For some tips to create a sustainable Thanksgiving, please read Take Part’s 10 Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving by Sara Newman:

Since I wrote last year about tips for a sustainable thanksgiving meal, much has transpired in the food movement. We now have a First Family that regularly toils in their backyard to grow and harvest organic produce. The hit documentary, Food, Inc. was released this past year and is now in the running for an Academy Award. I had the pleasure of working on the Social Action campaign for the film which has given me the privilege of learning much from amazing food activists who are working daily in fields, offices, schools and boardrooms daily to help to build a more just and sustainable food system.

Preparing a sustainable meal can be a selfish endeavor; I guarantee you that it will be more fun, tastier and make for a good conversation at your table. However, it’s also about our global community; you’ll help to prevent the emission of greenhouse gas emissions, the slaughter of animals living under inhumane conditions, meet local farmers and help to foster the establishment of a more equitable food system through your creation of the biggest American meal of the year.

1. Buy organic. Organic produce and products are so commonplace now that Coca-Cola and Doritos are practically getting pushed off shelves to make extra space for these hot items. Try to purchase from a small, local farmer, but if you can’t find one, then you can stock up on your Thanksgiving goods at any major retailer. By choosing organic foods, you are helping to prevent the usage of millions of pounds of poisonous pesticides and fertilizers and emission of greenhouse gas emissions. Best of all, organic foods taste better.

2. Save a turkey. Choose the most humane option that will significantly lighten your environmental impact by having a meat-free meal. You can make your centerpiece a hearty, fall-themed vegetarian dish or opt for a tofurkey. Either way, you’ll be saying no to our industrial food system, reducing your global warming contribution and saying yes to a healthy, happy meal. You can also make a turkey happy by adopting it. Yes, you read correctly, save a turkey from the chopping block and give it the gift of a happy home at Farm Sanctuary. For those of you who roll their eyes at my incredible suggestion in tip two of going meat-free on Thanksgiving. If you fall into that camp, I’d suggest you opt for a humanely-raised turkey.

Read the full article here.

When people think about Thanksgiving, the first thing that should pop into mind is gratitude for all of the blessings received throughout the year. The real first thought, however, may be food. Thanksgiving, the most delicious of holidays, is a great time to experiment with sustainable and heritage foods. Sustainably-raised heritage turkeys are slightly more expensive, but you can be confident that the bird was raised humanely and will taste all the better for it. Most Thanksgiving staples are seasonal, so most of what you need for mashed potatoes, stuffing and pies should be readily available at the farmers market. And while you might be thinking foooood, buying sustainable and local is about celebrating food the way it should be.

If you haven’t ordered your turkey yet, check out Heritage Foods USA, but do it soon because the birds are about to fly the coop! If you don’t have the urge to cook a gigantic Thanksgiving dinner but still have the desire to eat one, search the Eat Well Guide for sustainable restaurants that will serving one instead.

Read on to find out what we’ve been up to at Sustainable Table and The Meatrix and learn what our friends are doing too! Have a very joyful Thanksgiving!

Meatless Monday

Our sister organization, Meatless Monday, has found themselves in the middle of a very hot topic! As industrial agriculture’s part in climate change has become clear and the health benefits of eating less meat are more apparent every day, Meatless Monday is the way to go. Check out their website next Monday to read “10 Ways to Cook Up a Meatless Thanksgiving,” written by trained chef and longtime food journalist, Kim O’Donnel. She will also be hosting “Table Talk with Kim O’Donnel” on the Culinate website, Thursday (tomorrow!) at 1pm Eastern time.

Food, Inc. DVD and New Accompanying Teacher Guides

The revelatory movie Food, Inc. has recently been released on DVD enabling fans and activists to further spread the word about sustainable food. In collaboration, the Center for EcoLiteracy has developed the Food, Inc. Discussion Guide. The 102 page guide provides questions-to-ask and activities about the film, including health, sustainability, animal welfare, and workers’ rights. It is designed to help high school students make more thoughtful choices about food and participate in a meaningful dialogue about food and food systems. Download it now!

Fresh DVD and Discussion Guide

FRESH is a wonderfully uplifting movie celebrating people across America who are re-inventing our food system. FRESH wants to facilitate a discussion about a practical vision for the future of our food and our planet. They have provided a guide to help you start this conversation. Asking questions like, “What do you think of the statement made by Michael Pollan that we pay three times for our food – at the register, with our health care, and via agricultural subsidies?” are among the thought provoking suggestions in the guide. Purchase a screening kit to show at home, in your community, or at a larger event – and get people thinking!

The Meatrix

Do you have friends and family who still don’t want to know about the problems with our current food system? Don’t be pushy – sometimes these things take a while. Send them the link to The Meatrix series and sit back and wait for their questions. We have found it works nicely!

The Daily Table Blog

• Read Meatless Monday’s interview with Jonathan Safran Foer, “Eating Animals” Enlivens Issues.
• Learn why sustainable food is good for your health, Antibiotics: If This Doesn’t Convince You, Nothing Will.
• Watch our video on urban farming, A Farm in Danger: Help Save BedStuy Farm.
• Keep up on food news with Sophy’s Sustainable Dish.

Food Inc. will be hosting an online chat Thursday, Nov 19th with leading food advocacy groups Food and Water Watch and Community Food Security Coalition. The chat is being held in conjunction with the DVD release of Food, Inc. and will touch on topics raised in the film such as sustainable agriculture, small farmers, organics and school milk issues. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and get answers in real time.

Prior to the chat, there is 45 minutes of footage available for viewing on the site. It includes the film trailer, footage, PSAs, interviews with food experts at Slow Food Nation and a previous chat.

The live chat will take place on Thursday, November 19th at 9:00pm EST/ 6:00pm PST at: http://www.livestream.com/foodinc

Since the film’s release last spring, it has changed the way the world eats and shops. More than 40,000 people have signed the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization and thousands more have started eating local and sustainably-grown food. However, more can be done. Thanksgiving is just weeks away, use this incredible holiday to make a statement to family and friends. Try to get as much of your holiday feast from local and sustainable producers. You can find them on the Eat Well Guide.

Please go to these websites for more information about Food Inc., Food and Water Watch, and Community Food Security Coalition.

Food Inc. on DVD from TakePart on Vimeo.

In one Brooklyn community, neighborhood residents are fighting to keep their farm. Bed-Stuy Farm, once a neighborhood garbage dump, was transformed into an urban oasis that produces over 7,000 lbs of fresh food every year, helping feed more than 4,000 people a month through the Brooklyn Rescue Mission.

The Farm is a source of community pride that has inspired neighborhood greening, backyard food gardening and food pantry agriculture projects.  It is a constant reminder to residents that better nutrition and healthy eating are within our grasp. Now, though, the project is threatened by development.

Check out the post Kerry Trueman wrote about it back in August to learn more and help save the Bed-Stuy Farm by signing this petition.

Thursday at 3 p.m. – Kathleen Merrigan, “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food”

Agriculture deputy secretary Kathleen Merrigan will host her second Facebook chat. The topic of this chat will be farm to school, which involves getting and using fresh produce and other farm products from local and regional farmers for use in local schools. The effort not only supports increasing economic opportunities for local farmers but also helps school children make healthy food choices.

Details are available at www.usda.gov/live and people can submit a question in advance of the chat or watch the conversation on the USDA website. The website, at www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer , features social media tools to help focus the public conversation about farming and food, while engaging American agriculture and linking producers to customers.

Thursday at 9p.m. – Gary Hirshberg, co-founder and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm and Josh Trought, of D Acres Farm

Love Stonyfield yogurt? Have questions about sustainable agriculture and organic farming? Well now is your chance to ask Gary Hirshberg co-founder and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm as well as Josh Trought of the D Acres farm and supporter of the National Family Farm Coalition about food, food politics and Food, Inc.

Grab your friends and family to watch Food, Inc. on DVD and then join our live discussion -the DVD hit shelves Tuesday, November 3rd!

It is heartening that there are so many films these days that champion sustainable agriculture. But A Thousand Suns sets itself apart by providing a much needed contrast in its eye-opening framing of the issue from a cultural perspective. When spirituality was removed from nature, it opened the door to its abuse, substituting maximization for sustainability. We have lost sight of the fact that humans are a part of nature, not an external force that exists to exploit it. A Thousand Suns touches our hearts as well as our minds and makes the case for adopting this holistic viewpoint of agriculture which will accrue to our benefit, now and for the future.

Watch a short version of this compelling film here.

Let’s start at the beginning – what is HFCS? Sugar as we know it traditionally came from sugar cane and later from sugar beets. HFCS was developed from corn in the late 1950s, refined for industrial production in the 1970s, and introduced into many processed foods from 1975-1985 – a big dietary and nutritional change that went largely unnoticed over the past 35 years.

One clue into what HFCS is – it was developed in a lab, not grown and milled. There is a long process that corn goes through to become HFCS, you can read a good description here. A simple (ha, I just read it again, it’s not simple) explanation is that corn is milled into corn starch, then processed to yield corn syrup (which is almost entirely glucose), then enzymes are added to change the glucose into fructose. The fructose, which is very sweet, is mixed with the first round of corn syrup to make it the strength that is needed, most often 42 or 55 percent fructose. It is highly refined, extremely sweet and has preservative properties.

Why is HFCS bad for our health? There are many theories about HFCS and its connection to personal health. You can find studies stating that it is no worse for a person than regular sugar, and studies saying that HFCS leads to obesity, diabetes, cancer – because of its synthetic makeup. HFCS is in thousands of processed foods including, but not limited to: bread, peanut butter, ketchup, tomato sauce, soda, fast food, cereal, salad dressing, yogurt, sauces, jam/jelly, ice cream… you get the idea.

If we compare HFCS to sugar with the theory that the two are no different, they are still both problematic for our health. Sugar, which for hundreds of years was eaten only in very small quantities, is today consumed in enormous amounts in the U.S. (some estimates range up to 150 pounds per person per year), contributing greatly to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and many other health problems – many of them preventable. Moderation is the key for the healthy inclusion of sweeteners in our diets, whether sugar or HFCS.

If we look at HFCS as a synthetic creation that is different from plain old white sugar, some of the concerns that arise are:

• Because of the way that HFCS is processed in the body, it is said to limit the secretion of the hormone leptin, which signals the body that we’ve had enough to eat. Without the proper signal to stop eating, we consume more than necessary.
• Insulin resistance is also caused by the way HFCS is processed in the body.
• HFCS is sweeter than most sugars. Because of this, our taste buds adjust to sweeter and sweeter products, causing cravings for more sugar and leading to an unhealthy diet.
• Mercury has been found in HFCS. Part of the production process often uses mercury-grade caustic soda. Mercury was recently found in 9 out of 20 samples from 3 different manufacturers.
• The corn used to make HFCS is mostly genetically modified varieties. Genetically modified food presents a whole other set of problems that I will address as part of this series. When the Corn Refiners Association was questioned about GMO corn in HFCS, they defended themselves by saying, ”While the corn used to produce high fructose corn syrup may or may not have been produced using genetically enhanced corn, existing scientific literature and current testing results indicate that corn DNA cannot be detected in measurable amounts in high fructose corn syrup.” Hmmm, what did it turn into? Didn’t it start out as corn?
• The rapid rise in obesity in the U.S. correlates to the introduction of HFCS into processed food.
• Type 2 diabetes is on the rise, and is often linked to HFCS.
• HFCS can cause mineral imbalances in the body, converts to fat more than other sugars, and can increase the concentration of uric acid, slow down the immune system – among other notable side effects in the body.

With all of these problems, why would we continue to ingest this supposed “food”? In fact, many companies are now moving away from HFCS, replacing it with “real sugar.” That’s enough for me to believe something is wrong with it. A few of the companies that have started to make a switch in some of their products are Pepsi, Coke, Pizza Hut, Kraft, and ConAgra – big names! Sweet Surprise – the Corn Refiners Association’s website defending HFCS – pops up on any website I consulted for this blog post that had Google advertising (paid ads come onto the site matching the topic of the site). They are trying hard to dispel the truth – HFCS is not a positive nutritional addition to anyone’s diet.

Sustainability Issues Related to High Fructose Corn Syrup

How does HFCS relate to sustainable food and agriculture?

• Corn is a heavily subsidized crop in the U.S. Because of this, many farmers grow corn and nothing else. People often say that our government is subsidizing obesity by continuing corn subsidies. The subsidies keep farmers from growing vegetables and fruit and from growing diversified crops – a very important part of sustainable agriculture.
• Most of the corn used for HFCS is genetically modified. In fact, it is hard to stay away from GMO corn even if you want to. The Sethness Caramel Color company had this to say about their caramel color made from corn: “In the United States, genetically modified varieties of yellow dent corn are not segregated from traditional yellow dent corn. Consequently, corn wet millers purchasing corn on the open market are most probably using an agricultural raw material that does contain some GMO corn.” Yellow dent corn is most of the corn crop in the U.S. and is not edible by humans.
• HFCS has replaced sugar in many processed foods mostly due to the fact that it is cheaper than sugar. It is cheaper than sugar because of taxpayer-funded government subsidies for corn and government tariffs on imports of sugar. Basing decisions about food on the cheapest product available is what led to the industrial food system that we are now fighting against.
• Intensive corn production is taxing on the environment – especially on soil and water.

How to Avoid HFCS?

It’s not new news to most people that HFCS isn’t good for you, but it’s still confusing. Because it’s so confusing, my gut instinct is to just eliminate HFCS from my diet. HFCS is most likely damaging to my health, so I don’t want to ingest it.

How to avoid HFCS:

• Start reading labels – don’t buy anything with HFCS. The less HFCS in your diet, the more your taste buds will adjust to less sweet flavors. One popular product that has HFCS is Heinz Ketchup. Kids (and adults) love ketchup! If you buy the Heinz organic ketchup, the ingredients don’t include HFCS. Don’t forget to keep in mind that it still contains sugar!  You can also buy organic brands of ketchup with no sugar if you prefer that route.
• Use natural sweeteners (in moderation) – raw honey, sucanat, maple syrup, agave (bonus – low glycemic index), fruit juice, apple sauce, brown rice syrup – be creative.
• Cut out soda. Even if that soda doesn’t have HFCS, one can of soda includes the total amount of added sugars that a person should have in a day.
• 100% Fruit juice is a great soda replacement – but it still has lots of sugar, cut it with water or seltzer for a refreshing treat. Or have a glass of water with lemon.
• Cook. When you cook, you can control what goes into your food. I sweeten desserts with apple sauce and salad dressings with agave.

Ease into this! If you start reading your labels and realize that you are buying many products with HFCS, pick one to eliminate, and see how it goes. Find a good replacement for the product, and soon you will be ready to tackle the next.

I’m sure this has brought up questions, please feel free to comment below.

This series “Sustainable Food: If This Doesn’t Convince You, Nothing Will” is by Dawn Brighid, marketing manager for Sustainable Table, a program of GRACE.

A few articles and websites for further reading:

The Corn Refiners Associations website to promote HFCS

The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup

The Fat of the Land: Do Agricultural Subsidies Foster Poor Health?

Not so Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup

Dark Sugar: The decline and fall of high fructose corn syrup

High Fructose Corn Syrup

These videos are just too amazing to pass up – the first is the real ad supporting HFCS from the Corn Refiners Association and the second is a spoof from the guys who made the movie “King Corn” – enjoy!

The beginning of autumn marks the point when many of our favorite fruits and vegetables are ripe for the picking. This year, harvest has become a national affair. Michelle Obama’s famed White House garden is in bloom and ready to offer its bounty to a country hungry for nutritional guidance. Food columnist and author Mark Bittman recently journeyed to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to discover what the Obamas can teach us about healthful eating.

Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong And How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly is the literary equivalent of a turd blossom, the Texan term for a flower that pops up out of a cow patty. James McWilliams, an associate professor at Texas State University, has written a cogent critique of America’s unsustainable addiction to meat and then buried it in a mound of manure about 100-mile diet diehards who want to take us all out to the foodshed and paddle us senseless with fresh, local, organically grown produce.

Just Food is framed as the lament of a lapsed locavore, a simple, sustainably minded guy who’s been driven into the arms of Agribiz by food mile militants who, according to McWilliams, number in the millions. These legions of rabid locavores are abusing their purchasing superpowers in a diabolical plot to deprive the world of out-of-season strawberries, genetically modified monocrops, and other wonders of industrial agriculture. In fact, the original subtitle of McWilliams’ book was How Locavores Are Endangering The Future of Food And How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly.

Read the whole article here.

Have you ever tried planting lettuce on a farm in the middle of a thunderstorm? Well, neither had I – until last week. This was no ordinary farm either. It sits on top of a large Brooklyn building that’s used for filming movies most of the year – and aptly named, Rooftop Farms.

There have already been some great articles and blog posts about the farm, so I won’t regal you with too many details of their amazing feats but just imagine this: a lush 6,000 square foot organic farm grown in a just a few short months – it all started by using a crane to haul the correct amount of soil so that it wouldn’t weigh too much for the roof. How’s that for innovative? I’m excited if I can get a few tomatoes to grow in a pot! My lack of gardening knowledge is something I hope to rectify very soon – but I’d always assumed that I’d have to live somewhere like Seattle to grow food. I was wrong. Rooftop Farms offers volunteering opportunities and classes so that children and adults living in an urban setting can plant, pick, and eat fresh, local produce. Rooftop Farms grows lettuce, kale, eggplant, beans, tomatoes and more – which you can buy on Sundays between 9am-4pm. If you can’t make it on Sunday, you can taste their succulent goods at several nearby restaurants.

Who is behind this progressive endeavor? Annie Novak, farmer and Ben Flanner, business-man-turned farmer. Annie has a very impressive resume (she has farmed in a half a dozen countries including growing chocolate in Africa). She loves sharing her incredible knowledge and hopes that she can inspire others to find ways to grow food in alternative settings. Both her and Ben work very hard to make the farm accessible to everyone – especially kids. She also holds classes and workshops for kids through Growing Chefs and at The New York Botanical Garden.

I had the pleasure of coordinating a field trip to the farm last week for my students (HealthCorps coordinators). The plan was for us to farm for a couple of hours and then walk over to a wonderful new restaurant, Anella – where Annie and Ben arranged to have the produce we picked for our dinner. The weather, however, did not cooperate – a major thunderstorm hit that day. We all braved the rain to plant lettuce, stake tomato plants, and have a tour of the farm. I could have stayed there all day, even in my drenched clothes – maybe for the same reason I love cooking – there is something so fulfilling about working with food…especially when it means digging in the dirt.

We then shuffled over to the restaurant, Anella for what ended up being a VERY memorable meal of roasted beets with fresh herbs, pesto pasta with tomatoes, sautéed chard, truffled white pizza pie (yes, it was as good as it is sounds!),  bruschetta smothered in goat cheese and drizzled with a balsamic reduction – I have to stop now or I will put myself in a food coma just thinking about it. Let’s just say the meal was DIVINE.

The best part, for me, was witnessing the astounded looks of discovery and pleasure on my students’ faces. I’d spent a full month waxing on to them about how we should eat as many whole foods as possible – and that if we consume deliciously prepared meals made with “real” ingredients, we will feel so nourished and satisfied that we won’t crave junk food. Our lovely meal was the perfect ending to their training -  hearing me say the same thing over and over again was no where near as powerful as TASTING it.

The next day, I was thrilled to hear my students say, “After that dinner, I just felt so happy all evening” and “I was full but not stuffed and felt so satisfied” and my favorite, “I had no idea I could enjoy a vegetarian meal and feel full from it.” As an educator, my goal is to help my students make connections. I think (and hope) that my main message was made clear that evening: Pollan’s sage advice – eat real foods, mostly plants, and not too much. Okay, so, none of us did so well on the last one but I told them that if we were to eat those kind of meals ALL of the time (like many Europeans), we wouldn’t gorge on it! Instead, we’d eat small amounts and feel full and most importantly – feel happy.

For a new recipe for all of your summer vegetables, check out: Farmer’s Market Ragout (see blog post below).

For more information about urban farms, visit Rooftop Farms, Growing Chefs and Will Allen’s extraordinary successes as a city farmer.