The Pork Checkoff honors 2011 Pork Industry Environmental Stewards

The National Pork Board honored four farm families as recipients of the 2011 Pork Industry Environmental Stewards Award at the annual National Pork Industry Forum recently held in Denver. The award, now in its 18th year, recognizes producers who demonstrate a firm commitment to safeguarding the environment and their local communities.

The 2011 award recipients are:

Golden Circle Pork, Woodward, Iowa
Rod and Missy Bice produce 6,600 wean-to-finish pigs annually on their farm set amid 1,400 acres of corn and soybeans. They and their children continue the farming tradition that began more than a century ago by both sides of the family. The Bices were also named Environmental Stewards for Iowa in 2010.

Sharing your best ideas for innovation in teaching sustainability can be rewarding.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC

The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and CAFÉ are proud to announce that entries are being accepted for the 2012 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award. The first national award dedicated to building the body of teaching knowledge for all sustainability educators, it recognizes innovative teaching and projects that could have applications for other culinary programs across the country.

All secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs are eligible to enter. Entries will be judged based on the level of innovation; perceived impact on students’ understanding of sustainability practices and their importance; and the ease with which elements of the winning program can be implemented by other culinary programs nationwide.

How much more are consumers willing to pay for sustainable cuisine?

Consumers want and need to eat out, and the foodservice industry has a huge carbon footprint. Getting industry operators and consumers on the “green” bandwagon is necessary to minimize the impact that restaurants have on the environment in the future. But how willing are patrons to embrace this change?

According to a recent Mintel report, just more than half (57%) of respondents are willing to pay more for local and sustainable fare; however, the majority of those are only willing to pay a mere 1% to 5% more.

“Green and sustainable attributes pale in comparison to the leading restaurant decision drivers of menu selection, prices and convenient location,” says Eric Giandelone, foodservice director at Mintel. “However, these initiatives support the leading attributes to help a restaurant stand apart and will become more important as the green movement continues to progress.”

The truth about GMOs.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

In this world, we live surrounded by myths and even believe some of them. Lobsters scream when you boil them. Eating bananas makes you more appealing to mosquitoes. And a company has genetically engineered and marketed a tomato containing a gene from the arctic flounder to make the tomato more resistant to frost and cold. Like most myths, this one has a kernel of truth, but turns out it’s more of a red herring than a fishy tomato. Yes, back in 1991, DNA Plant Technologies did experiment with this, but it was a total failure, was never marketed, and the idea died in the laboratory. So please feel free to continue eating tomatoes.

As educators, we often stay away from controversial issues like genetically modified organisms (GMOs), either because we don’t feel secure in our own knowledge of them or because we see them as too political and polarizing. And in the culinary world, as we look to many respected chefs who are dedicated to organic and sustainable foods, GMOs elicit a “Hell, no, we won’t go there” response. But is that response built on fact or fiction? Where did they get their information? Was it factual and provided by a neutral source?

Senator Schumer launches a push to secure new funding to help The Culinary Institute of America and Hudson Valley farmers get products on local shelves and into local restaurants.

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer on September 30 called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to tap the federal Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and the Beginning Farmer Development program to fund The Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) Sustainable Farming Program. The CIA, working with local farms, food stores, restaurants and small businesses, is creating a Sustainable Farming Program that will help local farmers grow products that are currently in demand at local stores and restaurants in a sustainable manner. The program seeks to connect local growers with new, local markets based on the needs of Hudson Valley stores and restaurants. With funding from the USDA, the CIA will be able to expand its reach and help more farmers get their products from their fields and into local markets.