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Environmentalist Say Safe Food Options Can Be Found on Local Farms
Environmentalist Say Safe Food Options Can Be Found on Local Farms
Author: Anya Sostek Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 9/24/06
As the spinach crisis shows, eating smart or even organic isn't necessarily what's best for you or
the environment -- not if the food is grown en masse at giant farms far away.
Lynnette Yarnick is getting used to the phone calls from strangers."People will call us and say
'We bought your stuff at a Giant Eagle and you're a real farmer. We're so amazed,' " she said.
The 200-acre Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., is one of the beneficiaries of a growing movement
supporting locally grown food -- and calling into question the ecological cachet of organic farming.
"Local seems to be the old idea that's new again," said David Eson, director of Western
Pennsylvania programs for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. He noted
that the ongoing crisis over E. coli in the nation's spinach supply reflects problems with our global
network of food distribution -- problems that pit the wholesome image of organic goods purveyors
such as Whole Foods Markets Inc. against the reality of what organic is becoming.
Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," has argued that although the Austin,
Texas-based chain has raised the profile of organic farming, it also supports large, industrialized
organic farms that are far removed from the movement's original intentions. His criticisms, and an
e-mail debate with Whole Foods co-founder and Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, led the
nation's largest organic and natural goods grocery chain in June to pledge to spend an
additional $10 million a year on locally grown foods.
Concerns about the integrity and feasibility of large-scale organic farming also heightened this
spring after Wal-Mart announced that it would begin selling organic produce, possibly farmed
overseas. Mary Barbercheck, a Penn State agriculture professor, noted in a recent talk to the
Pittsburgh chapter of Cafe Scientifique that she found organic produce in Pennsylvania
supermarkets shipped in from the Netherlands and South America. At some point, she said, the
fossil fuels required to transport the produce cut into the environmental benefits from growing
organically.
In many ways, said Mr. Eson, the increased prominence of the local food movement is a reaction
to concerns about the industrialization of organic farming and its impact on the environment and
consumers.
"[Organics have] gone from being something that was very much a niche market to something
that is by far the most rapidly growing segment," he said. "It allowed and brought the attention of
corporations."
The best option, he believes, is local food that also is grown organically. Otherwise, choosing
food becomes a tricky calculus of competing priorities.
Buying organic from California or Peru vs. buying conventional from a local farm is "a
complicated decision," he said. "It relies upon someone's personal values."
Mrs. Yarnick said her farm prefers to use natural biological controls instead of pesticides, but that
they have not attempted to "go through a lot of hoops" to become certified organic by the
government.
Mr. Eson also noted that although many farms are not certified organic, their growing processes
might be just as environmentally friendly as the large scale industrial organic farms, if not more.
Many of the points made by those advocating locally grown food have been lain bare in the
ongoing crisis over E. coli in the nation's spinach supply. Spinach grown at large farms in a few
California counties has sickened people in at least 24 states -- showing how far American
produce travels from the farm to the grocery aisles.
On the one hand, spinach isn't currently an option as local produce in much of the country
because it's a cold weather crop. The potent downside of exclusively eating locally is that most
fruits and vegetables are only in season for a small part of the year.
Even if her products are seasonal, Mrs. Yarnick has seen business "growing and growing and
growing every year" -- both from supermarket orders and at her farm market. Business at her
farm market has quadrupled in the past two year and she now sees 500 customers a day during
July and August.
"People are very conscious of where their food is coming from," she said. "I think America is
trying to be more healthy, more health conscious, and really watch what they're eating."
Mrs. Yarnick also attributes an increase in business to the popularity of the Food Network and
other cooking shows, including segments with celebrity chefs on morning television shows.
Those chefs, she said, cook almost exclusively with fresh ingredients. "Instead of eating dried
parsley," she said, "they see these people are using fresh stuff."
Pittsburgh supermarkets clearly are paying attention to the trend. Even before shoppers walk in
the door of the Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle, they encounter a makeshift wooden farm stand labeled
with signs saying "Locally Grown Produce" and "Delivered Daily."
At the Whole Foods in East Liberty, an artfully decorated chalkboard outside the main entrance
reads "Support Local Farms" above a hand-drawn map of Pittsburgh surrounded by local farm
suppliers.
While Mr. Eson applauded the efforts of stores such as Giant Eagle to get local produce on their
shelves, he also advocated actually going to a farmer's market, or going to the farm, to develop
relationships with farmers and observe first-hand how the food is grown.
Wherever her customers buy her produce, Mrs. Yarnick is grateful for the increased business --
not just in the short term, but also to pass the farm down to future generations.
"Our son is 17, and he eats, sleeps and breathes farm," she said.
Author: Anya Sostek Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 9/24/06
As the spinach crisis shows, eating smart or even organic isn't necessarily what's best for you or
the environment -- not if the food is grown en masse at giant farms far away.
Lynnette Yarnick is getting used to the phone calls from strangers."People will call us and say
'We bought your stuff at a Giant Eagle and you're a real farmer. We're so amazed,' " she said.
The 200-acre Yarnick's Farm in Indiana, Pa., is one of the beneficiaries of a growing movement
supporting locally grown food -- and calling into question the ecological cachet of organic farming.
"Local seems to be the old idea that's new again," said David Eson, director of Western
Pennsylvania programs for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. He noted
that the ongoing crisis over E. coli in the nation's spinach supply reflects problems with our global
network of food distribution -- problems that pit the wholesome image of organic goods purveyors
such as Whole Foods Markets Inc. against the reality of what organic is becoming.
Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," has argued that although the Austin,
Texas-based chain has raised the profile of organic farming, it also supports large, industrialized
organic farms that are far removed from the movement's original intentions. His criticisms, and an
e-mail debate with Whole Foods co-founder and Chief Executive Officer John Mackey, led the
nation's largest organic and natural goods grocery chain in June to pledge to spend an
additional $10 million a year on locally grown foods.
Concerns about the integrity and feasibility of large-scale organic farming also heightened this
spring after Wal-Mart announced that it would begin selling organic produce, possibly farmed
overseas. Mary Barbercheck, a Penn State agriculture professor, noted in a recent talk to the
Pittsburgh chapter of Cafe Scientifique that she found organic produce in Pennsylvania
supermarkets shipped in from the Netherlands and South America. At some point, she said, the
fossil fuels required to transport the produce cut into the environmental benefits from growing
organically.
In many ways, said Mr. Eson, the increased prominence of the local food movement is a reaction
to concerns about the industrialization of organic farming and its impact on the environment and
consumers.
"[Organics have] gone from being something that was very much a niche market to something
that is by far the most rapidly growing segment," he said. "It allowed and brought the attention of
corporations."
The best option, he believes, is local food that also is grown organically. Otherwise, choosing
food becomes a tricky calculus of competing priorities.
Buying organic from California or Peru vs. buying conventional from a local farm is "a
complicated decision," he said. "It relies upon someone's personal values."
Mrs. Yarnick said her farm prefers to use natural biological controls instead of pesticides, but that
they have not attempted to "go through a lot of hoops" to become certified organic by the
government.
Mr. Eson also noted that although many farms are not certified organic, their growing processes
might be just as environmentally friendly as the large scale industrial organic farms, if not more.
Many of the points made by those advocating locally grown food have been lain bare in the
ongoing crisis over E. coli in the nation's spinach supply. Spinach grown at large farms in a few
California counties has sickened people in at least 24 states -- showing how far American
produce travels from the farm to the grocery aisles.
On the one hand, spinach isn't currently an option as local produce in much of the country
because it's a cold weather crop. The potent downside of exclusively eating locally is that most
fruits and vegetables are only in season for a small part of the year.
Even if her products are seasonal, Mrs. Yarnick has seen business "growing and growing and
growing every year" -- both from supermarket orders and at her farm market. Business at her
farm market has quadrupled in the past two year and she now sees 500 customers a day during
July and August.
"People are very conscious of where their food is coming from," she said. "I think America is
trying to be more healthy, more health conscious, and really watch what they're eating."
Mrs. Yarnick also attributes an increase in business to the popularity of the Food Network and
other cooking shows, including segments with celebrity chefs on morning television shows.
Those chefs, she said, cook almost exclusively with fresh ingredients. "Instead of eating dried
parsley," she said, "they see these people are using fresh stuff."
Pittsburgh supermarkets clearly are paying attention to the trend. Even before shoppers walk in
the door of the Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle, they encounter a makeshift wooden farm stand labeled
with signs saying "Locally Grown Produce" and "Delivered Daily."
At the Whole Foods in East Liberty, an artfully decorated chalkboard outside the main entrance
reads "Support Local Farms" above a hand-drawn map of Pittsburgh surrounded by local farm
suppliers.
While Mr. Eson applauded the efforts of stores such as Giant Eagle to get local produce on their
shelves, he also advocated actually going to a farmer's market, or going to the farm, to develop
relationships with farmers and observe first-hand how the food is grown.
Wherever her customers buy her produce, Mrs. Yarnick is grateful for the increased business --
not just in the short term, but also to pass the farm down to future generations.
"Our son is 17, and he eats, sleeps and breathes farm," she said.