Uncertain Future: Who will replace Canada’s Elder Farmers?

School Food Policy as a Tool to Popularize Farming

Ableman, 231.

Michael Ableman

 It is amazing to consider what a recent phenomena our society’s departure from the natural world is, a mere blip. In such an extraordinarily short time we have forgotten where we came from, that we are a part of, not apart from, nature. And for the first time in the history of human evolution, there is an entire generation of young people who are for the most part, completely denatured.  So I wonder, who are we going to be able to seek out to guide a society that has become so disconnected from the natural world, from the most fundamental necessities such as food and water. What will happen if there are more Katrina’s, what will happen when the oil runs out? I think we desperately need leaders, real leaders. I’m not talking about managers, or actors, or dictators or manipulators. Leaders, folks who have compassion, respect for diversity, creative vision, an understanding of our true place in nature. [BC Farmer] John Thurman told me, “if you farm, you can run the world". 

Michael Ableman, Salt Spring Island farmer and author of Fields of Plenty

Farmers under the age of 35 are quickly becoming an endangered species. According to Statistics Canada’s Census of Agriculture, the number of farmers in Canada under the age of 35 fell by 62% between 1991 and 2006-a decline in young farmers that has been the most dramatic of the last century. The aging of our farming community has led to concerns about who will feed future generations of Canadians. This post is about the idea that school food policy or ‘place-based education’ might be used as a tool to encourage Canada’s youth to become farmers.

There are several causal factors related to the rapid decline in numbers of young people farming in Canada. These include a lack of economic opportunity in farming and the lure of city life- two factors that education policy may be ineffective in addressing. However, education policy could help to encourage young people to farm in two ways. For one, education policy could be designed to help debunk the myth that farming is unskilled work. And two, changes to school curriculum could help spread the idea that farming is a rewarding and highly valued occupation. Michael Ableman writes: “Farming isn’t just some lonely form of drudgery, but is an art and craft and an honourable profession”. Schools should take it upon themselves to transmit this important message to our young people.

There are a number of ways this could be done, here are just a few ideas.

‘Out-of-classroom learning’ or experiential learning is critical. Examples of the types of out-of-class room activities students could do:

-Guided farms tours

-School garden project

-Visit a Farmers’ Market

-Attend a public lecture on farming/food production issues

-Volunteer at a community garden, urban or rural farm

-Visit Heritage Village Museum and other interactive information centres

-Workshop on canning, drying and preserving food

-Attend a community event on animal rights

In-class learning:

-Incorporate more food-based curriculum into existing subjects including Biology, Social Studies, Math and History. This could include units on food politics, nutrition, and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge about food.

-Implement a mandatory sustainable food systems and nutrition class tailored to meet the needs of elementary and secondary school students. 

Place-based Education- ‘A Pedagogy of Community’

The suggestions I have outlined above are characteristic of those made by advocates of ‘place-based education’. I had not heard this term until recently when I read Place-based Education: Connecting Classrooms & Communities by David Sobel, Ph.D. According to Sobel’s book, place-based education seeks to engender a greater connection between students and their natural surroundings and helps students to develop a strong sense of responsibility towards their communities.

The idea behind place-based education is to bring the environment and community to the core of school curriculum. About place-based education Sobel (48) writes: “For too long, we felt, environmental education had been like art class. It happened for 50 minutes a week when the naturalist brought the owl into the classroom and the teacher got a break. It was a tassel on the edge of the fabric, not the [fabric itself]”. Advocates of place-based education argue that ecological and community literacy must become a central component of every school’s philosophy.

Canada's rapidly aging farming community and lack of young farmers to take their place is a serious issue and the solution to this problem is complex and requires change at multiply policy levels and across sectors.  Changes to education policy that include the expansion of food and community based curriculum may be one step towards cultivating young Canadians' interest in farming.

Sobel, 7.

Sobel, 63.

Ableman, Michael. Fields of Plenty. San Francisco: Chronical Books, 2005. 
Sobel, David. Place-Based Education.USA: Orion Society, 2005.

Aunty Verna’s Lemon Pie

This is a recipe that my friend Sam’s great aunt shared with me. While I was a student at McMaster and Ryerson, Sam’s family had me over for every holiday dinner. Whenever I went there I ate the most delicious food! Her family is from South Africa and the women really know how to cook. A few of the highlights included Sam’s grandma Merle’s, famous samosas, and Sam’s mum Ruth’s, lasagna (specially made for me since I’m a vegetarian☺), doughnuts made from scratch, home-made éclairs and Aunty Verna’s lemon dessert. I really miss that family!
 
Ingredients

Arrowroot cookies (half packet)
¼ cup butter
¼ cup melted sugar
3 egg yolks
1 can condensed milk
1 cup lemon juice (I use freshly squeezed)
2 tbsp grated lemon rind
3 egg whites
1 tbsp icing sugar

1) To make crust crush arrowroot cookies, stir together ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup melted butter and press into pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes, at 350 degrees. (You can also use a graham crust, although Aunty Verna says not to do this :))

2) For the filling beat the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and yolks until well mixed. Pour on top of the crust and bake until brown, about 25 or 30 minutes. After it cools I sometimes sprinkle coconut on top.

3) Optional merangue (I prefer this dessert with no topping and I eat the egg whites in an omelette instead) Beat eggs white and icing sugar (can also stir in coconut). Add on top of lemon and bake another 10 minutes until peaks are brown.

Roasted Vegetable Pasticcio with Rigatoni, Feta and Fresh Herbs

This recipe is from Rebar (pg. 169) with a few slight alterations. You can basically use any vegetable that you might have in your fridge in this dish. When I made two nights ago I found the final result a bit bland. Cole suggested I add additional fresh herbs to the leftovers and drizzle olive on top before re-heating. This turned out to be a good suggestion and the pasta was really good on the second night.

Ingredients

20 oz dry rigatoni pasta
1 medium red onion
1 medium eggplant
2 yellow or red peppers
2 small zucchini
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cracked pepper
8 garlic cloves
1 cup chopped fresh oregano,
mint or basil
½ bunch Italian parsley,
chopped zest of one lemon
3 tbsp capers
½ cup chopped pitted olives
¼ chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups grated mozzarella1
½ cups feta cheese
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Approximately ¼ cup butter, chopped

1)    Cook pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain and toss with a light coat of olive oil. Set aside.

2)    Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Chop red onion, eggplant and peppers in ½” square pieces. Cut zucchini into ½ thick half moon slices. In a large bowl, toss vegetables with olive oil salt and pepper and garlic. Spread them out on two lightly oiled baking trays and roast until vegetables are soft and golden (about 15 minutes). Remove the vegetables and reduce the oven temperature to 350.

3)    In a large bowl, toss together cooked pasta, roasted vegetables, lemon zest, capers, 2 cups mozzarella, feta cheese and all but 2 tbs of the chopped herbs. Spoon entire mixture into an poled 9 X 13” glass baking dish.

4)    Make the topping by combining fresh breadcrumbs with the remaining cup of grated cheese, reserved chopped herbs and spread of casserole. Sprinkle chopped butter on top. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees until bubbly and golden on top

Celebrating Dr. Fritz!

Thomas’ defense went very well on Tuesday and he now officially has his PhD! In honour of his success (and because Fabrice was coming over for dinner) I made enchiladas with red sauce and carrot cupcakes with cream cheese and sour cream icing for dessert. In the pictures above Thomas is busy ironing the placemats. Had to put him to work- don't want the Dr. title to go too much to his head!:)

Both of these recipes came from a recent People magazine special, ‘Cooking with the Stars’ and are Desperate Housewives star, Eva Longoria’s recipes, she also has her own cookbook. I made some significant changes to the enchiladas recipe since it called for shredded chicken and I’m a vegetarian. It also called for pre-made flour tortillas, which I wanted to make from scratch. I made up my own simple bean filling for the enchiladas and used the Rebar 'flour tortillas' recipe for the tortillas.

Red Enchiladas

10 medium tomatoes, quartered
10 dried ancho chiles (I used one jalapeno pepper instead and this was not nearly spicy enough)
8 cloves garlic
1 cup vegetable broth
¼ cups vegetable oil
1 can black beans
1 can refried beans
3 yellow onions chopped
1 green pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups grated or crumbled queso fresco or shredded Mexican cheese

1)    For the sauce:
Place tomatoes and chiles in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until chiles are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and remove stems from the chiles. Working in batches, place tomatoes, chiles, garlic and broth in food processor. Process until well pureed.

2)    In large skillet heat ¼ cup oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking.Add sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove sauce from heat. Set aside to cool.

3)    Enchiladas filling: Saute 2/3rds of onions until translucent. Add green pepper, sauté for a few minutes. Then add refried beans and black beans and red pepper flakes. Stir and set aside.

4)    For the enchiladas: Dip one tortilla in the red sauce, lightly soaking both sides. Place tortilla in the baking dish and arrange about 3 tbls of bean filling inside. Sprinkle on a bit of onion. Roll tortilla and place at one end of baking dish. Repeat until enchiladas are sung in the baking dish.

5)    When all enchiladas are rolled, pour remaining sauce over them. Sprinkle cheese over top and cover pan with foil. Place in over until cheese melts and enchiladas are heated through, 15-20 minutes. Remove from over. Serve with Mexican rice.

Finished enchiladas! Really good but not quite spicy enough.

Recipe I used for the Flour Tortillas (from Rebar, p 43)

Ingredients:


1 ½ cups white flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp white sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 tbsp vegetable shortening
¾ cup hot water

1)    In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Using the tips of your fingers, add shortening by working into the dry mixture until little pea-shaped balls form. Gradually add hot water while using your other hand to mix with a wooden spoon. When the dough is too still to mix with a spoon, reach in with your hands and gently knead for 2 minutes. (I found I had to add extra flour here to make the dough more workable and less sticky) Shape unto a ball, place into a clean bowl and cover with plastic. Let sit for at least one hour.

2)    Next line baking tray or dish with parchment paper, sprinkle with flour and set aside. Uncover the dough and pinch off a gold ball-sized amount. Roll the dough in you palms to form smooth spheres. Dust lightly with flour, set on parchments paper and cover loosely with plastic. Repeat with remaining dough. Set the tray aside, covered to rest for another hour.

3)    When you are ready to roll and cook, lightly sprinkling flour on counter and set ball of dough in the centre, pressing lightly to flatten. Roll the dough to form tortilla (about 8” round). Repeat with remaining dough and stack tortillas between sheets of wax paper.4)    Heat a cast iron pan or non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush lightly with oil and cook tortilla on the first side until you see bubble forming underneath. Flip over and cook until lightly golden. Wrap in foil and keep in a warm oven until all of the tortillas are cooked. Serve immediately!

Carrot Cupcakes (I cut this recipe in half- If you follow as is it makes two 8" round cakes- bake 45 minutes)

2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda1 tsp table salt
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups peeled and coarsely grated carrots (about 6 medium carrots)
1 cup chopped and roasted pecans, for garnish

For cupcakes:

1)    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin tins.

2)    In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt three times.

My lovely friend Kendra

3)    In the work bowl of an electric stand mixer or in a large bowl with hand-held mixer, beat oil and sugar. Add eggs and beat until well combined. A eggs and beat until well combined. Add the flour mixture and still until just blended. Add carrots in small amounts, folding gently after each addition.

4)    Pour into prepared pan and bake until cupcakes are golden.

5)    Cool in the pans on wire racks for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the outside, remove from pan and cool right-side-up on the racks.

6)    Frost cake with cream cheese frosting. Top with pecans.

Cream Cheese and Sour Cream Frosting

16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
½ sour cream
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat together cream cheese and sour cream. Add sugar one cup at a time, blending between each addition. Mix in vanilla. Beat until smooth about 3-5 minutes.

Making Terra Breads' ‘Artisan Granola’

I love homemade granola. It takes a little while to make but it is really easy and I find making granola at home makes it much more affordable. The recipe below makes a lot of granola so I keep it in the freezer and it takes me at least a few months to eat it all. Since  this recipe makes so many servings it’s much easier to make if you have an extra large mixing bowl and baking pan(s).

My favorite granola is Vancouver-based bakery Terra Breads’ ‘Artisan Granola’. The recipe below is my best attempt to recreate their recipe. It’s crispy, sweet and filled with nuts and dried fruit.

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats
1 cup wheat germ
1/3 ground flax seed
1/2 cup dry millet
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup coarsely chopped cashews

1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups combination of chopped dates, raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Combine the dry ingredients (except the dried fruit) in a large bowl. Stir together the salt, brown sugar or honey, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, and vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly since it burns easily, then pour over the dry ingredients, and stir to coat. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.

 3. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 50 minutes (or less if you bake the granola on cookie sheets). Stir every ten minutes- burns quite easily! Add the raisins and/or dates, cranberries after about 30 minutes (or for the last 15 minutes or so, don't make the mistake of adding the dried fruit at the beginning since the fruit takes a much shorter time to become crispy and will easily burn). Cool before storing in an airtight container

Creamy Chickpea Soup

When I was in Salmon Arm last week Mia and I had our lunch at the Blue Canoe Café. On the first day we ate roasted vegetable soup and it was so delicious that the following day after a big morning of cross-country skiing (if you ever get to a chance to go to the Larch Hills, it is beautiful up there!) Mia suggested we go back the Blue Canoe for lunch again. On this second day the soup was equally delicious- creamy chickpea coconut with pesto drizzled on top. I decided to try and recreate this second soup. Not quite as delicious as the Blue Canoe Café version but definitely good.

Ingredients:

3  tablespoons olive oil
4 gloves chopped fresh garlic
2 cups finely chopped onions
1 tbls grated fresh ginger
2 carrots, chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 apple peeled and chopped
3 cups vegetable stock
2  cans of chickpeas
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2-3 tsp masala spice
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
4 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil
2. Add onions, sauté for 3-4 minutes then add garlic and carrots
3. Sauté 10-15 minutes.
4. Add squash, stock, chickpeas, ginger and coriander; bring to a boil.
5. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, approx 30 minutes. Add coconut milk and cilantro, blend well. For an extra smooth and creamy soup put through the blender twice.
6. If you have pesto on hand, add additional olive oil and blend to make it a liquid consistency that can be drizzled on top of the soup. At the Blue Canoe they drizzled the pesto in the shape of a flower and it looked really nice.
7. Enjoy!

Wake Up Call: Women's Personal Responsibility to Struggle Against Western Beauty Standards

Lately I have been feeling more depressed than usual about our culture of insecurity and the overwhelming pressure faced by women (and sadly, increasingly men as well) to conform to rigid Western beauty standards. A quick Google search reveals that women are expending larger and larger amounts of time and energy attempting to lose weight and alter their appearance. For example statistics show that the number of women who underwent cosmetic surgeries in Britain rose by more than fifty percent between 2003 and 2004, that the number of girls in the US eighteen years old and younger who got breast implants nearly tripled between 2004 and 2005. Also, conservative estimates indicate that after puberty, five to ten percent of American girls and women (meaning five to ten million girls and women) struggle with eating disorders.

I few recent occurrences in my personal life have contributed to my focus on this topic: A month ago a friend of mine had an Arbonne Cosmetics home party and several of the women attending were most interested in the anti-aging line of creams. A number of the women talked about the lines on their foreheads and around their mouths- no one there was older than 27! Then, a few days later, one of my friends had to rush to the emergency because she had an allergic reaction to the cream used for her Brazilian wax. Finally, not long ago I asked my friend (who is not the tiniest bit overweight) to come swimming and she said she didn’t want to be seen in her bathing suit until she lost some weight. This reminded me of the countless other conversations I’ve had with friends consumed by the desire to lose weight before their weddings, vacations, the summer, the list goes on. More seriously, it also caused me to reflect on the large number of my peers who have experienced a range of eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia and the condition where people chew their food and spit it out.

Simone De Beauvoir on Narcissism

Thinking about the oppression through western beauty standards of myself, my peers and society in general has been making me feel helpless and sorry for myself.


I decided to re-read Simone De Beauvoir’s chapter in The Second Sex “the Narcissist” which I studied in a class I took on French Feminist Theory while doing my Master’s. Despite being published over sixty years ago, I find Beauvoir's analysis relevant and more empowering than anything else I have read on the subject.  In her chapter on narcissism, Beauvoir, although recognizing the structural causes of the struggle so many women have with narcissism, poor body image and appearance-related issues (Beauvoir views narcissism to be a condition that women are prone to as a result of their objectification within patriarchy), she does not let women off the hook by describing them as powerless victims of a systemic problem. Instead, she says that women have a personal responsibility to struggle against narcissism/western beauty standards.

I see Beauvoir’s work on narcissism as a wake up call to women. She has two important messages, (1); narcissism is causing suffering to narcissistic women themselves and to society in general and, (2); women’s narcissism is a result of patriarchy and women’s complicity in it.  I think it is this multifaceted approach that makes her case against narcissism so effective and empowering. I find that often contemporary writing about the problems women face as a result of narcissism and rigid beauty standards lack tools for empowerment because the authors (e.g. Noami Wolf in The Beauty Myth) focus only on the causes of women’s narcissism that are beyond women’s control, for example patriarchal capitalist mechanisms like the media. By writing about women’s complicity in their own subjugation Beauvoir challenges women to struggle against narcissism and shame and insecurity, (the underside of narcissism).

Here are a few of the effects of narcissism identified by Beauvoir.

Inability to be in a proper loving relationship:

Beauvoir writes: “A stubborn narcissist will be limited in art as in love for want of the ability to give herself”.  She explains further, "she looks at herself too much to see anything; she understands in others only what she recognizes as like herself in them; whatever is not germane to her own case, her own history, remains outside her comprehension. She loves to multiply her experience, she wants the intoxication and the torments of love, the pure joys of motherhood, of friendship, of solitude, of tears and laughter, but because she can never give herself, her emotions are manufactured." Here she explains that through women’s obsession with themselves they forgo many of the joys of life. 

Women are demobilized and positive contributions to society are limited:

Beauvoir argues that women are not only hurting themselves as narcissists, they are also prevented from engaging in much positive action; in being consumed with themselves they are rendered passive and contingent beings. This is a point that particularly haunts me. I wonder how different the world might be if the enormous amount of energy women put into worrying about their appearance and attempting to alter it was instead directed towards helping other people or promoting social justice.

Dissatisfaction and vulnerability:

Alluded to as well in the Second Sex is the fact that inherent to the narcissistic woman’s experience is her perpetual dissatisfaction and vulnerability. Beauvoir writes: “the young girl who in her mirror has seen beauty, desire, love, happiness, in her own features-animated she believes, with her own consciousness will try all her life to exhaust the promises of that dazzling revelation”. Beauvoir points out that narcissistic women set themselves up for perpetual dissatisfaction because things that are worth achieving must be actively worked for. Moreover, the narcissistic woman’s vulnerability is also revealed by the possibility that such women will one day look in the mirror and not like what they see.  Beauvoir writes  “her body and her face are of flesh that time will disfigure”.  If a woman spends all her life believing that central to her entire being and definition as a person is that she is young, pretty, happy, desired, etc. when she "suddenly realizes that she is no longer any of these things she will feel herself to be nothing". Finally, Beauvoir writes: “despite her superficial arrogance, the narcissist realizes her precarious position and this explains why she is uneasy, oversensitive, irritable and constantly on the watch; her vanity is insatiable”.

Reading about the effects rigid beauty standards have on women, and increasingly all people in our society, can be a triggering and negative experience for people who relate to these behaviours.  However, Beauvoir is very clear in her writing that women are not born narcissistic. The frequent worries women have about about their appearance and extended time they spend in the washroom in front of the mirror is not biological, but rooted in our societal structure. And YET, Beauvoir says women must wake up and realize that they can fight against this. Moreover they can not only fight, they have an obligation to do so! When women succomb to narcissistic bahaviour they let down their loved ones and society as a whole.

Traditional Food Skills as a Tool of Resistance

Not too long ago I read in a celebrity gossip magazine that the new trend among Hollywood actresses is to keep no food in the house and instead have all meals delivered by a catering company. The magazine explained that this system ensures that meals of particular calorie amounts can be ordered and that Hollywood stars need not be tempted to eat beyond their basic caloric needs. This is just one example of the twisted eating culture we have developed, symptomatic of the rigid beauty standards women feel obligated to follow.

 This project I have taken on, to learn traditional food skills including being able to (1) select quality fruits and vegetables, (2) store foods in such a way as to prevent nutritional loss and spoilage, (3) bake, (4) cook nutritious meals, (5) use up leftovers and avoid waste, (6) can, and (7) grow common garden vegetable, is one positive way that I can feel I can resist the type of unhealthy food culture being created by the beauty myth or Western standards of beauty.

When I was doing research for this post I came across some eating disorder awareness literature that noted an increased interest in baking and cooking can actually be a sign of disordered eating. “Many persons with eating disorders love to cook and will constantly cook and bake for their family or friends,” said Theresa Fassihi, PhD, a psychologist with the Eating Disorders Program at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. “They may bake all day, but do not eat a single thing themselves".

On the other hand, many women find cooking helps them to cultivate a healthy relationship with food. For example, in her article ‘Cooking Up Self-Esteem’ Joy Manning, restaurant critic for Philadelphia Magazine and the author of the cookbook Almost Meatless writes, “cooking is a powerful tool that helps mend our often damaged relationships with food”.  I find cooking helps me to feel good about myself and ensures that I will sit down and eat a healthy, energizing meal that will likely be made from wholesome plant-based ingredients. I've been searching for research projects looking at the link between body image/self-esteem issues and knowledge and utilization of traditional food skills. I haven't found any yet, but plan to keep looking!