Food Freedom

Just wanted to bring this to everyone's attention. I see that most of my readers are American and Canadian with a sprinkling of Europe and Asia--and I appreciate you, trust me. However, I don't expect those of you from outside Canada to attend--you'd be welcome of course and if you happen to be visiting the area at the time, come on in. I am directing this towards my fellow Ontarians who care where their choices are disappearing and why. We all deserve the right to decide what we put into our bodies and how we wish our food sources to be raised and treated. We all deserve the right to decide where we want to put our hard-earned dollars and to what standards we deem worthy of our regard. No government should decide that BigBusiness is more important than small; that BigMoney should be making the rules for everyone else.

Montana Jones and Michael Schmidt, along with many others have been fighting the good fight on their and our behalf for a while now. It's time for us to support them.

To find out more about Montana and Michael  click here to go to the bovine. The stories are all there.

Please consider giving a donation if you cannot attend.

I will be going to cover this event for the blog and I hope to see you there. If not, come on back after the 30th and read all about it here.

Thanks
Michelle

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Cool Cuisine

available at amazon

Review: 

Cool Cuisine: Taking the bite out of Global Warming

                  By Laura Stec with Dr. Eugene Cordero

Who are they?
Laura Stec is a San Fransisco Bay area Chef and environmental advocate. She gives lectures with EcoSpeakers.com and owns her own chef/catering business.

Dr. Eugene Cordero is an associate professor in the Department of Meteorology at San Jose State University in California. He teaches courses in climate change and his research interests centre around understanding the processes behind long-term climate change. 

First Impressions:

Amongst the half-baked concepts, the deliberate audacious spouting of half-truths and the willing denials of BigBusiness, it is heartening to find a book marrying the ideas of a local-vore lifestyle and the science behind reducing our carbon footprint and to have it delivered in a non-histrionic way that neither absolves nor occludes.

Laura Stec’s writing style is clear, friendly and to the point. Her pragmatic viewpoint of our impact on our planet is neither that of an alarmist nor is it oppressive. She lays out quite earnestly the ways our food system works or doesn’t work depending on your point of view. She doesn’t leave you hanging as to HOW you can make changes in your foodstyle but offers tips and suggestions in incorporating new ideas seamlessly into your life. While I am not 100% in agreement with her suggestions, I do agree with most information you will find in this book.

Throughout the book are tidbits and articles from Dr. Cordero that gives the facts behind the concepts of the various ways we are impacting the earth. These help to illustrate concretely the damage we are doing to ourselves--through our bodies and the planet those bodies live upon.

There are many issues surrounding the carbon footprints of the goods we buy, manufacture and sell. This book attempts to organize and present the topics concisely, calmly and practically. The book is divided into three parts:

• Background
• Solutions 
• Culinary How-to 

Let’s take a look at the first part of the first part. Here she illustrates the concepts behind a global warming diet and the impact upon our environment as well as outlines a partial list of what we can do to promote a ‘cool cuisine’.

Global Warming Diet…What is it?

“…it’s a machine cuisine we are eating today and it takes about 500 gallons(1,890L) of oil per person each year to produce it….we emit similar amounts of carbon dioxide eating as we do by driving…U.S. gov’t research shows our chemical fertilizer and herbicide-based food system contributes close to 20% of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions.”   Page 5

What makes up the global warming diet?

• A lot of beef. It takes a lot of fossil fuels to produce a calorie of beef protein—more than ten times what it takes to produce a calorie of grain protein. 

• Importing our food and drink in copious amounts.

• Overuse of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers. The US uses 22 billion pounds of fertilizer to grow the grain to feed livestock.

• Processed, frozen and prepared foods “makes up three-quarters of global food sales by price(not by quantity) and typically requires more energy to make than what we get back when we eat it.”

• Drinking bottled water. “ it takes approximately 17 million barrels of oil just to make the plastic for the 29+ billion plastic water bottles used in the United States each year.”

• High fructose corn syrup which not only comprises over 15% of an average American’s daily caloric intake, it is also the product of corn—corn which is usually a mono-cropped product and is taking valuable fertile land for vegetable growing in order to produce unhealthy sugar, useless ethanol and feed for ‘caged’ animals.

• Food waste. “nearly half of all the food harvested in the US goes to waste each year. Our food system generates 3,774 calories per person per day but we consume only approximately 2,100 calories; the rest is wasted by overeating or by just throwing it away.”

From the University of California, Davis, 2007

Largest Global-Warming Diet Contributors

• Livestock
• Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers 
• Greenhouses 
• Air freight
• Food Waste
• Consumer travel to and from store

Every day we are showing how little we value the very foods that sustain us, keep us moving and healthy and that actually taste good. We overspend on junk food, fast food and foods that are not ‘real’. Nothing compares to the taste of fruits and vegetables ripened on the vine yet we constantly purchase force-ripened or dyed foods in the mistaken belief we are ‘eating healthy’. Unfortunately with lower income families and individuals it is more often than not cheaper to buy junk foods and processed foods than to buy healthier choices. From the calories per dollar standpoint it is better to buy a 1200 calorie bag of chips than 250 calorie bag of carrots for the same amount of money. Is it any wonder we have an obesity problem in North America?

What can we do?

She does give some ideas on how to lower your carbon footprint in regards to shopping and eating. This is where my agreement with her diverges. I firmly believe we can all make changes in our foodstyle but not all of us can approach the Stage Three of her cool cuisine ideas. Most of us can handle the first two stages but to be realistic, the level of commitment each of us can give will vary immensely.

Sometimes strident goals can be a deterrent to those who want to lower their footprint but have no desire to eliminate meat from their diets—I am one of them. I am an unabashed omnivore. I think if we just followed half of her lists we would all be in a better place both in regards to the environment as well as to our health.

 I also wish she would be more emphatic as to the sources of beef she recommends we decrease ie most of the cattle-grazing and soy growing land in the six million acres of cleared Amazon rainforest are destined for the fast food, steakhouse and BigGrocery establishments, not home cooks and ‘normal’ meat eaters.

She then goes on to cover topics like how much healthy soil means to our foods, mono-cropping, and fair trade coffee and chocolate. At the end of each chapter along with some recipes, there is a page entitled Book 'n' Cook Club Ideas. I like this as she details the differing things that can be done either alone or together in a group of like-minded individuals such as videos to watch, books to read and recipes to try.

Water, water everywhere, is there a drop to drink?
Chapter 4 illustrates just what is behind our bottled water consumption and how it impacts our environment and tackles the issue of bottled vs tap in terms of taste, energy consumption and reusing your plastic bottles. I like that she conducted an experiment looking into the bacteria question of refilling a bottle without the benefit of washing it first, which is something that would occur if we were to do this at work or outside on a walk/jog/run. She hired a San Francisco microbiology lab to run the test where four PET bottles in different states of short-term use were tested for bacteria count and she included her own stainless steel bottle that hadn't been 'washed' in a year and a half. Personally, ewww.

Here are the results of the test:

Sample	Standard Bacteria Plate Count
Never used; water poured out (plastic)	1
Used once; not refilled (plastic)	58
Used once; refilled, used again (plastic)	3
Refilled for  2 ½ weeks (plastic)	4
Refilled for  1 ½ years (metal; never washed)	340,000

anomaly: assumed to be contaminated before test but still safe

While the results show that in all cases it was perfectly safe to drink out of, it is still recommended to wash your bottles with warm soapy water. And what about that large number for the metal bottle that was never washed? According to the microbiologist you could consume the same amount of bacteria eating a raw vegetable or salad, unwashed. In other words, it won't kill you.

However, it must be understood that even "newly purchased bottled water can have high levels of bacteria."  The NRDC (National Resources Defence Council) commissioned tests for over 1,000 water bottles from 103 different bottled waters and they found that most bottled water is a good quality, many were found (around 1/4) to contain over-the-limit amounts of arsenic or certain cancer causing synthetic compounds. "...about one in five of the bottled waters tested contained at least one sample with more bacteria than recommended in industry guidelines."

Making a difference

In the next section, Solutions, she illustrates 7 different companies or individuals who are making a difference-what she calls Innovative Risk-takers-and how we benefit from their endeavours.

In the final section, Culinary How-to, she demonstrates how easily we can, and do in some cases, incorporate better eating, purchasing and cooking habits into our lives. In speaking about her catering experiences of people leaving food behind that has nothing to do with the food's taste or proportions, she asked herself "Are they feeding off of more than just the food; maybe the people, the excitement and the energy adds to their feeling of 'fullness?" Which in turn led her to begin to wonder about satisfaction and what exactly it means to us. She then makes a statement that deserves some thought by every consumer:

 "If satisfaction were only about quantity, surely we would have had our fill by now. What if quality plays a more important role than we think? If satisfaction also involves quality, we would need to learn how to feed our bodies, minds, and souls. Our stomachs can be filled with food, but family, friends and feelings feed our heads and our hearts. Food is just the vehicle that brings us together so we can feed the other parts of ourselves with conversation and connection ...When cooking together and sharing food, our meals are prepared with hands of loving grace rather than with the hands of indifference..."

A good point that goes beyond merely wanting to lower your carbon footprint to learning about different foods and growing practices as well as getting to know your local farmers and food producers. It's food for the soul as well as the body.

So, do I like this book because it coincides with my own viewpoints that I have stated before? Of course. I would hardly advocate a book that was the antithesis of my philosophy. However, I strongly believe that this book could sway even those who have given next to no thought on the subject as well as the hardened proponent of machined foods, if they gave it a chance.

I had originally planned to prepare some of the recipes found in the book but I realized that I simply don't have the time to do so at the moment. It is something I will save for a later date.

My recommendations for local-vores

In keeping with the theme, let me tell you about this great new pizzeria here in town, The Italian House Pizzeria. Not only do they take great pride in their food, they also make it fresh in house using local farmers and suppliers. And it shows believe me. Our pizza had roasted cremini mushrooms, roasted red pepper strips and the best smoked bacon strips I have had in a long time-certainly not your run of the mill pizza. Finally, a place that knows what quality ingredients and community involvement means. I highly recommend it. You can find them here on Facebook and here on their website.

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Nature vs Nurture

Good mornin' people. I hope life is treating everyone all right as hard as this summer has been, with rain deluging our friends on the other side of the pond and drying us out like beef jerky over here. Reports have been coming in from all around the globe all summer of flooding, volcanoes erupting, extreme drought covering over 60% of the USA and that this is the worst drought in a quarter century. Corn crops are in poor condition with over 30% failure and more to come as farmers are hit hard. Corn prices and therefore beef prices will climb with beef expected to rise by 10% over the next year. There is a chain reaction in conditions such as these between a crop, an animal, and a market but in these days of global and free trade, the balancing act a country has to do in regards to export/import and gambling on the future is akin to standing on a blade so thin and sharp, a samurai would smile.

AP Photo from the article on MSN

There have also been reports in a number of states of increased bear sightings and encounters due to food shortages stemming from a cold snap in April killing fruits and the severe drought destroying other tender and susceptible foods like berries. As a result of the frequency of these encounters, officials are projecting the concern about corn farmers and the safety of their crops as the bears come looking for fattening-up food for the preparation of the winter season. Farmers are being encouraged to bring their crops in early. The bears are breaking into cars, homes and businesses to steal food, some making repeated return trips for goodies. In the Catskills in New York "a half dozen to a dozen bears have been euthanized and more have been trapped and relocated". All the while there have been no human injuries reported in New York; nothing but property damage. Ahem.

My concerns over food price hikes for the next year or so remain unalleviated and my predictions remain unaltered. I strongly recommend you stock up on the items you use a lot of that are on sale (non-perishables) as well as pantry items with a long shelf life; the money you save will come in handy to pay for the more expensive food items like bread. I wrote that with a bit of tongue in cheek but really, we will see items that should be inexpensive and made with ingredients grown right here costing more than we are willing to pay. Before selling off our resources piecemeal to foreign interests, we used to be self-sufficient to the extent that we could find the makings of a meal cheaply and easily. Wheat was farmed by you or a neighbour, milled by the local mill, baked by you or the local baker and life went on. Now, we have countries on this planet that starve during times of drought because the food the farmers could have been growing has been replaced with people making junk for BigCorporate to sell to elsewhere. But this is not a dissertation on my feelings about BigCorporate--if you want a great book to read dealing with this issue, read Derrick Jensen's Endgame. Phew. Rant now over. 

Drop that Cake!!!

Canada's Official Food Rules was the country's first food guide.
 Issued in 1942, it reflects its wartime origins. (Swift Canadian Co.)

Recently the Canada’s Food Guide had itself an anniversary-the first guide entitled “Canada’s Official Food Rules” was released to the public 70 years ago. It began as an answer to studies that showed that over 60% of Canadians had inadequate nutrition and as this was shortly after the Great Depression many were receiving relief rations that were below levels of nutrition that were deemed adequate. The Rules were designed largely with the war effort in mind and to a lesser degree, of concern for the health of Canadian citzens.  According to CBC.ca “43% of the first 50,000 military recruits had been rejected for medical reasons.” Stands to reason they had a keen interest in ensuring a stronger, healthier body for carting that rifle (take a closer look at the milk bottle.

As the issues were updated through the years more of an emphasis had been placed by and for BigCorporate Agriculture products. In the 1992 update Meat, Dairy and Egg groups raised a ruckus about reduced serving numbers of their products and the Grocery Products Manufacturing Council complained that the guide labeled junk food as ‘bad’. Changes made then reflected these lobby groups’ influence.

not sure which issue this is from but the adult numbers are the same as the 1992 issue.  Google Images.

In this recent update, there is a better effort made to suggest eliminating or rather ‘not choosing’ foods that offer no nutritional value or are a danger to your health, such as trans fats. However, they do not come right out with a bald statement regarding the BigFood high fat, low nutrient ‘foods’ or BigGrocery’s highly processed, heavy carbon-footprinted ‘convenience’ foods. They instead ‘recommend’ lower amounts of sodium and trans fats. They do mention the importance of following a healthy lifestyle which includes exercise and eating according to the Food Guide, which in itself isn’t a ‘bad thing’ but if taken literally, I firmly believe as does Yoni Freedhoff, that you would actually gain weight. I have had a problem with the food guide for years and have always maintained that it is unrealistic and geared to the ideally optimized super athlete, not the average person. Seriously, 7 servings of grains per day? Are you kidding me? I’d be three hundred pounds and doing nothing else but filling my face all day. Now, 120 pounds and eating all day...that I’d consider! I love my food.

And the Machine Oozes On...

Imagine my disquiet today when I received the weekly dumping of junk mail and there nestled lovingly within the folds of the Loblaws flyer was the pull-out ad for Guiding Stars, their new nutritional rating system. On the first page of the pull-out we are immediately assured as to the novelty, the honesty, the expertise and the reputation of the system and system's originators. On the second page we are given a bit more information and more assurance this time through testimonials. The third page, as it is a grocery store never forget, are the 'suggestions' to be found in their aisles. Finally on the back page we are given a large colour photo of an attractive, healthy young woman, a Dietitian, to reassure us further. Along with this photo is paragraph listing just what the Loblaws Dietitians can do for you.

On the very surface of the surface, this looks like a good thing. Who wouldn't like a bit of free shopping or cooking advice, especially when you are newly diagnosed with something that requires you to alter your eating habits? I have a problem with this program and the ad in some ways and see it as a positive in other ways.

Negative

While informing you that grocery shopping is so confusing that you are expected to have difficulties, they let you know that they will be there to hold your hand and talk you down from the ledge. This separation of consumer and common-sense knowledge is a favoured tactic of manipulators i.e. governments, big business, parents....By doling out tidbits of knowledge while fostering dependence and reliance upon their service they keep the consumer unsure of their own judgement, grateful to the hand-holders, and willing to do as they are told--in other words trusting the expertise of professionals. 

The consumer believes they are being educated and they are peripherally but they are also being steered in the direction of relying upon Loblaws for their food choices completely. Let's look at page three for an example: They have a photo layout of the various healthy choices you can make like cereal, dairy, meat, produce etc. The products chosen to be shown is a major brand or expensive cuts of meat instead of other generic choices. I find it funny that on the first page it states "Canada's first impartial nutrition rating system" yet on the third page Quaker Oats, Country Harvest, Yoplait, Tropicana and Fontaine Sante Salads are the food choices pictured. Why not a bag of no name large flaked oats instead of highly processed oat and sugar cereal? Why not a loaf of fresh twelve grain bread from their own bakery? I realize this is a grocery store but will everyone else remember that when their brows are being soothed and their tummies rubbed as they do the oh-so-difficult task of buying their food?

Positive

Even though consumers are being manipulated by BigGrocery (that on average carries more American products than Canadian, I'm just saying) they are supplying a service that is needed by a large part of the population that has either gotten used to having others do the thinking/work for them or are in a physical position of needing more help such as a senior. Now the former is the one I wish would change as they are fully capable of making food lifestyle choices themselves and it is the unwillingness to become involved with their own health that, in part has led them to this point in time where they need food advice. Until that time however, a little knowledge is better than none so asking for help from the Dietitian is a great start.

The three star system is a simple and quick tool for everyone to use regardless of any language barrier and having the footwork done in such a mirky quagmire of brand names and the sheer number of products on the shelves is a blessing from an ironic Bacchus. The weekly shopping can run more quickly if you are a switch eater/label reader as you can basically just grab it off the shelf; that cereal is higher in fibre--grab it; that can of tomatoes is low in sodium--into the cart it goes.

All in all, caution and common sense would be the keywords here. Use with discretion. Take it with a grain of salt. Don't be led by the nose....okay, I'm tapped out.

Just remember that not everything given to you is a gift. 200 years ago we would not be having this conversation and most of us would have more than enough food to eat without the modern confusion over what to put in our mouths. Today's society has lost touch with knowledge and traditions involving food that were remembered just a few generations ago. Food and food preparation should not be a chore, cause stress or lead to confusion. Food is simple; buy fresh ingredients, cook a simple recipe, eat the delicious food. Nothing confusing there.



all photos found online



http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/07/27/f-food-guide-70.html
http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/dry-summer-means-more-encounters-with-bears-2
http://www.weightymatters.ca/2009/10/overweight-canadians-not-eating-enough.html
http://news.ca.msn.com/  look under the extreme weather tab

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August Endeavors

Good sources and resources are always important

As promised I am posting a bit about canning and preserving as well as some recipes which can be found here on the Canning and Preserving Tidbits Page. I also give a quick rundown on canning basics. I recommend the Benardin books on canning as well as the Canadian Living magazine/website which has a few good articles on canning. As always, Willams-Sonoma has excellent articles and pictures you should check out. Just throw any one of those names into your google search bar and you’ll be good to go.

Garlic is now in!!

Went to my favourite Farmer's Market around here, Thomas Brothers, a U-Pick, We-pick establishment whose produce I have shared with you many times before. They have a wide variety of goods for sale from in-season fruits and veg, homemade jams, jellies and pickles, baked goods as well as a few 'grocery' store products. Every year we get our P & C corn and our baskets of tomatoes from there--already picked! I'm not that devoted... I have posted a list of nearby farm markets for those living in Southern Ontario or plan to be visiting soon.

                                                                                

Yummy, yet frustrating to prep, pearl onions are almost gone

Lovely new cherry tomatoes described as 'port wine and chestnut'

August 15 - 19, 2012

I would like to draw everyones attention to a Canadian carver of much acclaim and gaining more globally, Steve Kenzora of Youngs Point, Ontario near Lakefield, north of Peterborough. He has been a part of many carving competitions and events in Australia, Ontario and soon the UK in something called the English Open. His Nordic and Native flavoured carvings have a large impact upon your senses when viewed finished as well as when you watch the carvings in progress. Here's a link to a video on YouTube.

There is a charity event "Wildlife in Buckhorn" taking place in Buckhorn, Ontario that features various chainsaw carvers from everywhere. This will take place for charity with 25% of the proceeds to go to ChildCancer so of course they need your support. An auction occurs on the last day where you can go home with one of the pieces the carvers have been working on during the event. If you are looking for somewhere to go on the 15-19 of August, head up to the Kawarthas and surrounds; beautiful, fun and now a treat for the senses at the Wildlife in Buckhorn Power Sculpting and Chainsaw carving show.

I'll hopefully have a chance to complete the review of a book I have been reading called Cool Cuisine by Laura Stec as well as a few recipe reviews from the book. I thought of preparing three versions of one recipe--one straight from the book, one tweaked my way and the last one as cheaply and conveniently as I can come up with...while doing it the healthy, sustainable way, of course.

Happy Weekend, people--get out there and enjoy yourselves!

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Summer Bounty Hunter

Well people, went to the farmers stand today and brought home more goodies. I picked up garlic scapes, top onion, fresh green beans, field cucumber, juicy ripe tomatoes, early yellow plums and Ontario peaches. Not pictured is the bag of fragrant freshly cut basil I also picked up.

Spoils of the Bounty Hunter

Can't ya just smell it?

Wondering what garlic scapes are? Here is one definition for the scholarly types and for the rest of us it is the stem of the garlic flower that must be removed for the bulbs to grow properly into the garlic we know and love. It should be a vibrant green, firm and smell divine. I was actually caught out with my head buried in the scapes by the employee. Fortunately she laughed and said she does the same thing with freshly cut dill! Oh my, dill......

For those of us following the seasonal guide in purchasing produce(if you're not, why not?), this is a wonderful opportunity to have that garlic in our meals that will tide us over until August when the bulbs are in. They have a delicious taste something like if garlic and scallions had a baby....You can use it where you would chives or scallions(young top onions) or if you find garlic bulbs too strong,(I love it but my GERD doesn't. Traitorous body!) this is a great fresh substitute. It is not an overly popular veg mainly because people don't know what to do with it but I look forward to them every year. I will be experimenting on a few recipes that are simple and yummy to prepare, like a relish maybe, and I will post them in Kitchen Journal Two. I'm staring at the picture looking from the plums and peaches over to the scapes and an idea has occurred: my mango galette tweaked... hmmm. Something to think about. I do know there is a recipe online for garlic scape pesto but I have never tried it or even looked at the recipe but google it. Let me know what you think.

Couldn't make up my mind which picture I like the best so....

Early plums and peaches

I have put up some berries already (freezer) but I will not be doing any canning this year, of fruit anyway. I am saving my energy for the millions of tomatoes I will be canning and freezing soon! It is such a fun and wonderful thing for the whole family to do and a great thing to teach your kids, so I hope you are doing a few preserving projects with them this year. I will be snapping pics through the whole process (pardon the pun) so you will be able to see what's up if you have never done this type of food preparation before. It's easy peasy, lemon squeasy as a Brit friend once said to me.

What is fresh in your neighbourhood right now? I'd love to hear from you in regards to how you prepare your fresh garden goods, especially those readers from Europe and Asia. It may not make fiscal sense for us here in NA to utilize your in-season veg (according to the philosophy of 'buy local, buy in-season' which is primarily what this blog is about) but it would still be interesting and fun to learn about it. Please feel free to share.

Have a great day today, my friends, and a terrific tomorrow!

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