Peter Hoffman, chef of Back Forty and Back Forty West, is known for his commitment to local food. In this HRN Community Session, Peter explains why eating local isn't alway the best choice. Nathaniel Coburn calls Peter to talk about how the Greenmarket inspired his love for local, seasonal food. How did the idea of 'local' become a joke among restaurant goers? Hear why Peter supports sustainable fisheries no matter their location, and why he sources his seafood from places as far away as Norway. How do farmed fish compare to those that were caught in the wild? Hear why Peter hopes that sourcing fish from distant locations will make consumers more aware of seasonality and overfishing. Thanks to our sponsor, Hearst Ranch, and thanks to Obey City for today's music.

"In different ways we can look at the overall impact that we're having, and 'local' might not be the best choice in terms of seafood." [10:00]

-- Peter Hoffman, Chef - Back Forty and Back Forty West

This week on The Main Course, Patrick Martins chats with Todd Haymore, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, who tells listeners about all of the artisanal food and agricultural products coming out of the Old Dominion. Learn how their old world wines are turning heads globally and how an export mandate has helped spread products like peanuts and Virginia Ham across the nation and beyond. Find out what "Virginia's Finest" is all about and how farmland is being lost at an alarming rate. Learn more about the Virginia Department of Agriculture here. Later in the show, hear a state of the union on trucking in this country from Larry Boukal of Cannonball Express. This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons.

"We're spending a lot of time promoting our wine industry. We're the fifth largest wine producer in the country right now. We're trying to get these old world style wines in the global marketplace."

"We're blessed with having millions of acres of farmland in Virginia, but studies show that 100,000 acres a year are lost to development. Once those acres are gone, they're gone."

--Todd Haymore, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry

"I think taking the drivers off the road from 1-5am [is a bad idea]. It's the most efficient time for truckers to operate on the road."

--Larry Boukal of Cannonball Express

This week on Burning Down The House Skip Backus of the Omega Institute joins Jake Alspector & Gennaro Church-Brooks to discuss sustainable architecture and design.