"Local Food" on a whole new level.

Wow. Does it get better than this?!

For those of us that lack the resources to spend the summer in Bristol Bay, Alaska, here’s an awesome opportunity to reap some of the benefits. I introduce to you, Iliamna Fish Co.’s wild salmon CSA.

(For those of you who don’t know the term, CSA refers to Community Supported Agriculture. The CSA model enables anyone to purchase a share of the farm’s, or in this case fisherman/woman’s catch. The upfront cost provides the member with a set amount of product over a set period of time. For example, a $600 CSA share from a produce farm could provide a weekly box of fresh produce for 6 months. All of a sudden, a week’s worth of local, seasonal and organic produce is in your household for at the cost of $25 a week! That’s a pretty awesome deal, especially come late July and August when the bounty is exploding at the seams. Now, transfer this image of summer’s bounty to the possibility of wild sockeye salmon.)

Iliamna Fish Co. is a small company devoted to catching wild sockeye salmon using the most sustainable methods for the scale of their catch. Unlike industrial fisheries that net tons of fish at the cost of harming other fish species and habitats, Iliamna fishes in shallow water with short nets. Their labor-intensive model ensures a .3% by-catch rate. To explain,

This three-tenths of a percentage by-catch (calculated from our total salmon catch) consists of only starry flounder (platichthys stellatus), an incredibly hardy bottom feeder. There are, literally, no other fish to be caught in shallow water with set net-sized gillnets. Per boat, a 0.3% by-catch is approximately 80 flounders per season, 98% of which we return, alive, to the ocean. (text taken from site.)

Certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, the fish you purchase are knowingly caught and slaughtered employing sustainable methods. The size of the company ensures transparency and as they explain on the site, supporting the workers and the local economy is as important as supporting sustainable fishing.

If I’ve got your attention now and you are as excited as I am about this find, you’ll be even more enthralled by the costs and benefits. One share is 22 pounds and you receive it in the form of 12 individually, vacuum-sealed and flash-frozen filets, weighing in at 1.85 pounds each. Each filet can comfortably feed 5-6 people. The share cost is $198, which amounts to $9 a pound. To compare, New Seasons sells wild sockeye filets that were also frozen at sea for $13 a pound.

My only worry about all this is that I share this opportunity with other Portlanders and then miss out on the chance to get a share. Honestly, this is too good to pass up. Eating wild salmon is a true luxury, and to know where my money is going and what it is supporting makes it far more meaningful to purchase.

So here you have it folks, a sustainbly-caught, wild salmon CSA for the good people of Portland!

Related posts:

1. The Case Against Farmed Salmon
2. Urban farming – a world of possibility
3. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (Part I)

As our collective food-conscious develops, and we consider, even question the origins of our food, it is only a matter of time before farmed salmon pays its dues. With the release of the Oscar-nominated documentary Food, Inc., Americans are coalescing around the importance of ‘real food.’ Whether health, economic or environmental concerns lead the way, people from all parts of town are wanting better quality whole foods. The focus of the food movement is seemingly fixated on the production and distribution of fruits and vegetables. Though undercurrent issues occasionally come to the fray, and these include dairy, meat and fish.

In the past I have written extensively on the importance of pastured animals over grain-fed cows, chickens, lambs, etc. (See here, here and here.) It is only a matter of time before large swaths of carnivorous Americans want grass-fed meat to feed their family. And this liberation from CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operation) must include both mammals and fish. Be it marketing or general ignorance, most people do not acknowledge or understand the catastrophic implications of farmed fish.

The video above is an excellent documentary on the practice and consequence of farmed salmon. Just like the cows and chickens of middle America, large quantities of fish are crammed into small spaces. These oceanic CAFOs also utilize the fattening qualities of grain on fish. Like their mammalian brethren, salmon are not supposed to eat grain. Depending on the age, wild salmon’s dietary choices range from other small fish to plankton to kelp. The hype over Omega-3s and healthy fish oil is directly related to the sustenance of wild fish, specifically plants. Just like grass-fed cows, wild salmon also have high levels of Omega 3s, 6s and healthy fats.

But, just like industrial meat production, farmed salmon is disastrous for the environment. Along the coasts of countries around the world, habitats that once streamed with abundant sea life are now desolate. The farming of salmon not only effects the portion of sea that the farm inhabits, but also endangers the rivers and streams where wild salmon spawn and feed. Again, like industrial cattle or pigs, farmed salmon consume excessive amounts of antibiotics because the proximity of so many fish will inevitably breed disease. At the same time, nature’s way of constraining overpopulation brings sea lice to the farm.

A juvenile salmon with sea lice.

According to Watershed-Watch,

Sea lice are small ocean parasites that feed on the skin of fish. Lice normally do not harm adult salmon; however, small numbers of lice may kill juvenile salmon. Scientists agree that the pink salmon collapse in the Broughton Archipelago in 2002 is likely related to sea lice from salmon farms. From an expected 3.6 million salmon, only 147,000 spawning fish returned.

Unsurprisingly, the proliferation of sea lice among farmed salmon spreads to the lives of those that are wild. It is no coincidence that many of the farms are located along the same routes taken by smolts (juvenile salmon) on their way to the ocean to mature. When the wild fish swim near  or through the farmed populations, many of them receive sea lice. It is mentioned in the video that the size of these oceanic parasites are equivalent to 40 pound bugs eating away on a human body. As you might expect, the lice are killing large numbers of farmed salmon and infecting more populations of wild salmon.

In the context of climate change or any macro environmental concerns, these issue have severe implications. Indigenous communities that have thrived on salmon for generations will be greatly affected. Bears and eagles will lose one of their main forms of food. When one piece of the ecosystem is broken, it is only a matter of time before many more factors are disabled.

Without serious regulation and/or the dismantling of fish farming, it is very possible that salmon populations will become so damaged that extinction is a real possibility.

Related posts:

1. Wild Salmon CSA
2. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (Part I)
3. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (part 3)

Last week, while volunteering at the Alberta Coop and cleaning out the various ‘free boxes’ at the store, I came upon a large pile of magazines. At first I did not know these pages belonged to well-known publications. I soon found out that the covers were intentionally removed even though the magazines were perfectly fine. (The reasons for this are a completely different matter.) Among the various options was a cookbook – a “holiday special” for this particular publication.

It was only moments before beginning this post that I bothered to note the magazine’s name. The lovely pictures and wonderful meal ideas sucked me in before I cared to know who wrote what. Well, it turns out that Sunset magazine, a monthly publication devoted to “West coast living” was responsible for this awesome find. Aside from the great recipe suggestions, the simple fact that I got this for free is good enough for me. I’m the kinda guy who will take random cookbooks for the sake of undiscovered ideas only to learn that such cookbooks are soon-to-be trash. Lucky for me, this particular find will not end up in the recycling bin. Instead, I’ll use it regularly next week to feed ourselves and entertain new culinary possibilities.

Suffice to say, I’m very excited about this week’s menu. It’s got flare and flavor, both of which a home cook needs once in awhile. So here’s what I got for the next set of meals:

• Pan-fried trout with cornbread and kale (from Sunset)
• Coconut-braised beef with rice and vegetables (thank you Mark Bittman)
• Jalapeno-ginger butternut squash soup (from Sunset)
• Nutted brown rice pilaf with sauteed greens and roasted sweet potatoes (from Sunset)
• Braised white cabbage and roasted acorn squash (thank you Jamie Oliver)
• Butternut squash gnocchi and swiss chard (from Sunset)

It’s hard not to agree that this menu looks rather fabulous. I’m also happy to provide links to all of the recipes so that those interested can explore these new culinary venues too. If this isn’t one of the best meal plans yet, I don’t know what else could be. And of course the best part is finding this magazine – a real savior in my search for new ideas on the same old ingredients.

Related posts:

1. Sorry for the Delay (weekly menu 17)
2. Seasonality saves cost (weekly menu 7)
3. Between the Holidays (weekly menu 14)

This menu, unlike previous ones, was written more by my wife than myself. Last week’s meals were dominated by winter’s root vegetables. Now, we both love the celeriac, parsnips, turnips and even rutabagas, but when these crops are all pureed with thyme day in and day out, the experience goes a little dry (especially for my wife.) And so, with a fire under her bum, I had her participate in the planning process.

Here is what she came up with:

• Polenta pizza with pesto, caramelized onions, sausage, mozzarella, roasted garlic and some winter greens
• Beef Stew over rice
• Corn soup with acorn squash and sausage
• Wild rice with butternut squash, leeks and corn
• Oven-roasted Dungeness crab

First off, let me say that 3 weeks into my elimination diet the frustrations have already peaked! It is rather challenging to cook and eat without vinegar (no salad dressing), tomatoes, tofu, beans and eggs, let alone the dozen or so other items on my allergy list. This dietary obstacle will only make me stronger and smarter (as a meal planner) but seeing this through can sometimes be really difficult. Lucky for me, my wife is supportive and helps me see around my usual food ideas.

Take for example the polenta pizza. You make polenta and pour it in a rimmed baking sheet. After it cools in the fridge for some time, you add the toppings and bake it for 20 minutes – voila! Wheat-free and yeast-free pizza. And honestly, it’s tasty and a great substitute when bread is not an option or you want something a tad healthier.

Another bonus to the week is our selection of frozen food items, which includes corn soup and kernels. The wild rice dish is especially delicious and we discovered it last year while living in Minneapolis. Back in Minnesota we did the 100-mile diet and I learned all about wild rice. The best part was that of all the things we ate, it’s indigenous to the region and available via an Indian reservation that participates in harvesting the traditional ways. Thus, eating wild rice was an experience in truly eating local.

Now, on a completely different note, the dungeness crab dish is local to our Portland, OR locale. This dish evolves out of one of my new year’s resolutions, specifically to prepare my wife and I a “fancy meal” once a month. This recipe is loved by a friend of mine and I think it’s time we try it too!

Overall, this week will be great. I love the variety in foods and flavors, even though there are overlaps in some of the ingredients. And since we rarely eat fish in our home, the crab night will be a real treat.

Next time, I promise to have this posted on a Friday. Have a great weekend and keep on cooking!

Related posts:

1. Eating Seasonal Blues (weekly menu 21)
2. A simple menu (weekly menu 2)
3. A clouded vision (weekly menu 3)

An important piece to the underbelly of capitalism is the concept of ‘supply and demand.’ As such, a company or industry will only grow in capital (i.e. money) as the demand increases for the particular product. The demand of a product will determine the affordability and accessibility of the supply.

A good example of this is grass-fed beef.  Beyond the role of subsidies (another interesting part of American capitalism), the affordability and access to pastured beef is minimal. To say that most people don’t know what it is is an understatement. Not only do most folks have no understanding of pastured animal products, the cost of such goods prevents anyone from wanting to learn more. Why pay 5$ for a pound of beef when you can also get it at 2$ a pound? If, on the other hand, this beef product were 2$ a pound there would not only be competition, but there may also be a steady increase in demand. Eventually though, a big problem arises – is there enough supply to keep up with demand?

Take for example, an article I read this evening on the National Public Radio (NPR) website. Written by Greg Allen, “Fisherman Reeling Over Red Snapper Fishing Ban“ is a news report about a recent federal fishing ban along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. According to a recent study by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the population of red snapper along Southeastern United State’s coasts is massively depleted. Due to the severity of the data provided by the study (i.e. population is 3% what it was 60 years ago), the federal government passed a fishing ban, which began today – January 4, 2010.

Whether or not the information is accurate, I think both sides would agree that the popularity of this fish poses a threat to its existence. It’s far easier to increase the demand than it is the supply. Thus, the local economies thrive on the fishing season. And so the report develops into a story on the conflict of interest – local economies that rely on this fishing industry vs. the government’s desire to save portions of the environment. For me, this begs the question,

Are we – the models of mass consumption – going to change our ways? And at what cost will this decision occur?

Much of the article discusses the frustration of local fisherman in this dilemma. On the one hand, I totally understand that their economy relies on the tourism of red snapper season. At the same time, at what point would this community realize that fishing is not a sustainable means of creating capital?

Why do we wait till the worst-case scenario to try and change our ways? For a people that prides itself on sacrifice, we sure are quick to destroy the environment so that we don’t have to sacrifice our way of life.

Related posts:

1. The Fine Line of Preachiness
2. Local Food Movement Gains Serious Support
3. The Grass-Fed Manifesto (part 4)

Over the last couple weeks I have read numerous articles (see this and this) on the massive depletion of bluefin tuna populations in our oceans. It turns out that this much adored species is on the brink of extinction, given the current quota allowed for fisheries. Scientists claim that the quota must be zero (!) for the species to continue reproduction and sustained existence. Of course, what fishing industry would adhere to this “nonsense!” The organization responsible for keeping this fish alive is the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. But, considering the sad state of “democratic” decision-making among government-run programs, the profiteering industries won the vote.

And so with much chagrin to the scientists who favor the survival of the species, the fishing industry succeeded again. The suggested quota of zero was dismissed and instead became 13,500 metric tons. Looks like we’ll all be seeing tuna for a little while longer before it goes totally extinct.

By now you may be wondering if tuna is local or organic or sustainably fished. Though I think it’s safe to assume that bluefin tuna is now (and has been) one of the delicacies of the Atlantic that can no longer be sustainable anything. The fact that our ravenous desire for fish has led us here is scary, and I believe this is ominus of things to come. Be it tuna in a can or tuna at the sushi restaurant, we must seriously consider the impact of eating this fish.

If we are to be critical of factory farming on land, we must be equally critical of the factory-esque fish industries too. The “tuna situation” is not new. This has happened to dozens of animal species before and will continue to destroy others. Our collective and individual inabilities to change our dietary choices will soon have grave consequences.

From this perspective, we must commit ourselves to critical food literacy. In the context of ‘knowing where you food comes from,’ we must also be critical of how food is produced; and how food is distributed and sold around the world. Whether you eat meat or fish or just fruits and vegetables, it is important that we commit ourselves to eating sustainably grown/produced/fished/farmed foods. Like many other factors in our pervasive consumer society, critical thought is necessary to understand the ins and outs of consumption, and also to provide intelligent decision-making.

Ultimately, like other challenges in our world today, education and critical thought are key to exposing and overcoming our disastrous global food system.

Related posts:

1. Capitalism vs. Environmentalism
2. The Food Curriculum Project (part VI) “Lesson Plan 4″
3. Wild Salmon CSA