Healthy Food with No Income

This e-paper is the finished product of the story that was started in a previous post. The topic is on how low income Americans get food and nutrition.

Leia Mais…

S.510...Why is it stagnant?

This is another guest post that I am writing for "Farm to Fork" the new online newsmagazine that is attempting to investigate agriculture and ever facet of the food industry. If you enjoy this "in the works" story, check out the above link for more articles and multimedia projects.

This piece is written as an op-ed

What’s the hold up, Washington?

In a time where outbreaks of the fatal and disgusting e. coli bacteria are as common as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hold the salmonella, the District and its 100 part time residents, members of the 111^th Senate of the United States of America, should be buckling down and trying to fix the food safety situation in our country that only seems to be getting worse.

The not-so-recently proposed (March of 2009) S. 510 FDA Food Safety Modernization Act is trying to do just that.

If adopted, this bill will expand the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, currently Kathleen Sebelius and allow her and her staff to oversee many of the operations of the “big business” food industry. The biggest companies tend to be the same companies who have to recall millions of dollars worth of their products and forever leave a bad taste in their former buyers’ mouths.

The Secretary will begin to wear many more metaphorical hats. Her responsibilities will grow, allowing her to re-inspect any food facility that is deemed necessary, manage food recalls, and oversee the qualified importer program.

Other requirements that will be added to the Secretary’s job description are (1) identify preventive programs and practices to promote the safety and security of food; (2) promulgate regulations on sanitary food transportation practices; (3) develop a policy to manage the risk

of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs; (4) allocate inspection resources based on the risk profile of food facilities or food; (5) recognize bodies that accredit food testin

g laboratories; and (6) improve the capacity of the Secretary to track and trace raw agricultural commodities.

All of this legal jargon basically means that the secretary’s new job will supersede the authority of other organizations that at one point had control on these issues. The secretary, acting on behalf of the President, will now be the chief order giver in the food industry, especially over large operations.

In ad

dition to the Secretary’s new responsibilities, all food facilities will be required to assess all hazards and ensure that preventive controls are implemented in order to give the public the highest quality and safest food that it truly deserves.

Although this bill sounds like it is just what the doctor ordered, after he prescribed an antibiotic to clean up the food poisoning, some organizations are not pleased with the current version.

Judith McGeary is the executive director of one of those organizations, The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.

“As the bill is currently written, it would be very damaging to small farmers and feed producers who provide safe and healthy food,” she said, referencing the vast amount of new paperwork that would be soon be required to verify the safety and contamination levels of their products.

“Small operations are the ones that are in the most danger from the bill,” McGeary said, “The bill composes regulatory paperwork and the small businesses get driven out.”

To me, the paperwork is a very trivial reason to hold up such a major bill, but the FARFA does have a point. The smaller organizations should be held to the same standards of other operations, but without a room full of pencil pushing bureaucrats it can be challenging to crank out extensive amounts of paperwork everyday.

McGeary said that FARFA would begin supporting the bill if the Tester Amendment, written by organic farmer, Senator John Tester (D-MN).

One of the provisions that the new amendment contains would greatly help small farms.

Any farm that grosses less than $500,000 annually would not be subjected to the same quantity of paperwork and meticulous record keeping that is currently required in the bill. The Tester version reads, these farms will be “limited to records regarding the immediate suppliers and immediate subsequent recipients of such facility.”

This measure would be extremely helpful for the farms that FARFA and McGeary worry about.

Now that a good piece of legislation has been introduced, it’s time to pass something. Over a year of waiting since it’s introduction has left the American public wanting that extra level of safety and confidence knowing that their peanut butter, spinach, and other products are safe, healthy, and poison free.

Leia Mais…

Healthy food in low income America

For the next few weeks I will be investigating how low income Americans get access to healthy and fresh food.

Here is a short excerpt from a major story that will be appearing on the blog in the next couple of weeks.

Stay tuned for the finished product!

Over 18 percent of the families residing in Bowling Green, Ky. live below the poverty level. On average, a familial income of approximately $22,000 does not allow for lavishness of any sort. But, after paying rent, utilities, and other necessary expenses, should the type of food that a family consumes suffer, simply because healthy food is more difficult to attain?

In Bowling Green, where you can find a McDonald’s or other fast food restaurant in nearly every part of town, the draw of the dollar menu that can easily feed a family of four for less than $5 is challenging to overcome. In a grocery store, it takes much more knowledge about food products and an understanding about how to properly ration certain foods, in order to make $5 stretch as far.
What has caused this, not only health, but also education gap between the affluent and low-income people?

The Congressional Hunger Center, with its executive director, Edward Cooney, is one of the organizations leading the fight for food equality and hunger eradication.

“We try to help people make more prudent choices when shopping for food to feed their families with,” Cooney said.

“People that are on food stamps have no spare income,” he said, adding that whenever individuals can get access to more money, they normally spend it wisely.

“They’ve been buying like normal, healthy people,” Cooney said in reference to the approximately $80 monthly increase that families received because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Cooney said that he works closely with bi-partisan legislators to ensure that new legislation will be fair to low-income Americans and that healthy food will still be an option.

“Our preference is for people to have access to real food via grocery stores,” he said, “we want to get people food, especially the most healthy food.”

However, for some struggling individuals and families, the grocery store is not an option.

Leia Mais…

SKy Farmers' Market Opens to an Eager Crowd

Thanks to Sam Oldenburg for accompanying me on this trip and taking these beautiful pictures!

Shoppers eagerly flocked to buy produce, herbs, cut flowers, cheeses, crafts, and even composted manure early Saturday morning as the Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers’ Market opened for the season.

The warming sun beamed through the nippy air as market manager Laura Goodwin checked up on each of the vendors.

“We’ve had a great turnout, people and vendors,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin said that there are currently 45 vendors who attend the market throughout the season. Because of a need for land replenishment and growth, the farms at the market each week are sometimes different. The multiple stands add a wide variety of local produce that can be purchased as well as products, including gourmet dog bones, candles, cheeses, pottery and paintings.

Sonja Byrd of Bowling Green attended the market with her three children, Hattie, 9, Thorin, 6, and Sophie, 3. She said the kids couldn’t wait to see their favorite vendors, whom the kids have given special names. “They’ve been excited for cheese man, dog biscuit man, and giant cookie man,” she said.

Byrd tries to ensure that her family eats local, healthy food whenever it is available. “We try to get everything locally. We order local meat, eggs, and produce,” she said as her kids picked out gourmet dog biscuits to give to their pet upon returning home.

While searching through produce, Byrd said the she prefers organic food to traditional produce and meat. “I do this for two reasons,” she said. “Number one, to have the best stuff possible going into our bodies, and number two, to support the local market farmers because of all that they do for the environment.”

Goodwin said that the SKy Market is different than other farmers’ markets.

The actual farmers themselves must sell the products, and only Kentucky produce and products can be sold. Goodwin inspects all growers’ farms and artisans’ workshops before they can come to the market.

“It’s something that we do for integrity,” Goodwin said. “Keeps everybody honest.”

This year, Goodwin had to inspect nine new locations before the market could open

Kaelin Vernon of Peacefield Farms was one of the new vendors at the 2010 market. Vernon was armed with dozens of compost bags for visitors to purchase and use on their gardens. Vernon said the compost has been in the creation cycle for nearly a year.

“It’s a very simple process,” he said, in reference to making compost, “We push the poop together and after it works itself out, we ad dirt and hay. Then we turn it by hand or a tiller and let it aerate.”

The use of the compost on gardens and plants is very effective and strongly increases the growth rate of the plants, he said.

One of the founding members of the SKy Market, Jake Schmitz, returned for the seventh year with a few new products.

After going through the process of organic certification last year, Schmitz can now proudly display the United States Department of Agriculture’s organic certification seal on his homemade pasta sauce.

“It was an extremely easy for me to do,” said Schmitz who works as an organic quality field coordinator. “We hope to have more organic products by July."

Herb plants were another one of the market’s popular products and were sold by many vendors including Alison and Paul Wiedeger of Au Naturel Farms.

Bowling Green resident Kellie Mysinger bought basil and chives to plant in her garden. She said that in addition to growing herbs, she wanted to successfully grow produce. Now that the market is open, Mysinger plans to go every weekend and continue to add more herbs to her garden.

“I tried growing tomatoes for the first time and it was fun,” Mysinger said. “It was nice to make a salad, pop tomatoes off of the plant and put them into the bowl.”

- The SKy Farmers’ Market is located at The Medical Center on 31-W Bypass. Open Saturdays from 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM and Tuesdays from 7:00 AM – 1:00 PM, rain or shine.

Leia Mais…

Cooking with "The Earth's Food"

This week I am excited to take you on a cooking adventure with me. I'll be preparing a great springtime meal using the freshest ingredients available!

If you like the foods that you see, be sure to look below for the recipes!

Thanks so much to my wonderful mother for taking a few pictures and helping with some of the cooking!

Recipes:

Kale Stew - Debbie and Joe O'Daniel

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb. sausage

1 large onion

6-8 garlic cloves, minced

4 large potatoes, diced

1 lb. kale, sliced

2 quarts chicken stock

2-16 oz cans Great Northern Beans

salt and black pepper

This recipe comes from O'Daniel's farms! Read down further on the blog to find some great information about this local gem!

Directions

1. Sautee sausage in olive oil

2. Add onions and garlic - sautee 5-10 minutes

3. Add diced potatoes and kale

4. Add chicken stock

5. Simmer 20-25 minutes

6. Add beans and heath through

7. Add salt and pepper

Caprese Salad

6 large tomatoes of varying colors

1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Chop the tomatoes into bite sized pieces

2. Chop the mozzarella into bit sized pieces

3. Arrange on a platter and enjoy

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 pie crust - 9 inches (baked)

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 pints fresh strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/3 cup water

Directions

1. Spread softened cream cheese over the bottom of the cooled pie crust

2. Hull, wash and drain berries

3. Halve the berries

4. Place half of the berries over the cream cheese

5. In a 2-quart saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water...add remaining berries

6. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook until thickened

7. Cool and pour over strawberries in the pie crust

8. Chill thoroughly before serving

Hope you enjoyed today's post!

Thanks for reading!

Leia Mais…

T.V.'s Impact on Eating

For years various television shows from "The Biggest Loser" to healthy eating shows on the Food Network, the silver screen has been trying to make viewers healthier. However, it is possible that no new show has gone as far as ABC's Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution," which premiered this season.

According to his Web site, Oliver is trying to ensure that everyone, especially children, has access to healthy, wholesome, filling, and delicious fresh food. With over 130,000 people having already signed his petition, he doesn't seem to be alone in this quest.

One of Oliver's main goals is to revamp the school lunch problem by intervening into local cafeterias. He strives to create nutritionally significant meals that fall well within the state mandated budget.

Oliver focuses on areas where not only food is lacking, but also proper food education. Kids that he has worked with are not able to identify vegetables from fruits. As with many cooking professionals, effective education about healthy eating is crucial to living fit lives.

Maybe if Oliver would direct the kids to this blog, we'd have some healthier kids in America!

Enjoy this clip from a previous episode of Food Revolution.

A new exit evaluation about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution just came out via FoodPolitics.com.

Do you agree with these results? I guess we'll have to wait until the end of the season to make our own informed opinions about the reality TV experiment.

Leia Mais…

Podcast: Tips For Eating Organically

Have you been wanting to eat organic foods, but not exactly sure how to get started. After eating only organic foods for an entire week, I'm ready to share some tips with you that would have made my week much easier.

To check out the first of "The Earth's Food's" podcasts, click below!

If you are interested in subscribing to all of my podcasts, click the RSS logo in the URL bar!

This podcast is a special update from the "Farm to Fork" online newsmagazine, which I currently work for. Check out the "Farm to Fork" Web site.

Or click here!

Leia Mais…