Heirloom Seeds, Local Farms & Better Food | Erica Renaud

This is a Vintage episode from 2006.Why This Episode MattersErica Renaud explains why heirloom, traditional and open-pollinated seeds matter to agricultural biodiversity.Mark and Francis share how they worked directly with local farmers to plan crops, commit to purchases and even shoulder some of the farmer's risk.The conversation connects sustainable agriculture with something more immediate to a restaurant: better-tasting food.From backyard tomatoes to restaurant purchasing, they explore ways consumers, chefs and farmers can build a closer connection to where food comes from.The ConversationIn 2006, organic farmer and researcher Erica Renaud of Seeds of Change joined Mark Pascal and Francis Schott for a conversation about something fundamental to the food on our plates: the seed.Erica explains the differences among heirloom, traditional and open-pollinated varieties and why preserving genetic diversity matters. The discussion moves from seed saving and organic agriculture to the relationship between farmers and chefs—and that's where Mark and Francis bring the conversation directly into their restaurants.They describe meeting with farmers before planting season to decide what to grow, committing to buy entire crops and sharing some of the agricultural risk. When hundreds of pounds of Jersey tomatoes arrived at once, the restaurants put them across the menu and preserved the harvest so they could serve local tomato sauce in the middle of winter.For Mark and Francis, the motivation wasn't simply philosophical: the food tasted better. Their argument is that the search for the most sustainably grown tomato and the search for the best-tasting tomato can lead you to the same farm.Erica also makes the case for growing something yourself—even in a container or small garden—as a way to understand food differently. From teaching children where food comes from to discovering how dramatically one tomato variety can taste from another, the conversation follows food from seed to farm to restaurant to plate.Guest BioAt the time of this 2006 conversation, Erica Renaud was an organic farmer and researcher and the Research and Farm Manager for Seeds of Change, working on organic seed production, agricultural biodiversity and programs connecting farmers with chefs and consumers.Timestamps00:00 Heirloom seeds, open pollination and preserving biodiversity04:00 Seed patents, hybrids and who controls the food supply07:00 Why chefs and farmers should plan together12:00 Sustainable food often tastes better and everyone should grow something18:30 Why organic food should start with organic seed24:30 How consumers can drive demand for better, more sustainable food InfoSeeds of Change https://www.seedsofchange.com/The organization discussed in this 2006 interview has evolved considerably since the original broadcast. The Seeds of Change garden-seed brand is currently part of Green Garden Products and continues to offer seeds described by the company as 100% organic and 100% non-GMO.We're bringing our kitchen to the farm!Join us at Dreyer Farms in Cranford, NJ for a Table-to-Farm Dinner.Sunday, September 13 @ 5:30https://www.stageleft.com/event/91326-table-to-farm-dinner/ Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regularhttps://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/Magyar Bankhttps://www.magbank.com/Stage Left Wine Shophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Our PlacesStage Left Steakhttps://www.stageleft.com/Catherine Lombardi Restauranthttps://www.catherinelombardi.com/Stage Left Wineshophttps://www.stageleftwineshop.com/Reach Out to The [email protected]