Happy Thanksgiving!

Ethivore is taking a break for the rest of the week to enjoy time (and good food!) with family and friends.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Look for updates on the blog next Monday.  And don't forget to leave your feedback to help me make Ethivore even better!

Megan

Recipe: Piñon Stuffing for Thanksgiving

I am getting excited for Thanksgiving on Thursday!  Looking forward to seeing family and friends, and enjoying my dad's wonderful cooking.  Dad agreed to share his recipe for one of the dishes I look forward to every year- his fantastic holiday stuffing.  Now you too can make it part of your Thanksgiving spread!

Piñon Stuffing
By Jim Madison

Ingredients
2 or three bunches of scallions, thinly sliced
2 sticks of butter (or margarine for vegan option)
2 teaspoons tarragon (crush it after you measure, or use four tsp. fresh chopped)
1 teaspoon savory
1 bunch Italian parsley (enough to make 1 cup chopped)
1/2 cup pine nuts
12 to 14 cups fresh bread crumbs (or about 10 to 12 cups dried crumbs)
A couple of sticks celery, thinly sliced

Directions
Melt the butter in a large pan and sauté the scallions until they are limp but not crispy or brown. Add the celery and spices and sauté briefly. Pour the mixture over the bread crumbs, stirring to coat evenly. (If you use dry crumbs, add water first to rehydrate them before pouring the butter and seasonings on.)  Stir in the pine nuts.

Put some of the stuffing in the turkey just before baking and bake the rest for an hour or so in a separate covered pan.

Pass around the table and enjoy!

What Do You Think?

So, the Ethivore blog has been up for a couple months now.  I just want to check in with you, the readers, and get some feedback.  Which posts have been your favorite?  What types of posts do you find most valuable or interesting?  Do like overviews of food issues?  How-to posts?  Personal stories?  News items? Reviews?  Recipes?  Help me make Ethivore even better- leave your comments and suggestions below.

Thank you!

Megan

Recipe: Blue Ribbon Cornbread

For this week's recipe,  I'm recommending you to Kosher Blog's post on Dana Sly's Blue Ribbon Vegan Cornbread.  This Iowa State Fair award-winning recipe uses ground flax seeds instead of eggs to thicken and bind the ingredients.  Flax seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids and fiber, and Mayo Clinic reports that they “can help reduce total blood cholesterol and LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels — and, as a result, may help reduce the risk of heart disease.” 

For this recipe, I bought a bag of whole flax seeds (they store better whole- keep in fridge or freezer), and ground them with a mortar and pestle.  (You can also use a spice or coffee grinder if you have one.)  I also followed one reviewer's suggestion and added 1 Tbsp of apple cider vinegar to the soy milk to make “buttermilk,” and 1/4 cup of corn kernels to make a hearty, chunky cornbread.  The result was moist and delicious, definitely one of the best cornbreads I've had.  Try it for yourself and tell me what you think!

To substitute ground flax seeds for eggs in other baked goods, follow the ratio of 1 Tbsp ground flax seed and 3 Tbsp water per one large egg in the recipe.

Thoughts on the World Food Summit 2009

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Summit on Food Security (WSFS) ended today, after three days of meetings on the best way to tackle hunger. The summit comes at a time when more than 1 billion people around the world are going hungry, but it offers little hope for new solutions to the problem.

The summit was crippled from the beginning by the refusal of leaders from the G8 countries to attend. The only G8 leader in attendance was Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

The rhetoric of the summit also offers little cause for optimism. The Declaration of the World Summit on Food Security continues to emphasize increased production, commodity crop production, and technological fixes. Indeed, the endorsement of genetically modified food crops has been made even more explicit than in the past: “We will seek to mobilize the resources needed to increase productivity, including the review, approval and adoption of biotechnology and other new technologies and innovations that are safe, effective, and environmentally sustainable.” The wording of this statement not only confers FAO approval on GMOs but also implies they are “safe, effective, and environmentally sustainable.”

In addition, the Declaration clearly aligns the FAO with World Trade Organization (WTO) priorities: “We agree to refrain from taking measures that are inconsistent with the WTO rules, with adverse impacts on global, regional and national food security.” This means that, while developed countries will surely continue to subsidize and protect their own crop production, small producers in developing countries must compete without protections in an open market. Coupled with the emphasis on commodity crop exports, this approach to food security has proven disastrous in the past. As the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum Parallel to the World Summit on Food Security emphasized, producing crops for export must not displace local food production.

The World Summit on Food Security also continues to use watered-down, almost meaningless language about the right to food: “We affirm the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.” It urges countries to adopt the “Voluntary guidelines for the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security.” This language is used specifically to absolve rich countries from an obligation to aid poorer countries in keeping people from starving.

Despite these continued disappointments, there are a few positive signs in the rhetoric of the WSFS: recognition of the need for continued review of the impacts of biofuels, a few mentions of implementing “sustainable practices,” and a nod to the importance of smallholders and women farmers. However, farmers and other stakeholders continue to be marginalized in the decision-making process. The parallel conference, People’s Food Sovereignty Now!, achieved little attention from or dialogue with the WSFS.

Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the FAO, ended the summit with his closing statements today. He said that in order to feed a projected 9 billion people in 2050, the developed world would need to increase production by 70% and developing countries by 100%. These projections ignore the massive waste in the current industrial agricultural system. For example, an increasing focus on commodity crops for export has allowed food to rot in warehouses while people nearby starve. We must start thinking of the problem of hunger as systematic and requiring comprehensive social and economic solutions, rather than continuing to focus only on increasing yields.

Image from http://peoplesforum2009.foodsovereignty.org/

Movie Review: Food, Inc.

Image from http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Food, Inc. takes a sweeping look at all that is wrong with our current food system. The documentary draws on Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation, and both authors narrate parts of the film. While much of the information presented can be found in more detail in these two books, the message is important enough to say over and over again.  And the film genre, with its startling and disturbing images, adds a new dimension to the words. Food, Inc. hits all the major points, in a way that feels a little disjointed at first but becomes more and more compelling.

Food, Inc. examines the consolidation of the industrial food chain and the drive to produce more and more for fewer and larger companies.  I was very impressed that the Vice President of the American Corn Growers Association had a role in the film, explaining how government policy encourages overproduction by subsidizing corn so that it can be produced below the cost of production. He talks about the powerful lobbies of the food companies that have an interest in purchasing corn below the cost of production. The film also draws the connection between subsidizing unhealthy calories (in the form of high fructose corn syrup and other corn derivatives) and the skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes in this country. I was gratified to hear Pollan acknowledge that there are those who simply can’t afford to eat well, and that policy change as well as individual action is needed.

The film moves from industrial agriculture to factory farming and the horrific conditions of industrially-raised animals. It talks about the spread of deadly E. Coli in the food system and presents the personal story of the mother of an infant killed by E. Coli in his hamburger. The details of slaughterhouse conditions and lack of oversight by government agencies certainly will make you think twice about where you get your meat. Food, Inc. also shows some alternatives, and Joel Salatin, the “beyond-organic” farmer highlighted in The Omnivore’s Dilemma makes several appearances in the film to show us around his farm and share his wisdom.

While trying to get a broad overview of a problem, its easy for disparate pieces to get lost, but this film does a good job hitting all the major points and holding them together. From NAFTA and immigration to the political ties and influence of the likes of Monsanto, to genetically engineered soybeans and bans on seed-saving, Food, Inc. shows how systematic the problems of the industrial food system are and why high-tec fixes alone won’t fix it.

Even though all of the themes in the film were quite familiar, I enjoyed watching it and hearing some of the major players in the field describe the problems. I even had some “WHAT!?” moments myself, such as learning about a company using ammonia to clean its “meat product” for hamburger filling.

The film ends with easy, powerful suggestions for action and a simple message: “You can change the system.” Food, Inc. is out on DVD now, so pick it up at the movie store, download a discussion guide from the website, and invite your friends. To learn more about the film and what you can do, visit www.foodincmovie.com.

Plenty More Fish in the Sea? How to Choose Sustainable Seafood

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ezioman/ / CC BY 2.0

The Problem
 
While the old adage says there are “plenty more fish in the sea,” this is not as true as it once was. Overfishing and other poor fishing practices have brought levels of wild fish to extreme lows and destroyed crucial ocean habitats. According to Monterey Bay Aquarium, humans have removed “as much as 90 percent of the large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish and cod from the world's oceans.” Practices such as trawling the ocean floor by dragging nets across the bottom destroy delicate marine ecosystems and also result in “bycatch,” unwanted species of fish, turtles, and marine mammals and birds that are thrown, dead or dying, back into the ocean.  Better management and fishing practices are needed to reduce these damages.

Farming fish can be harmful as well. Industrial-scale aquaculture often results in pollution and the destruction of natural habitats, as well as the escape of farmed fish and diseases into wild fish populations.  Industrial aquaculture usually concentrates on raising large, predatory fish species, which are fed smaller, wild-caught fish, intensifying the impact.  However, some fish farmers are coming up with ways to minimize these negative outcomes and even contribute positively to habitat restoration and city water treatment.  For more information on innovative and ecologically sound aquaculture practices, see Senior Researcher Brian Halweil’s Worldwatch Report on Farming Fish for the Future.

Eating seafood raises concerns not only about the environment but also about human health.  Fish is usually viewed as a healthy food because it is a valuable source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for heart health.  However, many fish, especially predatory species, have high concentrations of mercury and other toxins.  Fish can ingest mercury, industrial chemicals, and pesticides from contaminated water; fish that eat other fish end up with much higher levels of these toxins in their bodies.  Ingesting mercury and other toxins can be harmful to human health, especially for more vulnerable people and pregnant women.


What You Can Do

As an ethivore, how can you minimize negative impacts on your health and the natural environment if you want to eat seafood? It is hard to speak in generalities since so much depends on the practices of the particular fishery or farm supplying the seafood. However, it is usually better, both for the environment and your health, to eat smaller, non-predatory species that do not require many other fish to support them and do not concentrate toxins as much. Try to choose seafood like tilapia, carp, and shellfish over tuna, salmon, or shrimp.

The best way to find out about a particular species and fishing/ farming practice is to consult a consumer guide before going to a grocery store or restaurant. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Seafood Watch” and the Environmental Defense Fund’s “Seafood Selector” are both excellent, well-researched guides. Both organizations have searchable databases online, printable quick guides, and downloadable guides for your mobile device. They also have specific guides for choosing sushi.  Monterey Bay Aquarium’s pocket guides are region-specific, making it easier to identify sustainable local choices. That organization also has a new “Super Green List” of fish that’s good for your health and the ocean.  Environmental Defense Fund has a useful Fish Substitutions page with suggested alternatives to the “Eco-Worst” choices that are similar in texture and flavor.

Another way to identify sustainable seafood is by looking for the Marine Stewardship Council label at the store or on your restaurant menu.  MSC certifies fish from wild fisheries that meet its standards for maintaining sustainable fish stocks, minimizing environmental impact, and effective management. You can also check which products are certified on the website.

All of this may seem like a lot to think about, but these organizations are making choosing sustainable seafood as effortless as possible.  Download a guide today and carry it with you.  It will come in handy the next time you're out to eat or standing at the seafood counter in the grocery store!

If you found this guide helpful, be sure to check out last month's “Quick Guide to Consumer Food Labels for Meat, Dairy, and Eggs.”

Freecycle

If you haven't discovered Freecycle yet, or haven't taken the time to check it out, I strongly encourage you to do so!  The Freecycle Network™ is a grassroots, nonprofit movement that connects people giving things away for free.  It works on the idea that "one person's trash is another one's treasure"- people list usable items that they no longer want, and people who need these items can respond and pick them up.  I've seen everything from firewood to TVs to baby bottles listed.  I recently joined the Arlington Freecycle group, and am anxiously awaiting a light fixture that I will rig up to supplement natural light for growing plants indoors!  I've also given away several things that were gathering dust in my closet.  There are 4,852 Freecycle groups all around the world, and membership is free.  Join a group today, clean out your closet or garage without contributing to a landfill, and maybe even discover a treasure of your own.

Recipe: Quinoa and Black Beans

If you haven't cooked with quinoa before, this is a great recipe to try it out!  Quinoa is a small, very protein-rich grain, full of good vitamins and minerals.  It can be substituted for rice or couscous in many recipes, and has a slightly nutty flavor.  Before cooking, quinoa should be soaked for about 30 minutes to an hour to remove saponin, which can make it bitter and harder to digest.  (Some people prefer not to soak quinoa or to soak it for much longer periods, but I've found 30 minutes to an hour to be a good balance.)  You'll probably need a mesh strainer to drain the rinse water after, because the grains are so small.

Uncooked quinoa

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, soaked and drained
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt, pepper, and chili powder to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2/3 cup cooked black beans (or 16 ounce can, rinsed and drained)
1 (16 ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
• Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and tomatoes. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

This recipe is good hot or cold, and leftovers make great lunches.  I hope you enjoy!

Humanity’s Unique Status and What It Means for Life on Earth

Last fall, 100 scientists issued an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report stating that 1 in 4 mammals face extinction—in other words, 25 % of mammals are threatened.  What are the causes of loss of biological diversity?  Why should we care?  What are activists concerned about biological diversity doing and what should they do to stem this loss? 

Humanity: The Problem
    It is clear that humans are to blame for the current extinction crisis.  Both Stephen Meyer and E. O. Wilson place the calamity squarely on the shoulders of humanity. Wilson says that “human overpopulation” is a root cause of all the other factors in the loss of biological diversity: “habitat loss,” “invasive species,” “pollution,” and “overharvesting.”  Meyer names these same forces in only slightly different terms: “development, agriculture, resource consumption, pollution, and alien species.”  The forms of humanity’s impact are many, but the heart of the matter is simple: humans are everywhere.  Although Wilson says that Homo sapiens “is a species confined to an extremely small [ecological] niche,” the truth is that humans have proven to be remarkable versatile, colonizing all but the most inhospitable areas of the globe.  Most of this adaptability, as Wilson points out, is a matter of our mastery of technology, a function of our intelligence and ingenuity.  At the beginning of The End of the Wild, Meyer describes “weedy species” as “adaptive generalists—species that flourish in a variety of ecological settings, switch easily between food types, and breed prolifically.”  In the terms of this definition, humans are the consummate weedy species.  Humanity’s resourcefulness and genius have allowed it to adapt to myriad habitats around the globe and to multiply to fill these spaces; however, humanity reaches even further than this.  When humanity cannot adapt to local conditions, it assimilates the landscape to itself instead.  Throughout the last 10,000 years, humans have dug up the land, selectively cultivated plants to being eaten by people, re-routed rivers, and moved mountains.  Humankind has re-inscribed the face of the earth to such an extent that it is currently in danger of writing large swatches of the life on it out of existence.  Do we care?

Why Why We Care Is Not Enough
    So it is established that humans, with our vast ingenuity and versatility, are the cause of the extinction crisis underway today.  Many people are worried and are sounding the alarm for others to get concerned as well.  However, the reasons a person has for caring about the loss of biological diversity will affect what s/he is willing to do about, what s/he sees as a reasonable solution (if there is one), and which causes of the problem s/he is willing to acknowledge and address.  If the argument against the loss of biological diversity is not given the proper frame, the steps taken to address the problem cannot yield long-term solutions.  Many of the arguments as to why we should care do not lead to genuine resolution.

Farmers' Market Love

I am lucky enough to have the Arlington Farmers' Market just a couple blocks from my apartment every Saturday morning.  It's open year-round, and is a producer-only market (no re-selling of other people's goods).  The vendors' farms have to be local to within 125 miles of the market.  They sell fruits and vegetables, free-range meat and eggs, cheese, mushrooms, and homemade goods like pasta, bread, pies, and jam.  Going to the farmers' market is a great way to get fresh, delicious food and to interact with neighbors and local farmers.  A wonderful Saturday morning activity!

Cabbage as big as a car!  (Just kidding, but still a very impressive cabbage!)

(These chickens weren't actually for sale, just advertising upcoming eggs!)

Here's my haul this week. I went with $25, and came back with all of this, including a little change:

There are tons of farmers markets all over the U.S.!  Find one near you using the search box below.

Image courtesy of LocalHarvest.org

Enter Your Zip Code or City:

Recipe: Dad's Nutty Granola

Today I want to share a delicious granola recipe cooked up by my father:
 
4 cups old-fashioned oats
3 Tbsp dark brown sugar 

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp canola oil 

3 Tbsp water 

1 cup each of almonds and pecans
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
pinch of ginger


Adjust oven rack to middle position, and heat oven to 275 degrees F.  Coat a 9-by-13-inch metal pan with cooking spray, then set aside.  Mix oats, brown sugar, nuts, salt and spices. Bring honey, oil, and water to a simmer in a saucepan or microwave.  Drizzle over oat mixture, and stir to combine.  Pour mixture onto prepared pan.  Bake for 30 minutes. Stir.  Continue to bake until golden brown, about 15 to 30 minutes longer.  Let cool.  (Granola can be stored in an airtight tin for up to two weeks.)

My batch was gone much faster!  I also crushed the nuts up a little before adding them to make pieces of varying size.  I hope you enjoy this granola as much as we do!

Finding Your Thanksgiving Turkey

With Thanksgiving just a few weeks away, it's time to start thinking about where you're going to get your bird. Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the bounty of the earth and enjoy the company of family and friends, so it is a great time to think about making food choices that support health, animal welfare, and the environment.  Instead of just heading to the supermarket for a factory-farmed turkey, why not connect with a local farmer to find a bird that has been raised sustainably and treated well?

You might also consider buying a "heritage" turkey.  99% of turkeys raised in the U.S. are of one breed, the "Broadbreasted White," which has been bred to suit industrial agriculture with its unusually large breasts.  The Food and Agriculture Organization says that these birds are unable to reproduce naturally and would die out within a generation without artificial insemination conducted by humans.  Without genetic diversity, the turkey population is also susceptible to being wiped out by disease.  Heritage turkey farmers are trying to bolster genetic diversity by raising various traditional turkey breeds, such as the Beltsville Small White, the Jersey Buff, the Narragansett, and the White Midget.

Here are some resources for finding your perfect holiday turkey:

Local Harvest allows you to search the Turkey Shop for organic, pastured, and heritage turkeys for pickup or delivery from local farms.

Using the advanced search option on the Eat Well Guide, you can search for turkeys with various characteristics (pasture raised, organic, vegetarian-fed) and find farms, stores, and butchers near you.

In the Midwest, you can find heritage turkeys from the Good Shepherd Turkey Ranch Consortium, made up of several farms in Kansas and Iowa.

 A turkey that has been raised sustainably and treated humanely not only looks and tastes better but also, as the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving meal, can be a great conversation starter to introduce family and friends to the idea of being an "ethivore."

How to Stock Your Pantry

It’s easy to reach for a take-out menu when you feel like there is nothing to eat in the house, or that cooking would be too much of a chore. But when you keep some staple foods on hand, you can whip up an easy dinner as quickly as the delivery person could get to your door. Cooking fresh, wholesome foods at home is better for your health, your budget, and, ultimately, the environment. Here is a guide to what I keep in my kitchen. These basic ingredients can be combined in a number of ways for easy meals, or supplemented with a few more unusual ingredients to yield fancier cuisine.

Cupboard
Brown rice
Quinoa
Rolled oats
Whole-wheat couscous
Whole-wheat pasta

Give a man a heifer... feed him for a lifetime!

I recently received Heifer International’s holiday gift catalog in the mail, which got me thinking again about the creative way this organization is addressing world hunger. Heifer International is a nonprofit dedicated to providing livestock to impoverished families all over the world. It works with people in poverty-stricken areas to develop goals and action plans based on community-identified needs. It then provides resources and training, preparing people to receive a gift of live animals. The animals can be anything from water buffalos to chicks to honeybees, depending on the location and particular need. Heifer International calls these animals “living loans” because each family that receives aid promises to give one of the animals’ offspring to others in need. In addition to providing fresh milk and eggs for consumption or wool or offspring for sale, these animals become part of a sustainable land management plan by contributing natural fertilizer for the fields and biogas for cooking and heating. Families are taught agroecological techniques for caring for the land, which help conserve the natural environment and renew soil productivity, increasing crop yields. Heifer International also provides veterinary training and teaches families how to care for the animals’ well being. By integrating charitable giving, sustainable practices, and animal welfare in a solution to hunger, Heifer International exemplifies “ethivorous” thinking!

Consider asking for or giving a donation as a holiday gift this year. Browse the online gift catalog here.

What's In Season?

With fall in full swing, the grocery stores around here are brimming with bright orange pumpkins, colorful winter squash, and rosy apples, reflecting the bounty of nearby farms.  But the shelves are also stocked with more well-traveled items like oranges and grapes.  For people who are trying to keep their environmental impact low, as well as those who just enjoy eating fresh, flavorful food, selecting produce that's in season is the best choice.  And while it's easy to tell that oranges don't grow on trees around here, it can be harder to sort out which greens and veggies are in season at every moment.  Fortunately, there are some websites that make finding out what's in season in your particular location a snap, without complex charts.  One good site is the Natural Resources Defense Council's Eat Local page.  You can search its database using the box below.

Another great resource is Epicurious' Seasonal Ingredient Map,which lets you choose the month and then click your state on a map to see a list of in-season food items.  Each item also links to a page with tips on how to select, prepare, and store that food, as well as providing recipes.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Apple Crisp

Apple crisp is a great fall treat. Here is a recipe I modified from a traditional apple crisp recipe to give this delicious dessert a little more nutritional content.

The filling:
10 cups of firm, tart apples, peeled and sliced (Good varieties for baking include Braeburn, Cortland, Empire, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Rome, and Winesap.)
1 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup water

The topping:
1 cup old-fashioned (rolled) oats
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp wheat germ
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup margarine, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In large bowl, combine sliced apples, white sugar, 1 Tbsp flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and water, stirring to evenly coat the apples.  Transfer to 9x13 inch pan.

Using the same bowl, combine dry ingredients for the topping, mixing to evenly distribute baking powder and soda. Add brown sugar and melted margarine and stir to combine. Crumble topping over the apple mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream!

Thoughts on a Sugared Beverage Tax

Take a look at this commercial I saw the other day:

(If you can't see the video below, view it on YouTube here.)

I can’t tell you how much this commercial irks me!  It is so disingenuous.  First of all, the premise of the commercial is that if the government begins taxing beverages, American families won’t be able to afford to feed themselves.  But what are we talking about taxing?  Fruits, vegetables, whole grains?  No.  The proposed tax would be on “juice drinks and sodas” (notice, not fruit juice, but juice drinks, which usually contain high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring).  After getting steamed up watching this commercial, I decided to investigate further.

There is no particular piece of legislation pending, but lawmakers have floated the idea of taxing sugary beverages.  Estimates on how much money a tax of one to a few pennies per ounce could raise range from $51-150 billion dollars over the next ten years. These taxes have been proposed not only to raise money to support health care reform or other public goods, such as inner city farmers’ markets, but also to shift consumer habits in support of health.  Consumption of sugary beverages has been linked to obesity and Type II diabetes, diseases that are afflicting more and more of the population and driving up the costs of public health care.  In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year, authors Kelly D. Brownell, Ph.D., and Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. state, “For each extra can or glass of sugared beverage consumed per day, the likelihood of a child’s becoming obese increases by 60%.”

It has been argued that a tax on sugary beverages would disproportionally burden the poor, who spend a greater percentage of their income on these products.  Some Democrats in Congress have even claimed that a sugar tax could encourage low-income families to cut spending on fruits and vegetables rather than on the taxed items.  While it is important to assess the social and economic impacts on all segments of society when considering new legislation, these claims do not reflect the whole picture.  Low-income families are also disproportionally afflicted with Type II diabetes and obesity-related diseases.  Why haven’t these same Representatives spoken out against industry subsidies that make sugar-loaded, processed food cheaper and easier to come by than healthy whole foods?  Additionally, there is good reason to believe that the proposed tax would reduce consumption of sugary drinks.  Studies by researchers and industry groups alike have found that an increase of 6.8-12% in the cost of soda resulted in a 7.8-14.6% decrease in consumption.  Low-income families stand to gain from a tax that would encourage reduced consumption, especially if the funds raised could be used to make healthy foods more readily available.

One final thought: The group sponsoring the commercial, Americans Against Food Taxes, calls itself a “concerned coalition of citizens,” but if you go to its website, you can view a list of “coalition members”; The supporters listed are mainly beverage companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, industry lobby groups like the American Beverage Association, and retailers like 7-Eleven and McDonald’s.  And we are supposed to believe they have our best interests at heart?

For more information, see: Brownell, KD and Frieden, TR.  “Ounces of Prevention--The Public Policy Case for Taxes on Sugared Beverages.”  N Engl J Med. 2009 Apr 30;360(18):1805-8.

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

Pollan, Michael, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: The Penguin Press, 2006, 450 pp.)

Image courtesy of MichaelPollan.com

    “What should we have for dinner?,” the book begins.  No, this is not a diet book, filled with new taboos and panaceas.  Michael Pollan’s engrossing book Omnivore’s Dilemma tackles the question of what to eat in a more philosophical, but eminently practical, way.  The title of the book is taken from psychologist Paul Rozin’s work on food selection in humans and animals.  The “omnivore’s dilemma” is that, while omnivores can take advantage of many varied food sources, this also means that they must make choices about which things to eat, some of which could harm or kill them.  Enter the contemporary American omnivore.  With food fads revolutionizing the way Americans eat every few years, Pollan asks what we should be eating.  To answer this question, he decides that he first must learn what we are eating, which he does by tracing the food chains of a small number of meals from their original sources to the table. Why ask what we should be eating, or even what we are eating?  Pollan says, “How and what we eat determines to a great extent the use we make of the world- and what is to become of it.”

    The book provides a compelling “natural history” of four meals: the “industrial,” “industrial organic,” “beyond organic,” and “neo-Paleolithic.”  Pollan begins his inquiry with the largest and most prevalent food chain in America, the industrial, represented at mealtime by a McDonald’s lunch consumed in the car.  Working from the source, Pollan reveals how corn has permeated every corner of the standard contemporary food supply: It is processed into myriad forms of food product (like most of the McDonald’s meal), fed to meat and dairy animals on industrial feedlots, and burned as ethanol in fuel tanks.  After exposing many sordid details about the industrial food chain, Pollan asks if organic food provides a way around this petroleum-guzzling, environment-depleting, animal-torturing, obesity-inducing nightmare.  In researching and preparing an organic meal from ingredients purchased at Whole Foods, Pollan discovers that “organic” has been co-opted to a great extent by the industrial logic of modern society, producing the oxymoronic “industrial organic” business that suffers from many of the same problems as the industrial food chain.  He finds some hope, however, on Joel Salatin’s “beyond organic” farm, which raises animals in a symbiotic relationship based on their natural predilections, allowing the enterprise to function almost as a closed loop.  The underlying message of Polyface Farm is “think local,” and even as Pollan sings its praise he wonders how “beyond organic” could serve the needs of urban society.  Finally, Pollan makes “the perfect meal,” in a “neo-Paleolithic” endeavor of hunting, gathering, and growing everything on the table.  He calls the meal “perfect” because it is made in full consciousness of and with full responsibility for everything that went into producing it.  This final exercise allowed Pollan to grapple with many ethical questions of the way we eat, including the morality of killing animals.  While he recognizes that hunting/ gathering is not a viable way to feed ourselves in the contemporary world, he thinks the lessons of the experience can lead us to more ethically conscious food selection.

Food Deserts

Being back in St. Louis over the weekend served as a stark reminder of another very important dimension of seeking food justice: ensuring that people have access to nutritious, healthy food.  In the area where I used to live around Saint Louis University, as in many other parts of St. Louis and other cities, the options for buying groceries are limited.  Fast food chains and convenience stores outnumber supermarkets by a considerable margin.  I didn’t have a car when I went to SLU, and the only option for groceries within walking distance was a Schnucks grocery store.  That Schnucks stocked more varieties of liquor than vegetables, and the greens that they did have looked like the rejected produce in a Whole Foods dumpster.  If you were to get in a car and drive about 15 minutes west of SLU’s midtown location, you could have your pick of fresh produce and quality meats and dairy from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or even the large mainstream chains like Target, Dierbergs, or Schnucks, which are better stocked in that area.

Photo by Spixey (Flickr CC)

2.3 million households in the U.S. live more than a mile away from a supermarket and lack access to transportation.  These “food deserts” are usually found in the inner city or in isolated rural areas.  In the city, limited food access is correlated with a high degree of income inequality and racial segregation.  Lack of transportation infrastructure also contributes to poor food access.  Living in a food desert compounds the effects of these injustices.  Several studies have demonstrated a link between obesity or high Body Mass Index and the relative prevalence of fast food restaurants and lack of grocery stores.

So what are possible solutions to the problem of food deserts?  Farmer’s markets and urban and community gardens can help fill the void as well as providing fresh, high-quality whole foods in areas replete with processed and packaged food products.  In areas that have grocery stores with inadequate offerings, community pressure must be brought to bear on the companies.  Supermarkets are reluctant to offer fresh, high-quality produce when they deem that the demand isn’t there.  This is a vicious cycle because the grocery stores’ limited offerings also shape consumer preferences, especially when children in these areas grow up without access to fresh, whole foods.  Community education that introduces the benefits of nutritious whole foods as well as educating people on how to prepare them can help create consumer-driven pressure on these stores to implement more just policies.

Check out the June 2009 Report to Congress on Access to Affordable and Nutritious Food: Measuring and Understanding Food Deserts and Their Consequences on the USDA website.

Movie Review: The Garden

Image courtesy of TheGardenMovie.com

I am a huge fan of community gardens, and I recently watched a great documentary about the struggle of one community to keep its 14-acre garden in South Central Los Angeles.  The garden grew up in the wake of the destructive 1992 LA riots, and became the largest urban farm in the US.  This 2008 independent film follows a two-and-a-half-year court battle between the growers, a wealthy land developer, and the LA City Council.  In addition to the fight against the land developer and city council, the growers encounter resistance from another community advocacy group, highlighting racial tensions in the neighborhood.

The film is a moving portrait of the urban farmers, mostly Latin American immigrants, who not only created an unbelievably lush oasis in the middle of an industrial corridor but also joined together to organize and advocate their right to keep it. The Garden is a poignant look at the promises of urban agriculture and the failures of imagination and support from our legislative and legal systems.

The Garden was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2009 Academy Awards.  To find or host a screening, visit TheGardenMovie.com.  You can also rent the movie at your video store.

Quick Guide to Consumer Food Labels for Meat, Dairy, and Eggs

Several people have asked me how I decide what meat and eggs to buy when I chose to eat these things.  It can be extremely hard to sort out exactly what you’re getting when buying meat, dairy, and eggs, even when products are labeled with heartwarming terms like “cage-free” and “naturally raised.”  I think the best way to know what you’re getting is to go to local farmers’ markets (or better yet, farms!) and actually talk to the people raising the animals.  However, life gets busy and it’s usually much easier to run to the grocery store to grab something.  At the store, I personally try to look for meat that is “Certified Human Raised and Handled,” which you can find in some grocery stores like Whole Foods, and even occasionally in more mainstream stores.  (Find stores that carry the label here, or call your local grocery store and express interest.)  Other than that, I just try to find meat or eggs with the best available combination of labels.  You also often can find information about a particular company online.  For instance, I have been buying local, USDA organic, cage-free eggs from Organic Valley after reviewing the standards explained on their website (not exactly independent verification, but better than nothing).  Finding ethically produced meat, dairy, and eggs is anything but a straightforward process, but arming yourself with as much information can make it that much easier to find food with which you’re comfortable.

Here is a quick guide to frequently used terms:

Antibiotic-free: No USDA standard.  Animals raised without any administration of antibiotics.  Labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Cage-free: No USDA standard.  Animals are raised without cages, but may still be confined in crowded conditions without access to the outdoors.

Certified Human Raised and Handled®: An independent label developed by the 501(c)3 nonprofit Humane Farm Animal Care.  The standards include, “nutritious diet without antibiotics, or hormones, animals raised with shelter, resting areas, sufficient space and the ability to engage in natural behaviors.”  All farms using the label are inspected yearly.

Free-range or free-roaming: Animals allowed to roam in pasture.  Labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Fresh: USDA standards say “fresh” poultry can’t be cooled below 26 degrees Fahrenheit.  Although this is below freezing, the USDA standard for “frozen” poultry is 0 degrees Fahrenheit and below.  Regulated by the USDA.  No USDA standard for other meat or dairy.

Grass-fed: USDA standard for meat but not dairy cattle.  After weaning from milk, animals must consume only grass or forage.  During the growing season, they must have continual access to pasture; In the off-season they must be fed harvested grass or forage.  May still be given hormones or antibiotics.  If the product carries a “USDA Process Verified” shield, the USDA has physically inspected farms from which the meat originated.

Hormone-free: No synthetic hormones administered.  Federal law prohibits any administration of synthetic hormones to hogs and poultry but allows it for beef and dairy cattle. Labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Irradiated/ Treated With Irradiation: Exposed to ionizing radiation, chemically altered from its natural state.  Whole irradiated foods are required to carry one of these labels and the “radura” symbol but processed foods and spices are not.  The USDA inspects plants for safety, but products are labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Natural: USDA standards say that “natural” meat and poultry can’t contain artificial ingredients, including colors, flavors, or preservatives and should be processed minimally.  However, there are no requirements for how the animals were raised, what they ate, and whether they received antibiotics or hormones.  Labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Naturally raised: USDA standards say the animals can’t be given antibiotics, growth promoters, or feed with animal by-products.  They may still be raised in factory farm conditions. Labeled by manufacturer; no independent verification.

Organic:  See USDA certified organic.

Pasture-raised or pastured: No USDA standard.  Animals raised on pasture, eating grass or native plants.  No indication of how much of its life an animal lived on pasture.

rBGH-free or rBST-free: Synthetic growth hormones not given to dairy cattle.  Due to pressure from Monsanto, products labeled “rBGH or rBST-free” now also must carry a disclaimer saying that the FDA has said there is no significant difference between this and milk produced with the hormone.  The FDA relied on Monsanto to study the health effects of its own genetically engineered growth hormone.

USDA certified organic: USDA standards disallow use of antibiotics, synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, genetic engineering, irradiation, or sewage sludge.  Animals feed 100% organic feed without growth hormones or animal byproducts.  Ruminant animals have continual access to the outdoors, but chickens may be confined.

Two great places to learn more about these and other consumer labels are GreenerChoices.org’s Eco-label Index and Food & Water Watch’s article “How Much Do Labels Really Tell You?”

If you have additional advice or thoughts to share, leave a comment!

Watch for a future post about selecting seafood!

Food and Friends

Eating is a very social behavior.  Sitting down at the table with your family, going out to dinner with friends, munching snacks at an office or class party… It can be hard to strike a balance between your food ideals and social mores.  So how do you balance the desire to eat as ethically as possible with the possibility of offending others who might feel judged or insulted if you don’t eat what they’re eating or serving?

This is a question that I’m still trying to resolve in my own life, but I do have a few tips.  The first thing I learned was that it is best to be upfront about any dietary restrictions you are going to try to maintain around other people.  For example, when eating with people I don’t know that well, I tend to identify myself as a vegetarian.  This is an easily understandable term to most people and usually precludes a lengthy philosophical discussion.  Identifying this way lets me hold on to a core value in my food choices while allowing me to enjoy going out to eat.  (Most restaurants have some vegetarian options, especially if you can encourage the group to go for Asian or Middle Eastern cuisines.)

However, since “vegetarian” doesn’t really adequately represent my food philosophy, I try to be more open with family and friends with whom I feel comfortable.  People who know you well are less likely to hear your ideals as confrontational or judgmental.  I’ve found people to be genuinely interested and very accommodating when I explain my personal choices regarding food.  Parents, in-laws, and friends have cooked meals for me with meat or seafood that they’ve thoughtfully selected to be environment and animal-friendly.  My parents have told me that my exploration of the ethics of food has caused them to become more informed and aware of their food choices as well.

In the end, balancing food and friends is all about compromise.  Food is supposed to nourish and sustain life, and, to my way of thinking, you can’t make food about negation and deprivation, something that cuts you off from your social circles.  Find the solution that makes you most comfortable, and invite those close to you to learn about your personal choices.  You can have your cake and eat it, too.