On the Topic of Sustainability and Organic Food

I mentioned Michael Pollan just recently in this blog and, coincidentally, happened to catch him on the Bill Moyers program last week. Moyers posed the hypothetical question -- what if Berkeley-based author Pollan were Secretary of Agriculture in the Obama administration?

The conversation evolved from that point to address the fundamental changes Pollan believes are necessary to revitalize our farming and food systems, as well as our national health model. It's an interview worth watching for the breadth of the coverage and, to me, the fundamental sensibility of revamping some of our bad ways. You can watch the Pollan interview at the Bill Moyers website.

During any given month, there are a variety of opportunities around the Bay Area to learn more about sustainable agriculture and healthful food choices. Below is just a smattering of such events in San Francisco and around the Bay:

• Eat, Memory: Amanda Hesser and Dorothy Allison
  December 3 - Commonwealth Club
  Subject: Honoring the food-inspired recollections of famous novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, poets and journalists, this collection focuses on the often humorous and always psychological relationship between people and food
• Slow Crab Festival
  December 6 - County Fair Building (Golden Gate Park at Lincoln & 9th Ave)
  Students from the California Culinary Academy will cook a crab feed with proceeds benefitting the University of Gastronomic Science Scholarship Fund
• CUESA Market to Table Events
  December 6 and 13 - Ferry Building Marketplace
  
  • Dec 6: Meet the Oyster man (Hog Island Oyster Company) and cooking demonstrations Ian Marks (Hog Island Oyster Bar) and Paul Piscopo (XYZ)
  • Dec 13: Meet the Producer (interview with Marketplace farmer or purveyor) and cooking demonstration with Staffan Terje (Perbacco)
• Urban Composting
  December 6 - Garden for the Environment (7th Avenue and Lawton)
  Hands-on workshop teaching basic methods of both backyard and worm composting
• Compassionate Cooks Vegetarian Holiday Cooking
  December 13 - First Unitarian Church of Oakland - 685 14th Street (near 12th & 19th Street BART)
  Holiday menu prepared at the class including Warm Lentil Salad, Pan-Grilled Portabello Mushrooms with Fresh Herb Marinade, and Decadent Chocolate Truffles
• Alice Waters and Edible Schoolyard
  December 13 - Ferry Building - The Gardener
  Book signing for Edible Schoolyard which recounts the story of how Alice, a small group of volunteers, and a school principal, planted the Edible Schoolyard in an urban public middle school in Berkeley, California
• Upcoming Farm Tours Through Marin Organic
  Second Saturday of each month - Clark Summit Farm Tour (Tomales)
  Open to all Ages, light hiking is involved, pre-registration required

Also check out the Organic Consumers Association website which features current campaigns facing the organic agricultural community and consumers, as well as fact sheets and information on various facets of farming.