Benefit Jul/Aug 07 (selected pages)

Benefit The Lifestyle of Giving

The Lifestyle of Giving Jul/Aug 07 $ 4.95

The Food Issue | Tithing | Carter Center

the good, the green, the tasty Chefs, farmers, restaurateurs dish out brilliant food, while taking care of the community and the land

www.benefitmagazinesf.com Jul/Aug 07

The Carter Center in Africa Rockermoms Socially conscious investments Tithing pains?

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These are selected pages from this issue of Benefit Magazine, and not necessarily shown in the same order as the printed version.

contents July/august 2007 Volume 1, No. 6

The Good, the Green, the Tasty

60

In every culture, the idea of giving permeates food and drink. Fundamental to life and happiness, sustenance is who we are both physically and emotionally.

62 Chefs BY LAURA SVIENTY

Bay Area chefs delight us with sustainable, organic, locally-grown food.

California’s Traci Des Jardins grew up eating local, honed her cooking chops in Paris, and came back home to make beautiful food in a sustainable way.

68 Drink BY KATIE BAYNES Africa p.82

Tithing p.76 Yoga p.106

How about an organic chaser of good will? Here are a couple of ideas for the responsible drinker in San Francisco.

How far are you willing to go to be truly green? Would you drink ... organic wine?

76

TThe he Tithes Tithes That Bind That Bind

BY DIANA DUNKELBERGER

BY DIANA DUNKELBERGER A practice that seems quaint A practice that seems quaint and old-fashioned is surprisand old-fashioned is surprisingly widespread. But is it ingly widespread. But is it really the right thing to do? really the right thing to do?

82

Into Africa Into Africa

BY LAURA SVIENTY

BY LAURA SVIENTY The Carter Center takes on The Carter Center takes on debilitating diseases in the debilitating diseases in the poorest parts of the world’s poorest parts of the world’s poorest continent. poorest continent.

The 267 Signature Mango Mojito recipe

70 Farms BY ASHLEY NELSON

Regional organic farmers are struggling to feed our increasing demand for “green” food. At least for now, it’s about passion as opposed to profit.

73 Time BY KARA EMRY

A remedy and an alternative to the many failings of fast food, the Slow Food movement fosters mindfulness about what we eat, focusing on local sources and traditional recipes.

74 Sweets BY MARISA CHURCHILL On the cover: Sumptuous fare from Jardinière. Maine diver scallops with white corn purée, smoked bacon and cherry tomatoes, shaved summer truffle.

Benefit photo by Joyce Oudkerk Pool. Right: Jesse Kuhn at his Marin Roots Farm. Benefit photo by Lori Eanes.

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Noted local chef and contestant on Bravo television’s “Top Chef” takes her turn inspiring the aspiring at San Francisco’s CHEFS Program.

75 Terms BY JENNY P. ANDREWS To help you when you’re shopping, here’s a handy guide to what those labels really mean.

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contents

In every issue Publisher’s Letter Contributors Calendar Listings

12 16 23 92 SF Beautiful p.31

Focus 31 The Lifestyle of Giving, Up Close San Francisco Beautiful, the Women’s Initiative for Self Employment, Operation Access, Rockermoms Against Childhood Diseases, Women Donors Network, Double Good Luck for Sunny Hills Services, Holy Family Day Home, Flash!, and more.

Departments 17 Events Partying with purpose Rockermom p.31

International Film Festival/Film Society Awards Night, Clift RED, ACT Ruby Jubilee, Fairmont Centennial Celebration, Loaves & Fishes, Exploratorium 30th Anniversary Awards Dinner, JDRF Hope Gala, Koret Foundation Awards, Merola Gala, Opera Guild Designer Fete, Modern Ball, ZooFest, Zac Posen, Jim Russell Driving School, TNDC Anniversary, Raphael House.

43 Patrons Stu Zimmerman, Lionel Shaw, and Steven Sams

48 Recycling Pass It (All) Forward Closets overflowing? No time for a garage sale? Don’t want to throw the good stuff away?

Here’s how and where to donate everything under your roof. By Jenny P. Andrews

52 Finance Money for Something Savvy entrepreneurs are figuring out that socially conscious investments can pay off in much more tangible—and profitable—ways than the warm and fuzzies. By Sean Stannard-Stockton

56 Giving On the Wheels of Angels The Wheelchair Foundation delivers the gift of mobility in over a hundred countries. In April, a delegation from the Bay Area presented hundreds of wheelchairs in Chengdu, China.

By Stu Zimmerman

96 Bay Area Voice Dede Wilsey The doyenne of Bay Area fundraisers talks about her childhood, her advice to the young, and her next big project. By Dorian Adams

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Bill Marken EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

William Salit DESIGN DIRECTOR

MANAGING EDITOR COPY EDITOR ARTS AND EVENTS EDITOR ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS PRODUCTION COORDINATOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Bonnie Monte Jean Sirius Brenda Leff Marsha H. Levine Alex Gecan, Anna Kirsch, Marianne Lipanovich, Ashley Nelson, Diana Nelson, Spencer Sherman, Robert Sokol, Laura Svienty, Leah D. Williams Drew Altizer, Saul Bromberger & Sandra Hoover, Robert Cardin, Carl Durocher, Lori Eanes, Salih Güler, Stephania Serena, Kim Steele, Mike Sugrue, Pete Thompson, Jack Valley, Heather Wiley Dan Page, Katherine Streeter, Gordon Studer Greer Ashman

PUBLISHING

Michael Earls PUBLISHER

Ralph Hyman ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

DIRECTOR OF SALES OFFICE MANAGER SALES COORDINATOR DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/HOST, BENEFIT RADIO SPECIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR ACCOUNTING INTERN FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CO-FOUNDER

Jeanette Heinen Michon Sanders Marcia Flores Lindsay Chambers Leah D. Williams Sophie Azouaou Steve Vezeris Cara McLaughlin Paul Corso Dorian Adams

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Sophie Azouaou, Nancy Cole, Maryanne Comaroto, Marybeth La Motte, Claudia Ross, Fred Silverman, Leah D. Williams, Stu Zimmerman

BENEFIT MAGAZINE, INC. VOLUME 2 NUMBER 2

The Flood Building, 870 Market Street, Suite 776, San Francisco, CA 94102 415-433-2345 fax 415-433-1648 benefitmagazinesf.com For advertising information please write sales@benefitmagazinesf.com or call 415-433-2345 To subscribe go to: benefitmagazinesf.com Copyright © 2007 Benefit magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Benefit Magazine, The Lifestyle of Giving is a registered trademark of Benefit Magazine, Inc.

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Focus

women donors network pro bono medicine rockermoms against childhood diseases corporate social responsibility

The lifestyle of giving, up close

Keeping San Francisco Beautiful Celebrating 60 years of maintaining the city’s shine.

Amy MacWilliamson

Imagine the streets of San Francisco without the clang of its cable cars. Today, the cars are one of the city’s most beloved attractions, but 60 years ago, they ran the risk of riding their final journey—if it hadn’t been for Friedel Klussmann.

The cable car tracks began to disappear in 1947 to pave the way for diesel buses.

Klussmann, a resident of Telegraph Hill and leading citizen activist at the time, launched a campaign to keep the tracks down and the cable cars up and running. In the midst of saving one historical landmark, another was born: San Francisco Beautiful. >

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Focus < This year marks the 60th anniversary of the organization that carries on Klussmann’s dream to preserve the character of the city’s streets, parks, and neighborhoods. Its Civic Initiatives Program forms partnerships with leaders and local groups to promote sustainable urban planning policies and programs.

Through its annual Beautification Awards, San Francisco Beautiful also recognizes individuals, organizations, and businesses that improve the quality of life in the city. And in honor of the woman who started it all, the Friedel Klussmann Grants Program rewards organizations which maintain or enhance San Francisco’s beauty by creating healthy and safe communities.

San Francisco Beautiful will award its one-millionth dollar in grant funds this summer to a locally-based group working to continue Klussmann’s legacy for The City by the Bay. Applications for the grant must be received

by August 1.

In its 60 years, the organization has helped to keep all of San Francisco’s neighborhoods beautiful. Residents in Bayview Hunters Point used their funds for an irrigation system in their community garden. Houseboat dwellers were able to shape up the shoreline along Mission Creek. In Noe Valley, merchants planted their grant funds into lining 24th Street with trees, while Bernal Heights neighbors restored the public stairway near their homes.

For further information about keeping San Francisco Beautiful, visit sfbeautiful. org. —Ashley Nelson 32 Benefitmagazinesf.com

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Focus Green Profile

The Art of Mechanics Berkeley’s Art’s Automotive makes a mess and cleans it up

Art Ratner started out as what he calls a “backyard hippie mechanic” with a forward-thinking mentality. And even though he’s abandoned the backyard for his own extremely successful auto shop in Berkeley, Art’s Automotive (artsautomotive.com), he’s managed to maintain his passionate green beliefs and values.

“I came from the school of thought that if you make a mess, you should clean it up,” Ratner says.

This creed definitely rings true in his shop, which not only works on hybrids, uses solar panels for energy, and recycles waste oil, scrap metals, and batteries from the public, but is also one of the few green-certified (since 2000) automotive shops in the Bay Area.

“We’ve always been ahead of the curve here and are constantly evolving in our practices to become greener,” says Ratner.

It’s hard to imagine this shop as being any more environmentally friendly than it already is, but Ratner’s the type of business owner who’s wholeheartedly dedicated to making a difference in the world through his business and lifestyle. —Anna Kirsch

F L A S H !

Lise Gagne

kim steele

Butter Up: Make your own organic butter on a family tour at Straus Dairy in Point Reyes. Meet cows, feed a calf, sample dairy products, and learn about everything made from milk. Bio-security protocols will be in place to protect the animals (quadrupeds and bipeds alike).

Summer tour dates: 7/19 and 8/16 from noon–2 pm. strausfamilycreamery.com —Laura Svienty

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Corporate Responsibility

Office in the Sky, Feet on the Ground Partner at a leading law firm, Jeffrey Bleich also represents the homeless, battles domestic violence, even volunteers at the San Francisco Food Bank.

Every morning, Jeffrey Bleich thinks, “Amazing things can happen today.” Beyond being a partner in one of the nation’s most elite law firms, Bleich has done as much pro bono work as the most accomplished social justice lawyers. He has dedicated so much time to community activities (like the San Francisco Food Bank) that one wonders

where he finds enough hours in the day.

Born in Neubrucke, Germany, Bleich grew up in Connecticut, attending public schools. From a bachelor’s at Amherst, to a master’s at Harvard, to a juris doctorate at UC Berkeley, to clerking at the United States Supreme Court, Bleich seems to have done it all.

With the support of Munger, Tolles & Olson, he served as lead attorney on a case against the City of San Francisco in defense of a group of homeless individuals and has volunteered for the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights and the Legal Aid Society of San Francisco. Bleich has won award after award for his work.

For Bleich, corporate

social responsibility is “expecting corporations to act in the same ethical manner as we expect people to act.” He goes on to describe the necessity for corporate citizens to maintain external and internal ethics. His per­spective is built on the belief that “people rally around values, and companies should be values-based.”

When pressed on whether “values-based companies” and “corporate social responsibility” really mean companies need to give away more money, Bleich responded emphatically.

“Sharing the profits with the community is necessary but not sufficient.”

He then leaned forward in his chair and said, “You and I both know companies that give away a lot of money as an outward symbol of being socially responsible, but don’t really care or value their employees or community.”

Bleich then described how a company can engrain ethics and values into its culture. He acknowledges that it is not easy, it requires constant reassessment and realignment, and it varies across industries and types of companies.

Bleich’s expectation of maintaining corporate values and ethics begins inside his own law firm. He described his first conversation with founding partner Charlie Munger and Munger’s emphasis on the firm’s values and commitment to the community. Bleich explained that he was attracted to this aspect of the firm and now as a partner proudly shoulders the responsibility of ensuring the firm maintains its values and commitments.

From Bleich’s perspective, “The legal profession has an even higher obligation to social responsibility.”

Pete Thompson

Focus

F L A S H !

Say Om. They take their foodies green at OmOrganics.org, the preferred portal for farm-fresh restaurants, markets, personal chefs, caterers, CSA farms, and fun events in the Bay Area. This dot-org does a brain-and-body good while helping the local economy and environment. —L.S.

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Focus

RC Rivera

Music volunteers. The team of 100-plus volunteers at this year’s Super Surgery Day faced a full slate of surgeries, such as repairing hernias, removing lumps, and performing colonoscopies and endoscopies.

Minor surgeries, fixing major problems, and correcting disabilities are often fixed by an uncomplicated fifteen-minute procedure under light anesthesia.

Sadly, people endure years with painful and growing hernias, cysts, and other persistent ailments because these operations can cost $15,000 or more. Most people referred to Operation Access rent an apartment, have a steady job that doesn’t offer health care benefits, and work full time.

Just like Contreras, they earn too much to qualify for government assistance, but not enough to cover the cost of treatment.

Doctors want the opportunity to help these people in need—and they’re anxious to do more. Dr. Joseph Romson has been with Kaiser for more than eight years as a cardiac anesthesiologist and is vice chair of Operation Access. He says the program is a way for the medical community “to give back at the basic level,” and that it’s “one of the few groups that really looks ahead to proactive, cutting-edge preventive health care,” adding that “these surgical days illustrate the problem of the growing numbers of the uninsured, particularly the working uninsured.”

To volunteer, donate, or just learn more about Operation Access, visit operationaccess.org. —K.E.

Music to Their Ears Rockermoms Against Childhood Diseases is putting music to work for sick children.

Is music a cureall? Well, maybe not “all,” but, for some local women, it’s a start.

Rockermoms Against Childhood Diseases (RACD), a local nonprofit, uses its members’ musical talents to raise both money and awareness for the fight against childhood diseases.

RACD puts together electrifying benefit concerts around California (they host two festivals each year in cities throughout the United States) and they visit children’s hospitals all year long to give the gift of music to sick children. RACD only showcases bands that have a Rockermom as a member.

RACD founder Edwina Phillips is a performing Rockermom in her 40s.

“RACD welcomes performing moms of all ages, and those of us born before the American Idol era can appreciate having both a place and a reason to keep performing,” she explains, adding, “Old bags like me still want to rock. Grow old gracefully? No thanks.”

But RACD is all about the kids. If you’re just looking for women who rock, this isn’t the organization for you. While RACD loves their music, their sisters in music, and performing, that’s not their focal point.

These moms only want one thing and that’s to do what they can to help heal sick children and hurry the progress of research for cures for childhood diseases. Phillips and the women of RACD are dedicated to using their talents to create change, and they encourage all “rocker moms, rockin’ moms, moms who rock, etc.,” to join the cause.

To make a donation or to learn more about Rockermoms Against Childhood Diseases, please visit rockermomsacd.com.

—K.E.

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Recycling For everything you no longer need, there’s a grateful recipient.

Here’s a list of places that welcome your clutter with open arms.

By Jenny P. Andrews Illustration: Francisco Caceres

Pass It (All) Forward

Ever do a giant spring cleaning only to end up with a pile of rubbish you no longer need? Eliminate the clutter but don’t pack the landfill with your reusable treasures. They can furnish a low-income house, teach a child to read, or outfit someone for a successful job interview.

Tried and true donation standbys are schools, community centers, and thrift stores in your neighborhood. It only takes a phone call or two to see if a local youth group can use your child’s outgrown skis, or if your neighborhood school needs that out-of-use saxophone. Or, try a quick look at freecycle.org, a site that connects people with extra gear to local people seeking those exact items. Arranging a quick pick-up time is all it takes to make your storage spaces suddenly spacious.

Beyond that, here’s a list of ideas to jumpstart a donating frenzy. Check out how to give away

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Recycling everything marked for disposal to benefit someone else. Please note that most organizations take only items that are gently used and in good condition.

Appliances: Rebuilding Together (rebuild­ ingtogethersf.org, 415-905-1611) provides low-income homeowners with free repairs and accepts donations of appliances. Habitat for Humanity accepts appliance donations at ReStore, a building material reuse outlet in Oakland (habitateb.org/restore, 510-7771447, with other Bay Area locations). The Out of the Closet Thrift Store (outofthecloset. org, 415-252-1101) generates funds for HIV/ AIDS programs and services.

Baby gear: Once your baby has outgrown the clothes and strollers, consider donating them to the Homeless Prenatal Program (homelessprenatal.org, 415-546-6756), which helps pregnant women and new parents move out of homelessness and poverty.

Books: Children’s books are collected and re-

distributed to shelters, schools, and daycare centers by the Children’s Book Project in both San Francisco and Oakland (childrens­ bookproject.org, 415-401-6315, 510-2382301). Children’s books donated to Books for the Barrios (booksforthebarrios.com, 925-687-7701) are sent to schools in the Philippines. Darien Book Aid Plan (dba.darien. org, 203-655-2777) distributes books to Peace Corps volunteers, teachers, libraries, and schools all over the world and to U.S. libraries, prisons, hospitals, and Native American and Appalachian programs. Textbooks can be sent to Minnesota-based Books for Africa (booksforafrica.org, 651-6029844), for English-speaking countries in East Africa. Don’t forget—books can be mailed media rate.

Cameras: San Ramon’s Recycle for Breast Cancer (recycleforbreastcancer.org, 925735-7203) offers drop sites or sends prepaid shipping labels and packaging to donate cameras (also ink cartridges, PDAs, iPods, computers, televisions, and phones) for recy­cling, and all proceeds support the fight against breast cancer. Picture Tomorrow (picturetomorrow.org) distributes cameras to environmental groups, human rights projects, and agricultural organizations, so they can document their work.

Cell Phones: When you upgrade to a new cell

phone, keep your old one—and its lead, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, and arsenic—out

of the landfill. Shelter Alliance (shelter­alliance.net, 866-744-1003) distributes cell phones to domestic violence organizations.

Clothing: Shelters and transitional residences, such as Oakland’s Elizabeth House (oakehouse.org, 510-658-1380) often accept donations of good quality women’s and children’s clothing. Business clothes are distributed to people transitioning from homelessness for business interviews by Wardrobe for Opportunity (wardrobe.org, 510-463-4100) and A Miner Miracle (aminer­miracle.org, 415-217-7230). Worn clothing can sometimes be donated (for bedding) to animal shelters, such as local braches of the SPCA (aspca.org).

Tried and true donation standbys are schools, community centers, and thrift stores.

Computers: World Computer Exchange (world­ computerexchange.org, 650-961-7575) distributes hardware to needy schools worldwide. Their drop site in Mountain View accepts donations the first Saturday of each month. The National Cristina Foundation (cristina.org, 203-8639100) places donated computers with nonprofit agencies that help the disabled or economically disadvantaged. Also see Recycle for Breast Cancer above (in the camera section).

Craft Supplies: A center created by and for teachers in 1979, Oakland’s East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse (east-bay-depot.org, 510-547-6470) collects paper and all art supplies. The Depot—which runs an outreach program of artists in afterschool programs— has a dedicated educational area, packed with everything from dry-erase boards to staplers to sheet music, and offers a 10 percent discount to teachers. In San Francisco, SCRAP (Scroungers’ Center for Reusable Art Parts) accepts donations of art supplies like leather, buttons, candles, feathers, and flooring for distribution to art and educational groups (scrapsf.org, 415-647-1746).

Eyeglasses: The Lions In Sight Foundation (lionsinsight.org, 925-708-4833),

Unite for Sight (uniteforsight.org), and New Eyes for the Needy (neweyes­ fortheneedy.org, 973-376-4903) collect eyeglasses and distribute them to those who cannot afford glasses in the U.S. and worldwide. Eyeglasses can be donated by mail in padded envelopes, or collection sites include Goodwill Industries, LensCrafters stores, and Lions Clubs (as well as many optometrists’ offices).

Formalwear: Donate prom gowns, party dresses, and accessories to Princess Project, an organization with donation sites in San Francisco and the East Bay that distributes formalwear to underprivileged girls for the prom. (princess­ project.org, see profile in the March/April Benefit at page 29).

Furniture: In addition to the widespread and ever-reliable Salvation Army (salvationarmyusa.org) and Goodwill Industries (goodwill.org), Clausen House (clausenhouse.org, 510-508-0650) in Oakland will pick up donations to its thrift store, which raises money to benefit programs for adults with developmental disabilities.

Hair: Going from long to pixie for fashion? Donate your hair to financially

disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. (locksoflove.org)

Magazines: Hospitals are often grateful for donations of magazines—including

children’s titles and issues in other languages—for their waiting rooms. Check at the front desk of hospitals near you.

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The Clawsons

don’t look like the

kind of people who get miracles. Mr. Clawson is a rangy man with spit-polished shoes and the friendly bark of a seasoned lawyer.

Mrs. Clawson wears cardigan sets, a wellgroomed bouffant, and an unshakable smile. But the couple will testify that when they were young and broke, God helped them pay their rent. “We feel that our Heavenly Father blessed us because we paid our tithing,” Mrs. Clawson said brightly, as we strolled through the Mormon chapel in Pacific Heights. “We tithed, and so we

Tithes

always had enough for our rent and everything else. We believe we were blessed.”

A practice that seems quaint and old-fashioned is surprisingly widespread. But is it really the right thing to do?

that Bind

By Diana Dunkelberger • Illustrations by Scott Laumann

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he Clawsons aren’t the only ones to testify to the miracle of tithing, the practice of giving ten percent of one’s income to the church. Perhaps it is because Mormons are required to tithe, and so have learned to love the very law that tightens their belts. But for the dozen or so Mormons with whom I spoke, tithing seemed to be a sacred form of worship, almost like praying in numbers instead of words.

While few other denominations call for financial sacrifice with quite so much gusto, Mormons are not alone. In the United States, between five and eight percent of all Christians tithe, with evangelicals, born-agains, and African Americans leading the pack. But, increasingly, the ones who tithe regularly and in full are not always the ones with a whole lot of cash to spare, as correlations between tithing and bankruptcy have shown.

One of the most likely groups to tithe are older African-American women who have gone to church, prayed, and read the Bible in the past week. In search of these generous ladies, I spent a few hours at the senior program of Third Baptist, a predominantly African-American church located in the Western Addition. On Wednesday mornings at 10 am, the senior ladies who attend services in tailored suits and colorful, otherworldly hats gather in the church gymnasium for lunch, arts and crafts, and what one woman called “strenuous, booty-shaking exercise, like in the Gap commercial.”

On one of these mornings, the senior program director, a 77-year-old former teacher with berry-colored lips and a blonde beehive, energetically shuttled half a dozen ladies to and from a lunch table (“Ardis, let someone else talk to her—you don’t give that much money!”) so that they might discuss their tithing practices.

As it turns out, each woman has her own version of ten percent.

A great-great-great-grandmother wearing a fluffy red scarf and a matching beret contributes a weekly $15 from her pension. She does it, she says, so that if she ever gets sick and has to go to the hospital, the church will send a card. “Give it and forget it and you’ll always be blessed,” she advises with a serene nod of her head.

An 84-year-old social worker in a yellow jumpsuit, with dimples and an infectious toothy smile, explains that she supplements

The ones who tithe regularly and in full are not always the ones with a whole lot of cash to spare, as correlations between tithing and bankruptcy have shown.

her tithes with active involvement in the church’s ministries. “I’m not just a giver,” she says, eyebrows raised and dimples deepening. “I am giving of myself.”

A diminutive 90-year-old with big eyes, a droopy black hat, and a weary, no-nonsense expression, says she wouldn’t call herself a tither. “I give what I feel to give,” she intones. She begins to say the amount she gives depends on the expense of her eye drops and other medical bills. But she corrects herself and, breaking into a rare smile, says, “It depends on how good the Lord is to me.”

According to the Reverend Amos C. Brown, who has pastored Third Baptist Church since 1976, many of the members to whom the Lord has been good do not share their wealth with the church. “Some of us have got three or four televisions in the house—even a television in the toilet,” he said during an interview in his den-like office. The wood-paneled walls that surround him are hung with innumerable awards as well as photos of him and his wife beside Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King, Jr. In grave tones, Reverend Brown said that with a few exceptions, the core givers at Third Baptist are not professionals. The ones who give the most are the senior ladies and the laboring class who make $38–40 thousand per year.

When it comes to low-income churchgoers who have embraced tithing as a core value, one might wonder what happens when the gold standard of generosity becomes incompatible with survival. This is precisely the question that Paul Godfrey, a professor of ethics at Brigham Young University, sought to answer. In 2003, Godfrey conducted a study that investigated the unusually high number of bankruptcies in Utah, a state that is also over sixty percent Mormon.

“It’s clear the LDS Church influence plays some kind of role in bankruptcy,” Godfrey said. “The LDS Church is the only one that talks about financial literacy from the pulpit. But there tend to be some weird cultural values that may encourage people to engage in riskier financial transactions.” Through interviews, Godfrey found two cultural values, or informal myths, that stood out from the rest. One was that tithing will result in financial blessings. The other was that not tithing will result in financial harm.

The Bible supplies ample fodder for such myths. Both of the myths that Godfrey

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describes originate in Malachi, the last book of the Hebrew Bible and the most frequently quoted scripture on tithing. During a diatribe against corrupt priests, the prophet says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith ... if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

Elder Larsen, a tall, sandy-haired Mormon missionary who serves in the San Francisco Bay Ward, understands Malachi as a warning to those who don’t tithe. “The guy that doesn’t pay tithing has forfeited those blessings that had been promised him,” he said, his well-loved Bible creased, underlined, and splayed open on one knee. Isn’t that a bit harsh? “Harsh is maybe the way you could think about it. But he’s bringing on his own justice. You gotta pay for what you do.”

Not everyone interprets Malachi in such stark terms. Russell Earl Kelly, Ph.D., a self-described “conservative evangelical dispensational Baptist” whose email sign-off is “In Christ’s Love,” argues that Malachi’s injunction is not an appeal to the laity, but rather an attempt to bring justice to crooked priests. In Should the Church Teach Tithing?, Kelly’s 288-page condemnation of tithing, Kelly thunders with all the passion of the pulpit, “The usual interpretation of ‘bring the whole tithe into the storehouse’ has been turned into a terrible lie which, for the decency of God’s truth and for the good of Christ’s church, must stop immediately.”

Kelly, who says he has dedicated his theological career to the fight against tithing, says he is willing to “dialog with the great preachers of the land at any time.” His motivation lies in freeing “the poor, the sick, and those who have tremendous bills trying to keep parents in nursing homes” from a church which tells the laity to tithe first and, if need be, let their own bills slide.

Kelly is not alone in the struggle. He is part of an anti-tithing movement which he says is “slowly but surely making progress.” “Every day I hear from more pastors who are speaking out,” Kelly wrote in an email message.

“Over 15,000 copies of my book have been downloaded for free on the Internet and I have stacks of ‘thank you’ letters. The most revealing part of my web site is the ‘endorsements’ section from readers who have been blessed by the book and web site.”

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A search for publications about tithing on Amazon.com yields forty-eight books, the majority of which view tithing in a positive light. However, of the books published since 2001, nearly every one is anti-tithing.

(A sampling of their titles: Tithing and Still Broke; Why Tithing Is Not for the Church; Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete & Defunct.)

But for the time being, anti-tithers have yet to gain legitimacy in the church. “The great majority of those I hear from are no longer involved in church at all because they dared to question tithing,” Kelly wrote. “Like myself, they have been given the ‘ghost’ treatment and do not exist. Right now we are only like flies on a horse’s back that get swatted away.”

Asked whether he was aware of the tithing debate, the Reverend Brown gave a dismissive wave of his hand, as if swatting a fly.

“There have always been debates,” he said.

The Reverend Brown went on to give statistics that demonstrated the deeply engrained drive for greed and power, in consumers, and in the United States government. It became clear that, in his mind, the church and its ministries represent a counterforce to this greed. Where the government fails, the church swoops in to defend the poor.

The Reverend Brown practices what he preaches. Under his leadership, Third Baptist Church has resettled over two thousand refugees through an African Refugee project. The church funds a homeless shelter, after-school and summer school programs for local African-American youth, senior programs, prison visitations, and convalescent ministering. The Church has also created the West Bay Center, a three million dollar community service center.

And yet, if every Third Baptist member tithed, the church would have a $4–5 million instead of a $1–2 million budget, and would be able to do so much more. While the Reverends Kelly and Brown both seek to defend the rights of the poor, Kelly feels that tithing exploits the poor, while Reverend Brown feels tithing enables the church to minister to the poor. Both views hinge on the question of whether the church should act as a social service agency.

Then again, there are other religious organizations that have been able to provide community service without asking their members to tithe. Jews, who invented tithing, haven’t practiced it systematically for

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thousands of years, nor do they give money based on any other percentage. Rabbi Lawrence Raphael of Congregation Sherith Israel wrote in an email message, “You will not find any mention of it in our contemporary community at our synagogue or among the Jewish community of San Francisco (as far as I know).” Instead, they live by the principle of tzedakah, the obligation to give charitably whether or not one is willing or even able.

Michael Sarid, the program director of the San Francisco Jewish Community Center, said, “You can give from the heart, you can give not from the heart, as long as you give. [In Judaism,] giving is actually considered an obligation. It’s not something extra that you do. It’s not something that if you happen to feel particularly charitable you’ll leave an extra dollar. You do it whether it feels good or it doesn’t feel good.”

In the Catholic Church, on the other hand, the emotional effect of giving is far more important than the amount given. “It’s not about the ten percent flat amount,” explained John Norris, the director of development of the San Francisco Archdiocese. “There are people who can give that ten percent flat out and never, never have touched themselves in any way,” he said. Norris, who has salt and pepper hair, piercing blue eyes, and often speaks in excited bursts, keeps portraits of John F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, and Don Quixote in his office.

“The bishop talks about it in terms of sacrificial giving,” said Norris. “Giving until you have to make some sort of sacrifice in order to complete the gift. Then it’s the same for anybody. The guy who’s making thirty thousand and supporting a family gives whatever he can give until he has to change his lifestyle in some moderate way in order to complete the gift.” His suggestion for those without a full ten percent to spare is to give up something small, such as one latte per week. “What’s a latte cost, three bucks? Three bucks a week, twelve bucks a month. Give twelve bucks to your church or twelve bucks to charity just by giving up a latte. You’ve made some small sacrifice. Hasn’t hurt you. Hasn’t cost a whole lot. You’re not gonna die over it. But it’s enabled you to do something good for somebody else.”

However religious organizations ask for money, they are also getting funding

You can give from the heart, you can give not from the heart, as long as you give.

In Judaism, giving is actually considered an obligation. It’s not something extra that you do.

from another source: taxpayer dollars. Effective January 29, 2001, whether you do or don’t tithe no longer has anything to do with whether you are or aren’t a churchgoer or, for that matter, even remotely religious.

It was on this day that President Bush established the Office of Faith-Based and Communities Initiative and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Compassion Capital Fund. “The federal government now allows faith-based groups to compete for billions of dollars in social-service funding, without being forced to change their identity and their mission,” the president boasted in a commencement address at a Wisconsin Lutheran college in 2004.

According to the OFBCI website, the official policy of this office holds that faithbased organizations are “indispensable in meeting the needs of poor Americans and distressed neighborhoods.” The paramount goal, they say, is “compassionate results.”

Religious groups should have the “fullest opportunity” to achieve “valid public purposes, such as curbing crime, conquering addiction, strengthening families and neighborhoods, and overcoming poverty.”

With an ever-increasing amount of cash funneled into this program every year, this represents a chance for religious organizations, like Third Baptist Church, to do some real good in their communities.

Has the Reverend Brown applied for a grant from this office? Not a penny. “They give it with strings attached,” he said in a deadpan manner. “You have to be beholden to the Bush Administration. I’m not about to sell my soul out to support Bush and his administration. Nobody muzzles my mouth. Nobody muzzles my mouth.”

For now, the Reverend Brown relies upon grants and the munificence of his congregation. On a recent warm Sunday morning, he preached a sermon on the golden rule.

“Don’t you know that if you do something for somebody ... ohhhh, the blessing will come right back to you,” he said in a strong voice. The women of the senior program were all there, dressed in their suits and their teal- and salmon-colored hats. As the Reverend Brown preached, some of them stood up or muttered little expressions of agreement. But one middle-aged woman in the last pew, wearing a suit a little too big for her, was the loudest. After everything the Reverend Brown said, she would say, loudly and somewhat wearily, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.” B

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JEAN SIRIUS, JOYCE OUDKERK POOL, JEAN SIRIUS, JEAN SIRIUS, CLAUDIA GOETZELMANN, JEAN SIRIUS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: JEAN SIRIUS, JOYCE OUDKERK POOL, JEAN SIRIUS, JEAN SIRIUS, CLAUDIA GOETZELMANN, JEAN SIRIUS

thegood, thegreen, thetasty In every culture, the idea of giving permeates food and drink. Fundamental to life and happiness, sustenance is who we are both physically and emotionally.

Who has it? Who has access to it? Who does not? From the highest peaks of luxury and elegance to the lowest depths of misery and need, a community can easily define itself by its culinary face. San Francisco does. • So what do we see when we look at that face in the communal mirror? While it’s clear that we often fall short when it comes to inviting all into our societal dining room, San Francisco continues to display the proud tradition of its conscientious food industry. While we enjoy and celebrate our reputation as a world-class dining town, many of those who make it so spend copious time, energy, and money making sure our land, bodies, and less-fortunate brothers and sisters get what they need. • Explore here just a few of the ways and means by which the Bay Area’s food community is using its talents and our precious California land to help.

From a few of our multi-star chefs and restaurants to our surrounding farms, from eco-cocktails to Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Service, here’s a quick tour of our tasty town. —Scott Adelson Photographs by Lori Eanes, Claudia Goetzelmann, Joyce Oudkerk Pool, Jean Sirius, Pete Thompson July/August 2007 61

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On the menu at Jardinière: Roasted beet salad with a warm farm egg, cacciocavallo cheese, and pickled spring onions.

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a

salad of green chefs

From Alice Waters to Traci Des Jardins, Bay Area chefs delight us with sustainable, organic, locally-grown food. They prove that you can care for the environment and eat very well indeed.

JOYCE OUDKERK POOL

M

y first meal in California was a fruit salad at the Trident in Sausalito. It was 1977 and I was eleven.

My New York mom had driven three kids cross-country in a red-and-brown Vista Cruiser, and taken us to a restaurant renowned for its braless servers who reveled with rock stars in a substance-friendly atmosphere.

I remember spooning my fruit and seeing San Francisco through an endless flock of sailboats on the bay. “I want to live here when I grow up,” I said. “If you want it to happen, it will happen,” said my mom. I moved to San Francisco eleven years later.

My second meal in California was at Chez Panisse, which my mom called “a little Berkeley bistro” recommended by her Nuclear Morawines and cocktails such as Osocalis Brandy Sidecars and Ginger torium friends. Initially miffed that it lacked the Trident’s view, I was Limeade (House Ginger Agua Dulce, Hangar One Lime Vodka, quickly won over by a display of flawless fruit and a chef named Jeanfresh lime, and Qi White Tea Liqueur).

Pierre who spoke French with my mother.

“Jardinière has ambience and elegance—with the food to back I recall devouring the bread and hearing my mom tell a professor who it up,” says Long. “Fresh food just tastes better. You know when was dining at the next table: “Boobs and a view have their place in the you have it in your mouth. It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, froworld but this place has really good food.” It was my prescient mom’s zen, or gassed on its way from the farm to the table.” contention that Chez Panisse would outlast the legendary Trident.

Citizen Cake’s pastry chef Elizabeth Falkner concurs. “We Thanks to Alice Waters, Chez Panisse has not only lasted, it has have all the fresh and local in our backyard, practically,” says flourished, evolved, and influenced just about everyone who has Falkner, whose custom organic cakes are coveted by planet-lovstepped inside a restaurant. “Alice is the one that started all of the ing party throwers. “We know that produce and local ingredithinking around supporting local farms and sustainability efforts. She ents from our community are better for us in the long run and has been working tirelessly for many, many years toward changing sustain local economics.” the way that we eat, buy food, and take care of our environment and The creator of the After Midnight Chocolate Cake and the community,” says Traci Des Jardins, winner of the 2007 James Beard Retro Tropical Shag, Falkner has received her share of unexFoundation “Best Chef Pacific” Award. pected compliments. “A dessert I made earlier this year had one “Working in restaurants for 24 years, you start to think about the guest so ecstatic she told me it was better than any sex she’d ever environmental footprints you’re leaving with all of the refuse accumuhad ... then she asked if I had a cigarette!” says Falkner, who lated each day that has to go into a landfill or some place,” says Des credits much of her restaurant’s continued success to the fact Jardins, whose ever-enticing Jardinière will celebrate its tenth anniverthat “I give my people the power to make decisions.” sary in September as one of the city’s prime spots to dine before the People—and community—are clearly dear to Falkner, who won symphony, ballet, or opera. a Human Rights Campaign Award in 2005. An active member of Since implementing its greening, recycling, and composting proFrameline and Les Dames d’Escoffier, Falkner donates her skills grams, Jardinière has reduced its waste by 90%. “Basically, anything and star power to an abundance of Bay Area fundraisers such as that we’re using in the restaurant that was ever alive gets put into comProject Open Hand’s Dessert First (openhand.org). postable materials, taken to Vacaville and turned into soil that is used Des Jardins, who selected Falkner to head the pastry division of on farmland,” Des Jardins explains.

Rubicon back in 1994, flexed her own charitable chef muscles by San Anselmo author Dixon Long (Markets of Paris, Markets hosting Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation (strength.org) at of Provence) favors Jardinière for its “superb preparations” and elher ACME Chophouse in June. A supporter of Taste of the Nation liptical bar at which patrons can sip and be seen sipping hard-to-find for some 15 years, Des Jardins says, “It is absolutely insane that in this prosperous country there are people who don’t get enough to eat. Share Our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger in America in the next five years. I think it’s really something to get behind—there’s no reason for people to be hungry in this country.”

Eric Tucker, of the award-winning vegetarian restaurant Millennium, would likely say the same about the homeless. Tucker is the organizing chef of SummerTini, an annual benefit for

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CLAUDIA GOETZELMANN

CHEFS (Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Service), which provides six months of culinary training and job placement plus six months of follow-up for homeless adults. Participating restaurants include Tres Agaves, Le Colonial, Masa’s, and Lettus Café Organic (whose Sascha Weiss used to be Millennium’s executive pastry chef).

“The best way to get people going is to treat them with respect and dignity. There are no stupid questions,” says Tucker. “Show them that, hey, you can do this task, and then turn them loose. I try to treat everyone as an equal.”

Tucker, whose Millennium features Aphrodisiac Nights (on the Sunday closest to the full moon), Convert-a-Carnivore discounts (on the second Wednesday of each month), and a menu that is 1/3 gluten-free, savors his station in life. Known to forage for wild foods on his days off, Tucker says, “I’m able to do a job that not only pleases a lot of people, it is also good for them and the environment.”

Elevated eco-ethics are not confined to superstar chef-commanded eateries. At Underdog, “The Organic Sausage Joint” in the Sunset, diners chow down on fresh organic hot dogs and baked organic Tater-Tots.

“We don’t use any oil or grease here,” says owner Rizza Punzalan, who serves a variety of dogs—such as veggie beer bratwurst made with Full Sail Amber Ale—and donates all leftovers to the homeless in nearby Golden Gate Park.

A fervent supporter of Rocket Dog Rescue (rocketdogrescue.org), which held a rescue dog Adopt-a-thon on its sidewalk, Underdog is so conscientious about composting and recycling that it doesn’t produce enough daily trash to fill up its smallest wastebasket.

At Yield Wine Bar, in Potrero Hill’s Dogpatch neighborhood, only “green” wines—in shades of red and white—are served. The wine bar’s interior features reclaimed wood tables, salvaged lighting fixtures, and an eco-smart fireplace in front of which patrons nibble delectables such as rosemary toasted almonds, artisan cheeses, mushroom-and-sausage flatbread, and organic peanut butter cookies.

Yield Wine Bar owners Celine Guillou and Chris Tavelli (the former wine director of Millennium) support sustainable living organizations and the YMCA’s “Urban Services” for at-risk children and families.

“We have created an environment reflecting that one cannot take from nature without giving back,” says Guillou, who believes that the best way to motivate people is “by making sure that they always feel that they have a place in the world, and reminding them that their hard work is always much appreciated.”

As far as places in the world go, Alice Waters and her “culinary children” have been working hard to make the way we eat healthier, tastier, and more beneficial to our communities, our environment, and the future of our world. As my mom would have said back in 1977: “If they want it to happen, it will happen.” It is happening. And we appreciate it. —Laura Svienty

The root of all good: Traci Des Jardins at Green Gulch Farm in Marin.

The root of all good: Traci Des Jardins at Green Gulch Farm in Marin.

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home-grown

heaven

alifornia’s Traci Des Jardins grew up C eating local, honed her cooking chops in Paris, and came back home to make beautiful food in a sustainable way.

I

nternationally recognized as a chef extraordinaire, Traci Des Jardins is also getting props for being a “somebody” who cares.

The host of “Taste of the Nation San Francisco” and a board member of La Cocina, Des Jardins prefers to do business with local fishermen, farmers, and ranchers who raise, grow, and harvest their products sustainably. Des Jardins is dedicated to doing what she can to make the oceans healthier and keep small-scale fishing viable.

Willing to go the distance for a worthy cause, she often auctions herself off to cook meals in private homes. “These dinners are always an adventure,” says Des Jardins, who once flew to

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CLAUDIA GOETZELMANN

the east coast to prepare a dinner someone purchased at a local auction (before she started putting geographical restrictions on them).

A winner of Iron Chef America and two James Beard awards (1995 and 2007), Des Jardins is a conscientious boss who starts her least skilled workers at or above the “living wage” of $9.50 an hour.

Des Jardins has developed employee assistance, energy conservation, “green” cleaning, recycling, and composting programs for all of her restaurants. “Our programs give our employees reason to feel proud of where they work … and motivation to take really good care of their workplace,” says Des Jardins, whose personal creed is “to live each moment fully.”

Raised on a farm in Firebaugh, California, by a Cajun father and a Mexican-American mother, Des Jardins grew up eating “fresh and local” before it became fashionable.

Her family meals featured seasonal produce from the garden and Central Valley game hunted by friends and family.

A lifelong animal lover, Des Jardins was at the University of California at Santa Cruz, studying to become a veterinarian, when she decided that her occupational destiny was food.

Her first job was with chef Joachim Splichal at 7th Street Bistro in Los Angeles. Impressed with her drive and discipline, Splichal urged Des Jardins to go to Europe, where she apprenticed with French culinary luminaries such as Alain Ducasse, Michel and Pierre Troisgros, Alain Passard, and Alain Senderens.

Post-Europe, Des Jardins worked for Montrachet in New York and Splichal’s Patina in Los Angeles before making her home in San Francisco—where she lit up Elka Gilmore’s Elka and George Morrone’s Aqua, became executive chef at Rubicon, and opened her French-Californian Jardinière with Pat Kuleto in 1997.

“The way I define the best of San Francisco when it comes to creative production—and in Traci’s case, the way I would define her food—is ‘art which is rooted in the local and in discipline and tradition yet is totally innovative,’” says Natasha Boas, a San Francisco-based, independent contemporary art curator.

“Traci is fierce, talented, and generous,” says Citizen Cake’s chef/owner Elizabeth Falkner, who has worked with Des Jardins at numerous charitable events. “Her cooking is always masterful and humble simultaneously, which in turn is soul-satisfying. She has a great palate and lets most ingredients speak for themselves, while still applying a smart technique when appropriate. Great chefs are able to create a balance, and I have always considered Traci’s cuisine to be both subtle and intense at the same time.”

All three of Des Jardins’ eateries—Jardinière, ACME Chophouse (which specializes in grilled and roasted meats), and Mijita (which means “little one” and is what Des Jardins’ Grandma Salazar used to call her)—are run as socially responsible businesses that adhere to three bottom lines: Profit, People, and the Planet, while dishing out divine deliciousness. —Laura Svienty

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“It is absolutely insane that in this prosperous country there are people who don’t get enough to eat. Share Our Strength’s goal is to end childhood hunger in America in the next five years. I think it’s really something to get behind—there’s no reason for people to be hungry in this country.”

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Try One On: The 267 Signature Mango Mojito

LORI EANES

Muddle four sprigs of fresh mint in the bottom of a glass. Then add 3 ounces Rum Infusion Mango with a splash of soda water. Garnish with a lime wedge and more mint sprigs. Delicioso!

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wine that’s

goodfor the vine

How far are you willing to go to be truly green? Would you drink ... organic wine?

a good

buzz

How about an organic chaser of good will? Here are a couple of ideas for the responsible drinker in San Francisco.

W

hen it comes to “eco-cocktails,” first things first. The Mission hot spot Elixir is officially The City’s first certified Green Bar, as part of San Francisco’s Green Business Program.

Elixir features a monthly green cocktail as an introduction to drinking up in an organic way, and they have a full menu of organic beers, wines, and cocktails. Elixir uses Square One Organic Vodka to concoct its clever creations.

If you’re more of an “uptown girl” (or guy), swing by NOPA for a totally organic meal and an organic cocktail to match. This Divisidero hotspot serves top-notch meals, most of which are cooked in a wood-fired oven.

On weeknights you can count on Kitty behind the bar to mix you up a perfectly-prepared Elderflower Gimlet made with not only organic vodka, but fresh organic lime.

But if you’re thinking about more than just your own personal health, be sure to try 267 Infusions. This Santa Ana-based company, owned by Stacie Parker Shonfeld, gives back in a big way.

Since its inception in 2006, 267 has donated a whopping 50 percent of its profits to The Hunger Relief Organization (HeRO), a nonprofit group founded by Parker Shonfeld’s friend Chris Hoskins. This charitable organization (on whose board Parker Shonfeld serves) provides meals for children in Honduras. HeRO to date has seven feeding centers open there, each located near a school.

“With the high poverty level in the country, children were working rather than going to school, because that was the only way to survive,” says Parker Shonfeld. “But by offering an incentive of two meals a day, the schools are now at capacity, and children are getting an education and food.”

Oh, and when it comes to trying one of 267’s eight flavors (like Mango Rum, Cranberry Vodka, and Chili Pepper tequila), leave the garnishes at home: they’re thrown right in the bottle.

Giving back tastes good. Real good. —Katie Baynes

Wait, don’t be prejudiced. Keep reading. It’s not as bad as you think.

Once upon a time, it’s true, “organic wine” meant a wine-like substance more closely resembling vinegar.

But that’s all changed. Today, you’d be surprised how many wines on the market are organic. The problem is, they don’t say it on the label. Why? Because people remember what it used to taste like.

First, what is organic wine? By definition, it is made from grapes cultivated without the use of toxic pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. The goal is to build healthy soil and healthy plants, and to protect the surrounding environment and workers in the most natural way possible.

For a vineyard to become certified, the land must be farmed for three years without the use of chemicals. The vineyard is inspected twice within that period by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), the state’s certification organization.

Monitoring is yearly after certification.

Over the past decade, more than 15,000 vine­ yard acres in the U.S. have been farmed organically, an amazing increase from only 200 acres in 1989.

There are nearly 7,000 acres of certified vineyards planted by 113 producers in California. Many others do it without applying for certification.

Perhaps you’re wondering about the winemaking process. Well, just as organic farmers won’t put anything in the soil that they wouldn’t eat themselves, the same goes for winemakers. After all, they drink more of their own wine than anyone. And if you encounter some wine geek snob who questions the addition of sulfur (which turns into sulfites) to wine, look them straight in the eye and tell them they’re misinformed. The fermentation process produces enough sulfites (10+ parts per billion) to warrant the government warning label “Contains Sulfites.” They’re produced in the process, not added. Be very skeptical of wines that don’t contain that warning. I mean VERY. Names? Well, if I had more space I could give you a lot. But some high-profile leaders are Bonterra Vineyard, Tablas Creek Vineyards, and Frog’s Leap. There are also import companies, like The Organic Wine Company (San Francisco), who import organic wines from France, Italy, and beyond.

—D. Martin Casey

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First-generation farmer: David Retsky on his tractor at his County Line Harvest Farm. A doctorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son, he grows a variety of specialty salad greens, herbs, radishes, carrots, cippolini onions, baby leeks, and baby summer squash.

Free on the range: Jessie Kuhn and his flock at Marin Roots Farm (opposite page, left and middle). Kuhn also grows baby lettuce, radishes, fava beans, and squash. Joe Shirmer puts in Early Girl tomatoes at his Dirty Girl Farm (opposite page, right).

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growing businesses Regional organic farmers are struggling to feed our increasing demand for “green” food. At least for now, it’s about passion as opposed to profit.

LORI EANES

W

e’ve done the green thing: hitting the Ferry Building for fresh produce on the weekends or remembering to order the organic green salad when we dine out. We’re doing our part, right? Saving the world one organic forkful at a time. But amid all the talk around the table about the growing “green” trend, does anyone ever stop to wonder about the people who feed the green movement? About the people at the root of it all?

Let’s face it: Organic farmers remain quiet, behind-the-scenes heroes. Providing to the city’s hippest, freshest restaurants, playing the role model for environmentalism—even when we dine in they’re keeping us fed.

But as with most heroes, the work days are long and the pay-offs can be slim. Which might explain why fewer and fewer in the next generation are willing to take on the job. According to census data, the number of farmers under 35 fell 44 percent in California and 18 percent nationwide from 1997 to 2002. Although organic business seems to be booming, veteran farmers are wondering who will be willing to take up the torch.

Statistics confirm their concern: the average age of principal farm operators in the United States in 2002 was 55.3, according to the U.S. Census of Agriculture. In California, the average age was slightly higher at 56.8. And those averages have been steadily climbing since 1978.

That’s not to say there aren’t exceptions to the statistics. Green Gulch Farm, nestled in a valley bordered by Mount Tamalpais, the Golden Gate National Recreation area, and the Pacific Ocean, is a wonderful exception.

It is a Soto Zen Buddhist community and home to nine acres of organic farms just north of San Francisco.

Green Gulch provides Greens Restaurant at Fort Mason Center, and other eco-conscious establishments, with a variety of organic produce year-round. Green Gulch also offers apprenticeship programs in organic farming, lowering that average age.

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Claudia Goetzelmann

So why are young farmers a dying tribe?

“I didn’t think it was a viable profession at first,” says David Retsky, of County Line Harvest. “My dad’s a doctor and I had absolutely no agricultural background.”

Retsky was a rare pick from the start, growing up amid L.A. city life. “You can say it, I was a Beverly Hills Brat,” Retsky says. His true passion for farming blossomed once he left the big city, learning about the trade in his travels through Israel, Portugal, and Hawaii.

The growing passion led him to where he is today: a first-generation farmer with his own 13 acres on the Marin-Sonoma county line. But, as they say, living the dream comes true, not free. “It’s hard, hard work that takes up all of your time. Yesterday I worked from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., but some days I’ll go until midnight,” Retsky says.

“I think what people don’t realize is that it’s one thing to grow, but it’s a completely other business to sell, which takes an equally large amount of work and time.”

When asked how long he’s been a farmer, Retsky says, “426,000 years,” with a chuckle. Although Retsky loves his life in agriculture, it’s no secret that the financial burden is another deep-seated issue that young farmers have to wade through.

After all, the soil isn’t the only thing farmers have to consider. Keeping constant watch over economics, irrigation, trade, the market, and their own bank account, it’s no wonder that more people aren’t stepping up to the plate.

“We all go crazy at some point, but farmers, in general, are part gamblers,” says Joe Schirmer, of Dirty Girl Produce in Santa Cruz. “It’s true, most businesses you can’t control, but every year in this business is so different—with weather conditions, fog, mildew—it’s hard. But it’s also important to go against the grain of what the dominant American values of ‘climbing the ladder’ have come to mean in terms of success.”

For Schirmer, organics is less of a trend and more about a way of life. “Your business becomes you,” he says. “Your farms reflect who you are, and what kind of business you run. It kills me when I come home from the farmers market with food still in my truck.”

And as for digging out of the physical and financial holes that the business inevitably creates, keeping in tune with nature is what keeps Schirmer positive. “Yeah, it’s tough. But organic farming has so much more soul, you know? And as an activist, it’s so much more satisfying.”

For when the going does get tough, there are organizations such as California Farmlink, which keeps a close eye on our organic future, helping young farmers get their start. Jesse Kuhn, a 32-year-old first-generation farmer, began Marin Roots Farm with the help of the Individual Development Accounts Program, in which California Farmlink provides $300 for every $100 saved per month for the first two years of business. Programs such as these are so promising that the office has become a model on a national level for the new 2007 Farm Bill. The organization also offers apprenticeships, and helps to preserve farmland with programs that link new farmers with retiring ones.

California Farmlink helps the dream become the reality for farmers, even though, according to Kuhn, the dreams never go away. “When I’m not working on the farm, I’m sleeping ... and dreaming about the farm,” says Kuhn.

But his outlook for the next generation is hopeful. “In the last couple of years, I feel like I’ve seen more young farmers start up,” says Kuhn. “This new, big demand for organic in the last decade is one of the fastest-growing enterprises I’ve seen.

And the fact is, we can’t have enough local farms.”

No matter how small the numbers may seem on paper, Kuhn isn’t the only one with hope for the future. “To see the creativity of these younger farmers is pretty exciting,” says Linda Peterson, program assistant at California Farmlink. “When I go out to visit their property, I’ll see a farmer lying down on a bed of straw, trying to help along the feeding of his hog and its new babies, or a couple who tour you around the land like it’s their brand new baby.”

Peterson says it’s refreshing to witness such dedication during a time of larger, corporate farms, where some farmers don’t actually even walk on the land anymore. “It’s not anything you’re going to get rich off of,” Peterson admits. “But at the same time, you meet people who are crazy in love with what they’re doing.

What’s better than that?” —Ashley Nelson

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slowly we turn

A remedy and an alternative to the many failings of fast food, the Slow Food movement fosters mindfulness about what we eat, focusing on local sources and traditional recipes.

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ave you heard of the Slow Food movement? If you haven’t, you will soon.

Slow Food is any dish or meal cooked with care and attention to detail, using only regional, all-natural foods, and often reviving traditional cultural recipes. Slow Food is dedicated to the promotion of gastronomic culture and the rediscovery of authentic culinary traditions.

The term “Slow Food” is really about changing cooking and eating habits to fight the fast food takeover. Of course, for most of us, it’s nearly impossible to imagine an era when the golden arches didn’t mean something so universal ... and so greasy. The time for defending (Continued on page 90)

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i taught light

the day cake decorating

Noted local chef and contestant on Bravo television’s “Top Chef” Marisa Churchill takes her turn inspiring the aspiring at San Francisco’s CHEFS Program.

ccording to an old Chinese proverb, “To succeed you must get up more times than you fall.” I am reminded of this saying every time I step into the kitchen at CHEFS (Conquering Homelessness through Employment in Food Service).

This remarkable program takes individuals who have “fallen” into homelessness and helps them get back on their feet. Students are given culinary training and help with job placement after completing the 24-week program. Finally, students battle it out in a “cook-off” where their food is critiqued by some formidable judges. On the list: food critic Michael Bauer, the ultra hip brothers behind Rivera PR, and even on occasion yours truly.

Knowing how and by whom the students’ work will be judged, I accepted the responsibility of being a featured guest chef with some trepidation. The task: Teach the students as much as I could about cakes and cake decorating—in one day! Now this could have been a challenge on “Top Chef!”

I tried to condense everything I knew about cakes into an afternoon’s worth of information and recipes that students could take with them into a real kitchen. I emailed Bill Taylor, the program’s director, hoping for some inspiration.

“How about teaching them to make butter cream roses?” he suggested. This was precisely what I had feared. He’d chosen the wrong chef to teach this class. He had wanted Laura Ashley but he’d gotten Betsey Johnson. “You see, Bill,” I politely explained “I haven’t made a butter cream rose since culinary school. I could teach them how to paint chocolate on to acetate and decorate a cake with edible paints, but butter cream roses? Well, I just can’t help you there.” Now I thought he would see his error in asking me to teach the class. “That would be fine,” he said pleasantly. It appeared the students were stuck with me.

Like the wedding cakes we’d be making, I was theirs—for better or for worse.

The group of aspiring chefs was as nontraditional as the cakes we were decorating.

“Yo teach, how ’bout this?” A hulking 6'4" man presented me with a cake still in the disposable metal pan, frosting squirted on top. “Ummm ... as much as we want artistic freedom here,” I reminded him tactfully, “we also want the customers happy with their purchases. Take the cake out of the metal pan,” I requested. “But it’s too hard that way!” he whimpered. Here I was listening to a man who had roughed it on the streets of San Francisco, and he was telling me that taking a cake out of a pan was “too hard.” Exasperated, I gave him the only piece of advice that came to mind: “You’ve got to be gentle with the cake, treat it delicately, like a lady, and it will come out of the pan.” He smiled. Now we understood one another! He coaxed the cake gently from the pan.

By the end of class we had 20 beautifully-decorated cakes, covered in everything from toasted nuts to edible gold and silver paints. These cakes were like their creators: transformed pieces of work that had been cut in half and then frosted back together until they were shaped into something new. Something full of promise.

For more information on CHEFS, call (415) 4873743. Marisa’s web site is marisachurchill.com.

PETE THOMPSON

A

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eating smart: on your

terms

To help you when you’re shopping, here’s a handy guide to what those labels really mean.

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elcome to the ethical consumer food purchasing movement. “Eh, what?” you say.

If you believe that you vote with your dollars each time you shop, and that the primary goal of food shopping is not speed, cheapness, or instant gratification with a bonus for thoughtlessness, then this primer is for you.

Many of us are realizing that slick marketing has snookered us into believing that just-add-water-and-microwave (in plastic) simplicity relieves us of the need to think about food. Many of us embrace the notion that thinking, studying, and ruminating about food production, nutrition, economic consequences, and ethical concerns are worthwhile.

But once we start to pay attention, how do we decipher all the labels? By no means comprehensive, but hopefully enough to get you thinking, here’s a little taste of some of the terminology: When a food is certified organic, it was grown without fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, or genetically modified organisms, was grown on land free of pesticides, fertilizers, et cetera, for a specified period of time, and has been separated from non-certified product. Note that some labels say “100% Organic,” but USDA certification actually means 95 percent organic, and “Made with Organic Ingredients” means 70 percent organic. “Natural” and “All Natural” mean whatever the marketers want them to mean, with no certification process. Check out 7-UP’s “all natural” ingredients.

Sometimes, especially at farmers’ markets, producers may claim “pesticide free” when they have not yet been certified organic. Talk to them; you might want to buy their uncertified produce. Note that “organic” does not mean “all things good;” it does not offer any guarantees about fair wage for labor or humane treatment of animals.

ORGANIC

refers to international standards for fair trade for commodities such as coffee, tea, cocoa, and bananas. Fair trade is about making sure that the people who grow the food or make the products are paid a fair wage, typically focusing on imports from developing counties to developed countries. Fair trade seeks to empower workers and producers to become self-sufficient. Look for these seals: FLO-CERT’s “Fairtrade,” FLO-CERT’s “Fair Trade Certified,” and IFAT’s “Fair Trade Organization.” Read more at oxfam.org.

FAIR TRADE

Attempts to convey humane animal treatment include: “cruelty free,” meaning that no animal testing was done on the product or its ingredients (no certifying agency); “Free Farmed,” the American Humane Association’s certification that animals raised for dairy, lamb, poultry, and beef products were treated in a humane manner; and “Certified Humane Raised and Handled,” a new Humane Farm Animal Care certification that dairy, meat, or poultry producers “allow animals to engage in their natural behaviors,” raise animals with sufficient space, shelter, and gentle handling to limit stress, and provide ample fresh water and a healthy diet without added antibiotics or hormones.

Growth hormones are prohibited, and feed must be free of antibiotics.

HUMANELY PRODUCED

Touted as a way to break the shackles of corporate chain stores and reduce the carbon footprint of long truck, boat, and train transportation of goods, the movement to buy food produced locally (sometimes defined as within 100 miles of one’s home) has gained many supporters. Buying locally, especially at a farmers’ market, supports independent businesses and family farms in your area. This is a consistently good choice, and there are abundant Bay Area farmers’ markets on every day of the week (cafarmersmarkets.com).

However, companies are slapping the terms “locally made” and “locally produced” on product labels as if it were the best possible quality in all items. This requires discernment. Marc on Ethicurean.com has investigated the argument that rice produced in California actually consumes more energy to get onto your San Francisco table than rice produced in Bangladesh, because the climate in Bangladesh is conducive to rice production, whereas California requires massive irrigation efforts.

LOCALLY GROWN

The bottom line is that people are starting to pay attention to food sources. This is a good thing. Terminology will evolve and labels will change. Conscientious consumers will need to keep studying. To stay informed visit organicconsumers.org and ethicurean.com. —Jenny P. Andrews

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A hand in the healing: Jimmy Carter comforts six-year-old Ruhama Issah at Savelugu Hospital as a Carter Center volunteer, Adams Bawa, dresses her extremely painful Guinea worm wound.

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INTOAFRICA The Carter Center takes on debilitating diseases in the poorest parts of the world’s poorest continent

icture yourself as a poor African mother with a runny-nosed child in your arms. You live in a remote, impoverished village where people defecate outdoors. It is a place where water must be filtered not for taste but for disease prevention. It is a place where candles are lit not for aromatherapy but for light.

Flies land on your child’s face to feast on eye discharge and mucus, after which they lay infected eggs on your neighbors’ exposed feces.

You wipe your child’s nose, and your own, with the oft-used edge of your skirt. You have never been taught the health benefits of washing your hands with soap.

You used to be lovely, but years of infection have scarred the insides of your eyelids and curled them inward so that your once-protective lashes scratch your eyeballs whenever you blink. If left unchecked, this constant corneal assault will cloud your vision until you can no longer see. Welcome to the world of trachoma, the number one cause of preventable blindness.

Preventable is the magic word that both irks and inspires the Carter Center. Founded in 1982 by former United States President Jimmy

By Laura Svienty • Photos by Louise Gubb

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“We have learned over 25 years that progress is possible against even seemingly insurmountable odds.” —Jimmy Carter, founder, the Carter Center

Carter and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, to advance peace and public health worldwide, the Carter Center has prevented suffering for more than 73 million people in more than two dozen African countries. The not-forprofit, nonpartisan Center improves lives by resolving conflicts, monitoring elections, decreasing the stigma against mental illness, supporting community-based economic development, and promoting public health programs.

By helping countries provide health education and treatment for diseases largely off the Western world’s radar, such as trachoma, dracunculiasis (Guinea worm disease), schistosomiasis (snail fever), onchocerciasis (river blindness), and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), the Carter Center has instilled hope—and health—in some of the world’s most forsaken communities.

Carter himself is by no means a figurehead.

He is deeply engaged in the work. While visiting Africa last February to call international attention to the health needs of impoverished communities in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Ghana, Carter recorded his day in Nasarawa State, where Guinea worm has been eradicated but lymphatic filariasis and schistosomiasis still loom: “Welcomed by huge crowds, we made our way to the local river, where many children were swimming and women were washing clothes. Any contact with the water exposed their skin to the schisto disease, which results in adult worms living in the bloodstream and producing eggs that seek escape from the body through urine and feces— also penetrating the liver and other organs. These parasites not only cause intense scarring of the internal organs but starve the children by competing for any nutrients that are available.

“We gave doses of praziquantel to a number of the children and then visited victims of both diseases. Lymphatic filariasis is commonly known as elephantiasis, a grotesque growth of genitals,

legs and arms. One man’s scrotum was the size of a basketball. It is transmitted by the same mosquitoes as malaria, and we have been distributing treated bed nets in the area.”

“Nobody need die from these neglected diseases,” says Dr. Paul Emerson, director of the Center’s Trachoma Control Program. “Nobody need suffer a life of misery, pain, eventual blindness, and early death from their trachoma. We have for trachoma a strategy that works, and we’ve applied it successfully in southern Sudan— which is the most difficult place to work in the world—and made it work.”

Asnaku Shigute, 45 (top

Cases in Point: The Fight Against Trachoma

to the World Health Organ­

The strategy of which Emerson speaks is known as SAFE (an acronym coined by the World Health Organization) and is comprised of: surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement.

The Carter Center helps train health workers to perform eyelid surgery that reverses trichiasis (turned-in lashes) on fellow community members who are at immediate risk of blindness.

“The people we are training ... would be the equivalent of the person that weighs and measures you and takes your blood when you go into a clinic [in the United States],” says Emerson.

Each surgeon trained will operate on hundreds of late-stage trachoma victims.

Describing what eyelid surgery can do for a young woman, Emerson says: “The pain and stigma of her condition are removed. She will be able to get married, whereas nobody would marry her previously. If she has children, those children will be free to go to school rather than staying to look after her. She’ll be able to cook, farm, collect water, and perform her day-to-day functions easily and with joy.”

Emerson mentions that President Carter’s

right) has had repeated trachoma infections since she was a child. She now has trichiasis, and her left eye waters constantly as the lashes have turned inward and are scratching her cornea.

Eighty-four million people have trachoma, according ization. Eight million of them are visually impaired or completely—and irreversibly— blind. Trachoma is caused by a bacterium (Chlamydia trachomatis). It is trans­ mitted via eye-seeking flies and contact with infected eye secretions.

Four children in Ethiopia (lower right) sleep under long-lasting insecticidetreated bednets to prevent bites from malaria-infected mosquitoes while they sleep.

The Center is currently working with the Ethiopian government to provide 20 million insecticidal nets for homes in malaria-endemic areas.

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“Good health is a basic human right, especially among poor people afflicted with disease who are isolated, forgotten, ignored, and often without help.”—Jimmy Carter mother once treated people in rural Georgia for trachoma. “President Carter knows the lot of the subsistence farmers who are scratching out their living in the earth in these remote parts of Africa.

He can understand their plight and he cares for them,” Emerson observes. “He doesn’t have to do this—he could be at home writing his memoirs and fishing. At 82 years old, he has a travel schedule that would knock you or me back until we were lying down.”

A fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Royal Entomological Society, Emerson has been instrumental in conveying the role that flies play in trachoma transmission and the importance of building latrines.

“Empowering communities to provide their own sanitation through a basic pit latrine might cost the program 40 dollars in materials—but the moment people start using it, it’s going to transform their lives,” says Emerson.

Antibiotics are another force in the battle against trachoma, as one oral dose of Zithromax can protect a person against trachoma for an entire year. The Carter Center ensures that Pfizer-donated “Z-Pacs” are distributed to at-risk villages and dispensed by local health workers well-versed in drug administration.

Global Support, Local Solutions The importance of these village-based volunteers—often selected by elders or chiefs—cannot be overstated, as the long-term success of all of the Center’s disease programs depends upon community members trained to treat and prevent the diseases.

“The attention that the local health workers get from the Carter Center staff in terms of training, supervision, monitoring, and feedback is a huge motivation for them,” says Emerson.

“Without us it wouldn’t be happening, but it is

they who are doing the work.”

In fact, the name of the Center does not appear on the programs that it supports. This enables the leaders of embattled countries and rural villages to call the programs their own and take pride in—and responsibility for—the results.

“I think the Carter Center’s work is great. Better health means a better life,” says Kim Pidcoke, a former health volunteer who worked for the Peace Corps in Guinea. “The ‘forgotten’ places are not forgotten to those who live there. The fact that the world isn’t covering their experience doesn’t make their lives any less important.”

As a former U.S. president, President Carter is granted VIP access to African leaders with whom he draws up contracts allowing the Carter Center to assist their governments in carrying out the work necessary to combat targeted diseases. For example, the Center is currently working with the Ethiopian government to provide 20 million insecticidal nets for homes in malaria-endemic areas.

“The reason we’re able to do that is because we’re integrating malaria into the existing trachoma and oncho programs,” explains Emerson. “We have all of those village health extension workers (30,000 in the trachoma areas and about 15,000 in the oncho area) who are already there and trained. We can just add some training on malaria and the distribution and use of nets to their ongoing and refresher training.”

Implementing programs for neglected diseases such as trachoma can prove problematic. “It’s very difficult for a minister of health to allocate money for drug distribution, for sanitation promotion, and for health education materials, when on his way into the office in the capital city he [encounters] people dying in the streets with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, or malaria,” says Emerson. “Far, far away and out of sight in the most inhospitable places, people are going blind quietly on their own at home. I work for those people.”

From Us to Them: How You Can Help Some tips on how Benefit readers can help people in need in Africa: Support the Carter Center’s work there by donating to the program of your choice. Go to cartercenter.org.

Be informed, go online and read the African news to find out how most of the people in the world live.

Buy fair trade goods. It makes a difference.

Slow down desertification and the increase in severe weather around the world by reducing your energy consumption.

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A gift of prevention: With Jimmy looking on, Rosalynn Carter presents a specially-treated bednet to Mrs. Hlmenlike (right), who hosted the Carters in her home during their visit to southwest Ethiopia in February of this year.

Advancing Human Rights: A Conversation with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Benefit interviewed the Carters about their vision for the Carter Center and their experiences since they founded the organization in 1982. Here is what they had to say:

Benefit: What have you tried to accomplish through the Carter Center in your post-presidency?

President Carter: When Rosalynn and I left the White House, much work remained to achieve the dreams we had for furthering human rights and peace worldwide. We believed our influence and relationships with world leaders could be used to build partnerships to continue making progress toward these goals.

Self-governance, freedom from political persecution, adequate food, and access to healthcareâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;these rights give people self-respect, human dignity, and hope for the future. Without them, we will never see a world at peace.

Benefit: How has the Carter Center grown since it was founded in 1982?

President Carter: My original vision was that the Center would be a small and secluded place, like Camp David, where we could resolve existing or potential conflicts among nations or between adversaries within a country.

We later found that one of the best ways to promote peace is to let people choose their own leaders. We helped pioneer the field of election monitoring and have observed more than 67 elections in troubled countries struggling to achieve democracy, then, after elections, worked with them to strengthen public institutions to protect new freedoms. Another area we did not anticipate was having programs to alleviate unnecessary suffering from preventable diseases and hunger. These are also critical to preventing conflict and achieving the dream of a world at peace. What has

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evolved is an array of programs advancing human rights.

Mrs. Carter: The Carter Center has developed into an organization that is trusted. People feel that the Center is an honest broker and really cares about them. They will unburden their problems, and we try to help them. This fulfilling role for us and for the Center is something we never could have imagined when we first came home from the White House, thinking we would be bored to death the rest of our lives.

The Center truly has become a permanent force for positive change in the world.

Benefit: Can you give real-life examples of how the Carter Center improves lives?

Mrs. Carter: Election Day in a country that has never had an election before is so exciting.

I remember going to Liberia for an election after they had been at war for many years.

Early in the morning, we went to watch the preparation for polls to open. It was still dark when we arrived, and voters already were in long snaking lines—women with babies on their backs or slung around their chests. It was drizzling rain, and some told us they had been there for hours waiting for the polls to open. They had waited many years to vote; what were a few more hours? So I went down one line asking them why they came out so early to vote, and the answer was “peace.”

They wanted peace. It made me cry.

President Carter: In 1988, I visited a village in Ghana not far from the capital, Accra. The people drank water from what we would call a mud hole, a little pond that fills up during the rainy season. They didn’t realize this was the source of their affliction. In this village of 500, half of the people were lying under trees around the town square. One of the first people I saw, and one who sticks in my mind and in my heart, was a beautiful young woman about 19 years old. When I approached her, I thought she was holding a baby in her arms. But when I got closer, I found she was holding in her arm her right breast, which was horribly swollen. The Guinea worm was coming out of the nipple, and she was stricken with intense pain, which she tried to conceal while I was there. I had to control my tears.

Of 3.5 million cases of Guinea worm when we began the eradication campaign in 1986, today, about 25,000 remain.

Benefit: What do you think has been the greatest accomplishment of the Carter Center so far?

Mrs. Carter: All of our projects are important, so it’s difficult to choose. I guess the year that Jimmy and the Carter Center prevented two wars, one in Haiti and one in North Korea, is especially memorable. It’s also thrilling to see the impact of our disease control work in the field. Just as when someone casts a first ballot, you can really see lives being changed by this work. I’m also grateful for the progress we’ve made in helping to diminish the stigma against mental illness. Our journalism fellowships truly are helping to increase understanding and destroy myths about mental illnesses.

President Carter: I think we have demonstrated that a very small nongovernmental organization can be highly effective. I believe we also have shown that, although it’s not easy, we can cross the chasm between the rich and the poor on earth. Potential donors have come to see that people in Africa and other distant regions deserve our help. They have proven in thousands of cases that with a little bit of help and guidance, with the right tools and knowledge, they can be empowered to overcome their own problems.

Benefit: What is your vision for the Carter Center in the future?

Mrs. Carter: We have made very careful plans about the future of the Carter Center. We have raised an endowment to help finance the Center when Jimmy and I will no longer actively raise funds. We also have formed a partnership with Emory University, so that the activism of the Carter Center in 65 nations will be supported and enhanced by the academic and research base of a great university. In addition, several councils of world leaders at the Center are in place to sustain the Center’s access to leaders at the highest levels in each region where we work.

“Self-governance, freedom from political persecution, adequate food, and access to healthcare —these rights give people selfrespect, human dignity, and hope for the future.

Without them, we will never see a world at peace.”

—Jimmy Carter

President Carter: In my Nobel Peace Prize lecture, I quoted my high school teacher, Ms. Julia Coleman, who said that we must accommodate changing times, but cling to unchanging principles. That’s been an epigrammatic description of the philosophy that has permeated the Carter Center and my own life. I hope we always will stay on the cutting edge of technology and knowledge and medicines but try to adhere to basic principles of morality and honesty and integrity and peace and justice and respect of human life. And I hope that as an organization, we will never let the fear of failure be an excuse for not trying.

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“Nobody need die from these neglected diseases.” —Dr. Paul Emerson

Building for a healthier future: Visit of the Carter Center team, led by Dr. Paul Emerson (center) to check readiness of latrines being built to combat trachoma.

Here he discusses the construction with Mrs. Alidu Kuburu (right).

The connection between those suffering in remote Africa and those of us here who are relatively well-off is brought to light by Dr. Donald R. Hopkins, the Center’s associate executive director: “The recent examples of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and before them smallpox, are powerful proof that the personal health—and with it, the economic health—of everyone on Earth is inextricably intertwined and cannot be untangled.”

As Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Carter says, “Good health is a basic human right, especially among poor people afflicted with disease who are isolated, forgotten, ignored, and often without help.” The Center is doing whatever it can to

give help to those who need it the most.

Now picture yourself as a poor African mother walking your fresh-faced daughter to one of the new latrines built by community volunteers.

Last month, you had your eyelids done, not for vanity but for sight. Blinking no longer tortures you. You’ve been given a new lease on life. Your daughter is trachoma-free. Those Z-Pacs really work. She washes her hands and face as you do— often, with water and soap. She does not share towels or handkerchiefs. She has learned why to shoo away flies.

Welcome to the hope-filled world of disease control and prevention, created by locals committed to healing their own communities—with a little help from the Carter Center. B

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