Sustainable food campaign kicks off with dinner events

By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Wednesday, April 20, 2005 10:37 PM PDT ∞

A campaign to encourage Americans to change their consumer habits when shopping for groceries will kick off with 1,000 organic dinners throughout the nation on Earth Day this Friday.

"Food is where consumers have the most immediate power," said Encinitas resident David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Escondido and a host of one of the organized dinners.

Bronner said more consumers buying organic food could ultimately bring about changes in the farming industry itself.

"Our grand goal is to see our economy transition to a sustainable basis," he said.

Bronner said he plans to have 10 or 15 friends at his dinner. He and other dinner hosts across the country this week plan to show a 15-minute DVD, "The True Cost of Food," produced by the Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee. The animated DVD encourages consumers to "buy local, organic and fair-made."

The dinners have been organized by the Organic Consumers Association, a 600,000-member nonprofit group that describes its focus as "food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, corporate accountability and environmental sustainability."

"We are the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on representing the views and interests of the nation's estimated 10 million organic consumers," according to its Web site, OrganicConsumers.org.

Dinners like Bronner's will be held Friday through April 29 across North America as part of the group's "break the chain" campaign, said campaign coordinator Ryan Zinn.

"The quality and range of America's daily essentials is being dictated and degraded by a powerful network of brand-name bullies and big-box chains," Organic Consumers Association founder Ronnie Cummins said in a prepared statement. "By outsourcing from sweatshops in the factories and fields, by cutting corners on public health and the environment, and by sucking up billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, business behemoths such as Wal-Mart have constructed a vast global shopping mall of cheap goods and conveniences, reinforced by a nonstop, 24/7 glut of multimedia distractions."

Yet despite the proliferation of "business behemoths" that sell non-organic food, Bronner said, it is not difficult for consumers to find organic products.

"We do have the opportunity to buy certified organic food," he said.

Consumers who try to change their shopping habits may feel a little lost at first, but shops like Jimbo's, Whole Foods and other stores have made it easier to find organically grown products, he said.

"The places are there, and the rewards are there," he said. "The best example is the Artisan Bakery in Escondido. It's amazing. The bread is so much better than anything you can buy in stores, and it's organic and local. For going slightly out of the way, you get this tremendous benefit."

"The True Cost of Food" can be viewed online at TrueCostOfFood.org.

Finding organic

Anyone looking for truly organic food can find it April 30 at Oak Riparian Park in Oceanside as part of the annual "Eat the Invasives" picnic.

Preserve Calavera is sponsoring the event, which demonstrates how invasive plants can be kept under control by using them as food.

The day includes a lecture, hike and lunch from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $20. Reserve to (760) 720-5220 or (760) 438-1209.

The event begins with a talk by Doug Gibson, director of the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy and manager of the $4.7 million grant to the Carlsbad Watershed Network to remove invasive plants throughout coastal North County.

Last year's picnic featured food made with invasive plants, including nasturtium butter, fennel and fruit salad, and a stir-fry including wild mustard and artichoke thistle stalks.

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at gwarth@nctimes.com or (760) 740-5410.

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