Eating Sustainably

Evan Kleiman, Amelia Saltsman, and Molly Gean recently shared their thoughts about eating sustainably at a Palisades Eco Evening.    What is sustainable eating? It is buying locally grown food that is in season, has great flavor, and is grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers.  Moderator, Evan Kleiman said, “As you read food blogs, you understand how this food world of ours is so linked and so unsustainable it makes one long to contribute but … it’s often hard to know what to do…even me”.      

 Why should we buy this food? The flavor!   The produce at the farmers’ markets has been picked within the last 24 hours. Molly Gean, of Harry’s Berries, says they perform taste trials which are based upon flavor. If the produce “doesn’t taste good we’ve lost you as a customer”.  Amelia Saltsman says that taste sampling is a great selling tool for farmers and a clue for shoppers.   You’ll find that you like the taste better at certain stands than at others.

We should buy food in season. Amelia Saltsman encourages people to wait to buy fresh, local nectarines at the farmers’ market instead instead of  buying  Chilean nectarines in winter at the local supermarket.

Amelia’s cooking is based upon what she finds at the market. Her menus are inspired by what she finds at the market, not necessarily by recipes. She purchases all her produce there.  A listener asked, what if you run out of fresh vegetables? Do you fill in from the supermarket? No, she uses something she’s cooked and frozen or something from the pantry.  The young garlic and potato soup that she prepared for the audience reflected what she had found at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market that morning. (It was delicious)!

Amelia Saltsman says buying food at the farmers’ market becomes more than buying food, it’s a human interaction. You talk to the farmers about where their farms are, how they grow (which is more friendly than asking whether they are organic), what type of fertilizers they use. You get to know them. 

How has this affected me in my shopping and eating? Since this discussion, I have only purchased produce at the farmers’ market.   I also purchase cheese, olives, olive oil, honey, and nuts at the market. I don’t necessarily cook from a recipe, but I mix several recipes that work with the vegetables that I see. Last Saturday, I purchased a free range chicken at the market. It was the most delicious, fresh, and moist chicken that I’ve ever prepared. What do I plan to buy next at the market? Beef and eggs.

 How to find local farmers markets: www.acwm.co.la.ca.us. Then type in your zip code or the city. Amelia Saltsman also lists many farmers’ markets in her book, “The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook.” The term "certified" used in the phrase "Certified Farmers' Markets" means that the produce is brought to the market straight from the farm, either by the farmer personally or by an employee. Only California grown produce may be certified. 

( National organic standards are a watered down version of earlier California standards. The economic burden of certifying is often too great for small farmers who are being lumped in with big organic companies that waste water and are not real stewards of the land  Some farms, like Harry’s Berries are not certified organic because of the paperwork. The farm has been chemical free for 10 years. According to Molly Gean, it’s better to buy from the conventional farmers that might be at a farmers’ market than the large organic companies whose produce is sold in department stores.)

Access to fresh, locally grown food is an environmental justice issue. Not all neighborhoods are as lucky as Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica. If you want to help others, think of helping non-local schools or neighborhoods start a community garden. Evan Kleiman and others have a goal of a sustainable food system in California by 2030. If you are interested, please visit angeli.com, the website for Angeli Caffe.

I’m not saying that you need to immediately start buying everything at the farmers’ market, but if you haven’t ever gone, please try, and if you go, please try to buy some new things and have fun cooking (or just buy the strawberries at Harry’s Berries in Santa Monica. You won’t need to do a thing to them!)  A listener asked, “What do you tell someone whose life doesn’t lead them to shop only at farmers markets?”  Amelia said, it’s a personal choice. We are all on a journey and at certain places we make choices and just start. What you can integrate into your life becomes an automatic act for you and allows you to embrace the next step”.  Also, if you have one meatless meal a week, you’ll lower your carbon footprint.

Some useful websites: ameliasaltsman.com; angeli.com; slowfoodla.com.