Victus Terra ∞ food of the earth

Farming a Wedding part 4: The Chefs

2009-03-25T18:45:00.002-04:00

On a cool and sunny saturday morning in February, Karina and I drove up the Taconic to the little town of Clinton Corners, NY. We were on the way to visit with Don Lewis at the Wild Hive Bakery. We hoped don could provide us with milled grains, such as corn, wheat, lentils, and the like. We also wanted to try his cheesecake, and other deserts he has been tinkering with.

Clinton Corners is really just one corner, with a general store and then the Wild Hive Bakery just down the road. There are signs for several farms near by. The town has a very front-porch rural feel to it.

Don's large store/bakery/restaurant is very pleasant, with tables scattered around for in house diners, a large display of grains, and a few refrigerators with food wares from other local producers.

We found out fairly quickly that Don is a very able and active business man, miller, food producer, but perhaps less accomplished a baker. His cheesecake was sour and somewhat bland, with a nice texture, but little else to recommend it. The fruit preserve (made by another local producer) on top was the saving grace of the desert. But his grains and milled flours were beautiful. We took a few different kinds home to try. The cornmeal for polenta was especially good.

This was a useful visit, as we discovered fairly quickly two important menu factors: 1. we want his grains! 2. we don't want his deserts! All this became academic later on in the afternoon when we began our second meeting of the day, this with Jim and Anthony, our Mohonk chefs.

The evening before we sat in the living room of Karina's parents house, drinking wine and talking about the wedding. Her parents suggested we tell the wedding planner that we want to have the most expensive package (complete with Ice Sculpture). Their thinking was that if we chose the expensive grand buffet then the planners would be more amenable to our (wild and unreasonable) demands for local and beyond organic foods.

Karina and I, as we have become quite used to doing, took all suggestions in stride and found ways to stick to the original plan. But a seed was planted in our minds, that maybe the Mohonk people would not be willing to do what we asked for. Maybe they would not want to work outside of their normal distribution channels. Perhaps they don't care about local ingredients, but want to work with all the exotic foods available to the modern chef.

With these doubts in mind, we drove up the cliff-clinging road to the Mohonk mountain house.

Our meeting with the Chefs and mohonk's planner began promptly. Jim and Anthony came in and almost immediately set our minds at ease. They were well prepared, having contacted most of our farmers and producers in the week leading up to the meeting. They knew our plan and were very excited about it.

Jim said they had never created a menu that was geographically this narrowly guided, and was obviously on board with the concept of paying homage to the land of Mohonk, so to speak.

Anthony tried to ingratiate himself with suggestions that were quite good for small dishes and some great sounding dessert ideas. Christina seemed a bit confused by it all, as she tried several times to get us to say exactly which items in the sample menu we wanted to use. She didn't quite understand that we didn't really want anything from the sample. Our chefs were with us, talking about creating a menu that tied together the elements of the local foods that were most important, and presenting it in a way that cries out to the glorious bounty of the land.

Chefs love this shit. Who knew? They want to be challenged and excited by food, and too often in a place like mohonk, they are asked just to do the same old thing. These guys are as enthusiastic as we are. I was sitting there thinking how stupid we would have been to ask for the big buffet, trying to make allies of those that had already joined our side. Karina and I left mohonk tired and very happy.

Though that could all change when we find out just how much extra they want to charge us!

A thought

2009-03-02T19:08:00.003-05:00

Carla fucked it up good. Josea is a lucky bastard. and, as it turns out, Stefan has no soul at all!

All in all it was an entertaining season of Top Chef. Jaime was robbed though, that girl should've been challenging for the top instead of Josea or Stefan.

Oh Mokey...I mean carla.

Moving

2009-03-02T19:06:00.001-05:00

Karina and I just finished a move to the neighborhood of Ditmas Park. Needless to say I have been exhausted for a few weeks. But, there will be more on the wedding front, so stay tuned.

Top Chef live blogging fail.

2009-02-12T09:30:00.003-05:00

Karina didn't let me twitter the episode. she's mean. but the above photo should give you an idea of who I think will win TOP CHEF this season.

BPA

2009-02-11T09:37:00.002-05:00

I have been harboring doubt about plastic bottles and containers for a good while now. I didn't really know if they were to be avoided, but I could not get away from the feeling that they should be avoided.

Today I read a review of a University of Rochester Study that at the very least casts plastic, or more specifically Bisphenol-A, a chemical used in plastic hardening in a disparaging light.

It turns out that the chemical stays in our bodies far longer then first imagined. BPA in the body is not decisively understood, but there is some association with higher levels of heart disease and diabetes, as well as birth defects. The Rochester study has shown that either a) we are ingesting BPA from other sources, such as air or water, and/or b) there is BPA in our food (plastic containers being the source).

On this one, I would err on the side of caution. It may be time to switch to ceramic water jugs people.

twit

2009-02-11T09:17:00.003-05:00

I have been out of it for the past week. Had papers to write and some other shit. I will be back tonight for top chef, and at the suggestion of a friend, I have decided to twitter it. So tune in and watch the side bar for my almost completely useless commentary on tonight's episode...

Karina was saying last week that I am too snarky about the show. So tonight I am going to make an attempt to be nice and complimentary. I will submit myself to the food porn and get off happily.

doesn't that get you excited?

that was fun

2009-02-04T22:58:00.002-05:00

for me...tune in next week!

boooooo

2009-02-04T22:58:00.001-05:00

wrong choice.

I call Leah

2009-02-04T22:53:00.002-05:00

i hope, Jaime is cute.

Is this the top 3?

2009-02-04T22:44:00.001-05:00

Fabio has to keep his shit together. but if Jaime survives...

the minutes in between.

2009-02-04T22:40:00.001-05:00

I hate commercials. Although seeing Tyra go into a conniption is priceless.

josea

2009-02-04T22:38:00.000-05:00

jaime better get it right, then josea goes home.

Carla

2009-02-04T22:37:00.000-05:00

what a kook, i'm starting to like her. bad news for josea.

Stefan

2009-02-04T22:36:00.001-05:00

european boys are both safe.

Leah

2009-02-04T22:35:00.001-05:00

not so much.

Fabio

2009-02-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

Safe.

Spoilers for nobody

2009-02-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

this is fun.

Lucky Bastards

2009-02-04T22:09:00.003-05:00

Le Bernardin...i don't think I will ever be able to afford that joint.

Just look at the menu...or go eat there, for $135/person. ($220 with pairing)

Karina is gagging

2009-02-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

she stopped watching the fish guts get peeled.

this is gross

2009-02-04T22:01:00.000-05:00

but i love sardines.

goodbye douche

2009-02-04T22:00:00.003-05:00

So Jeff got the BOOT. Happy day. Here comes the new one.

top chopping SPOILERS ABOVE

2009-02-04T21:53:00.001-05:00

So, I have been out of it for several days. I thought I would make up for it by live-blogging tonight's new episode. Stay tuned.

Lard FTW!!! (really this time)

2009-01-28T14:54:00.002-05:00

A friend asked me about recipes for Lard or rendered Fat (pretty much the same damn thing!)

So I did a cursory search on epicurious.com and came up with these recipes. There are soups, tamales, biscuits, all looks delicious.

Happy frying!

High Fructose Corn Syrup FTW!!!

2009-01-28T14:33:00.004-05:00

A new study published by the Environmental Journal has examined a small sample group of HFCS (20 samples). Guess what they found?

Mercury. In 9 samples.

And that is not the only study to find mercury, webmd already picked up another study. Read all about it here. In it they found mercury in 17 of 55 samples. Neither study is statistically significant, larger samples need to be studied. But both suggest that these larger and more efficacious studies are necessary.

Why oh why is there mercury in HFCS? I have not yet read the full paper but the gist is that the mercury could have come from the process of converting corn syrup to HFCS, which involves bathing the syrup in mercury. Perhaps they are on to something?

Not necessarily, says the industry organization Chlorine Institute, "It is conceivable that measurable mercury content can be found in high fructose corn syrup regardless of how it is processed."

The salt war.

2009-01-28T11:29:00.003-05:00

What is wrong with Salt? This question is not answerable at the moment with a definitive. The current research shows that those with hypertension react poorly to too much sodium. But not all of them. It is statistically significant to be a risk factor for Heart Disease, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, but again, only in some cases of hypertension.

For the non-hypertensive population we really don't have evidence to suggest that sodium is "bad" for us.

There are different kinds of salt. Your standard refined table salt is 99% NaCl. Iodized salt includes some iodide to decrease the incidence of iodine deficiency. Lastly, Sea Salt will usually contain small amounts of iodine, magnesium and calcium, depending upon region and source, these amounts will vary widely.

In preparing food for health and taste, I use and highly recommend sea salt. There are a million kinds out there, and I urge you to find your own preference, mostly because I am too lazy to filter through them all.

The benefits to health are unlikely to find any strong support in a clinical setting, but my assertion would be that a diet with the extra (even small amounts of) minerals in the salt is beneficial. The difference in taste is also a matter of opinion and not clinically testable, but I assert also that the taste of sea salt is far superior.

But where do we get most of our salt? It's definitely not from home cooking. No, most salt in average diets comes from processed foods. I will not belabor this point, as the NYtimes already did:

Throwing the book at salt, from yesterday's times.

Render THIS!

2009-01-27T09:24:00.005-05:00

My sister in law sent me a link on how to render bacon fat and it is so easy my 3 year old nephew could do it! Well...

Lard is the most natural and healthy frying substance out there. When you use lard you are adding anti-oxidants to the finished product. When using an unsaturated fat (like canola or some other vegetable oil) the higher free-radical content will cause oxidation.

Simple explanation:

Anti-oxidants = good
Oxidation = bad

So, all you bacon lovers - just pour the fat through a paper towel, and refrigerate the finished product!

Cook, pour, repeat.

Where have all the seasons gone?

2009-01-23T10:02:00.004-05:00

Getting back on seasonal eating is an effort in strange delusional anachronism. Ignore the tomatoes in aisle 3 please, they are not in season, and they taste like shit, just pretend they do not exist.

For thousands of years we have eaten seasonal foods with little or no difficulty. If I were born 100 years ago I could tell you when you would be able to eat any number of fruits, legumes, tubers, and meats, without a second thought. In modern times we live in ignorance of the pathways of agriculture. We also have the stupid habit of eating foods when they are out of season, an odd habit, as they taste hideous by comparison.

Onward, enough ranting...here are some seasonal veggies for january and february:

Brussels sprouts
Chicory
Grapefruit
Greens (cooking)
Leeks
Oranges
Parsnips
Pears
Shallots
Sweet Potatoes
Tangelos
Tangerines
Turnips
Winter Squash

Rhubarb

Cawliflower

Also, the BBC has a nice seasonal eating page: Check it here

Eat Seasonal.

Slow days

2009-01-21T23:25:00.002-05:00

I discovered the NYC tow pound today. Joy of Joys. Top Chef was a little surprising, and a little dull. Watching them run around Restaurant Depot only one week after the Stone Barns episode was a bit trying. I won't spoil anything...but this season is turning out to be pretty low on quality. The Judges are consistently choosing not who is best, but who is less bad. My feeling is that it will come down to Jaime and Stefan. Fabio has turned out to be kind of a shitty cook. Jeff, well I dealt with him last week. Josea is a space cadet. His not-girlfriend will be out soon enough. Carla can't cook anything but desserts and she couldn't cook desserts this week. and then there's radhika...

hehe.

the other america

2009-01-20T09:28:00.001-05:00

I was listening to Hannity on the radio yesterday and a caller was insisting that "Snoop Dog will be in the White House every day".

I can't make this stuff up.

back to real content soon!

Monday is (now) recycling day

2009-01-19T11:56:00.002-05:00

I am going to trip over my repetition on this topic, but it is so vital to our health, ecology and agricultural system. The it I am referring to? Grass-Fed Beef.

Here is an overview from October of last year:

Pasture Meat

Road Trip day

2009-01-18T07:53:00.002-05:00

We are off to Providence, RI today, so I will not be posting anything new. I used the Eat Well Guide trip planner to find a few restaurants and stores we can go to along the way. It is a great application, and i can leave today confident that I won't be eating microwaved sandwiches at a rest stop, or freak show S'Barro's off 95 in the middle of RI.

Be Well.

First Slice

2009-01-17T10:31:00.001-05:00

I am no New Yorker. Despite what I was telling you when you asked where I was from, pointing to the ground directly under my lying heart and saying “From Here”, I am no New Yorker. I grew up in Rockville Center. A bustling Long Island town far enough away that ‘going into the City’ was an event, but close enough to eat and breath (eat, most importantly) the many offerings of the City.
But we (my brother and I) knew, even as my parents’ stack of New Yorkers piled up. Even after hearing the dimly lit stories of the Health Department in 1969, the City College Takeover, Janis Joplin at the Tennis Center, driving a cab in Manhattan, Music and Art, Bronx Science, Hasidic thugs, and Luncheonettes in the South Bronx, Or the nearly floodlit stories of walking down Flatbush Avenue (Pop) or the Grand Concourse (Mom) in the fifties. We could feel it, my parents most inspiringly were New Yorkers. My Brother and I? We knew we were not and would never be the same as our cosmopolitan parents.
My Brother, a scant year older than I, received the brunt of the post-Brooklyn masculinity training my father doled out on a daily basis. “If you did that in Brooklyn…” would follow if we were to say, covet the wrong color Converse All-Star, give up in a wrestling match, mention Walter O’Malley’s name, or generally look or act un-manly, which one or the other of us was inevitably doing at just about every moment. Growing up in fear of getting beat up by every half-cocked Lord of Flatbush if we so much as set napkin to the greasy surface of a slice of pizza, we developed a hyper sense of New Yorker-ness. This Training had rules, and if we followed them well enough we would feel good, be Somebody. Roughly broken into satisfying and easily devoured extremes, they follow:
• Never look up at the buildings.
• Never make eye to eye contact with pedestrians.
• Never walk slowly.
• Never say “Excuse me”.
• Never Change trajectory for oncoming pedestrians.
• Never apologize.
• Always J-walk.
• Always know where you are going.
• Always know what you are going to say.
• Always know what you are going to order at a takeout counter.
• Always fold your pizza in half before eating.

We knew how to act, and we were going to show it off to every ill-prepared spoiled sub-urban or semi-rural slob who had the misfortune of accompanying us to the City on a weekend jaunt. Quietly scoffing at the wallet hanging out of the back pocket, the twenty dollar bill casually slipped between the third and fourth fingers positively begging to be swiped, waiting at a stop light when there were no oncoming cars, giving money to beggars (remember when we had them here in NYC, before Guiliani relocated them?). Falling for the gimmick, the quickie, the scam, the three card monty game, There was always someone to smirk at. My brother and I had practiced knowing wise-guy smiles by age 9 and 10 respectively. We had our own version of a Brooklyn Queens turn-it-on-at-will accent and we were newfound Lords. Yes, we were Lords.

The Pizza chapters

2009-01-17T10:19:00.004-05:00

About 6 years ago I entertained the idea of writing a book about New York style Pizza. As I began writing it turned into somewhat of a narrative about being a New Yorker, getting around the city, and eating the city's pleasure, namely Pizza.

I didn't get very far. But I have retained a great love of Pizza, and I am always on the lookout for a new or old pizza place of high quality. Anyway, I thought I would put some of those old writings up, hope you enjoy!

Top Shitheal

2009-01-15T13:33:00.003-05:00

No, I didn't do this just to put up a picture of smokin' hot Padma.
I love Top Chef, what could be better then food porn and elimination TV? This season has been a bit strange. The producers are getting more manipulative (they left a fridge open in one episode to see how the chefs would react, and the t-giving and christmas in july was just dumb) and the cast is strangely ambivalent. But it is here in New York, which is fun. I liked the first episode when they had to go to small markets in ethnic neighborhoods for their product. Of course the show quickly degenerated into Whole (shit) Foods shopping and product placement (Sequoias, Gladware, GE appliances, etc etc etc).

So I was excited last night when they drove the pampered little brats out to Stone Barns. First off, Stone barns is a first rate farm with incredible educational and outreach programs. They practice Management intensive grazing which we got to see in the episode - when the Lamb team was moving wire fences around and the lambs were scampering to fresh new pasture; and (did you notice?) the chickens in their chicken mobile (which allows the chickens to follow the sheep in organized fashion). They primarily serve the two Blue Hill Restaurants that are directly associated with the farm.

So the cast shows up at Stone Barns and everybody starts whining about not being able to go to Whole Foods, and how their menu ideas are shot, particularly douchebag Jeff. (and I can hear Ian Mckellen quietly muttering "Pearls before swine")

But they adjusted and seemed to get excited that they could go (every chef's dream?) directly from farm to table for once in their lives.

but there has been a recurrent problem this season...the chef's kind of suck. Fabio, the drippingly italian, yet California based chef shockingly smothers his ravioli in pesto, Radhika wanders around waiting for a truck to drive right through the middle of her left eye, and Ariane, what a train wreck. I mean, we knew she was a train wreck already, but for fuck's sake woman, you are given a freshly slaughtered beautiful baby lamb and you turn it into a sorry excuse for "Mutton" (i think that was colicchio who said it). Thank god for Toby Young who is so fantastically mean to the chefs that he makes it all bearable.

Now I don't know much about cooking, but I know lamb. And I learned the hard way a few weeks ago, that cooking a boneless leg is a horror show. it doesn't cook evenly, temperature readings are impossible, and if tied improperly, looks as if a wild boar tore into it, briefly. But throw a bone-in leg into the oven and an hour or so later you have beauty on a stick.

So I am screaming at the TV when ariane is boning the legs! Then, she slathers the insides with a paste of herbs (what is wrong with americans and lamb??), and ties it all into a lumpy morass.

Then there's Jeff. Oh Jeff, you are a douche, yes you are. He proves he is almost as dumb as Ariane, when he slices out the best tasting fat off the pork loin. Later, staring at the judges he gives a little self-important nod when Colicchio calls out his fried green tomatoes as "saving" their dish. What a douchetastic douche-a-lot. I hope this guy gets booted soon.

But that raises the question, should any of these champions of mediocrity stay? I kind of like Jaimie, but her affinity for Scallops makes me feel awkward, and Stefan is a good chef it seems, but he is also an asshole. I liked the filipino dude, but that was only out of partisanship, as my fiancé is filipino. I guess as long as Toby Young is ripping the little bastards to shreds then I am happy...

Watch Well.

About the books

2009-01-15T09:47:00.003-05:00

A friend told me about the Amazon affiliate link-up that you can see on the right. I chose the books to be viewed. They are:

Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

Everything I want to do is Illegal, by Joel Salatin

and

Good Calories, Bad Calories, by Gary Taubes

In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan (at the bottom)

Pollan is well known, particularly in the subway reading circuit here in NYC. It is likely that looking up on any given weekday morning someone will be reading Omnivore's Dilemma, or In Defense of Food. He is a fine writer, and one who really has a grasp of the food system. I think the corn and grass sections should be required reading in secondary school health classes!

Joel Salatin is a guru farmer who was introduced to most of us by Michael Pollan. He runs a farm in western Virginia that specializes in "Salad Bar" Beef and Poultry. He is the champion of Management intensive grazing, a process by which animals are grazed over larger areas in particular configurations (poultry follows ruminants, etc). It is a boon to the land, the health of the animals and lastly, our palettes, as the meats are healthier and better tasting.

Gary Taubes has written a tour de force in Good Calories, Bad Calories. It is a resounding thumping of the prevailing theories of cholesterol and health. The bottom line? White sugar and white flour are far more dangerous then Fat and foods high in cholesterol. But don't tell the AHA that!

Read well.

ROAD TRIP!

2009-01-15T09:18:00.002-05:00

I knew the folks at Eat Well Guide were cool, but now they've outdone themselves. With google's maps application they created a travel map of local and sustainable foods for road trips. I plugged in Brooklyn to Providence (a small trip Karina and I are taking this weekend) and got literally hundreds of listings on the interactive map. That means no more Roy's and McDonald's, no more shitty pancake houses and Cracker Barrels, we might still go to the Awful house when in the south, but only because it is funny to say awful house.

Travel Well.

also

2009-01-15T09:12:00.002-05:00

I will add in some useful things like the widget to the right, from the terrific website Eat Well Guide. Just put in a keyword and you will get a cool list of sources for food. I entered "brooklyn" and I got a list of 2 bakers, 2 coops, 2 csa's, 2 educational organizations, 14 Farmer's Markets, 25 Restaurants, and loads more. Check it out!

Changes

2009-01-15T00:50:00.003-05:00

I assume my few devoted readers have noticed the changes to the page. I am experimenting with ads and book recommendations, all in an effort to "grow" this blog into a potential source of income. The best part about it is that it won't cost you (the reader) anything at all. So if you like the blog, please just keep reading!

And, if you are feeling itchy, click on the ads, or go to amazon and look around. Better yet, tell a friend to stop by, cause I will be here stoking the fire and pitching new posts as often as I can.

Be Well.

The best ice cream on the planet

2009-01-13T23:51:00.003-05:00

One thing I neglected to mention in the Buttermilk Channel post was the ice cream they serve. Blue Marble ice cream is a new brooklyn based pair of shops (one on Atlantic in boerum hill, the other on Underhill in prospect heights). They use grass-fed cow's milk for the ice creams, fair trade coffee, tea and chocolates, and they even have little kids corners for children to play in while their parents put away some serious sweet cream.

Buttermilk Channel will make you a mean rootbeer float with some blue marble if you are not in the mood for regular beer.

Cream well.

Right around the corner...

2009-01-12T08:30:00.002-05:00

It is dangerous to have a restaurant close to one's home. We have several. As Karina and I have talked about cutting out of Brooklyn, we often run into some troubled moments. She inevitably mentions the restaurants we won't be able to go to anymore, and how she likes to be able to do that! I tell her we will likely go out less and less as we (grow up) get married, have kids, etc.

I think it will be ok, we will move up into the mountains of northern New England, have some kids, do some (very) small scale farming, and be very, very happy. But Buttermilk Channel isn't going to make that transition any easier.

On the corner of our block, around september, construction began on the storefront vacated by Cafe Scaramouche in mid '07. On several occasions the grinding of the jackhammer at 8AM was a foil to my attempts at sleep. We lost parking spots and gained new sidewalk; all the while with growing anticipation. Anytime a store opens curiosity and excitement are stoked.

The boards came down and windows went up, allowing us covetous glances inside at the high bar and tables that began to appear. Finally we began seeing those who would be the purveyors of the restaurant. Watching a tasting as we walked home one night Karina and I said to each other, for the first time of many, "this is going to be dangerous". They were young, and the decor was simple and homey. Everything about it screamed New American and Slow Food.

Finally on Tuesday the 25th of November, Buttermilk Channel opened up. We were expecting to go the following night, but could not resist a change of plans and walked in around 7. The staff was friendly, but not overbearing, and we took our seats at the large community style table in the middle of the floor.

The place seats somewhere around 50, with about 6 or 7 seats at the Bar, 10-12 at the big table and another 40 or so at 2 tops (which can be combined into 4 and 6 and whatever...).

After looking at the Menus we knew our doom was sealed. They had Mozzarella and peppers from Caputo's and Esposito's, the two very fine italian deli's in the neighborhood; they had a Lamb special for tuesday nights, with lamb from Jamison Farm a nice certified humane outfit in western PA; they had some terrific east coast Oysters, which made me very happy; and for Karina, a full Vegetarian Menu. Chef Ryan Angulo has done a terrific job of putting together a menu that is cohesive, but can also serve varying palettes (and ethical deviants like myself and Karina). It is also almost fully stocked with seasonal and local (northeast, at least) foods.

I ordered some oysters and the lamb, and Karina ordered Johnny Cakes off the veggie menu. They also brought out some delicious sweet and savory popovers as a starter. The food was really good, not too complicated, but with interesting combinations. The anchovy olive butter served with lamb and cauliflower made for a spry and tasty dish; and Karina's mini pancakes came with some delicious mushrooms and garlic, and (very) fresh slaw.

We finished off the meal with some terrific Oatmeal Cookies.

Since that visit we have been back several times. We have made a bit of a ritual of going there on thursday nights after the Office, for fries, wine, and the absolutely outrageous Apple Cider Donuts. Service is excellent. The owner and manager Doug Crowell is devoted and obviously knows the ins and outs of the business. Additionally he is supportive of his waitstaff, a quality few managers possess.

Last night I finally tried the namesake dish, the Buttermilk Fried Chicken. It was fantastic. The winter vegetable slaw is really terrific, and for a twist, the dish comes with warm waffles and a maple syrup concoction (hey Ryan, what's in that shit??). All together the dish is the most comforting of comfort foods. Who doesn't love chicken and waffles?

Karina had the Kale and Endive salad, which comes with a lovely (on the hard end of) soft boiled egg split in half sitting atop the salad luxuriously. It was also delicious, her favorite dish so far (i think).

In all our visits so far, the place has been generally crowded, and the service has been, without exception, very smooth and very clean. The servers are warm and helpful, but not annoying and overly friendly. They don't bother you with extended conversation and up-selling techniques. They largely allow you to do what you came there to do, enjoy the food.

I don't know how we are going to get married with this place so close. We have to figure a way to limit our visits to a reasonable once/month, or something. Otherwise there just won't be any money left.

Eat dangerous.

Tuesday is recycling day

2009-01-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

This is really where the quest for local wedding food started, on a small farm in New Hampshire.

I also wanted to remind folks about the problems of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. (CAFO's) and this post talks a bit about it.

So enjoy, though it is a repeat.

read: "Local Food, Organic Farming"

from 4/22/08

Farming a Wedding, Part 3: interested parties, ins and outs, what have you's

2008-12-22T23:31:00.004-05:00

In the last 50 years the food system, like most other industries, has leaped, bounded and thrusted itself into the future. Fertilizers, insecticides, mega-farming and genetic modification have created a miasma both literally, in the fields and waterways of our country, but also figuratively, in the minds of people worldwide.

Many have simply forgotten where their food comes from, and how it came to be. We have forgotten that asparagus shoots up in the spring, strait up, one at a time; that cows have been grazing on grass and nothing else for thousands of years; that strawberries taste better in the summer because that is when they are in season. These simple facts, known to human history for generations beyond memory, are being lost with breathtaking efficiency.

And it is dangerous. In a 2006 E. Coli outbreak in Dole's bagged Spinach, 104 cases of infection occurred in no fewer then 26 states, and one case in Canada. Dole, "The world's largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit and vegetables" (according to their website) sells fruits and vegetables in 90 countries worldwide. It draws from uncountable fields across the globe, spending unheard of amounts of money and natural resources to bring mediocre quality fruits to the American table. Dole has no reason to determine the sources of its product, if they did perhaps the FDA investigators may have had better luck. ("they were unable to determine how the contamination originated")

Dole's product, and much of the product distributed to places like Mohonk Mountain House, is very difficult to source. The food is grown in one place, sent to a sorting factory, mixed with other food of other farms, sent to a packing plant, which may service several brands (this happens very commonly with beef), where it is mixed again, then sent to a distributor to be delivered to stores across the country. There is no system in place to determine origin. A section of tomatoes in your local supermarket may contain fruit from the same country, but determining which farm, town, county, or state it came from is literally impossible.

On the other hand, if a small local farm has an outbreak, the damage is limited to the locale for which it serves, and the ability of regulators to determine the scope and necessary response to the problem is comparatively simple. The problem can be dealt with efficiently, and the farmer will likely lose her entire operation to lawsuits. Dole on the other hand, with $6 Billion in annual profits, can afford to pay off hundreds of settlements out of court, not even cracking the ivory tower at the top.

There is simply no comparison in terms of safety. Small farmers must produce safe and high quality food to stay afloat. Mega-foods have little or no concern with these pedestrian issues, profit margin is the only concern, as one can plainly see.

E. Coli, a relatively rare bacterial infestation, is not the only reason to look to local farms. Whole unprocessed farm foods have much higher nutrient contents, much lower rates of dangerous bacterium, dramatically different (and healthier) fatty acid ratios, and no refined grain or sugar. This is a modern recipe for health and longevity.

This is only one reason we have chosen to source our wedding from local farms. It is one of the most complex and difficult to grasp, as we simply don't understand how the system works, and how it can damage our lives, all in the name of higher profits. Small farms are about livelihood, family, community, virtues that are often discussed in the upper echelons of american politics, but little concern is actually paid to them.

We have seen these communities at work, and they are more then just a discussion around a liberal dinner table. They are the last best hope for our food, our health, and our society.

Yet another confusing diet plan, but it's so pretty!

2008-12-20T22:21:00.004-05:00

It actually doesn't look all that bad. Although it suggests way too much water, a fine way to tax the kidneys in the long term. But I like the attempt at dethroning the miserable food pyramid. Sadly the diet seems to be a ruse to get rich folks in Boca to go through an expensive diagnostics regimen with the joyful inventor of the the diet scheme, Dr. Robert D. Willix Jr..

My suggestions? A bit more complicated, but some ballpark information can be found here, here, and here.

Farming a Wedding, Part 2: Brook Farm

2008-12-19T23:06:00.004-05:00

We drove down the long road adjacent to rolling pasture and a rickety looking fence on a cold saturday morning just before thanksgiving. The Brook Farm Project is a farm which sits directly under the imposing and vast cliffs of the Mohonk Preserve in New Paltz, NY. We decided to visit the farm with the hopes that they might be able to supply some of the food for our wedding. The farm actually sits on the Mohonk property, and is used by lease. Using their food would epitomize the local food movement we are trying to support and sustain.

But as noon approached it was difficult to think of anything but the bone chilling cold that had descended on the Hudson Valley the night before.

The farm runs primarily as a CSA. As we walked over from our car, we saw folks picking up a reasonable share of the available (and dirty!) produce from large baskets. To know what a "reasonable" amount was, a large billboard stated how much of which produce was kosher to add to each member's "share".

We saw Dan immediately, wearing a Dickie's bodysuit that looked as if it were made for a Giant, some beat up work gloves and a furry earlap. I was jealous, freezing in my ripped bluejeans and felted jacket. Dan is a very tall man with a deep voice and a warm and engaging disposition. He chatted easily with his members, showing real and honest fondness for each. We got his attention and began talking with him about our ideas for the wedding. As he listened to our plan his eyes glowed with excitement, he immediately jumped on board, the season is perfect (late september), the chefs will be elated, Mohonk needs something like this, so they can really get it.

Dan is a true believer. As we talked with him we learned just how powerful community can be. His CSA is not just a food supply service. Each member must work a commensurate amount to their share value (full share, half share, student share, see the CSA .pdf), engaging the member in the production, as well as the consumption of their produce, meats and eggs. The ties members have run very deep, forming a community like those of simpler times, yet fully integrated into the modern world. This is not an anachronism, it is an efficient, economical and virtuous system that works as well now as at any other time in history.

Listening to Dan talk about farming and the movement for local and organic (or uncertified, but of higher standard, as Brook Farm is) food is infectious. We left Brook farm still shivering, but with the assurance that they could provide all of the produce necessary for the wedding reception.

In return, Dan asked Karina and I to come back in the Spring and work on the farm. A task we are only happy to accomplish.

The only trick now? Make sure Mohonk buys produce only from Brook Farm. This will likely turn out to be the hardest part: getting Mohonk to do what we want.

We'll see. But at the moment I am still infected by Dan's optimism and belief in the spirit of his community, so I will hold to that for a little longer!

Rock.

Farming a Wedding Part 1

2008-12-18T12:05:00.004-05:00

So many changes. But I love change, so all is well. Karina and I are getting married next year. I always thought planning a wedding would be fun, I didn't know it would be this fucking fun!

I have been working on the food. We are getting married at the Mohonk Mountain House, a colossal frankenstein of a hotel that sits in what must have been an edenic hideaway for the Mohicans 400 years ago. The house abuts a long lake, surrounded by rocky cliffs. The cliffs themselves are a maze of tunnels, caves, rockfalls, and dwarf pitch pines that have clung to these cliffs far longer then human memory.

But it is the food that is the most important aspect of our wedding. Mohonk works through a set of distributors, standard practice for a food operation so large. There are hundreds of guests each day that need to eat, and the menu has to stay fairly steady. They have made some steps in sourcing locally, but an operation so large cannot be supported by small farms, unless some unifying force brings all the farms together.

That force is us. We have a unique event of just over 100 guests. They have to prepare and deliver our food independent of the main kitchen. We have a unique opportunity to drive the Mohonk staff directly into the local farms of the region.

Luckily those farms are close by and they are amazing. So I will be posting about each one over the next few weeks.

The Farms:

Brook Farm

Four Winds Farm

Wild Hive Farm and Bakery

Lynnhaven Dairy Goats

Fishkill Farms

an education

2008-11-07T11:46:00.001-05:00

The food system, in 9 pages of Michael Pollan clarity:
Open letter the the next president of the USA

What's next?

2008-11-07T11:34:00.004-05:00

President-elect Barack Obama.

"I was just reading an article in the New York Times by Michael Pollen about food and the fact that our entire agricultural system is built on cheap oil. As a consequence, our agriculture sector actually is contributing more greenhouse gases than our transportation sector. And in the mean time, it's creating monocultures that are vulnerable to national security threats, are now vulnerable to sky-high food prices or crashes in food prices, huge swings in commodity prices, and are partly responsible for the explosion in our healthcare costs because they're contributing to type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease, obesity, all the things that are driving our huge explosion in healthcare costs."

- Barack Obama

Sourcing your food

2008-10-31T14:25:00.005-04:00

Think it is important to know the sources of your food? From the NY Times:

China Widens Food Tests on Signs of New Contamination

Yet another local guide

2008-10-31T10:26:00.001-04:00

Local Fork is a guide to all things local.

click here for the NYC guide.

My on-going love-hate affair with Oprah.

2008-10-29T12:05:00.005-04:00

First she and I are together on Faulkner, then Obama, then she does her Vegan Cleanse and I flip out on her, telling her I just can't do it anymore, that she is just too fucking dumb for me.

But Oprah is a clever one, always surprising us when we think of her as the Queen Mum of sycophantic housewives.

She has come back to food, after unceremoniously getting sued by the meat industry for cutting out burgers after the mad cow scare, with a basic Green eating guide and a new lengthy piece on ethics and industrial animal production by The View's token asian co-host, the adorable reporter Lisa Ling. It is a lengthy piece, and has some actual reporting in it.

For some serious information on why CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operations) are the evil empire of food production in America, read this report from the Union of Concerned Scientists.

What a brooklyn gal can do

2008-10-29T11:55:00.003-04:00

Meet KayCee and Owen formerly of brooklyn, now running an organic and pasture based farm called Awesome Farm! in Tivoli, NY.

They do eggs. chickens, lamb and turkey, all pastured, and they make Tempeh too! For you veggie types.

It is about 2 1/2 hours north of New York City, alongside the Hudson and the Catskills further to the west. Put it on the day trip list and pay them a visit!

be well.

Pasture Meat.

2008-10-24T09:25:00.005-04:00

I have written about this before, but it bears repeating, as many still cannot grasp the problem with American Meats.

The History

Until the last half of the 20th Century, our meats, including Beef, Chicken, Pork and lamb, as the four major meats came from animals raised in traditional Euro-Asian ways. The cows were raised on grasslands, the chickens foraging in those grasslands, and pigs foraging everywhere they could. In the 17th century in New England, for instance, farmers would turn their pigs out into the woods until fall, when they would go out and round them up, a difficult process for sure, but not as difficult as managing the pigs for the entire spring and summer seasons. This turned out healthy strong pigs for slaughter.

In the latter 20th Century, after Nixon instituted massive grain subsidies, two things happened. Farmers began using their pasture land to grow Corn, Soy and Wheat, and a surplus of grain resulted.

The need to use that grain was a necessity or the market would crumble. So we began feeding the animals with it. The resultant industry driven animal factories are well documented in previous posts on this blog.

What this means for your health

The meats that are now grain fed are qaulitatively different then the old pasture animals. They have a much higher ratio of Omega 6 fatty acids to Omega 3 fatty acids. Human beings need a nice 3:1 ratio. Pasture animals have a near perfect ratio for our consumption. Pasture animals, particularly cows, produce milk with much lower bacterial counts then grain fed animals, and pasture animals have much higher levels of essential vitamins and minerals then grain fed animals. In short they are a far healthier product.

This is not a little thing, our metabolism has developed over thousands of years to function off of specific foods. It is glacially slow in adjusting to new factors, hence lactose intolerance for 70% of the world's population. Pasture meats are the perfect food, having all essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals (except vitamin C), along with a perfect inflammation reducing ratio of Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. But grain fed animals quickly take on the opposite composition, lacking in vitamin and minerals, and with greatly expanded Omega 6, we are left with less nutrition and higher inflammation.

Where to get the meats

1. Farmer's Markets, find your local market or farm here.

2. Delivery, I have recently found two sources. Fleisher's Gras fed will deliver grass fed meat to your door if you live in NYC or Rhinebeck. They have beef, pork, lamb, and poultry.

8-O'clock Ranch is an upper NY state ranch that delivers orders as small as 5-6 lbs and as large as halves and wholes (sides of beef!). I have joined their CSA which gives me 3 months of Beef, Lamb and Pork, from December through February, 10 lbs/month.

The best part - their prime rib cuts are all dry aged, a process that is sadly less and less prevalent, as it delivers meat of the utmost tenderness and flavor.

{Edit: I just found another resource from our friends at the Union of Concerned Scientists. A paper entitled Greener Pastures: How grass-fed Beef and Milk contribute to healthy eating}

Hiatus

2008-10-24T09:21:00.002-04:00

I have not had much time for this, as school and work and other concerns have, like Putin, reared their heads. I have been visiting some farmer's markets here in the city, and so it may be time to get going again.

thanks for reading.

Americans demand knowledge of the origins of their food

2008-09-30T19:10:00.002-04:00

Here it is. We have removed ourselves so completely, so decisively from our food's origins that the Federal Government has now stepped in to set things strait. Of course when approaching problems such as these, the grand gestures of bureaucracy more often then not have the greatest effect upon the least vital elements.

So what has happened? According to the fed, food must now be labeled clearly to display its Country of Origin. This may be via sticker, twist tie, whatever, paint em up if you want, but a $1000 fine will be (sparsely, carelessly) enforced on those that do not label their foods.

This will cause a stir in the food industry, as fruits, vegetables, and meats will need to be segregated for labeling and shipping in situations where they might formerly have ridden together, so to speak. The reasons for this newfound desire of the Fed to follow your food around like a hawk lie in the recent outbreaks of e. coli, and such among american produce.

I just don't have the energy for this one. I know exactly where my food comes from. If there is a problem I can drag the farmer who sold me the bad product out of his/her tent and onto the long meadow of Prospect Park, beat them senseless, steal their truck, and generally lay waste to the life of myself and any others that get in my way.

If Captain Pathmark, or Jimmy Charger for that matter, has a problem with their food, who are they going to go to for answers? Even if the little sticker says "Made in Uraguay" or "proudly grown in the republic of my shitty mc'shit-alot" what then? Do they drive to the country in question, asking passersby where the farm with the bad tomatoes is? A "country of origin" label gets you pretty close to the problem if your food comes in from lichtenstein, or Trinidad and Tobago, but what if your food came from Argentina, Brazil, The USA, Canada, China? How do you find out who fucked the peppers over if your searchable radius is 3000 miles?

There is just no way to legislate integrity.

Our protections from the perpetration of this wildly overgrown culture of consumption do not lie in the federal fucking government. Our saving grace is to renew our connections with those that grow and cultivate and process our foods. I know the farmer who sells me my bacon, my lamb, my steak, my apples, pears, mustard greens, mushrooms, milk, pasta, cheese, bread, and grains. I know where every vendor lives, because their addresses are written on the signs above their tents. Or building, in the case of my pasta, which comes from Caputo's on Court st, run by 3 generations of a local family. Where are these people going to go if they poison my food? Where can they hide when I drag my sick body and my lawyer into their establishments and hold up the paperwork with "CRIMINAL NEGLIGANCE" written all over it. Are they going to point sheepishly at a 2 million square mile swath of the republic of god knows where and say "it was THEM"?

The system is juked to protect producers that fuck with your food. Protect yourself, get back to the real free market economy, in which we police ourselves, and our farmer's produce quality food not because someone tells them to, but because they depend on our business with their very livelihood.

Eat small.

Choices made easier

2008-09-26T11:19:00.003-04:00

Eat Well Guide has put out regional food guides for several metropolitan areas. Check out the New York City Guide.

october.

2008-09-26T11:10:00.004-04:00

between the mets, the absurdity of politics, and moving into a new apartment, it has been difficult to think about writing. but i have returned. so fear not, new information is on its way.

Although, October baseball and November elections are almost upon us...

San Francisco goes local

2008-09-11T18:10:00.002-04:00

Gavin Newsom is at it again. First he fought the good fight for marriage equity. Now he is trying to convert all city meals to local sourcing. Read all about it here.

The rabbit hole: Omega Fatty Acids

2008-09-10T15:22:00.005-04:00

I was just talking to a friend who has some troubles with inflammation. I have been studying metabolism this term, and have finally figured out what exactly these Omega Fatty Acids are all about:

Omega 3's and 6's are the fundemental fats in the production of arachidonic acid. The concise story on this is that arachadonic acid's actions (via it's offspring) are in regulating inflammation.

So if inflammation is a major problem, it is likely that your fatty acid balance is off. It is possible that your ratio of 6's to 3's is as much as 3 or 4 times too high. The ratio should be about 3:1 (O6:O3), but the average american has a ratio of about 15:1. This translates to much higher inflammation rates throughout the body.

Overview:
low ratio - low inflammation, strong bowel mucosa
high ratio - high inflammation, a host of other problems in the long run, such as atherosclerosis, etc.

Here's the problem: trying to get back to a healthy ratio basically requires traveling back in time to before industrial farming destroyed the fat chemistry of our foods. You can get good foods, but you must be vigilant.

If you are a strait veggie, invest in some flax seed oil (in the dark thick bottles) and have a teaspoon with dinner, or use it in dressing and the like. This should be kept back in the cupboard, as flax seed oil is touchy when exposed to light.

if you eat eggs, milk and meat, you must only eat from pastured animals (i.e. grass-fed beef/milk cows, and pasture chickens). When animals are fed grain their fatty acid ratio goes out of whack. Pasture raised, grass finished beef is the best, as it has a nearly perfect ratio, and it has a lot of great healthy fat.

a lot of people recommend good fish oil also, but this should probably not be consumed in high quantities. Or just eat some good fish.

From what I have read, problems with inflammation can be reigned in tremendously by simply altering the O6:O3 ratio.

So, if you have allergies, constant inflammatory conditions, atherosclerosis, etc etc, you may find some benefit to altering the diet to bring the Fatty Acids under control.

Where to shop: Farmer's markets. The eggs, meats and milk are mostly from pastured animals. Look here for farms near your area.

Eat your fats

2008-09-04T20:11:00.002-04:00

I was looking for studies on fiber and I stumbled on this one from JAMA. The framers of the study looked at 147 studies of diet and Coronary Heart Disease in order to come up with a picture of a healthy diet in terms of CHD.
One finding was that "simply lowering the percentage of energy from total fat in the diet is unlikely to improve lipid profile or reduce CHD incidence".

So eat up people. The total fat intake is not related, as we have been told for generations, to fat intake. There is much to be learned, as we must parse the types of fat to get a better picture.

i will drop some fat guidelines:

1. No hydrogenated fats (trans fats)
2. Cook with Saturated fats - butter, ghee, pork fat, beef fat, coconut oil are all high in saturated fat.
3. Use poly's, but don't cook with them - vegetable oils, avocado oil, sesame oil - great to use, but do not cook in them.
4. Mono-unsaturated is likely the healthiest - Beef, pork and chicken are high in mono, as is Olive Oil. I have been told not to cook with olive oil, but I still do. I am thinking of switching over to Ghee, but I have to learn to properly make it.

Eat it.

The best lamb I have ever eaten

2008-08-28T10:04:00.003-04:00

I am currently on vacation in the mountains of central Washington State. Our house for the week is nestled between pear orchards, creeks, and towering mountains.

Eating here has been a bit tricky. I haven't been able to find good eggs and bacon, which is unfortunate, but there is fruit and veggies a-plenty in every direction.

When we arrived we checked out the local "natural" foods store. This is a decent place for shipped foods, but local quality is almost impossible in the Supermarket setting. However the proprietor of the store gave us a list of folks who might have meats and produce. This is how we found Eric.

Eric and his wife Catha live in Peshastin, WA, about a ten minute drive from our house. They primarily make cheese for a living. They also raise and sell Lamb. I called Eric and asked about the availability of some lamb. He said they usually sell quarters and halves, but he would check for something smaller. About an hour later he called back and told me he had a 5.5 lb leg in the freezer he could sell me for $7/lb. I said we'd be over the next day to get it.

Now we are here with friends that are not so trusting of small producers, so I felt I needed a bit more information. The next morning I called Eric before heading over and started to ask him about his slaughtering process:

"how do you process and such things?"

"well...I do it. With a knife. I slit their throats."

I laughed, and as he launched into the rest of the story I began to realize that this was what I have looked for. To go to a town, meet and talk with local food producers, support them with our business, this is the virtue of local eating.

Eric's operation sounded pretty Kosher. He waits till the fall, when all the flies are dead. He slaughters the animals in the lower barn. Lamb can hang and bleed out without being chilled so carefully as beef. So he lets them bleed out for a few days before transferring the carcasses to his cutter/packer. This facility handles the cutting, packing and freezing of the meats, which Eric then brings back home and stores for his customers.

Upon arriving at the farm, Eric greeted us warmly. He has short dreaded locks, and was wearing a dirty t-shirt and ripped blue jeans. He didn't seem like any cheesemaker I could imagine.

About thirty minutes later, we were standing in Eric's cheese making room, waiting for him to return with cheese, wine and crackers. We told him we weren't going to buy any cheese, but he said we had to try some, and that we could not try it without wine and crackers. His cheese, a brie or camembert type cheese, was terrific, creamy, smooth, but with stinky flavor.

After showing us the spot where the lamb had lived, and introducing us to his pair of Great Pyrenees and his pigs, we were on our way. He told us the lamb would likely be the best we ever tasted, if, he cautioned, we did not overcook it. I told him we would take care of it.

Last night we cooked the leg. 5.5 lbs in a convection oven for about 1 hour and 25 minutes. I prepare my lamb greek style, with a lemon/olive oil baste every 10-15 minutes. It was most definitely the tastiest lamb meat I have ever eaten. It was also satisfying to know that we were eating meat of an animal that was raised and killed within 5 miles of our house, by a small self sufficient family. It was sold at a reasonable price and the quality of the product was supreme.

I knew everything about the meat I ate last night. Comparatively, I have eaten lamb in the past that traveled over 10000 miles to arrive at my plate. Sure it was good, but not like this. One of my dinner companions said, "If I were in a restaurant and this was $200 a plate, I would believe it was worth it. Then again, if I were told it was crap I would believe it too. That's how different this lamb tastes." Thankfully he liked the flavor, going back for seconds, and thirds

recall blues

2008-08-18T17:24:00.005-04:00

When are we going to get the picture? Stop eating the fucking industrial meat people!
The store that makes us all feel really good while shopping, Whole Foods, has just issued a massive recall on several of its Beef products. Whole foods is not the only store to issue a recall on beef, several supermarkets across the country have responded to the recall by overall craptastic Nebraska Beef bringing the total to over 1.2 million pounds of beef.

Hold the phone - I thought Whole Foods had standards, that they had better sources of food then the local supermarket. More importantly, I thought Whole Foods had the kind of ethically sound, natural and organic products I buy to make me forget that I am part of a culture of destructive consumerism. Well the meat was actually purchased from Coleman Natural, who seem to say all the right things on their website. Coleman is run by another company, Meyer Natural Angus, who use Nebraska Beef as their processors. (They also use the absurd phrase "true corn-fed flavor" when talking about the corn feeds they use) So this web of businesses, 4 in all, leaves us with a lovely gift, the contaminated product. But it is not just these 4 companies, one of the problems in tracking the contamination is that nebraska beef moves its product to several different distributors. So it is difficult to determine where the end-product, the food we eat, came from.

The recall was based on E. Coli contamination. For those of you who do not know what that means, I'll just say it involves sewage. This isn't the first time Nebraska Beef has gotten in trouble, in fact it was their third recall in 2 months. How do these bastards stay open?

One reason is politics. Ben Nelson, the distinguished Senator from Nebraska, received a few bucks from them, $14,000+ in 2006 alone. Nelson also sent about $7 million in tax breaks to Nebraska Beef while he was Governor in 1998.

A large processor like Nebraska must kill and process over 2000 animals every day. This is anywhere from 10 to 100 times more product then a small house will slaughter. The employees are under far more stress, and are generally less skilled then those of a small house that processes the farmer's market, halal or kosher meat.

Why would a large processor be more prone to e. coli outbreak? In the case of Nebraska beef it was likely due to unsanitary equipment. This means the equipment was not cleaned properly or frequently enough. In a large slaughterhouse, oversight is much more difficult, and standards must fall to meet the higher demand. In a large chicken facility for example, an inspector will see 1000 birds in the same amount of time that he or she would see 100 in a small house. Mistakes are not hard to imagine in these factories, and one needs not imagine them, as several were caught on tape at several facilities in California. Now, companies like Nebraska Beef, Coleman Natural, Meyer and Whole Foods can soak up the costs of an expensive recall and stay afloat. Particularly while they are reaping the benefits of tax breaks and other types of corporate welfare. But a small producer would be instantly destroyed by a contamination.

Imagine the impact of e. coli from farmer's market meats or vegetables on the industry of small local farming. It would be devastating. This is an important market factor. These producers, either organic, bio-dynamic or humane, with their pastured animals, are finding the best processors they can. They are paying a tremendous amount to the slaughterhouses and traveling processors per animal, and their final product is their very livelihood. There is no political bailout, no team of lawyers, no bean counters, there is nothing to protect these small business people. The imperative is quality product. This is why you will pay $3-5 more per pound to purchase your meats. Bacon costs me twice what supermarket bacon costs, chicken 3 times and beef 5 times. But I am assured of a quality product from clean, healthy, hearty animals with robust immune systems. And if I need to see it to believe it, my producers allow me to visit any time. If I tried to get close to a purdue CAFO or processor I would be arrested by men in HAZMAT outfits. No, I will gladly pay more for products from men and women who must adhere to the strictest quality standards to secure their livelihood. Not those big companies that can take a hit and keep trucking.

If only the rest of us would wake up and stop feeding the maw of the disgraceful, unhealhty, and un-american industrial food production business. Teddy Roosevelt would have a field day with the current food industry.

Here is my proposal: Get a bunch of rabbi's to produce a Golem that is subsumed with the soul of Teddy Roosevelt. Then just sit back and watch as he shows these bastards what America used to be about.

Be Angry.

The rabbit hole: Diabetes

2008-08-14T16:37:00.004-04:00

I was looking around for some info on fiber and I came across this statement from the Diabetes Health Center at WebMD:

"Diabetes Diet Myth 1: Eating Too Much Sugar Causes Diabetes."

Their reasoning?

"How does diabetes happen? The causes are not totally understood. What is known is that simply eating too much sugar is unlikely to cause diabetes. Instead, diabetes begins when something disrupts your body’s ability to turn the food you eat into energy."

In their entire discussion of causality in Diabetes, the words "Insulin resistance" are not used. There is also the strange term "unlikely" applied to sugar as a risk factor. They mention Obesity as a risk factor, however, not considering for a moment how obese people become obese.

Then I went on:

"Diabetes Diet Myth 3: Carbohydrates Are Bad."

Let's see their reasoning on this one:

"In fact, carbohydrates are good. They form the foundation of a healthy diabetes diet – or of any healthy diet.
Carbohydrates have the greatest effect on blood glucose levels, which is why you are asked to monitor how much carbohydrate you eat when following a diabetes diet."

Why is this all a problem?

The answer begins with Hippocrates. Any diet recommendations fall under the umbrella of "Preventive Medicine". Preventive medicine is most profoundly beholden to the Hippocratic oath, which is a lovely statement descrying harmful prescription. Yet the folks at WebMD are doing just that.

This has been going on for generations.

The initial argument was that a high percentage carb diet held a lower risk of heart disease. Which is true only in select studies, and only very slightly when compared to a high percentage fat diet. (The high carb diet holds a higher risk of stroke and cancer in all studies, but these aspects of diet studies are seldom reported.)

The long tumble down the hill of bad science and medical clap-trap began with this correlation. (high fat = heart disease)

It was assumed that obesity was also correlated with a high fat diet, based not on data or science, but on intuition. The syllogism would properly read: If dietary fat is correlated with obesity, and obesity is correlated with heart disease, then dietary fat must be correlated with heart disease. But this was not their logic. Their logic links obesity and dietary fat through heart disease. It would be as if a man were convicted of killing another man, because he happened to be standing next to the actual killer during the act.

To make matters worse, the chain continued, as Diabetes was brought into the mix. There is absolutely no evidence that a high percentage of natural dietary fats (saturated, or otherwise, anything but trans fats) have any correlation with a higher rate of Diabetes. Nor is there any evidence that dietary fats have any correlation with obesity. But, we assumed, because it seemed to make sense.

Why did it seem to make sense?

Because MD's and biochemists seldom understand the first thing about physics. When discussing diet many scientists will hearken to the First Law of Thermodynamics. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the law, it states:

"The increase in the internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of energy added by heating the system, minus the amount lost as a result of the work done by the system on its surroundings."

This law is invoked when talking about Calories. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie - the mantra of bad dietary science. They suggest that the amount of calories that is consumed in the diet must equal the output of energy. Food with a higher calorie rating must require more energy to break down, and thus, the less active we are the less calories we break down. The idea is based on a positive or negative caloric balance. But it is an oversimplification of human biology. It ignores the body's fat storage mechanisms, it ignores defecated waste, it ignores water losses through perspiration.

1. Fat storage - before fatty acids are converted into energy they have the option of becoming stored fat. This process was discussed heavily in my post a few days ago. If they do this then they will not enter the energy output cycle. This process is heavily influenced by the content of our diet, not the total caloric quantity.

2. Defecation - as any raw foodist will tell you, eating more fibrous foods (cellulose particularly) will increase bowel motility. The problem with their theory of course is that less nutrients are absorbed...but we'll leave them alone for a bit. The point here is that if we are defecating more thoroughly we will be releasing more food content. So bowel variation has a part in food absorption.

3. Perspiration - when I eat Congee with Pork and Thousand Year Egg I sweat. I sweat a lot. When I drink Oolong tea I sweat. This isn't much, it is not going to tip the scales one way or another, but if it is happening then we know ATP is being manufactured, as heat is the bi-product. If our food can enable or disable this body function then we must consider it as part of overall metabolism.

So, thermodynamics when applied to human dietary physiology might look a bit circuitous. A calorie is a calorie in the stomach, but to the duodenum it is a glucose or a fatty acid; to the pancreas it is a 'make insulin now' and to the gall bladder it is a "bile - GO!". Then the liver takes some charge of the situation and the calorie becomes one of several possible outcomes, as outlined above. It could be energy, as glucose usually is directly after consumption, or fatty acids are most of the rest of the time. Or it could be fat storage, or it could not be assimilated at all, and defecated. All these factors must be parsed and counted to have an accurate idea of the effect of different diet components on the body. This is far too complex for a typical prospective diet study.

The point of all this is that all calories are very likely not created equal. Because the foods that the "calorie" ratings are applied to have different actions on the internal mechanisms of the body. These actions have different effects on metabolism.

What if there were a car factory that could make a fuel efficient compact, a mid-size family sedan, and a 7 seater SUV, all with the same apparatus? The operators would simply insert a different blueprint when they wanted one or the other, allowing the machines to do the rest.

This is what our body does naturally. What a beautiful machine it is! It is capable, based on input, of producing such a variety of end products, that it boggles the mind. The input is our dietary contents. The output is always different, dependent upon the particular ingredients of our diets. Different inputs can make us fat, thin, strong, weak, healthy or disease-ridden.

High fat diets, with low carbohydrate content (not percentage, but overall content) are repeatedly among the safest and healthiest diets found in prospective studies, such as those run by the National Center for heatlh statistics. The recommendation for "lean proteins" constantly bandied about by the AHA or the ADA are based on no science.

And yet, on both their websites (www.diabetes.org and www.americanheart.org) you find the recommendation for "non-fat dairy" and "lean protein", as well as a foundation of carbohydrates.

These recommendations have been around for about 30 years. (or perhaps upwards of 60, but more powerfully the last 30) In that time we have seen an increased incidence of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, bowel diseases and dementia. Thanks to other medical advances, we have seen life expectancy rise amid the deluge of disease. Americans are living longer with heart disease then they used to.

So what dietary ingredient has increased since 1970? According to these USDA statistics, between 1970 and 2005, grain availability increased by 41%, of which 89% went to our diets in refined form; fruits and veggies increased by 19%, and meats by a paltry 7.5%. This accompanied a growth in US population of 45%.

If you count sugars and sweeteners you get a further 19% growth in refined carb load.

So, in a period which saw a 45% growth in population, we find a complimentary growth in only one major ingredient: Refined Carbohydrates.

If, as many scientists do, we assume that diet has some relationship to disease incidence, we find the only logical culprit for the increased incidence of disease in America to be refined carbs. All other food types have not been produced and consumed in such quantity as to keep up even with population growth.

And yet, we are still recommending Carbs as the foundation of a healthy diet. Sure, they are saying "whole grains" these days, but who actually follows that advice?

Come on people, wake up and eat your bacon. Drink your fatty milk, eat your pasture beef, fry those pasture eggs in butter.

And leave the toast in the bread basket. You'll thank me when you are 90 and still driving around the neighborhood.

Top Chef tries "healthy"

2008-08-12T10:39:00.004-04:00

Every four months I get a couple weeks to chill, Acupuncture school is 3 years, 9 semesters, and the 2-3 week breaks we get are never quite as long as I want them to be. That said, they do afford me the opportunity to catch up on Top Chef.

Watching Tom Colicchio rip these jackasses a new one is always a pleasure.

Anyway, in the episode I just watched, the chefs were to come up with a "healthy" dish for members of the Chicago Police Department. The producers brought on Sam from Season 2 to be the guest judge. Sam is a diabetic, and tells the chefs that he often has trouble finding foods that are low in carbs and sugars. The meal must be "healthy" and "diabetic friendly".

So I am watching, and "low carb, low sugar" somehow shifts to the common nutritional knowledge of the day "lean protein, fruit, vegetable, whole grain". Several times in the episode the chefs make mention of the low cholesterol component of their meals. The douchebag who went to nutrition school makes sure to say at least 6 times that his dish, a tasteless and insubstantial sushi, is healthy by virtue of it being raw.

Some day we will let go of these erroneous nutritional recommendations. Lean meats are no healthier then fatty meats, nor do they taste especially better. Eating entirely raw food is thought by many to be a healthy cleanse, one to be performed for a few weeks, to clear out some toxins. But it is not an adequate full time and continuous diet.

For a whole mess of information on that subject, click here.

Perhaps though things are looking up. The low sugar, low carb theme was more prominent in the episode then lean meat, or low cholesterol. And the Raw food guy went home.

Also, my brother wants me to stop using "Be Well" at the end of posts. So I came up with a new one for him:

Suck it.

the rabbit hole - dietary fat vs. adipose fat

2008-08-07T19:56:00.008-04:00

Dare you come down here with me? It is all starting to come clear. But it is a complicated picture.

Let's begin.

There are 3 basic parts of our foods. Fats, Carbs, Protein. Today we talk fats.

Fats. Naturally occurring fats are perhaps our best friends in the food world. It doesn't matter which kind we are talking about. All fatty foods contain a combination, and all are useful/healthy in their own ways. I wrote much more about that here. Fats are responsible for most of our day to day metabolism.

I. Our dietary fat is initially metabolized into free fatty acids. The flow of free fatty acids from our livers (where the acids begin) to the blood (then to the adipose tissue and all other cells of the body) is vital to proper energy management systemwide. This flow is enabled by most of our endocrine hormones. It is disabled by one only one, insulin. If we increase insulin, we push fatty acids into adipose storage, if we decrease insulin, we release the mechanism for fat storage, and fatty acids are free to roam and provide energy.

So, to sum up this first part: dietary fat is broken down, the liver then sends the resultant fatty acids out to the rest of the body. Whether this fat gets stored as adipose tissue, or metabolized, is primarily due to 1) the level of insulin in the blood, and 2) the predisposition of each of our hormones to fat storage.

Let me make sure to state what adipose tissue growth or reduction is NOT due to: 1) the amount of overall calories we eat, and 2) the amount of exercise we perform.

Why not?

II. Fatty acids can become energy only if they stay in their free fatty acid state. The body can instead turn them into Triglycerides which are either locked into adipose tissue (via insulin) or they clog up the blood stream (atherosclerosis, when in large quantities). So how do free fatty acids triple up to become bulbous immovable triglyceride plaque?

The fatty acids must be joined together, this is accomplished by glycerol 3 phosphate. Gly-3-p is a product of the metabolism of glucose and fructose (refined sugars). It forms the backbone of the triglyceride. The process is illustrated nicely by this table.

How then does that plaque become adipose tissue?

The triglycerides are snared by a protein called LPL which pulls triglycerides out of the blood stream, and into adipose storage. Therefore, the regulation of LPL is vital to the development of adipose tissue.

{Edit: I significantly simplified the science here. Let me fix: LPL actually breaks the triglycerides down first, then transports. The free fatty acids either go to fat storage or processing for fuel. The higher the insulin levels the more LPL action moves toward fat storage, the lower the insulin the more the LPL action moves toward muscle tissue for fuel production.}

How do we get fat?

The LPL activity is increased by insulin. The more insulin, the more fat accumulation. Insulin is increased most profoundly by refined sugars. Particularly glucose.

To sum up the second part: Fatty acids become fat (adipose tissue) only when combined into triglyceride form and pushed into adipose accumulation. This entire process is guided by Sugar, via its direct influence on insulin.

The last piece of the puzzle.

Some people get fat, some don't. The last element seems to be a hormonal imbalance in those that become Obese. They are especially prone, in the Hypothalamus, to the effects of insulin. If the (ventromedial) hypothalamus cannot properly regulate insulin then we will fatten. Fattening will make us hungry, as there will be more need for fuel, and the vicious cycle of obesity will begin.

So, the final sum-up:

Sugars and refined grains raise insulin levels quickly and dramatically, their metabolism produces a bi-product that builds triglycerides. The heightened insulin raises the amount of triglycerides that get stored as adipose tissue, causing obesity.

Let me again state what does not cause obesity: Perverse appetite and lack of exercise.

So I guess the only question left is: Is obesity bad?

Yes.

So why eat fats? Fatty foods are high in nutrients, and if properly raised/produced will have an excellent Omega 6:Omega 3 ratio (as close to 1:1 as possible is best). This study shows the benefits of a lower ratio. Beef alone (when raised properly!) contains all essential amino acids and all but 1 of the essential vitamins, C. C is readily available in citrus, among other foods. (although it may not be as necessary as we think) Fats also provide lasting energy, and the means for excellent cell communication through the free flowing adipose tissue. They are also associated with higher HDL and (only slightly) overall cholesterol, but lower VLDL triglycerides in the blood. This is the structure of health the western medical establishment has embraced.

The fats to stay away from:

* Do not cook with polyunsaturated vegetable oils. They should only be used at room temperature, such as in salad dressings.

* Eat fried foods infrequently. I don't know enough about this yet. If you fry, fry your foods in lard. Never fry in polyunsaturated oils.

* Trans fats. These oxidizing fats became very popular with the villification of saturated fats in the 50's and 60's. However they go back to 1911, when crisco was invented. The reason? The almighty need for greater shelf-life. They are hydrogenated vegetable oils, and they are to be shunned.

The fats to eat:

All the others! Chow down! Get the image of eggs, milk, beef, fatty bacon and heart attacks gone from your minds. But remember, you must be eating pasture eggs, meat and cheeses to get the proper benefits. Cows that grew up on grains do not produce meat that is all that nourishing when compared to pasture cows eating mostly grass. This holds true for all livestock. Also, hit your fatty veggies, the great beans (NOT soy!) and your flax seed and oils. Fish oil, fish, chicken, olive oil, this is the food of everlasting health.

Lastly, don't listen to the establishment. The american heart association is recommending to this day a diet that is low in saturated fats, cholesterol, both of which have been demonstrated to be associated with higher rates of obesity, diabetes, stroke, cancer, bowel disease, and overall mortality. But the conventional wisdom is powerful, and the anti-quackery boys are always out in force.

Note on sources: Most of my information is based on the work of Gary Taubes, from his book "Good Calories, Bad Calories. Challenging the conventional wisdom on Diet, Weight Control and Disease". His source material is vast, and I am sitting squarely on his shoulders as I write this. To learn more about his theories, watch this video:

Slow Foods

2008-08-07T15:22:00.002-04:00

That bastion of hope for local food systems, community food production and dinner table eating, Slow Foods International, have completed plans for their first major American Event, Slow Food Nation '08. It will take place in San Francisco from Aug. 29th - Sept. 1st. With a tasting pavillion, a community marketplace, various talking events, music and more, San Francisco will be alight with tasty local food.

Check it out. Hopefully we will get one of these festivals in NY in the near future.

love the fast food.

2008-08-07T15:05:00.001-04:00

I found this on www.failblog.org.

Sugar Kills

2008-08-05T00:04:00.003-04:00

Anybody who has had a conversation with me in the last month knows that I am on a crusade to vilify refined sugar and flour. I am working on eliminating these elements from my own diet, and I am telling anyone who will listen to do the same.

The basic idea is this: Refined sugar (and thus diets that are absurdly high in sugar) is a simple carbohydrate. It metabolizes so quickly that our system reacts almost violently to it. Our blood glucose shoots up, and our insulin levels shoot up in response. Doing this once in a while is not a problem, the body is equipped for small bouts of hyperglucosemia, and Hyperinsulinemia, for that matter. The problem is that rich european and american culture has been doing it way too much. Up to 200 lbs per year per American. 200 lbs. Every year. Of sugar. Diabetes and Obesity are increasing in incidence, as is Hypertension, Cancer, Chronic Bowell Diseases, the hallmarks of Western Medical disrepair.

How do we know sugar is the crucial element? In countless reports over the last 200 years we have seen the same pattern repeat itself. Non-european isolated culture group eats diet that is devoid of refined products. (Masai, Zulu, Pima, Inuit, and many others) They are healthy, without incidence of Obesity, Diabetes, Heart disease, Cancer. Yet within one generation of commerce with western countries, the diseases of the west catch and take hold. The one factor that is ALWAYS present is the introduction of refined grains and sugar. No other factor (change in environment, environmental stressors; change in other dietetic elements) is consistent throughout. So how does sugar do it?

Sugar consumption diverts insulin from the myriad roles it must perform in the body, the body is neglected, chronic illness results. How can we see this? Look at Ovarian Cancer, for example. The major controllable risk factor for Ovarian cancer is Obesity. Upon diagnosing cancer, many woman will go on insulin therapy to help their conditions, as these will reduce the glucose in their bloodstream, which seems to help. The ovaries are very delicate endocrine organs. They are guided each month by the dramatic work of various hormones. Insulin seems to be somewhat regulatory in the overall work of the ovaries.

So the picture is: a woman consumes too much sugar for her system, her insulin is diminished system wide, as it is constantly at work lowering the blood sugar level, and the Ovaries, for this reason, suffer. More insulin is introduced to the system to help, but this has other problems, as the body can in turn become insulin resistant. This in fact occurs, as many women who suffer from Ovarian Cancer will become Diabetic in time.

There are so many more awful elements to the story, but the bottom line is: wipe it out of your diet.

However, if you don't want/need a nutritional reason, let me appeal to your humanity.

It seems that our friends at Imperial Sugar have had a little accident. A deadly explosion in one of the company's refineries left 13 dead and over 50 injured. In a sugar refinery a by-product of the process of refining is a fine dust. If not dealt with properly, the highly combustible dust can explode, which is precisely what occurred at the company's refinery in Port Wentworth, GA in february.

The Company has been fined over $5 Million by OSHA, as the factory was found to be severely under code, and this was judged to have laid the groundwork for such a terrible and explosive fire.

After the explosion, 5 weeks after, when OSHA went to inspect another of the Sugar Giant's factories, this time in Louisiana, they found that it was similarly under code, and they placed "Imminent Danger" signs at the factory and fined the company another $3.7 Million.

This is the true face of factory food production. Each year, thousands of workers are maimed or injured in the american workplace, many of them in food factories. According to this article the beef industry alone is responsible for 40,000 injuries every year. (this was as of 1999)

The sad part is that refined sugar is not even a useful or necessary part of the human diet. We would live longer lives, with less incidence of chronic illness if we eliminated this nefarious simple carbohydrate, and yet we hold onto it like a cross in a sinner's hand.

So what are we to do? I say, just drop this shit, get rid of it. Slowly reduce the amount of sugar you use, and you will find, in time, that it gets easier and easier. I have spent the last 15 years reducing sugar. First in tea, then in Coffee, then in cold drinks, and finally in eating less of my beloved cookies. I have found that a slow reduction works tremendously well. After a while food that is too sweet becomes sickening.

Additionally, you can use the natural sweeteners, which seem to have far less troublesome effects as refined sugars. Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, fruits (eaten in small amounts).

But the first step is drop the refined. And no substitutes either, but that is for another time.

where have we been

2008-07-28T15:13:00.001-04:00

My computer is currently decomposing. We will be back, with Gusto, soon.

Eat your Bacon

2008-07-17T11:44:00.006-04:00

Bacon is good for you!

We are so paralyzed by the fat myth that we cannot imagine Bacon as being a nice healthy food to eat.

Let's imagine first that our bacon comes from pasture raised pigs. The balance of fatty acids (omega 6 and omega 3) is solid in pasture animals.

For your supermarket bacon the same cannot be said, and I would stay away from it.

This is now health food. With nice anti-oxidant saturated fat, a massive amount of mono-unsaturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, as well as good proteins. This is wonderful, hearty, healthy stuff. If you want your high density lipoproteins (HDL) to increase and your very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) to decrease, do yourself a favor and fry up some bacon! I actually save my bacon grease and cook with it.

Get on board. Bacon and Eggs is a tried and true breakfast. Let's enjoy it.

What to drink, take 2

2008-07-17T10:45:00.003-04:00

How much sugar, what kind of sugar, fuck it, it's too confusing.

Let's get started then, it was brought to my attention that a very popular drink block is vitamin water/tea drinks. First, to clear up some sugar mysteries:

1 teaspoon sugar = about 4 grams.

So if you are drinking a 6 oz. cup of tea with milk (about 2 oz.) and 1 teaspoon of sugar, you are getting 4 grams of refined sugar and 3 grams of milk sugar. 7 grams total. Add another teaspoon of sugar and you are looking at 8 grams + 3 grams for the milk. Bear in mind however, that the milk sugars are not nearly as troublesome as refined sugars. If you eat raw cane sugar, or use honey or agave nectar and the like, you are far better off.

Now, lets compare that to some popular beverages:

Snapple Iced Tea, lemon. 25 grams sugar, all of it High Fructose Corn Syrup. The green tea is little better, with 24 grams of sugar. (Only six cups of tea in one!)

Vitamin Water Multi-V. 13 grams. Crystalline fructose and cane sugar. (3 cups of tea here)

I really like Inko's White Teas, the maximum sugar content of their teas is 7 grams, crystalline fructose. But I actually drink their sugar free drinks now more often then the others. (almost 2 cups of tea, or one cup a heaping teaspoon)

I also like the Honest Tea brand, most of their teas have 5 grams of sugar. Their Mango tea has 10.5 grams per 8 oz serving, the highest sugar content of their drinks.

Coca Cola is only a bit worse then Snapple, with 28.5 grams per 8 oz serving. (almost 7 cups of tea!)

What about the Vitamins?

The beverage companies have been throwing vitamins and minerals back in their drinks for a while now. Smart Water, Vitamin Water, etc, whenever you see "electrolytes", "anti-oxidents" etc, this is code for, "we put some good stuff back in the drink".

Vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, what are they all? Well, we know vitamins pretty well. We put Vitamin D in milk (though the most important source of Vitamin D is sunlight!), we love our OJ for its vitamin C. These things we know about. But what of the others?

Electrolytes - Ions that are important to homeostatic balance. Sodium is an electrolyte, so are potassium and magnesium. All of which can be found in a good mineral-rich water source. My favorite water, Gerolsteiner is mineral rich, containing, Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, and calcium.

However, if you look at the ingredients for Multi-V Vitamin Water you find that the water has been de-ionized. Why would we de-ionize our water? The answer is likely that the source water is not as high in quality as the Gerolsteiner source. Perhaps containing too much flouride, or trace amounts of arsenic or anti-depressants. So the companies purify the water (a very popular practice here in America) then add vitamins and minerals back in. This does not occur much with american seltzer brands, as adding sodium back in to the water is anathema, due to the mythology that sodium causes hypertension.

This is the same hoodwink that "enriched flour" embodies. Food producers strip flour of all its nutrients (white flour) largely because it looked pure and lovely, (this was primarily a european affectation, white sugar has the same reasoning at its origin), then we find that this is not a great idea, so we put nutrients back in. Of course we could just use wholemeal flour and none of these shenanigans would be necessary.

Antioxidants - The key to anti-oxidants is what they seem to inhibit, which is oxidation. Oxidation in the body is primarily important because it hardens (actually closer to the rust process) very low density lipo-proteins (VLDL or triglycerides) as they get themselves stuck to artery walls. This is a primary patho-mechanism of atherosclerosis. Oxidation can also produce large numbers of free-radicals, or Oxygen ions which damage cells and generally wreak havoc on the internal milieu.

Most Vitamins are antioxidants, as are polyphenols (found in red-wine, from the skin of the grapes), Co-enzyme Q10, Lutein (found in dark green veggies), and Lignan (found in flax, oat, barley and rye).

Hope this helps.

Be Well.

What the hell do I drink?!?

2008-07-11T15:15:00.005-04:00

Simple rules:

1. Water, not too much, your body weight in ounces if you are very active is perfectly good. A bit less if you are not that active.

{Edit: it should read "1/2 your body weight in ounces"}

Personally, I get most of my water from Sparkling Mineral bottles, which I sadly must purchase.

the best water out there: Gerolsteiner. Try it, you will be converted.

Mineral water in general is the way to go. Most waters outside of america are left with their minerals intact. We developed some kind of sideways logic that purified = good. This may be the case in our polluted city water supplies across the country, but not from good sources. Minerals should stay in. They have a fancy name in modern health food jargon: Electrolytes.

2. Juices. They are delicious, I love them, but they have a bit too much concentrated sugar in them, so they are best enjoyed lightly or very moderately.

3. Sodas. None. Just say no! The concentrated corn sugar is basically Adult onset Diabetes in a can. Diet sodas are filled with aspartame or sorbitol-like substances - these collect in your capillary beds causing things like retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy - you don't want these things, and anyone with diabetes knows that they are at risk for them. The magic part: drink diet soda and you don't even need diabetes to go blind, lose nervous control, or have renal failure.

4. Beer. See #3 Sodas. Beer is also loaded with concentrated sugars. Makes you fat.

5. Wine. 1-2 servings/day. Red is better then white.

6. Liquor. 1-2 servings/day, if not accompanied by wine.

7. Shakes/smoothies - don't bother, eat veggies and fruits.

8. Tea/Coffee - fine if not accompanied by sugar. Both should be moderately consumed. Too much coffee is obviously problematic, as it drains your adrenal glands. I wonder if anyone has looked into an association of heavy coffee consumption and Addison's Disease (hypoadrenal).

Be well.

What the hell do I eat?!?

2008-07-11T13:16:00.012-04:00

I have been at this for several months now, and I think I finally have some baseline diet recommendations.

It is important in making food suggestions to actually suggest food. I will not sit here and give out percentages of diet that should be fat, calories, whatever the fuck. No, I will give you actual food suggestions.

Food. What to eat.

Fat

All fats are a combination of saturated, poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated content, (see a nice chart on fat content here) the distinctions below are based on the highest content of each type. The fat content we should be eating can vary greatly. It is fine to eat very little saturated fat, as well as quite a bit of it. If we are not eating the hydrogenated fats and not cooking with poly-unsaturated fats we will be fine.

The suggestion that a high fat diet is responsible for Heart Disease, Diabetes, Cancer, etc. etc. is erroneous.

Saturated fats for eating directly: Red Meat, butter, milk, cheeses, eggs

Saturated fats for cooking: Butter, Lard, Coconut Oil

{Update: Red meat is actually 51% mono-unsaturated fat, or oleic fatty acid, 45% is saturated and 4% poly-unsaturated}

Poly-unsaturated fats for eating directly: vegetable oils, sesame oil.

NOTE: do not cook with vegetable oils, they are associated with various cancers when used in cooked dishes. I use only sesame oil, and i use it in the chinese way: that is, sprinkled on top of a cooked dish after removal from heat.

Mono-unsaturated fats: Olive oil, avocado, nuts.

NOTE: nuts should be cooked in some ways, I do not know more then to say that several of my most reliable chinese medical teachers suggest that raw nuts are unhealthy.

Combination fats: These are foods that spread the fats around, encompassing all three kinds of fats. Chicken and poultry, fish, fish oil, flax oil.

Carbs

Vegetables.

On grains: Grains that are not refined. Eat whole grains, the quantity is unimportant, as both a high and low content of whole grains has been correlated throughout history with a lack of chronic disease.

NOTE: Vegetables should, by and large, be cooked. Cellulose cannot be digested, and it locks in nutrients that cannot be digested unless we start breaking down its molecular structure with heat.

Eat: Brown rice, whole wheat, whole grains, Oats, high-gluten, low-gluten, whatever, it's all fine. Unrefined sugars - cane, honey, nectars.

Do not eat: white flour, white rice, refined sugar. They have had their nutrients stripped, and repeatedly throughout history have been associated with a higher incidence of all major chronic diseases. Sugar is the worst. Stop eating it now.

Sadly, for me, this means limiting the amount of pizza and bagels I eat. I used to be a 8-12 meals a week guy on those two staples. But no more.

On corn: Sweet Corn is great stuff, but should never be eaten without the vegetables that it has traditionally been grown with: Peppers, Avocados, Tomatos. These veggies unlock the nutrients in corn.

Refined corn should not be consumed. Although I very occasionally cheat with polenta, which tastes too damn good with olive oil and pine nuts.

Corn accounts for most of our sweeteners these days, and they should all be shunned. Sodas, candy, etc.

Protein and fiber and micronutrients

The content of protein and fiber, as well as the micronutrients will sort itself if you are eating a healthy variety of foods. Veggies, nuts and meats all have protein in them, grains, veggies and fruits have fiber. They all, if prepared right have gobs of nutrients.

the key for protein is not eating un-fermented soy products. It is time to cut soy milk, tofu (unless in a meat dish, or with meat dishes), soy protein, etc, from our diets. Soy, as I have written before, inhibits protein and vitamin and mineral digestion.

Food. Where to purchase.

Most of my food is now purchased at farmer's markets. this is the only way to ensure that the growers have been responsible (they must be or they will quickly go out of business) in presenting their wares. Most farmer's markets have strict standards for quality, if not organic, then equal or better. this is definitely more expensive then the supermarket, but cuts can come from other places in order to make the farmer's market possible. For example, I do not use an air-conditioner, saving a decent chuck of change over the summer months. I also do not buy more then 2-3 new pieces of clothing each year, usually 1 pair of jeans and 1-2 shirts.

The second source of foods I like are specialty markets like the italian deli across the street from my apartment. Caputo's Fine Foods is a fantastic little market in which the family has been selling their own homemade cheeses and pastas as well as the best imported italian food products for generations. Stores like this have standards that they have not broken, many, like Caputo's have been around before the food fads, government interventions, and bad medical science intervened in our diets.

Stores like this can be found all over New York City, and in any other places in which a small ethnic population still clings to its traditions. Astoria for greek markets, Greenpoint for polish markets, Much of south brooklyn for jewish, russian, italian markets, and many others scattered around the 5 boroughs of NY. I have found small ethnic markets in many other places around the country, not all of them urban.

How to eat.

1. Eat fresh. though this is not a hard and fast rule. I like imported foods, like anchovies and San Marzano tomatoes. These foods are not "fresh" but they are preserved in a way that is not chemically detrimental. In the same way it is always fine to eat pickled vegetables, fermented soy products, and other fermented products.

2. Eat Moderately. Keeping slim is as much about what we eat as it is about how much we eat. If we eliminate sugars and refined sugars and eat a moderate amount (2000-2500 calories/day) then we will be strong, slender and healthy.

3. Eat Calmly. The digestive system can instantly be abandoned by our blood. When we eat, we focus a large portion of our blood on the abdomen in order to facilitate the movements of the digestive organs, and the transfer of nutrients. However, if we eat angry, scared, upset, our Cortisol levels will be raised, Cortisol will divert attention away from the digestive system and toward the muscular, endocrine and nervous systems. The result will be poor digestion. So eat calm, and eat without reading or watching television. It is also beneficial to eat with good company. This both slows down the process of eating and is a nice adjacent process. In chinese medical theory the thought and synthesis that goes into conversation is guided by the "Earth" organs of the body, the Stomach and the Spleen/Pancreas. These two organs are our primary digestive bodies. The association benefits both processes (digesting and communicating).

When to eat.

1. Eat seasonally. shopping at farmer's markets make this possible. It restores a sense of balance in our diets. I have been doing it for nearly 3 months now, and I have a much improved respect for our farmers and their products in that short time. Subjectively speaking, I am feeling great, lots of fruits, veggies, eggs, chicken, fish. No red meat (with one exception that gave me heartburn) until the late fall. Pork is a bit of year rounder for me, I love the proscuitto and bacon, both of which are year round treats.

2. It is important to eat somewhat regularly. Anyone who has had a dog or a small child knows that these simpler beings thrive on regularity. As adults we are a bit more flexible, but it is still better to eat regularly then not. And it is not a great idea to eat after 10pm. This flies in the face of the prevailing wisdom in the mediterranean countries I have visited, but they have lifestyle alterations that counterbalance the late hour of their dinners. We in America generally do not have those counterbalances - long strolls through town, afternoon siestas, etc.

These suggestions are intended as a baseline guide, not a comprehensive diet plan. Fill in the rest as you go, which is my plan.

Be well.

Sources: my biomedical coursework, including Pathophysiology for each system of the body; Chinese Medical Dietetic recommendations, mostly from the combined knowledge of my teachers on the subject; Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories"; Michael Pollan "Omnivore's Dilemma"; 4 months of research driven by this blog, and my own ideas based on 10 years of conscious eating.

{Addendum: there are many aspects of food I have not mentioned, mostly in the context of Meat eating. For information of Omega 3's and the right meats to eat click here}

Fat and the sexes

2008-07-11T10:05:00.003-04:00

Of all the hubris, bad science, politics, hand-wringing, strident talk of saving lives and etc that went into demonizing saturated fat and cholesterol in the name of reducing the risk of heart disease, the one that gets me the most is this:

All the studies until 1987 were of men.

When we finally looked at women (through the emerging data at the framingham heart study and several that followed) we found that none of the correlations of men (higher CHD rates and lower overall mortality) of a high fat diet were apparent for women. Women seem to have a much higher tolerance for blood cholesterol then men.

Now, the evidence also started mounting that a low-fat diet was associated with higher rates of cancer and stroke. In fact, from the very start we have found both in tests in which we followed groups (framingham) and in randomized control experiments, that the mortality rate of a high fat diet (>30%) is lower then a low fat diet. Additionally, test after test has found higher rates of cancer the lower the fat content becomes.

So, we have been recommending to women for nearly 60 years that they significantly lower their Saturated Fat content in their diets (Milk, cheese, red-meat, coconut oil, butter) in order to prevent heart disease. All along we were finding only that a higher saturated fat diet had a slightly higher association with CHD in MEN. Additionally we were finding that the low fat diet also had a higher overall mortality rate. And we never tested women.

A good friend of mine keeps telling me that the medical establishment is filled to the brim with well-meaning, intelligent, caring, incremental thinkers, who are not pushed around by fads and poor data.

I just don't believe her anymore. We must look more closely at everything we have come to believe.

That is just what I did - I looked at the latest framingham data from their website. Here are some bits:

Probabilities Pts 2-yr - Men, ages 35-74, chance of CHD event (heart attack or stroke)

0 0% 14 1% 28 17%
2 0% 16 2% 30 24%
4 0% 18 3% 32 32%
6 0% 20 4% 34 43%
8 0% 22 6%
10 1% 24 9%
12 1% 26 12%

The chart for women is quite similar, but is separated into menopause groups and non-menopause groups, so I have left it out. The point system works this way: Points are assigned to risk factors (high cholesterol, HBP, smoking, etc.)

What this chart shows us, according the the point assignments on the 2-year risk factor page is that a man or women needs a score of 10 or more to be at risk of a CHD event. For a 50 year old non-smoking woman, according to framingham, to be at risk she must have a cholesterol level of 290 or above and a systolic BP of 180 or more. And that would give her an increased risk of 1%.

{Note: Doctors will usually medicate a cholesterol of >200 and a systolic of >130}

Look over the figures yourself, those I refer to can be found here.

Be Well.

Stupidity reigns

2008-07-10T12:03:00.004-04:00

We should now give statin drugs to fat kids. read all about it here and here.

I know where my food comes from, how about you?

2008-07-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

“The purpose of the recordkeeping provision of the Bioterrorism Act was to support going back to the origin of food after people have gotten sick when you are trying to find out how the biological agent got there,” said Michael Taylor, a professor at the George Washington University and a former F.D.A. official. “But the provisions are of little or no value with respect to trace-backs of fresh produce because of the amount of shoe leather and time it would take.”

This is from today's NYtimes which reports on the now 1,000+ people in this country sick from a nefarious salmonella outbreak. The problem is that we cannot find out where the food is coming from. Why? Because nobody knows, and the FDA does not require a label of origin on food.

Last week I ate carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions and garlic from Madura Farms, Middletown, NY, and chicken from JohnBoy's Farm, Pound Ridge, NY. I have had sausage and eggs this week for breakfasts, the sausage from Mountain Products Smokehouse, LaGrangeville, NY and the eggs from Tello's (local greenmarket).

If I have any problems I know exactly where each farmer is located and I can go and complain. This kind of transparency separates small farmers from large agribusiness. If John Boy's chicken got me sick he would know about it right away, because I would trek over to Pound Ridge and give him a piece of my mind.

These producers have the burden of quality. They will go out of business if anything goes wrong with their food. Their negligence cannot be hidden away by middlemen and supermarket distribution. Their food has no label because they stand next to it when they sell it. And I must continue to stand with them.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: buying proper food is a political act. Big agribusiness is standing on the shoulders of corporate welfare, small farms are standing on their own feet. Let's all stand with them.

Be Well.

Resist! It is all we have left.

2008-07-10T11:25:00.003-04:00

Well, not exactly. But one conservative writer, a philosophy student at Berkeley, has called on conservatives to embrace the Slow Food International ethics for food culture. He talks about a nice old hippy in berkeley who is bringing farming and cooking into her local middle school. I love it when conservatives come around to these kinds of causes, smug bastard that I am.

Anyway, here is a quote from the article, the "little platoons" would be schoolchildren who farm and eat their own food at school.

"Hence even the smallest acts of resistance to the hegemony of the present system, where corporate representatives and industry-funded scientists at public universities collaborate with government officials on regulatory policies and nutritional guidelines, are crucial steps in recovering local culture and reconstituting our “little platoons.” This will nurture the ability to govern—or resist being governed."

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

2008-07-01T02:42:00.004-04:00

The times has a bit on 11 healthy foods. The list is a nice one, as it includes a wide variety of food and spices. Beets, Cinnamon, Sardines and 8 others are listed with easy suggestions for preparation.

Check it out here.

Be Well.

new links

2008-06-30T17:11:00.002-04:00

I have added several links to the blog. On the right you can find them all. Here is a rundown of some of the new pages:

Slow Food - their blog keeps up to date mostly on NYC related issues:

http://www.slowfoodblog.org/

Edible Nation - a great site I am only beginning to explore, lots of good carnivorous info:

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/ediblenation/

Green Fork Blog - the title says it all:

http://blog.eatwellguide.org/

Be Well.

Salt myths dissolved

2008-06-26T23:54:00.002-04:00

Finally, some concrete information on Salt in the Diet. a massive federal study was published a month ago. The conclusions?

"Observed associations of lower sodium with higher mortality were modest and mostly not statistically significant. However, these findings also suggest that for the general US adult population, higher sodium is unlikely to be independently associated with higher CVD or all-cause mortality."

So it turns out that a low-sodium diet is not effective in reducing blood pressure, or preventing death from cardiovascular disease. The study actually found that the groups that consumed the least amount of sodium (the lowest quartile) were at greater risk of death from heart related causes.

Sandy at Junkfoodscience has a lengthy write-up on the study, if you want to learn more. Looks like this guy is out of work!

So what salt should we use? I apply the same standards to salt as I do to food. This generally leaves me with 2 options for salt consumption:

Kosher Salt

Sea Salt

Personally, I like sea salt the best. I cannot stand the iodized stuff, Morton, et al. I like the greek stuff, the french stuff, and I have heard that Salt Lake salt is just incredible. But I have never tried it.

Enjoy your salt people!

Chicken season

2008-06-23T18:12:00.005-04:00

It is a beautiful time for farms and for food. Tomatoes are almost upon us, strawberries are ripe and sweet, there are terrific cherries, greens, peaches and beets all ready to be eaten, but for me, the best part about early summer is the Chickens. Those that were chicks in the spring have grown to processing size, and it is time to eat them.

I bought my first pastured chicken on saturday from Arcadian Pastures at the Grand Army Plaza Green Market. The market itself was bursting with produce, fish, meats, cheeses, wines, flowers and jams.

I have been waiting all spring for the broilers to be ready. I really love chicken. There was a time when I would cook and eat chicken every other week.

But I have sworn off factory chicken from my home cooking. No more perdue, no more tyson, no more over-priced CAFO natural/organics like Murray's or D'Artgnan. Nope, only pasture for me. But there is one problem with that - I have to eat seasonally. This is something I have never done in my life.

Getting into seasonal eating has been really fun. I honestly thought it would suck alot, and I felt helpless, not knowing what seasonal was exactly. So I go to the market each week, and I buy what I can, and I find as I go along that I am learning what seasonal is. I know that most greens, bok choy, beets, asparagus, snap peas, garlic and scallions are all in season. By the end of this year I will have a pretty good idea of our local seasonal offerings. And it is actually really fun.

Chicken, which was once commonplace on my plate, is now a summer treat. I can look forward to eating it for much of the summer, but will have to wait it out all winter (when, luckily, pork will be fresh).

So tonight I cooked. I cooked only what I bought at the market. It is pictured below.

Recipe below (with sources of ingredients):

Roast Chicken with Basil and Sauteed Bok Choy and Mushrooms

3 lb Chicken (Pastured, farmer's market)

1/2 lb Bella Mushrooms (FM)

4 medium size bok choy (FM)

5 young scallions (FM)

2 cloves garlic (FM)

Butter

Salt and Pepper

Soy Sauce

Olive Oil

The Chicken had plenty of juice in the bag, I saved it.

Pre-heat oven to 450.

Butter chicken (by hand), rub with butter, salt and pepper. Halve two small scallion stalks and place them, butter and basil inside the chicken. A bit of basil can also be rubbed into the skin.

melt a bit more butter in a pan.

Cook at 450 for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350. Use brush to rub chicken with butter and pour 1/3rd of chicken juice (or stock, not much, only about 1/2 cup) into pan.

Repeat rub every 15-20 minutes.

Cook for 45 minutes at 350, then turn back up to 450 for final 15 minutes.

total cook time: 1 1/14 hours.

With about 30 minutes to go for the chicken, heat up oil in saute pan. Add scallions. Cook for about 3 minutes, then add garlic, cook for another 3 minutes or so. Pour in chicken juice, soy sauce, Bok Choy, salt and pepper. After about 5-7 minutes, add mushrooms. Cook another 10-15 minutes until chicken is ready.

Eat it.

Be Well.

Refuge Requirements, Bt stacks and above and below ground pest resistence

2008-06-18T01:54:00.005-04:00

What the fuck am I talking about?

Well, I just read a Monsanto press release on their new technology, "a new insect-protection and weed control platform in corn". It is called "SmartStax". The key to this new bio-engineered corn and soy is the reduction of something called "refuge requirements".

What are refuge requirements? I had no clue, so I looked into it a bit, basically, what they are is regulations that require plots without "in-plant protections" to be separated from protected plots, like those of SmartStax. These stand around 50% in the corn belt of the US, meaning 50% of the fields have pesticide built into their genetic structure (enjoy that coke next time!).

So monsanto wants this percentage reduced to 5% for corn. Which would mean that 95% of corn production in the corn belt would be deeply genetically modified.

These guys are going to make a killing on this product, while we take one step closer as a country to ecological meltdown and the bankruptcy files on the American Farmer continue to grow.

Talking to Obama

2008-06-18T01:44:00.001-04:00

In response to his interview with the Missoula Independent, I felt the need to write to the man, here is what I wrote to the distinguished Senator of Illinois:

Senator Obama,

I am a long time supporter, and I am deeply excited at the prospect of your presidency. I recognize that you will not wave a magic wand and perform to the expectations of every american, yet I feel the need to write to you about our food and the american farm system. Having just read your interview for the Missoula Independent, I would like to ask some questions and propose to you some ideas.

1. Meat and factory farms.
You mentioned that you are in support of our ranchers and farmers. Yet the industry consistently finds ways to reduce their viability in meat production.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are a scourge to these farmers and ranchers, not to mention to our food quality, to land value, to public health and to the environment. Yet they continue, massively subsidized. For detailed and well researched information, please go to the website for the Union of Concerned Scientists and read their article on CAFO's. Here is the link:
http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_environment/CAFOs-Uncovered.pdf

You mentioned that more environmental regulation is required to clean up factory farms, yet, as the article above shows, this is nearly impossible. Additionally, and this is the most vital element I hope you will understand: Small rotating pasture farms that have NONE of the problems of large farms have still to deal with the ALL the strict USDA policies designed for large farms. For example, a small farmer of chickens who processes the birds in an open air facility can be shut down for not having enough windows on the facility. Seriously, this has happened. Of course the USDA regulations have no conception of a slaughterhouse with no walls.
What this means is that factory farms receive both the benefits of subsidies and free run of a market that will not allow (through USDA regulations that make sense for large businesses but close down small ones) small business to operate at a profit. This is the opposite of a free market, and it is anathema to the concept of successful small business.

The bottom line is this: Meat produced on rotating pasture land is antibiotic free, GMO free, 100% ambulatory and healthy meat, that produces no pollution/environmental degredation, instead improving on its environment. Meat produced on factory farms is generally full of chemical feeds and antibiotics, even if organic, and produces so much environmentally destructive waste that it cannot be maintained without heavy subsidies to manage the waste. This is corporate welfare, pure and simple. The hidden costs of CAFO's that the taxpayers assume amount to over $350/year for every taxpayer. (see UCS article)

If you can take a few minutes to look over the UCS paper on the subject I am confident it will open your eyes to this major problem.

Now here is where I ask you to think like a revolutionary:
What needs to happen is quite simple really - and can only be accomplished by a massively powerful and influential leader, who is not cowed by special interests and who has a mandate for change. You are the only man in a generation that will have that power, and I urge you to consider, even if just for a moment, my suggestion:

Return our midwestern corridor to intensively rotated pasture land. Farming beyond the corn belt is not economically or agriculturally viable (growing corn in the corn belt is not either, but that is a different story), so we should return, slowly and carefully our land in the midwest to pasture. This will create a huge number of jobs in the country, that are safer then the terrible CAFO jobs. It will require significantly less natural resources and corn and soy products to feed the animals, who will eat over 70% grass instead of 100% corn/soy/cow brains and spinal cords/antibiotics/whatever else. And it will restore the viability of the small/mid-sized american pasture farmer.

But why should you care? In a conversation with John Bongaarts, Vice President and Distinguished Scholar at the Population Council, he told me that the US is to food what Saudi Arabia is to oil. Global food shortages can be exacerbated or subdued by our international food policies. A fine example is our recent move to ethanol, which has decreased the amount of food bearing acreage in the US, and combined with several other factors to make the international food crisis more devestating.

Imagine this then: What if 70% of the grain acreage earmarked for CAFO's was not needed anymore? What if that 70% of acreage could be returned to human food production? The US could use this valuable and massive acreage for any imaginable purposes, restoring the value of our topsoil, growing varied and healthy crops, supporting destitute countries in the midst of food crisis. Bridging the trade deficit.

2. This leads to your other major point in the article: Obesity. Obesity in america is largely based not on sedentary lifestyle or the consumption of fats, but on the consumption of refined grains and sugar. Yet we subsidize ABOVE ALL OTHERS corn, soy, and wheat - the very grains that become refined carbs/sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils, high fructose corn syrup, the products that have given americans no end of expensive health care problems, draining our system, and for too long operated at a net loss, destroying small farm after small farm. The vertically integrated model has destroyed farming and families, while it has lined the pockets of a select few. (like Monsanto - who genetically alter 90% of their Soy products)

My solution - kill the subsidies, return our farms to multiple polycultures and animal husbandry. Monocultures have knocked out half of Iowa's beautiful topsoil (as well as illinois and indiana and missouri's) in the last 30 years. Where will this soil be in another 30 years? What then will we do when we cannot grow anything at all?

These are massively important issues which you may have the power to influence and improve. Public Health, current and future food crisis, and economic viability of the american farm are all involved in the equation. But the problem is this: big business will suffer if you consider/implement anything I have suggested. But ordinary americans will have a chance to build their lives in a sustainable, healthy way.

I know who's side you are on, and I believe you will consider carefully what I have written.

For references on these subjects -
http://www.popcouncil.org/staff/bios/Bongaarts_J/bongaarts_j.bio.html
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E2D61F3EF934A35754C0A9649C8B63
and the UCS link above, for just a few. See Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma" for some more on corn, and go to
www.polyfacefarms.com
to see a real pasture farm in action.

Thanks for your time, I and so many others are glowing with pride at your accomplishments,

Sincerely, your humble servant,

Lucas Weiss

Politics and food. Obama wants to talk.

2008-06-18T00:32:00.003-04:00

Ari Levaux of the Missoula Independent Newspaper has been trying for months to get his questions answered by the political Candidates for President of the US. Barack Obama was the only candidate to return email responses to the questions.

His positions were decent, and at times well informed, such as this comment on Biofuels:

"I have been a long-time supporter of home-grown biofuels, but I believe that corn ethanol should be a transitional fuel source as we move towards more advanced cellulosic ethanol, which can be made from agricultural waste products, switchgrass, sustainably harvested forest biomass and other renewable feedstock."

Corn ethanol MUST be transitional at best, it is a crippling practice as we can see with current food shortages globally and increased gas prices locally (remember, 18% of our Oil goes to food production, mostly corn for CAFO's).

save the (fat) children

2008-06-11T17:19:00.002-04:00

well, it turns out Save the Children a bastion of truly effective charitable work has turned some of its attentions (about $60 million worth this year) to Childhood Obesity. Why is this a problem? Well, the organization is traditionally focused on global malnutrition and hunger. But our national self-obsession has taken hold, and this organization cannot escape the dietetic vanity of our nation.

So $60 million will go to fat kid research in the US instead of combatting disease, malnutrition and massive poverty in the rest of the world.

here is a long article on the subject from Sandy Szwarc over at Junkfoodscience.

Be Well.

what is the why?

2008-06-09T10:54:00.005-04:00

i have been having long, sometimes contentious conversations with a friend of mine about health and nutrition. She is a Nurse Practitioner here in NYC, and our conversations are stimulating and fruitful, for the most part (it is usually my fault if they go off!).

The last was especially lively, as we argued the Fat = bad bit like two cats holed up in a 200sf studio apartment.

My position (shared by a growing group of scientists, MD's and nutritinists) is that Dietary Fats/cholesterol should never have been pilloried. That they are not the key element in High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, and Obesity that the medical/dietetic establishment suggests they are. Instead our problems are based on refined sugars/carbs. Consumption of Corn Syrup in this country increased by 400% between 1900 and 1980. The average person in this country consumed about 1 cup of sugar/year 100 years ago. We now consume about 1/2 cup per day.

Gary Taubes has written a book entitled Good Calories, Bad Calories that goes into quite a bit of detail on the subject.

But what really struck me about this whole discussion was that it forced me to think about some core beliefs. Why do I trash the medical establishment? The nutrition establishment? Pretty much all authority and large organization?

So I found myself writing to my friend, trying to determine the answer to some of these questions. It is personal, and could be considered poor journalism. but this is a blog. Rules, be gone!

Here is what I told her:

-----------------------------------------------------------
I have just been dipping into his book "Good Calories, Bad Calories". It is a massively researched indictment of the "fat is bad" prevailing attitudes. His primary enemy: refined sugars and grains.
here is a quote:
"From the inception of the diet-heart hypothesis in the early 1950s, those who argued that dietary fat caused heart disease accumulated the evidential equivalent of a mythology to support their belief. These myths are still passed on faithfully to the present day."

I am not a lonely zealot that hates the western dietetic and medical establishment. I actually see myself, in contrast, as a member of a small club of folks that must look more closely at everything around them, that take nothing for granted, that trust no large organization, particularly one with complex and large scale vested interests.

Everything I know that is Good and helpful to people fits into two categories:
1. Relies most heavily on personal interactions and partnerships. i.e. - in the medical world: nursing and acupuncture. in the personal/religious world: individual self-cultivation/spirituality (i hate that word, but it is right for the concept) OR
2. Relies on a small group of reasonable people working together. the important part is "small". The moment our standards of excellence fall is the moment our organization gets too big. Perhaps you can illuminate this point: in your experience what hospitals are the most effective? Do the larger hospitals have sufficient autonomy of smaller departments to keep these smaller departments effective, or do they get bogged down in whole building beaurocracy? etc. etc.

I believe in the small, smart, responsive, flexible group. I also believe that as our population and mass-culture take hold, most people are separated from that small group. Their standards fall, their ability to parse opposing arguments is reduced to ambivalence or worse, apathy. I do not believe that the medical establishment has the market cornered on the brightest, best, most remarkably caring people in the world. I believe though it may be better then some professional communities it is prone to stumbles in judgment, standards and ethics, as all others are. I was a teacher for 8 years, and I can tell you that most teachers care deeply about the welfare of their children. The definition of what that welfare is however is a vast and confusing affair. With the confusion comes disparity in the deliverance of education to children. Some in education think that the german model of strict discipline and tacit memorization is of the greatest service to students, others think that a grade-less progressive model of collaboration is best. The definition of standards is muddied by such things.
When you tell me that your professional world is immune to such confusion of values all my skeptical bells start ringing loudly.

I also want you to know, that I cared deeply for the children i saw each day. But I never ceased in my descrying of the educational establishment where I perceived its failings. The reason I say this is that I do not descry you, or your (obviously valuable and caring and vital) work when I descry certain arms of the medical establishment. I believe that a community can be both forward looking and intelligent in one instance and blind and stupid in another. You seem to think I will always throw your baby out with the medical establishment bathwater. This is not the case. What I am trying to do is - find the good stuff, wherever it is, and combine all that i find into a new tapestry, one devoid of lines between communities, but full of lines between good sense and stupidity.

I hope this helps you understand where I come from, when I sound strident and dismissive. I am sorry for the tone at times, I assure you, it is better then it was, and will be better then it is in time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Be Well.

Comment: Of course now, in retrospect, so many points I was trying to make are crumbling in my mind. Large groups can be useful, as can individuals with no major or minor affiliation. I suppose the point of the above was my effort at continuous evaluation of my values and ethics.

looking for eco-freindly recipes?

2008-06-06T12:00:00.003-04:00

The Union of Concerned Scientists has a food and environment section. Currently on the website they have some chefs who have given recipes. In terms of recipes, for those of us that cook at home, more is always better. So bookmark this one away.

Cook well.

milk for catscans!

2008-06-06T11:57:00.003-04:00

Junkfoodscience talks about using Whole Fat Milk to line the intestines of the lower abdomen before a CT scan. Apparently it works just as well as the nasty tasting, side-effect laden Barium contrast drink. Read more on the link above.

Be Well.

even wine?

2008-06-06T11:42:00.003-04:00

It turns out that the greased wheels of processed food have even effected Wine.
Pierre Jancou an importer of fine "morethenorganic" french wine, has this to say about modern Winemaking:
“[Conventional] wines are dead, unhealthy and tasteless; they smell like wood and marmalade, and their high sulphur levels just destroy your head. These are wines [that] reflect a generation of humans that has industrialized all farming since the fifties. We know now that this generation was wrong and that we need to go back to real agriculture, for the sake of our children and for the future of our planet.”
He has a Map of Paris that shows all "morethenorganic" locations. Read more about his philosophy here.

Drink Well.

back to the earth

2008-06-05T10:46:00.003-04:00

So Karina and I went back to New Hampshire for Memorial Day weekend. It was a nearly perfect trip but for two snags. The first was Connecticut, a state I have despised since I was a child when my parents used the threat of sending me to the constitution state as a punishment for poor behavior. The second was a visit from a NH state policeman, 2 miles from the border of Vermont, and that is the last I will say about that.

Once we escaped CT we sailed smoothly to Brattleboro, VT for dinner. Brattleboro is the second fair trade town in America. After a perfectly good dinner on the river at the Riverview Cafe we continued on to Bethlehem, NH and to the home of Tim Wennrich, owner of Meadowstone Farm. After a good quiet night's sleep, and some fantastic fresh eggs, we trekked back over to the farm for some more hard labor.

We buried leaks (they are grown in a trench which is slightly backfilled, which helps them get that bleeching near the base), weeded and planted some basil and eggplant. Our hosts (the Wennrich Family) were again very good to us.

The farm is booming, Tim was gathering supplies for his first CSA drop. The goats had kids, the pigs are out and rooting around and the broiler chicks are getting up to their full size.

Check out the pigs:

Be Well.

tired

2008-06-02T21:41:00.003-04:00

so, the last post was a bit...vitriolic. Forgive me. Or don't, whatever, it was fun.

in other news, I have finally delved into the farming business. Although on a radically miniaturized scale. I have 2 tomato plants, 3 peppers (1 was destroyed when I dropped it's pot on the floor) and a perfectly excitable basil. They seem to be thriving thus far as i can tell. But they are still young'uns and need much attention before they yield me some goods.

What will I do with all the product? I was thinking maybe of setting up a fire escape farmer's market. Just lob veggies to my neighbors below. They could ball up small paper currency and slingshot it up to my 3rd floor window. Sounds like a plan.

Be Well.

Oprah, stupid and uninspired...again.

2008-05-30T10:45:00.002-04:00

So Oprah has gone on a 21-day Vegan cleanse. She has decided to cut out all animal products, as well as Caffeine, Refined Sugar, Gluten and Alcohol.

the frustration and silliness of our current government and war, of our national obsession with pharmaceuticals, of our uninformed, ignorant and isolationist culture, nothing seems to rankle as much as the vanguard of lifeless talking heads, Oprah, going on about inner consciousness.

Could somebody please direct all the Tolle fans to the fucking philosophy section of the library? I guess I should explain for those not paying attention:

Oprah has been reading this book by Eckhart Tolle, she has become inspired. She is still fat. She wants to stop bouncing back and forth like a child in a demented horizontal blow-up castle between fat and less fat. She has enlisted the help of yet another in a long line of illustrious culture leaches, Kathy Freston. This vile NY Times bestselling author has told her to become a "Conscious Eater". How? Eliminate the evil foods: Meat, Gluten, Alcohol, Caffeine; and step into the light of veganhood. Here is Oprah, getting teary eyed, I assume: "How can you say you're trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?"

What, I ask you, dear reader could be more divine? Oprah completely bypasses her (and her audiences) problem (gluttony) by attributing it to animal raising, killing and eating.

But the animal thing is at least debatable. There are stimulating and valid arguments for and against animal husbandry and consumption.

But Gluten? This national fad is intolerable. Gluten (a protein in Wheat, Rye, Barley and Oats) is the key element of the ascendence of our species, Homo Sapien. The innovation of Gluten cultivation is the single most profound technical discovery in the history of this planet by a species. Until gluten was cultivated by Homo Sapien, no single species had even come close to dominating the geo-ecological systems of the earth.

So why is gluten demonized?

0.3% - 1% of first world populations are Intolerant of Gluten. These folks hold the genetic remnants of the non-gluten eating neanderthals of western europe. Gluten intolerance was responsible for many infant mortality cases in europe (evolution at work, sadly) up until very recently. What has resulted is a small population that suffers from Celiac Disease, a wearing away of the intestinal flora, by gluten.

Let me repeat - 0.3% - 1% of the population of the first world suffers from gluten intolerance.

To give some perspective: the Dutch have the world's lowest incidence of Lactose intolerance, at 1%. About 12-15% of Europeans, on average, are lactose intolerant, 23% of African American children, 50% of indians, 93% of Chinese, and 100% of Native Americans.

So why are we tearing Gluten down if the incidence is lower then the lowest national incidence of Lactose intolerance?

Then there is Alcohol, which in study after study has been shown to be a healthful addition to our diets, if we consume an average of only 1 drink/day. This study shows that alcohol consumption actually slows the onset of dementia. Consumption of up to 1 serving per day of course, no more.

Caffeine, in moderate portions is also fine. Green Tea, a darling of the health food quagmire, has anywhere from 25% to 50% the caffeine of Coffee, dependent upon brewing methods. An intake of up to 100 milligrams of Caffeine per day (an espresso, for instance) is not a problem.

But Oprah, O dear sweet Oprah. You don't have a care for any of this. You are all about master strokes of bland culturalist myopia. Thank you for your absurd worldview, your stupid mass appeal, and your idiotic 21 day "cleanse".

I think it is time for my 1 drink of the day.

Be Well.

Finding your food.

2008-05-20T10:57:00.004-04:00

here is another resource if you are looking for good food from good sources. It is called Eat Well Guide, and allows you to punch in your zip code and get all the local restaurants, CSA's, Farms, Bakers, Butchers and a whole lot more.

It is getting easier and easier to find healthy, tasty, sustainably produced foods in the area, now is the time to make those changes people.

Be Well.

NY Times apes my opinions again

2008-05-20T10:41:00.003-04:00

I wrote this piece on raw food diets a while ago. The key to the argument being that Raw food nutrients are unlocked by cooking (not frying, sadly).

The times has chimed in with an article in the Science Times that says pretty much the same thing. Though it shows that Vitamin C is a flighty little bird indeed. read more here.

read the label, bitches

2008-05-17T23:29:00.001-04:00

aren't you glad...

2008-05-16T12:00:00.002-04:00

...you don't live in LA?

San Francisco apparently has the best farmer's markets

2008-05-16T11:52:00.002-04:00

According the NY Times San Francisco is a mecca for fresh whole foods at farmer's markets. I cross referenced with Local Harvest and found two of the markets highlighted in the article. Ferry Plaza and Crocker Galleria.

I guess there are some advantages to a temperate climate.

Be Well.

-luke

look for a new voice

2008-05-16T11:41:00.002-04:00

My friend Nita will be contributing occasionally to the blog. She is a Vegetarian in the far eastern mold and will bring a fresh and alternative voice to the pages. I hope you look forward to her posts as much as I do.

guilt free eating and drinking in NYC

2008-05-16T11:35:00.002-04:00

Slowfoodnyc has come up with a list of restaurants that meet their high standards for Quality (taste), Authenticity (local and seasonal), and sustainability.

These establishments are sourced as much as possible from local farms and food producers. The only one I have tried thus far is Cookshop and it is terrific. Brunch Is especially good there.

-Luke

NY times Ed. piece parrots all my opinions!!

2008-05-13T10:03:00.003-04:00

this article is a nicely worded call for local food systems and a new farming movement that involves more people, less machines, less oil, and better tasting food. I could not agree more.

Be Well.

Fighting the Good Fight for Fat

2008-05-10T09:00:00.003-04:00

I have talked with many folks around me about Cholesterol, Saturated Fats and our diets.
I know it is confusing, but here is the skinny.

The mythologies:

1. High Cholesterol is BAD. It causes Heart Disease.
the truth? High levels of High Density Cholesterol are either good or a non-factor in atherosclerosis. Low Density Cholesterol is at worst a "marginal risk factor" for heart disease. And Very Low Density Cholesterol (or more importantly, the Lipoprotein shell that holds it) may be a bigger risk factor for Heart Disease. A 2005 study showed a 22% decreased risk of Heart Attack after 5 years of a high dosage of statin therapy (lipitor), a therapy that targets VLDL cholesterol. But VLDL is a very small portion of total cholesterol, and "total cholesterol per se is not a risk factor for Coronary Heart Disease at all". read Gary Taubes' NYTimes article for some great information on the subject.

2. Saturated Fat causes Heart disease by raising Cholesterol levels in the blood.

this ties in with the previous myth, and has much the same value, that is: not much. Saturated fat is usually well processed by the body. We have storage places for the material we cannot process if we over-eat. These places are generally not the blood, but adipose tissue. The underlaying myth here really is that saturated fats (animal fats) are harder to break down and more likely to make us FAT then poly-unsaturated fats (vegetable oils). This is not the case. But I will not belabor this point with this post. That is for another time. The important thing to note is that Cholesterol from food intake does not cause Heart Disease. (read Taubes' article for more detail)

So, what causes Atherosclerosis, and in turn Heart Disease?

Lipids (lipoproteins specifically) in the blood can and do clog up the arteries. But only if two co-factors are at work. The first is Dyslipidemia, usually a hightened level of lipids in the blood. The second is raised Intima Media Thickness, which refers to the relative thickness of arterial walls.

So, what common factor causes a rise in both Lipid levels and IMT, and as a result the risk of Heart Disease? Smoking? Fatty Foods? High Cholesterol diet?

According to this study none of these were significant factors in raised IMT levels. Meaning: Fatty foods do NOT cause higher lipid counts in the blood.

No, the common factor is Cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid produced in the adrenal cortex. In order to release cortisol into the system, the adrenals need a molecule of cholesterol. This cholesterol is produced and sent to the adrenals by the Liver.

Why is cortisol produced?

It is our most fundamental fight or flight stress chemical. When we are frightened or angry or spoiling for a fight, cortisol levels increase. The raising of Cortisol is vital to human survival, and it is healthy in small doses. What scientists have discovered is that Cortisol levels are increasingly hightened in western society, to a constant rate in many cases. This perma-fight/flight state causes increased IMT levels and Hperlipidemia (high lipids in the blood).

Some studies that show this correlation:

"Factors Underlying the Increase in Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Borderline Hypertensives"

"Plasma cortisol in men: Relationship with atherosclerosis of retinal arteries"

"How corticoids, growth hormone and oestrogens influence lipids and atherosclerosis"

So, to sum up. Stress causes Cortisol levels to rise. Cortisol in the system causes lipid levels to rise uncharacteristically, and it causes the hardening of the walls of the arteries. These two factors are the first and second factors in the Number 1 cause of death in the US: Heart Disease.

Eat and Be well.

Victus Terra ∞ food of the earth

Farming a Wedding part 4: The Chefs

A thought

Moving

Top Chef live blogging fail.

BPA

twit

that was fun

boooooo

I call Leah

Is this the top 3?

the minutes in between.

josea

Carla

Stefan

Leah

Fabio

Spoilers for nobody

Lucky Bastards

Karina is gagging

this is gross

goodbye douche

top chopping ***SPOILERS ABOVE***

Lard FTW!!! (really this time)

High Fructose Corn Syrup FTW!!!

The salt war.

Render THIS!

Where have all the seasons gone?

Slow days

the other america

Monday is (now) recycling day

Road Trip day

First Slice

The Pizza chapters

Top Shitheal

About the books

ROAD TRIP!

also

Changes

The best ice cream on the planet

Right around the corner...

Tuesday is recycling day

Farming a Wedding, Part 3: interested parties, ins and outs, what have you's

Yet another confusing diet plan, but it's so pretty!

Farming a Wedding, Part 2: Brook Farm

Farming a Wedding Part 1

an education

What's next?

Sourcing your food

Yet another local guide

My on-going love-hate affair with Oprah.

What a brooklyn gal can do

Pasture Meat.

Hiatus

Americans demand knowledge of the origins of their food

Choices made easier

october.

San Francisco goes local

The rabbit hole: Omega Fatty Acids

Eat your fats

The best lamb I have ever eaten

recall blues

The rabbit hole: Diabetes

Top Chef tries "healthy"

the rabbit hole - dietary fat vs. adipose fat

Slow Foods

love the fast food.

Sugar Kills

where have we been

Eat your Bacon

What to drink, take 2

What the hell do I drink?!?

What the hell do I eat?!?

Fat and the sexes

Stupidity reigns

I know where my food comes from, how about you?

Resist! It is all we have left.

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

new links

Salt myths dissolved

top chopping SPOILERS ABOVE