By Laura Stec
E-mail Laura Stec
About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...
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About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck.
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The Farm Bill has undergone three dramatic shifts in focus in the last 80 years, writes Imhoff in chapter 15 of
Food Fight, A Citizens Guide to the Next Food and Farm Bill.
1961: Kennedy administration introduces food stamps.
1981: Land preservation and conservation are added as a title
Late 1980’s: Management of agricultural supplies and surplus goals change into a focus on subsidizing the expansion of corn, wheat and soy.
Titled
Wedge Issues, section two of Food Fight lists seven considerations that could play an important role in future Farm Bill negotiations. These include:
Government deficits: The Farm Bill is expensive. What happens when the public doesn’t want to support it any longer? Will other agencies like public health, defense or energy be required to pitch in?
Energy: Corn-based ethanol has received much Farm Bill support over the last decades ($6 billion annually - pg. 109) Will the public tire of this too?
Health Care: Obesity is on the rise and metabolic disease plagues our population. Will citizens stand up for a healthier food system?
Climate change: Modern day agriculture and our food system contribute approximately 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane (25 times more potent than CO2) a result of animal husbandry, and nitrous oxide (300 times more potent than CO2) from fertilizers. Will Mother Nature force agriculture to change?
We’ll look closer at each topic in the following weeks.
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It’s a short book group week – so let’s add in a plug for whole grains; they aren’t bad guys! We need whole grains for energy to run healthy bodies and minds, but most of us don’t know anything about cooking them. Here’s a chart from
Cool Cuisine – Taking the Bite Out of Global Warming(Stec/Cordero 2008) that offers various styles alongside the amount of liquid and time needed to cook. Have you ever cooked emmer, buckwheat or hato mugi (Japanese barley)?
- courtesy of Cool Cuisine
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