Eating Veggies Fills You Up

Plant Based Lunch = 2 c. salad: spinach, bok choy, beets, onions & chickpeas, 1 c. French green lentils spiced with cardamom, cumin & cinnamon, 1 c. quinoa with tomato & basil

Imagine getting full after eating a little bag of carrots, or a small bowl of greens. Is that bad? Remember the last time you ate cookies, fried food, or Doritos, and you just couldn’t stop eating them? That’s because your your stomach’s fullness receptors aren’t activated until it’s filled up.

Source: Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Eat for Health. Book One, 2008

It’s funny to me that government institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention perform research studies and make statements like, “Eating fruits and vegetables may help manage weight.” Shouldn’t that be obvious? I suppose it’s not if you’re eating large portions of foods that are fatty, salty, and laden with sugar. Eating an apple or a celery stick, if you’re mostly eating greasy meat and starchy carbs, isn’t going to help you magically lose weight. The trick is eating less (or none) of the bad stuff, and eating more of the good stuff.

When I tell people I shop every Saturday at the farmers market, many react by saying they could not do the same because it is too expensive. Of course, if you just trade out all the meat and vegetables that you consume for organic ones, your grocery bill will go up. But it’s not just about trading out pesticide-ridden spinach for a locally and sustainable grown spinach. It’s about changing the way you eat in general.

Calorie Comparison (from CDC)

By going to the farmers market, I don’t eat anything that comes out of a box or can, and also, I end up eating smaller portions of meat. Since the meat is very expensive, I’ve been forced to eat less of it, and I make up the balance by eating more vegetables and legumes. And voila, now I am eating healthier and not spending that much more than when I used to shop at the big corporate health food stores. But how can I eat a meal that is mostly vegetables and only a little meat and no pasta or rice? That doesn’t seem like it would fill me up. But it does!

Short-term studies (mostly conducted over several days with limited food options) described in the following section indicate that feeling full is more likely to make a person stop eating than is the total caloric content of the food consumed. Many people believe that consuming high- calorie foods will make them feel full, but a study by Duncan and colleagues3 provided contrary evidence. In their study 20 obese and non-obese participants ate as much as they wanted over 5 days from a diet that alternated from low-energy-density to high-energy-density foods. On the low-energy-density diet, the participants felt full with just over half the calories (1570 kcal) they needed to feel full on the high-energy-density diet (3000 kcal). (Source: Can eating fruits and vegetables help people to manage their weight? Research to Practice Series No. 1).

Below you’ll see my plant-based lunch, one hour later. I was so full, I couldn’t finish my lentils. I ended up eating a portion equaling a little less than 1 cup (the container I’d put them in was 1.9 cups). Now it’s nearly four hours later, as I write this post, and I am starting to feel a little hungry. This would be a good opportunity to have a little piece of fruit and small handful of almonds (raw, organic, and sprouted are best!). Dinner will be similar to lunch, although I might add a portion of meat (no larger than the palm of my hand) to my meal, a pint of vanilla porter (tasty in the winter time!), and a tablespoonful of raw local honey for dessert. I call that splurging! How about you?

Plant Based Lunch...Eaten. (Too full to finish the lentils.)

Un-Recyclable of the Week: Half-Eaten Cupcake

Recycling Is Not Rocket Science

The other day, I was asked to give a presentation about proper recycling in a co-working office space. My audience consisted of small business entrepreneurs and professional freelancers. Everyone had a college undergraduate degree, and it’s likely many of them also had a master’s degree. The reason I was asked to give a presentation is not because I work in the environmental industry, but because I’m passionate about recycling and being resourceful.

Recently, I heard someone use the word “eco-nerd” to refer to himself. He got excited that the Asian restaurant we ate at had real, non-disposable chopsticks. And on top of bringing re-usable bags to the grocery store, he kept track of the bulk item identification numbers on his iPhone to save paper and ink, by avoiding having to print out the adhesive labels.

My particular eco-nerdiness comes from my dedication to minimizing plastic in my life (see article about Trash Free Eating). I will wash and re-use the few plastic bags that make it through the front door of our house. I’m on about my 12th use of a microwave and dishwasher- safe to-go container that I keep taking back to a restaurant I frequent often for lunch, since it’s down the street from my office. Fortunately, they allow me to keep bringing it back, and they even offer me a 50-cent discount for my environmental consciousness.

When you’re as excited about something, as I am about reducing the amount of waste I produce as a human, it’s easy to forget that not everyone else feels the same way. Doesn’t everyone get giddy about recycling, reusing, and maybe not even using it in the first place? I discovered that the answer was no. I had also assumed that fellow college-educated, intelligent, liberal-minded, business-savvy people would be as ecologically enthusiastic as I was. But my assumption was wrong. At least in the office place.

My passion for recycling became apparent at work because I was constantly commenting on how the recycling wasn’t properly being done – sometimes, it wasn’t even done at all. The recycling bins are about ten steps from the kitchen and down a half flight of stairs. It’s easier just to throw the can or container into the trashcan next to the kitchen sink. But it’s also not that difficult to take the extra 30-45 seconds to make the short trip to the bins. (Plus, it’s a good stretching exercise for most of us who sit in a chair 6-8 hours a day.)

The presentation I gave was quite simple. I showed how only the following items are acceptable for the blue “clean paper” bin: office paper, envelopes, cardboard, cardstock, catalogs, magazines, newspaper and junk mail. The following items are acceptable for the plastic, glass, and aluminum “commingled” bin: cleaned and/or rinsed glass bottles and jars, plastics (#1 though #7), and aluminum and steel cans. This is pretty much the standard for recycling most everywhere in Austin.

I got all kinds of interesting questions during the presentation. How do you know if it’s recyclable? (Look for the little number inside a triangle, usually at the bottom of the container.) Why do I have to remove the lids and caps? (Because they are made of different material that doesn’t recycle well, or at all in some cases, plus it jams the recycling machines.) Why can’t I just put the empty beer bottles in the cardboard holder and put them in the recycler that way? (Because the recycling people ask us to separate paper and glass.) Why can’t the recycling people sort it out for me? (They ask us to do things a certain way for a reason, the same way we ask our clients to present information to us in a particular way. It makes the whole process more efficient.) The recycling bins are too out of the way. (Do I really have to answer to that?)

I removed styrofoam, plastic bags, dirty pizza boxes, and glass bottles from the paper bin. I removed paper, soiled plastic containers, bottles still filled with (now rancid) liquid beverage, and outright garbage from the commingled bin. After the presentation, I showed a funny home video I made about the things I do at home to be more resourceful – in hopes of adding a bit of humor to my schoolmarm lesson about saving the earth. In the end, I don’t know if I was able to change anyone’s mind, or even slightly inspire someone to think about how much unnecessary waste we produce in society. Maybe everyone just went back to their desks and promptly forgot everything I said. But I did walk away with one thought – I will continue being an “eco-nerd” for the rest of my life. I figure, if I keep at it, maybe it will catch on. After all, trendsetters don’t wait for everyone else to do the same.

Not sure where to begin? Take it one step at a time. The gateway drug to living an eco-friendly, sustainable life is recycling. But recycling rules vary, depending on where you live, and even depending on the service provider. Look up the recycling guidelines for your city's waste program, or for the service your company uses. If you're at a restaurant and you don't understand what goes in the recycle bin, or what goes in the compost bin, just ask! Most likely, someone there will also be an eco-nerd, eager to answer your question.

The Grapefruit Showdown: Raw vs. Del Monte

Do you ever wish vegetables didn't taste quite so "vegetabley"?
--V8 Commercial 2011


CONVERSATION OVERHEARD...

Recently, I overheard a discussion about grapefruits between three people (the names have been changed to protect their privacy). Jane was in the act of eating a raw grapefruit, creating a small pile of rinds as she peeled it. Bob and Mary, who were in the same room while this activity was taking place, engaged Jane in a conversation.

Mary: Hey Jane, do you eat a grapefruit every day?
Jane: Yes, it's healthy.
Bob: Where did you buy it?
Jane: At a regional chain supermarket.
Mary: Is it organic?
Jane: No, that's expensive. I'm on a budget.
Bob: Is organic really better anyway?
Mary: I don't think so.
Jane: Tastes the same.
Bob: I eat Del Monte® Fruit Naturals® - this way I don't have to deal with the rinds, or eat the nasty white part on the skin.

Note that in addition to the name of the company having a registered trademark, so is the term “fruit naturals.” What does it mean exactly when something is trademarked? According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, “A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods.” [1] Apparently, Del Monte has created a product consisting of natural fruit, which they have cleverly claimed as unique by simply reversing the order of the words. Didn’t Mother Nature – or God – invent natural fruit? And just what is this nasty white stuff, anyway?

PACKAGING: A Grapefruit’s Natural Packaging – Plastic is Unnecessary

In a 2009 article published by the New York Times:
“The underside of the peel, called the albedo, contains carbohydrates and vitamin C but is especially rich in a soluble fiber called pectin, said Dr. Renee M. Goodrich, associate professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida. ''We are beginning to see links between consumption of such fiber and cholesterol lowering,'' she said. [2]

The albedo is also called mesocarp or pith. According to their official Del Monte® Fruit Naturals® website, “They're picked at their ripest, then perfectly peeled, prepared and packed in 100% juice–all in handy 6-7 oz. plastic cups with easy peel-off lids.” They even remove the seeds and that disgusting albedo for you! And let’s face it – we live in a busy world. Taking two minutes to peel a grapefruit is just too much time. Why should you waste that time, when you can spend a mere two seconds removing the “easy peel-off lid”? Not to mention, what do you do with those rinds? It’s much easier to throw away the plastic packaging.

But wait, if you are eco-friendly, you might want to throw away the non-recyclable lid, and then deposit the “green” cup in a recycling container. (Read Del Monte®'s statement on caring about the environment.) In 2008, they launched a “Going Green” project for all their employees, giving them personal coffee cups and plastic cups (presumably the latter is for drinking water or the wide assortment of Del Monte® fruit juices).

This will surely cancel out the negative environmental impact caused by the millions of plastic cups that consumers throw away after using them for the entire 5-15 minutes it took them to consume the “natural fruit.” In reality, the percentage of aluminum, paper, and plastic that gets recycled is less than 100% – the actual statistic will vary widely depending on the source. (And if you want to learn some interesting things about plastic, see the documentary Bag It.)

In addressing the nutritional content of a raw grapefruit versus fruit-in-a-cup, there are several sources. If you look on the official Del Monte® Fruit Naturals® website, you will notice there are two varieties of the red grapefruit product: the regular one in 100% fruit juice and the “no sugar added” one. On the product page, there is a charming hand-drawn graphic inviting you to “click to read nutrition facts.”

NUTRITION FACTS & INGREDIENTS

Once you click, you will learn that the regular 7-ounce version contains “about” two servings of 126 grams each. Each serving has less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugars, 60 calories, 2% of vitamin A and 100% vitamin C of the daily values based on the 2,000 calorie diet. The “no sugar added” version has less calories – it also happens to be in a 6.5-ounce cup. Per serving, this version has only 40 calories, slightly more fiber at .5 grams, only 6 grams of sugar, 10% of vitamin A (more than the regular kind!) and 100% vitamin C of the daily values based on the 2,000 calorie diet. They have conveniently left out the ingredients. We are led to assume it contains only grapefruit.

One website called ShopWell.com™, still in the beta phase, seems to have a very comprehensive database of food products, their nutritional value, and list of ingredients. For the regular red grapefruit, it lists the following ingredients: Grapefruit, Reconstituted White Grape Juice, Reconstituted Red Grapefruit Juice, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (to preserve quality), Ascorbic Acid (to protect color), Citric Acid, Color Added. [3] The “no sugar added” red grapefruit contains the following: Grapefruit, Water, Sorbitol, Ascorbic Acid (to protect color), Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (to protect quality), Citric Acid, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, Color Added. [4]

The obvious offenders in both versions are potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate – both of these ingredients are synthetically produced by laboratory chemical methods. The regular version contains reconstituted white grape juice and reconstituted red grapefruit juice. What exactly is that anyway? The USDA has produced a 15-page document called “United States Standards for Grades of Grapefruit Juice.” The document defines reconstituted juice as a “product obtained by thoroughly mixing the concentrate with the amount of water prescribed on the label or other appropriate directions.” [5]

What is concentrate then? The FDA has the answer to that question in a document published in its Health and Human Services department regulations § 146.132:
“If the grapefruit juice is prepared from concentrate, such sweeteners, in liquid form, referred to in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section, also may be used. When prepared from concentrated grapefruit juice, exclusive of added sweeteners, the finished food contains not less than 10 percent, by weight, of soluble solids taken as the refractometric sucrose value (of the filtrate), corrected to 20°C, and corrected for acidity by adding (0.012+0.193x–0.0004x2), where x equals the percent anhydrous citric acid in the sample, to the refractometrically obtained sucrose value by the first method prescribed in ‘‘Correction of Refractometer Sucrose Readings for Citric Acid Content for Lemonade,’’ by Yeatman, Senzel, and Springer, ‘‘Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,’’ vol. 59 p. 368 (1976). [6]

Let’s dig a little deeper. What are these acceptable sweeteners in liquid form? If we refer to paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section on the topic of Optional Ingredients, we will learn that these are defined as “one or any combination of two or more of the dry or liquid forms of sugar, invert sugar sirup, dextrose, glucose sirup, and fructose. Sweeteners defined in part 168 of this chapter shall be as defined therein.” [6] If we refer to part 168 of this chapter, I have to wonder if we will continue to be led further down the spiral of elusive definitions.


LABELING

You don’t even have to refer to part 168 to continue the seemingly endless scavenger hunt. In paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section on the topic of Labeling, we’ll learn that “if any nutritive sweetener is added, the principal display panel of the label shall bear the statement ‘‘Sweetener added.’’” [6] What if the nutritive sweetener is already part of the concentrate, and it’s not present in addition to the concentrate mix? What if “two or more of the dry or liquid forms of sugar, invert sugar sirup, dextrose, glucose sirup, and fructose” are not qualified as nutritive sweeteners, and therefore does not have to be listed?

The FDA gives a decent overview on how it regulates the listing of ingredients, in its Guidance for Industry: A Food Labeling Guide: Contains Nonbinding Recommendations:

15. Do ingredients of standardized foods have to be listed when the standardized food is an ingredient in a non-standardized food?
Answer: The sub ingredients of a food that is an ingredient in another food may be declared parenthetically following the name of the ingredient or may be declared by dispersing each ingredient in its order of predominance in the ingredient statement without naming the original ingredient. 21 CFR 101.4(b)(2) [7]

To truly understand what all this means, the average consumer will likely feel overwhelmed, and if curious enough like me, will feel the desire to go back to college and study chemistry and biology. But Del Monte® has made it easy for the consumer. All they need to know about the Fruit Naturals® red grapefruit in 100% fruit juice is that it contains sugar. Because of the way the definitions are set up to cross reference each other without explicitly stating anything clearly and concisely, Del Monte® can simply list “sugar” as an ingredient, hoping that most of us won’t spend hours trying to get to the bottom of what that really means. Anyway, even if the FDA makes recommendation for labeling food, they are “nonbinding recommendations.”

To confirm the ingredients listed by ShopWell.com™, I visited three different H-E-B markets in Austin, Texas, and I could not find either of these two grapefruit products. A friend visited Central Market – a grocery store that prides in selling healthy items – and could not find them either. I also went to Sunflower (formerly Newflower), and I did not find them either. It seems my only options are ordering online through Amazon.com, Costco, or Sam’s Club, along with a large-screen television. But just to be sure, I sent an email to Del Monte® and have requested the actual list of ingredients.


Dear Del Monte,

Can you please send me the complete list of ingredients for both the Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit and the Fruit Naturals No Sugar Added Red Grapefruit?

On your website, I can only view the nutrition facts, but I would like to know the list of ingredients.

Thank you,
Alexandra

p.s. I would also like to know where I can purchase these products? I have visited three HEBs, one Central Market, and one Sunflower market and have not been able to find them.


Dear Alexandra,

Thanks for visiting our Del Monte website and for your email.

The ingredients you requested are listed below and below that you will find some stores in your area that carry these products.

*Red Grapefruit in 100% Juice: Grapefruit, Reconstituted White Grape Juice, Reconstituted Red grapefruit Juice, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (To Preserve Quality), Ascorbic Acid (TO Protect Color), Citric Acid

*No Sugar Added Red Grapefruit: Grapefruit, Water, Sorbitol, Ascorbic Acid (To Protect Color), Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (To Preserve Quality), Citric Acid, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose.

We checked our information for you, and it shows this product has been sold in the past 90 days at the stores listed below. Before making a special trip, we recommend you call the store to be sure the product is in stock. If you've already checked these stores recently, it may also be help ful for you to let your store manager know about your interest in this item.

Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit NSA and Fruit Naturals Red Grapefruit packed in100 percent juice.

Randalls Food Market
2025 W Ben White Blvd
Austin TX 78704-7518
(512) 4433083

Fiesta Mart
5510 S Interstate 35 Ste 250
Austin TX 78745-3293
(512) 3737800

Randalls Food Market
6600 S MO Pac Expy
Austin TX 78749-1431
(512) 8914350

I appreciate the opportunity to respond and hope this information is helpful.

Mike, Del Monte Consumer Affairs

Del Monte. Nourishing families. Enriching lives. Every Day.


Del Monte® does a thorough job of revealing its practices. The Living a Healthy Lifestyle section of their corporate website has a Nutrition Q & A. [8] Below are some of the questions and answers relevant to the investigation in this article:

QUESTION
Why do you only list certain nutrients on your products?

ANSWER
The Food and Drug Administration regulates nutrition labeling. The nutrients listed on all of our products are required by law to be listed.

QUESTION
Why do you use High Fructose Corn Syrup in your products?

ANSWER
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a sweetener that is made from corn that has virtually the same sweetening power as sugar, provides the same amount of calories as table sugar and is used by our bodies just like table sugar. In the food industry, High Fructose Corn Syrup does more than just sweeten a product — it helps retain moisture and food structure. It also allows flavors to blend and increases the shelf life of a product.

QUESTION
What is sucralose and why do you use it?

ANSWER
Sucralose (Splenda®) is made from regular table sugar, but is altered by replacing three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with three chlorine atoms.

High fructose corn syrup is a probable suspect in Del Monte® Fruit Naturals®, and it is a likely explanation for its extraordinarily long shelf life of 15-21 months. Try keeping a raw grapefruit for 3 months – no natural fruit is intended to last that long, unless you preserve it the good old-fashioned way as a jam or jelly preserve. Fruit Naturals® are not being preserved as jams or jellies – they are being preserved much in the way that Walt Disney has supposedly been cryogenically frozen – trying to capture the raw and “natural” state of an organic being. Except that food processors like Del Monte® use modern high-pressurization machines to do so, in addition to preservation chemicals.

Remember the “no sugar added” version of red grapefruit? Even though it has no sugar added, it does contain the following artificial, non-nutritive sweeteners: sorbitol, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose. In its Nutrition Q & A, Del Monte® does explain its use of sucralose, openly admitting the fact that it is simply regular table sugar that has been chemically altered. What about the other two sweeteners? These, too, are synthetic, laboratory produced chemicals.


VITAMIN CONTENT

Many people will argue that the canned (or plastic-cupped) versions are actually better for you because they have increased vitamin content. Both versions of the Fruit Naturals® red grapefruit – the regular and the “no sugar added” – contain 100% vitamin C of the daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet. But what is 100%? How much vitamin C is that? The USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center website [9] has published a chart of Dietary Reference Intakes prepared by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. According to this chart, the Recommended Dietary Allowances and Adequate Intakes of Vitamins can range anywhere from 75 mg for an adult female to 90 mg for an adult male. [10] Therefore, we can likely assume that Fruit Naturals® will contain roughly 75 mg of vitamin C for a 126-ounce serving.

How much vitamin C does an equivalent serving of raw grapefruit have? Only 39 grams. You can look up this same information on the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. This fact gives fruit-in-a-cup advocates the fodder they need to continue claiming their packaged product is superior to the real thing. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, can exist naturally in living organisms, but it can also be industrially synthesized. Fruit Naturals® lists ascorbic acid as an ingredient. Could this be a reason why it has a higher content of vitamin C than a freshly tree-picked raw grapefruit?


WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN ANYWAY?

Large corporations with large marketing dollars to spend can potentially convince consumers of just about anything. Del Monte® says on their website that you can “Experience Fruit Undressed™,” which is a “fruit that’s stripped down to its bare goodness; no skins, seeds or cores.” [11] Following that logic, if a human wants to be sexy and undressed, should he or she skin themselves down to the muscle? Isn’t a fruit in its natural state already “undressed”? How are Del Monte® Fruit Naturals® that come individually packaged in small plastic cups, and then packaged together in sets in cardboard, be less undressed than the actual fruit?

Also, watch those labels. A grapefruit should only have one ingredient: grapefruit.


SOURCES:

1. http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/process/index.jsp
2. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E5D91038F932A05750C0A96F9C8B63
3. http://www.shopwell.com/fruit-naturals-red-grapefruit-in-100-juice/fresh-fruit/p/2400050785?f=sr&nr=322&sp=4
4. http://www.shopwell.com/fruit-naturals-red-grapefruit-no-sugar-added/fresh-fruit/p/2400050793?f=sr&nr=322&sp=5
5. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3007255
6. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2005/aprqtr/pdf/21cfr146.132.pdf
7. http://www.fda.gov/food/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/guidancedocuments/foodlabelingnutrition/foodlabelingguide/ucm064880.htm#stdfood
source changed to:
http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GuidanceDocuments/FoodLabelingNutrition/FoodLabelingGuide/default.htm
8. http://www.delmontefoods.com/livingahealthylifestyle/?page=lh_askthenutritionist4
9. http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=3&tax_subject=256&topic_id=1342&level3_id=5140
10. http://iom.edu/Activities/Nutrition/SummaryDRIs/~/media/Files/Activity%20Files/Nutrition/DRIs/RDA%20and%20AIs_Vitamin%20and%20Elements.pdf
11. http://www.delmontefoods.com/brands/

Plastic Bags – Recycle, Reuse, or Don’t Use

Mercado Hidalgo in Guanajuato
Photo courtesy of Shand Walton (c) 2006

For being such a progressive, liberal, and environmentally friendly city, I am surprised how few people in Austin take reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. Even at the farmers market, where shoppers don’t have a choice but to carry reusable bags (or baskets), they still wind up putting their vegetables in plastic produce bags. And if you have any Latin American blood in you – you, especially, have no excuse. Our forefathers and foremothers from the homeland have been ecologically conscious since the “mercados” first existed.

I’ve been using canvas bags to carry my groceries for the past four or five years. It’s a no-brainer. All you have to do is make it a habit to take them with you every time you go to the store, or stash a few in your car, just in case you forget. Even though I’ve managed to keep the larger, handled plastic bags at bay, the smaller produce bags – as well as the infamous Ziploc bags – still accumulate by the mounds at home.

Items like bananas and potatoes never get a plastic bag. Nature gave them their own built-in features to make transportation easy. But what about green beans? Or a pound of granola from the bulk bins? You can’t just throw those into your shopping basket, so you’re forced to take yet another produce bag off the roll.

Undercover Mexican Girl's Plastic Laundry Day

After watching the documentary Bag It and writing a review of the film on Popular Hispanics, it’s been at the front of mind to buy the reusable mesh or light cotton produce bags to carry loose vegetables or bulk items such as rice, beans, and nuts. It turns out I can buy them locally at Eco-Wise on South Congress, an “Austin resource for non-toxic, recycled, alternative, earth and eco friendly, natural supplies for building and life.” If there isn’t a place near you, you can always find them online at www.ecobags.com or www.reuseit.com, or support the Bag It documentary project by purchasing them on their online store.

In the meantime, you can do what I did. Rinse them out, hang them to dry, and give them a prolonged life before they inevitably wind up at the dump, and finally, in our oceans. Or instead of throwing them away, you have the following recycling options (via the City of Austin website):

• Many Austin retail grocers such as Central Market, H.E.B., Randalls, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods collect and recycle plastic bags. Look for the specially marked containers at these stores.
• Cycled Plastics in Austin is a public drop-off for plastic, including dry cleaner bags, newspaper sleeves and plastic bags that have had no food contact and have no labels or stickers on them. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10200 McKalla Place. 
• Many schools in Austin have organized plastic bag recycling projects. Check with a nearby school to see if you can drop off and support their efforts. 

Virginia Fleck Recycled Art

If you’re a creative type, you can make your own recycled plastic craft projects such as a throw rug, a beach bag, or a raincoat. Or maybe something a bit more artistic? Find inspiration by checking out the work of Austin-based artist, Virginia Fleck, who has been working exclusively with recycled plastic bags since 2002, creating site specific ecologically conscious art works. If you need a little help to get started, check out Austin Green Art, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about important environmental issues via hands-on, creative, community-based programming & events.

What is Organic, Anyway?

According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary:


DEFINITION OF ORGANIC
1 archaic : instrumental
2 a : of, relating to, or arising in a bodily organ b : affecting the structure of the organism
3 a (1) : of, relating to, or derived from living organisms (2) : of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides b (1) : of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds (2) : relating to, being, or dealt with by a branch of chemistry concerned with the carbon compounds of living beings and most other carbon compounds
4 a : forming an integral element of a whole : fundamental organic parts of the action — Francis Fergusson> b : having systematic coordination of parts : organized organic whole> c : having the characteristics of an organism : developing in the manner of a living plant or animal organic>

Let's look at definition 3 a (1) and definition 4 a: "of, relating to, or derived from living organisms" and "forming an integral element of a whole." If we think about our food being organic from this perspective, then we think of our foods as living - they are alive, pure, and in their natural state. Organic matter (or organic material), for example, is matter that has come from a once-living organism. My beef should come from a cow that was once alive, and my pork should come from a pig that was once alive - similarly, my carrots and spinach should also come from plants that were once alive and growing in the dirt.

What about the opposite of organic?

DEFINITION OF INORGANIC
a (1) : being or composed of matter other than plant or animal : mineral (2) : forming or belonging to the inanimate world b : of, relating to, or dealt with by a branch of chemistry concerned with substances not usually classed as organic
2 : not arising from natural growth : artificial; also : lacking structure, character, or vitality inorganic things, without individuality or prestige — John Buchan


Our American food industry, however, has defined "organic" not as something that came from a once living being - but rather "of, relating to, yielding, or involving the use of food produced with the use of feed or fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides" (see definition 3 a (2) of organic). Therefore, it is possible to eat "organic" beef that, as a cow, was not fed growth stimulants or antibiotics, but still ate grains its whole life instead of grass, or spent large amounts of time in confinement. True grass fed, according to the American Grassfed Association means:

• animals were fed a lifetime diet of 100% forage 
• animals were raised on pasture, not in confinement
• animals were never treated with hormones or antibiotics 

All three things must - and should - be true. Yet, as it stands, USDA grass fed standard only requires that animals have access to the outdoors during the growing season. (See USDA 2007 Press Release "USDA Establishes Grass (Forage) Fed Marketing Claim Standard.") The good news is that the USDA is apparently making progress. Before 2007, USDA standards stated that "consumption of [...] grain in the immature stage is acceptable." Animals are not biologically designed to eat grain and corn - they are designed to forage, to eat grass and bugs. Cows that are fed corn or grain are much more likely to be infected with E. Coli because eating this type of feed makes their normally pH-neutral digestive tract abnormally acidic, which in turn causes E. Coli to develop a resistance to acid.

There are various labels on meat out there: Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Humane, Global Animal Partnership, USDA Organic, and American Human Certified. Ironically, the one label using the "term" organic actually has the least strict standards. For a good summary on what all these labels mean, read the article Truth Behind the Labels: How Meat Eaters Can Find Out if Their Dinner Was Really Humanely Raised. In the United States, we have no unified standard on what "organic" truly means. So if you really want to know, you must investigate your food source.

Now, let's move on to fruits and vegetables.

I've been reading on various sources that the USDA Organic Rule states that "the use of genetically engineered organisms and their products are prohibited in any form or at any stage in organic production, processing or handling." The thing is, I have not been able to find anywhere on the official USDA site that states this. (So if someone out there reading this can point me to the source, I'd surely appreciate it!) Granted, I haven't spent hours digging into their site - only about thirty minutes. Still - the average consumer does not even have thirty minutes to find this information. I feel this type of information should be clearly stated and easily located on their website.

This brings us to the question of whether or not the "organic" fruits and vegetables we purchase are genetically pure, or genetically modified. And by genetically modified, I don't mean that two strains of tomatoes cross-pollinated and created an accidental, nature-induced hybrid. I mean those seeds which have undergone Frankenstein surgery to acquire super powers. Monsanto, a U.S.-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, has created herbicide-tolerant genetically modified seeds called "Monsanto's Roundup Ready® crops," which are engineered to be resistant to Monsanto's broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup (Glyphosate). Whether or not the USDA National Organic Program has been allowing this in the past, it's hard to say. I am still tracking this information down.

But I do know this. If you visit the NOP website on http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop, you will notice right away that this program is being run by the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. If you understand anything about marketing, then it should give you a fairly large clue that truth and integrity are probably not the foundations for this program. (Read Seth Godin's "All Marketers Are Liars.") Then again, they might not be hiding anything. After all, just recently - in January 2011 - the USDA stated they will allow the planting of modified alfalfa. This is on mainstream news. How this will affect the "National Organic Program," we've yet to see.

In a recent press release, however, also this past month in January 2011, the National Organic Program "Proposes Renewal of Twelve Substances for Use in Organic Agriculture." So really, who knows? At any given time, that "USDA Organic" label on your chicken breast or bag of apples could mean whatever the USDA has decided or ruled at the time. You have to keep up with it, and you have to stay informed, if you truly want to know whether your food is "dead" or "alive."

I'm a busy gal - I don't always have time to keep up with these news. Fortunately, the folks down at the local farmers market, where I do most of my food shopping these days, keep me updated. If you haven't yet visited your local farmers market, I highly recommend it. This is the easiest way to be sure that your food is truly organic - that is, not fed antibiotics, happy roaming, grass and bug fed, not genetically modified, not sprayed with pesticides, and handled with care. And most of the food is sold by the very farmers who grew it! Think you can't afford the higher prices for real food? I guess your health - and of the people you love - must not be worth it.