Farm To Table Talk

Even when summer is over, the season peak flavor and nutrition in tomatoes is available all year long in cans or jars.  Lycopene, the antioxidant compound that makes tomatoes red, is even more available in tomatoes that have been turned in to tomato products and has been shown to be protective for diseases from cardiovasular to cancers. What if it is more than just the lycopene in the tomatoes that make a difference. That is the question being pursued at the The Ohio State University by Dr. Jessica Coooperstone's Lab where positive  protections have been found from tomatoes with or without lycopene.  Just when it seems that the tomato story can't get any better, we learn about the role "Alpha Tomatine" and the potential of making a great product better.  Jessica Cooperstone is Associate Professor in the department of Horticulture and Crop Science and the department of Food Science & Technology . www. CooperstoneLab.com

In food purchase priorities, somethings change a lot and some barely change at all.  When it comes to food purchases the top considerations are still taste, price, health and convenience.  What's new and rising on the list is "Environmental Sustainability",  now an important consideration for about 30% of the population.  These findings are in the Annual Food & Health Survey of IFIC the Internaional Food Information Council. Kris Solid, RD is the Research Senior Director for IFIC.  To fill gaps in consumer knowledge about food it's important to identifiy current perceptions, beliefs and behavious.  www.foodinsight.org

Immigration is essential for a functioning food system that otherwise suffers from growing labor shortages on farms, packing houses, processors and kitchens. The H-2A Temporary Agriculture Worker Program allows U.S. employers that face a shortage of domestic workers to hire foreign nationals for temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs.  An American Immigration Council analysis, “The Expanding Role of H-2A Workers in U. S. Agriculture” reveals significant demand across the country with labor being sought from two thirds (2/3) of all counties in the U.S. Steve Hubbard, the Senior Data Scientist at the American Immigration says “Instead of vilifying migrant workers, we should champion and protect them for their vital support to America's food production. www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org

What we eat today and tomorrow is linkng through restaurants and institutions under the direction of Chefs who are learning the importance of knowing the farm source and sharing that knowledge with customers. With over 6,000 students, Chef Kirk Bachmann is President Provost  of Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, the largest culinary institution in the U.S.. (https://www.escoffier.edu)   (https://www.escoffier.edu)

Progress in regenerative produce production is not just in our own back yards, but can come from other countries, such as Guatemala. Responding to extreme weather and desires for delicious, affordable foods that are grown regeneratively are having an impact all over the world.  Answers are found not only in local farmers markets, but also in supermarkets and suppliers who comb the globe to find the right sources that are faming, packing and shipping the right way. Christopher Safieh is the Head of Growth at Guatemala based UniSpice, a world leader in growing, packing and shipping produce to global customers. www.unispice.com

Solutions to our farming futures may reside on a spectrum that ranges from wide open to strategically controlled. Jake Felser of Freight Farms shared an important  perspective on how controlled environment farming can check several boxes when he first joined the Farm To Table Talk in 2022..  www.freightfarms.com

Attention is a moral act so we shouldn't just do what we think nature wants --"attend to Earth". Try as we might, you won't be the savior of the world but you can do what you are here to do. This will take some down the road to regeneration (mob, mow and move), or beyond.  Daniel Firth Griffith has a 400 acre rewilding project in central Virginia and has published "Stagline", a book about transition from regneration on to a Kenetic rewilding from cropland to pastures, to forests and plates. www.wildtimshel.com

58% of the energy intake in the American diet is from ultra processed foods and not coincidentally nearly 40% of the population is considered obese, facing growing rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.  It's not that all processed foods are bad since many highly nutritious foods are minimally processed and maybe canned, jarred, frozen or dried points out Registered Dietitian and author, Sharon Palmer. Realigning our diets involves simple choices that can be made at the supermarket and even at fast food drive throughs. Sharon explains what is "ultra" processed and what we can do better. @sharonpalmer   sharonpamer.com www.food&planet.org

Water restrictions in California will cause large acreages of farm land to be fallowed, potentially producing nothing.  Fortunately   a new crop is being introduced that uses very little water, making more available for thirstier tree, vine and row crops.  That new crop, a new spirit, is California Agave.  Stuart Woolf has been to Mexico and brought back Agave plants that are planted and flourishing in the Central Valley. It's turning out that California is ideal for Agave production.  That's good news for Sean Venus, of Venus Distilling in Santa Cruz who is distilling California Agave Spirits and is representative of progressive distillers who see a promising future for California's newest crop, a great spirit. www.woolffarming.com   venusspirits.com  californiaagave.org  

Consumers are more confused than ever about what are the best food choices for themselves and their family.  This is the case inspite of the fact or because of the fact that social media, traditional media, books and TV are filled with strongly asserted points of view.  Why is establishing  the right path so confusing?  Amy Myrdal Miller is a registered dietitian, North Dakota farmer's daughter and co-author of Cooking a la Heart.  https://www.farmersdaughterconsulting.com

More money is spent lobbying the Farm Bill than is spent lobbying for America's Defense industry. It's not just about producing food. Over 80% of the farm bill is for nutrition programs, such as SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bulk of the lobbying investments are made by AgriBusiness that sells inputs to farmers and the grocery industry who benefit from food assistance purchases.  Even the farm focused programs (research, exports, conservation, etc) mostly support products used for fuel, animal feed and sweeteners. These include important programs to help real farmers produce real food, but not enough.  Ricardo Salvador is the Director of Food and Environmental Programs with the Union of Concerned Scientists. www.ucusa.org

The demand for meat will keep growing because the world's population will keep growing out of poverty and with a hunger to add meat to their diet. Now more meat can come from more sources , including animal, plants and mycoprotein. Paul Shapiro is CEO of the Better Meat Company and author of "Clean Meat".  Growing micycrobial fungi called "mycoprotein", meat is produced with the look, taste and texture of animal sourced products with equal or superior nutrition. Who knew we could be farming microbes to help feed a hungry planet. www.bettermeat.co

A successful consumer brand can be built from the farm while prioritizing community well-being. Organic style farming existed long before chemical intensive farming became the norm.  Four generations of Matt Mclean's family were citrus farmers in Florida, beginning before federal organic certification became a law. Recognizing growing demand , Matt founded Uncle Matt's Organic.  Starting with one item sold locally in his backyard, it has become the oldest organic OJ brand in the US and is sold in over 15,000 stores nationwide. Matt's goal is to produce the highest quality products using sustainable organic methods while educating consumers and farmers about the benefits of an organic lifestyle.   www.unclematts.com

Economies of scale will continue to push farming operations to get bigger over time. While big farms getting bigger is not likely to change, value added farming is a different matter. Another decline in net farm income is projected  according to the Spring 2024 Missouri Farm Income Outlook released by the University of Missouri’s Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF). Projections from the report suggest that declining market receipts and lower crop prices play a role in the estimated $0.8 billion decrease in net farm income says  Scott Brown, interim director of the center.

  The new ways of raising livestock and meat production are increasingly drawing from old ways when pastures were more prevalent than large metal confinement buildings. Brittany and Bill Sullivan own and operate Sullivan Farms, just outside of Fayette, MO. Their primary business is pork. All their pigs are raised and rotated on fresh regenerative pastures, and fed NON-GMO grain, along with organic milk. They believe a highly quality of life for animals insures terrific, nutritious food on our dinner tables. Selling to  restaurants, butcher shops, at the farmers markets, and grocery stores.they have discovered there is a market for livestock produced on pasture an that you don't have to be a giant CAFO, concentrated animal feeding operation. www.sullivanfarmsmo.com

Although funding and knowledge is available to create better food systems, it is the active choice of doing nothing that is impeding progress. We keep educating the public on the problem and offer no solutions says Zack Wyatt, CEO and founder of the Carolina Farm Trust. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, he's now driving change to improve access to affordable, healthy foods. The first stage is to open a distribution and food production center in west Charlotte, an area known as a food desert. The project includes working with farmers to get food from the farm to the tables, partnering with local chefs in the community and helping to build urban farms. carolinafarm.org.  

Cities keep growing but that doesn't mean we don't want to be around a farm. In fact when you can't live in the country then how about bringing the farm to the city?  That's what Clayton Garrett shares is happening in Houston and other cities. It may be surprising to farmers who have experienced mixed results when city folks move to the country and become their neighbors. Clayton Garrett is a farmer and founding partner of Meristem Communities,  a Houston based real estate development company exploring how healthy communities are developed and nourished,  often with farming in its midst. indigocommons.com

Many Farm To Table Talk listeners somehow got a version of the Barons podcast that had the right intro but with a different podcast.  We're sorry about that and  just in case here is the real interview with Austin Frerick. Rodger Wasson

Local agriculture has become an extraction economy and to change there will have to be change in who has power. Food system power is largely in the hands of 'Barons' according to Austin Frerick, the author of "Barons - Money, Power, and The Corruption Of America's Food Industry."   The case is made by examining powerful barons in grain, grocery, dairy, berry, coffee and meat industries. Domination is not a new story and it has been blunted in the past such as the reining in of the "Robber Barons" of the late 1800's. Solutions can be found again by actions such as resisting the 'southern model', institutions prioritizing local, resisting mergers and acquisitions and leadership from the USDA. @austinfrerick   austinfrerick.com  

Knowing what we're really hungry for depends on becoming the authority in our own body, empowering us to eat what we love . Kim Shapira, M.S., R.D. is a renowned celebrity dietitian, nutritional therapist, and author holding a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a Master's degree in Human Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition. In her new book, This Is What You're Really Hungry For: Six Simple Rules to Transform Your Relationship with Food to Become Your Healthiest Self, Shapira has developed six rules to change our relationship with food - breaking down the science to get our brain and our body on board; replacing fad diets that do not last with a sustainable method that encourages us to eat what we love; and empower us to be our own champions.