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I B Th ichgnDiy - dnsay ctbr 4 20
Eating local in
Ann Arbor
From page 5B Market, which allows localiproduc-
ers to sell their goods outside the
collard greens can stay alive and in Kerrytown Market every week.
the ground until January, because Johns said that his quest to sup-
they benefit from the cold, too. ply Grange with local ingredients
"They just taste better when it has led him to make many friend-
freezes," Andres said. "The frost ships with other Ann Arborites,
sweetens them." who are interested in the same
Tantr6 also grows greens in five thing.
hoop houses, which are a series of "I was at the Farmers Market
tall metal or wooden half-hoops today, and it took me two hours,"
covered in greenhouse plastic and Johns said. "I didn't have a whole
heated by the sun. lot to get today, but you talk to peo-
A smaller farm like Tantre can ple, you see people, you ask them
focus on different methods to reap what's coming up, what's going to
a healthful crop in winter. But leave, how long those tomatoes are
standards come at a cost - for- going to be around - just shoot the
saking shortcuts to grow organic shit, weather, football."
means making up for the protec- Such familiarity with local pro-
tion afforded by those chemicals ducers helps Johns feel confident
through vigilant attention. about the quality of the ingredi-
"No herbicide means youneed to ents he buys.
pay three people to weed for three Even in the shadow of food pro-
hours, keeping an eye on things to duction powerhouses that have
know what the crop needs," Tantre come to take over the American
Farm employee Paul Ryda said. food industry, community farmer
Higher costs of production markets grew over the decades.
mean higher costs in the grocery Fifty years ago, there were only
store, something many Ameri- 100 farmers markets in the United
cans have a hard time accepting States, according to the book "Ani-
after being spoiled by an economy mal, Vegetable, Miracle." In 1976,
where businesses compete to offer though, the Farmer-to-Consumer
the absolute lowest price. But the Direct Marketing Act helped to
low prices come at the expense of fund the re-emergence of local
quality, which the workers at Tan- farmers markets. Today, there
tr6 Farm said shouldn't be a point are 4,600 farmers markets in the
of compromise in something as country, 900 more than in 2004.
essential as food. Likely, the increased allure of "eat-
"Flavors are compounds," Ryda ing local" has bolstered commu-
said. "Chemicals and extra water nity marketplaces.
make vegetables develop com- Ann Arbor's open-air Farm-
pounds that are less palatable. It's ers Market is open all year long.
not as good for the body." From May to December, the mar-
Andre said people are experi- ket is held from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
encing a natural shift away from Wednesday and Saturday, but from
the massive, anonymous monocul- January to April, it takes place only
ture that has come to characterize on Saturday and starts at8 a.m.
agriculture. Burgeoning environ- While the number of partici-
mental concerns, combined with pating vendor reduces from 90 to
the desire to invest in smaller about 20 during winter, the variety
communities that care for their doesn't suffer: apples, cider, baked
citizens, has promoted a healthier, goods, honey, maple sugar, jam,
more communal attitude toward eggs, meat and bread can be found
food. there year-round.
"Globally, economically, it seems "We actually have more things
that things are grossly out of bal- than you would think," said Molly
ance and correcting themselves," Notorianni,the manager of the Ann
he said. "It's a financial time of Arbor Farmers Market. "It's defi-
correction where we're hitting the nitely a small market in the winter,
skids. Environmentally, you can but it's still pretty busy. Vendors
take charge of those imbalances." said last year that it was the busiest
winter they could remember, espe-
THE VALUE OF KNOWING cially given how cold it was."
YOUR FARMER Frequentingthe Farmers Market
means planning ahead to go gro-
The product of a community cery shopping. It doesn't allow for
centered on food is a buzzing epi- midnight mass purchases like Mei-
center like the Ann Arbor Farmers jer, but it does lend itself to buying
only as much produce as you need. RED MEAT: A GUILTY
Working a weekly visit into your PLEASURE
schedule would be an easy way to
become a better locavore. You can take pleasure in a dish's
low number of "food miles," the
AVOIDING PHONY LABELING odometer reading on food deliv-
ery truck. But as far as greenhouse
A big challenge in trying to eat gases go, local meat is only margin-
with a conscience anywhere is dis- ally better for the environment.
cerning whether food labels really Food travels at least 1,000 miles
mean what they say. Everything at to get to the market where you
the Farmers Market is from close purchase it, according to a Car-
enough of a distance for farmers to negie Mellon study in 2008. But
drive their goods there themselves. the study found that delivery food
But when it comes to the grocery miles make up 11 percent of the
store, "local" is subjective. greenhouse gas emissions pro-
Bloomfield Hills resident Char- duced by fruits and vegetables, and
lton Burch said he shops local only 1 percent of those produced by
because it tastes better and "seems red meat.
like the right thing to do," but Catherine Badgley, a University
doesn't know for sure where his ecology professor and self-pro-
local foods come from or exactly claimed 100-mile locavore, said
how they benefit the environment. that food production and process-
"Who knows, you know?"he said ing, as well as meat-heavy diets,
while examining bulk granola at are more harmful to the environ-
Ann Arbor's People's Food Co-op. ment than a truck hauling citrus
"I'm not sure there's a watchdog in fruits from California to chilly
play, exactly, but I feel like there's Michigan.
some vigilance here." "Local is one of many consid-
At the Michigan Department erations," she said. "One of them
of Agriculture, Christine Lietzau is how high you eat on the food
coordinates the Select Michigan chain, because animal products
program, which provides locally take more resources than plant
made products a label that says, products."
"Select Michigan." The program of the greenhouse gases pro-
has specific criterion for qualify- duced by food, nitrous oxide, used
ing as Michigan-made: for pro- in some fertilizers, is the most
duce, 100 percent must be grown prevalent. Chemical and manure
in-state; 51 percent of ingredients soil treatments far outweigh car-
in processed foods must to be from bon dioxide in environmental
Michigan, and never can any part damage, which is multiplied in
of any ingredient come from out- the keeping of livestock. Research
side the United States. compiled by Earth Save Interna-
"The whole issue of 'what is tional found that a pound of beef
local' is what's local to me is not
local to you," Lietzau said. "The
typical-the locavore people-usu-
ally stay within 100 miles of where
it's grown. But nothing legislative_
is ever done. It would be very dif-
ficult to monitor all that."
She said the program came to be
after members of the MDA noticed
misleading "made local" labels,
such as state-bottled Coca-Cola
being tagged as a Michigan prod-_
uct. That a large soda company
wants to jump on the "eat local"
bandwagon speaks to how big the
movement has gotten.
"It's grownhuge," Lietzau said.
"That's why everybody's labeling
it, because the consumers are ask-
ing for it."
A year after the Select Michigan
program began in 1999, the sale of
local foods by retailers participat-
ing in the program increased by an
average of 111 percent and has seena
a 10 to 20 percent increase every
year since, Lietzau said.
"Why should we be bringing
food in from other states and other 24 C
countries when we're the second,
most agriculturally diverse state in "
the United States?" she said. Worke sand volutee aoesat Ta,
requires 12 pounds of grain, 35
pounds of topsoil and 2,500 gal-
lons of fresh water.
There are many ways to reduce
or increase your carbon footprint,
but the Carnegie Mellon study
found that reducing your red meat
intake by a quarter would be just as
beneficial to the environment as a
diet with no food miles at all.
And no matter how nearby
the hormone-free beef served at
Grange was reared, it is obligated
by law to take some kind of road
trip. Jennifer Holton from the
Michigan Department of Agricul-
ture said that restaurants can only
serve meat that has been slaugh-
tered in a USDA facility.
"That's probably the biggest
obstacle in doing things like this,"
Johns said. "So if I were to buy a
pig from Ernst Farms, which is
probably five miles from here, it's
gotta be taken to (Hillsdale, Mich.)
to process it."
With all the negative conse-
quences of the meat industry, it can
be disheartening enough to throw
in the towel for eating with a con-
science. This is especially true in
a state like Michigan, where the
long, bitter winter leaves kale one
of the only local things you can eat
once meat is out of the picture.
But of course, no one should be
expected to be a 100-mile loca-
vore all the time. If a box of Swiss
chocolates crosses your path, have
a piece. If you're not a vegetar-
ian, don't stop eating meat - just
maybe eat less of it, especially in
the summer when other foods are
available to diversify your diet.
W ed n e s d a y , O c t o b e r "14 ,D y0 0 9 - T h e M ic h ig a n D aT Oy.WB
QUOTES OF TH E WEEK
"I'm a good kid, but I'm
Mr. Prime Minister, I trying to be half good and
am a woman who is not half dumb so at least I have
at your disposal." a 50-50 chance."
TALKING
POINTS
Three things you can talk about this week:
1. Gay women soldiers
2. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe
3. Ford's recall
And three things you can't:
1. Obama's Nobel Peace Prize
2. U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel
3. Bags in the Big House
., . ,r
BY THE NUMBERS
Number of Afghan civilian deaths during the war in August
Number of U.S. and NATO coalition deaths in Afghanistan
in August
Afghanistan's rank in global corruption in August. The rankings
rate 180 countries, with the 180th being the most corrupt
Source: The New York Times
- ROSY BINDI, a Democratic member
of the Italian parliament, confronting Ital-
ian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi alter
he said that she was "more beautiful than
intelligent." Berlusconi faces pressure from
lawmakers over his sexual improprieties
- LEON PORCH, a 17-year-old boy from Chicago,
describing the wanton violence that confronts
many students enrolled in Chicago's public schools.
Standing where his friend was recently killed, Porch
said that "all the good kids are dying first," while the
bad ones seem to find a wayto survive
"It feels a little bit overboard."
- DEREK FERGUSON, a man from Stanford, Conn., referring to new proposals for preventing the
spread of the H1N1 virus at airports during the holiday season. People who look ill would be screened
for the virus, which might include having their temperature taken or being quarantined
YOUTUBE
VIDEO OF
TH E WEEK
King of Pop, Jr.
There are many people who can
pull off Michael Jackson's legendary
dance moves. But it's safe to say that
very few of these skilled moonwalk-
ers are small children.
Thins video features an entertainmo : ..r .. ... . _
ing and funny exception: Dominique,
who appears to be about 7 years old, THEME PARTY SUGGESTION
can shake and shimmy like he's a true
heir to the King of Pop. Cruise break - Fall break is upon us. Instead of
Filmed at a festival in Santa Mon-
ica last month, the video starts with sitting around at home, find your inner spontaneity
a man on stilts grooving to Jackson's and leave the country. We suggest you take advan-
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." He
rolls forward and back, shaking his tage of the dismal economy and book a cheap, all-
shoulders and snapping his fingers to inclusive four-day cruise to the Caribbean Islands.
the tempo of the music. After dancing
for a minute, he mingles in the crowd With cruiseliners named "Grandeur of the Seas"
and extends his hands downward
toward Dominique, who grabs ahold and "Celebrity Solstice," it's bound to be an adven-
of him and starts swinging back and ture. And let's face it: if you're going to study for a
forth. When Dominique touches the
ground again, the real show begins. midterm, you might as well do it while sunbathing.
All of a sudden, Dominique starts Throwing this party? Let us know. TheStotement@umich.edu
spinning, moonwalking, and crotch-
grabbing in a way that would make
Michael Jackson proud. Slowly, the
crowd gathers around Dominique, STUD OF THE W EEK
and he continues exhibiting his prow-
ess on the dance floor. At this point,
he knows he's the main attraction, so N.F.L. players more susceptible to memory loss
his gestures become more flamboy-
ant. He wears the pained expression Alzheimer's disease and other related memory diseases afflict for-
of a true performer on his face. He mer N.F.L. players far more often than the national population, accord-
even lets out a few grunts. ing to a study conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for
- BRIAN TENGEL Social Research.
See this and other The study, which was commissioned by the N.F.L., was conducted
YouTube videos ofthe week at using a phone survey in 2008. The researchers asked 1,063 retired
youtube.com/user/michigandaily players a list of questions about health topics, including kidney issues,
cholesterol levels, heart attacks and memory-related problems. In
order to qualify for the study, the men had to have played at least
three or four seasons in the N.F.L.
The researchers found that 6.1 percent of former players age 50 or
older said that they had been diagnosed with some form of dementia,
" -a number that is five times higher than the national average. Players
between 30 and 49 years old were diagnosed at a rate of 1.9 percent,
which is 19 times higher than the national average.
BRIAN TENGEL