The Netherlands is a practice in supreme balance: At once it can both introduce the newest of technologies to the world but also yearn to hold on to and endorse age-old traditions. I was afforded the opportunity to explore this varied landscape for a week and met many interesting producers, scientists and farmers along the way. The interesting bit I discovered from this country is the linchpin holding this balance in place happens to fall heavily (and willingly) on the shoulders of Holland’s youth. An agreement struck between and across generations to move forward while maintaining a sense of national identity proves to produce an impressive society.

© Photo by Min Jeon Kim.

My journey began on a fishing boat floating in the Wadden Sea, a southeastern portion of the North Sea. Our hosts made it clear their work was neither easy nor for the weak of heart. Fishing is a huge industry for the northern portion of the country, reflected in the inhabitants’ diets. Whether fresh, cooked, cured or pickled, these people love seafood. The producers we stayed with have a protected method of fishing, one that is sustainable and in balance with the delicate ecosystem of the Wadden Sea. Unfortunately, this specific way of fishing has also made it difficult to be prosperous in recent years. From hand-picking oysters, mussels and cockles to fishing mullet in specially designed nets to reduce by-catch, all of their work produced an excellent product — but at a price that seemed too steep to the outside consumer. This story shows the desire to keep sustainable tradition alive in Holland is certainly welcome but not always wildly successful. Another producer, with a slightly sour outlook, seemed to have better luck.

Trying my luck at seafood harvesting at low tide in the Wadden Sea. © Photo by Min Jeon Kim.

Oos Kesbeke, owner of Kesbeke Pickles in Amsterdam, realized a problem with the cocktail onion a few years back: People in the Netherlands weren’t eating them anymore. He remembers, as a child, every household had at least one jar on standby. Had the Dutch lost the taste for the baby onion, or had they just forgotten it? To find out, they tried focusing their marketing efforts on their onions. They were met with great success. He explained that, to him, memory and taste have a strong connection. He just had to remind people of how tasty they were and they would begin to appreciate them again. Boy, those little onions were fine, as were all the pickled products. It should be mentioned these pickles are, in fact, pickled and not just brined; many products around the world are currently being marketed as the former, but sold as the latter. To truly be pickled, these vegetables have to go through stages of fermentation, leaving them much more nutritious than the sum of their parts.

Secret outdoor pickling in action, complete with floating leaves and pungent aroma. © Photo by Min Jeon Kim.

Oos used marketing to get his point across, while Jacco, a honey producer on the island of Texel, relied on word of mouth to promote his product. Small black bees naturally inhabit the island but are being crowded out by other species. Jacco would come at the request of neighbors to remove black bee hives and transplant them to safer homes. The entire island moves at a slower pace than the mainland, and Jacco likes it that way. It allows him to produce honey in a respectful and sustainable fashion, a way in which Texel folk seem to really enjoy. Along with his honey, Jacco’s old wax gets recycled into cosmetics and candles and is sold nearby.

Texel Island’s small black bees, encouraged to come out and play with a little smoke. © Photo by Min Jeon Kim.

At this point in the story, Holland may seem like the aged great-grandpa who complains when cabbage goes up 10 cents (read: mine). This is only part of Holland’s new food legacy. It, along with many countries of the North, are embracing technology and applying it to foodways in spectacular applications. Zilte Zeekool, a saline farm on Texel, showed us traditional produce, like potatoes and strawberries, can grow and even thrive in semi-saline environments. This is an especially important advancement as Holland, along with many other countries, is suffering from saltwater intrusion into previously arable land. The successful crops from these studies are even being sent across the world to other countries suffering similar fates in order to begin testing in their soil.

Salty greens grown at Zilte Zeekool. © Photo by Min Jeon Kim.

My trip to Holland was nothing I expected it to be, and that was the most refreshing part. The farmers and producers I met during my week abroad opened my eyes to what many other industrialized countries could be like in terms of agriculture and mindset. While Holland is a small country, it is certainly making a large impact on agriculture that will be felt worldwide.

— Kelsey Farrell, administrative coordinator