Sustainable Dish

Food issues are “in” right now, which is clearly illustrated by the many food related news stories front and center in the New York Times. On the cover of last Sunday’s Times, an important article about ground beef and E.coli and how it ruined one young dance instructor’s life. In a follow up article, author Michael Moss reports about some positive news on E.coli testing.

The upcoming issue of The New York Times Magazine is food-themed and contains a short new piece by Michael Pollan on helpful eating rules, including my personal favorite, “Eat foods in inverse proportion to how much its lobby spends to push it.” The magazine also profiles Jamie Oliver’s valiant effort to reform one overweight town in the U.S.

Rachel Maddow, a popular MSNBS pundit (fighting for the liberal side), recently interviewed Rick Berman, head of the PR firm Berman and Company, which represents various lobbies in Washington including Big Meat and Big Ag. Berman’s company sets up non-profits including Fishscam.com and Sweetscam.com to bolster the causes of some fairly evil industries. Watch her interview here and read Civil Eats commentary on the matter. You can also see my article on Berman’s “Center for Consumer Freedom”. Be prepared to cringe.

It’s no news to us that GMOs are suspicious, have only been ostensibly investigated and have already done a fair share of damage. But to some, such as Bill Gates and Monsanto Corp, the message hasn’t quite hit home. Maybe coming from the mouth of renowned humanitarian Stephen Lewis, who warns that GMOs may do more harm than good, the message will finally be taken to heard (although I doubt it). Read the article on The Star Phoenix.

Over the course of history, humans have used and invented many chemicals that while initially thought to be safe turned out not to be so healthy. Examples include lead in makeup and DDT in pesticides and it seems that we have yet to learn our lesson. The chemical atrazine which is used frequently on corn fields, golf courses and lawns is now being investigated by F.D.A. in connection with low birth weights, birth defects and reproductive problems in general. Read a report at the New York Times.

When I was a kid, there was no choice in what I was going to eat. My mom made one meal, and whether I liked it or not, that was dinner. It could be anything from kid-friendly pasta to Brussels sprouts and liver. Today’s kids have too many choices and are learning unhealthy habits from birth; dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, neon-orange mac’ n’ cheese, those disgusting Lunchables. Jennifer Evans Gardner calls for a No Kid-Food Revolution on Huffington Post and I couldn’t agree more!