Also, here’s the full playlist from the September 25 edition of The Midnight Special radio show.

My recent encounter in Oklahoma City with this “locally grown” jar of roasted bell peppers from Napa Valley caused me to revisit this fantastic article from last May, which explores the angles and issues with the “local” label. Mezzetta, Frito Lay, and others are making a case for “local” in relation to their processing plant and are clearly leaving the eater out of the equation. What merit does this have? Is this an improvement upon former business practices or is it merely a new marketing strategy for their status quo? When the labels we trust become diluted from government certification or opportunistic marketing gurus, they become, at best, nothing more than a game of semantics and at worst, completely meaningless.

From the article:

…the widening view of what it means to eat locally is similar to the changes the term organic went through as it grew from a countercultural ideal in the 1960s and 1970s to an industry with nearly $25 billion in sales last year. A related debate about how to define sustainable farming is now gathering force in government, agriculture and business.

The industry blogs are even more fun, where bloggers like Yvonne Vizzier Thaxton of Poultry Perspectives argue semantics: in her view factory farms and family-owned farms are mutually exclusive. And the mere existence of factory farms is questionable. Oh, and this gem: “Poultry farmers are farmers and by nature these people love the environment otherwise, they could have a career in an office doing much less physically exhausting work.” (from “The message we need to shout,” 9/1/09; I’d link to it, but articles and blogs require a sign-in.)

Yesterday’s Meatingplace headlines were peculiar in that two stories were inconveniently interwoven.

The referenced author is Jonathan Safran Foer, whose new book is titled Eating Animals. He has an erroneously titled opinion piece here. I guess an honest, thorough title wouldn’t be as provocative. Do you think Foer’s critique of animal agriculture will be taken seriously? Is there room for another voice in this discussion?

Monsanto
Animal agriculture industry groups
National Chicken Council

U.S. Hog Giant Transforms Eastern Europe
Read the story while considering Smithfield’s slogan: “Good food. Responsibly.”
Excerpt: “In the United States, Smithfield says it has been a boon to consumers. Pork prices dropped by about one-fifth between 1970 and 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, suggesting annual savings of about $29 per consumer. In Eastern Europe, as in American farm states where Smithfield developed its business strategy, the question is whether the savings are worth the considerable costs.“
Smithfield brands.

Governor Henry signed the “Right to Farm” Measure
No private nuisance lawsuit can be brought against agricultural activities  in operation for more than two years. Fine. Sure. I understand. But, the law adds “expansion” to the definition of agricultural activities. An expansion— even if it is non-contiguous—does not reset the clock.

Take that, California!
An Oklahoma legislator’s response to California’s Proposition 2 is now law. Here’s an earlier post about this paranoid response to humane legislation that ensures confined livestock are able to—god forbid—stretch their legs and *gasp* turn around in their cage!

“Pig brain mist” mystery concludes

The Price of Tomatoes
Related photos here. As a relatively petty aside, notice the color of the tomatoes.

Nice essay on organic food. Clean food should not be a luxury item.

An amazing 2002 article by Michael Pollan on industrial livestock: from artificial insemination to the shrink-wrapped steak. Extremely informative.

In the U.S., the value of direct farm sales between 2002 and 2007 increased 30% (adjusted for inflation; at current dollars it’s 49%).

In Oklahoma—and god I hope I calculated this correctly—between 2002 and 2007 the value of  direct farm sales  increased 167% (adjusted for inflation; at current dollars it’s 208%)! And for the 3,194 farms that have direct sales, the average amount earned from the  sales was $3,611. While certainly not the bread and butter, it was a 61% increase from 2002 (adjusted for inflation; 85% at current dollars). Something is a rumblin’, I can feel it. Do you know where your food comes from?

I wonder, when Oklahoma Food Co-op producers fill out these forms, do they include co-op sales as “direct farm sales”?

More interesting stuff about Oklahoma:

• 799 farms harvest 7,306 acres of produce for fresh market. 63 farms harvest 10,707 acres of produce for processing.
• Did you know we have 3 farms growing 15 acres of kiwi fruit here in Oklahoma?
• We have 518 farms with 1–9 milk cows. We have 6 farms that have 1,000 or more milk cows.
• We have 2,338 farms with 1–24 pigs or hogs. We have 41 farms that have 5,000 or more pigs or hogs.
• 114 farms sold 130,380,629 meat chickens in 2007.
• Female principal farm operators increased 24% between 2002–2007.
• The average age of the principal operator is 57.6.
• We have 35,087,269 acres in agricultural production.

I should stop now.

Here’s a readable synthesis of the U.S. numbers. And more about agriculture in Oklahoma here and here.

The Corn Refiners Association says the study is based on old data.

How’s that for a sweet surprise?

“Because the food chain has become so long now, and it’s a global industry, we want to know the origin of our food as consumers,” says Monahan. “Consumers nowadays want to know the story of their food.”

-Dr. Frank Monahan, a scientist at University College Dublin, from the Forbes article: “What’s Really In Your Fast Food?“

Speaking of long food chains. Source: Oklahoma State University Extension

The demand is there. McDonald’s serves more than 47 million people around the world every day. I can’t say I’ll never again eat fast food. I swore it off after reading the book and…well, it didn’t stick. It’s generally a problem of convenience and craving that requires a certain disassociation from my meal.

In last week’s food issue of the New York Times Magazine, Michael Pollan addressed these issues and more in an open letter to our next president (our farmer-in-chief). Pollan’s sun-food agenda is informative and inspirational. Where can I sign up for the School Lunch Corps?

• decentralize our food supply as a matter of national security
• enhance the prestige of farming
• more farms, more farmers; sun-food will require many more hands
• cultivate (pardon the pun) young farmers schooled in sustainable agriculture programs at land-grant colleges
• food regions and food culture
• can sustainable ag feed the world?
• “edible education”

Edited to add: Pollan on Fresh Air