Wendell’s Wisdom – Wendell Berry

 

Wendell Berry has shared his unique wisdom for over 50 years in over 50 books. The new book,”The Need To Be Whole” was introduced by Wendell himself at the Kentucky Book Festival at the Joseph-Beth Book Sellers in Lexington, Kentucky. Farm To Table Talk host, Rodger Wasson was there to hear Wendell wisdom first hand. All of Wendell’s books are worth a read but “The Unsettling of America” is especially appropriate in these unsettled times. It is wonderful to hear Wendell in person and is almost as good to once again listen to the conversation he had in 2014 with Bill Moyers. To commemorate a special weekend in Kentucky with Wendell we’re bringing back this conversation of Wendell Berry and Bill Moyers.  It is a production of the Schumann Media Center and         Mannes production.  www.Berry Center.org

Food Communicates – Wyatt Ball

Food communicates origin, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and global health upstream, downstream and around our tables. Progressive brands realize that in a true cost accounting future, they will need to be able to provide a suite of environmental impact metrics that go beyond just carbon to include soil, health, water data and biodiversity metrics. Wyatt Ball, Land to Market’s Client Success Manager sheds a light on the responsible brand journey that starts on farms or ranches and ends on our plate. www.landtomarket.com

Frontiers Below – Ben Cloud

Sequestering atmospheric carbon and placing it in soil  will be a part of the solution to climate change and greater economic resilience and security. Ben Cloud, CEO of BodelAG has commercialized a plant extract discovery with broad  application to improve the health and economic welfare of humans, animals, and plants. The loss of soil’s microbial biomass and the functionality the microbes provide causes a loss of ability to cycle carbon and nutrients. Then soil health declines, along with water holding capacity and crop water use efficiency, resulting in excessive water and fertilizer inputs, and their associated costs, as well as an accumulation of salts. The frontier is below us. www.biodelag.com

 

Creation Curation – Chef Travis Passerotti

Creation takes place in our food chain at the farm, in the kitchen and in our favorite restaurants that “curate” a tasting experience to be savored and remembered. At the Tasting Kitchen in Los Angeles, Executive Chef Travis Passeroti creates daily hand written menus that curate the best of what is on offer that day from the Santa Monica Farmers Market and other select local suppliers and farmers. Chef Travis and the award winning food program at the The Tasting Kitchen display a passion for sustainably sourced ingredients and expert knowledge of local food communities.

https://www.thetastingkitchen.com

Our Resilient Alternatives – Joel Salatin & Ben Glassen

Resilience is what’s needed for a viable food system and there are more resilient alternatives available today than ever. The supply disruption and fragility exposed by the pandemic highlights the overlooked advantages of smaller local food suppliers. With food costs from the global system climbing, the price gap between the big and the small operations has shrunk. The author of 15 books, thousands of speeches around the world and founder of Polyface Farms, Joel Salatin understands and shares the opportunity he sees. Ben Glassen is one of thousands who have been inspired by Joel’s wisdom and vision. He has established his own version on Vancouver Island in British Columbia by adhering to these principles: detaching land ownership; mobile/modular infrastructure; and direct marketing. In conversation Joel and Ben agree that this is an exciting time of resilient alternatives for farmers, would-be farmers and their customers. www.polyfacefarms.com  www.glassenfarm.com

Hunger’s Not Right, Or Left – Chef Mulvaney, White House

50 years ago the White House conducted a conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. It has finally happened again as President Biden announced a national plan for ending hunger in the United States by 2030 with these actions: 1) Improve food access and affordability; 2) Integrate nutrition and health; 3) Empower all consumers to make and have access to healthy choices; 4) Support physical activity for all; and 5) Enhance nutrition and food security research. Chef Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L and Chef Santana Diaz of UC Davis Health traveled to Washington from Sacramento with an invitation to participate and then shared some of what they learned from a taxi leaving the conference and in a Clubhouse room that was opened to further the conversation. WHHungerHealth@hhs.gov

Pigs In Space – Pete Lammers

When most consumers buy pork chops or bacon, it seldom occurs to them to wonder how much space does a pig need?  That question is increasingly coming up to supermarkets, restaurants, curious consumers and their legislators.  The pig space question focuses on the stage between a female hog (sow or gilt) being bred and giving birth to a littler of pigs 3 months, 3 weeks and 3 days later.  In that time many are confined in individual stalls about 7 feet long and a couple feet wide.  California is one of the states that have banned this part of the pork production system after voters supported Proposition 12.  The California law goes further, even banning the sales of pork products when ‘gestation crates’ were used, whether produced in California or other states. The US Supreme Court gets the last word on this issue.  Dr. Pet Lammers is Associate Professor of Animal Scienc in the UW-Platteville School of Agriculture.  Pete was raised near Johnsburg, MN on a farrow-to-finish pig farm. He earned a B.S. from UW-River Falls and a M.S. and Ph.D. from Iowa State University with majors in Animal Science and Sustainable Agriculture. He has researched pork production systems and teaches an upper level course in livestock production for niche markets.

Farm To Bridge – Chef Nina Curtis

“Food to live for” could be the theme of Sacramento’s annual harvest celebration of the regions pride in being America’s Farm To Fork Capitol. Talented chefs and local farmers are joined by the whole region including over 300,000 food appreciative consumers at a weekend street festival with music and food for all tastes. One of the most coveted tickets in town gets you dinner with 850 fellow farm to fork fans on the historic Tower Bridge provided by a team of celebrated local chefs, including: Nina Curtis of Plant’ish & Co, Tyler Bond of Lemon Grass, Patrick Prager, Q Bennett of Q1227 and Greg Desmangles of Urban Roots and Brad Cecchi of Canon.

www.visitsacramento.com

Growing Water – Greg Pruett & Terry Paule

Some of the most productive farmland in the world has been knocked out of production by an historic drought. And in California alone over a million citizens lack access to clean drinking water and according to the California Dry Well Reporting System, communities have reported that 966 wells have gone dry this year. If this isn’t a crisis what is? When we look for solutions we may need to look for clues on our plates. Tomatoes are over 95% water, much of which can be removed before the production of ketchup, sauce, soups, salsa and the other products that are how most tomatoes are consumed. . Greg Pruett, President of Ingomar Packing and Terry Paule,Co-founder and CEO of Botanical Water (BWT) explain that their new venture is producing potable water (safe to drink) from tomatoes during the tomato harvesting season. The technology has been proven in applications in Australia over the last few years, but the BWT partnership with Ingomar marks the first offering in the United States. Plans are to expand to other Californian regions, other States in the US, Mexico, and India, to provide water harvested from plant-based processors, such as sugar mills, fruit and vegetable concentrators, to scarce and high risk regions.   There are over 10,000 food processor sites globally with a combined ability to harvest 264 billion gallons of water per year. Every drop is needed. www.wegrowwater.com www.ingomarpacking.com

Global to Local Fertilizer – Matt Simpson

1 in 3 people worldwide didn’t have access to adequate food in 2021, up 350 million from pre pandemic levels. How can agriculture address this widening gulf in the global food supply– becoming more sustainable and efficient? Potash is one of the most prominent minerals used in agricultural fertilization and is sourced and transported in great quantities from far off countries like Russia and Belarus. New locally-sourced mining operations are being developed, such as in the Autazes region of Brazil. Brazil is the second largest potash consumer in the world and 96% of it is imported although it could be an important global supplier. Matt Simpson, the CEO of Brazil Potash, explains the venture that will. help feed millions all over the world, while also helping to reduce the carbon footprint. www.brazilpotash.com