Is Imported Food a Good Idea?

The country is still exporting more food than it imports overall, but after a few recent visits to the grocery store I have become more and more concerned about the amount of vegetables and fruit that is imported into the country and sold at my local grocery store.

How much of the food you eat every day is imported?  The next time you visit the store for vegetables and fruit purchases, try to limit your purchases to U.S. vegetables and fruit only. It sounds easy, but the results might surprise you.

In our household, we stopped purchasing food that is imported from outside the U.S. It takes more effort than I originally thought, which is somewhat concerning.  You can read more about imported food dangers in this article from MSNBC.

And according to the video from ABC2News, the World Trade Organization is considering relaxing the food labeling requirements that currently help protect consumers.

Concerns About Imported Food

According to Tony Corbo, a columnist for Huffington Post, U.S. food imports are rising dramatically.

"U.S. food imports grew from $41 billion in 1998 to $78 billion in 2007. The growth has come in consumer-ready foods, such as fruit and vegetables, seafood and processed food products. It has been estimated that as much as 85% of the seafood we now consume is imported, and depending on the time of the year, upwards of 60% of the fresh produce we consume is now imported. Officials from the FDA have stated that about 15% of the average American diet is made of imported food products." Read more at Huffington Post.

I first became aware of imported beef from Canada, but more recently seafood, fruits, and vegetables. I think this is a very dangerous proposition since most of it is untested. The volume simply prohibits it.

An online acquaintance of mine and publisher of a popular bbq forum posted an item last week regarding his experience with canned fruit from a Midwestern grocery store. The respondents were generally apathetic about it (except for a very small minority).

Has it come to this? Does the prospect of eating dangerous and harmful imported food that is not inspected for contaminants not concern the average American? It definitely should.

Here are some of the measures we have taken to reduce the amount of imported food we eat:

1) joined a local CSA for purchasing vegetables
2) support a local food buying club to purchase locally raised eggs, pork, beef, and bison
3) planted a backyard garden to begin growing our own squash, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, and collard greens
4) joined a Meet-up Group to learn more about locally grown food
5) exploring online information about farming at AquaponicsCommunity.com
We plan to add more as we learn about them. If you'd like to learn more about sources of local food to help avoid food imports, please visit LocalHarvest.org

Living without Money?

How many us wish we had more money? I find myself falling into this way of thinking from time to time. But do we really need to have lots of money to live a meaningful life?

Earlier this week I was telling a co-worker about the One Red Paperclip website where Kyle MacDonald documented his methods for trading a simple paperclip and 12 trades later he traded for a house. These trades were all conducted without using traditional money to buy and sell things.

I'm not ready to give up on money just yet, but I think there are lessons to learn from those that have made the effort to find creative ways to trade and barter to obtain needed goods and services without using traditional money. There's a nice lady in Germany who has lived without money for several years and a blog about living without money.

With a little creative thinking, I bet we can all come up with ways to barter for things we want without using money to purchase them.  How about using our existing knowledge to teach others valuable skills, or trading elbow grease for items? 

After hearing that many of the employees in my office enjoy gardening, my wife suggested establishing a "trade table" where those who are interested can bring extra or unwanted vegetables to exchange for other vegetables they want or need. I mentioned this to a couple of the gardeners at work and they both agreed it's a nice idea they are eager to pursue. One said they always have extra tomatoes and another has extra ear corn. We had extra cucumbers last year as well that we would have traded for a few tomatoes.

Another idea...what if the three of us helped each other plant their gardens? With three of us working on it I bet could all add a few extra rows of production next year. I think we could reduce the overall time we spend doing it too. More for less sounds pretty good to me.

Low Carb Dieting

In grade school I was in the high school section of the library and picked up a biography about Jim Ryan, the high school track star from Kansas. It was called Jim Ryan: Master of the Mile. I'm pretty sure it's been out of print for several years, but 28 years ago it was that book that spurred my enthusiasm for running. I dreamed of being a high school track star who would go on to participate in the Olympic Games.  I did earn several varsity letters in track and field and cross-country, but I never achieved elite status like Jim Ryan. I was fit and trim tipping the scales at 162 pounds as a college freshmen. 

I am no longer a runner due to years of arthritis damage and two knee surgeries. I now deal with knee pain on a daily basis.

Unless you know me outside of this website, you may not realize that I've put on a few extra pounds in the last several years. Every year after the holidays I promised myself that I would go on a diet and lose weight, but I never actually did it until this summer.

I picked up a copy of The Dukan Diet and I was losing weight in no time. Dr. Dukan promotes a low carb diet for weight loss wannabes and it actually works. During the first jump start phase I lost nearly 8 pounds in the first week. A friend of mine who has been diabetic for 20 years told me that she could have saved me the  $24.99 and put me on her diet for free. (If I'd only known.)

You don't need to buy a book or even follow a fad diet plan to lose weight. You simply need to reduce the amount of carbs you eat. You can do that fairly easily by increasing the amounts of vegetables you eat and dramatically reducing the amount of bread, rice, pasta, and soft drinks in your daily food intake while drinking more water. 

I can't promise you that you will lose 30 pounds like I did, but I predict you will lose some weight and feel better too. And besides, it will be a good excuse to start growing your own vegetables in the backyard, balcony, basement, or garage!

Willie Nelson's Editorial on the Food System

I have enjoyed listening to country music since the days of eight track tapes, a.m. radio's, and first generation Sony Walkman.  Tammy Wynette, George Jones, and Tom T. Hall were regulars on Kansas City's 61 Country station that we listened to all day long whether in the car, in the workshop, or inside the house. We didn't get very good reception on television and for several years didn't even own a working television, so we listened to lots and lots of radio.

Willie Nelson was never a true favorite of mine as a kid and even less so as an adult, but I do recognize his achievements as a song writer, performance artist, and celebrity personality. I don't really agree with his stance on recreational use of certain botanical products, but his recent guest editorial article published on The Huffington Post hits home. 

Mr. Nelson was one of the first supporters of the Farm Aid movement in the 1980's and has launched his own brand of biodiesel, but I didn't realize he has become somewhat of a food activist as well...until today.  His article on Arianna Huffington's popular political blog titled Occupy the Food System sheds light on a problem that has grown into a legitimate threat for the country.  As he explains, with a concentration of the food supply among a handful of companies, it's now more important than ever that we begin to develop our own independent sources of food and that we support others involved in the effort.  The organic famers, CSA proprietors, backyard gardeners, and small farmers deserve our support. It's a double edged sword of sorts.

While the monopolization and, some might even say, exploitation of the food supply has helped bring new products and choices to market for consumers, it is also bringing with it some negative side effects. I think there are benefits to be gained from genetically modified seeds, but I would like to see more disclosure in the market place.  I would like to see retailers offer more choice to consumers that want to have the option to purchase non GMO foods too.  I'd like to see the commericial seed companies ability to dominate certain food crops like soy beans and corn reduced. I'm not convinced that allowing them to patent a food is a good idea. I also think it's unfair that organic farmers farming their land and minding their own business are threatened by GMO seeds and crops that the wind and birds transport into their fields and affecting the independent organic farmer's ability to compete fairly.

Thanks to Willie Nelson for using his notoriety to bring this discussion toward the forefront of the media.  I hope he continues discussing this issue in the media.  I urge you to forward this article and others like it that you run across to your friends and family to encourage them to consider these issues and make their own decisions about the foods they purchase and whether they want to begin growing a portion of the food they are eating.

I don't think we need to eliminate agri-businesses or corporate farming, but I think consumers deserve more input into the process and more choices in how they spend their hard earned money at retailers.

Learning to Grow Collards

My wife and I live in Michigan, which is several states away from our families in Tennessee and Missouri.  We generally exchange gifts with my family during the second weekend in December each year. This year I spent an hour catching up with my eldest uncle, who also does some amateur cattle ranching to supplement his retirement income. We talked about his growing herd of black hereford cattle (who knew?), politics, and eventually the conversation turned to food.

We don't always agree with each other, but we generally gravitate toward common ground during our talks. Putting it all together, so to speak, we ended up agreeing that some of the stress for families who are less fortunate financially than we are, could be reduced if more people learned to grow some of their own food.

It doesn't take a lot of land to grow enough food to supplement several meals a week. And...if you want to get serious about it, you could grow a substantial amount of food in the backyard to reduce the family grocery bill significantly.

What strategy could you use to get started on a small scale to learn the how to's and why not's for growing your own food? Plant some collards.

Collards are easy to grow.
If I can do it, anyone can. They grow like weeds almost.

Collards give you multiple harvests.
You can harvest them once and they'll grow back in a couple weeks.
You can harvest them a second time, a third, or maybe a fourth before they become a little bitter.

Collards grow well in cool weather.
You can plant them early in the spring and again in the late summer to get eight harvests per plant.

They are easy to cook.
Boil them. Cook them in a crock pot. Saute them with some bacon (my favorite). Use your imagination.

Once you get some confidence growing collards, it's easy to add lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, and much more to the backyard food distribution system.

I'll leave out some of the colorful language my uncle used, but to summarize in politically correct terms...growing some of your own food really can save you money and stretch the money you have just a little farther.

Why Plant a Vegetable Garden?

You may be wondering why I planted a vegetable garden and why I think it's important enough to write an entire blog about it.  Or, you may be considering planting your own garden to begin growing food.  You are and I are not alone in our desires to begin growing our own food.  There are many others just like us who are already doing it.

A recent article titled Calling All Gardeners published at MayoClinic.com cited a survey by the National Gardening Association about why people choose to plant a vegetable garden.

The survey found the following reasons:

• 58 percent desire better tasting food
• 54 percent want to save money on food bills
• 51 percent want better quality food
• 48 percent want to grow food they know is safe

The main reason I started doing it was to save money, but after a while I realized there are many other reasons to continue doing it.  It's an afforable hobby and gardening is good exercise.  It's fulfilling to walk out your back door and return with lunch a few minutes later.  The food I grow myself is fresher than most store bought food I buy and it tastes good too.  Perhaps even more important to me though now after I've been gardening for a few years -- I know the types of fertilizers that have (or have not) been applied to my vegetables and in what amounts.  I also know where the seeds came from.  Conduct a Google search for "GMO seeds" sometime and read some of the articles about why this may or may not interest you as well.

I am not yet growing enough food to stop buying some vegetables from the grocery store, but I am growing more and more each year.  I can't predict exactly how much more I will be growing in two or three more years, but I suspect it will be lots more than I am growing today.

Local Harvest Resources

I realize that not everyone is interested in learning to grow their own food.  But hopefully most everyone can agree that they'd like to support local farms and buy their food locally when possible.

LocalHarvest.org has a large variety of information about small farms that sell their produce direct to consumers.  The site also has built-in search functionality for finding these farms.  The site will help you identify resources for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), Farmer's Markets, and Food Co-ops and other options that will show you how to contact these farmers directly.

Let's try it out...

I used to live in the 65233 zip code near Boonville, MO.  Tonight I typed the zip code into the LocalHarvest.org farm search functionality and the search yielded three pages of farms within a reasonable driving distance.  In fact, the search surprised me a little bit with the depth of its' listings.  There's even a CSA in tiny Jamestown, MO where I attended elementary and junior high school.  The town has a population of around 300 residents, but does have its' own CSA farm called Happy Hollow Farm.  It's even a certified organic farm. Who knew?  I wonder if my relatives in Jamestown know about it.

A few more test searches via LocalHarvest.org and I'm convinced now more than ever that the availability of locally grown organic produce is closer than you may think. 

Via Local Harvest, you can have your own farmer. Pretty cool isn't it?

Slow Food vs. Fast Food

I think it's safe to say that everyone understands what is meant by the terms "fast food".  If you're reading this blog, there's a good chance that you've seen the documentary film Supersize Me.  In the movie, Morgan Spurlock vowed to eat at McDonald's every day for a month and he documented the experience on film.  If you haven't seen the movie, you can watch it on Mr. Spurlock's website via Hulu.  The movie establishes that "fast food" can have some devastating effects for some people when taken to extremes.


So how about the opposite of "fast food"?  Yes - "slow food".


From SlowFoodUSA.org:

Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

It's a movement. It's a state of mind. It's a culture.

The Slow Food USA website has a tool that allows visitors to search for Slow Food events in their own state and city.  I used the tool tonight to find out about a public forum sponsored by a local library to discuss how to eat slow food to improve your own health and improve your family, community, and planet at the same time.

Pretty heavy stuff isn't it?

I grew up in a rural community and the closest drive thru restaurant was 15 miles away.  The closest "brand name" restaurant was 25 miles away.  Besides the distance...eating fast food wasn't a part of my family culture. And why would it be?  In the summer time, we had all the food we wanted to eat growing in the family garden plot.  And in the winter, vegetables and potatoes was as close as the "cellar" where canned vegetables, jellies, and jams were preserved or stored until we wanted to eat them.

The current family culture is very different.  As families have relocated closer to cities for their work, fast food restaurants are as close as the corner shopping center.  Some of them will even deliver their offerings direct to your front door.

It's really a matter of convenience.  With two parents that work and less "space" in the backyard, the family vegetable garden is one of those cultural elements that has declined.  It's inconvenient to have a family garden in 2011.  But as Morgan Spurlock demonstrated in his documentary film and SlowFoodUSA.org promotes via their website, it's vitally important that we begin to move back in that direction.

Plant a Modern Victory Garden

Wessels Living History Farm in York, Nebraska has website with a section on the Victory Gardens of the 1940s.  During World War II, food rationing occurred for things like butter, sugar, and cheese. The government encouraged urbanites to plant their own vegetable gardens - affectionately known as Victory Gardens. From LivingHistoryFarm.org:

The US Department of Agriculture estimates that more than 20 million victory gardens were planted. Fruit and vegetables harvested in these home and community plots was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables. So, the program made a difference.

I can't help but see the similarities between now and then.  So I guess it really is true..."the more things change, the more they stay the same".

In my state the Governor recently announced the 2011 budget, which contains cuts to many social programs for the homeless and disadvantaged.  There's a big "to do" in the local media the past couple of days over these and other cuts.  I would imagine that similar proposals are being floated by governors in States throughout the country.  I suspect Mayors and County Commissions are making plans as well to cut budgets where ever possible.

Certainly, some of the social service providers will feel the cuts deeply as they shuffle and re-shuffle their local activities based on these reductions in aid from the tax payers.  I feel for them.  I do.  There are people that depend on these types of programs.  Without delving into the politics of it all and re-hashing many of the same issues and arguments beaten and re-beaten with the proverbial dead horse by the political candidates and pundits on the cable and radio talk shows, I'll pose the obvious question:

Why not take a page from the 1940s and start a new movement toward Victory?

For Kelly Holthus and others, 'it was a great moral thing'.

You Can't Eat an iPad

Do you need a reason to grow your own food?   Commodity prices have been rising for years and it appears that rising food costs are gaining more and more speed.

According to MarketWatch.com food inflation will be on the rise during 2011.  Here's an excerpt from a past article in late 2010:

"Food inflation will “accelerate” during the final months of 2010 and into the first six months of 2011, especially for meat, cereal and dairy products..."

CNBC also had a segment recently along those same lines of thought. 
Manufacturing companies have become more and more efficient. They're doing more with less and making more profits as a result.  Service companies are implementing technology applications that make them more efficient. They are servicing more people with the same or less effort and probility has improved.  Car repair shops have gotten to the point that without the aid of microchips and software programs, it's nearly impossible to diagnose causes and effects.

One need look no further than the myriad of news articles or stock prices to see plenty of other examples.

While businesses have reduced costs and improved profits, commodities such as vegetables, grains, and fruits have continued to rise.  Candy bars and cookies have become smaller, but gone up in price.  Carbonated beverages have nearly doubled in price over the past decade. I recall my mom buying 4 loaves of bread for $1 and 5 loaves for $1 when it was on sale.  Now a trip to the grocery store's bread aisle creates a certain "pucker factor" at times with the price of 1 loaf of premium bread brands selling for $2 or more. Bananas, fresh fruits, nuts, and milk are other examples.

We can apply business principles to food production and slow down rising food costs a little, but we may not always like the side effects accompanying that approach.  If you're interested in some examples of those side effects, you may want to rent the movie Food Inc. sometime.

A CNBC guest in the video link I posted above explained his point of view about how good the business environment has become in a reference to falling iPad prices.  In an opposing view about the shifting economics, another guest summed up the situation we all are faced with in a simple, but blunt example: 

"the unfortunate reality is I can't eat an I Pad".

How right he is. 

You can buy a few packs of seed for $20 or less, prepare a simple garden in your backyard, and grow the equivalent of 100's or even 1,000s of dollars in produce for the basic cost of very little more than elbow grease and lots of perspiration.

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Eat for Energy

Throwing Out the Baby (Lettuce) with the Bath

Well in walks my co-gardener (my husband) with news that the lettuce is rotting in the garden.  Since I am in charge of harvesting I sensed a bit of agitation in his voice.   My first thought was Lesson 2: If you plant more in your garden than you can eat, make sure it is something that you can store, pickle, freeze, etc. or plan ahead and stagger your planting so things will ripen over a period of time. 

I had planned on eating salads for the next couple of weeks with this lettuce ripening at different times; he planted it in staggered intervals just for this reason.  I walked out to look at the rotting lettuce thinking I had totally let my husband down and all I see is pretty green young lettuce leaves with a few of what I call sacrificial leaves nearest the ground that were browning a little.

Thinking my bifocals were failing me I asked him where the rotting lettuce was and he replied, “Look at those leaves. They aren’t green.”

Well here is where I come up with my Lesson 3:  Remember fresh vegetables’ appearance is not always perfect - you will have brown leaves occasionally.  You have to pluck out the brown lettuce leaves once in a while, or a cucumber with a worm whole, or a collard leaf with a caterpillar bite, and sometimes you have to accept that your green pepper might not be the size of the ones in the grocery store because you chose not to add the Miracle Grow to your vegetables.  But, just because your veggies aren’t shiny (waxed) and huge like those in the grocery store, don’t automatically reject them.  We have successfully had a wonderful salad for the past two days from the lettuce that my husband thought I had let rot in the garden.

This backyard garden is a work in progress and we are learning a lot in the process, but I highly recommend everyone doing something.  Whether it’s planting a few herbs in a herb box , buying an Earthbox, creating a container garden, or buying a Topsy Turvy; doing anything is better than doing nothing and then complaining about it.

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Eat for Energy

Organic, All Natural, Sustainable, Grass Fed...

Organic, All Natural, Sustainable, Grass Fed, non-GMO, local food, and know your farmer are all words or phrases that are floating around in the blogosphere, on Twitter, Facebook, and in news feeds. 

Our intention in starting our little postage-stamp-sized backyard garden was not to support any one food movement or philosophy, but to take action and do something. 

We are a member of an Organic CSA, a local food buying club, and in the last year we started our own above ground garden.   It is a far cry from the family gardens we grew up with.  Now I wonder why I didn’t listen and do more when I had my parents to advise me.

It’s exciting when we can make an entire meal out of veggies we’ve grown in our backyard.  But, we’ve also learned our first gardening lesson recently.  We need a bigger garden if we plan not to starve!!! And we need to do better with planning what veggies to grow (and when), but we’re definitely achieving our primary short term goal and taking action.

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