Sampler Platter: 07.03.2009

by: JayinPortland

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 16:53:25 PM PDT

• So how long until Monsanto or Dow seek to patent goats?  From state highway departments to vineyards to city governments, an increase is being seen nationwide in using goats and sheep to control invasives, maintain lawns and clear fire-prone grasses.  Maybe Matt Damon was onto something when he told Robin Williams, "I want to be a shepherd."  So do I, man.  So do I...

• From Indian Country Today, here's a piece on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation's resource management plan that puts First Foods at the center of their conservation efforts.

  "We're using this to develop curriculum for the tribe's community school and also using it as a framework for developing a diabetes prevention program for the tribe's clinic," [Eric] Quaempts, [director of the CTUIR Department of Natural Resources] said. "The first foods themselves are healthy. The act of going out and acquiring them is healthy."

• At last count (1990) there were over 200,000 Pacific Walruses.  There is some controversy over last week's estimate, but either way it seems their numbers have diminished significantly.  Maybe to as low as 15,164.  As Brendan Cummings, spokesman for the Center for Biological Diversity, says - "You don't need to know if there are 500 passenger or 1,000 passengers on the Titanic. When it hits an iceberg, they're all endangered ".  The final assessment is due in January.

• Are wolverines establishing themselves further south than thought?  Researchers have now caught pictures of a second wolverine on Mount Adams in Southwest Washington, from where the last known wolverine populations were wiped out by trapping in the 1800s.

• A piece from NPR looks at the City of Seattle's decision to stop using soybean-based biofuels for its vehicle fleet.  Also, The Oregonian brings us a piece on how Southern Oregon's Klamath County is adapting for a changing future.

• The feedlot fight is still on in Eastern Washington, where environmental groups and family farmers are suing to prevent a proposed new 30,000-head cattle feedlot from taking advantage of a state law that would allow the operation to draw unlimited water from wells in one of the driest regions of America.

Funny Food Videos

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 12:31:01 PM PDT

From The Colbert Report, Colbert gives a tip of the hat to Missouri State Representative Cynthia Davis who said that needy kids shouldn't be fed because hunger can be a motivating factor

From The Daily Show, here's an appearance by Food Inc director Robert Kenner

And, for something un-funny, here's a 60 Minutes segment about the Farm Bureau, posted by the National Family Farm Coalition:

Farm Bureau confident climate change bill going nowhere

by: desmoinesdem

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 10:02:54 AM PDT

Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF director of public policy, tells Agriculture Online that Farm Bureau doesn't anticipate the massive climate change bill passed by the House last week to pass the Senate this year.

And the New York Times reported Tuesday that opposition from Farm Bureau and other agricultural groups threatens to kill the bill in the Senate. The Times reports that groups such as AFBF wield greater clout in the Senate, because members there must be protective of an entire state, rather than a small congressional district.

Here are the links to the Agriculture Online piece and the New York Times article.

You may recall that the Farm Bureau Federation lobbied members of the U.S. House to vote for Collin Peterson's lousy amendments to the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act but against the bill intended to address climate change.

I have my own problems with the ACES bill, especially the deals made to appease the coal industry and Peterson's colleagues on the House Agriculture Committee. That said, the objections big agribusiness and their Congressional allies have raised against the cap-and-trade approach are off-base and short-sighted.

It wouldn't surprise me if Farm Bureau's vote-counter is correct and the Senate rejects the Waxman-Markey bill for the wrong reasons. Frankly, that might be better than letting senators like Claire McCaskill make this flawed bill even worse.

My Book Tour

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Jul 03, 2009 at 01:11:36 AM PDT

If you want to catch me on tour, here are the plans so far:

August 2 - San Diego, Sea Rocket Bistro in North Park at 6pm
August 6 - Philadelphia, PA at Big Blue Marble Books at 7pm
August 7 or 8? - Lancaster, PA
August 10? - New York City
August 13-16 - Pittsburgh, Netroots Nation
Late August - Vermont, Western Mass, Boston
Early September - Seattle, WA
September 5 - Tacoma, WA, Farmers market in the AM; King's Books at 3pm
September 7 - Portland, OR, Slow Food's Labor Day Picnic Eat-In
September 8 - Portland, OR, InFARMation (and Beer!) at 5:30pm-8:30pm
September 9 - Portland, OR, Powells Books at 7:30pm (1005 W.  Burnside)
September 10 - Portland, OR, Drinking Liberally (?)
September 25 - Los Angeles
October 10-13 - Des Moines, IA, Community Food Security Coalition conference
Week of November 30 - Naperville, IL/Chicago

If your city isn't on this list and you want me to visit, please contact me at OrangeClouds115 at gmail. I am hoping to visit several other places, including: CA: San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Orange County; Austin, TX; New Orleans; Madison, WI; Appleton, WI. I just don't have dates or solid plans for any of those places yet. I keep this schedule up to date at http://www.recipeforamerica.org.

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 19:00:00 PM PDT

Obesity and Smoking Trends Over Time

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 18:06:20 PM PDT

I'll give you the raw data I've been able to find thus far, but as you'll see, we're going to need some real experts to sort out what diet actually has to do with disease.

The E. Coli Vaccine

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 15:44:37 PM PDT

That's how we should deal with food safety. Not with condoms and birth control pills but by decreasing risky behaviors and preventing the spread of disease and the contamination of our food, AND by following that up with testing. In the case of E. coli, we could do that. Don't keep the cows in feedlots. Let them graze on pasture. Or - still better than what we've got now - keep them in the feedlots but let them eat grass for the last few days of their lives. And even then - even if there is E. coli 0157:H7 in the cow's gut, it's STILL not in the meat until somebody screws up at the slaughterhouse. But we allow slaughterhouses to run so fast (to maximize profits, at the expense of animal welfare, worker safety, and food safety) that occasionally somebody at the gut table screws up and splatters manure everywhere. Now, if E. coli 0157:H7 was in the cow, it's in the meat. And that meat might get mixed up with many other animals and sold in one big tainted batch as ground beef.

So what's our plan? Raising the cows in cleaner, healthier, safer conditions? Slowing down the line speed in slaughterhouses? Nope. An E. coli vaccine for cows. Which is - if anything - a very short term fix. If the cows are still in filthy conditions, and the manure's still getting into the meat, it's only a matter of time before some new bug comes along that can harm us. Going back to safe sex, I got the HPV vaccine but that's not a get out of jail free card to go out and have unprotected sex. Even with the vaccine, I'm still susceptible to all other STDs - and the cows and meat will still be susceptible to all kinds of pathogens even after being vaccinated for E. coli.

I'm not saying the E. coli vaccine is a bad thing. If it works, great. I mean, when given the choice, I got the HPV vaccine. But it's not a substitute for preventing disease by keeping the cows in healthier conditions, just as the HPV vaccine doesn't mean I can take home a new guy from the bar every night to have unprotected sex (umm, not that I would, or would want to). Nor does it mean we don't need to test the meat for pathogens (just like my vaccine doesn't mean I no longer require annual pap smears).

And yet, the USDA tests ground beef up to 4 times per month but STILL doesn't have the legal authority to shut down a plant that consistently fails its tests. And who knows how often the processing plants actually test for pathogens - or if they actually throw out tainted meat when their tests find any. We know from the peanut and pistachio salmonella outbreaks earlier this year that those companies still sold the tainted nuts even AFTER they tested positive for salmonella.

Once the food safety bill passes (assuming it does) food companies regulated by the FDA will be required to report positive test results to the FDA - but beef falls under the USDA and so they won't be affected by the new law. Pathetic.

Recipes for Noxious Trolls!

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 14:40:59 PM PDT

An Interesting Debate

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 11:00:16 AM PDT

Here's my specific remark that she took issue with:

To her, this [the decline in spending on food as a percent of disposable income] is proof that Americans want their food to be cheap and convenient. I would cite it as evidence of how we are being squeezed by the society we live in, in which productivity has risen but wages remained stagnant; in which many parents have no option to stay home to raise their children and many people work more than one job to make ends meet. Americans are doing what they must do to survive, but that doesn't mean they prefer it (nor is it healthy for them, as evidenced by our epidemic rise in diet-related chronic illness).

In the first few decades after World War II, our middle class was growing and many families did live on one income with the other parent staying home to raise children. Yet, even then, Abigail notes that Americans were already spending less and less on food. She's right. According to a 1999 article in Monthly Labor Review, consumer spending on food was more than 1/3 of all spending in 1935-36, under 25% of all spending in 1960-61, a little over 20% in 1972-73, and 16% in 1996-97.

At what point did the obesity epidemic start? The CDC's data begins in the 1980's, and they don't gather data from every state for the first few years. But if you look at their data for 1990, you see that no state has over 15% obesity and some are under 10%. By 2007, only Colorado had under 20% obesity, and some are over 35%.

A point where I think Abigail and I agree is that obesity doesn't necessarily equal poor health. You can be overweight and healthy, and you can be skinny and unhealthy. What we really need to look at is longitudinal data on the rates of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, hypertension, stroke, and certain cancers that are linked to diet. That's not data I have handy but that a more accurate way to evaluate our diets, rather tha simply looking at obesity.

Another area where I think Abigail and I agree is that there are trade-offs between cheap, convenient food and whatever we're trading it for (environmental degradation, poor health, inferior taste, etc). My hunch is that she thinks people have a more active role in making those choices than I do.  

Energy and Food Independence

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 08:39:56 AM PDT

It seems fitting that the same week we celebrate the independence of our Nation, the House passed historic climate change legislation. In theory, this bill should bring us closer to the goals of oil independence and freedom from the disastrous future of a warming, melting planet. If America is to prosper in the 21st century, then we must take immediate action to reduce our role in causing the climate crisis. And yet, the bill left those of us who care about our shared environment shaking our heads. Is the Waxman-Markey bill is even slightly better for the planet than the status quo, or will it pave the way to increased, legalized pollution? Perhaps the most tragic part of the bill was the compromise with agribusiness interests that was required to secure its passage through the Agriculture committee.

Site Outage & Our Birthday

by: Jill Richardson

Thu Jul 02, 2009 at 08:31:29 AM PDT

At any rate, if you are reading this, then you know that the site is back up again. And now we can celebrate our first birthday! Woohoo!

Pot Luck

by: JayinPortland

Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 19:00:00 PM PDT

Was down in the beautiful Sellwood / Westmoreland neighborhood here in SE Portland earlier this evening (yeah, I changed my mind and hit a different market.  Yes, way!) for a midweek market haul.  Haven't hit this one yet this year, it's bigger than I remember!  Had a lot of fun.  Music, great people, a stroll down Milwaukie Avenue checking out all the cool little shops and restaurants while waiting for the bus back home, and everything else...

Wednesday Moreland Farmers' Market Haul:

• 1 pint blueberries (yeeearrgh!  my first of the year)
  
• 1/2 pint raspberries
  
• 1 lb. broccoli
  
• 1 cucumber
  
• 1 zucchini
  
• 1 lb. new potatoes
  
• 1 sweet onion
  
• 1 pint snap peas

I also drooled over the feta.  I believe, when my vegan thingy is up, the first thing I will have (August 1!) will be a gigantic tomato, greens and feta salad.

Pot Luck is an open thread.  Share with us whatever happens to be on your mind, food-related or not...

Revolving Door Profile: Michael Torrey

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 16:50:15 PM PDT

Torrey began his career way back in 1987 when he worked for the Kansas Grain & Feed Association. From there, he went into government work as a staffer for Republican Senator Nancy Landon Kassebaum from 1990-93. In 1993, he left governmet for the private sector as the Vice President of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association and Kansas Fertilizer Association.

Then he went back to government, as legislative assistant to Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole from 1993-95. In 1996 he worked on Dole's Presidential campaign and he worked as a legislative assistant for Senator Sheila Frahm. Then he got a job at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission where he stayed until 1998.

In 1998, he went into lobbying, as the VP of Legislative Affairs for the International Dairy Foods Association (a group hated by most dairy farmers I know). He stayed there until 2003, when he got a job in the Bush Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations at the USDA. In 2004, he changed jobs within the USDA to become Deputy Chief of Staff. In 2005, he left the USDA to found his own lobby firm.

In the 2008 election cycle, Torrey gave $21,200 in political contributions. That includes:

$3000 to Jerry Moran for Congress (R-KS)
$3000 to Todd Tiahrt for Congress (R-KS)
$2500 to Restore America PAC, Inc (Sam Brownback's PAC)
$2300 to John McCain for President (R-AZ)
$2300 to Sam Brownback for President (R-KS)
$2300 to Lynn Jenkins for Congress (R-KS)
$2300 to Elizabeth Dole for Senate (R-NC)
$1000 to Mike Johanns for Senate (R-NE)
$1000 to the North Carolina Federal Senate Committee (Republican)
$1000 to Friends of John Boehner
$500 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee

The Insanity of Bottled Water

by: Asinus Asinum Fricat

Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 15:21:01 PM PDT

The pic above is from environmental artist and photographer Chris Jordan, check his website for reality checks on pollution, it is mind-boggling. And extremely depressing.

The Bullshit We're Up Against

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Jul 01, 2009 at 14:38:06 PM PDT

So this week, I got my first bad review. It wasn't anything that I expected. It was written by somebody who clearly didn't even read the entire book. They assumed that my arguments for sustainable food were simplistic and poorly informed. And they were clearly opposed to sustainable food altogether. Naturally, that person - whoever it was (there was no name on the review) - hated my book.