infant formula.

Politics also get directly in the path of food safety.
Many of the people who run the FDA and USDA, agencies that are designed to enforce food safety, also worked in the industries that these agencies are supposed to police. In fact, as of 2006, the chief of staff at the Agriculture Department used to be the beef industry’s chief lobbyist. Further, the head of the FDA was most recently an executive at the National Food Processors Association. It is indeed, the proverbial case of the fox watching over the hen house.

Farm Policy plays a major role.
Finally, from a farm policy standpoint, our food system is vulnerable. Important legislation such as the farm bill, recently being rewritten, encourages a highly centralized system that relies heavily on imported foods. Less than two percent of imported foods were inspected on entry to the country in 2006.

Farm policy also rewards the farmers in this country for only growing eight commodity crops through a system of subsidies. This near monoculture has been made worse by the misguided focus on ethanol production from corn. Farmers who grow any foods other than the commodity crops are ineligible for subsidies. Thus, we increasingly rely on imported foods for items that can easily be grown locally — our agriculture system just makes this less profitable for farmers to do. In fact, in 2004, less than four percent of total US cropland was planted with fruits and vegetables.

The same farm policies that were put in place under Earl Butz, also fostered a system of “Get Big or Get Out.” The number of farms since 1900 has declined by 63 percent, while the size of farms has increased by 67 percent. The result is a highly centralized system. The risk in such a system is that the product, be it meat or spinach, that is tainted is processed at a central location along with thousands of pounds of non-tainted product. The resulting contaminated shipment is then sent across the country. Instead of an easily traceable and localized illness, citizens across the country will be sickened.

This is how legislation, policy and politics directly impact what ends up on your plate. This is why you can’t separate “pork” politics from the pork chop. But, what is a consumer to do? You do have rights, of course, and choice. Remember that we still live in a demand-generated economy. If the demand grows, and farmers who produce crops other than the big eight can thrive, our food supply will improve as a result. It will take time, but there are many things you can do as a consumer to make this happen.

Here is how you can use your rights:

• You can exercise that right to track your representatives’ votes on the farm bill and food safety issues.
• You can write to your reps and tell them your concerns.
• You can source meats, milk and eggs direct from the farmers who raise food animals ethically and naturally, and process them safely. If you cannot afford to buy in bulk to save money, you can team up with other families and make it an affordable, lower cost than buying at the store.
• You can buy produce direct from your farmers market or a CSA.
• You can stop buying processed foods.
• You can stop buying fast food that is heavily subsidized by our agriculture system.
• You can cook at home and benefit from a family meal.
• Finally, you can stay informed on how and where your food is produced and make your own choices.

Agriculture Policy and Your Health

by Expat Chef

What if we all woke up tomorrow and said, “Today is the day I will eat right.” Oh, and we actually did it. The first thing we’d figure out is that there is a massive food shortage for a healthy diet even in a country where two-thirds of us are overweight.

Food shortage in the land of milk and honey? You betcha, for real food at least — 1.2 servings of milk per person per day less than recommended. Two servings per day of whole grains per person are not available, and about one serving a day of both non-starchy vegetables and fruits are absent as well. Additionally, most fruits and vegetables have to be imported.

Second, for what food supply there is, many Americans would simply not be able to afford that healthy diet. The price of fruits and vegetables have increased 118 percent from 1985 to the new millennium. Fats and oils have only increased 35 percent in that same time span, meaning, the cheapest foods are the least nutritious and most calorie dense. They are also the majority of the food supply due to farm policy.

How Legislation Can Make Us Fat
Farm policy rewards farmers for growing commodity crops, basically only eight types of crops; corn, soybeans, wheat, rice, cotton, barley, oats and sorghum. Growing “speciality” crops like fruits and vegetables – foods that Michael Pollan insists should be the majority of our diets — makes a farmer ineligible for a subsidy, even if he only grows a small amount of fruits and vegetables on his land. Even the name “speciality” implies that these crops are a rarity, and they are according to U.S. food policy. As a result, only four percent of U.S. crop land was dedicated to growing fruits and vegetables in 2004.

The dependency of farmers on subsidies does not help the situation. While the large-scale industrial farms reap unnecessary extra profit in the form of subsidy “handouts,” small farms are squeezed heavily by a system that only pays them about nineteen cents for every food dollar spent. The vast majority of the profits do not go to the farmer, but to the food industry that processes, packages, advertises and transports the finished “product.” In fact, some 77,000 processed food products, many of which contain primarily cheap inputs like refined flour and sugars like high-fructose corn syrup with flavors and colors and added “nutrients.”

These convenient and less expensive foods have increased the number of calories per individual, per day available in our food system to 3,800. Normal caloric intake per average adult should be closer to 2350. Yet, for the additional portion size and caloric density, there is far less nutrition than unprocessed, “real” foods.

It is a broken system, and the victims of it are the small farms and the lower income families that cannot afford better foods. Quite often, the inability to afford (or have access to) better food choices, can lead to obesity and health-related issues — again for those who can least afford health care and medical bills. An estimated $75 billion a year is spent treating obesity-related diseases, half of these costs are borne by publicly-funded programs like Medicaid. As a result, we taxpayers bear much of the brunt of the true costs associated with the short-term profits of cheap and subsidized foods even as the food industry yields more profits.

Additionally, many of Americans who can afford better food, choose not to, preferring these processed versions of real food, or preferring to spend less of their budget and time on buying and preparing food. The table below shows what consumers actually buy from the choices available at the store. The current rise in food prices with the increase in fuel costs and use of commodity crops for ethanol, will not only increase processed food prices, but will do little to help the situation of making healthier choices more affordable.

The situation does not have to exist. Here are some things we, as consumers, can do to change things for the better:

1. Write your Congressmen and women and tell them you want a farm bill that makes sense and supports both “specialty crop” farmers and healthy food programs that will offer low-income families access to better food.
2. Join a CSA or shop at your farmers market, giving hard-working farmers 100 percent of your food dollar. LocalHarvest.org has a great search tool to help you find local food sources near you.
3. Purchase ethically- and naturally-raised meat direct from a family farm. Most use a USDA-certified, but small, local butcher, offering healthier and safer meats for consumers and the environment. Learn more about the perils of industrial farms and meat production so you can be aware as a consumer.
4. Items like eggs, milk and cheese can be found locally from small farms. Look for these items in addition to fruit, vegetables and meats. Sustainable Table has a good search tool if you want to find sources near you for specific products.
5. Support urban agriculture efforts in your area by donating time or money to gardens that supply healthy food for low-income families. Start a community garden project in your neighborhood or school, to share in the growing of your own healthy food and community.
6. Cook more at home. It is possible to have real food without being a slave to your oven, and you will also reap the social rewards that come from a real family meal. Shared time with family members in preparing meals is a great time to talk and be involved in one another’s lives.
7. Value food. Take the time to enjoy and share a meal, understand that what your put into yourself and your family is the fuel for a healthy life. Choose wisely and enjoy well.

Source material for this document can be found in “Agriculture Policy is Health Policy,” by Richard J Jackson MD MPH, Ray Minjares MPH, Kyra S Naumoff PhD, Bina Patel BA, University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health  Berkeley, California 94720-7360.  Developed with the Support of The Kellogg Foundation  September 16, 2007.

The evolving farmers market

By Marc

In last Sunday's Los Angeles Times, Russ Parsons has an interesting story about a recent evolution at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market.  The Wednesday market has long been a place for chefs to meet, to pick up the best produce in Los Angeles, and to be inspired by the seasons.  Lately, though, chefs have seen produce trucked away by big companies to be shipped to far away restaurants.  Parson writes:

Though no hard figures are kept, some growers say that as much as half of what they sell at the market is bought by produce companies.

As a result, what had long been a kind of informal meeting place for many of Southern California's foodies and chefs is no longer quite so clubby. What chefs once regarded as a combination of culinary laboratory and kaffeeklatsch -- a place to find new ingredients and ideas and swap gossip, sometimes seemingly in equal proportions -- is more and more a place for big business.

"It used to be that everyone thought how great it was to be out there picking things for ourselves; it was so exciting," said Matt Molina of the white-hot Mozza restaurants, co-owned by star chefs Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton. "Then all of a sudden it began to become a business, a big-money business. Now farmers are sometimes catering to the big people, so local restaurants are sometimes getting left behind.

The chefs could get the same produce if they called in advance, but some think that a Tuesday afternoon phone call might kill a Wednesday morning idea that could lead to a magnificent new dish for the restaurant.  The chefs say that coming across a new ingredient or combination of ingredients can spark unexpected preparations.

For farmers, this evolution is a huge benefit:  having a big produce company place an advance order means a guaranteed sale, as opposed to the perpetual gamble of bringing highly perishable vegetables to a market where they might not catch anyone's attention and be turned into compost or animal feed back on the farm.

It seems counterintuitive for big produce companies to be buying at the farmers market, but I only see it a convenient place for the pick up, certainly easier than having the farmer struggle through the legendary L.A. traffic to a warehouse across the city.

Parsons writes that the farmers market is trying to mediate the conflict between the chefs and wholesalers.  I hope they can figure something out because a lot of culinary innovation has occurred at the Santa Monica Farmers Market, innovation that will slow if the chefs stay away from the market.

Marc lives in Berkeley, California.  He writes Mental Masala (an enticing blend of food, history, travel, and nature) and contributes to The Ethicurean.

Photo of eggplant from Jen Maiser's flickr collection, subject to a Creative Commons License.

those crazy (awesome) Mainers!

 posted by Sara Zoe

I only just discovered that a group of dedicated and smart local food lovers in Maine is hosting a March Eat Local Challenge! Centered around Belfast, Maine, the challenge asks participants to:

Participate in the Eat Local challenge in a variety of ways. Choose one, try several or do them all!

–Make an all Maine-grown meal to enter a drawing for a gift basket of local goodies (for details on the allowable ingredients ‘from away’ see below)
–Include at least one locally-grown ingredient in every meal this month
–Spend a certain amount of money or a given percentage of your food budget on local ingredients.
–Join friends for a local feast
–Make all-Maine snacks

What a welcoming challenge! And there are prizes, a celebration dinner, and other community oriented activities. These guys definitely get that one of the best parts about local foods is the connections that are made not only with farmers, but neighbors and new friends.

Best of luck Mainers! And thanks for the inspiration - March and April are the cruelest months up here in New England in terms of local foods, I'm glad to see that the sort of inspiration for creativity (called Yankee Ingenuity around these parts) in food is alive and well as the days get longer.

Read more about the Eat Local Challenge happening right now in Maine.

Sara Zoe is the coordinator of the community group Seacoast Eat Local, which works to connect farmers and consumers through winter farmers' markets, resource guides, and our own Eat Local Challenge, done at the easiest time of year, 'cuz we're wimps compared to Mainers.