First Annual Sustainability@BU Festival

This past Thursday, BU held its First Annual Sustainability@BU Festival.

It was a beautiful day for the festival in conjunction with the BU Farmers Market,


and music from the Tumbleweed Company.



One of the most apparent changes in BU's sustainability efforts this year are the compost stations at the George Sherman Union, with separate bins for composting and recycling, and the option of re-usable plates if you decide to eat at the GSU. Read more articles about BU Going Green.

At the festival, Sustainability@BU gave free mugs to those who joined the challenge,


and student organizations present at the festival included the Organic Gardening Collective and Slow Food BU, among others.

Stay tuned with BU's sustainability efforts at Sustainability@BU. You can also like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

The BU Farmers Market is Back!

The Boston University Farmers Market returns next week!

When: Thursdays, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, August 12 through October 14

Where: George Sherman Union Plaza, 775 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215

The vendors:

• Lanni Orchards
• Big Sky Bread
  
• Gold Meadow Farms
• Ward's Berry Farm
• Smaht Farm
• Danish Pastry House
• Fran Kronstadt Studio
• Polka Dog Biscuits
• The Pebble Collection
• And more!
  

And if you haven't yet, like the BU Farmers Market on Facebook!

For other farmers markets in the area, check out the Farmers Markets Map and Farmers Markets Google Calendar by the Boston Localvores.

FRESH Panel

On June 16th Slow Food BU hosted a panel of local food experts in preparation of the Boston screening of FRESH, a movie about the broken American food system and how people are working to change it. A ticket to the event included a pass to see FRESH at The Brattle Theater in Cambridge.


The panel included (left to right) Willow Blish, the chapter leader of Boston Slow Food; John Lee, owner of Allandale Farm; JJ Ghonson, a personal chef who uses only local ingredients in her business Cuisine en Locale; and Jeff Morin, manager of City Feed and Supply.
All panelists agreed that while consumer awareness has increased in recent years, there is still much progress to be made. Consumers need to become more connected with their local farmers rather than just buying what is convenient. For example, even though produce may be more expensive at a local farm than from a chain supermarket, consumers should consider where the price difference came from. Many people might not realize lower prices come at a cost to farmers and the environment. By purchasing local foods, consumers are making an investment in their communities and getting healthy, delicious foods at the same time....doesn't sound like such a bad deal after all! The panelists also noted that if consumers are concerned about the cost of local foods, they could save money and reduce their carbon footprint by cooking at home more rather than eating out.

After each panelist spoke, the floor was opened to audience questions. Many interesting topics were brought up such as school lunches, city planning and how to get more local produce in grocery stores.

Thank you to all our panelists and guests for such an informative and interesting discussion!

Fresh Boston

Last summer I had the chance to see a great movie about the American Food system, called FRESH. FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system.

In the weeks leading up to the Boston FRESH premiere, several amazing, sustainable restaurants & organizations will be hosting dinners and events in the name of FRESH, highlighting their efforts to be more sustainable.

June 1 at 6pm: FRESH Perspectives on Local Food: An Evening Celebrating Youth
June 12 at 2pm: Wine Bottega and Taza Chocolate Tasting
June 16 at 6:30pm: Farm to Fork: A Panel Discussion about how we get the food we eat
(at BU and CoSponsored by SFBU -Come hear leaders of the Slow Food Movement in Boston talk!)
June 18-23: FRESH Screening at the Brattle Theater

There is also a series FRESH Farm to Table Dinners, where restaruants craft all-local meals and then invite the chefs to the table to talk with the diners. Not only do these promise to be delicious, I'm sure they will also be enlightening-our favorite!

Henrietta's Table, June 7th-17th at 7pm:


Ten Tables, June 14 at 5:30pm:


Rendezvous, June 15 at 5pm:


Craigie on Main, June 16 at 5:30pm:


Coda, June 15-17 at 5:00pm:


We hope to see you at some of these events!

SlowFest

A few weeks ago, Slow Food BU participated in SlowFest, Boston's first Session Beer Festival, with our friends at Slow Food Boston.

Session beer is beer with a lower alcohol content. According to the Session Beer Project, session beer is 4.5% alcohol by volume or less. This is the perfect excuse to slow down and enjoy more beers, and the session beers were the perfect pairing to the local food vendors present at the festival.

There were session beers of all kinds at SlowFest, and beer vendors present included Boston Beer Works (Boston, MA) and Cisco Brewers based in Nantucket, MA. See the complete list of beer vendors here.

(from left to right): Boston Beer Works and Cisco Brewers

Slow Food Boston brought together the local food vendors at the festival. The food vendors included Don Otto's from Boston's South End, Sherman Market from Somerville, Cuisine en Locale from Cambridge, and Nourish Restaurant from Lexington. For the list of local food vendors, go here.

Samples from Don Otto's

Speakers spoke about craft beer, and panel discussions addressed the local food movement. At the Saturday Session 2 panel, speakers included Jamey Lionette, previous owner of Lionette's Market in Boston, Niaz Dorry, coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Pete Lowy of Verrill Farm and Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds, and Jennifer Hasley of Pete & Jen's Backyard Birds and director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. Topics that were brought up included how the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project helps to connect people with limited resources who have an interest in agrculture to the resources that they need to begin a farm, sustainable fishing, ways to eat more locally and sustainably, and farmers who practice sustainable practices, such as integrated pest management, but are not certified organic.

Slow Foodies at the Slow Food table handing out Slow Food literature and samples of Iggy's bread, When Pigs Fly bread, Bonnie's Jams, and sauerkraut and kimchi from Real Pickles.

SlowFest was a wonderful way to end Earth Week, and a perfect excuse to slow down and enjoy craft beer and local food.

Massachusetts Raw Milk Protest and Hearing

In January, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) sent cease-and-desist orders to four raw milk buying clubs in Massachusetts.

For weeks, citizens anticipated a public hearing on May 10 to discuss the amendments to the Code of Massachusetts Regulations (CMR) 330 CMR 27, "Standards and Sanitation Requirements for Raw Milk," which would outlaw buying clubs and make it illegal for individuals to entrust another person to purchase raw milk at the farm on their behalf.

However, just 3 days before the hearing, at around 5 pm on Friday, May 7, the MDAR announced that the proposed language related to raw milk purchase in section 27.08, which would make buying clubs illegal, would be removed and unavailable for commentary at the hearing until the MDAR took a "broader look at the issues" due to "passion and concern" on the raw milk debate.

Despite the confusion on whether or not the MDAR had backed off on the new proposed language, last Monday, over 200 citizens, including raw milk enthusiasts, dairy farmers, and Suzanne the cow, gathered on the Boston Common to protest for their right to access raw milk before the hearing at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Protesters at the rally marched to the hearing at the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture. In fact, because so many people wished to attend the hearing, some were not given access to attend, hear, see, or participate in the public hearing.

Although certain portions of 330 CMR 27 had been withdrawn, individuals were still allowed to testify about the buying club issue to Commissioner Soares, which many people did.


Over three and a half hours, 49 people testified about their passion for raw milk. Issues raised regarding section 27.08 included benefits of raw milk, the right for individuals to decide what they eat and drink, decreased access to raw milk and increased fossil fuel consumption if each consumer needs to drive long distances to the isolated dairy farms, and the economic impact of individuals losing jobs if buying clubs become outlawed. Some other issues:

• Pasteurization was invented in 1864 and was not applied to milk until years later. Prior to that, people consumed raw milk for thousands of years.
• Small dairy farms already go through rigorous inspection to ensure that the raw milk that they produce is safe (read the Massachusetts Raw Milk Laws and Regulations).
• Although the MDAR states that they support the purchase of local products from local farms, making buying clubs illegal will put many small dairy farmers in Massachusetts out of business.

Numerous raw milk enthusiasts and raw milk dairy farmers testified, and some familiar faces included Mark McAfee from Organic Pastures in California, Max Kane from Wisconsin, and David Gumpert, author of the Raw Milk Revolution and The Complete Patient.

While some individuals stated that the regulations should go back to as they were so that the buying clubs can still operate, others argued that raw milk should be made even more accessible.

In some states of the U.S., such as California, raw milk can be sold in retail stores. In other states, any sales of raw milk are considered illegal. In Massachusetts, raw milk can only be sold at the dairy farm. Check out this map. Meanwhile, in Europe, there are even raw milk vending machines.

After listening to the numerous testimonials in support of raw milk, Commissioner Soares stated that a decision would be made within 30 days, and that many of the testimonials made regarding the buying clubs would be "more applicable" at future hearings on the raw milk debate as the MDAR continues to take its "broader look" into raw milk.

In the meantime, the cease-and-desist orders still haven't been withdrawn, the buying clubs are still not allowed to operate, and small dairy farmers continue to lose money daily.

Related coverage:

• 5/18/2010 - Feed Me Like You Mean It: Boston Raw Milk Rally, Drink-In, and Hearing Wrap-Up
• 5/17/2010 - Raw Milk Advocates Call on Attorney General Coakley to Investigate MDAR Commissioner Scott Soares -Scores of Citizens Denied Access to Public Hearing on Controversial MDAR Proposal Against Raw Milk
• 5/14/2010 - The Complete Patient: When They Play Hard Ball, It's Essential We Not Play Wiffle Ball: Lessons from the MA Protest, and Spillover Continues
• 5/12/2010 - Kitchen Porch: Soares is not listening to the Small Dairies or to the People who support them!
• 5/11/2010 - Feed Me Like You Mean It: Boston Raw Milk Rally And Hearing (Guest Post By Max Kane)
• Boston.com (video): Got raw milk? Ralley on the Common touts unpasteurized variety
• 5/10/2010 - Fox 25 (article and video): Cow in Boston Common for raw milk enthusiasts - Protestors against proposed raw milk ban
• 5/10/2010 - The Complete Patient: Dozens Plead, Cajole, Argue for Hands Off Raw Milk Buying Clubs, But Commish Hears a Different Story

More Info on Raw Milk in Massachusetts:

• David Gumpert- book: Raw Milk Revolution, and blog: The Complete Patient
• Feed Me Like You Mean It - Raw Milk
• Kitchen Porch - Salute to Raw Milk
• Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Massachusetts Raw Milk Network
• Organic Consumers Association - Raw Milk

Massachusetts Raw Milk Hearing

*IMPORTANT UPDATE: May 8, 2010* (see below).

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is holding a hearing on Monday, May 10th to review a proposal that threatens Raw Milk Buying Clubs and the access to raw milk in Massachusetts.

What can you do? Become more informed about the issue by visiting some of the links below, contact your local representative, write to Commissioner Scott J. Soares, Department of Agricultural Resources, 251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114, and attend the raw milk hearing on Monday, May 10th, at 10 am at 100 Cambridge St., Conference Room A, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA, 02114.

• Slow Food Boston: Raw Milk Buying Clubs Threatened
• Boston Localvores: Why this raw milk debate matters
• Feed Me Like You Mean It: Massachusetts Raw Milk/Food Freedom Hearing in Boston, May 10
• NOFA/Mass: NOFA MA Raw Milk Network and MA Raw Milk Farms Threatened as State Moves to Make Buying Clubs Illegal
• The Complete Patient: The Food Rights Firestorm Spreads: Is Big Dairy Helping Regulators Use MA as a Test to Bust Raw Milk Buying Clubs? and At a NH Restaurant, a Waitress Asks, "And How Would You Like That Milk, Raw or Pasteurized?"; MA Hypocrisy
• Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group: Hearing on Proposed Changes to Massachusetts Raw Milk Regulations

*IMPORTANT UPDATE: May 8, 2010*:

"MDAR Drops Proposed Raw Milk Language in Favor of 'Broader Look' at Raw Milk. Marketing Agency cites 'passion and concern' associated with the issue." Read more info here and read David Gumpert's opinion on this update.

Nevertheless, the hearing will go on as scheduled (Monday, May 10th, 10 am at 100 Cambridge St., Boston), but certain provisions won't be discussed.

In addition, the Raw Milk Drink-In demonstration will still be held this Monday, May 10th, at 8:30 am on the Boston Commons near the Park St. T Station. (More info in this comment and on Facebook). Be there!