Two words - Rodale = Heaven

We arrived later in the day on Sunday, winding around country roads, taking in the surroundings until we came upon the cleanest, quietest, pristine farm - home of the Rodale Institute. Paula Hunker, the Communications Director, was kind enough a few months ago, to invite us to come and stay in the farm's 1827 farmhouse for a few nights to document what is being done there to research organic farming methods. We could not wait.

The Rodale Institute has been at the forefront of the organic movement since the 40's and has since created the seperate entity, Rodale Press, which teaches people about health and organic gardening in publications such as Prevention magazine.

We settled in for our first night - I, trying to imagine all of the people that had lived in the home in years past and trying to adjust to the fact that I have just been in the noisiest city - NYC and the quietest little corner of the earth all within a few days of each other. Wow - was I glad we went to NYC first and not the other way around!

Clair Wilson, our hero of the week, arranged interviews for us with the CEO of the Institute, Tim LaSalle, the farm manager, Jeff Moyer and the lead scientific researcher, Dr. Paul Hepperly.

Day 1 - From Tim we learned such amazing facts like only 20% of humans are willing to change their identity and try something different even if they know the change is the best thing for them - explaining for the purposes of trying to change the food we eat and why it can be so hard for us as humans to alter our eating and living habits - don't let knowing that fact stop you - be one of the 20%! He also spoke about how his emphasis at the Institute, global warming, comes into play with organic farming. Rodale has run tests and found that an acre of organic agriculture can consume as much as 7000 pounds of carbon dioxide in one year. If we converted all of the acreage being used for growing crops into organic practices, it would be the equivalent of taking 80% of our country's cars off the road! It is the most massive way we could turn our country into a carbon eating machine!

Day 2 - Jeff Moyer introduced us to two of the coolest things in the WORLD! The Farming Systems Trial has been taking place for almost 30 years. It measures corn production - both organic and conventional/chemically grown - side by side in the same field. They have found that in cases of drought or excess rain, the organic corn - no chemicals added - out performs the conventional corn amazingly. The stalks I saw looked almost 50% higher and they were definitely thicker too. The thing is that these crazy, non-optimal conditions occur all the time so the organic corn out-yielded the chemical crops 9 out of 10 years. Why the heck do we use chemicals again??

Then, Jeff mentioned in passing that he and a Mennonite farmer next door made a compost turner by themselves. Being near the end of a big day, Scott and I said we would take a look but that we didn't really have to film it, THEN Jeff walked us to the barn that housed this machine - holy crap! Maybe 30/35 feet long and 10 feet high, this machine can do the work of one front-end loader (which would take 13 hours normally) in TWELVE minutes. Absolutely astounded by the sheer magnitude of this machine, Scott and I asked him to, yes, in fact, bring 'er out and show is what she is made of. The compost (approx. 160 degrees inside) was being rotated and flipped and as steam rose of of her lush brown components, the pile fell back perfectly in pyramided place, turned like only this amazing machine could. While having something like this on a small farm may be overkill, Rodale creates enough compost that they need it. My inner 3-year old boy (do girls have those?) came out as Scott and I stood there in amazement - absolutely in love with a big, yellow machine.

Day 3 - I came outside of our little enchanted farm house wearing my pajamas, eating my Kashi (because that's how professional filmmakers role, people) when I was greeted by Dr. Paul Hepperly. While Clair had wanted us to meet him all along, he had been called off to North Carolina to spread his proverbial seeds to farmers, etc. I'll admit it, I was crushed at the thought of not being able to meet this amazing Fulbright Scholar, but he decided to come home that morning because we were there filming and he wanted to speak with us. Charming and beyond intelligent, I cannot thank my stars enough for Dr. Hepperly coming home to us. We met down in his office and he began to show us slides of the research he had done and collected from other places. He creates quite the argument for the importance of wiping pesticides and chemicals out of our food supply.

While we cannot include every element of the reasons for not wanting chemicals in food, let me just say that frogs becoming hermaphroditic, increased rates of young girls being born as opposed to boys in certain areas where highly chemicalized corn is grown as well as studies about children's ability to learn, retain information and live without behavioral problems is just where is begins. I left Dr. Hepperly's office with a memory stick loaded with his power point presentations. I literally felt like I was just given a copy of new Commandments to take with me.

We left Rodale feeling like our puzzle had been, if not completed, added to in such an immeasurable way, that we as a crew will be forever changed - ok, so Scott did get a hamburger at a chain restaurant within moments of leaving the farm (I am sure my turkey sandwich was not exactly sustainable either) but it is about baby steps and we feel like the lights within us burn brighter for having met this amazing team of people at the Rodale Institute. You are family now!

MOFGA Common Ground Country Fair

WOW!

The first words we said when we arrived in Unity, Maine for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) Common Ground Country Fair. There were booths and food abounding just like any other fair you have ever been too, except that at this fair everything - including the funnel cakes - was organic!

Jim Ahearne, the Fair's director, took a moment to explain to us the importance of having a fair that is attended by 59,000 people. He spoke to us about people being able to come there and experience the community within the organic movement and that, while many of the farmers and individuals with booths had organic experience, this fair allows people from the area (and from far away) the chance to come and see what is happening and be a part of the family.

Activities were available for every member of the family. There were livestock shows, children's areas where they could learn about standing up for issues they believe in, live music, oh, yes, and delicious haddock and gyros! Russell Libby, MOFGA's executive director even took a moment to speak with us about us all getting involved. Maine has the highest number of organic farms within the US. The state of Maine currently consumes 20% from within its borders and 80% from the outside and he is set on helping to make it the reverse. While MOFGA is there year-round to assist Mainers with creating their own food system, he hopes that each person who attends the Fair leaves slightly more inspired to do what they can to live more sustainably - we are! Oh, and can you send some more funnel cakes my way please - YUM!

Anna Lappe and the Science Barge

Our last day in New York City and two of our most anticipated stops remained. We headed out to Brooklyn to visit the residence of Ms. Anna Lappe', co-founder of the Small Planet Fund as well as a best-selling author. Anna had asked for her questions in advance, so I knew she was going to bring the thunder in her responses - and did she. Gracious as can be when she welcomed us, she started out the interview by serving us fresh carrot juice in her delightful abode. Bright and lively, both she and her home were a perfect start to the day.

Anna and her mother have traveled around the world documenting the plight of rural, local farmers and her passion and experience came across from the moment we met. Providing us with scientific facts and research she has studied as well as conducted herself, she provided us with the exact info we were needing. While we think this project is most certainly about what "everyman" is doing to live more sustainably, it is when you get people, such as Anna, living and breathing the local, sustainable, organic food movement that give you the insight as to why this mission is so very important. Thank you for a glorious interview and visit - best to you in all you do!

Scott and I headed back to the west side for a visit to the Science Barge - a creation of NY York Sun Works. The barge is a floating educational center, growing food within its greenhouse without so much as one step of a carbon footprint. They use solar panels and windmills for their energy, rain for the water and even have tilapia in a tank creating plenty of fertilizer from its waste. Sarah Hanna, the educational coordinator there, took us on a tour of the behemoth vines of tomatoes and cucumbers that were hidden within the glass structure.

Everything, including the strawberries and basil are all grown organically and hydroponically - which we learned can grow plants much faster than traditional soils! The barge serves to educate the public of New York about what can be done, without any waste, to create more green spaces in the city. With so many rooftops unused (except by our bee friends), Sarah estimated that if all of the rooftops were utilized with gardens, it would create enough food to feed all of New York. It would also help cut down on the heat in the city. The barge travels up and down the west side aiming to educate as many people as possible. It was amazing to see what can be done with zero-waste. The strawberries and tomatoes were DELISH too!!

* Anna'a photo is from treehugger.com

Learn it, Grow it, Eat it and NYC Rooftop Bees!

David Sapphire runs a great program out of the South Bronx called Learn it, Grow it, Eat it. It brings in local teenagers and teaches them about growing their own veggies while also adding the component of bringing it in to a neighborhood who needs the fresh goodies very badly. 5 train and a bus ride later, we grabbed our bags and embarked our on next adventure. It seemed we are around many closed businesses and a lot of apartment buildings, however - in front of us is a pristine, gated garden with a huge bounty. David greeted us and showed us through their setup.

Similar to the East New York Farms, except placed right amongst the buildings. It's amazing they have so much growing with such limited sunlight. The kids started to show around 10a and we headed up to the intersection where they sell their goods. Granted much of it is from farms outside of the city - they help out local farmers by selling it in the Bronx for them - but they also have little baskets of veggies they picked right from their garden as well. At first it was very slow. There was a bus stop right in front of the stand, but people would just come check it out and walk on. Then David brought out the magic - the NYC Council on the Environment supplies $2 vouchers that are handed out to people around the area to bring them over and entice them to get some fresh food.

Many of the kids working the market said they only ate fast food or canned vegetables before this experience. Now they barely eat any of that at all, opting for the locally grown stuff instead. This program has not only put the younger generation in touch with where their food comes from, but once they became aware of what the market had for them, the older folks started heading over too. Pretty soon the market was abuzz and people were coming from all around to see what was being sold. It was inspiring to us to see the younger generation connecting to the earth and to elders as well.

When we wrapped up in the Bronx, we headed down to the Union Square farmer's market and met another David - they abound in this film, I swear! This one, David Graves, travels down from Massachusetts 3 times a week to sell his honey at the local markets. He has created quite a name for himself as he is the one and only "NYC Rooftop Honey" guy. He keeps hives up on hotels, office buildings and brownstones, high above the city streets.

Not many people realize how important bees are to the food system and how they are very much needed to pollinate the cities many community gardens. The particular hive we traveled to was in SoHo 5 stories up on top of a personal residence. So many people think of bees as stinging little guys to be avoided, but I have learned that if you just stay out of their way, they definitely have higher priorities than coming and messing with us - they are on a mission!

David walked us through a beautiful rooftop garden and then we crossed through a door over to the flat, blacktopped part of the roof. A neat little hive sat their buzzing away. As Scott and I suspiciously moved around David as he was working, trying like hell not be stung, we then got so immersed by this awesome set up that we quickly forgot the potential hurt they could cause us. David smoked them out and began removing the pieces of wood that were collecting the honey and wax. Bees will make the honey and then when they have filled up a comb, seal it off with wax to protect it. Bees eat the honey, like we do, for energy. They really only need a small amount so it is very generous of them to share the excess with us.

David stuck his screwdriver into the wax and beautiful amber honey began to flow out. He offered us a taste and I must say, no joke, it was the best I have EVER tasted. He explained it had some Japanese flowering plant undertones and that was why it tasted the way it did. It's amazing to think that honey can have different essences depending on what kind of plant goodies it is bringing back to the hive. We also learned that when you have allergies really badly, by the most local raw honey you can find and eat a tablespoon every day. It has a little bit of all of the plants and flowers that surround you so it helps to build up your immunity to them! I even got to hold a little worker bee who stays inside of the hive always so was never given a stinger for protection! I could just hold him between by two fingers and feel him buzz away - no pain necessary! David closed up the hive and we began the trek downstairs. It gave us a whole new respect for these little guys (girls actually are the ones you see flying around) and we are truly indebted to David for that one of a kind experience!!!

East New York Farms and Laura's Rooftop Garden

After a day of traveling, discovering that our apartment was a fourth floor Hell's Kitchen walk-up and a much deserved night's rest (I could complain about carrying equipment up the flights of stairs, but since Scott and Steve lifted most of it, including my 50 lb suitcase, I have little to say) we headed down to 21st and 1st to meet Laura who, despite her diminutive figure, spends her free time hoisting heavy bags of soil and water up to her rooftop garden on a make-shift pulley system she created utilizing a very fragile ladder and hole in the ceiling of her building. She is amazing - landlord of the building (how else would she be able to get away with the hose coming out of her living room window to the greenery above), gardener extraordinaire and a full-time law student at NYU. Let her be proof that if she can find the time to garden and raise her own veggies, we all can!

She has a variety of tomatoes, squash, and strawberries and raises most of them from seeds herself. Citing her need to be in touch with the earth while living in the city, you can see how just this small change in her life has provided so much fun not to mention fodder for her friends who will come over for dinner parties and admire her green thumb!

We then set off to visit Deborah Greig, the Urban Agriculture Coordinator at East New York Farm. Take the 3 train about as far as it can go, look under the tracks and see the most magnificent urban garden you could find! While kids play loudly in the park across the street and people drive by with music blasting, Deborah runs the afternoon program with a group of interns who grow an outstanding amount of fruits and veggies for the neighborhood. They are so popular, in fact, that their market stand will be extended longer into the fall months.

They grow such a variety of produce that the neighborhood really needs and loves. With a high immigrant population, this garden is one of the only resources where they can find staples such as bitter melon - a vegetable used a lot in Bangladeshi and Caribe cooking. (Steve, eager to try something new, ate the juicy red seeds first not knowing that its the meat you eat and discard the rest - he was relieved to hear that they were safe, just not the tastiest part) The garden, Deborah and the youth interns really cater to the needs of the neighborhood, a true food desert. This puts everyone involved in touch with their food's origin and teaches about the time and energy needed to create something so bountiful.

Her Sun Gold tomatoes were some of the best I have tried (and I am quite the SG connoisseur now). I even put some in my purse to bring back to my friend in the city who had never tried these luscious little golden balls of goodness - 3 made it successfully. The other 3 are still being scraped out... Thanks Laura, Deborah and the kids at ENYF for making this a great first day in the Big (Sustainable) Apple!

Melisse Restaurant & Summer's Apt Garden

The day began by rushing to Santa Monica to get our film permit - NOT my fault! After a holiday weekend, things were a little backed up, but that mad rush to make it down there and get to Chef Josiah at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market gave us the umph to make it through our last day of filming on the west coast.

Chef Josiah is the owner and executive chef of Melisse Restaurant. This high-end popular haunt has made a name for itself not only because the food is divine (and consistent, adds the chef) but also because it has outlasted the dreaded Hollywood restaurant curse and has been around for 10 glorious years. Our visit at the market quickly showed us why. Chef Josiah Citrin heads to the market in a mini-van used just for this purpose, loaded with 3 sous chefs and a huge cart on wheels. The team arrives and looks over the clipboard for a moment and then, without a blink even necessary, they disappear into the fray to find this week's delights. Josiah explains that he likes to walk around and connect with the farmers, tasting their goods along the way, often sending one of the sous chefs back to grab something not on the list - this week: raw (to die for) peanuts. It is easy to tell why his restaurant is so hugely popular and that is because HE IS!

Virtually every step he would take would be another local, a chef or even Amelia Saltsman, author of the "Santa Monica Farmer's Market Cookbook" stopping to talk to him. And though he had places to go and veggies to taste, he stopped and spoke with every last one of them. He and Amelia mentioned it again - community comes together over food. It just seems to unite everyone at the markets. After 3 hours perusing the fresh food, the team just as quickly loaded everything in the mini-van and took off for the restaurant.

We walk into the kitchen and the amount of chefs has exploded from the 4 at the market to what seems to be 14, running around, all set on their tasks of making the night happen. One person preps and sautes onions, another baking up some magical dessert. Chef Josiah then takes us over to a quiet side of the kitchen and shows us how simply combining a few of the fresh veggies picked out at the market in a bowl, tossing with a light vinaigrette and putting neatly on a plate is a way to get a huge color variety in one's diet, and also retains the enzymes and vitamins contained within. Granted he used very special mushrooms and literally 15 different veggies and placed them all on the plate with special kitchen tweezers, but he insists, though presentation is important, that the magic is in the veggies he selected.

Scott was to be dropped off at the airport soon after the interview, but Steve and I made a reservation to come back later that night. We were just so inspired - and REALLY hungry. Let's just say that the 7 courses we ate were so divine that we floated out of the restaurant. The service is impeccable, again, the chef comes out and speaks to every single one of his patrons and the food had the most sinful texture and flavor one could ever desire. This is a restaurant that everyone must try. It is very evident that every single detail is managed by Chef Josiah and his true talent shows through his success.

A quick In & Out burger break after being teased in the Melisse kitchen and we were off to meet Summer Bowen. She is talented in so many ways (an online store with great Green/recycled goodies http://www.btcelements.com/, a blogger, an educator and an environmentalist) but this visit was prompted by a story I had read about on the blog http://www.greenlagirl.com/. Summer teaches people who live in urban environments how to create their very own apartment gardens. While she undoubtedly cannot create all she eats on this cute, tiny and very green balcony, she accents the foods she buys elsewhere and feels it really gives every dish that special touch. She gets amazing reviews from friends she has over for meals and when they realize her green thumb has provided a portion of what they are eating, they leave both full and inspired.

I left enthused as well. Living in LA, I have great options for farmer's markets but long for a better connection to the dirt as I sit 3-stories above the earth. Summer takes wire hanging baskets and puts in a layer of coconut coir (the brown furry stuff). She then inverts a tomato plant (small tomatoes only) and pushes the little vines through the coir and covers the excess space with soil and a little cover crop. The tomato plant grows upside-down and this is a great way to get more stuff growing on your balcony. That saves the pots and boxes for lettuce, herbs and, Summer's not so favorite, kale. You don't have to toss your flowering plants aside, but make some room to try even a few lettuce seeds and you will see what can grow with little to no help!

*Summer's photo courtesy of Green LA Girl

In LA - Santa Monica Co-op & ANIMAL

Last night we ate at my friend Vinnie Dotolo and Jon Shook's new restaurant on Fairfax: ANIMAL. While I think my meal was one of the best in my life, Scott swears it was the finest to ever grace his palate - PERIOD. Great ambiance, handsome and talented chefs and a yummy, local menu. We returned today to interview Vinnie about where their food comes from and why it is so important to buy locally.

They go to the Farmer's Market in Santa Monica once or twice a week and place their orders ahead of time to insure they get the best picks. Apparently, Wednesdays at the market are a haven for chefs across LA and they try to get their orders in early to beat the crowds. All herbs, garlic and produce come right from southern California. You can taste it too! Such a fresh, aromatic meal and its succulence, I believe was derived mainly from the ingredients that were so recently harvested that they maintained all of their original flavor.

We like to ask everyone what their definition of "local" is and Vinnie's was unique to a chef's perspective - "anything from the US". It turns out that so much meat and fish comes from outside of the country that chefs are often forced to buy them from such a distance to make their clientele happy. Vinnie supports the local food movement and buys only sustainable, antibiotic-free meats as well, though they may have to come from outside California. It is amazing to get all of the different sides of the spectrum. Vin is as caring and conscientious about the food that he creates for his patrons as he is well-educated about the sources of the food he brings in his kitchen. Refreshing to meet someone so attached to the food he makes!

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to the Santa Monica Co-Opportunity. It is a local grocery store where members and regular consumers can stop by and guarantee that 97% of the products inside are organic. While their emphasis is on organic over local, being in California, there are many local farmers to choose from and they have created a huge selection because of that. Labeling many of the fruits and veggies with stories about the farmers and the farms from which the produce came, the Co-op allows the consumer to be very connected to the food they buy. Unlike a farmer's market, the Co-op is open all hours of the day, 7 days a week. Bruce, the general manager started out there over 20 years ago as a regular shift worker. It's easy to see why he became to so dedicated to a store that dedicates itself to feeding the community fresh, local, organic goodness!