All Entries in the "Slow Food USA" Category

Heirloom Seeds - Ever Taste a Tomato Grown for Flavor Instead of Transport?

(This is a slightly modified re-post from April, 2008)

In between discussions of high blood pressure, and the upcoming dreaded first colonoscopy, those of us of the “I owned an 8-track once” generation, will sometimes sit around reminiscing about the good old days. One sunny spring afternoon recently, amidst the usual memories of the firsts- first communion, first part time job, first kiss…- one of my friends looked up at the sky, big puffy white clouds rolling by, and said “Remember the tomatoes?”

We sucked on our frozen margaritas and fell silent.

Ahhh, yes, the tomatoes of summer from the local farm stand, or if you were even luckier , your own family garden, where you would pick one off the vine, and later sit on your back steps with your father, a tomato in one hand and the salt shaker in the other, and take a bite out of what had to be positively the best tomato in the world- or so your father said.

Now, tomatoes just don’t taste like they used to. I couldn’t even grow a good tasting tomato last summer. I diligently fertilized and watered three plants. The tomatoes sure looked great. But they tasted like grocery store tomatoes in February- bred for longevity, transport and the flavor of cardboard.

I bought my seedlings at the local nursery. Not this year. I’ll be buying heirloom tomato plants through the mail. Bred to test like a tomato, not the package they come in.

The largest provider of tomato seeds- and all seeds -to the commercial agricultural farmers these days is Monsanto Agrochemical. The seeds are genetically engineered(GE) to meet commercial grower’s needs for a sturdy, pest and drought resistant tomato. Notice flavor is not a Monsanto criteria.

There’s something inherently unnatural about one of the largest toxic chemicals manufacturers in the world now also being the world’s major seed - and therefore food- supplier.

And Monsanto is so big, they have been systematically buying up their smaller competition, now totally controlling the seed market.

Luckily, there are alternatives. A growing number of traditionalists are starting organizations around the world such as The Seed Saver’s Exchange. Their purpose is to protect heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables for future generations.

Thank goodness.

I wonder if some day Monsanto will decide to genetically engineer the flavor back into the tomato?

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Remember the Tomatoes? Heirloom Seeds

In between discussions of high blood pressure, and the upcoming dreaded first colonoscopy, those of us of the “I owned an 8-track once” generation, will sometimes sit around reminiscing about the good old days. One sunny spring afternoon recently, amidst the usual memories of the firsts- first communion, first part time job, first kiss…- one of my friends looked up at the sky, big puffy white clouds rolling by, and said “Remember the tomatoes?”

We sucked on our frozen margaritas and fell silent.

Ahhh, yes, the tomatoes of summer from the local farm stand, or if you were even luckier , your own family garden, where you would pick one off the vine, and later sit on your back steps with your father, a tomato in one hand and the salt shaker in the other, and take a bite out of what had to be positively the best tomato in the world- or so your father said.

Now, tomatoes just don’t taste like they used to. I couldn’t even grow a good tasting tomato last summer. I diligently fertilized and watered three plants. The tomatoes sure looked great. But they tasted like grocery store tomatoes in February- bred for longevity, transport and the flavor of cardboard.

I bought my seedlings at the local nursery. Not this year. I’ll be buying heirloom tomato plants through the mail. Bred to test like a tomato, not the package they come in.

The largest provider of tomato seeds- and all seeds -to the commercial agricultural farmers these days is Monsanto Agrochemical. The seeds are genetically engineered(GE) to meet commercial grower’s needs for a sturdy, pest and drought resistant tomato. Notice flavor is not a Monsanto criteria.

There’s something inherently unnatural about one of the largest toxic chemicals manufacturers in the world now also being the world’s major seed - and therefore food- supplier.

And Monsanto is so big, they have been systematically buying up their smaller competition, now totally controlling the seed market.

Luckily, there are alternatives. A growing number of traditionalists are starting organizations around the world such as The Seed Saver’s Exchange. Their purpose is to protect heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables for future generations.

Thank goodness.

I wonder if some day Monsanto will decide to genetically engineer the flavor back into the tomato?

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The 100 Mile Diet

March in Massachusetts is not the time to be thinking about eating locally grown food. Nothing has grown here for six months. My spring crocuses are just starting to surface. Without preparation, I’d be living on meats, dairy, and maple syrup. Nevertheless, I thought I would explore these “Four Easy Steps to the 100 Mile Diet.” After all, according to this website, people in Canada are eating local. I mean, next stop, North Pole. The site is written by the authors of two separate books - one describes the adventures of an American couple, the other a Canadian couple, as they determinedly foraged their way through one year of local eating (within 100 miles.)

So, inspired by their bravado, still savoring the half pint of imported organic blueberries I’d recently treated myself to, I began my investigation.

It turns out the four steps are rather simple:

1) Join their group. I decided to skip this step. I’m a free spirit.

2) Getting Started. This step is a bit harder, as it is eight little steps in one. To summarize: Start slowly, find locally grown food, and eat it. It can be grown by you, or someone else. It can be preserved, dried or frozen.

This has actually been an ongoing process for me. I’ve joined a CSA this summer, and already buy locally farmed meats and poultry. I dried parsley from my garden last year, and canned apple sauce from apples I’d picked at a local orchard.

3) Find Your 100 Miles: The 100 Mile website has a 100 mile radius finder. Enter your Canadian or American zip code, and see your very own 100 mile radius. Here is what mine looks like:

Notice it goes no further south than Rhode Island. Not a lot grows in Rhode Island in the winter. Not a vegetable or fruit in sight. But I can add locally harvested fish. There are also products that store well that I can get, like Maine potatoes and local apples.

Perhaps I should do the Atkins Diet in the winter.

4) Spread the Word. Easy. That’s what you’re reading.

So, I feel like I’m at least partially indoctrinated, have become a quasi “locavore“. Perhaps some day I’ll even live up to my version of the Pareto Principle: If I can do something 80% of the time, I’m happy. That means I can take 73 days off a year, and still meet my goal. That will not quite get me through the winter, but it’s close.

More and more people are turning to locally grown, unprocessed foods. If it’s organic, all the better. Local chapters of international groups such as Slow Food and Community Supported Agricultural Farms(CSAs) continue to expand. Small farms are recharged. Not only is it healthier, it helps the environment. Food products travel an average of fifteen hundred miles from farm to table. That broccoli you had for dinner might be from California, and the meat from Nebraska. That’s a lot of fuel to use for one meal. Packaging foods for travel, and processing foods, adds to environmental costs.

It’s nice to see us all becoming more concerned about our health, our world, and our children’s future. If we could all strive to do it 80% 0f the time, well, not to get preachy but…. that would be a good thing.

Has anyone else out there experimented with eating locally? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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No Bargains Here: Clone Burgers with GM fries

One thing is for sure: we are not eating the same food our grandparents ate. Science continues to invade our pabulum, and it is here to stay.

The most recent contribution: On January 16th the FDA approved meat and milk use from most cloned animals. No labeling is required, since they have deemed the clones to be identical to non-cloned animals.

Hmmm. Is this science or science fiction?I thought back to another scientific contribution to our food chain. Remember DDT? In 1948, a Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of its use as a pesticide. Farmers around the world applied it indiscriminately to increase food yields. Then, in 1962, the biologist Rachel Carson published Silent Spring. This ground-breaking book outlined DDT’s potential carcinogenic effects on humans, and it’s negative impact on the environment. Finally, in 1972 the US banned it’s use. Today, in spite of numerous research publications defining DDT’s health and environmental hazards, it is still being used in some parts of the world.

I think I’ll pass on those imported blueberries, thank you.

Will cloned animals follow in the footsteps of DDT?

And how about the recent introduction of genetically modified plant foods into our diets? Again, no labeling required. What will the long term effects of these GM Foods be? Currently in the US, 89 percent of all soybeans, 83 percent of cotton, and 61 percent of corn are genetically modified varieties.

I would rather see the FDA take the same route as parts of Europe. Even under extreme world pressure due to trade agreements, many European regions have chosen to say no to GMOs.

When it comes to playing with DNA in our food chain, it should be “guilty until proven innocent” instead of “innocent until proven guilty.” Acting hastily in the approval of genetically modified food products is no way to sustain a planet.

Food for thought.

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The Story On Farm Raised vs Wild Salmon

We’ve known the benefits of salmon on our heart’s health for years now.

But should I buy farm raised salmon or wild salmon? Are all those health nuts out there having panic attacks about this over nothing?

At my local fish market, farm raised salmon is $6.99/lb. Wild Salmon is $13.99/lb. That’s a big difference. At that price, it’s going to take a lot for my healthy granola girl angel sitting on my left shoulder to convince my money miser devil sitting on my right shoulder to go wild.

So, is farm raised salmon really that bad for us? The bottom line is yes.

Here’s the scoop:
1) farm raised salmon contain high levels of antibiotics. Large amounts of fish are farmed in small areas. Their feed is often contaminated with disease producing organisms. The fish excrete this, creating a toxic environment. To keep the fish alive in this environment, they are given high amounts of antibiotics. These antibiotics are retained in the fish’s fat tissue. Consuming too many of these antibiotics reduces their ability to work effectively when we need them to fight off disease.

2) farm raised salmon contain high levels of carcinogens. In several scientific studies, farm raised salmon have been found to contain incrementally higher amounts of known carcinogens such as PCBs, Dioxin, and other lesser known banned pesticides then wild salmon. In fact, the levels are so high it has been deemed toxic by the USEPA and CDC to eat more than two eight ounce servings per week.

Based on this information, I don’t know about you, but the money miser has decided to spring for the wild salmon.

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Slow Food USA- Fruits and Vegetables

To quote the Slow Food USA Website:

Slow Food USA envisions a futurefood system that is based on the principles
of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice – in
essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair.

Eating produce the Slow Food way sounds expensive. Check out these facts:

The Myth: Cha-Ching!- It will cost me a fortune. Organic Fruits and Vegetables are less readily available, cost more and look worse than standard vegetables-

The Truth:

• Well, depending upon where you live, unfortunately this is still often true. My local grocery stores are improving but have a long way to go. If you don’t have a Whole Foods Market near you (expensive, but truly great) you’re often looking at slim pickings. The fact is, there is still not enough volume/demand to get the prices down. And products grown without dangerous chemicals and fertilizers produce lower yields and can’t sit on the shelf as long before going bad.
• My spouse and I just signed up for a 1/2 share at our our local organic CSA for $285. For this we will be get to choose 8-9 items weekly from 10-20 options over a period of 22 weeks. That’s $12.95 a week. We would easily spend that much on vegetables for one week, and they would not necessarily be locally grown, or organic.

The Myth: Standard Grocery Produce tastes as good now as it did then-

The Truth:

Fruits and vegetables are being hybridized for transport and storage longevity, not flavor. They look good, they feel good, they last in the veggie bin, but what do they taste like? Watch for my future posting on Heirloom Seeds, but if you are curious now, here is a link to get you started : Link

The Myth: These pesticides and chemicals have been tested and are safe-

The Truth:

Many are known carcinogens, many have not been investigated. If you buy imported products, there is often little regulation. Some countries are still using DDT! It is best to at least buy products from the USA, where you are guaranteed some regulation.

Watch also for an upcoming posting on Slow Food USA: Meat and Dairy.

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