Drakes Bay Oyster Company, located just south of Tomales Bay, California, has produced quality oysters for generations. The Lunny family has run the farm, which is located in the pristine area of Point Reyes National Seashore, for years and pride themselves on producing a high quality, fresh, delicious oyster that is known throughout Northern California as one of the best. The Drakes Bay Co. is a wonderful steward of the land and their oysters actually help keep the waters clean by filtering and reseeding.
Unfortunately Drakes Bay Oyster Company's time may be coming to an end. Recently their land lease was not renewed, forcing the Company to halt production. This event not only marks the end of a company, but the end of a legacy. The Lunny's legacy is one that is important not only to the entire food industry but to our culture as well. You see, what they were doing for generations was harvesting quality food products on a regional scale in a way that not only benefitted their surrounding environment, but also their community. They offer a local product that can be enjoyed by an entire community much in the same way that it has been enjoyed for thousands of years. Namely, a raw oyster. When people crack into a raw oyster and taste the pristine waters of Drakes Bay they are taking a trip into the history of the Bay. The oysters now taste much the same as they did thousands of years ago.
The Drake Farm protects this link into history while ensuring the future harvests for generations to come. In a country where what we are eating often gets lost in the long chain of production, Drakes Bay Oysters are right there in front of you, produced by the environment, benefitting the environment. Companies like Drakes are doing the right thing and have been doing the right thing for years. They are taking care of their environment. They are producing a natural quality product. And they are feeding a community while upholding a heritage. It's disheartening to see this all end, all the while bearing witness as an oyster from hundreds of miles away takes the Drakes Bay's spot in the 'local' market.
