Last week, the New York Times featured a few part-time professional urban farmers in areas of New York City where a high demand and low supply of produce cause dietary and health problems. Increasingly, residents are seeing their abundance of abandoned lots as a new kind of food wealth.

In places like East New York, Brooklyn and the South Bronx, neighbors are getting together to create community gardens. But instead of toiling away on shared crops, each group grows and tends to his or her own plot. This allows more autonomy in deciding what to do with those hard-earned veggies. While some groups eat or give away their crops, many others decide to bring the fruits of their labor to market as a secondary source of income. One couple featured in the article, Denniston and Marlene Wilks, made over $3,000 dollars last year from four allotments. But the farmers insist it is not about the money: a South Bronx farmer, Karen Washington told the New York Times: “We’re selling so that people in our neighborhood have good quality. There’s no Whole Foods in my neighborhood.”

The allotment gardens themselves are efficiently run, funded primarily by allotment rent checks (the Wilkses said they paid as little as $2 per 4′x8′ bed). The gardens also avoid expenses by using city services as much as possible. For example, the New York Parks Department has a seeding and soil testing service that is free, while the Bronx Zoo repackages their animal dung as free manure for city residents. As the creators of the SPIN-Farming method attest, municipal services make city farming a great deal cheaper than its large scale equivalent, where water drainage, pest control and regular soil testing are solely the farmer’s responsibility.

In addition to the increase in produce, low- and mid-income neighborhoods are enjoying an increase in farmer’s markets. Residents aren’t the only ones to notice, either. This week, a 60-person delegation from the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development took tours of several allotment and fully-functioning urban farms. It is nice to see some government and policy leaders acknowledge that the grassroots action of growing veggies on allotment may have a profound impact on the way we eat.

Image credit: Todd Heisler for the New York Times

The WFP school feeding program has become a touchstone aspect of both the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the G8 action pact of 2002. Between the program’s inception in 1999 and its last data recorded in 2005, the number of children served has grown by 82%, which amounts to 21.7 million schoolchildren in 74 countries.

Now, despite its success and widespread acclaim, the International Herald is reporting that the WFP program will not continue in Cambodia - the first of many predicted shut-downs as rising food costs threaten the profoundly poor. While the program’s budgeted cost for rice last year was $295 per ton, the current market price is more than $700 per ton. In a country where half of all calories consumed come from rice, the rising prices make it very difficult for farmers to donate to free breakfast programs. So will the Cambodia program be able to re-open? The WFP director on the ground gave his most optimistic estimate: maybe next school year in October 2008.

To learn more about the work of the World Food Program and to find out how you can donate to help the schools in Cambodia, please go to their website.

(Picture by Thomas Fuller for the International Herald Tribune)

Before I’d left the market, I’d snapped up two bunches of ramps and a bag full of stinging nettles among my regular staples. In fact, the stinging nettles purveyor was kind enough to write out a recipe for tea (pictured below). It was my first ever stinging nettle experience.

More on that and other recipes inspired by my wild green windfall after the jump.

Ramp Frittata (Pictured above)

One bunch of ramps - about 9 stalks, finely chopped. Separate the chopped leaves from the stalks and bulbs

6 new potatoes

4-5 eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 oz raw milk cheddar, thinly sliced

handful of dill

a few sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper

Steam potatoes until tender, then cut into small cubes. Sauté the potatoes with the ramps (stalk and bulb) in a cast iron or copper skillet until both have good color. In a bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, herbs and spices. Pour over the potato and ramp mixture. When the edges of the frittata start to become solid, place cheddar across the top and then put the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, checking often.

Sautéed Fiddleheads, Japanese Style

2 cups fiddleheads

2-3 ramp stalks and bulbs, chopped finely

coarsely chopped ramp leaves from the above stalks

1 tbs oil

1/2 tbs butter

soy sauce

rice wine vinegar

aji-min (optional)

salt and pepper

Thoroughly wash the fiddleheads in changing baths, making sure all grit has been removed. Steam them for 5-7 minutes and then rinse them again in cold water. While they are steaming, heat the oil and butter in a pan and let the ramps sweat. Put the steamed and bathed fiddleheads into the pan, turn up the heat to a simmer and add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and aji-min sparingly. The key is to highlight the fiddlehead’s taste - not mask it. When the fiddleheads have turned a deep green and are to satisfying doneness (5 - 10 minutes), add the ramp leaves until they are wilted. Salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a plate and serve!

Note: The CDC issued a warning about fiddlehead ferns after a 1994 outbreak of gastrointestinal maladies that was attributed to undercooked fiddlehead ferns. This has led some to advocate overcooking the fiddleheads, to which most fiddlehead lovers say, “sacrilege!” Tomato, tomahto. You can read about it here and decide for yourself.

Stinging Nettle Tea

While I can’t say this is delicious, I did feel healthier for drinking it. Many herbalists and naturopathic practitioners believe that it is a blood builder and cleanser, digestion aid and anti-inflammatory tonic. It is often used to treat arthritis and anemia, but France’s herbal medicine guide also indicates stinging nettle tea as a treatment for acne and eczema. Placebo or otherwise, I thought it was a worth a try!

Bring 1 Liter (4.25 cups) of filtered water to a boil in a saucepan. Once the boil is rolling, remove the saucepan from the burner and add one large bunch (about 2 cups) of stinging nettle. Allow the nettle to steep for 2-3 hours in the water and then strain the resultant tea into a glass jar or other non-reactive container.

I added some honey to mine, which I don’t recommend doing because the flavor is savory.

Notes: When handling the nettles, use tongs or wear gloves - the spiny thorns of the plant puncture your skin and release formic acid, which smarts.

The tea will last for a week in the fridge, but it is best to consume it all within a two day span to get the maximum health benefits.

Happy eating - enjoy these heralds of spring!

As a quick snack for my pop-over friends, I made a modified Bahn Mi sandwich (you know, those incredibly complex Vietnamese sandwiches of liver pate, chicken and pork pieces, and pickled veggies between crusty slices of baguette).

To take the place of the liver pate, I used homemade hummus. The beat salad stood in for the usual daikon-and-carrot mixture. Instead of meat, I used some extra-firm, marinated tofu (a.k.a. the best tofu ever). The crusty baguette, veggies and tofu are all locally grown/made and picked up at the farmer’s market. Recipe after the jump:

Veggie Bahn Mi (for 4)

4 4-inch piece of fresh baguette, sliced horizontally

1 cup of hummus (recipe below)

1 cup of extra-firm marinated tofu pieces (see details below)

2 cup of pickled veggies (beet salad recipe here…just leave out the cheese and seeds and use rice wine vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar)

8 romaine lettuce leaves

Chili oil to taste

1. Heat baguette for ten minutes in a 250 degree oven. While it is heating, drain the pickling veggies and pan fry the marinated tofu.

2. Spread the prepared hummus on the top side of the baguette and place two romaine lettuce leaves on the bottom half.

3. Using tongs, shake the veggies free of their pickling juice and place them on the lettuce side of the baguette.

4. Remove the tofu and place on the pickled veggies

5. Drizzle some chili oil over the hummus and turn the hummus-ed side of the bread onto the bottom half to form a sandwich.

Cut in half and eat!

Tofu and Hummus:

On Tofu: If you can’t get your hands on Ying Ying Soy Foods (serious tofu geniuses), try to find another tofu that is made with Nigari instead of the synthetic coagulants found in most (even healthful) tofus. As a marinade, I usually stick to this base, improvising as I see fit.

• Soy Sauce
• Aji-Mirin
• Melted brown sugar in oil
• minced garlic
• Lemon juice (or rice wine vinegar)
• Red pepper flakes

On Hummus:

1 can chickpeas, drained (reserve some water)

1/4 cup chickpea water

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tb tahini

2 Tb roasted garlic

salt, pepper and cumin to taste

Chop top off of a head of garlic, drizzle with oil and bake at 450 F for 20-30 minutes. Take out and let cool.

Add all ingredients into food processor, including the roasted garlic, which should be gooey and squeezed out of its casing and blend until desired consistency is reached.

Filling and healthful!

(Photo not my own. It’s from excellent blog, foodite)

Marion Nestle, an oft-quoted nutritionist and professor at New York University, explains the need to consume nutrients within the context of their whole food origins on her blog:

Unless you have been diagnosed with a vitamin or mineral deficiency and need to replenish that nutrient in a great big hurry, it is always better to get nutrients from foods—the way nature intended. I can think of three benefits of whole foods as compared to supplements: (1) you get the full variety of nutrients—vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc–in that food, not just the one nutrient in the supplement; (2) the amounts of the various nutrients are balanced so they don’t interfere with each other’s digestion, absorption, or metabolism; and (3) there is no possibility of harm from taking nutrients from foods (OK. Polar bear liver is an exception; its level of vitamin A is toxic). In contrast, high doses of single nutrients not only fail to improve health but also can make things worse, as has been shown in some clinical trials of the effects of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and folic acid, for example, on heart disease or cancer. And foods taste a whole lot better, of course.

One study to which she refers is a well-known experiment involving male smokers from Finland and the effects of vitamin E and beta-carotene supplementation on the incidence of lung cancer. Contrary to theoretical predictions, the supplements actually increased the probability of getting cancer. (This closed experiment controlled for lifestyle and other tertiary factors , was peer reviewed and is considered a high-quality study in the field).

So we have one expert weighing in on the dangers of nutrients that are unregulated by their natural partners, i.e. the other components of their source. We have empirical data that shows how isolated nutrients can in fact contribute to worsened health. But guess what else? One expert in the field suggests that we must eat nutrients in the context of their whole foods because we don’t even know what aspect of the plant actually causes the nutritional benefit.

David R. Jacobs, professor of epidemiology at University of Minnesota is an expert on “food synergy.” This term refers to the ways that the components of a food source work in tandem to deliver the nutritional benefit to our bodies. The foods act synergistically. In his article in the American Journal of Nutrition that focuses on the food synergy in grain sources, he states:

Risk appears to be lower with consumption of whole grain than of refined grain; that is, benefit accrues when all edible parts of the grain are included (bran, germ, and endosperm). It appears that phytochemicals that are located in the fiber matrix, in addition to or instead of the fiber itself, are responsible for the reduced risk.

This notion of food synergy is perhaps the most sophisticated in that it protects us from our own ignorance. We know, empirically, that when we consume food, we stave off death. We know that certain foods do this better than others and we have a sense of which parts of these foods are most useful to us. But we might be wrong about certain nutrients or metabolic processes. In fact, we have evidence to suggest that we are sometimes wrong. By choosing to eat whole, natural foods - that is, foods closest to their plant source, we are taking a blanket approach to nutrition rather than trusting any one nutritional philosophy (especially one funded by an agricultural lobbyist group) to guide us in our eating.

I spent last week following the Ashkenazi diet for the eight day celebration of Passover, the finer points of which were perfectly summed up by Sharon here. Each year for eight days, I eliminate any and all corn products from my diet and vow to carry this no-corn policy into the rest of the year’s eating. But eliminating corn-based additives is not as straightforward as skimming the ingredients list for the word corn. Many of these additives have names that do not give away their origins. Of course, unwanted corn primarily enters the diet through food processing, so the best and easiest course of action is to eliminate all processed foods. But in instances where processed food is unavoidable, a next best defense is familiarity with aliases for corn. And so, without further ado, several common , non-obvious corn-based additives to look out for:

Ascorbic acid

The Vitamin C used to fortify foods is almost always non-naturally occurring. Instead, it is synthesized from corn.

Amino Acids

We have all seen this vague ingredient. It makes me think of biology class, but it makes the Corn Refiner’s Association think of money!

Calcium lactate

A preservative used in baking powder, cheeses, chewing gum, antacids, cut fruit.

Calcium stearoyl

Emulsifier used in manufactured bread products such as bread loaves and tortillas

Citric acid

Preservative used in soft drinks and candies for the sour taste.

Crystalline fructose

A type of high fructose corn derivative found in artificially sweetened products.

Dextrin or Dextrose

A basic sugar with food preservation properties, dextrose is found in jams, candy and other sweetened foods. Additionally, it is the basis for fermentation of many antibiotics such as penicillin.

Ethyl maltol

This chemical compound smells of caramel and is thus used as an artificial flavor and fragrance that is used in food and beauty products, which means it is also absorbed into your body through your skin as perfume, lotion and soap.

Fumaric or Lactic acid

A preservative in sweets that sometimes offers a tart flavor, but can also be tasteless.

Glucose

Commercially produced glucose is made from cornstarch, making it a processed processed food. (Processed²?)

Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)

HVP is a fermented corn biproduct that contains the more maligned acronymed ingredient, MSG (monosodium glutamate - a type of HVP). MSG has been implicated in migraines, among other maladies. HVP is used as a “flavor enhancer,” possibly in other flavored-down, corned-up processed items. (Processed³?)

Malt, Maltodextrin, Maltose or Maltol

The Malt-series food additives are absorbed by the human body at a rate parallel to glucose, which is to say rapidly. This rapid absorption leads to a rise and fall of glucose levels, which leads to increased hunger, which leads to eating more corn products. Yay!

Mannitol

A sweetener used for diabetic-friendly sweets, mannitol is also a common ingredient in chewing gum and breath mints (it provides that “cool” feeling). In higher doses, mannitol is used in children’s laxatives. (Needed in the first place, of course, because of a non-diversified diet of corn-based, refined carbohydrates.)

Polydextrose

If your favorite cereal proclaims “Now With More Fiber!” on the box, it is probably thanks to this synthetic, soluble-fiber compound.

Polysorbates

An emulsifier in foods, pharmaceuticals and beauty products.

Potassium gluconate

Often added as an antioxidant, this compound is commonly used as a sodium supplement.

Propylene glycol monostearate

An emulsifier that is used in food, pharmaceuticals and beauty products. Oh, and also in industrial solvents, anti-freeze coolants, plasticizers and pretty much any other carcinogen you can think of.

Tocopherol

A synthetic Vitamin E, it is often sold as a supplement on its own although testing has demonstrated that humans do not absorb it as efficiently as naturally derived Vitamin E.

Xanthan gum

A very common thickening agent, xanthan gum is found in pretty much anything that requires emulsification such as salad dressing, ice cream, pasta sauce and bottled smoothies.

So, to tally this up, corn takes the place of our sugars, our salts, our starches, our fats, our remedies and our beauty treatments. While there is nothing intrinsically toxic about corn derivatives and their products, there is nothing nutritious about them either, despite health claims to the contrary. The pervasiveness of corn in the American diet promotes a homogeneous and environmentally hostile agriculture industry by relying on large-scale unicrop farms.

When we eat this much corn, we not only discourage genetic diversity among crops, we also bankrupt our bodies of the nutrients we require. But, more sinister than this, these synthetic foods trick our bodies into thinking that we are getting the nutrients from foods that they mimic. When we drink a lime soda, our body expects Vitamin C because of the tart taste and asorbic acid, but we also cannot process this synthetic asorbic acid (”Vitamin C”) with the efficiency of that found in say, a lime. Our brain asks us to continue drinking the soda, waiting for the nutrient. Instead, we get several hundred calories from corn-based sugars and no fiber with which to absorb the sugar as we would if we ate the lime. It is a deeply cynical business model that renders basically all industrial food companies into corn pushers.

Note: A reader brought up a concern about the factual accuracy of referring to chemical compounds that are made from corn as “corn-based.” From a scientific standpoint, he is right. Let’s call it “corn-derived,” shall we?

To be fair, the reader’s discomfort with the terminology points to a conflation I made that I should correct: there are both health concerns and political concerns with eating compounds made from corn. The health concerns do not relate to corn, the plant, but instead to the prevalence of synthetically-derived nutrients and homogeneous eating (any scientist knows the value of diversity for overall health…), while the political (and environmental) concerns relate to corn, specifically - or, more accurately, the corn industrial complex.

A few of the nutrients listed above are essential to human survival, but their presence as supplements in all of our groceries is not essential to human survival. Please do not avoid amino acids, just ponder why they are additives in your breakfast cereal. It is a falsehood that all nutrients - those from a lab and those from nature - are created equal. Any scientific claim that a synthetic or unnaturally isolated nutrient is as valuable as the same nutrient in the context of a whole food is woefully theoretical. Nutritional studies consistently show that subjects who eat nutrients in the context of whole food enjoy better health than those who eat isolated and synthetic nutrients. For more on this subject, a good source is Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food.

I am never going to win with the traditional recipes from the old country - these would be inexpertly executed versions of my grandmother’s legendary matzo balls and kugel. Instead, I try to reimagine a dish I love within the dietary restrictions of the holiday: no leavened bread, no corn products, no rice or whole grains, no legumes. (Growing up with the yearly Passover semi-fast has been an education in corn additives, I will tell you, but that’s a story for a different post.)

This year, I focused on dessert. Several bakeries manage to make Kosher for Passover cakes and cookies from matzo crumbs, but these have the cardboard-y taste and alarmingly fake consistency of diet foods. Instead, I coopted this addictive matzo bark recipe from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn. But what should go with it? Why, ice cream of course!

There is no way to get commercial ice cream that does not contain fructose, corn syrup, maltodextrin or any of the other corn-based food additives that coagulate, sweeten and preserve. But ice cream is one of the best dishes a dinner party host can make from scratch. It can be made well ahead of time and seems far more impressive than such an easy recipe should.

The first night I made a very straightforward vanilla-honey ice cream. I used local whole milk, cream, and honey and some vanilla my mom picked up in Mexico (it was local when she bought it…). That’s it. The flavor was delicious and complimented the salty/crunchy/bitter flavors of the matzo bark, but there seemed to be something shallow about the taste. The honey’s sweetness overpowered without the enduring creaminess found in the best ice creams. It melted quickly with only honey to coat the tongue.

So, for the second seder, I tried again. I started the ice cream more like custard with two egg yolks. I used brown sugar instead of honey, hoping for a more well-rounded flavor. I tinkered with the cream-to-whole milk ratio. The results - while still fast-melting - were creamy, subtle and delicious.

Passover Ice Cream

2.5 cups of heavy cream

.5 cups of whole milk

2 egg yolks, gently mixed together in a cup

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (if you really like your guests, you could splurge on one vanilla bean, split open and scraped into the pot. Just remove the bean husk before freezing.)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the cream, milk and egg yolks to medium heat, stirring. Add the sugar and vanilla and simmer, stirring frequently until you see bubbles rising up around the edges of the pot. Before the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat. Pour the mixture into a non-reactive bowl and cover. Fill a larger bowl halfway with ice and cold water. Place the bowl containing the mixture into the ice bath, allowing it to cool completely.

When the mixture is colder than room temperature, place it into the ice cream machine, following directions.

Optional:

If you don’t want to make the matzo bark to go along with this ice cream, you can still add the pistachio-dark-chocolate-salt crunch. Warm shelled pistachios in a skillet and then toss in a bowl with a bit of oil, sea salt and brown sugar. Spread onto a pan and slow-roast in the oven at 275 for 20-30 minutes. Let cool before adding to the ice cream.

Wait until the ice cream churning in the machine has reached the consistency of a loose soft serve, then pour in the sugar-roasted pistachios and dark chocolate chips. Allow the ice cream to reach the consistency of soft serve and then transfer to a freezer-proof container.

There you have it! More from the Passover-friendly kitchen coming tomorrow.

But I didn’t just come here to bring you down. A new agricultural economics paper has given us some reason to hope, if we can organize our food industry to action.

The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) released a report today confirming that global food production is sufficient to feed everyone. So why are 800 million people under- and malnourished? Because like all types of wealth, the food we grow is distributed unequally. As global warming impacts growth cycles through desertification and weather changes, our population continues to grow. We have more mouths to feed and less land to do it on and the inequality of distribution causes political instability and resource disputes the world over, threatening everyone’s security.

The 400 scientists who contributed to the IAASTD report recommended that we do several things. First, we have to abandon food crops as sources for biofuel. Rather than focus on maximum output, agriculture has to be practiced in a sustainable way so that soil richness, watershed health and ancient forests are protected. While the report received money from the “GM Industry” (the usual suspects like Monsanto…), a dispute last year saw them removed from the project as the scientists predicted a very minimal role for GM crops. The report also recommended that the current subsidized farming structure must change dramatically, as cheap cash crops from wealthy countries in the Northern hemisphere encourage wastefulness and discourage agricultural growth in developing countries by undercutting prices.

Without these changes made, the report warns, an increase in famine and thus conflict could be in our near future.

(Photo by Tyler Hicks for the New York Times)

It is a truth well documented that community gardens foster unity among neighbors, but Germany’s Stiftung Interkultur has taken this logic a step further in the creation of its Intercultural Gardens. Communities in Berlin, Gottingen, Hamburg, and Munich (among others) are home to large and diverse immigrant populations, often living in close proximity. To encourage interaction and community spirit between German residents of all extractions, the Stiftung Interkultur has built a series of community gardens in which residents can share their gardening skills and horticultural knowledge with one another. The idea was born out of recognition that social exclusion plagued many new immigrants to Germany. Further, members of the discussions at Stiftung Interkultur felt that environmental and sustainable eating considerations were directed at the middle class, causing a secondary level of isolation that affected the health and eating practices of urban immigrants.

Gardening is an ideal tool to combat these institutionalized conditions because it provides a level playing field, with immigrants from places as disparate as Vietnam, Tajikistan and Bosnia finding value in the unique skills they can contribute and common ground surrounding agricultural practices that transcend nationality and culture. Many of the participants come from agricultural communities and can use the garden to keep old traditions alive. Even those who do not participate in the gardening itself are invited to enjoy the space as a public arena in which to socialize with neighbors.

Gardening participants believe that the approach of the Intercultural Gardens works because the procedures at the gardens are elastic: new participants are not ‘taught’ how to garden, rather their input is required to help the garden flourish. While they spend most of their time adapting to a new culture, immigrants can apply long-held skills to this important, neighborly endeavor.

For more information, see the Stiftung Interkultur website.

(Photo courtesy of Stiftung Interkultur)

The Mercury News - a local Silicon Valley newspaper - recently reported the popularity of healthy cafeteria menus with the schools’ students. In fact, school lunch participation has gone up in the two school districts (Los Gatos and Saratoga Union School Districts) that have teamed up with Revolution Foods - a school catering company that sources local foods, uses 85% organic ingredients, and teams up with Whole Foods to broaden their purchasing options.

Since the switch, students have commended the changes, saying that they feel better when they eat healthy foods. While Northern California is known for its enlightened attitudes towards eating, these schools are in communities with documented obesity problems. These are not officially considered pilot programs, but we should showcase them as such: if they can do it, any school district can do it.

Across the country, Pennsylvania students chose healthier options when nutrition information was showcased along with the buffet-style trays of food. This 2005 experiment was courtesy of a research team from Penn State University and has been held up as an indication that, contrary to popular belief, children and adolescents do want to eat what’s healthy, as long as it is convenient and available to them.

Given the partnership between private suppliers and school districts, perhaps a proliferation of such catering companies would encourage more school districts to wrench themselves from the jaws of Pepsi Co et al. In this rare instance, supply might inform demand.

(Photo by Peter Cosgrove for AP)

One pioneer was Tesco, the British supermarket giant who began affixing the airplane sticker to imports in 2007. But recently, Tesco announced that it is removing the sticker. But why?

Many suppliers from third world nations like Kenya and Uganda protested the measure as a demonization of imports. Agricultural leaders in these countries - along with a growing number of food industry experts - argued that a food item’s means of travel is only one consideration among many. What about the all-natural fertilizers used at strawberry farms in Kenya? What about the low-tech hand-hoeing done at spinach farms in Uganda? Any rational evaluation would show that an organically grown, freighted item had a lower carbon cost than its local but synthetically fertilized or greenhouse grown equivalent. Some even argue that labeling should reflect socially beneficial choices. Consumers should have the option to support a grassroots collective of female farmers in a poor area over agribusiness in an industrialized nation. By avoiding imports, some economists argue, we are causing harm to delicate industries in countries that need the income.

But Tesco is hardly putting aside eco-labeling. In response to the criticisms, the company plans on calculating the total carbon cost of their generic brand items and creating new environmentally descriptive tags. In doing so, they hope to encourage more debate about what, exactly is the most responsible food choice in terms of carbon emissions. Some brands already include carbon-focused labeling. Take for example, Walker’s Crisps (seen at left). The printed symbol indicates that 75 grams of CO2 were expended during the manufacture and transport of this product. Add to this the appropriate fraction of carbon expenditure by the grocery store and the consumer’s trip home, and you have a very accurate reading of the chip’s environmental cost (saturated fat, of course, is a different matter entirely…)

This type of carbon labeling is extremely heartening, if still imperfect. Hopefully North American grocers will become inspired and begin to push for similar labeling here. One option for those of us who want to lobby for this type of consideration would be to contact favorite food brands and express our interest.

(Air freight sticker courtesy of Tesco; Walker’s Crisp image via TerraPass.com)

I have been noticing more recipes in the past month or so that incorporate raw beets, which appeals to me greatly. Beets are one of the most nutritious foods a person can consume. With high levels of folic acid, soluble and insoluble fiber, iron and potassium, beets are healthy no matter how they are cooked. However, when left raw, beets offer the most complete nutrition, including a complete form of betacyanin, which has been found to reduce cholesterol, help prevent colon cancer, and detoxify the liver. I always juiced them to eat raw, but - frankly - beet juice gets old.

But why raw to begin with? Raw food contains completely intact nutritional value, whereas most foods leach nutrients as they cook. But more than this, raw foodism is based on the concept of enzymes. Each biodegradable material contains the enzymes necessary to break it down. This means that along with fibers, sugars and fats, each raw food source contains the compounds necessary to digest fibers, sugars and fats. When you consume raw foods, your own digestive system does not have to work because the food digests itself. The enzymes are triggered by injury to the food (e.g. chopping and chewing). Without the strain of digestion, your body has the energy to work on other things like metabolism. Or so the logic goes.

So, looking at these beauties, I decided on a raw beet salad. I know, salad. How original. But I wanted to taste the raw beets in as simple a way as possible before I started making more complex dishes with them. And frankly, this salad was ridiculously delicious. Even my boyfriend, who thinks raw foodism is a silly gimmick, enjoyed it as a slaw in his sandwich. So, without further ado, Early Spring Sunshine Salad.

Serves two people (or one hungry blogger) with enough leftover for a cup of juice or garnish for a few sandwiches:

1 large golden beet, peeled and chopped into large chunks

2 medium carrots, peeled

1 oz Sunflower sprouts, ends cut off

1/3 Cup raw sunflower seeds

1 -2 oz of raw, sheep’s milk organic cheddar (feta would be delicious too)

Cilantro to garnish

Dressing:

2 Tbs cold-pressed olive oil

1 Tbs raw apple cider vinegar (with the mother)

pinches of salt (I use pink Himalayan salt, because its mild) and pepper

1 Tbs raw agave nectar (honey would work too)

I recommend using a food processor to shred the veggies. Once shredded, add together with sunflower sprouts and seeds and toss with dressing. Assemble thinly sliced cheese and cilantro on top and serve.

There you have it! Next week, I’ll be visiting glorious zone 6, where I will take advantage of more spring vegetables…

An entire army of day fisherman have, for decades, gone out into the deep green Atlantic, returning at dusk with enough fresh cod, haddock and bass to support a family. Beginning in the 1500s, Portuguese fishermen from Cape Verde and the Canary islands set up fishing shacks to take advantage of the rich summer months (and the Kennedys thought they were the first to summer on the Cape…) Eventually, these fisherman began to make their permanent homes along this stretch of New England coast as they discovered the abundance of year-round fish stocks.

But now, despite its decidedly nautical culture, the Cape is suffering from a deficiency of fish. According to an article in the New York Times, any menu featuring day boat cod from the area is, in the words of one quoted fisherman, engaging in “a harmless bit of false advertising.” Instead, long expeditions to Georges Bank - a fishing area frequented by fisherman from all along the northeastern seaboard - are the only fishing trips yielding a catch. Day boat fisherman expect the cod to return in June, but their reduced presence is troubling.

My first reaction to this news was to condemn the fishermen. If there are fewer fish in the water, it is their fault, right? But the day boat fisherman have been fishing near Cape Cod for over 500 years. Day boat fisherman are not the problem - big commercial ventures are. And it is these commercial ships that do not suffer in times of scarcity: they have the resources and budget to get out to Georges Bank, to continue their overfishing. Meanwhile, the sustainable fishermen - the ones who have built a symbiotic relationship with the marine population for centuries - slowly go out of business.

This is not the fishing industry that I want, culturally or politically as well as environmentally. Small farmers are not the only independent food suppliers who need our support. We need to pressure governments to legislate a reasonable catch quota for the big ships so that we can preserve fisheries and the distinct cultures that surround them.

(Image courtesy of FreeFoto)

Walking through the landscape of downtown San Francisco a visitor might notice an abundance of empty lots, but it would be a mistake to assume that these are pieces of public property. Instead, much of this property belongs to developers who are waiting out the long and complicated process of obtaining builiding permits. The San Francisco Permaculture Guild wants to benefit from this potentially fortuitous inaction by creating temporary, shifting tenant gardens.

A tenant garden is traditionally a rented growing space, but the guild’s plan diverges on the issue of payment. Instead of charging urban gardeners, landlords will donate the use of their space to the guild on a temporary basis until development begins. At that time, the guild will have ten days to disassemble the garden and turn it over to the developers. The organic crops grown on the land in the meantime would be donated to food banks, soup kitchens and area residents. Some plans would see these crops sold at farmer’s market, with proceeds returning to operation costs.

The guild’s leader, Kevin Bayuk has written to the owners of several desirable lots, but it is unknown how many of them will go for it. From the developer’s perspective, there are liability issues to having strangers using their land. Why would a landowner make themselves vulnerable to lawsuits? But Bayuk and his group believe they can work out a no-liability contract, just as many community gardens have. The community garden model is a useful one in this instance, as the guild’s proposed land use is very similar in structure. Bayuk further envisions donated soil-testing and garden-planning services from local universities and donated water services from the municipality. Aside from legal concerns, there are advantages for the landowners: beautifying the area raises real estate value, potentially increasing the landowner’s own property value. Developers also often have to pay for weeding and landscaping prior to beginning construction. The guild’s gardeners would of course offer this service for free.

While there will likely be hidden costs and bureaucratic roadblocks to the project, the overall idea is an exciting and logical one. So much so, that the San Francisco Chronicle recently profiled Bayuk. Let’s hope this dialogue continues and the project gets underway.

(Photo by Matt Jalbert)

Researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have compiled a list of all food additives currently in use, rated by safety level. Some of the additives are considered safe, others warrant moderation, some are unsafe to certain people and quite a few should be avoided altogether. Along with the rating, each additive’s description includes its origin, use and where it is most likely to be found. And while I am certainly not rushing to incorporate the described “perfectly safe” chemicals into my diet, I am glad to have a go-to database that explains what all of these chemicals are supposed to do, what they are made from and where we can find them. At least this way, I can pick my poison.

You can see the list here.

We often think of small farmers and food artisans as immune to the undignified fallout of mechanized food production. Instead, our romanticized view imagines century’s old techniques, the pure ingredients of yesteryear and a complete unfamiliarity with chemical additives. But there is a danger to thinking that traditional food production exists in a vacuum.

Dioxins are pervasive toxicants that are emitted through the processes of several industries, though primarily through garbage incineration, oil refining, paper mills and metal smelters. The plain fact is, we all breath in dioxins and they stay in our body, dormant in our fatty tissue. This storage really doesn’t pose a problem (at least none that has been recorded), but we do get a harmful amount of dioxins from eating the fatty tissue of other animals. Buffalo milk, used for its silken, rich texture is particularly fatty. Couple this with a major garbage disposal problem in Campania and you’ve got one toxic piece of formaggio.

Dioxins are hormone-mimickers. They enter healthy cells, attach to their receptors and infiltrate the cell’s chromosomes where they can access the genetic makeup of the cell. In doing this, dioxins convert any type of cell to genetically resemble a hormonal cell. With an imbalance of hormonal cells, the endocrine system can malfunction, causing endocrine cancers like breast, testicular and uterine cancer.

Studies also suggest that dioxins are partially responsible for the growing gender imbalance in the global birthrate. A study from the IntrAmericas Centre of Environment and Health in Ontario found that the established sex ratio of 103:100 males to females born turned into the very skewed 46:54 in communities with dioxin emitters up to 25 kilometers away. These dioxin emitters were disproportionately urban and medical waste incinerating facilities. This is a problem as boys are more vulnerable than girls to accidental death. So much so, that by adolescence, the natural 103:100 ratio evens out to 100:100.

What makes dioxins so scary is not their cancer causing properties, their cellular invasion or their effect on gender imbalance. Instead, what I find terrifying is the complete lack of control I have over my consumption of them. A person can eat (as I do) only organic, free-range meat; only the freshest, most local and non-toxic yogurt on the market. Heck, we can even grow our own chickens. But protection from dioxins can not be achieved by making good food choices. We need to enact large-scale legislation to eliminate dioxins at the source by using fewer non-biodegradable materials of the sort that need incinerating and by eliminating paper, metal and oil industry practices that emit toxicants in such high numbers. We need to ask for regular atmospheric, soil and animal testing for dioxins. What else can we do? No meal is an island.

(Photo courtesy of pdphoto.org)

Behold Gallus Domesticus, the backyard chicken and latest slow food phenomenon. Traumatized by images of chicken warehouses, disgusted by food recalls and perhaps even longing for animal companionship, urban dwellers are becoming enthusiastic chicken owners. Urban Chickens is their gathering place, Backyard Poultry their manifesto and Mad City Chicken their rallying cry. But just where does one procure a baby chicken? How many eggs can a person expect? And what level of companionship are we talking here? All this and more after the jump.

Chickens make good pets for a number of reasons, according to their enthusiasts. These reasons divide neatly into three categories: usefulness, companionship and environmental friendliness. Chickens are obviously useful in their production of eggs, which are collected daily. Each hen lays up to four eggs a week and so only three birds are needed for a weekly dozen. Chickens also like to forage for seeds and bugs, making them ideal lawn caretakers - they keep grass short and gobble up weeds and pests before they can reek havoc. Their excrement is particularly nitrogen-rich and makes nutritious, valuable compost.

In terms of companionship, chickens are low-maintenance - needing minimal grooming and attention. They are generally mellow and friendly to human contact. According to those who own them, they have distinct personalities and show affection. Contrary to public perception, chickens are quiet animals - provided you don’t have a rooster.

The environmental benefits are obvious: no trucks necessary to get eggs to your house. The lawncare services they provide replace toxic weed killers, pesticides and plant growers. Additionally, chickens can digest most human food, so they make excellent “garborators” - eating scraps and turning them into nitrogen-rich manure.

My Pet Chicken - a home chicken retailer and resource site also mentions the ethical benefits of saving a chicken from a factory farm, where they might otherwise end up.

I buy my eggs from an organic chicken farmer at my local farmer’s market - what I had previously considered the best possible egg-buying scenario. But this still requires a weekly 106-mile round trip drive for the farmer. That’s 5,512 miles per year - and that’s a good scenario. Imagine the carbon impact of grocery eggs. I shudder to think of the carbon expenditure of merely refrigerating and lighting them in a superstore glass case.

And for those of you concerned about the potential health risks, bird flu expert Dr. Michael Greger spoke to the filmmakers of Mad City Chicken where he assured them that small-scale bird tending would not increase the risk of transferring avian flu to human populations. On the contrary, outdoor free-range chickens enjoy lower stress levels and better health. It is the cramped factory chickens that are a worry: their immune systems are lowered by stress and the high density of the population in a factory chicken coop means the disease can spread quickly.

While certainly not for everyone, backyard chickens are a well-rounded option for many households. Luckily, a growing number of cities are modifying bans on livestock ownership to exclude chickens. Madison, Wisconsin, New York City and the Bay Area are just a few of the newly avo-hospitable cities. Make sure your city is chicken-friendly by writing to municipal officials in your area. With so many cities jumping on board, the legislation is sure to have a domino effect.

(Photo courtesy of My Pet Chicken, an extraordinary resource for potential and current chicken owners and the chicken-curious).

This week we:

- discussed ways to celebrate the Great American Meatout.

- saw France’s highest courts uphold the decision of their farmers, who said non, merci to those crazy, genetically-modified corn seed pushers, Monsanto.

- made our own potato chips. Yummmm.

- laughed at, then considered Organic Mini-Wheats.

-mourned the wild chinook salmon of California who up and left us, then acknowledged that we deserved it.

French documentaries, homemade peeps and the great dairy debate after the jump…

- debated what constitutes a “real” dessert and whether it requires dairy or excludes tofu and flax seeds.

- got a glimpse at an inspiring, though disturbing French documentary on Monsanto.

-planned to celebrate Purim with these delicious, festive hamantaschen and Easter with homemade marshmallow peeps.

-followed Los Angeles Times writer, Jerry Hirsch as he explored how our corn dependence makes us even more vulnerable to the effects of a worldwide drought.

- found locavore, organic fast food chains and burger joints nearby, thanks to the list from Mighty Foods.

Happy Spring, everyone!

The term “antioxidant” is one of those vaguely scientific, overly used words that makes my eyes lose focus. It’s up there with “nutraceutical” and “isoflavanoid.” But I decided to make a bigger effort to include antioxidant-rich food in my diet, so I decided to figure out exactly what it meant.

Antioxidants are molecules that retard the process of oxidation in human cells. Oxidation is a chemical change brought on by oxygen, pollutants or stress, among other reasons. Through oxidation, a normal cell becomes unstable and joins a chain reaction of “free radicals” - cells that contain an odd number of electrons (I know, hello high school biology! for a refresher, this offers a great rundown). Anyway, as a result of the un-matched electron, molecules can’t bond together and the cell becomes unstable and goes through rapid and unpredictable changes. This cellular damage can be the initial stage of cancer. An antioxidant stops this chain reaction of cellular change by protecting healthy cells from oxidation, breaking the domino effect.

While there is some discussion about how useful antioxidants are in stopping cancer, my feeling is that they rarely hurt (except in this study where male smokers in Finland who took selenium - an antioxidant - had a greater fatality rate due to lung cancer than their placebo-taking counterparts). Several studies have shown that those who rely on a diet that is richer in fruits and vegetables (thus antioxidants, among other nutrients) have lower instances of cancer, but no study has been able to find causality yet. Many of the inconclusive studies have provided their subjects with antioxidants in pill form, which could explain the antioxidants’ futility. There really is something about eating a whole food as it exists in nature that provides optimum nutrition. However, the usefulness of antioxidants has gained enough credibility to warrant several studies by the USDA and CDC, the former of which conducts regular evaluations of the top food sources of antioxidants. I have listed the top antioxidants by three different measures: the TAC system, the ORAC system and a measure of one compound: sulforaphane.

TAC: This is fairly self explanatory, as it stands for Total Antioxidant Capacity.

1. Mexican red beans (13,727 TACs for ½ cup)
2. Wild blueberries (13,427 TACs for 1 cup)
3. Red kidney beans (13,259 TACs for ½ cup)
4. Pinto beans (11,864 TACs for 1/2 cup)
5. Farmed blueberries (9,019 for 1 cup)
6. Cranberries (8,983 TACs for 1 cup of whole cranberries)
7. Cooked artichoke hearts (7,904 TACs for 1 cup)
8. Blackberries (7,701 for 1 cup)
9. Raisins (7,291 for 1/2 cup)
10. Raspberries (6,058 for 1 cup)

ORAC: A newer measure, ORAC stands for ‘oxygen radical absorbance capacity’ and was used in a 2007 USDA study. It is considered more precise because it takes into account a “lag phase,” which is a period during which a substance briefly stops movement when it is introduced to a new environment. Many of the highest ORAC scorers were herbs, which I didn’t include, because it didn’t seem realistic to eat large quantities of herbs in a sitting. Each ORAC score corresponds to 3.5 ounces or 100 grams.

1. Raw sumac bran (309,900)
2. Hi-tannin sorghum bran (240,000)
3. Black sorghum bran (100,800)
4. Unsweetned raw dry cocoa powder (80,933)
5. Red sorghum bran (71,000)
6. Unsweetened baking chocolate (49,926)
7. Raw goji berries (25,300)
8. Pecans (17,524)
9. Raw chokeberry (16,062)
10. Raw ginger root (14,840)
11. Raw elderberry (14,500)
12. Walnuts (13,541)
13. Hazelnuts (9,645)
14. Raw cranberries (9,584)
15. Dried pears (9,496)
16. Boiled Artichokes (9,416)
17. Raw pistachios (7,983)
18. European black currants – raw (7,960)
19. Raw plums (7,581)
20. Dried Agave (7,274)
21. White chia seed (7,000)
22. Raw blueberries (6,552)
23. Raw prunes (6,552)
24. Raw soybeans (5,764)
25. Cab-Sav Wine (5,034)

Sulforaphane: Some people believe that the level of this element is more important than measuring ORAC or TAC, because those only describe what is in the food, not what is bioavailable to the human body. By contrast, scientists know that sulforaphane is absorbed readily, inciting enzyme activity that protects healthy cells long after the actual sulforaphane has left your system. Any cruciferous vegetable, especially in the brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc) is high in glucoraphane, which is transformed into sulforaphane through the process of “plant damage” (e.g. chewing…). The best source is broccoli sprouts. See this study for more information.

1. Brussel sprouts
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Cauliflower
5. Bok choy
6. Kale
7. Collards
8. Broccoli sprouts
9. Chinese broccoli
10. Broccoli raab
11. Kohlrabi
12. Mustard
13. Turnip
14. Radish
15. Arugula
16. Watercress

While the jury is still out on the cancer-fighting properties of these items, ingesting them can only help. Not only in terms of stabilizing our atoms (although that’s important too!), but by increasing the number of whole, nutrient-rich, plant-based foods we consume.

A friendly reminder: I am not a doctor - I just read their research papers on the internets…

Most of their offerings are of the Doritos n’ gummi worms variety. You know, food that isn’t labeled with real words. It made me think of the changing landscape of discount organics and what it means for consumers.

House-brand labels are the loafers of the grocery world: dependable, no-nonsense and easier to justify than more exotic offerings in the display case. But now, as more and more organic house labels are introduced, the whole class of goods is moving from generic toilet-paper and club soda stand-by to potential ambassador of healthier eating.

But is it possible to make organic food on such a large and uniform scale as would be required for a retail giant? Let’s consider the evidence.

Luxurious, healthy-eating mecca, Whole Foods carries their own organics line, 360° Organics that many would consider the higher-end of private label organics. Shoppers is entering into the mid-market game along with competitive mega-grocery, Loblaws who extended their popular President’s Choice line to include an Organic sub-label. But perhaps most remarkably of all, Wal-Mart began expanding their organic offerings in late 2006. Of course, being Wal-Mart, their model was a bit different: they didn’t bother starting their own private house label because their influence is so vast, they could instead force their food suppliers to make organic versions exclusively for their (giant) market. Behold the sad hilarity of Organic Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats (not to mention Organic Pepsi!)

When Walmart unveiled its plan, there was a great uproar from consumer advocacy groups, environmental and health journalists and nutrition experts. Many feared that the vast walmartization of organics would cheapen them, rendering the label useless. They predicted outsourcing to unregulated “organic” farms in China and tricky labeling. But others saw instead a leveled playing field in the world of organic food. Walmart’s chief marketing officer, John Fleming announced that Wal-mart’s organics would be sold for a mark up of 10% or less. Such advocates argued that bringing organic practices to such a large scale could only improve the environment and human health. An article at Gristmill warned that too many detractors were getting caught up in their principles of local, small-scale food to recognize that corporate organics were a boon for the more conventionally-minded eaters who could benefit.

But here’s the thing: those brand-name organics aren’t so small-scale, themselves. Good Magazine put together a map of organic brands and the food conglomerates that own them. Bear Naked granola? Coca-Cola. Green & Black’s scrumptious dark chocolate? Made by the same people who sell this. An interactive feature from Philip H. Howard - an assistant professor of community agriculture at Michigan State University - shows the corporatization of small-scale organics brands. So, given our tacit acceptance of Earth Balance margarine (Boulder Specialty), Stonyfield yogurt (Danone) and Annie’s Naturals mac & cheese (Solera Capital), it seems hypocritical for us to condemn private label organics.

A few brands emerged from these studies as examples of the few remaining organic companies that have maintained their independence (and profit). Among them is Nature’s Path, Paul Newman Organics and Eden Food. Do these brands have anything in common that could explain their ability to resist conglomerates? They all already sell food on a very large scale and at an international level. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been into a grocery store in the last five years that doesn’t carry at least one of these brands, if not all three.

So what do we do when large-scale sales are the cure and the disease?

Those Walmart-detracting conspiracy theorists were right, but brand-name organics fair no better. This is a case of greenwashing, we’re just more easily duped with the right graphics on the label.