Immigrant Song - A Global Food Thread

[washing machine]

On my mind after the protests over the weekend.

I had this link I wanted to share, but I'm not really sure it fits anywhere else. So now we have a thread about all sorts of global food culture. Consider this an RM version of Bourdain's Parts Unknown, I guess.

A friend and former co-worker of mine has devoted much of his life to documenting the food culture in Houston. If you read his writing about food, you can easily substitute Houston for much of America. We're perhaps the most fortunate place on the planet when it comes to how much there is to eat in 2017. Below is perhaps the most wide-spread thing he's written, and it's worth a look if anyone is interested in this topic.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/g ... er-premium

[washing machine]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/201 ... oking-star

"And there were beans and tortillas and I was like, wait, I know what all these things are. I didn't know a tortilla was a tortilla, to me it was a flat bread, and I was like, I recognize this," Bhatt recalls.

Chiles, cumin, cilantro — Tex-Mex cooking shares many of the same ingredients as the Indian food he grew up with.

"I loved it," Bhatt says. "That was where I first made the connection between how similar things were between India and the U.S."

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[washing machine]

We're perhaps the most fortunate place on the planet when it comes to how much there is to eat in 2017.

Do you mean volume of food available, or variety of foods/flavors/cuisines?
We are fortunate in both respects, but they both come with grave compromises.

Both. I think I know what you're getting at, but go on.

EDIT: Let me add that I'm well aware that our fortune is often overlooked or taken for granted, yet I'm happy that American food culture is what it is. We would do well to understand and cultivate it, not exploit it.

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[washing machine]

For volume, yea, it's great that we have enough quantity to feed ourselves. But we produce and store far more than we need, and waste a ton of resources doing so. And then of course not everyone has access to the same level of nutrition, despite having access to the same volume. The old concept of hunger has nearly been eradicated globally; now it's a matter of the quality of the food available. Assessing a population's food security on a kilocalorie basis is woefully misrepresenting the health of that population (consider skyrocketing rates of diabetes and heart disease in China).

For variety, the problem we see often is the fetishization of novel ingredients at the cost of native producers' well-being. Quinoa, for example, is a complete protein and has been a staple crop in places like Bolivia and Peru; and now they can't even afford to eat it, as the US demand has driven the price too high. A different example would be that of palm oil, which is found in everything from Oreos to peanut butter. It's the primary export of Myanmar, which is basically a banana republic for this crop. Massive slash-and-burn agriculture in their country, with little economic development beyond their main export, because we like our peanut butter to be creamy the moment you open it, rather than having to swirl in the natural peanut oil.

I could go on. I love quantity and variety of food, but it seems for every exciting new dish comes an economic loser on the other side of the planet.

So, is there an American way that we can have our cake and eat it responsibly too? One alternative I can think of is the idea of "farm-to-table foreign." For example, a Thai restaurant around here serves authentic recipes using crops and bycatch from a local farmer and fishmonger. Turns out a lot of rare and "foreign" greens that are used in Northen Thai dishes grow well in the Texas coastal plains, and there's some really good "dirt fish" in the gulf that restaurants can play around with without over-fishing. Obviously there's a lot of drawback and limitations to sourcing global ingredients locally, but it's a fun idea to explore.

EDIT: Deeper look at what I'm getting at.
http://treadsack.com/choam/water-spinach/

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[washing machine]

For volume, yea, it's great that we have enough quantity to feed ourselves. But we produce and store far more than we need, and waste a ton of resources doing so. And then of course not everyone has access to the same level of nutrition, despite having access to the same volume. The old concept of hunger has nearly been eradicated globally; now it's a matter of the quality of the food available. Assessing a population's food security on a kilocalorie basis is woefully misrepresenting the health of that population (consider skyrocketing rates of diabetes and heart disease in China).

For variety, the problem we see often is the fetishization of novel ingredients at the cost of native producers' well-being. Quinoa, for example, is a complete protein and has been a staple crop in places like Bolivia and Peru; and now they can't even afford to eat it, as the US demand has driven the price too high. A different example would be that of palm oil, which is found in everything from Oreos to peanut butter. It's the primary export of Myanmar, which is basically a banana republic for this crop. Massive slash-and-burn agriculture in their country, with little economic development beyond their main export, because we like our peanut butter to be creamy the moment you open it, rather than having to swirl in the natural peanut oil.

I could go on. I love quantity and variety of food, but it seems for every exciting new dish comes an economic loser on the other side of the planet.

So, is there an American way that we can have our cake and eat it responsibly too? One alternative I can think of is the idea of "farm-to-table foreign." For example, a Thai restaurant around here serves authentic recipes using crops and bycatch from a local farmer and fishmonger. Turns out a lot of rare and "foreign" greens that are used in Northen Thai dishes grow well in the Texas coastal plains. Obviously there's a lot of drawback and limitations to sourcing global ingredients locally, but it's a fun idea to explore.

This is a massively complicated concept (I did my whole thesis on food policy, using conventional protein production vs. multi-trophic aquaculture as the backdrop). There's no magic bullet -- the agricultural and economic restraints are different for every product.

As a consumer and food business owner, I run a checklist on every product I buy:

Does it taste good? Will it help me prepare a tasty and nutritious meal?
Is it ethically sourced? Did the planet, the animals, and/or the laborers suffer an undue amount so I could serve this food?

The only obvious issue I see in the Thailand-via-Texas example is that the established producers of those products now have a decrease in demand. Growing locally is great, and serving by-catch fishes can be a huge win/win when those programs are implemented properly.

I think the USDA and similar state agencies would be wise to invest heavily in nutritionally-rich value-added products. The USDA has a mean hard-on for corn, soy, and dairy, and subsidizes those crops extensively. Most other crops are produced with a handful of problems attached and sold at a cheap cost, or they are produced with very great care and are very expensive. There's not a ton of middle ground: Big ag producers get on the USDA loan treadmill and are indebted for their new tractor for the next 20 years, or they are small producers making local honey or whatever, and charging a premium. There's not a lot of success to be had as a mid-sized food producer these days, and that's where the Gov't should be looking to inject some much-needed support.

I had this link posted above, but it makes more sense as a supplement to your last post. Do you foresee much progress being made in this regard in the coming years? Has progress been made since you wrote your thesis? What is the average consumer's obligation to an area's food culture if we want to both eat diversely and ethically?

[washing machine]

Sorry for the quote pyramid, by the way. Feel free to rip it up and start again at any time.

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[E.H. Ruddock]

You guys shouldn't share PM's like this

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[Orpheus]

I've been enjoying reading this. Would a post on taco truck culture fit in this thread?

[tragabigzanda]

from the ashes of tonkotsu

[washing machine]

Please, do it.

(Speaking of taco trucks, there was an impressive voter registration campaign that happened at local taco trucks around here last fall. Nate, I'd imagine that happened in Austin too?)

[washing machine]

Oh, Trag. I'm chewing a lot on your post. Nothing really to add to it at the moment, but I appreciate all the thought you put into it. This is a good conversation.

[spike]

Oh, Trag. I'm chewing a lot on your post. Nothing really to add to it at the moment, but I appreciate all the thought you put into it. This is a good conversation.

It is a lot to digest.

[spike]

Trag, you have quite the appetite for food stats. I have some raw data on sushi consumption you may find compelling.

[spike]

I also have the skinny on the last five seasons of potato crop yield in Idaho. Eye opening stuff.