... and so it's turning into Veggie Two-Weeks! Jeremy is out of town again this week, which means that I don't have to worry about making things that he will eat. So, more veggies and whole grains it is!
This week has actually been a breeze. During the week, I just ate the stir-fry and eggplant parmesan leftovers that I had, and I had A LOT! This weekend was a bit of a test, with going out to restaurants twice. I was nervous I wouldn't find something to eat, or that I'd have to settle for something really lame. At the first place, I ate nachos that I had ordered without the chili, which aren't the healthiest, but boy, were they delicious. Today I ordered the Caprese sandwich and had them leave off the chicken and proscuitto. Again, delicious. Actually, both were way more delicious without the meat, I think.
I felt really great this week too, which adds to my enthusiasm about all of it. I just felt clear-headed and clear-stomached, if there is such a thing. I just find meat heavy. The only blockade I ran into was when I way overdid eating the peanut butter cookies Lauren and I made together: I suffered the most epic sugar crash. It really does affect your body badly, especially when you're not used to it! So, no sugar for me this week. As soon as I finish this cookie...
I ran across an article that makes me angry, one about a family farm that's being sold after 378 years. Essentially, the 11th generation of this family can no longer support themselves with this farm due to the proliferation of large factory farms and U-pick-type businesses, and so they are selling their farm that their ancestors have lived on since the 1600s. Instead of subsidizing the large farms that keep pumping out more and more corn (and therefore HFCS), why not support the little guys just trying to make a living? Sadly, the small family farm seems to be a dying art form.
Showing posts with label agribusiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agribusiness. Show all posts
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Putting my money where my mouth is
Last week I did something I was proud of. The main struggle I've dealt with along this new path is eating out or eating when someone else prepares the food. I'm good at sticking to my resolve when I'm cooking for myself and my family, but when I'm not putting the food on the table, it's pretty much a fail.
I changed that for myself one day last week. I was down in Olympia, working for the state superintendent's office. Each day, lunch was catered. It was delicious, but not always what I would choose for myself. After reading the chapter in Food, Inc. about the treatment of animals at the large factory farms, I was feeling disturbed about my choices with eating meat in my life. Not that I didn't know terrible things were happening to animals in our country, but I just shoved it to the back of my mind. I still do that to some extent even now, but less and less so.
Of course, after reading that, the next day there was flank steak available for lunch. I stood there and stared at it for probably 30 seconds before I chose not to eat it. Without knowing where it came from, I just couldn't do it. Now, that's just one time that I made that choice, but it's a start, right?
Also, the last two times I've bought eggs, I bought those that were organic and cage-free. Terrible things happen to chickens in large farm settings: beaks snipped off so they can't peck each other, living in tiny cages, standing in their own feces... chickens may not be the smartest creatures, but they deserve better than that. From now on, I will be making better choices when I buy eggs and chicken meat. I feel like it's one of those changes that are rather easy to do and is totally the right thing to do. Doing better for the Earth and its creatures (including my family and myself) is what this is all about after all.
I changed that for myself one day last week. I was down in Olympia, working for the state superintendent's office. Each day, lunch was catered. It was delicious, but not always what I would choose for myself. After reading the chapter in Food, Inc. about the treatment of animals at the large factory farms, I was feeling disturbed about my choices with eating meat in my life. Not that I didn't know terrible things were happening to animals in our country, but I just shoved it to the back of my mind. I still do that to some extent even now, but less and less so.
Of course, after reading that, the next day there was flank steak available for lunch. I stood there and stared at it for probably 30 seconds before I chose not to eat it. Without knowing where it came from, I just couldn't do it. Now, that's just one time that I made that choice, but it's a start, right?
Also, the last two times I've bought eggs, I bought those that were organic and cage-free. Terrible things happen to chickens in large farm settings: beaks snipped off so they can't peck each other, living in tiny cages, standing in their own feces... chickens may not be the smartest creatures, but they deserve better than that. From now on, I will be making better choices when I buy eggs and chicken meat. I feel like it's one of those changes that are rather easy to do and is totally the right thing to do. Doing better for the Earth and its creatures (including my family and myself) is what this is all about after all.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Sometimes, it's better to be in the dark
On the heels of my post yesterday about not knowing what you're eating, I thought I'd write a little bit about what I've learned about food safety. This is definitely one of those cases where the more you know, the less you wish you knew.
All of this information comes from a chapter in the Food Inc. book entitled "Food Safety Consequences of Factory Farms" by Food & Water Watch. You can visit their website here. Yet another website that has way too many great resources to delve into!
The chapter starts with the almost obligatory information about the use of antibiotics in factory farm animals and how this is leading to more resistant forms of bacteria. Fortunately, it seems that the FDA is finally listening, as it has released draft guidelines for the reduced use of antibiotics in animals. I have to admit that my faith in the FDA is a little shaky given their track record of less and less oversight of an gargantuan problem of a food industry, but it's a step in the right direction.
They then move on to talk about Mad Cow disease and E. Coli. They're related because of what cows on these farms are being fed: corn and various animal products. Certain animal by-products are allowed in the feed of other cows in order to fatten them up quickly for slaughter. For example, "poultry waste", the material found on the floor of poulty barns can be added to cow feed. Also, cattle blood is allowed in the milk replacer given to calves*. These are risky, potential avenues for Mad Cow transmission, given that it is transmitted by eating the nervous system tissue of another cow. Unlike other food-borne illnesses, Mad Cow can't be cooked out of the food or by otherwise disinfecting the meat.
E. Coli comes into play because of cows eating primarily corn* which is not what their bodies are set up to break down. Both of these issues are especially troubling given the lax oversight by the USDA and reduced testing of animals for these bacteria.
The use of hormones (rBGH) is next. The entire story of the rBGH is still yet to be told, but it seems to have a clear link to certain types of cancers. It also has been linked to the increase of twin births in the U.S. which, while not necessarily a bad thing, makes me wonder what other parts of our reproduction are being tinkered with. Around 22% of all dairy cows in the U.S. are injected with rBGH, with a higher percentage of those in large herds (read: factory farms) receiving the injections. Canada, Australia, Japan, and the EU have all banned the use of rBGH and the FDA here only approved it after a single study done by Monsanto. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse! The Food & Water Watch folks have this rBGH-free guide, written state-by-state so you can see which milk product producers in your area are rBGH-free. I'm going to have to take this list with me to the store, as I didn't see many of the big names in our area on the list. I have a feeling this may be tough to sort out.
*Pardon me if this gets ranty, but why in the world are we messing so with nature? Feeding baby cows formula?! Forcing cows, who are ruminants, to eat corn?! Simply because we can and we feel that we need to in order to grow the already oversized food business? Maybe this is just the mom in me, but the thought that calves are being taken from their moms and fed formula in order to a) fatten them faster for our consumption and b)use the milk produced by their mothers for our consumption makes me very, very sad. I think in pursuit of a faster-producing, more productive food system, we've tampered with nature in ways that may have some serious consequences.
More on this tomorrow...
All of this information comes from a chapter in the Food Inc. book entitled "Food Safety Consequences of Factory Farms" by Food & Water Watch. You can visit their website here. Yet another website that has way too many great resources to delve into!
The chapter starts with the almost obligatory information about the use of antibiotics in factory farm animals and how this is leading to more resistant forms of bacteria. Fortunately, it seems that the FDA is finally listening, as it has released draft guidelines for the reduced use of antibiotics in animals. I have to admit that my faith in the FDA is a little shaky given their track record of less and less oversight of an gargantuan problem of a food industry, but it's a step in the right direction.
They then move on to talk about Mad Cow disease and E. Coli. They're related because of what cows on these farms are being fed: corn and various animal products. Certain animal by-products are allowed in the feed of other cows in order to fatten them up quickly for slaughter. For example, "poultry waste", the material found on the floor of poulty barns can be added to cow feed. Also, cattle blood is allowed in the milk replacer given to calves*. These are risky, potential avenues for Mad Cow transmission, given that it is transmitted by eating the nervous system tissue of another cow. Unlike other food-borne illnesses, Mad Cow can't be cooked out of the food or by otherwise disinfecting the meat.
E. Coli comes into play because of cows eating primarily corn* which is not what their bodies are set up to break down. Both of these issues are especially troubling given the lax oversight by the USDA and reduced testing of animals for these bacteria.
The use of hormones (rBGH) is next. The entire story of the rBGH is still yet to be told, but it seems to have a clear link to certain types of cancers. It also has been linked to the increase of twin births in the U.S. which, while not necessarily a bad thing, makes me wonder what other parts of our reproduction are being tinkered with. Around 22% of all dairy cows in the U.S. are injected with rBGH, with a higher percentage of those in large herds (read: factory farms) receiving the injections. Canada, Australia, Japan, and the EU have all banned the use of rBGH and the FDA here only approved it after a single study done by Monsanto. Talk about the fox guarding the henhouse! The Food & Water Watch folks have this rBGH-free guide, written state-by-state so you can see which milk product producers in your area are rBGH-free. I'm going to have to take this list with me to the store, as I didn't see many of the big names in our area on the list. I have a feeling this may be tough to sort out.
*Pardon me if this gets ranty, but why in the world are we messing so with nature? Feeding baby cows formula?! Forcing cows, who are ruminants, to eat corn?! Simply because we can and we feel that we need to in order to grow the already oversized food business? Maybe this is just the mom in me, but the thought that calves are being taken from their moms and fed formula in order to a) fatten them faster for our consumption and b)use the milk produced by their mothers for our consumption makes me very, very sad. I think in pursuit of a faster-producing, more productive food system, we've tampered with nature in ways that may have some serious consequences.
More on this tomorrow...
Monday, July 12, 2010
Mystery food
Apologies for my MIA-ness lately. I got caught up in the festivities of the 4th, a nasty stomach flu, and more festivities with the family in Seaside, OR. An exciting life have I! We just won't speak of some of the things I ate. At least it wasn't a deep-fried Snickers bar like a certain husband of mine!
I've continued to read the companion book for Food, Inc. and have some thoughts on food safety that I'll share with you tomorrow, but an interesting thought occurred to me as I drove down to Olympia to work for the week:
Why do we so confidently eat foods when we don't know a) where they came from and b) potentially, what they even really are?
This thought occurred to me as I was listening to a radio ad for something called Beta Prostate. Essentially, it sounds like a pill designed for gentlemen to take when they're having prostate issues. As I was listening to the ad, I was thinking, "Why in the world would someone put something in their bodies when they're not even really sure what it is? Responding to this ad is the eating equivalent of buying some product out of the back of a comic book!" As soon as I thought that, though, I realized that we do that all the time. Really. All the time. How often are we eating something prepared by someone else? How often are those things first processed in some way by some nameless people in factories? Even if it's produce, how do we really know where it's coming from and who handled it? Or what was sprayed on it? It's been shown time and time again that the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be looking out aren't, so why are we eating with such confidence?
Even with all the things I've learned, I'm really not acting on it as much as I should. Obviously, it would be difficult to know where every morsel I put in my mouth came from and probably even more difficult to make sure it's all from sources I feel confident about, but there's certainly more I can do. I think buying locally and organically has been a step in the right direction, but there's more to it than that.
Another step I did take recently was to buy organic, cage-free eggs from Costco instead of our regular package. I'd still like to look at the company, but I'm thinking differently. Jeremy also didn't freak out about the price, which is good. Progress.
I've continued to read the companion book for Food, Inc. and have some thoughts on food safety that I'll share with you tomorrow, but an interesting thought occurred to me as I drove down to Olympia to work for the week:
Why do we so confidently eat foods when we don't know a) where they came from and b) potentially, what they even really are?
This thought occurred to me as I was listening to a radio ad for something called Beta Prostate. Essentially, it sounds like a pill designed for gentlemen to take when they're having prostate issues. As I was listening to the ad, I was thinking, "Why in the world would someone put something in their bodies when they're not even really sure what it is? Responding to this ad is the eating equivalent of buying some product out of the back of a comic book!" As soon as I thought that, though, I realized that we do that all the time. Really. All the time. How often are we eating something prepared by someone else? How often are those things first processed in some way by some nameless people in factories? Even if it's produce, how do we really know where it's coming from and who handled it? Or what was sprayed on it? It's been shown time and time again that the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be looking out aren't, so why are we eating with such confidence?
Even with all the things I've learned, I'm really not acting on it as much as I should. Obviously, it would be difficult to know where every morsel I put in my mouth came from and probably even more difficult to make sure it's all from sources I feel confident about, but there's certainly more I can do. I think buying locally and organically has been a step in the right direction, but there's more to it than that.
Another step I did take recently was to buy organic, cage-free eggs from Costco instead of our regular package. I'd still like to look at the company, but I'm thinking differently. Jeremy also didn't freak out about the price, which is good. Progress.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
How deep do I dig?
One big question I've had in the back of my mind as I've been doing all this learning is how far I go with this. I mean, I learned pretty quickly that organic food is better for our environment and our health in numerous ways and that eating locally when possible only deepens the benefit. I made some changes to my buying habits and our diet that reflect that new learning, but all the while, I've been keeping in mind all the other issues that go along with eating consciously. I just don't know how much I want to pursue them!
For example, the movie Food Inc. raises all sorts of issues about eating, including GMOs and agribusiness, food safety, and the safety of those working in fields and processing plants. I'm now reading the companion book to that film, also called Food Inc., and those issues are being brought up again and again. It's making me realize how much we vote with our forks, and I hate that I've been 'voting' unconsciously all these years. There was a powerful quote from Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation in the first essay: "I don't see any point in having heirloom, organic tomatoes if they're harvested by slave labor." That really struck me.
Of course, I have a lot more learning to do as I go along, about businesses and their practices. I want to make sure I'm making the right vote with my fork as well as making the right decisions for my family. Who knew that the simple act of eating could be so complicated? So I guess I'm back to the chaos from the clarity. It's not quite as simple as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", huh?
One thing that might help is that the FDA has issued draft guidelines for limiting antibiotic use in animals that are to be eaten. This is a huge step in the right direction!
For example, the movie Food Inc. raises all sorts of issues about eating, including GMOs and agribusiness, food safety, and the safety of those working in fields and processing plants. I'm now reading the companion book to that film, also called Food Inc., and those issues are being brought up again and again. It's making me realize how much we vote with our forks, and I hate that I've been 'voting' unconsciously all these years. There was a powerful quote from Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation in the first essay: "I don't see any point in having heirloom, organic tomatoes if they're harvested by slave labor." That really struck me.
Of course, I have a lot more learning to do as I go along, about businesses and their practices. I want to make sure I'm making the right vote with my fork as well as making the right decisions for my family. Who knew that the simple act of eating could be so complicated? So I guess I'm back to the chaos from the clarity. It's not quite as simple as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", huh?
One thing that might help is that the FDA has issued draft guidelines for limiting antibiotic use in animals that are to be eaten. This is a huge step in the right direction!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
The state of nutritionism
I was reading Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food last night and read something that really resonated with me. It's in the chapter that's talking about "nutritionism", how since the late 1970s, the U.S.'s food policy and the scientists that help create it views food as the sum of its various parts, or as the parts itself. How often do you see the words protein, carbs, and/or fats on the front of a food package? Those words are as critical as the pretty colors or the happy mascot to our buying, it seems.
The quote that really made me think is from Harvey Levenstein, that for the last century "...taste is not a true guide to what should be eaten; that one should not simply eat what one enjoys; that the important components of foods cannot be seen or tasted, but are discernible only in scientific laboratories; and that experimental science has produced rules of nutrition which will prevent illness and encourage longevity." It's like we Americans think that we need others to tell us how we should eat. Ridiculous! I for one want to eat what is enjoyable and the things that I know are good for me. I'm glad I'm doing all this learning, but I'm finding that I know more about what's good and what's bad than I thought. The hard work is just sticking with that!
Today when I was on the treadmill at the gym, a local tv show was airing a profile of Dave of Dave's Killer Bread. I've always seen Dave's Killer Bread at Costco and was able to try some at a friend's party, but never really thought about buying it. It's a little spendier than the others out there and I thought the brands I was buying were just fine. After seeing the profile today, though, and learning a little more about the products, I'm sold.
It turns out that Dave was in prison several times over the years for armed robbery and assault, amongst other things. He turned his life around and took up his father's trade, which was baking. He now makes these amazing breads that are all organic with as few ingredients as possible. Not only that, but they strive to make the breads in a sustainable way. The next time I buy bread, that's what I'm getting!
The quote that really made me think is from Harvey Levenstein, that for the last century "...taste is not a true guide to what should be eaten; that one should not simply eat what one enjoys; that the important components of foods cannot be seen or tasted, but are discernible only in scientific laboratories; and that experimental science has produced rules of nutrition which will prevent illness and encourage longevity." It's like we Americans think that we need others to tell us how we should eat. Ridiculous! I for one want to eat what is enjoyable and the things that I know are good for me. I'm glad I'm doing all this learning, but I'm finding that I know more about what's good and what's bad than I thought. The hard work is just sticking with that!
Today when I was on the treadmill at the gym, a local tv show was airing a profile of Dave of Dave's Killer Bread. I've always seen Dave's Killer Bread at Costco and was able to try some at a friend's party, but never really thought about buying it. It's a little spendier than the others out there and I thought the brands I was buying were just fine. After seeing the profile today, though, and learning a little more about the products, I'm sold.
It turns out that Dave was in prison several times over the years for armed robbery and assault, amongst other things. He turned his life around and took up his father's trade, which was baking. He now makes these amazing breads that are all organic with as few ingredients as possible. Not only that, but they strive to make the breads in a sustainable way. The next time I buy bread, that's what I'm getting!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Chaos, then clarity
So my work year doesn't officially end until tomorrow (with 10 days worked in over the summer), but I have my sanity in enough check now to surface and post. It's amazing how a little fuller schedule can knock you off track!
I have to admit, part of my drowny feeling was due to all the reading and learning I'm doing. It just seems that the more I know, the more I worry about what I'm eating, the more I try to do about it, and the more overwhelmed I feel. Organic? Local? Vegetarian? Grass-fed beef? It's so much. I really identified with this post by my favorite blogger (warning: a little profanity and a lot of funny). Basically, I get on this empowered high and want to make and eat everything just perfectly, but that's exhausting and my resolve and energy start to crack, and then I find myself eating Hershey's All-Corn-Syrup Chocolate Nibs alone in the closet.
Okay, so not that last part, but you get what I mean. It's a lot to take in.
I found some clarity this week, though, when I picked up Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (what's with the manifestos and the food movement?) at the library. I haven't gotten too far into the book just yet (I keep falling asleep again), but the simplicity of his message is really resonating with me: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
The gist of his argument is so far is that scientists and food marketers have made eating much more complicated than it needs to be over time. That the discovery of the micronutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, and fats led to people focusing on one more than the others at certain points in time and calling them out either as the enemy or our friends. South Beach Diet, anyone? He says we've gotten ourselves to the point where we're relying on those scientists, food marketers, and the occasional nutritionist to tell us what to eat when it's really quite simple: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. His argument is that if we will surround ourselves with great fruits and vegetables and other whole foods and try to prepare things our grandmothers would recognize, we'll be a lot better off.
I can buy that. (Literally.) It made me feel a lot more clear on what I need to do and what I need to focus on, and I think I can continue this. Whew.
A couple of resources for you:
I saw this extraordinary video on the Organic Authority feed on Facebook and just have to share it.
Also through Organic Authority, I found a link to the Environmental Working Group's top sunscreen recommendations. Totally no shock here, but it turns out that many sunscreens either don't protect you well or have harmful stuff in them, or both. Great. So, check out their recommendations. I've never heard of 90% of them, but I'm definitely going to check them out with my fair-skinned crew heading to the beach next month!
I have to admit, part of my drowny feeling was due to all the reading and learning I'm doing. It just seems that the more I know, the more I worry about what I'm eating, the more I try to do about it, and the more overwhelmed I feel. Organic? Local? Vegetarian? Grass-fed beef? It's so much. I really identified with this post by my favorite blogger (warning: a little profanity and a lot of funny). Basically, I get on this empowered high and want to make and eat everything just perfectly, but that's exhausting and my resolve and energy start to crack, and then I find myself eating Hershey's All-Corn-Syrup Chocolate Nibs alone in the closet.
Okay, so not that last part, but you get what I mean. It's a lot to take in.
I found some clarity this week, though, when I picked up Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto (what's with the manifestos and the food movement?) at the library. I haven't gotten too far into the book just yet (I keep falling asleep again), but the simplicity of his message is really resonating with me: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
The gist of his argument is so far is that scientists and food marketers have made eating much more complicated than it needs to be over time. That the discovery of the micronutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, and fats led to people focusing on one more than the others at certain points in time and calling them out either as the enemy or our friends. South Beach Diet, anyone? He says we've gotten ourselves to the point where we're relying on those scientists, food marketers, and the occasional nutritionist to tell us what to eat when it's really quite simple: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. His argument is that if we will surround ourselves with great fruits and vegetables and other whole foods and try to prepare things our grandmothers would recognize, we'll be a lot better off.
I can buy that. (Literally.) It made me feel a lot more clear on what I need to do and what I need to focus on, and I think I can continue this. Whew.
A couple of resources for you:
I saw this extraordinary video on the Organic Authority feed on Facebook and just have to share it.
Also through Organic Authority, I found a link to the Environmental Working Group's top sunscreen recommendations. Totally no shock here, but it turns out that many sunscreens either don't protect you well or have harmful stuff in them, or both. Great. So, check out their recommendations. I've never heard of 90% of them, but I'm definitely going to check them out with my fair-skinned crew heading to the beach next month!
Friday, June 11, 2010
My Chemical Past
No, this isn't some rehab tale. Anyone who's met me knows I'm too square for anything of the sort. Like I've been saying, I've found my interests in learning about our food have been a sort of springboard into learning more about the way we live and how that affects the environment. Diving into the deep end, so to speak.
One thing I'm learning is just how much the companies that bring us all the products we just must have are polluting the earth. The BP oil spill disaster aside, it seems like every day there's a story in the news about a company paying fines of some sort or lobbying against regulation. And speaking of regulation, it's appalling how little regulation there is and how the EPA and other agencies really have no ability to stop many dangerous practices. I fear what we're doing to the world we're passing onto our children.
This especially hit home for me this week when I was doing some genealogy research. It turns out that much of my mother's side of the family worked for DuPont, the chemical corporation. Same for my paternal grandfather. They worked in various positions in the mills from the early 1900s to the late 1980s. DuPont is one of the big bad polluters I was speaking about above: it has been named in numerous lawsuits about pollution over the years. Searching for "dupont pollution" on Google brings back 865,000 results. Now, none of my family were in the R&D area and I certainly can't fault them for taking what at the time were very good jobs, but I have to admit it rankles a bit. Here I am trying to create a cleaner world for myself and my family, and my family history is intertwined with one of the worst polluters! Not that we knew then what we know now, but...
One concrete step I can take is to try to eliminate the use of unsafe chemicals in our home. I found this list today on the Rodale site that's a good starting place. I need to take a look at our antibacterial products first and then move on to the cleaners. The hard thing is that there's no way Jeremy would ever let me get rid of them, but I can certainly have alternatives in place when those run out. Does anyone have any favorite, good-for-the-Earth commercial cleaners or homemade recipes they love?
I'm also still thinking about alternatives to products that contain BPA, especially given this story about the prevalence of BPA in canned foods. Eden foods has cans that don't use BPA. I'd like to find them in stores so I don't have to order online. Another job for this summer!
On a non-chemical note, I have been a paragon of eating this week. Part of my success has been due to the cold turkey approach I've taken to sugar. I've realized that sugar is my gateway drug: once I have a little sugar, I'm likely to binge on other things. Another reason for my success is having a whole boxload of fresh veggies that need to be used immediately or they'll go bad! Funny how motivating that is. Finally, I'm motivated by the fact that I've been working with a trainer starting this week. I don't want my eating to undo that hard work. And, boy, has it been hard work. I thought I was in good shape, but apparently not so much!
One thing I'm learning is just how much the companies that bring us all the products we just must have are polluting the earth. The BP oil spill disaster aside, it seems like every day there's a story in the news about a company paying fines of some sort or lobbying against regulation. And speaking of regulation, it's appalling how little regulation there is and how the EPA and other agencies really have no ability to stop many dangerous practices. I fear what we're doing to the world we're passing onto our children.
This especially hit home for me this week when I was doing some genealogy research. It turns out that much of my mother's side of the family worked for DuPont, the chemical corporation. Same for my paternal grandfather. They worked in various positions in the mills from the early 1900s to the late 1980s. DuPont is one of the big bad polluters I was speaking about above: it has been named in numerous lawsuits about pollution over the years. Searching for "dupont pollution" on Google brings back 865,000 results. Now, none of my family were in the R&D area and I certainly can't fault them for taking what at the time were very good jobs, but I have to admit it rankles a bit. Here I am trying to create a cleaner world for myself and my family, and my family history is intertwined with one of the worst polluters! Not that we knew then what we know now, but...
One concrete step I can take is to try to eliminate the use of unsafe chemicals in our home. I found this list today on the Rodale site that's a good starting place. I need to take a look at our antibacterial products first and then move on to the cleaners. The hard thing is that there's no way Jeremy would ever let me get rid of them, but I can certainly have alternatives in place when those run out. Does anyone have any favorite, good-for-the-Earth commercial cleaners or homemade recipes they love?
I'm also still thinking about alternatives to products that contain BPA, especially given this story about the prevalence of BPA in canned foods. Eden foods has cans that don't use BPA. I'd like to find them in stores so I don't have to order online. Another job for this summer!
On a non-chemical note, I have been a paragon of eating this week. Part of my success has been due to the cold turkey approach I've taken to sugar. I've realized that sugar is my gateway drug: once I have a little sugar, I'm likely to binge on other things. Another reason for my success is having a whole boxload of fresh veggies that need to be used immediately or they'll go bad! Funny how motivating that is. Finally, I'm motivated by the fact that I've been working with a trainer starting this week. I don't want my eating to undo that hard work. And, boy, has it been hard work. I thought I was in good shape, but apparently not so much!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Food Movement, Rising
I found this fantastic article about the rise of the "food movement" in recent years. The gist of it is a history of the food movement and some of the issues it faces today. I've been doing all this reading, and here it is, all summed up in one article!
A couple of interesting facts:
-"Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any people in history—slightly less than 10 percent—and a smaller amount of their time preparing it: a mere thirty-one minutes a day on average, including clean-up."
-"...the “hunger lobby” (those concerned about hunger and poverty) has traditionally supported farm subsidies in exchange for the farm lobby’s support of nutrition programs, a marriage of convenience dating to the 1960s that vastly complicates reform of the farm bill—a top priority for the food movement. "
It's an interesting read and would be a good primer for anyone trying to understand the movement as a whole.
As a follow-up to something I posted a few days ago: I found this article about health fraud in labeling. Several prominent food companies are called out for promising health effects that their foods don't deliver. This just goes back to my frustration that those that are supposed to be watching out for us, namely the FDA and USDA, aren't.
You may notice that I'm talking a lot here about the food movement in general and not so much about my own eating. Sigh. Let's just say that I understand how people get caught up in the convenience foods. I've been eating better than most, for sure, but haven't been cooking as much as I'd like. It's tough right now, with my busy work schedule. I'll be out of school on June 21st and I will be much better about all of this then. I need to find ways of balancing things and eating better when times are crazy; it'll come in time, I guess. I have some good things I'm planning on cooking this week, so I'll post pictures.
A couple of interesting facts:
-"Americans spend a smaller percentage of their income on food than any people in history—slightly less than 10 percent—and a smaller amount of their time preparing it: a mere thirty-one minutes a day on average, including clean-up."
-"...the “hunger lobby” (those concerned about hunger and poverty) has traditionally supported farm subsidies in exchange for the farm lobby’s support of nutrition programs, a marriage of convenience dating to the 1960s that vastly complicates reform of the farm bill—a top priority for the food movement. "
It's an interesting read and would be a good primer for anyone trying to understand the movement as a whole.
As a follow-up to something I posted a few days ago: I found this article about health fraud in labeling. Several prominent food companies are called out for promising health effects that their foods don't deliver. This just goes back to my frustration that those that are supposed to be watching out for us, namely the FDA and USDA, aren't.
You may notice that I'm talking a lot here about the food movement in general and not so much about my own eating. Sigh. Let's just say that I understand how people get caught up in the convenience foods. I've been eating better than most, for sure, but haven't been cooking as much as I'd like. It's tough right now, with my busy work schedule. I'll be out of school on June 21st and I will be much better about all of this then. I need to find ways of balancing things and eating better when times are crazy; it'll come in time, I guess. I have some good things I'm planning on cooking this week, so I'll post pictures.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Now that's just gross!
I pretty much have a cast-iron stomach and seem to be immune to most gross-out types of things. I dissected cats in Anatomy lab no problem, and happily watch programs on the Body Farm and other gross delights, usually while eating something. Suffice it to say I have a pretty high tolerance for the gross.
Last night, though, I read something that really, truly grossed me out. So much so that I swear my stomach actually turned over in disgust. Where did I find this gem of a fact? Organic Manifesto. Ready for it?
It comes from a section describing the cycle of chemical farming and how so many farmers end up in a cycle of debt with poorer and poorer soil quality and eventually smaller yields. Coming from a family of farmers, this made me quite sad. Even farmers that want to go organic can't, because it's too expensive to break the cycle of debt and difficult to break the relationship with Monsanto and/or Cargill, the companies that create the GMOs and the weedkillers that farmers need. Add to that that it takes 3 years to purify the soil to become certified organic, and most farmers don't do it. No wonder there aren't organic farms popping up more often!
That's not the gross part, though. That comes in a section about the products of the chemical farming, including the food itself and the waste from the farm. Are you ready for this?
"Most farm waste (including dead animals) is fed to animals or sold for fuel. Some farmers fertilize their fields with sewage sludge, or municipal waste. It contains human waste, which is contaminated by pharmaceutical drugs and cleaning supplies that have literally been flushed down the toilet, as well as industrial waste."
!!!
I swear, every unwashed grape or other bit of produce I have even eaten flashed through my mind in that moment. Why in the world is this okay? Why are we not only intentionally putting chemicals on our food, but growing them in human waste that contains other nasties? Is this some subconscious masochist trend we have going on? Because it seems to be working.
This latest nugget just once again reaffirmed my belief in eating organic. I need to know where my food is coming from and in what it was grown. The health benefits are great, sure, but it's the control freak in me that needs to be watching over what my family is putting in its mouths. I've abdicated responsibility too long and I need to wrest that control back.
This whole food business has gotten me thinking in a larger sense about how we're living and how we can be better stewards of the earth and of our bodies. I saw this article today about alternative food containers and I love them! I'm kind of an organization nut anyway, and these all look so pretty and neat. I've been suspicious of our Gladware for a while (even though it's better) and I think when that wears out, I may need to buy some of these.
In the comments section of that blog, there's a link to another blog with a wider look at living green. The quote “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 100 oz. petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with our 100 oz. vegetable-based product, we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year” really gave me pause.
Last night, though, I read something that really, truly grossed me out. So much so that I swear my stomach actually turned over in disgust. Where did I find this gem of a fact? Organic Manifesto. Ready for it?
It comes from a section describing the cycle of chemical farming and how so many farmers end up in a cycle of debt with poorer and poorer soil quality and eventually smaller yields. Coming from a family of farmers, this made me quite sad. Even farmers that want to go organic can't, because it's too expensive to break the cycle of debt and difficult to break the relationship with Monsanto and/or Cargill, the companies that create the GMOs and the weedkillers that farmers need. Add to that that it takes 3 years to purify the soil to become certified organic, and most farmers don't do it. No wonder there aren't organic farms popping up more often!
That's not the gross part, though. That comes in a section about the products of the chemical farming, including the food itself and the waste from the farm. Are you ready for this?
"Most farm waste (including dead animals) is fed to animals or sold for fuel. Some farmers fertilize their fields with sewage sludge, or municipal waste. It contains human waste, which is contaminated by pharmaceutical drugs and cleaning supplies that have literally been flushed down the toilet, as well as industrial waste."
!!!
I swear, every unwashed grape or other bit of produce I have even eaten flashed through my mind in that moment. Why in the world is this okay? Why are we not only intentionally putting chemicals on our food, but growing them in human waste that contains other nasties? Is this some subconscious masochist trend we have going on? Because it seems to be working.
This latest nugget just once again reaffirmed my belief in eating organic. I need to know where my food is coming from and in what it was grown. The health benefits are great, sure, but it's the control freak in me that needs to be watching over what my family is putting in its mouths. I've abdicated responsibility too long and I need to wrest that control back.
This whole food business has gotten me thinking in a larger sense about how we're living and how we can be better stewards of the earth and of our bodies. I saw this article today about alternative food containers and I love them! I'm kind of an organization nut anyway, and these all look so pretty and neat. I've been suspicious of our Gladware for a while (even though it's better) and I think when that wears out, I may need to buy some of these.
In the comments section of that blog, there's a link to another blog with a wider look at living green. The quote “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 100 oz. petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with our 100 oz. vegetable-based product, we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year” really gave me pause.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Organic Manifesto
No, not mine. Someone else's. Because my pile of books became bigger than my reading time would allow, I had to return several of the books to the library. I've put them all back on hold, though, so when I have more time on my hands (e.g. summer) I can read them. One of the only survivors of that purge was Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe by Maria Rodale.
I had heard the Rodale name because they're magazine publishers, but I had no idea just how important they have been to organic farming in the United States. Maria's grandfather started Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine and her father started much of the early research into organic farming. She and her late mother, Ardath, have continued that legacy and she has now written this "manifesto."
I can't go into too much depth as I haven't gotten that far into it. Not because it's a dense read or because I keep falling asleep reading it (okay, maybe a little), but because it's so depressing! I mean, the first two chapters are "We Have Poisoned Our Soil, Our Water, and Our Air" and "We Have Poisoned Ourselves and Our Children." See what I mean?!? And it's not just about the chemical pesticides and fertilizers we use on our food that then get into our bodies and the soil and water, it's about so many of the chemicals that we surround ourselves with. It's really making me think more about the antibacterial soaps, sanitizers, and other similar products in our house. We think the EPA and other regulatory agencies are protecting us, but that's not the case. They've changed their safety standards on certain products and have yanked funding on projects when it's clear the results aren't favorable. If they're not looking out for us, who will be?
I'm feeling that way about all I've learned, really. Agribusiness, marketing companies, and even our own government don't seem to have our best interests at heart when it comes to the food we're eating as a society and the products in our homes. It's really disturbing. I'm glad that I've started this journey and that I've learned so much, but I feel like I have a long way to go.
I found this list of "age-erasing" foods online today. I found it interesting and yet unsurprising that most of the foods on the list are ones I've introduced into my diet or eaten more because of what I've learned. The only one I can't do is yogurt. Ick.
I had heard the Rodale name because they're magazine publishers, but I had no idea just how important they have been to organic farming in the United States. Maria's grandfather started Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine and her father started much of the early research into organic farming. She and her late mother, Ardath, have continued that legacy and she has now written this "manifesto."
I can't go into too much depth as I haven't gotten that far into it. Not because it's a dense read or because I keep falling asleep reading it (okay, maybe a little), but because it's so depressing! I mean, the first two chapters are "We Have Poisoned Our Soil, Our Water, and Our Air" and "We Have Poisoned Ourselves and Our Children." See what I mean?!? And it's not just about the chemical pesticides and fertilizers we use on our food that then get into our bodies and the soil and water, it's about so many of the chemicals that we surround ourselves with. It's really making me think more about the antibacterial soaps, sanitizers, and other similar products in our house. We think the EPA and other regulatory agencies are protecting us, but that's not the case. They've changed their safety standards on certain products and have yanked funding on projects when it's clear the results aren't favorable. If they're not looking out for us, who will be?
I'm feeling that way about all I've learned, really. Agribusiness, marketing companies, and even our own government don't seem to have our best interests at heart when it comes to the food we're eating as a society and the products in our homes. It's really disturbing. I'm glad that I've started this journey and that I've learned so much, but I feel like I have a long way to go.
I found this list of "age-erasing" foods online today. I found it interesting and yet unsurprising that most of the foods on the list are ones I've introduced into my diet or eaten more because of what I've learned. The only one I can't do is yogurt. Ick.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Cause and effect? Or just correlation?
One of the things that stuck out to me in Food, Inc. was the statement that poverty is the greatest predictor of obesity. They really didn't go into the causes of that, but the film seemed to imply that it's due at least in part to the government's subsidies of corn and other crops. After I posted that in my notes on the movie, I had an interesting discussion with a friend about the potential causes of this correlation. Suffice it to say that there seem to be many forces at work.
In that same vein, today I read this article about pricey grocery stores and obesity. Basically, a survey was done of different grocery stores and their patrons' BMI. Whole Foods, one of the pricier stores, was found to only have 4% obese customers (BMI over 30). In contrast, Albertson's, the lower-cost chain, was found to have 40% obese customers. The article then gives the basic idea that people that shop at the pricier stores are more willing to buy more expensive, whole foods and are therefore thinner.
Because I am a masochist, I read many of the comments on the story. In the spirit of finger-pointing that is so prevalent in our society in this day and age, the commenters bounce back and forth between "It's their own fault they're fat!" and "The government/big business is making us fat!" without offering up any real insights or solutions. Not that I expected any treatises on maximizing health on a budget; I guess the average MSN reader isn't thinking about it on that large of a scale (no pun intended.)
As I said above, I think there are many forces at work here. Larger, cheaper chains like Albertson's do make shopping on a limited budget much easier. They have larger sales and lower prices in general. I can see that someone trying to feed a family on a small budget would do well to shop there. If poverty is a high indicator of obesity, then it stands to reason that a store with lower prices will see more people that are obese.
That said, people that are shopping at PCC or Whole Foods aren't necessarily willing to spend more money for the same exact product. What they're buying at PCC is usually organic and sometimes local. Plus, PCC has a larger selection of fruits and veggies than does Albertson's. So, the argument that it's just rich people spending more money on a bunch of conventionally-farmed celery doesn't hold water. Not entirely, anyway.
I do think processed food does have a lot to do with it. Processed foods are not necessarily cheaper than say some brown rice and broccoli, but it gives you the idea that you're getting a meal in a box and I can see how that would be appealing. Albertson's is rife with those products and all of the additives and fattening ingredients that go with them. On the other hand, PCC has less processed food, and that that it has tends to be better for you, with whole grains and less sugar. So, people buying there would be consuming fewer calories and fat grams, theoretically.
I also have to admit there's probably a status thing about shopping at PCC too. I honestly like being able to say that the potluck dish I bring is from there. It would make sense that people that seek out such status in their shopping would also want to have status in the way they look. Not that people that shop at Albertson's don't care about how they look, of course, but I've met a few people that shop at PCC and carry out their little reusable bag like it's a Coach purse. No one I know, of course. Just sayin'.
Anyway, it's interesting that they're looking at this. It seems like every day there are more and more such articles in the news. Obesity and the way we eat are always in the news, and I think that's a good thing.
In that same vein, today I read this article about pricey grocery stores and obesity. Basically, a survey was done of different grocery stores and their patrons' BMI. Whole Foods, one of the pricier stores, was found to only have 4% obese customers (BMI over 30). In contrast, Albertson's, the lower-cost chain, was found to have 40% obese customers. The article then gives the basic idea that people that shop at the pricier stores are more willing to buy more expensive, whole foods and are therefore thinner.
Because I am a masochist, I read many of the comments on the story. In the spirit of finger-pointing that is so prevalent in our society in this day and age, the commenters bounce back and forth between "It's their own fault they're fat!" and "The government/big business is making us fat!" without offering up any real insights or solutions. Not that I expected any treatises on maximizing health on a budget; I guess the average MSN reader isn't thinking about it on that large of a scale (no pun intended.)
As I said above, I think there are many forces at work here. Larger, cheaper chains like Albertson's do make shopping on a limited budget much easier. They have larger sales and lower prices in general. I can see that someone trying to feed a family on a small budget would do well to shop there. If poverty is a high indicator of obesity, then it stands to reason that a store with lower prices will see more people that are obese.
That said, people that are shopping at PCC or Whole Foods aren't necessarily willing to spend more money for the same exact product. What they're buying at PCC is usually organic and sometimes local. Plus, PCC has a larger selection of fruits and veggies than does Albertson's. So, the argument that it's just rich people spending more money on a bunch of conventionally-farmed celery doesn't hold water. Not entirely, anyway.
I do think processed food does have a lot to do with it. Processed foods are not necessarily cheaper than say some brown rice and broccoli, but it gives you the idea that you're getting a meal in a box and I can see how that would be appealing. Albertson's is rife with those products and all of the additives and fattening ingredients that go with them. On the other hand, PCC has less processed food, and that that it has tends to be better for you, with whole grains and less sugar. So, people buying there would be consuming fewer calories and fat grams, theoretically.
I also have to admit there's probably a status thing about shopping at PCC too. I honestly like being able to say that the potluck dish I bring is from there. It would make sense that people that seek out such status in their shopping would also want to have status in the way they look. Not that people that shop at Albertson's don't care about how they look, of course, but I've met a few people that shop at PCC and carry out their little reusable bag like it's a Coach purse. No one I know, of course. Just sayin'.
Anyway, it's interesting that they're looking at this. It seems like every day there are more and more such articles in the news. Obesity and the way we eat are always in the news, and I think that's a good thing.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Outraged on behalf of cows
After eating a large piece of beef tenderloin Sunday night, I sat down to read the next section of The Ominvore's Dilemma. Big mistake. The section was all about feedlots and their effect on cows, and I immediately began to rue eating the meat.
It's interesting to think about, but humans used to only eat meat on the most special of occasions. The Easter ham or occasional steak really was something special; now, most Americans eat some sort of meat with every meal. To keep up with that level of consumption, this huge industrial complex has grown up to get the cow from the ranch to your plate.
I was surprised to learn that baby cows are actually kept with their mothers and grass-fed until they're weaned, usually before they're a year old. I had pictured tiny babies ripped from their mothers and put on lots very young, but that's thankfully not the case. They do get one blissful time on the ranch.
Once they're weaned, however, the story changes. They're trucked to a massive feedlot where they are fed roughly 32 pounds of corn every day until they reach their slaughter weight. Rough life, right?
Actually, it is, for a couple of reasons. First, as I've mentioned before, cows are not designed to eat corn. They have highly-specialized stomachs that allow them to eat grass; they're ruminants. Corn is much, much cheaper, though (Thanks, government subsidies), so down the hatch it goes. Feeding cows corn can cause them a multitude of health problems in their digestive tract and related organs. Officially, 15-30% of cows have an abscessed liver at slaughter, though the number is probably closer to 70%. Now, I've never had an abscessed liver, thankfully, but it can't be comfortable. Poor cows.
Their diet also includes certain binding elements and fats to get them to the weight and slaughter-ability that's so desired. What's really gross is that companies are allowed to feed cows fats of other animals, including cows. The practice was largely restricted due to mad cow disease, but it still does happen. We've turned the poor babies into cannibals!
The other reason it's a poor life for cows is the conditions of the pens. They live on a river of manure, which causes all sorts of infections, for which they're fed all sorts of antibiotics. (Which leads to antibiotic-resistance in humans.) The river of manure dries and raises a nasty dust that can harm their eyes. Terrible living conditions for any creature; it's ironic that we then turn around and eat them. You'd think we'd want better for ourselves and, consequently, for them.
Then there are a whole host of other issues that arise, whether it's the runoff from these plants that's poisoning local water resources and crops or it's that feeding cows corn makes them more susceptible to E. coli. And let's not even talk about the conditions in the slaughterhouses and the laxness of the USDA inspections and regulations. It's a wonder that people don't get sick more often!
It's important to point out that you don't have to become a vegetarian to do something about this. Choosing beef that is grass-fed is a huge step in the right direction. Many markets are beginning to carry grass-fed beef in their cases and you can find it in certain butcher shops. You can search using the Eat Well Guide to find local resources.
As for me, I'm continuing to work our way through the freezer full of cow we got from Idaho. It is all grass-fed, so I feel better about that. I'm not sure what I'll do when we've gone through it all; I'm just not convinced we need to eat meat. Stay tuned, I guess.
It's interesting to think about, but humans used to only eat meat on the most special of occasions. The Easter ham or occasional steak really was something special; now, most Americans eat some sort of meat with every meal. To keep up with that level of consumption, this huge industrial complex has grown up to get the cow from the ranch to your plate.
I was surprised to learn that baby cows are actually kept with their mothers and grass-fed until they're weaned, usually before they're a year old. I had pictured tiny babies ripped from their mothers and put on lots very young, but that's thankfully not the case. They do get one blissful time on the ranch.
Once they're weaned, however, the story changes. They're trucked to a massive feedlot where they are fed roughly 32 pounds of corn every day until they reach their slaughter weight. Rough life, right?
Actually, it is, for a couple of reasons. First, as I've mentioned before, cows are not designed to eat corn. They have highly-specialized stomachs that allow them to eat grass; they're ruminants. Corn is much, much cheaper, though (Thanks, government subsidies), so down the hatch it goes. Feeding cows corn can cause them a multitude of health problems in their digestive tract and related organs. Officially, 15-30% of cows have an abscessed liver at slaughter, though the number is probably closer to 70%. Now, I've never had an abscessed liver, thankfully, but it can't be comfortable. Poor cows.
Their diet also includes certain binding elements and fats to get them to the weight and slaughter-ability that's so desired. What's really gross is that companies are allowed to feed cows fats of other animals, including cows. The practice was largely restricted due to mad cow disease, but it still does happen. We've turned the poor babies into cannibals!
The other reason it's a poor life for cows is the conditions of the pens. They live on a river of manure, which causes all sorts of infections, for which they're fed all sorts of antibiotics. (Which leads to antibiotic-resistance in humans.) The river of manure dries and raises a nasty dust that can harm their eyes. Terrible living conditions for any creature; it's ironic that we then turn around and eat them. You'd think we'd want better for ourselves and, consequently, for them.
Then there are a whole host of other issues that arise, whether it's the runoff from these plants that's poisoning local water resources and crops or it's that feeding cows corn makes them more susceptible to E. coli. And let's not even talk about the conditions in the slaughterhouses and the laxness of the USDA inspections and regulations. It's a wonder that people don't get sick more often!
It's important to point out that you don't have to become a vegetarian to do something about this. Choosing beef that is grass-fed is a huge step in the right direction. Many markets are beginning to carry grass-fed beef in their cases and you can find it in certain butcher shops. You can search using the Eat Well Guide to find local resources.
As for me, I'm continuing to work our way through the freezer full of cow we got from Idaho. It is all grass-fed, so I feel better about that. I'm not sure what I'll do when we've gone through it all; I'm just not convinced we need to eat meat. Stay tuned, I guess.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
A Timely Topic
Unless you've been living under a rock for the last three weeks, you've seen the news about the oil rig explosion and leak in the Gulf of Mexico. 200,000 gallons of oil going into the ocean on a daily basis. That's 139 gallons a minute. I'm absolutely heartsick over this, and it's given me new reasons to work on eating better.
Originally, my reasoning for doing this was all about our health and welfare. Eating organically keeps pesticides out of our bodies and eating whole foods and more fruits and vegetables is just better for us. What I've found along the way is that eating this way has even bigger implications.
Nothing has brought this home more than the environmental disaster. The way Americans eat, our Standard American Diet, is hugely reliant on fossil fuels. Petroleum is needed to till the land, plant the seeds, harvest the crops, and transport it to sale. Then you have the fuels that go into processing and even more to transport to the store. Same for meats. The cows are born and raised to a certain age in one place and then transported to another to be slaughtered. The feed that helps raise them to full weight (corn) has to be brought to them. More fuels. The way we eat is making us more reliant on fossil fuels by the day!
Now, I get that unless you've growing veggies in your back yard, you're always going to be using fossil fuels. Eating organically and locally, though, helps to mitigate that. Ditto for eating seasonally. I've been doing better about the first two, but I need to learn more about seasonal eating.
Hopefully as this goes on, the media will help people think about all the things this oil is being used for in our everyday lives. I hate it that an environmental disaster is what it may take for people to wake up to this, but hopefully some good will come of it!
That said, I've been a little off the wagon this week. Between coming off the half, being sick, and J being out of town, I haven't done much cooking. Not much = once this week. I'm discovering that while all the changes I'm making are relatively small, I have to be really conscious about it and keep the focus on my eating. Next week, hopefully I'll be more able to do that.
Originally, my reasoning for doing this was all about our health and welfare. Eating organically keeps pesticides out of our bodies and eating whole foods and more fruits and vegetables is just better for us. What I've found along the way is that eating this way has even bigger implications.
Nothing has brought this home more than the environmental disaster. The way Americans eat, our Standard American Diet, is hugely reliant on fossil fuels. Petroleum is needed to till the land, plant the seeds, harvest the crops, and transport it to sale. Then you have the fuels that go into processing and even more to transport to the store. Same for meats. The cows are born and raised to a certain age in one place and then transported to another to be slaughtered. The feed that helps raise them to full weight (corn) has to be brought to them. More fuels. The way we eat is making us more reliant on fossil fuels by the day!
Now, I get that unless you've growing veggies in your back yard, you're always going to be using fossil fuels. Eating organically and locally, though, helps to mitigate that. Ditto for eating seasonally. I've been doing better about the first two, but I need to learn more about seasonal eating.
Hopefully as this goes on, the media will help people think about all the things this oil is being used for in our everyday lives. I hate it that an environmental disaster is what it may take for people to wake up to this, but hopefully some good will come of it!
That said, I've been a little off the wagon this week. Between coming off the half, being sick, and J being out of town, I haven't done much cooking. Not much = once this week. I'm discovering that while all the changes I'm making are relatively small, I have to be really conscious about it and keep the focus on my eating. Next week, hopefully I'll be more able to do that.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Remember When Eating Was Easy?
Okay, so maybe it never was truly easy, but ignorance is bliss, perhaps? The more I learn about what we eat as a nation and the multitude of effects that diet has, the more confused and concerned I am. As my friend Marci said, "Sometimes it's exhausting to give a crap..."
Today's dose of irritation comes courtesy of the New York Times.
The first article I read was about the new growth of Round-up resistant weeds in our farmland. Basically, farmers have been using these "Round-up ready" seeds for years, ones that will allow you to spray a field with Round-up to get rid of weeds without affecting the crops. Farmers will do anything for a big yield, and this seemed just a gift from heaven. (Or Monsanto. Whatever.) Of course, Nature is smarter than we and has now begun growing these behemoth weeds that Round-up can't kill. Farmers are having to use even meaner, scarier weedkillers and old-school techniques of plowing and (gasp!) pulling weeds by hand. We've genetically engineered ourselves into a bit of a corner, haven't we?
I'm being flip, but it is sad that in our quest to produce more more quickly, we've messed with nature and it's fighting back. The even more ridiculous part is that we really don't need all the corn and soybeans being produced, so as I mentioned yesterday, we're doing all these unnatural things with the products. Hence the next article:
My second read is called,"For Corn Syrup, Sweet Talk Gets Harder". The gist of it is that corn syrup has gotten a bad rap in the media as of late and the corn industry is seeking to deal with that. For example, they're creating a new version of Hunt's ketchup that uses actual sugar, with a prominent banner on the bottle, I'm sure.
My irritation with this article was twofold. First, the article was one where I couldn't quite put my finger on what side the author was on, but I'm thinking they come down as not anti-HFCS, if that makes sense. There was an attempt to appear balanced, though it largely failed. They kept citing studies and quotes that say that HFCS is no worse than sugar. They also had more quotes of folks from the corn industry saying, "It's not us!!11! The consumers are just begging for it!!1!" (That's a direct quote, clearly.) Also, it's interesting that the header on the browser says "For High Fructose Corn Syrup..."
My second irritation is the underlying message. We are all so hung up on whether HFCS is bad or sugar is good that we're missing the big point: no sweetener is good for you in large quantities! Sweeteners have no business being in 90% of the foods they're in, much less in the quantities we're receiving. Instead of panicking over whether they should be eating Stevia or pure cane sugar or HFCS, people really need to just slow down, look at labels and really think about what they're putting into their bodies. If there's too much of something that's questionable, don't buy it! There are always alternatives. In fact, buying things that don't need labels (e.g., fruits and veggies) is always the best route.
Rant over. I'm going to go clutch my copy of Food Rules now and do some slow breathing exercises.
Today's dose of irritation comes courtesy of the New York Times.
The first article I read was about the new growth of Round-up resistant weeds in our farmland. Basically, farmers have been using these "Round-up ready" seeds for years, ones that will allow you to spray a field with Round-up to get rid of weeds without affecting the crops. Farmers will do anything for a big yield, and this seemed just a gift from heaven. (Or Monsanto. Whatever.) Of course, Nature is smarter than we and has now begun growing these behemoth weeds that Round-up can't kill. Farmers are having to use even meaner, scarier weedkillers and old-school techniques of plowing and (gasp!) pulling weeds by hand. We've genetically engineered ourselves into a bit of a corner, haven't we?
I'm being flip, but it is sad that in our quest to produce more more quickly, we've messed with nature and it's fighting back. The even more ridiculous part is that we really don't need all the corn and soybeans being produced, so as I mentioned yesterday, we're doing all these unnatural things with the products. Hence the next article:
My second read is called,"For Corn Syrup, Sweet Talk Gets Harder". The gist of it is that corn syrup has gotten a bad rap in the media as of late and the corn industry is seeking to deal with that. For example, they're creating a new version of Hunt's ketchup that uses actual sugar, with a prominent banner on the bottle, I'm sure.
My irritation with this article was twofold. First, the article was one where I couldn't quite put my finger on what side the author was on, but I'm thinking they come down as not anti-HFCS, if that makes sense. There was an attempt to appear balanced, though it largely failed. They kept citing studies and quotes that say that HFCS is no worse than sugar. They also had more quotes of folks from the corn industry saying, "It's not us!!11! The consumers are just begging for it!!1!" (That's a direct quote, clearly.) Also, it's interesting that the header on the browser says "For High Fructose Corn Syrup..."
My second irritation is the underlying message. We are all so hung up on whether HFCS is bad or sugar is good that we're missing the big point: no sweetener is good for you in large quantities! Sweeteners have no business being in 90% of the foods they're in, much less in the quantities we're receiving. Instead of panicking over whether they should be eating Stevia or pure cane sugar or HFCS, people really need to just slow down, look at labels and really think about what they're putting into their bodies. If there's too much of something that's questionable, don't buy it! There are always alternatives. In fact, buying things that don't need labels (e.g., fruits and veggies) is always the best route.
Rant over. I'm going to go clutch my copy of Food Rules now and do some slow breathing exercises.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thinking About Corn
Thinking entirely too much about corn, actually.
I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and am really enjoying it. It's a dense read and takes all of the reading strategies I have to get through, but it's a topic I knew nothing about before and I'm learning tons. Ha. Literally.
The first section I'm reading about is all about corn and agribusiness. Up to now, my knowledge of corn has been limited to having seen it on the way to my grandmother's house in Kentucky as a kid and knowing a couple ways of serving corn at meals. Through the learning I've done in the last month, I've begun to understand a little more just how ubiquitous corn is in our diets, whether it's in its whole form, in HFCS, or in the meat we eat. Not to mention all the myriad corn products in our food, like maltose and xantham gum. Not that I really get what those are still, but I do know they're corn-based.
What I've learned in the first section of this book, though, is just how much the U.S. government has helped create all the cheap corn and cheap corn products that are flooding our market. I'd heard of farm subsidies growing up, and understood that they helped farmers with the expensive business of farming. What I didn't know what just how much some products, namely corn and soybeans, are subsidized.
It turns out that the government pays corn farmers the difference between the price they can get for their corn at the grain elevators and what the national minimum price is. For example, if the grain elevator is only paying $1.10 per bushel and the national price is $1.84, the farmer will get a check for $0.74 per bushel they sell. Now, multiply that times, well, a lot and you can see how this adds up. What happens, then, is that farmers set aside more and more acreage for corn and try to get higher and higher yields so they can make money. So, while these deficit payments were originally supposed to help farmers and the supply at the same time, it's ended up hurting both. The farmers are going deeper into debt to raise their yields and keep up production and the supply is flooded, meaning we have way too much corn in the world and we have to find ways of using it up.
What this means is that the scientists are always trying to figure out ways of making corn into new things. Hence, HFCS and all the other corn derivatives are being produced and shoved into just about every product imaginable. Ethanol is being produced and being put into our gas for our cars. (Does this mean we're paying for it twice, with the original subsidy and again with the tax we pay at the pump?) Also, cows and other animals (think: salmon) are being taught to eat corn which isn't a natural process for them. So, your dinner could be made up of corn-fed meat, side dishes made with different corn derivatives, and brought to your table by trucks fueled by ethanol! No wonder they've called us Americans "corn chips with legs"!
Dinner tonight was Indian food. Jeremy is out of town and I'm getting over a bug, so cooking seemed like far too much effort. Back on the wagon tomorrow.
I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan and am really enjoying it. It's a dense read and takes all of the reading strategies I have to get through, but it's a topic I knew nothing about before and I'm learning tons. Ha. Literally.
The first section I'm reading about is all about corn and agribusiness. Up to now, my knowledge of corn has been limited to having seen it on the way to my grandmother's house in Kentucky as a kid and knowing a couple ways of serving corn at meals. Through the learning I've done in the last month, I've begun to understand a little more just how ubiquitous corn is in our diets, whether it's in its whole form, in HFCS, or in the meat we eat. Not to mention all the myriad corn products in our food, like maltose and xantham gum. Not that I really get what those are still, but I do know they're corn-based.
What I've learned in the first section of this book, though, is just how much the U.S. government has helped create all the cheap corn and cheap corn products that are flooding our market. I'd heard of farm subsidies growing up, and understood that they helped farmers with the expensive business of farming. What I didn't know what just how much some products, namely corn and soybeans, are subsidized.
It turns out that the government pays corn farmers the difference between the price they can get for their corn at the grain elevators and what the national minimum price is. For example, if the grain elevator is only paying $1.10 per bushel and the national price is $1.84, the farmer will get a check for $0.74 per bushel they sell. Now, multiply that times, well, a lot and you can see how this adds up. What happens, then, is that farmers set aside more and more acreage for corn and try to get higher and higher yields so they can make money. So, while these deficit payments were originally supposed to help farmers and the supply at the same time, it's ended up hurting both. The farmers are going deeper into debt to raise their yields and keep up production and the supply is flooded, meaning we have way too much corn in the world and we have to find ways of using it up.
What this means is that the scientists are always trying to figure out ways of making corn into new things. Hence, HFCS and all the other corn derivatives are being produced and shoved into just about every product imaginable. Ethanol is being produced and being put into our gas for our cars. (Does this mean we're paying for it twice, with the original subsidy and again with the tax we pay at the pump?) Also, cows and other animals (think: salmon) are being taught to eat corn which isn't a natural process for them. So, your dinner could be made up of corn-fed meat, side dishes made with different corn derivatives, and brought to your table by trucks fueled by ethanol! No wonder they've called us Americans "corn chips with legs"!
Dinner tonight was Indian food. Jeremy is out of town and I'm getting over a bug, so cooking seemed like far too much effort. Back on the wagon tomorrow.
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