Food for Thought in the New Year
Most food-related New Year’s resolutions involve pledging to eat less, but I prefer to look at it a different way. This year, I plan to be more aware of the food I’m eating, including where it comes from, who made it and how it was grown.
I’ve already been tuned into issues of sustainability over the past week or so. I wrote a letter to the Tribune in response to the biased story they printed on Chicago’s new tax on bottled water. The article seemed to be trying to make readers feel sorry for the upper-middle class people who will now have to pay more for what amounts to a wasteful, unnecessary luxury. Needless to say I am not very sympathetic to their plight. Continuing on my kick of righteousness, I wrote another letter to Bon Appétit magazine because they listed “steelhead salmon” for suggested use in recipes. As the daughter of Daddy Salmon, I know that steelhead are actually trout and that they are a threatened species.
In short, by paying closer attention to what I eat and making decisions based on that information, I believe I can reduce my carbon footprint, help my local economy and be healthier all at the same time.
In that spirit, here are my top ten food pledges for the year in no particular order:
10. I will not eat store-bought desserts that aren’t made by a local baker. That means no more packaged cookies served at receptions or supermarket pies brought to potlucks. My calories are better spent elsewhere, and I don’t need to be supporting multinational food companies.
9. I will buy fewer fruits when they’re not in season. That means no more winter tomatoes. (They’re mealy and disappointing anyway!) That will cut down on my carbon footprint because I won’t be eating as much food that’s traveled long distances.
8. I will bring my own bags to the grocery store. Plastic shopping bags have become a huge nuisance in Chicago and many other cities. San Francisco has even banned them. Canvas is so much cooler!
7. I will eat less red meat. While I can’t pledge to cut red meat out of my diet for good, I will do my best to eat it only a few times per month. I’m not doing this because I feel sorry for cows; recent studies have shown that doing this is one of the best ways for an individual to slow global warming.
6. I will seek out breakfasts that are enhanced by hot sauce. This one came from Empanada Boy, so I can’t provide any further explanation.
5. I will eat more greens and unusual vegetables. Many of these aren’t part of my regular diet, but they’re inexpensive and healthy. They’re also available during the fruitless winter months. Kale and parsnip soup anyone?
4. I will only eat fish that are safe and sustainably caught. The first step to doing this is to get the right information. One reliable source is Seafood Watch, a fish-buying guide maintained by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
3. I will not eat at national chain restaurants. Supporting local businesses is better for the environment and my health. This does not include my beloved Burgerville, which is a local chain.
2. I will stop drinking bottled water. Out of sheer need for revenue Chicago finally did something environmentally progressive and passed a 5-cent tax on bottled water. Now I have a financial incentive along with a moral duty.
1. I will savor everything I eat. And if the food I’m eating isn’t worth savoring, I will stop eating it!
Hopefully I can keep these pledges up as the year goes by. Even if I fail at a few of them, just thinking about the issues surrounding the food I eat will help me make changes to move in the right direction.
Here’s to a happy, healthy new year!
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New York Bagel said,
January 6, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
Great Resolutions! Thank you for the reminder that food is complex and has consequences beyond our taste buds! I will do my best to go canvas as well. Happy New year!
Daddy Salmon said,
January 6, 2008 @ 11:31 pm
I like your sustainability/health message a lot. It makes me very proud to be your Daddy Salmon. Also, EB’s presidential campaign graphics are very impressive as well. Once again, he’s a man after my own heart.
Flava Flav said,
January 7, 2008 @ 12:24 am
Heres to a happy, healthy and delicious 2008!
Mango Mama said,
January 7, 2008 @ 12:59 am
I guess this means that we can’t serve the huge platters of roast beef and Chilean Sea Bass and the Entenmann’s cake that we were planning on for the wedding this summer!
Can we still have the rehearsal dinner at The Olive Garden???
Tofutti Cutie said,
January 7, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
Great resolutions! Read “Omnivore’s Dilemma” for scientific and philosophical grounding for many of your resolutions. Good (local) food is for everyone. Support. Enjoy
Slim McDinner said,
January 7, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
That’s all fine for you, but I’m only joining you with resolution number 6. I can’t give up my Australian beef, Costco pies, Oreos, or color-added farmed salmon! That’s not a life I want to live!
But seriously, I’m not giving up Oreos.
Charlie Tuna said,
January 9, 2008 @ 10:29 pm
Tell the Mango Mama that she can drop by the Whole Foods if she wants to be sure the Chilean Sea Bass is Sustainably Caught.
(The first post, last shameless plug for my employer I’ll ever give) But hey, they do a really nice job of getting all the troll caught stuff in.
Mango Lassie said,
January 10, 2008 @ 12:02 am
Thanks for all of the supportive/ sassy replies (you know who you are).
Also, thanks for your suggestions, Charlie Tuna. Whole Foods is a good option for people who want to feel safer about the meat and fish they buy. Still, I have a feeling Mango Mama won’t be shopping at Whole Foods anytime soon. She’s not into the high prices, and since she lives in the Northwest, she has more fresh fish options at her local grocery than we do in Chicago.
By the way, is there really such a thing as sustainably caught Chilean Sea Bass?
Charlie Tuna said,
January 10, 2008 @ 3:52 pm
Sure is. Here’s a direct link to the exact population, (and only sustainable one) that MSC has certified: http://www.msc.org/html/content_1062.htm
The Marine Stewardship Council is your best resource, even better than the Monterey Bay Aquarium pamphlets and such, for finding out what is sustainable. Since there is no Organic Certification for fish in the United States, the MSC rewards ecologically and socially responsible fishing operations with a symbol of sustainability to help promote proper methods of maintaining the world’s fish supply.
Honey Roasted Peanut said,
January 21, 2008 @ 9:56 am
If your resolution lets you eat preserves even though it’s not blackberry season and pickles when it’s not cucumber season, canned tomatoes are also a great option. The Italian ones marked San Marzano–they’re the tastiest–only come from a small designated area in southern Italy, meaning that they were harvested and canned while they were in season. This way you can still have chili with your superbowl!
Mango Lassie said,
January 22, 2008 @ 10:45 am
Preserves are an excellent option. I find myself using them on a daily basis. As you may remember from a previous post, I made my own pickles this year. (Unfortunately, these have almost run out.) Luckily for me, Mango Mama is particularly diligent about canning. Every year she cans a few different kinds of jam, applesauce, canned pears, chutney and pickles. My relatives and I get to eat all of these wonderful products throughout the year. She also freezes some of the berries to make pies and crisps during the rest of the year. I also love canned tomatoes and use them in a wide variety of soups and stews. You’re right about the quality of the San Marzano kind. They are delicious! Maybe this summer I can get it together to make more preserves. It’s so tempting just to eat everything fresh.