Most people eat some combination of food that is good for them and food that tastes good. Finding the balance between the two is a lifelong journey. This is the story of that struggle.
"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" — Juliet from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.
In the world of fake news, we have fake cheese, fake burgers, fake milk. Several states has passed laws prohibiting the marketing of products as "milk," "rice," and "sausage" if they aren't actually milk, rice, and sausage.
Veggie burgers and soy milk have piggybacked on the backs of burgers and milk to show what the product is supposed to represent. Manufacturers weren't concerned when they had a small percentage of food sales. The increased interest becomes the theoretical threat.
Consumers don't get home with groceries thinking that grabbed meat or milk when they haven't. They know what they are buying.
Soy beverage or veggie patties aren't that different from soy milk and veggie burgers.
Having empathy or sympathy for meat and dairy manufacturers would be easier if they were equally as concerned about the defense of meat and cheese across the board.
The United States is the land of pasteurized process cheese food, made from not less than 51 percent by "optional cheese ingredients." The USDA says any "meat taco filling" should at least have 40% fresh meat.
The obvious argument is that these products do contain meat and cheese, not a lot of them.
They are upset over soy milk but think non-dairy creamer is okay. Canada has the sensibility to call that product coffee whitener.
Fight these battles and then we can talk about soy milk and veggie burgers.
The argument is that soy milk and veggie burgers are deceptions. Consumers know they aren't the real thing. Using the words "cheese," "dairy," "meat," and "creamer" are far more deceptive.
Editor's note: The following is a slightly condensed version of a feature from our sister blog, CanadianCrossing.com. The full feature can be found here. The column is reprinted here with full and complete permission.
Eggs for breakfast make sense. Eggs for lunch? The brother thinks eating eggs for lunch is weird. The sister thinks eggs for lunch is fine. Then again, the sister thinks her brother's girlfriend looks like their mother. That might be a little weird. Eggs anytime is fine.
Another Tim Hortons trading cards zamboni ad with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon is not that exciting. What is exciting is the new addition to the ads. Recently retired NHL Hockey Night in Canada legend Bob Cole is the voice of the Tim Hortons ad. You have to love that Cole is 1) still working; and 2) is still a part of the NHL even via an ad for a donut shoppe. Take that, Rogers.
"If food matters to you, you're a food lover."
Food lovers might not be into canned cranberry sauce. The Loblaw's ad lets us know you can be a food lover who is into canned cranberry sauce. Aimed for Canadian Thanksgiving, the ad can work for the American readers for the U.S. Thanksgiving.
Jon Hamm thinks he is a real Canadian in this latest incarnation for Skip the Dishes. Hamm thinks he is now a Canadian citizen and wants to celebrate by having food delivered.
Turns out Hamm's citizenship was denied even though he bought a Moose Jaw, Yellowknife, and a Sault Ste. Marie (whatever that is). These ads have been hilarious. Hopefully, more Americans will find out Hamm is funny.
How the [bleep] did Pepsi get the rights to the old Hockey Night in Canada theme? TSN/Bell Media got the rights to the song when the CBC let the rights go free. Having the song play in a soft drink ad reduces the impact of the song when played for real. We see what Pepsi gets from it but Bell Media's motive can't just be money. If the song had to play in an ad, that song should run in a Canadian company commercial.
The relatively low standards of North American fast food is the platform where Harvey's can brag about being the first national fast food chain to offer 100% Canadian beef in an angus burger with no antibiotics, steroids, or added hormones.
I haven't had a Harvey's burger for a very long time, mostly because I haven't found a location lately. I would likely want to find a place, such as one I found in Toronto, where I could get all of that AND have the burger cooked medium-rare (because they grind their own beef). In a pinch, I might try this burger.
At Wendy's Canada, you can get jalapenos, onion tanglers, and avocado on any dish. This concept is aimed at burgers but French fries with onion tanglers sounds really good. Onion tanglers look like what Americans would call onion strings. Cliff's Notes and Cole's Notes are the same idea but the former is American while the latter is Canadian. You can go over those notes while at Wendy's with a jalapeno burger.
videos credit: all the respective companies photo credit: Choose.ca
If we consider "ethnic food" to be insulting as a concept, then the ethnic food aisle in the grocery store should hang out with the dinosaurs.
Or does the ethnic food aisle serve some useful purpose, no matter how awkward the concept is in late 2019.
As a white person of a certain age, I wouldn't profess to know the damage the concept of "ethnic food" entails in some communities. I grew up some time ago in a small town where the "exotic" food was Mexican, Italian, and Chinese.
When mainstream grocery stores first put in an "ethnic food aisle," they were seen as progress to carry foods from different countries not traditionally stocked at the store.
If a grocery store had 12 aisles, 11 of them were for "regular food", "American food". There would be part of an aisle devoted to Italian since Italian food didn't fall into ethnic or regular. Italian food essentially was defined as spaghetti, red sauce, and green cans of grated "parmesan" cheese.
I live in a large city where there are a lot of "ethnic" supermarkets. There are no "ethnic" aisles in these supermarkets. Supermercado became a word in my vocabulary for primarily Mexican supermarkets. I have frequented East Asian, African, South American, Eastern European, and Middle East markets without leaving the city limits.
I also frequent "mainstream" markets with ethnic aisles. They are my favorite part of the store. The cool foods are in the "ethnic" aisle.
I do get the perception of the color of skin associated with "ethnic" foods. Though Scandinavian foods fall into ethnic and the people are pretty white. British foods end up in the ethnic section. Mexican food is making its way outside the ethnic food aisle.
"Ethnic food" can also be foods that Americans don't generally understand. Let's be honest: Americans aren't the most enlightened people when other cultures are involved.
This is my argument for an "ethnic food aisle" in a way. The aisle is a way to say "these foods exist. Travel a bit by going down the aisle."
If grocery store data showed that people were avoiding this aisle because of the "strange" foods, that would be a compelling case for not having an ethnic food aisle.
The logical alternative would be to scatter those same foods in different areas of the grocery store so consumers would go down every aisle. Some foods could easily fall into categories in other aisles. Other foods might struggle to find a logical spot.
The "ethnic food aisle" has changed as American tastes change. Some foods have moved away to other aisles.
"If you go to the ethnic food aisle, that is sort of the last bastion of racism that you can see in full daylight in retail America," said chef David Chang on his Ringer podcast in July.
The stigma of feeling different because of different foods is a real pain experienced by second-generation immigrants and others.
The Canadian sketch troupe Tallboyz had a sketch on its CBC television show this fall about a restaurant set in a secondary school cafeteria complete with lunch shaming.
The food would be outstanding but served with a bullying or shameful factor that would take you back to awkward childhood moments.
Tim Carman's story in The Washington Post points to a different reality. Sales of international food items did better when there was an ethnic aisle in the grocery store. Customers knew where to find the foods because they knew where to go.
The United States (and Canada) are countries where the grocery store experience is more multicultural. Sometimes that comes with pitfalls such as the "ethnic food aisle." Many countries have more of a homogeneous shopping experience.
A compromise might be to keep the convenience of an "ethnic food" aisle but reduce the stigma of the foods in the aisle.
Educating consumers about the foods might be a nice way to bridge cultures. A museum type experience where people can press a button to hear a story about the foods in front of them. A tap of a smartphone to a QR code can lead someone to a Web page that explains the food. Consumers can take pictures (subject to grocery store policy), go home and do a Web search and find out more about that food.
Explore an atypical supermarket on a rainy weekend afternoon. Look at labels; there may be a foreign language as well as English on the label. Buy something and create a weeknight meal tied to that food or culture.
Shedding the walls of "ethnic food" is easier when we experience something different than what we used to having. If you love ravioli, try pierogies or pot stickers. If you like a club sandwich, try a shawarma. If you love fried chicken, try Korean fried chicken.
Traveling the world in food doesn't require a passport or shots. All food and no food is ethnic food.
The Canadian election cycle is a lot shorter compared to the United States. The election period started on September 11, a mere 40 days away from the election on October 21. Regular readers know we love when politicians actually talk food policy. The United States doesn't talk much but says a lot with laissez-faire food regulation and policy.
The Canadian election cycle won't produce a whole lot of conversation, but let's find out what they should be discussing.
Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer attacked the new Canada Food Guide in July. Scheer claimed the newest version “seems to be ideologically driven by people who have a philosophical perspective.” His basic concern was that water replaced milk as a "beverage of choice."
Scheer made the attack while speaking to a group of dairy farmers.
"The Canada Food Guide is based on evidence, based on science, based on research," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in response to the Scheer attack. "It is there to serve Canadian families. It has nothing to do with politics."
That passes for a food policy discussion in North America. The idea is that politics really shouldn't go into a national food guide. That would arguing that more Canadians should eat poutine to use up Quebec cheese curds.
The supply management element of dairy production is a third-rail topic in Canadian politics. Maxime Bernier, the leader and only member of the right-wing People's Party of Canada, wants to get rid of supply management for the dairy industry in Canada.
Eat Think Vote from Food Secure Canada worked during the 2015 Canada election to help change the Canadian food system. The organization is working in individual ridings as well in 2019.
In a recent example, Eat Think Vote hosted a talk with the candidates in the Halifax riding (Nova Scotia) at the Halifax Brewery Market on a Saturday morning.
Liberal candidate Andy Fillmore (incumbent) and Green Party candidate Jo-Ann Roberts were at the event while Conservative candidate Bruce Holland and NDP candidate Christine Saulnier did not attend the event.
Backbenchers (not the prime minister or in cabinet) don't usually have too much power in the Canadian parliamentary system. Getting a backbencher to be aware of an issue, such as food policy, is helpful. Who knows, maybe backbenchers helped get the new Canada Food Guide off the ground.
CBC News introduced a new Face to Face segment where 5 undecided Canadians get 5 minutes to talk to the major party leaders.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May drew a couple of people who brought up food in terms of climate change.
Danny Ottenbreit, 35, is a 4th-generation grain farmer in Saskatchewan. Danny talked a lot about agriculture needs to be involved in climate change, how Canada has huge forests and farmlands. He was clearly nervous and didn't have any specifics.
May helped out by talking about soil quality to keep carbon in the ground. That is better for the nutrition of the crops and better since the carbon isn't being released into the atmosphere.
May spoke of the concern for "carbon miles of our groceries" and how more food grown in Canada should stay in Canada. She cited local gardens, rooftop gardens, and self-sufficiency of agriculture.
As a negative example, May pointed out a package of wild British Columbia smoked salmon. The label said product of Canada but processed and packaged in the People's Republic of China. May spoke of the carbon footprint of processing so far away.
May noted that some of that self-sufficiency involves more milling of flour, presumably from Danny's grains. She says farmers are most at risk for climate change.
May reinforced the small local backyard gardens as well as more geothermal energy to heat more greenhouses in the north in a conversation with Shirley Frost, a 62-year-old mother and grandmother from Whitehorse, Yukon. She noted that the food prices in the north are a scandal, a real problem. We have written on this topic in the past.
Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau had an undecided voter bring up supply management for the dairy industry. Trudeau promised there would be no more concessions on supply management in further trade talks.
Food topics did not come up in the segments with other leaders.
(You can find Danny's segment at 9:45 in the video; Shirley's segment at 16:30 in the video.)
Economic insecurity isn't exclusive to the United States. Canada has had a great economy by the national numbers. On the ground, credit card debt, soaring housing costs, and tariffs from south of the 49th parallel add up to insecurity.
The territories in the Canadian Arctic suffer greatly from food insecurity and availability on a whole different level. Most food is shipped north by airplane leading to severely inflated prices.
Nutrition North Canada is a federal program designed to subsidize the costs to make food more affordable. The criticism is that the money goes to the stores and not the people who need the help.
One intriguing twist came up in an edition of The House from CBC Radio One about a year ago. Some people were using Amazon Prime to get non-perishable food sent to the North. Customers could get free shipping for the $80/year membership fee.
An example given in the podcast was a 340g can of diced tomatoes. The can would cost $8.69-$8.89 in the stores in the north vs. $1.89 by delivery.
Fixes to Nutrition North have been a struggle. There have been a few stories on greenhouses in that part of the world. The traditional seal hunt isn't as productive since the United States bans the import of anything made from seals.
Soda taxes aren't a part of the dynamic in Canada. Groceries, including soft drinks, are more expensive in Canada than in the United States.
The regular beverages have glucose-fructose, which is high-fructose corn syrup.
There were a few federal MPs (members of Parliament) in the Liberal caucus in Ontario who were pushing for a soda tax. The proposal ranked 18th out of 19 items on the list of caucus platform priorities.
A draft proposal suggested a 20% tax. The revenue from the new tax would have gone to create a national school lunch program. Canada is the only G-7 country without a national school lunch program.
The federal Green Party is proposing a soda tax in its platform. The Green Party in Manitoba proposed a 20% tax leading up to the provincial election last month. The Greens have made strides in other parts of Canada but didn't win a seat in the provincial election.
Canada has the official commission debates next week: Monday in English and Thursday in French. The politicians have had a pair of smaller debates in the last few weeks.
The chances of food policy coming up in the debates is as likely as the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup (streak goes back to 1967). The government in charge does set the tone for policies, including ones that relate to food. The Canada Food Guide is better than it might have been under the previous government.
If you live in Canada, ask questions of the MP candidates in your riding. Hopefully, you will get a significant response.
"Sustainable beef" sounds great. Trying not to be cynical but what does that mean?
McDonald's ads in the United States don't talk about the quality of the beef in the fast food hamburgers. We know McDonald's ads in Canada have a completely different mindset than U.S. ads. This McDonald's ad on sustainable beef ran earlier this spring on Canadian television.
"At McDonald’s Canada, (sustainable beef) it’s a commitment. A commitment to ensuring we preserve Canada’s most valuable resources for future generations to come. To look after the land, to care for animals, and to provide the best quality food we possibly can without compromise."
McDonald's Canada says that the company has "partnered to produce beef sustainably" with Canadian farmers for over a decade. The practice applies to the Mighty Angus Burger but not every burger that McDonald’s Canada sells.
Dr. Reynold Bergen, Science Director, Beef Cattle Research Council, is quoted in the ad as saying "the same pound of beef today produces 15% less greenhouse gas than it did 30 years ago, and so our environmental footprint is shrinking."
Is McDonald's Canada beef grass-fed or grass-finished? The ad implies that the cows eat grass and aren't trapped in pens.
In 2018, McDonald's Canada announced that the Angus beef would be certified sustainable according to standards from the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB).
From McDonald's Canada:
For example, a few of the indicators a farmer or rancher must achieve include:
Grasslands and grazing are managed in a way that maintains or improves soil health and protects watershed areas.
A&W Canada says the company is a proud member of both the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef as well as the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
The chain has touted its stance that it uses beef "raised without any added hormones or steroids." The FAQ does say "our cattle enjoy a mix of different grains and grass" so their beef isn't 100% grass-fed.
When asked about the verifying process, their reply was "We audit all facilities that handle our beef and they are also audited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or equivalent regulatory agencies. At A&W, we’ve developed our own animal welfare programs that meet the National Farm and Animal Care Council requirements, adding additional requirements from our own research. This means we also audit our supplies using third-party auditors accredited by the Professional Animal Auditors Certification organization to ensure all our requirements are met."
You might decide that McDonald's Canada or A&W Canada doesn't meet your high standards (e.g., grass-finished). These places might exceed your current level of standards (likely none).
Having a conversation about sustainability in fast food is rather fun, though a few more details wouldn't harm the discussion. We would love to see more fast food places in Canada jump into the conversation. Fast food outlets in the United States? Someone has to take the first step.
Food companies will try to take advantage of buzzwords such as "sustainability." Holding them accountable keeps them on their toes and we all benefit as consumers.
The new Canada Food Guide offers very encouraging steps for better nutrition. The new guide de-emphasizes meat and dairy, focusing on protein options. The guide encourages water as a beverage of choice to the detriment of other drink options.
The approach also doesn't suck up to food interests, either from growers or food companies.
Cooking at home is also encouraged, a wonderful step that we have supported here at BalanceofFood.com.
The guide doesn't use the 4 food groups as a guide and doesn't focus on portion size. Lentils and tofu are mentioned as protein options. Fruit juice is discouraged.
The guidelines are classified in 3 primary sections: healthy eating, foods and beverages that go against healthy eating, and food skills.
While a nicer presentation, the plate looks very similar to the MyPlate concept in the United States.
This was the first revamp in 12 years to the food guide. The Trudeau Government has promised that revisions won't wait another 12 years.
Food guides are important but only if they are followed. As CanadianCrossing.com readers will tell you, I do have a fondness for Canada. The country has a lot of issues with even getting something like this to be used in practicality.
Food costs are higher in Canada than in the United States, even for so-called "cheaper" foods. The climate doesn't encourage as much local healthy food.
An improved food guide won't make all the difference, but having one is a good first step.
The meat and dairy people aren't thrilled with the new guide. You can consume meat and dairy and lentils and tofu. You can even get protein from vegetables and plant-based foods.
The fruit juice people aren't thrilled with the new guide. Doesn't mean you can't get an occasional glass; just be more conscious about your fruit juice consumption. One of my favorite tricks is to mix 50-50 of water and juice. A great way to get flavor with your water and less juice consumption.
Make your calories work for you. Eat your calories rather than drink them. If you are trying for 1800-2000 calories a day, drinking 500 calories means less food.
Food guides are effective in presenting information, but this version of the food guide offers guidelines without worrying about too many specifics. That is great unless you need specifics.
Use the guide but adapt it to your preferences and limitations. Pickled and frozen vegetables can be useful. Freezing summer fruit and eating them in winter is a great idea. Be creative and you'll be pleasantly surprised how effective your eating can be with a sense of nutrition priorities.
If you need a long-shelf life for your regular milk, you might be excited that you are seeing expiration dates longer into the future. We are seeing this especially in organic milk.
However, those longer shelf-lives come as a result of the milk going through the process of ultra high temperature (UHT) or being ultra-pasteurized. Are the advantages of organic milk being compromised by being UHT?
I learned the different pasteurization techniques via Alton Brown on an episode of Good Eats. The conventional process is 145°F for 30 minutes. Brown referenced HTST pasteurization (high temperature/short time), which is 161°F for 15 seconds. UHT is 280°F for 2 seconds and then cooled quickly.
Brown noted that low and slow is the way to go because it produces better flavor and body.
Nutrition is more important than taste, but a better tasting milk means more milk will be consumed, especially by children. Drinking milk is also about health above and beyond calcium and protein.
Scouring the Internet won't take you long to find articles about the evils of UHT pasteurization, such as altering the milk protein structure is altered and that UHT milk has less folate and could have reduced Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, and Thiamin.
According to Lee Dexter, microbiologist and owner of White Egret Farm goat dairy in Austin, Texas, ultra-pasteurization is an extremely harmful process to inflict on the fragile components of milk. Dexter explains that milk proteins are complex, three-dimensional molecules, like tinker toys. They are broken down and digested when special enzymes fit into the parts that stick out. Rapid heat treatments like pasteurization, and especially ultra-pasteurization, actually flatten the molecules so the enzymes cannot do their work. If such proteins pass into the bloodstream (a frequent occurrence in those suffering from "leaky gut," a condition that can be brought on by drinking processed commercial milk), the body perceives them as foreign proteins and mounts an immune response. That means a chronically overstressed immune system and much less energy available for growth and repair.
If you like raw milk or want to have the milk as little pasteurized as possible, UHT milk goes to the other extreme.
The UHT process doesn’t add nutrition to the process. UHT milk isn’t safer than regular pasteurization. The primary advantage to UHT is that grocery stores can increase profits. Less milk to throw out and more people will buy milk with a longer shelf life.
You can drink regular milk past the expiration date. Unless you take a long time to consume a container of milk, you almost never have to worry about spoilage. And if you need a long-term, shelf-stable milk, you can buy non-dairy milk.
Your food can be “too safe.” The U.S. has allowed irradiation of ground beef since 1999. Health Canada approved irradiation of ground beef last year but that information must be declared on the label. Irradiated ground beef might be "safe" but I wouldn't want to eat that beef.
We praise Europe’s food process, but the UHT wave comes from Europe. You might remember the Parmalat milk from the 1990s. Finding UHT milk is much easier in Europe, but then again, raw milk is easier to find in Europe.
If I’m going to drink milk, I want to get as much complete nutrition as I can in that glass. UHT milk makes buying and drinking milk less worrisome to some people, but provides no worthy reason where nutrition is concerned.
I haven't bought much milk in Canada but I can tell you Canadian milk, in bags or in jugs, is expensive. Canadian eggs and poultry are also quite expensive.
Canada supply management has come up in NAFTA negotiations and the tariffs battle between the United States and Canada. Canada limits production, mostly for internal use, and allows farmers to get a good price for their output.
The American subsidies help consumers more than farmers; the Canadian subsidies help farmers more than consumers. The surprise is the Canadian approach isn't supply management or subsidies, but that they make average Canadians pay. No wonder Canadians cross the border for cheaper American milk.
That was our opening line last October when CBC Marketplace went undercover to discover that several vendors at the Peterborough Farmers Market in Ontario were lying about where their produce is grown.
Justice should have been served as the vendors who were deceptive would either be kicked out of the market or required to post signs that stated the truth about their produce.
Turns out the farmers who were deceptive got to stay at the Peterborough Farmers Market and the 5 vendors, who grew all of their food on their farms, who complained got kicked out of the market.
The Peterborough & District Farmers' Market Association (PDFMA) sent out a letter kicking the legitimate farmers out of the market: "speaking publicly about the PDFMA and portraying it in a negative manner" was a factor.
They spoke up to make sure the farmers market had more credibility and that consumers weren't being deceived.
"The opportunity to sells goods or produce at the Peterborough Farmers' Market is a privilege," the association said in a statement. "It is of paramount importance that vendors work as a team and treat each other with respect, courtesy and fairness."
The farmers spoke the truth. They didn't want the deceptive vendors to be kicked out, just to have signs declaring the honesty of the source of their food.
The association branded the farmers who spoke up as "dissident members" and that not kicking them out meant the "campaign of malice continues."
The PDFMA's overreaction has led to what they didn't want, which was more bad publicity.
Peterborough wasn't the only place in Ontario that had deceptive vendors. That was the point of the CBC Marketplace episode last October. Our steps back then included asking farmers about how their food is grown.
As perfect as farmers markets might seem, they are run by human beings. Most decisions most farmers markets make are positive and help make things easier for consumers. Sometimes, a farmers market makes a poor decision. The PDFMA certainly made a number of very bad decisions that may permanently damage the reputation of the market.
"We contribute to the sustainability of agriculture by enhancing access to fresh, local Ontario produce and goods, and by fostering a lively and diverse market that inspires relationships between farmers, entrepreneurs and the community."
That is from the PDFMA Web site. Kicking out actual farmers and keeping deceptive vendors does not foster "relationships between farmers, entrepreneurs and the community" especially when you aren't sure all the produce is "fresh, local Ontario produce and goods."
Due diligence is not an ideal way to shop, but even at a farmers market, you still have to ask questions.
Most food in Canada looks very similar to food in the United States. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the United States is Kraft Dinner in Canada. Canadians will dress up the food a bit differently by putting ketchup on the pasta dish. Similar but different.
Butter tarts is usually the best example of a food you can easily find in Canada but not in the United States.
The New York Times is using its large influence for a bit of education on Canadian food.
As someone who has hosted a panel on Canadian food, I love talking about butter tarts, tourtière, peameal bacon, oatcakes, poutine, maple pie, and the Caesar.
The newspaper delves into indigenous food, Canadian whisky and wine, the Caesar — almost as much about the garnishments as the drink, foods from other countries that is the melting pot of Canada.
They say you learn about the people through their food. And Canada has a story, well, stories to tell about their history through food.
Our sister blog CanadianCrossing.com has a full report and the links to the Canadian content from The New York Times. You can find this story here.
There is no right way to finding the balance of food, just your way. My typical breakfast is whole wheat spaghetti with homemade sauce, sautéed mushrooms, and a naturally low-fat Italian cheese sprinkled on top. Works for me.
