A Deeper Look at Our Food's Future (plus a chocolate chip cookie recipe)
Anyone who loves food, the act of eating, the discovery, sourcing, cooking, and connection that come with it, eventually uncovers the dilemma of what the actual cost of eating entails. I am admittedly late to the table, but have found myself slowly evolving from starry-eyed lover to wide-awake activist.
I use the word activist loosely here, as I’m not out on the street corner banging on pots and pans to bring attention to the masses about why “farm-to-table”, a term of endearment for foodies everywhere, isn’t without its complications. But I’m taking the advice of Sarah Mock (author of these books, this newsletter, and host of this podcast) and sharing the information I have within my sphere of influence.
Making a conscious choice to eat well means we at least have the desire to start with quality ingredients, so we support organic and regenerative farming whenever possible, because hey—we all want to do our part to save the world.
As my work for a destination marketing organization in a rural county has put me in touch with incredible chefs, farmers, and ranchers, I’m naturally excited to promote the work they do to put good food on the table while protecting the planet. This is me playing a small part. But the nature of a visitor bureau website, I’ve been told, demands that content be engaging yet concise to tempt visitors to the region. Informative listicles as opposed to long-form, deep-diving content make sense, but they barely scratch the insatiable itch I have to write seriously about food.
I began exploring alternative avenues to share content that nourishes me, without the “Top 10” title, and I’m excited to share two recent pieces with you.
Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
What I’ve Been Writing About Lately
Recently, I learned that farmers in Oregon and Washington were adapting dry-farming techniques. I was perplexed as to why growers in a region that receives between 35 and 60 inches of rain per year would ever need to learn how to farm without it. Dry farming in Arizona? Sure. But dry farming in Oregon and Washington? Why? My second piece for Offrange (previously Ambrook, but now gloriously rebranded), 'Farming With Less Water,' looks at how restricted access to water rights and a changing climate have farmers considering whether it could work in their best interest.
I also wrote a feature about Sofie’s Scoops, a kickass little gelato shop in Olympia, for the summer edition of Edible Seattle. (Apologies, I couldn’t link to it as the summer issue isn’t online yet, but I couldn’t wait to tell you about it.) Sophie reminds me a lot of my previous boss, Gary Yamamoto (who sold his company four years ago and is now retired). While their products couldn’t be more dissimilar—he produced a high-end soft-plastic fishing lure, and she churns out small-batch gelato made with local dairy and farm-fresh produce—their vision aligns in that they decided to make their products from scratch and wouldn’t cut corners.
My first piece in Edible Seattle!
Most soft-plastic manufacturers purchase their plastic in pre-made form. Gary cooked his plastic “in-house,” incorporating salt throughout the plastic instead of just on the surface of the lure, which resulted in a softer, more lifelike product that caught more fish. Instead of purchasing a pre-made ice cream or gelato base that doesn’t give her complete control over the process, Sophie makes her base on-site and even pasteurizes the milk she gets from a local dairy.
For both makers, it comes down to integrity. Gary and Sophie made intentional choices about how they make their product. Those are qualities that, as a consumer, I look for and want to support. As a writer, I want to help amplify those voices.
My next piece for Edible Seattle features Mak Lee, a second-generation farmer who left the family farm in Ethel, Washington, for the frenetic culinary landscape of Seattle, eventually working for a high-end organic market that sold the type of products her family was producing. Long hours and high demands led to a significant health crisis that prompted Mak to return to the fields she grew up in to heal. She has been selling her Asian produce at the local farmers’ market for the past three years, but is now pivoting to embrace a new opportunity, which may mean leaving the market altogether. While she’s making enough money to survive, she can’t grow her business using the current model, which is an issue many small farmers and growers face who sell to farmers’ markets.
I’m proud of all these pieces, but creating them raises a lot of questions about what “sustainability” really means when it comes to food production and agriculture. When we talk about "sustainable" food production, it's easy to immediately think of things like organic farming or avoiding pesticides. And while those are certainly important aspects, the truth is, sustainability is a much broader concept with many interconnected layers. What one person considers "sustainable" might not fully address the concerns of another.
Boxes that often get ticked include practices such as organic farming, no-till agriculture, crop rotation, and reduced water usage, which are indeed vital for long-term ecological health. These methods aim to ensure that agriculture can continue without degrading the natural resources on which it depends. Lowering greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production and distribution? Check that box. And what about the humane treatment of animals, including providing them with adequate space, natural diets, and minimizing stress? Check, check!
And yet, some boxes still go unchecked when discussing sustainable agriculture, and they’re just as crucial to the overall picture of sustainability. One such unchecked box is social inequity in farming. A farm might be organic and environmentally sound, but if its labor practices are exploitative, if its land was acquired unjustly, or if it doesn't address systemic barriers faced by certain communities in accessing land, capital, or markets, is it truly "sustainable" in a holistic sense? It’s also important to consider economic viability and accessibility when we think about how many people need to be fed. Sustainable farming methods, especially on small-scale organic operations, can sometimes be more labor-intensive, yield lower volumes per acre and lead to higher costs for the consumer.
So don’t be too hard on Karen when she complains about how much that heirloom tomato costs at the farmers market. She’s not entirely wrong.
I suppose what I’m getting at is that ultimately, words like “farm to table”, "sustainable", and “regenerative” are powerful but often oversimplified terms. When discussing sustainable food, it's beneficial to take a closer look at the entire food system, which is currently broken and in need of repair.
Handily, if you’d like to learn more about discussions people with actual brains are having about these issues, like I do, I’m happy to point you to some great reading on these topics:
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In this quick but myth-busting book, Sarah challenges the romanticized view of the small family farm in America, exploring the economic and historical realities that often make it unsustainable. She dismantles common misconceptions about agriculture and proposes alternative paths toward a more equitable and functional food system.
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In his new book (out this Tuesday), Michael argues that our food system is a central, often overlooked, driver of climate change, with agriculture causing massive deforestation and significant carbon emissions. His book explores how we can't sustain our growing population without transforming how we produce food, highlighting both the challenges of current unsustainable practices and the promising technological and policy solutions being pursued.
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Sorry, But This is the Future of Food- I’ll preface this one by saying, “don’t shoot the messenger.” In this piece, Michael argues that industrial agriculture, despite its environmental downsides, is a necessary "evil" due to its efficiency in feeding a growing global population. This, of course, caused a pretty big uproar with folks who champion sustainable and regenerative ag (raising hand here). He contends that this high-yield approach, for all its flaws, is crucial for producing large amounts of food on limited land. So, how do we make more food, on less land, with less waste? (apologies if you hit a paywall here)
Until next time … go make those cookies, and reach out if you’d like to chat about food.
