Menu, Week 27

Three Notable Articles

In the recent flurry of food articles from the N.Y. Times, here are three that will interest you, arranged by subject:

Milk:  In this article, food writer Mark Bittman argues that we actually don’t need milk, excepting breast milk for infants.  It was a dark day for the dairy industry, but Bittman cured his lifelong heartburn simply by stopping all milk intake.  But is it good advice for all?  Like most topics in nutrition, it’s complicated.  Ninety percent of Asian-Americans, as well as 75% of people who are black, Jewish, or of Mexican descent are, to some degree, lactose intolerant.  Basically, coming from societies without a dairy tradition, they lack lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose.  So what about the other 250 million Americans?

My view is different than Bittman’s.  I like milk, but fear it has been made less healthy by Food Inc’s constant search for cost reduction.  It’s cheaper to take cows out of green pastures, tie them to stanchions, feed them the cheapest grains tolerable, and milk them three times a day through their short life.  Unfortunately, unhealthy cows don’t produce healthy milk.  As discussed here and here, I consume dairy sparingly and wish healthier forms were available.  The beautiful wife drinks very little milk but enjoys cheese and yogurt—a better solution for the lactose intolerant.

Bread:  The article “Against the Grain” reviews a recent book White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf.   You can see a review by the Whole Grains Council here.  This is a classic story of how well intentioned food reforms turn into businesses and how the product evolves to be the opposite of the original intent. 

Take bread, for example.  Early 20^th century concern about bacteria in bread made by immigrants in local sweatshop bakeries led to large factory bakeries all nicely sanitized, and eventually to Wonder Bread.  Did a worse product ever result from a good intention?  Yes, packaged breakfast cereal started out as a health food.  It’s an old story and it’s time for people to wise up.  We’ve spoken of bread here, and visited the supermarket bread aisle here.  Oh, and we visited the breakfast cereal aisle here.

Organic:  As you know, we care deeply about nutrition but rarely buy products labeled organic.  Let me explain.  You can buy just about any food in an organic version if you’re willing to pay more.  And if you’re willing to pay more, well, that’s a business opportunity.  And as we’ve just seen with milk and bread, businesses maximize profit and maximizing profit always corrupts the product, though skillful advertising can fool most people for a while.    

I know this sounds anti-business, but it comes from someone who believes, and worked, in the free enterprise system. 

The article, “Has ‘Organic’ Been Oversized?” argues that the industry’s standard-setting group, the National Organic Standards Board, is full of Food Inc cronies and is more about their profit than our well being.  Imagine that—another good intention corrupted by the constant craving for corporate growth. 

Here’s my view:  There should only be one standard for food—healthy.  Supporting a separate, more expensive, class of food for the privileged runs against everything America means to me.  And to you, I hope.  One more thing:  Don’t believe any advertisement by Food Inc.  Some may be true, but you never know for sure.  Better to listen to neutral third-party voices.  If I could fit it in, I'd make this a Healthy Change.

This Week’s Menu

We had a house full of guests this week and ate two meals in the homes of other children, so a short menu.  The guests are gone now, the house is strangely quiet, and we’re just snacking from the refrigerator. 

Monday

• Skip’s Stuffed Bell Pepper (from the freezer)
• Grapefruit-Avocado Salad (got this from Grausman’s book, At Home With the French Classics, called, Salade d’ Endives et de Pamplemousse Rose, so how special is that?  Now that I think about it, the BW added the avocado to the recipe.)
• Dessert:  Cantaloupe.  (So tasty, and so easy.)

Tuesday

• Skip’s Macaroni and Cheese
• Broccoli Salad
• Ship’s Homemade Applesauce

Wednesday (The 4^th of July, a day to eat whatever you want)

• Hamburgers and hot dogs, barbecued
• Green salad
• Chips and dips
• Watermelon

Comments

[LizA]

Skip -
Thank you for your wisdom regarding organic products. So many have fallen under the spell of Food Inc and Advertizing that it gets uncomfortable at certain "wholesome" grocers, if you catch my meaning.

Liz A

[Brooke Reynolds]

Hi Dad
I thought of you while reading each of those articles.. especially the milk one. See how wise a 10 year old girl can be?

[Kari]

just wondering what your stance is on genetically modified organisms? I read in a magazine article just last month that GMOs are so abundant in our food supply now and since it is a relatively new technology we really don't know what the long term repercussions may be, altho of course for now the US govt and FDA say they are perfectly fine for us. The only way to avoid them is to eat foods labeled organic, and as of right now food products that use GMOs do not need to state on the label that they are doing so.

It is a question I struggle with and I try to avoid obvious sources of GMOs (like soy products) whenever possible, but am also pregnant and now just thinking I don't want my child growing up on genetically modified foods. just another mystery of Food Inc.

[skip hellewell]

Hi Kari

We share concerns about GMO foods. I accept that such invented foods are safe in the short term, due to FDA testing requirements. But I believe long term safety is unproven. My personal rule is to avoid newly invented foods for three generations, or a century. If there's a serious problem it should show up by the 3rd generation. Of course, this means none in my lifetime and I'm fine with that.

The best way to avoid GMOs is to do your own shopping and cooking. Soy, for example, is a GMO and also widely used in prepared foods. It's hard to avoid soy in some form. But you won't find it on any of the ingredients in your book of recipes (assuming you avoid soybean oil).

Actually, lots of problems get solved when you do your own cooking. Best to you.