Omnivore Atlanta

The view from inside a Hawaii offshore aquaculture cage

(Photo by NOAA)

The same havoc wreaked by multinational corporations on the way we grow food on land is poised to spread to the seas. Many people realize the harm current agricultural practices have on our health, environment and food quality. Less well-known is the push from the U.S. government to legalize and open public waters to offshore aquaculture, a potentially harmful and financially risky solution to our seafood issues. In a recent report, “Fishy Farms: The Problems with Open Ocean Aquaculture,” nonprofit consumer organization Food & Water Watch examines the government-supported program and its frustratingly widespread pitfalls.

Over the past 20 years, Americans’ affinity for seafood has climbed. Touted by medical experts as full of health benefits, and with more varieties of fish available in supermarkets, American’s seafood consumption has increased by 25 percent.

To satisfy consumer demands for all things fishy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is trying to maximize seafood production while finding a way to cut our $9.2 billion seafood trade deficit and relieve the heavy stress on our seriously depleted wild marine fish populations. As is his way, President Bush places his faith in human ingenuity and has been pouring money into risky and unproven technologies without re-examining our current processes.

One of the solutions proposed is open water aquaculture, a completely new practice of fish farming that involves growing huge numbers of fish in nets or cages far off the coast. The government has spent more than $25 million supporting four experimental open aquaculture fish farms and funding research into the technologies. Yet despite the funneling of millions of tax dollars and millions more of private investment into the industry, open water aquaculture has failed to show that it is an environmentally sustainable, financially viable, or technically possible practice on a commercial scale. (more…)

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There was an interesting article Monday on Salon.com about vegetarianism and climate change. According to the article, in terms of preventing global warming, vegetarian diets are not always the best. Recently, the attention-loving folks at PETA lambasted Al Gore for his carnivorous ways outside an October lecture he gave on climate change. The group displayed a billboard featuring Gore with chicken drumstick in hand reading “Too Chicken to Become a Vegetarian?” followed by “Meat is the #1 Cause of Global Warming.”

Which is false. As the article states, “The No. 1 cause of global warming is burning fossil fuels for electric power. Still … a November 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report found that livestock accounts for 18 percent of global-warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector.” Our diets are contributing to the warming of the planet in more ways than one, but as it turns out, eating chicken is an excellent choice for carnivores who care about the environment.

Livestock is a large cause of major environmental issues, the worst of which is global warming, mainly due to clearing forests to feed crops and pastures. The trees cut down will no longer take in carbon dioxide; instead they are burned, releasing more carbon dioxide.

(Photo by Eric L. Carlson)

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“If restaurants were automobiles, they would be Hummers.” So says Richard Young, an electrical engineer with the food service technology center in an article from the Boston Globe. “They use five times more energy than any other commercial building.”

The article is about the national Green Restaurant Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 1990 by Michael Oshman. Started as a response to the taxing effect the restaurant industry has on the environment — restaurants make up 10 percent of the American economy and are the top energy consumer in the retail sector — Oshman said in a New York Times article that in recent years, “People are finally ready.”

Through a comprehensive model including research, marketing, consulting, and education, the GRA offers restaurants a path to becoming a Certified Green Restaurant as part of an effort to create a more ecologically sustainable industry.

Interestingly enough, on the page of its website that gives restaurant owners seven reasons to join the GRA, creating a healthier environment is No. 7.

That’s because the GRA is trying to appeal to business owners, about whom Oshman says, “At the end of the day, they need to have it justified financially.” Which explains why his organization puts the following financially attractive reasons first: publicity, cut costs, improved staff productivity and morale, customer loyalty, and new customers.

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Taste of Atlanta is this weekend. The outdoor food festival takes place at Atlantic Station and features over 70 of the city’s restaurants, cooking demonstrations, live entertainment, culinary giveaways and a “Wine Experience.”

The festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the streets of Atlantic Station, with events and chef demos throughout the day. A few of the chefs participating in cooking demonstrations include Nick Leahy of Pacific Kitchen, Steve Yearwood of Cafe Dupri, Rocco DiSpirito and others. The Wine Experience for those 21 and up goes from 12:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Ten Pin Alley.

General admission tickets include 10 taste coupons and are $25 in advance and $35 the day of the event. VIP tickets include 20 taste coupons, VIP access into the Wine Experience and a gift bag for the first 500 attendees. VIP tickets cost $50 in advance and $60 the day of the event.

For information, directions and a full schedule of events, visit www.tasteofatlanta.net.

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You know it’s a good day when a leather lederhosen-clad man greets you with beer. Such were my thoughts this past Saturday when I spent the gorgeous afternoon at the Country Fair in the City held on a giant concrete slab at 5 Seasons Brewing Company’s newest (and as of yet unopened) location on the corner of Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street across from Octane coffee shop.

Saturday’s event was part of Food & Wine magazine’s Grow for Good campaign, raising awareness for locally produced food and benefiting Farm to Table. The cheery lederhosen man was owner Dennis Lange, ready to go from the daytime festivities to the Octoberfest held that night at the restaurant’s Sandy Springs location. The perfect day was only made better once I had a nice little Bavarian Ecstasy Festbier buzz going.

Chef David Larkworthy of 5 Seasons and his crew aim to “celebrate the connection between each other, our food, and the earth,” according to the restaurant’s website, and prepared a variety of dishes with local and farm-fresh ingredients, from shrimp and sweet-potato grits to butternut squash crab cakes and a whole bunch of other yummy stuff I may not remember but definitely enjoyed. Counter Culture Coffee, CL’s Best of Atlanta 2007 pick for Best Coffee, manned a booth as well, distributing information about its training center in the nearby King Plow Arts Center, and the overall cool things the shop does (like forming personal relationships with growers).

I learned about Muscadine grape varietals and sampled Muscadine beer, which has a fruity taste. I also learned from observation that to hand-tap a keg you should wear a protective helmet at the risk of explosion. But maybe the most valuable nugget of information gleaned came from an anonymous source who tipped me off to the ingenious college nickname of my fiery-haired editor, David Lee Simmons: “The Red Menace.”

Overall, I deem the day a success.

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This weekend is the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America, a nationwide food event celebrating American cuisine created this year in honor of the foundation’s 20th anniversary. Twenty cities, including Atlanta, host events and educational activities spotlighting different chefs, cookbook authors and other culinary stars.

Here in Atlanta, the Floataway Cafe holds a benefit dinner on Friday. The dinner features top local chefs, including JBF award winners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison (Bacchanalia, Quinones, Star Provisions), Kevin Rathbun (Rathbun’s, Krog Bar), JBF award winner Joel Antunes (Joel), Arnaud Berthelier (Ritz-Carlton Buckhead), Jeremy Lieb (Trois), and Kathryn King (Aria).

Tickets are $175 per person and the dinner begins at 6:30 p.m and a portion of the proceeds made will go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank. To make reservations or for more info call 404-888-9348.

On Saturday, Williams-Sonoma at Lenox hosts a free day of events from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., with cooking demonstrations featuring chefs Joe Ahn (SoHo) and Patrick Daly (Seasons 52). For the kiddies ages 6-10, an interactive activity teaches where foods come from and how they grow. Samples of regional products from artisanal producer Via Elisa will be available as well.

For more information about the James Beard Foundation and Taste America, click here.

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As part of Food & Wine magazine’s Grow for Good campaign to raise awareness for eating locally, the 5 Seasons Brewing Company chef and owner David Larkworthy and owner Dennis Lange are hosting a day of “Country Fair Fun.”

The fair will feature Georgia farmers and their wares, with food, beer and live music — a winning combination. Part of a weekend-long event, it takes place Saturday, Sept. 29, and helps raise money for Farm to Table, an initiative that educates food professionals, policymakers and the public about the benefits of sustainable agriculture and all that good stuff.

Tickets are $50 per person and are available here or at the door. Student tickets are $25 with a valid student ID.

The fair lasts from 2-5 p.m. at 5 Seasons Brewing Company’s newest location at the intersection of Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street. For information about the Grow for Good campaign, click here.

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Georgia has a lot to enjoy in terms of local foods, and an upcoming weekend organized by Food & Wine magazine’s Grow for Good campaign features a variety of restaurant/food events, all in glorification of Georgia farms. The Grow for Good campaign aims to raise $1 million for Farm to Table, a national initiative dedicated to supporting local farms and sustainable agriculture. Farm to Table will also maintain an interactive website for Georgia to help farmers build ties to consumers, chefs, restaurateurs, and institutional buyers such as schools, hospitals and hotels. It will also provide educational resources for farmers to help support a transition to sustainable farming practices.

The events begin Friday, Sept. 28, with Eat Local at Atlanta, Athens and Palmetto’s “Best Chef’s Tables.” From about 6-9 p.m. in a whole slew of excellent restaurants, attendees are treated to a tasting menu featuring Georgia-grown ingredients. Tickets are $150 per person including tax and tip, and reservations may be made by contacting the restaurant directly. A handful of the participating restaurants includes Element, the Farmhouse, Rathbun Steak, all the Star Provisions joints and many more. For the full list as well as contact info for restaurants, visit www.foodandwine.com/growforgood.

Stay tuned for information about the Country Fair in the City event Sept. 29 and the Summer Supper at Summerland Farm Sept. 30.

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The lovely Barbara Kingsolver is coming to Emory to speak about her latest book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.

The nonfiction book describes a year in which Kingsolver and her family lived on a Southern Appalachian farm, eating only food that they grew themselves (or raised, in the case of animals), or which was grown by local farmers, preferably those they knew personally. The stories that result, and Kingsolver’s palpable passion on the subject, are an inspiration to buy and eat local and seasonal food, or to at least try. The benefits are not only for environmental reasons, but for the enrichment buying locally can bring to your taste buds and to your community.

According to an article in the Emory Report, Kingsolver agreed to the presentation at Emory after learning about the university’s goal of 75 percent of food served on campus to come from local and/or sustainable  growers by the year 2015. A committee from Emory’s office of sustainability and sustainable food initiatives is currently making food-buying guidelines for campus facilities, touching on issues including labor, fair trade, and fair treatment of animals. Students will also be included in a campus sustainability summit on food to help make suggestions for Emory’s food services.

Kingsolver is a wonderful author and a great speaker, so the event is sure to fill up fast. I saw Kingsolver speak about her book to a packed auditorium of middle-aged women in Sonoma, Calif., during a visit home. Yet I, a sprightly young college student, thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the book, proving issues like these can transcend generational gaps. You can read my blog post about her talk here.

Kingsolver and her husband, Steven Hopp, will speak at the Glenn Auditorium (1660 N. Decatur Road) at Emory on Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a book signing at the Carlos Museum. The event is free and open to the public but tickets are required in advance. Tickets are available at the Dobbs University Center and the Schwartz Center box office. For more information, contact Jim Wynn at 404-727-6722.

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A week ago, the House of Representatives voted on the 2007 farm bill. If you missed what resulted, here is a brief update.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it a victory as House Democrats succeeded in voting to approve what she saw as a historic bill that looks slightly different from past farm bills. Although some noteworthy changes were made by the House, many reforms don’t go far enough.

• The bill ends subsidy payments to farmers earning more than $1 million a year, down from the present cap of $2.5 million. Many critics, including the Bush administration, are calling this change still a ridiculously high number for farmers’ income ceilings.
• It creates support for fruit and vegetable growers.
• It increases money for nutrition programs, land conservation, and programs to research alternative fuels like ethanol.
• $840 million for international food aid programs pleased anti-hunger activists.
• $100 million was included to settle claims of racial discrimination from black farmers.
• It includes a $4 billion increase in food stamps.

Despite these progressive aspects, the bill continues to perpetuate a system of subsidies and direct payments to farmers that disproportionately rewards big business and growers of major commodity crops at a time of record high prices. Under the House bill, corn growers will receive $2 billion in direct payments for each of the next five years, despite the record boom in corn production and prices due to increases in ethanol production.

In other words, under the House bill, not much will change in how farm programs operate in the next five years in terms of subsidies. Cotton, corn, wheat, rice and soybeans will continue to receive most of the federal farm payments. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the $1 million income cap will only affect 3,100 farmers … that is, if they don’t use creative accounting to lower their taxable income.

Angry Republicans spoke out against the tax provision inserted into the bill by Dems to pay for the $4 billion expansion in food stamps. And the White House has threatened to veto the bill, in part because of proposed tax hikes on foreign-owned companies with U.S. subsidiaries to help pay for government nutrition programs. The farm bill is slated to cost $286 billion over a span of five years.

Stay tuned, as this vote is just the beginning. Next, the bill will be debated and negotiated in the Senate this fall. Read my previous entry about the farm bill here .

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In his most recent Grazing column, Cliff Bostock puzzles over why his expensive nectarines are often inedible, or why the lovely Fuji apples at Whole Foods end up being mushy and mealy.

If you, too, have experienced the disappointment of purchasing aesthetically pleasing produce only to be met by dismal taste, check out Russ Parsons‘ latest book, How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor From Farm to Table. The Los Angeles Times food and wine columnist writes about how to choose the best ingredients for good cooking, specifically produce. Parsons documents how agribusiness has taken the priority of taste out of our food as he writes about the long-standing agricultural conundrum: how to grow fruits and vegetables that look good, taste good, and remain that way after the long, bumpy trip from a far-away farm to your supermarket.

Part cookbook and produce guide, Parsons gives instructions on how to store and prepare different produce items. He discusses food chemistry and the chemical makeup of flavors, also exploring organic farming and its effect on flavors.

Foodie or not, if you’re tired of mouthfuls of mushy apples, tasteless melons, or just want to know why cucumbers make some people burp, this book is for you.

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“Agricultural policy” does not have an exciting ring to it. Neither does “farm bill,” which sounds doubly unappealing — politics and farming, two concepts many Americans find exceedingly boring.

Yet the 2007 farm bill, currently awaiting a vote in the House Agriculture Committee, decides what we grow, and through enormous subsidies, what will be cheaper — Coke or orange juice, potato chips or produce. Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, writes about this and the other countless ways our country’s food production is linked to things like obesity, global poverty, immigration, and the environment in his April 22 New York Times Magazine article “You Are What You Grow,”  (subscription only). It’s a bill important to all Americans, and thus to the global community, and one which is in dire need of a revolution.

As Americans, the way we eat continues to wreak havoc on our national health. The surgeon general’s declaration of an obesity epidemic brought it swiftly to national attention that we have a rather hefty problem with food.

What isn’t so highly publicized is that while publicly battling obesity, our country pours money into the production of things like high-fructose corn syrup through huge subsidies given to farmers of the mass-produced commodity crops corn, soybeans, wheat, rice and cotton.

Thus, things are rigged so that the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be fat, since rationally, to eat on a budget means to eat crap. Over the past few decades, as American bellies loom larger and larger, the farm bill, which gets debated every five years in Congress, has laid out a national agricultural policy in direct conflict with national public health goals. Subsidies to commodity crops based on the amount farmers can grow encourage overproduction, flooding our food system with the products of corn and soy — mainly added sugars and fats. Practically no support has been given to farmers growing fresh produce.

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Robby Kukler of Fifth Group Restaurants wants “to bring back the communal spirit of Sunday supper.” And if your memories of large family dinners favor fondness more than trauma, maybe you will, too.

At Ecco, the group’s newest restaurant in Midtown serving Mediterranean-inspired food, the Sunday Share has started, a series of family-style meals with different themes each week.

Starting at 6:30 p.m every Sunday, a limited amount of guests can share a meal at a communal table for $25 per person. Themed menus highlight different regions of the world and unique dishes.

This coming Sunday, July 22, the theme is “France, Meet Morocco,” a fusing of the two cuisines. The following Sunday, July 29, will be “Paella and Tapas: A Spanish Classic.” Should be good food and good conversation. I mean, it’s not like it’s your real family.

Reservations are required for those who wish to join in; for your spot call 404-347-9555. Ecco is located at 40 Seventh St., at the corner of Cypress Street in Midtown. For more info visit www.fifthgroup.com.

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“It’s all about passion, the challenge, creativity, you know, I’m just out there to put my heart on a plate and let people see it.” So spoke the anxious, sweating, “Top Chef” auditionee at Sunday’s casting call for Bravo’s reality show. Casting directors Randy and Danielle thank him, and the four minute interview he waited two-and-a-half hours for is over.

Outside, the line snakes down Peachtree Street from the Hard Rock Cafe. It is 1 p.m., and some of these nervous chefs have been here for hours, the earliest arriving at 6 a.m., for their chance to audition. Some have chef-wear on, chef pants, the names of their respective restaurants stitched on chests, clutching resumes and applications, and all are very anxious, very determined, and very sick of waiting in line.

Randy pops his head out to let the hordes know they will take a 10 minute break to eat. “That OK guys?”
“No, it’s not OK,” one surly woman toward the front of the line snaps back. Tensions are running high.

Inside, over their anger-inciting lunch, Randy and Danielle know just what they are looking for. “We want someone with passion, drive and talent who is able to articulate food and understand recipes and flavor profiles,” Randy says between bites of his hamburger. “Someone who knows what their style is and how they would articulate this on a plate. All our contestants are hand-picked by us. … We really like Atlanta so far, it’s a cool city.”

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“Top Chef” auditions are coming to Atlanta! This Sunday, July 15th, from noon-4 p.m., Hard Rock Cafe (215 Peachtree St., 404-688-7625) will host a casting call for Season Four of Bravo’s kitchen-drama reality series, “Top Chef.” Admission is free, and spectators over 21 are welcome to attend.

Hopeful chefs must come with a completed application, a certification of veracity, a photo and a recent resume. Get more info and download all necessary forms at www.bravotv.com/casting.

I plan to attend the auditions and will post a description of what goes down, witnessing the tensions, passions, broken hearts and broken dreams that are sure to be present at this cutthroat competitive event.

And speaking of broken hearts and broken dreams, sadly, “Top Chef’s” hottie host Padma Lakshmi and brilliant husband Salman Rushdie are divorcing after three years of marriage. Siiigh.

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Bastille Day is right around the corner … do you know where you’re celebrating?

If not, consider commemorating French independence on Saturday, July 14, with a gastronomic fete at Shaun’s (1029 Edgewood Ave., 404-577-4358) or French American Brasserie (30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., 404-266-1440). Both host French-inspired Bastille Day prix fixe menus and drink specials.

Bastille Day honors the storming of the Bastille in 1789, whose fall ushered in the French Revolution. Feasting has always gone hand in hand with Bastille Day celebrations throughout history, beginning with the hefty four-day feast of the Fete de La Federation on the first anniversary of the fallen Bastille. And the feasting continues today.

At Shaun’s for $38, the menu features an appetizer of pate with rabbit and sweetbreads; an entree of chicken paillard with arugula, tomatoes and lemon; and dessert of profiteroles with chocolate ice cream and white chocolate sauce, with an a la carte menu available as well.

Drink specials include $6 French martinis and French wine by the glass.

Over at F.A.B., for $45 per person, one can tuck into a first course of either lamb tenderloin or potato and sweet onion tart; a second course of either sauteed wild bass or filet mignon; and a third course of chilled lychee soup or vanilla creme brulee.

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What industry manages to take a free and natural liquid and sell it for as much as four times what we pay for gas? A hidden, and often unnoticed culprit in the eye of the consumer, the bottled water industry.

A new movement of change is trickling through the restaurant world against our bottle habits, as restaurants in San Francisco, New York and Boston have been ousting bottled water from the menu. Why all the fuss about bottles?

Under a guise of purity, bottled water companies sell a product on which Americans spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. A product which, in my opinion, is both a huge waste of money, and harmful to the environment in its production.

According to a report by the Food and Water Watch, bottled water is not as clean and pure as marketing would have us believe. The report finds that drinking tap water is better for your health, pocketbook, and the environment. Close to 40 percent of the bottled kind is actually tap water, and in most cases, far more stringent testing is required of municipal water than of bottled. Dollars spent on “purified” water are often dollars wasted.

But a marketing scam is not the end of it. According to the report, the bottled water industry is an eager contributor to global warming. Plastic bottle production in the U.S. alone requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil, enough to fuel 100,000 cars a year! Bet you never thought about that while swilling Evian.

High-end restaurants throughout the country are taking heed of this problem. Rejecting the profits made by selling bottled water, restaurants like Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and Del Posto in New York have banned bottled water and use only filtered tap water. This trend comes at a time when newer, pricier and fancier bottles of water continue to saturate the market, attracting the clutching hands of thirsty consumers.

A trend has to come from somewhere, and a trend in restaurants reflects community feelings and moods. Hopefully this one will spread.

To learn more about the Take Back the Tap report, go to http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org.

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The opening of Emory Village brunch joint Rise N Dine has many students wondering if the long-awaited rebirth of the Village has begun.

One by one, dismayed collegians watched as every worthwhile spot in the Village disappeared — Jake’s Ice Cream & Muncheteria, Caribou Coffee, Lebanese spot Cedar Tree, and the only bar within walking distance from campus, Park Bench. With the fairly recent opening of Saba, which serves pasta for lunch and dinner as well as delicious brunch food, it seemed the long-sleeping Village was starting to wake up in terms of dining options. Hopefully, this newest addition will be as pleasing.

Rise N Dine, freshly opened by Georgia Tech engineering grad Marshall Happ, serves breakfast all day as well as nonbreakfast foods, with an emphasis on health-conscious cooking and creative combinations of flavors.

According to a chatty barista at the neighboring Starbucks, (Manifest Destiny ensured that while Caribou was booted, Starbucks obnoxiously would remain one of the only standing businesses in the Village) Rise N Dine has some of the best hash browns — because of the combination of shredded zucchini with potatoes.

Other yummy-looking dishes on the menu include sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon and sandwiches with items like quinoa, hummus, and roasted veggies.

Now if only a new bar would replace the long-defunct Park Bench, perhaps Emory could gain a bit more of the collegey atmosphere that is missing in the Village. …

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Perhaps the Southern cuisine of America doesn’t blend so well with that of Africa. SAGA in Midtown — chef Drew Van Leuvan’s brainchild that mixed modern Southern dishes with South African ones — has closed.

This curious mix — the name stands for South Africa Georgia — may have proved too much so, although the restaurant’s answering machine promises “an exciting new concept” from the owners, with more information coming in late summer.

See Besha Rodell’s review of the sadly no-longer restaurant here.

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Besha Rodell’s recent article on the Slow Food movement addresses an important and increasingly urgent issue regarding our food choices. The purchases we make in the supermarket and in restaurants do not merely affect our personal gastronomy, but that of the the earth itself.

“Factory farms and pollution are huge factors in the threat to our food supply, and if everyone embraced the ideology of Slow Food, it’s hard to imagine a scare like the spinach debacle of last year.”

As Rodell points out, our decisions about where we buy our food and how it gets to us are inextricably linked to the environment. The food on our tables, from the South American bananas to the imported European cheese, results in diets that are increasingly more and more petroleum-saturated. Our food dollars go toward fueling the huge distances covered in stocking the shelves of the local grocery stores, and our taste buds suffer along with the environment.

I recently returned to my homeland of Sonoma County in Northern California, an area particularly sensitive to foodie concerns. My mom and I went to see Barbara Kingsolver speak about her new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, in which she and her family document the year they spent eating only food grown by themselves or purchased locally, preferably from farmers they knew. The auditorium was full, the parking lot packed with Subaru Foresters and an audience that was a sea of gray hair.

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