Jenny at Nourished Kitchen commented that enjoying fruits and veggies is the key to getting kids to eat them and eat healthier.  She says it as well or better than I could.  I especially enjoyed her comments about the long-term effect on food preferences of eating a varied diet when breastfeeding.

I am lucky to have boys with broad tastes and an appreciation for good nutrition.  Two things I think have helped immensely:
First, the family garden:    My boys help plan the garden, choosing species and varieties they want to eat.  Our garden time is treated as special time with Mom, not a chore.  Sure, they might not always be the most help, but hearing them have adventures as they pull paths through the weeds to rescue “John Porter” (a tomato variety) is better than hired help any day.   Choosing varieties such as purple carrots, purple beans and red lettuce, growing and harvesting make eating them a celebration, not a chore.  Add in having them help cook it, and you’ve made huge strides in expanding their palate.

Second, a supportive school program.  The Montessori school they attended for the past three years made lunch part of the curriculum.  It was delightful to have my then-5-year old lecture me about needing to have fresh vegetables, not canned for dinner.  They are now in public school, they have a great perspective on the school lunch menu.  They will often choose to take their lunch based on what they helped prepare or on the “junkiness” of the school food.  I realize I am indeed lucky to have children opt for homemade meatloaf over the school corndog and tater tots.

Like many of my colleagues, I’ve been swamped by forwarded e-mails about the pending “Food Safety” legislation, HR 875.  Most, if not all, of the e-mails tell me that this will be the end of my direct-to-consumer marketing, farmer’s markets, organic gardening and so on; such as “… if NAIS and 875 both pass, we will all be forced to eat ONLY imported foods or that processed by big corporations”

I admit I’ve not had the time to investigate the matter thoroughly.  And being a skeptic, I tend to think that the more often and more emphatic these type of forwarded e-mails are, the more likely they are to contain inaccuracies.

I was delighted to see a very thorough post on the subject on Ethicurean.  The bill is actually quite reasonable, does not interfere with within-state commerce and certainly do not make it illegal to be an organic farmer.   Before you hit the forward button, or write to your congressman, please read this very thoughtful post (and some very good comments).

If you’ve been thinking about jumping on the local bandwagon, the latest Local Harvest newsletter had some good pointers:

• Start small and easy.   Don’t think of “going local” as all-or-nothing, or it will seem impossible.   Face it, local coffee just isn’t going to happen for most people!
• Switch to more whole foods and less processed.  Whole foods are easier to get locally.  The more processed, the more likely the ingredients are broadly sourced.
• Find and shop your local farmer’s markets.  You may find this to become one of your favorite parts of the week (and when was the last time you felt that way about going to the super?).  My market days do more to renew my faith in humanity and hope for our future than almost anything I do.
• Utilize web resources to find farmers, markets and vendors.  Two good places to start are LocalHarvest.org and EatWild.com.
• Be prepared to pay more for some items.  Your total food bill doesn’t have to be higher, however.  Eating at home, eating whole foods and concentrating on in-season items usually lowers the total cost of food to balance out the higher per-item cost.
• Consider growing your own.  Start small, with a few herbs, perhaps.  I use peppers and lettuce in my flower beds as edible ornamentals.

Remember, the main idea behind eating locally is making the most of your region’s agricultural strengths.  Be conscious and do what you can, but don’t worry about being fanatic.

In case you haven’t heard, the new Secretary of Agriculture has struck a blow for bringing production back to the people.  On the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birthday, Vilsak literally broke ground at the USDA’s headquarters, declaring a patch of pavement to be returned back to green. 

It is essential for the federal government to lead the way in enhancing and conserving our land and water resources,” said Vilsack. “President Obama has expressed his commitment to responsible stewardship of our land, water and other natural resources, and one way of restoring the land to its natural condition is what we are doing here today - “breaking pavement” for The People’s Garden.”

This is the first in what Vilsak plans to be a community garden at each USDA facility worldwide.  Hooray!  Nice to see the government leading by example, for a change.

Since last month’s post on the role of technology in feeding the world, I’ve been thinking a lot about the fundamental issue of GMO’s.

A primary GMO-related fear is the unknown consequences of the genetic manipulation.  I won’t discount this concern, but I would like to put it into perspective.

Every bit of variation in all the food crops (plant or animal) we consume arises by genetic mutation.  As humans domesticated plants and animals, we selected mutants (sounds a lot scarier than ‘variants’, doesn’t it?) that suited our needs better.  These mutations had some visible difference (color, faster growth, better taste), but beyond what we could see, we had NO idea what other changes were caused by the mutation.

Since early in this century, plant breeders have produced new varieties of all sorts of plants by something called “mutation breeding“.  Seeds are subjected to some form of mutagenizing agent, such as a chemical, UV light or x-rays.  Thousands are planted to screen for and select desirable mutations.  This is a primary way in which disease-resistant varieties of vegetables, fruits and other crops are developed.  The FAO maintains a database with thousands of catalogued varieties.

Even heirloom varieties are mutants.  Are you familiar with those cool zebra-striped heirloom tomatoes?  Those stripes are caused by a “jumping gene” that randomly inserts itself in the genome, sometimes disrupting a color gene.

At least the GMO varieties had to go through some sort of characterization of their biochemical properties.

Food for Thought: Excerpted from Feedstuffs

ANOTHER 40 million people have been pushed into hunger this year, primarily due to higher food prices, according to the U.N.’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).  The group’s just-released estimate brings the overall number of undernourished people in the world to 963 million, which compares to 923 million in 2007.

In the next 40 years, it is estimated that the amount of food that will need to be produced to feed the world’s growing population will be greater than the amount already produced throughout the history of humankind. That is a huge challenge for farmers and ranchers around the world, and as Erpelding [of Elanco] explained, it is only achievable through continued access to technology, improvements in genetics, proper animal care and efficiency in production.

Sustainability, availability and affordability are equally important in feeding the world.  

I often get involved in discussions where technology is painted with a broad black brush.  Technologies, such as hybrid crops, effective veterinary treatments and even GMOs are primarily responsible for the the availability of affordable food.  Technology can support sustainability, like some crops that can grow in salt-poisoned soils or with less nitrogen.

It is important not to reject technology just because it is technology.  It is also important to look at the entire impact and cost of technologies, not just the bottom cash line.  Policies and production decisions should be made based on facts (all of them) and not emotions.

Among a basketball coach, pro-golfer and military doctors, ABC World News has named a vegetable farmer as one of their “extraordinary people who make a difference“.

Bob Blair, whose original story aired in June, runs Volunteer Farm in Woodstock, Virginia.  The farm, with volunteer labor, produces fresh vegetables for those in need.  Since June, they have produced and distributed 35 tons of vegetables with the help of 3,100 volunteers.

Blair started the farm 5 years ago, originally intending it to be a Christmas tree farm.  But, Blair had an epiphany to grow nutritious food for those who need it.  Now, with the help of his volunteers, he provides good, healthy and nutritious food to a local food bank.

In an era of increasing obesity AND food insecurity, I applaud Bob and the army of volunteers that support him.  It’s a humbling reminder that any of us can make a real difference, to at least a few people.  Bob, you’ve inspired me to see what we can with production from our own Wild Type Ranch this winter, to help feed those in need.

Happy Cow-loween:  Visit Cattle4Kids.com for some fun pictures, games and information about cattle, 4-H and related topics.  (picture courtesy of Beef Daily’s “Halloween Cowboy Style“)

Halloween Junk Food at Whole Foods: My friend, Dr. Rita-Marie, is fired up (read that po’d) that Whole Foods is pimping white flour, white sugar, food coloring-frosted cookies as Halloween Treats.  So much for “nutrients intact, as nature created” (the supposed Whole Foods motto).

Food Safety Gone Astray: A November ‘teach-in’ about how recent changes in agri-business practices implemented in the name of “food safety” have had harmful environmental effects.  In particular, changes in production after the e-coli-in-spinach outbreak may have negative effect on wildlife with dubious value to food safety.

Field Guide to Organic Labels:  An op-ed piece from Kansas puts organic labels and the decision to buy in perspective.

The New York Times recently published an open letter by Michael Pollan to the next “Farmer in Chief”.  It begins:

It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food.

Although we don’t think about it too often, our food production system is inextricably linked with health, climate change, use/dependence on fossil fuels and economics.

Some of my favorite points in the letter:

• Cheap food  that is highly processed, high fat and/or highly sweetened has hidden costs in an increase in partially preventable  illnesses, such as obesity, heart disease, type II diabetes.
• New policies in food subsidies should promote healthy food choices, local economies, diversity and quality over quantity (as measured in calories).
• Conservation is not an either/or proposition relative to food production.  We can produce food in ways that have minimal, or even beneficial effects on the environment.
• Farmland preservation and support of more of our population making a living at agriculture are critical to a healthy food system.  This means training and incentivising young farmers.
• Decentralizing food production will get more people in touch with where their food comes from.  Consumers that really understand food production are less likely to make unreasonable legislative demands and more reasonable diet choices.
• The new first family should establish their own “Victory Garden” on the South lawn of the White House.
• Lunch needs to be an educational part of the school day.  We need to raise kids that can make good food choices and  know how to cook.

We touched on this same topic earlier in this blog.  Most of all, I agree with Pollan that the food crisis paired with our energy costs presents an exceptional opportunity for real reform.

Organic production standards are based on principles such as sustainability, reducing off-farm inputs and environmental impact and minimizing the use of synthetic materials.

Buying food labelled organic would seem to be an easy way to feed your family more healthy food, right?

Many of health benefits of buying organic are not necessarily due to the product being organic itself.  The diet of those for whom organic is a priority is generally healthier than the average American’s.  I speculate that the typical organoisseur’s daily fare contains much less processed food, less sugars (HCFS, cane or otherwise) and more fresh produce and meat.

Misconceptions about organic abound, such as the quote “organic food has no additives or preservatives“.  Organic food is made with organic ingredients, but there are exceptions for ingredients that cannot be sourced organically.  Organic cheese puffs can quite easily contain additives and/or preservatives.

Organic food is not necessarily more nutritious because it is organic.  Organic junk food is still nutrient-poor.  Organic candy is still sugar-laden.  A person can shop at exclusively Whole Foods and still end up with a really poor diet.

I believe fresh traditionally grown food is usually better than processed food of any kind, organic or otherwise.

Organic has its value and its place, but “organic” is not a substitute for healthy food choices.