Balance of Food

Stanley Tucci shows the diversity of Italy and the common theme of cucina povera

In Rome, pasta is like a way of life. You eat it every day. Enjoy the iconic dishes on the new @CNN Original Series, Stanley Tucci #SearchingforItaly. Sunday at 9p ET/PT pic.twitter.com/3Aw4hfjf9x

— CNN Original Series (@CNNOriginals) February 20, 2021

Italian cuisine is very different depending on where you are in the country. The distance between Rome and Florence is about 174 miles or 280 kilometres; that distance is not as long as the difference between salted bread and unsalted bread.

Stanley Tucci's recent CNN series Searching for Italy strove to illustrate the food contrasts between regions. The show covered Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Bologna, Milan, Tuscany, and Sicily.

Milan stood out as northern Italian cuisine (think polenta instead of pasta). The difference in southern Italy exists but is a bit more subtle. Bologna (Emilia-Romagna) was more about ingredients than dishes. The Tuscany episode was filled with his personal experiences about living there for a year as a child.

Italian cuisine is so different because of the history of Italy, the relatively brief time brought together as a country and the centuries that preceded that time. Regional cuisine existed getting to another part of Italy was a lot more difficult back in the time.

Even in the different parts of Italy, the common theme is cucina povera aka poor kitchen. They didn't always get the best of the animals to use. Tripe is a sandwich filling in Tuscany. The guanciale craved in Rome for amatriciana sauce is bacon made from the pig jowl. The cappelletti pasta in Emilia-Romagna made from flour and water since the priests often kept the eggs for themselves. The saga of unsalted bread in Florence has many paths; salt was rather valuable in long ago times.

Ethnic food aisles should be seen as an opportunity without stigma

What's Tempting: Making Italian pasta your own

Celebrating Amatrice through bucatini all' Amatriciana

Italy has very high standards for food labels. The common practice is to list the foods from highest to lowest content. Italy goes a step further to give percentages for how much of something is in a can or a jar.

Italians have learned to do a lot with a little. Tucci visited SantoPalato in Rome. The offal restaurant from chef Sarah Cicolini featured "a frittata with mashed chicken offal; Roman tripe cooked in tomatoes; wagyu heart tartare; and oxtail meatball with peanut, wild celery and cocoa powder sauce." Mmmmm?

Restaurants featured on the show (CNN)

Classic Italian dishes (CNN)

The mercatos (markets) are crucial for the Italian home cook to put together the simple ingredients into fabulous dishes. Tucci visited Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio and Mercato Centrale in Florence.

Emilia-Romagna does have balsamic vinegar, prosciutto di Parma, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, so not all of the food is cucina povera. Tucci did a segment on a scandal of fake proscuitto and talked about the "fake cans" of San Marzano tomatoes. Italy cares about authenticity because there are so many people wanting to do shortcuts. Tucci didn't mention the issue with some "olive oils" not being as authentic.

What's Tempting: Eating real cheese

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If you haven't thought about the difference between northern and southern Italian cuisine, watching the veal cutlets in Milan might have made you think about Austria or Bavaria in southern Germany more than Italy. You should not be shocked to find out that your humble narrator found the Milan episode to be the least likely to stir an appetite.

Italian food, food in Italy is simple ingredients, a strive for quality, and care in putting them all together. Maybe you will go to see for yourself when the pandemic subsides.

The Stanley Tucci series ran earlier this year on CNN. You can access episodes on demand through CNN. There will be a Season 2 in 2022.

Twitter capture: @CNNOriginals
photos credit: Searching for Italy/CNN

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.

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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

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

Ethnic food aisles should be seen as an opportunity without stigma

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" i.e., "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," chef David Chang said 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.

BalanceofFood.com world food policy coverage

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.

photos credit: me (2); Tallboyz/CBC (2)

Salt Fat Acid Heat provides impactful cooking advice

Most cooking shows are about how to cook a specific recipe with a few tips along the way. Good Eats and the new Good Eats: Reloaded are grand exceptions though consumed a bit about the science of how cooking happens.

Salt Fat Acid Heat is a 4-part series on Netflix from Samin Nosrat, author of the book that inspired the series. The series helps you to understand cooking breaking things down to the 4 core elements.

The series takes us around the world as each episode is devoted to a region suited to the element:

Salt	Japan
Fat	Liguria, Italy
Acid	Yucatan, Mexico
Heat	Berkeley, CA

 

Salt

Nosrat tells us salt is prevalent in every world cuisine. We seek salt not just in crystals but in foods that contain salt, such as olives, cheese, pickles, and capers. Salt also provides umami to dishes. She shows us how in Japan, they make salt from seaweed.

Nosrat teaches us there are 3 basic decisions where salt is concerned:

• when to salt (Salt meat in advance and do on all sides. Season meat on the bone the minute she gets back from the butcher.)
• layering salt (Use less salt on the meat if you are going to marinade with salty ingredients. You can get other flavor benefits from salty ingredients.)
• how much salt (The less time food spends in the water, the saltier the water has to be.)

The third decision gets us back to a battle we have had over time about the absolute need to salt the pasta water.

What's Tempting: Salting the pasta water

What's Tempting: Salting the pasta water Part II

Taking seasoning advice with a grain of salt

Many cooking shows told of the need to have a lot of salt in the pasta water, but no one explained the concept as well as Nosrat did. In our earlier experiments, perhaps we didn't use enough salt to be able to tell. If you do something because a TV chef tells you to do something, you aren't really learning but doing. With Nosrat, you are learning why to do something.

Fat

Nosrat shares with us that fat provides flavor and texture as well as amplifying other flavors. The key is how to harness its magic.

She points out fat has 5 distinct textures: creamy, flaky, crispy, tender, and light. Fat transforms simple ingredients into a great meal.

We see the collecting of olives that are turned into olive oil. We see the foccacia become buttery and crumbly thanks to the olive oil.

The parts of the pig are on display and how the fat from the pig produces wonderful pork products with that glorious fat. We learn about the milk from the red cows that is sweeter and fatter ultimately turned into Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

We see in a simple ragu dish of the number of fat options, including soffrito (olive oil), beef, pork, and beef fat. Nosrat let us know that fat can transform simple ingredients into a great meal.

Acid

Nosrat teaches us that acid brightens food and balances flavors in dishes. The episodes focuses quite a bit of sour oranges and sweet lemons.

Fermentation also adds acid to dishes such as pickles, vinegar, and red wine. Browning also produces acidity. Marinating a food in acid is more effective in a short-term burst and produces distinct results as opposed to cooking in acid.

Nosrat points out that atypical foods such as coffee, chocolate, bananas, and honey qualify as acidic. She tells the story of her first Thanksgiving dinner in the United States and working cranberry sauce into other dishes to get that acid effect.

Heat

Heat takes us to where Nosrat got started at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA where she was taught to pay attention to the food not the fire. There were no settings on the ovens so you had to learn to use other senses.

We see steaks cooked at Chez Panisse over a fire with the steak cooked more than halfway on first side and browning all over not just doing it for grill marks.

This also happens when Nosrat cooks buttermilk marinated roasted chicken. Since the heat is in the back of oven, put the legs toward the back. When the legs are relaxed, the chicken is done.

Nosrat makes a rice dish with her mother: Persian-ish rice with tahdig. The dish involves steaming and frying, producing the rice at the bottom that is crunchy in a very good way.

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Even if you are watching an episode of one element, the other elements make cameos in the other segments. Fat will be in the Salt segment while salt plays a part in the Heat segment. We learn in the Heat segment that the same saltiness comes from 1 tsp. of Morton kosher salt and 2 tsp. of Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

The cuisines are defined by the fat and salt that they use.

Nosrat shares her own personal story having grown up in Iran and working at Chez Panisse. Her ability to speak Spanish and Italian (she used to live in Italy) help her help us gather more information. She is very personable, curious about food no matter how spicy or unusual. There is a lot of laughter and all of that laughter feels natural and warm.

She talks about how you don't need fancy ingredients to cook good food. The salad she makes in the Heat episode is white beans with a bunch of roasted vegetables, a few herbs, and a simple dressing. Most American kitchens aren't serving that kind of a meal. Salt Fat Acid Heat is trying to change that dynamic.

video credit: YouTube/Netflix
photo credit: Salt Fat Acid Heat

UHT milk provides longer shelf life but nutrition and taste are lost

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.

From the Weston A. Price Foundation:

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.

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What's Tempting: Fairlife as a milk alternative

What's Tempting: Raw milk from a vending machine

What's Tempting: Raw milk in 2014

Colbert showcases government extreme on addressing raw milk

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.

Organic or conventional, you still have to eat fruits and vegetables

Eating vegetables have many barriers: Texture, raw vs. cooked, cost, taste. Pesticides are a concern but they shouldn't prevent you from eating vegetables.

A dietitian friend of mine had a social media post that said people were not eating enough fruits and vegetables. I would argue that fruits aren't as much of a concern, but we all agree that we aren't eating enough vegetables.

The next part of the post puzzled me: the Dirty Dozen, Clean 15, and other lists were scaring people away from eating fruits and vegetables. I responded online that people weren't being scared away from fruits and vegetables because of the lists.

To clarify, the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 type lists break down which fruits and vegetables should be bought as organic vs. conventionally grown. The lists are also helpful in what isn't on them. They suggest buying organic for certain fruits and vegetables. If a fruit or vegetable isn't on that list, then the lists tell us you don't have to be as concerned. The lists should increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables by giving consumers information to make safer and better choices.

The reply was that people were scared and this study was the proof.

"We surveyed 510 low-income shoppers to learn about their attitudes about organic and conventional fruits and vegetables (FV) and what would happen if we provided them with information about organic and conventional growing practices from a variety of sources. In general, participants preferred organic FV; however, cost was a significant barrier to purchase them. Informational statements about organic and conventional FV did not increase participants' likelihood to purchase more FV. In contrast, messages naming specific FV with pesticides shifted participants toward 'less likely' to purchase any type of FV regardless whether organically or conventionally grown. The results provide insight about how low-income people view FV and how communications may influence their purchase intention."

The study focuses on the impact of communications on purchase intention. The flaw in the study is that the information is incomplete and without context. Let's look at 3 major areas of concern:

• People are scared of the idea of pesticides without knowing a whole lot. Let's start with a dose of reality: conventional-grown produce has pesticides. Organic produce can and often has pesticides. The difference is which pesticides are used, how much of the pesticide is being used, and whether or not those pesticides are outlawed in other parts of the world.
• Farmers markets sell produce that often is grown to organic standards without being certified organic in part due to cost and tedious paperwork. Produce at those markets are usually cheaper than certified organic products in a grocery store. Some farmers markets take food assistance funds (food stamps) as payment.
• The study doesn't address hydroponic vegetables grown in warehouses without a speck of pesticide.

"In general, participants preferred organic FV; however, cost was a significant barrier to purchase them." We hear this quite often that "organic" means "too expensive." Sometimes, this is true but the marketplace has shifted quite a bit. Trader Joe's, for those who are near one, and even conventional stores carry organic foods at more reasonable prices.

The U.S. consumer complains about high food prices. In a world comparison, U.S. food prices are pretty low compared to similar countries but U.S. wages have been stagnant in terms of buying power for 40 years. The cost difference between conventional and organic may seem too high for some consumers but may depend on accessibility to cheaper organic food.

You have to develop your own system for buying fruits and vegetables that fit your nutritional, physical, and psychological concerns. You might want to support local farmers. You might not care where your fruits and vegetables got their start. The marketplace is large enough for all types of decisions.

You might enjoy rinsing and cleaning your fruits and vegetables and figure this is the price you pay for buying relatively cheaper produce. You can choose to follow the clean organic lists such as the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 for some produce and be more open in other areas of produce.

You might not have enough time or money to do anything more than shop in one huge place where organic is a pipe dream. Everybody in all these scenarios and more have an obligation to themselves to consume fruits and vegetables.

Frozen or canned fruits and vegetables can be a wonderful option for consumers. With canned fruits and vegetables, rinsing canned fruit (for ingredients that aren't juice) and vegetables (too much sodium) is a really good idea. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be an amazing supplement when in season whether growing them yourself, getting them at farmers markets, or at the local supermarket.

The ultimate reason you will eat those fruits and vegetables is taste. People who pick organic or farmers markets usually find that the taste of fruits and vegetables is better. They might pay more but they are more likely to eat those fruit and vegetables. Nutrition only counts if you eat what you buy.

For those 510 low-income people in Chicago (a significant scientific flaw in the study for using 510 people all from one location: Chicago), we have good news. You can use food assistance funds in select farmers markets. There are beautiful hydroponic vegetables growing in warehouses in your city without a drop of pesticides.

The United States makes food shopping rather difficult because of the Wild West mentality that food companies can try to sneak things past you that you don't want in your family's food supply. Being diligent has to be a part of the food shopping process. You have to learn about what is out there and make your own smart decisions that work with your core values. And yes, you have to eat your fruits and vegetables.

photo credit: this site

Food Evolution tries to show us GMOs aren't all bad

I've seen a number of films that profess the wonders of growing organic. Being anti-GMO is part of the drill.

Food Evolution is a film that tells us GMOs are good. The truth lies somewhere in between but is that closer to this new film?

As part of a lunch-and-learn series this month, we will see the film broken up in 2 different sessions followed by a discussion on the topic.

The films I've seen want the truth. Food Evolution wants the truth. As we've learned about freedom on this food blog, truth seems to be in the eye of the beholder. While the definition of freedom will always have different hues, truth should be black and white.

There may be a section of anti-GMOs proponents who are also against genetic engineering of any kind. Most of the anti-GMO crowd can handle what happened to the rainbow papaya in Hawaii, where inserting genes from another plant helped bring back the plant to life. Given that GMOs work in a similar way to genetic engineering (GE), you might wonder about splitting hairs but this argument isn't as much about the technology but how that technology is being used. In other words, genetic engineering has some validity; Monsanto's use of said technology doesn't have validity.

Golden rice, adding beta-carotene (Vitamin A) to rice, as well as developing disease-resistant and drought-tolerant crops are examples of genetic engineering that have great potential, with the emphasis on potential to be a positive force in improving nutrition around the world.

'Fed Up' speaks to limited truth along with whining and exploitation

'Farmland' is propaganda, but Katie Couric doesn't help 'Fed Up' credibility

What's Tempting: GMO-free Cheerios

BalanceofFood.com film coverage

These films have a point of view. How that point of view is presented speaks volumes about their own case. If you have the truth on your side, using propaganda techniques doesn't help your cause. BalanceofFood is a journalism blog so we don't like propaganda even if we agree with the message.

We will have a review of the film later this month as well as a wrapup of the discussion early in April.

video credit: YouTube/Abramorama Inc

New Year's resolution for dietitians: be nicer to each other on social media

"Twitter archives also show that the clique has ganged up on colleagues who criticize the conventional food system: questioning their credentials, accusing them of taking money from special interests, and hounding conference organizers and academy chapters that have worked with them.

"Victims say the campaigns are typically sparked by philosophical disagreements, and not scientific ones, as instigators claim. The predominant organizer of these campaigns, who tweets in a personal capacity, declined to speak to The Post about them, referring questions to the academy (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)."

Social media battles are all too commonplace. Despite being experts in their field, dietitians don't always agree. A recent article in The Washington Post gave us an insight into some of the food industry battles.

As much as I love dietitians, their conflicts of interest can be a real problem. So some of these social media arguments stem from a need to defend their territory. The other dynamic, given that most dietitians are female, is that women usually have a worse experience on social media, such as Twitter.

The Washington Post article particularly noted the attacks received by those who raised concerns about GMOs and the conventional food system. At BalanceofFood.com, we heartily challenge the current food system, especially in the United States and Canada. They are also the only major countries that don't label GMOs.

Here are some tips for dietitians to avoid the temptations of being a social media bully:

• List your conflicts of interest in your Twitter bio. If you aren't proud of it and can't list them, maybe you should reconsider them.
• If you are certain of your beliefs, state them calmly. You will look like the better person with a calm or subtle reaction.
• Food issues are always going to be up for debate. Listen more and you might be surprised what you can learn.
• If your employer or other conflict of interest puts pressure to react badly on social media, remind them that their reputation decreases in prominence with online bullying.
• Don't be tied down to conventions that you don't see concerns that might fall out of the nutrition norm, such as the environmental impact.
• Remember that your vocation is designed to help people eat better. If your fight isn't about that, remember what is truly important about being a dietitian.

With my interest in food and nutrition, some have asked why I didn't want to be a dietitian. I like the concept of a dietitian: what they know and the good they can bring. But too many of them seem caught up in serving other masters rather than trying to inform. Guess I could say the same thing for journalists sometimes.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly American Dietetic Association) did come out recently with a social media guidance in the academy’s Food and Nutrition magazine. Members are presented with a Pledge of Professional Civility that promotes constructive dialogue and avoids personal attacks.

Dietitians have the knowledge and power to help improve the way people look at food. Conflicts of interest, perhaps a financial evil, often cloud the perception and reputation of the dietitian vocation. Dietitians who are forcibly negative to their fellow dietitians make this perception even worse.

Dietitians: help out your profession and tone down your social media reactions. Feel free to respond with your own thoughts. A thoughtful discussion will bring out your considerable nutrition knowledge, something that regular people may not know dietitians have in their repertoire.

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Vending machines in France show new way to get produce from farmers

Farmers grow food. People eat food. Getting farmer food to consumers requires creative planning.

Let's look at the pros and cons of delivering fresh food to consumers:

Farmers markets

• Advantages: Get to meet and talk with customers. Get a fairer price for the produce.
• Disadvantages: Farmers have to be salespeople or hire people to sell their produce.

Grocery stores

• Advantages: Willing to buy a lot of food.
• Disadvantages: No personal touch. Won't take "less than perfect" produce. Stores don't pay farmers too well for their produce.

In France, they are trying a different direction: fresh produce in vending machines. Farmers are using vending machines as a way to get fresh local produce to consumers at a price point they need and without the labor cost of selling the food.

What's Tempting: Finally tasting raw milk

What's Tempting: Raw milk from a vending machine

We explored this topic with getting raw milk from a vending machine in Europe. These vending machines are much easier to operate. The idea of getting fresh oysters in a vending machine is the latest use of this technology. The food is replaced each day so freshness isn't an issue.

The personal touch is lost but the farmers' major requirements are met with the vending machines.

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How are the vending machines helping out the consumers?

They aren't restricted to farmers markets days and hours. They are getting fresher produce than in a supermarket. They establish a relationship with a farmer, even if there is little personal contact. If farmers pass on the savings to the consumer, they will get better produce for a good price.

The major drawback, besides the personal touch, is not being able to touch the produce to get a better sense of what you are buying.

What's Tempting: Fresh salads from a vending machine

Vending machines need healthier food if they are to stay in schools

While I like the personal touch of farmers markets and being able to see and touch the produce, after I was stuck buying regular mushrooms earlier this summer because I couldn't access the farmer in that moment, a vending machine would have been ideal.

The vending machines are similar to the automat machines, the machines you find in Europe that sell fast food sandwiches and other snacks. The machines came over from Germany, where you can also find these vending machines. The machines also take credit cards, another advantage for consumers.

Like most solutions, farmers will have to employ a variety of options that work best for their bottom line. That also includes farmers shoppes. The vending machines offer distinct advantages, especially to farmers who are shy about selling and consumers who are shy about having to strike up a conversation to get great produce.

You can find out more about these machines from outside sources: here, here, and here.

photo credit: George Nelson/Munchies.Vice.com