yearofplenty

Beware Visions of a Vegetarian Dystopia

Roger Ebert's Journal pointed me to a forboding article at the Guardian by John Vidal that warns that the coming worldwide water shortage will force all of us into a meat-lovers apocalypse of vegetarianism.

Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists....

Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-erratic world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One third of the world's arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.

This news also comes on the heals of the recent warning of a worldwide bacon shortage, otherwise known as the Baconpocalypse. 

None of these warnings are all that upsetting to me. Our family has gradually migrated toward a more vegetarian diet. We still eat meat but much less than we used to. Our foray into food and faith traditions has accelerated this shift. The Orthodox fasts are vegetarian, our kosher month was mostly vegetarian because of concerns about mixing meat and dairy, and now I'm experimenting with the Seventh-Day Advent regimen which is strictly vegetarian. (I haven't worked my way up to no caffiene yet but I'll get there.) These traditions affirm that vegetarianism is good for the body and the soul, and it sounds like scientists agree that it is good for the earth as well.

I'm not ready to give up bacon yet, but I don't live in fear of being a vegetarian, and I don't see why any of us should. It could be worse, we could be talking about a future without coffee and chocolate. Oh, wait a minute. Some scientists are warning that climate change could bring an end to coffee an chocolate as well. Now that's a future worthy of apocalyptic angst.

Coffee, Beer and Wine Consumption Maps of the World

This world map of coffee consumption per capita is making the rounds today on the blogs. There are any number of fascinating aspects to the map, but for me what jumps out is that other than Brazil the equatorial ring of countries that produce the world's coffee beans are not big coffee drinkers. (The gray indicates no data, so the contrasts may not be as stark as they seem on the map.) I've heard that this can actually create challenges for aspiring growers of coffee in these regions because they aren't culturally equipped with the knowledge of what makes a good cup of java. When in Thailand in 2009 I was shocked that, for the most part, bad instant coffee was the only coffee available outside of the airport. According to some, the US became a bastion of coffee drinking because of the association of tea with the Brits back during the American Revolution.

I did a little investigating and found two other beverage maps of the world.

The above world map of beer consumption looks surprisingly similar to the coffee map. Texas should have its own designation. When I lived there I heard a legendary statistic that it accounts for 1/8 of US beer consumption.

Argentina comes out of nowhere to take the prize in the above wine consumption map of the world.

If I'm reading the map correctly France wins the award for most consistently gluttonous.

For an extensive map breakdown of life expectancy, food and hunger around the world go here.

Doma Coffee Roasters a Model of Sustainability

I had the pleasure last week of hanging out with the folks at DOMA Coffee Roasting Company in Coeur d' Alene/Post Falls. Our experiment of eating locally for a year opened up to us the world of Spokane area coffee roasters. Before I go on, let me just say that there is no reason for anyone who lives in Spokane to buy coffee beans that aren't locally roasted. There are plenty of local roasters to choose from and DOMA is right up there with the best of them.

I was most intrigued to hear about their coffee buying co-op. They have taken relationship coffee and fair trade to the next level and joined a co-op that makes long term commitments to growers and villages. You can actually go and track the various lots of coffee they have purchased through the co-op by viewing the original shipping documents. Considering that coffee beans are the world's largest food commodity it is impressive to have that kind of access to the source. Commodity food systems thrive off the lack of source information. I wish I could fair trade proof everything I buy.

One comment they made is that other fair trade purchasers, outside co-ops, rarely hear feedback from growers about problems in the grower/buyer relationship. By contrast, there is plenty of healthy back and forth in the co-op. Because of the long term commitments to growers and villages facilitated by the co-op, the farmers have the freedom to advocate for their interests. Growers without that kind of security and partnership are afraid to speak up lest they lose out.

Again, I wish that I could have this kind of assurance with everything I buy. Committed relationships between consumers and producers is a key to ensuring justice, fairness and sustainability along the supply chain. DOMA is doing their part to strengthen these relationships. When you buy DOMA you're buying the coffee beans and the relationships that come with them. Maybe that's a good way to think about everything we buy. It's not just the price tag and the brand name but all the relationships along the supply chain that brought that item to market.

And by the way, did I mention that their coffee is awesome. 

DOMA coffee beans are available at these retail locations:

Moscow Co-op

Pilgrim's Natural Foods

Boise Co-op

Main Market

Fresh Abundance

Winter Ridge

Atticus Coffee Shop in Downtown Spokane a Pleasant Surprise

I've lived most of my life near world class urban centers - Seattle, Los Angeles, and Houston and the one thing I miss living in Spokane is the grittiness and vitality of a big vibrant downtown. Downtown Spokane has its charms though.

My wife and I spent the night at the Davenport last night for a birthday celebration and we had a great time and I was pleasantly surprised on a morning walk to stop by Atticus Coffee Shop and Gifts. It was open early and has a cozy feel to it. They have coffee beans from several local roasters on tap, including Doma and Roast House. They also have a sampling of baked goods from local bakeshops like the Rocket. They also have a nice selection of gifts.

It's owned by the same folks that run Boo Radleys just down the corner from this location. Thanks for making an early morning stroll in downtown Spokane more pleasurable.

Roast House Coffee Newest Roaster on the Spokane Scene

I had a chance to stop by Roast House Coffee last week and get a tour of their newly opened facility. Dave Rier, formerly the master roaster for Thomas Hammer coffee, is manning the controls of their Diedrich small batch roaster, so you know the coffee is going to be good. I especially appreciate their emphasis on relationships, both with the Spokane community and the coffee growers who provide their beans.

They are focusing on private label business, meaning that they will roast coffee for your business to sell under your own brand. It's a real opportunity for Spokane area businesses to get a high quality, artisan product that helps extend their own brand. Their coffee is currently available at the Main Market Food Co-Op under the Main Market brand.

The owners of the business are big supporters of the local food movement in Spokane. I wish them well. Stop by their roasting facility and say hi.

Rocket Bakery Expanding and Thriving in Tough Economic Times

I recently sat down with Jeff Postlewait, who started the Rocket Bakery in Millwood in 1992 with his wife Julia, and since then have opened 6 additional locations including the Rocket Market on the South Hill. A little over a year ago they diversified by opening Bottles right next to the original Bakery location where they offer killer deals on a great selection of wine and beer and also have regular tastings in the evenings. They also have a large wholesale operation for baked goods.

Jeff explained that they just purchased a new facility in the Valley on Trent near Sullivan to expand and move their baking operation and administrative offices. This will allow them to open up more seating at the Millwood site and even more at the Bottles location.

It's no secret that the Rocket is a great Spokane success story. They are the perennial choice for "Best Bakery" and "Best Locally Owned Coffee House" in local publications. There aren't too many home grown Spokane brands, but "the Rocket" stands up there as one of the most recognizable and well regarded. But what intrigues me most about the Rocket is that in this down economy when coffee shops are dropping like flies around town the Rocket is expanding.

Based on my experience with Jeff and Julia their key to success seems to be a focus on nurturing relationships. I don't think Jeff does much with computers but he's one of the best social networkers I know, the face to face kind of networker that Twitter will never rival. This shows in customer loyalty and their staff. And they also obviously have a good handle on the business side of things.

I reported earlier in the week on the 4x greater economic benefit of locally owned stores as compared with nationally owned chains. It would be a great case study to compare the economic impact of the Rocket compared to Starbucks in Spokane. I'm guessing in their case it may even be more than 4x. Jeff said that they've always taken the approach of putting money back into the business instead of cashing in assets, which means they're putting the capital proceeds from the business back into the community.

Go here for the ever expanding list of locally owned stores to purchase from this Christmas season and let me know if you know a good one to add.

Wisdom Coffee Small Batch Roaster Is the Best Deal in Spokane and Maybe the Best Flavor In Town Too

I hung out with Matthew Simpson of Wisdom Coffee in the Valley last week. He is roasting up some java goodness at his micro-roastery where he works wonders with a 12 kilo Diedrich coffee roaster. Matt is a computer programmer and he's put those skills to good use by retro-fitting his roaster to a computer to follow his own unique roasting profiles. I brewed up some Malawi about 30 minutes after it was roasted and it was as rich and complex a coffee as I've had.

Matt roasts to order so you have to go to his website and place your order and get this, the coffee is an unbelievable $7/lb. Look to hear a lot more about Wisdom Coffee in the coming years.

Doi Tung & Thailand Coffee

We visited the Doi Tung factory store today. There are many projects of the people started by the King's mother, and Doi Tung is the brand umbrella for high end hand made weavings, pottery, paper, and most importantly coffee from the mountains above Chiang Rai. The infamous golden triagle between Laos, Burma and Thailand which has been known historically for opium trade is in the very beginning stages of developing a decent coffee growing industry. Doi Tung coffee follows a crop substitution model, replacing opium and slash and burn farming with sustainably grown coffee beans.

At the beginning of our year we were hoping to get roasted coffee beans from Thailand, but we couldn't figure out how to transfer money and do shipping at a reasonable cost - so we settled on local roasters.

So far we have purchased Sunshine Coffee beans from a woman in Tathon who gets the beans from the second highest mountain in Thailand near Fang (Fawng). Today we bought some of the Doi Tung coffee beans, and better yet we got to see their processing operation in action. The picture above shows a man raking the green beans, drying them in preparation for roasting. It was basically a huge parking lot covered by black plastic, with a half inch layer of coffee beans settled on top. Below are more pictures from their location.

Field Trip Report - Thomas Hammer Coffee

I made a field trip yesterday to Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters in downtown Spokane. Dave Rier is the roastmaster and was kind enough to invite me out for a tour. Dave and I connected around the idea of selling their jute coffee bags at the farmers' market to raise money for Coffee Kids charity to help families of coffee growers. We'll be selling them at the Millwood Farmers' Market starting this Wednesday for $2. Many of them are real works of art so I'm excited to see what creative uses people find for them.

First of all, let me say that they have one of the coolest office spaces I've ever seen. Their roasting equipment and office space are sort of mixed together in an open warehouse with a funky and stylish urban vibe. I highly recommend stopping by.

Our initial goal for the year was to drink coffee beans grown in Thailand, but Dave, who knows the coffee biz, explained that Thailand only produces about 1% of the world's supply of Arabica coffee beans. They produce alot of Robusta beans, which are more prolific producers than Arabica, but are generally lower in quality. Think Folgers. We found a supply of Thai beans from the hill tribes near Chiang Mai, but we've yet to figure out a way to import them without paying more for the money transfer and shipping than the cost of the coffee itself. The samples Dave gave us are from Doi Chaang coffee. We brewed it this morning and it's great.

With the complications around the supply of Thai Coffee, we've resorted to buying beans from local roasters which include Thomas Hammer, Craven's, Doma, H&H, & Anvil. Thomas Hammer beans are my favorite so far of the local roasts. Thanks Dave, for roasting some good coffee, and showing me around the place.

Are there any other notable local roasters?