Reprinted with permission from the May 2010 issue of the Ester Republic.

A question came up at a lecture I was giving with two of my colleagues recently, regarding whether or not agriculture in Alaska could meet the food needs of the entire state. The issue was raised as something of an indirect critique of local / alternative food movements; our talk was reporting on some research that we have been engaged in with participants and producers of local CSAs. The answer, suggested by the same audience member who introduced the topic was no, that Alaska could not feed itself, at least not in an affordable or sustainable manner. I must admit that I was caught off guard by the suggestion, and I chose not to confront it, in order to not spoil the mood of the evening by ending it on a tone of debate. And, after some thought on the issue and a couple of (local) beers, I am glad that I refrained. Because, while it seems an interesting question, it is in fact the most classic example of a red herring, a critique that I believe is responsible for perpetuating the comfortable-but-tired debate between local and industrial paradigms of food production. (more…)

Re-printed from the April 2010 issue of the Ester Republic.

Eating more vegetables is advice you hear a lot of these days. It is good advice in an age where people consume significantly more animal protein than is necessary, or even rational. Our culture’s unprecedented meat hunger is a top offender among the sustainability-minded, right up there with gas guzzling cars and incandescent light bulbs. As a result, vegetarianism and veganism are experiencing something of a renaissance. Many have long chosen to drop meats and other animal products from their diets, for health or even moral reasons, but many more are now doing so out as a way to “go green.” But is it true that humanity would be more ecologically sustainable if we all became vegetarians and vegans? Holding the arguments of ethics and health aside, my sense is that an entirely plant-based diet would be at least as unsustainable as the meat-heavy diets we all eat today. There are at least three reasons. (more…)

Reprinted from the March 2010 issue of the Ester Republic

New England is known for a number of food traditions: lobster, clam bakes, brown bread, baked beans, and my childhood favorite, red hot dogs. Red hot dogs are most commonly encountered in Maine. They’re made fresh by local butchers without any nitrates or corn syrup, packed in real, dyed-red intestine casings, and sold in links. They are also sometimes called ‘red snappers’ for the sound they make when you bite into a freshly grilled one. The ‘red’ does not mean that they are spicy, like the red hots made in the South, just that they are fresh, juicy, and delicious, especially when served in a traditional New England-style, split-top hot dog roll (these guys will not break down the center like the style they sell here!). (more…)

Reprinted from the January 2010 issue of the Ester Republic.

One of the most potent of the seven* myths of industrial agriculture is the claim that biotechnology will eventually solve all of the problems that people like me point out about industrial agriculture. This is an especially potent myth, because it taps into our society’s collective reverence for, and general ignorance regarding, science and technology. Invoking genetic engineering invokes an optimism instilled in us by the Jetsons, the moon landing, and Star Trek, that all of society’s great problems can and will eventually be solved by the ongoing march of technology. To question technology is tantamount to heresy; as Michael Specter argues in his book Denialism, to do so is to stand in the way of our human potential. We should be rallying behind the geneticists who are trying to make progress towards a more food secure world, Specter asserts, not fear-mongering and beating the drums of backwards, inefficient agricultural technologies of the past. (more…)