Johnny Sarran, owner of Bubba's Diner in San Anselmo, with bowl of fresh organic tomatoes
We're all familiar with the phrase, "Think globally, act locally." And of course we've heard the twist on the sentiment, "Think globally, shop locally." So it's an easy mental shift to "Think globally, eat locally." Not only is eating locally a pleasure for the senses, but doing so is one of the best ways to begin living the green life.
Marin has what it takes to produce an abundance of sustainably farmed, locally grown food most of the year, especially during summer: good climate and rich soil; dedicated, environmentally aware farmers; supportive local government; and a populace that's willing and able to fork over a few extra greenbacks for the chance to dig their forks into food that's tastier, fresher, more healthful, and ecologically greener.
Trust Your Buds
Your taste buds will tell you reason No. 1 for eating what's grown locally: flavor. The taste of a sun-ripened tomato right off the vine is infinitely more pleasing than the taste of an anemic tomato that has been harvested while it's still hard enough to survive a days-long trek across great distances to reach a warehouse, then a supermarket, and finally a dinner plate.
Although pleasing your palate might be motivation enough to seek locally grown food, there's also a significant health factor, since fresh food is nutritionally superior. Unless chemical pesticides are your cup of tea, the health benefits of organic agricultural practices are a no-brainer. If you need more convincing, factor in the considerable perks that might not be so apparent: preservation of open space, a smaller carbon footprint, a stronger local economy, and a closer-knit community.
Agriculture employs 1,400 people in Marin and generates almost $53 million in annual revenues. According to the Marin County Agriculture Commission, there are 38 registered organic producers in Marin, farming 11,300 acres and producing a total gross value of $4.2 million. Much of this acreage is devoted to ranching and dairy farming, with just a couple of hundred acres planted in "row crops."
Johnny Sarran, owner of Bubba's Diner in San Anselmo, has been focusing on organic and local food for three and a half years but says, "I've never really marketed the restaurant as such to customers because I was convinced the consumer would be more concerned with taste and quality. But I do local and organic because I believe in it. It's better tasting, nutritionally better, and better for the community."
Farm to Table: Buying Direct
Sarran handpicks much of Bubba's produce at the San Rafael Civic Center Farmers Market, and beyond that has developed what he calls "a growing relationship" with Draper Farms, a one-acre plot on the edge of San Anselmo where three generations of Jerome Drapers — ages 83, 55, and 20 — grow organic, mostly heirloom varietals of tomatoes, peppers, and a wide assortment of other produce, as well as raise chickens for eggs.
Draper's tomatoes are top quality and grown so near to Bubba's — a little over a mile from garden gate to restaurant door — that they're often served the very day they're picked, Sarran says. The idea of buying from a farmer he could look in the eye was so appealing that, "At one point, I told Jerry I'd buy every single tomato he could grow for me, plus peppers and arugula." Now Draper plans what he grows in a portion of his field specifically to supply Bubba's, which bolsters the farm's economic security while ensuring Sarran a steady supply of excellent produce.
Suzanne McGoldrick, owner of the tiny Kentfield restaurant Table, shops the San Rafael market every Sunday and Thursday morning to select the "cases and cases" of produce she uses to fill her specialty dosas (South Indian crepes) and grace her other dishes.
For McGoldrick, who has lived in Marin since 1976 and who learned her craft under the famed Jeremiah Tower at Stars restaurant in San Francisco, serving organic food is a way to practice social responsibility. "I care about the health of the people who eat here, of course, but I also care about the health of the people who grow, tend, and pick our food," she says. "Their working conditions matter, especially their exposure to chemical pesticides."
Farmers and Open Space
McGoldrick's also concerned about keeping Marin County beautiful. "If we want to preserve open space, we have to do our part to keep the local farmers in business so the land doesn't have to be developed into condos, or a shopping mall, or something else none of us really wants," she points out.
The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) would agree. Agriculture is Marin's largest private land use, and agricultural open spaces weave together with neighboring state and federal parklands into a greenbelt that provides watershed protection and habitat for what MALT calls "some of the greatest concentrations of birds, plants, and wildlife anywhere in the world."
MALT, which protects and preserves these farms and ranches, urges on its Web site, "Most importantly, buy local agricultural products. Ultimately, agriculture will survive and thrive only if we support it."
Among the farms surviving and thriving is Susan Martinelli's one-acre Creekside Gardens in Bolinas, part of a family-owned, 200-acre parcel on which five partners operate. A Marin Organic Certified farmer, Martinelli cultivates fruit, including raspberries, strawberries, lemons, apples, pears, and persimmons, much of it for use in her jam business. She uses only organic sugar and natural pectin in her preserves and sells them at the Fairfax Farmers' Market and through word of mouth. She also grows flowers and vegetables, and keeps 40 Maran chickens, known for their distinctive brown speckled eggs.
Food's Carbon Footprint
Eating fresh and local foods is certainly not a new idea, but it has new meaning as the world faces global climate change. A "low-carbon diet" takes into account the environmental impact of the things one eats. Pledging to use seasonal local produce as a "first preference," Bon Appétit Management Company, a Palo Alto-based food service company that runs 400 cafés and restaurants for businesses and institutions across the United States, says that food — and all the energy it takes to make, process, package, and transport it — is one of the largest human activities contributing to greenhouse emissions, responsible each year for 2.8 tons of CO2 per American.
The big-ticket items in this picture are transportation and processing, which account for 80 percent of the energy used in the U.S. food system. Most bananas, for example, travel 3,000 miles on high-speed, refrigerated ships to get here, making a King Kong-size carbon footprint.
Buying local produce can instantly reduce food's hefty CO2 impact, and that means Marin residents can reduce their individual carbon footprints practically painlessly.
Little Steps, Big Green Savings
On average, American farmers receive less than 20 cents per dollar for their products, according to Marin Organic, an association made up of local producers, with the rest going to food brokers, distributors, and retailers. When a consumer buys locally grown produce, the farmer pockets a much larger share of each food dollar. Additionally, as Marin Organic points out, that dollar gets spent within the community seven more times, on average, before it leaves the county — and that helps keep the local economy strong.
As Helge Hellberg, executive director of Marin Organic, sees it, our relationship with the food that sustains us is "a measure of our true well-being."
Bubba's Sarran echoes Hellberg's sentiment when he talks about his commitment to organic food. "There comes a time when you start soul-searching, thinking about what really matters," he says. "For me, it's about being a part of something. Contributing and doing my small part — for my family, employees, customers — to making a difference in my little corner of the universe."
