The newest food-awareness advocate: Stephen Colbert

Colbert; Alex Wong/Getty Images via The Atlantic

From Marion Nestle's "Food Politics" site, and her post, "Colbert on farm workers,"

I would have loved to be in the room when Stephen Colbert testified before Congress a few days ago.

I’ve been to congressional hearings.  They are a peculiarly American form of Kabuki theater, full of posturing, entirely predictable script-following, and institutionalized rudeness.  Colbert, in character, took perfect advantage of the opportunity.

I thought his testimony was brilliantly funny.  But I can well understand why the members of Congress stuck with Kabuki rituals—stony silence and hiding behind their equivalents of fluttering fans–BlackBerries.

Mr. Colbert gave devastating testimony, well worth 5 minutes to watch.  One of the Times’ bloggers (Sept 24) made a point of what he said at the end when he went out of character:  “I like talking about people who don’t have any power, and it seems like one of the least powerful people in the United States are migrant workers who come and do our work but don’t have any rights themselves.”

In character, his testimony offered some ideas about how to stop undocumented farm labor: “The obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating fruits and vegetables–and if you look at the recent obesity statistics, you’ll see that many Americans have already started.”

He’s right on about that one.  Kim Severson of the New York Times reports:

Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government guidelines, record growth of farmers’ markets and the east of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren’t eating enough vegetables.

Quoting CDC statistics, she reports that “only 26 percent of the nation’s adults eat vegetables three or more times a day…and no, that does not include French fries.”  We do better with fruit: 33% of Americans eat 2 servings of fruit a day.

All of this is why concern about our food system and where our food comes from also must include concern about who works in the fields, raises the animals, and works in the slaughterhousese.  Immigration is a food issue, big time.

Thanks Colbert–in character and not–for taking this issue to our government.  May it do some good.

"The Powerful Position of Schools to Influence Nutrition"

Read the article from Earth Eats.

"Congress: make our food edible"

Sign Slow Food USA's petition that calls for more accountability and better control of the food industry through action and reform by our government:

How many more recalls and health scares will it take to recognize that the current food production system doesn't work?

Thanks to Dana for the link!

In France, good food is made part of the school day

From CBS Sunday Morning:

Good news for real/slow/local food advocates...

Good Food Is Emerging as a Real Alternative to the Dominance of Corporate Agriculture - from AlterNet

"Get your hands off my french fries."

It must be tiring being a conservative - always arguing and searching for a scapegoat. Oy!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

First Lady Michelle Obama is not trying to dictate what's on the American table, nor is she trying to become the nation's healthy food czar.  Elitist liberal agenda? No, just common sense. She's pointing out the obvious: American food politics have long been dictated by the incestuous relationship between agribusiness and politicians. Archaic and nonsensical farm subsidies and the outcome of cheap food has perpetuated a cycle of which people have grown dependent, fat, unhealthy and poor, and where little to no attention or funding is given to sustainable, organic farming practices that are working hard to change the face of food. We most definitely wouldn't need such an overhaul in healthcare if we learned how and what to eat and stopped listening to defeatist, crazy-person arguments like Beck and other supposed "experts."

While conservatives are spewing conspiracy theories about Mrs. Obama, President Obama doesn't seem to be doing much to help food reform. Sure, they - I mean, Mrs. Obama - installed the White House garden and has toured the nation to promote healthy lifestyles for school-aged children. I, like many other people, voted for Mr. Obama. I was intrigued by this plan to reform American food politics. He's fallen short, however, and still remains a little too cozy with agribusiness in the form of high profile appointments within his administration. Sure, healthcare reform was a major step in his term as leader, but preventative measures - i.e. one's diet, food and food production - should not be ignored as key factors in our collective health.

And, Rachel - you're amazing. Thanks for bringing this to the mainstream!

Utne Reader's food issue is a must-read

You should familiarize yourself with Utne Reader if you haven't already. It's such a smart, insightful publication that pulls together the best pieces of journalism on a range of topics. The September-October 2010 issue is about food, so, of course, you should read it.

What's inside?

• "Food Fight" by Michael Pollan
• "In Praise of Fast Food" by Rachel Lauden
• "Waste Not, Want Not" by Nicole Miller and Michael Penn
• "The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Go Hungry" by Sharon Astyk and Aaron Newton

...and more. 

Such an excellent issue from an excellent publication.

Updated recipe: Chocolate beet cake (gluten free) with chocolate ganache (dairy free)

This weekend, my friends got married - congratulations Kasey + Tonya! - and I made their wedding cupcakes. I love, love, love this chocolate cake recipe. For them, I made chocolate beet cake filled with local, raspberry preserves and topped with dairy-free chocolate ganache.

I did make a batch of gluten-free ones, so, below is the recipe - with and without the preserves - as well as the ganache. Both are really easy recipes, and can be easily adapted to dietary needs.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Beet Cake (makes 2 dozen cupcakes)

Ingredients: 

- 4 oz. chocolate (I use 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, 2 oz. semisweet chocolate chips)

- 1 c. safflower or canola oil

- 3 eggs - regular or flax

- 1 Tbl. apple cider vinegar

- 1 3/4 c. sugar (can decrease if using all chocolate chips for melted chocolate)

- 2-3 c. pureed beets (depends on the size and how much you love beets)

- 1 Tbl. vanilla

- 2 c. gluten-free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill mix)

- 2 1/2 Tbls. baking powder (I find baking soda to be too chalky, especially in a gluten-free recipe)

- 1/4 tsp. sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease and flour OR line two cupcake pans with baking cups. 

2. Melt chocolate (in microwave for 90 seconds or over a double boiler) and add 1/4 c. oil until the mixture is smooth. 

3. Combine the eggs + sugar in a bowl + beat with mixer or by hand until fluffy. Add the rest of the oil, chocolate, beets, vanilla and vinegar.

4. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the egg/chocolate mixture until just combined. Pour batter in the pans. (NOTE: If you want the raspberry jam/preserve filling, fill the cups halfway with batter, add a tsp. of the raspberry and top with a little more batter.)

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops begin to crack and/or a toothpick comes out clean. (NOTE: If using raspberry in the center, you can't rely on a toothpick, so stick the side of the cupcake to test.)

Chocolate coconut ganache (makes 2 cups)

Ingredients

- 16 oz. chocolate (semisweet, bittersweet mixed with some unsweetened works best)

- 1 - 15 oz. can light coconut milk (can be full-fat, but light is fine)

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional)

1. Place chocolate in a bowl. Set aside.

2. Over medium heat, heat coconut milk until steam appears and bubbles form on the edges. Remove from heat.

3. Pour milk over chocolate without stirring for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir until smooth and glossy. Can be used immediately OR cooled, stored in the fridge and/or in the freezer. To thaw, remove from refrigerator or freezer and put container in a bowl of warm water just until the ganache is soft enough to dip or frost your baked goods. 

Putting lipstick on a pig: 'Corn Sugar'

You may or may not have heard this story, but the Corn Refiners Association isn't happy with the poor image of high fructose corn syrup. No, not because of its link to obesity, childhood diabetes and other health claims, but largely because sales of HFCS is at a 20-year low. So, they've proposed a new name for the substance: corn sugar.



I'll totally buy things with corn sugar in it now...

My question: Why is a name change needed if HFCS is totally safe? Are we once again trying to mislead consumers with jargon?

Other articles on the subject:
- Press release from the Corn Refiners Association
- The Atlantic: 'High-Fructose' Just Sounds Bad; Sorry, Corn Refiners: The Name 'Corn Sugar' Is Already Taken
- AlterNet: Industry Tries to Pull a Fast One on Consumers by 'Rebranding' High Fructose Corn Syrup

Foraged finds: Pears + apples

Mmmm. It's officially the best time of the year for food. Nothing better than some foraged, local apples and pears - and, as far as I know, they're organic. 

What's your favorite fall food and/or recipe?

Intelligence Squared Debates: Organic food is marketing hype

ORGANIC FOOD IS MARKETING HYPE (Full Debate) from Intelligence Squared US on Vimeo.


If you haven't heard of Intelligence Squared debates, you should be embarrassed. Not really, but you should start watching and listening to unique and in-depth perspectives on a wide range of issues. Click on the link to read more about this debate and explore the site.

Aldicarb to be banned, phased out, after decades of widespread poisoning

After 25 years of use, the extremely hazardous insecticide Aldicarb has been banned by the EPA and will be phased out of production by 2015 by its manufacturer, Bayer CropScience:

New EPA documents show that babies and children under 5 can ingest levels of the insecticide through food and drinking water that exceed limits that the agency considers safe. “Aldicarb no longer meets our rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks, especially to infants and young children,” the EPA said. At least 2,000 people fell ill from eating California watermelons illegally contaminated with aldicarb on the Fourth of July in 1985. “It is good the revocation is happening; it is a shame it took 20 years,” said Richard Jackson, chair of environmental health sciences at UCLA, who was a top state health official during the outbreak. 

Hmm. Better late than never, but I still have to wonder: After all those people fell ill, what were these "rigorous food safety" guidelines and how were these chemical or synthetic substances ever in compliance? I thought these standards were put in place to protect the consumer, not the chemical corporations. I guess that's my naivety...

Read more here from AlterNet's coverage of the issue.

The new craze: Husk cherries

Well, they're my new craze. Husk or ground cherries are so unbelievably good. We grew them for the first time this year at the farm, and it's a flavor I don't really know how to describe - maybe a nutty pineapple?

Related to tomatillos, husk cherries grow in lantern-like skins and fall to the ground when they are ripe. Simply pop the fruit out of the husk to reveal a small, yellow fruit that looks similar to a cherry or sungold cherry tomato.

Much like tomatoes, tomatillos and similar nightshades, husk or ground cherries will only be available for these last remaining weeks of summer. They're more expensive - I've seen $20.00/lb at a few markets - but they are really worth trying. If you can contain yourself and not eat them on the trip home, husk cherries are an excellent substitute for traditional fruit and veggies in salsas, jams or garnishes for sweet or savory dishes.

(Thanks to Zach for being an impromptu hand model. You have a fall-back career...)