Climate-Friendly Eating ~ March 31, 2008

On Monday, March 31, at 6:30 pm, join CUESA for a panel discussion about environmentally conscious food choices. Global climate change is now inescapable, but the good news is that you can lessen your climate impact by eating well. Come learn about which foods have the biggest carbon footprint and how you can make cooler food choices. Click here to learn more >

Saturday, March 15 ~ Market to Table

10:30 am ~ Meet the farmer
Jesse Kuhn of Marin Roots Farm interviewed by CUESA staff member Maggie Gosselin

11:00 am ~ Seasonal cooking demonstration
Alessandro Cartumini of Quattro Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley

Saturday, March 22 ~ Egg-stravaganza!

10:30 am ~ Meet the seller
Stan Keena of Petaluma Farms will talk about the eggs he sells and explain the difference between the many different types (free range, organic, pullet eggs, etc.).

11 am ~ Seasonal cooking demonstration and book signing
Marie Simmons, author of the James Beard Award-winning cookbook, The Good Egg, will demonstrate her favorite egg recipes.

Noon to 1:30 ~ Egg science discovery stations
Walk through our series of hands-on learning stations and find out about the seemingly magical transformations eggs can make in the kitchen. Mayonnaise, meringues, and glazes all start with a simple egg!

10:30 to 1:30 ~ Egg information display
Stop by to learn about how eggs sold at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market are produced and the various ways they can be cooked.

All programs will take place in front of the Ferry Building on the north side.

An agricultural pest smaller than the nail on your pinky finger is stirring up big controversy in the Bay Area. The caterpillars and larvae of the light brown apple moth (LBAM), native to Australia, feed on more than 250 different types of agricultural crops and native plants. When in 2006 the pest was discovered for the first time in California, agricultural officials were sent into a frenzy of planning for its eradication. The centerpiece of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s plan to exterminate the moth—aerial spraying of a product called CheckMate LBAM-F—is being passionately opposed by many urban and rural residents.

There is no question that the threat of agricultural pests must be taken very seriously in a state with a 32 billion dollar agriculture industry. The presence of the LBAM has already led to import restrictions by countries that want to keep the moth out, and the pest could impose serious crop damage if populations grew. But right now, the LBAM eradication strategy is wreaking more havoc than the pest itself. In September of 2007, the CDFA began the aerial application CheckMate to Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Recently, they announced plans to spray several Bay Area counties beginning in August.

CheckMate is a synthetic pheromone: it works to confuse male moths by simulating the pheromone that female moths release when they are ready to mate. CheckMate does not kill moths, but renders them unable to locate each other for mating. Failed reproductive cycles eventually lead to dwindling populations. Many ecological farmers are familiar with the use of pheromone disruption—it’s a non-invasive way to deal with pests that is used frequently in organic orchards, where the chemical is sprayed from the ground or released from ornaments that hang from trees. Using pheromones is far preferable to using synthetic poisons that can kill much more than just the pest they are targeting. But these synthetic pheromones are rarely applied aerially, and some worry that the aerial application of an otherwise fairly benign chemical could damage ecology and human health.

Besides the synthetic pheromone, CheckMate contains inert ingredients. These “inerts” are the primary concern of those opposing the spray. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, “An inert ingredient means any substance other than an active ingredient, which is intentionally included in a pesticide product. Inert ingredients play a key role in the effectiveness of a pesticidal product. For example, inert ingredients may serve as a solvent, allowing the pesticide's active ingredient to penetrate a plant's outer surface. Pesticide products can contain more than one inert ingredient, but federal law does not require that these ingredients be identified by name or percentage on the label.” The list of inert ingredients in CheckMate was released, and some experts are concerned about potential negative health impacts, though no studies have been done on the long-term effects of their use in an aerial spray.

The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PAN) “is calling for an open, transparent and comprehensive review of all least toxic alternatives and for expedited research, development and implementation of less invasive approaches such as biological control and integrated pest management (IPM) that exclude use of organophosphate pesticides. PAN supports the use of pheromones (in, for example, ground applications) and other ecologically sound organic IPM approaches as far preferable to and ultimately more effective than use of dangerous organophosphates such as chlorpyrifos. However, PAN does not endorse further aerial applications of CheckMate products due to questions regarding inert ingredients in these products (their actual concentrations and possible adverse health impacts)… We call for precautionary steps by CDFA and analysis by an independent science panel before any further spraying.”

Similar sentiments are echoed by other ecological farming organizations, including California Certified Organic Farmers and Marin Organic.  

Light brown apple moths were discovered at Green Gulch farm last year, and Sara Tashker, the farm’s manager, is worried that if moths are still present in late spring, they won’t be able to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, where they make more than 75% of their income at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Still, the San Francisco Zen Center, which operates the farm, opposes aerial spraying. Wrote the farm in a statement to the Marin Agricultural Commission, “As the operator of a certified organic farm and steward of private in-holdings within protected wilderness areas in both Marin and Monterey Counties, we at the San Francisco Zen Center recognize the importance of controlling invasive species. However, we believe that overall environmental and ecological health must be the basis for any proposed eradication strategy.” 

Joel Schirmer of Dirty Girl Produce thinks it's unlikely that aerial spraying of CheckMate will actually eradicate the pest, and he worries that the biggest effect of the LBAM will be the loss of income that farmers face when they are quarantined. His farm his been inspected monthly for the moth since May of 2007.

Striking the right balance of protecting California’s agricultural economy and food security and protecting its people and ecology presents the state with a complex problem. You can learn more about this issue by checking out the following website and articles:

California Department of Food and Agriculture >

Pesticide Action Network >

Stop the Spray >

San Francisco Chronicle articles:

Experts question plan to spray to fight moths >

Pesticide maker owned by political donor  >

Migden battles aerial moth spraying >

Until March 20, send written comments about the LBAM eradication plan to Jim Rains, staff environmental scientist, California Department of Food and Agriculture Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services, 1220 N St., Room A-316, Sacramento, CA 95814. 

This is the most up-to-date information about which sellers will and won't be attending the market as of Friday, when we send this letter. If there are no changes to a seller's status, they will not be listed. To find out which farmers regularly attend each market, click here. Please understand that there are often last-minute changes--it's the nature of farming!

Saturday, March 15

In/returning: Madison Growers, Bernard Ranches, The Apple Farm
Returning next week: White Crane Springs Ranch, The Peach Farm

Tuesday, March 18

No news!

Returning this month: Pea greens, raw olives, English peas, lilacs, fava beans, hyacinth, Parrot tulips, rhubarb, and (maybe) strawberries

Plentiful: Spinach, asparagus, avocados, green garlic, spring onions, kumquats, nettles, broccoli, rapini greens, artichokes, baby turnips, carrots, fresh goat cheeses, goat meat, eggs, and plant starts

Winding down/limited supply: Kiwis, Brussels sprouts, cherimoyas, shallots, some citrus varieties (like Cara Cara oranges, Satsuma mandarins, and Fukumoto navels) lamb, and potatoes

Farms that will be returning this month (weather willing): Bodega & Yerba Santa Goat Cheese, White Crane Springs Ranch, Madison Growers, The Peach Farm (with lilacs!), Happy Quail Farm, and The Apple Farm

Recipes for March

Spring Sunshine Salad, cookbook author Heidi Swanson

Sugo di Carciofi alla Ligure (Artichoke Sauce from Liguria) from cookbook author Joyce Goldstein

Spring Onion, Sweet Pea & Asparagus Risotto from Bridget Batson of TWO Restaurant