Here is an excerpt in which he discusses food and farming:

Fearnside (the interviewer): In your recent talk to the Sierra Club, you mentioned “foodsheds.” Can you explain this concept in more detail?

Berry: Cities attract food products from the countryside the same way that a major stream attracts water from the smaller streams in a watershed. A foodshed would be the tributary landscape around a city from which the city’s food would come. It goes back to the ancient concept of the city as a gathering point for the products of its landscape. And since we haven’t had cheap petroleum for a while — and we’re probably not going to have it ever again — we need to think this way once more. Sooner or later, we’re not going to be able to afford to haul food in from everywhere in the world.

Another reason to think in terms of local food economies is that an extended food system concentrates food at collecting points and transportation arteries, so it’s extremely vulnerable to blockades or acts of terrorism. A third reason — and this may be the most important reason of all — is that if you’re going to have sustainable agriculture, it has to be adapted locally. Local adaptation means that you observe in the economic landscape the same processes that you find in healthy natural landscapes: You must have diversity. You must have both plants and animals. You must waste nothing. You must obey the law of return — that is, you must return to the ground all the nutrients that you take from it. You must protect the soil from erosion at all times. You must make maximum use of sunlight. In those circumstances, you may leave the crops and animals pretty much to fend for themselves against diseases. The farm will have some disease, but it won’t have epidemics. If you look at a healthy forest, for instance, you see some prematurely dead trees, but not massive numbers of them.

Read the interview here in its entirety. Bonus reading: Berry’s “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.”

We’ll also have some food samples just for the holiday weekend. Fields of Athenry will be grilling lamb and chicken, Whole Foods will grill veggies for a ratatouille, and Gypsy Hill will prepare corn on the cob, brushed with several of their herb and spice mixes in melted butter. Both of our local wineries will be on hand: Loudoun County’s Corcoran Vineyards and Tarara Winery.

By the way, Smart Markets is looking for local musicians who would like to play at our markets for tips and a little extra — get in touch if you’re interested!

Not only does this sound like a great idea for a TV channel, but it’s the home of Emeril Lagasse’s Emeril Green, in which the celebrity chef will help you learn how to cook with fresh, local ingredients. And, as we’ve told you before, Emeril is taping the show at the Fair Lakes Whole Foods where one our markets is located! He has already visited the market and talked to our vendors, and we’re looking forward to being a part of his show.

The New York Times ran an article earlier this week previewing the launch of Planet Green. Check out the article — it also links to a video clip of Emeril, and I’m pretty sure that you can see the Fair Lakes Whole Foods behind him.

But I would like to remind you why buying local is good for you and your family. Buying local at a farmers’ market means that you are buying fruits and vegetables that were picked the day before you buy them — which means that if you take care of them when you get home you will be able to eat every bit of what you bought. (And don’t get me started on the latest folly by the grocery chains — wetting down vegetables throughout the day leads to spoilage — which you can often see on the produce while it is still in the store!) With asparagus, there is very little waste; it is good to eat almost to the bottom of the stalk — and no need ever to peel woody stems. You are not going to find rotten or shriveled berries in the bottom of the box — and all of them will be ripe. No matter what you buy you will be able to enjoy more of it at your table — less waste means more value.

Other benefits include more flavor, more nutrients, less pesticides and fungicides and produce that lasts through the week, cutting down on those precious trips to any market. We ask you to consider these things when you compare prices: farmers’ market produce may look more expensive than store bought; but considering these truths won’t make it free but will hopefully convince you that it is a good deal.

Janssen is excited about the prospects of bringing a market to an area as dense as Reston Town Center. “That is probably going to be the busiest market in Fairfax County,” she said, citing 370,000 square feet of office space and 3,900 residential dwellings as the point of origin for the market’s shoppers. “It’s going to be a fun market,” she said.

The market opens Thursday, May 1 — be sure to join us! Read the full Connection article.