Sustainable Agriculture and In-Room Dining?

Here’s a sign of the times: The Westin Hotel’s in-room dining menu touts its “commitment of support for local sustainable agriculture.”

The growing movement to encourage food choices that are: S/O/L/E (Sustainable/Organic/Local/Ethical) has alighted in an unexpected place. A Westin hotel!

Torrential downpours last night enticed us to break our trip home up with a quick overnight stay in Providence. We were surprised to see "sustainable agriculture" on the menu.

The breakfast notes include the following:

"Grains for our Pancakes (honey buckwheat, honey buttermilk, or blueberry buttermilk) and Johnny Cakes are stone-ground at Kenyon's Grist Mill in West Kingston, Rhode Island. They are an example of our commitment of support for local sustainable agriculture. Our waffles and hotcakes are served with whipped butter and pure Rhode Island maple syrup from Charley's Sugar Shack.

We also enjoyed organic ginger carrot juice and had other choices including local fresh milk and local farmer's cheese. Rhode Island corn salsa accompanied another dish.

No mention of where the eggs came from or whether they are free range, antibiotic free, or the sausage or fruit origins, but hey, it's a start. I've tried to find evidence of a corporate policy statement or shift, but have come up empty handed. Will keep you posted if I hear back.

Let's hope this trend continues. Take a moment to think through the operational issues of rolling this policy out over thousands of properties without losing out on economies of scale in purchasing. It's quickly apparent the challenges that an entity such as this one, serving hundreds of thousands of guests daily would face.

And yet, if we are to take the whole locavore/omnivore gospel to heart, we must honestly envision how such challenges will be met. Incrementally, with baby steps. Maybe we call it the "What about Bob" approach... I applaud it.

As consumers/guests we can also add our two cents' worth by filling out in-room surveys suggesting that we would prefer such options for in-room dining. Then, if and when prices rise, we have to stick by our favorite properties and pay them.

I want the food morality police to think these things through...one can dream.