Obesity study casts grim outlook

According to a recent study published in Obesity magazine and reported on the Johns Hopkins website, by 2030, 86% of American adults will be either overweight or obese. Four scientists tracked trends based on historical data over the last thirty years to come up with their findings. Certain demographic segments are projected to fare worse than others; specifically, 96% of black women and 91% of Mexican-American men are predicted to be overweight. Incidentally, blacks and Hispanics represent the two lowest-income segments of the U.S. population (Asians and whites are the highest-income segments).

So, let the finger-pointing begin. Where to start? Shall we blame the low cost of processed food, full of high fructose corn syrup and other zero-nutrition components, relative to the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables? Should we instead point the finger at companies such as McDonald's for providing highly caloric and fatty burgers for 99 cents, while charging upwards of $5 for a fresh salad? Should we blame ourselves, for not monitoring our portion sizes, failing to ensure we eat balanced diets, and eating too much and too often?

How will you ensure that you're not in the 86% category by 2030? More importantly, how can we bring that figure down as a nation?

Humane food labels

Every time I have to buy eggs at a grocery store, I read the labels on each of the cartons and feel alternately puzzled and overwhelmed by the variety of claims made by these producers. I know what I want: eggs that come from chickens who have led healthy, chemical-free lives, that were able to be chickens in a chicken yard and run around and peck their chickens' hearts out, eating food that chickens were meant to eat, laying eggs when they want and where they want, just like the chickens we used to raise at my dad's house. Sadly, labels such as "free range" and "cage free" don't offer much insight into the chickens' lives, because they are unregulated terms that have been adopted unscrupulously in some cases.

Have you ever faced this same problem of trying to decide which eggs are "best," from a humane-treatment standpoint? If so, then you might benefit from this cheat sheet, courtesy of the World Society for the Protection of Animals. In addition to demystifying the claims on egg cartons, this guide gives advice on which poultry, beef and pork products to buy to ensure that your food dollars support farms that raise animals in a humane and sustainable manner. (My one suggestion, aside from seeking out the "best" options below, is to choose locally-raised products when possible.)

"Humane Food Labels"
(adapted from the WSPA)

GOOD:

* These labels cover only one aspect of animal care and a third party does not verify compliance with the standards.

• “Cage free” (eggs)
• “Free range” (eggs, chicken, duck, goose, turkey)
• “Grass fed” (dairy, beef, lamb)

BETTER
* These labels feature a higher level of animal welfare, but the standards are either not verified by a third party or cover only a limited aspect of animal care.

• “Free range” (beef, bison, lamb, pork)
• “Pasture raised” (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, pork)
• “USDA organic” (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, bison, lamb, pork)

BEST
* These labels cover multiple aspects of animal care and an independent third party verifies compliance with the standards.

• “American Humane Certified” (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork)
• “Animal Welfare Approved” (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork)
• “Certified Humane” (dairy, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork)

NOT NECESSARILY HUMANE

• “No antibiotics used” / “No hormones administered” – The government does not conduct testing to verify these claims. Hormones are prohibited in the raising of poultry, so this labeling claim is meaningless when used on chicken and turkey products. The “no antibiotics used” label suggests the animal wasn’t raised on a factory farm but by itself is not an indicator of high animal welfare.
• “Natural” – This label currently has no relevance to animal welfare whatsoever. It merely indicates that the product was minimally processed and contains no dyes or preservatives. WSPA has recommended that this claim be re-named “minimally processed.”
• “Naturally raised” – The USDA has proposed but not finalized a definition for this claim. Producers are using this label to indicate that the animal was raised without the use of antibiotics and hormones and had been given only vegetarian feed. WSPA is opposing the proposed standard because it does not require freedom of movement and access to fresh air and sunlight.

Worldwide food crisis (and apologies for my long hiatus)

Hello readers!

Between my business and wedding planning, I have been so busy recently that I've completely neglected my blog. Today I was reminded that by doing so, I've also been neglecting my readers- and there's really no excuse for that. So, without further ado, I want to catch you up on what I've been thinking -- if not blogging -- about, regarding ethics and the food world. Today's topic: the worldwide food shortage and crisis.

You know what makes me feel ridiculously elitist and out of touch? The thought that I spend time blogging about why you should choose grass-fed beef over grain-fed beef, while in countries like Haiti and Somalia, people are dying from starvation and begging the government to help them procure any food at all. Granted, the worldwide food crisis is not a problem I can tackle single-handedly. But what can we, as rich (comparatively), well-fed Westerners do in reaction to the global food crisis- short of sending food and money to the impacted countries?

Here are my ideas:
1) Eat less. Almost all of us could stand to cut back on our food intake. Seriously. Try reducing your portions a little bit, or resisting the urge to have that afternoon snack, or refusing to go back for seconds.

2) Eat less meat. If you replace even one or two meals per week with vegetarian meals, you'll save yourself money, and you'll do your small part in easing global food chain pressures caused (in part) by our highly carnivorous diets.

3) Buy Certified Fair Trade products. These products have been verified to ensure that producers receive a fair price, that employees work in fair labor conditions, and that middlemen are eliminated where possible so that as much as the purchase price as possible goes directly to the farmers/producers. I highly recommend Trader Joe's new "Fair Trade Organic Bolivian Blend" coffee- delicious and, because it's Trader Joe's, still reasonably priced. (Learn more about Fair Trade products here.)

4) Walk or bike instead of using your car- even when you're going to the grocery store! I know it's a pain, but just take a backpack and think of those muscles you're developing. Also, if you're eating less (per item 1) then your backpack won't even be that heavy. (Okay- this may seem tangential at best to the global food crisis. But insofar as the food shortage relates to the high price of oil, any relief we can give on the demand for oil would theoretically help global prices to come down...)

5) Boycott Exxon-Mobil. You probably can't avoid using your car entirely, but when you do have to fill up, do so anywhere except at an Exxon or Mobil station. In 2007, Exxon-Mobil recorded the highest profits of any company EVER-- even while most Americans are being stretched thin by rising gas and food prices. Furthermore, Exxon-Mobil is least among the oil companies in investing in alternative energies. They don't deserve our patronage.

Now readers, what ideas do you all have?

My CSA rocks!

Gentle readers,
First, I'd like to apologize for the long hiatus between posts. If it counts for anything, I think about posting at least once a day. Then, somehow, life gets in the way.

Now I'm going to tell you why joining a CSA is one of the best ethical-eating moves you can make. For those unfamiliar with the term, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, CSAs are farms - or sometimes, groups of farms - that offer "subscriptions" to their output. Customers subscribe to a CSA by paying a fee, and in return, they receive a box of food on a regular basis. There are CSAs for fruits and vegetables, as well as some that offer eggs, dairy, meat, or even fresh flowers. You can find a CSA through Local Harvest, or you might inquire at your local farmer's market.

G and I recently signed up for a CSA with Full Belly Farm, an organic farm in Guinda, California. Our decision to go with Full Belly over other CSAs was a bit arbitrary, but I liked that a) they have a booth at our farmer's market, b) someone recommended them to me personally, and c) they are certified organic and somehow still inexpensive. To give you an idea: we initially signed up for 4 boxes, to be delivered every other week. We paid $68 ($17/box). Each box contains 6-8 different vegetables (and occasionally fruits), the right amount for us to use up in two weeks, given that we occasionally go out of town or eat out. The picture at left is the contents of one of our boxes (the bag in the back contains stir-fry greens). Full Belly drops off their boxes in different locations throughout the Bay Area, and our location is a mere three blocks from our apartment.

There are several textbook reasons that CSAs are worth trying. First, they provide a more regular and predictable income stream to farmers than do Farmer's Markets, enabling farmers to better manage their resources, forecast demand levels and plant accordingly. Second, by supporting local farmers, you ensure that your food travels as few miles as possible and will be as fresh as possible on your plate. Third, if you buy from local farmers, you are better able to learn about their growing practices, including treatment of their laborers, sustainability initiatives, etc. (G and I hope to visit our farm in the spring and see for ourselves!)

But here's the kicker: CSA boxes force you to get creative in the kitchen and to eat foods that you might not eat otherwise. We all know that we're supposed to eat a variety of foods. But if you're like me, you have a regular rotation of foods you buy and recipes you make. In terms of vegetables, my go-to choices are spinach and carrots, and even at the farmer's market I tend not to stray too far from the norm. With the CSA subscription, however, I don't get to choose which veggies come my way. And I can't bear to waste food. So when I receive my CSA box, I find myself poring over recipe books and sifting through websites to find recipes that will showcase my CSA veggies. This has proven an exhilarating adventure, a sort of Iron Chef without cameras or competitors. Best of all, G and I are eating more vegetables than ever before.

Some examples:

• In our first CSA box we received Kabocha squash, which I had never used before. I made a delicious squash soup and recently had the leftovers from the freezer. It held up beautifully.
  
• This week we received some beautiful red beets with their greens attached. Normally I'm not much of a beet person, but I adapted a recipe I found online and made a lovely roasted beet salad on a bed of beet greens. Delicious! I've written out my recipe below. I had never cooked with beet greens before.
  
• Yesterday, I found myself with a head of red cabbage and some leeks. I adapted a Cooking Light recipe for Moo-Shu vegetables, switching the green cabbage for red and the green onions for the leeks, and throwing in some chicken for protein. I was quite happy with the outcome, and G had seconds.
  

Sometimes it takes a little forceful encouragement to break us from our routines. For me, our CSA provides that push, and I'm glad for it. I encourage you to try one for yourself.

_____
Jill's Roasted Beet and Beet Greens Salad

5 small beets w/ greens attached
2 t. olive oil
1 t. balsamic vinegar
sea salt
1 t. olive oil
2 t. cider vinegar
1 t. sugar
2 T. chopped walnuts
2 T. crumbled blue cheese

Chop off beet greens, wash, and set aside. Wash beets and trim ends. Wrap beets in foil and roast in a 425 F oven for 50 minutes, or until tender (test with a fork). Remove, cool, and slice into 1/2 inch wedges. Toss with oil, balsamic vinegar, and a dash of freshly ground sea salt.

Heat 1 t. olive oil in a saute pan, and add beet greens. Cover and cook 1-2 minutes, until wilted. Add cider vinegar and sugar; toss to coat and cook 30 seconds more. Place greens on plates; top with walnuts, blue cheese, and roasted beets.

Serves 2, generously.

Beef recall and downer cow update

As you've probably seen by now in the New York Times or other media outlets, the USDA has just mandated the largest beef recall in history. The 143 million pounds of beef that have been recalled were supplied by the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company, the same company that incited an outcry (by myself and others) over their inhumane treatment of cattle, as documented by a Humane Society employee.

Much of the media coverage of this recall has been focused on the dangers of this meat in the food supply. The Westland/Hallmark company is one of the largest suppliers to the National School Lunch Program, so people are concerned (justifiably) about how their childrens' health might be at risk.

I agree that health concerns are definitely one of the important issues that must be addressed in a situation like this. But I am both upset and perplexed that fewer news outlets have focused on the animal welfare aspect of the story. The employees and manager in the video have been fired, and criminal charges are being brought against them. But what about the companies themselves? Will no legal action be taken against them? Will other cattle companies make pledges to ensure the welfare of their cows from birth to death? Where are the voices demanding greater transparency and heightened accountability?

Better yet, when will we all just acknowledge that factory farming is an inherently inhumane and dangerous system and that it has to go?

Why factory farms must go

I have a video to share with you, but I want to warn you that it is very graphic and disturbing. While extremely difficult to watch, the video nonetheless tells a truth about our society that we should all confront. In their insistence on profit as the sole motive and driver behind their business, factory farms (CAFOs) have turned a blind eye to basic animal dignity and welfare, and behavior like the following becomes all too common.



The video makes me outraged. What kind of a society have we become, that we can allow such practices to take place? This incident is not isolated; a search on YouTube reveals other videos of downer cows being abused. In some ways I'm not surprised; these videos are consistent with the findings in Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma. A factory farm is, by nature, driven to produce the most meat possible at the lowest cost possible. Cows can't be treated humanely, because that would make for less productivity and higher expenses. Sadly, we are as guilty as the CAFOs. Every time we eat a fast-food hamburger, or every time we buy regular beef from our local grocery store, we tacitly endorse the practices of factory farms.

I don't think you need to go vegetarian (necessarily) to ensure ethical treatment of animals- although many a vegetarian would disagree with me on that point. Rather, I think it is important that we care enough to read labels, ask for information, and learn as much as possible about how the animals lived and died prior to becoming our food. Then we can make responsible decisions about the foods we eat, and we can opt to vote with our forks to end inhumane or cruel treatment of animals.

Learn more at the Humane Society website.

Buffalo: a supermeat!

I first discovered the buffalo burger when I was living in New York several years ago. It was in a diner of all places- not normally the kind of establishment where you expect to find new foods, but then, this was New York. On this particular visit to the Malibu Diner, there were table tents promoting the nutritional qualities of their buffalo burgers. Healthy burgers? I figured I'd have to try them. After one bite, I was hooked. High in protein, low in fat, and delicious (not at all like oft-bland turkey or chicken burgers); they quickly became a staple of my New York diet.



These days, when my food choices have as much to do with ethics as with health and taste, I am delighted to have discovered yet another reason to opt for buffalo meat. It turns out that bison, or American buffalo, are one of the most sustainably-raised meat sources in our country. Because they are native to North America, bison have co-evolved with the natural grasses that grow on prairie land. Consequently, they do not need (and are not administered) antibiotics or growth hormones in order to thrive. Furthermore, bison are gentler on the land than cattle, and they may even enhance the land; this article cites researchers who claim that bison-grazed prairie yields greater plant diversity than ungrazed land. Unlike cattle, bison are not domesticated: they graze on their native grasses and require lots of room to roam. Their grass preference contributes to their healthier, lower-fat nutritional profile.

When I was in Bozeman recently, the front page of the paper had an article about bison. (You've got to love that about Bozeman.) It turns out that Ted Turner is the largest bison rancher in the country, and that one of his ranches is just outside of Bozeman. Turner has a chain of restaurants called Ted's Montana Grill that specializes in all things buffalo. (The chain has not yet reached California, but those of you in New York should try the Rockefeller Center location at some point and let me know how it is). Ironically, there is not yet a Ted's Montana Grill in Montana, but that will change this summer, when Bozeman gets its own Ted's. Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled when you're out at a restaurant, and taste some of that delicious, healthy, ethical goodness for yourself. In the Bay Area, you can try buffalo burgers at Pearl's, Buffalo Burger (you don't say!), or Bullshead Restaurant.

A note to home chefs: since buffalo is lower in fat than other meats, you have to take special care not to overcook it; otherwise, it will be dry and tasteless. The National Bison Association recommends cooking bison "slow and low"- that is, at low temperatures for lengthy periods. If you're making buffalo burgers, cook at medium heat for 4-6 minutes per side. You can find buffalo meat at any natural/organic grocery store, some farmer's markets, and the occasional forward-thinking "regular" grocery store (Ukrop's). Here's a link to some buffalo recipes to get you started!