Pablito....

A REMINDER
While it’s not exactly a Thanksgiving story, the outbreak of hepatitis at a Mexican food chain serves as a reminder of something we often take for granted, no longer a surety — a safe food supply.  The United States of America has some of the cleanest water, air, and soil in the world — due to our strong environmental regulations and modern infrastructure.  This means that food grown in our country is also among the cleanest and safest in the world.  For years, we have been able to take this for granted because the vast majority of food we ate every day was produced right here in the U.S.

In the last ten years, this reality has changed dramatically.  Globalization and free trade agreements have opened our doors to cheap produce, meat, and other agricultural products from all over the world.  Specifically, many of these products are now coming from developing countries that have little or no environmental, public health, and labor laws or enforcement. Farmers have been aware of the trade-offs made in the name of keeping consumer prices low for years.  Of course, there is the competition.  But more importantly, there have been numerous outbreaks of crop diseases and pests imported into the U.S. from countries along with crop shipments.  Some of these outbreaks have cost farmers tens of millions of dollars, much of which is reimbursed by the government (and thus taxpayers).  In Southern California, there is currently a hundred-square mile quarantine area for the Mexican Fruit Fly.  Farmers in that area are asking for reimbursement for their losses as a result of the U.S. government’s free trade policies with Mexico (NAFTA).

The line I have seen repeated numerous times in reference to the green onion hepatitis outbreak is that the vegetables are “hard to clean”.  The fact is that green onions, along with all other vegetables grown in Mexico, are irrigated with water than is contaminated with sewage.  Period.  There is no sewage treatment in most of Mexico.  That is why Americans, when they go to that country, have always and forever been told not to drink the water.  Or, for that matter, eat vegetables raw including lettuce, tomatoes, and, uh, green onions.  For some reason, someone doesn’t want the news media to come right out and make this obvious statement.  Maybe that’s because so much of the green onions and tomatoes now eaten — and especially those used in restaurant chains with set, year-round menus — come from Mexico.

Green onions are an incredibly labor intensive crop to grow.  It’s much cheaper to grow them in Mexico, so that is where most of them now come from.  Tomatoes, on the other hand, come from Mexico for six months of the year because you can’t really grow them in the U.S. during the winter.  You and I might avoid tomatoes in the winter when we shop in the supermarket, what about in restaurants?  Lettuce is another crop that is increasingly grown in Mexico during certain months of the year.  Organic is no exception.  (I would add that organic cherry tomatoes grown in Mexico are probably safe to eat, since cherry tomatoes grow on vines that are less likely to come into contact with the irrigation water.)

Fact:  Most third world countries have little if any sewage treatment, and surface water is often contaminated with sewage — E. Coli, hepatitis, dysentery, and others.

Fact:  Customs Officials cannot keep foreign pests from coming on produce shipments.  There is no system currently in place to test food for diseases, and even if there was, the likelihood of problems being caught is slim, given the volume of imports currently coming into the country and the available staff.

Fact:  Food grown in the United States is the safest in this hemisphere.  Unfortunately, it’s getting harder and harder to known if you are eating something grown elsewhere.

Thanks for eating organic and local.  If your Thanksgiving conversation happens to turn to the topic of green onions and hepatitis, let people know what’s really happening.  Happy Thanksgiving.

GET YOUR ORDERS IN
Order your holiday gift baskets now.  The all-organic baskets will contain Satsuma Mandarin oranges, Pink Lady apples, walnuts, and roasted pistachios plus a card (same as last year).  The price will be $20 plus shipping.

To get an order form, go to www.terrafirmafarm.com.  Orders paid by check must be mailed by Nov.  29, while PayPal orders must be made by Dec. 5.

IN YOUR BOXES
 We did our best to assemble a brimming box of Thanksgiving produce for you this week.  While we did send along two fruit items, we reduced the amount of each so we could stuff more holiday-meal oriented vegetables in:

 Green beans don’t grow anywhere in the U.S. except maybe Florida in November.  Those T-day green beans speak Spanish, and shouldn’t be eaten raw.  Why not substitute locally grown Broccoli or Cauliflower, cooked to crisp-tender, maybe with a little garlic?
 Celery is on the small side, but it’s full of flavor.   If you’re making a soup or gravy, the leaves will add lots of flavor — just remember to take them out before serving, since they are quite tough.

 Satsuma Mandarin oranges are putting up a fight — ripening quite slowly.  We did our best to selectively harvest only the ripest fruit.  Nonetheless, you may get one that’s tarter than you were expecting.

 Romaine lettuce should help extend the salad mix.  Together, they should make a salad for 6 or more people.  The romaine is not fully blanched yet, but cold temperatures now make it sweet and crunchy even while dark green.

 Beets aren’t a traditional Turkeyday vegetable, but they are a perfect companion to fresh or frozen cranberries in a relish or salad.  They have sugar to spare, and make a nice sweet-tart combo for the berries.

 Pushing up our delivery days meant working Sunday this week, so we’re all ready for a few days off.  Enjoy this farmer’s holiday and the rare time it gives you to linger over a meal with friends and family.  And thanks for being part of our farm.
Recipes............................

Mushroom Gravy — I like turkey gravy.  But I make this more often, since I don’t usually have a turkey around.
Soak 4-6 dried shitake mushrooms in 2 C. hot water.
Heat 1 T. butter in a saucepan, then add 1/2 C. finely minced onion and 1/2 C. minced celery.  When the vegetables begin to soften, add 1 C. minced fresh portobellos or other “wild” mushroom, 1 T. chopped fresh rosemary, and 1/2 t. dried French herbs.  Cook until the mushrooms shrink by half, then add 1/2 C. white or red wine.  When the wine begins to bubble, add the mushroom broth.  Chop the (formerly) dried shitakes and add to the gravy.  Cook for 10 minutes or longer.
Just before dinner is ready, stir 2 T. flour into 1/2 C. water to dissolve, then whisk the mixture into the gravy.  Stir until it begins to thicken, then lower heat.  Season with salt and pepper.
 

Produce 101: preparation & storage  PINK LADY APPLES in today’s boxes come from CCOF Certified Coco Ranch just west of Davis. German Butterball POTATOES in today’s boxes come from CCOF certified Riverdog Farm in Guinda.  We hope to begin harvesting our own fall crop of potatoes just after Thanksgiving.

Vacations & Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com

Account Balance Inquiries The account sheet is hiding under the sign off sheet each week with your account balance on it.  Mid month I've been e-mailing statments, so if you're not getting it send me an e-mail requesting to be added to the list.

MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com
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