Pratt LMS Post Response to Food Fights Comments ~ "Farmer in Chief"

A few of the students in my class know that I am an R.D. and will direct food or health related questions towards me. It's nice that someone thinks I am worth some sort of point of view in these discussions, as I really don't get that impression in class in the slightest. But I digress...in the form of an answer to someone's post concerning the amount and quality of fat in school lunches and it's direct weight on performance.

Posted comments stemming from the link to the article "Farmer in Chief" from the NY Times Magazine. Here is the first paragraph of this article, an open letter:

Dear Mr. President-Elect,

It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril. Since then, federal policies to promote maximum production of the commodity crops (corn, soybeans, wheat and rice) from which most of our supermarket foods are derived have succeeded impressively in keeping prices low and food more or less off the national political agenda. But with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close. What this means is that you, like so many other leaders through history, will find yourself confronting the fact — so easy to overlook these past few years — that the health of a nation’s food system is a critical issue of national security. Food is about to demand your attention. ...

My answers as posted:

Amanda, I certainly want to answer you on the concepts of fresh ingredients in promoting health and performance. And while a leaner and more clean fat approach is certainly a start and shows results, it merits mention that the techniques of farming and regionality that Pollan refers to are often with less antibiotic use and food served with the aid of fewer preservatives which is another factor being studied in the diet changes in elementary and high school children. Due to a very very busy work day, I will find you a few studies on it tomorrow and post them. Also, I will be happy to direct you to some information on the burgeoning problem of the "certified organic" standard v. local foods.

However, if you have not read Michael Pollan's books: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural history of Four Meals, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World, or his earlier works, you should pick one up at the library and read it. His name will most definitely come up repeatedly in the media as a purveyor of a more sustainable move of the human diet. With the growing importance of water conservation, carbon neutrality, and self accountability in areas like personal consumption choices, hubris and ignorance about livestock and agricultural is really going to come to the forefront. Unfortunately, the food lobbying in this country as well as the strong farm-state coalition will assuage these issues as much as possible (as evidenced in this past summer's farm $300 billion bail outs). It really will come down to personal choices and localized food movements to get these concepts like that have been recently addressed by the UN on lessening meat consumption. Regardless of anyone's enjoyment of meat, there is literally no argument that it is, as the industry is today, sustainable. And frankly, there is no medical need for humans to eat meat so that will never be an issue in this argument.

While I often recommend to my patients that they lessen the meat and change the type of meat in their diets, those are usually health or weight management issues. Frankly, for all other healthy people, it needs to be a choice based on logic that the industry is pushing out fossil fuels, eating up land, and wasting a disgusting amount of potable water and a meat-reliant diet is at this point, selfish and unnecessary. So yes, Meryl, I think that this should be a political issue of regulation and that if people want to eat meat, they should have to really pay the actual cost of it. Eating meat at each meal or everyday is kind of like driving a Hummer to run your errands; It's wasteful and just because you are "allowed" doesn't mean you should. Eating less meat and researching what you're eating is going to begin to look like the seafood industry where people check their Monterrey Bay Aquarium fish lists to determine whether they should order something from a menu.

If anyone has any questions re: the nutritional need of meat in your diet, feel free to email me. Apologies that I have to answer clients first, but I will try to answer your questions as quickly as possible with supporting evidence.

Meat Contributes to Climate Change
UN on Livestock production of fossil fuels being worse than automobiles
FAO Information on Meat and the Climate
Livestock Creating too Much Nitrogen
Livestock Use of Water Statistics

A Summary of NO MEAT Month

So, I kind of made it through the month of September without incorporating meat into my diet. I know some people think I cheated since I ate eggs and they debate that they are meat, but until they get their Registered Dietitian's licensure, they can basically suck it. I am going to break this into a few categories as there is so much concept in this process that needs to be somewhat organized.

The Math ~ These facts can stand on their own. They do not need to be supported by any nutrition information whatsoever, it's all math and science. HA!

In order to produce one pound of edible meat (without bone, etc.), approximately 5,000 gallons of water must be used. Therefore, you could say that you could either shower for a year or eat a pound of meat. If I were to eat an average of three servings of meat a day (not counting fish, obviously), that would be nine ounces of meat. Therefore over 30 days, that would be approximately 17 pounds of meat, which equals 85,000 gallons of water, or 17 years of showering. Compare it to 25 gallons for the production of one pound of grain. Replace my 17 pounds of meat with 17 pounds of grain and you only net 425 gallons of water in production. In a water conscious world (which is what we should be living in, forget oil), meat consumption should plummet. Don't even get me started on the the CO2 savings here. People, get educated! It's in the numbers.

Here's another number: 149 lbs. (67.7 kg.). This is my weight at the beginning of September. Having recently fractured my skull, I gained a few pounds not being able to work out and I maintain that a quick way to shed some of that weight is to drop meat from your diet. People assume that being turned into a carboholic will keep that weight on, but that did not seem to be the case. I went from eating pasta once every 2-3 weeks to sometimes twice a day. I still don't really like potatoes or bread, but because I was making things for Andrew, I had quite a bit myself. And we went through a straight liter of olive oil in 30 days. And I lost almost 6 pounds (4% of body weight), and trust that I have been doing about nada in the exercise department. There are pants being brought out of storage.

What Worked?

• It was a Godsend that this month was a great harvest month for the Greenmarket in the New York Metro area. There is literally no reason that you should be without vegetable choices since they are all around the city and have plenty of options. Luckily, I am schooled in doing more than making salads, although I have to say, those were some good heirloom-type salads I had.
• Debbie Meyer Green Bags! These things work on the simplest concept that the bags are treated to wick away that pesky ethylene, a chemical compound which hastens the ripening of fruits and vegetables. These bags allow your vegetables to last so much longer! Totally worth it and at your local Tarjay.
  
• Cooking Light has long been one of my favourite magazines for recipes. I am much more visual a learner than any other sort, so their having photographs to accompany their recipes is a huge help! I am letting my subscription go as it is a waste of paper seeing as their site has all their recipes in their database. I know that website aren't run on unicorn farts and rainbows, but still...less wasteful. I look something up at least once a week on there...pickles, potato salad, you name it.
• I may have fell more in love with Morningstar Farms fake meat (analogs). I know they are a company pretending to be small and cute and organic when they are really just a subsidiary of Kellogg Company, but they do have some tasty stuff that fills in the gaps where meat would have otherwise likely been the option du jour. Given better selections of meat analogs, I would hope to find a less corporate producer. Drop another scoop in the moral chore bucket.
  
• Andrew also gave up meat this month. His agenda was not the same as mine, but it is easier when the kid you are sharing the table with is not heffing back a slab of ribs or two dozen ribs. Trust.
  

What Didn't Work?

• I think the first big problem with NO MEAT month for me was that it coincided with the beginning of the fall semester for grad school and for the rugby season. I just did not often make the effort due to a lack of time or a lack of energy to make as many meals as I really should have. And then once I ran out of Easy Mac....
  
• My worm box died while I was on vacation. This made me feel kind of like a total wastoid for just throwing out my organic waste and once again made me want to move to San Francisco where the municipal garbage service picks up compost materials for you. Geez, Bloomberg, why don't you get on it.
  
• My friends are kind of dicks. I think that it is largely American hubris that people think their ways of living are superior to other people's or that they should be shooting off their opinions on anything. I do often pass judgment on what people eat as a function of being an R.D. but at the same time, it is likely solicited. Let's just say, there are people I think less of now with their "But meat is good, " and their "You're such a hippie." No, I am just brighter, more principled, and better educated than you.
  
• Living in the ghetto is in no way food friendly. The "grocery" stores here maintain very little edible produce (even less edible meat to be honest) and are only good for packaged basic foods. Tragic. We wonder why diabetes is rampant...even outside of personal accountablity. But I guess I would never invest in this neighborhood given the chance either to be honest. Damn.
• Vegetables are actually more expensive than meat. This is such a mindfuck of a concept. They take far less cost of production, water, labor, etc. This is truly sad and wrong.
• Companies need to be more straightforward in their packaging. When I pick up a can of vegetable soup...I want it to be all vegetables. I don't want to have it already in the pan heating and then read the label and find a meat composite somewhere down the line of the ingredient list. Bad Progresso, bad!!
  

What did I miss?

• Maruchan Instant Lunch Chicken Ramen cups
• hot wings (Largely, with Poon at the Lion's Head. I should have taken rugby and football seasons into account here, clearly.)
  
• PD II's ribs (Doubtful would I miss any other ribs or any other rib sauce.)
• shrimp (Now not to be eaten since they are on the don't buy list. Thanks Monterrey Bay Aquarium!!)
• sushi (Sweet lord in heaven did I have a problem with this. Maybe it was my body trying to react to the mercury shortage in my system? Although sweet potato tempura rolls are acceptable, I guess.)

In summary, I will resume eating sustainably farmed/fished animal sources. Yes, this will mean a little more work on my part, more questions asked, etc. I will likely have one serving a week of the following: poultry, red meat, fish. Andrew has decided he will bring back fish, occasional poultry, and no red meat. Every few months we will go back to lactoovovegetarian status for a month or two to detox ourselves and feel less like all the other self-centered people polluting the earth so they can have a cheap cheeseburger.

~beth who thinks people should eat to live rather than eat to pollute...

Week ONE of NO MEAT Month: A Week in Photos

Eating a no meat diet in Manhattan should be easier, and cheaper! What gives? Anyway, here are some notable finds and meals of the week (Wednesday to Sunday). Please to enjoy!

Wednesday Union Square Greenmarket near closing... 2 beautiful bags of fruits and vegetables!

Expensive but worthwhile....

Baby succulent for my glass desk. No more cut flowers, people! Only succulents!

Salad made from beautiful butter lettuce, Japanese plum, heirloom cherry tomatoes, dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herb mix.

Hannah poured rain on the isle of Manhattan. Global warming questioners, go outside without an umbrella and tell me how real that shit feels, k, thanks.

Jalapeno poppers, one of the few vegetarian things on the menu at Blondies on W. 79th Street. I avoided buffalo wings, though, which is no small triumph. MANHATTAN PURVEYORS TAKE NOTE: Vegetarians watch sports in public too!!

A Beth's Breakfast Bowl: scrambled egg, French bread toast, heirloom cherry tomato salad, vegetable mix of baby red potatoes, garlic, haricot verts, and red pepper.
Suck it, Denny's.

Hopefully this week will have some new finds...

~beth

Day 1 of NO MEAT Month: Labor Day

For Labor Day I decided to let others do much of the laboring in preparing my food, largely because it was hot as balls here in the city and I could not be less bothered. Also, more than ever, I really hate my kitchen. I find it a really poorly designed cheap space and it makes me want to not only withhold rent but move all of my pink kitchen appliance to the other end of the building (my office) where I will likely enjoy them more. This happens every time I come back from Vegas, where I love my beautiful granite and chrome oasis kitchen. But I digress...

Take that chicken! (Vegas kitchen of glory)

Here's what I ate today:
m&m Veggie Wedge sandwich: I am kind of shocked there is no web presence or listing for this Asian market and deli on Broadway at 115th Street. You can order from a lengthy list of sandwiches, etc. as well as buy all the Sriracha and fresh oyster mushrooms your little heart desires. The sandwich is more than excellent. It is a giant Kaiser roll with slices of fresh mozarella, shredded letture, thin slice cucumbers, roasted red peppers, avocado slices, and sun dried tomatoes. I, of course, ask them to substitute real tomato slices for the gag-inducing sundried ones. It's glorious! ($5.75)

Then walking down Broadway to meet some CU Rugby minxes and watch the greatest movie ever made, we saw the Van Leeuwen Artisanal Ice Cream truck. If you have not had this and have been gagging back that non-food chemical Pink(crack)berry stuff all summer, you need to switch over NOW. It uses local milk from Lewis County, NY, with other ingredients to form a custard base, then all natural flavorings to finalize the ice cream. It is delivered to only NY (three turkc locations) and CT, uses biodegradable cartons and spoons (made from 100% renewable resources), and is 105% glorious! I had a small with one scoop of chocolate and a scoop of strawberry. Andrew had a cone with a scoop of pistachios. If the photo below does not make you want to switch to this kind of confection, you should also factor in that they donate a percentage of their profits to help one of the world's most endangered species, the Mountain Gorillas of the Congo through a grassroots organization called Wildlife Direct. Now you should feel guilty and go eat their ice cream. What have you done for gorillas today?


After the movie, Andrew and I stopped at one of our sometimes favorite cheap organic/vegetarian (for us) restaurants. You would think there would be more numerous options on the Upper West Side, but alas.... Nanoosh Mediterranean Hummus Bar (2012 Broadway between 68th and 69th) is somewhat of an oasis from that. Yes, the waitstaff is a little dead behind the eyes, yes, they often run out of items, yes, they serve the most Gumby-like celery ever, but otherwise, it's pretty good. We tried to get our favorite item, the Mushroom and hummus wrap with Mediterranean salad, but of course, they were out of mushrooms. Curses! We had to order the egg and hummus salad wrap with a side order of hummus and vegetables (including flexi-celery). The waitress tried to test the theory that moisture is the essence of wetness and not give us any water, but we prevailed! It was good.

Then we stopped at Fairway to pick up some lettuce, mushrooms, red potatoes, and Bumble Bars which I will be taking to school. Some nosy too tan Naugahyde broad with smudged fierce teal eyeliner in the elevator (No steps to the organics? Curses!), reached into Andrew's basket, picked up one my my prized Chai Bumble Bars, and declared, "You know these are full of fat." I could not have hidden my annoyance and superiority more, mainly because I did not care to, and said, "I know, and it's good fat." She turned to me and said, "But it's still fat." Andrew was still confused as to whether she had insulted his red leaf lettuce, and the other elevator passengers looked intrigued like a dead cougar v. cat fight might happen in a teensy tinesy elevator with them. I only had one floor so I made the quick decision not to educate this woman on omega fats and the power of flax, and just cut her down quick, saying, "I'm a dietitian and I know what's in them. The fat is good and they are filled with fiber." She started to kind of stammer as the door to the first floor opened and I stepped out. Another girl in front of me turned and said, "I hate women like that." I have to agree. Either way, I know what I'll be eating in class for the rest of the week.


When we got back to the house, it was still horrifically hot. I wish we didn't live in a place where even on an upper floor you have to keep things locked up tight because 89% of the surrounding community should be in Rikers Island. Anyway, I felt the need for more ice cream in the form of Haagen Daz Vanilla Honey Bee Ice Cream. I am going to write an entire post about the honey bee collapse which will leave us barren of many fruits and vegetables, etc. soon. Profits from sales of this product go to research on how to stabilize and save the honey bee population. However, until then, know that you should google the condition and read up!

And after that, we start to see why I am still on West Coast time, or at least my stomach is. I had a late night can of Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable. I should have just poured salt in my hand and licked it occassionally. Then a Swiss Miss hot chocolate packet with marshmallows (what a joke) and some half and half. All in all, no meat. However, I choose to think that this will be easier once this blazing weather chills a little. It is certainly making me scraps. For those interested, Andrew ate virtually the same until the soup. What a good boy he is.

~beth

30 Days, NO MEAT!!

For the month of September, Andrew and I are going to go without meat (including fish). No, we have not become hippies, but we have decided that it just isn't necessary and we will try thirty days without it.

For me personally, it is just the fact that eating meat takes so much water to produce. So really, I would rather have water to drink than meat to eat and I think that Americans are very uneducated and disgustingly selfish and need to stop whining about gas and take note of water and how to use less. Not to mention that the methane fartprint of livestock alone... Everyone needs a wake up call about meat in general.

Also, it is nutritionally unnecessary in the human diet. So I will be putting up recipes, photos, websites, and musings on the process this month. If nothing else, the weight loss alone should be obvious, which should be interesting.

And then there's the math on water. If both of us give up an estimated two 3-ounce servings of meat a day, or 11.25 pounds this month, we will in theory save 112,500 gallons of water (5,000 gallons to make one pound of edible meat).

Anyveggie, we'll see how this goes.... Until further news, here is a gorgeous photo of Stitch Mittens. Please to enjoy!


~beth