No, your eyes do not deceive you. That is a key. THAT is a Gummy Bear from World’s Largest Gummy Bears. And it’s local in Raleigh, NC.

No trip to Carolina Beach would be complete without a trip (or two…or three) to the famous Britt’s Donut Shop where the same glazed donuts have been made for over 70 years. One of the top donut shops in the country, these melt in your mouth in a way that should be illegal.

My friend Philippe made his famous Shrimp Provencale with jumbo shrimp caught off a captain’s boat that morning. Yet throughout this relaxing, wonderful trip, I kept thinking about meat.

Here, you may pause. Beach, sand, shrimp…meat? What am I talking about?

Some of you may recall my ongoing dilemma about meat. While Zomppa Tsering has been supportive about my potential in becoming a vegetarian, I am still an omnivore. I have read about CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) and factory farms and have watched videos like MeetYourMeat. (warning: video is graphic).

Julia Whitty of Mother Jones reports that global meat production is expected to double over the next four decades, with negative impact on air and water pollution, diseases, and pathogens. Leslie Hatfield of EcoCentric wrote a great article comparing CAFOs with sustainable pork practices.

So in lieu of meat, I have recently been trying more soy-based products (I am allergic to some soy). But even eating some of these products make me nervous.

• Does soy have long-term negative effects? Andreas Moritz reports that soy – especially those from genetically modified plants – can increase risk of cancers and thyroid disorders among other issues.
• Are veggie burgers really better than meat? The Cornucopia Institute has reported that most non-organic veggie burgers contain hexane, an air pollutant and neurotoxin.
• Is it false advertising to suggest soy milk has the same nutrients as regular milk? The National Milk Producers Federation says no.

But I haven’t been content with only soy-based products. I still craved meat – but was it OK for me to eat it? A couple weeks ago, I finished the book, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, which reminded me that while I eat animals, I had never watched an animal being slaughtered for my consumption. So on the Friday before I went to the beach, I visited the Homestead Harvest Farm in Wake Forest, NC. Owned and operated by the extraordinary Jan Campbell, her Animal Welfare-approved farm is a place where her chickens, ducks, and turkeys roam freely, behaving as animals do, and maturing naturally as animals should. When it came time for the processing, I observed how Jan gently stroked each chicken and talked to it through the entire process to keep it calm. The process is quick and thoughtful, and done with extreme care. She honors each life.

It was with this experience that I found myself sitting on the beach, contemplating my dilemma. Folks like Jan Campbell and farms like Homestead are as far away from CAFOs as you can get. If more people treated animals the way Jan Campbell does, our meat would be more humanely raised, healthy, and delicious.

Why do factory farms exist then? So many questions, not enough answers.

As I debated with myself about my consumption of animals one early morning on the beach, I saw a rather unusual sight.

A crab eating a jellyfish. The cycle of life and death continues.

A cycle we should honor.

]]> http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/28/contemplating-meat-on-a-nc-beach/feed/ 5 http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/14/photo-of-the-day-alfies-the-next-big-trend/ http://www.zomppa.com/2010/07/14/photo-of-the-day-alfies-the-next-big-trend/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:59:52 +0000 Belinda http://www.zomppa.com/?p=6177

Peace out, cupcakes. Peace out, macaroons. Peace out, whoopie pies.

The next big trend: alfajores, traditional cookies found in Peru and other South American countries. These are made by Mistti, an up-and-coming Latino-owned and -inspired gourmet bakery, laced with dulce de leche, chocolate, pecans…amazing doesn’t begin to describe them.

This lovely doughnut muffin – yes, doughnut and muffin – from a Durham bakery, Scratch. They started out at the Durham Farmer’s Market and now have a great little shop on a pedestrian street. These are so rich and lovely. You don’t need lunch!

My friends at the amazing Ever Laughter Farm threw an AMAZING Summer Solstice party on the farm…waking up in the morning with chickens clucking in the background is simply…lovely. (Mind you, I had no tent, had a fabulous tarp though).

Do you ever wonder how people without enough get their food?

Do you ever wonder if food banks run out of food?

Food banks rely on the goodness and kindness of businesses, volunteers, and supporters. It isn’t easy, but it requires hard work, dedication, and a whole lot of faith that in the end, people will not let their fellow brother/sister go hungry.

On a hot, steamy Wednesday morning, I went to follow one of these incredible volunteers, Ms. Victoria, a retiree who devotes her time driving a 10-food truck, lifting 40-lb. boxes in the NC sun, and making a whole lot of people happy. Ms. Victoria volunteers for one of the largest – and certainly most unique – rescue food missions in North Carolina. The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, started by two incredible women (with a whole lot of faith themselves) who saw a lot of food waste and decided to do something about, is more than a food bank. It’s got programs for kids – stuffing backpacks full of snacks, culinary training programs, and farming/gardening programs.

But without food, there would no programs. Without donor businesses and individuals, there would be no food. Without volunteers, there would be no one to pick up the food or prepare the food. This simple line of logic is a reminder that indeed, like it or not, we are all connected.

So we started loading a truck at 7:30 in the morning, filling it with everything from breads to meats to milk – which is a hard-to-come-by-much-desired commodity.

Then it was off to pick up food from local partners who kindly donate pounds and pounds of food each day. The first stop was Edible Art, a local bakery in Raleigh, NC. In the early morning hours before it opened, the bakery smelled like heaven…and they kept on a table all the delightful cakes and pastries leftover from the day before ready wrapped to go.

Other businesses, including Trader Joe’s, Costco, BJ’s, and a local vending company also generously donated food. The Food Shuttle never knows what kind of food they’ll get – sometimes it’s lots of produce, other times, dry goods. Sometimes, they’ll get several hundred pounds; other times, they get just a bit. On this day, we happened to be blessed with much bread and pastries. Even flowers.

One issue that arises is that oftentimes, businesses fear getting sued if someone gets sick from produce (even though there is a law protecting them from this) so they end up giving a lot more cakes and muffins. While sweet and delicious, there is the issue of giving non-nutritious food. Is it better to give any kind of food or is it a disservice giving the less fortunate sugar-packed, nutrient-less foodstuffs?

In any case, what I’m blown away is how the chefs at the sites that receive this food can whip up a meal for hundreds without knowing the ingredients until the morning of. These are true culinary geniuses. In between food pickups, Ms. Victoria and I drop food off at various sites, including the Shepherd’s Table Soup Kitchen, which serves over 300 people daily, the Salvation Army, and a men’s homeless shelter at a local church. We unloaded produce, bananas, frozen crabmeat, vegetables, breads with the help of, who else, volunteers at these sites.

Ms. Victoria and I return to the Shuttle, our truck almost empty, the rest going to someone else later that day. We have weighed how much food we received in donations and distributed – over 1,100 pounds.

Not bad for a morning of some muscle, heart, and a bit of faith that hunger can be eradicated.

On a steaming, North Carolina day was the 8th Annual Bull City Chili Challenge.

Cookie and biscuit shapers waiting for the morning to come at Edible Arts, a bakery in Raleigh, NC.

Signature pizza of Pop’s in Durham – salted egg, prosciutto and Kalamata olives…you break the yolk and YUM.

Ice cream on a roti…amazing amazing unique twist on traditional ice cream sundaes, found at Twisted Noodle in Durham, NC.