In my youth, I spent a lot of time in my grandmother’s kitchen.  She was a child of the Great Depression who was fond of saying “those who waste will come to want.”  I heard this phrase every time I started to discard what I thought was an empty tub of margarine, as she would intercept it from me and eke out another tablespoon.  

At the time, I looked upon this with a mixture of amazement and perplexity.  Holy cow, how did she do that?  And why?   During a period of plenty, avoiding waste seemed like an antiquated habit the old folks kept even though their current circumstances rendered it unnecessary.  

Although my grandmother’s words and actions made a deep impression, it would be many  years before I would fully appreciate and act in accordance with them.  Now, finally, I incorporate them into what I think of as my food ethics.  

Developing Food Ethics

Lots of threads weaving simultaneously over the years finally drove my grandmother’s lesson home.  I go outside regularly and cannot help noticing that the weather is getting more bizarre by the year.  The uncertainty about how much and how quickly the climate will change raises the bleak prospect that an abundant food supply is not assured.  I also deeply appreciate the sacredness of living things — not only humans and animals, but also plants and the planet itself.  This demands that all things alive or formerly alive be treated with proper respect, and teaches that what separates me from the homeless man down the street is not a lot.  The 2008 financial crisis showed everyone how quickly fortunes can change, and my more recent personal choice to be unemployed makes me appreciate my resources more than ever. 

In light of all that, I now clearly grasp how easy it could be for those who waste now to come to want later.  My next post will focus solely on the topic of avoiding waste, but first I want to talk about the broader set of food ethics into which that topic fits.  These are core principles that allow me to make peace with all the formerly living things that feed humankind, and with the planet that makes their, and our, lives possible.  They consist of three separate yet related pillars–

(1)  to the fullest extent possible, eat only those things that have been raised well, meaning environmentally sustainably and, in the case of animals, humanely;

(2) use plants and animals as completely and mindfully as possible, in recognition of their sacrifice; and

(3) when disposal is necessary, choose the most environmentally friendly means available.

The Importance of Sustainable and Humane Agriculture

The most complex food ethics pillar involves the importance of sustainable, humane agriculture.  I recently read two excellent books about this — Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food Nation, which explains the Slow Food movement that was founded to oppose the introduction of fast food in Italy and now promotes the sustainable agriculture cause globally; and Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which documents her family’s successful attempt to eat only what they could produce on their Virginia farm or buy locally.  These books, while different in orientation and tone, are making the same points.    

One common thread is the argument that the industrial agriculture system is the source of our food-related problems, not the answer to them.  Large-scale operations that rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), growth hormones, and extensive transportation networks are depleting soil, polluting the environment, threatening biodiversity, yielding products that are inferior in flavor and nutrients, and putting small farms out of business.  In the case of animals, the living conditions are often deplorable.  We’ve all seen the pictures of pigs routinely confined to crates so small they can barely move, and similar abominations.  

Although this system tries to justify itself by claiming to make large amounts of uniform product available at low prices to feed the masses, these “cheap” prices are possible only because they do not accurately reflect the associated societal costs of production.  Although perhaps difficult to quantify, these societal costs are very real and getting worse.  Petrini and Kingsolver both argue that the solution is to move toward an agricultural model in which food is (1) grown on a relatively small scale, in its native geographic area and in its proper season; (2) grown organically, humanely, and without antibiotics, GMOs, or hormones; and (3) consumed close to where it’s grown.   

They convinced me, and I have been trying to modify my choices accordingly.  One thing I have learned, though, is that making the “most sustainable” choice is not always easy.  The sustainability concept involves multiple considerations that don’t always point in the same direction.  If you live in DC and your choice is an organic hothouse tomato from Mexico or an heirloom tomato that a family farm in Maryland sprayed with a low dose of pesticide to save the crop, then which should you choose?  What about humanely raised, organically-fed beef from the midwest versus humanely-raised beef from a local family farm that used grain with GMOs?   Such questions do not always have obvious answers.  In addition, it is critical to acknowledge that for many people the ability to make sustainable choices, even assuming such choices are obvious, is limited by their geographic location, economic circumstances, time constraints, or some combination thereof.  

My hope is that, whatever your circumstances, you will explore what options are reasonably available to you, think about the various tradeoffs, and do the best you can.  If supermarkets are the extent of what’s available, then maybe all you can do is talk to the management about where they purchase inventory and encourage them to buy from sustainable sources.  But that still is something, and in my optimist’s heart I think that if enough of us did it, then change would follow.  If your income is limited, then sustainable choices might seem out of reach because they frequently are said to be, and sometimes are, more expensive.  But explore the options in your area before you rule them out, because sometimes you might be happily surprised.  If a demanding job or family obligations leave you no time to cook, then consider choosing restaurants or delis for which the sustainability issue is important, if you can find them. 

Here are some specific options those of you in DC might consider:  

• There are several community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, such as Farm to Family/The Farm Bus, run by or in coordination with local, sustainable farms.  Customers pay in advance for a share of the season’s yield and pick up their share each week.   
• Numerous farmers markets are available throughout the city.  Before you buy at one, however, make sure the person selling the goods actually grew them or is closely collaborating with whoever did.  Some vendors have been known to buy vegetables from wholesalers and pass them off as farmers market fare, which is antithetical to the point of a true farmers market.
• At Union Market, the District Fishwife specializes in sustainably sourced fish and shellfish, with an emphasis on regional products, and Harvey’s Market specializes in local, sustainably raised meats.  
• There also are purveyors that, while not self-proclaimed sustainability specialists, nonetheless offer solid sustainable choices.  For example, at Eastern Market,  Thomas Calomiris & Sons routinely carries local produce from family farms on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (this is where I discovered paw paws this summer, along with some of the tastiest corn, tomatoes, and peaches of the season); and Canales Quality Meats offers certified humane, pasture-raised, antibiotic- and hormone-free beef (I procured an exquisite standing rib roast from them this past weekend).

To be clear, this is a non-exclusive list.  There are many more DC-based options.  Those who live here are so lucky.  I encourage you to go explore what’s available and tell me what you find.

 Thoughts on How to Avoid Waste

Once you acquire high-quality ingredients, my second food ethics pillar says that it’s important to do them the honor of using them.  I’m not going to dwell on that topic here because I’ve promised to devote my next post to it.  I will simply say for now that my basic strategy boils down to — (1) cook at home and plan carefully; (2) save vegetable scraps and carcasses to make homemade stock;  (3) find creative uses for leftovers, such as including them in risotto, frittate (the plural of frittata), and pasta dishes; and (4) share with friends!  Special thanks to my friend Karen for flagging this last one, which had not previously occurred to me even though it is something I do!

What to Do when You Must Throw it Out

Even the most careful among us eventually must throw some food out.  Once I understood what my grandmother was talking about, I started to feel really guilty about this, but I feel less guilty since I started composting.  

In a perfect world, I would have my own compost heap out back, but in my case “out back” consists of a small urban deck that abuts three other yards.  Odor and vermin considerations thus rule out home composting, but I found another option in the form of  The Compost Crew.  For a monthly fee, they provide a 5-gallon bucket with an airtight, rodent-proof lid in which to place your compostables.  They collect that bin once a week, and twice a year they bring you compost in return.  Their facility is able to compost not only the typical vegetable scraps and coffee grounds, but also meat and fish and the bones thereof, cheese, other organic matter (pet and human hair — who knew?), and some paper products.  As a result, I throw  virtually no food into the garbage can or disposal, and the fact that fuel consumption is involved seems worth the tradeoff.  

If you can’t compost yourself, investigate whether there is some kind of communal composting option in your area.

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If you’re still reading, thank you, and please visit again later for more on waste avoidance, including risotto and frittata instructions!