Are You What You Eat?
October 18, 2008 · Print This Article
Exactly how much time do you spend getting to know your food? I’ve lovingly caressed a cheeseburger a time or two, but that’s not what I’m getting at here. (I’d like to let the record stand, mind you, that the cheeseburger totally had it coming.) In this case I’m referring to food trends, the latest being that of Organic Food versus all the other stuff. You know the other stuff. It’s cheaper, shinier, crunchier and may or may not be damaging our internal organs and future generations. The ‘other stuff’, as it happens, is being marketed as ‘Conventional’. This sounds decidedly better than, ‘We sprayed this with something that’s legally tolerable’.
Hell of a trade off, no? The trend however, is hard to ignore. Being a Nation both obsessed with our health, and willing to shoot our selves in our fat foot for a Value Meal; it’s no wonder Organic Food has become big business. First, let’s define the terms. What exactly is Organic Food? If you answered anything you can buy at Whole Foods, such as Häagen-Dazs or Fudge Brownie Mix, you’re wrong (but I like the way you think).
No, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has rules about what can be labeled USDA Certified Organic. Just looking for the word ‘Organic’ is not enough. As there is a difference between Low-Fat, Non-Fat, Fat-Free, Lite, Sugar Free and Diet; different products will label different ways based on their ingredients. Oh, how they know of our hate to read labels in a crowded supermarket on a Sunday.
If the label claims the food is ‘100% Organic’ then it is. Any product with a USDA Organic symbol or sticker means that the product was made in accordance with Federal Standards. Those grading standards are varied whether we’re talking about frozen vegetables or frozen chicken. Here are the basics:
Organic Food cannot be processed in the following ways:
- In the raising of livestock, no antibiotics, growth hormones or medications shall be administered in order to advance growth or prevent diseases from occurring.
- For crop and pest control chemical pesticides and herbicides may not be used.
- Chemical fertilizers to promote growth and crop abundance are not allowed.
Well thank you, Organic Food! We all want to avoid those practices, don’t we? I don’t want the ‘other stuff’ creeping into my liver, polluting my soil. I’d much rather buy the Organic aspar…what? Organic isn’t good enough, you say? Now I’ve got to go local?
That’s right; Farmer’s Markets are the only way to go if you really care about what you put into your side dishes and snacks. It is no longer good enough to eat your vegetables. You have to date them, develop an honest working relationship. Meet their parents and get to know the kind of neighborhood they grew up in. Just as Organic food stuffs have infiltrated every aisle of our Grocery Stores; the Farmer’s Market is the latest uprising into better food practices. It’s fresh, it hasn’t spent days on a truck and helps boost the local economy.
Is it convenient? Maybe so in some cities, but I live in the Northeast. There is a local Farmer’s Market in Boston’s City Hall Plaza; I could make the effort to go. Unfortunately three miles later and 25 minutes in traffic are likely to make my blood boil. Doesn’t really seem to up the value or make it worth it for ½ pound of locally raised broccoli crowns.
Is it too much to ask that we don’t have to hire an entire food investigation team just to incorporate healthier foods into our diet? When I pick up a tomato do I really need to wrestle with organic vs. conventional, grown in California vs. grown in Maine. Can’t I simply feel virtuous about eating the tomato in a salad, instead of ordering a pizza covered in tomato sauce? I’m beginning to wonder how much responsibility I need to be taking on as far as my single gal’s grocery basket.
The bottom line is that you have to be the judge of your own body and food temples. How important any of this is to you just might dictate just how far this food trend will take you. Maybe you’ll start a garden; maybe you’ll read your labels and find new organic or local alternatives. Or maybe you’ll drive by your local Whole Foods or Specialty Market raising a middle finger salute to the entire idea of it all.
The great food trend debate! Are you currently 100% Organic? Maybe 75% Organic? At what level do you investigate the food on your plate? Are we all comfortable asking these questions or do we just want to shop and eat in peace? Any food trends you follow? What do you hate about the continuing change in food trends? Do you trust the standards in the processing of your food? Was it all so simple when we just thought we had to clean our plate?
On 10/18/08 at 6:06 am
cigarsmokinglawyer said:
Screw all that crap. I just avoid fast food.
On 10/18/08 at 6:24 am
Meghan said:
You don’t care if your home grilling is with USDA Certified Free Range Chickens?
On 10/18/08 at 6:27 am
cigarsmokinglawyer said:
PETA may hate me - but I am happy to grill chickens raised in little cages that had there necks snapped.
On 10/18/08 at 6:48 am
Meghan said:
I had to prepare a free range organic chicken from a very local company for my ‘family’ once…
I took it out of the plastic and it still had fucking feathers! Seriously! Like 10-15 of them. Under the wings, on the breast. I had to PLUCK them out with kitchen thongs.
I FREAKED OUT! No Purdue chicken ever gave me nightmares.
On 10/18/08 at 7:04 am
cigarsmokinglawyer said:
How nice of you to do that.
kitchen Thongs? you have a special pair of panites for the kitchen? sweet.
On 10/18/08 at 7:10 am
Meghan said:
Not panties…Kitchen Thongs, pronounced tongs.
I have a special pair of panties for everything. A girl’s gotta be prepared.
On 10/18/08 at 7:04 am
~Lori~ said:
I laughed when I saw this, the family I was Nanny for, they liked to do everything organic possible. Which more power to them if you can afford to, rather pricey to say the least.
But the chicken, omg, my boss would order it in bulk, then I would spend a couple of hours, busting it up, the thighs and legs. Till my hands became numb, hated that part of the job, and yes there was few feather from time to time. That doesn’t bother me too much, considering I loved it when someone brought me venison ;p
The one thing, I did learn though is when it comes to the meat, think about the hormones they inject to the animals. Then think about eating that on a daily basis, then people wonder why say our teen girls are becoming ummm, “women” earlier than we ever did? A little food for thought.
On 10/18/08 at 7:16 am
Meghan said:
That is true…the hormones are a bit scary. And I agree with you on the meat. I don’t know that the average consumer really understands what happens with our mass produced livestock.
Kinda like hot dogs…just don’t ask.
My employers are VERY organic. We are not even allowed regular organic canned black beans anymore. Have to buy them dried, soak overnight and then slow cook to use in future recipes!
Their heart and mind is in the right place…I still haven’t decided if it is worth it.
On 10/18/08 at 10:45 am
~Lori~ said:
Oh I’m sure it is worth it to them, because more than likely you are the one doing all the work, yep, been there/done that. Now if they were the ones having to put all the extra time and effort into it, well that goes without saying ;p
On 10/18/08 at 11:06 am
Meghan said:
In some ways it’s worth it to me to add variety to my own practices.
But soaking black beans all night because we’re concerned the lining of the canned variety might be made from a bad plastic drives me a little mental.
Whatever…can’t hurt right?
On 10/18/08 at 7:10 am
Matt E. Warren said:
I’ve seen a recent trend where vegetables and fruits are grown hydroponically and vertically in local greenhouses. I used to think that hydroponics was simply used for growing weed, but I saw one of these farms and it is the coolest shit ever. Lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, all grown indoors year ’round, which keeps the cost low and it is much more fresh than any other crap…without crap fertilizing it.
But I love my Value Meals, too.
On 10/18/08 at 7:23 am
Meghan said:
I saw this too..hydroponic tomatoes! It all makes me think of pot! The technology is pretty great and has been around for hundreds of years. Growing without soil, less water AND saving the stress on the land.
Unfortunately some USDA certification requires ’soil’ as part of it’s grading process and verification. They are working on establishing more hydroponic crops obtaining the Certified Organic Label.
On 10/18/08 at 9:01 am
Matt E. Warren said:
Go and check out http://www.vpfarms.com/about. I work with the owner on all his advertising and even though the website is relatively new, you’ll get an idea about what I was referring to.
And now I will go and charge him for the pimpage. Ching!
On 10/18/08 at 9:06 am
Meghan said:
Cha Ching! We here at EVE are happy to be a vehicle for hydroponic farming and pimpage…see…it still sounds like pot is involved!
On 10/18/08 at 9:13 am
Karri said:
I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but as innovative, convenient and healthy as it may be for people to have the option of growing their own gardens…what about the farmers who rely on selling their crops in order to feed their families?
Certainly we will ever see the day that farm lands are obsolete, but wouldn’t it behoove us to support some of the hardest working people in this country rather than doing it ourselves?
On 10/18/08 at 9:31 am
Meghan said:
This is true. They are incredibly hard working and have built generations on the pride in their land. It’s sad to think of a farmer as a dying artisan.
It must be very different in the produce bounty that is California. I feel, as any locals can disagree here, that in Boston you have little options.
I looked up farmers markets in my area, and the site had plenty to choose from, but most of the information was out of date and the rest close down by October due to the seasons changing.
In the summer I love heading out to my favorite farm and getting fresh produce…I wish it were more readily available.
I also wish I would then remember to cook it before it grew legs in my pantry, but that’s another story.
On 10/18/08 at 9:49 am
Karri said:
Give me your wish list and I’ll send you a care package from Kalifornia.
On 10/18/08 at 10:20 am
Meghan said:
I’ll take one bottle of organic red wine and one Daniel Tosh.
Don’t judge me! I get crushes on men that make me laugh that hard.
On 10/18/08 at 1:22 pm
Matt E. Warren said:
While I will agree with you, Karri, for the most part, here in Michigan, it is nice to have the opportunity to grow fruits and vegetables year around rather than have to import these items from out of state at usually a 200% mark-up. I am not for putting farmers out on their ass because I know they work like crazy. Besides, I know that I neither have the time nor the energy to crate a vertical garden of food en masse, thus relying on the farmers to provide me the rest.
In short, I see your point, but…
On 10/18/08 at 1:36 pm
Meghan said:
Ah, ‘Yes! Michigan. The feeling’s forever.’ My home state.
It takes a lot of dedication to grow your own food. I see great value in it, both for your ability to control the crop and environment; and the lessons it teaches.
But I want butternut squash now, and I am feeling more and more suspicious about the majority of my food.
On 10/18/08 at 7:31 am
Jacqueline said:
Some CSAs DELIVER a box of whatever is in season every week.
Yep, it’s more expensive to go to Farmers Markets etc, but not as expensive as health care later. There is something about good food grown in good soils that is healthy over and above the LACK of bad stuff.
I am 65 and healthy as a horse…NO illnesses or conditions. I observed as a kid (with my great-gran reminding me every half hour) that the relatives who had a garden and ate from it year-round lived long and healthy lives. Those who didn’t…didn’t. So I’ve been gardening forever, and thank god we don’t have to CAN things any more. Yay for freezers. Freezing is EASY!!!
So, the ultimate answer is to grow your own. Up on the roof, in pots on the balcony, in the back yard, scattered through the flowerbeds. It is AMAZING you much food you can grow! (Read “Food, Not Lawns”!!)And then you will know EXACTLY where it came from and what was put on it, and no transporting of you or it! Plus it is a healthful and calming hobby.
One caveat…I would not grow things within 20 feet or so of a busy road. Exhaust can’t be good for you…or your plants.
On 10/18/08 at 7:40 am
Meghan said:
You are lovely and virtuous and lucky…
But I live in Boston and haven’t seen a lawn in months. Let alone a family who is able or capable to grow their own. We have farmer’s Markets, but they are seasonal and that season is just about up and out of here after we pick the last apple.
My parents grow a little of their own…tomatoes and peppers I think. But If you really want to have a diverse diet you’d have to have a field in your back yard.
I love my vegetables (minus brussles sprouts - they can go screw) but shouldn’t I be able to just eat them and feel good about it? have we been fooled for all these years?
On 10/18/08 at 8:56 am
Karri said:
Thanks for giving me another reason to move back to the farm…I’ll go grow my own dinner, thankyouverymuch! And honestly, I’d rather ingest a few pesticides as opposed to accidentally running across a worm in my apple!
On 10/18/08 at 9:10 am
Meghan said:
I can’t live on the farm. I tried growing my own tomatoes once but I got giant caterpillars and another parasite growing out of the caterpillars. It was gross.
If you really spend too much time thinking about it, it will drive you nuts. For instance, 100% organic free range chickens can still eat processed unorganic grain.
And then there is the risk in having to pluck it which will haunt me forever!
On 10/18/08 at 9:16 am
Karri said:
All it takes is one good outbreak of some horrid disease to wipe out an entire livestock farm. Thanks, but I’ll stick with supporting inoculations.
I have enough issues, I don’t need to contract Mad Cow disease.
On 10/18/08 at 9:38 am
Meghan said:
There are plenty of risks with organic livestock. Mycotoxins, mold, untreated manure, E coli. Yuchhhk!
I just took a 7yr old apple picking and there were chickens running about. He looked up at me and said ‘It’s kinda gross I eat those things…they have feet!’
On 10/18/08 at 9:52 am
Karri said:
‘It’s kinda gross I eat those things…they have feet!’
HAHAHAA! Right?!
Out of the mouths of babes.
On 10/18/08 at 10:06 am
Meghan said:
Honestly…some of the smartest men I know are in the 10 and under crowd!
I’m proud to say at his request he had salad made with farm fresh lettuce!
On 10/18/08 at 9:56 am
Carol said:
I love Whole Foods. It is also wayyyyy too expensive for me to make all our meals from that place. I stop by local stands as much as possible, eat enough veggies and TRY to do the healthy thing as much as possible. Do I worry what my meat eats? No. Well…unless you are thinking of the other kind! lol!!!!!
On 10/18/08 at 10:11 am
Meghan said:
Whole Foods is like food porn some days. I feel so virtuous leaving that joint with all my bundles in my recycled soda pop reusable bags!
I shop for my employers there and I have spent upwards of $500 on one of there lists that included things like food bars and nuts. The meat alone for their small family is wildly expensive!
Leave it to Carol to have sex on the brain ;)…
100% Nekkid on the farm sex! Certified Orgasmic!
On 10/18/08 at 2:19 pm
Carol said:
THAT is what I am talking about!!!
On 10/18/08 at 11:27 am
Dillon said:
I try to eat as many organic products as I can. I absolutely require my milk to be organic (based on a documentary I saw that showed the effects of Bovine Growth Hormone on cows). I think that one of the benefits of organic food that isn’t talked about as often is the fact that pesticides and herbicides leach into the soil and contaminate everything (including the water supply that we eventually drink). Organic foods are not only good for you and me, they’re good for the environment too!
On 10/18/08 at 11:36 am
Meghan said:
Oh no…not another food documentary! I must watch that one. I still haven’t gotten over the article last year in Rolling Stone about the conditions of some of the nations largest pig farms. It was so unbelievably disgusting and I don’t even eat pork.
Football sized run off pools filled with pink pig crap. The smell was so overwhelming the journalist caught a whiff from his helicopter ride over it.
On 10/18/08 at 4:56 pm
Kiki said:
I love the idea of eating all-natural, all-Organic, all-healthy and all-wholesome. But it never seems to be 100% achievable and because I am of the ilk that says if you can’t do something totally then it’s not worth bothering with at all. But, saying that, I do eat organic fruit and veg, and try to eat organic meat. The trouble is if I go into Whole-Lotta-Money-For-Notta-Lotta-Food I end up blowing that week’s budget in the Whole Body section. Which means I smell great and my bathroom looks like a health spa. But my fridge is empty and I end up ordering pizza for dinner.
On 10/18/08 at 6:16 pm
Meghan said:
I love the idea too…but the trade off seems to be driving all over hell’s half acre to accommodate local vs organic vs organic local vs hydroponic vs fuck it all I want a burrito.
I feel all in or not at times too. Maybe I should be more loosened up about it all and make my own system of checks and balances.
Besides, like you I am spending far too much on Whole Body Vitamins, Cleansing Supplements and Omega Super Food Antioxidant Free Radical Boosters to have any cash left over for fresh produce.
On 10/18/08 at 6:42 pm
Kiki said:
LOL precisely! In fact I have had to buy this months toiletries from (shock!! horror!! disgust!!! despair!!!!) CVS as I cannot even afford to drive past WF this month!!!!!
But I have been introduced to the joy that is a Zone chocolate shake. Fairly tasty, keeps you full for ages, and 3 days in I have lost 4lbs!!! So I am going to have these shakes for a month, shrink my stomach to the size of that of a toddler, and eat teeny portions of organic wholesomeness. Good for me and good for my wallet.
On 10/18/08 at 8:23 pm
Meghan said:
Congrats! I think all those shakes and I have a bad history. I associate them with jaw surgery and not being able to chew…ouch!
But any reason to have a version of chocolate around I can feel good about. Just ask our favorite Nurse!
On 10/18/08 at 8:37 pm
Kiki said:
Ouch indeed
I lost a few teeth in a nasty encounter with a bench. Luckily I was 5 and they were just my milk teeth. But I lived on yoghurt and mashed potato and scrambled eggs for weeks. Can’t stomach any of those really now for the same reasons, bad association!
If I could live on chocolate and swedish fish and not get type 2 diabetes and die of a heart attack I would be a happy bunny.
On 10/18/08 at 8:59 pm
Meghan said:
Teeth being knocked out, ughhhhh. That makes me shudder.
I can’t even remember the last time I had mashed potatoes…were that banned by the food pyramid?
On 10/18/08 at 7:21 pm
The Striped Avenger said:
That food market was awesome. Thanks for the advice! 10 lbs of the best red peppers I ever bought for 3 dollars! I guess that’s your problem, lack of desire to cook in bulk like me.
On 10/18/08 at 8:27 pm
Meghan said:
I can’t believe you hit the downtown food market today. Ten pounds of peppers for three dollars is Great Depression prices…should that worry us all further? Holy Crap!
I cook in bulk. I also throw away in bulk because I don’t feel like eating after I make it.
On 10/18/08 at 8:03 pm
Trista said:
Meghan, I have nothing relevant to say regarding your lovely and well constructed blog, I just wanted to stop in and tell you how swell you are. Thank you for saving my hide during my computer crisis…seriously.
Oh…and all hail Wholefoods.
On 10/18/08 at 8:33 pm
Meghan said:
There’s the face we’re all missing!
Of course, lady! Apparently you have a hide worth saving AND tying nekkid to a tree
On 10/18/08 at 11:43 pm
Karl Rove said:
Ok, uh, I’m pretty sure my Myspace account got deleted. Can someone confirm that?
And on the subject of this blog, I admit that I often try to ignore where my food might have come from. But I do pick my own food sometimes (blueberries, strawberries, etc).
On 10/19/08 at 12:13 am
Meghan said:
ROVE! Yes…you are lost on my top friends list! I noticed and was wondering… what happened there?
Berries are a huge one because they are so susceptible to mold…so they get lots of pesticides. The best blueberries I have ever had were from a U-Pick in Michigan…the size of acorns!
On 10/19/08 at 9:26 am
Karl Rove said:
I kept trying to log in to Myspace this week but it wouldn’t let me. I thought it was just a glitch or something. I finally realized that they must have deleted my account. Fuck! Not sure what to do next.
On 10/19/08 at 10:01 am
Meghan said:
That stinks…I don’t think accounts can be retrieved, but I’m not positive. Might have to start a new one. If you do let me know and I will add you and you can friend pick from my lists.
Sorry, Rover!
On 10/19/08 at 10:45 am
Karl Rove said:
Bah! Frickin’ Myspace…
I guess I should start a new one…
On 10/19/08 at 10:58 am
Meghan said:
It’s some sort of across the board elections conspiracy because ‘W’ was released. Check and see if Condi Rice still has a page and then alert the media!
On 10/19/08 at 9:49 am
Missygail said:
Organic…. cheaper? NO. It seems when there’s things left out of food products the more it costs. I seriously don’t understand that..
Go to Akins or Whole Foods and then walk into Wal-mart Grocery.
We have a local farmers stand just up the street. Beauty of the midwest… but every thing we buy there goes bad fast. We have trouble remembering we got fruits and veggies from the grocery store much less than remembering that we should eat these peaches soon because they have no preservatives what so ever.
I wouldn’t mind going organic if I could afford it, for my children at least… but yeah the feathers would freak me out.
On 10/19/08 at 10:04 am
Meghan said:
No way is organic cheaper…the OTHER stuff is. It’s harder to farm organically which raises the food costs.
It’s true that the food does go bad faster, takes a real commitment to plan a menu and incorporate that food into your diet. I hate throwing food away and I do it all too often.
Money down the drain is no good for anybody!