Zcause Blog; Anthony Zolezzi.com

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Formula for world’s best cheese: greener grass,
contented cows and one cheery cheesemaker

March 30, 2009

The week after our Natural Products Expo, I visited two of my favorite places, Argentina and Uruguay. The latter country boasts some incredible cheese, the unique flavor of which comes from the Pampas, where all the cattle graze on natural grasses and legumes and are never fed corn or grains.

One such cheese, called Narbona, is an Uruguayan Parmesan that is dry, salty and unbelievably flavorful. When I chanced to remark to the chef at my hotel about how good this particular cheese was, he asked if I wanted to go to the farm where it was produced, and I replied “Absolutely” – so off we went. It’s hard to describe the serenity, beauty and lushness of Uruguay’s rolling green hills, and how contented the animals grazing there appear. I actually found the 20-kilometer ride over the dirt roads to be a soothing experience that made me feel encouraged about future prospects for the planet itself. Then we came upon a farm at whose entrance was a sign that said “Narbona”.

The farm basically consisted of three buildings, one of which was a curing room containing hundreds and hundreds of big rounds of cheese in its embryonic state. On the farthest side the rounds were bobbing in water, which turned out to be a 30% saline solution. Each round of cheese spends 20 days so immersed prior to curing, which is what imbues it with that special salty flavor. The next room was the actual cheese-making room, where we encountered Marcelo the cheese maker. When we met him he was attired in a white cap, white rubber apron and black boots, and was busy washing the containers in which the rounds are packed. Marcelo, a smiling, congenial and accommodating man who had been working there 20 years and seemed very proud of his cheese-making ability, was only to happy to acquaint his visitors with all the details of the process and the ups and downs of the production process.

What I found most intriguing was Marcelo’s explanation of how the cheese changes with the seasons, due to the fact that the 80 cows supporting the operation live on a strictly organic diet, never eating corn and depending on the natural grasses for 100% of their food. He couldn't stress enough how much his ability to do his job well depends on the wellness of his cows – that and the weather.

Smiling as if he had been asked to say “cheese,” he also told us somewhat proudly that he had not merely followed in his father’s footsteps, but had taken up the cheesemaking craft himself, learning it on a farm. He had always known this was what he wanted to do, he added, and was very happy with his life as the Narbona cheese maker. But when I told him that I thought he made the best cheese in the world, he turned a little red and said he could make it better, adding,” I have always believed you have to be humble to be good."

In a world where so many people in so many professions are finding to their chagrin that someone has “moved the cheese,” finding an individual who was still happily making it in the same place was a genuinely delightful experience. To say nothing of delicious.

Organic Center finds various causes for celebration
despite financial tsunami – including staying afloat

March 18, 2009

For the last six years The Organic Center’s major fundraiser has been in the form of a dinner scheduled on the Friday night of the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim. For five of those years I have been responsible to the board of directors for ensuring the dinner was a success, and have always found the challenge to be kind of fun. This year’s fundraiser was distinguished by the energetic presence of Discovery Channel star Sara Snow as a co-chair, and the invaluable assistance of Michelle Goolsby, chairperson of The Organic Center, along with a team comprised of the center staff and the PR agency Neighbor. But remember, it was also taking place in the middle of a global financial crisis – one which had necessitated having to cut the budget for the event by 20 percent.

It was hardly what you’d call the best of times to stage a celebration. But what we did do was to celebrate the encouraging things that have happened in recent months, rather than fret about the many as yet unmet needs of our industry. And top on the list of things worth celebrating was the new administration’s embrace of progressive ideas and objectives and the naming of Tom Vilsack and Kathleen Merrigan , two individuals that many of us know and respect, as its secretary and undersecretary of agriculture.

We also could celebrate our good fortune in having a new leader of the Organic Trade Association, Christine Bushway, who is one of the best qualified individuals to help the industry rise above the current economic turmoil (and the fact that if there’s one thing the organic industry has learned how to do, its hold its own in a crisis).

All-told, Chef Domenica served a magnificent organic family-style dinner to the 503 guests, while Phillip LaRocca, of LaRocca Vineyards, supplied incredible organic red wine, up-and-coming singer-songwriter Kelly James entertained us with some rousing tunes, Sara and Michelle gave inspirational talks on the state of the industry and a video was shown in which HRH Prince Charles paid tribute to the work of the Organic Center. But perhaps best of all, despite the sorry state of the economy, we managed to raise enough money to keep the center going for another year. And to top things off, at the affair’s conclusion Walter Robb of Whole Foods got up and delivered the encouraging announcement that UNFI (the largest organic food distributor in the country) had just made its first food delivery into the White House itself.

Yes, it turned out that the organic industry had a lot to celebrate after all – not the least of which was its ability to simply ‘keep its head above water’ in the midst of a financial tsunami.

A ride in an unlikely conveyance conveys how sustainability can come in all forms

March 2, 2009

An unlikely story of sustainability involves an experience I recently had in New York City during a week that produced a couple of interesting twists and observations.

First, let me tell you about the very unlikely manner in which one of the true elements of sustainability coupled with the pure spirit of American enterprise was recently exhibited to me. In the course of my consulting, I have had the opportunity to work with some very big companies on exciting sustainability initiatives – and many times, I’ve found that people in boardrooms confuse sustainability with being “green” or lowering energy or material costs. But sustainability has a human and social element as well, as was exemplified by an experience I had while on my way to a gathering with some of those very people.

One of my Fortune 100 clients is headquartered about an hour outside of The Big Apple. Whenever I’m meeting with them, I stay in a midtown business-oriented hotel that provides me with a car and driver to get to their office in the morning. It’s pretty much the same drill every time – I start the day with a short workout, get a nice organic breakfast-to-go from Pret Manger, pick up a copy of The New York Times and jump in the car. Now, on this particular occasion, I had left my bag with the doorman to load in the car, and when I got back from Pret Manger, there was no black car waiting in front of the hotel. So I asked the doorman if I had taken care of my bag, and he answered yes, my driver was right there, as he pointed to an early 90s-vintage SUV parked nearby complete with a well tattered interior and t-shirt seat covers.

At this point, I turned to the doorman and asked if this was the car he was referring to. When he replied yes, I then asked how much I was going to be charged and he answered, “Whatever you want to pay him.” I was a little taken aback at first, but then thought, “Who the hell am I to be so pretentious -- if this guy is going to give me a ride, I should go.” And so I did, and that’s how I got to meet Andreas, my driver who is also the night doorman at the hotel. As it turned out, the hotel had cut back everyone’s hours, so the doormen had gotten together and organized a driving business using their own cars and their regular customers. I thought that was fantastic, not only as a reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit at its best, but as a clear demonstration of a concept that most of us miss in the definition of sustainability.

Upon arriving at the company’s headquarters, Andreas inquired whether I planned on returning to the city later on. When I said no, that I’d be heading directly to Newark Airport instead, he offered to wait, and I replied that it would be great if he could. So Andreas, the night bellman, ended up snoozing in the parking lot for the next four hours, while I went into my meeting. But here was the fun part: Andreas had no idea what an effect he’d had, not only on me, but on all the other participants in the meeting taking place inside. That’s because when it came my turn to talk, I began with the story of how I had come to New York focused strictly on the environmental aspects of sustainability, when meeting Andreas reminded me of its economic and social aspects as well – how people were always finding ingenuous ways to use their existing resources to sustain their livelihoods. I concluded by noting just how inspiring I had found my ride to the headquarters and my night bellman/driver who was now in the parking lot full of sleek new black cars catching 40 winks inside his aging and somewhat shabby-appearing SUV. So he was naturally a little shocked when I returned to the car accompanied by several of the other attendees who were also leaving the meeting, but wanted to meet Andreas. The spirit of sustainability he conveyed, in other words, was contagious, serving to remind us all of how it can be practiced on many different levels.

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