table talk / By Bob Doran

Popeye and Provence

What about the tainted manure? Well, we’ll just treat that as toxic waste, and forget about the old days when manure was something routinely spread on your fields as natural fertilizer. We can get fertilizer from somewhere else. But what about the fossil fuels that go into producing the fertilizer and schlepping it across the country? Hey, stop asking so many questions and eat your damned hamburger, or your spinach salad, or your taco with green onions.

The issue of manure as “pollution” came up in a forum I attended earlier this year, the annual Cattleman’s Association Dinner in Ferndale, where ranchers assembled to discuss mutual problems. While on the topic of government intrusion into their business, the topic of wastewater discharge permits came up. The government’s demanding that the timber companies get them - are the ranchers next? The prediction was dire: mom and pop outfits like we have in Humboldt County are already operating on a thin profit margin. Add another bit of red tape and more costly environmental analysis and that’s it. The cattle ranch or dairy farm gets sold for a subdivision.

And what about those tainted vegetables? As Pollan points out, when you have a “ Vegetable-Industrial Complex,” the tendency is to think of big industrial solutions to problems like what is now deemed “food security.” Ask the grower at the local farmers’ market if they’re ready for the governmental war on bacteria coming to a produce stand near you. While the dairymen and cattlemen (and women) are on a thin margin, it’s even thinner for most local farmers. Truth is, the majority of the folks you buy your lettuce and peppers from at the farmers’ market have someone at home with a “real” job to pay the bills. See how many stick with it if you impose another layer of bureaucracy on them.

Is there any good news in all this? There is. Humboldt County already has a pretty well-developed localization movement. We have restaurateurs and grocers who think local. We have a beef and dairy industry that’s already leaning toward grass-fed and organic, ranches that should thrive as the provenance of your steak and ice cream becomes an issue. We have folks like Jacque and Marguerite and so many others at the market in town whom we know and trust, and you know what? When everyone was suddenly scared of spinach, theirs sold faster. Remember that saying in the ‘90s: Think global, act local? We’re already there. We just have to keep up the good work.

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