The State of Sustainable in Indianapolis

January 8, 3:56 PMIndianapolis Sustainable Food ExaminerJennifer Litz

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Seldom Seen Farm at Indy Winter Farmers Market

The Midwest may be the epicenter of mass produced commodities like corn, but there are plenty of people who demand the small, unsubsidized farmer and his responsibly produced crops.

“I was in Italy this summer for an international conference on slow food,” says Thom England, chef and president of the Indianapolis Slow Food chapter.  “It was amazing how many people came to me and said, ‘You’re from the Midwest? Why aren’t you doing more to stop what’s happening?’ Our corn and soybeans shipped around the world are all genetically modified and nobody wants them—I didn’t realize how much until I had 8,000 people telling me to stop it.”

The Slow Food movement—which was started in the late ’80s after the first McDonald’s was erected in Rome near the Spanish Steps—has three cornerstones, according to  England: Food should be good, clean and fair. Good for you, because biodiversity practices make for good soil and more nutritious crops; clean, because they’re not coated with man-made chemicals; and fair, because farmers pay a proper price (sans subsidies) to raise their crops, and people pay a little more to buy them.

Sustainable movements like Slow Food have been criticized as elitist, as not all can afford to pay a premium for responsibly raised foods. But England says the local Slow Food chapter, besides arranging gourmet farm-to-table dinners for its members and improving awareness on food issues, seeks to help everyone eat in a way that is sustainable. England says the group has bought heirloom (old, natural seeds not produced in mass agriculture) seeds and distributed them to underprivileged and community groups to help them grow their own food.

Slow Food Indy is good way to get involved with a sustainable-minded community, but those who have particular questions of their own would do well to visit Indy Winter Farmers Market at 2442 N. Central Avenue. It’s the only local winter farmers market where growers and producers are there to answer all questions about their harvesting practices. Many more farmers markets open in the spring (see links).

John Ferree of Danville's Seldom Seen Farm often represents his crop at the winter market. Ferree answers questions about his community supported agriculture program, where his farm’s 40 different vegetable varieties are sold directly to customers weekly via specific subscription plans.

“If you really want to educate yourself [on sustainable food],” Ferree says, “come late to a farmers market, because that’s the only time people are going to have time to talk.”