Balance of Food

California bacon is a reality even with the unfortunate grace period

California voters passed Proposition 12 in 2018. The goal was to improve lives for the pigs that provide bacon and other pork products. Fresh pork has to be born to sows with at least 24 square feet of space, allowing a breeding pig to turn around and extend its limbs. The proposition also banned widely used gestation crates to protect sows from other pigs.

The law finally went into place as of July 1, though there is a 6-month grace period so some pork sold in California will still be covered by the old rules. We would be very curious if there was labeling as to how well the "old pork rules" pork would sell in the grocery store.

The measure also included space requirements for egg-laying hens and veal calves. They didn't run into the kind of issues over pigs since the pork industry fought back a lot harder. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 in favor of Proposition 12.

Massachusetts also passed a similar law that should go into effect soon.

Besides getting better quality bacon and other pork products, the idea is to push the industry nationwide to better standards for pigs across the board. California has enough economic pressure to make a difference at the start. California consumes roughly 13% of the nation’s pork but produces a insignificant amount of the total production.

Those who buy bacon and other pork products at farmers markets are likely getting meat from pigs that are treated much better than the conventional standards in the United States. The idea behind Proposition 12 is that people who shop in grocery stores have that same kind of access.

These are the pigs in Spain that give us jamon iberico. These pigs roam free and eat amazing acorns, the bellota, among other natural foods as part of their diet. They roam freely with not a cage in sight.

The United States isn't alone in the cruelty level of keeping animals but is sadly #1 in this category. This is why buying meat products at farmers markets is gaining in popularity.

This is proof that the U.S. can and should do better by the animals where we get food.

BalanceofFood.com local/state food policy coverage

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

During my last trip to San Francisco, I ran into millionaire's bacon. Millionaire's bacon is enhanced with a sweet and spicy flavor.

You shouldn't have to feel like a millionaire to eat quality bacon from well-grown pigs. That level of bacon should be readily available to a farmers market addict or a house spouse frantically shopping with 3 kids in tow at a Ralph's or a Safeway.

video credit: KCRA 3 Sacramento
photo credits: Serious Eats; me

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee makes the case for universal free lunch

The USDA waived any requirements during the pandemic, allowing all school children to get a free school lunch. As Full Frontal with Samantha Bee points out, that policy expires at the end of this school year.

We found during the height of the pandemic that many children rely on their schools to give them food and nutrition they weren't necessarily getting at home.

Lunch debt has been a real thing. The program explains nuances such as subsidies not reflecting the cost of food and financially strapped school districts really need the money.

We see samples of children raising money to help their fellow kids get out of "lunch debt." While those stories are heartwarming, their efforts should be unnecessary.

One way for schools to reduce the money to spend on school lunches is scratch cooking. Unfortunately, a lot of schools can't make that happen due to a lack of facilities.

California and Maine have passed universal free lunch on a state level. The federal waiver expires June 30. Bee makes a strong case for universal free lunch.

How school lunch can teach children about vegetarian options

Vote for a better food policy on Election Day

Daily Show addresses increased junk food in school lunches

BalanceofFood.com school lunch coverage

BalanceofFood.com television coverage

One more school lunch related note mentioned in the segment: give these kids a proper amount of time to eat lunch. The segment mention that some school lunches are served at 9 am.

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee airs on TBS on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern.

photo and video credit: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee/TBS

Vote for a better food policy on Election Day

Today is Election Day in the United States. A chance to get a conversation going on food policy. A chance to have a reasonable, likely useless Secretary of Agriculture. A chance to get food processing back into the United States instead of sending previously live animals to China for processing.

We discussed a lot of that last Tuesday between the presidential candidates. The pundits often say the vice presidential candidates are really important but isn't always so. Fair to say in 2020, for once, they might be right.

Age and/or COVID-19 risk make Mike Pence and Kamala Harris a lot more relevant.

The picture (above) and video (below) is from a September 22 campaign stop in Flint, MI where Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) were touring a farmers market. If there is any major politician on a major party ticket who gets the need for good food, Kamala Harris is that politician. 

Harris is from Oakland in the East Bay where they have access to some amazing food at markets in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley. The area around the Bay Area has amazing soil and growing seasons. I know this from many visits and meals.

The farmers market visit in Flint is also more significant because of the fight to get access to poor communities and communities of color. Harris understands this plight.

Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump: Who will be better on food policy

We would love this to be a reasonably balanced battle. Republicans arguing for increased nutrition but asking how that gets paid for out of the budget. Dems responding with creative solutions to do both. We are not there.

We would like to get equal time with Mike Pence. Pence was a Congressman and Governor of Indiana, a state definitely into farms. The side of the political equation that is into babies being born aren't as concerned about their nutrition factors once they are in school.

BalanceofFood.com school lunch coverage

We've seen the divisive and petty squabbles over making kids eat for cheaper and with lesser nutrition standards in school lunch. They are the people who will lead our country in the future. They will be better people with school breakfasts and lunches.

Republicans are into large farms, corporate farms where cows are closer together than people piled into a Volkswagen in the late 1960s. Small farms are being bought out by larger farms since farmer debt has climbed in the last 4 years.

5 questions you should ask presidential candidates about U.S. food policy

There is only a single VP debate as opposed to 3 (scheduled) presidential debates. We do have a good sense of how Pence and Harris approach food policy if they get a promotion. 

As we've noted, your job isn't done once you voted. Good that you voted but you have to continue the fight for a better food policy. Our future will be better shaped with an improved food policy.

photo and video credit: MLive

2020 farmers market update: What to do without winter markets

The 2020 farmers market season is just about done. The weather is getting colder. Normally, markets move indoors where weather is a concern.

Anecdotally, some of the local markets are staying longer outdoors as a transition. The concern is that some vendors won't have product and other vendors made plans that don't include a few more weeks outdoors.

The 3 extra weeks look good but the weather will determine their viability.

Our major indoor winter market ran great numbers in November and December. The transition from 6-7 indoor markets to 3 uncertain outdoor markets spells financial concerns. A lack of viable indoor spaces means lost income for months during the winter.

Farmers markets could continue indoors with a lot more space. We've seen basketball and hockey arenas offered up for voting access, a wonderful idea. These arenas would make for a great farmers market space in the winter. Well, maybe too much space. A monthly farmers market could help some vendors get through a rough winter.

I've been to farmers market inside small music clubs. Could be a way to make some money for the venues and vendors.

Creativity shouldn't be a victim in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Open up atypical spaces to create a new version of an indoor winter farmers market during a pandemic.

Use food education to help kids learn outdoors during a pandemic

Add summer local fruit to your lemonade

Tomato trust at a farmers market is a cherished responsibility

"Don't touch nothing. Don't touch anything." My impression of Sgt. Schultz (from Hogan's Heroes) if he was in charge of security at a farmers market. The 2020 general consensus is don't touch a thing at a farmers market.

A local farmers market changed its rules about halfway through the season where they required patrons to be sprayed down with what we hope was hand sanitizer. Almost every farmers market had hand sanitizer as an option; hand sanitizer being in an authorized container.

Hand sanitizer is important if you are potentially touching something in making a purchase. The local feminist bookstore wants people to use hand sanitizer in an official container. This is because you could easily touch one of the books.

When confronted with this new policy, the volunteer said hand sanitizer had always been required. That wasn't true. I asked if the policy was posted. She said yes, but didn't know where. (We learned later that the policy was outside the gates).

I walked away in frustration. I came back to that market a couple of weeks later. I was told that someone had to spray my hands to enter the market. I asked if that was required. That volunteer told me that it was a city ordinance (another lie). I reluctantly agreed to be sprayed. I asked another volunteer inside about the policy. She told me the hand sanitizer had been a requirement all summer (the original lie).

Safety can be taken to an extreme as we have learned in so many cases. Offering hand sanitizer, official hand sanitizer, is a smart action in a pandemic. Requiring "hand sanitizer" is rather extreme, especially when you aren't allowed to touch anything.

Volunteers shouldn't lie to the customers. All of this is bad enough without the lies, but the lying makes the situation much worse.

Inside a farmers market in the new normal in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Farmers markets in the new normal in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Will COVID-19 play a role with farmers markets?

Here are some creative ideas if the winter markets are not an option where you live.

— Bring extra reusable bags to the last few farmers markets and stock up for the winter. Buy extra pickles. More bread that you can freeze.

— Take some of those late summer and early fall veggies and do some pickling and canning to make them last through the winter.

— Find local stores that carry farmers products. You might already have this as one of your food options. I am thankful I have one less than a mile from where I live.

— Find out if your local farmer will make trips near where you live. This is really helpful for meat and egg suppliers. They sometimes will set up shop at or near the market location. This might be available 1-2 times a month but better than no market at all. Ask them if they will provide that service.

— If you are already getting deliveries from local farmers, such as CSAs (community supported agriculture), keep getting them.

I buy blueberries in July to have over the winter. I had doubts about whether we would make it to winter. I would have felt foolish to not them.

Preserving your pandemic harvest? Start slow with something you love, say experts (The Current from CBC Radio One)

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

Did we miss a good suggestion or two on how to survive the winter without a farmers market? Let us know in the comments section. Thank you.

photo credit: me

Farmers markets in the new normal in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Depending on where you are in North America, some areas have had farmers markets going all along in a limited form. For most of North America, May brings the farmers market season. Outdoor farmers markets will bloom though not in the same way or the same speed thanks to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Patience and patience will help the process along. Keeping distance and having to wait to get into the farmers market are some of the changes in 2020.

We've seen some markets go to a delivery option where you order online and pick up your food at a designated spot. That takes away the charm of a conversation with your farmer and choosing your own produce. Safety triumphs over the usual nuances of a farmers market.

Your local farmers market will have its own rules and guidelines. Be careful to follow them. The farmers and vendors are also trying to be careful.

Some DC markets ran into issues over social distancing. Seattle farmers markets were closed for a large chunk of time. The start of Chicago farmers markets has been delayed without a plan in place for opening the markets.

Farmers markets have been considered essential similar to grocery stores. Figuring out how to make that work has been a concern. Places that have year-round markets have been the canaries in the coal mine. Others can learn the good and bad from those markets.

Those places that are starting their farmers markets in May don't have much of an excuse for not starting. Hard to plan during a pandemic but you've had 7 weeks to come up with a plan. Limit people inside the market, letting people in as others are leaving.

We aren't asking for farmers markets to be what they were in 2019. Create a new normal for 2020. You will find in a Venn diagram that the people who go to farmers markets are those most likely to conform to protecting themselves with masks and face coverings.

The delay or uncertainty for the farmers markets produces one difficult problem for farmers. If the markets are uncertain, they might not show up in 2020.

Farmers have a certain rhythm to doing multiple markets during the week to justify making those trips. If they can only travel to half or a third of those markets, they may not make trips at all. The farmers and consumers both lose in that exchange.

Make the move to bring containers to farmers markets

We had a marvelous suggestion last summer to bring containers to collect fruits to save their containers in a pro-environment way. A lot of pro-environment moves have been put on hold during the pandemic.

If you still believe in this, let them pour the fruit into the container that you bring. They don't want to touch your container. You don't want to touch their container.

Sadly, you might have to give this up for awhile. Know your farmer is still crucial. Ask questions. Good communication is always important.

Will COVID-19 play a role with farmers markets?

The sad reality is that liability is a factor. If you can set up delivery options that are practical for those with cars or higher incomes, you reduce your liability. We already know the social aspect of farmers markets will be minimized in 2020. No sampling. You can still ask your farmer if there is an actual market but those conversations will be with masks.

Farmers markets won't be casual outings for people who aren't familiar to learn more. Farmers markets in a pandemic means you have to know exactly what you want in advance of your shopping.

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

Grocery shopping has become more stressful but the basics of grocery shopping haven't changed, unless you count the one-way stickers in store aisles.

Farmers market shopping will look very different for those communities that have farmers markets. You may have to spend a lot more time online to try and get what you want.

Farmers markets are essential. We need structure in place to show that they are essential to nutrition for people at a most important time.

We found a local farmers market open tomorrow. We will have more on this encounter next week to get an inside perspective.

photos credit: EdiblePhoenix.com; me

How processing plants will affect meat in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

The number of the COVID-19 cases in meat processing plants in the United States is staggering. The Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota has had 783 workers testing positive and 2 fatalities.

The U.S. count is 2,200 confirmed cases among workers at 48 plants.

Even Canada has been hit with cases in the Cargill plant in High River, Alberta that closed. There has been a single death attributed to COVID-19 from that plant.

Instead of ramping up protection from workers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture relaxed safety and oversight, allowing 15 poultry plants to exceed federal limits on the number of birds processed per minute.

What's Eating America devotes cable news time to important food issues

Andrew Zimmern pointed out in his recent MSNBC series What's Eating America about the large presence of immigrants involved in meat processing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a 15-page memo that the workers at the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls were getting information in English even though the workers speak about 40 languages.

There has also been tremendous pressure to keep the plants open. The workers felt pressure to show up, given how easily they could be fired from their low-paying jobs.

Food banks now more important than ever in COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Hitting a plateau in the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Grocery store workers are the heroes during COVID-19 coronavirus

Consumers might experience a downturn in meat availability at some point, perhaps. The temptation to hoard meat like toilet paper should be resisted for a number of reasons.

Factor in that restaurants are using a lot less meat, even if they are open for to-go orders.

There may be a saving grace on the way, depending on which way the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic goes. May usually brings farmers markets to the United States and other Northern Hemisphere countries. Local farmers aren't dealing with those gigantic meat processing plants.

After all, the shortages might come from those plants. If you aren't buying your meat from those plants, the shortages won't be an issue. Buying local gives you a better product with little to no stress. Better raised meat has lots of advantages. In a pandemic, your friends might pay more than usual but you will have better meat.

If your community doesn't ease into farmers markets, you can likely deal with local farmers on meat CSAs (community supported agriculture) or sites where you can pick up meat from local farmers. Know your farmer! This is why we say that is so important.

We emphasize local but you could think about prosciutto from Italy or steaks from New Zealand.

You could switch to seafood for awhile. Seafood production may run into COVID-19 related issues but may not be as bad as the meat processing plants.

You can also eat less meat. This isn't what Americans want to hear. If you are making burgers, use mushrooms as 25% of your burger material. Figure instead of a pound of meat, use 3/4 pound of meat with 1/4 pound of sliced mushrooms. Similar meaty taste with more nutrition. Save that extra 1/4 pound of beef for Taco Tuesday night.

Cheaper cuts of beef that you might have ignored might become your friend. Cost is sadly important for a lot of people. You have less money but more time to figure out how to use those cuts to feed your family.

Embracing your stress eating during the COVID-19 coronavirus

Alternative foods if your grocery store has been raided due to COVID-19 coronavirus

Will COVID-19 play a role with farmers markets?

Meat has been seen as a standard of success at the dinner table for hundreds of years. This pandemic won't change that dynamic.

Eating plant-based burgers falls well within the spirit of Lent

Bacon goes well on everything, even a veggie burger

Unlike pandemics of the past, we are more aware of meatless alternatives. Meat doesn't have to be the star of the table. Think of meat as a character actor that can do so many different things well. An Oscar for Best Supporting Actor is still an Oscar.

Having more time to cook allows you to be more creative with where meat stands in your food lineup. You might even learn some new tricks for when the pandemic subsides.

photos credit: The Rachel Maddow Show/MSNBC; me

Will COVID-19 play a role with farmers markets?

In a new era of social distancing, farmers markets remain a personal way to get fresh produce and converse with the person who created the food.

New York is banning gatherings of more than 500 people. San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose all have bans of more than 1,000 people. Washington Governor Jay Inslee set the mark at 250 in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties (Seattle metro area). All the bans are tied to reducing the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Most of the country does not have to worry about a local farmers market reaching those proportions, even in good weather. The bans could become more significant as the weather warms if COVID-19 doesn't ease in its growth projection.

The Pike Place Market in Seattle covers a lot of ground. You can certainly find more than 250 people in nice weather. Pike Place has a lot of buildings as well as the open market so that might not be an issue under the Washington state ban.

The Ferry Building Farmers Market in San Francisco likely doesn't hit 1,000 but there are usually several hundred people across the front and south side of the building on Saturday mornings.

The Green City Market in Chicago doesn't go outdoors until May. Chicago's brand new mark is 1,000. The market draws a few hundred people at a time, nowhere near 1,000.

As the weather improves, markets might become a concern. Other Chicago markets start in May, especially in downtown Chicago.

Even if crowds are a concern, there could be bouncers, limiting access until other people leave.

Crowd bans reduced in size even further could impact farmers markets.

The farmers coming to the markets also have to deal with the potential of a coronavirus. That might unnerve some farmers from coming to markets.

BalanceofFood.com farmers market coverage

Here at BalanceofFood.com, we don't like scaring readers into something or away from something. That isn't our style. We worry about farmers and farmers markets. The hope is the conditions in North America will improve by May.

We also recognize that May is a long way away in terms of where the COVID-19 coronavirus will be in North America. We worry because farmers markets are a good habit that may be difficult to reclaim if lost due to a pandemic.

Short-term sacrifices are a concern. Long-term damage to farmers markets would be a greater concern.

photo credit: me

What's Eating America devotes cable news time to important food issues

What's Eating America with Andrew Zimmern is shining a light on food-related society issues. The 5-part series is running on MSNBC Sunday nights at 9 pm Eastern.

The opening episode devoted 2 hours to the ties between immigration and the food supply. Subsequent episodes covered climate change, addiction with voting rights and fresh food fail coming up.

The immigration and climate change episodes relate all too well to food supply concerns in the United States. Great to have a 5-part series, but wish all the episode were devoted to concerns in the food supply chain.

The addiction episode was more about Zimmern's addiction issues and the impact of alcohol and drugs in the bar and restaurant industry. The voting rights and voting suppression issue is crucial, but looks to be not really food-related.

The food system is also about who is involved in your food

In the immigration episode, you might have recognized Cristina Martinez, who runs a popular barbacoa restaurant in Philadelphia. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee profiled the impact of immigration on food in 2018.

Samantha Bee, a documented immigrant herself (she's from Canada), guided the audience through a path of undocumented immigrants in kitchens. Bee talked with Martinez at her popular barbacoa restaurant in Philadelphia as well as undocumented restaurant employees who didn't want their identity revealed.

Behind the jokes, Stephen Colbert shines light on plight of farm workers

Colbert Report to shine spotlight on farm workers and their sacrifices

Zimmern points out that these are skilled workers given the work that they are doing and that most Americans won't do. He notes that immigration reform would extend the use of food trucks to bring different cultures at lunchtime.

Watching Zimmern pick strawberries shows the need for immigrant workers. Watching that footage reminded us of Stephen Colbert on the Colbert Report taking us through the arduous process of picking fruits and vegetables.

Zimmern's style is easygoing, curious, and relatable to people of all classes. The show bounces to all parts of the country whether that is the lack of perch in Lake Michigan to the dead oysters in Apalachicola Bay, Florida. Chef and humanitarian José Andrés helps out in the immigration episode.

168 hours in a week should be long enough for cable news to cover food-related topics. Sadly, that isn't true. Zimmern is a chef who does a lot of television and knows the impact of food in our society. 6 hours is not a long time to cover food issues. The show hopefully will inspire more food journalism on cable TV news.

What's Eating America with Andrew Zimmern runs Sunday nights at 9 pm Eastern on MSNBC. You can catch up (with authentication) on previous episodes.

photos credit: What's Eating America with Andrew Zimmern/MSNBC

Meat and dairy want authentic labeling but not across the board

"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.

Stephen Colbert opens up can of sand as Taco Bell lawsuit gets more publicity

Kraft Singles nutrition 'endorsement' puts dietitians in bad light

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.

What's Tempting: Eating real cheese

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.

photo credit: Sargento

How to take the shame out of needing food pantries

The disconnect between people who need food assistance and those who don't seek food assistance is often tied back to shame. They don't want to be seen as needing a food handout.

Given the millions of people who fall short of where they need to be from a food standpoint, shame should be the last consideration. The reality is that solutions need to factor in the shame quotient.

The little free pantry is based on the concept of the little free library. In the library, you can take a book, return a book, donate a book. No witnesses are needed; this works on the honor system.

The little free pantry in the photos is on the grounds of a neighborhood church. The pantry works similar to the library. If you need the food, you can take the food. If you want to donate food, you can donate food. Once again, no witnesses and we are on the honor system. Taking the food isn't a handout and no one has to know.

If you are unsure about using the free pantry, if you are there when someone you know approaches, you can always say you were dropping off food, even if you wanted to get the food for yourself.

Maybe you bought too much of something at the store or you bought the wrong item for your meal. Just donate the food to the free pantry.

You can donate food to regular food banks and food pantries, but perhaps you are too shy to do so in person. Free pantries allow people to donate food without drawing attention to themselves.

The one real drawback is that food has to be shelf-stable to survive any time in the pantry. That is a reasonable condition.

If you haven't been to a food pantry or food bank, you might have the impression of the clients. These days, clients come in every color of the rainbow, every gender, creed, origin, height, sexual orientation, and weight.

In fact, the more people who feel comfortable to come forward, the stronger we can be to reduce the stigma of food assistance and fight harder to improve conditions so fewer of us go hungry.

Until that happens, the little free pantry can be a tool to get help for those who feel shame to need food assistance.

photos credit: me