Wrote an article for the SM Observer on the Farmers Market Panel Series about the new farmers at the Santa Monica Market. Enjoy!!!
New Agtivists Exploring the World of 21st Century Farming with the Santa Monica Farmers Market Quarterly Library Panels Series
By Kat Thomas
21st
century farmers are both farmers of evolution. They broach the
world of what we put in our mouths with the double-edged sword of technology
and craft. They’re farmers
of the duality of change and tradition.
This
agriculture dichotomy was celebrated last Thursday night at the Santa Monica
Library’s quarterly Farmer’s Market Panel Series. This event, entitled New Agtivists, focused
on young visionaries in agriculture and artisanal food production as they
discussed their business philosophy, approach to sustainability and hopes for
the future of local food. The event was moderated by Rose
Lawrence of Red Bread, a company that sells baked goods at the Wednesday Santa
Monica Farmers Market and delivers groceries on electric bikes. The New Agtivists panel included a
variety of Santa Monica Farmers Market food vendors: Urban Mushroom Farmer Matt
Parker of Shiitake Happens, Spinach and Green Farmer Nate Peitso of Maggie’s
Farm, Almond Farmer Nate Siemens of Fat Uncle Farms and Paul Osher of Sandwich
and Catering company Bean and Thyme.
The
panel opened up with a question of what is craft and sustainability to each of
the panelists, a buzzword that it tossed around so much these days. “It’s
fairly simple,” noted Matt Parker of Shiitake Happens, “I wouldn’t put out a
product that I wouldn’t want to take home to my family.” This opinion was seconded by other
panelists. “I have my own land, it’s
a legacy,” stated Nate Peitso whose Agora Hills located Maggie’s Farm was
started by his mom and dad, “and I
want to be in the best possible shape for my children. Nothing I use is something that I don’t
want to put in my own mouth. To
insure this half our crop is certified organic. The other half is “conventionally grown,” but we only use
organic materials. It’s only due
to costs and paperwork it isn’t officially certified organic.”
“Sustainability
is about creating as low a footprint as possible,” noted Paul Osher who founded
Bean and Thyme in 2010 after leaving graduate school at UCLA, where he
had been studying political philosophy, “because
to be human is to consume. Bean
and Thyme can be found at the Sunday Santa Monica Farmers Market serving
everything from Chorizo and Egg sandwich to Spicy Pastrami sandwich. Their detailed website notes which
farmer every ingredient of their dishes comes from. “It’s about being
responsible, about being as smart as possible. We are very conscious to use
mostly ingredients from the farmers market. Everything comes from good sources: our pork from Jimenz
farms, our beef from Central California, etc.”
For Nate Siemens
of Fat Uncle Farms Sustainability is about the duality of where he came from
and where he is now. “The Central
Valley, where I grew up, just surpassed the Appalachians in having the lowest Socioeconomic
levels in the country; along with the highest rate of Diabetes in the United
States,” he noted. “I see high
school friend in wheelchairs, something that is directly due to their eating
habits. It definitely brings up
questions of how do I operate in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica where people’s
lives are 100% different from my hometown?”
It’s
this need for change that motivated most of the panel to do something about our
food system. As Rose Lawrence of
Red Bread noted one of the most influential piece’s of advice that she and her
husband David received when they decided to form their company in January of
2012 was, “someone told me: ‘the only thing you need is the guts to do it.’”
She continued that this same friend also noted that as a farmer, ‘at least
you’ll never go hungry in this business.’”
There
was a lot of advice on the economic end when it came to entering the world of
21st century farming. “You’re going to need four to five more times
the dough than you think it will take you,” noted Peitso of Maggie’s Farm. “It’s awesome, but expensive.” This was seconded by Siemens of Fat
Uncle Farms, “Cultivate rich friends!”
Osher
of Bean and Thyme noted how a big question of what is right and what is
economical are always bouncing up against each other in the world of 21st
century farming. “I spent a few days in Baltimore with friend
who urban farms. He constantly referred
to himself and his urban farming friends as ‘really scrappy.’” Osher noted how all of them started by
looking at an empty lot and saying ‘let’s start a garden.’ “But,” he continued, “the interesting
thing is that none of them are economically sustainable. They couldn’t pay
their own bills. They all get by
on grants.”
The
specificity of details when it comes to farming was also noted again and
again. “So much of my life is
logistics, of figuring out how to do things,” noted Osher. “It’s harder to make 100 sandwiches
than just one. A significant
amount of my life is shelping things around from here to there. Luckily I have a great wife who
understands the craziness…”
Parker
of Shiitake Happens noted his perfect formula to modern farming was “to keep
your overhead low and keep having a passion for what you do. Continue to cultivate your skills,” he
stated, “and learn to be more efficient.
Always keep learning and never give up.”
The
technology of the 21st century has allowed farmers to have a
relationship with their customers like never before. “Technology has really making marketing super easy,” noted
Parker of Shiitake Happens. “It’s
super helpful and relatively inexpensive.” Noted Peitso of Maggie’s Farm, “Alex Weiser of Weiser Farms
will tweet, ‘we have a new purple potato,’ and it’s gone halfway through the
market.”
For most all of
the panelists their profession is more of a calling than a just a job. When asked if there was any other
profession they could see themselves in Peitso noted, “I never gave it much
thought, I was born into this life.”
And then with a sly grin he continued, “I always thought I would cool to
be James Bond!” Parker noted how if
he weren’t growing mushrooms he’d be in the circus, “with three rings, top hats
and whips…”
All the farmers and
chefs on the panel noted that 21st century farming necessitated the need
to take responsibility from both the side of the farmer and the customer. Peitso from Maggie’s Farm noted the Big Picture on the future of
food in the country, “The price of food really needs to be looked at.” Pointing to Parker of Shiitake Happens
sitting next to him he noted that, “mushrooms are really a better way to get
our protein; it takes acres and acres of land to make a pound of meat.”
Peitso also
noted that responsibility needed to be taken by the consumers at market, “know
your seasons! If there’s a certain
abundance of a certain product at a certain time of year that doesn’t normally
grow in that season then you should think about that. Chances are it’s not being grown locally. Corn in November doesn’t happen in
California!” Parker of Shiitake
Happens noted how labels don’t always tell the full story, “for me my biggest competition
is China. I can do a block of
mushrooms for $5.50, while they can do it for 50 cents. They put it in a container, ship it
over, and open it up to grow it when it get’s to LA. That way it has the “grown in California label.” But Peitso noted that knowing the facts
had positive aspects also, “for anyone on food stamps, Maggie’s offers $2 for
every $1 spent at our farmers market booth.”
“California food is evolving into
something bigger and better,” noted Peitso of Maggie’s Farm, “in the future, I
believe people will come to California to eat like they did to Italy. We’re developing a local food culture
with our own identity to craft.”
The night
concluded with a tasty after panel food offerings made through each panelist’s
craft (such as Red Bread’s Sweetheart Bread topped with their Cardamom Quince
Jam and Fat Uncle Farm’s Roasted Almond Butter). “There’s a real pleasure in food,” concluded Osher of
Bean and Thyme. “It’s why we’re all up here. It’s one of the central pleasures of
life.”
“California
food is evolving into something bigger and better,” noted Peitso of Maggie’s
Farm, “in the future, I believe people will come to California to eat like they
did to Italy. We’re developing a
local food culture with our own identity to craft.”
Kat Thomas is a food writer in Santa
Monica who would be an international art thief if she weren’t a food writer. You can check out more of her writings
on her food blog edibleskinny.com
