An Omnivore's Decision

Investing in our food future (Part One)

2012-02-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

Now that I finally have a “real job”, and my husband and I are expecting our first child, I have begun to think more about long-term investing and retirement income. Money is a tricky thing though. I know I will need to grow my savings now if I ever want to retire or have a safety net for later in life. But how can I grow my savings in a way that aligns with my morals?

Retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401Ks, allow you to invest money for the long-term with certain tax benefits. Contributions to these accounts can even been matched by your employer. As the owner of a retirement account, you can choose from a number of investment vehicles like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. For those of us with limited time to research companies and track the stock market, mutual funds seem like an easy choice. An investment firm tracks, buys, and sells interests in many different companies while you simply invest in the single mutual fund. The downside of a mutual fund, from my perspective, is that it’s less transparent than purchasing individual stocks.

As a graduate student, the university opened a retirement account for me and invested my money in a mutual fund. I have no idea what companies that fund includes. I’m sure I could do some research and find out, but that somewhat diminishes the convenience of having a mutual fund to begin with. And what if there is one company, out of all of the companies they have invested in, that I would not want to support? Do I go through the holdings of every mutual fund available to find one without any offending holdings? What if the holdings change with time?

What I really want is a mutual fund that I know reflects my values so I don’t have to spend a lot of extra time checking up on the fund. Apparently, there are a lot of people seeking the same thing because socially responsible investments (SRI) are becoming more prevalent these days. These are funds that make investment choices based on a set of principles adopted by the fund. Some funds focus on fair business practices. Others will simply reject sectors they consider bad for society such as alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.

Unfortunately, I have yet to find a food sustainability mutual fund, which would exclude companies that genetically modify foods, develop chemical fertilizers and pesticides, or manufacture sugary drinks and snacks. However, there are some SRIs that come close and many more that consider other factors such as worker compensation and environmental sustainability. So there may be a convenient mutual fund that at least gets me closer to a clear conscience. There are also ways of investing in sustainable food systems directly (more on this in Part Two), but there are additional constraints on using these investment vehicles for retirement savings.

Mutually beneficial funds.

The website, Social Funds, maintains a database of socially responsible mutual funds, which you can search based on different social issues (go to the Mutual Funds tab, select Mutual Fund Center from the drop-down menu; then select Social Issues from the SRI Fund Charts drop-down menu). There isn’t an option for sustainable agriculture, but there are options for environment, animal rights, community investment, and human rights. There’s no way I could do an in-depth analysis of every fund on this list, so I picked out a handful to see what’s available.

I found Parnassus Funds, Portfolio 21, and Calvert a bit too vague about their qualifications for investment, but they do consider more than just financial gains. Sentinel Investments and Domini Social Investments did provide detailed information on how they assess companies, but neither made specific statements about agriculture. Looking through their holdings, I didn’t find any GM seed companies or pesticide manufacturers. However, the funds do invest in companies that produce unhealthy foods and beverages like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Kraft Foods. Coca-Cola, in particular, has also come under fire for their water usage practices.

Green Century Funds were the only ones I found that made specific statements about the food and farming sectors. According to their website, the fund looks for companies involved in organic and natural foods, water solutions, alternative energy, sustainable development, and the like. They avoid companies involved in factory farming, genetically-modified organisms, and agricultural pesticides. However, McDonald’s and PepsiCo are both in the top 10 holdings of Green Century’s Equity Fund. Technically, these companies do not engage in bad agricultural practices, but they do benefit from the low cost of factory-farmed beef and chicken, corn-based sweeteners, and other products of industrial agriculture. The Green Century Balanced Fund, on the other hand, does not have any food or beverage companies in its top 10.

Based solely on my concerns about ethical food, I would probably opt for a Green Century Fund because they make the most specific statements about food and farming. However, none of the funds I looked into were without faults. And none of them made me feel like my money would be building a more sustainable food future.

The plethora of socially-responsible mutual funds makes me hopeful that I will be able to invest with my morals in mind. It may take some more investigation to find exactly what I want, or I may simply have to become a vocal investor. Depending on your priorities, you may be able to find a fund that allows you to invest in the future you envision. And it just might help you make some money too.

In Part Two, I will discuss additional investment options in the sustainable farming sector that may not be right for retirement savings.

Food fixer-uppers.

2012-01-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

Over the past few weeks, I’ve packed up my family and moved 2600 miles to Maryland. Although things have gone fairly smoothly, eating well is always an issue when I’m on the go. Between packing, moving, and unpacking, I’ve had to get creative in order to put together nutritious and at least marginally ethical meals. I hope these food fixes will come in handy anytime you lack access to a complete kitchen!

My first fixer-upper was canned soup I found at Trader Joe’s. To give it a nutritional boost, I added chopped kale and sardines. Sardines are very mild; we hardly noticed they were there! Sardines are a great source of protein and omega-3 fats and are not a mercury concern for pregnant ladies like me. The kale was conventionally grown, but that’s the only kind TJs carries. The soup took less than 10 minutes to cook and made a hearty lunch for two people.

Black bean soup with a boost

Cooking implements required:
- Can opener
- Medium pot, preferably non-stick
- Spoon

Ingredients:
- 2 cans of Trader Joe’s organic black bean soup (vegan)
- 1 can of Trader Joe’s skinless and boneless sardines in olive oil
- ½ bag of Trader Joe’s chopped kale

Directions:
1. Drip oil from the sardines into the pot and warm over medium-high heat.
2. Add the kale and saute for several minutes.
2. Add black bean soup and mix well.
3. Break up the sardines with a fork and stir into the soup.
4. Heat through and enjoy!

Frozen, fixed-up

When we actually got to Maryland, eating got even harder because all our stuff was with the movers! Our first night, it was off to Safeway to see what we could find. Lucky for us, a microwave was all we needed to have a fairly healthy dinner. We each picked out an Amy’s Organic frozen entrée, which come in many meat, dairy, and gluten free varieties. We also picked up a frozen steamer bag of (conventional) Brussels spouts. We didn’t even have to cut the bag; it cooked up perfectly in the microwave. Fresh, homemade food is better than processed frozen dinners, but this meal was a much better choice for us than picking up a pizza or other fast food.

Nuked nutrients

Later, we found a Whole Foods only a short drive from our new place. I’d never shopped at Whole Foods before although I’d heard many good things. In fact, Whole Foods is the only grocery store that has committed to working with the Campaign for Fair Food that I discussed in my post on farm worker treatment. As an ethical eater, I was most impressed by the amount of information that Whole Foods provides. In the produce section, each product is marked with its state of origin (or country if it’s imported) and whether it was grown organically or conventionally. Local produce even has the name of the farm and the miles the food traveled. Local and organic produce was scarce, which may simply be due to the cold temperatures. I would always prefer to purchase seasonal, organic produce from a local farm via a farmers market or CSA, but it’s nice to have a good back-up, available 7 days a week! The more I learn about nutrition, the more clear it becomes that eating lots vegetables is the key to good health. Sustainability is important, but I wouldn’t sacrifice the nutrition I get from veggies if seasonal, organic produce is unavailable.

We were able to get a good variety of organic fresh produce at Whole Foods. But again, with few cooking implements available to us, we had to get creative. Luckily, many fresh veggies can be steamed or baked in the microwave. Adding steamed veggies is a great way to add vitamins to any meal.

Microwaving broccoli requires a knife, unless you can find a bag of chopped broccoli (Whole Foods and TJs offer organic versions). You will also need a small casserole dish with a lid or, in a pinch, a small bowl and a plate large enough to cover it.

Instructions:
1. Chop broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
2. Place broccoli into microwave-safe casserole dish or bowl. Add about a teaspoon of water. Cover with lid or plate.
3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes for a regular-sized bowl.

Microwaving sweet potatoes is even easier. All you need is a fork!

Instructions:
1. Pierce two potatoes several times each with a fork.
2. Cover with a paper towel (not strictly necessary).
3. Microwave for 5-6 minutes for medium-sized potatoes (about 6 inches long). You may have to experiment a bit with your microwave to get it just right. They are done when you can easily slide the fork in and out of the potato.

Single-skillet tacos.

Over the weekend, some awesome friends lent us a few kitchen essentials so we were finally able to cook a real meal. They also gave us grass-fed ground beef from a nearby farm (seriously awesome friends!). We had only one skillet, one knife, and a mixing bowl, but we were able to put together skillet tacos from some more ingredients we bought at Whole Foods. We were able to find organic refried black beans without any added vegetable oil, and we opted for pre-cut (conventional) veggies. We also added organic curly (also called dino) kale for extra nutrients.

Cooking implements required:
- Can opener
- Skillet
- Spatula or spoon
- Knife (if using avocado)

Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs grass-fed, pasture-raised, happy cow ground beef
- Organic black beans (refried or whole)
- 2-3 cups sliced veggies (such as bell pepper, onions, squash, or zucchini)
- ½ bunch of curly kale
- Organic corn taco shells or corn chips (optional)
- Amy’s organic salsa
- Taco seasoning mix

Instructions:
1. Rinse kale. I especially like using curly kale because you don’t even need a knife to work with it. Pull the leaves off the stems, and rip any large leaves into smaller pieces.
2. In large skillet over medium-high heat, break up ground beef and begin to sauté. When the meat has cooked to pinkish, add the taco seasoning mix and stir well.
3. Add kale and sliced veggies. If you have a smaller skillet, add the veggies slowly allowing them to cook down to preserve space before adding more.
4. When the meat is fully cooked (no pink) and the veggies are crisp-tender, remove from heat.
5. Microwave the beans, if you prefer them hot. The easiest way to do this is to spoon the beans into the bowls you will be eating from and nuke those.
6. Break up the taco shells or chips over the beans (if desired). Add the meat and veggie mixture. Top with salsa and avocado, to taste.

These tacos were a big hit. We had more meat and kale than we actually needed for 4 dinner servings, so we added the mixture to take-out veggie bowls from Chipotle. We also added the leftover kale to various meals throughout the week. It’s pretty tasty raw and goes well in scrambled eggs or with lentils. Just one cup of chopped kale has over 200% of your RDA of Vitamin A, 134% of your Vitamin C, 684% of you Vitamin K, and is high in folate, B-vitamins, manganese, copper, potassium, and calcium. It also has 2g of protein and 1g of fiber. (Read more about this awesome vegetable here.)

Moving, traveling, a busted pipe, or a broken stove… Many things can take you out of your normal cooking routine. Even so, there are easy ways of preparing healthy nutritious food. I hope this post helps you navigate these tricky situations in the future. Get creative, and get cooking!

People for the Ethical Treatment of People.

2011-12-31T18:01:00.000-08:00

The semester has come to a close, which means (1) I am now Dr. Ethical Eats and (2) my Tuesdays no longer include amazing lectures from prominent scientists, authors, and activists. Edible Education 101 provided a great overview of food system issues, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it (you can view some of the lectures here). Although I’d seen much of the material before, there were some issues that were new to me.

In comparison to the environmental, ethical, and health effects of our food system, the welfare of farm workers had seemed, to me, a background issue. Partly, it was because there is so much overlap in the problems of environmental impact, sustainability, and animal welfare – the food system becomes a vast and compelling problem almost regardless of which issue you care about. In addition, there are straightforward ways of being part of the solution – change where you eat and what you buy. Alternative farming systems can solve all of these problems at once, and they are gaining momentum. I also naively thought that, while conditions for farm workers might not be as good as they could be, they were perhaps good enough for now while we work to improve other aspects of the food system. As demand for more ethical food increases and becomes more economically viable, advancing farm worker rights would be a natural next step.

Perhaps that is true. However, when Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation) and several members of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) came to speak at Edible Education 101, I learned that farm workers are far worse off than I ever imagined and that there is no such thing as ethical food if it comes out of a system that exploits people at every turn.

Tortured tomatoes.

The town of Immokalee, Florida basically exists for one reason: to grow tomatoes. It’s not an ideal spot for growing tomatoes, and yet, almost every big chain grocery store or fast food restaurant gets their tomatoes from Immokalee. As I learned from Eric and the CIW representatives, farm workers in America are not protected by the same labor laws that apply to other employed people. Many farm workers, such as the tomato pickers in Immokalee, are not paid the minimum hourly wage as set by the federal government. Instead, they are paid corresponding to how much they pick. Technically, the price paid is supposed to be high enough that a farm worker could make at least minimum wage.

According to the CIW website, Immokalee tomato pickers make only 50 cents for every 32 pounds of tomatoes they pick. Thus, to make the minimum wage, an Immokalee worker would have to pick 2.25 tons of tomatoes in a typical 10-hour workday. That’s 4500 pounds of tomatoes in 10 hours of back-breaking outdoor labor, just to make minimum wage. It’s safe to assume, therefore, that Immokalee’s workers are not making minimum wage. In fact, the average annual salary of a tomato-picker in Immokalee is less than $9000 (Bittman, 2011).

Farm workers rarely receive benefits such as sick days or health insurance. Children as young as 12 years old can hold agricultural jobs with many fewer protections than in other industries. Also, the tomato pickers in Immokalee are not regular employees with contracts; they show up each day with no idea as to whether there will be work for them to do or the hours they are likely to be needed.

Even the protections our government does provide are often ignored, and farm owners have found many ways to exploit their workers even after they’ve left the field. In Immokalee, the workers aren’t simply impoverished. They are also routinely beaten, locked in shipping containers, forced to live in squalor, and punished or even killed if they attempt to leave. Sexual harassment and assault of female workers is also routine. Over the past 10 years, dozens of people have been convicted of slavery charges for their unlawful confinement and treatment of thousands of workers in Immokalee. You can read about specific cases here and in detail in the articles linked to at the end of this post. The CIW doesn’t use the word slavery simply to be provocative. There are slaves in Florida, and they picked pretty much every tomato you have ever purchased.

Silent screams.

Now, it’s obvious why the planet or the farm animals do not speak out against the abuses of the modern food system. But why would these people allow themselves to be exploited? Obviously, if you are being watched by armed guards while on the farm and locked in a crate the rest of the time, you aren’t going to have much opportunity to speak up. But many of the workers in Immokalee and elsewhere are simply powerless to advocate for themselves. Farm workers do not have collective bargaining rights, and most farm workers (70% of those in Immokalee) are immigrants with few resources. They often lack the skills, connections, or documentation to obtain better work. It is estimated that half of all our agricultural workers are undocumented immigrants, so speaking out against their abusers is especially risky.

Now, some of you may be wondering if we should care about illegal immigrants. Wouldn’t the problem just go away if the people who aren’t supposed to be here just went home? The answer is no. Legal immigrants and people participating in guest worker programs are just as exploited and mistreated as farm workers of questionable immigration status. As one of the CIW speakers commented, the agriculture industry is very fair – they exploit everyone equally. More importantly, breaking the law doesn’t strip you of your right not to be tortured, robbed, raped, or killed. The crime of entering our country illegally carries the penalty of potentially being forced to leave it. While I recognize that remaining hidden may expose a person to harm, it doesn’t make harm that befalls them any more legal. The situation in Immokalee and elsewhere is not a violation of immigrant rights but a violation of human rights.

But what if we did suddenly expel all undocumented workers from our borders? Would that improve conditions? Not likely. Instead, I would guess that another group of vulnerable citizens would start taking those jobs. Maybe, with a larger proportion of citizens, they could fight for slightly better conditions, but it would still be extremely difficult without collective bargaining and with the extreme pressure to produce the cheapest possible goods.

And that brings us to the heart of the matter. Farm workers are exploited not because they are immigrants but because they can be exploited. If one farmer can produce a cheaper product by exploiting his workers, the other farmers must follow suit or lose their competitive advantage. Or at least, that is the excuse given by the farmers when the Coalition of Immokalee Workers was finally able to voice their grievances. This sounds like a lame excuse, but there is at least an element of truth here. Most people choose what and where they eat based on price. Unless it is obvious why we should pay more, we don’t. This creates a race to the bottom, in which every producer and every retailer through the entire food chain must reduce costs in order to beat out the competition. Unless we enforce and enhance the laws governing farm workers, the people who produce our food will continue to be exploited in order to provide us with the cheapest possible product.

Upon hearing these excuses, the CIW did something very smart. Rather than dealing with the folks at the bottom – farmers, for example, they went to the top of the food chain. The CIW appealed to fast food restaurants and grocery chains to commit to paying more for their tomatoes and to work with the group to make sure the extra money went to workers in Immokalee. How much more did they have to pay? One penny per pound of tomatoes. That’s it. A penny. And yet, this meager increase in price translates to thousands of dollars more each year for the tomato pickers out in the fields.

Through communication, negotiation, and even some boycotting, the Coalition has now received commitments from Taco Bell, Burger King, and Whole Foods. In addition to paying slightly more for tomatoes, these companies agree to buy only those tomatoes from farms that have committed to better treatment for their workers such as providing a shaded area for breaks. It’s sort of shocking to think that is took years of hard work just to have a place to stand out of the sun for 15 minutes during a 10-hour day. It’s a victory for the workers in Immokalee, but still only a tiny step towards truly fair food.

Ethical eating in America.

Now is the point at which I’d normally tell you all the ways you can help improve the conditions of farm workers and eat truly ethical food. Sadly, despite the successes of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, exploitation is still commonplace in our agricultural system. A student in Edible Education 101 asked where she could buy produce that has been grown without such atrocities, if there was a label or certification to look for. Unfortunately, as our speakers explained, there is no such store and no such label. Even the tomatoes sold at Whole Foods, one of the companies that buys better tomatoes through the Campaign for Fair Food, are not truly ethical. The standards for human treatment are so low that it would be irresponsible to call even the CIW approved tomatoes ethical.

Small farms don’t necessarily treat their workers any better than large farms. Organic farmers have long resisted including treatment standards in the government’s organic certification. Because organic farming is more expensive, they say, it would be crippling to also pay higher wages, offer benefits, or improve working conditions. I suppose that’s why it is so much harder to motivate people to fight for higher standards of human welfare in the food system. You can’t simply buy different food or shop at a different store. So what can you do?

First, you can care. Rather than dismissing farm worker rights as I used to, you can educate yourself about the issues involved and be ready to take action when you can. Being aware of and supporting legislation concerning the rights of agricultural workers is an important way to get involved. Immigration reform is also a large factor.

You can support CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food directly by patronizing businesses that have signed their agreement. You can also take part in their letter-writing campaigns and protests of companies that stubbornly refuse to take part – companies like my old favorite, Trader Joe’s. You can find more ways to help on the CIW’s Take Action page.

Another way you can help farm workers is by buying direct from farmers. As I mentioned already, local, organic, or small doesn’t necessarily translate to better working conditions. However, if you can develop relationships with farmers, you can probably get a better idea of their perspective and treatment of their workers. Communicating with your farmer may also allow you to ask some probing questions, such as how much it would cost to improve conditions for the workers in the field. What if all it took was a dollar more for your CSA box? Would you pay it?

Lastly, we need to get the word out about the way we treat our farm workers in this country. When I found out how poorly we treat animals on factory farms, I knew I had to make a change. And now we are talking about people. People who work hard every day so we can eat. People who are, even now, being exploited and enslaved. The more aware people are, the better. You can be a part of the solution by being witness to the moral failings of our food system and speaking out against them. To get you started, here is a list of resources that I hope you will use to push our country to change, to make sure everyone who puts in a hard day’s work gets their fair share.

Organizations:

Articles on Immokalee:

The True Cost of Tomatoes by Mark Bittman (2011)
Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes by Barry Estabrook (2009)

Books:

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook

Life, unsweetened.

2011-11-25T15:41:00.000-08:00

A month ago, I issued a Food Day challenge – to go without added sweeteners of any kind for a whole month. Frankly, I didn’t think it would be very hard for me because I already cook most of my food and don’t add sweeteners very often. I was wrong. Three things made it difficult for me to live up to this challenge: not checking labels as avidly as I should have, an increase in stress and deadlines in my life, and the surprises and necessities of my first pregnancy. I also “cheated” a couple of times so I could take part in traditions and festivities although I tried to make the best choices I could in those situations.

Why would there be sugar in that?

I ran into my first problem on Day One of the unsweetened challenge. My husband had just bought a huge package of smoked salmon to put on salads and mix in with scrambled eggs. It’s an easy source of fat and protein, and luckily, we have access to wild Pacific varieties, which are recommended by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. Unfortunately, the particular smoked salmon we purchased had an extra ingredient: brown sugar. We weren’t going to let the fish go to waste, so I grudgingly ate the sweetened salmon throughout the week.

After the fish incident, I started looking more closely at the foods I was buying and using. I’ve been reducing my intake of sweetened products over the past year - getting rid of sweetened nut butter, fruit and nut bars, and other processed foods that were high in added sugars - so I was surprised by how many sweetened products were still lingering in my pantry. Lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce, the green variety of Tabasco sauce, gluten-free granola, and my one real vice, Trader Joe’s Lentil Chips, all had added sweeteners. Now, of course, the amount of sugar from a few drops of Tabasco isn’t really a health hazard, but it is a reminder of how easy it is to consume more sugar than you realize.

When life gets in the way.

I advocate a cooking-centric, whole-foods-dominated food lifestyle. This lifestyle requires time and effort, but I’ve always claimed that planning ahead and prioritizing your nutritional needs can make this lifestyle feasible for most people. Over the past month, I have not been one of those people. I’m wrapping up my PhD, with a hard deadline for dissertation submission on Dec. 16th, we’re selling our home, and we’re planning a move across the country. The combination has put me in a major time crunch and has also cut off regular access to my kitchen. Potential buyers can come by at any time to view our home, and they expect to be greeted by a clean kitchen.

The main result of these complications was that I stopped making my own lunch. Instead, I ate out. There are incredibly few restaurant options for a person who doesn’t eat conventional meat or dairy of any kind, and tries to avoid grains, especially those containing gluten. I’ve gotten used to asking servers, cooks, and managers about the ingredients in their food. It’s a bit unnerving to realize how few people involved with getting you your food actually have any clue as to what is in it. Even basic food knowledge is often lacking; I actually argued with a waitress over whether or not butter is dairy (yes, it really is). Places like Chipotle and most casual dining restaurants make their allergy information available online or on special menus, which helps me know for sure what I’m eating. However, sugar isn’t an allergen. And, as I mentioned already, added sweeteners can be in all kinds of foods that one wouldn’t even realize.

Oh, baby.

That’s right – I’m pregnant! I’m just about four months along and feeling what is apparently very normal maternal guilt over just about everything I do. Getting proper nutrition is important for everyone, but it can be truly essential for pregnant women. With all the other stresses in my life, making sacrifices when it came to eating was a difficult choice because I knew it would affect my baby. However, as important as getting the right calories, I needed to be getting enough calories.

Back when I was eating for one, I could skimp on lunch or skip an afternoon snack if I didn’t have the best food options available. Now, however, I know the baby needs calories as much as I do. Plus, I’ve found that hunger is no longer a nagging sensation but a compulsion that must be addressed whether it is convenient or not. Given my cooking limitations, that meant eating out even when there wasn’t a great option for me. Another side effect of pregnancy is that I have to limit my intake of many types of seafood. Gone are the days of sushi and tuna salad. Seafood has often been my go-to restaurant food, but now I can only have a few servings a week.

What to eat.

The first time I walked into a restaurant after taking the unsweetened challenge, I realized that, especially with my other restrictions, asking about added sugars was just not going to work. So, I had to make some choices. First, I tried to pick foods that seemed less likely to have added sugars: salad with oil and vinegar dressing, grilled fish or shrimp (within limits), Mediterranean foods, Thai curries, Indian food, and Chipotle burrito bowls. My nutrition intake definitely suffered from eating out because I ate far fewer fresh vegetables or sautéed greens. And I’m sure there were added sugars in my food; I just can’t say how much.

It was a difficult choice: quality calories or enough calories. I compromised by eating some more marginal foods like rice, potatoes, and black beans that kept me feeling full and assured that I was getting enough calories. If I were cooking as much as I used to, I could instead eat a little more avocado, add nuts to my salad, or simply eat larger portions. Another way in which I cut corners was to eat a little more marginal meat, such as beef from cows that were grass-fed but not necessarily pastured. However, I still refused to eat any animal products that included hormones or antibiotics or were from companies that are known to use unethical practices. Again, if I were cooking all my meals, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Overall, I think this was a good experiment. I was able to eliminate added sweeteners from nearly all my breakfasts and dinners throughout the month. For dessert, I ate unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon. I snacked on fruit, nuts, or tahini sauce. I drank water, unsweetened tea, and black coffee (half –caff, no worries!). I never felt like I was making much of a sacrifice. The only hard part was making sure I had unsweetened options, which was a problem any time I ate out.

Now, I’ll admit, I wasn’t perfect. A couple of times, I ate a little dark chocolate when I really wanted it. I had sorbet at a fancy dinner with friends in celebration of my impeding graduation. And I kept with my 6-year tradition of meeting a good friend for bubble (boba) tea once a week. Last night, I finished out my month-long challenge with (gluten-free) pumpkin pie and a bit of pecan tart.

I don’t think I’ll ever go totally unsweetened. Completely eliminating a food or substance, as I have had to do with dairy, is stressful and frustrating. Plus, eliminating every drop of added sugars is not really necessary. However, I am even more aware now of where sugars may be hiding in my diet, and I notice the sweetness in my food much more because I eat so few sweet things. Over the next month, the stress in my life should start to decrease, and I’ll be able to get back to cooking. I look forward to being more in control of what I am eating, and what I am feeding that little person growing inside of me. Life will be sweet, with no sugar added.

Feeding the world, a scary proposition.

2011-10-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

This semester, I am taking a course at UC Berkeley called Edible Education: The Rise and Future of the Food Movement – organized by Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, and Nikki Henderson (who I gushed over in a previous post). Each week, at least one speaker addresses the class of nearly 400 students and members of the general public on a topic related to food, including sustainability, world poverty and hunger, the rights of farm and food workers, and health. Although I have spent a lot of time learning about our food system, this class has helped me put things into a global context.

Hunger and poverty throughout the world are seemingly insurmountable problems that are likely to worsen as the world population grows. In fact, as of today, the population is estimated to exceed 7 billion. In 2010, there were 925 million starving people in world, so how can we possibly hope to feed everyone in the future?

I have often heard proponents of agribusiness, and especially the biotech industry, argue that feeding the world will only happen if we make agricultural technologies – such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides – more accessible and continue to develop and introduce genetically modified seeds. The idea they present is essentially this: to reduce hunger, we need to increase crop yields.

The opposing viewpoint, as presented by Raj Patel during a recent lecture, is that we already produce enough calories to feed the world. People are hungry because food is too expensive or simply inaccessible. To reduce hunger, we need to empower the poor.

So which is it? Do we have a production problem, or a distribution problem? Most importantly, how can we reduce the number of hungry people in the world?

A numbers game.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) calculates and tracks hunger statistics throughout the world. Chronic hunger and undernurishment are words the FAO uses to describe people who are consistently unable to consume their minimum caloric needs – 1800 kCal for the average person. People who live under these conditions are classified as food insecure.

Determining the number of people who are food insecure takes several steps. First, the FAO calculates the number of calories available for consumption in every country in which they can obtain data. The number of available calories includes sources, like domestic production and imports, and sinks, such as exports and the amount of calories wasted or put to uses other than human consumption. The FAO compiles statistics over a period of 1-2 years, and then converts that into the number of calories available per day. Lastly, they divide the total number of available calories by the population of the country to get the “food supply” in kilocalories per person per day.

The FAO then tries to estimate the number of calories that the population needs, which is based on the proportion of men versus women and the age breakdown of the population. According to the USDA, men aged 19-30 need at least 2400 calories per day. Women of the same age require at least 1800. Children under 3 require only about 1000 calories per day. Based on the population statistics, the FAO calculates a number of calories needed for everyone in the country to get the food they need.

The last step is to estimate the amount of food that actually makes it into the mouths of the people. First, the FAO assumes that caloric intake within a country follows a log-normal distribution. A log-normal distribution looks a bit like the profile of a baseball cap. It implies that most of the population consumes a range of calories corresponding to the width of the cap, but there are still some people in the bill who consume a lot more than average. There can also be a small tail at the low end, which would indicate that a small portion of the population get many fewer calories than average. A log-normal distribution can come in different proportions. To tailor the distribution to a given country, the FAO uses information provided in household surveys to determine the width and location of the distribution’s peak and the extent of the tails.

By comparing the available calories with the calories required to feed the population and the way in which food is distributed in a country, the FAO finally arrives at an estimate of the number of people who are food insecure. The FAO hunger map is shown below; there is also a nifty interactive version on their hunger website.

The map is interesting (and depressing), but what does it really tell us about the reasons for hunger? The FAO makes informed assumptions about distribution, but how can we know for sure the effect of distribution? To get around these issues, I decided to look up the statistics for only the first two steps of the FAO’s process: the available calories in a country and the calorie requirements based on the population statistics.

Food for thought.

Below is a table I created using FAO data that is available from a searchable database called FAOSTAT. I have listed statistics for the 10 countries with the highest percentages of undernourished people as a percent of the population. I then show the same statistics for the Unites States and some groups of countries: the FAO’s group of least developed countries, South-east Asia, Europe, and the world.

I included some extra information because I thought it was interesting, but the most relevant columns are the average caloric requirement, which has been weighted by the age and sex distribution of the given population, and the food supply. A country that literally does not have enough calories for all of its citizens to consume their minimum requirement would be one in which the food supply is smaller than the average caloric requirement. Of the 10 countries with the highest percentage of hunger, only two actually have too few calories: Eritrea and Burundi, each by less than 100 calories. In Mozambique, in which 39% of the population suffers from a chronic lack of calories, there are over 2000 calories available each day, compared to a requirement of only 1800.

The bottom line is this: there is enough food in all of these countries for just about everyone to get the calories they need. However, even if the FAO’s assumptions about distribution are not completely accurate, there certainly are starving people in these countries.

How can there be more calories than the population needs and still be starving people? In more economic terms, how can there be too much supply and unmet demand? What is happening to the extra calories?

We are the 99%.

The FAO suggests that inequality and food insecurity rise together. That would suggest that richer people either eat more calories than they really need (because they can afford to) or are able to control the calories in some other way. Perhaps poor people also have a harder time getting food because of transportation issues. Certainly, the political stability within a country has some bearing on food access as well. As the FAO points out, violent conflict can reduce or cut off the food supply to some people. Even economic interventions aimed at helping developing countries have been criticized, by Raj Patel and others, when it comes to food markets (read more here or here). I’m not well-versed enough in economics and global trade to really assess these arguments. However, one thing is clear to me. We cannot solve world hunger by simply increasing crop yields.

It’s one thing to say that the world produces enough calories to feed everyone. But even in the countries with the highest rates of undernurishment, there are enough calories to feed nearly everyone. As the population grows, perhaps we really will need to increase production to make sure everyone can eat, but I doubt it will matter much unless people can access those calories. Otherwise, the only number that changes is the number of available calories, not the number of hungry people. And that’s a scary thought.

A food day throw-down.

2011-10-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Food Day – an event put together by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. According to the website, Food Day is about six principles:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms and limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.

This is a great list that encompasses all my reasons for changing my eating habits and fighting for food system reform. You can follow the links on the site to get more information about the problems and proposed solutions in each area. While you can get a good overview of the food system from this site, I found that a lot of the material glossed over the details and made assertions that I’m not sure would hold up to scrutiny.

My biggest disagreements with the Food Day message are in regards to what they consider safe, healthy food – especially their promotion of whole grains. I’ve talked about these issues in detail in a previous post, so I won’t belabor the points. Promoting fresh fruits and vegetables, supporting sustainable farming practices, and reforming the food system are all extremely important, so I’m glad the Food Day folks are working to get the message out. Instead of arguing over the details, I’d like to issue a Food Day challenge that I think really will promote better health and environmental sustainability.

Life, unsweetened.

My challenge is to go unsweetened – period. For the next 30 days, I will not eat anything with added sweetener of any kind. That includes sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, fruit juice, etc. It also includes non-caloric/artificial sweeteners like Stevia. Luckily, fruit contains no added sweetener, so I can have as much as I want!

Why go unsweetened?

We consume more sugar than we ever have in all of human history. As I reported in a previous post about sugar, the average American consumes 440 calories each day in the form of caloric sweeteners. The average teen in America consumes 72 grams of sugar a day. Overconsumption of sugar, especially in the form of fructose, can reduce the body’s sensitivity to insulin leading to Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even liver failure.

Another benefit of avoiding added sweetener is that it forces you to read labels and know what is in your food. You may be surprised by how many foods contain sweeteners, including things like bread and tomato sauce. Fat free products are notoriously bad about substituting sugar for fat. Avoiding added sweetener will likely mean buying more whole foods, like fresh produce and meat, and staying away from processed food. It will also mean a little more preparation and time in the kitchen. But trust me, cooking is fun!

The reason sweeteners are in so many things is twofold. First, we are hard-wired to crave sweets because they exist so rarely in nature. Making food sweeter will generally keep people coming back for more. The other reason for all the added sweetness is that corn sweeteners are really, really cheap. Farm subsidies promote resource-intensive monoculture cropping systems that damage the environment but are very good at producing vast quantities of industrial-grade grains. Corn produced in this manner is processed into many kinds of food additives including sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup. By eliminating added sugars and sweeteners from your diet, you are saying no to these damaging farming practices.

But I just can’t live without my…

Of course, we all have sweet things that we love so much, they don’t seem worth going without. It’s only for one month, though. And you may find that, after a month without added sugars dominating your palette, sweet things may lose some of their appeal. Still don’t think you could go without? Make yourself a deal. If you love ice cream, buy a pint and make it last the whole month.

Still don’t think you could take the challenge? Flip it around. Pick the one sweetened thing you consume the most - soda, diet soda, donuts, whatever - and eliminate that for one month.

Take the challenge!

Food Day is a chance for all of us to rethink our food choices. Whether you do it for your health, the environment, or just to try something new, going unsweetened is a great way to spend a month. So, leave a comment and commit to a month without sweets!

Three cheers for salad!

2011-10-18T14:08:00.000-07:00

Given that I avoid meat in restaurants and have made a commitment to eating at least 8 cups of veggies a day, you might be surprised to know that I hate salad bar restaurants. Or at least, I used to. Generally, I have found these places overpriced and more focused on pizza and pasta options than on actual salads. Recently, however, a friend dragged me to Fresh Choice, an all-you-can-eat salad bar restaurant.

Although they do serve soups, pasta, pizza, and other non-salad options, the actual salad bar is pretty extensive. And, more strikingly, they make an effort to offer local and organic produce. The labeling system is also quite impressive. Every house-made salad, like the Sesame Kale Toss offered for fall, includes a list of ingredients and icons for every common allergy, as do all the salad dressings and soups. It was easy to deduce the vegan items, vegetarian items that were still dairy free, and the gluten-free offerings. In total, they have labels for foods containing eggs, sesame seeds, sulfites, milk, honey, shellfish, pork, fish, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.

At the start of the Fresh Choice salad bar, there is a sign stating what percentage of the day’s produce is locally-grown. I recognized a lot of produce that I’ve been seeing at the farm stand. After all, that’s what grows here! Because of their commitment to local produce, the Fresh Choice menu changes with the seasons. As a child, I remember the excitement when peaches were finally in season, or cherries, or pumpkins. And now, as an adult, I know that eating seasonally is also better for the environment and provides access to cheaper, fresher food.

In addition to the extensive salad bar, some of my favorite Fresh Choice offerings were the baked yams, the broccoli obsession salad, and the spicy curry lentil soup. The only thing they are missing is avocado! After my awesome meal, I had to wonder whether all salad bar restaurants are as progressive as Fresh Choice. So, I checked out the websites for Sweet Tomatoes and Souper Salad.

Sweet Tomatoes lists items that are vegetarian (or not) and gluten-free foods. According to a review on GlutenFreeAZ, however, Sweet Tomatoes does not label the foods within the store. Rather, they have a binder with nutritional information that customers can browse before eating. Sweet Tomatoes also makes a big deal about being a sustainable business. In fact, they have received a Green Restaurant Association Certification. Having never heard of this program, I decided to investigate. According to the press release on the Sweet Tomatoes blog, they received a two-star certification, which is based on seven areas including sustainable food.

Two stars is the lowest certification level, and to achieve that, a restaurant has to be awarded at least 10 points in six of the categories plus an additional 40 points from any or all categories. Even a 4-star certification requires a minimum of only 10 points in the sustainable food category. The points are assigned by calculating the percentage of food costs that meet certain criteria. Buying certified organic food or sustainable seafood is worth 40 points; if a restaurant spent 100% of its food budget on organic food, it would get 40 points. A small number of points are also available for purchasing grass-fed, cage-free, or hormone and antibiotic-free animal products. Vegetarian and vegan fare are rewarded with 30 and 45 points, respectively. Buying regionally can get another 20 points, while buying within 100 miles of the restaurant is worth 40 points. So, if a restaurant served 100% organic vegan food sourced from within 100 miles, it would receive 130 points. Recall that certification requires only 10.

I couldn’t find a break-down of Sweet Tomatoes’ points, but without any mention of commitment to local organic food, on their website I’m not convinced that they are doing anything special in terms of sustainable food. It’s great that they are making a commitment to reduce water usage and waste – some of the other categories within the certification, but I wouldn’t get too excited about their food.

As for Souper Salad, the salad toppings listed on their menu are rather meager. There is no mention of local or organic produce; their cheddar cheese even says it is imitation cheese. They do have icons for vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free items, and the folks at GlutenFreeAZ were pleased with their experience at Souper Salad. So perhaps this is a good option for people with food allergies, but it doesn’t offer much beyond that.

All in all, it seems that Fresh Choice is doing something novel by really committing to nutritious, environmentally-friendly food. Their practice of listing ingredients and their extensive suite of allergy icons puts the customer in control. Of course, you can still eat badly at Fresh Choice. I saw several people skipping the salad bar all together in favor of pizza, and I saw one kid with only noodles. You can also eat a healthy and wholesome meal, though, and that’s not so easy to do at most restaurants. Next time I have to chose a place to eat, I’m glad to know there is a fresh, and progressive, choice.

John Durant: Zoos and the importance of natural habitats.

2011-09-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Most of the time, a talk about zoos is going to focus either on the plight of captive animals or how we human animals are trapped in societal zoos. Either way, they are generally pretty depressing. But John Durant is not most people; he's a self-proclaimed modern caveman and a somewhat reluctant champion of the caveman lifestyle, despite his appearance on The Colbert Report.

John's talk at the Ancestral Health Symposium began with the history of zoos and with the story of Jumbo, one of the most famous circus elephants ever. And yes, this part was a bit depressing. The first zoos treated animals like statues, separating them into stark, cement cages and removing them completely from the natural world. The animals did not thrive. Zoos became more sophisticated over time, but the priorities of the zoo designers were off. Habitats incorporated more elements of nature, but they were designed to be visually appealing to people rather than animals. As John put it, the purpose of zoos has changed from status symbols to entertainment to education to, finally, conservation. We have now learned that the key to keeping zoo animals healthy is to replicate as much of their natural environment as possible. The present state of zoos and attitudes toward zoo design follow this paradigm. For example, the depth of water features in penguin habitats are now determined based on the diving behavior of penguins observed in the wild. Studies of wild animals also inform the diets of animals in captivity.

It seems obvious, doesn't it? Any given species, from lions to turtles, evolved in a specific region under specific conditions. Each species found its own way to adapt to its environment and create a niche that would allow it to survive. Hence, animals have the best chance to live and reproduce in those natural environments to which they adapted throughout time. Even human animals.

We, too, perform best under the conditions to which our bodies and minds adapted over the whole of human history. To be clear, John is not advocating that we all go back to living in caves. There are quite a number of novel aspects of our habitat that are positive (flush toilets and antibiotics are two that come to mind). Rather, the idea is the same as with zoos – to the extent possible, replicate your natural environment to enable yourself to reach your full potential. John elaborated on this idea in our interview. Even in a modern world, we can get back in touch with our past by taking walks, eating a prehistoric diet, and sleeping in a dark quiet place, undisturbed by modern “advances” such as alarm clocks, nightlights, honking horns, or that red indicator light on the fire alarm. Visiting zoos, John pointed out, is a great way for us to reconnect with animals and nature in a way that is reminiscent of our paleolithic past. When it comes to exercise, be outside whenever possible. Preferably barefoot.

Barefoot? Yes, John is a big supporter of the barefoot and minimalist shoe movement. In fact, at the interview, he was wearing what looked like a flat piece of wood with a rope cord woven through it, wrapping around his toe and ankle. My flip flops would look like orthopedic support shoes next to these things. As John explained, our feet are designed for walking and running. Up until the very recent invention of shoes, our feet got us everywhere we needed to go, without arch support or motion control or custom orthotics. Our feet are incredibly sophisticated and instantly responsive. They are already the best running shoes we could ever have.

I think what makes people like John Durant is that he is genuine and humble. He lives like a caveman because it makes him healthy and happy, not so he can be famous or rich or sell you something. John practices what he preaches, and I think he's a lot more interested in living than preaching. Despite having been interviewed by Stephen Colbert, John actually seemed nervous to speak with me and worried about how he would do in the interview. John, if you are reading this, it was a pleasure.

But what does all this teach me about ethical eating? When I started this journey, I was most focused on the corn industry, especially the ways in which it contributes to environmental damage and the link between cheap corn feed and the development of confined animal feeding operations. CAFOs do a great deal of environmental damage in their own right. Plus, the animal waste has proven harmful to people in neighboring communities. And, for me, the absolutely appalling conditions these animals have to endure make any food produced in this way totally unpalatable.

As I have learned more about the important links between health and ancestral diets – both for humans and animals – our system looks more and more broken. Grain subsidies (corn, wheat, and soy) make novel, refined foods the cheapest and most abundant calories on the market. Combined with refined sugars, these foods appear to the be basis for Western diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, Alzheimer's, and many autoimmune disorders. We are sick, and the animals we eat are sick.

I consider an ethical food system to be one that provides healthy food over many generations. To achieve this, we must reject diets based on refined grains, added sugars, and meat from unhealthy animals. One of the things I learned from John is that both animals and humans achieve healthfulness in the same way - by embracing our nature. We depend on animals as a food source; for us to be healthy, we need to keep them healthy too.

Below, you can watch John's interview and follow along with his slides. Eventually, the slides will be embedded, and I'll provide an updated link.

"Wild animals, zoos, and you: The influence of habitat on health" by John Durant

Wild Animals, Zoos, and You: The Influence of Habitat on Health (John Durant)

You can also listen to John's answers to my questions in this video (which may also be updated soon):

John Durant Interview at #AHS11 from Ancestry on Vimeo.

Savory summer stew.

2011-09-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

Eating seasonally means getting fresh fruits and vegetables that are easily grown within your local food landscape. That means fewer resources are needed to grow the food and, because it's local, you can get it fresher and with far fewer food miles. In the SF Bay Area, we are in the midst of nightshade season. My CSA box was chock full of them: tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. Nightshades have a “shady” reputation because they contain substances that can be inflammatory or even toxic. If you find that you are sensitive to nightshades, then it's best to avoid them as much as possible. I find that, especially if they are well-cooked, nightshades are delicious and totally edible foods!

With all the farm fresh nightshades around, I was inspired to pull together a dish that would use eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers. Ratatouille came to mind immediately, but I am neither French nor a culinary genius. So I will say that this stew is merely inspired by ratatouille. It is also delicious and nutritious!

Prep time: 15 - 25 minutes depending on chopping efficiency
Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes (I used 2 huge heirlooms)
3-4 medium zucchini
2-3 bell peppers (I used 1 green bell pepper and 2 gypsy peppers)
1 large eggplant
2T olive oil
Basil, oregano, and thyme (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
Garlic powder or fresh diced garlic (to taste)

1. Cut the eggplant into quarters (or a few more pieces). Remove the skin. Place pieces into a colander and rub with sea salt.

2. Chop the zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Slice the peppers into strips. Coarsely chop the tomatoes preserving the drippings.

3. Rinse the salt off of the eggplant and pat the pieces dry. Chop the eggplant into bite-sized pieces.

4. In a large (non-stick) skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high. If you are using fresh garlic, saute it for a few minutes. Add the eggplant, stirring enough that the oil coats the eggplant. The eggplant will soak up the oil pretty quickly, but as long as you use a non-stick pan, it should cook just fine. Cover the pan and allow the eggplant to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the other vegetables and spices. I used about half a teaspoon each of garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme. Mix well. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes on medium-low or until the eggplant is mushy and the peppers have softened.

6. Enjoy!

Acknowledgements: This recipe was informed by a great blog post by Therese and a recipe from About.com.

The chocolate dilemma.

2011-09-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

As I've reduced my consumption of processed foods, one thing I've missed is a sweet treat after dinner. I found that dark chocolate (dairy and gluten free!) is a good option for satisfying my sweet tooth. Sometimes I eat it a chunk all on it's own. Other times I melt it over fresh fruit. Delish!

Recently, I was picking up some groceries from Trader Joe's and decided to check out their chocolate selection. I found a bar that was organic and fair trade, had few additives, and did not list any dairy ingredients or include dairy in the food allergy list. However, it was lacking the symbols that Trader Joe's uses to identify vegan foods. I'm not vegan, of course, but given how sensitive my body is to dairy, it is comforting to see the symbol. Many other chocolate bars at Trader Joe's do bear this symbol.

Naturally, this led me to ponder why this particular chocolate bar was not vegan. I actually brought the bar to the Trader Joe's service desk to inquire further. The man behind the counter (for the life of me, I can't remember his name, so I will refer to him as Joe) was nice enough to look up the chocolate on the master list of food allergies. Sure enough, my organic chocolate bar did not make the cut. Joe offered to look into the matter and call me with an answer.

Imagine my surprise when, the very next day, Joe called me and explained that the organic evaporated cane juice used to sweeten the chocolate was the culprit. Apparently, it is processed using bone char so it cannot be considered vegan or vegetarian. I thanked Joe for his information, and spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what the heck bone char is!

I had a hard time finding well cited information, but it seems that bone char is a type of charcoal filter made of processed animal bones. It is often used for refining sugar cane in order to lighten its color and remove impurities. Evaporated cane juice is the product of this refinement followed by the evaporation of some of the liquid. Many websites stated that evaporated cane juice is never processed with bone char, nor can bone char be used in any organic products. This, of course, conflicts with my experience with Trader Joe's.

I called TJs back to double check. The chocolate bar is only 95% organic, so some conventional ingredients are used. However, the evaporated cane juice is listed in the ingredients as organic. Upon further inspection, I found that bone char is approved as a fertilizer in organic farming, but I could not confirm (or refute) the use of bone char in organic sugar or organic cane juice refinement.

This whole investigation shows quite clearly that anytime you eat processed food, you are taking a risk. It is pretty much impossible to know what exactly is in your food and where it came from. It also highlights how difficult it can be to separate oneself from the industrial food system. It's easy to avoid a big industrial steak or to buy veggie broth rather than chicken broth. But if you really want to eliminate mysterious additives or industrial animal products, you just have to buy food raw and prepare it yourself.

So, what to do about the chocolate... Well, first I will send an email to Trader Joe's and see if I can find out which company makes the organic evaporated cane juice used in their products. Hopefully, I can then figure out if bone char really is used in the processing, and how it can still be considered organic. In the meantime, though, I will probably buy the chocolate. The fact that it is 95% organic means that the 95% of the ingredients were grown in a less environmentally-damaging way. It's also fair trade and contains few additives. It may use bones from animals that were raised in a CAFO, but let's be honest – it isn't the refinement of evaporated cane juice that drives the industrial food system. The proliferation of cheap feed calories and our expectation of unlimited access to cheap meat drive the system. My chocolate consumption (or lack thereof) will not have an impact. It's much more important to avoid industrial meat and processed foods. And besides, every “diet” needs a touch of sweetness. And this dairy-free, gluten-free, organic, fair trade, dark chocolate bar sounds like the best option. Mmm, bone char.

Here are a couple of the links I found regarding bone char:

The sugar refinement process by the Vegetarian Resource Group
A list of approved practices for organic growers from The Ohio State University Extension

Get Real! A chance for real progress.

2011-08-21T15:22:00.001-07:00

According to the chart below (from the USDA), 64% of the calories in the average American's diet comes in the form of flour & cereal grains, added fats & oils, and caloric sweeteners. That means nearly two-thirds of the average person's calories provide no nutrition that isn't added through fortification. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables could easily provide the fiber and nutrients added to cereal and other grain products; the sweetened beverages and vegetable oils are basically useless. This statistic highlights just how far our population is from a diet composed of real foods: minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, legumes, and quality meat and seafood.

Part of the problem is that processed foods are cheap compared to whole, fresh foods because the ingredients are heavily subsidized. Unfortunately, the process by which we grow corn, wheat, and soy (and thus produce things like high fructose corn syrup and soybean oil) is highly unsustainable. Rampant water usage, dependence on fossil fuels to keep the machinery going, pesticide runoff contaminating water supplies, soil erosion and nutrient depletion, and loss of biodiversity all damage the environment in which we live. The uniformity of our cropping systems leaves us vulnerable to disease or pests, which could lead to a serious food crisis.

A whole market has been created to capitalize on our surplus of these cheap raw materials. High fructose corn syrup is in almost every processed product in the grocery store because it's a cheap sweetener; humans are hard-wired to crave sweet foods, so you are more likely to buy more bread (for example) if it's sweeter. The beef industry can produce vast quantities of cheap meat because it can fatten the cows on grains. Of course, to do this requires that the animals be confined in huge feeding operations and dosed with antibiotics because grains actually make cows sick. The animal waste from these CAFOs contaminates ground water, contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions, and is absolutely disgusting to be around. The abundant use of antibiotics is leading to resistant strains of viruses as these “super bugs” adapt. Factory farms rely on cheap grains to make cheap meat, which means that neither of these foods are sustainable in the long-term.

The Paleo community advocates a real food diet with some specific restrictions: no grains, no vegetable oils, no added sugars. Instead, people are encouraged to eat vegetables, pastured meats and eggs, seafood, nuts and nut butters, and some fruit. Legumes are a grey area, as is pastured dairy – people are advised to experiment with these foods to determine whether or not they can be tolerated. This isn't a temporary diet with pre-made bars and shakes you can get from the grocery store. You can't be convenience store Paleo; this is a lifestyle change. Many of the people I talked with at the Ancestral Health Symposium prepare most of their own food including snacks like jerky and trail mix. Many of them garden, can, and preserve food. And everyone I spoke to emphasized the need for carefully-sourced animal products. After all, these are people who are convinced that eating ancestrally is the key to optimal health – and that's true for animals as well as people.

These folks sound a lot like me. I may eat less meat and more lentils, but we all consider the current food system unsustainable and unhealthy. We all eat real food.

One of the reasons I was so excited for the AHS was the opportunity to speak with other real foodies about the challenges we face in reforming the food system – making it more sustainable, accessible, healthful, and secure. Strangely, I heard more about troubles with vegetarians than with grain subsidies. Why vegetarians? The Paleo community advocates an evolutionary approach to diet and health in which animal products play a significant role. Vegetarians, on the other hand, do not eat meat and often exclude seafood as well; vegans avoid all animal products including eggs, dairy, and even honey. The question of whether or not eating meat is ethical, sustainable, or even healthy has apparently caused quite a bit of friction between the two groups.

I think this argument is a big waste of time and a major missed opportunity for positive change. A real food vegetarian - one who focuses on fresh fruits and vegetables, adds nuts and nut butters, eats pastured eggs, and avoids processed crap - is eating a diet much closer to Paleo than the majority of Americans. More importantly, the policy changes that would help make a produce-dominated diet cheaper and more accessible than a grain-based diet (including grain-fed animal products) would benefit a real food vegetarian as much as someone on a Paleo diet. We should be allies in this fight against unhealthy processed food and polluting CAFOs that cause a great deal of animal suffering.

Of course, not every vegetarian or vegan eats real food. Many of them survive on cereal and pasta and drink soda. Just like most Americans who also eat meat. Whether you make Rice-a-roni with conventional ground beef or crumbled veggie burger, you are not eating a nutritionally-dense, healthy meal. The healthfulness of a fast-food cheeseburger, fries, and soda does not hinge on the all-beef patty. To put it simply, meat is not the central issue in terms of health.

When it comes to the environment, conventional meat (especially red meat) really is the worst thing you can eat. Meat production doesn't have to be that way though. Pasture-raised meat from integrated farms can actually be good for the environment. And, as I've said already, grain agriculture does a lot of damage all on its own. Creating a food system that is sustainable over the long-term does not hinge solely on meat but rather on producing and eating real food.

If you agree that (1) eating real food is the key to good health and (2) promoting a real food lifestyle is an important step in achieving a just and sustainable food system, then you are part of the real food movement, and I am here to recruit you. Eco-vegetarian, sustaileo, or whatever – you can be on my team any day.

So what do we need to do? Back in January, I attempted to map out issues relevant to sustainable food systems. Many of them are particularly relevant to the real food movement. They are:

1. Reforming farm subsidies.

This one should come as no surprise given my above rant about industrial agriculture. Subsidies that encourage farmers to grow as much corn, wheat, and soy as they possibly can has left us with vast monocultures, environmental damage, really poor farmers (seriously), and a surplus of junk calories that make us sick. It is also the foundation for the grain-feeding, CAFO system that contributes even more to our environmental problems and is really just cruel. Our food system will have to change eventually as the resources on which they rely become more scarce, but minimizing the pain of transitioning away from this system is an important challenge.

What we likely need is a transition subsidy program, similar to the tobacco buy-out, in which farmers can still collect payments without actually growing corn, wheat, or soy. After a prescribed amount of time (the tobacco buy-out lasted 10 years), all subsidies would end. Some farmers would stick with grains, but many others would switch to other types of foods because they can actually make more money. We could even go a step further and attempt to incentivize switching to integrated farming systems or offer additional programs to help farmers go in that direction. I know my libertarian readers won't like that idea as much (yes, I'm recruiting real food libertarians too!), but it's going to take some work to get the land back into growing shape, and we need at least some of the farmers to choose to stick around.

2. Enabling small farmers.

The food industry – from growers through to retailers, in both conventional and organic markets – has become increasingly concentrated (read more here). A few large companies control the vast majority of market share. These companies have the ability to affect legislation, either to stop new regulations that would dip into profits or to direct regulations to stifle small businesses that would compete for market share.

A recent example was the Food Safety Modernization Act, a bill to overhaul food handling regulations to help prevent the spread of food-borne illnesses. In its original form, the bill would have applied the same regulations to all farms regardless of size. Small-scale farmers and their advocates were against the bill because it would effectively put them out of business. Also, many regulations that seemed totally reasonable for a large-scale operation just didn't make sense for a small family farm. The big companies were quite happy with the bill until an amendment was proposed – the Tester-Hagen amendment – which excepted small farms that sold their goods locally and directly to consumers. With Big Food now against the bill, it nearly died. However, enough people expressed their support for the bill, in the form of calls and letters, that it eventually passed.

Fighting for small-scale/family farms is important. They provide food, yes, but they also provide a choice. You can actually go to a small farm and witness their growing practices and how they treat their animals. And with enough small farms, you can actually choose based on your own values. All the rules of economics, of market pressure and voting with your dollar, can work in this system because you have access to the information that would enable you to make a decision and (ideally) a variety of options that allows you to choose exactly what you want. If you want a polyculture farm that grows seasonal varieties and incorporates animals such that they can express their natural behaviors, you can go find that farm – IF we protect them.

3. Improving school lunches.

School lunches in the Unites States are generally awful. French fries count as vegetables, and foods like pizza, burgers, and chicken fingers are common offerings. These foods are heavily processed, provide little nutritional value, and do nothing to educate children as to where food comes from or that nutrition is important. However, there are now programs across the country connecting schools with local farms that can provide fresh produce for school lunches. In many schools with Farm to School programs, involvement with the farms goes beyond a well-stocked salad bar. The farm relationship is used as a teaching tool – a way to expose kids to food systems, nutrition, and even biology and ecology. Some schools even create their own gardens and can literally see the fruits of their labors served up in the cafeteria. Children today (and really all people) are bombarded by messages that they should eat things that taste good, that healthy food does not taste good, and that all calories are the same. A slice of pizza, with some potato chips and a soda, includes all the food groups and is so constantly available that it must be okay to eat, right? Wrong. We need to fight against these messages by connecting kids with the land, their food, and their bodies.

4. Making real food more accessible to the poor.

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans are helped by the government's Nutrition Assistance Program, which includes food stamps and WIC. That's a LOT of people. Allowing these benefits to be used at Farmers Markets gives people access to fresh produce that will help them lead healthier lives – a benefit to both our citizens and our future tax dollars. Both the WIC program and the benefit program for seniors now offer vouchers in addition to the regular benefit that can only be redeemed for fresh fruit, vegetables, or herbs at participating farmers markets. However, the federal benefit is capped at $30 per person per year. My husband and I spend that much at our local farm stand each week! State programs can build on the federal benefit, and many states now have programs that double federal benefits for produce and programs to get EBT card readers installed at more farmers markets. Strengthening these programs will help people get the nutrition they need, develop better health habits that they can use even after they have stopped relying on food stamps, and contributes to local economies.

There are already many organizations working on all of these issues. Until I can create a Real Food Political Action Committee for you all to join, the following organizations are good places to get involved. You can also go back to my Food Sustain-o-sphere post for more links in other areas.

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Project
Understanding the Farm Bill: A Citizen's Guide to a Better Food System
Community Alliance for Family Farmers
USDA Farm to School Program
National Farm to School Network
The Edible Schoolyard Project

Of course, there are still going to be disagreements between those in the vegetarian camp and those who call themselves Paleo. The question of what constitutes a healthy diet is an important one that we should continue to research. In the meantime, though, we should not let our differences keep us from real progress. There are many ways in which we could improve our food system and deliver more real food to the public for the benefit of us all; the above are only a few of the issues ripe for collaboration. We may not all agree that Meatless Monday is a good idea, but we can probably all endorse Sodaless Saturday! So I say to you, Real Foodies, Unite!

AHS 2011 Photojournal.

2011-08-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

They say a word is worth one millipicture (or something like that). Here's my 2.5 day symposium experience in pictures.

We kicked things off with a Paleo BBQ at event co-organizer Aaron Blaisdell's house. People kicked off their shoes - literally, there were at least 50 pairs of Vibram FiveFingers on the porch! Christian manned the grill, cooking up grass-fed steaks, wild boar bacon, and a whole salmon.

Early the next morning, it was off to the symposium where I met many Paleo celebrities. People were so friendly and gracious. Amazing!

Mark Sisson and I chatted about my interest in sustainability; he coined the phrase Sustaileo, which I will totally use in the future! My conversation with Robb Wolf started with "Hey, you know you ruined my life..." Seriously, once you read his book, you just can't keep doing the same wrong things you have always done! I met Denise at the welcome reception. She was the first person I actually recognized, and she was kind enough to help me put faces to the names I'd been hearing. Thanks, Denise!

Most of the interview team had never done interviews before. The first day had its ups and downs, but we eventually got into the swing of things. We managed to have at least one interviewer at every talk and interview all but five speakers. And it only took 16 hour days to accomplish!

We really could not have pulled this all off without the dedicated team of volunteers. These guys showed up early to set up, made sure the video cameras and audio support were going strong, and stuck around to clean up at the end of each day. Even though the interview team was technically also made up of volunteers, I felt like I really relied on everyone. I especially want to thank Tony for letting me rest on his shoulder - I really needed a nap!

This was a terrific experience, and I met so many great people. And remember, just say no to gluten!

The Woodstock of Evolutionary Medicine (Part One): 72 hours of awesome.

2011-08-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I spent three days on and around the campus of UCLA for the first (but hopefully not last) Ancestral Health Symposium – a gathering of researchers, teachers, bloggers, and enthusiasts who take an evolutionary biology approach to understanding the impact of nutrition and lifestyle on human health. Over 50 speakers presented talks and posters on topics such as the optimal human diet, fitness from an evolutionary stand-point, how to evaluate scientific “discoveries” presented in the media, the impact of a produce-based diet versus a grain-based diet, and specific biochemical pathways of disease.

I was lucky enough to attend the symposium as part of the interview team. Our dedicated journalists and camera crew managed to interview almost every speaker! It was a grueling few days – we started work at 7am and didn't head to dinner until 9pm – but every minute was worth it! In the coming weeks, all of the presentations will be posted online along with our interviews. I'll be sure to link to them as they become available. In the meantime, I'll give you an overview of what I learned at the symposium (this post) and the amazing presenters I was lucky enough to interview as part of a continuing series.

Here's a list of the people I interviewed:

Mark Nathan Cohen, PhD – SUNY Plattsburgh (Anthropology)
Staffan Lindeberg, MD, PhD – University of Lund, Sweden
Don Matesz, MS
Dr. BG, PharmD and blogger
Tim Gerstmar, ND - Aspire Natural Health
Nell Stephenson – Nutritionist and Ironman triathlete
Matt Metzgar, PhD – University of North Caroline, Charlotte (Economics)
John Durant - professional caveman
Frank Forencich - fitness trainer
James O'Keefe, MD

I also had the pleasure of meeting some of the big names in the Paleo diet community including Robb Wolf, Gary Taubes, Denise Minger, Mark Sisson, Tom Naughton, and co-organizer Adam Blaidsdell. What a welcoming and inspiring community!

The original human diet.

Before I get into all the information presented at the symposium, let me give you a brief overview of human health and how it has changed with time. I promise to provide more details and references when I get to the specific presenters, especially when I discuss doctor and medical researcher Staffan Lindeberg and anthropologist Mark Nathan Cohen. You can also read about their findings in the following places:

Lindeberg's website
Food and Western Disease, by S. Lindeberg
Cohen's website
Health and the Rise of Civilization, by M. Cohen

Agriculture is a relatively recent human invention. Before that, we were hunter-gatherers (HGs) who survived on a diet of mainly animal proteins and fats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. The average life span of HGs (i.e. life expectancy) was only about 30 years, but that was mainly due to infant mortality, lack of modern medicine to treat infections and injuries, and a rather high likelihood of being eaten by a lion. Hunter-gatherer communities had many elderly people, and their skeletal remains indicate a lack of many diseases we attribute to old age in our modern society. Studies of the few remaining primitive communities have also shown a lack of the so-called “diseases of civilization” including diabetes and obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, dementia and Alzheimer's, cancer, osteoporosis, and auto-immune disease. Within a primitive tribe in Papua New Guinea – the Kitavans – about 6% of the population is over age 65. These people are very healthy and those who survive to age 45 have similar life expectancy to people in modern societies.

Our ancestors were much healthier during their hunter-gatherer years than after making the switch to a grain-based agricultural diet. Post the advent of agriculture, humans lost several inches in height and began developing these new diseases that had not been present in their ancestors. Disease and death were not only due to the change in diet but also the changes in lifestyle. Agriculture required communities to settle, leading to higher population density and more communicable disease, and the potential for conquest. Life expectancy actually went down post-agriculture. In the 1800's, for example, the life expectancy in Ireland dropped to only about 20 years and was even lower for certain societal classes. Only in recent decades has life expectancy increased, mainly due to medical advances and a safer environment, and we have finally returned to our pre-agriculture size.

Understanding why agriculture led to poorer health outcomes than the hunter-gatherer lifestyle is the main goal of the ancestral health community. Of the many presentations and conversations I was involved in throughout the symposium, there were several points of agreement within the community.

What I learned on my summer vacation.

1. A modern day, grain-based, processed food diet is a major contributing factor in most of the diseases we attribute to old age or random chance, including (but not limited to) dementia and Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, arthritis and other inflammation, cancer, osteoporosis, PCOS, IBS and other digestive problems, and auto-immune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Celiac disease, lupus, and fibromyalgia. Of course, diet is the main contributing factor to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. These diseases do not appear in modern day hunter-gatherer tribes, and to the extent that they can be diagnosed from skeletal remains, there is no evidence that our pre-agricultural ancestors suffered from any of these diseases.

2. A diet that includes only whole foods – vegetables, fruit, pasture-raised meat and eggs, seafood, and nuts – is the diet to which humans are best adapted. The optimal human diet does NOT include gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye), added sugars, vegetable oils (especially corn and soybean) and most dairy products. Beans, peanuts, and lentils should be minimized or avoided due to these plants' natural defenses against being eaten. Whether or not you eat meat, a grain-based diet is bad for you and for the environment.

3. Getting fat is not caused by eating fat. Breaking the body's natural processes for controlling appetite, absorbing nutrients, and storing/accessing energy in the form of fat is what causes people to gain weight and struggle to lose weight. Therefore, regulating your insulin response is a key factor in overall health and wellness.

4. The specific break-down of foods and macronutrients that lead to optimal health may depend on your heritage and current state of health. For example, someone who's ancestors hail from Sub-Saharan Africa may be better adapted to certain foods than the descendants of, say, Scandinavians. Also, a person with metabolic syndrome – obesity or Type 2 diabetes – may require a stricter diet in order to restore insulin sensitivity.

5. Whole grains are NOT healthy. There are no nutrients you can get from grains that you cannot get from vegetables or fruit, and gluten is toxic to humans.

6. Sugar used to be a scarce and precious commodity; now it is prolific. Whether in the form of high fructose corn syrup, table sugar, agave nectar, honey, refined grains, or alcohol, sugar is a dangerous substance that must not be over-consumed. Always eat your sugars with fiber, such as in the form of fruit. Do not eat fake sugars. Do not drink sugar.

7. If you have unexplained digestive problems (e.g. bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or heart burn), skin problems including acne or rosacea, auto-immune disorders, metabolic syndrome, or unexplained pain or stiffness, you should seriously consider changing your diet. Meeting with a holistic medical practitioner, especially one who specializes in nutrition and health, may help you with your recovery.

8. Ancestral health is a useful approach to studying human health and wellness. However, “because cavemen did it” should not be the only metric by which we determine the impact of any particular behavior. Scientific investigation into why certain ancestral behaviors were more beneficial than modern ones is essential to improving human health.

9. Lifestyle behaviors such as sleep, stress, and movement are important contributing factors in human health and well-being.

10. Poor people, especially those relying on food stamps, WIC, or other government services are ill-served by the USDA's nutritional advice to eat whole grains and low-fat meat and dairy. Also, adhering to a healthy ancestral diet may be out of reach for many people, due to cost, time to buy and prepare foods, limited access to unprocessed whole foods, and lack of nutritional and/or culinary knowledge.

Beyond these main conclusions, there are several issues still being debated within the ancestral health community such as:

How much protein/meat/starch/fruit should people eat? Is there one set of guidelines that will work for everyone, or do people need to experiment to find an optimal diet?
Conventional, low-fat dairy has been linked to auto-immune disorders and other health problems. Is raw/whole/pasture-raised/fermented dairy equally harmful?
What are the key studies that need to be done to advance our understanding of nutrition, lifestyle, and human health?

There was a ton of information packed into only two days of talks, but there were a few topics that were absent or seemed under-developed. The only specific food I didn't hear much about was soy. Fermented soy was briefly mentioned as having positive health benefits, and soybean oil was definitely labeled as bad. Corn and soybeans dominate the vast monocrop industrial farms that demand scarce resources and pollute the environment, so there are solid ethical reasons for avoiding these products. However, I would have liked to hear more about the health impacts of different soy products such as edamame or tofu versus soy milk or soy lecithin.

The majority of the symposium focused on why/how certain behaviors contribute to better or poorer health and how to implement positive practices into modern life. Other than additional research, I didn't come away with a strong sense of what needs to be done to disseminate this information and help more people modify their diets and lifestyles. How can the ancestral health community connect with members of other communities (e.g. sustainable agriculture, global food and poverty, or policy advocacy groups) to achieve common goals such as moving away from grain-based agriculture or revising nutritional standards? What policy changes should the community be advocating for, and how do we mobilize people to make these changes?

If the goal is a healthy human population, in which an ancestral diet is widely accessible and sustainable, what are the steps needed to achieve that goal? If we prioritized polycultures, how many people could we feed a Paleo diet? Given that this is a blog about sustainable food systems, this last point is the one I want to focus on in the future. Although produce plays a big role in ancestral diets, most Paleo diet cookbooks and blogs advocate getting the majority of your calories from animal products. Of course, this has implications for sustainability because the volume of meat that can be produced in a sustainable and ethical manner may be limited. However, author and presenter Don Matesz suggested that humans may not need to eat quite as much meat as some Paleo proponents advocate and, furthermore, he thinks too much meat can also lead to health problems. I'll go into more detail later, but I was very encouraged by my discussions with Don. A diet in which meat and seafood are consumed only on a weekly basis rather than every day or at every meal may still be healthy insofar as you can get enough iron and B12 eating this way. Getting enough protein may require more eggs, seafood, or meat especially since beans and lentils can cause digestive problems and should be consumed only in moderation if at all. Even nuts and nut butters should probably be limited to a few servings per day. A low-meat diet with perhaps more ethical eggs and seafood, supplemented with some lentils and nuts, sounds like the best option for me.

If you are interested in learning more about a Paleo/ancestral diet, be sure to check back for more posts in this series and links to the presentation/interview videos. Also, check out the following websites:

Mark's Daily Apple (Mark Sisson)
The Paleo Solution (Robb Wolf)
Primal Girl (Tara Grant)
Raw Food SOS (Denise Minger)

For more on why sugar is especially bad for humans, watch Sugar: The Bitter Truth, by medical researcher and symposium presenter Robert Lustig.

From moons to moos.

2011-08-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

[Note: This is a reposting with minor alterations of my intro piece for The Naked Bear Blog, a blog put together by my students at Berkeley last spring, explaining how and why I got started in sustainable food systems. The student blog is not currently active, but there are some terrific and inspiring articles that you should check out!]

As a graduate student in planetary science – I study moons of Jupiter – I often feel out of place in undergraduate courses on sustainable agriculture or food journalism. On the first day of class, when we go around the room and students announce that they are majoring in resource management or environmental policy, I wonder if I really have anything to offer. I assume they are wondering if I got lost on my way to a seminar. The truth is, though, regardless of our backgrounds, we can all contribute to a sustainable future by simply being more aware of what we eat.

Sustainability most often refers to maintaining the complex natural systems that provide us with fresh air, clean water, and a wondrous habitat in which to live. Sustainable food systems also address the impact of food production on the well-being of humans and animals. It is the intersection of these three areas: environment, human health, and animal welfare, that compels me to act. Our food system has consequences that are both long-term (what does this do to the planet) and short-term (how can we keep our 10-year-olds from becoming obese) and at both the smallest scale of community – our bodies, our families – and the global community as well.

“Be the change you want to see in the world” ~Ghandi

My first decision, upon learning about where our food actually comes from and all of the ramifications of that system, was to turn in disgust and walk in the opposite direction from industrial, conventional food. I completely stopped eating conventional meat and eggs; I haven’t purchased eggs from a grocery store in over a year. I also switched to organic produce, ideally locally-grown, which I purchase from various farmers markets and through a farm CSA. The transition was easier than I thought it would be. It’s amazing how much less appetizing a cheeseburger looks when I can envision the cow from whence it came living in its own muck, unable to move because it is so confined, and being pumped full of antibiotics to keep it from dying because it’s forced to eat corn that its body cannot process. And it doesn’t stop with the patty. I can almost see the corn sweeteners in the bun that will cause an insulin spike in my blood and the pesticides used to grow the vegetables draining into the local water supply. This is the story behind nearly every cheeseburger served in a restaurant or fast food joint in the United States, every burger grilled on the fourth of July using the cheap ground beef and hamburger buns sold in nearly every grocery store.

“Knowledge that acts is infinitely more useful than knowledge that sits idle” ~Kahlil Gabrin

In making this transition, I noticed that I wasn’t hearing a lot about these issues from my friends and colleagues. There were lots of Facebook rants about the Tea Party and American Idol and poor grammar, but I realized that the food issues I was learning about were simply absent from the discussion. Changing my own diet was a certainty, but I can’t change the system by myself. To spread the word, I started blogging - to not only inform people of the issues with food, but also to give them an example of how a more sustainable food lifestyle can work. I want to show people that even a busy graduate student can afford, in both time and money, to make better choices. I went a step further by contributing to the Naked Bear sustainable food magazine put together by Berkeley students in 2009 (bears are their mascot). Later, I co-taught a course on food systems and social media, which resulted in the terrific articles featured on The Naked Bear Blog. My goal is to continue to disseminate information about both the problems and solutions within our food system and to teach others to do the same. I hope you will find this blog a useful tool and that you will pass along the information you learn here. There is a sustainable food system out there, and every decision we make can be a step toward that future.

Nunchucks of the kitchen ninja.

2011-07-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Cooking is an integral part of an ethical food lifestyle. Only by cooking your own meals can you control what nutrients make it into your body and what kind of food system you are supporting. If you are like me, though, you grew up with a limited repertoire. Back in college, I could make a mean mac and cheese. You know, from the box… I also microwaved a killer lasagna!

Cooking “real food” was intimidating, so I started slowly. Once a week, my best friend would bring her laundry to my house (I owned a washer AND a dryer – no quarters needed!), and we would cook dinner together, chat, and watch Frasier. We stuck with pretty simple foods, sometimes from a box, but at least it got us into the kitchen.

I’ve come a long way since those days. Now cooking is a hobby of mine. My husband and I have had some of our best conversations over a cutting board and a glass of wine. Because we are often experimenting with new foods – strange CSA vegetables and different cuts of meat – we put more time into picking recipes and preparing our food with care. It makes cooking and eating more of an experience rather than a chore.

One thing I have learned over the years is that having the right equipment makes all the difference. Cooking is a lot more fun when you have everything you need in front of you! What exactly is the right equipment? Well, I’m so glad you asked. Below you will find a list of my top ten kitchen essentials.

Ethical Eats’ Kitchen Essentials:

1. Cutting boards

A healthy diet is heavy on the vegetables, and that means a lot of chopping. Multiple, quality cutting boards are essential. I use a cutting board every day whether for slicing fruit with breakfast, an avocado on my lunch salad, or veggies for dinner. Even though I make an effort to rinse and reuse them, having a few boards on hand makes life a lot easier.

2. A really good knife

Of course, you can’t chop veggies (or anything else) without a knife. I was shocked at how much faster and easier chopping was once I bought a high quality knife. I prefer a Santoku, but my husband prefers a chef’s knife. If it’s sharp and well-made, the decision comes down to personal preference. But trust me, you will never regret buying a good knife!

3. Salad spinner or colander

Leafy greens – like chard, kale, and spinach – provide tons of nutrients despite having very few calories. I try to eat about 8 cups of greens every day. My salad spinner is essential for creating fresh salads and preparing my latest addiction: sautéed greens with mushrooms and lentils. Even if I’m not spinning anything, the slotted bowl makes a great colander that I use while cleaning veggies. I also have a fine-mesh colander for rinsing beans, lentils, and berries.

4. Mixing bowls with lids

Mixing bowls are always useful for, well, mixing things. I also use mine for storing veggies. I try to clean and chop all my veggies for the week at once so I can easily throw together a salad or whip up a quick veggie side dish. My lunch salads are divided into two storage bowls: one with lettuce and one with toppings. That way, if I run out of lettuce, I can still use the toppings in an omelet. Or if one ingredient goes bad, I can still use the rest. Long-lasting salad veggies I often use are broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, squash, salad turnips, and radishes. I tend to avoid bell peppers, mushrooms, and cucumbers because they get sticky rather quickly. I often add avocado in the morning as I am packing up my salad to take to work. It only takes a minute or two since I always have a cutting board ready!

5. Skillet (with lid)

I seriously could not live without my skillet. It’s huge, non-stick, and has a lid. I use it to make chili, stew, sautéed veggies, pan-fried fish, stir-fry, scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, and more. Technically it can go in the dishwasher, but it cleans up so easily, there’s really no need!

6. Jelly-roll/baking pan

There are lots of names for a flat, rectangular, baking sheet with raised edges. Ours is apparently called a jelly-roll pan. Great for baking fish, roasting root vegetables, and making chard chips – we must use this thing at least once a week. Rather than lining it with aluminum foil or applying cooking spray, we use a Silpat baking mat. Nothing sticks to it. Seriously… nothing. You have to wash it by hand, but it’s really useful if you cook a lot of things in the oven.

7. Tongs, a really good spatula, a slotted pasta spoon, and a meat thermometer

Yah, I know – I actually listed four things there, but they are all “utensils”. Unexpectedly, tongs have become our go-to kitchen tool. They are great for turning things over, doling out salad, and can be used to grab your partner’s nose when he or she really deserves it! We use spatulas and slotted spoons with almost every meal, and the meat thermometer is essential for cooking meat perfectly.

8. Measuring cups and spoons

These are pretty self-explanatory. Most recipes require measuring ingredients, and you will also need to know how much you are eating if you want to track nutrients or calories. One word of advice: buy metal measuring spoons. Our first set was plastic, and the numbers rubbed off over time.

9. Olive oil

We use this healthy oil in virtually all our cooking. I even use a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar as salad dressing.

10. Spices

Food is never boring when you have lots of spices! The ones I use the most (though not all together) are: fresh cracked pepper, paprika, chipotle chili powder, garlic (powder or fresh), cumin, and an Italian blend. We also have several Mrs. Dash blends. The same kind of fish can be a totally different experience depending on how it is seasoned!

Well, there you have it – 10 essential items for a home kitchen. With practice, patience, and these 10 tools, anyone can cook! I have compiled everything but the oil and spices into an Amazon Wishlist: Ethical Eats' Kitchen Essentials. I wanted to make a ListMania List, but there were some technical difficulties. So… be aware that you can’t buy these products directly from the Wishlist, or you will be buying them for me! Just follow the links to place an order. Whenever possible, I attempted to find exactly the same product that I own, so I could be sure I’m directing you to tools I know. Even so, I claim no responsibility for the quality of the particular item you receive should you place an order. Got all that? Good, now get cooking!

Fizzy failures.

2011-07-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

I am a Dr Pepper freak. Or at least, I used to be. In high school, I started each morning with a can of Dr Pepper. After my morning snack of Reese’s peanut butter cups, I would grab a quick lunch: a cup of pasta with red sauce and (of course) a Dr Pepper. If I still had any change left in my pocket at the end of the day, I would hit the vending machine once more after school.

In college, I upgraded to the plastic bottles. I wanted to recycle them, but I didn’t have easy access to a bin, so the empty bottles would pile up at home, at work, wherever I happened to be. When I first met my now-husband, he stopped by my work to say hi. I wasn’t around so he left me a note in which he pretended to be a building manager and scolded me for the myriad bottles and cans that “peppered” my workstation.

Over time, as I slowly but steadily gained weight, I started to wonder about all that Dr Pepper. I first zeroed in on the calories: 200 in every bottle I drank! A 20-oz bottle also has 68 grams of sugar. I didn’t really know how to interpret that number at the time. According to the Hershey's website, it’s just about the same as eating 7 peanut butter cups. SEVEN. For a while, I switched to Diet Dr Pepper. It didn’t taste as good, though, and I was bothered by all of the chemicals I knew must be in it to make it taste even remotely like Dr Pepper. Luckily, the whole chemical issue got me thinking… What is regular Dr Pepper besides chemicals? High fructose corn syrup is a highly processed substance, so how different is it really? And then I came to the fundamental issue: what is this stuff doing for me anyway?

Human beings have to eat or we die. Eating has a purpose. It nourishes us. It provides us with the absolutely necessary life-sustaining vitamins, minerals, and energy we need to function. In our culture, though, we have turned eating into a form of recreation. We eat something because it tastes good or because it’s convenient or cheap. We eat even when we aren’t hungry. And when we are hungry, we often satisfy that hunger with little regard for the quality of the calories we consume.

So what was all that Dr. Pepper doing for me? Well, at best it was doing nothing. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly clear that drinking soda day in and day out is anything but benign.

“Soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugars in Americans’ diets… Between 1970 and 2000, per-person daily consumption of caloric soft drinks increased 70%” [1]

In 2007, a study was published in which the authors reviewed the results of 88 previous studies on the health effects of soda consumption [2]. The first thing they determined was that people who drink soda do not eat less food. Unlike a snack, the extra calories in soda do not lessen a person’s urge to eat. I could never consume seven peanut butter cups in one sitting, partly because I’d be full after only two. I also know that peanut butter cups are candy – they are treats, meant to be enjoyed only now and then. I had no problem consuming just as much sugar in soda form, though, and never gave it much thought.

The same study found some evidence that drinking soda actually makes people consume more calories at mealtime than they otherwise would [2]. One reason for this may be that drinking soda conditions you to want sweet things, so you seek out sweeter (and generally higher calorie) foods throughout the day. The effect of soda consumption on overall calorie intake seems to be strongest amongst women.

The link between soda consumption and Type 2 diabetes was quite strong, according to the report: “In a study of 91,249 women followed for 8 years, those who consumed 1 or more servings of soft drink per day were twice as likely as those who consumed less than one serving per month to develop diabetes over the course of the study.” [2] Even when BMI and other factors were considered, this outcome persisted. Soda consumption was also linked to calcium deficiency and poor bone health although these were probably indirect effects; people who drink lots of soda tend to consume less milk or other dairy – the main sources of calcium in a typical Western diet.

Sugar is a huge downside of soda. Table sugar is sucrose – approximately equal parts glucose and fructose. High fructose corn syrup, which is the sweetener of choice in most sodas, is about 55% fructose. Either way, drinking soda delivers a lot of fructose. The liver is responsible for breaking it down, but it can only handle so much. The high levels we consume (mainly as HFCS in soft drinks and other processed products) can actually lead to a serious condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease [3]. It’s called “non-alcoholic” to distinguish this type of liver disease from cirrhosis caused by alcoholism. An important thing to note is that alcohol is just fermented fructose; your liver doesn’t see much difference between the two. So even if it won’t make you drunk, sugar can fry your liver just as effectively as booze.

If the sugar in soda is such a problem, is diet soda the solution? Unfortunately, it’s not looking that way. Although the exact biochemical and physiological processes are not well-understood, there is increasing evidence that even diet soda contributes to obesity and metabolic syndrome. In a long-term study by the UT Health Science Center, people who consumed diet soda increased their waist circumference by 70% more than participants who did not. Those who drank at least two diet sodas a day had 500% larger increase in waist circumference over non-drinkers. A different study - of 10,000 people over 9 years - found that those who consumed ONE can of diet soda per day were 34% more likely to develop metabolic disorder. Additional studies also linked diet soda consumption with higher rates of obesity and high cholesterol.

“On average, for each diet soft drink our participants drank per day, they were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next seven to eight years, and 41 percent more likely to become obese,” said Sharon Fowler, M.P.H., faculty associate in the division of clinical epidemiology in the Health Science Center’s department of medicine. (From the UT Health Science Center press release)

In the search to understand why diet soda would make people fat, researchers looked into the effects of aspartame on mice (read more here). It turns out that the mice experience an insulin response from consuming aspartame. It’s a big leap from mice to men, but perhaps our bodies recognize sweetness and respond – in part, by releasing insulin – even if the sweet taste is synthetic and calorie-free. Caramel color has also been linked to insulin response in some preliminary studies. Research into the effectiveness of sports drinks on athletic performance may offer some clues as well. Cyclists were given a swig of sport drink, and they either swallowed it or swished it in their mouths and spit it out. Participants in both groups saw a performance enhancement. Just having the drink in their mouths caused their bodies to respond. It is an intriguing result (read more about the study here and here). It seems the body may begin responding to artificially sweetened sodas, flavored water, or sports drinks as though it was about to get sugar even if the sugar never arrives.

Our bodies respond to sugar by releasing insulin. The more our bodies produce insulin, the more likely we are to become insulin resistant. The result is that our bodies do not release fat as easily as they are supposed to, and we ultimately get fatter. Type 2 diabetes is an serious form of insulin resistance.

The idea that regular consumption of sweets makes people crave them even more may also contribute to the correlation between diet soda and obesity. People drink diet soda, thereby avoiding the extra sugar and calories of regular soda, but it is made up elsewhere. A poor diet overall may also be a contributing factor. Every fast food restaurant has soda available; frequenting these places means you are eating unhealthy food and washing it down with soda. Even diet soda is not going to make up for the extra calories, added sugar, and fat in the food.

From an environmental standpoint, our high soda consumption is also worrying. It currently takes between 1.7 and 3.1 liters of water to produce 1 liter of Coke (depending on the location of the plant) [4]. Coke has actually received a lot of criticism for their practices in India and other parts of the world; their plants have drained local wells and contaminated groundwater. Only 1% of Earth’s water is both drinkable and accessible, and we are using quite a lot of it to make and bottle soda. And that doesn’t even include the water and fossil fuels required to grow the corn used in making high fructose corn syrup. (Of course, our surplus of cheap corn is the reason we have so much cheap sweetener for soda; if we all stopped drinking soda, some other use would be found for cheap corn.) It is crazy to think about just how many resources are now devoted to creating beverages that give us nothing we need and a lot of things we don’t want.

Our perception of soda as simply a water substitute is flawed and maybe even dangerous. Soda is dessert. It may be tasty, but it should not be consumed at every meal or probably even every day. Diet soda (and possibly other artificially sweetened drinks) can still contribute to the health problems associated with regular soda. And all of these drinks require precious resources that could be put to better use.

I am no longer known for my obsession with Dr Pepper. Now people send me links to articles about food or ask me for tips on running. There was a time when Dr Pepper brought me so much pleasure, but in the end, it is just a drink. There is a lot more to life than soda. And there may be more to life without soda.

References:
[1] Johnson, R.K., et al. (2009) Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 120, p. 1011=1020.
[2] Vartanian, L.R., et al. (2007) Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. American Journal of Public Health, 94-4, p. 667-675.
[3] Ouyang, X., et al. (2008) Fructose consumption as a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Journal of Hepatology, 48, p. 993-999.
[4] Greenbiz article on Coca-Cola's attempts to improve its water usage

My first 50.

2011-06-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my 50th post, I compiled this list, which has a permanent link and short description of each post from oldest to most recent. Looking ahead, I'd really like to know what you guys want to hear about. Global food issues have come up before. It's a huge topic, though, so my research has been slow going. Any other food, lifestyle, or sustainability questions? If so, leave me a comment here or on the Facebook page. Thanks for reading!

My first 50 posts:

The first step. A short post introducing my blog.
They’re really more like guidelines. The guiding principles of my ethical food lifestyle.
Farm fresh, no guilt. My first trip to the farmers market - ethical meat and eggs!
Oh right, nutrition. The motivation behind my first nutritional experiment.
Eat at Steve’s. Is Chipotle really an ethical option? Mostly, yah.
1800 calories of Yum. Results of my first nutritional experiment.
False alarm. A short update on the nutrition results.
Problems with produce. Sourcing local, organic produce – important, but not always easy.
User-defined content. A more detailed look at local and organic, based on reader comments.
Pesky pesticides. The top 10 foods you should buy organic to avoid pesticide exposure.
Know thy dinner; know thyself. The importance of cooking, and tips on fitting cooking into a busy life.
Vegetarian chili over baked potato. A recipe that always gets rave reviews.
On the Border; Off the charts. Eating out means eating worse than I could have ever imagined.
The incredible, ethical egg. Why I am so vigilant about my egg sources, and how to find the truly ethical ones.
A char(me)d life. The awesomeness of chard, and a recipe for chard chips.
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” A book report on In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.
Piglet would approve. Slow Food and ethical sourcing of pork.
A+. A (glowing) review of the Animal Welfare Approved certification program.
Pasta Perry. A veggie-heavy pasta recipe with veggies from J.E. Perry Farms.
22 Square Feet Farms. My first backyard garden.
The Baron of Meat. More sources of ethical meat and the advantages of a local butcher shop.
We are what we eat. What a week of food looks like, and its associated cost.
Football for foodies. NFL player, Tony Gonzales, only eats ethical meat!
To organic and beyond! What does an organic certification really mean?
Organic II: Things that make you go eww. Human waste water, and it’s use in growing food.
From farm to Fremont. Investigating community-supported agriculture programs.
Vote early; vote often. Changing the food system requires political action, not just a change in eating habits.
Turkey with a side of gratitude. Approaching Thanksgiving, I reflect on the changes to my food lifestyle.
Stimulating dinner conversation: Three discussions about food. Part One. The Food Movements Unite panel discussion.
Part Two. A panel discussion on sourcing and supplying ethical meat.
Part Three. Q & A with Michael Pollan.
Consider me stimulated. My vision for a food movements website.
Fifteen-minute fish. A recipe for baked fish, fish tacos with coleslaw, and rice and beans.
Commercial break. Domino’s Pizza sourcing website sends me into a frenzy!
Community supported awesome. A review of my CSA – Eatwell Farm.
Salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, and faith-based farming (Part One) Joel Salatin’s lecture on the farming practices at Polyface.
A wiggly way to wipe out waste. My first worm bin!
Very veggie cassoulet. A not-very French version of a classic stew.
Salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, and faith-based farming (Part Two). How faith guides Joel Salatin’s farming philosophy.
Super Squash, For the Win! How to deal with a ridiculously large winter squash, and a recipe for Smoky Squash Soup.
Give me a home where the buffalo roam. The unfortunate ills of the bison industry.
Do you feel hungry, punk? A review of graffEats, a guerilla dining experience.
Hearty black bean stew. An easy recipe for black bean and vegetable stew.
Tobacco subsidies, up in smoke. The history and current status of US tobacco subsidies.
Eat by numbers. New scoring systems for food may help people make healthier choices.
How sweet it is. Research into alternative diets suggests that sugar is our biggest enemy.
Organic food, only a click away. Organic home delivery options make it easy to eat better.
Make it so. Cool food-related resources from the Maker Faire.
Almonds, a nutty industry. Some surprising facts about US almond production.
An apple a day. A nutritional work-up of my mostly-veggie lifestyle.

An apple a day.

2011-06-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

We all know that to be healthy, we should eat our vegetables. But how many veggies do we really need to get the essential vitamins and minerals we need for our bodies to function properly? Am I getting everything I need from my food? These questions struck me as I was putting together my weekly meal plan, so I decided to do a little experiment.

Over the past five years, I’ve been slowly transitioning from a typical pizza-and-soda lifestyle to a veggie-centric, low-meat diet. More recently, after years of digestive issues*, I have completely stopped consuming any dairy products and reduced my intake of grains. Giving up these (often fortified) foods means I rely heavily on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes for nutrients. In a day of prolific vegetable-eating, can I get the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of all my nutrients?

For my experiment, I decided to eat a large salad for lunch and pasta with shrimp, tomato sauce, and extra veggies for dinner. (Pasta is a rarity for me, and frankly, my stomach did not appreciate it!) I aimed for lots of greens and lots of variety, especially in the salad. I also ditched the traditional salad bowl and made a huge plate instead. These are the ingredients I used:

Super salad (5-6 servings):

~8 cups of green leaf lettuce
3 carrots
3 zucchini
1/2 red onion
5 cups broccoli florets
Topped with 1/2 cup steamed lentils (pre-cooked from Trader Joe’s), ~10 blackberries from my porch, 1 avocado, and ~1 tsp balsamic vinegar per serving

Shrimp pasta with extra veggies (6 servings):

8 cups chard, chopped
4 cups kale, chopped
3 zucchini
4 carrots
1 jar TJs Organic Tomato Basil Marinara sauce
1 pkg TJs Vegetable Radiatore pasta
1 lb large cooked shrimp (frozen from TJs)

I cleaned and chopped everything at once, and stored the salad in a huge airtight container in the fridge to eat throughout the week. It took less than an hour to clean, chop, mix, and store everything. And I was all set to make a quick and easy dinner.

Getting the stats.

Because I eat mostly whole foods, it was pretty easy to find out the nutritional content of my meals. Nutrition labels on packaged foods don’t usually report the quantities of micronutrients, such as vitamin B-12 or vitamin D, although some fortified foods, like cereal, tend to supply more information. I found three websites that were helpful in determining the nutritional value of my foods:

(1) Fit Day – Similar to Daily Plate (via Livestrong), Fit Day is a tracking system that allows you to add foods to a food log and automatically computes the nutritional load. Whole, unprocessed foods like apples or chard have all the micronutrients listed. Fit Day also offers weight tracking, mood journals, and other health and wellness tools. The charts I will show later all come from Fit Day’s food log tool.

(2) The USDA National Nutrient Database – This site allows users to search for foods and supplies nutrient information. The site looks dated and uninspiring, but it’s easy to use. I checked some of the values from Fit Day against these numbers, and they are the same. If you have a specific food you want to check out, this is a good place to go.

(3) Nutrition Data (by Self Magazine) – Somewhat surprisingly, this site was one of the best I have seen for accessing and interpreting information on individual foods. In addition to the standard nutrition label and tables of micronutrients, the site also displays several graphics to help users understand how the numbers relate to overall healthfulness. The site also appears to have tracking capabilities though I have not tried them out. There is certainly much more to explore here!

And now, the moment of truth.

Given my massive quantities of veggies, certainly I consumed everything my body could possibly need, right? Well, almost. Below, I have pasted in two charts from Fit Day showing the nutrients I consumed in my salad, pasta dinner, and the apple and 1.5 Tbsp of almond butter I had for breakfast. I had a few lentil chips too, but since they are processed, I have no way of getting their nutrient load and thus didn’t bother adding them in. I had the same problem with the pasta and pasta sauce (although I did include the nutrient info from the labels), so I may have gotten slightly more nutrients than the graphs show. Unless they are fortified, processed foods tend to have lower nutrient loads than whole foods, so this is likely a small effect.

As you can see in the table and chart, I did fairly well. I achieved at least 90% of the RDAs of most nutrients, and had way more than I needed of vitamins A, C, and B6 and the minerals copper and manganese. I also got plenty of fiber. However, several of my other B-vitamins, (such as niacin and thiamin) were rather low. I was also low in Calcium (44%), vitamin D (42%), and somewhat low in iron (78%). At only 16% of the RDA, my B12 level was most alarming. Most people get calcium and vitamin D from dairy, B-vitamins from fortified cereal, and iron from red meat. In my low-meat, low-wheat, no-dairy diet, perhaps these deficiencies are to be expected.

Isn’t it iron-ic?

According to the CDC, plant sources of iron are harder for the body to absorb than animal sources. That means my low iron level may be even more problematic given that most of my iron is coming from plant sources. I got nearly 20% from a half cup of lentils versus only 7% from the shrimp, my only animal-based food that day. Consuming iron with calcium can reduce absorption whereas vitamin C aids absorption.

Interestingly, even though our population typically consumes quite a lot of meat, the CDC names iron as the most common deficiency in the U.S. population. Eating meat isn’t necessarily a silver bullet, so we all need to be cognizant of our iron intake. People on diets low in animal products may need more iron than they realize due to the absorption issues.

The Bs have it.

Vitamin B12 is even more troublesome for people who do not eat animal products. According to the National Institutes of Health, B12 is important for proper nervous system, blood, and cellular functions. It is only found in animal-based foods, fortified foods, or as a supplement. Lack of B12 in adults can cause anemia, fatigue, numbness, and a host of other problems (see the fact sheet for a comprehensive list). Lack of B12 during pregnancy can be especially harmful to the developing fetus.

Apparently, a lot of B12 gets stored in the liver. Several vegetarian and vegan websites suggested that stored B12 can get a person through many years without consuming animal products or supplementary B12. I was able to confirm this via the Mayo Clinic. However, I was unable to find recommendations of how often a person should eat animal products to maintain B12 levels over the long term. People who have never eaten much meat may want to consider a supplement. And again, pregnant women need to be especially careful because a fetus has no liver stores to draw upon.

Folic acid (or folate) is an essential B-vitamin used in many cellular processes. We all need enough folic acid in order for our bodies to function properly, but here too, pregnant women need to be extra careful. According to the CDC, folic acid deficiencies lead to really awful birth defects such as spina bifida (malformation of the spine), cleft palate, and brain defects. Not something you want to mess around with!

FitDay doesn’t track folic acid, so I had to rely on the other sites to determine my intake. The half cup of lentils I had on my salad gave me 45% (!!) of my RDA. One medium zucchini gave me another 14%, one cup of broccoli florets offered 13%, and the other veggies each had 1-5%. In total, I had about 90% of my folic acid RDA from these foods.

Boning up on veggies.

I was low in bone-building nutrients, vitamin D and calcium. Vitamin D is notoriously difficult to get from food, but quite easy to get from sun exposure. Of course, lots of time in the sun has its own risks. Getting the RDA of calcium is also hard without consuming dairy or fortified foods. The Paleo Diet community has spent a great deal of time on this point because dairy is not considered Paleo (read more here and here). They argue that we don’t need as much calcium as the RDA suggests as long as we are consuming the proper foods. On a Paleo Diet, they claim, your body absorbs much more calcium than on a standard Western diet, so you don’t need to consume as much. While a sensible argument, I’m not sure I’m willing to bet my health on it.

Supplemental information.

This experiment has taught me that, as long as I plan to eat a low-meat, low-wheat, no-dairy diet, I would gain some peace of mind by adding supplements. I will be adding a calcium/vitamin D supplement as well as an iron supplement (to be taken separately to aid absorption!). Before I invest in a B12 supplement, I want to check with my doctor. I want to understand how often I need to eat animal products in order to keep my B12 at a healthy level even on days when I don’t have any animal products. In the meantime, I’ll order more ethical eggs from the Eatwell Farms CSA to make sure I’m getting more B12, more often. Lastly, I am going to supplement my folic acid intake. Some people are poor absorbers when it comes to folic acid, and I happen to be one of them! Even though I get nearly the entire folic acid RDA from food, it may not be enough for my body.

I have also learned that I probably eat too few calories. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner accounted for only 1100 calories. Adding in nuts and fruit as snacks, and some more legumes, would help me get more calories and more nutrients. Beans and lentils are especially high in iron – as much iron as meat in many cases – and also contain calcium.

Finally, this experiment really made me wonder how I survived on my old diet, and how the rest of the population does so. I used to hear “eat more vegetables” and respond by adding more tomato sauce to my pasta or eating a few extra potatoes. It didn’t occur to me that I was supposed to be eating several cups of leafy greens a day or that vegetables should play the starring role in all my meals. I wonder if the migraines, heartburn, and dizzy spells that I considered normal just a few years ago were my body’s way of telling me that it was sorely deprived. It’s amazing to me that we can eat so many calories and yet consume so few nutrients.

Even with all the changes I have made over the years, this experiment included more vegetables than I usually eat. It wasn’t hard, and actually, I really enjoyed having a giant salad for lunch. I think this experiment has helped me turn a corner. Understanding my nutritional needs based on my particular eating habits makes me feel more secure and allows me to be a healthy and well-functioning human. I hope that reading this inspires you to do a similar experiment. If you are eating a lot of processed foods, then getting micronutrient information may be tricky, but it’s worth the effort.

A healthy diet isn’t about weight loss or fads – it’s about living up to your potential and feeling confident in the choices you make. If you find that you are low in a lot of these nutrients, check with your doctor to make sure the information I have gathered is right for you. And remember to eat more vegetables – a LOT more vegetables!

For tips on getting more fruits & veggies and healthy eating even on a budget, check out:
Fruits and Veggies Matter (CDC)
Choose My Plate (USDA)

* If you have any GI issues at all, I strongly recommend a full-stop on dairy and/or grains for two weeks. If you are intolerant, as I am, eliminating these foods will make you feel better than you can even imagine right now! Complete elimination is tricky. It takes a lot of label-reading and care. It really is worth it, though, to feel truly healthy and normal.

Almonds, a nutty industry.

2011-06-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I love peanut butter. I mean, LOVE. Especially smeared on a toasted English muffin or on sliced apple – amazing! And there is nothing better than following each tasty bite with some piping hot coffee. It totally makes my morning.

Despite my infatuation with peanut butter, I’ve been trying to change things up. Having exactly the same foods every day means that I am getting the same nutrition every day – and missing out on the same nutrients. Also, peanuts are technically legumes. The Paleo diet recommends nuts rather than legumes, which contain anti-nutrients.

As I began my quest for a nut butter as awesome as my peanut butter, the first thing I noticed is that, unlike peanut butter, organic nut butters are basically non-existent. Apparently, organic nuts are rare and expensive. Despite the few options, I was able to find Kettle Brand Almond Butter (yup, the same guys who make the chips), Silk Almond Milk, and Pacific Natural Foods Organic Almond Milk (yay, organic!). I also picked up squeeze packs of Justin’s Almond Butter; sadly, stores near me don’t sell the jars. Later, I sat down with a glass of almond milk and started reading about almond production. What I found kinda made me not want to drink it anymore.

In 2004, there were two relatively small salmonella outbreaks that were linked back to almonds. Without any real pressure from consumers or the government, the Almond Board of California – the trade organization for US almonds - recommended to the USDA that all almonds be pasteurized to eliminate contamination. As of 2007, all domestic almonds must be pasteurized before they can be sold.

Quoting the Almond Board of California (ABC) website, the following are allowed methods of pasteurization:

Oil roasting, dry roasting, and blanching: These traditional processes provide the necessary reduction in harmful bacteria while providing consumers with the same product they have come to know and love.

Steam processing: These treatments are surface treatments only. Multiple proprietary steam treatments are currently being utilized by the industry which meets USDA Organic Program standards. The short bursts of steam do not impact the nutritional integrity of the almond. These treatments do not “cook” proteins or destroy vitamins and minerals. The nutritional and sensory characteristics of the almonds remain unchanged when treated with steam.

Propylene Oxide (PPO) treatment: PPO is also a surface treatment which has been approved for use on foods since 1958, and is widely used for a variety of foods such as other nuts, cocoa powder and spices. PPO is very effective at reducing harmful bacteria on almonds and poses no risk to consumers. In fact, PPO residue dissipates after treatment. The effectiveness and safety of this process was revalidated in July 2006, when PPO underwent a stringent re-registration process with the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA confirmed that PPO poses no health risk. The treatment does not affect the nutritional and sensory characteristics of almonds.

Despite the ABC claims that PPO is perfectly safe, the European Union has banned PPO on both domestic and imported almonds*. It is also considered a “probable carcinogen” and has many harmful side effects. Supposedly, the PPO dissipates and should not reach harmful levels in almonds. It is still an unsettling thought that this toxic chemical is in my food. I’d certainly prefer to avoid it if possible, but that’s harder than you might think.

Because steam processing and PPO treatments are surface treatments, almonds treated in these fashions can still be labeled as raw. That means, when you purchase almonds, almond butter, or almond milk, there is no way to know how the almonds were processed.

Pasteurization increases the cost involved with producing almonds. Using the steam method, the only method allowed for organic almonds, is apparently more expensive than the PPO treatment. Perhaps that explains why so few organic almonds are produced compared to peanuts; it’s simply too expensive. In addition, imported almonds are not required to undergo any treatments whatsoever, making them more competitive with domestically produced almonds.

The pasteurization requirement came after salmonella contamination sickened people. How do almonds get salmonella in the first place? Animals carry the bacteria that can sicken people; almonds don’t. According to the agricultural extension of Rutgers University, “possible sources of contamination in the field or packinghouse could include use of contaminated irrigation or wash water (from a bacterially contaminated well or pond), use of improperly composted manure in the field, or handling of the produce by sick field or packinghouse workers.”

Basically, if we were more careful with our produce, salmonella contamination simply wouldn’t be an issue. In our pursuit of a cheaper product, we allow (and in effect, force) growers and producers to cut corners. And for some reason, an acceptable solution to this problem is to add more chemicals to make up for poor production practices. As consumers, we now have very few choices. We can pay the nearly $20 per pound for organic almonds or accept the risk of PPO.

As for almond butter, there are few options, all of them considerably more expensive than organic peanut butter. Strangely, despite the fact that peanuts were linked to a much worse salmonella outbreak than has ever been caused by almonds, I found no indication that pasteurization is required for peanuts.

I found a few retailers who sell organic almond butter:
Quail Oaks Ranch
Once Again Nut Butter
Rejuvenative

In addition, Justin’s Nut Butters only uses steam-treated almonds. I know this because Justin’s website contains sourcing information on every ingredient in every product they sell. From farm locations to food miles, Justin’s is clearly committed to using sustainable ingredients and practices AND making that information available to the public. Justin even held a sustainable squeeze packet summit in an effort to find a greener alternative to his single-serving nut butter packets. You can follow his progress on his blog. Justin’s almond butter comes in 16 oz. jars for just under $10. Other products include peanut and almond butters either plain, with honey, or with chocolate, maple almond butter, chocolate hazelnut butter, and ORGANIC PEANUT BUTTER CUPS! You can purchase some products online or do a retailer search.

I will definitely be more careful of what almond products I buy in the future. I prefer to avoid PPO, and I would always rather support smaller organic farms that employ more sustainable practices. Hence, I’ll be sticking with organic almond products or buying from companies like Justin’s that are choosing steam instead. Either way, my morning coffee and nut butter ritual is here to stay!

* - I was unable to confirm via the EUs website that PPO-treated almonds have been banned. However, the ban was mentioned in virtually every article I read on the subject of PPO use in almond production.

Make it so.

2011-06-06T21:52:00.000-07:00

For the past few years, my (geek) husband has read every issue of Make Magazine cover-to-cover. For the uninitiated, Make is a do-it-yourself (DIY) magazine that provides instructions for building gadgets like a camera that can be flown on a kite or a credit card reader. They also offer reader challenges such as the best way to tie one’s shoes. The sister magazine, Craft, offers similar DIY advice on everything from shelving units to pillows to clothing and jewelry. Both magazines enable people to tinker and create in ways we didn’t know we could or have simply stopped doing in the “age of convenience”.

In addition to slick magazines and websites chock full of even more project ideas, tips, and forums, the magazines have spawned the Maker Faire. Several times a year, in cities across the US, self-proclaimed “makers” meet up to share ideas and techniques, peddle their wares, and contribute to a community of people who like to do-it-themselves.

My local Maker Faire took place in San Mateo on May 21st and 22nd (yup, same day as the apocalypse). I attended the first day with my husband and several friends. There is so much to see and do at a Maker Faire! This year, though, I was most excited for the Hometown Village – an area devoted to DIY food, farming, and homesteading. Seeing people take such pleasure in activities we often think of as chores, and coming up with creative innovative ideas, was inspiring. Here are a few booths/groups that really caught my attention.

I am 100% Homegrown.

Created by the non-profit organization, Food Aid, Homegrown.org is building a social network around food cultivation, preservation, and enjoyment. Like all social networking sites, members create profiles, connect with friends, upload photos, and post status messages. Groups and discussions add value to the site by allowing people to access information about when to plant a certain vegetable or the best way to raise backyard chickens. They also have an easy way of connecting people with their real-life communities. Produce swaps and dinner clubs are examples of the community-building potential of Homegrown.org.

Homegrown also enables bloggers to add their posts to their profiles and aggregates all members’ posts on their blog page. What a great way to connect readers and bloggers! I am already hooked on Dissertation to Dirt, a blog by a young married couple trying to start their own organic farm.

At the Maker Faire, Homegrown distributed fun and colorful info cards (found here). One had recipe for kale pesto, another had instructions on how to save tomato seeds, and the third explained how to build a self-watering container. They also had free pins and stickers!

I’m a fun guy.

It turns out that great coffee doesn’t just perk us up. It also perks up mushrooms. That’s right – used coffee grounds can be reused as soil to grow gourmet oyster mushrooms. I know this because Nikhil Arora, co-founder of Back to the Roots, explained it to me at his Maker Faire booth.

Along with his business partner, Alejandro Velez, these two UC-Berkeley students (Go, Bears!) have created a thriving business in which they collect used coffee grounds from participating Peet’s Coffee establishments and use them to grow mushrooms that are sold in various Whole Foods stores. They also sell mushroom growing boxes that contain enough used coffee to grow at least two batches of mushrooms in your own home. The best part is that mushroom growing enriches the coffee grounds so they can be added to the soil used in other plants. Rather than sending tons of coffee grounds to a landfill, Back to the Roots enables people to turn that coffee into delicious mushrooms and great fertilizer.

I picked up a Grow Your Own Mushroom Garden from the Maker Faire booth. Nikhil explained that it would take about 10 days for my mushrooms to grow once I started them. Hopefully, I will soon have cool pictures of my mushroom farm to share with all of you! You can pick up your own mushroom garden from the Back to the Roots website for $19.99 plus shipping. There is also a blog with many mushroom recipes. (You can read more about Nikhil and Alejandro in a post over at Civil Eats.)

I am a very-veggie partly-paleo dairy-intolerant ethical omnivore.

I’ve talked a lot recently about shopping because healthy eating begins with what foods you choose to bring into your home. The NuVal scoring system and Whole Food’s ANDI scores are intended to help people make better food choices once they get to the grocery store. While useful, these systems only reflect one idea of healthy and are not available in all areas.

Shopwell is an interactive customizable scoring system you can access online. Added sugars and foods with low nutritional content perform poorly, just as in the other systems, but Shopwell allows you to alter the scores based on your preferences. Scores can be augmented to account for various food intolerances, target specific health problems such as diabetes or high cholesterol, or to avoid certain nutrients like sodium. There are positive alteration options, too, such as athletic training or getting more fiber.

Shopwell allows you to build your grocery list and then gives you the option to “trade-up”. Based on your preferences – and the standard scoring system – Shopwell recommends similar foods that score higher than the brand or food that you would normally purchase. Little changes can go a long way, and it may be easier than you think to make better choices.

I’m a Maker.

The Maker Faire was exciting, and not just because I got to have my picture taken with R2D2. It’s because people are finding fulfillment in the simple process of creating. And a lot of their creations are making a sustainable, healthful, ethical food system closer to a reality. I am proud to be a part of this community – a maker of worm bins, tomatoes, and in my small way, a whole food revolution.

Organic food, only a click away.

2011-05-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

As my last post described, eating fresh veggies (and some fruit) is the cornerstone to any healthy diet from the USDA guidelines to the Paleo Diet and so on. With all I’ve read and learned over the past couple of years, I am fully convinced that seasonal local produce, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, is best for our personal health and the health of people in farming communities. It is also the most sustainable way of growing food now and for years to come. In the past, accessing organic (or beyond organic) foods was challenging due to lack of availability and the corresponding high price. Nowadays, there are many options for even the busiest people to get high quality, fresh, organic foods.

Joining a CSA* is great option, but I’ve recently stumbled across something that may be better for busy people who want organic food but don’t want to add an extra chore like picking up a CSA box or taking a trip to the farmers market. There are now several online businesses that allow you to place a customizable order online and have the food delivered to your doorstep. Many of these businesses focus on organic foods and offer more than just produce. These services can actually eliminate your weekly shopping trips altogether.

With a little bit of internet searching, I was able to find organic food delivery options throughout the country – from the SF Bay Area, Portland, and Seattle, to Austin, D.C., Chicago, and more! Some online stores work directly with local farmers and strive to supply most of their food from within the region. Others are more focused on variety and meeting the demands of customers even if it means getting produce from Mexico or beyond.

Each service allows customers to place orders that arrive as frequently as once a week. The specific foods you receive can be changed each week online through your account. Those services that provide more than just produce allow you to search for foods based on allergies, such as wheat or dairy intolerance, which can make shopping much easier. All of the services I viewed deliver food to your doorstep even if you are not at home. Care is taken to preserve food that may be left out for hours. If you prefer to keep your food indoors you can give them a key to your house or garage.

Planet Organics, which delivers to the SF Bay Area, focuses heavily on locally-sourced foods. In addition to produce, they offer meat and seafood, eggs, milk, and processed organics like cereal and pasta. Planet Organics uses about a dozen labels to quickly identify vegetarian options, common allergens, certified organic foods, and even grass-fed or pasture-raised animal products. Another neat option is the ability to add products to a favorites list. If you really love blackberries, for example, you can add them to the list and receive blackberries anytime they are available. They also offer recipes with ready-made groups of ingredients (called meal kits) that you can add to your shopping list. The interface is easy to use and your food delivery is very customizable. The minimum purchase is $32.

Here are a few other doorstep organic companies that deliver outside my area:

Greenling: Based out of Austin, TX, these guys seem very passionate about working with local farmers and getting healthy produce to the people of Central Texas! If you live in Austin, this sounds like a great option for local organic produce and locally-sourced artisan products at a minimum of $25 per box. They even have gift cards with seeds in them, so you can plant them after use. Neat!

SPUD: With delivery areas in the SF Bay Area, Seattle, L.A., and several cities in Canada, SPUD was certainly the flashiest site I found. While they do offer some local organic produce, you have to do a bit of searching to isolate these options. SPUD is probably a good option for people who just want healthy food and lots of processed food options, like waffles and juice, and aren’t too worried about where their food is grown.

Suburban organics: This company delivers to many east coast areas including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and parts of New York and Maryland. They offer mainly produce, all of it organic. In summer months, the food is mostly local (unless you request things like bananas and mangoes, which will never be local). In winter, though, they rely on shipments from Mexico and South America. Again, this is a good option for people who are mostly concerned with having easy access to organic food. Suburban Organics also partners with Door-to-door Organics, which has hubs in and around Colorado, Kansas City, Chicago, and Michigan.

There are many components to eating ethically. Human health, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability are all important aspects of a truly ethical food system. Organic bananas or out-of-season tomatoes are not the best options when it comes to the environment. Processed organic products and organic produce from industrial-scale monoculture farms are other examples of foods that live up to the label of certified organic but probably offer little improvement in sustainability over their conventional counterparts. Despite these shortcomings, restoring the health and well-being of our population is a worthy goal. Organic home delivery offers an opportunity for more people to access fresh and healthy foods, and local or not, that is a huge step forward.

* - Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs link farmers and consumers directly. Typically, you commit to purchasing a certain amount of food (produce, meat, etc.) each week. A box is delivered either to your home or to a central drop-off location. CSAs offer food that is currently being harvested, so it’s the easiest way to get seasonal fresh food. I am a member of the CSA at Eatwell Farm, which delivers one box every two weeks to a location near my work. I get several kinds of fruits and veggies plus a half dozen eggs. You can read more about my motivations for joining a CSA in this post, and about my experience with the Eatwell Farm CSA specifically in this post.

How sweet it is.

2011-05-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

(Acknowledgement: This post was greatly improved by the input of nutrition-guru, Tess McEnulty. Thanks, Tess!)

Go to any bookstore, pick up any lifestyle magazine, or watch pretty much any talk show, and you will get advice on how to eat. Most of this advice mimics the USDAs new food pyramid and nutrition guidelines. We are all familiar with this advice: eat fewer calories, avoid foods that are high in cholesterol or fat (especially saturated or trans fats), and eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats and dairy.

Perhaps you have also heard that unprocessed foods are better than their processed counterparts. Oranges, for example, are better for you than orange juice according to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Local, organic, and seasonal are also associated with healthy foods. These fruits and vegetables have to make it to consumers quickly or they spoil. That extra freshness likely translates to higher nutrition.

Despite all of this information, we still have an increasingly obese population. Certainly some people simply choose to eat poorly. But we all have friends (or even have experienced this ourselves) who seem to follow all the rules and still have trouble losing weight. In recent years, several theories have come out suggesting that perhaps our idea of what constitutes a healthy diet is actually flawed. Three notable people at the center of these investigations are Gary Taubes, Robert Lustig, and Loren Cordain. In many ways, their conclusions are similar, but each one has focused on a different aspect of why and how we gain and lose weight.

Forget about calories. And fat. Oh, and cholesterol too.

Science writer, Gary Taubes, has done extensive research into the scientific case linking the consumption of fatty foods and cholesterol to obesity and heart disease. As reported in his 700-page book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, Taubes found the so-called evidence unconvincing. Instead, he learned that our bodies’ ability to regulate blood sugar seems to hold the key to keeping us healthy. The connection between fat storage and insulin response is better at explaining why certain cultures are healthier than others. Consuming refined carbs and sugars, which play a large role in our Western diet, triggers an insulin response and ultimately lead to metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and obesity.

When it comes to losing weight, Taubes dismisses the notion of calorie counting. We often think of weight loss, or more specifically fat loss, as an equation. How much you weigh equals the calories you take in minus the calories you burn through regular activity or exercise. If that were true, simply reducing calorie intake or increasing calorie burn should lead directly to fat loss. However, if your body chooses whether to store or burn fat based on hormones and insulin levels, then reducing calories won’t necessarily allow you to lose more fat. The key is to keep your insulin levels low, so that your body responds more sensitively to insulin and is willing to give up the fat.

The best way to keep your insulin levels low is by vastly reducing your intake of refined carbs and sugars. Eat as much as you want, but eat the right foods: plenty of vegetables (especially the green leafy kind), quality animal proteins, nuts, and nut butters. Legumes, whole dairy, or whole grains are probably fine for most people, especially those at their target weights, but they may inhibit weight loss.

A recent article in Men’s Journal (my dad sent me a copy), covered Taubes’ diet guidelines in a bit more detail than I will here. They offer recipes, a sample week-long meal plan, and this Taubes-style food pyramid.

Endocrinologist and professor, Robert Lustig, is also concerned about the effects of insulin resistance on weight and health. He is focusing mainly on the effects of fructose, the type of sugar found naturally in fruit and honey and in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which now appears in many processed foods from soda to bread.

Fructose is processed in the liver, which Lustig believes can only handle so much fructose at one time. When we eat fruit, the fiber it contains helps the liver process the fructose – not the case when we consume fructose in other forms such as soda and other sweetened beverages. In a popular YouTube video, Lustig explains that over-consumption of fructose can lead to liver disease, metabolic syndrome, and eventually, obesity and it’s accompanying problems. Unlike the average 15g of fructose that most people would get from daily consumption of fruits and vegetables, today’s teens average 72g per day from other sources like soda and junk food.

So yummy, a cave man could eat it.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Loren Cordain is one of the main proponents of The Paleo Diet. The philosophy behind Paleo is to consume only those foods that we have been eating since before the agricultural revolution. The foods we survived on as hunter-gatherers are the foods we evolved to consume, so our bodies are better able to tolerate them and utilize their nutrients. The Paleo Diet differs a bit from the Taubes-Lustig paradigm. People following the Paleo diet do not eat grains, dairy, or legumes. The refined carbs and sugars that Taubes and Lustig are warning us about are certainly excluded in this diet, but starchy vegetables and fruit are considered okay in moderation.

There is now a great deal of work looking into why exactly the classic hunter-gatherer foods are healthy while many newer ones are not. Research suggests that some agriculture-based foods contain so-called anti-nutrients. These are natural defense mechanisms that certain plants employ to keep from being eaten. Despite our cleverness at making these foods edible, they may actually lead to many chronic health problems such as auto-immune disorders, asthma, and more.

Switching to a Paleo diet may sound rather daunting especially compared to the typical American diet. It took me about a year to transition from pizza and soda to a veggie-centric diet. Slowly but surely, though, anyone can make the switch. Even with all the changes I have made, this trio of nutrition experts has caused me to wonder just how healthy my diet really is.

How do I stack up?

Based on the USDA guidelines, I eat a healthy diet. I consume a lot of vegetables, cook most of my meals, and haven’t eaten at a fast food restaurant or ordered a restaurant burger in years. But how much sugar is in my “healthy” diet?

The following table shows what foods I typically eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus snacks and dessert. While some of my food choices would certainly be Lustig-approved (my English muffin plus peanut butter has a mere 1.5g of sugar), nearly all my snack choices have 13-19g of sugar despite being healthy-sounding foods. If I chose the lowest sugar option for each meal and had only one snack, my total sugar intake for the day would still be close to 30g. With the highest-sugar options, my daily intake of sugar would be nearly 120g!

Unfortunately, there is no USDA daily recommended intake of sugar. The American Heart Association does have a recommendation though: 20g of added sugar per day for women and 36g for men. Even my lowest sugar options would be too high by this measure. And although many of my sugars are from fruit (so not added sugars), one granola bar is basically my whole sugar allotment for the day.

Another way of visualizing sugar is by comparing it to things we perceive as being sweet treats. The website, Sugar Stacks, goes one step further by showing popular foods next to the equivalent number of little white sugar cubes. My daily sugar intake is on par with a liter bottle of soda, 2 Rockstar energy drinks, or 2-3 bags of Skittles. On the one hand, that seems like a lot sugar for natural healthy foods. On the other hand, a college freshman who consumes a couple of energy drinks has ingested as much sugar as I eat in a whole day! Either way you look at it, we are getting a lot of sugar.

Knowledge is power.

My sugar intake is lower than the average American, who apparently consumes a staggering 90 pounds of sugar each year (that’s >100g every single day), but it may still be too high. Now that I know, I can make better choices. For example, topping my salad with 2T of fresh blueberries rather than 1.5T of raisins would reduce my sugar intake by 8.6g. Sticking with black coffee or tea instead of a latte reduces it by 17g. And eating my tuna salad over mixed greens with a little balsamic vinegar rather than as a sandwich saves me another 5.4g - and I get my greens!

Snacking seems to be my worst area. Here are some easy snacking alternatives that would really make a difference in my diet. Rather than a granola bar or fruit (13-19g of sugar), I could eat:

2T hummus and 1 chopped carrot, 5g
Trader Joe’s Roasted seaweed snack, 0g
1/2 English muffin with 1T peanut butter, 1.5g
1/4 cup raw almonds, walnuts, or cashews, 0-2g

Cordain, Taubes, and Lustig offer a glimpse into a real-food loving future. Imagine, you can eat all you want and not get fat. You can enjoy a big juicy steak, cashews, avocados, even scrambled eggs and bacon. You can stop worrying about cholesterol and calories. All you have to do is give up the sugar. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Additional resources:
- Gary Taubes recently wrote an article in The New York Times about Lustig and his work
- The recipes for my dinner options have been featured in previous posts: 15-minute fish and hearty black bean stew

Eat by numbers.

2011-05-01T22:06:00.000-07:00

Nutrition has been making the news a lot lately, and for good reason. Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity are becoming increasingly prevalent. The rise in childhood obesity is especially disturbing. According to the Center for Weight and Health in Berkeley, 11% of California’s children are obese – defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) in the 95th percentile or higher. Over 30% of adolescents in California are obese or in danger of becoming obese (>85th percentile).

The problems are obvious, but the solutions aren’t so clear. We know we need to get more exercise and change our diets. Unfortunately, what constitutes proper nutrition and healthy food can be difficult to discern. Marketing schemes further muddy the waters because products marketed as healthy in one respect are often quite unhealthy in another.

If we want truly healthy foods to be readily available, we have to demand them as consumers. That means we need the public to understand what foods are healthy and be able to quickly and easily evaluate foods when they shop. People may not always choose healthy options (and that’s fine), but they should be able to know what choice they are making.

Easy access to clear information is the idea behind NuVal, a new food rating system. Designed by doctors, foods are ranked using a mathematical algorithm that compares the nutritional pros and cons of many grocery store products. A food product with a rating of 1 has virtually no nutritional value; a 100 is the best score. The goal is to have the NuVal score printed alongside the price in the grocery store, giving people a clear way of determining the best product based on their nutritional and economic values.

Scores for a selection of foods are shown on NuVal’s website. Blueberries, broccoli, tomatoes, mangos, and certain brands of frozen winter squash, fat free milk, and wheat bran cereals are some of the best scoring product, with scores between 91 and 100. Unsurprisingly, crackers, cookies, and salty snacks make up most of the bottom.

What’s especially powerful about this type of labeling system is that it allows people to easy identify nutritious foods despite the creativity of food marketers. I found several healthy-sounding foods with pathetically low scores. Keebler Townhouse Bistro Multigrain crackers received a score of only 2; Cheetos at least got a 4. Kashi Strawberry Fields cereal scored an 11, beating out Cap’n Crunch by a mere 1 point. There are even a few canned vegetables that perform incredibly badly, probably due to excess sodium.

The NuVal system seems like a great idea, but it is based on one interpretation of what it means to be healthy. The current algorithm seems to follow the big picture USDA guidelines. As quoted from the USDA website, the recommended diet:

Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

Over time, we may determine that the diet recommended for the USDA and adopted by NuVal is not as complete. For example, the Paleo diet has been gaining traction lately, especially in athletic communities. Pioneered by Dr. Loren Cordain, the Paleo diet recommends that we minimize our intake of fruit due to its high (albeit natural) sugar content and avoid grains and dairy, which humans have only starting eating relatively recently.

For now, though, the NuVal approach seems like a good first step. Perhaps some day, the majority of foods at the grocery store will score high on the NuVal chart, and then we can worry about further distinguishing the best options from the good options. Only a few stores have incorporated the NuVal scoring system so far. You can find the stores on their website as well as info on recommending the system to your local store.

NuVal will not be the sole solution to our nutrition problems, but it is the first system I’ve seen that could really empower consumers to make healthy choices and vote with their dollars every time they go to the store. Having the scores so prominently displayed is also likely to generate interest in nutrition issues and hopefully engage the public in the way our food system operates. And that’s a pretty high scoring outcome in my book!

Tobacco subsidies, up in smoke.

2011-04-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

My investigations into the food system generally result in depression and/or anger. When I decided to take on tobacco subsidies, I had a feeling it would at least ruin my weekend. Just goes to show, you never know the answer until you ask the question.

After the great depression, programs like farm subsidies and crop insurance were instituted to protect people (both growers and consumers) from volatile crop prices. The program for tobacco restricted the size and location of tobacco farms as well as the amount of tobacco that could be grown on any one farm. The idea was to regulate the supply of tobacco to keep the price steady over many years. If the price of tobacco fell despite the quotas, farmers could use their crops as collateral on a loan from the government. The loans were generally repaid over the next few growing seasons as the price rebounded.

In 1982, as people were learning that tobacco products are extremely addictive and lead directly to many forms of cancer, there was a public outcry. People did not want the government supporting tobacco farming with their tax dollars. The No-Net-Cost Tobacco Program was the result: growers and buyers shared the cost of a small fee added to all marketed tobacco. The fee was used to defray the costs of loans that were not repaid. Thus, although the loan program continued to help regulate the market and thereby supported tobacco farming in the US, it wasn’t costing the taxpayers money. At least, it wasn’t supposed to…

Administrative costs for the program remained the responsibility of the government. The government also paid tobacco farmers additional money in response to agricultural and natural disasters. In years when the prices of tobacco and other commodities were especially low, the government again authorized payments to farmers that came from taxpayer dollars. Administrative costs, and these extra payments, ran in the hundreds of millions. It’s a tiny fraction of the federal budget but still a lot of government money for a “no-cost” program.

Over time, domestic demand for tobacco continued to fall, causing the price to also fall. In response, the government reduced the quotas on tobacco production, thereby decreasing supply, in order to bolster tobacco prices. At the same time, however, tobacco farming from outside the US became increasingly competitive, and the US tobacco market suffered even more. It became clear that the old quota and loan system was no longer effective.

In 2005, President George W. Bush enacted the Tobacco Transition Payment Program (the “tobacco buyout”). The act eliminated regulations on the size and location of tobacco farms, crop quotas, and the loan program. Instead, starting in 2005 and continuing for the next 10 years, tobacco farmers receive a direct payment subsidy based on the amount of tobacco they grew in the years before the buyout. After this ten-year period, tobacco farmers will receive no financial assistance from the government.

With the money from the tobacco buyout, farmers can choose to transition to another crop, consolidate or expand their tobacco operations to become more efficient, or give up the farming business altogether. The buyout seems like a good way of transitioning farmers away from tobacco, but how much is it costing us?

Nothing. That’s right. The $10 billion that will be spent on direct payments to tobacco farmers is being paid by the manufacturers and importers of tobacco products. In exchange, these companies do not have to pay part of a health-based court settlement.

I wasn’t able to find any information on the environmental impact of more consolidated tobacco farms, and I don’t know if the buyout has increased cigarette prices or influenced demand for tobacco products. I do know that the government is getting out of the tobacco business and using the settlement against tobacco companies to do so. Overall, I can’t think of anything wrong with this, and that leaves me feeling surprisingly cheerful. If, years from now, it is shown that added sugar makes processed foods addictive and is unequivocally linked to severe health problems (as we already suspect), perhaps there will be a corn buyout. That would make me cheerful too.

(I did find this interesting article on the global environmental and ethical issues pertaining to tobacco farming. Lots of good reasons to no longer support tobacco farming, which I guess we don't!)

Sources:
The USDA Farm Service page on the buyout
CRS Report for Congress on (pre-buyout) tobacco price supports by J. Womack
The NC State buyout site (assistance for farmers)
The EWG Farm Subsidy Database

Hearty black bean stew.

2011-04-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

This is a hearty, flavorful dish that can be varied with the season. It can be made with sausage, or use mushrooms to create tasty vegetarian fare. To design your perfect stew, use the general ingredient list and add the ingredients from the variation that fits with your local food options and personal taste. I have also listed optional ingredients to kick up the spice.

Timing: About 30 minutes.

General ingredients:

2T olive oil
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
2 cans black beans
1 lb. cooked chicken sausage or 8 oz. mushrooms
1 T dried oregano
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
Winter variation: 2 cans diced/stewed tomatoes, 2 carrots, and 4-5 chard leaves
Summer variation: 4-5 medium tomatoes, 1 red bell pepper
Spicy variation: Dash of cayenne pepper, 1 jalapeno pepper

1. Chop the sausage. Dice the garlic and the jalapeno pepper (if applicable). All other vegetables should be coarsely chopped. If using fresh tomatoes, be sure to keep the juice. Drain and rinse the black beans.

2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add sausage and any veggies other than the tomatoes and garlic. Cook about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender.

3. Add garlic, and cook ~1 minute.

4. Stir in beans, tomatoes, and spices. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low.

5. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!

Do you feel hungry, punk?

2011-04-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ethical eating goes alternative.

Author’s Note: This work was originally intended to appear in a local food sustainability magazine. Unfortunately, it didn’t make the cut so I incorporated the interviews and photos into this post instead. I want to extend my sincere thanks to Blair Warsham and Clint Davies for taking the time to meet with me and for their fantastic work on the Steer n’ Beer event. I also want to thank my two wonderful photographers, Nadia Haq and Ryan Mack from Joy of Living Photography, who captured the event so beautifully. Lastly, I want to thank the attendees of the Steer n’ Beer for taking time out of their evening to share their thoughts and experiences.

Food is an integral part of many celebrations. From Valentine’s Day to birthdays to simply a night out on the town with your buddies, picking a fun or elegant restaurant and letting someone else prepare your food is supposed to be a special treat. For the ethical eater, however, it presents a real dilemma. Ethical restaurants can be hard to find, and it’s no fun spending the evening obsessing over the menu and grilling the waiter about the cow’s diet before ordering a steak. Luckily, the growing alternative dining movement is offering a new solution for ethical eaters wanting a night out.

Alternative dining comes in many forms, but the idea is always the same: to create a unique dining experience without the confines of a traditional restaurant. Sometimes called roving restaurants, these dinner parties can be held anywhere, often in secret. Although everyone seems to have their own goal in mind – teaching people how to cook, exposing them to new culinary delights, or putting on an elegant dinner party - many within the guerrilla dining movement are also very much involved with the movement to change the food system, with an eye on sustainability and education.

Local to the SF Bay Area, graffEats is a guerrilla dining nonprofit run by two acclaimed chefs, who met while working at the Michelin-rated Campton Place restaurant in San Francisco. Their main goal is to create a restaurant quality experience with the feel of a dinner party, and without the actual restaurant - and to do it sustainably. Blair Warsham and Clint Davies, who created and run graffEats, were kind enough meet up with me in San Francisco, and explain their dining philosophy and why they created graffEats.

Educating children about where food comes from is a passion for Clint. Growing up in New Zealand, backyard gardens and buying food directly from the farm were a way of life, and he is concerned by how little interaction children in the United States have with their food. That’s why all proceeds from graffEats events now go directly to Slow Food to support building gardens on school rooftops. “The restaurant business is very self-serving”, explained Blair. “We wanted to do something different with it.”

The ingredients that Blair and Clint use to make their dinners pop are local and sustainable whenever possible, and their meat is also carefully sourced. Blair said, “It’s just a given. We operate sustainably, as we should be; it’s a no-brainer.” It’s not just about being ethical though. “Making a dinner more than just a meal” is the true goal of any graffEats event, according to the two chefs.

Held in art galleries, breweries, farms, and even on street corners, graffEats events offer well-sourced and artfully-prepared food coupled with unique entertainment. “Dinner and a flick” events feature five courses – from appetizers through dessert – paired with wine or beer and several short films. Live music is commonplace for graffEats events, and music was the focus of the recent Covers dinner which featured Blair’s take on the signature dishes of his culinary idols paired with musical covers.

For my friend’s birthday this year, we spent a Saturday night on the outdoor patio of the Devil’s Canyon Brewery in Belmont as part of the Steer n’ Beer event, put on by graffEats. Beer was the star of the show. Blair explained the concept behind the event, saying “We know that you can cook with beer. We know that you can pair food with beer… let’s deconstruct beer and use all the elements of beer and use that in the food.” From the freshly baked bread to the cheese to the steer, all had incorporated beer somewhere in the process.

The steer was raised on pasture and grass-fed at the Bar None Ranch in Half Moon Bay. It wasn’t 100% grass-fed, however, because this cow got to finish out its days munching on beer leftovers: barley, malt, and hops from Devil’s Canyon Brewery. Blair visited the steer and witnessed the slaughter. It was an emotional event, but as Blair put it, “if you’re gonna eat it… you should be able to stand behind that statement. It’s about respect.”

To create the deconstructed beer dinner, Blair connected with Ryan Ostler, a barbecue expert based in San Francisco who has traveled the country perfecting his art. At the Beer n’ Steer, Blair and Ryan manned multiple grills to serve up fantastic prime rib, brisket, sausages, and more. Southern dishes including collard greens and a slaw of Brussels’ sprouts complemented the BBQ. Beef jerky, beer-infused grilled cheese sandwiches, and Texas-style chili were served up inside the brewery. Dessert options included root beer floats made with toasted grain ice cream and chocolate and malt cupcakes that were “sweet but potent” according to Felix Ronin of Berkeley.

And of course, there was beer. Handcrafted using many local and organic ingredients, Devil’s Canyon offered their signature Full Boar Scottish Ale, a barrel-aged version with a flavor reminiscent of bourbon, a root beer made with local honey and organic cane sugar, and many more.

The long lines at each food station, with many people going back for seconds or thirds, were a testament to unique flavors and culinary skill being offered up. “The man is amazing”, said Jeff Harris of San Francisco, referring to Blair. “He turned me from a gourmand into a foodie.” Jeff finds Blair’s focus on presentation especially impressive. “He puts so much care into preparing his food.”

Jeff’s friends, Alanna and Carlos Reynard of San Mateo, were attending their first public graffEats event; they hired Blair to cater their wedding after tasting his food at a corporate event. Alanna explained that food sourcing is very important to her. She and Carlos participate in a community-supported agriculture program, and they appreciate graffEats’ commitment to using local, seasonal ingredients and supporting the community.

I met Jeff and Alanna in the chili line and caught up with them again after downing two bowlfuls of the spicy chili with melt-in-your mouth chunks of grass-fed beef. It’s no surprise that we got to talking. The food, entertainment, and atmosphere at these events encourage people who would never have otherwise met to chat and mingle.

The folks at graffEats always have something in the works. They’ve recently gone international, taking their popular Dinner and a Flick event to Copenhagen and planning events in Tokyo and possibly even Dubai.

In addition to their charitable and sustainable pursuits, for Blair and Clint, it’s the opportunity to let their imaginations run wild that has the most appeal. As Blair put it, “The best part is that the possibilities are endless. We have created this from absolutely nothing and… it just keeps snowballing – slowly, deliberately snowballing. That’s my favorite part. Possibilities. Anything we can come up with, we can wrap our minds around it and actually make it happen.”

Interested in finding an alternative dining group near you? Check out The Ghetto Gourmet.

You can find more information on graffEats and upcoming events on their website. Blair Warsham is also available for private events, and Clint Davies can be found working as a Sous Chef at the popular San Francisco restaurant, One Market. Photo credits: Nadia Haq and Ryan Mack from Joy of Living Photography

Give me a home where the buffalo roam.

2011-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

During a particularly tough hike last weekend, I suddenly had a craving. “I really want a giant cheeseburger,” I said to my husband. And truly, I had never wanted a cheeseburger more in my life than at that moment. This led to a long discussion amongst our hiking group about where I could find an ethical burger on short notice.

One option was Fuddrucker’s. There was no way I’d eat their beef, but they do serve so-called exotic burgers made from ostrich, buffalo, elk, or wild boar. I didn’t know anything about the practices on ostrich or buffalo ranches, but my craving got the best of me. I figured there can’t be a large enough market for buffalo meat to necessitate large CAFOs in the style we use for beef cattle or to significantly contribute to climate change (through the release of methane) or groundwater contamination. It was a gamble, I know, but that buffalo burger really hit the spot. In fact, two of my hiking buddies also opted for the buffalo burger.

Once my meat-mongering had subsided, I started wondering about how buffalo are actually raised. I started at the Fuddrucker’s website. About the exotic burgers, they state: “Our all-natural, free-range, grass and grain-fed game burgers are 100% antibiotic and hormone free”.

Let’s dissect this statement. Here is what “all-natural” means according to the USDA:

“A product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed (a process which does not fundamentally alter the raw product) may be labeled natural. The label must explain the use of the term natural (such as - no added colorings or artificial ingredients; minimally processed.)”

Well, that’s nice, but it doesn’t address any of my concerns.

To be called free-range, “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.” Although it only says poultry, I am assuming that the definition applies more broadly. “Access” is not further defined, and free-range can describe conditions during any part of an animal’s life.

That the animals are fed grass or grain pretty much covers all of the options, although apparently, there have been studies on how well CAFO cows tolerate stale chewing gum (still in the wrapper) and old phonebooks [1].

Lastly, they state that the animals are raised 100% free of antibiotics and hormones. This is actually a good sign. Large feedlots have to use antibiotics because disease is so rampant. Also, antibiotics are used to treat a potentially lethal condition called acidosis (affecting the rumen) that is caused by feeding grain to cattle. If these animals were raised without antibiotics, they can’t be on massive feedlots although they may still be confined on a smaller one. As for acidosis, one way of avoiding it is to simply kill the cattle sooner – shortening their lives to avoid the illness.

I wasn’t able to find any information about sourcing on the Fuddrucker’s website, and they have not yet replied to my email inquiry. Instead, I looked for general information on raising buffalo, buffalo meat sources, and the potential for buffalo acidosis. The first thing I learned is that what we call buffalo are actually bison.

Because bison are grass-loving ruminants, they are prone to acidosis when fed grain, just like beef cattle. Acidosis can contribute to E. coli, and last year, an outbreak of E. coli was linked to some “natural” bison meat [2]. Still, most bison are grain-fed on a feedlot for some time, usually the last 100 days or so of their lives [3][4]. Below, is a figure from the Bison Feedlot Production Factsheet from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture showing the major production practices.

Despite the picture I have in my head when I think of buffalo – wild creatures roaming the prairie - bison are generally raised in feedlots and on a diet that includes grain (see [2] for a good description of the contrast). The feedlots may be smaller, and certainly the lack of antibiotic usage is a step up from most CAFO beef. However, the bison are still being force-fed a diet that makes them sick. These wild animals are still confined in pens, the runoff and pollution from which do not appear any more restricted than for a cattle CAFO. In short, in terms of ethical implications, most bison meat is about the same as cattle meat raised on a small CAFO. Also, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA does not require inspections on bison meat [3].

The bottom line, here, is that just because an animal is “exotic” or “wild”, doesn’t mean it was ethically-raised. Sadly, alternative meats are not a free pass, and sourcing ethical bison requires as much vigilance as beef, pork, or poultry. Until I know the actual source of Fuddrucker’s buffalo meat, I will treat it like any other restaurant meat, as something to avoid.

More ethical bison sources: Some 100% pasture-raised, grass-fed bison meat is available. Full Circle Bison Ranch, for example, allows their buffalo to roam on certified organic pasture eating grass and never meeting an antibiotic, hormone, or pesticide throughout their lives. Northstar Bison is also 100% pasture-raised and grass-fed. I would be wary of The Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Company. They say their bison are 100% ranch-raised, and the website makes their production sound really ethical. However, they do grain finish their bison on corn.

Cited sources:
[1] Summary of research on CAFO feed from Eat Wild.
[2] Putting Bison on Feedlots: Unnatural, Unnecessary, Unsafe by Andrew Gunther.
[3] Bison production guide from the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
[4] Bison Feedlot Production Fact sheet from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.

Super Squash, For the Win!

2011-03-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

Last November, the produce stand at J.E. Perry Farms was full of squash. In addition to the classic butternut, distinctive acorn, and traditional pumpkin, there were about half a dozen squash varieties I didn’t even recognize. Most of them were huge!

On our last visit before the stand closed for winter, we were gifted one of these enormous alien squash for being loyal customers. It’s a nice perk of participating in a neighborhood business, but honestly, we were quite intimidated. Here’s a picture of our squash with some excellent wine for scale:

We came up with a few fun names for it. Gargantu-Juan, Gourdon, and finally settled on Oof – for the sound I made when the guy at the farm stand handed it to me. Since we had no idea what to do with such a giant squash of unknown variety, Oof made a fine doorstop for about six weeks.

Finally, through a fair bit of Googling, we felt prepared to take on the Super Squash, which is actually a Blue Hubbard variety of winter squash. In this post, I will tell you:

1. How you, too, can process and roast a fine winter squash like Oof.
2. A general recipe for roasting squash.
3. A recipe for squash soup, which can be made with roasted squash or canned pumpkin.

Dealing with a giant squash was actually a lot easier than I had feared. And, because squash is pretty inexpensive, you can eat of whole lot of it for only a few bucks. Roasted squash does well in the freezer so you can incorporate it into soups or stews for several months. We have made soup twice and still have some squash left. Just make sure to store your squash in a sturdy container. We put some into the thinner, cheaper kind of plastic-ware; the lid shrunk in the freezer, and some of our squash got frostbite.

The Super Squash Challenge!

Step 1: Wipe down your squash to remove any mud/dirt. Set it on a sizable and sturdy cutting board. Select a sharp cleaver or other heavy sharp knife. Yelling your best possible “hi-yah”, whack the squash as close as you can to its center with one swift motion. If you only make it part way through, you can push on both ends of the knife and work it through the rest.

Step 2: Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard. Chop the squash into smaller pieces and arrange with the rind facing down on foil (or Silpat) lined baking sheets.

Step 3: Roast in a 375° oven for about 90 minutes or until the squash is tender when poked with a fork.

Step 4: While the rind is still warm, scoop out the squash. Store in the freezer in a durable, airtight container, or sprinkle with a little cinnamon and brown sugar for a tasty treat fresh from the oven!

For a smaller squash, like a butternut, that you plan to finish off the same day, you will want to alter this recipe slightly. First, halve the squash and scoop out the seeds and gunk in the center. Arrange the halves rind down on a lined baking sheet. Brush the flesh of the squash with a little olive oil and sprinkle it with brown sugar (about 2 tsp). Roast the squash in a 400° oven for about 25 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork into it.

Smoky Squash Soup

Servings: About 6 bowlfulls.
Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 35 min.

1 large onion, chopped
4-5 large leaves of chard, coarsely chopped
2-3 jalapenos, diced
4-5 cloves of minced garlic
5 medium red potatoes, coarsely chopped
2 cups pureed cooked squash or 1 cup canned pumpkin
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
4 cups vegetable broth
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chipotle powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup soy milk
Chopped cilantro or parsley (optional topping)

Notes:

- If using frozen roasted squash, let it thaw overnight and then puree it in a food processor. A blender can be used in a pinch, but then chop the roasted squash into smaller pieces first. Alternatively, you can follow these directions for microwaving a sugar pumpkin to create the pumpkin puree or use canned pumpkin, which can be found in most grocery stores.

- Despite all the spices, we have never found this dish to be spicy. If you really don’t like spicy food, you can use less of the chili and chipotle powders and skip the cayenne pepper.

Directions:

1. Chop all vegetables; set aside onions and garlic.

2. In a pot or large skillet with high sides, saute onions and chard in olive oil over medium-high heat for several minutes, until onions become translucent. Add garlic and cook about a minute.

3. Add broth, squash, potatoes, jalapenos, and beans. Stir in oregano, chili and chipotle powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 30 min.

4. Remove from heat, and let cool for several minutes. Then, stir in soy milk. Top with parsley or cilantro and serve.

All of these recipes were developed with help and inspiration from some other hard-working food bloggers. You can check the original soup recipe at Fat Free Vegan Kitchen and some more info on the Blue Hubbard squash from Dave's Cupboard.

Salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, and faith-based farming (Part Two)

2011-02-27T14:55:00.000-08:00

Project: Peace works to connect church members with social organizations that promote just and sustainable societies. The organization is a non-profit run on the principles of Christianity; they state their core values as mercy, justice, and peace. Their event, “An evening with Joel Salatin”, involved two separate talks. The first was specific to the biodynamic practices Joel employs on Polyface Farms, which I described a few weeks ago. In the second talk, he discussed the way his religious beliefs have governed his farming philosophy.

Joel began the talk with a controversial subject: abortion. He pointed out the inconsistency he sees between peoples’ beliefs about human life versus animal life. Being very concerned with animal welfare while also being pro-choice, to him, seems no less contradictory than “hitting the drive-thru on the way to the pro-life rally”. How can we respect and honor people, he asked, if we can’t even do it for animals?

As Joel sees it, all life is sacred, and that means there is a moral dimension to food. If Christianity guides your moral compass, you ought to consider the manner in which your food is grown or raised. He strongly disagrees with the idea that what is spiritual is good and what is physical is bad. Prayer alone cannot make up for immoral actions; you are responsible for what you do. Supporting the industrial food system is an immoral act.

Joel’s faith-based approach to food and farming relies on several core ideas:

Transparency over secrecy
Decomposition over sterility
Humility over hubris
Nurturing over manipulation
Freedom over tyranny

There are several themes reflected in these principles. First, we are not controllers of nature but an integral part. Our actions affect the natural world, which in turn, affects our well-being. Second, nature is very effective at growing food; nurturing natural processes has fewer ethical grey areas than systems developed to manipulate nature. Lastly, people should have access to the farms where their food is grown and raised. That’s why Polyface Farms has an open door policy unlike, say, a Tyson chicken farm.

Joel explained that a farm with biblical values should be one that fosters resilience and regeneration, leaving room for redemption and rebirth. It is a place that should be aesthetically pleasing, a place of beauty that celebrates the world that has been given to us. Water pollution, contamination, and the stench of industrial farms are simply unacceptable.

Joel concluded with a rather poetic reminder that the food that sustains us depends on a complex system of microscopic organisms living within the soil, an intricate process of life and death, of growth and decomposition. Also alluding to the spiritual world, Joel finished by saying, “you and I depend on a world we don’t even see.”

I found Joe’s talk unexpectedly moving. When it comes to religious beliefs and faith-based political opinions, Joel and I couldn’t be much farther apart. I was raised Jewish, my life philosophy can be best described as humanist*, and I’m a liberal. And yet, Joel and I share the same views on extending morality to food systems and respecting life even when we will choose to end it. We both believe that the beauty of our environment has inherent value and is worthy of protection. And we both believe that we need to approach our interactions with nature from a place of humility knowing that we understand only a small fraction of the processes that make human life possible on the planet Earth.

It is a fascinating and powerful thing that people from such disparate backgrounds and beliefs can come to the same conclusions about the morality and sustainability of food systems. If we could get all of these people to take active roles in fighting for change, we just might have a chance.

Over the past fifty years, our democracy has become much more receptive to the voices and needs of corporations who have the money and the motivation to fight for their own interests. In fact, one of Joel’s farming books is called “Everything I Want to Do is Illegal”, in which he describes how hard it is to run a business that doesn’t fall in line with the industrial status quo.

In contrast to the corporate lobbying structure, there are very few groups advocating for the needs and interests of citizens that have enough power to enact policies and truly affect change. But we citizens have something that the corporations do not have. We have votes. A large group of citizens acting together is more powerful than a wealthy corporation can ever be. All we really need is unity and fortitude.

*For those of you unfamiliar with humanism, it is the idea we need to infuse our lives with morality and purpose whether or not we will be judged for our actions after death. Human society may never come to a consensus as to which religion and its corresponding precepts represents truth, so we need to work together to devise a common morality. In the words of Bill and Ted, we should “be excellent to each other”.

Very veggie cassoulet.

2011-02-16T19:40:00.000-08:00

Servings: About six bowlfulls.
Scraps for worms: About 4 cups.
Prep time: 25 min.
Cook time: 35 min.

This dish is easy to make and chock full of vitamins and minerals. There are a lot of veggies to chop, which can take a while especially if you are also cleaning them as you go. Hence, I would recommend this recipe for a weekend night. Alternatively, you could chop the veggies in advance (perhaps the night before), and then it would be easy to make the following night. This recipe is vegan and gluten free.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
10 cups coarsely chopped vegetables
8 oz sliced mushrooms or 2 portabella mushroom caps
3-4 cloves of minced garlic
8 cups of coarsely chopped greens
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
4 cups (3-4 cans) white beans
4 cups diced (3-4 cans) or chopped (fresh) tomatoes with liquid
2 cups broth
Pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper, to taste

Notes:
- For our 10 cups of veggies, we used: 1 leek, 1 yellow onion, 3 small red potatoes, 3 small carrots, and 4 medium zucchini.
- Our greens were a combination of collard greens, chard, and kale.
- We usually use veggie broth, but we had some leftover beef broth in the freezer that we made from special Marin Sun Farms beef bones for Thanksgiving. Another alternative to broth would be to add an extra can of tomatoes or just add water.
- We used pinto beans; I don’t know if they are technically white beans - the traditional sort for a cassoulet.
- We have a really big skillet with high sides. If you don’t have a huge pan, you should probably halve the recipe or at least leave out the mushrooms.

Directions:
1. Chop everything! Keep the vegetables, mushrooms, and garlic separate from the greens and the herbs. Drain and rinse the beans.
2. Warm olive oil over medium heat. Add the greens. Saute until greens wilt, about 5 minutes.
3. Add vegetables and garlic. Saute until veggies begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir often to cook evenly. Add pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Add tomatoes, herbs, and about half a cup of the broth. Stir well. Bring to a boil.
5. Add beans and the rest of the broth. Stir well. Bring to a boil; then, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

A wiggly way to wipe out waste.

2011-02-13T17:26:00.000-08:00

I had always assumed that food scraps were the best kind of trash because food is biodegradable. I figured my old banana peels would decompose in the landfill a heck of a lot faster than the wrapper on my granola bar. Perhaps. But here is something I didn’t take into account. For food scraps to decompose in the normal way, they need oxygen. And one thing you do not get in a landfill is a steady flow of oxygen. Instead, food scraps simply get buried under more and more stuff causing them to petrify. Apparently, all the food scraps I have tossed out are fossilized in my regional landfill. Dang.

One alternative to petrified food scraps is a food scrap recycling program. Many communities now offer this service in which they pick up the food scraps you collect in a little pail and deliver them to a compost center instead of a landfill. Composted food decomposes and leaves behind a potent fertilizer that is either sold or given away to members of the community. If you are lucky enough to live in a community that offers food scrap recycling, I highly encourage you to participate.

According to StopWaste.org, food scraps make up 35% of the waste sent to landfills from my county of Alameda. We have a food scrap recycling program that aims to reduce this food waste. Unfortunately, my housing community is not currently participating in the program so I have to find another way to deal with my food scraps.

One option, of course, it to build myself a compost pile. But frankly, composting sounds hard. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to this project, and compost bins seem to need a lot of attention. They have to be mixed and tended to properly or they smell bad. I know composting is an unqualified good thing for the environment, but I’m just not ready to be a composter.

While searching for a better food scrap solution, a good friend of mine invited my husband and I to attend a workshop on worm composting. We were not particularly enthusiastic about spending a Saturday afternoon learning about worms and dirt and rotting food, but somehow she convinced us to attend. The worm composting workshop, put on by StopWaste.org as part of their Bay-friendly program, opened my eyes to a different kind of composting.

Here’s how it works: Red worms that live in a box eat all of your food scraps. By wriggling through the box and munching on the rotting food, they take care of all the chores you would need to do to maintain a regular compost pile. At the workshop, we learned how to make a worm bin and what kinds of foods you can compost with worms. The instructor also pointed out that, while food scrap recycling is clearly better than throwing food scraps in the trash, it does require transportation, fuel, and other costs that would be avoided if people simply composted their own food scraps.

Since adopting an ethical diet of mainly whole foods and lots of vegetables, my household now creates a LOT of food scraps that these worms would love to eat! And they eat coffee grinds. My husband and I are daily coffee brewers, and we both perked up (no pun intended) at the thought of converting our coffee waste into a gardening resource. You see, in addition to eating up all the food scraps, the worms produce fertilizer that can be used in the garden. It sounds like such a nice, waste-free, closed-loop system!

Despite the great workshop, and my nagging guilt over petrified food, we couldn’t quite bring ourselves to start a worm bin. However, the friends who invited us decided to take on the challenge. We visited their worm bin shortly after, and it was pretty amazing. When they opened it up, you could see the worms wriggling around, and a lot of partially eaten old food. And yet, there was no smell! None! I have been bugging them about the bin ever since – asking them how much time it takes and how much the worms eat and if they’ve had any problems. All of my inquiries are met with the same basic response: raising worms is easy.

My friends started with a small bin but have since moved to a larger system (that's it on the right) because they produce so much food for the worms. That means they have a spare. So today, we picked up our new worm bin complete with some worms from our friends’ active bin. To construct the bin, our friends bought a standard plastic tub and drilled tiny holes around the side of the tub and on the lid. Then we added coconut husk, which we bought at a home and garden store, to the bottom of the bin and enough water to wet down the coconut (a few cups). We dropped in two handfuls of worms and dirt from our friends’ current bin, and topped them with some shredded newspaper. Finally, we added a large piece of damp cardboard on top, closed the lid, and off we went!

Our friends recommended feeding the worms about one cup of food scraps per week based on the size of the bin. They also suggested we leave the food out for a couple of days to make it easier for our worms to eat. Uncooked scraps of vegetables and non-citrus fruits are best for the worms. Meat and animal fats are not good for them and tend to rot in a particularly smelly way. I think we will easily hit our one cup per week limit using just the scraps from our dinner preparation - or maybe just our coffee grinds!

As far as caring for the worms, we need to make sure the bin doesn’t get too much light and isn’t exposed to extreme heat or cold. We decided to keep our worm bin in the garage on a high shelf to keep it away from sunlight and bugs. We also have to make sure our bin retains some moisture. If too much liquid accrues at the bottom of the bin, we will need to drain it; otherwise the worms can drown! Luckily, the liquid is great fertilizer. Worm tea, as it’s called, is five parts water to one part worm bin juice.

I’m still nervous, but my husband seems really excited. Tonight we are making a vegetable stew, so we will have lots of scraps to start the worms off with. Hopefully, we will be successful worm parents, help fight waste, and generate awesome fertilizer!

For more information on how you can start a worm bin, check out these directions from StopWaste.org. This fun and funky video from Freshtopia also goes over the basics of worm composting:

Salad bar beef, pigaerator pork, and faith-based farming (Part One)

2011-01-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

Last week, I attended an event in which sustainable farmer Joel Salatin gave two talks about farming, each followed by a Q and A. He was introduced by author, Michael Pollan, who also moderated the discussion period. Joel describes himself as a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist lunatic farmer. Somehow, as a graduate student at Berkeley, I haven’t run into too many people who would fall into that category. So I was especially intrigued to hear what Joel had to say.

“Holy Cows & Hog Heaven”

Those of you who have read The Omnivore’s Dilemma know Joel Salatin as the hero of the story. His Virginia farm, Polyface Farms, is the archetypal biodynamic integrated farm. It is the polar opposite of an industrial factory farm. The animals are well-treated not just because they are living creatures worthy of respect but also (and perhaps more so) because they make the farm work. The cows, pigs, chickens, etc. all perform valuable functions that allow the farm to become a closed loop. The inputs required in one part of the farm are actually outputs from another. The animals’ natural behaviors are utilized for farm functions, such as rooting pigs aerating compost to make fertilizer (hence the name, pigaerators) or hungry cows mowing tall grasses to allow for new growth. In contrast, an industrial cattle farm has to truck in feed from elsewhere and somehow dispose of animal waste, which is too contaminated to be sold as fertilizer. Because these CAFOs don’t actually grow anything, they can’t generate their own feed and couldn’t use the fertilizer even if it weren’t toxic. On an industrial pig operation, the natural behaviors of the pigs are seen as bad habits that have to modified by, say, chopping off their tails.

Michael Pollan introduced Joel by telling his tale of their meeting and about the time he spent working at Polyface Farm. Pollan was initially surprised to learn that Salatin considers himself a grass farmer despite raising a variety of animals. Grass, it turns out, is the keystone species that allows the farm to run. Because the grass is fed by the sun, as Pollan pointed out, the grass-fed, biodynamic system really is a free lunch. In an especially insightful moment, Pollan closed by saying, “People always say, ‘oh that Joel Salatin, The Omnivore’s Dilemma really made him’. But actually, Joel Salatin made The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”

Pollan is right, of course. Polyface farm was the spark of hope at the end of a sad, sad story. And so, with that feeling of hope suddenly buzzing around the room, Joel began.

“The Shear Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer”

If you were to look up “colorful” in the dictionary, as it pertains to personality, there would likely be a picture of Joel Salatin. Despite his suit and tie, once he launched into his first talk – a narrated slide show of Polyface Farm – the audience couldn’t stop laughing. His boisterousness and hilarious analogies made a lecture about farming anything but dry. When talking about his chickens, he showed a picture of them happily waddling around outside pecking at grubs. He also described his homemade mildly electrified portable pens that allow the chickens to move around outside while also being protected. Many times, he pointed out innovations that have allowed the farm to become more productive on small tracts of land without diminishing the welfare of the animals. From Joel’s perspective, farming in America suffers not from a lack of talent or ability but from “a constipation of imagination”.

In addition to his innovations, Salatin also described some of the trials and tribulations of his style of farming. At one point, he showed pictures of baby turkeys, called poults, that he raises on the farm. Apparently, from birth, poults devote their energy to coming up with ever more creative ways of getting themselves killed. Through trial and error, Joel learned that you have to mix poults and chicks, in a 5 chick to 1 poult ratio, in order for there to be enough chicks to police the poults. To show them what is water and what is sawdust, and to dissuade the poults from trying to eat bugs on the other side of the electrified fence. Apparently, turkeys are not born with much common sense.

There is no way I could really do this part of the event justice. Without the slides and Joel’s colorful commentary, you just won’t get the full experience. However, on the Polyface Farm website, there are several videos of Joel’s son, Daniel, describing the farm’s practices. Polyface is a third generation farm, and the whole family is involved. In fact, Joel says it’s a goal of his farming methodology to make farms a safe and enjoyable place for children. Joel Salatin has written many books on sustainable farming, available on the Polyface website. In fact, the headings in this post are all titles of Joel's books.

You can also find many videos on YouTube (search for Joel Salatin or Polyface Farms) including this TEDx talk from a couple of years ago. Joel is a little less polished in this video, but you get a sense of his personality, commitment, and ultimate motivation.

“Everything I Want to Do is Illegal”

After the first talk, Michael Pollan moderated a Q and A. The first question was, given that this method of farming is better for all involved, why aren’t there thousands of ecology-based farms. Salatin explained that his type of farming requires a lot of knowledge that, while teachable, is non-trivial to learn. We also need to make sustainable farming more economically viable – thereby making it easier to survive without incorporating industrial practices – by not subsidizing the competition. He pointed out that farming will have to change at some point, because the resources on which it relies are becoming quickly depleted. For example, he stated that the cost of diesel fuel could rise to $8 per gallon, and it would only affect his expenditures by 5%. In contrast, industrial farms that rely on fuel to power the mechanical devices required to maintain such expansive farms, use petroleum-based fertilizer and pesticide, and transport farm inputs and outputs are very strongly affected by changes in fuel price. Lastly, a lot of government regulations were written with large farms in mind. That means a lot of the things Joel Salatin does, or would like to do, are not strictly legal. In fact, Joel wrote a book on the subject entitled, “Everything I Want to Do is Illegal”, describing his difficulties maintaining a sustainable farm that is compliant with the law. Laws are evolving, but we all need to be aware and involved with the legislative process to protect farms like Polyface.

Additional questions focused on the ability of individuals to farm and the ability of sustainable farming to feed a growing population. According to Joel, a farm that includes cows and pigs would require tens of acres to maintain, but with only small animals like chickens and rabbits, virtually any amount of space could work. His innovations, which utilize vertical space, make these microfarms feasible. As for feeding the world, Salatin made the common argument of the sustainable food movement: hunger is not a production problem, but rather, a distribution problem. At many food lectures and discussions, I’ve heard the statistic that we actually produce enough calories to feed the entire world. And yet, we have almost a billion people going hungry. Hunger is a problem even in the developed world including in the Unites States. It turns out that people don’t starve to death because there isn’t enough food in the world; they die because they are too poor to buy food or cannot otherwise gain access to healthy food.

Food grown in the US through Green Revolution technologies (the method of chemical-intensive, industrial-scale farming), which creates vast quantities of calories in the form of corn, soy, and other grains, is mainly used as animal feed in CAFOs and for biodiesel fuel. The rest, being industrial grade, is not directly edible by people and is instead processed into food additives such as corn syrup and soy lecithin. The documentaries King Corn and Food Inc., which features Joel and Polyface Farm, go into the details of the industrial food system and how we can have a society with a surplus of cheap calories, hunger and malnutrition, and an obesity epidemic all at once.

Joel pointed out that, of the food that can be eaten directly – fruits and vegetables, for example - 50% of food spoils instead of being eaten. Within poor countries and communities, this is usually caused by a lack of infrastructure or stability in the distribution process. Rules we have made about consistency and safety also lead to a lot of food being thrown out within wealthy communities.

Joel also stressed that we need more people to become interested in farming as a hobby or a profession; we need to make this work a noble and respected effort again. If all the households in the US raised only enough backyard chickens to eat their own food scraps, the chickens would produce enough eggs to shut down the commercial egg industry. And think how much food wouldn’t end up petrified in landfills! In 1956, he stated, 50% of produce consumed in America came from backyard gardens. Whereas presently, there are twice as many people serving jail time as there are farming and 35 million acres of grassy lawns rather than food-generating farms and gardens. We could feed a lot more people if we prioritized growing edible food for direct human consumption, better utilized our land for food growth, and promoted gardening and farming as useful and important ventures for all people.

“You Can Farm”

Listening to Joel’s philosophy and experiences made me want to go out and start a farm. In reality, it’s not something everyone can do on the scale of Polyface Farm. And it’s a good thing that we have doctors and scientists and people working hard to innovate and create in areas other than farming. However, I do think we ought to have more respect for the people who feed us. Just like teachers, these are people who rarely get recognized, but without whom, our society would cease to function. In addition, we can all do a little, and together, make a huge change. Anyone with a bit of dirt can make something grow up out of it. And every little sprout is a sign of change, respect, and revolution.

In part 2, I recount Joel’s second talk: how faith has influences and guides his farming practice.

Community supported awesome.

2011-01-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

Back in November, I discussed my motivations for joining a CSA – community supported agriculture – program and that I had just signed up for a 4-week trial membership with Eatwell Farm. Now that I’ve received all four boxes, on an every other week basis, I am ready to report back.

The Eatwell Farm CSA is fantastic! We get a large box full of fruits and vegetables. There is enough variety to make lots of different dishes either by combining veggies or just on their own. I have tried several new vegetables that, frankly, I would have been afraid to pick up before. Things like arugula, salad turnips, and watermelon daikon have all earned an unexpected and happy place in my kitchen. Persimmons appeared in my first two boxes, and they are just about the sweetest fruits I have ever tasted!

Here’s a quick list of all the foods we have received from Eatwell Farm:

Rosemary, parsley, cilantro, sage, oregano, dill
Sweet potatoes
Kabucha squash
Celery
Spinach
Leeks
Chard
Apples
Persimmons
Broccoli
Carrots
Lemons
Mandarin/navel oranges
Grapefruit
Bitter greens (escarole and frisee)
Romanesco cauliflower (we met this guy a while back!)
Mustard greens
Turnips
Arugula
Lettuce
Bok Choy
Tokyo salad turnips
Cabbage
Potatoes
Tatsoi
Watermelon daikon
Celeriac
Kohlrabi

Along with all the yummy food, Eatwell provides a little pamphlet with each box. It lists all the foods in the box along with descriptions of the flavors you can expect and how best to use each food. Sometimes there are even recipes, and there are often pictures and stories about the farm. The pamphlets are super useful, especially for those initial “what the heck is that thing” moments when I first peek in the box. They also make me feel more connected to the farm and more confident that I am doing the right thing being a part of their CSA program.

One of the main reasons I picked this particular farm was that they offer eggs. We get a half dozen with each box. They are brown and sometimes spotted, and they have the biggest brightest yolks I have ever seen. My husband cooks them sunnyside up, and what a sun! We used to put two eggs over half a toasted English muffin, but now each egg needs it’s own. These eggs are delicious, and knowing the chickens are happy makes me happy too.

Picking up my box has been pretty easy. The boxes and coolers at my pick up location are within an enclosed patio with street parking available right in front of the house. I could take the whole box and then bring it back the following week, but instead I bring a couple of reusable bags and transfer the food from box to bag. The boxes are available for pick up from 1pm – 8pm so I can always work it into my Thursday schedule. I pick up every other week, and so far, it hasn’t posed a problem.

One of my favorite things about working with Eatwell Farm is their communication. They have a slick and informative website including a regularly-updated blog about the farm, food, and recipes, and they have separate postings listing what foods you can expect in each box. That makes planning meals ahead of time really easy. Another thing I really appreciate is their email reminder system. I get a message the day before I am due to receive a box. Given that I pick up every other week, this is a very useful feature! I never have to worry that I mixed up my Thursdays. I also got an email with renewal details when I was down to my last box. I rely on email for the majority of my communication, and knowing that Eatwell Farm can fit into that lifestyle makes the whole process stress-free.

At this point, you may be wondering if there have been any drawbacks. Well, yes, but none so important as to make me reconsider my decision to join. All of the food comes a little dirtier than it would be in the grocery store. This is not generally a problem for me – this food does come up out of the ground after all – but the spinach has arrived simply smothered in mud. It takes forever to clean, and I simply don’t like spinach enough to make the effort worthwhile. Last time I picked up my box, I simply tossed the spinach into the trade box and took some salad turnips instead. Yum! Another drawback is having to pick up the box in Berkeley. It’s close to my work so it hasn’t been a big problem. However, a drop off in Fremont would certainly be more convenient. It’s not really Eatwell’s fault, of course. Someone has to volunteer to be a drop off location.

Now that my trial subscription is up, I am signing up for a full 12-box subscription that should carry me through until the farm stand opens again in the summer. Actually, Eatwell throws in a 13th box for free and offers some lavender products as a special treat for subscribing. The price with a half dozen eggs comes out to $29 per box, a few dollars cheaper than the trial membership price. It’s hard to compare this price with what we would pay at a grocery store since there is so little overlap in foods. It seems like a fair price to me though, and we are very happy with our decision. Thank you Eatwell Farm!

Commercial break.

2011-01-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

When I first saw the new Domino’s pizza commercials about their ingredient sources, I rolled my eyes. The third or fourth time, I decided I ought to look into their claims. I mean, I’m a journalist now, right? Someone has to keep after these companies and make sure that, at the very least, they are saying things that are true.

As I sat down in front of my computer to begin the investigation, I had my skeptic’s hat placed firmly on my head. I expected to see a list of some farms that really do provide ingredients to Domino’s. Given the growing consumer interest in sustainable farming, I expected the farms discussed on the site to be small and family owned, organic, or maybe near a Domino’s facility. But my skeptic’s hat reminded me to dig a bit further, to ask questions like: What percentage of Domino’s ingredients are from these sustainable farms? And how sustainable are they?

As it turns out, my skeptic’s hat was unnecessary. I didn’t have to concern myself with digging deeper into information that had been polished and shined to reflect only the best parts of the Domino’s Pizza ingredient chain. I didn’t have to, because Domino’s Pizza didn’t provide me any information at all.

Behind the Pizza – The most infuriating website I have yet encountered!

Here is a screen capture of the first page you see at Domino's Pizza's Behind The Pizza website:

Luckily for you, I can’t “screen capture” the chirping birds and other happy farm sounds that loop over and over as background music. You can click on any of the ingredients on this map to get more “information” on how the ingredients get from farm to pizza. By clicking through the site, you can get points that will get you Domino’s Pizza coupons. Oh boy!

Since animal welfare and the environmental impacts of modern CAFOs are major concerns for me, I started with the ingredients that come from animals. Here is the page that would supposedly inform me as to the supply chain from pig to pizza:

As with all of the ingredient pages, the farm here has a quaint little farmhouse. Sometimes the house has a few chickens in the yard; this one has a cute dog. They all show the farm animals grazing happily in spacious pens with multiple crops growing all around. Because that’s what most farms are like, right? Also, note the fine print in the top right corner. This animated farm is not to scale, and there are not actually Domino’s Pizza restaurants on the farms. Duh.

You’ll notice that the farmhouse is labeled “Step 1”, and the pepperoni-making facility is “Step 2”. So the information I’m looking for – the treatment of the pigs, their diet and lifestyle, the typical size of the farm, names of the farms Domino’s actually works with – should be provided in Step 1. What it actually says when you click on Step 1 is this:

Wow, Domino’s. I had no idea that the first step on the pepperoni chain was a farm where livestock are raised! And that’s it – all the information Domino’s provides before the pig become pork.

And on his farm, he had some cows.

After my frustrating experience on the pepperoni page, I moved on to the mozzarella page:

Again with the happy house. And we’ve added some cows with plenty of room to graze on what appears to be green grass growing right up out of the ground. Let’s see what Domino’s has to teach us about dairy cows.

So… Domino’s uses cheese. And cheese comes from COWS! Wow, thanks Domino’s, for educating me! The truly striking thing about this blurb is the line about “herds” that “grow as large as 10,000”. This makes me envision herds of, say, wild buffalo roaming the prairie, growing large when times are plentiful. In reality, there are as many as 10,000 dairy cows confined on factory farms, and Domino’s is bragging about this.

I spent a bit more time looking through the website, but I’ll admit I couldn’t get through the whole thing. I read through pepperoni, mozzarella, feta, tomatoes, and mushrooms. I was able to find only two named farms during this inquiry: F and S Farms in Hollister, California – the farm featured in the commercial – and Monterey Mushrooms, a company that controls the entire production line, from seed to distribution, of mushrooms from farms all over America. I looked these farms up online, and from what I could tell, they are typical conventional monoculture farms, although Monterey Mushroom does offer some organic mushrooms.

From farm to pizza; from fallacy to facts.

Unlike the happy, animated farm on Behind the Pizza, most pigs in this country live in factory farms in which they are confined in tiny cages and treated terribly. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan visits Joel Salatin’s integrated, biodynamic Polyface Farms. As he watches the pigs happily rooting around, he is struck by the contrast with factory-farmed pigs. In this excerpt (p. 218), Pollan describes some disturbing practices that are the status quo in factory pig farming:

“I couldn’t look at their spiraled tails, which cruised above the earthy mass like conning towers on submarines, without thinking about the fate of pigtails in industrial pig production. Simply put, there are no pigtails in industrial pig production. Farmers ‘dock’, or snip off, the tails at birth, a practice that makes a certain twisted sense if you follow the logic of industrial efficiency on a hog farm. Piglets in these CAFOs are weaned from their mothers ten days after birth (compared with thirteen weeks in nature) because they gain weight faster on their drug-fortified feed than on sow’s milk. But this premature weaning leaves the pigs with a lifelong craving to suck and chew, a need they gratify in confinement by biting the tail of the animal in front of them. A normal pig would fight off his molester, but a demoralized pig has stopped caring. ‘Learned helplessness’ is the psychological term, and it’s not uncommon in CAFOs, where tens of thousands of hogs spend their entire lives ignorant of earth or straw or sunshine, crowded together between a metal roof standing on metal slats suspended over a septic tank. It’s not surprising that an animal as intelligent as a pig would get depressed under these circumstances, and a depressed pig will allow his tail to be chewed to the point of infection. Since treating sick pigs is not economically efficient, these underperforming production units are typically clubbed to death on the spot.

Tail docking is the USDA’s recommended solution to the porcine ‘vice’ of tail chewing. Using a pair of pliers and no anesthetic, most – but not quite all – of the tail is snipped off. Why leave the little stump? Because the whole point of the exercise is not to remove the object of tail biting so much as to render it even more sensitive. Now a bite to the tail is so painful that even the most demoralized pig will struggle to resist it. Horrible as it is to contemplate, it’s not hard to see how the road to such a hog hell is paved with the logic of industrial efficiency.”

It’s no wonder Domino’s didn’t provide details on the pig-to-pepperoni process. Farm Sanctuary has pictures from factory farms including from industrial pig operations. I don’t know from which farm these photographs were taken, but they do portray the pig farming practices that I have come to learn are quite typical of our pig farms. The pictures aren’t terribly graphic, but they did make me really, really sad and illustrate why the animated farm on Behind the Pizza is so very wrong.

According to Behind the Pizza, Domino’s says that most of it’s cheese comes from dairies in California. According to the Factory Farm Map put together by Food and Water Watch, the average number of dairy cows on factory farms in CA is about 1500, and there are over 1.6 million dairy cows on factory farms in California.

Here are some more facts about these factory farms, as reported by Food and Water Watch:

• The nearly 240,000 dairy cows on factory-farm dairies in Merced County, California produce ten times more waste than the sewage from the Atlanta metro area.

• The 155,000 dairy cows on factory-farmed dairies in Kings County, California produce twice as much untreated manure as the sewage from the New York City metro area.

• The 163,000 dairy cows on factory-farm dairies in Stanislaus County, California produce six times more waste than the sewage output from the Philadelphia metro area.

• The more than 464,000 dairy cows on factory-farm dairies in Tulare County, California produce five times more waste than the sewage from the New York City metro area.

From the information on Behind the Pizza, this is the type of farm that Domino’s must be sourcing from. I can’t say for sure, though, because they don’t provide any specific information on which dairy farms they use. In fact, Step 2 on the mozzarella page is a game in which you milk the cows. Of course, Domino’s does point out that they don’t milk cows by hand. Otherwise, eight gallons of milk per day per cow would be pretty tough to do.

It is really insulting that Domino’s, knowing there is increased interest in food sourcing, thinks this website would satisfy anyone. What bothers me the most, though, is that there really are awful practices going on within factory farms that affect not only the welfare of the animals but also the environment and the people who are exposed to tainted drinking water and the constant stench of manure. These are real and serious problems, and it is abhorrent that Domino’s dresses up the factory farming system with animated cows, quaint farmhouses, and even little lakes with sailboats in them – as opposed to the shit-filled lagoons surrounding beef CAFOs. Shame on them.

Fifteen-minute fish

2011-01-05T20:58:00.000-08:00

Every week, we cook one dinner that includes some kind of seafood. I used to be intimidated by shrimp and fish, but they turned out to be very easy to cook! Here is the recipe for our 15-minute fish. It’s super easy and can be eaten straight out of the oven with a couple of sides, used in fish tacos, or even as a topping on salad. This recipe makes four servings of fish.

Ingredients:

1-1.5lb fish fillets (fresh or thawed)
1T olive oil
Spices

You can use pretty much any type of fish. We generally use salmon, cod, tilapia, or mahi mahi. Since this a blog about ethical eating, I will point out that the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program gives great recommendations on the types of fish that are most (and least) environmentally-friendly. You can download and print pocket guides to take to the store or even download their iPhone app!

As for seasonings, anything goes really. Here are a few we have tried:

The Spice Hunter Cajun Creole seasoning (liberally applied), a dash of cayenne pepper, and dash of kosher salt.
Several sprigs of fresh dill from our CSA box placed on and around the fish, sea salt, ground pepper
Mrs. Dash seasonings

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. If you have a wonderful amazing Silpat baking mat, lay it in a cookie sheet or other large, flat, oven-safe sheet pan. Otherwise, line a cookie sheet with foil and apply some cooking spray.

2. Rinse the fillets. Then, pat them dry with paper towel.

3. Arrange the fillets on the baking sheet. If they have the skin on, lay them skin down. Drizzle olive oil on the fillets. Using a basting brush or your fingers, spread the oil evenly over each fillet.

4. Apply seasoning.

5. Bake for 12 minutes. Test for doneness: the fish should flake easily with a fork and/or have an internal temperature of ~140°. If the fish is not done, continue cooking, checking for doneness every 2-3 minutes.

This time, we decided to use our 15-minute fish for tacos. In addition to the fish, we added shredded cabbage tossed with honey and red wine vinegar and some sliced avocado to our whole-wheat tortillas. As a side dish, we put together some beans and rice. I microwaved some frozen organic brown rice from Trader Joe’s, mixed it in a saucepan with pinto beans, diced green chilies, salsa, and a little pepper, and set it on low heat to warm through while the fish cooked. Altogether a quick and delicious meal!

Fifteen-minute fish tacos:
1 – 1.5lb baked 15-minute fish
4 cups shredded cabbage
3T honey
1T red wine vinegar
Ground pepper
8 taco-sized (small) tortillas
2 avocado

Stovetop beans and rice:
1 pkg frozen brown rice, heated
1 can pinto beans
2T diced green chilies
2-3T chunky salsa
Ground pepper to taste

Consider me stimulated.

2011-01-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

Attending the Food Movements Unite and Conscientious Carnivore panel discussions and our class Q&A with Michael Pollan, exposed me to many different aspects of the sustainable food movement.

Although I found each of these experiences enlightening and motivating, there were several ways in which the three conversations did not overlap. Exporting our food system to the developing world, global poverty and hunger, and global trade as a form of imperialism were discussed at length at Food Movements Unite but nowhere else. Food access for the poor and urban deserts within the U.S. weren’t addressed at the Conscientious Carnivore, and the lifestyle they advocated requires a large meat freezer, a decent kitchen, and other conditions that seem best suited for people living comfortably. Both Michael Pollan and the panelists at Food Movements Unite stressed the importance of changing policy, but Pollan was less dismissive of personal choice as a mechanism for change, and the Conscientious Carnivore was all about personal choice.

The topic of collaboration was a unifying theme of these events, and yet, no one seemed to have an obvious plan as to how to organize the many disparate groups involved in the larger food movement. In fact, I don’t think the organizers of the two panel discussions even knew about each other. I learned about these events in completely different ways.

The Conscientious Carnivore was not only the first event I’d ever attended at the Commonwealth Club; it was the first time I’d ever even heard of the organization! Later, I found out that both Raj Patel and Michael Pollan had participated in events there within the past year unbeknownst to me.

Since I began this blog a year ago, I have researched many aspects of the food movement, and I continue to stumble upon completely new (to me) organizations even within the Bay Area. How can the sustainable food movement as a whole affect change when different groups seem so disconnected? How can we mobilize people without a cohesive network for action and advocacy?

On the last day of our class, after Michael Pollan had taken off, we asked our students what they thought of the course and what they had learned. Several students said that this was their favorite college course and expressed concern as to how they would continue to participate in changing the food system. They are now where I was a year ago – impassioned, but stumbling around trying to find a way to make a difference. These students need a guide, a way to figure out where they can help and how.

In pondering these issues, I envisioned a website that would link all sectors of the food movement. The goal would be to educate people about the inter-related issues within the sustainable food movement and to create a database of all of the organizations, websites, and blogs that are invested in each area. As more people discover the damaging effects of our current food system and global trade policies, there should be a place for them to identify areas and organizations in which they can contribute.

I put together this food movement map as a starting point. Someday, I would want this to be interactive, with each topic linking to a wiki-style entry covering the main interests and challenges in that specific area and links to the relevant organizations and/or blogs (shown here using the gradient background).

I’d love to get some feedback on this. Are there any food sustainability issues I have left out? Anyone know how hard it would be to create an interactive version? This is just a first step, of course. I know there are many more organizations working in these areas, and it would to take a lot of research (not to mention web development skills) to actual put together a complete and informative website. It's exciting to think about though!

For now, here are links to the organizations I did include:

Health and education:
Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard
Food News
Marion Nestle’s Food Politics

Policy, law, and networking:
Comfood (listserve hosted by the Community Food Security Coalition)
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Food Democracy Now
US Working Group on the Food Crisis
Sustainable Food Jobs
Oakland Food Policy Council

Access:
Food First
Share the World’s Resources
People’s Grocery
Hayes Valley Urban Farm in SF
Oakland Local

Alternative food systems:
Buy Fresh Buy Local
Local Foods Wheel
Locavores
Edible Communities
Animal Welfare Approved
Organic Consumers Association
Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association
Eat Wild
Offal Good
Oliveto Community Journal
American Community Gardening Association
Slow Food
Berkeley Student Food Collective

Sustainable and ethical farming systems:
Compassion in World Farming
Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Ecotrust
Seafood Watch
La Via Campesina – International Peasant Movement
The Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

Stimulating dinner conversation: Three discussions about food. (Part Three)

2010-12-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of months, I have been co-teaching a course on how to use social media (mainly blogs and Facebook) to report on issues of food, sustainability, and health. The culmination of the course was for each student to research some aspect of these issues and compose a journalistic blog post. You can read their articles at the Naked Bear Blog (they are students from Cal – the Golden Bears – hence, the name).

Although the course was proposed, organized, and taught by Cal students as part of the DeCal program, we were required to have a faculty sponsor. In our case, we had Michael Pollan.

Along with the other student teachers, I met with Michael early in the semester to discuss the details of the course. Since his books were the motivating factor for me adopting an ethical food lifestyle as well as for starting this blog, having a sit-down with the man himself was quite a thrill. He was warm and friendly and lent me two books: The End of Food by Paul Roberts and Stuffed and Starved by Raj Patel (one of the speakers at the Food Movements Unite event I covered in Part 1).

Michael also assured us that he would visit the class sometime during the semester to meet the students and answer their questions. And, as promised, he attended the last lecture of the semester. To prepare for this special visit, we had the students submit questions and then vote; the top questions led our discussion with Michael.

"What role do you see the US health care system playing in the transformation of national food policy? Do you expect a turn towards preventative care and healthy eating as a way to lower overall health care costs?" ~Keli

As Pollan explained to our class (and in The New York Times), the food system and the health care system are inextricably linked. Treating Type 2 diabetes, that’s the kind of diabetes caused by diet, can cost health insurers $400,000 over the lifetime of each diabetic they insure. And with additional government policies making it harder for insurers to deny coverage, there will be an increasing financial incentive for big health care companies to fight for food reform.

Once a rich, powerful corporate interest wants people eating more fresh vegetables and consuming less soda, food reform becomes more politically tenable. As Pollan said to our class “if all the powerful interests are on the same side, nothing happens.

Similar to the way health insurers became invested in getting people to quit smoking or companies that pay for their workers’ coverage started subsidizing gym memberships, the vilified health insurance company may be our best chance at serious change.

"We are told to vote with our dollar but many people do not have access to good food or cannot afford it. How do we solve this discrepancy and what do you suggest for families that cannot afford to eat healthily and sustainably?" ~Emily

Pollan’s first point in response to this question was that the perception that healthy food is expensive or inaccessible may no longer be an accurate one for many people. The astounding increase in the number of farmers markets and CSAs cropping up all over the country has done a lot to bring farmers and consumers closer together, generally resulting in lower prices and easier access. For some, it is just a matter of looking up the nearest farmers market or CSA farm and being willing to put time into planning and cooking healthy meals.

In my personal experience, I found that the produce stand near my house had a much wider variety of organic (not to mention hyper-local) fruits and vegetables for less money than at the grocery store. As I reported in a previous post, my food costs put me in the lowest tier of food spending even though I purchase pasture-raised meat and eggs and organic, local produce.

His second point was that there certainly are places in this country in which access and cost are very real problems. West Oakland, he pointed out, has 53 liquor stores and zero full-service grocery stores. Zero. Recently, there has been work to bring a grocery store to West Oakland, but community organizers are concerned that they will get stuck with a low-quality, budget retailer that won’t improve the type of food available to residents.

Nikki Henderson from People’s Grocery in West Oakland described the type of market system she envisions for the area: one that provides local organic produce and helps the local economy. There are a few new markets cropping up in West Oakland that are owned by local residents and committed to bringing local food to Oakland residents, but the City of Oakland is also pushing hard for a large retail chain to set up shop. The debate as to which option is better for the residents of West Oakland is nicely laid out in an article by Eric Holt Gimenez, the director of Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy, which created and runs the Oakland Food Policy Council. Also, one of the students in our class researched food deserts, including Oakland, for her article.

In general, Pollan pointed out, there are measures we could adopt that would enable more poor people to buy healthy food. Accepting food stamps and WIC at farmers markets would be one option, and working to bring farmers markets to urban areas would provide better access to healthy foods.

"You wrote that letter to the next president in the New York Times giving some good ideas about what he can do to really help our food issues. What sorts of little things do you think we can all do to make our food system better from day to day?" ~Keith

The easiest thing we can all do is to be conscious eaters. As Michael Pollan put it, we ought to make choices that we’ve considered. He doesn’t advocate scrutinizing every decision or driving yourself crazy trying to find a certain local vegetable to complete tonight’s dinner recipe. Rather, think about what choices you are making. Already, you are likely to make better ones.

Next up, be aware of the debates and legislation going on in your country, state, or even city council. Pollan recommended the site Food Democracy Now for keeping up with current food-related events; I’ve been following the National Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture’s blog for my policy news. And just as important as knowing what is going on, you need to be willing to weigh in. “Vote with your fork”, says Pollan, but also, vote with your vote!

Michael described working with Senators to help along the Food Safety bill and to promote the Tester-Hagan amendment in an article he wrote with Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation and Food Inc. producer), which appeared in The New York Times. I took a moment to explain to the class my recent experience of calling Senator Boxer’s office to comment on the Food Safety Bill and the Tester-Hagan amendment. Pollan assured me that these actions really do matter. If you care about an issue, you have to call. And it seems like not very many people take these opportunities to vote on policy even though the big changes come from these votes – more so, one could argue, than votes cast at the ballot box.

“Vote with your fork!” ~Michael Pollan

We had a terrific time with Michael Pollan and were so appreciative that he could attend our class. I even snuck out with him at the end, and yes, he agreed to sign my copy of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. What a guy!

Stimulating dinner conversation: Three discussions about food. (Part Two)

2010-12-12T13:49:00.000-08:00

The second event I attended was a panel discussion at The Commonwealth Club entitled The Conscientious Carnivore: A Guide to Humane and Sustainable Meat Eating. As the name implies, this event covered how slaughter animals are raised and “processed” both conventionally and ethically, how to find ethical meat, and how to cook ethically as well. The panelists included a grass-fed cattle rancher named Mac Magruder, food writer Deborah Krasner, author and butcher Marissa Guggiana, and executive chef Chris Cosentini.

From farm to butcher.

Mac Magruder is a fourth generation cattle rancher in Mendocino County, CA. In a great video from Oliveto, we get to see the ranch, the animals, and Mac’s family. He explains the importance of raising cattle on grass and letting all of his animals roam on pasture. You can see more pics of the Magruder Ranch residents on their Facebook page.

At the panel discussion, Mac described his process of raising grass-fed cattle on pasture in contrast to confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) in which cows stand about in their own manure and are force-fed corn. CAFOs depend on corn made cheap through crop subsidies, which means the whole feedlot system is dependent on non-renewable resources such as water, fossil fuels, and phosphorous that are used to grow commodity corn as well as the tax-payer dollars that make monoculture commodity corn farming economically viable. The fumes and runoff from CAFOs - a stew of animal waste, hormones, and antibiotics used to control the spread of disease and combat corn-related digestive problems that would otherwise prove fatal for the cows – contaminate ground water and add to pollution and even climate change. As Mac stated at the panel, “feedlot is not a sustainable industry".

Even good ranchers often sell their cattle to feedlots rather than to consumers. Mac’s animals never go to feedlots, but getting the meat to consumers is harder than you might think. In fact, according to the panel, one of the biggest challenges in linking local, sustainable meat producers with consumers is that, for Mac to sell his meat, he has to have the animals slaughtered and “processed” at a USDA-certified facility.

Like much of the meat industry, consolidation has reduced the number of meat processors. And the increased volume of meat production and meat-related food-borne illnesses, has led the USDA to add many more regulations to reduce contamination and hazard within the process. Unfortunately, when regulations intended for large-scale facilities are applied to all facilities, small-scale processors are often driven out of business. Nowadays, a local cattle rancher like Mac may have to transport his animals hundreds of miles to a certified processor in order to sell them within the community.

Not all of the sustainably-minded processors have disappeared quite yet. Panelist Marissa Guggiana runs Sonoma Direct, a USDA-certified processor, butcher, and wholesaler that deals exclusively with local ranchers. Their goal is to follow the philosophy of famed butcher Dario Cecchini: to provide an animal with a good life, a good death, a good butcher, and a good cook. The idea is to, in the end, create a meal that pays homage to not only the animal being eaten but also all of the people who labored to raise that animal and bring it to us in the form of food.

Marissa recently wrote a book about butchers and meat processing called Primal Cuts: Cooking with America's Best Butchers. The book highlights some of the unsung heroes of the sustainable meat market. Marissa pointed out that butchery is a diminishing field of study, and without people willing to do this work, we can’t expect to revitalize local markets for ethical meat.

Supporting local ranches like Magruder’s and processors like Sonoma Direct is obviously important, but working to create a scale-dependent regulatory system for processors is also necessary. One potential solution currently operating in Washington is mobile processing facilities that would be eligible for certification and could travel to small farms and ranches. The USDA is also providing assistance for small processors to develop action plans so they can meet the regulations. More work needs to be done, however, before the local, sustainable meat industry can really have a fair shot at consumers.

From market to plate.

Farmers markets and CSAs have been growing in popularity in recent years. It’s now feasible for most consumers to purchase local, ethical meat. Eat Wild maintains a database of grass-fed animal farms, searchable by state, and has a lot of great information on the benefits on grass-fed meat; Local Harvest compiles searchable lists of farmers markets and CSAs.

Although sourcing ethical meat is becoming easier, most people still think of purchasing meat the same way they have for years – buying only a few cuts of meat with only the next meal or few meals in mind. The panel suggested a different approach. Deborah Krasner explained how she purchases meat in terms of whole, half, or quarters of an animal and takes care to use all the parts of the animal she receives. Her philosophy is that "you have an obligation to eat everything that's edible".

In her book, Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat, Krasner goes into exquisite detail on the subject of purchasing animals and having them processed by a butcher into different cuts of meat. She then includes recipes for everything from the familiar steaks and roasts to the more obscure cuts such as sweetbreads (generally glands) and tongue. The book covers beef, lamb, pork, poultry, rabbit, and eggs and is filled with pictures of animals that Deborah raised herself.

Cooking less-familiar cuts of meat is currently going through a bit of a renaissance. These used to be the cheaper cuts of meat so there are traditional methods and recipes; we just have to relearn them. Deborah made the point that cooking is an integral part of eating sustainably saying, “all of us who are invested in sustainable meat want you to learn how to cook meat beautifully".

Offal, the internal organs such as liver and brains, are also being incorporated into modern fare. At San Francisco restaurant Incanto, executive chef Chris Cosentino combines offal with more familiar cuts to create amazing edible experiences. In addition to his work at Incanto (and a hobby of endurance mountain biking), Chris maintains Offal Good, an educational website and blog all about offal.

Chris and Deborah agreed that sourcing animals that are grass-fed and pasture-raised is even more important when using these cuts. The flavors are completely different and do not contain chemicals that can linger in the organs of conventionally-raised animals.

They also recommended that people reprioritize cooking within their lives. Planning ahead of time can make many more recipes fit into a busy lifestyle. Even a dish that takes hours to cook often takes much less time to prepare, and the time the food spends in the oven or the slow-cooker can be time for the chef to do chores, work, or even yoga. Buying in bulk reduces both time for shopping and the cost of meat per meal. While this type of sourcing and cooking may still prove unrealistic for struggling families, for many people, it really is a matter of organization and priorities.

From audience to participant.

My mother’s recipe for thanksgiving stuffing uses chicken livers, which elicited quite the negative response from my husband the first year I tried to make it. Every year since, much to his chagrin, I have made this stuffing because it reminds me of my childhood although it never seems to come out quite right. After attending the Conscientious Carnivore event, it occurred to me that perhaps one reason the dish never tastes right is because I use conventional chicken livers from the grocery store and use water with beef bullion cubes to make the broth.

This year, I got serious and picked up chicken livers and beef bones, which my husband used to make an incredible broth, from Marin Sun Farms. I also used bread from a bakery and local organic vegetables. The stuffing turned out fantastic. All my guests raved about it and were surprised to hear that liver was the unfamiliar flavor that carried the dish.

My commitment to eating ethically, the information I learned from the panelists, and my positive experiences from thanksgiving have inspired me to go even more outside my comfort zone. My husband and I have often been wary of lesser-known cuts of meat available at the farmers market because we wouldn’t know how to prepare them. After the panel event, I purchased Good Meats as a guide to help us expand our repertoire. Eating more cuts of meat means that we are really using the whole animal, a more sustainable and ethical way of eating.

Next up, a Q&A between Berkeley students and author, Michael Pollan. Then, a synthesis of my three experiences and how they fit into the bigger picture of sustainable food systems.

Additional sources:
USDA meat regulations: Taylor DA 2008. Does One Size Fit All?: Small Farms and U.S. Meat Regulations. Environ Health Perspect 116:A529-A531. doi:10.1289/ehp.116-a528
More on Deborah Krasner
More on Marissa Guggiana
Special thanks to Tess McEnulty for supplying me with quotes. I must learn to take better notes!

Stimulating dinner conversation: Three discussions about food. (Part One)

2010-12-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend three food-related events: two panel discussions and a Q&A with Michael Pollan.

The first event was the Food Movements Unite panel discussion with Raj Patel, Nikki Henderson, and Nora KcKeon. The panel was organized by Food First: The Institute for Food and Development Policy, so it wasn’t surprising that the panel focused on food access for the poor both in urban areas of the US and in developing countries around the world.

“What the corporate food system is producing in Global North and Global South… is, above all, a politics that prevents us from addressing the real causes of the problem.” ~Raj Patel

Raj Patel is a Food First Policy Fellow and has written several books including Stuffed and Starved and The Value of Nothing. Raj pointed out that, to understand the current state of the global food system, we need to understand the history of colonialism and development of the 19th century. Often referencing the book Late Victorian Holocaust by Mike Davis, Raj explained that what we now view as the Global North (of plenty) and Global South (of poverty) was not a natural evolution of these regions. Instead, the Global South and the Third World were created by violence and imperialism on the part of the Global North through, in large part, the development of the global food system.

We are now left with a food system that wreaks havoc on the environment, contributes to poverty, hunger, and malnutrition, and provides food in such novel forms that it makes people sick. Despite having reduced the number of food insecure people in the world by nearly a million since 2009, there are still an estimated 925 million people who suffer from chronic hunger [1]. Hunger and malnutrition persist even as economies improve, and food prices are fairly low, because of inequities in the structure of the food system [1]. The novel foods introduced in places like India are now thought to be responsible for the profound increase in the prevalence of diabetes. An estimated one million people in India die each year from diabetes, and health care costs for treating the disease now comprise 2% of the GDP.

“The minute we step into supermarkets, the minute that we allow ourselves to be seduced by this idea that individual consumerism will transform the planet, we have fallen into one of the traps that… corporate globalization and the corporate food system has already set for us.” ~Raj Patel

When addressing solutions to global food problems, Raj was critical of personal food choices as an avenue for change. He seemed most concerned with people making different food choices but still working within the same corporate system. Simply purchasing well-marketed products (“pro-bunny-rabbit”, to use his words) cannot solve the underlying problems stemming from inequity in the global food system or the lack of access to food for impoverished people throughout the world. Rather, we have to change the food system itself and, as Raj stated in his conclusion, we may need to change a great deal else as well.

“All hail the turnip!” ~ Raj Patel

During the question and answer session, Raj had some cautionary words for local food movements in the US. Politics and the position of a local effort in the larger global food movement need to be considered. Becoming hyper-focused on eating locally, for example, may stall the effectiveness of a food movement. Understanding the role of businesses like Walmart and McDonald’s – that they provide a social safety net in the form of cheap food – is necessary before a local movement ought to, say, work against a new Walmart in their community. It’s easy, as people with means or even as a country with means, to forget about the people who can’t afford to make choices.

“Who are you? What do you want to do? Where does your humility sit when you do this work?” ~Nikki Henderson

The second panelist was Nikki Henderson from People’s Grocery, an organization that works to bring fresh, healthy food and health education to West Oakland. Their larger concerns are food justice - the idea that people have an inherent right to healthy food - and changing the food system to prioritize access for the poor in urban areas.

Nikki told a personal story of her journey into food justice activism and described how poised we are as a movement to truly make changes. She mentioned the White House garden and the push, championed by First Lady Michelle Obama, to promote fresh, healthy food. And she emphasized how important it is that we learn the history of the movements and communities in which we work, and that we collaborate across different sectors within the food movement in order to yoke the power of the people and support the leaders who could actually make the changes we are fighting for.

Unexpectedly, Nikki highlighted the Tea Party as a successful model for mobilizing people within a movement. In only two years, the Tea Party has gone from non-existent to having lawmakers in office. If all of the people working on the many important issues within food systems could come together, we too could make significant progress.

Nikki’s talk was engaging and motivating. She made me want to jump out of my seat and fix the food system all on my own. All of the panelists’ remarks are available on Vimeo, but I am sharing this one specifically because I thought it was so good.

Nikki Henderson from Food First on Vimeo.

“…the road to ending hunger in Africa leads in the same direction as the road to ending obesity, food deserts, [and] salmonella in the US, and now is the time to take it.” ~Nora McKeon

The final speaker was Nora McKeon of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the leading international organization working to assess and defeat world hunger, and author of The United Nations and Civil Society. The FAO now has a Committee on Food Security that works with governments to secure access to healthy food for all the people of the world.

Hers was a message of hope. After more than three decades of work toward food system change, she expressed optimism saying, “This is easily the most exciting moment of political opportunity that I’ve encountered in all these many years.”

Structural adjustment policies, previously required by international assistance programs, are now widely accepted as destructive. In addition to peasant farmer movements in the Global South, initially spawned as a reaction to such adjustment policies, we now have alternative food systems cropping up even in the developed world. According to Nora, the intersection of food and health as well as the influence of industrial agriculture on climate change, have also contributed to food movements becoming mainstream concerns. People are interested. At present, our best chance to substantially change food systems is by linking local and global food movements – by getting all of the people who are passionate about food systems to work together.

Who am I?

I’ve often shied away from global food issues because, frankly, they’re intimidating. It all sounds too big for me. With so many competing interests, ideas, and voices, how could I ever hope to figure out not only what is going on but also the best solutions? And how can I fight for what is right if I can’t figure out what that is?

Even through some amount of avoidance on my part, I have begun learning about the global food system, the history of exploitation and unintended consequences that led to its formation, and how our policies and practices here in the US contribute to a food system that leaves nearly a billion people starving or malnourished.

Avoiding participation in the conventional food system whenever I can, educating those around me, and speaking up when food legislation is being considered are all ways that I can contribute. And these local and national-scale efforts support even more widespread changes because, as I learned from these panelists, local and global food movements go hand-in-hand. I’m still no expert, but I’m beginning to learn that even I can contribute to the betterment of the global food system if I am willing to try; attending this panel discussion was merely a first step.

Stay tuned for commentary on The Conscientious Carnivore panel discussion and the Q&A with Michael Pollan in upcoming posts.

Turkey with a side of gratitude.

2010-11-24T22:33:00.000-08:00

When did you last eat a piece of chicken? Do you remember the taste? The texture? Did you enjoy it? If you’d asked me a few years ago, my answer would have been something like “Uh, I think there was some on my pizza last night…” or maybe I’d recall the spicy taste of the fast food chicken sandwich I had for lunch. That was before I learned where our food comes from, before I learned the true price of the 99¢ chicken sandwich.

Now I only eat meat that I purchase from farms that incorporate good animal welfare and environmental sustainability practices. Most of my home-cooked meals are vegetarian or include some seafood. At restaurants, they all are. I thought it would be hard to reduce the amount of meat I was accustomed to eating. I thought that I would miss it. What I found out is that I’d really been missing out all along.

The last time I ate chicken was at Adagia – a high end Berkeley restaurant known for sourcing local organic ingredients. Usually, I would still opt for a vegetarian dish, but I was enjoying an evening out with friends and decided to take them at their word. I told the waitress to bring me whatever the chef thought was the best dish on the menu. The whole chicken breast I received was cooked perfectly: moist and tender with a slightly crispy skin. I savored every bite. I remember it not only because of the friendly company, lively discussion, or fancy ambiance, but because I so rarely eat meat. I have a new appreciation that, I think, is more appropriate given that an animal had to be killed for me to consume that wonderful meal.

These feelings have changed the way I experience home-cooked meals as well. My husband and I pay a lot more for each cut of meat we buy, so we take extra care in preparing them. Rather than carelessly throwing some “weekly special” ground beef into our pasta sauce to add a little protein, we make a date night out of preparing and eating our dinner. We chop vegetables while discussing our day, pour some wine while the aromas from the stove or oven begin to permeate the house. It’s a time to reconnect and relax. And when we finally sit down to enjoy our dinner, the care we put into the meal really comes through.

This week we have the special opportunity to host a Thanksgiving dinner for our friends and family. At a time set aside for gratitude and appreciation, we feel strongly about how this meal should be created. Our turkey was raised on a pasture, cared for by Bill and Nicolette Niman, the original owners of Niman Ranch – and the people responsible for the good reputation that perhaps no longer applies. BN Ranch worked with Marin Sun Farms to make ethically-raised heritage turkeys available to the public.

We picked up our turkey at the Marin Sun Farms booth at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in San Francisco on Saturday along with beef bones we used to make broth and chicken livers for my mother’s traditional stuffing. We also bought mixed greens, squash, potatoes, and other root vegetables from Heirloom Organic Gardens, and Brussels sprouts, apples, and turnips from various other vendors from farms located within about 100 miles of the city. Eggs and additional veggies were delivered in our first CSA box from Eatwell Farms. We rounded out our list with a trip to J.E. Perry Farms, then Trader Joe’s, and finally to Safeway for cornstarch and allspice berries.

When we sit down for our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, I’m sure we will feel grateful for the many good things we are lucky enough to have in our lives. Moreover, we can thank the farmers responsible for providing us with such a bountiful harvest. We can thank them because we know who they are and how hard they worked to create this food. And isn’t that the true spirit of Thanksgiving after all?

Vote early; vote often.

2010-11-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

How often do you vote? Every four years? Every two? How confident do you feel, when you walk up to your polling place, that you are making the best choices - the ones that most accurately reflect your values?

If you’re like me, the answer is “not very”. When it comes to candidate races, in which the choice generally comes down to only two people, it’s a lot easier to decide who gets my vote. Ballot propositions often leave me in a quandary though. I use my best judgment, but really, the only thing that makes me comfortable voting yes or no is the knowledge that my vote is only a tiny contribution to the decision.

I have spent the past year learning about food: where our food comes from, how our system affects our health and environment, and even the ramifications of our global trade policies and subsidized food system on the developing world. I have blogged about food, taught a class about food, and attended panel discussions. I completely changed the way I eat. These are ways in which I vote every day. Perhaps they are useful, but they are still only tiny contributions.

Could I do more?

Despite the seemingly endless commercials for and against ballot measures, most policy changes are made between elections – in the Senate and the House of Representatives. More important than which particular congressperson happens to be in office, is how that person votes on any given piece of legislation, when they choose to compromise, and which issues they concede. It is at these points that my voice could be more than noise – that my passion and concern could have an impact.

Am I ready to do more?

Fighting for what I think is right takes confidence and courage – two things I’m not sure I have! Before dialing up my congressperson to assert my views and call for action, I need to know what I’m asking for.

Recently, I read about a new bill to enhance food safety by, among other things, allowing the FDA to recall tainted food. Currently, recalls are voluntary and determined by the producers or manufacturers of the food in question. I read about the food safety bill in an article in The Washington Post, in which Michael Pollan explains the bill and why he is strongly in favor of its passage, and in several posts on Civil Eats.

The most comprehensive look at this piece of legislation came from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), a group that “advocates for federal policy reform to advance the sustainability of agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and rural communities”. They currently have an action alert about the food safety bill, which includes an explanation of key points in the bill, a link to a full report by NSAC, and helpful instructions on how to contact your Senator and advice on what to say. This piece of legislation and its amendments are currently being debated in the Senate. And I could be a part of that conversation, if only I would pick up the phone and call.

I’m still nervous about taking this next step. But come Monday morning, I am going to call Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and explain to them why I think this bill is important. Both these senators are likely to vote yes on the bill along with the two amendments that make it feasible for small or family farms. Even so, picking up the phone shows these senators that their constituency cares about food policy. Perhaps hearing from me will make them more willing to fight for my interests in the future and less likely to concede to other interests. Despite my self-doubt, I think this is something I have to do. If there is a topic you are passionate about, I encourage you to educate yourself about current legislation and vote with your telephone. Vote early; vote often.

And for those of you less passionate about food…

Obviously, food policy is what motivates me to participate in the legislative process. However, there are easy ways of learning about legislation on any topic. Reading or subscribing to blogs and news articles is a good way to learn about upcoming bills. Another way is to keep up with the legislation being written, debated, and voted for in the Senate and the House. Thomas records current and past legislation (since 1989), Congressional activities day-by-day, voting records, and more. The Library of Congress runs Thomas with the purpose of making the legislative process accessible to the public. I used the “bill text search” to find legislation related to food that is being debated, amended, or voted on – in other words, bills with floor action – in the 2009/2010 Congressional year.

Thomas found over 400 entries. The first three are versions of the House’s Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 (H.R. 2749). I can see that this bill has passed. The fourth entry is the Senate version of the bill: the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510), which was the topic of this post. From here, I can access a PDF of the actual text of the bill – a 266-page document containing language that will be removed from the current law followed by the new regulations. Following the link to S. 510’s page, I can also navigate to a summary of the bill and it’s history and current status. This is a great way to learn about legislation you are passionate about.

GovTrack is non-governmental site that covers current and past legislation. Informed by Thomas, this site also provides commentary and allows users to ask and answer questions. The interface is a little more user-friendly than Thomas as you can see in their S. 510 page. Finally, Congress.org lists the contact information for elected officials by zip code. The only commentary appears to be user-generated; they also allow users to post content such as their letters to Congress or calls-to-action by different advocacy groups.

I hope this information will help you identify the legislation you most care about and give you the tools to participate in the process. Good luck!

[Special thanks go to Eric M. Huff for providing the link to the Washington Post article, helping me identify sources of information on S. 510, and encouraging me to participate!]

From farm to Fremont.

2010-11-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

There is a chill in the air and the scent of fireplaces in use. The sweaters have come out of the back of the closet. The leaves on the tree outside my building have changed color and dropped to the ground. Yes, winter is coming up fast. And while there are many things to love about wintertime – pumpkins, egg nog, snuggling, and snowboarding – there is one significant downside. The J.E. Perry Farms produce stand is closing for the winter, and my main source for local, organic, and surprisingly affordable produce is going away.

Before I found the produce stand, I purchased most of my fruits and veggies at the Newark farmers market and the rest from Trader Joe’s. The farmers market is still a good option, but it takes a lot of effort to vet the farmers. Unlike the Ferry Plaza farmers market in SF or the Berkeley farmers market, these vendors are not expected to follow any particular practices or farming philosophy (although local and small farms are given some preference, and GMOs are not allowed). That means it’s up to me to ask lots of questions, and I have to simply trust that the vendors know the answers and are telling me the truth.

Relying on a farmers market also means I have to shop during specific hours, usually only one day a week. If I have something else to do that day, or I’m sick, or it’s Tuesday at 6pm – well, I’m stuck with Trader Joe’s or maybe even Safeway. While it’s better than not having access to produce at all, I’m no longer satisfied with industrial organic produce, heralding from distant lands, and shrink-wrapped in plastic.

An option I have not yet tried is joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. A farmer or group of farmers can choose to sell shares in their harvest as part of a CSA program. Members pay in advance to receive boxes of fresh produce - and possibly also eggs, meat, or other farm goods - over a specified length of time. This gives farmers a steadier source of income and helps mitigate unforeseen problems like bad weather. CSA members get fresh, local produce from a farm that fits their needs and values. Farms that participate in CSAs are generally small, family-owned, polycultures that use sustainable practices. These are the farms rarely represented in a grocery store because they do not produce a vast quantity of one or two crops. Building strong relationships between growers and eaters is beneficial for both parties, and CSA participation is on the rise.

Local Harvest, a site devoted to helping consumers find sustainable farms, farmers markets, and other resources, maintains a list of CSA programs throughout the United States. The site claims to have over 2,500 CSA farms in their database with the number growing all the time. I used the CSA search tool on Local Harvest to find a program in my area: Fremont, California. (I also used it to find a delicious nearby restaurant that uses locally-sourced ingredients!)

Out of the 20 (!) listings on Living Harvest for CSA programs in my area, I narrowed it down to three and finally one: the Eatwell Farm CSA. I picked this program because it has a drop-off near my work on Thursday evenings, which totally fits into my schedule. They offer a wide variety of veggies and fruits even in winter. And they have eggs. Incredible, ethical eggs! Also, I have seen Eatwell Farm’s produce and eggs at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market so I know they are high quality goods and that the farm uses sustainable practices, as that market requires. They also had a nice website with a lot of information about the farm, member feedback, and even a farm blog. I just signed up for their 4-week trial subscription, which will include a half dozen eggs and a whole lot of produce for $108. That’s $27 per week, which is about what I spend now. I’m also opting to receive a box every other week to start with.

Given that I have to pick up my box on a certain day and time window, this option may not be much better than the farmers market. However, picking up my CSA box is a lot faster than shopping! Plus, I know I am supporting a farm that I can be proud of. I guess I'll just have to test it out and see. For now, though, I’m looking forward to my first mystery box from Eatwell Farm and a carton of beautiful eggs!

Organic II: Things that make you go eww.

2010-11-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

When researching my last post on organic agriculture, I came across one restriction that I didn’t quite understand: no use of sewage sludge. I’ll admit that the words “sewage sludge” have a serious nose wrinkling effect on me, but should they? What is sewage sludge, and how is it used in conventional agriculture?

Also called biosolids, probably to reduce the aforementioned nose wrinkling, sewage sludge is the material removed from wastewater during its treatment. The residential component of wastewater is everything we flush down the toilet or pour down the drain. Human waste contains substances like nitrogen and phosphorous, which can be extremely valuable for fertilizing crops. Thus, using human waste that is removed from treated wastewater for agriculture could conceivably provide a disposal method for the ever-growing pile of human waste while simultaneously providing a natural and sustainable source of chemicals used for fertilizer. Despite the “yuck-factor”, it seems like utilizing biosolids in agriculture could be a good thing. So why is it banned under the National Organic Program?

The trouble is that human waste isn’t the only type of material that contributes to sewage sludge. Industrial waste products are combined with residential wastewater when entering the treatment facility. In addition, not all residential waste is natural, human waste. These additional sources can result in potentially harmful substances persisting through the treatment process and making it into sewage sludge.

According to a nationwide EPA study of sewage sludge [1], samples from all 74 treatment plants tested contained heavy metals, carcinogens, industrial chemicals like flame retardants, and even antibiotics, steroids, and hormones. Little is known about the affects of combining all of these substances in a vat of sludge and, when applied to farmland used for growing food or grazing land for animals that are eventually sent to slaughter, there is potential for food contamination. In addition, these materials may adversely affect farm workers and people living near farms in which sewage sludge is applied.

Concrete evidence is difficult to find mainly because there is little research (or even funding for research) on the direct or indirect health effects of using sewage sludge in agriculture. In addition, there is no standard method for reporting or compiling health complaints related to sewage sludge. Lack of research has led to a lack of evidence that sewage sludge negatively impacts human health, which is often used to justify weak regulation and a lack of comprehensive testing. Complaints about health effects from sewage sludge are often dismissed because there is no evidence that the sludge causes people to get sick. Of course, there is no evidence that sewage sludge is safe either.

Anecdotal evidence and one small scientific study [2] suggest that people in close proximity to farms that apply sewage sludge do experience adverse affects including skin ulcers, upper respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal issues – just to name a few. The study dealt with exposure to the less treated (Class B) type of sewage sludge, but even the better-treated version (Class A) may cause health problems, and both types are being used in agriculture.

Recently, sewage sludge made waves in the San Francisco Bay Area when the SF Public Utilities Commission gave away free fertilizer described as “organic biosolids compost” that was actually treated sewage sludge [3]. The use of the word organic was considered misleading because it could be interpreted as being related to organic agriculture rather than simply including organic matter. The program was suspended after the Organic Consumers Association organized a protest at City Hall on March 4th, 2010. I checked the SFPUC website for more information on the biosolids program. No upcoming giveaways were mentioned, and I found no references to “organic” – merely free biosolids compost. They also note that biosolids are currently used on agricultural land in Solano and Sonoma counties in addition to the giveaways. The FAQ was an interesting read; they explain that biosolids are safe because they comply with EPA testing requirements. Unfortunately, the myriad substances found in the nationwide EPA study discussed above show that current regulations may be woefully inadequate in determining the safety of biosolids because many potentially harmful substances that are present in sewage sludge are unrestricted. In addition, the FAQ describes the biosolids program as strictly monitored and regulated, but many other sources suggest otherwise.

At present, to be certified organic, foods cannot be produced with sewage sludge. Until more research is done into the potentially harmful side effects of additional contaminants, or human wastewater is collected separately for use in creating biosolids, I’m glad there is an option to avoid food grown with sewage sludge. And with that, I’m off to the farmers market for some local, organic produce - sans sludge!

Sources (cited or summarized):
[1] EPA study website
[2] S. Khuder et al., 2007. Health Survey of Residents Living near Farm Fields Permitted to Receive Biosolids. Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health 62 (1): 5–11. doi:10.3200/AEOH.62.1.5-11
[3] Sourcewatch article on sewage sludge
NY Times article on the barriers to biosolids research
Science magazine article on EPA study
SFPUC website
A good summary of sludge including several of the sources cited here can be found on the Wikipedia page on sludge.

To organic and beyond!

2010-10-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Every time I visit the produce stand at J.E. Perry Farms, I find something new and interesting to try. Last week, it was this prehistoric looking vegetable, which is apparently a member of the broccoli family. Despite going to the same produce stand week after week, I had never seen this particular vegetable before because, unlike at the grocery store, the landscape is constantly changing as new crops and varieties come into season. A stunning array of pumpkins and squash has just arrived (I had no idea there were so many kinds), while the heirloom tomatoes are on their way out.

At first, the inconsistency was challenging because I was used to picking a recipe and then holding fast to my list as I trolled the supermarket aisles for that all-important asparagus that I needed for dinner. Pretty quickly, however, I realized that most vegetables can be substituted. Plus, it can be a lot more fun to grab a bunch of weird looking veggies and then come up with something to do with them. I keep staples like pasta, beans, rice, and vegetable broth in the house so I can whip up a stir-fry or vegetable-laden pasta dish or even a quick veggie-chili just by combining my produce stand finds with ingredients I have on hand. And instead of deciding in advance that we will have green beans with our pork chops, we just add “something green” to the grocery list and pick when we get to the produce stand. This free-form version of food preparation is a major departure from my old habits and has brought me into a different food culture: one that values food diversity and sustainability over uniformity.

Isn’t there a label for that?

Although we now regulate the word “organic” through the National Organic Program (NOP), its original connotation was of low (or no) input, biodynamic, small-scale farming that was grown for local, seasonal eaters. This type of farming improves the connection between farmers and consumers and gives people a better understanding of where their food comes from. Food produced in this way is less of an environmental burden and uses fewer resources. It keeps people and the environment free of pesticides and other chemicals that are used as inputs in conventional agriculture. But is the official version of organic still representative of this type of farming?

Defining a philosophy is always difficult, and often you end up with a list of regulations or defining principles that can be followed to the letter without embodying the true nature of that philosophy. The National Organic Program created just such a list to standardize the meaning of organic. While a national standard can assure consumers of what they are actually getting when they buy organic, there are many elements of the organic philosophy that are not guaranteed through the NOP. I had trouble identifying the right document on the USDA NOP website, but I did find their documentation in the Federal Register and the list of approved substances. I also found several third-party summaries that seem to be in agreement.

To carry the certified organic seal, a product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients, and the other 5% must adhere to additional regulations. Organic foods (whole or processed) must be produced without synthetic substances such as chemical fertilizers or pesticides, with some specific exceptions. It cannot include genetically modified organisms, irradiated ingredients, or come from farms that use sewage sludge as fertilizer. Farmers are also required to use practices that maintain soil quality and help prevent soil erosion, practice intercropping and perform crop rotations, and use natural fertilizers like compost or manure. If you want food that is free from pesticides and many other chemicals and isn’t genetically-modified, look for the USDA Certified Organic label, and that’s what you will find.

And now for the fine print.

What the NOP does not guarantee is that your food was produced with minimal inputs, that the farm on which it was grown is small or family-owned or mimics a natural ecosystem, or that the food was locally-grown. I’ll leave a detailed discussion of organic animal operations for another day, but organic cows for example can still be confined and fed (organic) corn although perhaps to a lesser extent since antibiotics are not allowed. The inputs on an organic farm can be purchased elsewhere, and can mimic industrial agriculture in many ways just with fewer synthetic inputs. And they can be huge.

According to a study of certified organic producers in California, in 2005, more than 75% of organic sales came from producers making more than $1M in annual organic sales [1]. In 2006, the largest 5% (by acreage) of California’s organic operations contributed 70% of the state’s organically-grown food [2]. In contrast, 45% of producers made less than $10K per year in organic sales and constituted less than 1% of the market [2]. Packaged, processed, or nationally distributed organic foods bring in additional questionable elements because the companies associated with each of these sectors have been steadily consolidated and bought up by conventional companies. The following graphic from Phil Howard’s website shows the organic brands acquired by the top 30 food producers in North America as of June 2009. Organic food distributors and retailers are also becoming increasingly consolidated (see Howard’s website for neat graphics on these other areas).

The pros of large organic growing operations, conventional distribution methods, and selling to large retail grocery and warehouse stores, are that they lead to cheaper prices and more widespread access for consumers. There is a larger market for organic food so more people can eat food that is free from pesticides and more food is produced with fewer harmful environmental effects. The cons of this type of production are that it gives producers who stick to the letter of the law more access to consumers than those who adhere to the spirit of organic farming. It means food still travels great distances and adds to the perception that food comes from the grocery store rather than the farm. Furthermore, buying organic food from a company owned by, say General Mills, means you are inadvertently supporting their conventional practices along with their organic ones. And giving conventional food companies a bigger piece of the pie may also give them more ability to lobby for less restriction on organics and allow things like GMOs to be included.

Organic or bust.

So what is an ethical eater to do? For starters, buy organic food. Big or small, corporate or family-owned, organic is safer, healthier, and better for the environment whether you buy it from Costco, Trader Joe’s, or the farm down the street. That being said, if you want to be a part of a truly sustainable farming system, find a farmers market and start asking questions. Look for a farm that reflects your own values and priorities whether they are buying local, farm worker rights, or supporting a biodynamic polyculture. You probably won’t see a certified organic seal on the produce, but producers making less than $5K per year in sales can say they are organic without being certified as long as they adhere to the NOP regulations. And despite the national definition, organic farming is a philosophy and a movement not just a word. Make sure the food you buy, whether labeled organic or not, meets with your standards for sustainability.

Sources: This post was both inspired and informed by a lecture by Christy Getz, a professor in UC Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources. The quoted statistics are from [1] Klonsky and Richter, “Statistical Review of California’s Organic Agriculture 2000-2005” and [2] from Christy Getz, determined using primary data “obtained from the Registry of Certified Organic Operations, California Department of Food and Agriculture (2006)”. Several of the figures came from the website of Phil Howard, an assistant professor in the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies at Michigan State University. Additional discussion on the pros and cons of Big Organic can be found in chapter 9 of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, written by Michael Pollan.

Football for foodies.

2010-10-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

I love Sundays. Why? Because of football. Maybe it’s the excitement of the game or the thrill of rooting for a team or simply because it reminds me of watching NY Giants football with my grandfather when I was a little girl. In any case, I love this game. Yesterday, my team (the Giants) won and Tony Gonzalez, a tight end for the Atlanta Falcons, caught two touchdown passes. Anyone who knows me quickly learns about my inherited love of the NY Giants, but they would probably be surprised that I keep track of Gonzalez’ stats. Tony has quickly become one of my favorite NFL players and not because he’s on my fantasy football team. Nope, it’s because Tony is an ethical eater.

During a preseason game, I happened to catch an interview with a supposedly vegan football player: Tony Gonzalez. I had never heard of him but was quickly absorbed in what he had to say! Gonzalez was quick to point out that he is not actually vegan, but he is picky about his meat sources, buying only grass-fed beef and free-range chicken. I found the interviewer very dismissive and rather rude about the whole thing, but it was enough to get me hooked. I had to find out more about this guy!

Tony Gonzalez played sports all through high school and college, excelling at both football and basketball while studying at Cal, and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1997 NFL draft. He never paid much attention to his diet or to the advice of the team’s nutritionist, Mitzi Dulan. However, after two major health scares, Gonzalez began to worry about life after football and the long-term damage he might be doing to his body by neglecting his nutritional needs. In an interesting twist of fate, it was during this time that Tony learned of The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, a controversial book about a research study supposedly linking meat consumption to poor health. Although the methodology used to draw conclusions in the study and book has been the focus of much criticism and debate, it really spurred Gonzalez to learn more about food, nutrition, and health. He finally approached Mitzi, the Chief’s nutritionist, and asked for some help. I couldn’t help but smile when I learned her advice: read The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, both books by Michael Pollan. After learning about our food system, Tony committed to an ethical food lifestyle and worked with Mitzi to create a diet that would keep him healthy and fit. After adopting his new diet, Tony’s health improved and so did his on-field performance. He led the NFL in most career receptions and most receiving yards for a tight end and went to his 9th consecutive Pro Bowl.

The diet is laid out in Tony and Mitzi’s new book, The All Pro Diet. In it, he explains why it is so important to eat whole, unprocessed foods, avoid sugary drinks and snacks, buy organic fresh fruits and vegetables, and only eat meat from animals raised humanely without antibiotics and hormones. In the book, Tony talks about checking out farms with Mitzi and taking his family shopping at farmers markets. It even includes recipes! Although I knew a lot of the background presented in the book, I still got a kick out of reading about ethical eating and the merits of organic food from a football player. He doesn’t exactly fit into the yuppie stereotype often associated with people who consider these issues when determining what to eat. I think it is further evidence of the universal importance of eating well, for yourself and the planet.

The All Pro Diet is available on Amazon. It's an easy and worthwhile read, and would probably be a great gift for someone who is just learning about our food system and looking for practical advice and inspiration. For more on nutrition and health, you may want to check out Mitzi's food blog.

Sources:
The All Pro Diet
Tony Gonzalez' profile on ESPN.com
Wikipedia: Tony Gonzalez (and references therein)
Stats from Pro-Football-Reference

We are what we eat.

2010-09-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

The book, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, describes different food lifestyles and expenditures of families all over the world along with terrific photos of the families with all of the food they eat in a week. You can check it out on Google Books or just look at the photos (with credits). I thought this was a really intriguing idea so this week, after finishing up our grocery shopping, my husband took a picture of me with all the food we bought for the week. We expect this food to provide us with two servings each of seven breakfasts, five (or six) lunches, and six dinners. On the dinner menu for this week is Garden salad and homemade baked beans with wild boar bacon and a side of fresh-baked corn bread (Sun/Mon), Baked salmon with green beans and baked sweet potato (Wed/Thurs), and Portabella mushroom sliders with grilled corn on the cob (Fri/Sat).

How much for how much?

For all the food you see in the picture, we spent $82.97 total. Organic food grown within four miles of our house cost us $8.97 (front row, right); food from our garden we counted as zero cost. The rest of our organic products cost $39.51 (front row, left), and we spent $39.55 on non-organic foods including our wild boar bacon and wild-caught salmon (back row). The U.S. Census Bureau reports estimates of the amount spent weekly by a family of two, aged 19 – 50, for four different diet plans determined by income. The diets, called thrifty, low-cost, moderate-cost, and liberal, are determined by the USDA based on a combination of the types of foods that people in different income ranges report eating and federal guidelines for a nutritious diet. The U.S. Census reported that, in December 2008, the “Weekly Food Cost of a Nutritious Diet” for the thrifty diet was $83 whereas the low-cost plan was $105.60. For August 2010, the most recent report available from the USDA, the “Cost of food at home” for the thrifty diet was $80 and low-cost was $101.90. That means our food expenditure, despite including many organic products, is right around the thrifty estimate. That makes it seem like our diet would be considered affordable to the people for whom the USDA designed the thrifty plan. However, buying organic is usually considered a luxury that low-income families simply cannot afford. Perhaps the thrifty diet calculations are off, or maybe the people reporting what they eat make very different choices that turn out to be about as expensive as ours. Or maybe it's an issue of access?

How typical is this number?

This week, we ate a little less meat than normal. The meat products we will eat in upcoming weeks are more expensive by $4 - $18. That would put us in between the thrifty and low-cost plans. We also did not include foods we already had in our house, such as olive oil, even if we plan use them in meals this week. We assume the cost will balance out since we also don’t expect to finish every product we purchased by the end of this week. Coffee is the only product we purchased for which we adjusted the price; we generally drink a canister of coffee in two weeks, so the cost was cut in half.

The Census and USDA numbers are calculated with the assumption that all food consumed during the week is eaten at home. For us, this is true for all but one dinner and one or two lunches. Thus, while our total food expenditure for the week will be a little higher than our grocery purchases for this week, it’s still a valid comparison given that most people don’t eat all their food at home either.

What this picture says to me.

My husband and I have changed our diets a lot over the last five years, and it is quite evident in this photo! People used to refer to me as the girl with the Dr. Pepper because I was seemingly never without a can or bottle of the stuff. I haven’t regularly consumed soda in over a year now so you won’t find any of it in this picture! I also see a lot more fresh fruits and vegetables than I would have a few years back, and all of it is organically grown and pesticide-free. Our animal product purchases have greatly decreased. I’m lactose-intolerant so no cheese, butter, or milk makes it into our house. We only buy eggs from ethical farms and are currently out. And of course, we only use a small amount of meat, none of it conventional! Along with our dietary changes, there have been significant physical changes. Since adopting a diet low in animal products and processed foods but high in whole, fresh fruits and vegetables, I have run a half-marathon, completed a sprint triathlon, and dropped two dress sizes. I would say the sacrifice is worthwhile, but I don’t actually feel like I’ve sacrificed anything. I enjoy my food more now and really love my active, healthy life.

How do you compare?

I would be very curious to see how my family’s expenditures really measure up. That’s where you come in. Just like the book, I’d like to put together a collection of photos of people with a week’s worth of their groceries and the cost of that food. I’m curious to see what types of food choices lead to lower food costs. Given restrictions on photo uploading within comments, I’ll ask anyone interested in participating to please upload their photo and cost estimate to my companion page on Facebook (use the FB widget in the sidebar to access it or search for An Omnivore’s Decision from within Facebook). You will have to “like” the page to contribute, but then you will also get to see all of the shorter tidbits I post there and connect with other people interested in these issues. If you have trouble accessing or posting to the FB page (or if you’d rather send me your info via email), please leave me a comment.

The Baron of Meat.

2010-09-19T10:18:00.000-07:00

Each morning, I grab a steaming cup of coffee and sit down before my laptop to check email. Ah innovation… Oh wait, it’s mostly junk. I probably receive about a dozen emails from various online retailers whose little “send me offers” checkbox I mysteriously forgot to deselect, multiple reminders about the weekly department seminar, and so on. I generally follow the practice of massive check and delete without even reading them. However, one morning I noticed an email from a retailer I was surprised to hear from: David Samiljan, the owner of Baron’s Meats and Poultry in Alameda, CA. Baron’s is a small butcher shop that carries a wide variety of foods mainly from smaller, more sustainable farms (some of which are even local). Along with providing better options for ethical eaters, Baron’s provides an invaluable resource, Dave himself.

Knowing that his customers value more ethical choices, Dave doesn’t just stop at cuts of meat and wine pairings; he also knows how the farms from which he sources his goods operate. And if he doesn’t know the answer to a customer’s question, he’ll “make a call and find out the answer”. When I visited Baron’s a few weeks ago in search of ethical meat with better store hours than the farmers market, Dave spent about 20 minutes talking to me, explaining the different practices of each farm, and answering my questions about general sustainable practices. If the polyculture eco-minded Marin Sun Farms is on one end of the spectrum, and on the other is the massive monoculture Harris Ranch (drive south on I5 – when you hit the stench of cow manure, look east and check out the seemingly unending fencerows filled with cows laying in muck), where did these other farms fall? While Baron’s does carry some Marin Sun Farms products, most of the farms, Dave explained, fall about in the middle of the spectrum. They are much less diversified than Marin Sun, and many do send their cows to small feedlots where their diets are supplemented with grain. However, the amount of time spent on the feedlot eating grain is generally a much smaller fraction of the animal’s lives than in most conventional operations. Also, for the meat to be called organic, the animals must not be given antibiotics, so those feedlots have to be small to avoid illness taking out the entire group. Dave also confirmed my suspicions about Niman Ranch: that although it used to be an icon in animal welfare and sustainability, it is now a bit closer to the Harris Ranch side of the spectrum than the other farms from which he sources meat and poultry. Dave should know – he worked for Niman Ranch before opening Baron’s. After our chat, I decided to buy meat from Marin Sun Farms (of course), and Eel River (offering 100% grass-fed, organic, and pasture-raised beef). Dave also recommended Five Dot Ranch as a good, sustainable option. Since it would be impractical for me to visit every farm from which I purchase animal products, having a trustworthy and knowledgeable butcher gives me piece of mind that I am making responsible and ethical choices. It also gives me the opportunity to provide feedback that might actually matter. In fact, it is this type of unusual communication that struck me about Dave’s email, or more specifically, the Baron’s Meat and Poultry Newsletter.

The first thing mentioned in the email newsletter was their selection of antibiotic, hormone, and nitrate-free lunchmeat. And then a question… Are there any lunchmeats that we, the customers, would like to see Baron’s add to their stock? The email went on to ask about interest in grass-fed beef as well. Having a vendor ask what type of meat I would prefer to eat was certainly a first for me! In a subsequent newsletter, Dave shared the excellent news that he will be bringing in more grass-fed beef and pointed out that it will only be free range, pastured, green-grass-fed beef. Merely being called grass-fed, which could mean a diet of hay and alfalfa fed to cows confined in a closed shed, will not be good enough for Dave and wouldn’t be for me either! Finally, the email mentioned a unique opportunity to pick up some sustainably-raised lamb that was coming in soon from an organic walnut orchard where sheep have replaced tractors and their manure has replaced fertilizer. The farmer had only three lambs to sell, which is enough to feed many people but not enough to appeal to a large grocery store, which highlights yet another perk of working with a small, independent butcher.

The lessons of my experience with Baron’s Meat and Poultry are two-fold. First, having a butcher who is knowledgeable about sustainability and ethical farming practices takes a lot of the stress and hassle out of purchasing animal products. Seeking out someone like Dave and a place like Baron’s will save you a ton of time and effort in the long run, and may allow you access to a wider variety of foods as well. The second lesson is the power of communication when it comes to improving your access to ethical foods. Marin Sun Farms, Baron’s Meat and Poultry, and many other smaller eco-minded farms and businesses now maintain pages on Facebook and Twitter. By following these pages, you have the opportunity to show your support, offer feedback, and get information about unique offers and special events. It’s an easy way to be a part of the food solution.

22 Square Feet Farm

2010-08-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

There is something truly amazing about growing your own food. Watching an unremarkable leafy plant suddenly sprout a big, beautiful vegetable that you can simply pluck off and eat... It’s as fresh and local as possible and infinitely more satisfying than a trip to the grocery store. The first time a tomato appeared on our vine, I felt like a little kid, full of wonder and excitement. I had never thought much of tomatoes. My main experience with them was the dinky, flavorless slice on my fast food chicken sandwich or as the main ingredient (usually) in a jar of pasta sauce. But we grew these tomatoes – we GREW them – from nothing but dirt and water and a little green plant. My husband had assured me that a fresh, homegrown tomato would be something completely different from my previous tomato experiences, but when we plucked and sliced the very first tomato from our vine - and he handed it to me like a slice of apple, as though tomato could be enjoyed all on its own - well, I was skeptical to say the least. He was completely and totally right. That first tomato was sweet and juicy and delicious! AND WE MADE IT!

***

My husband and I both grew up in Arizona. For those of you who have never visited, the desert is quite a beautiful place with lots of amazing, water-thrifty plants and unique wildlife. However, as a child, I was never very successful at growing things under the hot, Arizona sun. No... For me, food was something that came from the grocery store. And, as the daughter of a single teacher, it often came from the drive-through. Although my mother was an avid label-reader and enjoyed cooking, her busy life and later battle with cancer tended to get in the way of wholesome food.

When we relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, my husband and I realized that perhaps a real garden was at last possible - until we saw the amount of patio space available to us. Both the front patio and back porch of our townhouse were cemented over, with only a small raised planter in the back measuring a measly 22 square feet. One spring, though, my husband decided to try planting tomatoes and zucchini. The tomatoes were a success, but the zucchini was an abysmal failure. Apparently, zucchini is among the easiest vegetables to grow, which suggests something about the quality of the soil in our aged planter. The next year, we managed to grow precisely one bell pepper and a couple of onions in addition to the tomatoes. But, after a couple of seasons and a drip system and automatic watering timer that my husband was able to install in only one weekend of work, we finally started producing a garden full of food. This year, we have successfully grown spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, chard, parsley, cilantro, mint, and even blackberries! We also just planted a cucumber plant and are making another attempt at the dreaded zucchini. We get most of our gardening advice from the internet. Different plants require different treatment, but once you know the tricks, food just pops up all over the place. It’s really a lot easier than I ever imagined. One of the most interesting things about growing food has been learning how different fruits and vegetables actually grow. Broccoli, for example, had me completely baffled. Here is a picture of a broccoli plant from our garden:

The little baby broccoli spears eventually grow into larger florets. The baby broccoli, full-grown florets, and broccoli flowers are all edible and delicious!

***

When I eat fruits and vegetables from my garden, I think of all the food problems I am avoiding. I have full control over this food. I can determine the fertilizer, pest control method, and brand of seed/plant that eventually makes its way into my body. I also have a supply of cheap, healthy food, and I don’t even have to put shoes on to go get it! Gardening has other advantages as well. It is a hobby that, once set up, takes little time but provides a good reason to go outside and work with the Earth and watch things grow rather than laying on the couch. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to garden with kids.

The merits of small-scale gardening have lead to increased programs throughout the US to promote community gardens, urban farming, and school farming projects in which students grow food in campus gardens that is then incorporated into school lunches. These programs give people the opportunity to learn about food, gain more control over their access to nutritious food, and engage with other members of the community in a positive, healthful setting. Getting involved is really easy. A quick web search can show you community gardens and other gardening programs in your area. If there isn’t a community garden near you, maybe you could start one! Volunteering to establish or assist an urban, community, or school gardening project is a great way to give back to your community. Check out The American Community Gardening Association for more info on community gardens, volunteering or starting a program, or simply locating a garden near you. For tips on gardening in a small space, you might want to check out Urban Gardens.

In closing, here are a few pics of 22 Square Feet Farm. I hope our tiny backyard farm will inspire you to take control of your food supply as well and create a little garden of your own.

The left side of the garden.

The right side of the garden.

Our cucumber plant just starting out!

One teeny zucchini hiding in our giant zucchini plant.

Tomatoes. Yum.

We added a couple of small planters on the front patio for chard and a big one for the blackberry bush. We got about 100 blackberries this year but the bush has been trimmed back for the fall. Maybe I can get a good picture of it next year!

Pasta Perry.

2010-08-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

The produce stand run by J. E. Perry Farms (Fremont, CA – 880 & Decoto Rd.) is my new favorite place to buy fresh fruits and vegetables! They grow most of the organic produce on-site so it’s about as “fresh & local” as you can get! Plus, they have a wide variety of organic and conventional produce so customers can still get all the produce they need in one place. One thing I especially appreciate is the labeling. They clearly mark all organic produce and those items grown on the farm. The boxes holding the fruit are from the farms that grew them so it’s easy to know how far the food traveled. Another perk is that the produce stand is open normal store hours: 9am – 7pm everyday from June 1st – Nov. 29th (those dates may vary year-to-year, I’m not sure). This means I can pop in on my way home from work or whenever I can fit in my weekend grocery shopping. The prices are reasonable and the variety is outstanding! On my most recent trip to the produce stand, I purchased all of the following:

Organic -
White peaches
Apricots
Plums
Limes
Lemon cucumber – Tastes like a regular cucumber but juicier.
Zucchini, yellow, and grey squash - The grey was a first for me!
Cheddar cauliflower – It’s orange and, when added to a sauce or casserole, makes everything taste sort of cheesy. Yum!
Eggplant
Red bell pepper
Tomatoes

Conventional –
Turnips

With all these awesome veggies, I decided to whip-up an impromptu pasta dinner. Here’s what I made using all organic vegetables from the produce stand:

Pasta Perry

This easy pasta dish uses long-lasting vegetables so it can be made up to a week after a trip to the grocery store. Makes 4-6 servings.

Timing: 30 min. or less
Type: (Mostly) pantry meal

3 small squash
1 small onion
1 head cheddar cauliflower
1-2 T olive oil
1 pkg. Whole Wheat Fettuccine (from Trader Joe’s)
1 jar Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Sauce (also TJs)

I also added a ½ lb of baked organic chicken from Marin Sun Farms that I had leftover from the night before. This dish is hearty enough without meat, but the chicken was fine and sausage would probably go well too. If you use fully cooked meat, add it at the end of step 2. Otherwise, cook it first (step 0), then go through the following steps and either add it to the sauce while the pasta is cooking or just top the off the bowl with meat. Additional veggies that would blend well are bell peppers or mushrooms added at step 1.

1. Wash all vegetables. Remove the leafy bits on the bottom of the cauliflower and discard. Chop the squash, onion, and cauliflower. Begin heating oil over medium heat in a skillet.

2. Add veggies to skillet. Let cook ~5 minutes or until the onions become translucent, stirring occasionally. Add the pasta sauce, mix well, and reduce heat to low.

3. Boil the water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package. Continue to occasionally stir the veggies.

4. When the pasta is done, drain and rinse. Put some in a bowl, top with veggie sauce, and enjoy!

A+

2010-07-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned stumbling upon a certification program for farms that seemed to have stricter animal welfare standards than most I had seen: Animal Welfare Approved. I decided to check it out. What I found made me want to jump for joy. Seriously.

Animal Welfare Approved is a program run by the non-profit Animal Welfare Institute through which they evaluate and certify family farms. I’ve read a lot of fact sheets on the standards for different certification programs (such as Certified Humane, which I discussed last time), but this one seems fundamentally different. Reading through the AWA program guidelines, I felt like some very smart people sat down and figured out how to describe the ideal happy farm that I have in my head, one in which the cows roam grassy hills munching as they go, the pigs play happily in the mud, and the chickens run around pecking at seeds in front of the farm house. It sounds a bit cheesy, I know, but that is the farm from which I want to buy my food. Most other programs seem to start with the conventional status quo and then add or extend restrictions to improve the welfare of the animals or the environmental impact or the working conditions of the farm staff. All of those programs and certifications thus improve upon conventional agriculture, and perhaps do identify farms that would fit into my ideal, but I can also envision farms that are only a little better than conventional, with the same mentality of profit over animal welfare, that could technically meet the requirements. With AWA, I have a hard time coming up with a farm that could simultaneously meet all of their requirements and not measure up to my fantasy farm. Here are a few things that really jumped out at me while going through their website:

Truly happy farms. You would have to go read through their standards to know all of what AWA requires, but the end result appears to be the idealized family farm you would want to take your kids to visit. No CAFOs or battery cages or tail docking. No overcrowding or use of antibiotics solely to alleviate the distress of an unnatural environment. No forced molting. Basically, AWA farms are at the other end of the ethical spectrum from conventional animal operations.

Birth-to-slaughter evaluation and no dual production! One of the things that annoys me most about a lot of conventional meats is that they are often labeled specifically to mislead consumers. Beef labels that say “pasture-raised” or even “grass-fed”, as opposed to “100% grass-fed”, can be referring to the time the cow spent on a ranch from just after its birth until it was sent to the CAFO where it was force-fed corn and pumped full of antibiotics and laid around in its own manure because it had no where else to roam! These labels describe only a small part of the animal’s life and intentionally leave out the worst parts. However, along with several other certification programs, AWA evaluates the entire life of the animal from birth to slaughter. Also, AWA does not allow dual production, in which some animals on the farm are raised to meet one set of standards (organic, humane, AWA, etc.) while elsewhere on the same farm the animals are raised conventionally. Back in January, I mentioned that duBrenton, a company that sells mostly-ethical pork to Chipotle, appears to be a dual-production company that raises pigs using different methods so their pork can be sold under a variety of labels. What bothers me about dual production operations is that they are obviously okay with the conventional animal handling standards, which I refer to as torture. Their participation in ethical programs is just a way of tapping into an additional market. I have a hard time trusting a company that isn’t bothered by the way we conventionally treat animals to provide me with ethical meat. The fact that AWA considers the animal’s welfare through its entire life cycle and disallows dual production farms assures me that I am supporting only those farms that completely comply with my standards for ethical animal products.

Consideration of factors beyond animal welfare. Restricting farm operations to the point that a farm simply cannot profit is obviously counter-productive, so profitability was considered in the development of the AWA standards. The environmental impact of raising farm animals using different methods has also been taken into account such that AWA-approved farms are environmentally sustainable. For me, ethical eating is not just about the welfare of animals, but also the welfare of the environment and the people affected by conventional agriculture, so this combined approach is just what I’ve been looking for. Finally, although the AWA standards were created to ensure the highest level of welfare for farm animals, it is possible that for a specific farm there are actually different methods that are better for the animals. I was impressed by the statements on the AWA website that farmers are encouraged to discuss such issues with the AWA and that approval can still be granted for these farms.

It’s free (for farms, that is). Although it is likely an involved process, farms don’t pay to be evaluated or to maintain their certifications, which hopefully means more farms can participate in the program.

If you find the AWA certification program as compelling as I do, you will now want to know where to find AWA products. Their website has a search tool under the Consumers tab that allows you to find farms and products that are Animal Welfare Approved. Some AWA meat and dairy can actually be found at Whole Foods! The only tricky thing is that many of the products themselves are not labeled so you have to know which brands to look for – information you can easily find using the search tool. I was a little disappointed that neither Marin Sun Farms nor Llano Seco came up as AWA. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t qualify, of course, but I’d be interested to know why they aren’t AWA. Once again, I see, I will need to be put myself out there and ask questions! In the meantime, I am very pleased to have found a program that seems to encapsulate all of things I am looking for. I hope more farms will choose to participate so we can all enjoy eating ethically!

Piglet would approve.

2010-06-28T20:50:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to a nearby farmers market, I walked past a vendor selling a wide variety of pig products: spicy sausage, pork chops, and even bacon. Mmmm… bacon. Since I am so picky about my meat, and this particular market doesn’t select vendors based on sustainability or ethical farming practices, I just continued on in my quest to find the two or three organic produce stands I knew were there. I ended up doing a second lap around the market, though, and when I passed the meat stand again, I noticed that they were advertising a Slow Food movement BBQ at their ranch.

The Slow Food (SF) movement has two complementary goals. First, it aims to preserve traditional cuisines and the food diversity that has historically made up our diets. The benefit of tradition is that it represents time-tested knowledge about what foods and preparations are beneficial to our bodies, and diversity in our diets helps us get all of the nutrients we need. An outcome of our industrial system, in which convenience and consistency and efficiency are top priorities, is that much of what we consume is made from very few foods. The prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related illnesses in the US speaks to the unhealthy results of these priorities. The second focus of the Slow Food movement is the ecological impact of industrial versus traditional food systems. SF promotes obtaining food from sustainable and ethical sources and, overall, being an informed consumer. You can find much more information on SF’s mission and the actions it is taking to promote these ideas on their international website, www.slowfood.com. For more local info, check out www.slowfoodusa.org.

In their own words, the philosophy of the Slow Food movement is as follows:

We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.

Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

We consider ourselves co-producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process.

You can see why the mention of Slow Food piqued my interest! I wanted to go up and ask the guy behind the table about the ranch and the pigs, but I felt really nervous about it. I wasn’t sure what to ask or if he’d be offended by my questions or if I’d be able to tell from his answers whether the meat would really meet my standards. I mentally and physically wavered and probably looked like a total lunatic, but finally I came to the conclusion that I am just going to have to start asking if I want to continue eating meat!

I really didn’t know what to say, so I walked up and (rather embarrassingly) said “So, tell me about your pigs”. Luckily, the guy was friendly and seemed to know what I meant. He told me about the ranch, Llano Seco, which he happens to own and operate, and his viewpoint on animal and ecological welfare. He also gave me a brochure with pictures and information. It sounded like the pigs do get to root around and basically act like pigs. They are fed vegetarian diets and do not receive antibiotics or hormones. Also, the pork has certifications from USDA Organic and California Certified Organic Farmers (the company that processes the pork into sausages and the like is also CCOF certified). His description of the farm and his farming practices convinced me to take the risk and buy some sausage and a couple of pork loins.

When I got home, I went online to Llano Seco’s website, where I found pictures and even video of the farm and the pigs. They looked pretty happy to me! I also found, in writing, that the pigs do not have their tails chopped off. Hurray! In addition, the company to which the pigs are sold is Certified Humane*, a standard set by the non-profit organization Humane Farm Animal Care. From start to finish, it seems, these pigs are treated humanely and allowed to participate in their natural pig behaviors.

Now of course it is possible that, with all of the different certifications and standards and clever descriptions available to food producers and sellers, that I have merely been tricked. But without actually visiting every farm I want to purchase food from, I have to at some point trust my instincts and my ability to investigate and differentiate the good guys from the decepticons. It’s probably clear from the above description, that I now consider Llano Seco to be one of the good guys. And their spicy sausage is fantastic! Llano Seco products can be purchased online (processed products only), at a few farmers markets, and at several grocery stores in the Bay Area (including Andronico’s and Berkeley Bowl), Northern California, the Central Valley, and even Oregon.

More important than finding an additional source of ethical meat (Still love ya, Marin Sun Farms!), my experience with Llano Seco renewed my confidence and my determination to continue to question and investigate the sources of my food. The first step can be uncomfortable, but it’s worth it to know that I am doing the right thing. Getting to enjoy a tasty, guilt-free BLT helps too!

* - I’ve seen the Certified Humane logo a few times now so I checked it out. The certification requires much better treatment of animals than conventional methods and in most cases more stringent standards than USDA organic. They also evaluate the treatment of the animals from birth to death. However, according to their fact sheets, the Certified Humane program still allows some things I find strange such as sending cattle to (small) feedlots. Perhaps there are additional specifications for treatment on feedlots, but I didn’t find that info on their website. On my rather arbitrary scale, I would give this certification system a B+. Interestingly, they list another certification program, Animal Welfare Approved, in their comparison grid that seems to have stricter standards. I will check this out and get back to you!

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

2010-05-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

I recently finished In Defense of Food, another engaging piece by Michael Pollan. The focus of the book is nutrition science and it’s unfortunate relationship with the food industry. The first part of the book describes our current state of knowledge and the process of what he refers to as reductionist science. As a scientist, Pollan’s critique made me a little defensive. Reductionist science, the process of studying a system or problem by reducing it to smaller, testable pieces is really just science. That’s how it’s done. When a field is quite young, like nutrition science is, the testable pieces do not constitute a sophisticated understanding of the system as a whole. However, as a field matures, we can test more complex aspects of the system until we arrive at a big picture understanding that includes and identifies the most influential factors. I think Pollan’s point is not that reductionist science is bad, but simply that the field is not mature enough at present that we should rely solely on the results and discoveries of nutrition scientists when making decisions about what and how to eat. The conversation between nutrition scientists and the general public is further complicated by the influence of the food industry.

In an attempt to make their products more desirable to consumers, food marketers often apply health claims to their products. But are those claims justified? They probably are when all of the caveats that come with scientific results are taken into account. Unfortunately, that can make for a rather long and potentially confusing label rather than a colorful banner enclosing a catchy phrase. A hard look at the literature and discussions with several prominent nutrition scientists offered Pollan very few certainties about what we humans ought to eat to be healthy. In fact, the only consensus opinion was to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, advice which is largely absent from food advertising. The lack of certainty about what we should eat is surprising considering all of the diet books and food fads we constantly hear about. Listen to any TV commercial for a food product or weight loss plan and you are likely to hear words like high fiber, low carb, low fat, probiotic, low glycemic index, or antioxidant. All these words are supposedly linked to health benefits and perhaps they are healthy attributes. The trouble is, because of our incomplete understanding of nutrition, we may be substituting away from healthy foods in our quest to get more or less of a certain attribute, which itself only might be better for us given several caveats. In the worst cases, such as substituting margarine for butter to avoid cholesterol and saturated fat, we end up getting far more dangerous substances instead – in that case, trans fat.

Given the uncertainties about nutrition and health, it seems like the health claims on some food products border on false advertising. The waters have been further muddied with the advent of qualified health statements, a category introduced by the FDA in 2002. As an example, Pollan quotes the FDA-approved qualified health statement for corn oil, not a substance usually considered healthy. “Very limited and preliminary scientific evidence suggests that eating about one tablespoon (16 grams) of corn oil daily may reduce the risk of heart disease due to the unsaturated fat content in corn oil”. It’s already not a particularly strong statement, and still requires the qualifying statements that the “FDA concludes that there is little scientific evidence supporting this claim” and “To achieve this possible benefit, corn oil is to replace a similar amount of saturated fat and not increase the total number of calories you eat in a day”.

Now it’s not clear that this health statement has any value at all, and yet, it allows Frito-Lay to claim their chips are heart healthy due to their use of corn oil in chip production. Remember that in order for these chips to offer your heart anything at all, you would need to first determine how much corn oil is in each chip, how much saturated fat you are replacing by eating the corn oil in the chips instead of some other food, and the number of calories you normally eat in a day along with the calories in both the chips and the food you are replacing with chips. This is, of course, totally impractical. Furthermore, the appearance of a heart healthy label is much more likely to induce people to simply eat more of that food, which is certainly what Frito-Lay hopes to achieve. How could anyone guess the amount of calculation that would be required to reap the benefits of corn oil, which may not even exist in the first place?

It seems to me that health claims are all but meaningless. There is no way for the average consumer to understand where a health claim comes from or what it really means. Not only may that consumer not benefit as they might expect, they may actually be negatively impacted by consuming this food! A practical solution, Pollan suggests, is to entirely discount health claims on food products and focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods instead. Fresh produce, the only food that nutritionists agree we should eat more of, rarely even has packaging much less health claims. Given the youth of nutrition science and the fact that it’s results are often co-opted and misconstrued by overzealous food marketers, Pollan advises that we use knowledge about what and how to eat that has been passed down to us for generations. He sums up his recommendations with the phrase: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Sounds like good advice to me!