Ethical Eating
This is a topic I am likely to return to fairly often because I am a big fan of community-supported agriculture, eating local, calculating the environmental cost of my food, and Michael Pollan’s Food Manifesto (eat food, not too much, mostly plants).
Today’s thoughts are sparked by three things:
1) I was prompted to try a few old recipes this week. The first was a 1933 meatloaf that used only one pound of ground beef, but was clearly intended to feed a family. The second was chicken divan, which used a single chicken breast plus a half cup of cheese, with a pound of broccoli (and a few other ingredients). There was enough food to serve four; it didn’t look that way at first, but it was surprisingly filling. Finally, I made a corn chowder from The Joy of Cooking (mid-1960s). I used 1/2 cup of ham rather than bacon, but otherwise followed the recipe quite closely. I ended up with enough hearty soup to serve four people as a main course. I am constantly amazed at how how older recipes have smaller serving sizes, and tend to use less meat, but can be really satisfying.
2) While buying frozen broccoli for the chicken divan (because frozen is just as good as fresh for this purpose, and 1/3 the price), I was struck by how little of the frozen food aisle is devoted to frozen food. Here, I am using the term Michael Pollan uses it: real food -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish and meat -- and to avoid what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances”. Food your grandmother would recognize as food. Case after case was filled with ice cream, frozen pizzas, pierogies, hash browns and French fries, microwaveable meals...with some frozen berries and a single small section of frozen vegetables.
3) On the way home from the store, I caught a news story about the disappearance of Homero Gomez Gonzalez, protector of the Mexican forest where Monarch butterflies live. It included a mention of cartel-controlled avocados. Generally I avoid American avocados (along with almonds) because of the intense pressure they put on aquifers in California, and the distance they must travel to get to my grocery store. On the rare occasions when I do indulge, I have always looked for Mexican (in the absence of Brazilian or other avocados, which I happen to think are even better, despite the transportation issues). The immediate instinct is to boycott, but just like clothes from developing countries, the issues are more complex. You can read about why boycotting Mexican avocados doesn’t help here. And about why boycotting clothing from certain companies or countries is ineffective compared to dialogue with companies and media campaigns that affect their reputation Here and Here. In my own experience working on human rights issues in El Salvador, labour leaders in the maquilas told me that companies like the Gap were so sensitive to bad media coverage that if there was a complaint about working conditions, they would have someone from heaquarters in the USA down to their factory before the Ministry of Labor sent an inspector from San Salvador, a mere 45 minutes away. And there was a definite hierarchy of employers, with those media-sensitive American companies seen as the best. The fashion industry is starting to pay attention to sustainability too, as fast fashion and overproduction are contributing to waste and greenhouse gases. Again, it is Complicated and boycotts aren’t necessarily the answer. But like my eating, I try to minimize my clothing purchases, focus on quality products, and reuse (by buying second-hand) whenever possible.
Here’s today’s chicken divan. That is not a deep casserole dish - merely a regular pie plate.
Today’s thoughts are sparked by three things:
1) I was prompted to try a few old recipes this week. The first was a 1933 meatloaf that used only one pound of ground beef, but was clearly intended to feed a family. The second was chicken divan, which used a single chicken breast plus a half cup of cheese, with a pound of broccoli (and a few other ingredients). There was enough food to serve four; it didn’t look that way at first, but it was surprisingly filling. Finally, I made a corn chowder from The Joy of Cooking (mid-1960s). I used 1/2 cup of ham rather than bacon, but otherwise followed the recipe quite closely. I ended up with enough hearty soup to serve four people as a main course. I am constantly amazed at how how older recipes have smaller serving sizes, and tend to use less meat, but can be really satisfying.
2) While buying frozen broccoli for the chicken divan (because frozen is just as good as fresh for this purpose, and 1/3 the price), I was struck by how little of the frozen food aisle is devoted to frozen food. Here, I am using the term Michael Pollan uses it: real food -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish and meat -- and to avoid what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances”. Food your grandmother would recognize as food. Case after case was filled with ice cream, frozen pizzas, pierogies, hash browns and French fries, microwaveable meals...with some frozen berries and a single small section of frozen vegetables.
3) On the way home from the store, I caught a news story about the disappearance of Homero Gomez Gonzalez, protector of the Mexican forest where Monarch butterflies live. It included a mention of cartel-controlled avocados. Generally I avoid American avocados (along with almonds) because of the intense pressure they put on aquifers in California, and the distance they must travel to get to my grocery store. On the rare occasions when I do indulge, I have always looked for Mexican (in the absence of Brazilian or other avocados, which I happen to think are even better, despite the transportation issues). The immediate instinct is to boycott, but just like clothes from developing countries, the issues are more complex. You can read about why boycotting Mexican avocados doesn’t help here. And about why boycotting clothing from certain companies or countries is ineffective compared to dialogue with companies and media campaigns that affect their reputation Here and Here. In my own experience working on human rights issues in El Salvador, labour leaders in the maquilas told me that companies like the Gap were so sensitive to bad media coverage that if there was a complaint about working conditions, they would have someone from heaquarters in the USA down to their factory before the Ministry of Labor sent an inspector from San Salvador, a mere 45 minutes away. And there was a definite hierarchy of employers, with those media-sensitive American companies seen as the best. The fashion industry is starting to pay attention to sustainability too, as fast fashion and overproduction are contributing to waste and greenhouse gases. Again, it is Complicated and boycotts aren’t necessarily the answer. But like my eating, I try to minimize my clothing purchases, focus on quality products, and reuse (by buying second-hand) whenever possible.
Here’s today’s chicken divan. That is not a deep casserole dish - merely a regular pie plate.
Comments
Post a Comment