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Scary News about Meat

Scary News about Meat

Not that I eat a lot of meat to begin with… and less so now that I am dating a vegetarian, but this is scary news. I don’t think I will be ordering red meat at a restaurant again (even though steak may be one of my most favorite food items!).

I’m now on a mission to find local organic grass fed meat.
I know of Hemlock Hills. Anyone know of others?

If you are going to still purchase processed meat, I did a quick search online and found a few brands that sell sodium nitrate free products. Even Boars Head and Applegate are not entirely sodium-nitrate free, so pay attention to labels!

This however is not a credible source, printed in sensational style, and is definitely missing sources. Not to mention the publication date as being April fools! The New York Times recently published an article with similar danger, an conveys the danger in many red meats, without the sensations. This is the link.

CSA or no CSA?

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I have spent a great deal of time in the last few weeks researching local CSAs. I love the concept. For those that don’t know, CSA is short for Community Supported Agriculture. Basically, you pay a yearly membership, and in turn, are provided with a “share” of the farms harvest to which you belong. It can be for just veggies and produce, but can also include fruits, juices, wines, and sometimes community pot-lucks, and educational programs. Some even offer a ‘you-pick’ component (I imagine that may be a perk for people with children especially).

In the past, I participated in a CSA located in New Paltz that I loved. It was the Brook Farm Project CSA. I had outstanding veggies from June through October, and was able to participate in a few community pot luck’s that were really fun. They sold fresh eggs and local goat cheese on pick up days as well, and I loved supporting a local farmer and eating fresh and seasonal vegetables.

The debate that I am having now is whether or not to join a CSA that is closer to my new home, or to just shop at local farmers markets and farms as my shopping routine. I am at most, shopping for myself and my boyfriend, so in my experience, the CSA shares are often enough produce for an entire week, plus some! My boyfriend is not in favor of the CSA as he likes to cook what he would like, and not have the menu depend on what if provided. Additionally, as we have at least two, but likely three weeks we are away this summer, its possible we will miss those share weeks, and still have to spend money elsewhere on food. He also prefers to go to a place like Blooming Hill Farm in Blooming Grove, NY. They have outrageous produce that they supply to major restaurants in NYC. On the weekends, they open to the public to sell produce, as well as fresh and homemade items right on the farm (personal favorites include the ramp pizza, and breakfast pizza, as well as the homemade ice tea!) While their produce is delicious, and I love the experience of going to the farm, eating breakfast, and sitting by the stream while I wait for the food, it’s also a bit pricier than a place like Adam’s Fairacre Farms or a CSA.

I’m still doing more calculating, but these are the CSA’s I have found most recently and am still considering.

Obercreek Farm CSA – http://www.obercreekfarm.com/

Fishkill Farms CSA – http://fishkillfarms.com/csa_fishkillfarm.html

Stonegate Farm CSA – http://www.stonegatefarmny.org/

Anyone have any experience with any of these farms? Or shed some insight on how the CSA’s have worked for you?

I want to shop local, I want to eat fresh and seasonally, and I want to support safe farming practices. I need a solution to address all of those things on a budget…I really do want it all!

No More Tupperware

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In the effort to be more healthy, eco-concious, and sustainable, I often find myself struggling against consumerism and added cost that is associated with those decisions (Beacon Natural’s is far more expensive than many other local grocery stores nearby).  Since college, I remember hearing to never put plastic in the microwave. I knew that this was because of chemicals they contained and how they could slowly leach out of the plastic and into food being contained in them. So I tried, half-heartedly to stop microwaving plastic.

My eco-conscience education continued and I learned that plastic bags at grocery stores added to landfills at an immeasurable rate, and that I should switch to paper which was more easily recyclable and bio-degradeable. After that, I learned of sustainable options such as canvas bags, which I could bring to the store myself, and not waste any paper or plastic. I wasn’t adding to landfills, I wasn’t ruining the rainforest, and I was being a conscientious consumer!

While grocery shopping though, I would often be disappointed in the decisions I was forced to make in buying spinach in a plastic box, while carrying around my canvas grocery bag. If it wasn’t spinach, it was meat (packed on styroform and wrapped in plastic) or fruit in slotted plastic containers such as strawberries or blueberries. I felt like grocery shopping in general took away from the decision I had made to be eco-friendly. I felt helpless because if it came down to spinach in a plastic box, or no spinach at all… the plastic box was coming home with me.

In the past few years, my boyfriend has rekindled my desire to continue to make better and more healthy choices for myself and the planet. When eating breakfast with him, I would brag that my milk was from Ronnybrook, and came in a glass bottle (with a plastic cap), so I was being super green by not only buying local, but in sustainable glassware. My green ego wouldn’t last too long though. He would remind me that I was being eco-conscious, but poisoning myself with chemicals in the microwave at the same time. With gentle and continuous reminders, some subtle – passing me a glass container as I reach for the microwave… and some more overt – “you are poisoning any future children that we may have” as I take my plastic container out of the microwave, he weaned me off of my plastic tupperware addiction, and pushed me into Pyrex (glass food storage option that is widely available and affordable).

On January 13th, 2013, I read an article in The New York Times, Eat Like a Mennonite, which gave me even more reason and cause to veer away from most plastics, not even just ones heated in the microwave! Bisphenol – A, more commonly referred to as BPA, is a chemical used as a plastic hardener that has been linked with obesity. Additionally, BPA has been preliminarily linked with breast and prostate cancers. This chemical is present in many wrappings, food containers, and liners of food products, even if they are organic and natural products themselves. The article discusses the challenge of eliminating BPA from the authors life for a few days. Though she notes it would be nearly impossible to completely eliminate the chemical from your life if you live in any populated area and consume any type of commercial products, there are small changes that can be made to significantly lower your exposure to BPA. I for one, stopped purchasing bottled water, and instead invested in a water filter and a Life Factory Water Bottle to carry filtered water with me in a BPA free container.

Granted, these changes for me were expensive in the short term (Brita filters 5/$24.99 Life Factory Bottle $19.99/ Brita Water Pitcher $15.99), I can only hope that the expense of being ecological, sustainable, and HEALTHY will pay of later on long term. Hopefully I can continue to make changes like this, that are relatively easy to do, and are sustainable options. What recommendations do you have??