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By Emily, July 8, 2010 5:20 pm

I love the blogosphere.

Caitlin, over at her blog Healthy Tipping Point posted great answer to the question What Does “Ethical Eating” Mean? yesterday

I’ll get to Caitlin’s thoughts, and my own in a minute.  But you need to know, this post pretty much made my day.  It’s basically the post I’ve been trying to write on this blog for weeks.  Over the past few weeks (possibly the past few months), I’ve been going through another phase of debate over what I should (or shouldn’t) be eating.  There’s so much information out there and so many opinions.  It seems as though the more informed you are, the harder it is to make the right decision.  Should you buy all organic, or is organic an irrelevant label?  Is sugar, stevia or agave healthier?  Is some meat okay?  Just humanely raised meat?  Should I go vegan?  (I have articles to support all of the above opinions, and more, if you want them).  It’s easy to feel confused and its even easier to feel guilty.

I love Caitlin’s definition of an ethical eater:

“ethical eating” means you strive to make educated decisions about your food choices and the impact such choices have on our community, animals, and our environment, and then you strive to reach the best conclusion for YOU…Because I believe that every positive effort you make is important and worthwhile.

At this point, I’m still a flexitarian (in other words, still eating meat).  We just used up the last of our supermarket purchased ground turkey (which had been in our freezer for some time because I just don’t think to use meat anymore) and the plan is if we want to cook meat in the future, we’ll buy it from one of the local farms so we know where its coming from and how the animals were treated.  But I don’t think that ethical eating is only about meat.  There are so many other types of food that impact our health and our environment.  We’ve stopped buying products with High Fructose Corn Syrup.  I make things from scratch as much as possible and read ingredient labels.  We rarely eat out, which helps us know as much as possible where our food is coming from.  I try to make it to the CSA, farms and farmers markets regularly.  Those are our choices, based on the conclusions we’ve made.

Caitlin goes on to say,

When I say that I am an “ethical eater,” I mean that I strive to understand WHERE my food comes from and the IMPACT that my choices have.  That does NOT mean that I am perfect.

Well said.  I too want to share what I’ve learned (hence the blog) and show other people that eating ethically isn’t as hard as they imagine, but (another Caitlin quote),  “Mama Pea said it best when she said, “I think being militant about any lifestyle choice is one of the biggest deterrents to invoking change in others.””

For me, this issue of ethical eating also involves the purpose of eating.  Food should be more than just about nutrients and health (though those are really important), it should be enjoyed and it should be a social event whenever possible (I’ve been reading Michael Pollan lately, maybe you can tell?).  Therefore, I don’t want my eating decisions to make me unhappy or cause others to not want to spend time with me.  Now, when I say I don’t want my decisions to make me unhappy, I don’t mean I’m going to eat whatever makes me feel good.  Being overweight would not make me feel good.  Knowing that the meat I’m consuming was mistreated does not make me feel good.  Not knowing what’s in my food does not make me feel good.  Taking on the  vegetarian label (which I almost did a month or so ago) is taking on a lot of negative connotations and a lot of expectations.  I’m not sure I want to do that.  I’d rather just be that girl who loves to cook yummy food, and most of its pretty healthy too.

As Caitlin makes clear, eating ethically is a tricky thing, especially when everyone’s got their own definitions.  I’m far from perfect, but as Food, Inc and many other sources note, we vote for what we want our food system to be like 3 times a day, but there are a lot of gray areas.  I try to make the best decisions I can, but I’m a newlywed (or not…) on a budget, still learning to cook, just starting my teaching career (which is more work than you can imagine) and I’m not going to make myself insane trying to do all the “right things” at once.  Change doesn’t have to happen over night and I’m making the best decisions I can for myself based on what I’ve learned so far.

I’ll echo Caitlin’s question here: What do you think of the ethical eating debate?

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By Emily, April 29, 2010 6:46 pm

Shortly after watching the 5th episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, my husband asked if I thought the show was actually going to have any effect.  It’s a version of a conversation we’ve had many times: what difference does one person, whether they’re eating organic, shopping at a farmer’s market, writing a blog or creating a television show, really have on the overall perspectives and eating habits of Americans?

I replied with the same answer I’ve been using for sometime.  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is another addition to the “storm” of information that has the potential to change American diets.

Did I like the show?  Yes. I’m so glad that someone finally created a show on network television that revealed some of the issues in eating today.  I really enjoyed Jamie’s personality and completely respect the work he’s trying to do.  As a teacher, children and school food are topics which are really important to me.  The only thing I didn’t like about the show was that it seemed almost entirely focused on the schools.  I wish Jamie had spent more time with families, or demonstrating healthy cooking, or teaching someone how to grocery shop.

But back to the storm. The show was a mini-series, only 6 episodes long.  Will the show make a difference?  I doubt that cafeterias across the country are suddenly going to stop serving processed food, but I’m sure that at least a handful of people discovered how poor the offerings of many cafeterias are.  Those people may instigate change in their local school system, or start packing healthy lunches for their children.  Those parents, or students, will likely share this information with those around them.  I’ve said it before and I still believe that one of the most effective ways to change people’s minds is personal contact.  I changed my eating habits, shared what I learned with Brian and my family and they’ve made some changes to theirs.  The more people are exposed to healthy eating ideas, and the experience that the food actually tastes good, the more likely they are to change and the more likely we are to see real change in America.  It seems to me that the more changes I make, the more people I meet who are also interesting in changing the food system; the more conversations we have, the more change is going to happen.  Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is just one more addition to the storm of information, education and change that has the potential to change the way America eats.

In the event that you missed the series, the finale episode is below.  Check out Hulu for the rest:

If this wasn’t enough commentary for you, here’s some of the latest on Jamie’s show from around the web:

The Atlantic: “School Lunches: Helping Kids Eat Commodities”

SlashFood: Nasty Things Come in Lunch Bags – ‘Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution’

Serious Eats: Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Episode 6 Recap

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you can show your support by signing the Food Revolution Petition by clicking the button below:

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By Emily, April 24, 2010 2:09 pm

As you’re probably aware, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day was this past Thursday.  Earth Day is great for spreading awareness about ecological issues, but that’s no reason not to treat our planet well every day!

The Atlantic has 10 recipes featuring meatless mains, sustainable seafood, and local flavors to help save the earth-one bite at a time.

It’s about time! A company in Oregon is going to be putting its frozen vegetables in 100% biodegradable bags.

Serious Eats tells us why we should eat peanuts on Earth Day.

Beyond Earth Day: 3 Easy Food and Health Ideas for Maximum Impact All Year, from Planet Green

Cheap, Healthy, Good gives some very compelling reasons to eat local. (Hint: It’s not “just a fad for hipsters and yuppies who don’t get enough snooty karma from their NPR totes.”)

Coincidentally, Brian and I watched the film No Impact Man on Thursday.  It’s a really interesting documentary (and there’s a book…and a blog) about a family that attempts to make no impact on the earth for a year.  Well worth watching, if you haven’t already.  The trailer is below:

How did you celebrate Earth Day this year?

Every Saturday, I choose a theme and highlight blog posts, websites and news articles from my Google Reader which I found interesting (and hope you do too!) If you want more reading, check out “What I’m Reading” on my sidebar.  And don’t forget to add Relishments to your reader!

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By Emily, April 1, 2010 5:50 am

April 1 is not just for “fools”;  it’s also the second annual April Food Day: Bloggers Fighting Hunger.  In conjunction with Feeding America, April Food Day works to increase awareness about hunger in America (and hopefully motivate people to do something about it!)  Definitely one of the best things I can use my blog to do.

It’s easy for me to complain about the amount of money we spend on groceries…or that there’s not enough food in the pantry, but in reality we have plenty of money and more than enough food.  It’s important to remember that some people, even in America, really are going without.

Some information about Feeding America and hunger in America (from the April Food Day site):

• Feeding America is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 million children. This is an increase of 46 percent over 2006, when they were feeding 25 million Americans, including 9 million children, each year.
• That means one in eight Americans now rely on Feeding America for food and groceries.
• Feeding America’s nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than they did in 2006.
• Thirty-six percent of the households served have at least one person working.
• More than one-third of client households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
• The number of children the Feeding America network serves has increased by 50 percent since 2006.
• Feeding America food banks provide food and groceries to 33,500 food pantries, 4,500 soup kitchens and 3,600 emergency shelters.
• 68 percent of pantries, 42 percent of soup kitchens, and 15 percent of emergency shelters rely solely on volunteers and have no paid staff.
• 55 percent, are faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious organizations; 33 percent are other types of non-profit organizations.

So what to do?  Donate food, time or money to your local food pantry.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Join me in donating to Feeding America on the April Food Day donation page. For every $1 you donate, Feeding America helps provide 7 meals to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.  That’s a really good return for your money!

Still have questions about April Food Day?  Email the founders,  Meg or Chris.

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By Emily, March 23, 2010 6:09 am

A couple months ago I started getting really excited about Jamie’s Food Revolution, a new TV show coming to ABC.  The excitement started when he won the TED Prize (love TED!) this year.  This video is of TED Prize speech:

And here’s the premiere of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  It’s really good and I’m really excited about the awareness it may be bringing, because awareness is going to bring about change. We can’t leave all the work to Jamie, after all!

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By Emily, January 28, 2010 7:56 pm

My husband and I just had a discussion which ended with him sighing and rolling his eyes.

Before that, it went like this:

Me: Hmm…
Him: What?
Me: Dairy.  Factory farms.
Him: So?
Me: Why do I not eat meat?
Cue sigh and rolling of eyes.

If you’re still confused, you probably didn’t watch ABC’s Nightline on Tuesday.  Actually, I didn’t either, but some of the blogs I follow are all a-buzz about it.  There was a segment exposing the horrible conditions that cows endure on dairy farms.  You can watch the segment or read about it on Change.org or Huffington Post.

Another moral dilemma.  Caring about what I put into my body certainly is a lot of work.  I drastically cut my meat consumption last year primarily because of the dangers of eating meat (bacteria, chronic health conditions) but also because I don’t agree with the practices of the meat industry (cramped quarters, sick animals, antibiotics, crappy feed,  etc).  I’m not a vegetarian, and I always swore I could never be vegan because I love cheese and yogurt too much.  But if conditions on dairy farms aren’t any better than on meat farms, should I be consuming dairy either?

Now, before Brian gets all annoyed about my latest crusade, let’s be real.  The chances of me cutting out dairy are slim to none.  Nevertheless, its amazing what we don’t know (or choose to ignore) about where our food comes from.  Again, education is the only way we’re going to change the opinions of the general American populus and create real change in our food system.  Once we’re educated, we can make smarter choices about what we eat.  Check out the Eat Well Guide (linked from the HuffPo article) to find out where you can buy local, sustainable, organic food.  I know its a lot of work (trust me, I know), but think before you eat!

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By Emily, January 23, 2010 8:55 am

Brian and I were both sick all week.  That’s my excuse for lack of posts this week.  I wonder what my excuse will be next week :)

This week I got the really cool opportunity to show one of my classes Food, Inc.  Obviously, I was really excited about showing it and even more excited that it was what they’d chosen to watch (from the limited choices I’d offered).  Of course, I wasn’t surprised when they began to freak out a little bit at the information they were receiving.  To me, the information in Food, Inc is kind of old news, but its so cool to see someone hear it for the first time.

In honor of my students and their expanded awareness and the start of a new semester on Monday, this week’s highlights from my Reader are related to schools and the issues presented in the movie.

Highlights for January 17-23: Education

Tom Laskawy has a good opinion piece on Grist this week: Lessons for Schools: Sweetened Junk Shouldn’t Count as Food.  No kidding…and yet, it does!

Obviously some people agree with Laskawy, because Ontario schools will ban junk food starting in September.  Go Canada!

Several blogs have picked up on Fed Up: A School Lunch Project which follows an Illinois teacher as she buys school hot lunch every day.  If you’re not aware of what kids are being served, check it out.

NY Times has a great piece on the dangerous prevalence of snack time, especially among kids.  It is sort of ridiculous when you think about it…

Watching Food, Inc again sent me into another debate with myself over what I should really be eating.  It was really comforting to see that Holly was having a similar debate over a box of Special K bars.  And I probably would make the same choice she did.

Some of my students expressed the suspicion that there’s nothing we can do to change the food system.  I told them that I disagree and I believe the biggest way to create change is to educate our friends and families, one person at a time.  So, if you find any of these links helpful, share them!

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By Emily, January 16, 2010 7:51 am

Highlights for January 10-16:

Things That Fascinate Me

1. Why Paula Deen has deep fried so many random things.  7 Things Paula Deen Fried, from Food Network Humor.
2. People who run marathons.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s awesome.  I just can’t fathom doing it.  Several bloggers ran the Disney Marathon last weekend–Great job Rachel, Meaghann, Kelly, and Caitlin!
3. Ketchup.  I don’t understand why people feel the need to put it on everything they eat.  I never use it as a condiment and only in extremely rare cases as an ingredient.  A Hamburger Today has a piece on The Case Against Ketchup.  “A burger worth eating is worth eating plain.”  Agreed.
4. The ingredients they put in “fast” food.  As though I needed more reasons to not eat it, Change.org has a list of the 10 most common ingredients in fast food.
5. The amazing way in which bloggers are using their blogs to aid relief efforts in Haiti:

The Pioneer Woman did a great giveaway

Chow.com has listed a few ways you can give.

Endless Simmer’s got a list of organizations that are providing food relief in Haiti.

CakeWrecks posted links to Doctors without Borders and a site that tells you which charities you can trust.

Serious Eats and Epicurious also linked to organizations providing aid.

MixMyGranola is giving $5 for each purchase of their pre-mixed cereal to Haiti relief efforts.

Clearly, we all are much more fortunate than those in Haiti, especially now.  Pick an organization and give something–every little bit helps.

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By Emily, October 1, 2009 8:40 am

Today, October 1st, is World Vegetarian Day, the kickoff to Vegetarian Awareness Month.*

Download this poster at http://www.worldvegetarianday.org/

Don’t worry if you’re not a vegetarian (I’m not, after all!), you can still join in!  The North American Vegetarian Society suggests:

•	Eat meat-free for the day or throughout the month
•	Learn how a vegetarian diet can benefit you personally
•	Try the meatless options available at local restaurants and eateries
•	Discuss vegetarianism with your interested friends, family and co-workers
•	Host a meatless meal or potluck for your friends
•	Eat meatless meals on a regular basis

That list sounds a lot like my life…anyway, if you’re not already, try some meatless meals and learn a little about what you’re eating and where it’s coming from.  It’s hard to believe I’ve been eating a flexitarian diet for 9 months now–so far so good.  I definitely feel a better about myself now that I’m a more conscious eater.

*Not to be confused with PETA’s Hug a Vegetarian Day which was September 25th.

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By Emily, September 18, 2009 8:59 am

Highlights for September 12-18

6 Ways to Organize Your Pantry from Zesty Cook.  Which reminds me, I said I was going to reorganize my pantry…fridge…cabinets when I moved in a month ago.  That still hasn’t happened.  Maybe I’ll do that today. Or not …if I reorganize things then I might not know where the are.  Organized chaos seems to be working well for us.

September is Hunger Action Month and Feeding America is running a Give a Little, Feed a Lot campaign.  The idea is to give up something little (lunch, a haircut, music downloads) and instead give the money to feed a lot of hungry people.  The calculator is an awesome way see exactly how many meals your donation would provide.

Gourmet has a good list of ways to reduce your carbon footprint every time you go to the supermarket.  I’m a lot more conscious in my eating than I was a year ago, but I still have a long way to go, especially buying organic and local.

From Endless Simmer, 3 reasons why Mark Bittman should get more time on television.  C’mon, you knew if there was anything about Mark Bittman this week I was going to link to it.  The man changed my life and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian is definitely the most used book in my kitchen.

A fascinating infographic from Good provides insight on the most and least carnivorous countries and what types of meat they are consuming.  (Via Serious Eats)