By Anna Miller
Americans today spend about 10 percent of their paychecks on food — an amount less than any other time in history and less than any other country in the world.
But what may seem like a good deal has costly consequences, said presenters at State of the Plate DC, a daylong conference to promote sustainable meat production systems.
The event, which was held Monday at the Marvin Center, was co-sponsored by GW’s Urban Food Task Force, Animal Welfare Approved and the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. The conference highlighted the public health and environmental implications of factory-raised, mass-produced and chemically altered meats that have become a hallmark of the American diet.
“This cheap food is too expensive,” said Robert Kenner, a conference speaker and the producer, director and writer of Food, Inc, an Oscar-nominated documentary about the food industry. “The consumer pays a price — we are getting sick.”
State of the Plate DC, which was the first local conference of its kind, brought together area chefs, restauranteurs, distributors, farmers, ranchers, food leaders, students, researchers and members of the media to learn about sustainable farming, animal product preparation and the myths and realities of food chain labeling and supply chain management.
Speakers shared best practices and strategies to strengthen the supply chain for sustainably raised meats, cheeses and eggs. The event concluded with a tasting reception of meats and cheeses from 15 pasture-based farms prepared by the chefs and students of DC Central Kitchen.
“D.C. chefs are increasingly renowned for their commitment to top-quality, sustainable, healthy and delicious foods,” said Diane Robinson Knapp, chair of the George Washington Urban Food Task Force, who delivered welcoming remarks. “I’m delighted to see more D.C. chefs entering the dialogue about sustainable and high-welfare farming. State of the Plate DC fits well with the mission of George Washington’s Urban Food Task Force. It offers hands-on opportunities for chefs and producers to work together in advancing the conversation about food policy and action.”
The day’s first panel, which addressed the unintended consequences of the industrial agriculture movement, featured Meghan Chapple-Brown, director of GW’s Office of Sustainability, and Jessica Leibler, a research scientist in GW’s School of Public Health and Health Services. The two spoke alongside David Love, project director of the Public Health & Sustainable Acquaculture Project at the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, and Robert Martin, senior officer of the Pew Environmental Group.
Ms. Chapple-Brown used George Washington as an example of an institution that is taking an innovative approach to sustainability in an urban environment. From green roofs to urban gardens, “our biggest driver for change has been our students,” she said.
Dr. Leibler, whose research focuses on environmental drivers of emerging infectious diseases, spoke about the occupational health hazards of industrial food animal production systems.
“These workers are really the canaries in the coal mine,” she said. “Those who work in transport, farming, slaughter and disinfection all have critical exposure to animals that are infected and to waste that has viable levels of pathogens,” she said.
Another key concern among the panelists was the routine low-level use of antibiotics among industrial farm animals — a practice that is common in the United States but is banned in Europe. Used to promote growth and stave off potential infection, the drugs can be dangerous because they encourage the development of new strains of bacteria like E. coli,. The practice not only promotes antibiotic resistance in the animals, but also in the people who eat them, the researchers said.
In order to help shift the current system to a more sustainable and healthy model, presenters called for the elimination of the use of growth-promoting antibiotics, the integration of farms into neighborhoods, higher accountability and transparency in the food system, better surveillance of food workers and tighter guidelines on the carrying capacity of farms.
They also recognized the need for legal changes that would support the development of sustainable farms and discourage the dominance of a few large companies whose methods of factory farming ease the spread of disease.
“Ultimately, we have to change the mentality to find new value not only for the stock company but also for the community,” said Mr. Kenner. “We all have to come together to find solutions.”