28 Feb Sat 2009
Questions on how CSA's Feed the Poor from CBS (Washington, DC)
We got a question from CBS (Washington, DC) on how CSA’s feed the poor.
CBS Writes:
My name is Valerie [last name omitted for privacy] with CBS Evening News in Washington DC and I’m working on a story about how despite the terrible economy people are still investing in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s) - many of them locally are sold out. CSA’s are not the cheapest way of getting local produce - no one does this to save money. They do it to participate in the local food movement. But it’s something of a luxury, so my question is, why do people keep participating when they’re giving up so much else? If you could reply and give me your thoughts on this issue that would be great.
Thank you for your time,
Valerie
CBS Weekend Evening News Intern
We Reply:
Dear Valerie,
we’re sorry if this seems rude, but your question is a fair one and demands honesty. The reason why the situation is so puzzling is because you and CBS are approaching the story with the false premise of bias.
we submit to your consideration that
1): CSA’s are some of the most affordable ways to get food.
2): Fresh food is not a luxury.
Let’s do the numbers with two of our boxes.
Our cheapest box (per meal) is our 37 gallon (about 4 bushel) box. It is designed to feed a family of 5-1/3 moderately active people (based on USDA nutritional guidelines). Yes, it is bizzare, but keep in mind that some children and elders eat anywhere from 1/3 to 3/4 as much as adults and in a family that size, there will be an assortment of children and elders. It costs $1227.40 per month, $43.84 per day, $21.92 per meal (if two meals are prepared at home), and $4.11 per person per meal. And that’s a complete, nutritionally balanced meal! Quite affordable, considering the cost of fast food or grocery stores.
Our cheapest box (per box) is our 2 gallon (about 6/16 bushel) box. It is designed to feed a sedentary individual who cooks only one meal per day (based on USDA guidelines). It costs $96.67 per month, that is $3.45 per meal (with one meal per day). A balanced, complete, square meal. $3.45.
Now, we have some customers who complain our prices are too high. They shop at Costco, at Walmart or Sam’s Club, or get the old food off the discount shelf at the supermarket. We don’t deny that there are cheaper sources of food. The cheapest way of getting food is becoming the farmer yourself and growing it! But, through a combination of fresh and quality product, ease of acquisition (we’ll deliver it fresh to your doorstep while you’re at work or at play using negative-carbon gain fuels!), and ease of preparation (we can help you prepare your quality meals in less than 5 minutes!), we think our CSA offers a combination that is ideally suited for not only hard economic times, but for the best of times as well.
We don’t deny, either, that some CSA’s are overpriced. Some restaurants are overpriced, too. In any market - whether it is food or clothing or anything at all - there will be overpriced and underpriced options. Our customers appreciate that they get much more than what they pay for.
But is fresh food a luxury?
There’s three ways to look at this.
First, let’s look at it from a monetary standpoint. Disregarding that fresh food can be as cheap - pound for pound - as rotten, spoiled or damaged food, fresh food is used to more efficiency in the home than unfresh food. Simply said, more of it is eaten, more of it is digested and it is enjoyed better. Unfresh food is a source of disease, which is costly to any family in economic crisis. Families in crisis need their strength, they need to eat every last morsel of food. Nothing should be thrown out or wasted because it is damaged, spoiled or rotten. Though parents can prepare all the food - without carving away spoiled parts - and can require children eat all their food, there is simply no reason to do this when it costs the same to provide fresh food.
Second, examine it from societal perspectives. Children need to learn to love their food. They need to learn to eat well, to become strong, smart, beautiful citizens. They need to look forward to meals at home - with or without their parents. Fresh food does just that. Food is love, and we should all love our food.
Third, consider nutrition. Old, tasteless, dry beans make all of life seem old and tasteless. Rotten cabbages make life stink. Lettuce that is blooming with bacteria tints life with a lurid glow. Stale eggs in your pancakes are a killjoy. Oats should be flavorful and fresh! Tomatoes should be ripe all the way through. The nutritional quality of old food is inferior to fresh food. Water and fat soluable vitamins and minerals, essential proteins and other nutrients degrade in storage. Eating disease makes you sick. You would not choose unfresh food to fresh food if they costed the same or nearly so.
Please, if you have any doubts, let us send you a box of our food UPS. It can arrive tomorrow. If you have not tasted a farm fresh meal, it will be an honor and a pleasure to show you once again how you can love your food.
your farmers,
Aaron Brachfeld and Mary Choate
Re Rustica
559-977-7539
Questions on Water and Democracy from the BBC World News Service
We got a call today from the BBC World News Service and they asked very important questions about the water crisis of California.
BBC: Are you suffering from the drought?
No: having anticipated the rainfall, we planted only those crops which naturally grow in desert conditions. Because our customers desire those crops which they are culturally used to, those plants which like lots of water, we also grow in areas which have more water, transporting the crop with fuels that burn with zero or negative carbon gain. To do this, we use techniques like renting land and contract-farming (in which we specify how the crop is to be grown).
BBC: Are other farmers suffering?
We don’t know: most other farms are private entities and do not publish financial or other information. However, they ARE complaining greatly and we notice they are inefficient with their water, allowing vast quantities of the water to evaporate before feeding the crops. Other farmers are more efficient. It varies by region and the technical skill of the farmer.
BBC: How are water rights allocated?
In the United States, each State owns all the water. The State then decides how to allocate the water resources. In California, the State cedes authority over the resources to both public (County) and private corporations. When publicly administered, as is the case usually with wells, a County grants permit, either unlimitedly or limitedly. If it is limited, the amount of gallons or the time which those gallons may be withdrawn or both are directed by regulations developed through undemocratic methods. If privately administered, shares in the right granted to the private corporation are bought and sold.
In both cases, the wealthiest farmers and cities and individuals get more water than the poorest. Whether limited or not, the water is not freely accessible and requires expensive wells and infrastructure to access, or the shares are expensive. Thus, instead of serving the public interest, right is made by financial might and the largest farms are able to acquire more water.
This would be a problem if the only crops that could be grown required water. While it is true that the wealthiest farmers grow wealthier because crops that require water have higher profit margins, the poorest farmers can afford to grow cash crops using only rain water - even in desert conditions. Different varities of plants and technical skill allow for more efficient water use.
In example, American Spinach (Lambsquarter) is more water efficient than European Spinach. It also sells for a premium because it is more nutritious and delicious. Dates, lemons, and other luxury foods all do better with water, but produce adequate yields without water (even under these drought conditions). Mounding - whether using moldboards or spades - and tillage in aisles and ditch planting reduce water need, and allowing weeds and other vegetation to grow increases water retention.
Are there crop failures because of lack of water?
Yes. Some farmers either don’t know how to grow without water or won’t. In Colorado, a vast number of wells were recently shut off, ruining the State’s potato harvest. However, other staple foods can feed the Coloradoans beside potatoes - wheat requires little water, millet and oats require even less. But if tubers are desired, there are plenty of native tubers! Palm vegetable, squash, beans and other starchy vegetables and fruits can also fill the gap in people’s diets left by potatoes.
It is not up to the suppliers of food - the farmers - to alter their crops. They must sell things to make a living and serve market demand. It is up to the consumer to demand those crops which grow in their new home. Though some of us have lived in North America for many generations, we are reluctant to give up those ties to our ancestral homes and those foods of our fathers and mothers. Yet we are in a new land now, and we ougth to learn to eat like natives if we are to remain here.
Is it a rooster?
At early stages of chicken life, it is sometimes hard to tell whether the bird is a rooster or a hen. Behavioral differences and morphology aren't necessarily reliable, but in some breeds color differences help identify a rooster.
JL writes
My wife hatched a chick from some fertile eggs she purchased at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op. The chick is now five weeks old and I am concerned that it is looking much more like a cockerel than a pullet. My wife has grown very attached to the bird, but we live in downtown Sacramento and could not possibly keep a rooster.
I read your blog and it sounds as though your chickens live very happy and fulfilling lives. If our chicken ends up being a rooster I was wondering if you would accept it as a donation to your flock. I believe it is a white leghorn. If you are not interested, perhaps you could refer me to someone else who would allow the rooster to live and treat it with care.
We respond
We do sometimes adopt roosters from those who can't keep them anymore... before we agree to adopt yours or help find it a good home, though, we would ask a few things. First of all, five weeks is sometimes too young to tell for sure if it's a rooster, though sometimes you can tell by then. It depends both on the individual and the species: some species mature quicker, and some individuals within a species mature quicker. However (and please excuse me if you already know this, its a common enough mistake) many hens will develop combs and waddles early, though they will never get so large as a roosters it can be hard to tell wha they'll look like later. A better sign is the feathering they'll get at age 6wks plus (again, depending on the bird): most roosters get long, swooping tails, sometimes get extra color on their feathers, and get "saddles" of longer feathers on their backs. Another better sign is crowing (though we once had a hen that crowed from age 5 weeks until she was old enough to lay eggs, that is very unusual). If you'd like us to have a look at it ourselves, the best we can offer at the moment is via photos (we deliver via UPS to Sacramento; otherwise we'd have offered to drop by and look at it). Or, you can take it to someone who may be able to tell better (such as UCDavis's vet school). Or, keep an eye on it for another few weeks (some chickens don't "tell" if they're male or female till a good four months of age, though you can usually tell at 6 to 8 weeks) and let us know what you think then.
We hope this helps: we would hate to adopt your rooster only to find out that it was a hen that you could have kept! We almost had this happen when we adopted our rooster Scuttle: his previous family had five chickens, four of which they were sure were going to be roosters... we looked at them, guessed that Scuttle was a rooster (based on behavior and coloration, mostly, though it was an educated guess at best because he was only about 6 weeks old), and encouraged them to call if the others ended up being roosters. Turns out the rest were hens after all, despite early comb growth and one having aggresive behavior, and their owners were very glad we didn't take all the chickens they asked us to...
If you want to send a photo we'd be happy to look, or just keep us posted if you decide to watch your chicken longer!