The other session was on sustainability and the food system and featured USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, the Keystone Center's Sarah Stokes Alexander, Ferd Hoefner from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Brian Snyder from the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture. Here's a recap of their presentations:
- Kathleen Merrigan is the USDA's new face of sustainable agriculture, and she was the star of the forum. She briefly discussed the USDA's new program Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF2) and then took questions, deftly and diplomatically addressing skepticism from some farmers. The greatest success of this program, and of the USDA(and the federal government) in general, is that there is now a national conversation about food, nutrition, and community. The fact that some people in the agricultural field are questioning ideas about sustainable agriculture means that the message is being heard throughout the country, and everyone is now encouraged to engage in the discussion about what food production and consumption can, or should, look like. More on this in a minute.
- Sarah Stokes Alexander talked about Keystone's Field to Market program, which is a collaborative stakeholder group working together to develop a supply chain system for agricultural sustainability. This project addresses the concerns raised earlier on the plenary panel regarding transparency and industry-wide dialogue about how to make every step in the chain more sustainable. Members of the stakeholder group include grower groups, conservation organizations, agribusinesses, food and retail companies, and academia and research organizations (more information and a list of members is here)
- Ferd Hoefner discussed the farmers market promotional programs and raised questions about what policy can do to create new markets and provide greater access to existing markets. A number of people asked questions about loan guarantee programs in their state.
- Brian Snyder brought up the idea of a sustainable foodshed that could follow watershed boundaries. If that were the case, people here in DC would be actively engaged with folks all the way through Pennsylvania and New York State, since we're all in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Many of the vendors at farmers markets in DC come from Pennsylvania, and since we're on the receiving end of many of the negative watershed impacts, it makes sense that we should be actively engaging our northern foodshed neighbors to ensure that their practices improve our watershed conditions. Brian also pointed out that most of the farms in the U.S. are small farms that make less than $50, 000 a year in gross income - not enough to support one person. But CSAs can change that, and other techniques like SPIN (Small Plot INtensive) farming, can help small farms make more money without acquiring a lot more acreage.
Lots of interesting sustainable farming ideas were discussed on the first day of the forum. I almost forgot it was a government-sponsored conference. One thing I mentioned above, and which I really took to heart, was the fact that in addition to the dedicated sustainable agriculture advocates nodding their heads in every session, many farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness folks were expressing their skepticism. This is a new tack for the USDA to be taking, and they worry that sustainable agriculture approaches won't be realistic for their operations. They worry that the USDA is going off-course, chasing foolish yuppie notions of food production and consumption. Farming is hard, indeed, and most of the government bureaucrats in DC have never lifted a pitchfork or driven a plow. I'm sure many people of progressive thought and action would shake their heads at these old-school hold-outs. But everyone who works in or advocates for sustainability in food production systems needs to listen to these concerns. Some people in agribusiness will never be convinced that they should be doing things differently. The farm lobby has stalled many versions of legislation because they fear that new ideas will lead to their demise. But maybe they have some good points. Maybe they can tell us things that only farmers could know. The Keystone Center is on the right track by engaging even those from the likes of Monsanto who would fight against the rising tide of sustainability.
That said, skeptics need not worry too much. USDA caters to everyone, which means that agribusiness concerns will always carry weight within the Department. Farmers, large and small, won't be forced to reduce their tillage or stop using chemicals or put all of their livestock out to pasture, however much those things would improve human and environmental health. The word forum means "A public meeting or presentation involving a discussion usually among experts and often including audience participation." Addressing issues of sustainability in this Outlook Forum gave everyone the opportunity to discuss different ideas. Whole Foods' Walter Robb mentioned that the company doesn't tell people whether or not they should buy non-GMO foods; the goal is to be able to provide customers with enough information to make choices about what they buy. Even if farmers at the forum don't make any changes after hearing these ideas, at least they know what policy makers and consumers are concerned about, and they know what they are competing with. Change comes in baby steps.
