Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Dear Farmers and Ranchers:

A couple of weeks ago during the Grammys (yeah, I know, the Oscars were yesterday), Chipotle aired a short with a cover of Willie Nelson singing Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” (See above.)

The twittersphere went nuts. While Whitney Houston death may have brought the Academy together, it was Chipotle’s ad that stole people’s hearts. Even Fox News (yes, FOX NEWS!) praised it saying:

“...while people may dream of animals roaming free before being taken to slaughterhouses, in reality, most meat comes from animals held in cramped cages their entire lives, pumped full of drugs and food that plumps them up in a short amount of time.”

            While food activists were delighted to see such support against factory farming, you farmers and ranchers…were uh…I’ll let you speak for yourselves.

“Is it really correct to characterize larger farms as ‘factory farms’ that mistreat animals if they are housed in barns protected from inclement weather?”

-U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance

“There are so many things wrong with the picture painted in the Chipotle Grammy commercial (this commercial has been out for awhile, just not on T.V.) that I don't know where to start.” - Crystal Cattle

“You don’t have the slightest clue about what goes on on family farms.”

Dairy Business

“Words like ‘disappointed’, ‘grossly distorted’, ‘misrepresentation’, ‘fiction’, ‘mis-characterization’ filled my streams.” Cris from GOODEness Gracious

“Commercial farmers will have to decide whether we can withstand public opprobrium while continuing to efficiently produce the world’s most essential good or join the entertainment industry, selling expensive pork chops with heaping sides of nostalgia.”- Blake Hurst, President of Missouri Farm Bureau in NYTimes op-ed

            Well, I might not agree with the opinions, I do understand the sentiments. Most farmers and ranchers I talk to say that that animal welfare is their first and foremost concern. And I do believe that for the most part, they are sincere. But what about consumers? As seen with the outpouring of support for Chipotle as well as outrage directed at CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), consumers are not so convinced. In fact one study, by consulting firm Deloitte, asked consumers “"Are you more concerned than you were five years ago about the food you eat?" Seventy-three percent of respondents said, “yes.”[1]

            This of course is nothing new. The food scandals of the 1910’s were in good part due to the publication of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Several food borne illnesses, starting with the Jack-in-the-Box E. Coli deaths have made the public even more wary of industrial food products of any kind. You paint people like me as organic food-Nazis, but there’s a reason why we’re scared. We see strawberries carrying 54 different pesticides loads that cause a whole range of diseases and developmental disorders.  rBGH or rbST(or recombinant bovine growth hormone) was a commonly given to cows to increase their milk output, until a public outcry forced dairy to stop using it.[2] And then there’s the GMO debate…

            One might ask, well, what does this have to do with farmers? It has everything to do with farmers. You raise the food we eat everyday. What affects the quality and the safety of our food sources is of inherent interest to a society. Why? Because we consumers eat it.

            Although I would like to see more regulation in food and nutrition awareness and better environmental regulation, I realize these things take time – and should be open to debate. That’s what most of us who are interested in food activism really want: An open and honest debate about how food is made, distributed, marketed and sold in this country. And farmers and ranchers are key in making this happen. How are we to achieve this? Let me count the ways…

1. Transparency. Why transparency? Because the basis of any good policy is contingent upon having all opinions heard. And you can’t form any critical opinions without having the proper information at hand. I realize farms are suspicious of muckraking journalists looking for piles of dung to fling onto headlines, but are ag-gag rules really the way to deal with this problem? Maybe the better way is to open farms for inspection. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. And better yet, unlike the many food activists who have oodles of media resources, maybe you’ll get a chance to tell your side of the story about farming or ranching. You will get to complicate a picture that often gets over-simplified by media sources that don’t know squat about farming. You don’t want your story co-opted? Tell it yourself.

2. But DON’T sugarcoat the truth. No one likes a snow job. No, I don’t mean this as an underhanded way of getting ammunition for animal rights groups or environmentalists. As tempting as it would be to show bucolic pictures of happy cows roaming the green pastures or fields of wheat gently waving in the breeze, you’re not doing yourself any favors. Farming is a rough job. No vacations. No sick days. And it’s risky and dangerous.[3] Showing people these idealized images of farms won’t get them to understand the realities of farming, and in fact, in the end will undermine your profession. By romanticizing farming, you really set up a series of unrealistic expectations that can NEVER be met, no matter how organic, sustainable or green the farm is. Instead explain the realities of the job – we’ll be a lot more sympathetic. Believe me.

3. Economics. While most people get the basics of economics when it comes to their household or the nation’s debt, trying to explain the economics of farming or ranching has many a city mouse screaming “Get me an accountant!!!” Part of problem with our food system is a contradiction in consumer habits: we want safe food, but we want it cheap. And as any economist can tell you, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The margins for farming and ranching are razor thin.[4] Much of the justification that farmers have for concentrated feed operations and other practices comes down to economics and markets. You want consumers to understand that process? Break down the numbers. Just as most of us want to see how our food is sourced…we should also see how much those processes cost. [5]

4. Blame the food industry – NOT the consumer. I hate to say it, but if you farmers should be furious, you should be placing your blame DIRECTLY on the food industry. They’re the ones that are forcing you to have bad husbandry practices. Why do you need to put antibiotics into your chickens? Because with KFC only paying your $0.30 for chickens that goes into their buckets, any lost chicken is lost revenue.[6] If you want to make money dealing with food and meat processors, you’re screwed – because they hold all the cards. If you want to sell to them, you have to follow their rules, which aren’t cheap, animal-friendly or sustainable. And that also means going big, because the only way to make a profit (if you’re lucky) is through economy of scale. Small time livestock holders never had a chance.

And it’s not just for livestock. Monsanto? They have 93% of the soybean market and 80% of the corn market.[7] They also bought vegetable seed company Seminis in 2005 – Seminis held 40% of the vegetable seed market (corn, peppers, lettuce just to name a few) making Monsanto the largest seed owner in the world.[8] And there’s that thing about Roundup. They sell you Roundup to get rid of weeds. But the problem was that crops couldn’t tolerate Round-up after planting. [9] But lo and behold. Monsanto had an answer for that too. Roundup ready corn and soybean – at triple the price of conventional seed ($130 for conventional corn vs. $400 for Roundup Ready corn). But it’s too late…you’re hooked on the seed and the herbicide. Never mind it’s really expensive. Never mind that the yields are not necessarily better than conventional (the jury is still out on that one). Never mind the environmental consequences of Roundup-resistant weeds as well as genetic transference (but don’t worry, I’m sure Monsanto will have a solution for that too)… [10]

In short, they’re using YOU to make millions while you get NADA. We consumers get that. But what makes consumers confused is when the food industry uses YOUR image to defend their practices. We can’t help but conflate the farmer with industry and their bad practices. Cut the Gordian knot and free yourself.

The truth is, we all need each other. We can’t eat if don’t have farmers. Farmers can’t survive without consumers. I know all you farmers have been saying, “Talk with us, not AT us.” A lot of us are trying. But we need your help. And Willie Nelson's too. Give us something to work with and we'll work with you. It's a start and that's what matters.

Sincerely,
Omnieater

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[1] The Deloitte study and survey can be found here: http://www.deloitte.com/us/pr/foodsafety/2011survey

[2] Just in case you didn’t know this (non-ag people), rGBH was made by…Monsanto.

[3] US Bureau of Labor Statistics cites that farming is one of the most dangerous jobs out there – about 12 times as dangerous as the “average” job (click here for the link). I’ve seen it. My brother used to be a doctor at the University of Iowa. The amount of crazy farm related injuries from farm equipment were astounding.

[4] More so for small farms. Small farms make up 88% of all farms in the US, but only make 34% of production. Large farms are 9% of the total of farms, yet make 66% of production value.

[5] By the way, consumers are willing to pay higher prices for safer food. According to a Pew survey, two-thirds of Americans would be willing pay more for it. As to what “safer” means, is up to debate, but I bet you for most people, that would include pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, etc. Furthermore, 75% would be willing to pay one to three percent more for safer food. Food industries are not off the hook. Seventy percent of respondents said that food companies should pay $1000 to offset food safety costs.

[6] http://grist.org/food/food-cafo-reader-editor-daniel-imhoff-on-the-ills-of-factory-farms/full/

[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/AR2009112802471.html

[8] Monsanto has been sued by the DuPont, it’s rival, for antitrust violations (the enemy of my enemy is my friend). The Department of Justice has also investigated Monsanto for their monopolization of the seed market.

[9] Point of clarification: For farmers, the beauty of Roundup was that it could be placed directly onto the ground and be just left there without consideration of the crops’ or weeds’ lifecycles. It saved a lot of work. One caveat though – you can only spray Roundup before planting – not AFTER.

[10] The obvious discussion here is about GMO. It’s a discussion that is so complicated (and contentious) that it won’t fit a 1500 word essay, much less a book…or two. I’m against GMO mainly for environmental risk reasons, but this is not the point of this essay...

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

            It’s hot. It’s sticky. I’m bored and then I see them. Little red orbs of squishy goodness. I’ll just take a few of the rotten ones and “Plop! Plop! Plop!” And as soon as you know it, there is a full tomato fight in the neighborhood and nobody’s plant is safe.

            Ah, there’s nothing better than a fresh ripe tomato for eating (or throwing). We grew them all the time in our garden as kids. Delicious. But the funny thing was the way we ate them. We had them sliced fresh with sugar sprinkled on top or made into what my mother called “tomato shakes”- which were basically V-8 smoothies (they taste better than they sound).

            And for those who know their biology, this would make some sense. Tomatoes are biologically classified as fruits.[1] Huh? Well, remember that talk your parents had about the birds and the bees? It’s exactly the same. Bees are crucial in the development of fruits because they take pollen from stigma to stamens of flowers, triggering fertilization of the flowers ovaries. Those fertilized eggs then become seeds and the “fruit.” (e.g. In an apple, the seeds are the ripened ovules, and the fleshy part you eat are the ripened ovaries that contain the seeds) So technically speaking, a lot of the produce we call vegetables, are fruits, such as nuts, beans, and carrots.

And contrary to what many Italians might believe, tomatoes are not from Europe. They originated from South America and were brought by the Spanish Conquistadores to Europe during the 15^th and 16^th centuries. But the famed tomato recipes of Italy? That didn’t come until the late 17^th and 18^th centuries.[2]

And tomatoes now? They have been cultivated pretty much everywhere with a temperate climate. China is now the world leader in tomato production, with 33.8 million tons a year.[3] For plum or processing tomatoes (the ones you get in cans/tins), California leads the pack in the US, producing 90% of all processed tomatoes. Florida also produces 30% of fresh commercial tomatoes – and nearly all the tomatoes seen in grocers during the fall and winter months.

If any of you have eaten a tomato during those times of the year, you are in for a disappointment. They may look like a tomato, but they sure don’t taste like it. In fact, I don’t even think they look like a tomato – they look like a tomato that someone has made to look like a “tomato.”

The accusation is not off-base. The tomatoes that most Americans eat at the grocery store are of one of the “Flor” or “Mana” varieties (these include Floramericas, Floradade, Floradel, Manalucie and Manapal). They are bred for disease and heat resistance as well as their ability to withstand Florida’s high humidity. But their inbred resistance does not prevent these plants from being doused with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides (and probably any other “cides” you can think of) – a 110 of them to be in fact.[4] And it’s not just the number of chemicals that the farms use; it’s also the amount. Florida uses eight times as many chemicals as California tomato farmers use. Why? Because the American consumer wants a pretty tomato.[5]

And the plant abuse doesn’t stop there. Most plants are not grown in soil – they are grown in sand because of drainage and fertilizing ease. And when it comes time for harvest? These tomatoes are picked in their green unripe state because they are less susceptible to bruising (ever dealt with a super ripe tomato? See above,). How do they ripen? Not on the vine – with ethylene, a naturally occurring chemical in ripening fruits, but never meant for commercial use.[6]

But beyond the environmental and public health problems with this sort of cultivation, there is an even uglier side to the pretty tomato: labor. Tomatoes are labor-intensive plants. The seedlings must be planted by hand. Tomatoes are thinned by hand. Tomatoes are harvested by hand. In Barry Estabrook’s book, Tomatoland,[7] he describes the virtual slavery of the migrant workers in the tomato fields of Southern Florida. Many work 10 hours a day, in the hot sun with little or no breaks for shade, water or biological needs. They are constantly exposed to chemicals that are known carcinogens at rates 100 times above the EPA safety threshold. And all for about 45 to 50 cents for every 32-pound bucket picked (about 15 kg), a rate that has basically not changed in 20 years. While the farming industry claims that the workers are paid at least minimum wage ($7.31/hour or 5.04 Euros), the real wage is about $12.50.[8] The trick is that this wage is completely dependent upon the number of buckets picked. Less buckets equal less money. According to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, an agricultural worker organization, a worker would have to pick a bucket every two minutes – a physical and mathematical impossibility.[9]

But beyond the wage slavery endured by these workers is nothing compared the real slavery endured by many of these workers. Because the US agency in charge of workers’ rights, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers agricultural laborers are “contract” laborers, the usual rights accorded to most workers for a safe workplace are not applicable under the National Labor Relations Act[10] and the Fair Labor Standards Act[11]. Furthermore, due to the low social status and educational attainment of most of these workers (who are primarily Latino or Haitians), they are ripe for exploitation. Cases have been filed on their behalf by labor organizations such as CIW for practices such as beating, chaining workers, withholding wages, etc.[12]

Even in light of such cases, there still has been resistance by commercial farmers, distributors and corporations to alleviate the unjust working conditions and wage inequities rampant in the industry.[13] While CIW forced the hand of corporations such as Burger King, Publix, Wal-Mart and Kroger to inspect the labor conditions of their produce sources and sign a Fair Food[14] agreement, there is still much work to be done. CIW estimates that a $0.01 increase in the price per pound for fresh tomatoes at the retail level could make the difference between a starvation and a livable wage for agricultural workers. Except for the Whole Foods grocery chain, most grocers said no (including fuzzy feel good Trader Joe’s, which is owned by the giant German grocery conglomerate Aldi).

On this Labor Day, before you slice those tomatoes into your salad, or onto your burgers, or even slash on the ketchup, think about who grew and picked those tomatoes. You might have a day off, but for the millions of agricultural workers across the US, it’s another labor day – back in the fields.

Roasted Tomato Gazpacho

I have a love affair with gazpacho. I could eat it every day in the summer. It’s the best way to use all those summer tomatoes you have running round – including the super-ugly ones. In fact, if you have a chance to go to the farmers’ market and there are the ugly bruised tomatoes that no one wants, use them for this dish. No one is looking. And no – this recipe is not authentic in anyway – and that is fine with me. It’s just a nice cold soup to serve as an easy appetizer or a light lunch. And for Labor Day, who wants to labor any more than you have to? After all, you have to put away all your white clothing…Salud!

1 2-inch piece of stale bread, crust removed (white is best)

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp of sea salt, plus more to taste

2 tbs. of sherry vinegar (the best you can find. If you don’t have it, use balsamic)

1 tsp. sugar

3 pds. whole tomatoes

½ c. of extra-virgin olive oil (best you can get)

pinch of cumin

pinch of pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika)

1.     Heat up a gas or charcoal grill. When ready (when your hand can only stand about 3 seconds above the grill), place tomatoes onto grill. Grill until the skins are charred all over. Take off grill and place in a paper bag.

2.     Soak bread in ½ cup of water for 1 minute, and then squeeze dry. Reserve bread and discard water.

3.     Peel tomato skins, core and seed. Chop coarsely. Set aside.

4.     If you have a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic with the salt until a paste forms. (Alternatively, you can use a garlic press and then mix the salt into the mashed garlic.) Place garlic and salt mixture into a food processor or blender, along with the vinegar, sugar, cumin, pimentón, bread and tomatoes, until the mixture is pureed. Then, in a steady stream while the motor is running, add olive oil, until the mixture smooth.

5.     If you want a smooth gazpacho, you can strain the mixture in a chinoise or a fine mesh strainer, discarding the solids. (I’m lazy. I don’t bother – it tastes fine.)

6.     Chill for at least 2 hours or until cold. Taste and add more salt and/or vinegar to taste. Serve cold. (Can be made 2 days ahead of time.)

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[1] Although biologists will call tomatoes a fruit, the Supreme Court of the United States of America disagrees. In the 1883 case Nix v. Hedden, the Court held for tariff purposes, that fruits and vegetables should be called by their “ordinary” meaning vs. that of a biological or botanical meaning. I suspect that someone in the Court failed biology.

[2] The Spanish cultivated tomatoes as soon as they arrived back to Europe. Their use in Spanish cuisine came with the use of tomatoes in Meso-America and South America.

[3] I am still trying to figure out why this is. I suspect it has something to do with preservation and export. As China is the largest agricultural producer in East Asia, there is a lot of money to be made in tomatoes, especially as Asians eat more Western cuisine.

[4] The environmental group, Pesticide Action Network (PAN), has deemed some of the “cides” that Florida tomato users use as “bad actors” – the evilest in the lot. To see the full list of pesticides that PAN condemns, click here.

[5] This is not only true of tomatoes, but of produce in general. The dominance of the aesthetically standardized fruit or vegetable is bane of the grocery store. And we consumers have come to demand it. We really need a movement for ugly food.

[6] Have you ever placed a banana next to other fruit in a fruit bowl? Notice how quickly the rest of the fruit go on a ripening spree? That’s because of the ethylene. As bananas emit ethylene, it becomes a chemical catalyst for other fruits and vegetables to ripen. Other ethylene emitters are avocadoes, stone fruits, apples and pears. Best way to counter ethylene? Refrigeration retards the process.

[7] Estabrook, a former editor for the now defunct Gourmet magazine (RIP), has written previously on the dark side of agricultural production.

[8]Clark, Lesley. “Tomato pickers pay-probe sought.” Miami Herald. 16 April 2008.

[9] The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a coalition of agricultural workers advocating for fair wages and fair labor practices in Florida. It has been instrumental in pushing for higher wages and workers’ rights for agricultural laborers in Florida. To read more about their amazing work, click here.

[10] History lesson. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (otherwise known as the Wagner Act) basically gave workers the right to labor unions without retaliation from their employers. Noticeably, the persons that need this protection the most, agricultural workers, get no coverage from the act.

[11] Another history lesson. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 set out most of the workers’ rights that most Americans are familiar with. These include minimum wage, overtime pay, and the abolition of “oppressed child labor.” Various amendments have come to strengthen the act with respect to agricultural labor, most recently the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act (MSPA) of 1983. MSPA requires all farm contractors to register with the US Department of Labor as well as setting minimum standards for the working conditions of agricultural workers, farms and farm contractors. But due to lack of inspection and budgetary cuts, the rules are rarely enforced.

[12] In a 2008 case US v. Navarrette, Chief Assistant US Attorney called the practices,  “slavery, plain and simple.”

[13] California is also no stranger to labor suits filed on behalf of agricultural workers. In 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed against the state of California and the OSHA for failing to protect farm workers from heat related deaths and illnesses.

[14] The Fair Food Agreement was created by the CIW as a means for insuring the safety, welfare and well being of agricultural workers in Florida. By signing the Fair Food agreement, companies agreed to only buy produce sourced from fair labor farms.

Greatest Hits

Yes, I am still on vacation. But I thought I would re-post some of the greatest hits of summer while I'm trying to relax... see you next week!

Grocery Killed the Vegetable Star

Image via Wikipedia

“Being pretty on the inside means you don't hit your brother and you eat all your peas - that's what my grandma taught me.”

- Lord Chesterfield, British statesman and diplomat (1694-1773)

            I go to the farmers market. And what do I see? Peas! Glorious peas! Yes, the poor pea is quite maligned, but if your only memories of peas are the mushy ones sitting a pool of murky water at the school cafeteria, I assure you, a fresh pea is a joy to behold.

            You probably don’t believe me. In fact I didn’t even believe me until a couple of years ago when I visited Europe.  Europeans eat fresh peas all the time. In the 17^th and 18^th century, fresh peas were fashionable in court circles across Europe. The English, while butchering so many vegetables, manage to respect the springtime pea. Chinese have their famous sautéed pea sprout dish, 豆苗; dòu miáo (which I will feature in a future post, as soon as my pea shoots are grown!). And yet, the pea gets so little respect.

            I think the reason why Americans can’t ever love a pea is that they have never eaten a fresh pea. Unless you scout a good farmers market in the spring (New York City’s Union Square Greenmarket and Chicago’s Green City Market have them) or grow them yourself, you probably don’t even know what a fresh pea pod looks or tastes like. The only pea most Americans see comes from the Jolly Green Giant. Part of the reason why average grocery stores do not sell them is due to their short shelf life.  As soon as the pea pods are picked, they quickly start turning their sugary selves into starch. As soon as a day or two after being picked, they sweetness is muted, eventually turning themselves into the nasty critters we don’t want to remember from cafeteria hell.

            The other reason is far more invidious. It has to do with the dominance of grocery stores, food distribution systems and industrial farming[1] in our fruit and vegetable system.[2] First, let’s start with the farm. Most of our produce comes form industrial farms-you know, the ones featured in Grapes of Wrath (even though it’s not Okies doing all the work anymore-it’s Mexican migrant workers). Forty-six thousand farms (out of two million farms) are responsible for 50% of all the produce sold in the US. They are also the ones that get the most in USDA subsidies: the top 20% of farmers get 80% of the subsidies. Guess who are those top 20% of farmers? Industrial farms. Thus there is a perverse incentive to have industrial agriculture, the kind that has endless miles of corn, lettuce or whatever, at the cost of smaller (and usually local and sustainable) farms. This dominance of the farm allows them to control the types and kinds of fruit and vegetables on the land, and thus on our plate. In 1866, California used to have 1,186 different types of fruits and vegetables grown on its lands. Now there are only 350.  If industrial farmers aren’t interested in growing a plant, it will never see the light of day.

            Speaking of which, here’s second link the chain. Food distribution. As food distributors have control over how food is delivered across the US, they have a large say in what type of produce is regarded as “transportable.” Thus produce is grown for their ease of transport-not for nutritional value or god forbid, taste.[3] Because of the limits of transportation, some varieties of produce are more amenable to transport versus others.  For example, nearly 99% of all bananas sold across the world are of the Cavendish variety.  This is due to its hardiness over long distances (the bananas are kept in cold conditions to prevent them from ripening). There are hundreds of other local varieties of bananas, but due to their fragility, they will never make the global market. The banana will travel 3-4 weeks over 2,500 miles to get to your local market, making your broccoli look like a locavore dream at 1,800 mile average. Either way, the produce lost its freshness LONG ago.

And the last step to you – your supermarket. Ninety-four percent of all produce production is sold in supermarkets. Only 1.5% of sales are direct farmer to consumer sales. Supermarkets value shelf life, aesthetics and convenience, which then favor certain varieties of produce over others, (e.g. Green Zebra tomatoes vs. Floramericas) choices.[4] The market dominance of 3 major chains, plus Walmart, also plays a hand in limiting consumer choice: growers will only grow varieties that have a market, which is then determined by the dominant players in retail food.

It’s all one evil cycle. You get less choice and worse food-and your taxpayer dollars, in the form of agricultural subsidies, are paying for it. Yes the food is cheap[5], but it’s tasteless, filled with pesticides, and paid for by the lives of underpaid exploited labor. Is this what you really want on your plate?

Where to go? Farmers markets and CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture).  Not only are they a better deal for your health and the environment, they are a much better deal for the farmer (average farmer receives 5% of every dollar, whereas direct farm to consumer farmer receives 80-90% on the dollar). But if cost isn’t going to get you, then I say go with your palate. The varieties and quality of produce at most farmers markets will beat any supermarket in terms of taste and freshness. Do you really want to eat a 2 week-old head of lettuce? Go local and it will be probably picked the morning of. Have any questions about how your produce was grown? You can ask your farmer. The guy at Safeway doesn’t know squat about your squash (trust me, I’ve asked).

So go find some peas at your local farmers market. Shuck them on the spot and eat them. You’ll be wondering why you ever dealt with the supermarket tomato in the first place.

Sweet Pea Risotto with Mint Gremolata

            My child loves fresh peas and unfortunately, this means I have to buy double the amount of fresh peas than what is required for dinner. But if you can resist the temptation to eat them all while shelling them, this is an easy great dish to highlight spring produce and herbs. The most complicated part is the stirring. And you can even cheat on that (you don’t have to be stirring the ENTIRE time. Every couple of minutes of so is OK). And with the fancy title, you’ll impress everyone. No one has to know your secret – which is that nature did all the work for you.

4 Servings

2 tbs. of butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

11/2 c. of Arborio or Carnaroli rice

3/4 c. of dry white wine

6 c. of boiling chicken or vegetable stock (unsalted or low-sodium)

3 c. of freshly shelled peas

salt and pepper to taste

Mint Gremolata

1 bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped

1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, crushed

zest of 2 lemons (lemons must be unwaxed)

Parmesan cheese for serving

1.     Gremolata: Combine all ingredients, until combined. Set aside.

2.     Melt butter over medium high heat in a large non-stick pan. When the butter stops foaming, sauté shallots until soft, but not browned, about 3-4 minutes.

3.     Stir rice into the pan and sauté for 30 seconds, until the rice has absorbed some of the fat in the pan. Immediately add the wine into the pan, and stir rice until the wine is almost absorbed, about 2-3 minutes. Add one cup of the boiling broth into the pan and stirring the rice frequently, until almost all the broth has been absorbed. Repeat the process, adding one cup of broth at a time, until the rice is creamy and firm to the bite (like al dente pasta). This will take about 18-22 minutes.  After 18 minutes, you should start tasting to see if the rice is done.

4.     Right before the rice is done, about the 20-minute mark, stir in the peas. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place onto serving plates and sprinkle 1 tbs. of gremolata on top.  Pass along freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.  

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[1] I’ve discussed this in a previous post regarding apples. Click here for the post.

[2] I am not trying to ignore the importance of the food processing and its related industries.  That is another whole can of worms for another post. Ugh.

[3] This is not to suggest that growers also favor certain plant varieties. Plants that are easy to harvest, resist drought, disease and pests, and have high yields are also highly desirable for industrial agriculture, for obvious reasons.

[4] This also distorts consumers understanding of seasonality. When did we start getting strawberries in January? Thanks to food distribution. They may look pretty, but they taste awful.

[5] When I say “cheap” I mean only in real dollar terms. If you were to actually look at the environmental, human and political costs of “cheap” food, then food prices would be 3 or 4 times the price we pay at the average supermarket.