ESTRELLA FAMILY CREAMERY AND THE FDA

The Estrella Family Creamery has been producing award-winning and delicious raw-milk cheeses in Montesano, Washington since 2001. But last Friday, FDA agents and federal marshals raided the farm, and the entire stock of cheese seized. What happened?

Estrella family photo from company website


Three times this year Estrella has been cited for the presence of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, and forced to recall select varieties of cheese. L. monocytogenes can cause virulent food-borne illness, often resulting in death for the young, the old, or those with immune deficiencies. Unfortunately, at this time, information is conflicting as to how much listeria was found in the Estrella cheeses. Kelli Estrella, co-owner of the farm, has gone on record saying that there were only cases of isolated positives for listeria. The FDA press release on the seizure says that the cheeses were thought to “have the potential” to be contaminated with the bacterium, but there is no mention of any cheeses actually containing the pathogen. Listeria seems to cause a pretty serious illness in certain people, but even though Estrella has already issued three voluntary recalls this year, not a single known person has become ill through eating their cheeses.

After the FDA asked Estrella to recall all of its cheeses in September (not just the varieties that may have been contaminated, but all their cheese in production), Estrella refused. And so, with warrants and an apparent intent to take this court, the FDA has effectively shut down the Estrella business. The Estrella Family Creamery is actually a family business consisting of Anthony and Kelli Estrella and their children. Like other small businesses, I imagine they don’t have the financial resources to fend off the FDA or other governmental regulatory agencies in court.

Compare this all to the major recall of Wright County Eggs that happened in August of this year. Hundreds of people became ill with salmonella over the course of months before a recall was even issued. In the end, over 380,000,000 eggs were recalled! The company has a history of health, safety, and labor violations, and they still haven’t been shut down. A 2006 outbreak of E. coli—resulting in at least one death—was linked to Dole. Obviously, they’re still around and retailing spinach among many other things.

Estrella Family Creamery cheese

 

Why is Estrella being treated differently? All the other recalls I’ve cited have been tied to large companies and corporations. How does the size of Estrella, and their financial inability to fend off attack or threats play into this? Is it because they use raw milk for their production? In today’s super pro-pasteurization American society, raw milk is often treated with skepticism, if not outright fear. Doesn’t any food have the potential to be contaminated? I think that’s just a risk we have to take if we want to eat.

Seattle's Diverse 98118

This last April, the United States Census Bureau declared Seattle's Columbia City district, 98118, to be the most diverse zip code in the nation. Within the 6 square miles this zip code holds approximately 60 different languages spoken from all around the world. Ahmed Scego, from the U.S. Census Bureau recalls hearing 15 different languages in a cafe' in this diverse neighborhood. 10 years ago the Census Bureau counted 40,000 residents in the given area. Today, that number has tripled to 60,000 residents, taking the prestigious throne to being the fastest growing neighborhood in the city of Seattle. Along with this rich diversity of culture comes a mouth watering delicious diversity of foods. From the Mawadda Cafe', an Iraqi run restaurant who caters to the "vegetarian, yoga, green living crowd", to the carnivorous feasts found at Roy's BBQ, the hungry eater is destined to find a delicious, nutritious, and eclectic meal in this varied collection of citizens. Such a variety of citizens holds a variety in religious beliefs, but this doesn't create a hostile environment between locals. If anything, the religious differences compliment each other, not complicate. The idea of togetherness and community truly resides with the people of 98118.

“The Rainier Valley area has the best selection of foods, music, and culture I think you can find in any neighborhood. It’s got a level of tolerance for difference that I’ve not seen anywhere else in the city or anywhere else I’ve lived,” said Jeffrey Taylor of State Farm Insurance in Columbia City

If you are not in the mood to eat out in restaurants serving an intense mix of worldly foods, maybe local markets that help with couch potato syndrome is your cup of tea. The Rainier Valley area is home to dozens of small "Ma n' Pa", shops from all corners of the globe including the Viet Wah market, the Abbul Gafoor Halal market, and the infamous Columbia City farmer's market home to 40 different local vendors with food, clothing, goods and services.

The Rainier Valley region of the United States has attracted thousands of people from all over the world. Each individual brings his or her own touch and perspective from their given culture bringing food, music and tradition to Seattle. 98118 can be an example for so many different troublesome social scenarios we face today. Issues like the "monoculture" of different peoples from a wide mix of people in the United States, also known as the "melting pot". So often we see Chinese, Mexicans and Italians who have never eaten authentic food from their own heritage. This area of south Seattle has proven that citizens from across our globe can move to the states for a better life without the pressures of "Americanization".

I encourage people from afar and in our own neighborhood to go back to your given heritage and cook a traditional meal, or perform a traditional ritual. Anything that incorporates the idea of togetherness with yourself and your people. By doing so, you can appreciate where and what you come from. A little history lessen you could call it, if its been a while. And if this isn't a possibility, maybe you can go out to eat in south Seattle's Columbia City and find your heritage and traditions on the corner of a busy intersection, or maybe in a local market. Wherever your history comes from, you can almost guarantee to find it in 98118.

LOCAL FARMS: Imperial’s Garden

Imperial’s Garden is a family operated farm located in Wapato, WA at the heart of Yakimas Lower Valley. From Seattle the farm is about 150 miles away and some would consider this far, but for the people of the Yakima Valley it makes it a great opportunity to expose themselves to shopping local.  

Imperial’s Garden has been actively involved within its own and surrounding communities since 1989. Since then, the farm has grown dramatically over the years and has expanded its outreach physically with about 460 acres of farmland. This farm has many fresh fruits and vegetables and not only is it creating safe and environmentally friendly produce, but it is also creating jobs for the community.

Just this summer, Imperial’s Garden managed to build a new location center that would allow enough space to occupy all their produce, enough parking space for customers, and a sanitized place. This new location is perfect because it allows people to find many of their favorite produce with the idea of one stop shopping and the farm also allows customers to pick their own fruits and vegetables if they would like. Giving customers options is always best as it allows customers to feel like they are welcomed and in control of how they pick their own produce.

 Shopping local is one of the most important ways as it allows people to ask the farmers questions about their produce. Customers can ask questions that will enable them to see in what conditions they are producing their fruits and vegetables, if they are using any type of chemicals to grow their produce, how they pick their produce, etc… This also creates the concept of getting to know who your farmers are and in the end this could establish a friendship between the grower and the buyer.

Keeping the food miles to a minimum also helps the environment because it stops the footprint of fossil fuels. In some cases a majority of produce that are sold in grocery stores travel from a long distance which uses up more fossil fuels to get produce to certain locations and is not doing its best to establish a clean environment. It could also be said that buying local is the best way to shop as it is both rewarding for yourself and the environment; and it also is the most delicious way of eating produce because knowing that it came from a short distance of where you live makes it that much better.

The Sustainable Agriculture Movement in Ghana

Agriculture employs more than half of Ghana’s population making it one of its most important economic sectors for the country and for its people. Unfortunately during the Ghanaian economic decline and drought in the early 1980s agriculture was the most heavily affected, causing a crisis for Ghanaian farmers. At that time Ghanaian farmers had been given little incentive from the government to produce, in addition to an unmistakable deterioration of the quality of soil and resources as well as an increase in the price of several inputs and fertilizers. The soil was becoming rapidly arid, due in part to the inefficient agricultural habits, fertilization methods and an increase in the amount farming. People were beginning to fall into an unfortunate and unavoidable dilemma. Their soil was becoming increasingly more uncultivable therefore providing them with less revenue, so they were unable to buy the appropriate expensive fertilizers in order to make their soil more bountiful and productive.

Since then, the Ghanaian government and various NGOs have become dedicated to increasing support for sustainable agriculture in order to reduce poverty levels and pull Ghana out of the economic decline. The government has spent considerable funds to increase agricultural infrastructure and crops (although most were exported crops) and attain self-sufficiency. Over the last 20 years their efforts have been very effective, as statistics have shown, the food supply and accessibility have grown faster than the population making Ghana able to reduce undernourishment from 34% in 1991 to 8% in 2003.

Although sustainable agriculture is a long term commitment and is still very much a work in progress, these efforts and the governments economic reforms have been a main reason for the upturn in food production and the enhancement of the Ghanaian agricultural sector. Using ecological methods in order to prolong the rapidly declining quality of the soil and the forest as well as trying to enhance the quality of life and create a self-sufficient country in terms of staple food production. This has become an interest recently for smaller Ghanaian societies because of the small-scale effects that it has, in addition to the large scale ones that the government is mostly concerned with.

African Initiatives, a social justice organization, in addition to local movements such as Zuuri Organic Vegetable Farmers’ Association (ZOVFA) and the Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC) are committed to making this goal a reality. They address the issue of sustainable agriculture, so far they have established such programs as Farmer Field Schools, and organizations developed in order to practice, teach and improve pest management soil and water conservation methods by integrating and implementing new ideas and local farming knowledge that has been passed down for generations. In addition they are educating the public about the health risks of using various chemical pesticides and insecticides as well as general education and training. This is a large effort with relative success so far, although it is gaining momentum and could possibly become a very efficient system.

Overall, Ghana’s successful agricultural upturn has been the result of sustained growth and education rather than a simple “quick fix”, this is a very inspirational beginning although it is still a very young movement and a challenge for the whole country. Ghanaian dedication to this issue is very admirable and could be a lesson for other countries suffering from the same issue, but hitting rock bottom should not be the only incentive to start sustainable agriculture. Efficient agricultural practices in order to satisfy the needs of the people and the export crops of the economy is an extremely relevant issue,  because as we all know nothing lasts forever.

Hotels Embracing the Local Food Movement

Note: This post was inspired by the following nytimes article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/business/19garden.html?ref=local_food

While exploring the nuances of our blog topic, I came across an article detailing an interesting new trend: hotels embracing the local food movement. I can see both positive and negative sides to this trend.

The article is centered around several examples. David Garcelon, the executive chef of the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto runs a rooftop garden that includes honey bees. Several hotels have not started their own gardens, instead opting to cooperate with nearby farms for unique, evolving menus. Jason McLeod, the executive chef the Elysian Hotel in Chicago, says that the hotel places orders with 20 to 30 farms on some nights.

On a small scale, this works. The customer is happy, the chef is happy, and the environment is happy. What does this mean in the scheme of innovative food distribution? I see a few points. These examples show that businesses are really catching on to the "slow food" and "local food" movements. Whatever the motivation, even if it is money (luring people to the hotel), these type of gardens and menus demonstarte that it is possible to integrate local food into anyone's diet. My followup question is: will this trend inspire larger changes? I say maybe. Here's why:

1.) You have to look at the financial side: Hotels generally have money to spend on lavish things. These examples aren't springing from local community centers. It may be hard to set up these types of gardens and to sustain them. They seem to have dedicated caretakers. In addition, only the richer are acessing these gardens. If you don't have money to spend on vacations, you may never even realize that these kinds of changes in foodways are even happening.

2.) Is it just a selling point? : I really have to wonder if these hotels are creating these gardens solely for the attention, or if someone involved genuinly cares about what they stand for. I feel like this could be the start of a fad, but I could be wrong. Time will tell if these gardens are just going through the motions or if they are community assets.

3.) Location, location, location: A rooftop is a great place for a garden, if you consider the fact that it's in a city. However, a city is an unnatural place for a garden. I can't help but think that the model won't apply to all locations. The adaptive nature of a local food system is part of its value, but running a city garden clearly takes near full-time work.

In the end, does this story inspire me? Yes, yes it does. Although hotels embracing "local food" are not going to change the world, they are indicitive of a larger movement. Change will be slow. But it's instances like this that make me think we're moving in the right direction.

Welcome to Connecting Food to People

Welcome to this blog, created by students in Dr. Peña’s environmental anthropology class at the University of Washington. For the remainder of the quarter we hope to cover a wide variety of topics relating to the interactions between people and food. Our scope is broad, as we will be considering movements in the U.S. and also abroad.

Introducing the team members:

Dannah is interested in sustainable agricultural development, especially in Ghana.
Cary hopes to focus on sustainable agriculture, PNW native species and local movements, such as Seattle Tilth.
Angela will cover community gardens, starting with Detroit.
Rachel’s interests lie in the current controversies surrounding taro cultivation in the South Pacific and Hawaii.
Sabine wants to cover urban farming in Seattle and how that brings us closer to the food we eat.
Jon is also interested in urban agriculture, especially its prevalence in developing countries.
Michael wants to cover current small-scale changes impacting how we distribute food, and how this could apply to the larger population.
Ivey is most interested in women and gender roles in food and agriculture.
Mindy will be writing about restaurant food waste programs and how they can expand.
Mario wants to cover how food creates community and family relationships.

Don’t expect us to stick solely to these topics, but this is where we’ll start. As you can see, we've already had a number of posts. Happy reading!

Communtiy Gardens: Saving Detroit Once Again

In 1894, during the second summer of the Great Depression, Detroit Mayor Hazen Pingree purposed the Potato Patch Plan to help feed the city's less fortunate through the cultivation of vacant lots. Since the city's funds were scarce he called upon local churches and the wealthy to donate money to purchase hoes, seeds, and other necessary supplies. His request was responded with mocking and skepticism. Critics believed that the jobless would be too lazy to farm the empty lots and would just steal food from each other. Pingree disagreed and was determined to get the project going. He laid another levy on municipal employees and set up several public auctions where he even sold a few of his own prize possessions to raise money. Eventually enough money was raised and 3000 families applied for a plot of land but only 945 were able to get a spot in 1894. The Potato Patch Plan enrolled 1,546 families in 1895 and 1,701 in 1896. Needless to say his plan was a great success. It provided the people of Detroit with food as well as a sense of purpose and community in a time of economic destitution. Soon after the plan's success cities such as New York, Denver, Seattle, and Minneapolis began their own P-Patch programs.

Once again community gardens are playing a significant roll in improving the lives of impoverish people in Detroit. Deindustrialization brought with it a wake of abandoned lots, poverty, and crime transforming it into the nations "Murder Capital". The Detroit Agriculture Network, Earthworks Garden/Capuchin Soup Kitchen, The Greening of Detroit, and Michigan State University, as well as many other smaller organizations, have come together to transform many of Detroit's vacant lots into community gardens where citizens can learn, grow food, and feel pride. Turning some of Detroit's 400,000 vacant lots into urban farmland has saved the city money that it was costing them to keep up the lots and fight crime that was becoming an increasing problem in these abandoned sections of the city. It is also a more positive solutions than relocating citizens to more dense areas of Detroit which was being considered. The gardens have also become the solution to their "food desert" problem. Unless one has a car it can be near to impossible for many Detroit citizens to purchase fresh food of any kind, especially in the more impoverish areas. Detroit's local food movement, just as it did in 1894, is providing people with food and a sense of belonging or connectedness to those around them as well as the earth. School's are being linked up to many of the gardens providing children and teens with after school alternatives that keeps them away from crime and gives them a sense of purpose. Hundreds of community gardens are popping up all over Detroit and even more backyard gardens exist or are being developed. Bringing people back to their roots and connecting them to the land is saving the community and transforming the city.

Urban-Agriculture

In Cuba, 1989, three times as much land was designated for commercial sugar farming as was for food crops. This resulted in the importation of half of the Cuban diet and a heavy reliance on commercial farming and its practices. When the Soviet bloc dissolved in 1990 this forced Cuba into a new agrarian reform upon the loss of its major trading partner and provider of monetary aid. Previously, Cuban sugar exports to Russia were paid 5.4 times more than the market value. This made an imbalanced agricultural model for Cuban and created a dependency on food imports.
The sudden need to feed its people on locally grown food pushed Cuba to self-reliance and created small urban farms since the state owned sugar plantations were no longer economically viable. Also, with the collapse of their export market, Cuba had to look to organic farming and biological solutions as they could no longer afford expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
The progress made by Cuba in self-sustainability and organic farming is amazing and reflects trends in urban-agriculture seen in other developing countries, such as in India. Today, Havana receives 90% of its produce needs from small home gardens and local urban farms. This is in sharp contrast to north American cities where much of the open space is landscaped or preserved in beltways. Although attitudes are changing, our western culture tends to view food production, such as a corn row in someone's front yard as a visual blight on the community or a sign of backwardness i.e. immigrant status. And depending on the local city codes, a garden in front of the house may even be illegal.
There is an obvious disparity in what these two cultures view as appropriate regarding the use of available space and urban-agriculture. The sustainable food and local food movement has seen a relaxing of local codes that now permit self-sufficiency and urban farming. For example; I know people that keep a few chickens in their backyards that would not have been able to legally do so ten years ago because of changes to local codes. These changes now permit "hobby farming" a name that belies the importance to the community. Also we are seeing a resurgence in community gardens and P-patches much like the victory gardens of WWI and WWII. All these changes show a trend that is more than just a fad, rather a true desire for self-sufficiency and a better quality of life.