Not into fast food? Area farmers, chefs shift into slow lane: organic farmers oppose bill that could open floodgates to genetically altered crops.

The stars at the third annual Taste of Slow Food San Diego weren't the traditional Italian singers or the breathtaking view of vineyards with a mountain backdrop.

Rather, the showstoppers were the gourmet cheeses, all-natural grilled beef free of added hormones or antibiotics and locally grown organic arugula topped with a blood orange oil.

San Diego County has more certified organic farms than any other county in the nation, according to the county Department of Agriculture/Weights & Measures. Of 5,255 farms in the county, around 300, or 6 percent, are certified organic by the government.

And agriculture is big business in San Diego. Local farmers bring in nearly $1.5 billion in revenues annually, making it the No. 5 industry in the county, the San Diego County Farm Bureau said. Organic farmers in the county saw gross revenues top $28.6 million in 2005.

Members of the slow food movement, including local organic farmers, restaurant owners and chefs, are concerned that a bill that has passed the state Assembly could restrict counties' ability to regulate use and labeling of seeds and nursery stock. Critics say the state would have too much control over what can be grown and that it would prohibit the county from the option of banning genetically modified crops here.

The Slow Food organization aims to preserve time-intensive foods and protect the family farm. San Diego County chefs, farmers and patrons at the Aug. 27 festival at Escondido's Orfila Vineyards & Winery USA raised $30,000, partly to support a 20-acre student farming project at San Pasqual Academy, an Escondido home for foster children. The event will also help send five local activists, including local farmers, chefs and winery and restaurant owners, to the annual Terra Madre, a slow food conference, in Italy this fall.

The Slow Food group opposes multinational food corporations, genetically modified crops, hormone-boosted animals and processed foods with chemical preservatives It promotes growth of wild vegetables and fruits, animal breeds and cooking traditions at risk of extinction, such as making gourmet cheeses.

Local members of the movement say genetically modified foods, which are altered to gain heartier varieties and longer shelf life, for example, should not grow side by side with organic foods.

Fast-Moving Industry

Scott Murray, local organic farmer and president of the Slow Food San Diego group, said genetically altered foods are "part of our future," but that the industry has "gotten ahead of itself," by not requiring labeling of altered foods as such.

"My fear is that we may not have tools to control these crops because pollen blows for miles and miles and miles," said Murray of plants becoming resistant to pesticides. "That's the scary part of letting the genie out of the bottle."

Slow Food San Diego features 370 members and is a chapter within the 100,000-member international Slow Food organization.

Andrew Spurgin, the executive director and chef at San Diego's Waters Fine Catering, and Jeff Jackson, owner and chef at the Lodge at Torrey Pines' A. R. Valentien fine dining restaurant, are both active in the Slow Food group.

Both businesses use organic, locally grown foods, Jackson, who will be attending Terra Madre this summer, changes A.R. Valentien's menu daily based on what local farmers have available.

"When produce or vegetables are at their peak, they are fresher and taste better--and the price is lower," Jackson said. "But working with organic, local food in general is more expensive."

Spurgin admits that catering is not as conducive to buying local, organic foods because of the advance planning involved with events such as weddings and corporate fund-raisers, but Waters uses as much as possible. Spurgin said food for an event can cost 20 percent to 30 percent more if a customer wants all organic goods.

"There's some things I just won't serve," Spurgin said. "Some shrimp has so many chemicals in it. It's hit or miss, so I would rather just avoid it. There's so much stuff that people put in food that has no business being there. Why would you eat things you don't have to?"

Spurgin feels so strongly about sustainable fisheries and seafood that he has created a nonprofit education group called Passion-fish, online at www.passionfish.org.

Lucky for these activists, the entrance of genetically modified crops on San Diego's agricultural stage has been absent, say several local experts, including the San Diego County Farm Bureau. Crops that lend themselves more frequently to genetic modification, said bureau spokesman Eric Larson, are high-volume, lower-dollar return crops such as soybeans, corn and cotton--grown more in the Midwest or Canada.

Industry groups such as Biocom, a San Diego County trade group representing more than 400 life sciences firms, and Del Foit, UC San Diego Extension's life sciences director, said they don't know of any companies based in San Diego that are conducting research related to genetically modify crops, though Dow Chemical Co. has a research and development lab here.

At least a few counties in the state, including Mendocino in Northern California, have already voted to prohibit genetically modified crops in their area.

Bureau Backs Bill

The San Diego County Farm Bureau supports Senate Bill 1056, which would give the state more control over seed law, Larson said.

"We think the rules governing agriculture should be uniform statewide," he said.

Biocom and some 20 retail and farming trade groups also support the bill. Those in opposition include the Organic Farming Research Foundation, several farms, wineries, California Communities Against Toxics and other anti-pesticide groups, as well as the Breast Cancer Fund.

The bill's future was uncertain at press time last week, as the Senate referred it to committee on Aug. 28, and the legislative session ended Aug. 31.

Federal Standards

In 1990, the federal government passed the Organic Foods Production Act, which eventually led to standards that prohibit organic products to employ genetic engineering, ionizing radiation, or sewage sludge in production or handling. Most synthetic substances are prohibited by the act.

The state pays the county to inspect 40 producers at random for organic certification each year. The grower or handler must meet the standards for three years before using the term "organic" in its marketing. Not all producers get a physical inspection each year, said Stasi Redding, the supervising agricultural inspector at San Diego County's agriculture department. But they must register and pay fees on an annual basis, she said. The county has only three inspectors, and one position is vacant. These inspectors are also responsible for other types of agricultural reviews, such as examining eggs.

"We visit some producers more based on their history," Redding said.

She said the county, which has been certifying organic producers since the mid- 1990s, receives occasional complaints about potential violations--for example, a farmer saying his or her produce is organic when it is not or he or she is not certified. Violators can be fined up to $10,000.

"We respond and take them very seriously," said Redding, adding that her department fined only one person last year. "Sometimes, it's just one product on the table that the farmer forgot to certify, even though (he or she) is a certified organic farmer."

Buying truly organic is tricky, industry members say, because the government does not allow farms and handlers that sell less than $5,000 per year to apply for its U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seal. Retail operations, such as grocery stores and restaurants, do not have to be certified.

Murray, who has been farming in Southern California for more than 30 years, is now overseeing the 20-acre agriculture project at San Pasqual that teaches foster children about sustainability. He and the students grow vegetables, fruits and herbs, which the students consume or sell.

Over the years, Murray has farmed about 10 acres at a time on leased land in Fallbrook, San Marcos and Vista. Invariably, each time, the land was eventually sold to developers for commercialization.

Eventually, Murray, 53, decided to beat the developers at their own game--with his own rules--and began a consulting business. Murray Sustainable advises developers and farmers how to build environmentally sustainable projects. For the last 10 years, he has helped industrial, commercial and residential developers, as well as farmers, reduce runoff and other negative effects on the environment.

Murray, who studied agrocology at UC Santa Cruz, said, "We're at the end of this era where we thought, 'We can just have unlimited energy and water and other resources.'"

Jackson, of Torrey Pines, said he grew a garden in his back yard, and realized how difficult survival must be for local farmers--several of whom he has daily contact with.

"I tried to do it organically," Jackson said. "It's very difficult, and my respect for these farmers tripled."

About 40 percent of the food at A.R. Valentien is locally grown.

"For me, it's about embracing traditions," he said. "The thing that makes this work is communicating with the farmers."

BY KATIE WEEKS