Gastronomic Theory II

Food Production & Sustainability

WW

Looking for better ways

Week-6

CHEF BOBAN MATHEW

 Next week – Feb 22nd

Dorian Shapiro in class

Attendance mandatory
Next week 7

Let’s Talk.
We’re Here To
Help.
Free Support or Referrals for Students
Counselling and Student Well-Being Services

Dorian Shapiro
 Today
Review Game & Offal
Sustainable Meats

About some of the different angles on Food Production &

Sustainability:
Organic
Local and Seasonal
Fair Trade.
How complicated our food chain really is and what some of our
challenges as thinking chefs are.
To make informed decisions as Emerging Chefs.
About some of the thinkers and doers who have made changes, and
continue to challenge the way we farm, forage, harvest, cook and eat.
Game/Offal Review
 Cooking Game: Flavor

Game meats often have stronger flavors. Therefore, it is

important to balance flavors when finishing game dishes.

Seasonings:
Juniper berries
Red wine
Cognac
Red wine vinegar
Tomato
Citrus
 OFFAL

Offal. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/156_2429922/1/156_2429922/cite. Accessed 5 Mar 2018.
 Cooking Methods: Membranes

Many organ meats arrive into the kitchen with a

membrane still attached:
Liver
Sweetbreads
Brain
Tongue

Normally, these meats are poached briefly, the

membrane is peeled off when cool, and then the recipe
proceeds

Often pressed, once cool

Punctuation Errors
 Apostrophes

• Use an apostrophe (‘)to create a contraction (“They’re” vs.

“they are”)

• …but don’t use contractions in your academic

writing!
• I don’t like him very much.

• Use an apostrophe to form a possessive noun.

• My mother’s job is better than all my brothers’ jobs put together.
• Dickens’s later works are much darker than his early novels.

• Remember that “it’s” = “it is,”

• “Its” is the possessive form of “it”
 Colons

• Use a colon (: ) to introduce a list preceded by an

independent clause.
• The application includes the following pieces: personal
information, job history, and references.

• Use a colon to separate an independent clause and a final

phrase or clause that illustrates, extends, or amplifies the
preceding thought.
• They have agreed on the outcome: informed participants
perform better than do uninformed participants.
• Road construction in Dallas has hindered travel around town:
parts of Main, Fifth, and West Street are closed during the
construction.
 Semicolons
• Use a semicolon (;) between two related independent clauses
that are not joined by a conjunction.
• The participants in the first study were paid; those in the second
were unpaid.

• Use a semicolon to separate elements in a series that already

contains commas.
• The students in the class were from Lynchburg, Virginia;
Washington, D.C.; and Raleigh, North Carolina.

• Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses when the

second clause begins with a conjunctive adverb (however,
therefore, moreover, furthermore, thus, meanwhile, nonetheless,
otherwise) or a transition (in fact, for example, that is, for
instance, in addition, in other words, on the other hand).
• I really have no interest in politics; however, I do like to stay
informed by watching the debates.
 Commas
• Use a comma(,) and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) to join
two independent clauses.
• The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave.
• Yesterday was her birthday, so they went out to dinner.

• Use commas after introductory clauses, phrases, or words that come before the main
clause.
• While I was eating, the cat scratched at the door.
• To get a seat, you'd better come early.
• Well, perhaps he meant no harm.

• Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, lists, or clauses written in a
series.
• The Constitution establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.

• Use commas to set apart a parenthetical phrase in a sentence.

• My friend Jessica, who lives in Connecticut, is a yoga teacher.
Usage Errors
 Run-on sentences
• Long sentences can be grammatically correct:

“During the 1960s, development thinking, encompassing both ideology and

strategy, prioritized economic growth and the application of modern scientific
and technical knowledge as the route to prosperity in the underdeveloped world
and defined the "global development problem" as one in which less developed
nations needed to "catch up" with the West and enter the modern age of
capitalism and liberal democracy, in short, to engage in a form of modernization
that was equated with westernization (and an associated faith in the rationality of
science and technology).”

86 words

Grammatically correct
 Subject/verb Agreement

• Singular subjects must have singular verbs.

• Plural subjects must have plural verbs.
• Rule of thumb:
• Subjects ending in “s” are plural
• Verbs ending in “s” are singular

• Correcting agreement errors:

• Become familiar with irregular verb forms.
• Focus on the subject, not any additional modifiers.

• Examples:
• The box of apples belong in the fridge.
• High levels of mercury occurs in some fish.
• Put the pots and pans on its shelf.
 Fragments
• A complete sentence must have four components:
1. A subject (performs the action)
2. A verb (the action)
3. An object (receives the action)
4. A complete thought (it can stand alone and make sense)

• A fragment is an incomplete sentence:

• It cannot stand alone and does not express a complete thought.

• Some fragments lack either a subject or verb or both.

• Dependent clauses are also fragments if they stand alone.

• Examples:
• Because food will change in the future.
• Cookbooks are not.
• Since I went fishing.
 a bilit y ?
S ust a in
t is
Wha
o u rces in
n at u ral res
e p l et n of
io
o f th e d
v o i d an ce
l b a l an ce
fi n i t i o n: A ec o l o gica
De ai n t ai n an
m
order to
 Food Sustainability

“Every time you go into a grocery store you are voting

with your dollars, and what goes into your cart has
real repercussions on the future of the earth.”
Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine

Author: Tender at the Bone

 Alice Waters:
Edible Education

• In 1996, Waters’s commitment to education led to the creation of

The Edible Schoolyard at Berkeley’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle
School:
• a one-acre garden, an adjacent kitchen-classroom, and an “eco-
gastronomic” curriculum.

• By actively involving a thousand students in all aspects of the food

cycle,
The Edible Schoolyard is a model public education
program that instills the knowledge and values we need to build a humane
and sustainable future
 Organic vs. Sustainable

Both strive to preserve the land for generations to come

Both offer better alternatives to factory style production and
raising of animals
Organic: Must be certified yearly by an independent third-
party certifier. There are specific and rigorous criteria required
to be “certified organic”
Sustainability: is more of a philosophy or way of life. Those
producers who embrace it define for themselves how they will
manifest sustainability. It requires rigorous self scrutiny and
the trust and buy in of the consumers who support it.
 Consider:

An organic chicken generally costs 2.79+ per kg. You can buy
chickens in bulk for less than half of that, but where has it come
from and how was it raised?

In June you can buy strawberries from California cheaper than you
can buy local ones. What do they taste like?

What are the repercussions of what and how we purchase food?

• Taste, nutrition, carbon footprint, humane treatment of animals, local
economy, jobs and local businesses, consumer perception, branding
and marketability, food cost.
• Do you care? Do your customers care?
• Who will you be as a chef?
 Buying Power

As Chefs and Food Service operators we buy in volume.

We buy more frequently

We have greater buying power

Our votes as chefs are worth more than as individuals

 Future of the food system

Over the past 10,000 years, the

world’s food systems have
undergone enormous changes
Will GMO be safe?
Will organic farming be the future
of farming on a global scale?
The benefits that industrialization
offers are a significant number on
health, social, environmental and
economic costs
 Biodiversity of seeds
Food security
Food security is a measure of
having consistent access to safe,
adequate and nutritious food for an
active and healthy life
Globally, food security depends on
three key factors: food availability,
stability and access
Regions with large populations but
little farmland
Green house would be a solution
technology is the key solution Photo by Pixabay
pexels.com
 Food security
People must have physical and economic
access to food in order to maintain food
security
In regions suffering from armed conflict,
corruption, poverty or inequitable food
distribution
Poverty is frequently cited as the root of food
insecurity
Food insecurity has been linked to obesity,
Photo by: Akil Mazunder
diabetes, dietary nutrient deficiencies pexels.com
 Food environments
• This module explores the effects of food environments—settings like
schools, restaurants and stores—on what people eat, and their health
• Residents of communities without access to affordable, healthy food
options generally have poorer diets and are at a higher risk for certain
diet-related diseases
• Supermarkets are generally thought to offer the greatest variety of
healthy options at the lowest costs
 Sustainability
• Most of our food supply originates from agriculture—the
production of food and goods through farming
• This practice relies upon soil, freshwater and other facets of
ecosystems to cradle crops from seed to harvest
• Industrial agriculture has substantially increased food
production, it has also resulted in health, environmental, social
and economic harms
 Sustainability
• Recently the organic and sustainable agriculture movements offer
alternative approaches that are, in some respects, more ecologically
sound
• Food and agriculture are rooted in ecosystems—communities of
organisms interacting with each other and with their physical
environment
• An endless number of organisms, including humans, crop plants,
livestock, insects, bacteria and fungi, are essential to our food supply
 Sustainability and its steward slow food
• Slow fish: sustainability of fishing, does not support farm fishing, control of
species in the ocean and rivers
• Seed diversity and seed sovereignty: Canadian charitable organization that aims
to "search out, preserve, perpetuate, study, and encourage the cultivation of
heirloom and endangered varieties of food crops", particularly Canadian plants,
• Terra Madre: Terra Madre is a project conceived by Slow Food as a result of its
growth and development and its conviction that “eating is an agricultural act and
producing is a gastronomic act, protecting small producers growing vegetables
 Sustainable agriculture
• Sustainability has been described as “meeting the needs of the present
generation without compromising the ability of future generations
• Literally, “to sustain” means “to maintain,” “to keep in existence” or
“to keep going
• Sustainable agriculture has also been described as a “moving target”;
one must continually anticipate change and adapt accordingly
• Allowing farmers to make an adequate living and produce sufficient
food supplies; and socially just
 Soil
Soil is the foundation for the farm
ecosystems
A single teaspoon of soil can contain as
many as a billion bacteria
Arthropods, earthworms, fungi,
nematodes and protozoa also inhabit soil
Soil is sustained by the energy and
nutrients contained in organic matter,
such as decaying leaves and other plant
and animal materials
Photo by: Lukas
pexels.com
 Soil
The soil food web offers many services that
promote an abundant food supply and
human health
Organisms break down dead plant and
animal materials, cycling nutrients into
forms that crops can use
It also stores water, suppresses plant
diseases and, in some cases, purifies water
by breaking down certain pollutants

Photo by: Kenneth Carpina

pexels.com
Health, environmental, social & economic problems
• Nutrient pollution in aquatic ecosystems contributes to
harmful algal blooms that deplete oxygen from water
• Globally, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and increased intensity
of meat production are among the greatest contributors to
nutrient pollution
• Chemical fertilizers can degrade soil fertility over the long
term
 Organic Farming
• Organic agriculture:. organic farming practices generally prohibit the use of
petroleum-based fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, sewage sludge and genetic
engineering
• Animals raised under organic practices must be given organic feed and allowed
access to the outdoors, and cannot be given hormones or other growth-promoting
drugs
• Since 1990, organic production in the United States has more than doubled.
Despite these gains, only 2 percent of U.S. farmland was certified organic in 2010
• Organic practices can offer many ecological and health benefits, including
reduced chemical contamination of air, water and soil
 Organic farm
• Importance of long-term interests, such as preserving fertile soil,
biodiversity, freshwater and other resources
• Protecting soil from wind and rain. Crop rotations, cover crops,
mulching, no-till farming and rotational grazing are farming
practices that can reduce erosion
• On a organic farm, manure, food waste and other forms of organic
matter enhance fertility when they are composted and put back into
the soil
 Commodity crop
• Commodity crops are crops grown, typically in large
volume and at high intensity, specifically for the purpose
of sale to the commodities market
• Common commodity crops in the are corn, soybeans, and
wheat and canola
• Other commodities such as cotton, sorghum, tobacco,
sugar beets, and non-wheat cereal grains
 Commodity crop
They are also used in industrial
manufacturing processes and even as
substrate for producing biofuels
Commodity crops have contributed, at least in
part, to the global lowering of food costs
The industrial food system is supported by the
cheap input costs of commodity-based
components
Industrial food has expanded immensely and
feeds more people at much lower cost to the
consumer
 GMO foods
• Genetically modified foods (or GM foods) are foods produced
from organisms that have had specific changes introduced into
their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering
• GMO’s methods are selective breeding and mutation breeding
( process of exposing seeds to chemicals or radiation)
• Most genetic modification of foods are primarily focused
on cash crops in high demand by farmers such
as soybean, corn, canola, and cottonseed oil
Biodiversity is the degree of variation
of life
Measure of variety of organisms
present in different ecosystems
This can refer to genetic variation,
ecosystem variation within the planet
There are currently 10–14 million
species of life on the Earth
Photo by: Singkham
pexels.com
 Biodiversity

• Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a

single crop or plant species over a wide area and for a large number of
consecutive years
• On monoculture farms: the approach is generally to eradicate
associated diversity using a suite of biologically destructive pesticides,
mechanized tools and transgenic engineering techniques, and to rotate
crops
• For example: If a wheat crop is destroyed by a pest we may plant a
hardier variety of wheat the next year, relying on intraspecific diversity
 Greenwashing
A form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively
used to promote the perception that an organization's products,
aims or policies are environmentally friendly

When significantly more money, effort, or time has been spent

advertising being "green", than is actually spent on environmentally
sound practices

Critics of the practice suggest that the rise of greenwashing, paired

with ineffective regulation, contributes to consumer skepticism
and diminishes the power of the consumer in driving companies
toward greener solutions
Sustainable Meats
 Animal Husbandry:
You are what you eat

Battery raised chickens Poly Face Farms egg mobile

 Problems with Farming
and Meat-Based Diets
Production, processing and distribution of meat requires
huge outlays of pesticides, fertilizer, fuel, feed and
water, while releasing greenhouse gases, manure and a
range of toxic chemicals into our air and water.

A lifecycle analysis conducted by EWG (Environmental Working

Group, USA) that took into account the production and
distribution of 20 common agricultural products found
that red meat such as beef and lamb is responsible
for 10 to 40 times as many greenhouse gas
emissions as common vegetables and grains.
Production: Past and Present
Worldwide, between 1971 and 2010:
Production of meat tripled to around 600 billion
pounds while global population grew by 81 percent
(UNFO, 2012)

Meaning that we are eating a lot more meat than our

grandparents
Some guess that global meat production will
double by 2050 to about 1.2 trillion pounds a year
Concepts, Trends & Terminology you
should know:
Sustainable

Organic
Carbon Foot Print
Locavor
GMO
100 mile/kilometer diet Monoculture

Slow Food Industrial Farming

Fair Trade

Food Sovereignty

Food Security
 Think Global, Eat Local

Is it better to buy local produce that isn't organic or organic produce that isn't
local?

• What is a carbon footprint?

• What are “Big Organics”?

• What is “Mono culture”?

Are the harmful aspects of large scale monoculture farming outweighed by
the advantage of grossly reducing pesticides on the planet?
LOCAL
HEROES
Local chefs and purveyors
who forward sustainability
 The Healthy Butcher

THEIR MISSION STATEMENT:

To ensure your food is produced the way nature
intended.
Organic food is not a novelty… it was the past and
will be the future. Eating fruits, vegetables,
grains, or meats grown with pesticides,
herbicides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and
other un-natural chemicals is ludicrous and
unsustainable
The Stoddart Family Farm

Farm Vision and Mission Statement.

It is our vision to provide clean, sustainable food directly to

consumers.
We believe in a food supply that is transparent and controlled by
the people. We will not knowingly contribute to the further
degradation and domination of our food supply by corporate
giants. To this end, we will choose, whenever possible, to grow
open-pollinated, heirloom varieties that are in the public domain.

Our production practises will adhere to both the letter and the
spirit of organic production. We will strive for the smallest
environmental footprint possible. Our animal husbandry will be
humane and meet the biological needs of the species as naturally
as possible.
 Jamie Kennedy:
JKkitchens
Jamie Kennedy is known for his legendary commitment to
environmental issues and his support for organic agriculture, local
producers and traditional methods.
Fundamental to everything Jamie Kennedy does is an underlying
respect for the products he buys and sells, and the world we live in.
This translates into choices about the fish he buys, the meat and
vegetables he serves and increasingly the wines he produces and
chooses to offer.
Jamie makes every effort to minimize the impact of his operations
on the environment, and continuously searches out like-minded
suppliers and better methods of work.
Alice Waters:
Chez Panisse

Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971. It is Alice's

philosophy of serving only the highest quality
products, only when they are in season.
Over the course of three decades, Chez Panisse
has developed a network of mostly local farmers
and ranchers whose dedication to sustainable
agriculture assures Chez Panisse a steady supply
of pure and fresh ingredients.
still open today, serving a single fixed-price menu
that changes daily.
 Michael Pollen

Why don't we pay more attention to who our farmers are? We

would never be as careless choosing an auto mechanic or
babysitter as we are about who grows

The Food Issue - An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief - Mic
hael Pollan - NYTimes.com
 Charlie Trotter

In 2001, Charlie Trotter wrote a book called “Meat

and Game”, which included 15 recipes that use Foie
Gras.

In 2005, he stopped putting foie gras on his menu?

Why?
Who is Charlie Trotter?
 Ethics
Trotter said he became uncomfortable with serving the
delicacy after visiting three foie gras farms (he refused to
identify them) and concluding that the ducks were suffering
as they were kept in small cages and fed grains through tubes
inserted down their esophagi.
Nofoiegras.org

"I just said, `Enough is enough here. I can't really justify

this,'" Trotter said. "What I have seen, it's just inappropriate.
There are too many great things to eat out there that I don't
believe that any animal would have to go through that for
our benefit."
1.
Current Issues
Depletion of water supplies / run off
2. Land availability
3. CO2 emissions

Concern for Food Sovereignty

Food Sovereignty is the right
of peoples to healthy and
culturally appropriate food
produced through ecologically
sound and sustainable
methods, and their right to
define their own food and
agriculture systems.
Corporate Responsibility
• Small group of companies monopolizing decision
making on food production and sustainability.
• What did you notice or discover from reviewing the top
ten giants?
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raymond-c-offenheiser/
oxfam-behind-the-brands-scorecard_b_2766006.html?
 Competing Pressures in the Food System:
Focus on Meat
Challenges and Research Drivers Tensions and Trade-Offs

Livestock are a high source of greenhouse gases and a reduction in livestock production could In the UK, livestock use grazing land less suitable for arable production, helping to maintain
help to meet carbon targets. landscapes and avoiding the significant release of soil carbon that would arise from conversion
to arable croplands. Efficiencies have already been achieved.
Livestock are a high source of greenhouse In the UK, livestock use grazing land less
Aquaculture isgases and a reduction
currently environmentally wasteful and in livestock
relies production
on marine animal sources for fish suitable
Given for3 levels
that Omega arableare tooproduction, helping
low in the UK diet and oily fish is to
the only significant source,
feed at a 10:1 ratio of kg of fish used in feed per kg of fish produced. increased fish intake is recommended.
could help to meet carbon targets. maintain landscapes and avoiding the
Lower red meat consumption would reduce health risks for many individuals, through reduced significant
Forty release
percent of women have low of soil carbon
(?inadequate) that
iron intakes would
and some people have low intakes
saturated fat consumption. of vitamins B , B and zinc - red meat is one of the best sources of these nutrients.
arise from conversion to arable croplands.
6 12

Thinning chicken flocks prior to slaughter helps to supply a market need for a range of bird sizes Efficiencies
Thinning have
has been shown already
to increase been
the levels achieved.
of Campylobacter contamination in chicken
in a more economic way for industry. flocks by eight times thus reducing the safety of the food and increasing the risk to consumers.

GM technology has the potential to deliver a range of benefits (e.g. crops requiring less pesticide There are issues with public perception of GM crops, which acts as a disincentive to research
Lower red meat consumption would reduce
use, or crops which are drought-tolerant or have enhanced nutritional attributes). Forty percent of women have low (?inadequate)
and uptake of GM technology.
health risks for many individuals, through iron intakes and some people have low intakes
reduced
Free range birds
welfare.
saturated
are more publically fat
acceptable andconsumption.
potentially improve aspects of animal of vitamins
Free B6at, B
range systems are
including zoonotic diseases
and
greater risk ofzinc
disease-especially
12 as avian influenza.
such
red meat is onefromofwild birds
that transmitted

the best sources of these nutrients.

Reducing poverty and increasing affluence in the third world is a key developmental driver. Increased affluence creates changes in food consumption to higher meat/protein diets, which
increases the amount of land needed for livestock production and has associated environmental
impacts.

Excessive packaging is generally viewed by the consumer as wasteful and has an additional The embedded carbon/water in food is often higher than that in the packaging, and in many
Excessive packaging is generally viewed by the
carbon footprint of its own. The embedded carbon/water in food is often
cases, smarter packaging that reduces spoilage and waste of the food has a net benefit to
consumer as wasteful and has an additional higher than that in the packaging, and in many
overall carbon and water footprints.

carbon
Consumers expect uniformfootprint of its
shaped undamaged fruitown.
and vegetables in the supermarkets. cases,used
Packaging smarter packaging
to prevent damage that
and the food wastereduces spoilage
generated in removing mis-shaped
and waste of the food has a net benefit to
produce can increase the environmental impact of the food chain.

Sustaining wild fish stocks is essential and quotas prevent over fishing of key species. overall
Quotas carbon
produce significantand waterwaste
environmental footprints.
through discarding of fish over the quota.

Animal disease research is expensive, requiring complex containment facilities and many Disease outbreaks have cost the UK economy billions, and effective research programmes have
different research programmes to address the range of possible threats. been shown to be cost effective in reducing outbreaks.

A reduction in the use of pesticides is potentially beneficial for health and has strong regulatory Pesticide bans reduce yields and potentially make some crops economically non-viable by
drivers. increasing production costs and reducing availability.

Based on: Government Office for Science (2010) UK Cross-Government Food Research and Innovation Strategy
 Protein Flip CIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxWVDeoWmms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPF9arZob1k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saSOMjbXSmw
The “Protein Flip”
 What can you do?

• Know your suppliers: Go to farmers markets and get to know who is

growing, foraging, raising animals. Network with other chefs and
suppliers with similar ethics and concerns. Do your research.
• Ask questions: Are the animals grass fed, how are they kept and
raised. Do they use pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones?
• Buy local when possible: Consider global warming, carbon footprints.
Support local growers, businesses and economy.
• Educate your customers: help them understand why it matters. Let
them taste how it makes a difference.
• https://outstandinginthefield.com/
Sustaining Our Oceans

Get the App

 Ethics

http://www.seachoice.org

What do the following have in common?

Chilean Seabass
Atlantic Cod
Orange Roughy
Farmed Salmon
 Resources and
Organizations

www.fairtrade.ca

www.slowfood.ca

www.centerforfoodsafety.org
 A note on Genetically
Engineered foods
What does it mean?

No mandatory labeling of GE foods to consumers.

Advantages and disadvantages to GE use.“

About 60% of processed foods are made with soy and corn derivatives, some of which ends
up in our salads, corn chips, oils, french fries, snacks, breakfast cereals, soft drinks, baked
goods, candies, and margarine.

Other GE products might include tomatoes that go into your favourite spaghetti sauce or
pizza topping.”

Genetically Engineered Foods,Greenhaven Press

In Canada, a free vote in Parliament Oct. 17, 2001, defeated a bill by Liberal MP Charles
Caccia. His private member's bill, C-287, would have required mandatory labelling of
genetically altered foods.
 Suggested Reading:

• Michael Pollen: • Annie Proulx

• Omnivors Dilemma • That Old Ace in the Hole
• In Defense of Food
• Cooked • Peter Pringle
• Food Inc
• Harry Stoddart
• The Real Dirt • Mark Kurlansky
• Salt, A History of the World
•
• Cod, A Biography of the Fish
Ruth Reichl
• Tender at the Bone
that Changed the World
 Its up to you

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful

lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not."
— Dr. Seuss