Farm To Table Talk

What consumers believe about food and how they behave is continually evolving. To track, understand and predict the ever evolving consumer perspectives, the International Food Information Council (IFIC) conducts an annual Food & Health consumer survey. IFIC's Dr. Alex Lewin-Zwerdling and Liz Sanders share with Farm To Table Talk key points that have been learned in the recently completed Survey. Not surprisingly consumers still rank Taste and Price as most important in making food choices, but Health has now passed "Convenience" and Sustainability has risen to the top tier of what matters most to consumers--especially Millenials. Consumers are ore inclined to make small changes instead of a big overhaul. Health "halos" are created with "fresh, short ingredient list, natural food store origin, expensive, name brand,", etc. Consumers have different ideas about processed: a bag of baby carrots is viewed as "processed" food but if they are labled "Organic baby Carrots" they are not considered "processed". The 2017 Food & Health Survey is available at www.foodinsight.org

If any University has the right to the claim "Mothership" of sustainable and Organic food production, it is the University of California at Santa Cruz. For the past FIFTY (50) years trainees and students have come to Santa Cruz from all over the world for inspiration and to learn sustainable farming and gardening skills. It started in 1967 with the unlikely intervention of a Countess bringing a global Organic prophet with unparalleled hands-in-the-soil experience to the beautiful new UC Campus on a hill overlooking Monterey Bay. The seeds of these endeavors have sprouted Agrocecology, Food Justice, Farm To Table, Farm To School, Urban Gardens and thousands of disciples. The celebration of this remarkable half century at UCSC is underway. More information on the 50th celebration and the on-going opportunities at UCSC are available at casfs.ucsc.edu , the Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems. Martha Brown, Principal Editor and Daniel Press, Executive Director share the history and opportunities sustainability and organic devotees at the Mothership on the Farm to Table Talk Podcast.

If your wish is to "enhance public discussion of biotechnology" be careful what you wish for because you draw fire from both sides when you don't choose a "tribe". Biofortified co-founder Dr. Karl Haro von Mogel knows that feeling. His organization is clearly pro-biotech, but recognizes shortcomings too and has taken efforts to not simply be a cheerleader for the multi-national companies marketing genetically engineered products. Putting a clever spin on the jeers about "Franken (stein) Foods" they created Frank N. Foode, your friendly neighborhood genetically modified organism. Frank N. Foode and other resources can be found on their website, www.biofortified.org

"Alternative Agriculture" was the then controversial subject of a report by the National Academy of Science in the 80's. It was "food for thought" that contributed to a decade of food/farming debates that culminated in a national law creating "Organic" certification. Nearly a decade later the rule was finally implemented and Organics have been growing ever since. In the middle of all this has been Dr. Chuck Benbrook. In this episode of Farm To Table Talk, Dr. Benbrook explores what's gone right, what's gone wrong and why we should be optimistic about the future of farm to table. To learn more about Dr. Benbrook's current focus, you can visit www.hygeia-analytics.com

There is a lot to learn from a Barnyard and Ron Wasson is sharing those lessons with thousands of people by bringing the barnyard to them. It's a known fact that there are fewer people living on or near farms and consequently fewer people that know anything about farm animals and farms. In this podcast there are guest 'vocals' from chickens, goats, sheep, ducks, horse, calf, pig, dog, cats, turkey and others (only the rabbits were quiet). What do barnyard animals have to tell us that's relevant to modern farming. Actually quite a bit. www.barnyarddiscoveries.com

If Earth suffers, what's for dinner? The Earth may have no better friend than Fred Kirschenmann, distinguished fellow with the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, President of the Board at Stone Barn Center and North Dakota farmer. How well we care for soil has a direct effect on what our food does for us. Earthlings are getting 'wake up' calls at an opportune time when a new generation is no longer focusing just on "me and my" culture. How we farm and what we eat matters. Instead of just "growth" we can aim to regenerate life on earth--thriving and flourishing in our own ways and right in our own neighborhoods.

Do you need good soil to have good food? Not necessarily. Some say that to be Organic, crops should be grown in sustainably developed soil while others believe that should not be necessary as long as the production system used avoids pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers. Melody Meyer, the vice President of Policy and Industry Relations for United Natural Foods (UNFI) explains the systems, the controversy and the implications for farmers and consumers on this episode of Farm To Table Talk.

You don't have to be rich to get real value from shopping Farmers Markets. The Ag Institute of Marin (CA) manages Farmer's Markets in one of the most prosperous regions in the country, the San Francisco Bay area; however there are still many needy people who struggle to put healthy food on their tables. The Ag Institute helps make ends meet with a programs that help make food more affordable for those in need. The Director of Markets, Peter Healey, explains these initiatives, plus other programs and plans, including a proposal to build a Year Round Roofed facility.

Gluten free is a growing preference for some but a matter of life and death for others. When Forrest Smith was two years old he nearly died from Celiac disease, but it was identified and he grew up to produce gluten free oats and oat products in Wyoming for the World. We think of oats as being "gluten free" naturally but there are lots of ways that the oats can become contaminated from the farm equipment or in the mill. There has to be strict quality control and safety standards adhered to beginning with the planting of the oats and continuing through the food chain to the retail shelf. www.gfharvest.com

It's no accident that food keeps improving in Safety, Healthfulness, Affordability, Taste and Sustainability. Research and commitment leads the way.There are better Organic food choices available today than in the past and there will be even better choices available in the future. It won’t just be because of evolution or luck—today offers better choices than yesterday and tomorrow will be better yet because of research and successful implementations of what we learn from that research.

In this Farm To Table Talk we will cover food’s journey from best to better with Dr. Jessica Shade, the Director of Science Programs with the Organic Center. From being first inspired working with the Organic farm at UC Santa Cruz to completion of her PhD and management of the science programs of the Organic Center, Jessica's belief in Organic food and farming has deepened--especially when she was expecting her daughter and the health effects of research findings took on special meaing.