Some weird things are going on lately with food prices, at least at Safeway! I am making out my weekly shopping list and I have come across some interesting discrepancies.
I always shop the sales and one thing I like about Safeway is that you can shop online and get groceries delivered without being tempted to buy every thing in the store. I can just shop from my list and only my list. Safeway.com even lets you sort similar items by price to get the best deal.
So here I am looking at different grocery options and I find my first new discrepancy. Powdered milk has long been a staple in the Frugal Kitchen so imagine my surprise at $17.69 for a box of store brand powdered milk (44 cents per pint) verses store brand 2% at $2.99 (37 cents per pint)! How is that possible? Powdered milk has never, in my memory, been more expensive than fresh milk! We use about 1 gallon of milk per day so that is $204 per year difference! I just noticed this today and since I have ordered the store brand powdered without thinking I wonder how much this has cost me in the last year? $204 extra on my grocery bill for buying what has always been the cheapest product until now?? When did this change actually happen?
My interest is peaked and I look at other "cheap" staples.
Rice and beans are the cheapest in the largest bags right? Wrong! Pearl barley, yellow split peas and small white beans are the cheapest in 1 pound bags. Pinto beans are the cheapest(84 cents per pound) in the 10 pound bag compared to 95 cents per pound in a 20 pound bag. Rice is cheaper in 20 pound bags(46 cents per pound) than 25 pound bags (55 cents per pound). The cheapest package of rice at Safeway is $1.25 for a 1 pound bag...nearly 3 times higher than the 20 pound bag. Even a 2 pound bag is dramatically cheaper at 1.99($1 per pound)
Frozen veggies are cheaper than canned or fresh right?
Wrong again! Frozen corn is $1.30 per pound while canned corn is $0.63 per pound. Fresh corn is 5/$1.00 or about 80 cents a pound. Canned peas are 63 cents per pound, frozen peas are $1.30 per pound. Canned spinach is $1.51 per pound, fresh is $1.79 and frozen is $2.50. Again, I have been fooled by the old Frugal Wisdom.
Tuna is cheap? Not any more! Canned salmon is, on average, 10 cents per pound cheaper than tuna.
Has Safeway finally found our weakness in our sheer aversion to comparing prices on our own? 99% of all Frugal Living sites will repeat the old "Powdered/Frozen/Big Bags" as the way to get the cheapest foods and now Safeway has found a way to cash in on it by raising the prices on the styles and package sizes that automatically attract the Frugal Shoppers!
Sadly, I noticed that in nearly all basic food groups the food marketed to African Americans, Hispanics and Asians were almost always higher in price than the same product in universal packaging.
Examples:
Safeway/Vons Canned Spinach - 14 Oz $1.32
Sylvia's Southern Style Spinach Greens - 14.5 Oz $2.45
O Organic Black Beans - 15 Oz 99 cents
S&W Mexican Style Black Beans (Hispanic Food Aisle)- 15 Oz $1.49
Fiesta Garbanzo Beans-(Hispanic Foods Aisle) 16 Oz $1.79
O Organic Garbanzo Beans - (canned veggie aisle) 16 Oz $1.09
Goya Dry Chick Peas (Eastern Foods aisle) 16 Oz $2.69
Fiesta Dry Garbanzo Beans (Hispanic Foods Aisle) 16 Oz $1.76
Safeway/Vons Garbanzo Beans -(Pasta aisle) 16 Oz $1.13
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Dear Trader Joe
Dear Joe or Authorized Representative,
I love my local Trader Joe's. The store is bright and clean, crew members are friendly and knowledgeable, and the food is fabulous! Still, I find myself limiting my visits due to concerns about packaging. I find it confusing that I get a great re-usable paper bag filled to the top with non-recyclable plastics. Plastic are a great concern to me, so I do not buy any veggies at your store and find myself appalled by sheer volume of plastic on everything else.
Here in the Seattle area, we have a good but limited plastic recycling system and other than plastic bottles, very little of the plastics I get from your store can be placed in the bins.
Trader Joe's is so great at being environmentally friendly in other areas but this area also needs to be addressed.
I would like to see more items offered in standard canning-style glass jars. More and more of us are doing some home canning so many of the jars would be reused many times.
I would like to see more products packaged in compostable plastics. Packages that are clearly marked, "Suitable for compost bin recycling" would be a great comfort to me.
I would like to see more products including your lovely baby veggies packaged in reusable "Tupperware" style packaging.
I would like to see more products packaged in consumer reusable containers. Something I can use the contents, slip off the label and reuse. For example: Playtex Chubs Stackable Baby Wipes. These come in a re-fillable box that is also a giant Lego that can be played with for years and then recycled.
And, I would LOVE to see Trader Joe's switch to more "returnable" packaging that could be taken back to the factory and refilled.
I would also love to see more regionally produced products. My great disappointment of my last TJ's shopping trip: TJ's Spanish White Beans with Vegetables from Spain. I will never buy this product again no matter how healthy and delicious it is. The only part of the packaging that is recyclable here in Seattle is the cardboard sleeve. The tray and plastic film are trash. And, the idea of shipping cooked beans from Spain is ridiculous. I know that dealing with large companies helps to make your products consistent but Spain??? Maybe you can get the same thing in a dehydrated version and sell it in paper packaging---just add water or maybe just sell the Sofrito sauce in a big jar to flavor beans with, made in Washington State if possible. Until I see something like that, I am done with this particular product.
Alas, Dear Trader Joe, even though your goods are really, really good, I will have to limit my trips to your store to just the basic necessities.
I love my local Trader Joe's. The store is bright and clean, crew members are friendly and knowledgeable, and the food is fabulous! Still, I find myself limiting my visits due to concerns about packaging. I find it confusing that I get a great re-usable paper bag filled to the top with non-recyclable plastics. Plastic are a great concern to me, so I do not buy any veggies at your store and find myself appalled by sheer volume of plastic on everything else.
Here in the Seattle area, we have a good but limited plastic recycling system and other than plastic bottles, very little of the plastics I get from your store can be placed in the bins.
Trader Joe's is so great at being environmentally friendly in other areas but this area also needs to be addressed.
I would like to see more items offered in standard canning-style glass jars. More and more of us are doing some home canning so many of the jars would be reused many times.
I would like to see more products packaged in compostable plastics. Packages that are clearly marked, "Suitable for compost bin recycling" would be a great comfort to me.
I would like to see more products including your lovely baby veggies packaged in reusable "Tupperware" style packaging.
I would like to see more products packaged in consumer reusable containers. Something I can use the contents, slip off the label and reuse. For example: Playtex Chubs Stackable Baby Wipes. These come in a re-fillable box that is also a giant Lego that can be played with for years and then recycled.
And, I would LOVE to see Trader Joe's switch to more "returnable" packaging that could be taken back to the factory and refilled.
I would also love to see more regionally produced products. My great disappointment of my last TJ's shopping trip: TJ's Spanish White Beans with Vegetables from Spain. I will never buy this product again no matter how healthy and delicious it is. The only part of the packaging that is recyclable here in Seattle is the cardboard sleeve. The tray and plastic film are trash. And, the idea of shipping cooked beans from Spain is ridiculous. I know that dealing with large companies helps to make your products consistent but Spain??? Maybe you can get the same thing in a dehydrated version and sell it in paper packaging---just add water or maybe just sell the Sofrito sauce in a big jar to flavor beans with, made in Washington State if possible. Until I see something like that, I am done with this particular product.
Alas, Dear Trader Joe, even though your goods are really, really good, I will have to limit my trips to your store to just the basic necessities.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Falafel Anyone???
Falafel is beginning to go mainstream in the US and it's about time! Anyone who enjoys hush puppies or refried beans should also like falafel since they are all basically the same thing: fried dough!
Most people will try the boxed falafel mix because it is so much easier than making it from scratch and while I agree that making falafel from scratch is more work, I do it because 1) mine is better than the boxed, and 2) mine is much less expensive! $2.00 for a batch of falafel is robbery! LOL! The recipe below hints as to how often I make traditional falafel....
Another good reason to make falafel from scratch is that you can adapt it to your personal preferences. We regularly enjoy Hybrid Falafel, which is the regular stuff with any number of additives:
Make a batch of Traditional Falafel and divide in half. Mix 1 cup of ground turkey with 1/2 of the falafel and then form into balls, fry and add to spaghetti sauce for spaghetti & meatballs.
Sautee 1 cup of finely chopped mushrooms and add them to a batch of falafel, then fry as usual.
Crumble a batch of falafel into a frying pan and brown well in place of the hamburger in Hamburger Helper.
Form your falafel ball around a cube of cheese and fry as usual.
Traditional Falafel
First make your "Vickie's Quickie Falafel Spice Mix":
4 Cups flour
3/4 Cup minced onion
3/4 Cup Italian 7 Spice
1/4 Cup garlic powder
1/4 Cup cumin
1/4 Cup baking powder
1/4 Cup Vegeta(Baltic Seasoning Salt) or salt
Mix everything together well and store in an airtight container.
Makes about 7 cups of mix or enough for about 28 batches.
For the beans I use the #10 can of garbanzo beans ($2.09 at my local restaurant supply store. Enough for 7 batches of Falafel.) Measure out the beans into 1 quart ziptop bags--2 cups of drained beans per bag. Freeze these until you are ready to use them.
To make falafel: defrost 1 bag of beans and crush them right in the bag. I use the bottom of a mug to do this.If you are using dried beans-soak 1 cup of beans over night. Or, you can use 1 15 oz can. When the beans are all mashed up, add 1/2 of a medium onion(finely chopped)(about 1/2 cup) and 1/4 of a cup of the Falafel Spice Mix. Mix together well and form into balls the size of a golf ball. Flatten slightly and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Only fry what you want for a single meal. Mixture may be kept in the fridge for up to a week.
By doing Falafel this way I can make a batch from freezer to table in 10-15 mins for about 50 cents a batch.
Hummus Nachos
Make a batch of the Traditional Falafel from canned beans but instead of draining the beans use the liquid too. Stir everything together well and place into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes until it is cooked through. Stir the mixture often while it is cooling. Spoon over tortilla chips, top with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Serve with salsa. YUM!
Most people will try the boxed falafel mix because it is so much easier than making it from scratch and while I agree that making falafel from scratch is more work, I do it because 1) mine is better than the boxed, and 2) mine is much less expensive! $2.00 for a batch of falafel is robbery! LOL! The recipe below hints as to how often I make traditional falafel....
Another good reason to make falafel from scratch is that you can adapt it to your personal preferences. We regularly enjoy Hybrid Falafel, which is the regular stuff with any number of additives:
Make a batch of Traditional Falafel and divide in half. Mix 1 cup of ground turkey with 1/2 of the falafel and then form into balls, fry and add to spaghetti sauce for spaghetti & meatballs.
Sautee 1 cup of finely chopped mushrooms and add them to a batch of falafel, then fry as usual.
Crumble a batch of falafel into a frying pan and brown well in place of the hamburger in Hamburger Helper.
Form your falafel ball around a cube of cheese and fry as usual.
Traditional Falafel
First make your "Vickie's Quickie Falafel Spice Mix":
4 Cups flour
3/4 Cup minced onion
3/4 Cup Italian 7 Spice
1/4 Cup garlic powder
1/4 Cup cumin
1/4 Cup baking powder
1/4 Cup Vegeta(Baltic Seasoning Salt) or salt
Mix everything together well and store in an airtight container.
Makes about 7 cups of mix or enough for about 28 batches.
For the beans I use the #10 can of garbanzo beans ($2.09 at my local restaurant supply store. Enough for 7 batches of Falafel.) Measure out the beans into 1 quart ziptop bags--2 cups of drained beans per bag. Freeze these until you are ready to use them.
To make falafel: defrost 1 bag of beans and crush them right in the bag. I use the bottom of a mug to do this.If you are using dried beans-soak 1 cup of beans over night. Or, you can use 1 15 oz can. When the beans are all mashed up, add 1/2 of a medium onion(finely chopped)(about 1/2 cup) and 1/4 of a cup of the Falafel Spice Mix. Mix together well and form into balls the size of a golf ball. Flatten slightly and fry until golden brown on both sides.
Only fry what you want for a single meal. Mixture may be kept in the fridge for up to a week.
By doing Falafel this way I can make a batch from freezer to table in 10-15 mins for about 50 cents a batch.
Hummus Nachos
Make a batch of the Traditional Falafel from canned beans but instead of draining the beans use the liquid too. Stir everything together well and place into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes until it is cooked through. Stir the mixture often while it is cooling. Spoon over tortilla chips, top with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Serve with salsa. YUM!
Saturday, March 29, 2008
The Age of the Food Economy.
Google "Food Riots" and get to see the stories coming in from Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Thailand, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Haiti, and many other countries as people scramble to find food for their families. Commodity prices have risen 25-50% around the world. Each year more grain crops have been diverted into ethanol production and the practice has finally hit the tipping point: people are starving and food is being sold to the highest bidder. The highest bidder, of course, is the fuel production industry where a pound of corn can be converted to fuel with a 50% profit margin.
In the past 10 years we have all been exposed to the vegetarian idea that it takes 8 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. Here is a new and more disturbing idea: it takes 450 pounds of corn to make 1 gallon of ethanol. If eating meat for a day means that 7 other people go hungry that day, then using 1 gallon of ethanol means that 449 people will go hungry that day for EVERY GALLON OF FUEL USED. Use 3 gallons....1347 people go hungry....Fill up an SUV tank....near 9000 people go to bed with an empty stomach. Even if you only fill up with 10% Ethanol Blend (10EB), you directly contribute to 900 people going hungry.
American know we need to move away from petroleum products and we have invested billions of dollars trying to do that, but ethanol is like many other "Green" ideas I have seen recently....FAKE GREEN. I seen the beginning of this movement and made a very accurate prediction more than 20 years ago, "People will starve to keep American cars on the road." When I first predicted that many of my Peak Oil friends laughed it off. 20 years ago no one thought that it would ever be worth turning corn into fuel...it was just too expensive to even think about. Yet, here we are....the fuel industry is actually willing to pay MORE for corn than the food industry can afford.
Ethanol, and most the the rest of the "Green" movement is powered by the same motivation that lead to Love Canal, Hanford, strip-mining and deforestation...GREED. BP isn't getting on the Ethanol band-wagon because they want to "do the right thing." BP is making money. Toyota isn't producing hybrid cars because it wants to save the Earth, they are doing it to make money.
And these companies are making money like crazy....billions of dollars in profits, driven by GREED with little thought to their impact to future generations. It doesn't matter what 3rd world population suffers starvation, or mercury poisoning, or birth defects as long as the stock-holders get a good return on their investment.
The problems with this wild GREED are just starting to come to light: people in poor nations are starving. American farmers have turned away from traditional crops to grow for higher profits. The USA now imports 50% of our food crops from other countries and that number is expected to rise to 90% by 2012. That prediction may not work out though if the people growing all those fresh fruits and veggies for us can't afford wheat, corn or rice for themselves. The lag time between grain shortages in Mexico, Chile, and China will be 1 to 2 years at the most, then we will see fresh produce skyrocket at the supermarket. 50% increase in the price of corn will be a small thing compared to 200-300% increases in the price of fresh foods we depend on in the US.
When reading the news of food shortages and price increases in other countries, keep in mind that those increases directly affect the wholesale cost of growing food to send back to us and by the time our food finally gets to the market the cost is going to be astronomical.
I am thinking of growing a little more in my garden this year and much more next year. I don't know when fresh foods are going to become un-affordable but I can guarantee that it is just a matter of time.
In the past 10 years we have all been exposed to the vegetarian idea that it takes 8 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. Here is a new and more disturbing idea: it takes 450 pounds of corn to make 1 gallon of ethanol. If eating meat for a day means that 7 other people go hungry that day, then using 1 gallon of ethanol means that 449 people will go hungry that day for EVERY GALLON OF FUEL USED. Use 3 gallons....1347 people go hungry....Fill up an SUV tank....near 9000 people go to bed with an empty stomach. Even if you only fill up with 10% Ethanol Blend (10EB), you directly contribute to 900 people going hungry.
American know we need to move away from petroleum products and we have invested billions of dollars trying to do that, but ethanol is like many other "Green" ideas I have seen recently....FAKE GREEN. I seen the beginning of this movement and made a very accurate prediction more than 20 years ago, "People will starve to keep American cars on the road." When I first predicted that many of my Peak Oil friends laughed it off. 20 years ago no one thought that it would ever be worth turning corn into fuel...it was just too expensive to even think about. Yet, here we are....the fuel industry is actually willing to pay MORE for corn than the food industry can afford.
Ethanol, and most the the rest of the "Green" movement is powered by the same motivation that lead to Love Canal, Hanford, strip-mining and deforestation...GREED. BP isn't getting on the Ethanol band-wagon because they want to "do the right thing." BP is making money. Toyota isn't producing hybrid cars because it wants to save the Earth, they are doing it to make money.
And these companies are making money like crazy....billions of dollars in profits, driven by GREED with little thought to their impact to future generations. It doesn't matter what 3rd world population suffers starvation, or mercury poisoning, or birth defects as long as the stock-holders get a good return on their investment.
The problems with this wild GREED are just starting to come to light: people in poor nations are starving. American farmers have turned away from traditional crops to grow for higher profits. The USA now imports 50% of our food crops from other countries and that number is expected to rise to 90% by 2012. That prediction may not work out though if the people growing all those fresh fruits and veggies for us can't afford wheat, corn or rice for themselves. The lag time between grain shortages in Mexico, Chile, and China will be 1 to 2 years at the most, then we will see fresh produce skyrocket at the supermarket. 50% increase in the price of corn will be a small thing compared to 200-300% increases in the price of fresh foods we depend on in the US.
When reading the news of food shortages and price increases in other countries, keep in mind that those increases directly affect the wholesale cost of growing food to send back to us and by the time our food finally gets to the market the cost is going to be astronomical.
I am thinking of growing a little more in my garden this year and much more next year. I don't know when fresh foods are going to become un-affordable but I can guarantee that it is just a matter of time.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Dieting on a Budget
It has been noted that many poor people are also obese. There are many reasons for this but the number 1 reason is that healthy food can be a lot more expensive than "regular food." Really this is a matter of perception because some of the healthiest foods are also quite cheap: rice, beans, pasta, root vegetables, corn meal. Frozen vegetables are always available and are very cheap when on sale. Once we leave the store our perceptions kick in and if we are well-to-do we serve up pilaf, steamed root vegetable medley or polenta. If we come from a background of poverty we will probably be serving up red beans and rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cornbread or hush puppies. Same ingredients, same cost, different perceptions.
Put your kitchen on a diet: Clean out 1 cupboard and 1 drawer in the fridge. Put the healthy foods in those and use the other less healthy foods sparingly or better yet clean all the junk out of your kitchen and start over. Junk includes liquid and solid fat(cooking spray is ok and extra virgin olive oil is ok if you use if for what it is meant for---not for deep frying!) Sugar is out. Baking Mix is out. Boxed Mac n' Cheese and Rice a Roni is out. Stuffing Mix is out. Baking supplies are out. American cheese, Velveeta, canned cheese are all out. Spam, canned corn beef and vienna sausages are out. Canned ham is out. The average food-stamp recipient has over $100 worth of junk food in their cupboard--use it up and stop buying it!
Learn to eat better: Stop buying greasy, salty, sugary foods and replace them with healthier alternatives. If you are worried about healthier foods costing more then eat less. Make portions smaller so the cost evens out per meal or make 1 meal a day super-super low cost.
5 Healthy Low Cost Meals:
(Remember-these are not meant to be your whole diet. These are ideas to help us eat healthier and still stay on budget.)
Brown Rice for breakfast. Eat all you want as long as it is brown rice with nothing but SweetNLow & a bit of milk. Buy brown rice in large bags to save even more money. 2 cups for breakfast is a huge meal for about 400 calories that costs around 30 cents.
Baked Potatoes: Bake a few potatoes and keep them in the fridge for cheap healthy food. Reheat and top with low fat salad dressing or butter salt(like the kind for popcorn) or slice into 1/8ths and re-bake for tasty Jo-Jos. 2 fist sized potatoes are about 400 calories for 20-30 cents.
Cabbage Soup: This is the mainstay of many fast weight loss diets and is very cheap too. Steam a couple of wedges(1/4 of a whole cabbage) in a broth of chicken bullion or veggie bullion. Tasty and cheap! Add other veggies that you have on hand to make this a more elaborate meal. 1/4 of a cabbage is about 40 cents and 50 calories.
Ramen Quiche: cook 1 package of ramen noodles WITHOUT the salt package. Drain the noodles and pack into a loaf pan (4 inches x 8 inches x 3 inches) Drain 1 can of spinach or other cooked greens-mix in 1 large egg, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or 1/4 cup of feta cheese or 1/4 cup of cream cheese or 1/2 cup of shredded hard cheese(2 ounces). Pour this mixture over the Ramen and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until browned on top. This feeds 2 people for $1.25 and 400 calories each.
Put your kitchen on a diet: Clean out 1 cupboard and 1 drawer in the fridge. Put the healthy foods in those and use the other less healthy foods sparingly or better yet clean all the junk out of your kitchen and start over. Junk includes liquid and solid fat(cooking spray is ok and extra virgin olive oil is ok if you use if for what it is meant for---not for deep frying!) Sugar is out. Baking Mix is out. Boxed Mac n' Cheese and Rice a Roni is out. Stuffing Mix is out. Baking supplies are out. American cheese, Velveeta, canned cheese are all out. Spam, canned corn beef and vienna sausages are out. Canned ham is out. The average food-stamp recipient has over $100 worth of junk food in their cupboard--use it up and stop buying it!
Learn to eat better: Stop buying greasy, salty, sugary foods and replace them with healthier alternatives. If you are worried about healthier foods costing more then eat less. Make portions smaller so the cost evens out per meal or make 1 meal a day super-super low cost.
5 Healthy Low Cost Meals:
(Remember-these are not meant to be your whole diet. These are ideas to help us eat healthier and still stay on budget.)
Brown Rice for breakfast. Eat all you want as long as it is brown rice with nothing but SweetNLow & a bit of milk. Buy brown rice in large bags to save even more money. 2 cups for breakfast is a huge meal for about 400 calories that costs around 30 cents.
Baked Potatoes: Bake a few potatoes and keep them in the fridge for cheap healthy food. Reheat and top with low fat salad dressing or butter salt(like the kind for popcorn) or slice into 1/8ths and re-bake for tasty Jo-Jos. 2 fist sized potatoes are about 400 calories for 20-30 cents.
Cabbage Soup: This is the mainstay of many fast weight loss diets and is very cheap too. Steam a couple of wedges(1/4 of a whole cabbage) in a broth of chicken bullion or veggie bullion. Tasty and cheap! Add other veggies that you have on hand to make this a more elaborate meal. 1/4 of a cabbage is about 40 cents and 50 calories.
Ramen Quiche: cook 1 package of ramen noodles WITHOUT the salt package. Drain the noodles and pack into a loaf pan (4 inches x 8 inches x 3 inches) Drain 1 can of spinach or other cooked greens-mix in 1 large egg, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or 1/4 cup of feta cheese or 1/4 cup of cream cheese or 1/2 cup of shredded hard cheese(2 ounces). Pour this mixture over the Ramen and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until browned on top. This feeds 2 people for $1.25 and 400 calories each.
Monday, March 10, 2008
A New Reason to Grow Your Own Veggies
We all know that food growers constantly try to "Improve" their crops but the commercial grower's idea of improvements usually include: more plants per acre, faster growth, bigger produce, more uniformity in the produce and longer storage tolerance. The one thing that NEVER enters the equation is nutritional content. In fact, the quality of nutrition in commercial foods has been steadily declining since the USDA first started keeping nutritional content records in the 1940's. Periodic updates to these records show that produce available in grocery stores may contain only half the vitamins and minerals compared to the produce grown and tested in the 1940's. Even worse, the USDA hasn't required food companies to update the nutritional information on food labeling and most food is still labeled using the oldest nutritional information rather than the more accurate but much lower numbers.
I recently pulled a can of spinach out of my cabinet to compare to the USDA food value tables and found the label showed 50% more Potassium, 30% more protein, and 40% more vitamin A than the current USDA food tables for canned spinach. It would be nice to think that Popeye Spinach took pride in beating the USDA averages but really they are just using very old information to make their product look much better than it probably is.
Interestingly, the USDA also shows 20% more calories than the can label and a higher Carbohydrates From Sugar level. This is also a current trend: nearly all fruits and vegetables in the grocery store have higher sugar contents than their 1940 counterpart. The reason for this is that higher sugar levels in produce make the fruits and vegetables more resistant to cold in the fields and help them store better in cold storage. Lower sugar fruits and vegetables tend to be more susceptible to freezing and has a higher spoilage rate in storage.
Plants cultivated to produce higher yields tend to have less energy for other activities like growing deep roots and generating phytochemicals (health-promoting compounds like antioxidants), the report explains. And conventional farming methods, such as close plant spacing and the application of chemical inputs, can cause crops to absorb fewer nutrients and have unhealthy root systems.
References:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/emma_holister/2004/12/12/the_disappearing_nutrients_in_americas.htm
http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news&ID=71
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17168&language=spanish
I recently pulled a can of spinach out of my cabinet to compare to the USDA food value tables and found the label showed 50% more Potassium, 30% more protein, and 40% more vitamin A than the current USDA food tables for canned spinach. It would be nice to think that Popeye Spinach took pride in beating the USDA averages but really they are just using very old information to make their product look much better than it probably is.
Interestingly, the USDA also shows 20% more calories than the can label and a higher Carbohydrates From Sugar level. This is also a current trend: nearly all fruits and vegetables in the grocery store have higher sugar contents than their 1940 counterpart. The reason for this is that higher sugar levels in produce make the fruits and vegetables more resistant to cold in the fields and help them store better in cold storage. Lower sugar fruits and vegetables tend to be more susceptible to freezing and has a higher spoilage rate in storage.
From World Watch Jan-Feb 2008 Worldwatch Institute
Farmers today can grow two to three times as much grain, fruit, and vegetables on a plot of land as they could 50 years ago, but the nutritional quality of many crops has declined, according to a new report from The Organic Center, a group based in Boulder, Colorado.
In Still No Free Lunch, report author and Worldwatch Institute food expert Brian Halweil notes that today's food contains 10 to 25 percent less iron, zinc, protein, calcium, vitamin C, and other nutrients than it did historically. Researchers from Washington State University who analyzed 63 spring wheat cultivars grown between 1842 and 2003 found an 11 percent decline in iron content, a 16 percent decline in copper, a 25 percent decline in zinc, and a 50 percent decline in selenium.
"Less nutrient-dense foods, coupled with poor food choices, go a long way toward explaining today's epidemics of obesity and diabetes," says The Organic Center's chief scientist, Charles Benbrook.
Plants cultivated to produce higher yields tend to have less energy for other activities like growing deep roots and generating phytochemicals (health-promoting compounds like antioxidants), the report explains. And conventional farming methods, such as close plant spacing and the application of chemical inputs, can cause crops to absorb fewer nutrients and have unhealthy root systems.
Using organic methods, on the other hand, means plants "develop more robust root systems that more aggressively absorb nutrients from the soil profile, and produce crops with higher concentrations of valuable nutrients and phytochemicals," says Benbrook. Organic food may have up to 20 percent higher nutritional content for some minerals and 30 percent more antioxidants on average than conventional fare, the report concludes.
Update: August 21, 2008 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health regulators have approved the use of ionizing radiation for fresh spinach and lettuce, saying the technique already approved for other foods can help control harmful bacteria and other pathogens.(story)
References:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/emma_holister/2004/12/12/the_disappearing_nutrients_in_americas.htm
http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news&ID=71
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17168&language=spanish
Friday, February 15, 2008
The Tragedy of the Commons
If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the Tragedy, you can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
The idea is very basic: When humans are given a resource that is available to anyone who takes it, humans will take all of it as soon as possible without thought to the consequences or the future.
For example: What would happen if a suitcase full of cash was spilled above a major freeway? The cash showers down on the drivers....and disaster! The greed of the people involved would completely override their sense of safety and fair play. People would be killed, cars wrecked, and traffic jammed up for miles. The cost of the damage done would be much higher than the potential profit from grabbing the cash, yet humans do not think that way, and so it is with nearly every facet of human society.
Commercial Fishing: Huge fleets of fishing vessels hit international waters every year taking as much as they possibly can and wasting 25-50% of what they catch. There are some minor controls placed on the fisheries but over all the ships operate outside the jurisdiction of individual countries and far enough away to literally get away with murder. Whole areas of the oceans have been fished and overfished until they are devoid of life. The ships move on and leave wreckage in their wake. The Japanese fleet kills hundreds of whales in the name of research and sells the meat to be used in school lunch programs. The Gulf Coast Shrimp industry uses gigantic nets that scoop up every living thing in 200' wide swaths. When the net is full it is brought onto the deck and the shrimp are sorted out of the turtles, dolphins and any other marine life that got in the way. An average netting can yield 10% shrimp and 90% waste that is dead and dumped back into the Gulf of Mexico. No one controls the seas so everyone takes as much as possible.
When does it become "Our Problem"???? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002657147_fishwaste01m.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1201-oceana.html
Plastics Industry: Recycle is the catchphrase when it comes to plastics and it makes the manufacturers and consumers of plastics look fairly innocent and eco-minded. Truth is that very little plastic is getting recycled and a large portion of plastics that enter our lives is not recyclable at all. Everyday, each American uses dozens of pieces of plastic. We can shout recycle until doomsday but it doesn't change the fact that 90% of the plastic we handle is not recyclable by current methods. Plastic bottle are recyclable but the lock rings and caps are not. Clam-shell packages are not. Plastic food wrap is not. Bic pens(and most other small 'plastic implements') are not. Plastic toys are not. The list of "Not Recyclable" is much longer than the list of what is. So why do we still use these kinds of plastic, even knowing that they can not be recycled? Because it is cheaper and companies still make profits from it. No one cares where it ends up, because, at least in the US, it is kept out of sight and therefore it isn't our problem.
When does it become "Our Problem"????
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2007/12/06/2112059.htm
UK Fishermen
CFL's and Ecology: Most "Green" websites and companies state that "Replacing 1 light bulb with a Compact Florescent Bulb" is the easiest way to cut your Carbon Footprint. But at what cost? In the US (according to 18seconds.org) 134,475,214 CFLs have been purchased in the last 14 months. Each bulb contains 5-6 mg of mercury. That is : ((134 475 214 * .005) / 28) / 16 = 1500.83944 Pounds of Mercury every year.
In order to keep up with the demand, China has lowered their pollution standards for mercury mining and many areas are quickly showing signs of mercury poisoning. Mercury emissions from mining operations are spreading around the world so we have no idea if we are actually cutting down the mercury totals or not. And in the US, only about 15% of all florescent bulbs are actually being collected for recycling which means 1275 Pounds of mercury is being added to landfills every year. 5 mg is such a small amount that it is easily defended as "being a better alternative" and that statement is being made on nearly every website in defense of CFL's but the hard facts will catch up with us in the future. It is easy as an individual to dismiss the consequences of CFLs, after all, "I only have 10 of them in my home and one or 2 in the trash isn't going to make a difference." "The Trash" is another "Commons" that is abused everyday. Trash goes somewhere and is a huge, but relatively, unseen problem.
When does this become "Our Problem"????
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag/40/i12/html/061506feature_jiang.html
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/mar/our-preferred-poison/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons
The idea is very basic: When humans are given a resource that is available to anyone who takes it, humans will take all of it as soon as possible without thought to the consequences or the future.
For example: What would happen if a suitcase full of cash was spilled above a major freeway? The cash showers down on the drivers....and disaster! The greed of the people involved would completely override their sense of safety and fair play. People would be killed, cars wrecked, and traffic jammed up for miles. The cost of the damage done would be much higher than the potential profit from grabbing the cash, yet humans do not think that way, and so it is with nearly every facet of human society.
Commercial Fishing: Huge fleets of fishing vessels hit international waters every year taking as much as they possibly can and wasting 25-50% of what they catch. There are some minor controls placed on the fisheries but over all the ships operate outside the jurisdiction of individual countries and far enough away to literally get away with murder. Whole areas of the oceans have been fished and overfished until they are devoid of life. The ships move on and leave wreckage in their wake. The Japanese fleet kills hundreds of whales in the name of research and sells the meat to be used in school lunch programs. The Gulf Coast Shrimp industry uses gigantic nets that scoop up every living thing in 200' wide swaths. When the net is full it is brought onto the deck and the shrimp are sorted out of the turtles, dolphins and any other marine life that got in the way. An average netting can yield 10% shrimp and 90% waste that is dead and dumped back into the Gulf of Mexico. No one controls the seas so everyone takes as much as possible.
When does it become "Our Problem"???? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002657147_fishwaste01m.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1201-oceana.html
Plastics Industry: Recycle is the catchphrase when it comes to plastics and it makes the manufacturers and consumers of plastics look fairly innocent and eco-minded. Truth is that very little plastic is getting recycled and a large portion of plastics that enter our lives is not recyclable at all. Everyday, each American uses dozens of pieces of plastic. We can shout recycle until doomsday but it doesn't change the fact that 90% of the plastic we handle is not recyclable by current methods. Plastic bottle are recyclable but the lock rings and caps are not. Clam-shell packages are not. Plastic food wrap is not. Bic pens(and most other small 'plastic implements') are not. Plastic toys are not. The list of "Not Recyclable" is much longer than the list of what is. So why do we still use these kinds of plastic, even knowing that they can not be recycled? Because it is cheaper and companies still make profits from it. No one cares where it ends up, because, at least in the US, it is kept out of sight and therefore it isn't our problem.
When does it become "Our Problem"????
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2007/12/06/2112059.htm
UK Fishermen
CFL's and Ecology: Most "Green" websites and companies state that "Replacing 1 light bulb with a Compact Florescent Bulb" is the easiest way to cut your Carbon Footprint. But at what cost? In the US (according to 18seconds.org) 134,475,214 CFLs have been purchased in the last 14 months. Each bulb contains 5-6 mg of mercury. That is : ((134 475 214 * .005) / 28) / 16 = 1500.83944 Pounds of Mercury every year.
In order to keep up with the demand, China has lowered their pollution standards for mercury mining and many areas are quickly showing signs of mercury poisoning. Mercury emissions from mining operations are spreading around the world so we have no idea if we are actually cutting down the mercury totals or not. And in the US, only about 15% of all florescent bulbs are actually being collected for recycling which means 1275 Pounds of mercury is being added to landfills every year. 5 mg is such a small amount that it is easily defended as "being a better alternative" and that statement is being made on nearly every website in defense of CFL's but the hard facts will catch up with us in the future. It is easy as an individual to dismiss the consequences of CFLs, after all, "I only have 10 of them in my home and one or 2 in the trash isn't going to make a difference." "The Trash" is another "Commons" that is abused everyday. Trash goes somewhere and is a huge, but relatively, unseen problem.
When does this become "Our Problem"????
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag/40/i12/html/061506feature_jiang.html
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/mar/our-preferred-poison/
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