Not All is Lost

          Although there are countless drinks out there that are nothing more than diabetes in a cup, not all is lost for those who enjoy having something to wash down their meals every now and then.Unfortunately, many healthy drinks that taste good can be tough on the wallet; however, there are some surprisingly healthy drinks that can be picked up from local restaurants for relatively little. Among these are, Starbucks – Espresso, Einstein Bros Bagels – Medium Iced Latte, McDonald’s - Small Nonfat Latte (shocking I know), and Seattle’s Best - Small Nonfat Chai Latte. So, Next time your thirsty and want to stop for a drink that wont slowly kill you, consider these five fast food miracles:

"Starbucks – Espresso
Counterintuitive as it may seem, an espresso from Starbucks actually has less caffeine than a cup of Joe. With only 75 milligrams of caffeine per cup, this brew gives you a kick compared to the 260-milligram jolt you’d get from a tall coffee. How so? It all boils down to caffeine per ounce. Ounce per ounce, espresso does have more caffeine than coffee, roughly 75 milligrams versus 22 milligrams. But because that cup of java is 12 times bigger, its caffeine really adds up.

Jamba Juice – Probiotic Fruit & Yogurt Blends

Jamba Juice just made your smoothie even healthier. Their Probiotic Fruit & Yogurt Blends pack a probiotic boost to improve digestion and bolster your immune system. Made with nonfat yogurt, soymilk, and whole fruit, they’re available in three good-for-you flavors: strawberry, mango, or blueberry. One 16-ounce smoothie boasts roughly 15% each of your daily dose of calcium and iron, half of your day’s vitamin C, and 2 to 3 grams of filling fiber for 230 to 250 calories.

Einstein Bros Bagels – Medium Iced Latte
Craving something cool and caffeinated? A medium iced latte fromEinstein Bros Bagels hits the spot. Ask for yours with nonfat milk and you’ll shave off some serious fat and calories - and get 16 ounces of refreshment for a surprisingly low 60 calories and zero grams of fat. You’ll also score a quarter of your day’s calcium and 7 grams of high-quality protein.

McDonald’s - Small Nonfat Latte

Among its dizzying array of coffee drinks, frappes, shakes, and smoothies, McDonald’s serves up a winner. Its small, 12-ounce, nonfat latte packs as much calcium and protein as you’d get from a glass of milk, all for only 90 calories and zero grams of fat. Pair it with a Fruit and Maple Oatmeal for a hearty breakfast or an order of Apple Dippers with Low-fat Carmel Dip for a satisfying snack.

Seattle’s Best - Small Nonfat Chai Latte
One of the best nutrition bargains at Seattle’s Best is a tea drink. For only 140 calories and zero fat grams you can walk away with a chai latte that’s way skinnier than the competition. And if you don’t do dairy, you can still drink up. This spicy elixir is also available in a 150-calorie soy version. Did we mention that each variety packs 20% of your daily calcium, too?"

source:http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/healthy-fast-food-drinks-2463667/

-Chuka Obiofuma  ''I always blog about scandals, except for when I don't"

The Omnivore's Dilemma: IS there anything good about CAFOs?

Well, I finished The Omnivore's Dilemma yesterday and I have to say that it was a truly fascinating book. He brings up a good point in the book when he speaks abolut the humane treatment of animals. I am proud to be a human because even in the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) cares are taken to humanely execute the food animals. I believe that is one of the defining characteristics of being human: that we attempt to slaughter animals with respect\. Even in some of the most industrial processing facilities one facet of the process that is completely humane is the process  by which the animal is slaughtered. Death is almost instantaneous as a metal bolt is fired through the animals head, causing near iunstant death. It is good to know that even in the CAFOs the animals are slaughtered with respect.

The Omnivore's Dilemma

        In the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan(2006), Pollan asserts that Humans have become disconnected with the truth about our food and what we should be putting in our bodies. He also claims that organic food is a healthier and more environmentally sound alternative. He supports his assertions by listing in detail the truth about how most of our food is produced, and listing the principles of organic farming and their various implementations in modern America. He wrote the book in an attempt to help Americans become more knowledgeable about what they put in their bodies, and to inspire them to have a healthier and more aware lifestyle.
        One of the best qualities about Pollan's book is that it sheds light on some of the corrupt practices used by large food companies, such as the abuse of the land on which they grow their crops as well as the overuse of corn in order to cut costs. Companies are sacrificing the health of the environment, animals, laborers, and consumers for the health of their bottom lines. Humans cannot continue to allow such systematic abuse to take place right under our noses. It is important to get informed, and act towards a better tomorrow.


-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be given"

Farm Subsidies: Destroying the Idyllic Family Farm

There is a huge debate going on between Washington Post columnist Ezra Klein Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack over the issue of "rural subsidies".  I didn’t know what a farm subsidy was so I looked it up and found this great website Farm $ubsity Database.  It defines subsidies as "a ‘safety net’ to agricultural producers to help them through the variations in agricultural production and profitability from year to year - due to variations in weather, market prices, and other factors - while ensuring a stable food supply. However, this support is highly skewed toward the five major 'program' commodities of corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice" It lists some facts about farm subsidies in Georgia:

• 70 percent of farmers in Georgia did not collect subsidy payments - according to USDA.
• Ten percent collected 82 percent of all subsidies.
• Amounting to $4.18 billion over 15 years.
• Top 10%: $33,488 average per year between 1995 and 2009.



"Field of cotton" from the Library of Congress
Cotton is the receives the most subsidy payments of any crop in Georgia

• Bottom 80%: $451 average per year between 1995 and 2009

These subsidies are causing many rural farms to close down because they cannot compete with these government subsidies factory farms.  This is putting thousands of people in rural America out of work.  When these out of work farmers move away, the small towns they leave behind are destroyed.  All of the agricultural wealth is concentrated in the few hands of the large factory farm owners.  This practice is detrimental to rural American, rural Americans, and it will eventually damage the American economy.  The government should be supporting family owned farms that are the future of our agricultural system.

~Hannah Frame

Six Surprisingly Scandalous Foods

      When eating their favorite foods, people don't often think about what had to be done in order to obtain and market the comestibles. The process is often very complex, and very bad for the environment, especially in the case of six very popular foods: chocolate, corn, bananas, tuna, shrimp, and beef. These foods, though well liked by many, and highly profitable for businesses, take a huge toll of the environment, and even the laborers who help produce them.They may seem cheap at the counter, but there is a grave hidden cost.

"And Nestle's not alone. A 2007 report revealed that Africa's cocoa trade was bankrolling both sides of Cote d'Ivoire's bloody civil war. And the cocoa trade has also been accused of supporting forced child labor and trafficking"

"The widespread use of chemical fertilizer on corn fields in the U.S. has created a massive "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico – a 7,900 square-mile area patch of water that is so oxygen-depleted that sea life cannot survive"

"Growing bananas is responsible for widespread deforestation in much of Latin America. And pesticides used to farm bananas have polluted the land and harmed plantation workers"

"Tuna is one of the most well-known offending industries. For years, the tuna industry used the practice of 'dolphin circling' to catch tuna, resulting in the deaths of more than 100,000 dolphins each year"

"Harvesting shrimp is phenomenally wasteful – up to 10 pounds of fish are caught and destroyed for each pound of shrimp harvested"

"The cattle industry is an incredible energy and water suck – it takes around 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. And the farming of animals accounts for 18% of all man-made greenhouse gases"

Read More:http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/bad-foods-scandals-33010801

-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be given"

Pet Owners Beware

       It would seem that even the beloved family pet is not safe from the deplorable food production practices of big businesses. Some of the ingredient used to make many commercial pet foods are both shocking, and deeply disturbing. Those who view their animals as members of the family may very well want to consider making their own pet food.

"I knew when I began to research the types of ingredients in commercial pet foods that I would probably be shocked, but it really is a lot worse than that. In many cases it is down right disgusting, not to mention harmful and unhealthy to our pets. Many foods that have been declared unfit for human consumption are trucked off to pet food companies.

Here are 10 common ingredients that could very well be in your pets dinner tonight if you are feeding them a commercial pet food product.

1) Euthanized cats and dogs (including collars, I.D. tags and flea collars, the fur is not removed)
2) Diseased animals
3) Hydrolized poultry feathers - pressure treated feathers from slaughtered poultry
4) Hydrolyzed hair - pressure treated hair from cattle, horses, pigs, and other slaughtered animals
5) Animal blood
6) Dried poultry waste
7) Dried swine waste
8) Ground almond and peanut shells
9) Various leftover parts from slaughter houses such as lungs, spleen and brain, just to name a few
10) Stick marks - the chunk of flesh cut from an animal for human consumption that has been injected with hormones, antibiotics and other drugs"


Read More:http://www.labrador-retriever-guide.com/shockingpetfood.html

-Chuka Obiofuma "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be granted"

The Economy from a student's POV (with a side of poverty and corn)

Hey,

So the economy hasn’t been this bad since the Great Depression. As every APUSHer knows very well, the farmers were the ones who felt the depression ten years earlier… spookily, the farmers were having trouble about ten years ago as well. Coincidence? Maybe… but it is also a fact that prices of agricultural goods were low before both recessions (product of efficiency and over supply). FDR helped that with AAA which gave subsidies to farmers who cut production, which raised prices, which stimulated the farm economy (ooh, I like when I get to use the things I learned in other classes! J ) however, now the government can’t entangle themselves as much as they did in the economy in the 1930s (that was an unprecedented amount of interconnectivity during a time of peace).  So with a large  part of the nation already feeling the effects of a recession, the middle class has to be the ones who stimulate their recovery. But when they don’t, a bad depression will ensue. So for those who end up in the poverty zone, what do they do? Well, farmers lose their land, the others lose what they have, and once basics like food become scarce (note that the AAA’s raising prices didn’t help those who were having trouble in the poverty zone).  So poverty is badwhen in a recession even more so than in a time of regular economic conditions (inflation helps people who have debts and depressions don’t really help with the value of the dollar (hence the Populist party and the push for debtors and silver)).

The economy and its recessions have a lot of roots in the food industry. So when it gets wacky and busts, the economy will too. As FDR said “if the farmers starve today, we will tomorrow.”

Catherine Korizno

The Omnivore's Dilemma (Catherine's take)

hey,

When Mrs. Collier said we had to read ANOTHER book, I was upset to say the least. I have to read a book about something that is going to make me throw up, but that I couldn’t realistically change to meet the principles of the diehard Organi-galacticos (the people who shove their organic lifestyles down your throats… a soccer joke about the crazily star studded real Madrid team… they are on all organic diets too… funny, but I digress). And if I can’t see it as a viable option, how are the impoverished people I write about going to? For so many, good food is a luxury. It is often a choice between getting something healthy and cutting somewhere else, or a fast food meal and paying for something like education or something important. I thought to myself, this Michael Pollan is nuts, and I have to pay 10 dollars to read a book that might make me anorexic? But as I read it, I found it kind of interesting, though I did have a few “moments”. As I read, I had to think to think about the book in terms of what I eat and in a way that would make this relatable to my topic of poverty. The fact that the food industry is cutting prices by cutting the health of the food (and by extension, the people who consume it) is a biggie. That is the big selling point of those food peddlers, the food is cheap and fast and delicious. That was one of the reasons I cut fast food and soda out of my diet when I was a freshman, the food industry cut so much of the nutritional value out of the food that it is more detrimental than beneficial to eat (did that just sound like a thesis statement?) Pollan talks a lot about how the food industry is bad and his experience in seeing food being produced when he was a reporter. His insight brings a new shade to the already colored topic. Another big point he makes is how the food industry cuts prices by using corn, which is dirt cheap. Not only does this hurt the health of consumers, but it also hurts the economy. The low prices drive competition out of business and the monopoly style companies garner the same effect. A lot of these companies are vertically integrated (they control the entire process from seed to store (APUSH moment!)). Even though this book was assigned to an economic group, it also addresses the social changes the food industry has brought about. The change from hunter gathers to a people unknowledgeable about food who will believe propaganda about the happy farms and lack of unethical practices. The ideology about food that we have has changed so much. Adam was sent to toil in the fields for food; it was treasure to him and his people. But today, food is just another thing taken for granted (unless you don’t have it, but it is so plentiful that everyone should have it).  The book was interesting and informative, not just for those interested in economics and ethics, but to those who just care about the world or food. Pollan shows us how our food is made know because the propaganda isn’t going to give us unbiased answers.

happy eating!

Catherine Korizno

Food Safety Modernization Act : A Step in the Right Direction

The Food Safety Modernization Act was passed by Congress in December of 2010 and signed into law by President Obama in January 2011.  This Act provides safety for whistle blowing employees who provide information that their companies are violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (this law gives the FDA most of its regulatory power).  Also, the Food Safety Act will also increase the FDA's power.  Under this new law, the FDA will be able to demand a company issue a recall of harmful foods (before the FDA could only say pretty please and the companies could do whatever they wanted.)  Go here to see what other ways this Act will make our food safer.

According to FoodSafety.gov, the President and his staff are ready "to build a new system of food safety oversight – one focused on applying, more comprehensively than ever, the best available science and good common sense to prevent the problems that can make people sick."(For the complete article go here.)  It is about time our food industry used a little common sense!  Companies are so worried about the bottom line that they would rather fill hamburgers with ammonia washed "meat product" than actually feed their cows grass!  I hope this Act will actually be put into practice and give the FDA the power it needs to regulate the food industry.  Because we obviously cannot trust business to regulate themselves.

~Hannah Frame

Ten Percent of Chineese Cooking Oil from RAW SEWAGE!!!

               [warning: The sources for this article are pending; reader discretion is advised.]
             
 Studies have found that nearly ten percent of cooking oil made in China is siphoned from the waste tanks of restaurants and recycled.China consumes aproximately 22 million tons of cooking oil each year. If the findings are accurate, that would mean  2.2 million tons of raw sewage are being consumed in China each year. It is apparently much cheaper to obtain oil this way, but do the ends really justify the means?

"Chinese cooking oil siphoned from restaurants' waste tanks and stripped out of raw sewage is being resold on the cheap and has for years tainted approximately one out of every ten meals cooked in the eastern nation, according to a recent study.
The revelation, first noted by state media, sent Chinese health inspectors into a snit as they scrambled to reassure the public that the claims were being investigated.
"He Dongping, a professor at the Wuhan Polytechnic University, has been studying the problem for seven years," newspaper Epoch Times noted. "According to China Youth Daily, he found that China recycles an estimated two million to three million tons of waste oil per year. Combining that figure with the estimated 22.5 million tons of total vegetable oil and animal fat consumed by the Chinese per year, it is estimated that 10 percent is returning to people’s dining tables."
The only apparent difference between the toxic sewage oil and normal oil is the remarkable price difference, with the tainted cooking stock selling for approximately half the price of its legitimate competitor."

Read more: http://www.blacklistednews.com/?news_id=7933



Chuka Obiofuma- "Scandals have been requested, and scandals shall be granted"

Contaminated Shrimp from the Gulf

       Crude oil from the from the massive Gulf oil leaks seems to have gotten into the local shrimp and fish. The government has assured the public that seafood from Gulf waters is safe, however, findings of contamination have been confirmed by multiple scientists in isolated studies. While many long term health effects of consuming the  oil are still unkown, crude oil does contain benzene, which can cause cancer, along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are toxic to the brain and nervous system.

"In two separate cases, a toxicologist and a chemist independently confirmed their seafood samples contained unusually high volumes of crude oil and harmful hydrocarbons -- and some of this food was allegedly being sent to market.
One test, conducted by a chemist from Mobile, Alabama, employed a rudimentary chemical analysis of shrimp pulled from waters near Louisiana and found "oil and grease" in their digestive tracts.
The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) tests, which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have focused on the animal's flesh, with samples shelled and cleaned before undergoing examination.
Unfortunately, many Gulf coast residents prepare shrimp whole, tossing the creatures into boiling water shells and all."

"I wouldn't eat shrimp, fish or crab caught in the Gulf," said Robert M. Naman, a chemist at ACT Labs in Mobile, Alabama, who conducted the test after being contacted by a New Orleans activist. "The problems people will face, health-wise, are something that people don't understand."

read more about this here: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/10/activist-lab-tests-show-dangerously-toxic-substances-present-gulf-shrimp/

-Chuka Obiofuma

Aspartame... know that's some tasty cancer??!!

Did you know that the rates of brain cancer in developed countries has been steadily increasing in recent years? This continues to puzzle most scientists, but some believe that the cause is the artificial food sweetener aspartame. Aspartame is in countless processed foods and beverages, and according to the following video causes dangerous medical side effects.

Jacob Hambrick

The Food Fighter

John Mackey, the co-founder and chief executive of Whole Foods Market, refers to the company as his child—not just his creation but the thing on earth whose difficulties or downfall it pains him most to contemplate. He also sees himself as a “daddy” to his fifty-four thousand employees, who are known as “team members,” but they may occasionally consider him to be more like a crazy uncle. To the extent that a child inherits or adopts a parent’s traits, Whole Foods is an embodiment of many of Mackey’s. A Whole Foods store, in some respects, is like Mackey’s mind turned inside out. Certainly, the evolution of the corporation has often traced his own as a man; it has been an incarnation of his dreams and quirks, his contradictions and trespasses, and whatever he happened to be reading and eating, or not eating.

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/01/04/100104fa_fact_paumgarten#ixzz1JbDdM5Fv

Pretty interesting article I read in The New Yorker. Its about the Whole Foods CEO and his journey. It talks about how he has to deal with being healthy and organic while still worrying about how healthy the bottom line is. It has some quotes from the Stonyfield CEO from Food INC.

Let me know what you think.

 

Curtis Doelling

Poverty alert for Fulton County

hey,
So I was on my home from the show tonight and my mom and I decided to get a treat. We stop at Pinkberry for some FroYo and when we get the bill for two small chocolate froyos with strawberries, it was almost $8. $8! For two small cups of frozen milk! and what was more, on the way home on the radio, there was an ad saying that american families should help create inflation! OMG, as if the cost of things wasn't bad enough already. So I decided to look at Poverty levels and other stats of my county (Fulton). Looking at the stats for my county while sitting in my nice Brookhaven house almost made me throw up the overpriced froyo.

• 28.1% of families in fulton are mother only
• 100,000 people over 25 has a highschool diploma (out of 527,738... )
• almost 9% are unemployed (nationally is 5.7%)
• 11.23 % of households make less than $10,000 a year
• 15.73% poverty rate
• 12.4 % of families live in poverty
• 22.97% of children under 18 living with poverty
• 74.42% of the poverty group is Black... 7.7% is hispanic

These facts are from a UGA study of Poverty in GA (click here)

There is just a little something to mull over (check out your own county)
~Catherine Korizno

The Omnivore's Dilemma: Who is Joel Salatin?

I was reading some of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma  and I came across an interesting person, Joel Salatin. Self described as a "christian libertarian environmentalist" Salatin runs one of the most innovative farms in the country, Polyface farm. When asked what he raises Salatin insists that he is a grass farmer, because he believes that this is the most important asset on his farm.It feeds all the animals, who return the favor by fertilizing it with their manure. You can see an interview with Joel Salatin here.

To learn more about Polyface farm click here. 

-Jacob Hambrick

The Omnivore's Dilemma- "I'll have a large corn with a side of corn with corn to drink please"

Well, I've been reading some of Michael Pollan's The Omivore's Dilemma and I thought I would reveal a few corn-tastic facts to you guys. If you ever find yourself browsing a menu at a McCorn, uhh I mean McDonald's, menu and turns out corn is everywhere.

Soda- approximately 100 percent corn
milkshake- 78%
chicken nuggets- 56%
cheeseburger -52%
french fries- 23% 

Just think about it. All the foods at McDonald's (and most other places) is really corn with some added colors or flavorings. Mmmm! Have we domesticated corn or has corn domesticated us? 

-Jacob

The Omnivore's Dilemma- "I'll have a large corn with a side of corn with corn to drink please"

Well, I've been reading some of Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma  and I was shocked to discover just how much corn we really eat every day. Here are some of the facts about various products on McCorn's, I mean McDonald's, menu: soda -approximately 100 percent corn, milk shakes- 78% corn, chicken nuggets- 56% corn, cheeseburger- 52% corn, french fries- 23% corn. Yeah that's alot of corn. It's just some food for thought. The next time you order anything from McDonald's just remember what your actually eating is a corn-burger, corn-nuggets, and a delicious corn-shake.  

-Jacob

Mmm.. that's good can I buy some more?

Does the combination of salts, sugars, and fats in processed foods make food addictive?

Well, according to this article, it does. This proposes an interesting issue. Is it morally justified to sell a potentially addictive substance to someone without their knowledge? This is similar to tobacco companies and to be blunt a drug dealer. LEARN what is in your food. Decide for yourself whether or not you want to eat something.

On the economic side of things, this is a heck of a way to make some dough if one takes advantage of  the situation. Drug addicts will spend ridiculous amounts of money to get their fix. How is buying processed food to satisfy an addiction any different?

-Jacob Hambrick