LA Times Article - Your chance to tell the FDA what you think of food-package labels

By Rosie Mestel
April 29, 2010

The FDA is seeking public comment on "ways to enhance the usefulness to consumers of point-of-purchase nutrition information" --  meaning information on the front of food packages or info that might be displayed on shelf-tags in grocery stores. (They're not talking about the Nutrition Facts box on that back of packages to which many of us already refer.) Here's an FDA web page where you can read more about what the agency is seeking and submit a comment.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2010/04/your-chance-to-tell-the-fda-what-you-think-of-foodpackage-labels.html

Food Safety News Article - Salmonella Strikes Popular Restaurants

By Dan Flynn
April 30, 2010

Two locally popular restaurants on opposite sides of the country are proving once again that when it comes to eating and drinking establishments, going with the crowd is no protection from foodborne illness.  Popular restaurants--even those with good overall scores on restaurant inspections---can quickly spread a pathogen if they have unsanitary habits they cannot kick.  That may be the case for both Los Dos Amigos on Southeast Jackson Street in Roseburg, OR and Bullock's Bar B Que on Quebec Street in Durham, NC (local!).  Public health officials in Oregon and North Carolina believe the two restaurants may be responsible for unrelated Salmonella outbreaks.

Read on here for more details on the recent salmonella outbreaks, including a disturbingly long list of Bullock's recent sanitation violations.

Civil Eats Post - From The Belly Of The Beast: An Interview with Food Inc.'s Carole Morison

April 29, 2010
By Twilight Greenaway

"If you’ve seen Food, Inc., you may remember watching Carole Morison walk through her chicken house gathering a handful of sickly and lifeless birds. It’s a chilling scene, and one that she tells the documentary’s audience occurred almost daily over the two decades she and her husband were contract farmers for Purdue. By the time the film was made, the Morisons had decided to end their contract with the company and Carole was in a rare position to act as a whistle blower. In exacting detail she described the harsh conditions for the animals and the people involved in such contracts and shed light on an industry often shrouded in secrecy. Now a consultant focused on local food systems, Carole visited the Bay Area recently to speak on several food and farming panels, including one held by the Center for urban Education for Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) called Inside the Hen House."

Read interview with Carole here.

VEGdaily Post - Farm Sanctuary Urges Passage of the Healthy School Meals Act To Benefit Children And Animals

On Wednesday, April 21, concerned citizens nationwide will join Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, in a National Call-In Day to urge legislators to support H.R. 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act.

See full press release here, which explains how the Healthy School Meals Act will benefit not only the health of children but also that of animals and the environment.

http://vegdaily.com/2010/04/farm-sanctuary-urges-passage-of-the-healthy-school-meals-act-to-benefit-children-and-animals/

CNN Article - It's meatless Monday for some

By Sarah LeTrent
April 26, 2010

More media coverage of the increasingly popular Meatless Monday movement, in which people cut out meat one day a week for health and environmental reasons.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/homestyle/04/26/meatless.mondays.green.healthy/

For more information about Meatless Mondays (including vegetarian recipes!), visit the movement's website. And see Huffington Post article promoting and explaining the advantages of the movement, posted here.

Civil Eats Post - EPA Intern Offends Sensitive Meat-Industry Souls

April 23rd, 2010 
By Tom Philpott (originally posted on Grist)

As quoted from an article on The Hill, "The Farm Bureau is none too happy with the EPA today for publishing a blog post urging Americans to give up meat. The post in question was written by an EPA intern and recounts her decision to stop eating meat. The author, Nicole Reising, cites the 'environmental effects of meat production' and urges readers to stop eating meat."

This story directly relates to my recent blog post about the larger issue of the danger of declaring "eat less meat" in America. See full Civil Eats post at link below.

http://civileats.com/2010/04/23/epa-intern-offends-sensitive-meat-industry-souls/

Food Safety News Article - USDA Updating Farmers Market Directory

By Michelle Greenhalgh 

Apr 22, 2010

On Monday the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) launched it's latest campaign to collect information about farmers markets for the 2010 National Farmers Market Directory.

The USDA's website allows consumers to find farmers markets in their area.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/04/usda-to-update-2010-national-farmers-market-directory/

Cookbook - "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

Earlier this week I tested out vegetarian cookbook number three of my collection: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. The fact that the author is not a vegetarian himself (instead a self-proclaimed "flexitarian" - someone who tries to minimize the amount of meat they eat, but doesn't eliminate it altogether) makes this cookbook ideal for people who are trying out or in the early stages of a meatless diet. The comprehensiveness of this cookbook (over 2,000 recipes) and the fact that many of those recipes are extremely basic (how to steam vegetables, for example) are its biggest advantages - again, particularly for the newcomer to veggie-based cooking and eating.

I made Roasted Cauliflower with Raisins and Vinaigrette (intended as a salad, but I had it as a side dish for dinner - that's the beauty of any recipe, you can make it your own!) and then Banana Bread (which was enjoyed by my coworkers, so this could be a repeat dish!).

Washington Post Article - FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons

By Lyndsey Layton
Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/19/AR2010041905049.html

NY Times Op-Ed Article - Cows on Drugs

By DONALD KENNEDY

Published: April 17, 2010

 

When antibiotics are given to livestock to help them grow and avoid infections on crowded farms, people face a greater threat from drug-resistant bacteria.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18kennedy.html?emc=eta1

Meatless Monday Recipe - Chili Con Lentils

"Who says chili needs meat when this one comes chock full of cinnamon spiced lentils, paprika seasoned peppers, roasted tomatoes and corn? With all those aromatic spices, this chili’s rich smoky flavor will fill your house as it stews. This recipe comes to [Meatless Monday] from Trudy of veggie.num.num."

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/chili-con-lentils/

CNN Article - Study: Insurance companies hold billions in fast food stock

By Sarah Klein

April 15, 2010

The fast-food industry has long been under fire for selling high-fat, high-calorie meals that have been linked to weight gain and diabetes, but the financial health of the industry continues to attract investors -- including some of the leading insurance companies in the U.S., a new study reports. According to Harvard Medical School researchers, 11 large companies that offer life, disability, or health insurance owned about $1.9 billion in stock in the five largest fast-food companies as of June 2009.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/15/insurance.fast.food.stock/

The Green Fork Post - Let Them Drink Milk! States Losing Drinking Water to Tortured Cows

By Leslie
Published April 15, 2010

"A conflict in New Mexico is shaping up as a pitched battle between industrial dairy’s desire to avoid regulation and the public’s right to clean, safe drinking water.  According to the state environment department, at least two-thirds of the groundwater underneath or adjacent to New Mexico’s dairy CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) has been poisoned by nitrates. When other pollutants are included, estimates of water contamination by these factory farms can rise as high as 90 percent. No wonder New Mexico’s legislature voted to have regulations drawn up to prevent groundwater pollution by the state’s dairy farms."

http://blog.eatwellguide.org/2010/04/let-them-drink-milk-states-losing-drinking-water-to-tortured-cows/

Diner's Journal Post - Michael Moss on Food Safety

The NY Times's Michael Moss, who just won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on contaminated beef and food safety issues (read his award-winning piece here), responds to readers' questions.

Q&A Round One:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/q-a-with-michael-moss-round-one/

Q&A Round Two:
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/michael-moss-on-food-safety-round-2/

SF Gate Article - One sandwich to kill you all

By Mark Morford
Published April 9, 2010

Hilarious yet insightful "review" of KFC's new Double Down sandwich.

Best quote of the article: "KFC test-marketed this Double Down death bomb for months, to (presumably) great effect. Of course, it's sort of a foregone conclusion, a rigged game. This vile meatwich is crammed like a grenade with sodium, sugar, fat and chemicals. Ergo, the testers, presumably people with taste buds devastated by years of cramming similar compost into their guts, thought it was pure nirvana. And then their colons exploded."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/04/09/notes040910.DTL#ixzz0lBkTuV7a

CNN Article - U.S. standards on beef are lax, inspector general says

By Dugald McConnell
Published April 14, 2010

The U.S. government is not fully guarding against the contamination of meat by traces of antibiotics, pesticides or heavy metals, a new report warns. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's inspector general said federal agencies have failed to set limits on many potentially harmful chemical residues, which "has resulted in meat with these substances being distributed in commerce."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/14/us.beef.testing/?hpt=T2

PBS Broadcast of "Food, Inc."

On Wednesday, April 21st, PBS is broadcasting the documentary, "Food, Inc." (see previous post about the film), and their website is filled with additional resources surrounding the broadcast. After the TV broadcast, from April 22 to April 29 the film in its entirety will be streaming online.

Host a "Food, Inc." Potluck - This link takes you to information about hosting a viewing party for the film, a potluck party kit and checklist, recipes, a giveaway, and more.

Interview With Director Robert Kenner - This link takes you to a video interview. Watch PBS's David Brancaccio and "Food, Inc." director Robert Kenner discuss why contemporary food processing secrets are so closely guarded, their impact on our health, and another surprising fact: how consumers are actually empowered to make a difference.

What You Can Do To Change Our Food System - This link takes you to a list of 10 changes you can make in your life that will positively affect our food system, with information about how those changes will affect you personally and the food system more generally. The original source of these 10 tips is the film's website.

Q & A: Eric Schlosser - This link takes you to an excerpt of an interview with Eric Schlosser, award-winning journalist and author of the book Fast Food Nation, as he discusses the state of the American food system. To read the full interview, check out the book companion to the film, Food, Inc.: A Participant Guide....

Eating Out Tips

Eating at a restaurant can be a challenge when you're trying to avoid eating meat or other animal products. The best thing you can do is be prepared: be prepared by knowing where you're going, be prepared to be forthright about your dietary needs (both to your dinner companions and your waiter), and be prepared to have an open mind. I have found the following tips helpful for any time I know I'll be eating out:

• Check the menu online before you go - Almost all restaurants nowadays have their menus available for viewing on their websites. Cuisine alone doesn't always tell you how many vegetarian options a restaurant has. (For example, a steakhouse can be an ideal restaurant for a non-meat eater--albeit somewhat unethical--because of all the veggie sides offered. Combine a few of those, and that's a fulfilling and nutritionally complete meal.)

• Order off the menu - Depending on the type of restaurant, they may be able to do an off-the-menu vegetarian entree. Sometimes that means a fully prepared dish, sometimes it means a selection of side vegetable dishes. Either way, if that option is available, take advantage because it means you won't have to compromise your vegetarianism for a night out.

• Combine starters - Soup + salad, appetizer + salad, etc. can be a very filling combo meal, especially with the size of plates at most restaurants these days. Add a side dish and you'll maybe even have more variety than a single entree.

• Ask questions, speak up - Many soups at restaurants are made with non-vegetable broth. If this is something you want to avoid, inquire about it with your waiter. Same thing goes for dips, sauces, and anything else that would use a meat-based stock. If you want a dish, but it comes with meat (bacon in a salad, chicken in a pasta, etc.), don't be afraid to ask for it without meat and/or replace the meat with another vegetable. And if you're feeling really gutsy, you can even ask for the price of the now-meatless entree to be deducted (I've never done that, but on the rare occasion the waiter will actually offer).

• Be flexible, creative, open-minded - The lack of vegetarian choices on a restaurant menu can make eating out a limiting and restrictive experience, or an easy (sometimes having less options is a relief, especially with a huge menu) and even eye-opening (perhaps allowing you to try new things you wouldn't have as a meat eater) experience. Your attitude going in will determine which outcome you face.

USA Today Article - 'Growing concern' over marketing tainted beef

By Peter Eisler
Published: April 13, 2010

Beef containing harmful pesticides, veterinary antibiotics and heavy metals is being sold to the public because federal agencies have failed to set limits for the contaminants or adequately test for them, a federal audit finds.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-04-12-tainted-meat_N.htm

Food Politics Post - Eating Liberally: A vote for Jamie Oliver

Eating Liberally's interview with Marion Nestle continues, and she goes further in-depth about her opinion of the ABC reality show, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution." After watching it regularly for the past few weeks (only two episodes remain), I completely agree with Nestle about which parts of the show deserve praise and which criticism.

http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/04/eating-liberally-a-vote-for-jamie-oliver/

Huffington Post Article - Meatless Mondays: Why Your Mondays Should -- And Can -- Be Meatless

By Chris Elam
Posted: April 12, 2010

Did you know the average American eats a whopping 45% more meat than the USDA recommends? Were you aware that reducing your meat intake can lessen your risk of the primary chronic preventable diseases killing Americans today? I had no idea before I heard about the Meatless Monday movement. But what finally sold me was how easy, fun and delicious it was to try new foods while going meatless on Monday!

See full article and recipes (with photos) here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-elam/meatless-mondays-how-your_b_532999.html#s80119

Cookbook - "A Year in a Vegetarian Cookbook"

The tour through my cookbook collection continued this past weekend; I made two dishes from another cookbook I received as a gift (thanks, Dad!): A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. First I made Asparagus with Parmesan Bread Crumbs, then Kale and Chickpea Soup with Parmesan. Both turned out well, had lots of flavor, and were easy to make (the soup was more time-consuming because it involved lots of prep work, but the end result was well worth it).

This cookbook's recipes are organized by season, which I like because these days with all produce being available throughout the year at the grocery store, it's easy to forget which fruits and vegetables actually correspond to which season. The two recipes I made came from the "Spring" section, and both the kale and the asparagus that I used came from the Durham Farmers Market. I found it very gratifying to make dishes that were both seasonal and local, something I look forward to doing more of with spring and summer making a greater variety of fresh produce available.

"Real Simple" Recipe - Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

Cheesy Vegetable Pasta

(Use whole wheat pasta!)

NY Times Review - "Fresh"

Movie Review: What’s the Matter With Corn Syrup?

By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Published: April 9, 2010

In the documentary “Fresh” — the latest in what we might call the what’s-the-matter-with-corn-syrup? genre — Ana Sofia Joanes provides a brisk indictment of industrial farming and its devastating toll on our soil, health and livestock.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/movies/09fresh.html?scp=1&sq=fresh&st=cse

For more information about this documentary, go to the film's website or view trailer below:

New Book - Working in the Shadows by Gabriel Thompson

"If you’ve ever wanted a look inside the lives of the invisible men and women, many immigrants, who toil at the hidden jobs that are essential to our economy, I’d recommend reading Gabriel Thompson’s Working in the Shadows (Nation Books 2010). These are the jobs all around us: in rural areas on roads rarely visited, and in large cities in the back rooms of the service industry. And they are crushingly hard on both the body and the spirit. Author Gabriel Thompson spent a year working alongside these individuals and documenting his experiences doing the jobs they spend their lives doing. Writing the book was his attempt to open a door on these workers’ hopes, dreams, and daily trials. Along the way, he has illuminated the darkest corners of our economy, including our poultry processing plants, lettuce fields, restaurant kitchens, and luxury floral shops."

(Taken from CivilEats posting - see full review here: http://civileats.com/2010/04/09/getting-to-know-the-invisible-people-working-in-the-shadows/)

TakePart Post - Chicago Schools Give Nachos the Boot

Published: April 8, 2010

"Chicago public school students can say "adios" to their cheese-drenched nachos next year. School officials announced tighter nutritional guidelines Thursday to promote healthier eating, and to respond to student demands for more appetizing fare. Two weeks ago, a group of Chicago high school students told the school board that they were sick and tired of the "sickening" fare offered at their cafeterias. The group refuted the argument that lunch ladies could only get students to eat gloppy nachos, greasy pizzas, and soggy french fries.The result? The new nutritional rules outlined Thursday are designed to meet or exceed the "gold" USDA's Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge."

See what specific changes were made to the Chicago high school lunch program by following the link below to the full article. 

http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/08/chicago-schools-give-nachos-the-boot-in-nutritional-revamp

NY Times Recipe - Broccoli Chickpea Purée

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

Published: April 1, 2010

This is very much like a green hummus. Serve it with pita bread, make sandwiches with it, or use it as a dip or a spread for crostini.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/health/nutrition/08recipehealth.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Civil Eats Article - Let's Ask Marion: Does The USDA Stand for an Ultra Silly Dietary Agenda?

EatingLiberally interviews Marion Nestle about the USDA's school lunch program - its history, purpose, and its pros and cons. In her response Nestle references Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and two new books on the subject of school lunches.

http://civileats.com/2010/04/07/lets-ask-marion-does-the-usda-stand-for-ultra-silly-dietary-agenda/

Epicurious - Spring Farm-to-Table Cooking and Eating

Check out this link at Epicurious.com to see when the best produce is available at your farmers' market with their interactive ingredient map; discover fresh recipes for peas, strawberries, and artichokes; grow a spring garden; and get to know food heroes Michael Pollan and Alice Waters.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking/farmtotable/farmtotable?mbid=RF

NY Times Article - Agriculture Secretary Prods Japan to Accept More U.S. Beef

By HIROKO TABUCHI

Published: April 7, 2010

 

Six years after a single case of mad cow disease in the United States prompted Tokyo to slam its doors on U.S. beef imports, Japan has loosened its restrictions only slightly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/08/business/global/08beef.html#

VegCooking Recipe - Broccoli and Tofu in Garlic Sauce

Broccoli and Tofu in Garlic Sauce

1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. crushed or minced garlic
2 lbs. broccoli florets
1 lb. firm tofu, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 & 1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 Tbsp. corn starch
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 cup water

• Place the onion and garlic in a wok or large sauté pan and cook until the onion just begins to turn translucent. Add a little water, as needed, during cooking to prevent sticking.
• Wash and separate the broccoli florets and thinly slice the stems. Add the broccoli, tofu, ginger and cayenne pepper to the pan and cook until the broccoli starts to become tender.
• Mix together the corn starch, soy sauce and about 1 cup of water. Add the soy sauce mixture to the vegetables and continue cooking, stirring continuously. When the sauce thickens and thoroughly coats the vegetables, remove from the heat. (Stir in additional water, if needed, to adjust the thickness of the sauce.)
• Serve over brown rice.

New Book - Gristle by Moby and Miyun Park

"Gristle: From Factory Farms to Food Safety (Thinking Twice about the Meat We Eat), a book co-edited by the multifaceted (and multi-platinum) musician Moby and food policy activist Miyun Park, hit shelves last week as the newest addition to a growing stack of books criticizing industrial agriculture. Moby, who has been a vegan for almost 30 years, is unabashed about the book's agenda: to shift people away from supporting the industrial production of meat, eggs, and dairy for a 'healthier, cleaner, and more humane world.'"

(Taken from Food News posting)

SF Examiner Article - Mondays now meat-free in The City

By Joshua Sabatini
April 6, 2010

Monday in San Francisco is officially the meat-free day of the week. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation Tuesday declaring the first day of the week meat-free Mondays, now known as Vegetarian Day or Veg Day.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/Mondays-now-meat-free-in-The-City-90066777.html

Cookbook - "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone"

This past weekend I made two recipes from a cookbook I received as a gift (thanks, Kristen!), Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone: Banana Oat Muffins and Braised Chard with Cilantro.

Both turned out well. I added walnuts to the muffins, and used chard I'd bought that morning at Durham Farmers' Market. The chard has way more flavor than the muffins (likely due to the muffins being "guilt-free" - no butter and very little sugar), but both were worth making.

I like this cookbook for its accessibility, variety, and universal appeal - just because it's made up of vegetarian-only recipes by no means limits it to a vegetarian cook or eater. Furthermore, Madison's approach to and feelings about food are very much my own: "My primary interest in food has long been based on such issues as the variety of the food I'm eating, how it is raised, and where it comes from." She too is anti-nutritionism: "In the past ten years the idea of vegetables and fruits as containers of useful antioxidants and micronutrients has spawned a functional rather than a pleasurable approach to eating....Who really cares if a sweet potato is loaded with beta-carotene? What we do care about is that what we put in our mouths nourishes us and tastes good." Indeed!

I want to start taking better advantage of my sizable vegetarian cookbook collection, and will continue to share and recommend those cookbooks whose recipes I enjoy most and find most user-friendly.

Seriously, KFC?

For more info about this new (and offensive) food concoction, see USA Today article: Meat meets meat in KFC's no-bun sandwich.

NY Times Recipe - Carrot and Tahini Soup

Inventing Tahini Soup
Published: April 2, 2010

By MELISSA CLARK

"It all started when I began obsessing over how to turn hummus, my toddler’s favorite snack, into more of a complete and vegetable-rich meal. Dipping carrot sticks into hummus doesn’t work, as she simply licks it right off. My semi-formed idea was to take the garlicky, tahini-rich flavor of hummus and pair it with something other than chickpeas. And to change the form. I was weary of all that dipping. Since my daughter, Dahlia, and I both love soup, the obvious answer was to make a tahini vegetable soup...."


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/dining/07apperex.html?ref=dining

TakePart Post - Ocean Phrase of the Day: Ghost Fishing

April 5, 2010
Posted by John Bowermaster

It’s accepted today that fishing—particularly commercial fishing—doesn’t involve much luck. Big industrial boats know where the fish are (aided by sonar, GPS, even the occasional aerial tracking plane) and how to catch them. That combination is a big reason the ocean is so badly overfished; fisherman know how to take and there are very few limits on how much. There’s one kind of fishing though that does involve luck—bad luck—particularly for fish. It’s known as ghost fishing, the term used for lost or abandoned fishing gear that continues to fish long after it’s slipped the hands of its owner or escaped its boat. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 640,000 tons of discarded fishing gear is added to the ocean every year, roughly 10 percent of the total of marine debris...

http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/05/ocean-phrase-of-the-day-ghost-fishing

101 Cookbooks Recipe - Tabasco & Asparagus Quinoa

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/tabasco-asparagus-quinoa-recipe.html

Film Recommendation - "What's on Your Plate?"

This new documentary is about kids and food politics. From the film's website, here is the full synopsis: "Filmed over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old multi-racial city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food systems in New York City and its surrounding areas. With the camera as their companion, the girl guides talk to each other, food activists, farmers, new friends, storekeepers, their families, and the viewer, in their quest to understand what’s on all of our plates. The girls address questions regarding the origin of the food they eat, how it’s cultivated, how many miles it travels from the harvest to their plate, how it’s prepared, who prepares it, and what is done afterwards with the packaging and leftovers. They visit the usual supermarkets, fast food chains, and school lunchrooms. But they also check into innovative sustainable food system practices by going to farms, greenmarkets, and community supported agriculture programs. They discover that these programs both help struggling farmers to survive on the one hand and provide affordable, locally-grown food to communities on the consumer end, especially to lower-income urban families. In What's on Your Plate?, the two friends formulate sophisticated and compassionate opinions on the state of their society, and by doing so inspire hope and active engagement in others."

I have yet to see this film (unfortunately none of its upcoming screenings are near me), but I hope to eventually do so, on DVD or otherwise. I'm especially looking forward to seeing food issues explored from the perspective of kids, and I admire their curiosity and willingness to learn more about the origins of the food they eat and encounter on a daily basis.

"Eat Less Meat" - Dangerous words in our society

As Michael Pollan states in his book, In Defense of Food, "you are not allowed officially to tell people to eat less of [a type of food] or the industry in question will have you for lunch." As this article in The Atlantic describes, one man's solution to this language barrier in regard to eating meat is to have more PB&J's for lunch (more detail below). The solution by government officials and nutrition professionals, on the other hand, is nutritionism - e.g. instead of saying "reduce meat intake," the USDA and FDA recommend that Americans "keep fat intake to less than 30 percent of total calories."

In her book, What to Eat, Marion Nestle also writes about the food industry's astoundingly manipulative influence on government and consumers alike: "[Meat industries are] infamous for promoting meat not only as good for health but as essential." Indeed, they have led Americans to equate protein with meat, which "distracts attention from the high-fat and saturated-fat content of meat, and from other issues of health and safety that result from production and handling methods." The meat industry also has "a long history of employing lobbyists whose job is to minimize health risks and make sure that no government agency ever says, 'Eat less meat.'"

Their job is to also make sure no high-profile individual discourages eating meat. Case in point: Oprah declaring on a 1996 episode of her show, upon learning about mad cow disease from guest Howard Lyman (food safety expert and self-proclaimed "cattle rancher that won't eat meat"), that it had "stopped her cold from eating another hamburger." Her comment caused meat sales to suffer immediately after the show's airing; as a result, Texas cattlemen filed a lawsuit against Oprah. The case was eventually dismissed in 2002, but it nevertheless reveals how sensitive the meat industry is to the threat of "food slander." Furthermore, according to Howard Lyman's website: "Thirteen states, including Texas, have passed laws designed to silence and intimidate those who expose unsafe and unhealthy factory farm and slaughterhouse practices. These so-called 'food disparagement' laws make it a crime to criticize food and how it is produced." I can't think of any other laws that more readily invite being broken.

Another example of an individual taking the heat for encouraging Americans to eat less meat is Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm's recent declaration of March 20, 2010 as "Michigan Meatout Day." The same article in The Atlantic mentioned above briefly describes the immediate outrage this decision caused (e.g. Michigan United Conservation Clubs urged members to celebrate the governor's meatout measure by hosting a huge barbecue on the capitol grounds), while also lending support to the argument that the American public (at the very least, residents of Michigan) react just as strongly to the "eat less ___" message as the food industry does. Which is why Bernard Brown's PB&J Campaign likely, for better or worse, succeeds where Governor Granholm's fails: "by telling people what they can do rather than what they can't."

The more Americans know about the meat industry, however, the less easy it will be for that industry to prevent the "eat less" message. In the words of Michael Pollan in his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, "were the walls of our meat industry to become transparent, literally or even figuratively, we would not long continue to raise, kill, and eat animals the way we do. Tail docking and sow crates and beak clipping would disappear overnight, and the days of slaughtering four hundred head of cattle an hour would promptly come to an end—for who could stand the sight? Yes, meat would get more expensive. We’d probably eat a lot less of it, too, but maybe when we did eat animals we’d eat them with the consciousness, ceremony, and respect they deserve."

Eating less meat is the only way we can reduce the demand that the meat industry claims as justification for its practices, and it is the only way we can (ideally) rid our food system of factory farming. Speaking the words, "eat less meat" may be a dangerous act in our society, but actually following them poses no risk at all, and instead has an entirely positive impact, on a variety of levels.

New Book - The Butcher and the Vegetarian: One Woman's Romp Through a World of Men, Meat, and Moral Crisis by Tara Austen Weaver

From the author's website: "Having survived a vegetarian childhood of aggressively healthy fare—more brown rice and steamed vegetables than you can shake a stick at—Tara taught herself how to cook. She became good at it too, whipping up fine meatless fare for friends and family. Then she became sick, and the doctors had an unexpected prescription for her: Eat Meat. The Butcher & The Vegetarian is the story of one woman trying to figure it out. Should we eat meat, how much meat should we eat, and how the heck do you cook it? With the redemption of broccoli on one shoulder, the temptation of bacon on the other, she tries to figure out the world of meat and the men who live in it."

Another book that I plan to read and give feedback about. This one seems to be much lighter fare than others I've been reading or posting about - which sounds like welcome relief at the moment!

Local (NC) Food News from Independent Weekly

How a student-run food movement led to change at Triangle universities 

By Victoria Bouloubasis 

March 31, 2010 

Students, faculty and staff at N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke are pursuing ways to change the food systems in their communities to make them more fair and reliant on crops and animals raised locally.

Area farmers markets kick off
By Emily Wallace
March 31, 2010

This weekend marks the beginning of Farmers Market season in Triangle Area. Plus: Merritt's Store & Grill; Glasshalfull; Weaver Street Market Annual Spring Wine Show

Civil Eats Article - Monsanto Discontinues MON810, CEO has Change of Heart on Feeding the World

April 1st, 2010

By Civil Eats

In an astounding move, Monsanto announced this morning that it would be discontinuing production in 2011 of the genetically modified corn seed, MON 810, currently planted on millions of acres in the US, as evidence in a recent study indicated that the digestive organs of rats who ate the grain were disintegrating.

http://civileats.com/2010/04/01/april-fools/

[This is a big deal!]