I Am a Conscientious Carnivore

Once a quarter Santa Monica Farmer's Market hosts a discussion at the Santa Monica library featuring various Farmer vendors discussing a specific topic.  Last night Evan Kleinman (think KCRW "Good Food" and Angeli Caffe) moderated a panel with:

Chef Evan Funke of Rustic Canyon , 

Marcie Jimenez of Jimenez Family Farms (think rabbit, goat, veggies),

Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy (think certified raw milk products), and

Greg Nauta of Rocky Canyon Farms (think humanely raised beef and pork).

The purpose was not to discuss the pros and cons of being a meat-eater, but rather, for those who have chosen to be carnivores...what is the most sustainable and humane way to obtain your meat products?  And...what are the forces that make it so difficult for those products to be readily available to "conscientious carnivores?"

First of all, I just love "talking to the farmer...the hand...that feeds you!"  Up close and personal is the name of the game.  Each of these panelists, including Evan Funke, who represented the chefs who make conscious decisions to have a personal relationship with the providers of the food they prepare, were committed to their organic and sustainable process.  I would like to have each one for a friend.  There is a sense of mission in their message.

They say there is a ground swell of demand for their products and that is what will begin to turn the tide against the forces that now make it difficult for them to grow or deliver their product.  Some of the issues are the regulations that are in place, most from the FDA (which they point out is a drug regulating agency not an agricultural agency...who regulate and "protect pharmaceutical companies).  Another issue for the ranchers is the scarcity of slaughtering facilities, causing them to have only a few available slots for their animals and to have to travel distances to bring their animals in for slaughter and processing.  They credit books (thank you, Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver), movies (thank you "Fresh," and "Food Inc." and model farmers/ranchers (thank you Joel Salatin) for providing the impetus to the ground swell.

The remind us of the education that still remains to be done to bring people closer to the food they consume and related anecdotes where various adults made statements to the such as:

•    to dairy farmer, Mark McAfee, "Do you milk the bulls too?
•    to Evan Funke, "What tree does salad grow on?"

The wheels of government turn slowly and it on when legislators realize that their voting constituents are demanding change in the food systems that change will occur.  One local glimmer of hope is the work of the Los Angeles Food Policy Task Force, on which Evan Kleiman serves, which has developed a policy and a plan for a food hub for Los Angeles and presented their report, Good Food for All Agenda: Creating a New Regional Food System for Los Angeles to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in July.

For me, I am left with a renewed awareness that my responsibility is to vote with my fork...to let my food purchases support the move toward more sustainable, humane and healthy agriculture...to help put the "culture" back into agriculture!