Wrapping Up

My Anthropology of Food class ended this week as the quarter winds to a close. Fittingly for the last class we met at the University of Washington's cob oven. Cob oven? It is next to the UW Farm. UW has a farm on campus? You bet they do! Find the greenhouses, and you'll have found the farm. They have a weekly pizza bake at the cob oven, which unfortunately my schedule never allowed me to attend. Luckily we had our own pizza bake!



Michael Pollan ends his book The Omnivore's Dilemma the same way our class ended. He invited several friends who helped him do the research for his book over, and he prepared a feast for them. In today's fast-food nation, we hardly take the time to eat together any more. I know at my place the television is usually the entity doing all of the talking during the meal. The most meaningful meals are always around a big table. Our pizza bake reminded me of that. For me, my team of co-workers eats together every month or so, and those meals are really what bonds us together more than any other activity or "team-building" exercise. There is just something about sharing a meal together.



My family gets together frequently as well to eat around a big table, where I get to spend time with my parents, brothers and sisters, and their spouses and kids. I think eating together is really about family. I think people should take a break from getting to their next appointment, turn off their television, and share a meal at least once in a while. Ideally at least once a day, even more would be better. Ease into though, so it sticks. The extra time involved is a strong investment.

Go read Michael Pollan's book! Well written, eye-opening, and hopefully life-changing.

Pea Patches

When you live in the middle of a major metropolitan center, like I do in the heart of downtown Seattle, there is not a lot of garden space to grow your own food. I can perhaps grow some herbs, but corn? I think not. The city's answer to this problem is a community Pea Patch.

These are plots of land, some owned by the city, other plots owned commercially, that rent out garden plots to members of the community, to grow whatever they want on it, be it food or flowers. In some more dense areas like the U-District, you must wait almost two years to have a plot become available to you. They are rented at a very reasonable cost.



What are the advantages of using a shared space to grow food? You have the wealth of wisdom of the other local gardeners/farmers, access to local tools and access to water. Pretty good deal if you have the time to grow your own food and live close by to one.

More information can be found here.

** Food Profile: Raspberries

I love fruit. Put a fruit and a vegetable in front of me, and chances are I’ll pick the fruit to eat. I eat my vegetables also, but the fruit is a true love. Out of all the great fruits out there in the world to enjoy, the very best one in my opinion is the raspberry.

In my study of the raspberry I will focus in on a particular variety, the Rubus idaeus, more commonly known as the red raspberry. I will delve into a history of this variety of raspberry and explore the health and nutritional benefits of consuming this fruit, intermixed with some personal experiences. My hope is to give you something new that perhaps you did not know about the raspberry, and to be craving some by the end of your reading.



According to the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, the red raspberry is native to Asia Minor and North America. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Romans were responsible for cultivating the fruit in Europe, and today the British grows quite a bit. I was interested to learn that our country’s first President George Washington grew raspberries in his garden after moving to Mount Vernon. Today in America, the raspberry is grown across the country, but the bulk of the production occurs on the West coast, in California, Oregon and Washington. Of the three, Washington grows the most, covering over 60% of the raspberries grown domestically.

The raspberry was combined with the blackberry to create the loganberry and the boysenberry. Something new I learned from Wikipedia is both hybrid varieties were named after the farmers who created them, Rudolph Boysen and James Harvey Logan. It makes sense though that the berries were named after their creators.

I grew up in Oregon, where I could freely walk around and pick raspberries and blackberries from the neighborhood. I remember gorging myself on berries on a regular basis during the summer, when they would be ripe. Both have a core that they grow from, attached to the plant. The blackberry would have the core come off with the berry when picked, but the raspberry would leave the core attached to the plant, leaving just the red berry in my hands. I always enjoyed the texture of picking raspberries, gently squeezing the berry to get a hold of it, and feeling it easily let go of the core and into my hands. I’m sure as a kid when collecting berries many made it into my stomach rather than the small bucket to bring home.

The Washington Red Raspberry Commission also details the health benefits of the raspberry, which are many and varied. Most people are aware they are high in Vitamin C and anti-oxidants. They also are a good source of fiber. The big benefit is the high content of Ellagic Acid, which studies are showing is a potent anti-carcinogen and anti-mutagenic compound. Salicylic Acid is also found in raspberries, which helps fight heart disease in the way aspirin does.

In the Wikipedia article, the cultivation of raspberries is given in brief. With the traditional plant, it produces no raspberries in the first year. By the summer of the second year the plant begins producing the fruit. The climate makes Washington State an ideal location for raspberries, which helps explain why the state exports more raspberries than any other. This is great for a raspberry lover like me, so I can buy locally grown fresh ripe raspberries from my local farmer’s market (my favorite being the Ballard Farmer’s Market).

John D. Holtzman’s article “Food and Memory” describes how food can be very effective as a way to bring back old memories. I know I have had that experience with raspberries. Every berry has certain tartness, a certain flavor, different than the other berries. Such is the way of eating a set of berries. Every once in a while you get a dud. Conversely every once in awhile a berry tastes so good, it brings back the days of picking raspberries as a kid, where by consuming such a vast quantity I had many of the best raspberries ever. Every so often I eat a berry now that transports me back to that kid with the red stained fingers and lips.

The Wikipedia article also describes an interesting variety of the red raspberry: the yellow raspberry. One thing I learned in researching the topic is that the yellow raspberry tastes identical to the type of raspberry it came from. The yellow color comes from an expression of the recessive genes, so despite the yellow color (or more accurately the lack of the red color), it is still a red raspberry and tastes just like it. The one thing to note is the yellow raspberry has a slightly lower amount of the good vitamins and antioxidants that you would benefit from eating. They are still an interesting variation, and I usually have yellow raspberries at least once a year.

The raspberry plant is invasive, which means if you plant it in your garden, you have to take care that it does not overtake the other plant life. It can grow both as a plant and as a vine, and when the raspberries are ripe a typical plant gives abundance. Bees are fond of raspberry plants, and plants that are visited by bees tend to produce better and more nutritious berries in the summer. I must say that raspberry honey is also one of my favorite kinds of honey. The honey from a hive that works in the raspberry plants is another way to enjoy the benefits of raspberries without eating the fruit itself.

My favorite way to eat raspberries is quite simple. I appreciate desserts that use or are topped with raspberries, but the sweet and simple preparation is a small bowl of raspberries with a spoonful of white sugar sprinkled on top. I also love raspberries in breakfast cereal, on top of ice cream, and in muffins. Of course most items that contain raspberries are tasty.



In conclusion, the raspberry is a small, great tasting treat, made fresh by Mother Nature, which is actually something that is good for your health as well. They are all-stars among fruits, and are plentiful and easy to obtain during their season here in Washington. Take advantage of a locally grown access to raspberries and you will rediscover the amazing taste, all while staining your lips red. Enjoy!

** This Omnivore's Dilemma

I am an omnivore, and I am almost certain I always will be. I eat a lot more fruits and vegetables than I used to, but I sure love the taste of beef, chicken and pork. I've tried substitute products like Gardenburger, Soy based products (Tofurkey, etc.). The polite way of indicating my response is "it must be an acquired taste". Where being candid is more important the response is short and sweet: "yuck!"

Would I have a Lisa Simpson moment where she sees the cutest lamb with the huge eyes looking up at her begging not to eat it and go totally vegetarian? No way. Me to the sheep: sorry dude, your number has been called. We all have to go sometime, me included.

I respect vegetarians and vegans, but the zealousness should extend to them and their immediate family. As famously said in Pulp Fiction (paraphrased here): My girlfriend is a vegetarian, which basically means I'm a vegetarian too... but I do love a tasty burger! For me the question is about nutrition. I could not eat vegan only and get enough protein in my diet. Even as an omnivore I have to work to get enough protein every day. Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma brings up soy also being genetically modified and almost as big a crop as the corn crop. As seen in an earlier blog entry by trying to eliminate HFCS in my diet I'm cutting back on the mass amount of corn I'm consuming. I'm also working on soy. So by avoiding soy as much as possible I'm really short on protein sources by going vegan. I look at it as nature's way of telling me that we are built to be omnivores.

If like me you have to eat meat, then I have the place for you. Skagit River Ranch is local, grazing beef, chicken and pork, and the animals are treated well. The picture at the top of this entry is an illustration of the Ranch. Their meat is sold in various places. We get them at the farmer's market in Ballard. Eggs, whole chickens, cuts of beef. What keeps me coming back for more is the taste. Imagine the best tasting cut of beef you can find at Fred Meyer, and then up the great taste level by at least half (sometimes twice as good), and you have the taste of the worst meat at Skagit River Ranch. Even the ground beef is excellent. It costs a premium (organic local small ranch will be more expensive), but well worth it.

Michael Pollan would approve of the ranch. The best nutritional benefit is the amount of good nutrients in this meat compared to industrial beef. He pointed out in his book that a grass-fed steer can have a higher level of the good Omega-3 nutrients than a fish can, especially if the fish came from an industrial farm rather than caught in the wild. Speaking of fish, we also buy Wilson's Fish who also appear in the Ballard Market every week during the season with wild caught salmon and halibut from La Push. The only fish I can eat without turning my nose up at the "fishiness" of it.

Skagit River Ranch link: here

** High Fructose Corn Syrup

I have had a love/hate relationship with High Fructose Corn Syrup since I was a kid. I learned recently that this sweetener has a hip nickname: HFCS. Sounds like the name of a government agency. I don't remember when HFCS started sneaking its way into my diet, but by time I became aware of it, I was consuming more than I could imagine.

The love part was before I wised up to the danger of HFCS. Have you ever taken spoonfuls of sugar or Quick as a kid? Or Tang? Of course. Imagine having those spoonfuls with every meal. So as a naive young kid/adult, no problem, everything is fine. Ignorance is bliss.

The hate part. Once I decided to do my best to eliminate High Fructose Corn Syrup, I hated seeing everything I was having to give up. Soda pop - gone. I was expecting that though, and luckily cane sugar is coming back in vogue (thanks Jones Soda!). Salad dressing, barbecue sauce, sweet pickles. Even items you would consider "healthy" like yogurt and bread.

Over time I've found non-HFCS options such as Jones Soda, Vita-Bee bread, even sweet pickles made with sugar instead. So after the painful divorce, we can now pass each other on the street and make polite conversation.

In class this week we had an exercise with an old comfort food from my past. We were served a meal of chicken flavor Top Ramen and a cup of Diet Coke. First of all, I'm not a "Diet" soda guy. I can taste the artificial sweetener, and I don't like it. It makes my mouth feel yucky. I have a theory that one of the real reasons I don't like it is the lack of HFCS.

I did learn one thing from the experiment. That fizz feeling, especially the bubbles at the roof of my mouth, is the same with Diet Coke as regular Coke. In fact with Coke that fizz is probably the big appeal.

The Ramen and I go way back. I had a time doing volunteer work when I had a food budget of forty dollars for a month. So Ramen was a cheap staple food that I ate a lot of. I had a routine. Open one end of the package, slip out the flavor packet (think sodium bomb). Break the Ramen noodles up into four pieces, toss into a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes. Serve with a bit of butter, no spice. I had the spice this week though in the class, and I could definitely taste the salt and the MSG (like the artificial sugar in Diet soda, I also can taste and don't care for MSG). Feeling the warmth of the cup, the smell, the taste, brought my experience with Ramen back from those many years ago.

We read about the slow food movement in Italy, and Michael Pollan's book has an experiment towards the end (The Omnivore's Dilemma) where he prepares a slow food (to the extreme) meal. The Ramen/Diet Coke meal is about as convenient as you can get. Less than ten dollars fed two classrooms of students, and within a few minutes everyone was consuming their portion of the meal. On the other hand Michael Pollan spent months researching, hunting, and preparing his meal. How do you find the balance between having a finite amount of time to prepare the healthiest and best-tasting meal you can? That's the tough part.

** OH, YEAAHH!

In line with my previous post, corporations seeking to gain control of the world food supply would very well want us to "drink the Kool-Aid". I drank it for years - literally and figuratively. Kool-Aid was a staple in my house from before I remember, all the way up until a few short years ago.

The Kool-Aid guy (not pictured, but his catch phrase titles this post) liked to burst through the wall of people's houses, where "debris would fall into his big, dumb head ... yeah real cool! using the front door is cool!" (Dane Cook). My favorite flavor as a child I think would have to be black cherry, though strawberry was also very good (face it, most of the flavors were good). Towards the end, it was watermelon, cherry, and orange. I used to keep two pitchers of it (different flavors of course) in my refrigerator to drink.

Here's a tip: if you want to drink Kool-Aid all the time, be sure to brush your teeth more than the recommended amount. Probably no worse than drinking soda every day though (our friend high fructose corn syrup).

Here's how out of all the foods that identified with my family, Kool-Aid tops the list. Almost every year on April Fool's Day, starting when I was ten or so and until a few years after I graduated, at least one pitcher of Kool-Aid would appear sans sugar. Sometimes it was salt, sometimes just the powder with water. Particularly devious years there would be a little bit of sugar or honey to sweeten the water, but not nearly enough or with the addition of salt. On another famous year, true Kool-Aid was made, but a "helpful" child would pour it into glasses in a different room to bring in the unsweetened mix, from a second hidden pitcher. Good times!

As an American, though, I found what kind of food we truly identified with. Canned fruit, bread, sugary cereal, soda, and all sorts of items pointed to the main staple of my diet - corn. Michael Pollan's latest book The Omnivore's Dilemma describes in detail exactly how much corn we eat and the history of how it managed to make its way into almost everything we eat.

** Owning the Food

Who owns the food grown around the world? If you have some land, and you want to grow some corn, is that fine? What if you were allowed to work on developing a specific breed of corn, and then patent it? Would your neighbor be able to plant your corn, or do you call the cops to burn his land? What if the wind blew seed into his lot and they grew on their own?



In the documentary "The Future of Food", this scenario is played out in reality, where Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser was successfully sued by the Monsanto Corporation, when an accident on the local highway contaminated his crop with seed from Monsanto. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Percy had violated the patent rights of Monsanto, even though he did not knowingly or willingly plant their seed.

In the natural way of things, the crops find a way to reproduce. Wind, animals, people, so many things serve nature by picking up seed and depositing it somewhere else. It would be impossible to control this process, and to find a farmer responsible for that is crazy. Had I been the Supreme Court of Canada, I would have decided thusly - that Monsanto does own the patent on that corn, and I would have found them liable for trespassing on Percy's farm, and for contaminating his seed supply with undesirable seed.

Ahhh I have learned that it was a Federal Court of Canada that had originally found in Monsanto's favor, and now the case has finally gone back in favor of the farmer in the end, who in a settlement finally won his long battle. Nice to see the little guy win for a change.



I also finished reading All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki. In this story, a woman returns to her family's potato farm in Idaho and explores the tough issues facing our food supply, including genetically modified food, the elimination of various varieties of foods in favor of a small number, and the resistance effort mounting against big business.

There were many similarities between the film and the book. Though the book was fictional, it was clear that the big company represented the efforts of Monsanto. Both discussed the corn being developed that kills off its own embryo, rendering it sterile after a single growing. In this way the seed could have to be repurchased every year.

Another similarity was the counter-resistance to the pushback against big business. The novel featured a group of young activists who staged several events that business labeled as eco-terrorism. Finally the activists themselves fall victim to a believer in the lies of the business, and the owning of food resulted in the death of a young mother.

There is hope in both the film and the book, but it is dependent on the public becoming more aware of where their food is coming from. I fear one of these days an entire crop of a vegetable or grain will become lost, resulting in a worldwide catastrophe that puts this current "rice shortage" to shame.