Focus On . . .FOOD
"Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks." -Lin Yutang, "The Importance of Living," 1937
Holidays are food days. And just before the holidays come the food preparation days, so that when our families and friends share special foods of celebration they are the finest foods on Earth.
FOOD Websites
Recommended by the Editors of EcoISP.com
Exciting ways to cook for a holiday party or a party of one are shared by some of the world's great chefs at: Epicurious. More than 14,000 recipes are searchable online. Offerings range from the traditional, such as roast turkey with cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie, to the more unusual such as truffle-scented turkey with shallots and chestnuts and for dessert pumpkin cake with sage ice cream and pumpkin cherry compote.
Gourmet recipes of all kinds, low fat meals, wine and cheese, plant and herb information, food and beverage newsgroups, and food facts are found at Good Cooking.
Recipes that are traditional for holidays of many cultures are online at Recipe Source, a site with some 70,000 recipes from around the world in a searchable database.
Eating Natural and Organic
More people than ever before are seeking pure foods, free from pesticide residues, genetically modified ingredients, and other contaminants.
Holiday meal (All photos courtesy USDA except where noted)
To get a taste of the pure foods movement, visit the Organic Consumers Association. This activist organization deals with issues of organic foods, food irradiation, bovine growth hormone, and food safety, among others. The Organic Consumers Association says that laboratory tests and industry disclosures show that up to 75 percent of all non-organic supermarket foods sold in the United States now test positive for the presence of genetically modified ingredients.
Responding to customer demand, the national supermarket chain Trader Joe's announced November 11 that it has removed genetically modified foods from the majority of its store brand products.
The magazine "Consumer Reports," published by the Consumers Union, has some free articles on its website that help consumers determine facts about food safety. The latest, "How safe is that burger?" details the organization's tests of ground beef from across the U.S. for bacteria, spoilage, and fat content. The team also looked at the environmental effects of raising cattle.
In August 2002 "Consumer Reports" examined the relationship between organic produce and pesticides. See their findings in the article headed, "Organic. It's lower in pesticides. Honest."
As of October 21, 2002 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented its National Organic Program. All U.S. producers selling more than $5,000 of organic agricultural products now must be certified by a USDA accredited certifying agency in order to sell, label or represent their products as organic.
In its article introducing the new standards, "Organic Foods to Get New Seal of Approval," the Environment News Service explained that the USDA organic standards provide definitions for the term "100% Organic," and for the term "Organic," indentifying products that contain 95 percent organically produced ingredients. "Made with Organic Ingredients" defines products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. Products certified as either the "100% Organic" or "Organic" may then use the USDA Organic Seal.
Irradiation in the production and handling of organic food is prohibited by the National Organic Standards.
Quote: "Irradiation has been discussed - and argued over - for years as a way of reducing microbiological contamination in produce and meat. Irradiation kills bacteria within at least an inch of the meat's surface, but the food never becomes radioactive. Although the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] considers the technology safe, it's not a panacea for keeping ground beef germfree. Careful handling during and after processing is still needed to avoid recontamination." -- Consumer Reports, November 2002.
To get the facts on food irradiation from the standpoint of the Centers for Disease Control, a government agency, visit their website Frequently Asked Questions About Food Irradiation. For an extensive series articles critical of food irradiation read "Food Irradiation: the Untold Story."
Organic foods are no longer limited to fruits and vegetables. Today consumers can buy organic meats and dairy products, organic wines, and even organic flowers. Shoppers who live in seven southwestern states can purchase a wide variety of natural and organic foods online at ShopNatural, the online division of Tucson Cooperative Warehouse. This company has been delivering natural and organic products since 1974.
To purchase organic food in bulk online visit the Organic Kingdom which carries over 400 organic foods and health related items including hard to find items such as organic infant teething biscuits. The Kingdom carries bulk grains and beans, nuts and nut butters, juices, soups, crackers, chips and condiments.
The Original Organic Products Company offers online purchase of organic dried fruits and nuts, and a few other products such as honey and soap.
To find California organic growers, explore the Organic Harvest Network, or take a look at the offerings at Earthbound Farm Organic, a brand sold in many supermarkets.
Finding organic and natural foods in supermarkets has become easier in the past two or three years as specialty supermarkets have grown to meet the rising demand for pure foods. Whole Foods was founded in 1980 as one small store in Austin, Texas, and has grown into the world's largest retailer of natural and organic foods, with 139 stores across the United States. Whole Foods is offering its new cookbook for the holiday season, "The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A Guide to Natural Foods with 350 Recipes." More than 200 of these recipes are vegetarian or vegan.
Wild Oats is another large and growing chain of natural food stores. Wild Oats was founded in 1987 with the purchase of Crystal Market, the only vegetarian natural foods store in Boulder, Colorado. In 1991, Wild Oats opened its first supermarket sized store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and now operates more than 100 stores in 23 states and Canada.
To read a wide variety of articles about organic farming in the United States and around the world explore the uncategorized collection at Don't Panic, Eat Organic. One link on this site leads to the California Certified Organic Farmers which offers a certification program for growers, processors, handlers and retailers. Another link takes you to a site called Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA) operated by the private nonprofit National Center for Appropriate Technology. ATTRA provides technical assistance to farmers, extension agents, market gardeners, agricultural researchers, and other ag professionals in all 50 states.
Vegetables Only
In its 1996 position paper on vegetarian diets, the American Dietetic Association reported that vegan and vegetarian diets can significantly reduce one's risk of contracting heart disease, colon and lung cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney disease, hypertension, obesity, and a number of other conditions.
The Internet is full of resources for vegetarians, such as the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's FAQs About Vegetarian Diets that includes information about some hard to handle vegetarian food problems like cooking without eggs. These doctors also offer a Vegetarian Starter Kit that outlines a three-step way to go vegetarian.
The animal advocacy organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a new section on its website that gives turkeys something to be thankful for - suggestions for a Vegetarian Thanksgiving.
Vegan holiday meal (Photo courtesy Tofurky)
One holiday meal suggestion that spares the lives of turkeys is Tofurky ® a pre-cooked vegetarian meal made from a tofu-wheat protein blend that achieves what the manufacturer calls "incredible, turkey-like texture and flavor. The 100% vegan feast for four includes a stuffed tofu roast, four tempeh drummettes, Tofurky "giblet" gravy and Tofurky Jurky.
Fact: A vegan (pronounced VEE-gun) is someone who avoids using or consuming animal products. While vegetarians avoid flesh foods, vegans also avoid dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down, and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
Vegan Resources on the web include the comprehensive Vegan Action site which published the above definition of a vegan. This nonprofit grassroots organization has introduced a vegan logo to certify vegan products with its Vegan Certification Campaign. Among other campaigns, Vegan Action is bringing vegan food into schools nationwide with its Dormfood Campaign.
Hundreds of vegan recipes are online at Vegan Food which has culled vegan meal ideas from the discussion group alt.food.vegan. Even more hundreds of recipes and shopping sources for vegan foods can be found on the DMOZ Open Directory Project. The Vegetarian section of DMOZ has even more links to thousands of recipes for everyone from The Lazy Vegan to gourmet preparations from a KSWB television cooking show at Vegetarian Country
Organic Meats, Eggs, Milk
OK, so you're not interested in cutting animal foods from your diet. You have a wide variety of new choices of organic meats, eggs and dairy products. The philanthropic website Care2 offers Top Ten Eco-Friendly Reasons to Buy Organic Meat & Dairy. Number One is that organic meats and dairy products are free of antibiotics, added hormones, genetically modified feed and other drugs. Number Two is a "Mad Cow Safeguard: animals aren't forced to be cannibals." To find out a great deal more information on mad cow disease, and related diseases that affect deer, elk, sheep and humans, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Farmer members of the Organic Valley food producers cooperative (Photo courtesy Organic Valley)
Some local natural food stores carry organic animal products now, but to contact a supplier directly, visit Organic Valley, the largest organic farmer-owned cooperative in North America. The coop began in 1988 with seven Wisconsin farmers, and now includes 460 farmer members in 17 states. They produce and market organic meats, milk, cheese, butter, eggs, and for the holidays, egg-nog. Enter your zip code here to find the store closest to you that sells Organic Valley products.
To buy organic meats online, visit Diamond Organics, which offers organic turkeys, vegetables, nuts, salad dressings, baked goods and lots of other goodies, with "guaranteed overnight delivery to every address in America."
More online food choices for natural, organic and vegetarian foodies are found at Green People. Their section on Vegetarian Restaurants Around the World has a clickable map that can take diners from Croatia to Chile, from China to Canada and dozens of places on the way.
All the Fish in the Sea Are Not Sustainable Foods
Too many fishing boats have caught so much of the world's fish that now some species must be left alone to regenerate. To find out which fish species are sustainably harvested, go to the Monteray Bay Aquarium's Seafoodwatch site. There you can choose from a list from abalone to white sea bass and read a short description of the current state of that fishery in the aquarium's "Conservation Notes."
Here is the Conservation Note on lobster. "Although heavy fishing has prompted the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to list American lobster as overfished, the population seems to be holding steady. Careful management, ongoing scientific research, and a low-bycatch catch method (traps) contributed to our decision to rate American lobster "Proceed with Caution." Rock and spiny lobsters are trap-fished around the world. Because some populations are overfished, we recommend only Australian rock lobster, a fishery recently certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, and spiny lobster from California's small and well-regulated fishery."
You can take information on sustainable seafoods with you into markets and restaurants by downloading a Seafood Watch card to carry in wallet or purse.
Seafood (Photo courtesy Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce)
Audubon's Living Oceans Campaign offers the Seafood Lover's Guide which contains information on which fish and shellfish species are most abundant and harvested in a sustainable manner. Download their national special edition wallet cards such as the Audubon/Pacific Whale Foundation Hawaii Regional Seafood Wallet Card by clicking here. Audubon's seafood awareness partner, the New York based Wildlife Conservation Society, offers the "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Card. Introduced in October 2002, it is the latest in a series that Audubon's Living Oceans Program has produced in conjunction with a number of aquariums and other partners over the last two years. It is the first guide of its kind to focus on those species that are available and popular in New York City.
Quote: "The "Go Fish" Seafood Wallet Card ranks 35 species of fish and shellfish - all available and popular in New York - along a color bar. If the fish is ranked green - okay to eat - then it is relatively abundant and is caught or farmed in a way that causes relatively little harm to habitat and other marine life, for example, Alaska halibut and farmed clams and mussels. A fish in the yellow, such as sea scallops or lobster, means there are some problems and consumers should use their conscience to decide whether or not or how frequently to eat it. A fish in the red indicates major problems, such as highly vulnerable biological characteristics, depletion, or that the fishing or farming method seriously degrades fragile habitat, or other marine life. Depleted species including sharks and Chilean sea bass are ranked red." -- Wildlife Conservation Society
Think Global, Eat Local "Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market," is a new policy paper by the WorldWatch Institute, a Washington, DC based research institute. The nation's reliance on a complex network of food shipments leaves the United States vulnerable to supply disruptions, the group argues. Read the Environment News Service article about this issue, "Food Travels Far to Reach Your Table."
While preparing your festive meals, remember that every meal is a festival for a hungry person. It's easy to feed people around the world without cost to you at The Hunger Site. On average over 220,000 persons from around the world visit the site each day to click the "give free food" button and help feed the hungry. The Hunger Site is owned and operated by Tim Kunin and Greg Hesterberg, who are also co-owners of EcologyFund.com, the click-to-donate website for land preservation.
The staple food funded by The Hunger Site is paid for by site sponsors and is distributed to those in need by Mercy Corps and America's Second Harvest. Funds feed hungry people in 74 countries.
Explore EcoISP's FOCUS on SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.
Explore EcoISP's FOCUS on YOUTH ACTION & FUN.
Explore EcoISP's FOCUS on DRINKING WATER.
Explore EcoISP's FOCUS on CLIMATE CHANGE.
