While many local restaurateurs support ethical and environment-friendly farming practices, they are concerned about the economic impact of outlawing the region’s largest livestock and poultry producers.
Chef Naomi Crawford of Lunchette restaurant in Petaluma is against Measure J. “I don't think legislation should be written by special interest groups. I think legislation should be written collectively or cooperatively by stakeholders so that the outcome of the measure is a win-win for all involved,” she said. Photo taken Friday, Sept. 16, 2024. (John Burgess / The Press Democrat)
HEATHER IRWIN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
September 18, 2024, 7:16AM
‘Factory farm’ ban Measure J faces heavy opposition from Sonoma County restaurants - PD Plus (pressdemocrat.com)
Samantha Ramey is on a first-name basis with the nearby farmers who provide dairy, meat and vegetables to the three Sonoma County restaurants she owns and operates with her chef husband, Ryan. But like many other farm-to-table restaurateurs in the county, she worries that a ballot initiative aimed at curtailing large local livestock and poultry producers could devastate her businesses.
Measure J, put forward by the Coalition to End Factory Farming, a group of animal advocacy, environmental and social justice organizations, would force Sonoma County farms with 700 or more dairy cattle or at least 82,000 laying hens — to close or downsize within three years.
Though Ramey works primarily with small farms and ranches, she said that closing 20 or more local dairies and poultry farms would only increase already skyrocketing prices for eggs, milk and meat that have forced restaurants to raise prices and turned away customers from dining out.
“It will have an economic ripple effect in Sonoma County” — Samantha Ramey
"It will have an economic ripple effect in Sonoma County because we all depend on each other. Local feed stores, farm-to-table restaurants, wineries, backyard and hobby farms will all be negatively affected,” said Ramey, who co-owns Americana in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa, and Estero Cafe in Valley Ford.
“We visit the farms and farmers, know the fa
milies behind the businesses, their ethics, morals and practices. In our restaurant, sustainable agriculture is at the forefront of our business model. We put people and farm animals before profits, but Measure J would put our small family business out of business," Ramey, who opposes the measure, said.
Supporters of the initiative, however, say Measure J is designed to help small farms by opening markets dominated by larger concentrated animal feeding operations (or CAFOs). The Coalition to End Factory Farming has put together a list of 21 Sonoma County farms that they believe qualify as large CAFOs, and which they claim are causing environmental harm, animal abuse and squeezing out smaller agricultural operations.
Opponents of Measure J dispute those claims, with farmers pointing to properties that have been passed down proudly through generations, supporting thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Dozens of those farms could be immediately imperiled and many more would be undermined if Measure J passes, they say.
The proponents say otherwise.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of small and medium farms that will not be impacted,” said Kristina Garfinkel. “Measure J protects the small and medium farms eager to fill the gap from phasing out CAFOs and would be much more focused on producing local food.”
“Many local restaurants and consumers want ingredients that are sourced from farms where the animals are treated well, and the environment is not negatively impacted. Measure J helps bring our local food system closer in alignment with the values of county residents,” Garfinkel added.
“Measure J protects the small and medium farms eager to fill the gap from phasing out CAFOs” — Kristina Garfinkel
Still, in an agriculture-dominated county where field-to-fork eating has long been a defining feature of the local ethos, there are far more restaurateurs like Ramey who are vocal opponents of Measure J than food purveyors who have come forward as supporters.
Forced to buy food items from other regions
Naomi Crawford of Petaluma’s Lunchette said Measure J could force restaurant owners to look outside Sonoma County for key ingredients.
“Ending the farms who qualify as CAFO under this measure doesn't change consumer's preferences for cheap meat, eggs and dairy. Therefore, restaurants and grocers would be forced to buy those items from other regions who will still sell them,” Crawford said.
This, in turn, ”would create more miles between us and our food sources,“ said Ramey. It also would significantly increase restaurants’ carbon footprint, she added.
Healdsburg’s Little Saint is the only Sonoma County restaurant that is currently listed as a supporter on the “Yes on Measure J” website. Laurie Ubben, co-owner of plant-based restaurant, supports Measure J and sees it as a wake-up call for restaurants and consumers when it comes to how they think about food.
“Our restaurant was created to walk the walk around ethical eating. So, I guess you could say it concerns me little where other restaurants will get their meat, eggs and dairy if their CAFO supplier is shut down,” Ubben said.
“It makes no sense that folks who source their products ethically and sustainably think they would be hurt by this measure. It might present an opportunity to rethink what we consider to be normal eating habits out of necessity,” she added.
“It might present an opportunity to rethink what we consider to be normal eating habits” — Laurie Ubben
At the heart of Measure J is the issue of how farm animals are raised and kept.
Bay Area animal welfare activists who’ve spearheaded the issue locally in recent years contend that more of our food production ought to come from smaller farms that don’t employ feed, waste and containment systems used on the area’s largest farms. The hard-line activists in that camp have also been clear in their call for the abolition of commercial animal agriculture altogether.
Measure J’s organizers insist, however, they are simply seeking to make livestock and poultry farms more humane.
“Addressing bad actors in our local food system is something that conscious restaurants and chefs should support. Restaurants should take pride in being part of the solution,” said the Coalition’s Garfinkel.
But Ramey of Americana and Estero Cafe thinks the ballot measure, rather than protecting farm animals and the environment, is an attack on farms camouflaged by “greenwashing” rhetoric.
“California and Sonoma County have some of the strictest sustainable and environmental practices in the country. They (Measure J supporters) took advantage of some language and hot-button terms like CAFO," she said.
Crawford, who supports climate and animal-friendly farming practices at her cafe, agrees.
“I don't think legislation should be written by special interest groups. I think legislation should be written collectively or cooperatively by stakeholders so that the outcome of the measure is a win-win for all involved,” she said.
“I don't think legislation should be written by special interest groups” — Naomi Crawford
Crawford says that organizations like San Francisco’s Zero Foodprint offer a more equitable solution, with grants that enable farmers to implement more climate-friendly practices.
“I think we should have legislation that moves to support regenerative agriculture and helps farmers transition to this,” she said.
Creating a dialogue on the future of agriculture
Measure J needs a simple majority to pass.
Whether it does or not, the ballot proposal is spurring a dialogue about the future of agriculture and our food system, not only in Sonoma County but throughout the nation.
Both sides in the first-of-its-kind initiative see it as a steppingstone for future legislative efforts. (Berkeley, which has no CAFOs, is voting on a similar ban in November that would be largely symbolic.)
For farming representatives looking in the future, Measure J is an alarming political test — in a left-leaning county with a significant farm economy. Other areas with even larger farm sectors could be next, they say.
“This measure exists to address Sonoma County’s legitimate interest in public health and responsible environmental practices” — Laurie Ubben
But Measure J organizers concede that while they target the kinds of large animal farms that sprawl across much of the farm belt in California and the nation, Sonoma County is in focus because it hasn’t come to terms with the local footprint of those operations.
“This measure exists to address Sonoma County’s legitimate interest in public health and responsible environmental practices. To promote the dissolution of CAFOs in order to protect the environment, animals and the health and well-being of its residents,” Ubben said.
Ultimately, the decision will be in the hands of local voters, Ramey said.
"People have to educate themselves on where their food comes from. Meet the farmers, go to their open houses and tours, drive by and decide for themselves. As someone who goes and visits farms and studies, learns about and understands the food system nationally and worldwide, I am very proud of our local farmers,” Ramey said.
“Like Wendell Berry said, ‘Eating is an agricultural act,’ and we vote with our dollars,” she added.
You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.
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