Chefs Collaborative

Sustainability emerged as a major concern during the 2010 annual International Boston Seafood Show, from the keynote address to panels and roundtables of experts devoted to exploring an issue regarded as complex, controversial, and of critical importance.

Speaking with humor and conviction, chef Kevin Cottle, finalist and runner up on Fox TV’s “Hell’s Kitchen,” delivered the keynote address, “Local and Sustainable Seafood:  Why it Makes Sense.”  Growing up on Cape Cod, Cottle developed a love for the ocean, and his commitment to sustainable seafood is a natural outgrowth of those roots, continuing his efforts in the Department of Agriculture’s “Farm to Chef” program.

“88 million tons of seafood is ripped out of the ocean each year,” Cottle declared, adding that 90% of the world’s predatory fish have been consumed over the past fifteen years.  “Humanity is living unsustainably.  Basically, we’re destroying ourselves.”

Despite these sobering words, Cottle remains confident that through hard work and consumer education, the tide can turn.  At the Country Club of Farmington, CT, where he serves as executive chef, the members unfamiliar with many of the ingredients still take delight in the variety of species he brings to the table. Though many of the rules established politically aren’t always regulated, Cottle emphasized the consumer choice as a “vote” every time one consumes food.

However, as the results of market research conducted by the Perishables Group made clear, other priorities compete aggressively for that vote.  In a survey that polled over 1,000 consumers’ factors that influenced their seafood purchasing decisions, food safety, type of seafood, and price, represented 83% of the total. Part of the explanation for this prioritizing may be the 30 different eco-labels that change for every species in the world of seafood purchasing. Larry Andrews, Retail Marketing Director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, argued that sustainability can’t even be defined by consumers, and that ultimately sustainability is more of a trade issue than a consumer issue.  Dr. Cathy Roheim, director of the University of Rhode Island’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative, seemed to agree, citing the possibility of consumers to incorrectly equate Alaskan salmon with west coast salmon when they hear the latter is in trouble.

While the poll’s results present the problem of awareness regarding seafood sustainability, those who considered themselves knowledgable about seafood sustainability tended to be excellent consumers of seafood, with 54% of them buying seafood every week.  The creation of the Food Marketing Insitute’s Sustainable Seafood Working Group is an encouraging development, incorporating twenty-two retailers, NGOs, suppliers, fishermen, and government agencies in pursuit of common goals. – Roy Peabody

Roy Peabody (email: roypeabody@gmail.com) is an experienced logistics professional with an interest in sustainable food. He is a former logistics manager for MRC Polymers (www.mrcpolymers.com) , a plastics recycler, and has served as logistics administrator at Red Tomato (www.redtomato.org), a nonprofit working with local farmers to build a truly sustainable food system.

James Beard, legendary figure within American cuisine as teacher, author, and mentor, continues to live on in Beard Foundation’s programs, most notably, their renowned awards that honor chefs and other notable members of the food world. Chefs Collaborative is proud to say that year after year, our members have consistently received numerous nominations as leaders of the food world, this year being no exception. We want to offer our congratulations to some fantastic members that are finalists in this year’s James Beard awards and wish them the best of luck in the final round.

Our Member Finalists for the 2010 Awards  Include:

Donald Link and Paula Disbrowe’s Real Cajun for American Cooking Cookbooks

Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home for General Cooking Cookbooks

Terra Brockman’s The Seasons on Henry’s Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm for Writing and Literature Cookbooks

Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table for Audio Webcast or Radio Show Program

Rick Bayless’s Mexico One Plate at a Time for TV Food Personality

Suzanne Goin of Lucques in Los Angeles for Outstanding Chef

Mindy Segal of Mindy’s Hot Chocolate in Chicago for Outstanding Pastry Chef

Frank Stitt of Highlands Bar and Grill of Birmingham for Outstanding Restaurant

Bruce Sherman of North Pond in Chicago for Best Chef: Great Lakes

Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern in New York for Best Chef: New York City

Michael Leviton of Lumiere of West Newton, MA for Best Chef: Northeast

Tony Maws of Craigie on Main in Cambridge, MA for Best Chef: Northeast

Cathy Whims of Nostrana in Portland, Oregon for Best Chef: Northwest

Christopher Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham for Best Chef: South

Andrea Reusing of Lantern in Chapel Hill for Best Chef: Southeast

Susan Spicer of Bayona in New Orleans for Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America

Again, congratulations to all our fantastic member finalists. Winners will be announced May 2. For a complete list of the finalists for the 2010 James Beard awards, click here.

In accordance with President Obama’s desire to reform food safety laws, especially through the creation of Food Safety Working Group, the FDA has announced that there will be a new proposed rule for safety standards in the packaging of fresh produce. Before the rule is proposed, however, the FDA is actively asking for your comments!

This issue necessitates feedback especially from people who are truly engaged with the growth and production of fresh produce. How are you personally affected by the current standards for fresh produce in the United States?

Here’s how comment to the FDA online:

1. Go to www.regulations.gov
2. Type in FDA-2010-N-0085 in the keyword field to go to the docket “Preventive Controls for Fresh Produce: Request for Comments”
3. Click “Submit a Comment” under the Actions tab on the far right
4. Comment in the field provided about you/your organization.
5. Submit your comments before May 24, 2010.

Almost everyone interested or involved with food issues knows about Monsanto and their biotech approach to agribusiness. Monsanto is a controversial operation that producing genetically modified seeds in an attempt to protect yields and maximize potential, most often through the use of their manufactured herbicide RoundUp. Many feel that the effects of GMOs, RoundUp and other biotech designs are placing the consumer in an uncontrolled experiment that could potentially have extremely dangerous consequences. Furthermore, the pervasiveness of Monsanto products has increased at an alarming rate.

April Davila, a writer from the Los Angeles area, happened upon an article that detailed organ damage in rats fed Monsanto’s genetically modified corn, which spurred her to conduct more research about the potentially harmful effects of Monsanto products. In her blog, A Month Without Monsanto, April begins her own experiment: an attempt to live without Monsanto products for a month. As she details her journey, April reveals just how dependent society has become on a few GMOs.

Each day, April learns more about her restrictive diet as supermarkets make it near impossible to source the seeds. However, the most hopeful entry in her blog is her experience with the Dervaes Family Farm, an urban homestead that supplies fresh organic produce grown literally in the family’s backyard for the family as well as restaurants in the area.

April’s connection to the Dervaes Farm, a family who empower themselves by their “step backwards” approach to diversity in produce and the overall connection to the land, is a perfect example of a direct connection to sustainable agriculture. However, too often these connections are difficult to find. Chefs Collaborative believes in sustainable agriculture that connects to our history with the land. This is the source of our RAFT Grow Out Project, in which heirloom seeds are donated to farmers based on what is regionally significant. As we begin to start the project once more this year, we should recognize the importance in connecting with our food and our food history as consumers, cooks, and or farmers.

April continues to connect with her food choices as her experiment continues all this March. It is both exciting and eventful to follow her experiences in real time. To do so for yourself, click here.