Humanity and Certified Humane
A week and a half ago, the wife and I attended (crashed, may be more appropriate) a press release event in the San Francisco Ferry Building put on by the non-profit Humane Farm Animal Care acknowledging Prather Ranch Meat Company (PRMC) as the only all Certified Humane meat retailer in the Western U.S. The event was absolutely outstanding in so many ways.
Firstly, there was great food and wine. Chris Cosentino of Incanto prepared two excellent pork dishes. Michael Dotson of Evvia brought an amazing lamb prosciutto and a terrific lightly cured beef tenderloin. Redwood Hill Farm brought some excellent goat cheeses. I am missing several others with delicious offerings.
Secondly, the producers that supply PRMC were there. Reed Anderson of Anderson Ranch (http://www.oregonlamb.com/index.html) raises some of the finest lamb I have ever had. The folks from Knee Deep Cattle Company, who supply PRMC with their vitellone, were there. (For the uninitiated, vitellone is technically labeled, "beef". The FDA cut-off age for veal is three months. Animals cannot be raised to market size in three months on pasture and mother's milk, so Knee Deep sells animals that are about five months old. I consider this REAL VEAL and would not consider eating any other veal at all.) Most importantly to me, we had the chance to speak with Jim and Mary Rickertt of Prather Ranch. Prather Ranch beef was part of what got us started on consuming meat from small, specialty farming operations with the highest standards for quality and production. We first had there stuff in 2001 or 2002 after finding them at the Mountain View, CA Farmers' Market. Prather beef is just so awesome. I often wax on about them for too long about it, but will save that for later.
Thirdly, several of the people from Humane Farm Animal Care were there. Holly Bridges, Director of Outreach for HFAC, was delightful and clearly a passionate advocate for the HFAC cause. She co-founded the Certified Humane program. She was giving us all the details from the farm where she gets her beef in Virginia. We also had the pleasure of hearing and meeting Andrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety. After Holly introduced the event, Andrew made some pithy and apropos comments regarding the nature of consumer behavior and how when consumer behavior changes when it becomes ethically driven (i.e. humane production of meat and other animal products). Specifically he felt that consumers who shop according to ethical standards are in fact creating, rather than just consuming. These "creators", as he described them, are supporting a revolution in the food industry, in farming, and in ranching.
If I have had any revelation about society as a result of going to the Farmers' Markets, it is that our destiny is closely linked to the sustainability, the diversity, and the stability of our food supply. It is far more than getting the best produce or "organically" labeled items at a high-end supermarket, it is about supporting farmers who pay living wages, who improve rather than destroy the land, and who care deeply about their craft, the products they sell, and the people they feed.
Firstly, there was great food and wine. Chris Cosentino of Incanto prepared two excellent pork dishes. Michael Dotson of Evvia brought an amazing lamb prosciutto and a terrific lightly cured beef tenderloin. Redwood Hill Farm brought some excellent goat cheeses. I am missing several others with delicious offerings.
Secondly, the producers that supply PRMC were there. Reed Anderson of Anderson Ranch (http://www.oregonlamb.com/index.html) raises some of the finest lamb I have ever had. The folks from Knee Deep Cattle Company, who supply PRMC with their vitellone, were there. (For the uninitiated, vitellone is technically labeled, "beef". The FDA cut-off age for veal is three months. Animals cannot be raised to market size in three months on pasture and mother's milk, so Knee Deep sells animals that are about five months old. I consider this REAL VEAL and would not consider eating any other veal at all.) Most importantly to me, we had the chance to speak with Jim and Mary Rickertt of Prather Ranch. Prather Ranch beef was part of what got us started on consuming meat from small, specialty farming operations with the highest standards for quality and production. We first had there stuff in 2001 or 2002 after finding them at the Mountain View, CA Farmers' Market. Prather beef is just so awesome. I often wax on about them for too long about it, but will save that for later.
Thirdly, several of the people from Humane Farm Animal Care were there. Holly Bridges, Director of Outreach for HFAC, was delightful and clearly a passionate advocate for the HFAC cause. She co-founded the Certified Humane program. She was giving us all the details from the farm where she gets her beef in Virginia. We also had the pleasure of hearing and meeting Andrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety. After Holly introduced the event, Andrew made some pithy and apropos comments regarding the nature of consumer behavior and how when consumer behavior changes when it becomes ethically driven (i.e. humane production of meat and other animal products). Specifically he felt that consumers who shop according to ethical standards are in fact creating, rather than just consuming. These "creators", as he described them, are supporting a revolution in the food industry, in farming, and in ranching.
If I have had any revelation about society as a result of going to the Farmers' Markets, it is that our destiny is closely linked to the sustainability, the diversity, and the stability of our food supply. It is far more than getting the best produce or "organically" labeled items at a high-end supermarket, it is about supporting farmers who pay living wages, who improve rather than destroy the land, and who care deeply about their craft, the products they sell, and the people they feed.
posted by Alex C at 8:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home