No Cookies. Yet.
08 Dec 2011 2 Comments
in Recipes, To Your Health Tags: Japanese, mushrooms, Peru, raw food
So that was a nice little hiatus from here after Thanksgiving.
I’m lying, I missed you. I just didn’t have the opportunity to get on here.
I’m lying, I totally did. I just didn’t make anything, didn’t think of anything to entertain you with at the moment. Oh, I’ve got ideas. TONS. And I mean, I could’ve made some holiday cookies. ‘Tis the season, after all.
Buuuuut I didn’t feel like it. I’ve been battling sugar recently. And it’s only December 8th! There’s still 23 days of cookies, pies, cakes, chocolate and booze… Yay<3
In light of that, here’s something to eat when you want to avoid a sugar coma and not feel all bloaty and stuff. It’s a vegetarian ceviche, something I came up with for the Drunken Doughnut. It fuses Peruvian cuisine with a few Japanese ingredients. Barbara and I served it at the Boca Raton Food & Wine Festival, which I don’t have pictures of because the event was so crappily organized that we didn’t have time, proper lighting, nor electricity to catalog our glory. But anywho, people liked my ceviche, so I made another version for you.
This recipe is almost completely raw. It’s the marinade that’s not raw, because it’s mostly a handful of condiments mixed together. Even the mushrooms I chose not to cook this time, as the marinade will ease them up for digestion. If you want to, you can cook the mushrooms any way you like before adding the marinade, though I would suggest sauteeing them in sesame oil.
Wild Mushroom Ceviche
Ingredients:
approx. 1 lb wild mushrooms (Go for a variety if you can. I used shiitake and enoki here. For the Drunken Doughnut, I used shiitake, enoki, golden enoki, wood ear, and king oyster. It was crazy!)
1 15-oz can palm hearts
1 small bunch of cilantro
For the Marinade:
1 large ripe tomato
2 cloves garlic
and the rest according to your taste preference…
ketchup (I know, I’m not supposed to like ketchup, but it’s a convenience here!)
lime juice
lemon juice
Peruvian yellow pepper paste
Peruvian red pepper paste
worcesteshire sauce (I used a vegan one, but you can use regular if you want)
rice vinegar
mirin (optional)
salt & pepper
These are shiitake mushrooms. They’re great meat substitute shrooms because they have a deep, earthy flavor. Remove the stems and slice the caps. You can save the stems to make soup stock.
Then there’s enoki, which I first discovered at my faaaavorite Pan-Asian restaurant. These little ones are delicate, and slightly sweet. Enoki mushrooms really don’t need prior cooking, but if you must, make sure it’s brief. They don’t like to be abused.
But you definitely want to trim off that dirty bottom.
Your best bet for crazy mushrooms is an Asian or international grocery store. You could find some at Whole Foods, but they’ll probably be way more expensive. So there.
And here you have mushrooms, sliced hearts of palm, and a handful of cilantro. If you’re anti-cilantro, you can use parsley, but then we can’t be friends.
For the marinade, roughly chop the tomato and garlic. Throw them in the food processor and hit puree. As the processor runs, add a few tablespoons of ketchup, lime, and lemon juice. Then a teaspoon each of the pepper pastes and worcesteshire sauce. Maybe a little extra of the yellow pepper paste. That one tastes awesome.
After that, a few drizzles of rice vinegar and mirin. From there, taste the marinade and decide where you want to go with it. If you want it to be more sweet, add more ketchup. More tangy, more lime and vinegar. More heat, more pepper paste. Mo’ money, mo’ problems. Et cetera.
Again, you can find these specialty ingredients for cheap at international grocery stores. Except for the vegan worcesteshire sauce, which you will have to get at Whole Foods, or some other hippie haven. Fyi, traditional worcesteshire sauce has anchovies in it, which is why it is not exactly vegetarian. The anchovies provide that umami flavor that we are so in love with. This vegan brand hits the spot by using apple cider vinegar, fermented soybeans, and a plethora of spices. Ees veddy nice.
Don’t forget salt and pepper in your marinade. That’d be ridiculous.
Then pour the marinade over the mushrooms and palm hearts. Mix it up and refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. When you’re ready to serve the ceviche, slice or dice up some avocado, which you can use strictly as garnish, or toss with the rest of the mixture. It’s way more awesome to toss the avocado into the ceviche, but I was trying to make it pretty for you…
Serve with some corn chips or rice crackers, and be awesome.
This dish will make you feel good about yourself. This dish is a yummy excuse to bombard the dessert table.
To mix things up, you can incorporate other ingredients– sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, olives, beans, corn, artichoke hearts, peas, tofu, cashews, etc. I can even imagine sprinkling on some farmer’s cheese. Hmm.
And yes, there will soon be dessert recipes. I know you need them. Like crack.
Down with Ketchup…?
25 Oct 2011 2 Comments
in Random, To Your Health Tags: health issues, thoughts
Last night, I wore to bed a sweater, long pants, and socks. I had two blankets, one of which is Mexican Indian style, so it’s knit super tight and does a good job keeping you warm. But for the life of me, no matter how many buckets I was sweating, both in reality and in my dreams, I could not. Get. Warm!
Yeah, I caught something. Something evil. It made me partially bloaty and partially nauseous. It made me weak, foggy, and obviously, really freakin’ cold. You know when people in the movies are all pale and shivery and about to die, and they say, “S-so c-cold… So very, v-very cold…”?
I barely had it in me to talk. Even text messages were pushing it. It’s subsiding now. I have the energy to type this, I’ve been able to eat a bit of soup, thanks to my pops. I’m not quite so cold. Must be one of those 24 hour things, because I started to feel the stomach discomfort around this time last night.
Stupid body. You never get sick and suddenly last night you pull this crap? This is not a good time to get sick! You totally threw a wrench in my schedule! >:{
^Me, not happy.^
Anyway, in my daze of internet stumbling this evening I found an article that, more than anything, struck me as cute. The French are rationing ketchup in schools. I can’t help but hear a snooty little Frenchman with his nose up say that it’s to “ensure the French children remain French” (yep, that’s an actual quote). Granted, it’s not just a national pride thing. According to the article it has more to do with the junk-food factor of ketchup, as well as other school lunch items- fried and salty foods, overly processed condiments, etc. These will also be limited, while a more balanced plate will be made over to include fruits, vegetables, and dairy. The dairy part I kinda disagree with, but because it is France… as we should all know, the French are pretty OCD compared to Americans when it comes to quality of ingredients. Never have I seen recipes like “Frito Pie” on a French food blog. After noticing the soaring rates of obesity and other diet-related disease in the states, I imagine the French government just winced and started examining their own public diet. I mean, how long have American fast food chains been invading Europe?
Good thing they’re being proactive now… God forbid they come asking us for dietary help later ;)
As for American school lunches… maybe it’s just because I don’t really like the holy trinity of American condiments: ketchup, “mayo” and ranch dressing… but I don’t think it would be a bad idea to follow suit. I remember school lunches. Lots of rubbery textures, glue-cheese, tator-whats? You could never seem to get enough ketchup to make up for the lack of flavor. I think deep down, even the most gullible kids know it’s not food. I don’t really understand how the government expects little brains to grow on plastic and MSG. Stewpit Amaireecahns!
Anyway. I’m still tired and my butt is sweaty. Later.
Stuffed Avocados: you want them.
17 Sep 2011 4 Comments
in Recipes, To Your Health Tags: avocado, beans, figs
Would you like something yummy and healthy? Something that feels kinda indulgent yet nourishing?
Okay, that’s not really a question, that’s a statement. You would like something yummy and healthy. You would like something indulgent and nourishing. Duh.
Get an avocado, and slice it in half. Scoop out some of the pulp, like so:
Like a little bowl. It’s cute.
Set the scooped out pulp aside in a small bowl, and using a fork, mash and mix in: about 1/2 teaspoon of agave nectar, and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Then dice one small tomato, and a couple of fresh figs, or three to four dried figs. Mix those guys, along with about 1/4 cup of garbanzo beans, and a few pinches of sea salt into the mashed up balsamic avocado pulp. Be gentle. Sing to it.
Spoon the filling into the avocado bowls, and sprinkle with some extra sea salt and black pepper.
Looks funky. Tastes awesome. Makes you feel nice. I need a better camera.
POWER SNAAACKS, RAAAAHHH
18 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in Interestin' Food Info, To Your Health Tags: beans, grains, nuts and seeds, protein, yogurt
…TO CONQUER THE WORRRRLLLLLLD!!!!
Or at least for whatever endeavors you have going on… like an exercise routine, a physically demanding job, a mentally demanding job, climbing mountains, making cookies, getting through grad school, etc.
A certain Miss Amy has asked for suggestions as to what kinds of protein-rich snacks to eat, aside from her usual nuts or hummus. Gladly, I say, gladly.
First, let’s talk about protein needs, particularly in terms of the vegetarian diet (because that’s what I’m all aboot). Let me get this out of the way: non-vegetarians need to stop asking how we get protein. Well, I guess you don’t have to stop, I understand your curiosity. Rather, people need to stop assuming that protein deficiency is lurking around the corner behind a vegetarian diet. Protein nowadays, is actually a little overrated, which I would attribute to the hype of body-building and Atkins-like diets. There is a reason there are three macronutrients (aka building blocks of nutrition): protein, carbohydrates, and lipids. To function properly, our bodies need all three of these. How much exactly, I can’t say because a) I’m not a professional nutritionist, and b) I believe that we all have individual needs and we should experiment with our diets to find what feels best. Regardless, if you drastically cut out one of them, you’d likely feel less than stellar. And as far as protein goes, pretty much all whole foods– meaning unprocessed, unadulterated ingredients, be they animal or plant-based– have a certain amount of protein. Anyone who eats a good variety of food, especially of the more nutrient-dense ones, is most likely getting enough protein. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re an omnivore or raw vegan. So unless you are an athlete, a pregnant/nursing mother, or live with some kind of condition or situation that requires you to pay more attention to your diet, trying to count or increase your protein is not all that necessary.
However…
I do know how it feels when you’re actually not getting enough protein, or some other macronutrient. You feel hazy, tired, grumpy…
Yeah, like that.
Like when I was working at a bakeshop from 6am til 3pm or later, practically non-stop. That was my choice, though. I said to boss-lady, Give me longer shifts so I can get more done. And I did. By the end of the day, my legs screamed. I got bruises on my thighs just from the stress of standing for so long. (HARDCORE!!) But anyway, despite my insanity, I had to learn how to help my brain and body cope with the workday. I had to find what foods would give me that second or third wind when I started to wilt. So, based on my experience and acquired knowledge, here are some suggestions for snacks that will make you awesome…
*Grains and legumes. I often say there is a reason that all around the world you can likely find some version of rice and beans. They have it all throughout South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, etc. And not necessarily rice, but some kind of grain food. Even in Great Britain, a traditional snack or breakfast is beans on toast (an idea which they probably picked up from the middle eastern hummus and pita, just like the British steal everything… lolz). The combination of grains and legumes offers a “complete protein”. In other words, the two components on their own don’t have all the amino acids of say, a steak, but together, they fill in the missing pieces of the protein puzzle. Do we always need complete protein in the same meal? I don’t really know. I just read that our bodies store all the amino acids wherever we get them, and will combine them anyway. Nonetheless, the grain and legume combination quickly satisfies the demands of your brain and body, as well as your taste buds. So I would suggest the following:
-Cook up a few different types of grains for the week in your off time, like quinoa, barley, millet, brown rice, whatever you like. All it takes is water or broth and a little time. Store them in the fridge, along with a variety of beans, so you can quickly throw together whatever combination you’d like. Add some seasoning and/or condiments and go.
-Or for a hand-held version, make different types of hummus, and spread them on whole grain breads. I highly recommend sprouted breads, as they are more nutrient and protein dense, and easier to digest. Soft corn tortillas are also a good variation.
-Lentils, man. They’re often overlooked because they’re seen as dull, but if you cook and season them right, you’re in happy town. Super easy to cook, by the way, so add them to your grain and bean repertoire. And because they’re so nutrient-dense, they can be a real life-saver when you want to explode or implode. I suggest them with sunflower seeds or walnuts, and your favorite vinaigrette.
*Nuts! And seeds. Of course, eating them in trail mix may get old. But there are certainly different ways to enjoy them.
-Throw them in with your grains and/or beans.
-Mix with vegetables in a salad or slaw. If you need to save time, prepare it the night before.
-Add them to cooked vegetables, like sauteed spinach with chili pepper and cashews. Another item you can do ahead of time if you’re taking it to work or school, as long as you don’t mind eating it cold or at room temperature.
-And don’t forget nut butters. I know that besides peanut butter, they tend to be expensive. However, if you have a decent food processor, it’s actually stupid-easy to make your own. As long as you buy raw nuts and seeds in bulk, it’s way cheaper, because when you pay for nut butters, you’re also paying for the machine labor and packaging. I made my own almond butter, and YOU CAN TOO! And keep in the mind the possibilities. Besides making pb&j sandwiches, try out different fresh fruits and vegetables. If we can put peanut butter and raisins on celery, we can combine (pea)nut butter with other things. I may sound crazy but try this: peanut or almond butter mixed with chipotle hot sauce, sliced tomato sprinkled with a bit of salt, on toasted whole grain bread. Surriously.
-Keep in mind the healthiest nuts and seeds are: walnuts, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flaxseeds. The others are still good, but eat a higher ratio of these guys.
*Soy products. Now, there has been some controversy about soy in regards to GMOs, hormones, cancer, and some other crazy stuff. Which is why I don’t consume too much soy. There are healthier versions though. For one, avoid the faux meats because they tend to be too processed. Consider them veggie junk food. They won’t benefit you the way beans and rice will. Secondly, go for fermented soy products like tempeh and fermented tofu, as the fermentation enhances the nutrition of soy, and counteracts cancerous effects. You can make sandwiches, wraps, salads, stir-fries, or just eat them with some dipping sauce. Whatever floats your boat.
*Greek Freakin’ Yogurt. Not specifically Greek in origin, this type of yogurt is strained of excess whey, giving it a thicker consistency, richer flavor, and higher protein content. The result? AMAZING. Even if you’re picky about regular yogurt, try this stuff. It tastes better and will sustain you for a loooong time. For his lunch, my boyfriend will often eat a single-serving container of Greek yogurt with some fruit, and be set for the rest of his shift.
So there. Get creative, and if I find some particularly protein-ific recipes, I’ll post them. Also remember as I stated above, most foods have some protein. But what’s more important than watching your protein, fat, or carb intake is eating plenty of plant-based whole foods that are nutrient dense. Leafy greens, root vegetables, mushrooms, avocado, squash, berries, apples, citrus, bananas, etc. Along with grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, you’re good to go.
CONQUER ALL THE THINGS!!
My House Guest
08 Aug 2011 1 Comment
in Random, To Your Health, Uncategorized Tags: animals
Everyone, meet Nesa…
She is my brother’s and (future) sister-in-law’s kitty. They found her when she was just a couple weeks old, all raggedy and dirty and gross, on North East Second Avenue <– her name is an acronym for the street. She is also known as Nessie, and according to my brother, Mittens, because he calls all cats Mittens.
Nessie has been staying with me over the weekend while her Mummy and Daddy travel (yet again) to Key West. This is her third stay with me, and she is still initially terrified of the ceiling fan. She pretty much refuses to come out, even for food and water. She will stay in hermit mode for the first 24 hours when she’s over here. This time I decided to put the food and water under the bed where she was hiding, and finally she ate and drank.
Other than being skittish, Nessie enjoys head and chin scratches; staring at people and things with her gigantic green eyes; playing with her food before eating it; smelling my breath; running around and jumping on and scratching the furniture; waking me up to play all through the night; sleeping by my leg; rubbing against my legs when I’m on the porcelain throne; and as I suspected, peering into the toilet and possibly drinking the water (the one time I forget to put the lid down!). And although she’s too big and feisty now, she once let me put my mouth over her face. It was cute.
I think this post is just as good, if not better, than a post about food. ~_~
*Edit: She still lets me put my mouth over her face! Win!
Flowers, Watermelon and Cheese
03 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in Interestin' Food Info, Recipes, To Your Health Tags: chili pepper, hibiscus, Mexican, watermelon
I totally experimented today. Which reminds me, last week I ate a peach with Dijon mustard and I liked it.
But this experiment is more complex. It begins with the fact that I found freakin’ dried hibiscus flowers at the ghetto Latin grocery store. Win!
Yes, hibiscus. You know that Tazo Passion tea they sell at Starbucks (as well as the tea bags in grocery stores)? The main ingredient that makes it so wonderfully fruity and tart and lip-smackery is hibiscus flower. In Mexico it’s called flor de Jamaica, while in Jamaica, they call it sorrel. Hibiscus tea is consumed all over the world, actually; India, Cambodia, West Africa, Egypt, Sudan, Brazil, etc. Mostly places where climate is warm enough for the flowers to grow, I assume. I’m a HUGE fan of the stuff. Hibiscus tea is naturally caffeine-free, although very refreshing when iced, and when served hot, I find it energizing. It’s a natural diuretic, and is definitely a good addition to your diet when you need a detox. Lots of vitamin C too. And for people like me who have a hard time making themselves drink enough water, iced hibiscus tea is a nice alternative.
Because of its fruity tang, I often ponder over what I can create with hibiscus. Today, I decided to do a sweet and spicy reduction. I combined a quarter cup each of the flowers and sugar in a saucepan. Dashed in some cayenne pepper, ground cloves, coriander, cinnamon, basil, thyme, and black pepper.
Added a cup of water and set it to boil. I let that bubble until most of the liquid was evaporated and it had a syrupy consistency. I was tempted to use some wine in addition to the water, but decided to see what this would taste like as is. It came out nice. Sweet, spicy, not too much heat, and a floral hint. I do think it needs more tang, so maybe I’ll replace some of the water with lime juice next time. It smells kinda like barbecue sauce. ^_^
So that’s the first part of the experiment. The second part is inspired by all the watermelon and feta salads I’ve been seeing on other food blogs. I even tried to order it last night at a wine bar but they were taking it off the menu because not enough people ask for it. Sca-rumph. I wanna try cheese and watermeloooon.
So I did it myself. Jerks.
This is actually a watermelon and goat cheese salad, accompanied by tomatoes and drizzled with the hibiscus reduction. All the watermelon and feta salads I’ve seen are often dressed with lime, mint, basil, or cilantro. I had to be a little different. The goat cheese part is just because it was the only cheese in the fridge. And who doesn’t like goat cheese? C’mon.
The verdict? I was kinda whatever about the watermelon being in the mix, but otherwise totally loving the hibiscus with the goat cheese. Really liked it with the tomato. I think instead of watermelon, pineapple and/or strawberries would be awesome. Or various tomatoes. Or sweet potato! Aaaahhh… I’m so Mexican.
A Report Card That Matters
12 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in Environment, To Your Health Tags: animals, food industry
I just found the most awesome site.
…mmm, well, I guess it’s not the most awesome site. But it’s extremely beneficial for people who want to be sure of the so-called “conscious” food products they’re buying.
The Cornucopia Institute is an organization that thoroughly researches farms and producers who claim they are organic, cage-free, grass-fed, etc., and observes their practices to see if they truly are. Check out the “scorecard” section and you’ll find nationwide reports on dairy, eggs, and meat-alternatives. Each individual scorecard is easy to read, and you get to see what the criteria was (a lot of which I talked about in my Hypothetical Arguments), as well as to what extent it was met. You will be surprised at which brands fell far below expectations…
A Most Offensive Salad
02 Jul 2011 5 Comments
in Recipes, To Your Health Tags: garlic, olives, onion
I wanted to call this THE most offensive salad. But due to the lack of fermented fish sauce, Limburger cheese, Marmite, or some other wildly odoriferous component, I had to remain humble.
It’s a raw onion salad. With roasted garlic, and Kalamata olives. Yow.
Roast a head of garlic first. Remember how?
(Peel away the outer skin. Cut the top off. Rub with olive oil, salt, pepper. Wrap in foil or parchment paper. 400°F for about an hour, or til soft and kinda sweet.)
Then you gotta face this guy…
And you definitely want a red onion. They’re sweeter.
Chop off that little toupee and peel away the papery skin. Then cut in half. You will need only one half.
Slice it super thin, preferably on a mandolin. Actually, that’s the only way you’ll get it super thin.
It needs to be super thin, otherwise it won’t absorb its dressing properly, and will be too intense.
And you’re going to cry. There’s no escaping it. Unless you wear a scuba mask. See, the onion releases a sulfuric gas, and when it hits your eyes, you’re screwed. You’re going to cry.
But then things get fun.
Sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, paprika, and dill. That should do.
Then sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and champagne vinegar (or some kind of light, sweet vinegar). If you’d like, some olive oil will be nice (but personally, I’m not really using oil at home lately). Chop up a handful of Kalamatas, or another type of black olive, throw those in. Scrape your garlic cloves into the mix.
And this is how you DON’T get laid.
This is one of those that will get better with some time, as the seasonings and vinegar marinate the onion. By itself, this is not for the faint of heart. But you can soften the blow by eating it with a bit of tahini, hummus, mayo, sour cream, goat cheese, etc. You can also use it as more of a relish, like on a sandwich or over a green salad. And naturally, you can make the salad itself less offensive by mixing in cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, cooked potato, etc.
Seriously, don’t eat a bunch of this the same day you plan to get your swag on. Do eat this if you like the components. Do eat it for the garlic and onion’s anti-inflammatory properties. If you feel a cold coming on, this is a good way to alleviate it. And olives. They’re awesome. They have good fat, vitamin E, and the Kalamatas help to cut the intensity of the onion. And they’re awesome. I love olives.
Do eat this right before personally speaking to someone you want to avoid the rest of your life. ;)
My Hypothetical Argument. Part III
29 Jun 2011 4 Comments
in To Your Health Tags: animals, thoughts
Health issues, check. Environment, check.
And now, perhaps my favorite argument for reducing one’s consumption of meat, and my primary personal reason for remaining vegetarian.
To put it bluntly, do you support slavery?
No one will answer “yes” to this question except the sexual sadist (and we all know that’s a different kind of slavery). But the truth is that, though we obviously don’t condone or like slavery, we are supporting it financially, through the food we eat.
In factory farming, there is no actual farm, just a factory. And whether the factory produces eggs, poultry, dairy, beef, or pork, the quality of life for these animals is just non-existent. To start, the animals are rarely given any space. Hens are pent up in cages that don’t allow them to stretch their wings or legs. Sows (female pigs) are kept in crates too tight to even turn around in or lie down comfortably. The animals are unable to behave as they naturally would. On a real farm, chickens would roam about in the grass, pecking away for insects, taking dust baths, and building nests when they’re ready to lay eggs. In the factory, where all they have are the small wire cages, they exhibit behaviors of frustration, like pushing and pecking at each other. Similarly, pigs will turn to tail-biting. To “alleviate” the problem of these anxious behaviors, pigs and cows will have their tails cut off (sans anesthesia), turkeys lose ends of their toes, and chickens will lose a portion of their beak. (And for anyone who thinks a beak is all bone and it must not hurt too much, that’s not the case; just like your mouth has nerves, so does a bird’s).
The “living” spaces these animals receive not only induce anxiety, they cause, directly or indirectly, a ridiculous number of maladies and deaths. Chickens lose feathers and damage their skin from rubbing against the cages, or get their heads caught and die. Because pigs have no room to move around and exercise, they become obese, causing damage to their legs. Hoof disorders are all too common in cows because they spend so much time on concrete floor instead of outside in the grass where they’re supposed to be. During the latter part of their lives, beef cattle are crowded into feedlots; there, the manure builds up and the air is filled with bacteria, leaving them vulnerable to respiratory infections (not just the case with cows, but other animals as well). Pigs that are being fattened for slaughter are packed into warehouses that are swimming with excrement, vomit, and often other dead pigs. With so much disease in the air, their immune systems are severely compromised. And the antibiotics they’re given only make them weaker against illness. (And we’re supposed to eat them?)
Females, be they chickens, cows, or pigs, are viewed as production machines. They are pumped with hormones, impregnated, and shortly after giving birth, their young are taken away, and the cycle begins again. Their bodies become weak and depleted from having to constantly support pregnancy. Hens often suffer from osteoporosis because they lose so much calcium to the constant egg production. Fatty liver syndrome also occurs because the liver works in excess to produce the fat and protein in egg yolks. Many hens finally become too weak to lay eggs and die. Dairy cows frequently suffer from mastitis, in which their udders are infected and enlarged, due to the overuse of hormones. They are forced to produce ten times more milk than their bodies are meant to, yet only see a fraction of their natural lifespan. When the animals are no longer “productive” they get sent to slaughter.
And for the males, they get to enjoy a short lifetime of steroids and unnaturally rich diets. Chickens and turkeys are genetically altered to grow ridiculously fat twice as fast, but their hearts, lungs, and legs can’t support all that extra mass. They have difficulty walking, and are at risk for heart failure. Beef cattle acquire an array of metabolic disorders because they’re fed so much protein and carbohydrates (like I’ve said before: cows eat GRASS, not corn and soy). And I don’t want to touch upon foie gras, but I may as well: ducks and geese kept in tiny cages, having metal tubes forced into their throat and pumped with at least one-fourth their weight of corn and oil. Sounds good for the liver, right? Oh yeah, they also lose part of their bills because it would be terrible if they start pecking and injuring each other due to the anxiety caused by their conditions.
Being slaughtered while still conscious is also part of the deal. Yes, they’re supposed to be “stunned” before being drained of their blood, or skinned or scalded. But time is money, and such inaccuracies are trivial. Besides, they’re just animals. They’re just sentient beings with social systems and specific needs and habits, and the ability to feel discomfort and pain…
And this is where our money goes when we eat a steak, a pork chop, a cheese omelette. All this and so much more, but I would develop carpal tunnel before I could finish typing out all the details. This is not about eating animals and animal products, per se. I believe in the food chain and that it is natural for humans to eat animals if we choose. But because of our modern western diets, and the insane (and what I would call “unnatural”) demand for animal products, the food chain hardly exists for us anymore. A food chain is supposed to have some kind of equilibrium, some give and take. Now it’s just slavery: making cheap commodities out of living creatures.
I can’t say what an animal thinks or feels, as I’ve yet to have a coherent conversation with my cat (although there was that one time I swear he said “No”). But we know animals can suffer, we know they are complex. If Wilbur and Bessie are going to eventually become our bacon cheeseburger, don’t we owe them a nice, long life, with all the simple pleasures and necessities? It’s not that hard. Give them a field to graze and forage in, clean water, and shelter with plenty of hay for bedding and snacking. They’ll take care of everything else; land will be fertilized, eggs will be laid, milk will be produced, babies will be born and cared for by their mothers. The most difficult part? Cutting back on the Steak ‘n Shake; supporting the farmers who don’t cut off their chickens’ beaks and confine them to tiny cages; learning not to take animal-derived food for granted. As long as we think of a piece of meat as just that– a piece of meat– the industry will take the liberty of putting anything in front of us, at any means, because they know we’ll eat it if we don’t know any better. If it’s all about supply and demand, we should demand food that is clean, natural and doesn’t have a dark past. Dinner should come from the land, not a factory.
To read more about animal welfare and other factory farming issues, go here. Just don’t read before bedtime…
My Hypothetical Argument. Part I
16 Jun 2011 2 Comments
in To Your Health Tags: health issues, nutrition, thoughts
I’m not into arguments. I usually find them counterproductive, unnecessary, dumb, etc. Magically, in the three-plus years my boyfriend and I have been together, the only thing we’ve argued about is directions, and that’s because I apparently can’t tell left from right, and he doesn’t know cardinal directions. What’re ya gonna do? Anyway, those arguments don’t last long.
Now, debates I like. Anytime, anywhere. A debate requires thought and reason, and you have to push aside your own biases the best you can. You’re also required not to be a bitch about whatever the subject is. That’s a good thing.
So le boyfriend was telling me a story about one of his co-workers, who we shall call… Steakerella. Yeah, that’ll do. Okay, so Steakerella apparently eats a lot of red meat. Like a steak for dinner every night. Her doctor told her that she needs to cut back to about once a week so that she can lose some weight, and of course, improve her health. Sound advice, I’d say.
Steakerella, however, is not happy. Understandable. You’re used to having something all the time, it probably helps your day feel complete, and duh, it tastes delish. She seems to feel though, that her right to happiness is being taken away when her doctor tells her, that for the sake of her health, she should cut back. He’s not putting her on a strict diet. He’s just saying, ration your red meat. Still, she says, No one can take away my red meat. When another co-worker tried to give her advice on how to make a hearty salad, she called him a hippie.
It’s probably better that I don’t know this girl. When someone has an attitude like that towards common-sense dietary advice, it makes me feel defensive. When I see my dad, a colon and lung cancer survivor, often make less-than-stellar food choices, I keep my mouth shut for two reasons: a) he’s not a child, and after all the books he’s read and my brother nagging him, he still doesn’t seem to want to really try, and b) I don’t want to get heated up about it and start preaching– I don’t agree with that. So if I was in my boyfriend’s shoes, talking to Steakerella, I know I’d get unnecessarily pissed. But I still feel it’s important to somehow, somewhere, lay out the reasons why we need to reconfigure our food system. So I’ll do that here, in a hypothetical argument against Steakerella’s dilemma.
Point one. If you could only see the inside of your body. If you could talk to your arteries, your colon, your lungs, your pancreas, your stomach, and various other organs, they’d probably tell you that they often feel tired, or sick, or both. It’s not just about losing weight. There are plenty of hefty vegetarians out there, whether that’s their natural build, or they are also eating junk. Red meat may be a good source of iron, B12, and some other minerals, but it also contains carcinogens. It can also trigger our own bodies to actually produce carcinogens. Colon cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer. And yes, there are more cancers that are correlated with high consumption of red meat. Not to mention arthritis, and various heart problems due to the saturated fat and cholesterol hanging out in the arteries. And diabetes.
I shouldn’t have to go on about the health risks, I think the news can do that for you. You might also want to look at the older people around you who have the same beefy diet. How many are there? How many have an abundance of medications in their cabinet? How many complain about their joints, their digestion, or being tired? Just as an example, there are reasons that traditional Asian and Mediterranean diets are associated with longer lifespans. One of them is not the elimination of red meat, simply less. And word on the street is that they’re generally happy. But if you’d rather pay for your happiness through arthritis and heart meds, maybe even chemotherapy, or losing a section of your colon, then I’ll just stop here with the health reasons.
