From The Farmer
With the expiration date on our Tampa life coming up fast, I reflect on my main motivations for major lifestyle change.
It weighs heavily on me that the food we eat, both in the US and abroad, comes from questionable sources, is contaminated with all manner of harmful toxins, and is grown/harvested/slaughtered at the expense of the environment and, therefore, our own health and well-being. And that’s just if you’re really making a conscious effort to eat cleanly. The outlook is triply grim for folks who don’t know the first thing about the importance of the foods we consume!
A post on the Food Matters website caught my attention today- it profiles 7 foods we should avoid at the supermarket. I’m slightly surprised the list doesn’t just say ‘everything’, but maybe that’s an update they’ll make later in the year.
Most everything on the list came as no surprise to me, except for #5: Farmed Salmon. Now, I don’t eat salmon. Never even tried the stuff. I’m vegetarian and have been since I was a kid, but The Yogi eats salmon every once in a while and this article worries the hell outta me. Seems there’s no good way to go about salmon-eating at all these days- wild-caught salmon is devastating on wild salmon populations, but the farmed stuff is made of cancer. Great.
A quick internet search revealed this video by my loves over at The Ecologist, explaining the the social and environmental effects of producing the fishmeal fed to the farmed salmon that is often labeled ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘sustainable’. So it will not only give you cancer, salmon farming is contributing to air and water pollution and compromising the health of the populations unfortunate enough to live near it. Awesome. So your earnest attempts to get a few Omega 3s into your system are destroying our earth in a more sinister fashion than even Megatron could dream up- I’ve posted it here for your horror/viewing pleasure.
Here is the full list, in case you’re curious, provided by Food Matters:
1. Canned Tomatoes An endocrinologist and expert on the topic of the synthetic oestrogen bisphenol-A (BCA), linked to heart disease and infertility, won’t go near canned tomatoes. Tin cans are lined with a resin containing BCA which is especially a problem with canning tomatoes, as the acid in tomato breaks this down in dangerous amounts. This is a serious health concern for everyone who loves a Spag Bol, especially children. My advice: if you still want the convenience of stored, ready-to-cook tomatoes, opt for sauces and passata in glass bottles.
2. Conventional Beef For fat cows (and fat people) feed them grain, corn and soy. This is what farmers do to increase profits. The end product is meat that is nutritionally inferior. Cows were meant to eat grass. Studies show that grass-fed beef (compared to corn-fed) is higher in important vitamins, minerals and the heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory fats. Then there’s also the issue of all the antibiotics used on those inappropriately-fed, sick cows… My advice: Look for “grass-fed” or “pasture-fed” organic beef from strong healthy beasts.
3. Microwave Popcorn Another poisonous packaging issue: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) lines the bags of those popcorn bags, and the heat in the microwave leaches this straight onto your movie munchies. The UCLA links this compound to infertility. My advice: Corn kernels + butter + sea salt + plus a big pot (with a lid!) Simple.
4. Conventional Potatoes More than any other vegetable, non-organic potatoes are heavily sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides throughout every stage of their growth, harvesting and storage. So much so that potato growers never eat the potatoes they sell and grow their own separate plots without all the chemicals. My advice: Organic or Bio-dynamic potatoes only.
5. Farmed Salmon This is particularly scary considering that in Australia, the only fresh Salmon we have access to is farmed; all farmed, this includes “Atlantic” Salmon. These fish are crammed in pens and fed all manner of junk from soy and hydrolyzed chicken feathers and pellets. A scientific study on fish contamination showed high levels of DDT and PCB’s (carcinogens). So serious were the findings that the director for the Institute for Health warns that any more than one salmon meal every 5 months increases your cancer risk. Not to mention that fact that the levels of Omega 3 and Vitamin D are devoid in these poor factory-versions that their wild, up-stream-swimming ancestors contain. My advice: For fresh fish, choose small & wild varieties wherever available. For salmon in Australia, your only wild option is out of a tin. Look for brands like Paramount Wild Alaskan Salmon, or other brands form Norway and Canada are often wild too. Even still, eat these only occasionally.
6. Conventional Milk Dairy cows today are fed growth hormones to maximize milk production. Not only does this make for a potentially breast/prostate/colon cancer milk shake, but it also leads to increased incidence of udder infection for the poor cow, leading to pus in the milk. My advice: if you do drink cows’ milk, make sure it states clearly on the label that it is produced without artificial hormones, and ideally choose organic whole milk from pasture-fed cows.
7. Conventional Apples There’s no coincidence that farm workers have higher rates of many cancers. Of all common fruits, apples are the most heavily and frequently doused with pesticides. Pesticide reside on conventional fruits is also linked to Parkinson’s. To limit exposure, be wary of apples especially. My advice: Organic. Or at the very least, wash and peel.
With the expiration date on our Tampa life coming up fast, I reflect on my main motivations for major lifestyle change.
It weighs heavily on me that the food we eat, both in the US and abroad, comes from questionable sources, is contaminated with all manner of harmful toxins, and is grown/harvested/slaughtered at the expense of the environment and, therefore, our own health and well-being. And that’s just if you’re really making a conscious effort to eat cleanly. The outlook is triply grim for folks who don’t know the first thing about the importance of the foods we consume!
A post on the Food Matters website caught my attention today- it profiles 7 foods we should avoid at the supermarket. I’m slightly surprised the list doesn’t just say ‘everything’, but maybe that’s an update they’ll make later in the year.
Most everything on the list came as no surprise to me, except for #5: Farmed Salmon. Now, I don’t eat salmon. Never even tried the stuff. I’m vegetarian and have been since I was a kid, but The Yogi eats salmon every once in a while and this article worries the hell outta me. Seems there’s no good way to go about salmon-eating at all these days- wild-caught salmon is devastating on wild salmon populations, but the farmed stuff is made of cancer. Great.
A quick internet search revealed this video by my loves over at The Ecologist, explaining the the social and environmental effects of producing the fishmeal fed to the farmed salmon that is often labeled ‘environmentally friendly’ or ‘sustainable’. So it will not only give you cancer, salmon farming is contributing to air and water pollution and compromising the health of the populations unfortunate enough to live near it. Awesome. So your earnest attempts to get a few Omega 3s into your system are destroying our earth in a more sinister fashion than even Megatron could dream up- I’ve posted it here for your horror/viewing pleasure.
Here is the full list, in case you’re curious, provided by Food Matters:
1. Canned Tomatoes An endocrinologist and expert on the topic of the synthetic oestrogen bisphenol-A (BCA), linked to heart disease and infertility, won’t go near canned tomatoes. Tin cans are lined with a resin containing BCA which is especially a problem with canning tomatoes, as the acid in tomato breaks this down in dangerous amounts. This is a serious health concern for everyone who loves a Spag Bol, especially children. My advice: if you still want the convenience of stored, ready-to-cook tomatoes, opt for sauces and passata in glass bottles.
2. Conventional Beef For fat cows (and fat people) feed them grain, corn and soy. This is what farmers do to increase profits. The end product is meat that is nutritionally inferior. Cows were meant to eat grass. Studies show that grass-fed beef (compared to corn-fed) is higher in important vitamins, minerals and the heart-healthy, anti-inflammatory fats. Then there’s also the issue of all the antibiotics used on those inappropriately-fed, sick cows… My advice: Look for “grass-fed” or “pasture-fed” organic beef from strong healthy beasts.
3. Microwave Popcorn Another poisonous packaging issue: Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) lines the bags of those popcorn bags, and the heat in the microwave leaches this straight onto your movie munchies. The UCLA links this compound to infertility. My advice: Corn kernels + butter + sea salt + plus a big pot (with a lid!) Simple.
4. Conventional Potatoes More than any other vegetable, non-organic potatoes are heavily sprayed with herbicides, pesticides and fungicides throughout every stage of their growth, harvesting and storage. So much so that potato growers never eat the potatoes they sell and grow their own separate plots without all the chemicals. My advice: Organic or Bio-dynamic potatoes only.
5. Farmed Salmon This is particularly scary considering that in Australia, the only fresh Salmon we have access to is farmed; all farmed, this includes “Atlantic” Salmon. These fish are crammed in pens and fed all manner of junk from soy and hydrolyzed chicken feathers and pellets. A scientific study on fish contamination showed high levels of DDT and PCB’s (carcinogens). So serious were the findings that the director for the Institute for Health warns that any more than one salmon meal every 5 months increases your cancer risk. Not to mention that fact that the levels of Omega 3 and Vitamin D are devoid in these poor factory-versions that their wild, up-stream-swimming ancestors contain. My advice: For fresh fish, choose small & wild varieties wherever available. For salmon in Australia, your only wild option is out of a tin. Look for brands like Paramount Wild Alaskan Salmon, or other brands form Norway and Canada are often wild too. Even still, eat these only occasionally.
6. Conventional Milk Dairy cows today are fed growth hormones to maximize milk production. Not only does this make for a potentially breast/prostate/colon cancer milk shake, but it also leads to increased incidence of udder infection for the poor cow, leading to pus in the milk. My advice: if you do drink cows’ milk, make sure it states clearly on the label that it is produced without artificial hormones, and ideally choose organic whole milk from pasture-fed cows.
7. Conventional Apples There’s no coincidence that farm workers have higher rates of many cancers. Of all common fruits, apples are the most heavily and frequently doused with pesticides. Pesticide reside on conventional fruits is also linked to Parkinson’s. To limit exposure, be wary of apples especially. My advice: Organic. Or at the very least, wash and peel.
Potatoes?? Apples?? I wonder why Hot Pockets didn't make the list??!!!!
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