SUSTAINABLE SIZZLE Article by Elise Watness
Photography by Eric Schmitz
Since fast food became the American fast feast, hamburgers have been associated with junk food, mediocre ingredients and shameful eating habits. Can a Bellingham burger joint challenge this greasy reputation?
Fiamma Burger, which opened this summer on Railroad Avenue, is an example of a restaurant practicing environmental sustainability. Fiamma Burger serves naturally-raised beef, runs on renewable energy and recycles and composts 90 percent of its waste.
An average restaurant throws out 8,200 pounds of garbage every month. In comparison, at Fiamma Burger, a 100 to 300 pound family-sized garbage can is picked up once or twice a week, along with four large recycle and compost containers.
Metal and wood décor adorn the walls in Fiamma Burger. The tables are made from the floor of the building’s former tavern.
The beef in Fiamma burgers is from Angus cattle at Misty Isle Cattle Company on Vashon Island. The cattle are naturally raised, meaning the meat is free of hormones, antibiotics, and growth stimulants, according to Misty Isle’s Web site.
Unlike some restaurateurs, Ken and Dan Bothman, owners of both La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza and Fiamma Burger, care where the burger ingredients come from. They try to buy locally, but Bellingham doesn’t supply all of the ingredients used at Fiamma Burger.
"I wish I could get beef from here in Whatcom County," Ken Bothman said. "But it isn’t available."
Fiamma Burgers have lettuce grown throughout the year by DEVine Gardens, a hydroponic farm in Custer, Wash. that uses biofuel from the restaurants it supplies.
Buying local produce keeps money circulating through the community economy and ensures fresher ingredients, according to eatlocal.net.
Michael Oshman is the executive director and founder of the Green Restaurant Association, a national organization that guides restaurants in environmentally-responsible operations.
The restaurant industry is the largest consumer of electricity in the retail sector and it is important that they are accountable for their impact, Oshman said.
According to the Green Restaurant Association, American restaurants use 33 percent of national retail electricity. Fiamma Burger, however, runs entirely on green power from Puget Sound Energy.
After eating at Fiamma Burger, customers bus their own tables and sort their trash into compost, recycle and garbage. Only three items end up in the landfill: salad dressing packets, coffee cup lids and tea wrappers.
"When we say we don’t have a dumpster, it says something to people," Bothman said.
Plastic-like takeout containers are made from cornstarch, potato starch and sugarcane, which easily decompose. Conventional plastic bags are a third of the price of compostable plastic bags, said Heather Bates, manager of Fiamma Burger.
Fiamma Burger opened as a result of the success La Fiamma Pizza found in making high-quality foods with local ingredients and minimal waste, which is something most customers appreciate, Bothman said.
Restaurants like Fiamma Burger are important environmental leaders because many Americans frequently dine out.
Americans are projected to spend 48 percent of their food money on eating at restaurants in 2008, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Bob’s Burger & Brew is a popular burger joint located across the street from Fiamma Burger, and has a difficult time reducing their waste.
"One of the most frustrating things as a restaurant owner is the amount of food we throw away in our garbage," said Pete Wasley, owner of the downtown Bob’s Burgers & Brew. "Probably half of the garbage we throw away is food," Wasley said.
Wasley said he would like to integrate more sustainable practices into his restaurant but is not sure how.
Bob’s Burgers & Brew uses Styrofoam take-out boxes, which are not biodegradable. Wasley just cut one-third of the restaurant’s garbage by recycling. But, he said, he doesn’t know how to incorporate procedures like composting.
Sustainable Connections is a local organization that works with business owners to improve environmental practices.
Fiamma Burger, a member and leader in Sustainable Connections, has a sophisticated food education system for Bellingham restaurants wanting to minimize their environmental impact.
Oshman said after adding up the health hazards and impacts of our current food system, from an environmental perspective, it’s too expensive not to buy green.
Elise Watness studies ethno-environmental journalism and Spanish. She has been published in the Licton Springs Review.
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