Tomorrow's Table

I don't get to read much over the summer, but I just got through a fascinating book written by a husband and wife, an organic farmer and a plant geneticist who does biotech research.

She makes a compelling case for the environmental benefits of genetically engineered foods, judiciously cultivated. These crops do, in fact, have the potential to reduce pesticide use and increase agricultural productivity, especially in developing nations where food security is an particularly urgent issue. I found it much easier to hear these arguments from a university researcher who eats a vegetarian diet of mostly organic foods and works with international nonprofit organizations than from marketing materials produced by secretive, sinister multinational corporations.

The book starts off with alternating chapters by the two authors on organic farming and bio-engineering, but most of the subsequent chapters are written by Pamela, the researcher. I couldn't help feeling that Ronald's chapters were mostly there to give her arguments credibility with the sustainable food community. Still, on some level this strategy worked, and I was more willing to accept her point of view because she clearly had a solid grasp of the tenets of organic agriculture.

And yet I wished that she wasn't quite so dismissive of the arguments of anti-GMO activists. Even though there are clearly some potential benefits to cultivating genetically engineered food, much of the research and patenting has been done by companies interested more in financial gain than in the common good. Given the fact that these foods have been introduced to the food supply in sneaky, secretive ways, it's understandable that folks distrust them. This suspicion isn't just an irrational fear of the unknown, it's a reasonable reaction to a powerful new technology in the hands of the folks who brought us toxic pesticides, high fructose corn syrup, artificial trans fats, chemical preservatives...

Tilth Harvest Fair

We had a wonderful day at the Tilth Harvest Fair yesterday, in fact, it was the most successful day I've ever had, in 12 years of vending.

When I first started doing the Harvest Fair 9 years ago, it was a very busy event, with 7 or 8 different hot food vendors, lots of produce, and chef demos. Five years later it was a much smaller event, and we were the only food vendor. It was still a very good event for us, but our sales didn't change much, probably because it wasn't as well attended.

Someone who works with the organization told me that they lost a key outreach person around that time, which might explain the smaller turnout. I figured the lower attendance was because, when the Harvest Fair started 30 years ago, it was the only all-organic produce sale in town, and until relatively recently there still wasn't much competition. But now there are farmers' markets with plenty of organic produce nearly every day of the week. During the time that I've been doing the Harvest Fair, seven new markets have opened in different Seattle neighborhoods.

It seemed like the Tilth folks really went out of their way this year to set their event apart. Sure, it's a produce sale and there are produce sales nealy every day of the week, but this was a lovely party, with music and kids' activities and educational events, set in a great park, celebrating sustainable food.

Queen Anne Market's New Location

The Queen Anne Farmers' Market moved half a block south yesterday, to the walkway connecting 1st Ave. W. and 2nd Ave. W, just south of the community center and north of the soccer field.

I'd been dreading the move, having heard horror stories from vendors about their experiences last year. From what I heard, customers somehow couldn't find their way to a spot half a block south of the summer location, and the loading situation was a nightmare because you couldn't drive right up to your spot.

I got lucky, and was assigned a booth space close to the street, so I didn't have to carry my stuff very far. Supposedly my end was the slower end last year, but there was plenty of traffic, in fact, I had the best day I'd had in months at that market.

The area was also grassy, so it was a pleasant and sunny and much easier to stand on all day than concrete or asphalt.

Competition

This coming Saturday we'll be vending at the Tilth Harvest Fair, a lovely event celebrating organic produce. It will be our ninth year doing this event.

The first four years we sold there, they had a number of other food vendors, but the past four years we've been the only ones. It's a great position to be in: the only food vendor at an event that draws exactly the kind of people who enjoy our food.

This year there's going to be another food vendor, a catering company that did the event the first few years, but dropped out a few years ago. The organizers are happy about it, but I'm not thrilled. I'd rather not share.

After twelve years of vending at farmers' markets and special events, I'm still not certain whether having competition always negatively affects my sales. The Ballard Market, our best market, has the most competition. Last year at Columbia City there was no competition, and this year Green Go is there, but we're having a better year this year than we did last year. There are so many variables, and sometimes having a choice of what to eat can draw more people to an event, or make them more inclined to stay and have lunch.

The weather is supposed to be perfect on Saturday, and last year at this event, we weren't able to feed everyone (we ran out of food.) This year we'll bring more, and I'm trying to maintain a good attitude, telling myself that that there will be enough business to go around. Still, I'd rather not share.

Why Chiles Are Hot

A study published last month by researchers at the UW offered a fascinating explanation as to why chiles evolved that wonderful spicy flavor. Apparently it's a defense mechanism against a fungus that develops when insects puncture the skins of the chiles. The microorganisms that create the fungus are sensitive to capsaicin, the chemical that creates the heat, and are more likely to avoid plants that contain it. Birds, which eat the fruit and spread its seeds, don't taste the heat.

It occurred to me that the heat ended up having an additional evolutionary function, one which the article didn't mention. Since humans enjoy this flavor, we've propagated the seeds all over the world, further improving the plant's odds for survival.

Tomatillos

Tomatillos have been showing up at local market stands the past few weeks. They're not unripe tomatoes, but rather cousins of tomatoes with a papery outer skin. They make a wonderful salsa, but it takes some patience because you have to peel the papery outer skin off of each tomatillo.

Once you've peeled them, you preheat your oven to about 4oo. You'll also want to use some mild chiles (anaheims or poblanos) and some hot ones, if you like it hot. Rub the tomatillos and the chiles with enough olive oil to coat them, then roast them for 45 minutes to an hour, until their droopy but not crunchy.

When they're cool enough to handle, take the stems off the chiles, and puree the roasted tomatoes and roasted chiles along with some cilantro, red wine vinegar, and salt.

It's great stuff, but I only make it once a year, because of the painstaking labor of peeling the skins off the tomatillos. Most of the year I use canned tomatillos for the salsa at my booth and at my store. It's very tasty, but once you taste the real thing, it's hard to go back.

ATM's at the Markets

A number of local markets have begun bringing in mobile cash machines for customers to use. The markets don't make any money from the fees but their logic is that, because not all vendors accept credit cards, having the ATM's on site will facilitate spending.

I realize I'm atypical, but I've never used an ATM in my life. I also rarely use credit cards for day-to-day purchases. I tried accepting credit cards one year at my booth, but I found that it took 3 times as long to process a transaction (despite what the commercials say) and people kept wanting to use cards for $1.50 and $2 purchases.

I'm not sure whether the cash machines at the markets have actually helped my sales, but I do find them distasteful. They feel like a symptom of the kind of thinking that created the industrialized food system in the first place: offering convenience in ways that aren't in our best interests when you consider the long term and the big picture.

I want people to spend their money at the market instead of the mall, but I don't want them to spend their money at the market in the same thoughtless, reckless way they spend it at the mall.