from the farm to the market

So this past Saturday I went on a field trip with one of my seminars that explored where our local foods came from. We started off the day pretty early. We were on a BART train to SF before 7:20 am, and arrived at the SF Ferry Building by about 8:00 am. After a short info session where we learned about farmers markets we got to explore and shop around the farmers market. My group was in charge of finding desserts. Although only a couple places really had dessert foods, I still had a lot of fun.










We then got a charter bus to bring us to various places in Marin. First, we went to Mike and Sally Gale's ranch in Cileno Valley. They raise grass fed cattle that is supplemented with Alfalfa. They have a neat looking house on a restored farm. They also have an apple orchard. It was really cool just listening to what they had to say about ranching and farming, and learning about their specialized method of raising cattle in a low stress environment. You can actually order a quarter of a cow from them. I hear it's really good.



Next, we went to the Cowgirl Creamery at Point Reyes Station. We got to eat some artisan cheeses. They were pretty good. I'm not a cheese loving person.

The final producer we Visited was this guy named Russ Santori. He is a farmer that used to be in the dairy business but now grows strawberries. It was pretty awesome listening to different farmers talk about the food that they make. It makes me want to be a farmer.

At the end of the day, we went back to Lynn's ( one of the professor's) house and ate all the food we bought at the farmers market. Wow. It was really good food. We started off the meal with some bread and crackers that were complimented with various cheeses. The rest of the meal consisted of veggies, a wicked salad, really good burgers (beef and bison), sausages, pork chops, and then desserts. I don't think I've been so full in a long time. (As a side note, I've been eating a lot lately without doing much exercise.)

We got back to the dorms almost at 10pm. It was pretty awesome

So, if you are going to be a freshman at Berkeley, take this class. Natural Resources 24. Or just get some friends together and visit a farmers market or try to get in contact with some local farmers.