I noticed Earl Butz died on February 8.  If I had not read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, I would not have known, nor cared, who Earl Butz was.  However, it seems that as a highly powerful Secretary of Agriculture in the 70s, Earl Butz was responsible for a major shift in agricultural economic policy—a shift that was responsible for the explosion in the farming of corn—“from fencerow to fencerow.”  His mantra was “Go big or go home,” and what may have seemed to have been technological and industrial progress, it led ultimately to the demise of the family farm, the raping of the soil, and is directly responsible for the metastasis of corn into every area of our lives—not just at the backyard barbeque, but in our drives to work, in the meat we eat, in every supermarket aisle, in the pause that refreshes, and in the bottle it’s made in.

In all fairness to Mr. Butz, his legacy spanned decades that were different from the way we see our world now.  He served under Dwight Eiasenhower for three years as assistant secretary of agriculture in the 50s when returning World War II veterans were moving into assembly line Levittown homes; and when petrochemicals were revered as the save of the future (remember the line in The Graduate:  “There’s a great future in plastics”?); when freedom and convenience were embodied in the TV dinner.  His response to concerns about the use of pesticides and fertilizers was “Before we go back to organic agriculture, somebody is going to have to decide what 50 million people we are going to let starve.”   

So, let’s assume that Mr. Butz was well-intentioned, but that it is now time for a re-evaluation of his farm policies and the way they have impacted our environment, our farmers, and our health.

I went shopping today, taking my Prius on a 13 mile loop from my home, to Griggstown Quail Farm and Farm Market, then to the supermarket for a few staples, then to Maple Tree Farm for another loaf of Calandra’s Panella bread.    Admittedly, I spent kind of a lot:  $114 at Griggstown, $58 at the supermarket, and $13 at Maple Tree.    But I’m hoping my purchases will get us through the week.

Tonight we’re going to have roasted young chicken (as a vegetarian, I will abstain); and perhaps some of the wild rice I bought at Griggstown, or mashed potatoes.   We’ll also perhaps have some carrots.  The root vegetables are staples of a winter harvest, so I’ll try to stay away from things that are not seasonal in the Northeast.  

This week I’ve put together a couple more locavore, corn-free meals:

Melba toast topped with brie and sliced hard-boiled egg.

Oatmeal topped with granola and Sugar in the Raw, and a splash of soy milk.

A dinner of Vermont Cabot Cheddar slices, a pear (ok, not local, but corn-free), melba toast and glass of Cabernet

Haven’t gotten my accounting system in place yet, but I would guess my breakfast of brie and egg was roughly $2.50 to $2.75 (the Brie was the most expensive part of that); the oatmeal and granola was surely less than $1, and the dinner was probably maybe $2.00, minus the glass of wine.  

Oh, by the way, I am supposing, after reading the label on the orange juice, that Tropicana may be off limits because it has citric acid—which I think is a corn derivative, but I’m going to check it out.  

Links:  www.griggstownquailfarm.com