Source: Banco de Alimentos

In São Paulo, Brazil is an NGO, Banco de Alimentos that works to reduce the effects of hunger by limiting food waste and making available sufficient, quality food to those most vulnerable. In addition to providing food, the organization also offers educational programs on topics such as the importance of healthy nutrition in children, protecting nutrients by freezing food, and healthy ways to eat sweets.

Source: Processed People

They ask, “how did we get here and what do we do?” Check out the trailer:

Eat frank food!

This post originally appeared on Grist:

Once every five years, the federal government goes to great lengths to update its recommendations for how Americans should eat. In fact, Congress mandates that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) be based on the most current science available. Yet over the years, the DGA process has been wrought with politics, which should come as no surprise. With each cycle, we gather to witness just how strongly the food industry has managed to exert its influence.

Last week’s release of the 2010 version was no different. Like most versions before it, it inspired plenty of spin and criticism. But really, what does it matter?

Food Pyramid

The time has come to ask, are dietary guidelines just another charade, a waste of taxpayer dollars? Who even pays attention, except for a bunch of dietitians, food industry lobbyists, the media (for about a minute), and a few policy wonks like me and my fellow Grist contributor Tom Laskawy? The general public barely notices; and after the initial media blitz, it’s back to business as usual for the next five years.

Now, the guidelines do play an important role in setting nutrition standards for the federal food assistance programs, and I certainly don’t mean to belittle this important purpose. But given the huge disconnect between actual science (which the DGA is supposed to be based on) and what comes out the other end, why do we keep bothering to engage in this hopeless charade?

While the 2005 version’s take-away message seemed to be that Americans needed to eat more whole grains, this time, the media fixated on the DGA’s warning to eat less salt. (It seems we can only handle one basic nutrition concept every five years.) But as I told Andy Bellatti for his blog post on this topic, such advice is doomed to failure because of our toxic food environment. Such reductionist messages also provide industry an opportunity to retool its junk food to downplay the “bad ingredient” du jour:

Telling people to cut back on salt in the current food environment is like telling fish not to die in a polluted stream. Just like we have restrictions on pollutants in water and air, we need regulations that restrict salt in food. But of course, the food industry would go ballistic over that idea. Big Food is happy to have Uncle Sam keep doling out meaningless advice. And, we are likely to see more “low-salt” junk food soon, just as we saw “whole grain” Reese’s Puffs cereal in 2005. That worked so well.

SODA!

Things did get a little better this time around. Veteran food politics maven Marion Nestle declared herself “in shock” at such obvious DGA statements as, “avoid oversized portions,” “drink water instead of sugary drinks,” and the most straightforward and useful piece of advice, “make half your plate fruits and vegetables.” But somehow even these no-brainers didn’t make it in the government’s 90-page “policy document,” as Nestle explains.

Despite these modest improvements, most messages in the 2010 DGA remain lame. While some experts are understandably pleased that the government is finally telling Americans to “eat less,” I doubt that such vague advice will have enough tangible meaning to be effective, especially with the food industry constantly telling people to “eat more.”

I went back to read my take on the 2005 update and realized that very little has actually changed. In an op-ed piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Why Uncle Sam won’t tell you what not to eat,” I concluded:

Americans need is to be told outright: Stop drinking so much Coke. People don’t think in terms of ingredients. Most consumers don’t even buy ingredients anymore because they don’t cook. We think in terms of packaged-food brand names and fast-food menu items. Imagine dietary guidelines that said: Stop eating Big Macs, Doritos and Oreos. Those are recommendations most Americans could understand, but not ones we are likely to hear. Until people are told the entire truth, instead of meaningless messages such as “eat less,” the nation’s health will continue to suffer.

CHIPS!

As long as Big Food continues to influence the process, the dietary guidelines will never be that blunt. But the larger problem is really the disconnect between our agricultural policies and public health. Rather than tweaking guidelines, the government should figure out how to subsidize more of the foods we should be eating, instead of those we shouldn’t. That’s when eating a truly healthy diet will actually be within reach for everyone. But until then, maybe the feds should just stop bothering to tell Americans how to eat right.

Because, who’s even listening?

Source: Summer Tomato

Can you believe it? I can’t.

Over the last several years, the issue of what is real, authentic food has surfaced, oftentimes loudly with great passion on all sides. I loved the discussion y’all brought on about my post about being a snob and eating organically. It definitely isn’t easy, and sometimes, just too expensive for me. But as some of you raised, even the food industry has corrupted that word – labels sometimes show up that says organic, but is not.

A U.K. food company director was jailed for fraud – he stuck “organic” labels on food that was pumped of synthetic additives.

Organic foods from China are not always what they seem, according to a Public Radio International report. But the organic food industry is a $26 billion one in the U.S. Lots of money to be had.

The Cornucopia Institute, an advocacy group promoting family-scale farming, filed formal complaints against Target in 2009 that some of its products labeled organic were not really organic. According to the complaints, some of the companies that sell through Target, like Dean Foods, quietly shifted away from organic ingredients taking advantage of consumer confusion of “organic” and “natural” labels.

Meanwhile, many local, small-scale family farms may grow and harvest everything organically and according to the guidelines of the Organic Trade Association, but don’t want to or have the resources to go through the hoops and costs of getting the pretty little certified organic label.

Yet everywhere we turn, we see “REAL FOOD,” “PURE,” “NATURAL,” “AUTHENTIC,” “ORGANIC.” What does it all really mean? Kelly the Kitchen Kop just raised a most fascinating discussion about whether Qorn and other “meatless meat” products are real food.

How do you define food versus foodstuffs?

What I do know is that I’m confused and wary of what’s out there.

I’m not obsessive – I do like my Bojangles once or twice a year, and I won’t say no to the peanut M&Ms at the movie theatre. But I find myself having a hard time sometimes describing how I want to eat – food that my great-grandmother would recognize, food that tastes right because it hasn’t been invented in a test tube, food that I don’t have to wonder will give any children I have two heads or an extra finger (though that COULD come in handy in some cases, the finger, not the head). I want plums that don’t make my lip to swell up anymore because it was washed in “good for me” pesticides. I want beef jerky made with nothing but beef and spices, and not that beef stick stuff you find in roadside convenient stores.

I want good food, but since I can’t seem to call this food, “real” or “authentic” or “pure” anymore, as these words have been corrupted, I’m making up a new word.

I’m calling the food I want frank food.

Why frank food? Frank means: forthright, honest, blunt, truthful, candid, aboveboard. Frank foods by definition cannot be adulterated. It is aboveboard. Frank food unabashedly tells you what it is, and it will tell you truthfully when you’re lying.

Frank food is a real, goodness apple that is guileless, unadulterated and uncorrupted with pesticides. Frank food is butter, made with frank milk, free of rBGH and hormones – not margarine or Crisco or something else created out of a laboratory. Frank food is the grass-fed, free-range roadmeat that Hunger and Thirst harvests, fresh and local.

Frank food is what our dear friend at Eat Well, Eat Cheap raised as a great new year’s resolution, inspired by Salon’s Francis Lam who vows to no longer eat “cheap chicken.” Instead, frank chicken is well, frankly, chicken. Nothing added. Since frank chicken costs more, for me, that also means less chicken and meat, which is not a bad thing.

Another frank food is dal, a traditional thick stew usually of lentils or or beans, found in many South Asian cuisines. This Dal is courtesy of Zomppa Tsering, a recipe passed down for generations in the Indo-Tibet region. This frank food is also fairly inexpensive to prepare – hooray! The measurements may be a bit off, I tend to be very generous with my spices – I throw them in until I like the color and keep adding. This dish is chock full of protein, healthy, easy, and can last for days – just freeze any leftovers. I made this in my fancy new Christmas present!

Truly, a frank food without much pretense. It is what it is, and what it always has been.

Zomppa’s Dal with Spinach

Dal with Spinach (courtesy of Zomppa Tsering)
1 cup dry red lentils (soak for at least an hour)
1 red onion, chopped
2 TB ground ginger
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 TB turmeric
2 TB cumin powder
1/2 tsp chili powder or chili flakes (optional)
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 bag baby spinach
3 cups water, chicken or vegetable stock
Oil

1. In large pot, saute onions in 2 TB oil until translucent
2. Add garlic and ginger, saute for 30 seconds
3. Add turmeric for 30 seconds – do not burn
4. Add tomatoes and saute until well mixed and soft
5. Add cumin
6. Add lentils and combine well, add additional spices if so desired, constantly stir for 2-3 minutes – do not burn
7. Add water or stock. Adjust according to thickness desired (lentils will soak up liquid)
8. Salt to taste
9. Cook over medium heat until lentils are soft (about 20 minutes)
10. Add baby spinach in last 5 minutes of cooking

Check us out on Hearth n Soul Hop, Simple Lives Thursday, Tip Day Thursday, and Full Plate Thursday!

Mystery food label this week. Submit your guesses! Don’t forget to submit any great food labels to us.

Thanks for your guesses! Hazeleva – you were right one! Kat…um….not quite.

Last week mystery food label was….

Hostess Blueberry Mini Muffins.

Pleased to know whole eggs and blueberries are in there, but not sure what the other stuff is….

What is this week’s mystery label?

Thanks for your continued guesses! You’re all very close! Please excuse these photos…I actually was in a Wal-Mart with my camera phone and I was going to TOWN!

Last week’s mystery label was…

Touted as perfect for a healthy diet, it’s Kellogg’s Special K Cereal Bars! Only 90 calories…take the Special K challenge and see if you can guess what BHT and TBHQ are.

I couldn’t.

We talk a lot about how to eat healthily and deliciously – being aware of where our food comes from, exploring new foods around the world. Great efforts are being undertaken to incorporate healthy eating. After all, you are what you eat. For example, the New York Times recent article spoke about doctors’ efforts to healthier options in hospitals.

However, we rarely talk about poop. Yes, poop.

Babies have three modes: eat, poop, sleep. Their digestive system are typically so good and pure that what they eat immediately gets absorbed in the bodies (vitamins=good) or expelled (waste=bad).

As we grow older, however, we tend to forget that poop is related to our food. As we get older, we start to eat foods that are not as pure as breast milk and foodstuffs that don’t even resemble real food. Our bodies absorb more toxins and our digestive systems are impacted. So guess what? Our poop changes.

My apologies for being a bit graphic (this is a food magazine right?), but poop isn’t something to ignore if you really want to pay attention to what you put in your body. I was recently in a restroom and there was a young teenager, probably 14 or 15, having the most difficult time doing #2. All I could think was, what in the world is she eating? A diet of fast food and soda? Certainly not real food.

Just think to the recent egg scare. What we poop not only tells you about what you put into your bodies, but it can also indicate food allergens and parasites. What we poop is a good indicator of our health, and could be a warning sign; after all, we should be extremely careful of where our food comes from. Does your poop sink like a rock? Is it green? These all are indicators of your diet. Check out this article for more information.

I felt pretty relieved because I knew that my eggs were not on the “list” of affected producers. My eggs don’t all look the same, have the same color or size, but they are delicious, fresh, and I know from where they come.

I know that when I eat right, my body (and poop) tells me I’m eating right. I also know when I’m not eating right because my body will tell me so. I make an effort to eat – in or out – at places where I know the source of the food.

This is one of the reasons why I love one of my new favorite restaurants in Washington, D.C., Ripple (sorry for the photos – dim room with camera phone!). The smaller serving sizes reminded us that we have gotten too used to super-sized meals. The food is all locally-sourced – and the names of all the producers are listed on the menu. I didn’t have to wonder which industrial slaughterhouse my food came from, but instead celebrated and supported local farmers and producers. The friendly staff offered an extensive and sophisticated cheese and charcuterie menu. (Yes, that says bacon peanuts).

Best of all was the flavor. Start out with good ingredients and the meal is almost guaranteed to be 100x better. The pork belly melted in my mouth, as the quail egg oozed warm yolk over the perfectly seared ahi tuna, complemented by a delightful green soybean salad.

True, Ripple is not inexpensive, but my body knew that the food it was ingesting was good.  As the name of this wonderful restaurant indicates, perhaps places like this is a harbinger of what is to come – that the local, organic, fresh food movement is having a true ripple effect on every part of our society, regardless of class, ethnicity, or politics. We can no longer afford to ignore our food or our poop.

Look, it’s not a pleasant topic, but everybody poops. Pay attention.

Source: Morgan Clendaniel.

Day 137 of the Happy Meal Project. Check out the progression here.

This week’s mystery food label of the week. What is it?

Thanks for your great guesses last week! Elyssa, you are pretty spot one! Of course, you’re a baker…I would not have been able to guess this one.

Last week’s mystery label was…

drum roll…

A “dairy-free cake” from a standard supermarket. It was a cake made for an event, and marketed as a healthier alternative. It had a whipped cream topping instead of the usual sugary icing, though that didn’t mean simple ingredients.

I thought cake was made of flour, eggs, and sugar!