A.M. Greenlist: Farmers' market food fight
>> The Santa Monica Farmers' Market gets controversial, now that big companies are snapping up the sweet peas. Some local restaurant chefs are angry that big companies are buying up the good stuff before market day. Farmers, however, say that all these chefs have to do is call and the sweet peas could be theirs.
- Farmer Phil McGrath says just call: "Look, I don't want to make anybody mad, but is it so hard to pick up the phone?" he asked plaintively. "Can't they call us up the day before and say, 'Hey are you coming down tomorrow? Could you bring some peas?'"
- Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield restaurant says calling ahead ruins spontaneity and culinary inspiration: "If I'm going to have to pre-order things in order to be sure I get them, I might as well just stay in bed an extra of couple hours every Wednesday morning."
- Mark Peel of Campanile says what chefs are complaining about now was what regular shoppers were complaining about in the past: "Farmers markets started as a way for farmers to sell directly to home cooks, then chefs started going there and home cooks would moan about the chefs coming in early and scooping up everything good.... Now the same thing is happening to us."
I'm glad my local farmers' market seems to be doing so well --
>> Here's the L.A. Times review of the new local, sustainable, organic food-focused Akasha restaurant. Earlier: Akasha: Culver City's new green restaurant.
>> Unlike Schwarzenegger, a number of Republicans oppose California's bid to set its own car emissions standards. Oddly, Republican presidential candidates voiced support for California's bid at a debate a few months ago.
>> A primer to selecting the greenest paper. Earlier: L.A. to buy only 100% post-consumer recycled copy paper.
>> Cow manure to power California! PG&E started producing natural gas from cow manure at a dairy farm in Riverdale, Calif. The Vintage Dairy Biogas Project is hoped to provide the natural gas needed to power 1,200 homes a day.
Photo by Siel
