By MARK SCHATZKER
From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Mar. 01, 2011 3:50PM EST

Eating local – the defining food trend of the past 10 years (at least) – has outlasted molecular gastronomy, molten chocolate cake and the whole low carb thing.

But is the local movement showing its age? Are we sick of 100-mile types and $6 quarts of righteous, low-carbon-footprint green beans that are tough as old oak? Has eating local, in short, become annoying?

Some of the time, yes, says chef David Kinch, whose restaurant, Manresa of Los Gatos, Calif., is regarded as by many as the height of central coast cuisine (which, in Los Gatos, is hyper-local).

Mr. Kinch, who was in Toronto this week to take part in the Terroir culinary industry symposium, is especially wary of restaurants where “the locavore aspect is the overriding principle.” Quality, he said, “has to be part of the celebration.”

“Trends can be quite damaging,” echoed English celebrity chef Fergus Henderson, whose cookbook Nose to Tail Eating ended up becoming extremely trendy. “It leads to too many bad imitations.” Henderson inspired a small army of imitators when he opened the St. John Bar and Restaurant, in 1994, and he will likely gain many more with the forthcoming launch of the St. John Hotel in West London, where he plans on serving a baked bean dish with what he describes as “sort of a pig’s head bacon.”
MORE…

Generation Organic gained strength at the Guelph Organic Conference at the end of January when nearly 2000 people celebrated the  30th anniversary of the original green movement.

First there were the encouraging words from Hon. Carol Mitchell, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for Ontario. She was followed by the keynote trio of Murray, Tom and Yannick Manley, who looked back over thirty years of the organic movement, and forward to the next generation. Then there were the 150-plus informative displays, from heirloom seeds and organic soaps to magazines and new farmer training, along with dozens of food samples from cheesecake to chocolate.

Surprised by the number of young people at the conference, first-time visitor Handel Callender (right, at Plan B Farm) is inspired to be part of the positive change.

“I was surprised and enlightened to see so many young people that shared my interest in good food,” says Handel Callender, a visitor from Barbados that has been volunteering at Plan B Organic Farm for the past ten months. He attended three filled-to-capacity workshops and spent much of the weekend checking out the organic expo. “It was refreshing to see so many people from farms, from the ‘burbs, and cities, working together with a shared interest.”

He was not the only newcomer in this sea of plaid-shirted optimists. After talking to  food vendors who have come to know the familiar faces at the conference, Tomas Nimmo says, “There were a lot of first-time guests this year, likely due to the extensive local advertising.”  The final tally is not in yet, but the conference manager concludes, “We met or exceeded our 2010 numbers, especially on Sunday where the steady flow-through crowd was better than last year.”

The four-day schedule of workshops covering topics like organic sheep, biodynamic bees, worm composting and edible weeds kept many others engaged in classrooms and lecture theatres too. Chance encounters between old friends slowed the pace for many conference-goers, while politically-charged members tending tables for Canadian Organic Growers, National Farmers Union and Ecological Farmers of Ontario gauged passers-by in animated discussions on hot-button issues.

“The trade show worked to create a critical mass that can start to reshape food policy,” Callender points out. “It is empowering to see I’m not alone in wanting positive change, and in wanting to move away from food being driven by corporations,” confides the novice farmer. “The farm and the conference make me want to take more direct control of that change.”

Callender, along with most everyone else that attended, eventually found his way to the urns of free, fair trade organic coffee, cider and tea. Hard-earned refreshment in hand, he took stock of his progress, compared notes with strangers, and wandered on his way to more enlightenment, another rendezvous, and a commitment to be part of the next generation of organic advocates.

A few years ago, the town of Hardwick, VT was fading fast. Like so many communities in isolated corners of our state, it had lost many of its primary businesses, including dairy farming and logging. With few jobs available for the town’s 3,000 people, Main Street slowly closed up shop, and Hardwick began sinking into the same oblivion that has claimed so many other American small towns. Then the town discovered food. More…

If you sell any organic products, please explain whether your customers completely understand what you are selling them.  This applies to ‘fresh’ organic and also ‘processed’ organic.

When you buy organic foods, which seal, mark, label or statement is most important to you?