July 22, 2021 • 41 mins
Tom and Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon discuss the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and have a wide-ranging discussion about where legislation around environment and food intersect.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Citizen Chef is a production of I Heart Radio. Hi,
I'm Tom Clichio and you're listening to Citizen Chef. So
this week on our podcast, I'm talking to Congressman Or
Blue and Hour. He represents Portland, Oregon, and you know,
we talked about a lot different things, ranging from food
(00:21):
policy of the farm bill, school launch, but we also
talk about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund or all bluemen Our
wrote the bill in the House, and since the bill
there's been a lot of sort of misunderstanding and sort
of misinformation is swirling around those interwebs out there. So
obviously when we wrote the bill, UM, we wanted to
(00:44):
take care of people who typically are marginalized, and so
the bill was written where women, minority and veteran owned
businesses got first crack at the funding. Okay, so after
the applications were accepted, there was a two week period
I think it was two weeks where UH the only
applications that were UH funded where those from minority owned,
(01:04):
women owned, and veteran owned businesses. Well, a couple of
weeks into the funding process, there was a lawsuit the
s b A, the Small Business Administration that was administering
the program. Uh, they were sued saying that they couldn't
priority prioritize these groups. And the lawsuit was successful, and
there were people who received phone calls saying that yes,
(01:26):
you were going to get funded, but now we have
to pull it back. So a couple of weeks into it,
some of the priority applicants were told that yes, they
were going to be funded, and then the s b
A actually had to restind that because of this lawsuit.
We tried to fight the lawsuit the Independent Restaurant Coalition,
we didn't have standing. UH, couldn't do it. Now we're
hearing stories from people who thought they were going to
receive a grant and then the money got pulled back
(01:47):
and they started spending money and and it's it's it's horrible,
and that's what we're still fighting to make sure that
those people get funding. Also, listen, you could get your
information from your social media feeds, and there's again a
lot of a lot of misinformation out there. Are you
could just go to the SBA site and actually see
the data, and the Independent Restaurant Coalition actually put in
(02:09):
a foil request, but you can go right to the
SBA website downloaded all the information you want. I'll put
out some more information. Um, you know, four hundred six
businesses from urban areas received relief, thousand businesses from rural
areas received relief. There's tons of information. Again, we could
focus on individuals Michelin Star restaurants you know that received money.
(02:34):
That's fine. Are we could focus on where the bulk
of the money went to. We have a long way
to go, and what we need right now are all
voices in the restaurant industry to to to make sure
that Congress knows that we still have a long way
to go. There is another bill that is hopefully working
its way through converse as well right now, both in
the Senate and the House, that will add sixty billion
(02:55):
dollars to their restaurant Revitalization fund. That's sixty billion dollars
will cover every single application that is currently at the
SPA and at the sixty billion dollars will make every
one hole. That's where we need to focus our efforts
right now. Anything short of that is not helping. So
with that, this interview was about four weeks ago with
(03:15):
convers from Bloomin Hour, but so much of what we
discussed then is pertinence to where we are right now,
and then once we get through the Restaurant Realization Fund,
we get into food policy. So I hope you enjoy it.
So let's brilliant Congress from bloom and Hour are blooming out.
Welcome to the Citizenship Podcast. I've been looking forward to
this conversation, Tom. Yeah, well we've We've had many conversations
(03:36):
over the years, and uh, you know, there's a lot
that I want to cover today. So this season we're
talking directly, you know, to lawmakers, people who are involved
in making food, preparing food, but also people who are
involved in creating legislation around food. And there's there's so
much that I want to cover. UM. I want to
get into a little bit about Portland passing the psilocybin
(03:56):
lealizing psilocybin UM. I know that was a local law,
but I'm sure you have you know pine on that, UM,
and Uh, I really want to focus in on the
Green New Deal. These are the two things that I
think that you're your expert, uh, the environment and food
and the cross ecttion between the two. And so I
want to talk a little bit about food, UM, farming
and the Green New Deal. And obviously want to talk
(04:17):
restaurant act. But that's where we'll start going back to
the early days of the pandemic marched. Uh. I think restaurants,
at least in New York were forced to close. Restaurants
in Portland. I'm not sure if they were already closed,
but you were already working with a bunch of local
chiefs and restauranturs in Portland to try to get them
help way before the Independent Restaurant Coalition was formed. When
(04:37):
when did you realize that the position that restaurants were
in and they needed help. What alert you to this? Well, Uh,
it's the communication with the local restaurant leadership. I mean
these people, as you know from your own experience in Portland,
they're a passionate group. They're creative, they're hard working, uh,
and they were just being hammered. Um. We weren't able
(05:00):
to be able to take advantage of the p p
P program that uh when restaurants uh didn't even know
if they were going to be in business in eight
or ten weeks, let alone taking on more debt. We
started the conversation right away thinking about what might happen.
They were terrific in terms of brainstorming it quickly led
(05:23):
to a broader conversation with your colleagues around the country.
It was It's been one of the most rewarding experiences
that I had, and it was a great pleasure for
me to watch how our people understand roll up their
slaves and be serious about what would make a difference
for them. We were constantly you know, on TV, on
(05:44):
the news, working the phones. But there was a whole
education process and you would have to very quickly understood
this right from the bat. But how difficult was it
to get your colleagues on both sides of the aisle
on board. Well. Part of our problem was that there
was an avalanche of knee a lot of bad news.
We were struggling with the beginning of the pandemic, lots
(06:05):
of uncertainty. It was hard to cut through all that clutter.
But I'll tell you when the i r C, the
Independent Restaurant Coalition, galvanized around some very specific items that
would make a difference in such a relentless way, we
started to get through. Uh. It is a compelling story
(06:29):
and at a time when we were overwhelmed by a
lot of bad news with the pandemic, there were challenges
galore there are political problems back here, but there was
a certain clarity when it came to protecting our local
restaurant scene. Uh. There's such a connection that people have
(06:50):
with their local diner or their restaurant and the people
they know who provide the leadership, that it cut through
that clutter. There was a clarity unlike any that I
saw with any of the other issues regarding the pandemic. Uh,
and that that made a difference in terms of being
able to have a specific proposal, having that focus, and
(07:11):
starting the relentless effort of signing up the leadership to
join us, which you, of course were a key part of.
We had plenty, plenty of help. Um. I mean this
was truly a bipartisan effort and often you know, we
don't see obviously if you follow news, follow politics at all, um,
you know that things just are are at a standstill
because both odds just can't seem to agree on anything.
(07:32):
And this was one issue where where both sides came together.
What do you attribute that to. Well, part of it
is that how essential the restaurant industry is for every community.
I mean, this is the first job for a lot
of people. Uh, it's the easy access that is so
real for so many people. Part of the problem is
(07:52):
that there's was difficulty in getting people to align in
paying for it. But in terms of the need, in
terms of what difference the restaurants made, and the affinity
people really believe in their restaurant community. UH, and that
made a big difference. So we were able to get
(08:13):
bipartisan support in the center. Roger Wicker god let him
was was there from the beginning. UM. Chuck Schumer UH
was a very aggressive leader, having Nancy Pelosi UH make
a commitment early. She carved out at a time when
(08:33):
we were cutting back on the size of some of
the rescue packages, she carved out space for a hundred
and twenty billion dollars in the House version. UH. And
so those those elements really came together and reinforced one another,
and we were able to keep it in the package.
And UH, I think it puts us in a position
(08:54):
where we can work to replenish the fund going forward.
Anytime you have John corn and Elizabeth Warren on the
same side of an issue, you know you have by
bars and support. UM. And that's what's really amazing to
see how everybody came around and they understood it. This
just became a nonpartisan issue. Really, this became an issue
of communities, even farmers and uh you know, winemakers. And
(09:17):
so if you were a region where you had small
farmers that supply restaurants, uh, you understood this. If you
were the wine growing region, if you were uh you know,
but even your local plumber and electricians, those are all
part of the restaurant community. And those are all people
who who really benefited from this. That's a very powerful point.
The supply chain is what a trillion dollars uh, And
(09:38):
it is the plumber of the electrician, it's the people
who provide the linen's as well as the ancillary services.
And there's real power uh in understanding the strength and
the depth of that supply chain. Right right now, one
of the key features of the Restaurant Act, which became
the Restaurant Revitalization uh fund uh And this was by design,
(10:01):
was that minorities and women owned businesses and veterans were
actually get first crack at the money, the twenty eight
point six billion dollars that was funded. And now we
see the SBA is under attack right now by by
a few different people, a few different lawsuits because they
think that some people think it's unfair that that we
signaled out those particular groups. Um. First, when I find
(10:22):
very interesting is often you know, you hear about minorities
getting a first, but I don't hear aybody complaining about veterans.
You know. But the the s b. A Is is
in a tough position right now. I think that the
listeners need to understand that that obviously, yes, there's restaurants
are picking up, um, stories are being written about restaurants
coming back. Um. But but this this bill and this
(10:43):
money isn't necessarily gonna end up in pockets of restaurant
tours and things like that. Number one, there are provisions
uh in this bill that actually I think are are
really elegant. Um. Number one, it's it's alan. It starts
off as alone, but you have to use that money
by dates certain and for qualified expenses. You have to
return the money. But also, as busy as we are,
as busy as the press wants us to to make
(11:05):
it out right now, two months of revenue, of good
revenue is not going to make up for fifteen months
of almost no revenue. And so you know, just me personally,
I'm still I have my landlords have been working with me,
but they're not forgiving my rent, they're just deferring it.
Um I still instill need to pay themselves. And there
are so many you know, chefs and restaurantours across the
country that are in that same position. Also, we've had people,
(11:28):
uh and and the conversations I've had with the industry
around the country. There are people you know who raided
their retirement fence. You know that they that they've had
to put a lot of capital, putting themselves at risk.
And also you know firsthand it's more expensive in this climate.
There is in terms of staffing, in terms of cleanliness,
in terms of operations. So it's there are people that
(11:51):
have taken a beating. There are people that have had
to raid the piggy bank. There are people that have
higher costs. So I think this money is just sort
of helping them normalize and deal with the extra costs,
strain and expenses in this COVID climate. I think we
still have a long way to go, with or without funding.
(12:12):
We have a long long way to go to to
to get on the other side of this pandemic. Restaurants
are still closing, um so it's been a tough environment
and this is something that we really hope to be
able to work with you in the industry, trying to
illustrate that this is a lifeline, but it will help
them negotiate what's going to be the new normal for
(12:33):
another year on everything from workforce issues to cleanliness. Two
hours of operation. Uh, that's I think it illustrates the need,
but I think it helps us build the momentum that
people start to understand that we're not through this and
that people really need this help. We'll be back with
(12:54):
more Citizen Chef. Well, let's get back into my discussion
with commres from Rbly and Hour of Oregon. So let's
let's move for a second to the work that you
did when you were on You're no longer on the actuvator, right,
but I think your heart still there. What people hear
about the Green New Deal, the amount of carbon emissions
(13:16):
that food production causes, How the two could really come together,
so we could obviously produce food in a in a
way that's less harmful to the environment. Where do you
see those the intersections between food and the Green New Deal?
I think too few people recognize the enormous carbon footprint
that modern agriculture has. The industrial version of agriculture is
(13:39):
very carbon intense, very petrochemical intense, lots of emissions, water pollution.
Being able to deal in a more sustainable basis UH
in terms of different ways of growing food, UH in
terms of UH non industrial meat production, which is huge.
(14:01):
The health implications for being able to have a healthy
diet its health, it's carbon and climate. Is the economic vision.
I have been excited that people understand what we can
do with regenerative agriculture. Explain that regeneraive agriculture. The notion
(14:23):
here is having what we would say is traditional agriculture,
the way that farming used to occur. Animals actually were
in a pasture, They were fed scraps, They the fertilizer
from manure and animal waste was reincorporated into the farm
(14:45):
and natural fertilization not chemical. There was and is a
symmetry for people who engage in this type of regenerative agriculture.
They care about the health of soil um and these
are are concepts that are as old as human settlement
and agriculture, but we're now rediscovering the power of these concepts.
(15:10):
It also adds value to the products. If you have
a healthy soil that you're not spending so much on
chemical inputs, you're you're not disrupting the soil releasing carbon.
Things like cover crops make it more productive. It's an
entirely different mindset UH, and it is one that is sustainable.
(15:34):
It is one that has much less carbon input, and
it has greater satisfaction I think for the people who
practice it in the next farm bell Are are there
incentives that that you see that can be given to
farmers that are practicing regenitive methods of farming? Sequestering carbon
obviously is a big one. What can we do to
incentivize farmers to to UH practice UH regender of agriculture. Well,
(15:58):
first and foremost, we need to reduce the amount of
subsidization for the industrial agricultural model. We put so much
money into trying to have confined animal feed lots. These
are extraordinarily destructive for communities when you have huge amounts
of animals crammed together, producing a significant amount of waste,
(16:23):
the methane that comes from the cattle the hog lagoons.
We need to stop subsidizing that industrial meat production. We
need to be able to provide support for people who
are producing fruits and vegetables. They don't. Uh. There are
programs for environmental protection, but they are not performance based,
(16:48):
so they they do, they are not targeted for people
that are actually strengthening soil health and reducing uh pollution
and carbon Uh. That's a change that needs to take place.
We watched in terms of the trade war that Donald
Trump had there are tens of billions of dollars that
(17:08):
flowed too large agricultural producers. And you mentioned crop insurance. Uh.
There are people who get paid to plant crops they
know will fail. But your suppliers of fruits and vegetables,
people who are producing it on a sustainable basis, they
don't get that degree of support. Right. It's it's almost
(17:29):
impossible for a vestible farmer to get the profit sure
and subsidies there's not available, especially a small farmer. Right.
So what we what we want to do is to
be able to provide subsidy for what people are doing
in terms of reducing their carbon footprint, protecting water and
air quality. UH. Subsidize what we want and allow them
(17:51):
to compete in the marketplace without undo subsidies for the
big industrial farming operation. If we level that playing field,
I think that's an important step forward. There's also a
work that we can do in for helping beginning farmers. Uh.
You shouldn't have to, you know, be some huge, mega
(18:12):
industrial farm. There's lots as you know, of young people
who want to get into this business being able to
protect farm land itself, buying up and subsidizing development rights
for people who are want to keep that farm in
farm production forever. Let's pay them to keep it in
production forever. And so do you see working through already
(18:34):
established land trusts to do that because out here I'm
out in the North Fork of Long Island, which is
actually a farming community. Um And traditionally it was cauliflower, broccoli,
potatoes hops a long time ago. Uh, And now more
and more we're seeing more, um, some animals being produced.
We're also seeing there's a lot of wine out here.
But what we're seeing is that a lot of young farmers,
(18:55):
You're right, they can't find the capital to either buy property.
And so what you're seeing it's a lot of wealthy
people buying up land and they do farm it. They'll
bring a farm around, a farmer it, but they're farming
a small amount of it, but it's only from the
wealthy that can actually become gentlemen farmers. You don't see
a lot of young people, and you do see a
lot of family farms being sold off because the kids
don't want to farm anymore. They don't see a future
(19:15):
in it. And so do you see working through existing
land trusts are creating new land trusted to the vehicle
all of the above. Because there is a lot of
farm land now and if people think about it, they
don't want it to be subdivided. They do want to
protect it. There are a number of people that will
accept payment to be able to protect this land forever.
Land trusts are a tremendous tool. There are other areas
(19:40):
in terms of being able to uh. You know, in
in uh Iowa, most of the farms are owned by
h elderly women who are widows uh and they and
they sort of ranted out their opportunities to be able
to help them and their children and grandchildren. I'm shouldn't
(20:00):
being able to buy up development life have conservation easements.
These are tools that in many cases have been pioneered
by the land trust. So we have the Peconic land
Trust out here and I was introduced them. We bought
this house about twenty years ago. And uh, at the closing,
I was charged I think three and a half percent
uh for the land trust and really, oh yeah, yeah
(20:21):
at the closing, Yeah, they taxed you found the closing
and that goes into the land Trust. And the land
Trust does exactly that. They bube development rights and so
if you have a forty acre farm, you sell development
rights and they sell it usually for about a hundred years.
And this way you get that capital to put into
the farm. You can't develop it, so you can't build
homes on it. Um and uh. The Peconic Land Trust
(20:42):
has done a great job out here. But yeah, and
at first at the closing, it's like that seems pretty
pretty unfair. But then I thought about after about ten
minutes and realized what they did. I was like, wow,
this is this is one way to do it in
terms of keeping these farming communities intact. And what we're
seeing is that there's greater appreciation for the ability to
grow crops virtually anywhere. I mean, we've got people in
(21:04):
New York City that are doing hydrosarming farm. There's urban
agriculture in Detroit and Chicago and work there's reclaiming land.
I am quite confident that if we had the right
array of subsidies and incentives, that we can stop the
(21:26):
erosion of the land base. We can add to it,
make it more productive, you know. And as you know
very well, people can take a couple of acres and
produce a tremendous amount of high quality fruits and vegetables
that add so much value to the equation. I remember
(21:47):
the very first field trip I had dealing with agricultural
issues was with Tammy Baldwin in Madison, was a senator
from from Wisconsin. Yeah, and this was when she was
first running for for the House. And there was an
iconic restaurant in Madison, Piper Odessa or Odessa Piper, and
(22:10):
it was they brought these people in and Tom I
I was stunned. There was somebody who had a two
acre who put production for spinach um and there was
a dish prepared. It didn't even taste like spinach, and
it lasts longer, there's less waste, they get more value.
I mean, these are things that using the restaurant power
(22:35):
of the people who really understand food and how to
prepare it and how to appreciate it. I think there's
so much more value that can be coaxed out and
that should be part of the new farm bill and
a new vision for American agriculture that's much more inclusive.
Last episode, we had a woman chef who started the
(22:56):
first cannabis cafe in in Los Angeles. UM, where where
do you see the role of cannabis has obviously has
a role playing both agriculture and food. Where do where
you see that the two fitting in? Well? I have
witnessed the emergence of people who combine their culinary skills
with cannabis. There have been curated dinners where there are
(23:21):
cannabis products that are part of this. Uh, cannabis infused pastries. UM.
In the Pacific Northwest, we're quite proud of our wine industry.
I think, uh, we're going to have cannabis tourism. UH.
And if it's done right and done carefully, UM, I
(23:41):
think there's a there's a tremendous potential. And I there's
a local chef who has been in Portland who has
been involved in this for a number of years. I
think it just I think it's going to grow. I
think it it ties various people's passions, and it's I
think it has a tremendous potential to add value to
(24:03):
that sort of experience. We actually passed a piece of
legislation called it the More Act in the House, which
would have completely legalized We passed legislation we called it
the Safe Banking Act. It's insane that state legal marijuana
businesses can't have access to normal banking services. And let's
(24:23):
be clear, some of these these are publicly treated companies.
Absolutely absolutely this this year, it's going to be about
a twenty billion dollar industry. It's going to have over
three hundred and fifty thousand people who are employed. And
as you mentioned, well, it's ninety eight percent of the
American public has access to some form of state legal cannabis.
(24:48):
We've got these things passed. They got stuck in Mitch
McConnell's hospice program in the Senate to die. But this
Congress we have Chuck Schumer or Booker and Ron Widen
in the Senate who are helping lead the charge. So
this stuff is not going to get bottled up. We've
already passed the Safe Banking Act again in this Congress.
(25:12):
So I think the federal government is positioned now. Part
of the problem is that it's the politics are complex, uh,
and part of what we need to do is a
tone for the ranked discrimination in terms of the selective
enforcement of prohibition, particularly against people of color. We helped
(25:34):
destroy a million young black men's lives because of this.
So we've we've got a lot of energy and interest
in racial restorative justice. But these pieces are coming to
other I'm cautiously optimistic that this might be the session
of Congress that we've finally solved this once and for all.
(25:56):
Legalizing marijuana can really help with the open go to
crisis that we've I have in this country. I can
tell you from personal experience I had. I had next
surgery and started taking opioids for pain and started getting
into a really dark place. And partly because I'll be honest,
partly because you know, druggy experience I had when I
was you know, a young adult. Um, I saw the
(26:20):
where I was heading and very quickly got myself off
opioids but only was able to deal with pain through
using cannabis um And so for you know, it worked firsthand.
Do we see is is it a big pharmaceuticals pushing
against the legalization of of of of cannabis. Who who's
funding this. We have seen some pharmaceutical opposition, for example,
(26:40):
a campaign in Arizona a couple of years ago there
was a pharmaceutical giant that weighed in it. Basically, UH
does not have a real strong opposition anymore. This is
kind of the opposition is melted away, in part because
the public support is overwhelming. More than two to one
(27:00):
adults support full legalization. And if you're talking about medical cannabis,
it's like the fourth of July. UM. These are things
that people recognize and they support. There's so much that's
taken place in the various states that it's not as
coordinated and focused, and so that's been a bit of
(27:23):
a challenge. But we're to a point now where I
think that corner is being turned and it's been driven
by local advocates, by the industry, UM, it's been driven
by experience. Like Youth mentioned, the states that have a
robust medical marijuana have fewer opioid deaths by far. It's
(27:45):
something that really helps people deal with depression, with pain,
chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, that PTSD, epilepsy. It has
made a huge difference in terms of extreme nausea that
come from chemotherapy. I mean across the board, this works
and people know it. There's also so Portland's I believe
(28:08):
past UH legalized psilocybin UH for for medical use and
UH same thing there. We're seeing either all sorts of psychedelics,
whether it's ah LSD, psilocybin UH and other drugs that
are used to treat anything from PTSD. I know there's
some trials of children on the on the spectrum UH
that are using psychedelics as well. All two it seems
(28:30):
to be great success. Have you seen any legislation of
on a federal level to to legalize any of the
these other scheduled schedule Schedule one drugs? Right there is
some movement in that direction. The Oregon ballot major approved
it in a clinical setting and it's it's more of
(28:51):
a trial. It's going to be an opportunity for us
to really evaluate its impact with professionals who are trained.
At the same time, Oregon passed ballot measure that decriminalized
the use of drugs. I didn't legalize it, but we
weren't going to throw people in jail UH if they
(29:13):
were using illicit drugs prohibition hasn't worked it. I mentioned
the selective enforcement, And we think these two things. One
is sort of being able to clinically examine the impact
of psilocide by professional therapists UH, to really do this
right and stop enforcing in a draconian sense the prohibition
(29:40):
UH is I think the direction that we as a
society need to go. The other thing I think we're
both passionate about is making sure that people who live
in this country aren't hungry because of COVID. It seems
like we made some some pretty good against increased SNAP funding,
Community eligibility, community certification um UH is much more robust. UM.
(30:04):
There are plenty of anti hunger advocates that that believe
that we cannot continue to just manage hunger. We can
end hunger in this country. And I think what we
saw during COVID is we saw these long lines in
the news of people UM, you know, lined up for
for hours waiting for food from local food pantries. And
you know, I looked in those lines and I saw
a lot of Mercedes and BMW's as well, And so
these were people who were UM never in a million
(30:27):
years thought that they would be um on online waiting
for for someone to help them out. And so I'm
hopeful that there's a greater sense of empathy for people
who are struggling, because a lot of people who weren't
found themselves in a really tough position. Do you think
we can get the necessary funding to pretty much end
hunger in this country? Well, we almost date it back
in the in the in the seventies actually under Richard
(30:49):
Nixon helped to modernize you know, snap and wick and
school and lunch and pretty much get hunger under control
until the eighties and and then that all changed. But
do you think we have an opportunity to to really
end hunger? You know, Tom, I really do. And you've
been in the middle of a variety of conversations. The
point to the ways that we can do this. First
and foremost, we talked earlier about good healthy food is
(31:13):
a way to control healthcare costs. We we ought to
be able to reach a point where the big healthcare
providers can write prescriptions for healthy food. Right there there,
there is a there is a prescription drug plan. It's
actually a wholesome wave a big proponent of that, and
there are doctors now who are writing prescriptions for healthy
foods and vestivals and and it works by the same token.
(31:35):
What's happened in terms of providing food for our children
during the this COVID crisis. We've recognized, well, just let's
just expand the school nutrition program and let's not worry
about you know, kids paying a dollar nineteen cents that
they the family may or may not have to just
do away with it. In fact, the bookkeeping is almost
(31:57):
as expensive as what comes in may food or right,
being able to expand that awareness kids learn better if
they if they're adequately nourished. Right, There was a there
was a study done by Deloitte and no kid hungry
at with school With kids get breakfast in first period,
(32:17):
Math scores go up by any teacher out there if
they cant snap their finger and make math course got
by seventeen just by feeding kids in first and in
first period, not not before the bell, because before the
bell a lot of the kids don't go. Sometimes transportation
is not working that early. Plus there's a stigma involved
in getting to school early and get you know, being
that kid. And so this is documented. All these things
(32:39):
that come together tom in terms of the food supply
chain is healthier for the environment and for the community,
being able to engage the economic power, being able to
deal with the health consequences what you just said in
terms of improved school performance. When you tie all these
things together, of course we can afford it. Of course
(33:02):
we can afford it. Often you hear people say we
should have a businessmen running the country, and you know,
it sounds it sounds good, but it did it didn't
work out that well. But you know, again, the last
guy wasn't really a businessman either. Um. But but here's
the prayer of the problem with that is that because
of our our two and four year election cycle, six
years in terms of senators, most corporate CEO's plan for five,
(33:24):
ten and fifteen years, and so you never get a
sense that the government is looking that far down the road.
And so you you couldn't run this as a business
because it doesn't the election cycle doesn't run like a business. Um.
That and the fact that, um, to really make all
of the things that we're talking about happen, we need
to have a functioning democracy. Do you think that we're
(33:45):
at risk of losing our democracy? And you look at
all these voting right acts that are being pushed back,
I mean, do you think we can lose it? Well,
I'll tell you I was here in January six Uh,
and I think people are now recognize that we came
closer to losing it then people understood. But part of
what we're talking about here with this conversation, Tom, are
(34:08):
things that really bring people together rather than divide them.
Having healthy, well fed kids, supporting family farmers, being able
to deal with the nutritional needs as well as what
the environmental benefits. Uh. These are all things that are historic,
(34:28):
traditional values. They are things that if we break them
out and talk to people, they support them. These are
things that do not need to divide us. Uh. Certainly
there are problems with industrial agriculture, but if we start
providing a healthy, sustainable, regenerative alternative, I think that there
(34:50):
is the potential of bringing people together on this alternative
vision that is cheaper, that is healthier, is better for
the vironment, and better for our families. And I think
there's great power. And you've been part of this movement
with some of the leading chefs in the country to
be able to make these points, to be able to
(35:12):
get food to kids, be able to keep restaurants supply
chains These are things that have been given more attention
in the last sixteen months that I think than ever before.
So I'm excited about this too. Strengthened community, strengthened democracy,
and strengthened families. We'll be back with more Citizen Chef. Listen.
(35:38):
This has been it's been great talking to you. Unfortunately,
when I was in Portland shooting Top Chef, I was
under quarantine, uh, so I couldn't get out and and
break bread with you and and uh, but I am
looking forward to seeing you in person uh soon. The
one thing I want to ask you about is, uh.
You know, whenever somebody meets meets you there, the first
thing they'll probably see is they bikelop lapel pin that
(36:01):
you wear right under your congressional pin. You have a UM,
it's like a wire bicycle. And tell me about that
that wire bicycle that you wear on your papel Well.
I started when I was Portland's Commissioner of Public Works.
I started a pretty aggressive bike program. We started distributing
these little pins. When I came to Congress, I brought
(36:23):
bikes instead of a car. UM I started handing out
the bike pins. I'm aggressively bike partisan kip bike partisan.
Everybody's got a bike story and it's you know, it's
like food. Food brings people together. Well, cycling is something
that everybody's got a cycling story. It's good for families,
it's good for tourism. It's so the pin was a
(36:47):
symbol of that. Um and it's a nice uh conversation starter.
People like the pin. I'll take it off my looppel
and give it to them, right, you gave me one.
I think I have a neon green one. Yeah, And
I think part of you know, what you're good at doing,
and part of what we need to do a better
(37:07):
job is to find ways, whether it's uh, whether it's
a bike pin or it's a comic book, the Fight
for Food. Yeah, let's talk about the Fight for Food book.
I wanted to bring that up. Actually, I'm glad you
you you held that up. So this was your way
of taking the farm bill, which is a pretty dense
um bill um, and making simple and easy for people
(37:29):
to understand. Yeah, why why is that so important? One
of our challenges in terms of getting the food policies
that are right for America is that the farm Bill
itself is hopelessly complex, purposely so your friend marian Nussel
wrote that great essay The farm Bill drove me crazy.
(37:49):
You know, she's this famous nutrition professor. She tried to
teach a course on the farm Bill, and she gave
it up to say that nobody understands it. Uh. And
so what I did was boiled us down into a
little illustrated guide. So so we're we're we're on zoom
right now, and and Earl is holding up his his
his his book, and it's a it's the farm Bill.
(38:10):
Is is hundreds of thousands of pages. It's more than
a doorstop. And Earl boiled that down to a small pamphlet.
It's what about four by three and uh maybe twenty pages, um,
and it's all boiled. That's all in there. Well. Part
of what we need to do is demystified this process. Uh.
And that's why I love working with you and other professionals,
(38:34):
is you get to the heart of the thing, what matters,
what tastes good, what's sustainable, how it And so what
we did was just boil this down in terms. We
labeled it the Fight for Food. We gave a short
description in a page. Uh. We have big graphics, you
know that you deserve better, a better farm bill, we
talk about commodity programs, crop insurance, farm subsidies. When you
(38:59):
boil it down to the essentials, you really can do
this in about sixteen pages, in things that are simple
enough that even a member of Congress can understand. And
that's I think is what I think is so it's
so powerful as the work that we do with food
and nutrition is boiling it down to the basics. And
when we do that, um, we don't have to make
(39:22):
it hopelessly complex. We can talk about investing in what
we care about, making it easier. And this was my
contribution for people to understand what was at stake. Well,
I was. I was happy to take a few cases
and at the podium of my restaurant, I would hand
them out to people and uh um, sometimes I got
some interesting looks, but some people, some people got back
(39:43):
to me and said it was really helpful, um, and
they really enjoyed it. So, oh, listener, Oh it's been
a pleasure talking to you. I'm not scheduled to get
down to either Portlands are are Are Washington anytime soon,
but if you find yourself in New York and you
want to, you want to grab a meal. Let me know,
I will do it, my friend. Thank you very much,
take care, Thanks, thanks, have a good day you too.
(40:06):
Listen that that conversation was wide ranging, but in a
way it really wasn't. We we covered a lot of ground,
and uh, it's there's a lot of complex questions and
there's a lot of behind the scenes hand ringing to
to make this happen. But it's it is pretty pretty
straightforward and simple. I think often politicians are maligned. Um uh.
We hear about the corruption, and we hear about the
(40:27):
petty is. But um I actually you know, think members
of commerce like a blooming Our there, they're there because
they're just trying to make the country better for for
their constituents and for all Americans. Um. And so it's
it's it's great to have a remember that is so
plugged in, especially when it comes to the you know,
the access of food and the environment and how to
make it fair for everybody. Thanks again to Carsment Roll
(40:50):
bloom Our for spending some time with us, and it's
always a special thanks to a place the table, and
thank you for listening. Citizen Chef is executive produced by
Chris brasciotis produced by Abe Collins and researched by Lillian Holman.
Citizen Chef has a production in the I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts like this and visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
(41:11):
H
Citizen Chef is a production of I Heart Radio. Hi,
I'm Tom Clichio and you're listening to Citizen Chef. So
this week on our podcast, I'm talking to Congressman Or
Blue and Hour. He represents Portland, Oregon, and you know,
we talked about a lot different things, ranging from food
(00:21):
policy of the farm bill, school launch, but we also
talk about the Restaurant Revitalization Fund or all bluemen Our
wrote the bill in the House, and since the bill
there's been a lot of sort of misunderstanding and sort
of misinformation is swirling around those interwebs out there. So
obviously when we wrote the bill, UM, we wanted to
(00:44):
take care of people who typically are marginalized, and so
the bill was written where women, minority and veteran owned
businesses got first crack at the funding. Okay, so after
the applications were accepted, there was a two week period
I think it was two weeks where UH the only
applications that were UH funded where those from minority owned,
(01:04):
women owned, and veteran owned businesses. Well, a couple of
weeks into the funding process, there was a lawsuit the
s b A, the Small Business Administration that was administering
the program. Uh, they were sued saying that they couldn't
priority prioritize these groups. And the lawsuit was successful, and
there were people who received phone calls saying that yes,
(01:26):
you were going to get funded, but now we have
to pull it back. So a couple of weeks into it,
some of the priority applicants were told that yes, they
were going to be funded, and then the s b
A actually had to restind that because of this lawsuit.
We tried to fight the lawsuit the Independent Restaurant Coalition,
we didn't have standing. UH, couldn't do it. Now we're
hearing stories from people who thought they were going to
receive a grant and then the money got pulled back
(01:47):
and they started spending money and and it's it's it's horrible,
and that's what we're still fighting to make sure that
those people get funding. Also, listen, you could get your
information from your social media feeds, and there's again a
lot of a lot of misinformation out there. Are you
could just go to the SBA site and actually see
the data, and the Independent Restaurant Coalition actually put in
(02:09):
a foil request, but you can go right to the
SBA website downloaded all the information you want. I'll put
out some more information. Um, you know, four hundred six
businesses from urban areas received relief, thousand businesses from rural
areas received relief. There's tons of information. Again, we could
focus on individuals Michelin Star restaurants you know that received money.
(02:34):
That's fine. Are we could focus on where the bulk
of the money went to. We have a long way
to go, and what we need right now are all
voices in the restaurant industry to to to make sure
that Congress knows that we still have a long way
to go. There is another bill that is hopefully working
its way through converse as well right now, both in
the Senate and the House, that will add sixty billion
(02:55):
dollars to their restaurant Revitalization fund. That's sixty billion dollars
will cover every single application that is currently at the
SPA and at the sixty billion dollars will make every
one hole. That's where we need to focus our efforts
right now. Anything short of that is not helping. So
with that, this interview was about four weeks ago with
(03:15):
convers from Bloomin Hour, but so much of what we
discussed then is pertinence to where we are right now,
and then once we get through the Restaurant Realization Fund,
we get into food policy. So I hope you enjoy it.
So let's brilliant Congress from bloom and Hour are blooming out.
Welcome to the Citizenship Podcast. I've been looking forward to
this conversation, Tom. Yeah, well we've We've had many conversations
(03:36):
over the years, and uh, you know, there's a lot
that I want to cover today. So this season we're
talking directly, you know, to lawmakers, people who are involved
in making food, preparing food, but also people who are
involved in creating legislation around food. And there's there's so
much that I want to cover. UM. I want to
get into a little bit about Portland passing the psilocybin
(03:56):
lealizing psilocybin UM. I know that was a local law,
but I'm sure you have you know pine on that, UM,
and Uh, I really want to focus in on the
Green New Deal. These are the two things that I
think that you're your expert, uh, the environment and food
and the cross ecttion between the two. And so I
want to talk a little bit about food, UM, farming
and the Green New Deal. And obviously want to talk
(04:17):
restaurant act. But that's where we'll start going back to
the early days of the pandemic marched. Uh. I think restaurants,
at least in New York were forced to close. Restaurants
in Portland. I'm not sure if they were already closed,
but you were already working with a bunch of local
chiefs and restauranturs in Portland to try to get them
help way before the Independent Restaurant Coalition was formed. When
(04:37):
when did you realize that the position that restaurants were
in and they needed help. What alert you to this? Well, Uh,
it's the communication with the local restaurant leadership. I mean
these people, as you know from your own experience in Portland,
they're a passionate group. They're creative, they're hard working, uh,
and they were just being hammered. Um. We weren't able
(05:00):
to be able to take advantage of the p p
P program that uh when restaurants uh didn't even know
if they were going to be in business in eight
or ten weeks, let alone taking on more debt. We
started the conversation right away thinking about what might happen.
They were terrific in terms of brainstorming it quickly led
(05:23):
to a broader conversation with your colleagues around the country.
It was It's been one of the most rewarding experiences
that I had, and it was a great pleasure for
me to watch how our people understand roll up their
slaves and be serious about what would make a difference
for them. We were constantly you know, on TV, on
(05:44):
the news, working the phones. But there was a whole
education process and you would have to very quickly understood
this right from the bat. But how difficult was it
to get your colleagues on both sides of the aisle
on board. Well. Part of our problem was that there
was an avalanche of knee a lot of bad news.
We were struggling with the beginning of the pandemic, lots
(06:05):
of uncertainty. It was hard to cut through all that clutter.
But I'll tell you when the i r C, the
Independent Restaurant Coalition, galvanized around some very specific items that
would make a difference in such a relentless way, we
started to get through. Uh. It is a compelling story
(06:29):
and at a time when we were overwhelmed by a
lot of bad news with the pandemic, there were challenges
galore there are political problems back here, but there was
a certain clarity when it came to protecting our local
restaurant scene. Uh. There's such a connection that people have
(06:50):
with their local diner or their restaurant and the people
they know who provide the leadership, that it cut through
that clutter. There was a clarity unlike any that I
saw with any of the other issues regarding the pandemic. Uh,
and that that made a difference in terms of being
able to have a specific proposal, having that focus, and
(07:11):
starting the relentless effort of signing up the leadership to
join us, which you, of course were a key part of.
We had plenty, plenty of help. Um. I mean this
was truly a bipartisan effort and often you know, we
don't see obviously if you follow news, follow politics at all, um,
you know that things just are are at a standstill
because both odds just can't seem to agree on anything.
(07:32):
And this was one issue where where both sides came together.
What do you attribute that to. Well, part of it
is that how essential the restaurant industry is for every community.
I mean, this is the first job for a lot
of people. Uh, it's the easy access that is so
real for so many people. Part of the problem is
(07:52):
that there's was difficulty in getting people to align in
paying for it. But in terms of the need, in
terms of what difference the restaurants made, and the affinity
people really believe in their restaurant community. UH, and that
made a big difference. So we were able to get
(08:13):
bipartisan support in the center. Roger Wicker god let him
was was there from the beginning. UM. Chuck Schumer UH
was a very aggressive leader, having Nancy Pelosi UH make
a commitment early. She carved out at a time when
(08:33):
we were cutting back on the size of some of
the rescue packages, she carved out space for a hundred
and twenty billion dollars in the House version. UH. And
so those those elements really came together and reinforced one another,
and we were able to keep it in the package.
And UH, I think it puts us in a position
(08:54):
where we can work to replenish the fund going forward.
Anytime you have John corn and Elizabeth Warren on the
same side of an issue, you know you have by
bars and support. UM. And that's what's really amazing to
see how everybody came around and they understood it. This
just became a nonpartisan issue. Really, this became an issue
of communities, even farmers and uh you know, winemakers. And
(09:17):
so if you were a region where you had small
farmers that supply restaurants, uh, you understood this. If you
were the wine growing region, if you were uh you know,
but even your local plumber and electricians, those are all
part of the restaurant community. And those are all people
who who really benefited from this. That's a very powerful point.
The supply chain is what a trillion dollars uh, And
(09:38):
it is the plumber of the electrician, it's the people
who provide the linen's as well as the ancillary services.
And there's real power uh in understanding the strength and
the depth of that supply chain. Right right now, one
of the key features of the Restaurant Act, which became
the Restaurant Revitalization uh fund uh And this was by design,
(10:01):
was that minorities and women owned businesses and veterans were
actually get first crack at the money, the twenty eight
point six billion dollars that was funded. And now we
see the SBA is under attack right now by by
a few different people, a few different lawsuits because they
think that some people think it's unfair that that we
signaled out those particular groups. Um. First, when I find
(10:22):
very interesting is often you know, you hear about minorities
getting a first, but I don't hear aybody complaining about veterans.
You know. But the the s b. A Is is
in a tough position right now. I think that the
listeners need to understand that that obviously, yes, there's restaurants
are picking up, um, stories are being written about restaurants
coming back. Um. But but this this bill and this
(10:43):
money isn't necessarily gonna end up in pockets of restaurant
tours and things like that. Number one, there are provisions
uh in this bill that actually I think are are
really elegant. Um. Number one, it's it's alan. It starts
off as alone, but you have to use that money
by dates certain and for qualified expenses. You have to
return the money. But also, as busy as we are,
as busy as the press wants us to to make
(11:05):
it out right now, two months of revenue, of good
revenue is not going to make up for fifteen months
of almost no revenue. And so you know, just me personally,
I'm still I have my landlords have been working with me,
but they're not forgiving my rent, they're just deferring it.
Um I still instill need to pay themselves. And there
are so many you know, chefs and restaurantours across the
country that are in that same position. Also, we've had people,
(11:28):
uh and and the conversations I've had with the industry
around the country. There are people you know who raided
their retirement fence. You know that they that they've had
to put a lot of capital, putting themselves at risk.
And also you know firsthand it's more expensive in this climate.
There is in terms of staffing, in terms of cleanliness,
in terms of operations. So it's there are people that
(11:51):
have taken a beating. There are people that have had
to raid the piggy bank. There are people that have
higher costs. So I think this money is just sort
of helping them normalize and deal with the extra costs,
strain and expenses in this COVID climate. I think we
still have a long way to go, with or without funding.
(12:12):
We have a long long way to go to to
to get on the other side of this pandemic. Restaurants
are still closing, um so it's been a tough environment
and this is something that we really hope to be
able to work with you in the industry, trying to
illustrate that this is a lifeline, but it will help
them negotiate what's going to be the new normal for
(12:33):
another year on everything from workforce issues to cleanliness. Two
hours of operation. Uh, that's I think it illustrates the need,
but I think it helps us build the momentum that
people start to understand that we're not through this and
that people really need this help. We'll be back with
(12:54):
more Citizen Chef. Well, let's get back into my discussion
with commres from Rbly and Hour of Oregon. So let's
let's move for a second to the work that you
did when you were on You're no longer on the actuvator, right,
but I think your heart still there. What people hear
about the Green New Deal, the amount of carbon emissions
(13:16):
that food production causes, How the two could really come together,
so we could obviously produce food in a in a
way that's less harmful to the environment. Where do you
see those the intersections between food and the Green New Deal?
I think too few people recognize the enormous carbon footprint
that modern agriculture has. The industrial version of agriculture is
(13:39):
very carbon intense, very petrochemical intense, lots of emissions, water pollution.
Being able to deal in a more sustainable basis UH
in terms of different ways of growing food, UH in
terms of UH non industrial meat production, which is huge.
(14:01):
The health implications for being able to have a healthy
diet its health, it's carbon and climate. Is the economic vision.
I have been excited that people understand what we can
do with regenerative agriculture. Explain that regeneraive agriculture. The notion
(14:23):
here is having what we would say is traditional agriculture,
the way that farming used to occur. Animals actually were
in a pasture, They were fed scraps, They the fertilizer
from manure and animal waste was reincorporated into the farm
(14:45):
and natural fertilization not chemical. There was and is a
symmetry for people who engage in this type of regenerative agriculture.
They care about the health of soil um and these
are are concepts that are as old as human settlement
and agriculture, but we're now rediscovering the power of these concepts.
(15:10):
It also adds value to the products. If you have
a healthy soil that you're not spending so much on
chemical inputs, you're you're not disrupting the soil releasing carbon.
Things like cover crops make it more productive. It's an
entirely different mindset UH, and it is one that is sustainable.
(15:34):
It is one that has much less carbon input, and
it has greater satisfaction I think for the people who
practice it in the next farm bell Are are there
incentives that that you see that can be given to
farmers that are practicing regenitive methods of farming? Sequestering carbon
obviously is a big one. What can we do to
incentivize farmers to to UH practice UH regender of agriculture. Well,
(15:58):
first and foremost, we need to reduce the amount of
subsidization for the industrial agricultural model. We put so much
money into trying to have confined animal feed lots. These
are extraordinarily destructive for communities when you have huge amounts
of animals crammed together, producing a significant amount of waste,
(16:23):
the methane that comes from the cattle the hog lagoons.
We need to stop subsidizing that industrial meat production. We
need to be able to provide support for people who
are producing fruits and vegetables. They don't. Uh. There are
programs for environmental protection, but they are not performance based,
(16:48):
so they they do, they are not targeted for people
that are actually strengthening soil health and reducing uh pollution
and carbon Uh. That's a change that needs to take place.
We watched in terms of the trade war that Donald
Trump had there are tens of billions of dollars that
(17:08):
flowed too large agricultural producers. And you mentioned crop insurance. Uh.
There are people who get paid to plant crops they
know will fail. But your suppliers of fruits and vegetables,
people who are producing it on a sustainable basis, they
don't get that degree of support. Right. It's it's almost
(17:29):
impossible for a vestible farmer to get the profit sure
and subsidies there's not available, especially a small farmer. Right.
So what we what we want to do is to
be able to provide subsidy for what people are doing
in terms of reducing their carbon footprint, protecting water and
air quality. UH. Subsidize what we want and allow them
(17:51):
to compete in the marketplace without undo subsidies for the
big industrial farming operation. If we level that playing field,
I think that's an important step forward. There's also a
work that we can do in for helping beginning farmers. Uh.
You shouldn't have to, you know, be some huge, mega
(18:12):
industrial farm. There's lots as you know, of young people
who want to get into this business being able to
protect farm land itself, buying up and subsidizing development rights
for people who are want to keep that farm in
farm production forever. Let's pay them to keep it in
production forever. And so do you see working through already
(18:34):
established land trusts to do that because out here I'm
out in the North Fork of Long Island, which is
actually a farming community. Um And traditionally it was cauliflower, broccoli,
potatoes hops a long time ago. Uh, And now more
and more we're seeing more, um, some animals being produced.
We're also seeing there's a lot of wine out here.
But what we're seeing is that a lot of young farmers,
(18:55):
You're right, they can't find the capital to either buy property.
And so what you're seeing it's a lot of wealthy
people buying up land and they do farm it. They'll
bring a farm around, a farmer it, but they're farming
a small amount of it, but it's only from the
wealthy that can actually become gentlemen farmers. You don't see
a lot of young people, and you do see a
lot of family farms being sold off because the kids
don't want to farm anymore. They don't see a future
(19:15):
in it. And so do you see working through existing
land trusts are creating new land trusted to the vehicle
all of the above. Because there is a lot of
farm land now and if people think about it, they
don't want it to be subdivided. They do want to
protect it. There are a number of people that will
accept payment to be able to protect this land forever.
Land trusts are a tremendous tool. There are other areas
(19:40):
in terms of being able to uh. You know, in
in uh Iowa, most of the farms are owned by
h elderly women who are widows uh and they and
they sort of ranted out their opportunities to be able
to help them and their children and grandchildren. I'm shouldn't
(20:00):
being able to buy up development life have conservation easements.
These are tools that in many cases have been pioneered
by the land trust. So we have the Peconic land
Trust out here and I was introduced them. We bought
this house about twenty years ago. And uh, at the closing,
I was charged I think three and a half percent
uh for the land trust and really, oh yeah, yeah
(20:21):
at the closing, Yeah, they taxed you found the closing
and that goes into the land Trust. And the land
Trust does exactly that. They bube development rights and so
if you have a forty acre farm, you sell development
rights and they sell it usually for about a hundred years.
And this way you get that capital to put into
the farm. You can't develop it, so you can't build
homes on it. Um and uh. The Peconic Land Trust
(20:42):
has done a great job out here. But yeah, and
at first at the closing, it's like that seems pretty
pretty unfair. But then I thought about after about ten
minutes and realized what they did. I was like, wow,
this is this is one way to do it in
terms of keeping these farming communities intact. And what we're
seeing is that there's greater appreciation for the ability to
grow crops virtually anywhere. I mean, we've got people in
(21:04):
New York City that are doing hydrosarming farm. There's urban
agriculture in Detroit and Chicago and work there's reclaiming land.
I am quite confident that if we had the right
array of subsidies and incentives, that we can stop the
(21:26):
erosion of the land base. We can add to it,
make it more productive, you know. And as you know
very well, people can take a couple of acres and
produce a tremendous amount of high quality fruits and vegetables
that add so much value to the equation. I remember
(21:47):
the very first field trip I had dealing with agricultural
issues was with Tammy Baldwin in Madison, was a senator
from from Wisconsin. Yeah, and this was when she was
first running for for the House. And there was an
iconic restaurant in Madison, Piper Odessa or Odessa Piper, and
(22:10):
it was they brought these people in and Tom I
I was stunned. There was somebody who had a two
acre who put production for spinach um and there was
a dish prepared. It didn't even taste like spinach, and
it lasts longer, there's less waste, they get more value.
I mean, these are things that using the restaurant power
(22:35):
of the people who really understand food and how to
prepare it and how to appreciate it. I think there's
so much more value that can be coaxed out and
that should be part of the new farm bill and
a new vision for American agriculture that's much more inclusive.
Last episode, we had a woman chef who started the
(22:56):
first cannabis cafe in in Los Angeles. UM, where where
do you see the role of cannabis has obviously has
a role playing both agriculture and food. Where do where
you see that the two fitting in? Well? I have
witnessed the emergence of people who combine their culinary skills
with cannabis. There have been curated dinners where there are
(23:21):
cannabis products that are part of this. Uh, cannabis infused pastries. UM.
In the Pacific Northwest, we're quite proud of our wine industry.
I think, uh, we're going to have cannabis tourism. UH.
And if it's done right and done carefully, UM, I
(23:41):
think there's a there's a tremendous potential. And I there's
a local chef who has been in Portland who has
been involved in this for a number of years. I
think it just I think it's going to grow. I
think it it ties various people's passions, and it's I
think it has a tremendous potential to add value to
(24:03):
that sort of experience. We actually passed a piece of
legislation called it the More Act in the House, which
would have completely legalized We passed legislation we called it
the Safe Banking Act. It's insane that state legal marijuana
businesses can't have access to normal banking services. And let's
(24:23):
be clear, some of these these are publicly treated companies.
Absolutely absolutely this this year, it's going to be about
a twenty billion dollar industry. It's going to have over
three hundred and fifty thousand people who are employed. And
as you mentioned, well, it's ninety eight percent of the
American public has access to some form of state legal cannabis.
(24:48):
We've got these things passed. They got stuck in Mitch
McConnell's hospice program in the Senate to die. But this
Congress we have Chuck Schumer or Booker and Ron Widen
in the Senate who are helping lead the charge. So
this stuff is not going to get bottled up. We've
already passed the Safe Banking Act again in this Congress.
(25:12):
So I think the federal government is positioned now. Part
of the problem is that it's the politics are complex, uh,
and part of what we need to do is a
tone for the ranked discrimination in terms of the selective
enforcement of prohibition, particularly against people of color. We helped
(25:34):
destroy a million young black men's lives because of this.
So we've we've got a lot of energy and interest
in racial restorative justice. But these pieces are coming to
other I'm cautiously optimistic that this might be the session
of Congress that we've finally solved this once and for all.
(25:56):
Legalizing marijuana can really help with the open go to
crisis that we've I have in this country. I can
tell you from personal experience I had. I had next
surgery and started taking opioids for pain and started getting
into a really dark place. And partly because I'll be honest,
partly because you know, druggy experience I had when I
was you know, a young adult. Um, I saw the
(26:20):
where I was heading and very quickly got myself off
opioids but only was able to deal with pain through
using cannabis um And so for you know, it worked firsthand.
Do we see is is it a big pharmaceuticals pushing
against the legalization of of of of cannabis. Who who's
funding this. We have seen some pharmaceutical opposition, for example,
(26:40):
a campaign in Arizona a couple of years ago there
was a pharmaceutical giant that weighed in it. Basically, UH
does not have a real strong opposition anymore. This is
kind of the opposition is melted away, in part because
the public support is overwhelming. More than two to one
(27:00):
adults support full legalization. And if you're talking about medical cannabis,
it's like the fourth of July. UM. These are things
that people recognize and they support. There's so much that's
taken place in the various states that it's not as
coordinated and focused, and so that's been a bit of
(27:23):
a challenge. But we're to a point now where I
think that corner is being turned and it's been driven
by local advocates, by the industry, UM, it's been driven
by experience. Like Youth mentioned, the states that have a
robust medical marijuana have fewer opioid deaths by far. It's
(27:45):
something that really helps people deal with depression, with pain,
chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, that PTSD, epilepsy. It has
made a huge difference in terms of extreme nausea that
come from chemotherapy. I mean across the board, this works
and people know it. There's also so Portland's I believe
(28:08):
past UH legalized psilocybin UH for for medical use and
UH same thing there. We're seeing either all sorts of psychedelics,
whether it's ah LSD, psilocybin UH and other drugs that
are used to treat anything from PTSD. I know there's
some trials of children on the on the spectrum UH
that are using psychedelics as well. All two it seems
(28:30):
to be great success. Have you seen any legislation of
on a federal level to to legalize any of the
these other scheduled schedule Schedule one drugs? Right there is
some movement in that direction. The Oregon ballot major approved
it in a clinical setting and it's it's more of
(28:51):
a trial. It's going to be an opportunity for us
to really evaluate its impact with professionals who are trained.
At the same time, Oregon passed ballot measure that decriminalized
the use of drugs. I didn't legalize it, but we
weren't going to throw people in jail UH if they
(29:13):
were using illicit drugs prohibition hasn't worked it. I mentioned
the selective enforcement, And we think these two things. One
is sort of being able to clinically examine the impact
of psilocide by professional therapists UH, to really do this
right and stop enforcing in a draconian sense the prohibition
(29:40):
UH is I think the direction that we as a
society need to go. The other thing I think we're
both passionate about is making sure that people who live
in this country aren't hungry because of COVID. It seems
like we made some some pretty good against increased SNAP funding,
Community eligibility, community certification um UH is much more robust. UM.
(30:04):
There are plenty of anti hunger advocates that that believe
that we cannot continue to just manage hunger. We can
end hunger in this country. And I think what we
saw during COVID is we saw these long lines in
the news of people UM, you know, lined up for
for hours waiting for food from local food pantries. And
you know, I looked in those lines and I saw
a lot of Mercedes and BMW's as well, And so
these were people who were UM never in a million
(30:27):
years thought that they would be um on online waiting
for for someone to help them out. And so I'm
hopeful that there's a greater sense of empathy for people
who are struggling, because a lot of people who weren't
found themselves in a really tough position. Do you think
we can get the necessary funding to pretty much end
hunger in this country? Well, we almost date it back
in the in the in the seventies actually under Richard
(30:49):
Nixon helped to modernize you know, snap and wick and
school and lunch and pretty much get hunger under control
until the eighties and and then that all changed. But
do you think we have an opportunity to to really
end hunger? You know, Tom, I really do. And you've
been in the middle of a variety of conversations. The
point to the ways that we can do this. First
and foremost, we talked earlier about good healthy food is
(31:13):
a way to control healthcare costs. We we ought to
be able to reach a point where the big healthcare
providers can write prescriptions for healthy food. Right there there,
there is a there is a prescription drug plan. It's
actually a wholesome wave a big proponent of that, and
there are doctors now who are writing prescriptions for healthy
foods and vestivals and and it works by the same token.
(31:35):
What's happened in terms of providing food for our children
during the this COVID crisis. We've recognized, well, just let's
just expand the school nutrition program and let's not worry
about you know, kids paying a dollar nineteen cents that
they the family may or may not have to just
do away with it. In fact, the bookkeeping is almost
(31:57):
as expensive as what comes in may food or right,
being able to expand that awareness kids learn better if
they if they're adequately nourished. Right, There was a there
was a study done by Deloitte and no kid hungry
at with school With kids get breakfast in first period,
(32:17):
Math scores go up by any teacher out there if
they cant snap their finger and make math course got
by seventeen just by feeding kids in first and in
first period, not not before the bell, because before the
bell a lot of the kids don't go. Sometimes transportation
is not working that early. Plus there's a stigma involved
in getting to school early and get you know, being
that kid. And so this is documented. All these things
(32:39):
that come together tom in terms of the food supply
chain is healthier for the environment and for the community,
being able to engage the economic power, being able to
deal with the health consequences what you just said in
terms of improved school performance. When you tie all these
things together, of course we can afford it. Of course
(33:02):
we can afford it. Often you hear people say we
should have a businessmen running the country, and you know,
it sounds it sounds good, but it did it didn't
work out that well. But you know, again, the last
guy wasn't really a businessman either. Um. But but here's
the prayer of the problem with that is that because
of our our two and four year election cycle, six
years in terms of senators, most corporate CEO's plan for five,
(33:24):
ten and fifteen years, and so you never get a
sense that the government is looking that far down the road.
And so you you couldn't run this as a business
because it doesn't the election cycle doesn't run like a business. Um.
That and the fact that, um, to really make all
of the things that we're talking about happen, we need
to have a functioning democracy. Do you think that we're
(33:45):
at risk of losing our democracy? And you look at
all these voting right acts that are being pushed back,
I mean, do you think we can lose it? Well,
I'll tell you I was here in January six Uh,
and I think people are now recognize that we came
closer to losing it then people understood. But part of
what we're talking about here with this conversation, Tom, are
(34:08):
things that really bring people together rather than divide them.
Having healthy, well fed kids, supporting family farmers, being able
to deal with the nutritional needs as well as what
the environmental benefits. Uh. These are all things that are historic,
(34:28):
traditional values. They are things that if we break them
out and talk to people, they support them. These are
things that do not need to divide us. Uh. Certainly
there are problems with industrial agriculture, but if we start
providing a healthy, sustainable, regenerative alternative, I think that there
(34:50):
is the potential of bringing people together on this alternative
vision that is cheaper, that is healthier, is better for
the vironment, and better for our families. And I think
there's great power. And you've been part of this movement
with some of the leading chefs in the country to
be able to make these points, to be able to
(35:12):
get food to kids, be able to keep restaurants supply
chains These are things that have been given more attention
in the last sixteen months that I think than ever before.
So I'm excited about this too. Strengthened community, strengthened democracy,
and strengthened families. We'll be back with more Citizen Chef. Listen.
(35:38):
This has been it's been great talking to you. Unfortunately,
when I was in Portland shooting Top Chef, I was
under quarantine, uh, so I couldn't get out and and
break bread with you and and uh, but I am
looking forward to seeing you in person uh soon. The
one thing I want to ask you about is, uh.
You know, whenever somebody meets meets you there, the first
thing they'll probably see is they bikelop lapel pin that
(36:01):
you wear right under your congressional pin. You have a UM,
it's like a wire bicycle. And tell me about that
that wire bicycle that you wear on your papel Well.
I started when I was Portland's Commissioner of Public Works.
I started a pretty aggressive bike program. We started distributing
these little pins. When I came to Congress, I brought
(36:23):
bikes instead of a car. UM I started handing out
the bike pins. I'm aggressively bike partisan kip bike partisan.
Everybody's got a bike story and it's you know, it's
like food. Food brings people together. Well, cycling is something
that everybody's got a cycling story. It's good for families,
it's good for tourism. It's so the pin was a
(36:47):
symbol of that. Um and it's a nice uh conversation starter.
People like the pin. I'll take it off my looppel
and give it to them, right, you gave me one.
I think I have a neon green one. Yeah, And
I think part of you know, what you're good at doing,
and part of what we need to do a better
(37:07):
job is to find ways, whether it's uh, whether it's
a bike pin or it's a comic book, the Fight
for Food. Yeah, let's talk about the Fight for Food book.
I wanted to bring that up. Actually, I'm glad you
you you held that up. So this was your way
of taking the farm bill, which is a pretty dense
um bill um, and making simple and easy for people
(37:29):
to understand. Yeah, why why is that so important? One
of our challenges in terms of getting the food policies
that are right for America is that the farm Bill
itself is hopelessly complex, purposely so your friend marian Nussel
wrote that great essay The farm Bill drove me crazy.
(37:49):
You know, she's this famous nutrition professor. She tried to
teach a course on the farm Bill, and she gave
it up to say that nobody understands it. Uh. And
so what I did was boiled us down into a
little illustrated guide. So so we're we're we're on zoom
right now, and and Earl is holding up his his
his his book, and it's a it's the farm Bill.
(38:10):
Is is hundreds of thousands of pages. It's more than
a doorstop. And Earl boiled that down to a small pamphlet.
It's what about four by three and uh maybe twenty pages, um,
and it's all boiled. That's all in there. Well. Part
of what we need to do is demystified this process. Uh.
And that's why I love working with you and other professionals,
(38:34):
is you get to the heart of the thing, what matters,
what tastes good, what's sustainable, how it And so what
we did was just boil this down in terms. We
labeled it the Fight for Food. We gave a short
description in a page. Uh. We have big graphics, you
know that you deserve better, a better farm bill, we
talk about commodity programs, crop insurance, farm subsidies. When you
(38:59):
boil it down to the essentials, you really can do
this in about sixteen pages, in things that are simple
enough that even a member of Congress can understand. And
that's I think is what I think is so it's
so powerful as the work that we do with food
and nutrition is boiling it down to the basics. And
when we do that, um, we don't have to make
(39:22):
it hopelessly complex. We can talk about investing in what
we care about, making it easier. And this was my
contribution for people to understand what was at stake. Well,
I was. I was happy to take a few cases
and at the podium of my restaurant, I would hand
them out to people and uh um, sometimes I got
some interesting looks, but some people, some people got back
(39:43):
to me and said it was really helpful, um, and
they really enjoyed it. So, oh, listener, Oh it's been
a pleasure talking to you. I'm not scheduled to get
down to either Portlands are are Are Washington anytime soon,
but if you find yourself in New York and you
want to, you want to grab a meal. Let me know,
I will do it, my friend. Thank you very much,
take care, Thanks, thanks, have a good day you too.
(40:06):
Listen that that conversation was wide ranging, but in a
way it really wasn't. We we covered a lot of ground,
and uh, it's there's a lot of complex questions and
there's a lot of behind the scenes hand ringing to
to make this happen. But it's it is pretty pretty
straightforward and simple. I think often politicians are maligned. Um uh.
We hear about the corruption, and we hear about the
(40:27):
petty is. But um I actually you know, think members
of commerce like a blooming Our there, they're there because
they're just trying to make the country better for for
their constituents and for all Americans. Um. And so it's
it's it's great to have a remember that is so
plugged in, especially when it comes to the you know,
the access of food and the environment and how to
make it fair for everybody. Thanks again to Carsment Roll
(40:50):
bloom Our for spending some time with us, and it's
always a special thanks to a place the table, and
thank you for listening. Citizen Chef is executive produced by
Chris brasciotis produced by Abe Collins and researched by Lillian Holman.
Citizen Chef has a production in the I Heart Radio.
For more podcasts like this and visit the I heart
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
(41:11):
H
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