Modesto Bee, CA
09-30-07
Home Grown Good
By JOHN HOLLAND
Want to join the regional food movement? Stay right where you are.
The Northern San Joaquin Valley is an almost ideal place to take part in the
movement, which aims to reduce the distance food travels from farm to plate.
This region, after all, produces plenty of fruits and vegetables much of the year,
and dairy and poultry products year-round.
Advocates say buying close to home avoids the environmental damage that
comes from shipping, say, a crate of December peaches from Chile.
"The idea of supporting local farmers and local agriculture makes sense, not just
for eating better food, but for having better communities," said Modesto attorney
Therese Tuttle.
She has been involved in Slow Food, a group that favors nearby sources along
with a leisurely pace at mealtime.
You don't have to join a group to try eating regionally. Plenty of valley residents
get some of their sustenance from produce stands, farmers markets and grocery
stores laden with valley products.
"I like fruits and vegetables locally grown, mainly because it's less travel and less
exhaust," said Anne Williams, shopping on a recent Thursday at the Modesto
Certified Farmers Market.
"I try to buy the local produce in the valley," said her father, Dennis Whitfield. "I
don't get it from South America."
The regional food movement gets a mixed reaction from people in mainstream
agriculture. They say it's fine to support nearby farmers, but exportation also is
important to their income and can be done without harming the environment.
"There's no way you can totally tie the production to people, because the majority
of people are very far from the production," said Paul Wenger, who grows
almonds and walnuts near Modesto and is first vice president of the California
Farm Bureau Federation.
In a June article in the national Farm Bureau News, editor Lynne Finnerty wrote
that "a train or truck isn't just delivering one head of lettuce; it is efficiently
delivering thousands of units at a time. Consider how much fuel we would burn if
everyone drove all over several counties seeking the ingredients to make a 'local'
BLT sandwich."
Many regional food advocates acknowledge the role of exports, which in the
valley are important for almonds, walnuts, wine and several other products.
"There are certain things in California we grow that people can't grow anywhere
else," said John Lagier, an organic farmer near Escalon. "We're able to ship
produce to people who normally would not be able to meet their own needs."
The regional food movement has no single definition of how far food should
travel. Die-hards might say 100 miles, while others allow a wider radius.
"The way farmers describe it is a comfortable drive -- getting there and
back in a day," said Gail Feenstra, a food systems analyst for the Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education Program at the University of California at
Davis.
Getting food from nearby farms is nothing new. People did it for centuries before
improved transportation and storage made distant trade possible.
The valley's first major crop -- wheat during the latter part of the 19th century -went by rail to the East Coast and by ship to Europe. The emergence of canning
and refrigeration made it possible to transport fruits, vegetables and dairy
products, still big industries today.
The regional food movement seeks at least a partial return to the ways of old. A
nationwide survey by Iowa State University in July found that 70 percent of
respondents believe that food produced nearby is healthier than food from other
sources.
The cause has been taken up by Google, which aims to supply one of its
employee cafeterias in Mountain View with food from within a 150-mile radius.
Kaiser Permanente is working to boost the amount of valley produce served in its
Northern California hospitals. The Sierra Business Council urges residents of the
range to patronize its small farms and ranches.
The Great Valley Center is holding focus groups with farmers, nutrition advocates
and other people to promote a regional food system for the Central Valley.
"This isn't meant to be competition (with exports)," said Holly King, director of
agricultural programs at the Modesto-based center. "I think it's more
complementary. It gives farmers another way to market their crops."
Lagier, the Escalon grower, sells some of his products at Bay Area farmers
markets and some to distributors serving larger areas. He said a 100 percent
regional diet might not work, but people should do their best.
"If you live in Modesto, support your local grower in Modesto," he said, "and as
you need produce from other areas, keep those concentric circles as tight as you
can."