Food Democracy

The USDA’s monthly Livestock Slaughter report shows May was another record-setting month for meat production. U.S. commercial meat production totaled 4.22 billion pounds in May, up 4 percent from the 4.08 billion pounds produced in 2007.

Pork production totaled 1.82 billion pounds, up 3 percent from the previous year. Hog slaughter totaled 9.06 million head, up 3 percent from May 2007. The average live weight was down 1 pound from the previous year, at 268 pounds. Beef production, at 2.38 billion pounds, was 4 percent higher than last year. Cattle slaughter totaled 3.14 million head, up 3 percent from May 2007.

From January to May, commercial meat production was 21.0 billion pounds, up 7 percent from 2007. Accumulated pork production was up 11 percent, and beef production was up 4 percent.

Cows, pigs and chickens aren’t raised in pretty green meadows. They’re raised in crowded, unfavorable conditions and, especially in the case with dairy cows, are injected with growth hormones. Read the rest of this entry »

Good editorial from the New York Times:

In the past month, two new reports have examined how farm animals are raised in this country. The report funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts calls the prevailing system “industrial farm animal production.” The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists prefers the term “confined animal feeding operations.”

No matter what you call it, it adds up to the same thing. Millions of animals are crowded together in inhumane conditions, causing significant environmental threats and unacceptable health risks for workers, their neighbors and all the rest of us.

The astonishing increase in the number and size of confined animal operations has been spawned largely by the very structure of American farm supports, which always has been skewed in a way that concentrates farming in fewer and fewer hands. As both of these reports make clear, the so-called efficiency of industrial animal production is an illusion, made possible by cheap grain, cheap water and prisonlike confinement systems.

In short, animal husbandry has been turned into animal abuse. Manure — traditionally a source of fertilizer — has been turned into toxic waste that fouls the air and adjacent water bodies. Crowding creates health problems, resulting in the chronic overuse of antibiotics. Read the rest of this entry »

Read between the lines and you’ll discover that what you’re munching on may not be the best choice.

Low fat. Reduced calories. Vitamin enriched. Walk down any aisle of your grocery store and you’ll be bombarded with foods boasting of their benefits. Okay, so wheat bread is better for you than white bread, but is that loaf you have in your hands really the best choice? Sometimes you have to step back and see what you’re buying to really know if it’s healthy.

Here’s a grocery store list of products you should be careful of:

Multigrain Cereal or Bread
You may think that anything that’s labeled seven-grain or multigrain is the best choice. Studies have shown that whole grain eaters have lower rates of heart disease and strokes. Many foods that claim to be rich in whole grains actually aren’t because the fiber and nutrients are stripped away when grains are refined into flour. Make sure you’re getting whole grain by learning the lingo of food claims. Bread that’s 100 percent whole grain contains no refined flour while cereal that’s made with whole grain may have a little or a lot. Always check the ingredients panel. Whole grains should be the first or second ingredient listed. Plus, products that have at least 16 grams of whole grains per serving are stamping their packaging with the Whole Grains Council’s logo, making it easier for you to find whole grain products! Read the rest of this entry »

The “greenest” foods are healthy foods. Whether you eat meat or are strictly vegetarian or vegan, these are the foods that are good for you and good for the planet. In 4 weeks you can make the switch to a diet of delicious, whole, organic foods, local foods, artisan foods with fewer pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified ingredients or chemical additives.

Check out recipes, advice and ideas for a healthy eating plan that’s earth-friendly at The Daily Green, http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating-plans/

“Food is big business and highly competitive. The US food supply provides each person with 3800 kilocalories a day, nearly twice the average need. With such abundance, food companies have two choices: to induce people to choose their products over those of competitors, or to get everyone to eat more. The industry’s success in encouraging Americans to “eat more” is one reason for the obesity epidemic. It works like any business: food companies advertise, but they also use the political system to pressure government officials, scientists and health professionals that no “eat less” regulation or guideline is justified.”
-Excerpt from Not Good Enough to Eat by Marion Nestle

As consumers continue to pack on extra pounds, and food prices are on the rise, thinking about portion size may be the key to saving both calories and money. 

How do you know a reasonable portion of food when you see it? Visualize the objects mentioned below when eating out, planning a meal, or grabbing a snack. For example, the amount of meat recommended as part of a healthful meal is 3-4 ounces—and it will look about the same size as a deck of cards.

What normal portion sizes should look like:

• 1 oz. meat: size of a matchbox
• 3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards or bar of soap—the recommended portion for a meal
• 8 oz. meat: size of a thin paperback book
• 3 oz. fish: size of a checkbook
• 1 oz. cheese: size of 4 dice
• Medium potato: size of a computer mouse
• 2 Tbs. peanut butter: size of a ping pong ball
• 1/2 cup pasta: size of a tennis ball
• Average bagel: size of a hockey puck. It’s common now for bakeries and grocery stores to carry jumbo bagels that measure 4 ¼ inches across and contain 300-400 calories each. A regular, 3-inch-diameter bagel has about 150 calories and counts as 2 servings of bread in the grain group).

To eat smaller portions try the following ideas: Read the rest of this entry »

Earthworms studied in agricultural fields have been found to contain organic chemicals from household products and manure, indicating that such substances are entering the food chain.

Manure and biosolids, the solid byproduct of wastewater treatment, were applied to the fields as fertilizer. Earthworms continuously ingest soils for nourishment and can accumulate the chemicals present in the soil.

The chemicals investigated are considered indicators of human and animal waste sources and include a range of active ingredients in common household products such as detergents, antibacterial soaps, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals. Some of the detected chemicals are naturally occurring such as plant and fecal sterols and fragrances. All of these chemicals tend to be concentrated in the municipal waste distribution and disposal process and are referred to as anthropogenic waste indicators (AWI).

U.S. Geological Survey Scientists and their colleague from Colorado State University at Pueblo published their new findings last week in Environmental Science and Technology.

The results demonstrate that organic chemicals introduced to the environment via land application of biosolids and manure are transferred to earthworms and enter the food chain.

Read the rest of this entry »