To solar or no to solar?

A couple weeks ago, while watching a documentary on the history of Earth Day, I decided I needed to do something to try to minimize our house's carbon footprint. I thought, Ok, we are going to go solar no matter what the cost may be.
Well, it was not so simple... after visits from 4 different companies, each one of them selling different systems... it was decided that our house had/has too much shade in order to be a good candidate for solar energy. I considered solar hot water heaters as well, and even those (considerably smaller) panels would not be able to garner enough heat, especially during the winter, in order to make a noticeable difference in our energy consumption... also, a friend raised the point of the system being on our roof, and the possibility of it being struck by a branch during hurricane season.
So then we considered insulations... again, different types. I was sold on the foam beneath the house, when I heard that it can potentially damage our old house wood flooring... then I thought, Ok we will do the walls then. Blow cellulose into them. Again, potential complications with old windows, old electric cords...
Looks like there is nothing we can do, really- very frustrating. We did get our roof insulated (cellulose) a few years ago, which has helped immensely, especially during the hot months. We keep windows open as much as we can, and no AC or heat in between temperatures of 62 and 82. But that still leaves us with appliances, water heater, dishwasher...
I was also told to change light bulbs wherever possible, so I have been changing them little by little (the light bulbs have become much better these days, many more choices, which is very nice).
After those visits, I purchased a timer and an insulation for the water heater, and I am considering changing it to a tankless water heater- need to research more on that. Consider we switch, though; that would mean our 5-year-old water heater would end up in the dump, creating more trash and waste. So maybe we are better off sitting tight (with insulation) on this one as well...
Another result of the visits with the solar companies was that all of a sudden we became more aware of the energy consumption of our appliances. I am especially frustrated with the dishwasher, which has no energy-saving settings, and does not give you the option to rinse in cold water... the machine goes on for over 2 hours, and uses hot water all the way... result: I am doing dishes by hand in cold water for now. I am not sure how long that will last, by I am happy to give it a try and see if it makes a difference, whether in terms of energy usage or time saving.
I also bought a second self-standing clothes-line, so that I can let the clothes dry in the sun and not use the dryer at all if I can. That one is really a no-brainer. Just hang the clothes and watch them dry in a few hours- no energy wasted.
I also have resorted to sweeping instead of vacuuming. My Sears (I will never buy Sears again!) vacuum machine is so loud that it literally hurts my ears, so I am happy to sweep and get the arm work-out.
So there is the result of the solar ''audits''. Not much we can do in our shady old house. But, think of it this way: all that shade is giving us good sun protection, and that naturally brings our house temps down during the summer...

Take Action

A couple years ago I watched, at a Sierra Club Meeting, a video about Mountain Top Removal, or mountain top coal mining. It was a very depressing movie. You could clearly see the destruction, the pollution, and where all the coal goes... directly to our coal plants, just like the one we have here in Jacksonville. Those beautiful mountains of Appalachia are literally being blown up in order to turn into our daily electricity. This cannot continue this way, it is not sustainable. The lives lost in the mines, the forests, the mountains, the rivers... there are other, better ways to produce energy. More efficient, cleaner, less harmful to humans, animals and nature.
We need to speak up for what we believe. Call, email, write. It may seem awkward and hard at first, but trust me, the people on the other end of the line don't bite. They do listen to you, and if you start to ask questions, they do answer them. They are there for us, were elected by us , and are paid with our tax money. So take advantage of the only direct link we have to important decision making: our senators, and congress-men/women.
ilovemountains Take Action

Aha! moment

This is the basic, true difference between fresh milk and pasteurized milk:

• Real, fresh milk goes sour. You can ''clabber'' it and drink it (as I learned from a Piotr Szewczyk), or use it to make muffins and pancakes, because it tastes, looks, and ''acts'' just like the buttermilk you would buy in the supermarket. In terms of health, it makes foods made with it more digestible, which means that our bodies absorb more of the food's nutrients. Fresh, unpasteurized milk is, in a way, the milk that keeps on giving. Cream, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, clabbered milk, cheese, sourcream... all of it good for us.                                             
• Pasteurized milk goes rancid. You cannot do anything with it, not even feed it to your dog. It's dead milk, putrid. 

Why would you want to drink pasteurized milk, if all of the enzymes that make this milk milk are dead?

More on this: http://www.westonaprice.org/Learning-to-Maximize-the-Use-of-Your-Real-Milk-and-Cream.html

Grass Fed Beef!

Red Bridge Beef Newsletter Sweet Grass Dairy Summer Camp Information April 2010 We have had so many people express interest in my parents' 100% grass fed beef recently.  They have a limited number of cattle ready to go to the butcher now, and because word is getting out already, my parents thought that it would be necessary to be fair in sending this to all past customers and folks who have inquired about larger volumes.  Below is the information about the prices, etc. for the beef.  My mom is still working on getting a cut up instruction form from Johnston's Meat Market to help you decide how you would like your beef processed.  Since there are only five steers ready to go to the butcher, they need to know as soon as possible if you would like us to reserve you a quarter, half or whole animal.  Red Bridge Beef April Newsletter 2010  Red Bridge Beef is now taking orders for 100% Grass Fed Beef!  There will never be a better time to get your beef than right now following the lush grazing of ryegrass and clover.  Our cattle are on pasture 365 days a year and are never fed grain at anytime of their lives.  You might be wondering, what exactly are the benefits of 100% grass fed beef? There are many available resources at www.eatwild.com to read about the benefits of grass based beef, but in a nutshell, the most compelling reasons to choose to eat Red Bridge 100% Grass Fed Beef are:      *Our cattle never receive antibiotics, hormones, growth stimulating implants or GMO feed at any time.      *Our beef contains less saturated fat and far more Omega-3 Fatty Acids, the most heart healthy of fats, than commercially produced beef.      *It also contains much higher CLAs (Conjugated Fatty Acids), the anti-cancer nutrient we are often deficient in.      *Our grass fed beef also contains higher levels of Beta Carotene, Vitamin A, and Vitamin E.      *Pathogenic E. Coli cannot survive in the non-acidic diet of grass fed cattle and Mad Cow disease is non-existent in 100% grass fed and finished cattle.      *Our Grass Fed Beef is better for the environment because we allow the cattle to fertilize and harvest their own nutrients on pasture 365 days per year.  Less fossil fuel is needed than for conventional beef producers who rely on trucked in corn and soybean meal to provide dense feed to fatten cattle quickly.  Keeping land in pasture promotes carbon sequestering.      *We follow humane treatment of animal guidelines.  Although we are not certified (there are fees involved and we are too small to find it necessary), we will be completely transparent when it comes to providing answers on how we raise our cattle.      *Finally, Red Bridge Beef is the best choice because it has true beef taste and tenderness you will love and appreciate.  Our beef genetics are that of the New Zealand Red Devon, a breed which was developed specifically for grass fed and finished beef. Now, how do you buy your Red Bridge Beef?  There are 3 ways: 1.  You may order cuts directly from Al and Desiree Wehner (owners).  Contact information below.  $100 minimum. 2.  You many buy individual cuts from a few retailers:           Sweet Grass Dairy Marketplace, Thomasville           Orchard Pond Organics, Tallahassee           Natural Health, Valdosta 3.  Or, you may buy quarters, halves, or a whole beef directly from Red Bridge Beef.  The process to do this is as follows:      *You send a $100 check per quarter with your order ($200/half or $400/whole)      *Indicate to us if you want the organ meats.      *We take the steer to the abattoir of your choice for processing.      *We'll call you with the weight you will be paying for--this is the hanging weight, or the steer after it has been butchered minus the hide, head, and organs.  This is the carcass that hangs in the cooler for 14-21 days to promote tenderness.      *You must provide the abattoir cutting instructions (we have a sheet to make this easier for you) in writing.      *You send us the balance owed on your order before picking up your meat.      *You pick up the beef and pay the butcher for all processing fees. Some important information to remember is that the final amount of meat that you pick up is dependant upon several factors including shrinkage during the hanging period (the longer the carcass is hung, the more shrinkage there is, but it is an important aspect to promote tenderness) and how much bone and fat are discarded during the cut up procedure.  For example, do you want boneless rib eye steaks or bone in steaks?  Do you want sliced shanks, ribs, and soup bones?  There can be as much as 50% loss depending on these factors.  So let me give you an example: I take a 1200 lb steer to the butcher.  He dresses out (hanging weight) at 600 lbs.  You will probably pick up 300-375 lbs of meat.  Also the liver, heart, and tongue are yours but not included in the hanging weight.  Be sure to let me know that you want these so they may be labeled and frozen for you on the initial butcher day.  These are basically "freebies" as far as paying on their weight. Now, finally how is this beef priced?  It is $3.25/lb for a quarter, $3.00/lb for a half, and $2.75/lb for a whole beef.  Our butcher, Johnston's Meats in Monticello, charges a $40 kill fee and $.55/lb (hanging weight) for vacuum packaging, labeling and freezing.  They charge $3 per box for heavy duty carrying boxes so you don't have to bring your own coolers or boxes.  It generally takes 3 boxes per quarter.  Typically, they charge a hanging fee per day, but if they do a decent quantity of beef from Red Bridge Beef, he will waive this fee. Last but not least, I must say that we are limited in availability, therefore orders will be met on a first come, first serve basis.  It you want to order a beef, please don't hesitate to send me your order.  I would like to get these processed before the winter grazing runs out.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.  Thank you so much for giving us an opportunity to be your local beef producer! Bon Appetit! Desiree Wehner Red Bridge Beef 1114 Magnolia Church Road Pavo, GA 31778 229-412-3022 redbridgebeef@hotmail.com Sweet Grass Dairy Summer Camp  We only have a few spaces left in our summer camp.  (Well, 1 in the 3 year old group, 4 in the pre-k group, 2 in the kindergarten group, 2 in the 1st grade group, and 4 spaces in the 2nd/3rd grade group.)  You can read more about the camp on our website at www.sweetgrassdairy.com on the tours, events, and education page.  Please e-mail me at jessica@sweetgrassdairy.com for more information.  As always, thanks for supporting your local farming family!  Hope you are enjoying this beautiful spring. Sincerely, Jessica and Jeremy Little Sweet Grass Dairy Marketplace 19345 US Hwy 19 N Thomasville, GA 31792 229-228-6704 Save 10% on all Red Bridge Beef purchases in the Sweet Grass Dairy Marketplace. . Offer Expires: May 15th, 2010

FEDERAL FOOD SAFETY BILL

If you care about your local farms (not only here in FL, but everywhere in the United States)... your local milk, eggs, produce... or if you just plain enjoy drinking and eating fresh milk, eggs, veggies... please call or email our senators today to ask them to support the Tester Amendment to the Federal Food Safety Bill!

All the information, as well as talking points, can be found below. I did not know Senator Tester myself, so I looked and this is what I found on him-  http://tester.senate.gov/Jon/index.cfm

Please take 5 minutes to call our Senators! This is nation-wide, and affects ALL of us! 

Here are the direct local numbers for our FL Senators (easier to reach a real person on the other end of the line, and actually chat with them- neither senator has a position on this yet, so it is important that we speak up):

• LeMieux: 866 630-7106
• Bill Nelson:202 224-5274 or 904 346-4500

WHY SUPPORT THE TESTER AMENDMENT?

We need to support the Tester Amendment so that Small Farmers are exempt from FDA regulations designed for Industrial Scale farms. 

• The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a sweeping overhaul of the food safety laws within a few days.
•  As it is currently written, S. 510 will actually make our food less safe.  S. 510 will strengthen the forces that have led to the consolidation of our food supply in the hands of a few industrial food producers, while harming small producers who give consumers the choice to buy fresh, healthy, local foods. 
•  Call both of your Senators. You can find their contact information at http://www.senate.gov/, or call the Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121 (toll-free at 877-210-5351).
• Ask to speak with the staffer who handles food safety issues. Tell the staffer that you want the Senator to support Senator Tester's amendments to S.510. If you get their voice mail instead of the staff, leave the following message: "Hi, my name is _____ and I live in ______. I'm very concerned that S.510, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, imposes unfair and burdensome regulations on local food sources, which are very important to me. I urge the Senator to support the Tester Amendment to exclude small facilities and direct marketing farms from the most burdensome provisions of the bill. Please call me back at ____________."

TALKING POINTS 

• FARFA joined with 87 organizations to send a letter to the Senators urging that they amend S.510 to exempt small-scale and local producers from the more burdensome provisions of the bill. You can borrow some talking points from the letter (http://farmandranchfreedom.org/sites/farmandranchfreedom.org/files/Amend-S510-April2010.pdf), or use the ones below: 

• 1. The major foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls have all been caused by the large, industrial food system. Small, local food producers have not contributed to the highly publicized outbreaks. Yet S. 510 subjects the small, local food system to the same, broad federal regulatory oversight that would apply to the industrial food system.
•  2. Increased regulations and record-keeping obligations could destroy small businesses that bring food to local communities. In particular, the reliance on hazard analysis and risk-based preventative controls, a concept similar to "HACCP", will harm small food producers. HACCP has already proven to be an overwhelming burden for a significant number of small, regional meat processors across the country. Applying a HACCP-type system to small, localfoods processors could drive them out of business, reducing consumers' options to buy fresh, local foods.    

• 3. S. 510 calls for FDA regulation of how farms grow and harvest produce. Given the agency's track record, it is likely that the regulations will discriminate against small, organic, and diversified farms. The House version of the bill directs FDA to consider the impact of its rulemaking on small-scale and diversified farms, but there are no enforceable limits or protections for small diversified and organic farms from inappropriate and burdensome federal rules. 

• 4. Food safety and security both come from a diversified, vibrant local food system. Local foods give consumers the choice to buy from producers they know, creating a transparent, accountable food system without federal government oversight. State and local laws, which are often size-specific rather than one-size-fits-all, are more appropriate for local food producers. 

MORE INFO 

• Tester to introduce 'common sense' amendments to food safety bill: Senator works to tailor bill to needs of small producers by cutting regulations and red tape http://tester.senate.gov/Newsroom/pr_041410_foodsafety.cfm  

• Q&A's -- Tester Amendment http://farmandranchfreedom.org/sites/farmandranchfreedom.org/files/QA-Tester-Amendment-April-15.pdf

25 Wasteful Things You Can Live Without : Planet Green

You don't need to use disposable and unnecessarily packaged products.

We produce a lot of waste. In 2008 alone, Americans generated 250 million tons of trash, and though about a third of that was recycled, a lot went into landfills or was incinerated. Our culture is centered around disposability, and only we have the power to change that.

Take stock of the disposable, overly-packaged, and single-use products that you use, and then look for reusable alternatives. Not sure where to start? Here are more than two dozen items that many people use . . . and can easily live without.

25 Wasteful Things You Can Live Without:

1. Plastic wrap -- Instead, use a container with a lid.
2. Tin foil -- Use an oven-safe pot or dish with a lid.
3. Disposable cleaning cloths, dusters, etc. -- Use a microfiber cloth that can be washed.
4. Paper towels -- Use a tea towel, instead.
5. Disposable pens -- Buy a good pen that only needs the ink well changed.
6. Paper plates -- Washing dishes may be an effort, but it's worth it.
7. Plastic cutlery -- Use the metal stuff.
8. Disposable razors -- Invest in a razor that only needs the blades changed.
9. Packaged fruits and vegetables -- Produce does not need to be packaged.
10. Individually wrapped snacks -- Snacks travel better anyway in a hard container.
11. Juice boxes -- Put juice in a reusable container (not plastic).
12. Electric pencil sharpeners -- Use the hand-crank version of days gone by.
13. Disposable diapers -- Cloth diapers aren't that much more difficult to use.
14. Disposable cloths -- Fabric cloths can be washed regularly to avoid bacterial or viral build-up.
15. Paper or plastic single-use grocery bags -- Get a few reusable bags.
16. Bottled water -- Install a water filter on your tap or pick up a water jug with a filter.
17. Non-rechargeable batteries -- Make the investment for rechargeable batteries and you'll save money in the long run.
18. Electric can openers -- Use a little muscle.
19. Single-serving pudding or yogurt cups -- Buy a large container of yogurt or make your own pudding, and send it in a reusable container.
20. Plastic cups -- Stick to reusable cups.
21. Disposable table cloths -- Spills are a reality of life; just clean them up as they happen.
22. Antibacterial wipes -- If you must, use a gel hand sanitizer.
23. Facial tissues -- Unless you have a bad cold, a handkerchief will work just fine.
24. Paper billing -- Switch to e-billing for your bank statement, credit card bill, utility bill, etc.
25. Plasticized sticky notes -- Use the original paper sticky notes; they can be recycled when you're done with them.

More on waste:
How to Go Green: Recycling
How to Pack Your Bag for a Zero Waste Day
Wa$ted New Zealand Episode: Co-Eds

Before you buy sunscreen for this summer...

Best thing to do is to check the Cosmetics Database before you head to the store. It lists all kinds of cosmetics, including sunscreens, and their toxicity levels. This list is very helpful, because even though a particular brand may market itself as ''all-natural'', and charge you for that as well, they may not necessarily be all that they claim to be- as far as ''natural'' goes. You may end up finding something that is better and cheaper if you do a little research.

Each brand has many different products. While one (such as California Baby Sunscreen Lotion No Fragrance, SPF 30+) may be a ''0'' or a ''1''in the database (very safe), another from the very same company (such as California Baby Moisturizing Sunscreen Everyday/Year-Round, SPF 18), is a ''3'' (more toxic) just because of a different formulation. You need to pay attention to the exact name that is listed on the database. 

I went looking for sunscreen last year, and it was very frustrating. But if you call the store ahead of time, then they can check for you if they have what you are looking for, and save you a wasted trip. Just make sure to be very specific about the name, the spf etc. For example, Target had many Banana Boat products last year, but none of them were the specific one listed on the database. Even though all pharmacies carry Neutrogena, they may not have the specific one that is less toxic. Call ahead, and they can even put it at the front for you, so as to save you the time that you'd spend looking for it in the aisles. 

Here are a few more tips from Dr. S. Leachman, dermatologist and researcher at the University of Utah:

Buy:

SPF 30 or higher for best protection

At least 7% zinc oxide or titanium dioxide

Avoid:

Oxybenzone or benzophenone-3

Spray and powder sunscreens

Fragrance (anything with ''fragrance'' means that is has phthalates)

Sunscreen with added bug repellent

5 Points Honey

Here is a new find! This honey tastes delicious, and it is made right here in Jacksonville's 5 Points. It does not get more local than that, and it comes straight from the bees to you; it is not filtered or heated in any way; pure, raw, delicious honey. They sell it to Restaurant Orsay, as well as to Underbelly (located in 5 Points). If you'd like to get a taste of it, look for them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=213872589824&ref=nf

Where to shop

Where to shop when you are looking for fresh quality ingredients and good deals?

• I shop at Native Sun for all ''bulk'' items: all types of grains, flour, oats, seeds, spices, beans, nuts, tea, fig bars... and packaged items such as dry flat bread, canola oil, and jams.
• I shop at Whole Foods for dry fruit in bulk (Native Sun does not have them in bulk), and their 365 brand nut butters, pasta and olive oil. I used to buy olive oil in cans, but since I found out that cans contain BPA, I buy the 365 brand that comes in glass, both for olive oil and nut butters. Always buy in glass, and avoid plastic and/or cans at all cost. If a brand comes in plastic, I look for another brand that comes in glass.
• I go to the Riverside Arts Market to buy fresh local vegetables. Hoover Farms, Down to Earth Farms and Magnolia Farms are there every Saturday at 10am. And 10am is when you want to be there, because the earlier you go, the fresher the vegetables are. All 3 are great organic local farms.
• I call Sweet Grass Dairy, and pick up my order at the Riverside Arts Market once a month. If you call ahead, they can bring you a whole, half or quarter wheel of cheese; their cheese is made with raw milk; it is fresh, and they will wrap it in paper for you (no plastic, no trash).
• I go to Cognito Farm to buy fresh milk, chicken, pork, meat and eggs.
• I buy coffee from Sweetwater Organic Coffee, in Gainsville; they ship their coffee to me (shipping included, it comes to less than $8/Lb). Their bags break down in the landfill. I may go back to buying in bulk, but not sure yet, since the price is so low, and the coffee tastes so good.
• I shop from CSA's such as KYV and Magnolia Farms. KYV delivers downtown and Neptune Beach. Magnolia delivers in Mandarin (Whole Foods), Beaches (Our Lady Star of the Sea) and Riverside Arts Market. Down to Earth is also a CSA, and delivers at the Riverside Arts Market.
• I shop for honey from Five Points Honey.
• I go online for items such as: cloth coffee filters, ceramic coffee makers (Melitta), stainless steel containers, glass jars for storage, stainless steel baking ware etc.

Other great farmer's markets locations:

• Neptune Beach Farmers Market
• St. Augustine Farmers Market
• Whole Foods Farmers Market

Important: the Beaver Street Farmers Market is not a small farms retail location. The people there are not farmers. They are just middle men/women selling for big corporation farms. Nothing small, nothing organic.
All the above locations are listed under Local Links and Resources in the website.

Good luck in your shopping adventures!

Real local honey find!

Feeling the buzz: George Waldoch's love for bees goes back more than 80 years | jacksonville.com
This guy is still around. I called, and talked to this him today! 11 dollars for a quart of honey in a glass jar, $34 for a gallon. He leaves it on his porch for you to pick it up, and you put the money wherever he tells you to place it. This is a cool article on him. I have been told by a member of the local Slow Food that he is the oldest beekeeper around this area, and that he has taught many people. He told me himself that he taught the guys who produce Thomas Honey, out of Lake City FL. 

Salad Dressings

One of the easiest things to make at home is salad dressing. When you make your own salad dressing, you not only save money, but you also end up with a better quality product. Your salad will be pure and fresh, and will never have any high fructose corn syrup, glucose, sugar, hydrogenated oils, corn byproducts such as xantham gum, guar gum, citric acid etc, or preservatives.
I make my salad dressing in the bowl that I will put the salad in. My sister makes her dressing in little glass jars, such as Dijon Mustard jars, because she likes to shake the dressing in order to emulsify it. I just quickly whisk it a little bit with a fork, throw the salad in, and mix it all- either with a salad fork or, better yet, with my own hands (some people say that is ''the'' way to do it).
My dressings don't follow measurements. I just splash a tiny little bit of each item, then whisk it together. Make sure that there is enough salt and oil (if it is too runny, it does not have enough oil), and you are set to go! The key is to always use quality ingredients; they will last for a long time, so they are worth the investment. This is my favorite, daily dressing:

RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE:

1. Extra Virgin Olive Oil: cold pressed
2. ''Alessi'' White Balsamic Raspberry Blush Vinegar (available at Publix)
3. Sea Salt

• If you wish to add a little pungent taste to the dressing, you can finely chop a little bit of red onion (cheaper), or shallots, throw it in with the dressing, and let it sit in the dressing for a bit while you make the salad/dinner. When you let the onion sit in the salt and oil, it makes it taste milder and, in my case, keeps it from giving me a stomach ache afterwards!
• If you wish for a sweeter taste, you can add a tiny little bit of maple syrup to the dressing.
• My sister loves a little mustard in the dressing, so she adds a tiny little bit of Grey Poupon as well.
• Some people substitute the vinegar for lemon. You can also use white balsamic vinegar, aged balsamic, or any other good quality vinegar of your choice. Enjoy!

Flushed Away

"Between cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other sources," says John Spatz, commissioner of Chicago's department of water management, "there are 80,000 potential combinations of chemicals." It's impossible to keep our drinking supply safe from a gusher like that. Wastewater from homes gets treated at sewage plants, but it's never possible to remove every trace of drugs. What's more, sewage pipes break, septic tanks overflow, and in some parts of the U.S. "straight-piping" — which sends untreated sewage flowing directly into surface water — is still practiced. One way or another, the drugs find their way back to us.''
Read more: Flushed Away

Kids snacks.

Here is a list of snacks that we send the kids to school with. Snacks are definitely tricky. There is just so much junk out there that is labeled ''snack'' food, that it literally makes our task of providing our kids with delicious and nutritious snacks for school a living hell. Junk food (which is marketed as ''snack" food for a very clear purpose) is just so easily available (supermarkets, health food stores, gas stations, vending machines, soccer games, and even from teachers at school, sometimes...), that you really have to make a conscious effort to avoid it. With that in mind, here are a few examples. By the way, if any of you readers have any suggestions or recipes for me, please do post! I am always looking for more variety! I hope this is helpful.

• Nuts: cashew, Brazil, pistachios, whole almonds...
• Dry fruit: raisins, cranberries, dates, apricots... many times my husband will make a ''trail mix'' of dry fruit and nuts, with chocolate chips in it- but the trick is to make sure the kids don't eat just the chips :)
• Pop-corn: real popped corn. Buy kernels and pop them on the stove. Microwave pop-corn is not real pop-corn, it's junk food: it's chock full of hydrogenated oil, and comes in a bag lined with a teflon-like chemical that no child should be ingesting with his or her food.
• Scones: as long as they are made with whole wheat flour, or a combination of white/whole wheat and oats, so that they have nutrition in them, and not just empty calories from white flour and sugar. Muffins are another choice as well, as long as they are made with good ingredients!
• Cookies: again, as long as they are made with whole-wheat flour. This is very important in this case, because cookies do have a lot of sugar in them. If there is no whole grain in them, then they are useless (from a nutrition standpoint). Your child will not ''die'' if they go for a day, or 6 hours to be more precise, without sugar, and they will always have a treat after dinner anyway. Save yourself the stress of trying to find a ''proper'' cookie for the school snack and go on to the next category
• Fruit: strawberries, blueberries, any berries- as long as they are organic! Those are the fruits that are the most heavily sprayed with fungicides and pesticides. Sliced apples, oranges... just don't buy them pre-sliced, because when they come that way they are not fresh, and have lost their nutrients. Canned fruit is not fruit, sorry.
• Bread: that includes dried bread as well, such as rye-vita
• Sesame sticks: I get them in bulk at the health food store
• Fig bars:  I get them in bulk at the health food store; they are whole wheat. ''Fig Newtons" do not count; check the label and you will quickly see why.
• Granola: just make sure that it is not made with hydrogenated oil, and stuff like corn syrup and the like. Buy good quality only, or make it yourself -much cheaper!
• Corn chips: this is a tough one. I used to buy organic corn chips, but I cannot find them in anything but plastic bags, so I will not buy them for the time being, until I can figure out where to find them without the plastic bag.
• Cheese: such simple, delicious food, there is nothing like a little good piece of cheese! A piece of Parmesan, or Cheddar... just make sure that it is not made with milk that contains growth hormones and antibiotics (regular milk), or else all you will be doing is to feeding your kids growth hormones and antibiotics, really. Not a good idea if you do not want your children to grow and enter puberty faster than they should- an alarming trend in the US these days...
• Yogurt: a tricky one as well. If you pack it at home, then there is no waste. Yogurt containers are not recyclable, and the fruit flavored ones have so much sugar that, if you were to measure the actual amount of yogurt in the little pot, you'd be outraged at what you are actually getting for your money. Buy plain, and put honey, maple syrup or agave in it yourself. And, again, make sure that it is organic! ''Go-gurt'' is not yogurt! 

I do not pack granola bars anymore because of the trash that they generate. Also, many of them contain too much sugar and/or, worse, corn syrup, and other chemicals. There are some good ones out there, but they are expensive and, again, come wrapped in plastic.

Typical schedule

This is what a typical week looks like for me and my family in terms of cooking. Remember, though, that my work schedule is somewhat unpredictable. So, with that in mind, here we go:

1. Sunday: free day. Cook something nice for breakfast like scones or pancakes... make nice big dinner- a must! Make sure to have enough left-overs for the kids to take to school next day. 
2. Monday: free day from work and kids at school. Do a lot of cooking for the week, like a big pot of beans, a big pot of (brown) rice, a big pot of soup, make bread... 
3. Tuesday: work day. Pick up vegetables from the CSA.
4. Wednesday: work day. Go to the farm to pick up milk and chicken, quickly make some butter and yogurt while making dinner. Always make a big enough dinner to have left overs for school for the kids, and for lunch at work for ourselves.
5. Thursday: work day, sometimes concert at night as well. Eggs are delivered from the farm. 
6. Friday: work day, concerts at night. If not working during the day, maybe bake a bread, or cookies, or scones... or granola... I try to bake 2 or 3 things at the same time, in order to save on gas. So, if I make scones, I make granola and broiled potatoes, or root vegetables such as beets, turnips, carrots, and/or maybe a whole chicken as well. I use the ''convection'' setting in the oven so that one thing does not give the other an undesirable smell :)
7. Saturday: go to the Riverside market to get vegetables if I need any. Once a month, I also get cheese there, from Sweet Grass Dairy. 

• I generally don't cook for breakfast or lunch. Most of my cooking is for dinner, and then I use the left overs for lunch. I also make soups to eat for lunch, since the kids are not as fond of them as we grown-ups are. I make scones/granola/bread and yogurt for breakfast (and to be used as snacks at school/work as well) ahead of time, so that we don't have to cook in the morning. Sometimes we make oatmeal or eggs, if we feel like it...
• The most time consuming part of cooking, for me, is washing and cutting vegetables. So I try to do it ahead of time, in the morning after the kids go to school and before I go to work. But that does not always work out! :) Having them washed/prepped ahead of time, though, ensures that I will actually cook them for dinner. Because if I am tired, or have no time, vegetables are so darn easy to let go, out of our meal. That may not seem like a big deal for just one day, but it is, because that is the only time in the day that the kids eat under our supervision. It is hard to pack vegetables for school lunches, and there is no way the kids are going to eat vegetables such as turnip/beet/mustard greens, bok choi, kale, chard, spinach, turnips, beets... if they were made the night before. They look all wilted and awful. But if they are made fresh for dinner, the chances that they will eat them are definitely much, much better- specially if their treat is sitting right there in front of them, waiting for them to just finish their meal.

Why I cannot shop at Costco anymore.

I cannot go to Costco and come out of there with a good conscience any longer. Every single thing that you buy in there comes wrapped, or double wrapped, in plastic. It is absolutely crazy, if you think about it. Because not only it comes in plastic, but the kind of plastic that it comes in is completely non-recyclable. The blueberry and tomato ''shells', the banana plastic bags, the sandwich bread that comes in a plastic bag inside another bigger plastic bag, the muffins, the croissants, the chocolates, pretzels, vanilla, spices, coffee, nuts, cereals, snacks, cheese, olives, chicken, meat, avocados, hummus... everything!
Not only that, where is the stuff coming from? If it is organic ground beef, for example, you can read in the package that it comes from 3 different countries altogether. Imagine that: 3 different countries in one single little 1-pound packet of meat... What do you think about the safety of this food, with this meat that is mixed from 3 different places? This meat at least has a label that says where it is coming from, though. What about the rest of the meat in the store? What about the chicken? And why does it have to come from so far, when we have cattle pretty much everywhere in the United States? Why do the all the vegetables also have to come from different countries, when we are perfectly capable of planting and growing them ourselves here in the United States, with control over the kinds of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides that go into them? And what about the packaged dry goods? Do we really need all these individually wrapped chocolates, snacks, granola and ''health'' bars, and the chemicals that they come with in order to have a long shelf life?
The impact that a store like that has on our local economy goes both ways: it takes the business and money away from our local farmers, producers, and small business owners and, in exchange, leaves us with nothing but trash for our local landfills.
The solution? Shop local, and buy from the farms that are all around us. Keep the money in our city and state, and that way help keep it cleaner as well. Less transportation means less pollution, and less packaging means less garbage in the landfills. More money locally, and less trash globally, we all win.

Children and food

If when you go to school, and show 10-year-old kids different types of food, what does it tell you about how they eat?
If they recognize Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, Coke, Gatorade, Special K, "Lunchables", fruit roll-ups, fruit juices, canned food and McDonalds... but cannot tell the difference between a few greens, basic herbs, or recognize oats... would you be surprised that kids are becoming fat, reaching puberty earlier than ever, and suffering from diseases that were common only to older folk?
If kids easily recognize white sugar and white flour, but give a sigh of awe at the mere sight of brown sugar, brown rice and whole wheat flour... are we not missing something here? Perhaps just basic nutrition?
Were you to compile a journal of what your kids eat everyday, 365 days a year, what would they get at the end? A varied, colorful, rich diet full of different types of vitamins, amino acids, micro-organisms, protein, calcium, iron etc... brown rice, whole grains, beans, vegetables, fruits...
Or plain-old protein, calcium, sugar, fat, hormones (regular, hormone-enriched dairy/meat such as cheese, milk, chocolate milk, pizza, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hot-dogs, sliced turkey, sliced ham...), and chemicals (food coloring, vitamins, maltose, dextrose, niacins, guar gum, xantham gum, citric acids, preservatives, nitrates, hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup...): chicken, milk, cheese, meat, cereal, chips, soda, white bread, donuts, school cafeteria food, fast-food...
If we want our children to live well, and be happy, successful, and free of suffering from diseases and ailments, don't we have a responsibility to do anything we can to feed them good food? We are responsible for their well-being. We lay down the basics on which they will build their lives, and their future. If our kids are 10-years old, that means only another 7 or 8 years of our lives before they go off on their own! Make those count, and be proud that you once said NO to junk food, and YES to good food for your kids.

Allergies? None.

I thought I should post this, because I think it is pretty interesting. When I first arrived in Jacksonville, spring of 1998, I had terrible allergies to the pollen here. Between the oak trees, the azaleas, ligustrum and many other  flowers, I just could not stop sneezing and going crazy with a runny nose. I went, at first, to the doctor, who gave me allergy medication such as Zirtac and Allegra, and nose sprays. They worked fine, but if I'd stop using them, the allergies would come back in full force. In short, I was treating the symptoms, but not the cause. So I went to an acupuncturist, and did a de-tox treatment. That helped immensely, and I was finally able to stop the medicines.
Since then, I had been able to manage the spring and all the pollen without any medication, but did sneeze a lot and get, still, some of the runny nose/itchy eye thing going.
This year, which people have been saying down here in Jacksonville, has been one of the worse for allergies, I have had no allergies whatsoever. I could chalk it up to ''good luck'', of course. Or... it could be because of a drastic change in the diet of our household that started in the fall of 2009. No more produce from the other side of the country (California) or the planet (New Zealand), and no more processed dairy, meat, poultry or eggs.
We started to eat local produce that is in season only, meat/poultry eggs from local farms only, and milk and cheese that is not processed, from local farms as well. Both milk, eggs, and meat/ poultry from free roaming animals. No hormones, no pasteurization, no processing, no vitamins added, nothing. Just plain, simple food from local farms.
And it goes without saying, a diet that is based, daily, on whole grains, beans, and vegetables. Meat/chicken happens once a week only, and the dairy intake is minimal.
This is purely anecdotal, of course, but it goes hand in hand with what traditional medicine (Chinese, Indian, Japanese...) preaches: eat fresh local foods that are whole foods ("whole" grains, "whole" milk), and don't eat processed food- simple.

Why no one should use styrofoam.

Polystyrene Foam Report

What is it?
Polystyrene is a petroleum-based plastic made from the styrene monomer. Most people know it under the name Styrofoam, which is actually the trade name of a polystyrene foam product used for housing insulation. Polystyrene is a light-weight material, about 95% air, with very good insulation properties and is used in all types of products from cups that keep your beverages hot or cold to packaging material that keep your computers safe during shipping.
Why not use it?

• The biggest environmental health concern associated with polystyrene is the danger associated with Styrene, the basic building block of polystyrene. Styrene is used extensively in the manufacture of plastics, rubber, and resins. About 90,000 workers, including those who make boats, tubs and showers, are potentially exposed to styrene. Acute health effects are generally irritation of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract, and gastrointestinal effects. Chronic exposure affects the central nervous system showing symptoms such as depression, headache, fatigue, and weakness, and can cause minor effects on kidney function and blood. Styrene is classified as a possible human carcinogen by the EPA and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A voluntary compliance program has been adopted by industries using styrene. The US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration unsuccessfully (a federal court overturned the ruling in 1992) tried to limit the amount of worker exposure to styrene to 50 parts per million (ppm). According to the Styrene Information and Research Center (SIRC), they still encourage their member companies to comply with the 50 ppm exposure limit. This program would reduce styrene exposures to a 50 ppm TWA with a 100 ppm (15 minute) ceiling.-OSHA (US Dept of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
• A 1986 EPA report on solid waste named the polystyrene manufacturing process as the 5th largest creator of hazardous waste.· The National Bureau of Standards Center for Fire Research identified 57 chemical byproducts released during the combustion of polystyrene foam. The process of making polystyrene pollutes the air and creates large amounts of liquid and solid waste.
• Toxic chemicals leach out of these products into the food that they contain (especially when heated in a microwave). These chemicals threaten human health and reproductive systems.
• These products are made with petroleum, a non-sustainable and heavily polluting resource.
• The use of hydrocarbons in polystyrene foam manufacture releases the hydrocarbons into the air at ground level; there, combined with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight, they form tropospheric ozone -- a serious air pollutant at ground level. According to the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) more than 100 million Americans currently live in areas that fail to meet air quality standards for ozone. California, the Texas Gulf Coast, the Chicago-Milwaukee area, and the Northeastern U.S. all have "serious ozone air quality problems," according to EPA. Ozone is definitely a dangerous pollutant. The EPA says: "Healthy individuals who are exercising while ozone levels are at or only slightly above the standard can experience reduced functioning of the lungs, leading to chest pain, coughing, wheezing, and pulmonary congestion. In animal studies, long-term exposure to high levels of ozone has produced permanent structural damage to animal lungs while both short and long term exposure has been found to decrease the animal's capability to fight infection." In other words, prolonged exposure to atmospheric ozone above legal limits might be expected to damage the immune system.
• By volume, the amount of space used up in landfills by all plastics is between 25 and 30 percent. -"Polystyrene Fact Sheet," Foundation for Advancements in Science and Education, Los Angeles, California.
• Polystyrene foam is often dumped into the environment as litter. This material is notorious for breaking up into pieces that choke animals and clog their digestive systems.
• Many cities and counties have outlawed polystyrene foam (i.e. Taiwan, Portland, OR, and Orange County, CA).

Can polystyrene be recycled?

• While the technology for recycling polystyrene is available, the market for recycling is very small and shrinking. Many Americans are hearing from their curbside recycling agencies that they will not accept PS goods. The good news is that the current Biopolymer revolution (biodegradable polymers) is charting a path for producing environmentally friendly packaging material to replace those peanuts. Corn based and other seeds known collectively as soapstock waste lead the way. Some are already available as replacements. Perhaps the problematic recycling situation will be solved by replacing the product.
• Polystyrene recycling is not "closed loop" - collected polystyrene cups are not remanufactured into cups, but into other products, such as packing filler and cafeteria trays. This means that more resources will have to be used, and more pollution created, to produce more polystyrene cups.-"Plastics Industry Grasps for Straws," Everyone's Backyard, January/February 1990, Citizen's Clearinghouse for Hazardous Waste, p. 6.

Does polystyrene deplete the ozone layer?

• Initially a portion of polystyrene production was aided by the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), the chemicals that break down ozone in the troposphere. When this issue came to light, polystyrene manufacturers negotiated a gradual phase-out of CFCs in the production process and no CFCs have been used since the late 1980's.
• Though polystyrene manufacturers claim that their products are "ozone-friendly" or free of CFCs, this is only partially true. Some polystyrene is now manufactured with HCFC-22, which, though less destructive than its chemical cousins, CFC-11 and CFC-12, is still a greenhouse gas and harmful to the ozone layer. In fact, according to a 1992 study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, HCFCs are three to five times more destructive to the ozone layer than previously believed.-"Study Finds CFC Alternatives More Damaging Than Believed," The Washington Post, December 10, 1989.

Why Use Alternatives?

• Post-consumer recycled paper, bamboo, corn plastics, etc. are easily renewable resources.
• All of these products biodegrade when composted.
• Paper products can be recycled at most people's doorstep where community recycling is in place.
• In 1995, 40% of all US paper was recycled, including 32.6 million tons of paper & paperboard. (EPA)
• Every ton of 100% Post-consumer waste recycled paper products you buy saves:
  
  • 12 trees
  • 1,087 pounds of solid waste
  • 1,560 kilowatts of energy (2 months of electric power required by the average US home)
  • 1,196 gallons of water
  • 1,976 lbs. of greenhouse gases (1,600 miles traveled in the average US car)
  • 3 cubic yards of landfill space
  • 9 pounds of HAPs, VOCs, and AOXs combined
  • 390 gallons of oil

-Report from Green Restaurant Association Creating an Environmentally Sustainable Restaurant Industry

"Long Island, particularly the Eastern region (Suffolk County) has been bombarded with applications of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides for many decades. Chemicals applied in farming (particularly potato farming), home lawn care, ball parks and golf courses have been driven down through a rather shallow "lense" of soil and have contaminated groundwater on Long Island with impunity. Breast cancer rates in Suffolk County are among the highest in the US."
This should come as no surprise to anyone, given the research and data that is available today. Why we still tolerate it, that is the question.
More on this at:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/the-human-costs-of-nuclea_b_533516.html

Failure to Protect

If you want to market a new drug, you need to convince the FDA — in multiple tests, over the course of years — that it won't cause serious harm. If you want to sell a new pesticide, you need to prove the same thing. The burden of proof is on manufacturers to make the grade, and government regulators are the final judge. 
But if you want to market a new chemical for use in a product — even one that will come into contact with children or pregnant women — it's up to the EPA to prove that it's unsafe, using whatever data are provided by the chemical company, with little power to ask for more. And if it's one of the 62,000 chemicals that were already in use when the TSCA went into effect in 1976 — a category that includes BPA — chances are it was never really tested by the government at all. "Chemicals are deemed safe until the EPA can prove that they are dangerous," says Richard Wiles, executive director of the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. "It's completely backward." 

More on this:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976908_1976938-1,00.html

April 12 Time Magazine Article on Plastic and Children

Here is an article that came out in the latest Time Magazine about the perils of plastic. Its is very well written, and easy to understand. Thanks Piotr for alerting me this!

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976908,00.html

Why change anything?

That is a great question that demands honest, even if difficult, answers. Why change the way I eat, where I shop and how I cook? Isn't it too hard and overwhelming anyway?

1. I would say that the number one reason to start looking at how we eat and and what we buy is that every thing that we do, and eat, affects not only ourselves, but our communities, our environment, our planet. There is simply just too much information out there to be able to ignore it. We can shut our eyes and choose to ignore it, but our lives will still impact those of others. And those of others to come. 
2. Why change? Another reason was a video that I saw, and that will never leave my mind. The day I saw it, I could not sleep. It was a picture of the way pigs live in factory farms, and the way they are slaughtered. It is so horrendous, that I vowed never to eat it again. No matter what belief or religion a person may follow, no animal should live and be treated this way, just so we can have our holiday ham, our thanksgiving turkey, our daily chicken and meat, and milk. The way they keep chickens, calves, cows, pigs, and now fish, in captivity and filth, injecting them with hormones to grow faster, foods that they were never meant to eat (think salmon that now eats corn), and antibiotics to combat all the sickness they endure from living in such hellish conditions, is not only monstrous to animals, it is inhumane to humans that have to work in such places as well. And what about the pollution from all the animal waste of those facilities? Is anybody being held responsible for it? 
3. Another very simple reason is to look at how food ''gets'' to us these days. Our vegetables, milk, eggs, and even meat, used to be local. Now, you get shrimp and apple juice from China, grapes from Chile, apples from new Zealand, avocados from Mexico, meat from Uruguay... and most vegetables, if organic, from California. This is crazy, totally, absolutely crazy! Right on front of our house, our neighbor has collard greens- so many, that he can't keep up with them himself. Our own garden is giving us more bok choi and lettuce than our family can eat. We are in Florida, where one can grow stuff pretty much any time of the year!!!! We should not have to get collards and strawberries from California!!!! Do you see the waste? The trucks on the highways, transporting all these vegetables and meat that we can get, organic and fresh, right here in Jacksonville??? And what about our own farmers, who are living below the poverty level and are desperate for customers who think that buying from them is just too hard and/or expensive. Last I saw, organic collards went for $5 for a bunch so big I could barely fit in the fridge. Or 3 big beautiful heads of organic lettuce for, again, $5. The choice is obvious, and the impact on other people's lives: priceless.
4. Another reason is to look at what they put in the food before it gets to us. In the food would be preservatives, additives, coloring, sugar, corn-syrup, vitamins and such. Think about it: if the food is real food, it should not need any of this chemical stuff. Can you imagine a package of black beans ''enriched with vitamins and minerals'' (to make it even better!)? No! Leave my beans alone! I want to eat them the way they were made by nature, or God, or whatever force that created them thousands of years ago. Don't they say not to mess with something that works?
5. Now look at what they put around the food before it gets to us. Do they really have to wrap every single head of lettuce in plastic??? Or pieces (not even whole, but pieces) of apples in plastic inside of more plastic? Or spinach, carrots, cabbage, oranges, potatoes, onions, cheese, butter, meat, chicken, olives, olive oil, vinegar, milk, yogurt, and even slices of cheese and meat? Again, think about it: how on earth did our great grandparents ever get by without all the plastic??? Where have all of our senses gone? All that soft plastic is not recyclable anywhere. I've only seen one town where they are able to recycle soft plastic, and that town only has a few thousand citizens. So what about the rest of us millions of americans that buy all this stuff daily? What do we do about our growing landfills, and that other, less heard of but still there, gigantic land of plastic in the middle of the Pacific ocean? Who will take responsibility for all off it?
6. So you see, the answers are hard, but pretty clear and simple. And, best of all, actually do-able these days. The hope that we can actually make a difference for the better with our actions, both for ourselves and for those that come after we are long gone.

FOOD MATTERS

''It doesn't take a scientist to know that a handful of peanuts is better for you than a Snickers bar, that food left closer to its natural state is more nutritious than food that has been refined to within an inch of its life, and that eating unprecedented quantities of animals who have been drugged and generally mistreated their entire lives isn't good for you''
Mark Bittman, Food Matters

''EAT ONLY FOOD THAT WILL EVENTUALLY ROT''

This is a nice little rule from Michael Pollan. I like it, because it helps me keep things in perspective. Follow this rule, and you will always eat fresh foods. Foods that are alive and full of nutrients. Nutrients that give you life and good health.
Fresh vegetables, instead of canned or frozen. Or worse, processed into a snack: potato chips, veggie bootie...
Fresh fruit, instead of ''pre-cut'' fruit, fruit juice or fruit roll-ups...
Fresh farm eggs instead of 3-month-old eggs from the supermarket. Or worse, egg-substitutes...
Fresh meat, instead of cold-cuts preserved with chemicals; or meat-like ''products'' such as ''chicken nuggets''.
Fresh grains, instead of cereals in a box.
Fresh nuts, instead of "nut-flavored" snacks and junk food.
Fresh breads that easily go moldy, instead of plastic-packaged breads that somehow, by some miracle, can live in a supermarket shelf without going bad.
Fresh meals, instead of any meal that is ''easily microwaveable''-frozen dinners, frozen pizza, chicken nuggets etc...
And, finally, fresh milk as well. We bought some Organic Valley milk a month ago, and it is still sitting there in the fridge; it is supposed to be valid until April 17. Meanwhile, I've taken 3 trips to the farm to buy fresh milk, and it always sours after 7 days. So, if the fresh milk sours in so little time, what are they doing to that Organic Valley milk to make it last so long?
More on this: Food Rules, by Michael Pollan

Avoid ''light'', ''low-fat, ''non-fat'' foods.

The low-fat campaign began in the late 1970's.
Nowadays, the average male is 17 pounds heavier, and the average female 19 pounds heavier than in the late 1970's.
You are better off eating the real food in moderation, than eating lots of the "light" version. When the food industry removes the fat from a food in its industrial plant, it often substitutes the fat that gives that food its delicious taste for other ''nutrients''. "Nutrients'' such as sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or a variety of weird names that for sure don't grow on soil. Chemicals. If you think about it, for any food to be able to say ''light'', it must be packaged- which means, processed.
You are better off eating a little bit of fat that is real food and will make you satisfied, than a ''fat-free'' food that will leave you hungry and still craving more food afterwards.
A clarification is due here: when I talk about eating fats, I do talk about quality fats, though; not KFC or Dunkin Donuts type of fats.
Eat real food, and there will be no need to look for a ''light'' version. There is no "light" walnuts or pecans, ''low-fat'' potato or yam, ''non-fat'' brown rice, beets or beans. They are what they are: great, delicious food chock-full of real nutrients that really nourish us. Even real milk; when you buy it non-homogenized, if you are concerned about the fat or just plain don't like it, you can just take the fat off and make butter with it- because the fat is just cream- delicious cream, that is...

How Obama Sold the Farm - Food - The Atlantic

This is incredibly upsetting. I don't know what he is trying to do, but I can only hope that maybe, just maybe, he has some kind of incredibly smart plan behind this choice... otherwise, this can only be seen as total disaster.

How Obama Sold the Farm - Food - The Atlantic