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.

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...

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!

Checking In

I've been a little MIA the last week due to being just swamped at work with a big project. It's all done and submitted now, so I can get back on the blogging wagon. Not that I have a million followers of the blog, but I know a few of you are reading. Thanks!

I realized that though I've still been following the principles of The Great American Detox Diet, I haven't caught up on my reading! I'm in week 6, which is all about protein: how Americans eat too much of it, how dangerous some of the common sources can be, and what alternatives there are.

It seems like in society we're inundated with messages about getting enough protein. Just think about those milk ads and the whole idea of building strong bones and muscles. It is true that our bodies need calcium and protein for a strong body, but we Americans consume way too much of it! It's recommended that men eat between 30 and 60 grams of protein a day, while women should eat between 25 and 50. Most Americans eat between 100 and 120 grams a day, so well over twice as much as the recommended amount! Eating too much protein can have serious health effects, including certain cancers, asthma, and migraines.

Another issue is that our most common sources of proteins (animal products) aren't always the most safe. Many fish have high mercury content, which can be very dangerous if it builds up in your system. Cows can carry E. Coli, and chickens can carry salmonella. Many cows are treated with rBGH, a growth hormone to bring the cows to adult weight quickly. This hormone ends up in the milk and meat, and though long-term studies of this effects of this have not been concluded, it's certainly not smart to be adding unnatural hormones to our body.

In addition to the issue of protein, having too much calcium is bad. As I said, having calcium is necessary for strong bones and teeth, but too much in your system can actually leach calcium from your bones! How weird and counter-productive is that?

What it all boils down to is that people need to work on getting protein from non-animal sources. There are many yummy, healthy foods that are great sources of protein and calcium. Here is a great list of these sources.

Of course, now that I'm back, I will be off for a couple of days as I head to Spokane to run in the Windermere Half Marathon. I'll try to check in tomorrow, but I'll be back for sure Sunday night!

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.

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.

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.

Food, Inc. Part I

I watched Food, Inc. last night. It was shown on PBS and you can still access it on their website here. I found it just incredible to watch and learned so much more about our food and food supply here in the U.S. So much of it was astounding to me and I feel pretty well informed already. So many Americans just have no idea what they're putting into their mouths and the mouths of their children!

Some notes I took and a little commentary:

The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. - This wasn't a surprising fact per se, but hearing it really brought home the seriousness of the Standard American Diet. Why are we messing with what's worked for 10,000 years? Convenience? Taste?

The top 4 beef producers control 80% of the market. - Well, we know where our meat is coming from. Not that that's a good thing.

Many of the chickens “raised” never see sunlight. - This fact, along with the shots of the poor chickens in the poultry house made me sad. My heart just aches for mistreated animals and I wonder what it says about our humanity that we can do this to other creatures.

The chicken has doubled in size in the last 50 years, due to production needs. They go to full size now in 7 weeks. They grow so fast, their internal organs and bones can’t keep up and they can barely walk. - See above.

We eat 200 lbs. of meat per person, per year. - Now that's just gross.

Corn is being fed to cows to fatten them because it’s cheap and abundant, but cows are really grass-eaters. Mutant, more dangerous E. coli is formed by their eating this diet. Normally, grass would keep the E. coli out of their system for the most part. The runoff from our farms is contaminating other products, like spinach. - Now this fact made me nervous. I can make better choices, such as organics or buying from certain companies, but the lax USDA standards and inspections really are scary. I may think I'm making the best decision, but it could have terrible consequences.

The food regulatory agencies have often been led by the former heads of the largest food companies and lobbyists. - Being a history major, this surprises me not at all, but it makes me really sad. Really, really sad. Plus, it makes me wonder about other industries as well.

Kevin’s Law, which would give the USDA the ability to shut down plants with numerous failures of microbial tests, has not been passed in the 6 years it’s been in circulation. The lobbyists keep making sure it’s defeated. The bill is named after Kevin, a 2 ½ year old boy that died of hemorrhagic E. Coli. - See above. Kevin's story just broke my heart, especially since my daughter is not much older than he was when he died. It blows my mind that our government cannot regulate its own industries. Is the tail wagging the dog here or what?

I took so many notes that I'm going to have to finish up for today and give you the rest tomorrow. It was definitely worth my time to watch and I hope you will as well!

I picked up some more books at the library today, so be prepared for much more information! Man, my reading list has grown!

From Drop Box

The other day, I posted a not-so-great photo of the whole oat groats I had for breakfast. Though this is steel-cut oats, I fixed it the same way, with a little flaxseed oil, a tiny bit of milk, chopped almonds and walnuts and golden and regular raisins. This is Lauren's portion, not mine. Clearly, I hope.

From Drop Box

This was tonight's dinner: Walnut and Lentil Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find the recipe, but it has spinach, lentils, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and various oils and spices. Very filling and very good!

From Drop Box

Meat

Makes you want to read it or at least look for pictures, right?

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

I picked up this little "Delicious Living" magazine from a holder outside the local vitamin shop. This month was all about eco-living and eco-eating, so it was perfect for right now. Like Mark Bittman said in Food Matters, "Your personal food policy is more potent that anything else you can do in the realm of climate change, animal welfare, the environment in general, and certainly your own health." That being said, I thought I would share their eco-eating tips:

1. Eat less beef, more plant-based foods.
2. Eat whole foods; limit processed products.
3. Eat locally and seasonally; avoid air-freighted food.
4. For fish, go lower on the food chain (e.g.; mussels and scallops instead of tuna and bass).
5. Eat small-scale local organic.
6. Reduce waste (e.g., compost and buy only what you need).

Nothing we really didn't know, but I think it's a good reminder on this Earth Day. It's a lot like the Food Rules, which I've found helpful for guiding my eating. I don't need a ton of rules, but it helps to have clarity. I really recommend Food Rules for everyone.

Another great read that I'm just getting into is Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating by Mark Bittman. He had me in the Preface with the quote above, and the first chapter has been great. His general premise has to do with lessening our meat consumption, given the environmental and health impacts of eating too much meat. Some interesting facts:

-Global meat consumption is expected to double within the next 40 years.

-The people in many developed countries, including the U.S., consume 1/2 pound of meat per day. (Ick.)

-We raise 60 billion animals per years for food - 10 animals per person.

-40 calories of fossil fuel are required to produce 1 calorie of beef protein.

For me, the signs are continuing to point towards vegetarianism. Beyond the obvious ethical issues I have with the way animals are raised and killed in this country, I just can't in good conscious contribute even more to the environmental damage that's happening every day in our world (she says with her SUV in the driveway. Ignore that hypocrisy, please!) Never mind the health problems that have come about because of massive meat consumption in this country. Frankly, meat hasn't been tasting that good lately whenever I've had it. I don't think it will be hard to give up. I just have to figure out a way to do that with Jeremy being the meat-lover he is.

I have Food, Inc. on my DVR and I'm planning to watch it this weekend. Be prepared for a rant to ensue!

Canaries in the Coal Mine

Ever since seeing it advertised in a magazine, I've been dying to read "Organic Manifesto" by Maria Rodale. The Rodale family has really led the way in researching and promoting organic farming to the general public and this most recent book really dives into the full picture of the effects organic farming can have. There's a great review of the book on a great blog, Civil Eats.

It's interesting to me that there's sort of a micro look at organics and a macro. First, the micro: this entails everything that organics do for us personally. I'll have to read the book to learn more about any studies that have been done, but there have been clear changes to animals because of their proximity to water runoff and other chemical exposure from non-organic farms. The article calls them our "canaries in the coal mine." If high exposure to these chemicals has caused certain frogs to change genders, what is it doing to us? Granted, our exposure levels are not nearly as high given that we're not squatting in the dirt next to the plants themselves, but prolonged exposure to even low levels cannot be a good thing. I'm wishing now that I had had all three of us tested for pesticide levels just to see the change over time. I like being a science experiment, apparently.

One quote that really stood out to me personally is “What is wrong with us? Why do we seem to care so little about our own safety, our own health, and the future of our children?... Why are we willing to pay thousands of dollars for in vitro fertility treatments when we can’t conceive, but not a few extra dollars for the organic food that might help to preserve the reproductive health of our own and future generations?” It's no secret that having Lauren was a struggle for us and now I'm wondering what decisions I've made about what I eat may have affected that. Of course, there's nothing to do about it now and it's not worth feeling bad about it, but I do wonder. So many women I know are suffering from some sort of infertility; could it be because of our pesticide-ridden foods? I'll be interested to learn more.

There's also the macro level to organic farming: the effects it can have on the environment and the economy. Environmentally, the soils are more stable and can produce more over time. It's not adding dangerous chemicals into our water supplies. It uses fewer fossil fuels than non-organic farming. Overall, it's so much better for our planet. In terms of the economy, supporting small farms and CSAs can help the businesses in our area, which benefits everyone. Sure, organic produce is more expensive, but isn't it worth the expense, knowing these things?

I'm definitely convinced that organic is the way to go, and I haven't even read the book! Just wait until I get my hands on a copy and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to. Until then, I'll find little blurbs to slake my thirst for this information.

Finally, a report from the penitent guinea pig. I got up extra early this morning and went to the gym, trying to rid myself of the things I ate and to perhaps perform a little self-flagellation for bad eating. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a bit, but I am really wanting to get back on the wagon. I just felt so good for the three weeks I ate well and my running performance was great. And then I go and eat things I know aren't good for me and my running performance suffered. Heck, I can't even call it "performance" as I didn't run at all this weekend and yesterday. I just felt too sluggish to do it; all I wanted to do was sit and eat. I think I really understand how people get trapped in our Standard American Diet: it tricks you into doing nothing else! That's why I'm back in the saddle.

One final confession. I weigh myself fairly often, even though I know the experts say not to. It's not that I'm obsessing over what I weigh, but I like to know how what I'm eating or drinking or how much exercise I'm getting affects my body. Anyway, I weighed myself pre-crappy food on Friday and then again this morning and found a 6 pound difference. SIX POUNDS!! Now, I know a great deal of this is water retention due to salt intake, but still. That's only after a weekend of eating badly. No wonder our society is dealing with weight issues. Ick. I'll have to let you know how quickly it comes off now that I'm back on the healthy eating. Canary in the coal mine, indeed.

Not that this is about food per se, but I found an interesting article in the NY Times about exercise and weight loss. Basically, exercise alone does not lead to weight loss, but it can help you maintain a healthy body weight. Lots of interesting information about fat rats "lolling around" in cages.

The article that led me to that one is "Cows on Drugs", also from the NY Times. It's from the former commissioner of the USDA, Donald Kennedy, and is about the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics in cows. That isn't just a burger you're eating. Hello antibiotic resistance!