Archive for April, 2010

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A Breif History Lesson April 29th, 2010

At the end of WWII, our munitions plants were morphed into plowshare factories and began turning our ammonium nitrate surplus into chemical fertilizers (if you follow that link, start reading about half-way down, at the paragraph that starts with “Unfortunately…”). Fertilizers and machinery are not the only things linked to war. Most chemical warfare is actually pesticide in a much stronger dose (if you follow that link, read the”WWII” section). Some chemical warfare agents were discovered when trying to create pesticides and some pesticides were discovered when trying to create chemical weapons. We are eating this stuff!

Between ammonium nitrate fertilizer and nerve gas pesticide, the corn and soybean yields skyrocketed shortly after WWII. Some politicians saw this as a valid reason to dismantle the New Dealpolicies that had helped farmers weather economic uncertainties inherent in their business. Over the next few decades, nudged by industry, the government re-wrote farm policy on commodity subsidies (corn, soy) so that these funds no longer protect the farmer, but instead guarantee a cheap supply of corn and soybeans.

These 2 crops, formerly food for poor people and animals, became something entirely different: a standardized raw material for industry, not very different from logging or mining. Mills and factories, as complex as those turning iron and aluminum ores into cars, soda cans, and antiperspirants, were developed. But, these were turning piles of corn and soy into high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and thousands of other starch and oil based chemicals.

Cow, pigs, and chickens were brought in off the pasture into Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) where corn and soy (which is not part of these animals’ natural diet) are used to cheaply and quickly fatten them. Corn and soy now run all the way down our industrial pipeline into soft drinks, burgers, and all the other processed foods on which our nation runs (or sits on its butt, as the case may be).

This is how 70% of all our Midwestern agricultural land shifted into single-crop corn or soybean farms, each one of them, on average, the size of Manhattan.

Thanks to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, genetic modification, and highly mechanized production systems, US farmers now produce 3,900 calories per US citizen per day. That’s twice the amount we need and 700 more calories per day more than they grew in 1980. Commodity farmers can only make ends meet by producing their maximum yields, so they do.

And here is the shocking plot twist: as farmers produced all those extra calories, the food industry figured out how to get them into the bodies of people who didn’t really want to eat 700 more calories a day. That is the well-oiled machine we call Late Capitalism.

Most of the calories that enter our mouth are hardly recognized as corn or soy or even vegetable: lecithin, citric acid, maltodextrin, sorbitol, and xanthan gum (for example) are all manufactured from corn. So are beef, eggs, and poultry, in a different but no less artificial process. Soybeans also become animal flesh, or else an ingredient called “added fats.” Remove every product containing corn or soybeans from the grocery store and it would look more like a hardware store (though the light bulbs would not be in boxes since many packaging materials now contain cornstarch).

With so many extra calories to deliver, food packages have gotten bigger. The 8 ounce Coke bottle of yesteryear morphed into 20 ounces of high-fructose corn syrup and carbonated water. As serving sizes increased, so did the American waistline. US consumption of  “added fats” has increased by one-third since 1975 and HFCS consumption is up by 1,000%.

True, no one held a gun to our head and forced us to super-size it, but humans have a built-in weakness for fats and sugar that evolved from caveman days of sparse food sources and a necessity for survival. Food marketers know these weaknesses and have exploited them to no mercy. Obesity is generally viewed as a failure of personal resolve, with no acknowledgement of the genuine conspiracy in this historical scheme. People actually did sit in a meeting room and discuss ways to get all those surplus calories into people who did not need them nor want them.

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Breakfast: Bagel with jelly
Lunch: Tofurkey sandwich
Dinner: Veggie burger, homemade mashed potatoes, and cantaloupe
megan & rob's wedding 033

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Pinching Pennies April 27th, 2010

In a society with $1 double-cheeseburgers at McDonald’s and $14.99/lb organic almond butter at Whole Foods, its no wonder people think a vegetarian diet is more expensive!  But in reality, the staples of a vegetarian diet are much cheaper than meat.  (In fact, most of the world’s population eats mostly cheap vegetarian commodities such as rice, corn, and beans.)

Plant proteins are much cheaper than the equivalent amount of animal protein. The cheapest cut of beef, ground round, averages $3/lb in the US (lean and extra lean); boneless chicken breasts cost $3.40/lb; and canned tuna is about $2/lb.

Compare that to dried beans and lentils at less than $1/lb, and rice at well below $1/lb. (Although Whole Foods offers expensive wild rice at $6.99/lb, it also has basic brown rice for $0.69/lb. And though pine nuts are an exorbitant $13.99/lb, you can get sunflower seeds, with nearly the same amount of protein, at a fraction of the price.)  

Tofu, the ”meat” of the vegetarian world, is well under $2/lb. (However, when you try to dress up plants as meat, costs skyrocket. Soy hot dogs, for example, cost $5/lb, but turkey hot dogs are less than half that.) And pasta is around $1/lb (or less, when on sale).

Produce is trickier to compare because the prices of fruits and vegetables vary widely with the season and source. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are sometimes cheaper than those imported from far away and can be much cheaper in summer when there’s an abundance. Then, if you take the plunge into organics, the price may double or triple compared with non-organic produce.* Plus, vegetarians consume a much greater volume and therefore spend more money on produce. (Most Americans eat only 3 servings a day, compared with the 7-9 servings recommended for optimum health.)

Here is a list of 50 healthy foods that cost less than $1/lb. All but 1 are vegetarian and all but 4 are vegan.

In the long run, no mater how much you spend on vegetarian foods, you’ll likely see a major payoff in better health, lower risk of chronic diseases, and reduced health-care costs. (A bypass surgery or angioplasty procedure can cost nearly $60,000.)  Though it’s difficult to tally the savings of illnesses or diseases avoided with a plant-based diet, the financial worth of good health is unquestionable.

Life insurance companies have actually put a figure on it. Most companies require a fairly extensive physical exam before issuing a private policy. Although they don’t ask about diet, they look at cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index, blood pressure, family history and tobacco use. People they consider the healthiest (those at the least risk of dying) will be charged roughly half the annual premium of someone on the other end of the scale. For a 54-year-old man with a $1 million policy over 20 years, that would amount to $2,500 a year versus $5,000 a year.  With this kind of savings, you could afford to buy a few ounces of Whole Foods’ organic bluefoot mushrooms ($39.99/lb).

*Why does organic produce cost so much more? The answer is that organic fruits and veggies are usually not grown on an industrial scale, so efficiencies aren’t as great. There are also significant costs involved in switching farmland from nonorganic to organic status. And there’s a lot more manual labor involved, such as weeding by hand.

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Breakfast: Bagel with jelly
Lunch: Veggie wrap from deli accross the street
Dinner: Pasta with tomato sauce and fresh basil (grown on my balcony)
pasta

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Meatless Monday #30: More Delicious Tofu Scrambles April 26th, 2010

Once again, I did not cook a single meal this week because of travel for the 3rd wedding I’ve attended in 3 weeks.  Luckily, The Rockin Vegan has some amazing tofu scramble recipes he’s willing to share!

Tofu scramble? Huh?!
Surprisingly, tofu + tumeric = a delicious scrambled egg substitute! Because cruelty in the egg industry is absolutely horrendous, I leave eggs off my plate.  Not only is tofu scramble more humane, but it’s also cholesterol free and better for the environment.

“When I first started seriously considering vegetarianism and researching the food industry, eggs was one of the first things to go from my diet. I’m not here to preach, but the way they discard the male chicks in hatcheries (see here if you’re curious) shows such a complete disregard for the beauty of life and the spirit of nature. Animal cruelty is just a very small part of why I went veg, but this left quite an impression on me – and eggs almost immediately lost their appeal.” – The Rockin Vegan

So, without further ado, check out The Rockin Vegan’s Hearty Tofu Scramble and Vegan Huevos con Chorizo.

Here’s my take on the Hearty Tofu Scramble with zucchini, bell pepper, spinach, and tomato, and a side of Gimme Lean vegetarian breakfast sausage.

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Happy Earth Day! April 22nd, 2010

“If we treated others as we wish to be treated ourselves, then decency and stability would have to prevail. I suggest that we execute such a pact with our planet.” -Stephen Jay Gould

According to polls, three-quarters of us define ourselves as environmentalists. We recycle our garbage, switch our lightbulbs to CFLs, take our reusable bags to the grocery store, and maybe even hang our wash on the line to dry. But, in reality, most of us are “environmentalists” until we sit down to eat.

To truly cure Mother Earth’s ills, we can’t do it on a diet of chicken, fish, pork, and beef. Try as you might, you simply aren’t an environmentalist until you start eating green.

Environmental Groups (including the National Audubon Society and theUnion of Concerned Scientists) declare that raising animals for food has a worse effect on the planet than just about anything else we can do.

America’s meat addiction is steadily poisoning and depleting our clean water, arable land, and fresh air.

Pollution
The livestock industry is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share than the entire transportation industry.  It also causes more water pollution in the US than all other industries combined because the animals raised for food in the US produce 130 times more excrement than the human population. Every year, factory farms dump 220 billion gallons of animal waste onto farmland and into our waterways.

Land
Animal agriculture is responsible for 85 percent of US soil erosion.  Grazing occupies 26% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, while feed crop production requires about one-third of all arable land. About 70% of all grazing land in dry areas is considered degraded, mostly because of overgrazing, compaction and erosion attributable to livestock activity. Twenty times more land is required to feed a meat-eater than to feed a pure vegetarian.

Water
Raising animals for food requires more water than all other uses of water combined.  It literally consumes more than half of all the water used in the United States. (It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat.) Plus, animal agriculture causes more water pollution than any other industry due to runoff and dumping of animal wastes, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, and sediments from eroded pastures. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hog, chicken, and cattle waste has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states. The sector also generates almost two-thirds of anthropogenic ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems.

Deforestation
The primary cause for deforestation in America is not urban development. For each acre of American forest that is cleared to make room for parking lots, roads, houses, and shopping malls, 7 acres of forest are converted into land for grazing livestock and/or growing livestock feed. Two-thirds of the rain forests of Central America have been cleared, in part to raise cattle whose meat is exported to profit the US food industry. Some 70% of previously forested land in the Amazon is used as pasture, and feed crops cover a large part of the reminder.

Energy
Raising animals for food requires more than one-third of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the US (with the air pollution that entails).

Animals
You can’t be concerned about our environment without caring about our fellow inhabitants.  Animals are made of flesh and blood, have complex social and psychological lives, and feel pain just as humans do. More than 25 billion are killed by the meat industry each year, and they’re killed in ways that would horrify any compassionate person.

The good news is that you can make a big difference, starting today! The Live Earth Global Warming Survival Handbook states that “refusing meat” is “the single most effective thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint.” Researchers at the University of Chicago found that going vegan is more effective in countering climate change than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

If every American ate meatless for just one day per week, the effect would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off the road.  If every American removed just one serving of meat from their diet each week, it would be the equivalent of taking 5 million cars off the road. Go green. Eat meatless.

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” -Gaylord Nelson, former governor of Wisconsin, founder of Earth Day

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Breakfast: An apple and some peanuts (a leftover packet from my Southwest flight from San Antonio back to DC)
Lunch: Veggie & cheese plate (from CVS of all places!) – celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cheese squares, and crackers
Dinner: Salad from Chop’t

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Cows On Drugs April 19th, 2010

Since I’ve been in San Antonio for a week, I’ve been eating gobs of Mexican food instead of cooking, so there is no Meatless Monday this week. Instead, I have an excellent article from The New York Times, written by a former commissioner of the USDA, about why we need to stop feeding our livestock antibiotics just to fatten them up. It is a matter of our own health.

By Donald Kennedy

Now that Congress has pushed through its complicated legislation to reform the health insurance system, it could take one more simple step to protect the health of all Americans. This one wouldn’t raise any taxes or make any further changes to our health insurance system, so it could be quickly passed by Congress with an outpouring of bipartisan support. Or could it?

More than 30 years ago, when I was commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, we proposed eliminating the use of penicillin and two other antibiotics to promote growth in animals raised for food. When agribusiness interests persuaded Congress not to approve that regulation, we saw firsthand how strong politics can trump wise policy and good science.

Even back then, this nontherapeutic use of antibiotics was being linked to the evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria that infect humans. To the leading microbiologists on the F.D.A.’s advisory committee, it was clearly a very bad idea to fatten animals with the same antibiotics used to treat people. But the American Meat Institute and its lobbyists in Washington blocked the F.D.A. proposal.

In 2005, one class of antibiotics, fluoroquinolones, was banned in the production of poultry in the United States. But the total number of antibiotics used in agriculture is continuing to grow. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 70 percent of this use is in animals that are healthy but are vulnerable to transmissible diseases because they live in crowded and unsanitary conditions.

In testimony to Congress last summer, Joshua Sharfstein, the principal deputy commissioner of the F.D.A., estimated that 90,000 Americans die each year from bacterial infections they acquire in hospitals. About 70 percent of those infections are caused by bacteria that are resistant to at least one powerful antibiotic.

That’s why the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Pharmacists Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Public Health Association and the National Association of County and City Health Officials are urging Congress to phase out the nontherapeutic use in livestock of antibiotics that are important to humans.

Antibiotic resistance is an expensive problem. A person who cannot be treated with ordinary antibiotics is at risk of having a large number of bacterial infections, and of needing to be treated in the hospital for weeks or even months. The extra costs to the American health care system are as much as $26 billion a year, according to estimates by Cook County Hospital in Chicago and the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics, a health policy advocacy group.

Agribusiness argues — as it has for 30 years — that livestock need to be given antibiotics to help them grow properly and keep them free of disease. But consider what has happened in Denmark since the late 1990s, when that country banned the use of antibiotics in farm animals except for therapeutic purposes. The reservoir of resistant bacteria in Danish livestock shrank considerably, a World Health Organization report found. And although some animals lost weight, and some developed infections that needed to be treated with antimicrobial drugs, the benefits of the rule exceeded those costs.

It’s 30 years late, but Congress should now pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which would ban industrial farms from using seven classes of antibiotics that are important to human health unless animals or herds are ill, or pharmaceutical companies can prove the drugs’ use in livestock does not harm human health.

The pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness face the difficult challenge of developing antimicrobials that work specifically against animal infections without undermining the fight against bacteria that cause disease in humans. But we don’t have the luxury of waiting any longer to protect those at risk of increasing antibiotic resistance.

Donald Kennedy, a former commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, is a professor emeritus of environmental science at Stanford.

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Breakfast: Bean & cheese tacos from Taco Cabana
Lunch: Schlotzsky’s cheese original sandwich
Dinner: Veggie tacos (grilled mushrooms & peppers) from Order Up
(No wonder San Antonio ranks #3 in the nation’s fattest cities!)

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Belgian City does “Meatless Thursday” April 14th, 2010

Thursdays were declared “Veggie Day” in the city of Ghent!  The Belgian city has decided to go veg for one day a week in an effort to highlight the environmental and health costs of eating meat.

The city authorities in Ghent, some 30 miles west of Brussels, are asking residents to get involved and opt for vegetarian meals at least one day a week.  Ghent is the first city in Europe to try such a scheme.

According to the city’s campaign publicity (and as we all know from reading this blog!), eating less meat can help to minimize the ecological footprint of your food because stock breeding has a detrimental impact on the environment. It points to data from the United Nations which says livestock is responsible for generating around 18 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

It is also hoped that Veggie Day will have a positive health impact in the fight against diet-related illnesses such as obesity, cancer and diabetes.

Organizers provided residents with meat-free recipes and a list of vegetarian restaurants at a “launch party” in the center of the city. (Ghent claims to have more vegetarian eateries per inhabitant than Paris, London and Berlin.) Demonstrations were also on offer to people looking for green cooking tips.

 Kudos to Ghent for being so progressive and I hope other cities will soon follow suit!

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Breakfast: Cranberry walnut toast with margarine
Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich and tater tots from Sonic (and a Limeade, of course)
Dinner: Made a huge pot of Vegetarian Chili for my family. (They loved it!)

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Food & Faith Challenge April 14th, 2010

Fellow foodie blogger, Wendy at The Local Cook, is hosting a “Food & Faith Challenge.” From April 3 – June 19 (yes, I’m a little behind on announcing this), she will encourage us to think about our food in a deeper sense than just, “What should I eat for lunch?”

Each week throughout the challenge, Wendy will post a topic for consideration on her blog, accompanied by a Bible verse*, comments from a guest poster (it so happens that yours truly is guest posting about Farm Workers on May 1st), questions for reflection, and a homework assignment to work towards a more sustainable food system.

I encourage everyone to follow along through the weeks, try the homework assignments, and contribute to the discussion by commenting on The Local Cook blog. Plus, leaving comments enters you to win sweet prizes every single week! 

Let the challenge begin.

 

*Wendy indicates that the Food & Faith Challenge is not solely for Christians. From her site: “Even if you are not a Christian, I hope that some of these issues will be of interest to you. I’m Christian Reformed / Emerging, and the book is written by Mennonites, but these issues cut across denominations and religions.”

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Breakfast: Frozen evol burrito – tofu & spinach saute.  Mm mm good.
Lunch: Veggie wrap with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, corn, black beans, and vinaigrette dressing
Dinner: Cheese enchiladas, rice & beans (I’m in San Antonio right now!)

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Meatless Monday #29: Spinach & Artichoke Lasagna April 12th, 2010

Sticking with the spinach & artichoke theme…

Cook either fresh or frozen spinach in a pan with artichoke hearts. Optionally, add some additional veggies – I added some chopped zucchini.

lasagna 3

In a baking pan, layer lasagna noodles (I use “no boil” noodles. Follow the directions on the package of whatever noodles you choose.), ricotta cheese, spinach/artichoke mix, and marinara sauce. I usually do 2 layers, then top it off with one more set of noodles, a bit more marinara, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 45 mins.

lasagna 1

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Which Are You? April 8th, 2010

“There are three classes of people:
 Those who see,
 Those who see when they are shown,
 Those who do not see.”

-Leonardo da Vinci

 

 

 
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Breakfast: Bagel with jelly
Lunch: Veggie burger
Dinner: Pasta with marinara sauce

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You Are What You Eat April 7th, 2010

“The single worst thing you can do to an animal emotionally is to make it feel afraid. Fear is so bad for animals I think it is worse than pain…Even an animal who’s completely alone and giving full expression to severe pain acts less incapacitated than an animal who’s scared…and an animal in a state of panic can’t function at all.”
- Temple Grandin, Animals in Translation

Animals on the way to slaughter hear the screaming and crying of other animals being slaughtered and become terrified.  They know they are about to be killed and they are panic-stricken. Cows often kick stall walls in rage and frustration and literally cry out with grief.

Think of how you feel when you are angry, panic-stricken, or afraid. Bear in mind the physical feelings that accompany these emotions. These emotions – rage, panic, and fear- produce chemical changes in our bodies. They do the same to animals. Their blood pressures rise. Adrenaline courses through their bodies.

You are eating high blood pressure, stress, and adrenaline.  You are eating rage, panic, and fear.  You are eating suffering, horror, and murder.  You are eating cruelty. You are what you eat.

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Breakfast: Oatmeal
Lunch: An evol burrito and salad
Dinner: Black bean and Daiya cheese nacos

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