Paleo Progress

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grocery shopping, paleo, progress

You’re probably wondering how this whole putting-my-kids-on-paleo thing is working out.  It does, after all, have the potential to land me flat on my face, or at the very least, my cavewoman butt.

I didn’t want to start them out on paleo before school ended, because I had no clue what to put in their lunchboxes and decided that three more days of PB&J sandwiches wasn’t going to kill us.  So school ended on Wednesday, and then we found our fridge and pantry pretty bare of essential ingredients.  With payday and a resulting grocery trip looming on the horizon, I decided to hold off a couple more days before turning this dietary apple-cart upside down on the weekend.

So, yeah, we are officially on Day Two.  Four hours ago, my family completely hated me.  Four hours ago, we were also standing in the middle of WalMart while foods we used to buy with reckless abandon taunted us from their shelves.  Who wouldn’t be hating during that?!

But let’s back up a bit.  Yesterday we made our first ever paleo pancakes, which ironically got two thumbs up from the Hubster.  The kids did not share his enthusiasm for the pancakes.  They were a messy pain to cook, so my enthusiasm was waning before I ever tasted them.  But they ended up being the kind of pancakes I can’t get enough of.  If you’ve ever had the harvest grain (nut and grain?) pancakes at IHOP, these are similar in texture.  And totally paleo.  The kids ate bacon as they explained to me that the pancakes just didn’t turn them on.  So be it.  Not everything is going to be a win right out of the gate.

Lunch was a little more enjoyable for everyone.  We had bunless hot dogs and homemade tamale chili.  I can’t get my family to buy into the best-for-you hotdogs at the health food store, but everyone tolerates Hebrew National fairly well.  Let me state that nothing about a hotdog makes it paleo.  There are several ingredients that make me cringe.  For now, though, it’s a means to an end, and it represented our first everyone-seems-happy-eating-the-same-thing meal.

Dinner was hosted by my Mom, who rocks steamed squash like nobody’s business!  Breakfast this morning was fried eggs (but I think I slept through it) and A LOT of complaining and whining that everyone was hungry and all they really wanted was a bowl of cereal.  I was the Wicked Witch of the Kitchen, starving my subjects with grain withdrawals.  Waaa, waaa, waaa.

It was with these attitudes and prejudices that we went grocery shopping.  You can imagine how much fun we had.  Despite the fact that my children were bickering through the entire store, that I threatened to flat-out beat them on the salsa aisle in front of an innocent bystander, and the fact that I was abandoned to push my own buggy with a fractured elbow not once, BUT TWICE during the trip, there were some positive highlights.  For one, the Hubster actually started reading ingredient lists.  I showed him what he needed to look for, and as he picked up item after item that he used to LOVE to eat, he grew more and more disgusted.  I think he was more disgusted with the fact that he knew those things were never again going in my buggy than with the fact that the ingredients themselves are dangerous.  But, whatever it takes, ya know?

And, even though we usually despise WalMart, I have to give them kudos for carrying my fave brands of organic coconut milk, coconut oil, and chicken at really decent prices.  Their seafood and produce still leave A LOT to be desired, but I’ll be heading out to Kroger this afternoon to finish stuffing our fridge.

We came home with our still-sour attitudes and blood-sugar crashes to a lunch of fajita chicken, guacamole and cherry tomatoes, after which Aaron informed me that even though it’s tough, he does believe these changes are worth it.  I really needed to hear that from him.  Sometimes I don’t know if he is trying to convince himself, or if he just wants to say something that will make me smile.  But he’s a smart kid and I know he believes in positive change, even if it sucks for a while.

A few notes of confession:  I have not nixed dairy from the kids’ diets because I still think milk is important for their bodies, and a little cheese adds great flavor to some otherwise boring recipes.  I still let them have a little sugar – we bought some V8 fruit/veggie juices to drink – and of course, I add dark chocolate to my homemade trail mix.

If you’re wondering how making this change is remotely possible for us, I found these two incredible resources this morning.  Paleo Plan has great recipes, and BTB Fitness gave a perfect standing grocery list and a ton of info on implementing it.  Worth the reads if you’re interested.

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Dear Corporate America: Are You Sure You Want to Market to MY Kids???

During lunch on Monday I overheard my mother-in-law planning a grocery trip and responding to Victoria that, “I’m not going to get that cereal if your mom doesn’t want you eating it…”

I tuned in instantly.  “What cereal?”

“Awwwwww, Mom!!  Can Mimi buy us Reese’s Puffs if we only eat them at her house???  Pleeeeeeeeeeease?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s a negative, sweetie, but let’s just see…”  I plucked my handy phone from my purse and began to Google… “Um, see this list, Vic.  Red 40, Yellows 5 & 6, Blue 1, TBHQ, Modified This and Hydrolyzed That…  Do you think you should be eating Reese’s Puffs?”

She blinked in disbelief at my phone, then threw her head back in despair.  “UUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!  WHYYYYYYYYYYY do they have to put all that in there?!!”

Man, I feel her pain. “Why don’t you ask them?  Seriously.”

And yes, I am serious about this.  Nutritionally-deficient foods are marketed to our children every day.  These ingredients that I’m “bashing” are really not necessary for the making of a good product.  The colors?  Purely cosmetic.  The TBHQ preservative?  Potentially unsafe…why not use Vitamin E?  The modified starches and the hydrolyzed oils?  Genetically-altered, purposed mutations of something that possibly used to be natural. All of it dangerous.  And not just with regard to biology, although that ranks in my book… I also have begun to consider the justice issues, the socio-economic issues and the oh-my-gosh-my-head-hurts-when-I-consider-all-the-resulting-world-ramifications issues.

So no, my kids can’t have it.

As I explained to Victoria, whenever I run into a problem with the foods and products that I purchase, or when I have a commendation or suggestion, I email the company.  Vic has an email address and is learning proper and effective use of technology under my watchful eye, so I think she should feel perfectly validated in writing to General Mills and telling them that she really wants to eat Reese’s Puffs, but because of the ingredients her mom won’t let her have it.  I truly believe if Corporate America is going to target our kids as a market, then they need to expect to hear from our kids.  Vic may very well spend the whole email telling them how much she wants to eat those sugary, chocolately, crunchy corn puffs for breakfast seven days a week.  But she’s also going to tell them why she can’t, why she won’t, and why her mother’s money is not going to be spent on the cereal they have spent money convincing kids to beg for.

I do believe I found the subject matter for the kids’ next typing lesson.  Maybe I’ll sic her on Twitter for corporate food connections.  On second thought…  #whatwasIthinking #crazymomfoodie #mydaughtermighthavemorefollowersthanCharlieSheen.     Perhaps it’s best that I not turn her loose with hashtags just yet.  😉

Food, Inc: Buy It, Rent It, Borrow It From Me…But You HAVE to See This!!

In 2008 a documentary was made about our food supply in America – how it’s created, how it’s perpetuated.

In 2010 I learned about food ingredients and started to get really peeved.  I began sharing everything I learned with you.

Earlier this year I started focusing on the meat and dairy products I purchase.  I grew concerned about the unsanitary and abhorrent conditions our “farm” animals live in.

This weekend I watched the documentary and was blown away by what I view as nothing more than absolute corruption of our values and our food supply.  Even as much as I already knew about the food industry, I was still blown completely away.  And I got even more peeved.

The documentary is called Food, Inc. and it explains all about the few main companies that provide us with all those “choices” at our local grocery stores.  It explains the ties that bind the hands of our nation’s farmers, leaving them with little choice if they want to stay in business, even when that business earns them less than $20,000/year.  It  touches on health concerns, food-borne illness, food safety regulation (or lack thereof), animal welfare, cloning, politics, our government, organic farming, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and immigration issues.  They are all so closely related, it’s actually scary.

The industry doesn’t want you to know the truth about what you’re eating because if you knew, you might not want to eat it.”
Eric Schlosser, author of “Fast Food Nation.”

I bought the DVD from Amazon for $11.  If you can do the same, I encourage you to.

Oh, but you know I’m going to tell you about it anyway, don’t you?

As mortified as I was to see confirmed what I had previously only suspected, I was also enlightened by the documentary.  It really is something EVERYONE should see.  I went to their website to determine the best way to be a sideline voice for the film and the responsibility we consumers have.  I want to show this DVD to all of you.  I want to invite you over, serve dinner and watch it with you.  THAT’S how awesome I think this is.  So I poked around on their site to see if they would be okay with me literally inviting groups of people over and showing the DVD.  I downloaded their press kit.   Yes, I did!  My mom will probably tell you I’m going overboard again.  But if you know me at all through this blog, you probably already know I don’t just stand behind something I believe in. I put my shoulder into it and PUSH! 😉

If you watch the DVD, you’ll learn the following in full-color detail and see farmers and experts and everyday people explaining how this has all happened.  Here’s what I learned that I did not already know:

Monsanto created Round-Up weed killer.  They also genetically modified a soybean seed to be resistant to Round-Up, which means the farmer can spray all the Round-Up  he/she wants on the soybean crop to kill weeds and not harm the crop.  We then consume a multitude of ingredients made from the soybeans that have been sprayed with Round-Up.

Monsanto does not allow its customer farmers to reuse seeds.  Whereas re-using seeds is traditionally environmentally sound, it is considered patent infringement on  Monsanto’s seeds. The farmer must buy new seeds from Monsanto every year, adding to his cost and Monsanto’s profits.   If a Monsanto grower’s farm is located near an organic farm and the wind blows pollen from the Monsanto crop into the organic crop, Monsanto can sue the organic farmer for patent infringement.  And there’s not a damn thing the organic farmer can do about it.  It’s up to him to PROVE he didn’t violate the patent via pollen.  Let’s see…multi-million dollar Monsanto versus one organic farmer. Who do you think can afford more attorneys? (And check out the little factoid in the list at the end to see who upheld Monsanto’s rights and why.)

When corn became our nation’s commodity crop, we could undersell South American corn farmers with our industrial muscle.  So eventually, most of South America’s corn farmers went out of business.  Then our companies began baiting those out-of-work farm-hands with promises of good jobs and big money in the States.  So they came, needing both.  You and I would do the same thing if our business had wilted underneath us and there seemed nowhere else to turn.  Smithfield imports these immigrant workers for low paying jobs in their slaughterhouses.  They have an arrangement with the government that fifteen of those workers per day can be arrested and sent back.  This makes the government look like it’s cracking down on immigration without affecting the labor force of Smithfield, or holding Smithfield accountable.

Just FIVE DAYS of eating grass will remove the vast majority of E. coli from a cow’s system.  Our factory-farm animals are fed corn. (Update: My mom gently pointed out that this fact makes no sense floating out here in the middle of my post with nothing else to support it.  I agree.  It’s just a little bit of information that, if addressed, could save lives.  Just sayin.’)

In addition to all this, I took the following facts from a list included in the press kit made available on their site.

Facts from Food, Inc.:

• In the 1970s, the top five beef packers controlled about 25% of the market. Today, the top four control more than 80% of the market.
• In the 1970s, there were thousands of slaughterhouses producing the majority of beef sold. Today, we have only 13.
• In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.
• In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
• During the Bush administration, the head of the FDA was the former executive VP of the National Food Processors Association.
• During the Bush administration, the chief of staff at the USDA was the former chief lobbyist for the beef industry in Washington.
• Prior to renaming itself an agribusiness company, Monsanto was a chemical company that produced, among other things, DDT and Agent Orange.
• In 1996 when it introduced Round-Up Ready Soybeans, Monsanto controlled only 2% of the U.S. soybean market. Now, over 90% of soybeans in the U.S. contain Monsanto’s patented gene.
• Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas was an attorney at Monsanto from 1976 to 1979. After his appointment to the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas wrote the majority opinion in a case that helped Monsanto enforce its seed patents.
• The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year.
• 32,000 hogs a day are killed in Smithfield Hog Processing Plant in Tar Heel, N.C, which is the largest slaughterhouse in the world.
• The average American eats over 200 lbs. of meat a year.
• 30% of the land in the U.S. is used for planting corn.
• The modern supermarket now has, on average, 47,000 products, the majority of which is being produced by only a handful of food companies.
• 70% of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient.
• SB63 Consumer Right to Know measure requiring all food derived from cloned animals to be labeled as such passed the California state legislature before being vetoed in 2007 by Governor Schwarzenegger, who said that he couldn’t sign a bill that pre-empted federal law.
• Corn products include: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice, Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers,  Motrin, meat and fast food.
• Corn, which is the main ingredient in animal feed, is also used as a food additive. Those products commonly include: Cellulose, Xylitol, Maltodextrin, Ethylene, Gluten, Fibersol-2, Citrus Cloud Emulsion, Inosital, Fructose, Calcium Stearate, Saccharin, Sucrose, Sorbital, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Di-glycerides, Semolina, Sorbic Acid, Alpha Tocopherol, Ethyl Lactate, Polydextrose, Xantham Gum, White Vinegar, Ethel Acetate, Fumaric Acid,  Ascorbic Acid, Baking Powder, Zein, Vanilla Extract, Margarine, and Starch.
• 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Among minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.
• E. coli and Salmonella outbreaks have become more frequent in America, whether it be from spinach or jalapenos. In 2007, there were 73,000 people  sickened from the E. coli virus.
• Organics is the fastest growing food segment, increasing 20% annually.

Yay on that last one, right?  That’s us – speaking out!

Food is cheap because it is what we have been offered, and we have gladly bought it.  But it’s also cheap because it is made from inferior (if not altogether fake) ingredients at a very low cost with complete disregard for life – plant and animal.  What does it all come down to in the end?  Well, this is America, so of course the answer is money.  We pay less and the  Corporations make more.  But we are literally BUYING diabetes, infertility, heart disease and cancer.

Yes, we are.

Likely because I am so passionate (even if not overly outspoken) about the food we as Americans consume and because I’m a mom, I found myself swiping tears away more than once while I watched the documentary.  I heard myself gasp at some of the information, and at one part I grew a bit fearful of my penchant for speaking out on this little blog.  But I was reassured and reaffirmed in the end.  WE can affect change!  YOU and I can DO this! We have to change our buying habits.  We have to stay informed.  And we have to demand better of our stores.  Like the film points out, consumer insistence brought down the tobacco industry.  “We’ve done it before.  We can do it again.” It has to come from us.

I’m all in.  Who’s with me?

Today’s Farmers’ Market: The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly

As planned, we woke up at 6:30 to make it to the Farmer’s Market by 7am this morning.  I was ready to buy another watermelon from pesticide-free PPP Farms for this Spinach Watermelon Salad recipe I found in a calorie counter app.  (Who knew?)  And, as promised, I planned to ask many more vendors if they were pesticide free.

I did not get off to such a great start.  As we strolled through the crowd I made my way to booth after booth asking, “Excuse me, but do you use pesticides in your farming?”  The answers varied.  But one answer in particular turned into a growling volley of attitude.

“NO! We don’t have no pesticides here!”  and she waved her hand in the air, half as a dismissal, half as a fly swat.

“Um…okay.  Thank you.”

I wasn’t sure if she was adamant because of her commitment to be pesticide free, or if she was annoyed by my question.  And then she rallied, eying my children standing behind me.  “WHY?!!!!!”

I pointed to said children.  “I am committed to buying only produce that is grown without the use of harmful pesticides.”

She pointed at her buckets of produce and rudely asked, “You gonna buy anything?!!!  We don’t HAVE no pesticides!”

“I’m actually asking everybody so that I can plan which vendors I will shop with for the weeks that the Market is here.  Thank you.”

At that she WAVED ME OFF, SCOWLED AND SHOOK HER HEAD!!!!!!!

As we walked away Dom whispered to me, “I didn’t think that was going to go well.  I wouldn’t have even asked her.”

“I know.  I had the same thought.  But I decided not to judge, and I asked anyway.  Her attitude is NOT the spirit of the Farmers’ Market.  Half the vendors here are all selling tomatoes.  It goes against the spirit of the place to get pissy because a customer is looking at your tomatoes and not buying them!  I wouldn’t buy from her if her farm WAS organic, which I highly suspect it’s NOT.” (See? I reserved judgement until the end.)

We moved on and made the rounds to several other vendors, all of whom graciously answered my questions with more than just a simple yes or no.  They all explained in some small way additional details that supported their answer.  I like that.  So for you locals, here’s a run-down of what I learned (in this much-smaller-than-opening-weekend Market).

Gator Dave Produce: Pesticide-free, but uses commercial fertilizer.  He will be switching to horse manure next year at his wife’s insistence.  His okra is not doing as well as he’d like, but he is focusing on how to keep the deer out of his area when the peas start producing.  I bought cucumbers from him, and he shared his grandma’s secret:  when you cut the end off of a cucumber, about the first ½ to ¾ inch, rub the pieces together until it sort of foams.  His grandma always said that would take most of the bitterness out of a cucumber before you slice it up.  Hey, worth a try, right?

McKissick Herbal Farm: Pesticide-free.  Tomatoes, watermelon, cucumber, blueberries, cantaloupe, and more.  I bought tomatoes and cantaloupe from them.

Anderson Produce and Plant Farm:  They occupied the largest space, and had A LINE of people that flowed past three other vendors FOR THEIR CORN!!  We were there at 7:10, people, and by 7:30 the corn was GONE from Anderson’s.  That must be some gooooooood corn!!  I did get a chance to speak with them, and learned that they are not pesticide-free, but that they are regulated each year by the state for certification that there is no residue on their produce.  Residue is not my issue, really, so that leaves more corn for the rest of the people.  But they were incredibly courteous, and like I said, extremely popular for their corn.  They sell plants too.

So there it is, folks.  My wrap-up of the Farmer’s Market.  Who wants some watermelon? 🙂

Day 362: What Went RIGHT at the Farmers’ Market

I know I said I would post “tomorrow” about all the cool stuff I found at the Farmers’ Market, but then life sort of got in the way and now it’s five days later and well…here I am again.  I still have not ironed out all the details of the berry re-seller, but I am prepared to ask a lot of questions next time I am there.  I am still aghast.

But how about some good news?  As we rummaged through the Farmers’ Market I managed to find an information booth where I asked if they had any “organic” farmers vending this year.  I was informed that in order to use the term “organic” the farmers must be certified (I knew that), and that’s just a helluva lot of paperwork and added cost, so our hometown farmers who choose to go the way of healthier produce prefer to be called plain-ol’ “pesticide-free.”  Fair enough.  So I began asking vendors if they were pesticide-free.

I only had to ask two, actually.  The first one was pleasantly truthful when he said, “Honestly, ma’am, we will use pesticides to control pests when we have to.  So far this year, we haven’t had to use any because it’s so early in the season.  But the minute we see a bug, we’re breaking out the pesticide.” I told him that I genuinely appreciated his honesty.  He replied by reassuring me that the pesticides he uses are “nothing you can’t wash off!!”  I smiled and thanked him again as I left his booth.

Yes, you can wash residue off of the produce, but it has already been chemically altered with harmful ingredients that will stay in your system and fry your sons’ sperm….you
know, worst-case-scenario-and-all.  But no, I didn’t say all of that to him.  I simply smiled, said “I understand,” and walked past the Driscoll’s re-seller to  the next produce booth.

It was at this next booth that I found my favorite vendor – PPP Farms.  I casually leaned in, smiled to the lady behind the table, and asked quite discreetly, as if it were some big secret, “Pardon me, but do you mind telling me if you use pesticides on your produce?”

“NOT ONE OUNCE. Never have.  Never will.  My husband here, [points at the man sitting beside her] he won’t even use weed killer in the grass!  Has the boys whack the weeds with the weed-eater.  No, ma’am, we just aren’t using any of that nasty stuff!”

How much do I love her?!! This wonderful lady just happened to be selling tomatoes, corn and watermelon – all of which I was happy to purchase.  I spent $8 on three  tomatoes, three ears of corn and a small-ish watermelon which we STILL have not consumed in its entirety.  The watermelon was the sweetest one I’ve ever bought.

Aside from the veggie success, I am also happy to report that I found the longhorn beef vendor – W. H. Longhorn Ranch from east Texas.  As the seller explained to me,  Longhorn beef is VERY lean, much like venison, and requires a different technique for cooking.  All the animals belong to her son, and she takes orders until she has an entire  animal spoken for before sending it to slaughter.  I ordered a roast and two pounds of ground beef.  I am really excited about trying the meat to see if it will be a good substitute for the regular meats at our grocery stores, since we can’t get much in the way of natural, no-hormone, no-antibiotic, grass-fed beef in the meat cases around here.

So there it is, folks: my victories at the Farmer’s Market.  I can’t wait to go back.  If you’re local to my area, you ought to check out these two vendors.  I know they’ll be glad to see you.

Day 316: Keeping It Simple

My most recent Facebook status update went something like this: “People are always for healthy lifestyle change until it affects their lifestyle.”  I was in a rather sullen mood this weekend, despite it being the most glorious weekend of the Church year.  It felt like everywhere I turned somebody was throwing one more excuse in my face as to why traditional Easter candy with all its preservatives and artificial colors is okay (duhhhhhh, Mom!), frozen pies from God-knows-where are perfectly acceptable, and crappy chemical ingredients are just fine as long as “it tastes good!”  

So I threw a tantrum.  Yep.  Lenten promise #3 out the window.  I actually let out a primal scream.  One dog came to see what was wrong and the other dog ran and hid.  My husband blinked at me in disbelief. I have to admit, I felt much better after that.

I can see a bit more clearly now, and I have profusely apologized to all the heartbeats in my home for the inappropriate disruption to our daily lives.  Many thanks to my sister-in-law, Kasie, who served as my light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel on Sunday, and brought me back to myself. 

So what do you do when it seems all hope for healthy change is spiraling down the toilet at breakneck speed?  I mean, aside from yelling at everyone you love and accidentally wounding yourself in your own Tasmanian-devil-style fit? 

You find something small, and you focus on that one thing until you can mentally (and emotionally) handle everything else.  I focused on my garden and flowerbeds.  They look lovely. 

This whole spiral-into-oblivion got me thinking about little ways in which we can make healthier choices – little bits of good that we can focus on until the rest is manageable.  Here’s my tentative list of little things to do that can eventually lead to big change:

• Change your makeup remover and/or moisturizer.  I’ve been using almond oil as moisturizer exclusively for two months now, and it works really well.  It’s relatively inexpensive, totally natural, and a little goes a long way.  Making this one change will save your face from at least nine chemicals a day.
• Switch to buying organic milk and/or eggs.  Just this one little change to your habits can make a big difference for you and your family.
• Buy small quantities.  Mega grocery stores and warehouses are great if you consume a trailer-load of food and disposables in a relatively short time period.  But I always found that buying food in bulk made me waste more.  It’s very hard to break the habit of thinking I need to “stock up” on something, especially if it’s on sale, but refocusing on what I will actually consume in a smaller period of time helps keep my grocery budget in check. 
• Buy one or two versions of organic fruit or vegetables. Think of the fruits or vegetables you’re going to want to eat or cook with this week, and buy the organic variety this time.
• Plant your favorite herb and use it fresh while you cook.  Fresh herbs make any dish better, and knowing where it came from and how it has been treated is an added benefit you can enjoy every time you cook.  Plus, plants are happy little fellas. 
• Drink 8 ounces of water right when you wake up in the morning.  I have not done this exclusively yet, but I did it for a while during the winter and I noticed that it helped me continue drinking water through the rest of the day.   Water makes your skin healthy.  Healthy skin doesn’t show age as fast.  Where’s my glass????
• Plan two meals a week, if you’re not on a meal planning schedule already.  It doesn’t have to be fancy, but put real effort into it.  Having a plan ahead of time makes the cooking more fun, and the meal more enjoyable.    And just think of the money you’ll save by not eating out!
• Drink a glass of green tea a day.  Add some orange or lemon and honey to it for some flavor. 

Well, that just about exhausts my wee little mind for the day.  😉  I’m off to move the sprinkler so my new flowers can drink up.

Day 255: Organic – “Still A Label You Can Count On”

Because of a tweet by Stonyfield this week, I was led to listen to Michael Pollan, an author and food activist, as he spoke on the subject of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).  It was a very interesting interview, which ultimately left me ticked off at the food industry and our nation’s labeling policies, for reasons even more far reaching than GMOs. 

While I listened to the interview, I was reminded of Saturday night’s dinner.  We sat at a nearby restaurant visiting with my in-laws when it suddenly struck me that the French fries Aaron was eating were probably not made from organic potatoes.  Were they even made from real potatoes?  How many pesticides was my son ingesting right before my eyes?  Would any of those pesticides be the ones determined to cause reproductive issues in men?  Was I sentencing my child to a future life of “Why…?” by letting him eat food I wasn’t sure about?  I admit that throughout the entire dinner I could think of little else.  I now understand that my face betrayed my thoughts, because my after-dinner conversation kicked off with my husband asking, “Why were you so mad tonight???”

Geez, where do I start? 

I guess I am ultimately aggravated at three things:  1) I now know there are dangerous things in our everyday foods;  2) harmful ingredients are used in foods and marketed as positive, even (dare I say) healthy, which further dupes the public; and 3) the regulating bodies in our country are quick and vague in disputing  any “myths” (as they see negative claims), but not the least bit interested in disproving the claims with quality tests. 

I admit that I’m clueless.  I just don’t get the policy that forbids genuine investigation in the interest of doing what is right.   I mean, we are a nation of technology if nothing else.  We can test and retest and study and correlate ‘til the proverbial cows come home.  We have the capability of learning damn near anything we want to learn.  Is that the issue?  Do we just not want to learn what might disappoint us, so we dispute with “that’s not a legitimate concern!”??  Tell me why it’s not legitimate, then.  And don’t say it’s because we just haven’t done enough tests.   I swear, it feels like the food industry is just sticking its thumbs in its ears and babbling, “We’re not listeninnnnnnnngggggg to youuuuuuu!”  Lemme guess – They’re rubber and I’m glue??  Ugh. 

Let’s say I’m at work and I complete a particular assignment and I hand it to my boss.  And say she cites an error in my work.  I don’t call “BS!” on her, for Pete’s sake!  I go back to the data and I find either the cause of error or the fact which proves it is not errant.  I fix it, or discuss it with her, and we move on.  The end result is not that one of us is right and the other wrong.  The end result is that we know the data we have at that point is accurate, and worthy of building on. 

Anyway, the thing that got me going on this matter today is the title of the post:  Mr. Pollan said at the end of the interview that the safest thing to do is buy organic, because in the midst of so many misleading labels on – and ingredients in – our food products, organic is “still a label you can count on.”

At least that’s something.

Day 238: What the Hay?! GM Alfalfa Affects Us All

Tags

GM alfalfa, organic farming

Last week the USDA caved to lawmakers who obviously don’t care about organic products. With all the news and screaming about the threats to organic farmers, I still wasn’t quite sure how this affected me. What the heck is alfalfa anyway? Does this mean my turkey wrap might not have sprouts on it anymore?

So I dug into some research. As it turns out, alfalfa is our nation’s fourth largest crop. It is used most prevalently by farmers for their livestock to graze on year-round. And, it is a flirty little cross-pollinator. So what’s the fuss all about? Well, this new genetically-modified alfalfa is supposed to be resistant to Roundup – you know, the mega poison that kills any living organism in its path. Now, if it resists Roundup, then farmers can use the poison to kill off weeds they don’t want and still keep their alfalfa cow-food. Sounds alright, huh?

But it’s not. See, genetically-modified anything goes totally against organic farming. And since alfalfa is rampant with the cross-pollination activity, then organic farms within wind-blowing distance of non-organic farms are likely to be contaminated by the GM alfalfa, rendering their certification as an organic farm completely invalid. So the USDA who certifies our organic farmers essentially screwed them last week by not advocating any protection for the organic farms in this decision. 

If the supply of organic forages falls, the cost will rise. Organic dairy farmers will either be squeezed and go under or organic milk prices will rise. The impact: higher prices at the checkout counter for moms and dads buying organic milk for their kids. (Or maybe we’ll see more imports of organic milk powder from nations with stricter GM controls to keep the market going.)
(Chewswise.com)

So, yeah, I hooked up with Stonyfield’s website and fired off a letter to our President. I figure it’s the least I could do in support of our organic farmers who work hard to make sure my kids are healthy.  I just wish there was more I could do…

Day 203: Smiling on Aisle 7

On this, the first grocery shopping day of the New Year, I am pleased to report that I am finding more and more organics at Wal Mart. This means that the grocery store giant is finally paying attention to what consumers really want, at least in my neck of the woods.

Okay, forget that there are so many varieties of soft drinks available now that I got a headache when I came home with specially requested Cherry Coke and realized I had inadvertently bought Cherry Coke Zero. Ugh! Both kids took one look at the 2-liter bottle and asked, “Aspartame?”

Yep.

And I hate Wal Mart returns.

But, back to the good news…

The organic items I am finding are: milk, chicken broth, Annie’s snack mix, yellow onions, limes, potatoes, salad greens and baby spinach. They also now carry the YoBaby yogurt line from Stonyfield. And prior to the holidays they sold organic chicken breasts.

They said they cancelled the chicken breasts in the interest of making room for the holiday turkeys in the coolers. But the turkeys should be gone soon, and I hope to see my chicken return.

While we still have a long way to go, this helps a great deal in decreasing the need for me to hit four or five stores. I think I’ll send them a thank you note, and a list of things I need them to carry.

Day 153: Groceries, Gardens and George

Even though today has been consumed by grocery shopping, I have found a few things to report.  Things like: 1) there isn’t a single organic boneless chicken breast with skin on it in the entire city of Shreveport; 2) pumpkins still abound – roast some seeds, people!, 3) Wal-Mart is upping its stock of organic products,   (yay for Wal-Mart!  Now, if they would only “up their stock” of employee happiness!) and 4) sixty square feet of garden space isn’t as big as you might think. 

Aside from the fun I had at the grocery stores today, we also (finally) marked off my garden area.  It looks a little puny, but it’s probably best if I start small.  Not my style, but best nonetheless.   I determined that the cost of implementing my garden (before seed costs) will be roughly $100.  I have between now and January to decide what I’m going to plant and try to assimilate some sort of rotation schedule.  That’s going to require a fair amount of planning, and mom has armed me with all her books.

And, speaking of mom’s books, Dom and I flipped through the World’s Healthiest Foods book today in order to plan the menus for the last half of November.  We settled on four days from George’s two week plan.  I still have to head to a seafood market for some decent salmon and scallops this week.  But I realized something entirely important about George’s meals.  While I thought that I would have to have a ton of ingredients on hand, and was overwhelmed with the thought of perusing those 800 pages to come up with not only menus, but grocery lists as well, I actually found that if I keep a certain few ingredients on hand, I can pretty much cover about any recipe.

Chicken broth, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice seem to be the staples of his recipes.  So basically, if you have those four ingredients and some fresh veggies or fresh meat, you can have a healthy and satisfying meal. I was going to buy winter squash today, but I decided I’d use the pumpkins I have left over in place of the squash as a side dish this week.  (Hey – same gourd family.  It’s all good!)  I can’t wait to report on the meals as we try them.  I’ll probably do the whole two week thing sometime in December or January, now that I’ve got Dom interested in trying some of these recipes.  Baby steps…