Importance of Knowledge

This course has taught me so much more than I ever expected. It has been a fantastic journey through a world that I was only vaguely aware of. Coming from a farm-girl background, I am embarrassed to say that there were many dozens of things that I had little or no knowledge of. Genetic manipulation of foods, over-milking of cows, the horrors that factory farmed animals have to go through, the amount of corn in our diets, the great degree to which farmers are losing money, and the amount of processed foods that we consume are just a few things that I can list in the category of new knowledge.

I am a fairly laid back person, but to read books like Ozeki's and Pollan's and to see films like The Future of Food really affect me. I am ashamed that I was not more aware of the situation of our food, but I truly believe that I am only one grain of sand in a desert. Information and education are key in this problem we have with our food, and it is indeed a problem. I urge everyone to spread the word, do what they can to discourage the practices they don't like, and make the world a better, greener, healthier place.

Wonders of a Simple Fruit

Soup, salad dressing, liqueur, salsa, lollipops, juice, supplements, jam, jelly, hand lotion, perfume, and hair conditioner. These are just a few of the things that you can make out of the fruit that has recently been dubbed a new superfood- the pomegranate. While the pomegranate has been around for centuries, dating back to 3000 B.C., it is only in recent years that it has become popular in the west. Originating from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and the Himalayas, the fruit was introduced into Latin America as well as the southwestern United States in 1769 by Spanish settlers.

My personal introduction with pomegranates was in the southwestern United States too, Tucson, Arizona to be exact. It was there, in Tucson, that my aunt had a couple of pomegranate trees in her backyard. Each year she would harvest the fruit and laboriously make delicious jelly out of her crop. Family members would then receive a few of jars of this homemade treat as Christmas gifts. These simple gifts that were made with such love and care meant the world to all of us as a family.

As a child it took a few tastes before I was able to decide that I loved the strange, light red jelly we received from her. The taste was so unique- I still remember it- a mild sweetness with just a hint of a bite to it. I remember that we used to ration out the jelly carefully, trying to make our jars last long enough to make it to the next Christmas batch. It has been years since my aunt made her famous jelly; the incredible amount of time it takes to make jelly from fresh pomegranates is insane, and in her later years she would rather spend her time doing other things. I can't blame her, but I will always remember that wonderful, exotic jelly made from such a strange fruit.

This strange fruit has a rich history in art, religion, mythology, symbol and medicine. In the Jewish culture the pomegranate symbolizes righteousness, the Chinese consider it one of the three blessed fruit along with the citron and the peach, the Muslim Qu’uran refers to the pomegranate as the “fruit of paradise”, and in the Christian faith, some scholars argue that it was actually a pomegranate, not an apple, that tempted Eve.

Perhaps because of the importance of the pomegranate in many different religions, it has often been used in homeopathic remedies. The nutrients that the pomegranate has, as well as different properties of the plant as a whole have led to the root, bark, rind and seeds of the pomegranate bush being used for centuries to treat all sorts of ailments. As strange as it may sound, some of these ailments are indigestion, tapeworms, fevers, diarrhea, heartburn and even impotency and the possibility of miscarriage in pregnancy. Who knew that one little fruit had so much to offer?

I didn't know any of this information about the pomegranate when I reintroduced myself to the pomegranate in my fifth grade year. My teacher, Mrs. Skinner, allowed us to have snacks in class, so on a daily basis there would be a variety of foods in the room. It was because of me that she banned pomegranates from the list of things we could bring. After bringing a few in for myself, my friend Skeeter developed a taste for pomegranates as well. It was the beginning of the end when I started bringing in pomegranates for the both of us.

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of eating a pomegranate, it is a very sticky, very messy experience. The pomegranate has a thick, red leathery skin that you must break or cut open to get at the fruit itself. The edible part of the berry are the hundreds of seeds inside of it (there are around six hundred seeds in each pomegranate). These seeds are called arils and are very juicy. Because of the natural sugars in the fruit, the aril juice is extremely sticky as well. The arils are held in place and protected by thick white membranes that must be torn apart as well. Eating a pomegranate is a lot of work as you must break the fruit apart and pick out the seeds a few at a time and eat them. While picking out the seeds, they can burst and spray juice across whatever is in front of and below it.

While Skeeter and I loved our unique, tasty snacks, by the time we were done our desks and the floor in front of us were covered with a fine red sticky mist. After a few days of this (and probably many complaints from the janitor) Mrs. Skinner told us that pomegranates were no longer a snack we could bring. It was a sad day, but a memorable one at that. Little did I know that I was providing myself with an incredibly healthy snack. Those little seeds obviously pack a lot of punch, even more than people originally thought.

Much of the recent health information and health studies that are out there on pomegranates came from studies paid for by POMWonderful, a California corporation owned by Stewart and Lynda Resnick. The Resnicks, since expanding their pomegranate farming business into the POMWonderful juice and supplement business that it is today, have spent more than twenty-three million dollars to research the health benefits of pomegranates. They asked Michael Aviram, an Israeli doctor who had done extensive research on the benefits of red wine, to start the research. They were all surprised at the findings.

Through the research that has been done on pomegranates (through POMWonderful funding as well as other studies) it has been found that the pomegranate is extremely high in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Most impressive, the pomegranate has three types of antioxidants that prevent free radicals from damaging our bodies. These three antioxidants are tannins, anthocyanins, and ellagic acid. While there are other sources of foods that have these antioxidants, it has been shown that pomegranates have more antioxidants that the previously named superfoods green tea and red wine.

This combination of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals make pomegranates a healthy snack that helps improve blood flow to the heart, reduce systolic blood pressure, fights viruses, and slows down progression of cancer, and possibly prevents the development of cancer.

The nutritional assets the pomegranate holds have pushed the fruit out into the world market. Just a few short years ago it was practically impossible to find pomegranate juice, pomegranate liqueur or anything else remotely pomegranate in the United States. Now, largely thanks to POMWonderful, we have all sorts of different juices to choose from, the pomegranate has made a scene-stealing appearance on the market, and people are just beginning to find out about this seductively tasty berry.

The quiet power of the pomegranate reminds me of how very special nature’s gifts are and reinforces the thought that we take our food for granted much too often. Appreciation of our food and where it comes from can make a world of difference, not only for our gratefulness of our food, but for our own health as well. Bring on the poms!!

References

Wolf, Bonny (2006). Pomegranates: Jewels in the Fruit Crown. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6411097

Tsang, Gloria (2005). http://www.healthcastle.com/pomegranate-juice.shtml

(2005). http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20050321/pomegranate-juice-may-clear-clogged-arteries

Perveen, Shaveen. http://www.fbworld.com/Mag_Fall_2007/pomegranate/index.html

http://www.oakcreekorchard.com/id30.html

http://www.phytochemicals.info/plants/pomegranate.php

(2008). http://www.pomwonderful.com

(2008). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomegranate

Fortini, Amanda. The New Yorker. New York: Mar 31, 2008. Vol. 84, Iss. 7, p. 92

More Food for Less

(photo from wheresmatthew.com)

While I don't know that I actually have the guts to become a dumpster diver, I love the idea. I love the idea of recycling the food that gets thrown out that is still good. I love the idea of eating food that other people don't see as "good enough", and I especially love the idea of preserving what we have and not wasting it. These are all things I saw as I read about the punks in Seattle. I wish that cafe was still around. While I might not physically fit in there, I certainly agree with what they were doing.

I am becoming much more aware of just how much food is wasted by all of us. I think back and think about how much food I end up throwing away because I let it spoil, or I am just not hungry enough and I don't think I will eat it as leftovers. What also strikes me about food is how exquisite we (as "civilized" people) need our food to be. The fact that the punks were, and probably still are, so against the way "normal" people eat makes sense to me. We have become spoiled and pretentious when it comes to our food. We can't have always been like that! In fact, the whole world is NOT like that. Those who struggle for food appreciate what they get.

I honestly wish we could get back to experiencing that appreciation, that gratitude, that thankfulness just to be alive. It seems to me that this is the same appreciation that the punks were looking for at their cafe. They didn't expect, nor did they want, red carpet treatment. They just wanted the experience of sharing time with their friends, eating what was available, and not wasting what they didn't need to.

Pollan refers to this in a number of ways in his book as well. Not only did he forage for one of his meals, but you can hear the reticence in his work as he talks about the billions of pounds of food that get wasted. His image of all of the corn splayed in and on the dirt- how all of the corn could have gone to feed someone was very powerful.

My husband and I sponsor a number of children in poorer countries. Now that we do that, every time I sit down to eat I think of them and what they would be getting if we were not helping them out a bit. Because of this, I try to serve smaller portions to me and my husband so that we will not waste what we cannot eat. I don't always succeed, but I do try.

If I were brave enough and had someone experienced to guide me, I would like to try food foraging or dumpster diving someday. Who knows- maybe it will happen and I will end up getting a good percentage of my food from that practice!! I will just have to talk my husband into it.

Playing God

(cartoons from www.cartoonstock.com)

I have always had a hard time with man thinking that he can manipulate living, breathing things to his liking. It doesn't seem natural to me when man messes with the breeding of animals much less the splicing of genes among species. I realize that there are definitely some beneficial things that can come of it, but it still worries me. There are people out there who say that messing with the genes of plants and animals puts us on a slippery slope, and I tend to agree. It is hard to know what exactly our bodies were made for, why they were made the way they were, and what would happen if we were to alter that. The same goes for all living creatures. I first began to worry after reading Ozeki's book since that was the first I had really heard of the genetic mutating that we were doing to plants.

Then came the movie- The Future of Food, and I really began to worry and wonder at what we as a society are doing to ourselves. It is really scary to think that what we are doing in terms of scientific research and genetic manipulation could in fact be the end of us. I think what surprises me the most about the practice of this type of research is the near-sightedness of those who are performing the research. As an outsider it seems easy to think of the big questions- what is this doing to the beings we are mutating, what is this doing to their surroundings, and what is this going to do to us in the long run.

I pray that the scientists and the corporations who are funding this research are perusing these same questions, but I can't help but be cynical and think that money wins and will always win out in the end. If something turns a profit, then it must be right!! After reading the essay about the Dutch cows, it actually worries me more to know that this is more of a global issue than I would have hoped for. At least if it were constrained to one continent our outlook would be a bit more cheery. I was rather impressed by the ad campaigns that the Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals ran. The boldness of the image is really disturbing, which is what they were going for. Perhaps we need the slap in the face that the mutation and grotesqueness of the human body that has undergone genetic manipulation in order to see what we are doing to the world.

As the article suggested, the type of genetic manipulation we are seeing reeks of the "blond hair, blue eyes" ideal of Nazi Germany. Are we at a point where everyone or everything has to be exactly as we want it? What kind of a world is that, and what kind of people are we if we allow such things to take place? There is a difference between actually doing something for the good of the world and doing something just because we can. I am afraid that man is more interested with the latter choice.

All in all it is a very touchy subject. I applaud the people who are bringing it to the forefront. It is so important to bring more awareness to this subject. As I have said before, the vast majority of the population have very little, if any, knowledge about what happens to their food, where their food comes from, and how it affects them. I hope that we all help to spread the word, get people into the loop, and protect not only ourselves, but all the living things around us as well.

(Picture from www.snafugear.com)

First of all I have to give credit where credit is due- the people who created The Meatrix were brilliant!! What a great way of getting information out to the public in a way that is portrayed in a serious way but is not threatening or too heavy-handed. Watching the three different videos really brought the reality of factory farming into focus for me. After I watched the videos I sat down with my husband and had him watch them as well. This led to us doing a google search on “factory farms” which brought horrifying videos to our attention. Right then and there we promised each other that we would not support certain companies because of our newfound knowledge.

The videos supported what I had already read about in Pollan’s book, but brought it to a whole new level for me. Being able to actually see, whether in cartoon form or in the gruesome reality of documentary film, the horrors that occur in factory farming brought me literally to tears. While books like Pollan’s are extremely important as they start to bring awareness to the public, I think that the shock of actually seeing horrendously overcrowded chickens, cows too weak to walk being shoved around with fork lifts, featherless and debeaked chickens, and the empty eyes of the animals who are basically the walking dead has a much larger impact.

These videos have brought me to a point where I want to spread the information via the most startling, reaction-getting way I can, but I struggle with “forcing” this reality on others. The things I have learned in this class- the over-milking of cows to the point of bleeding and pus (Ozeki’s book), the horribly boring, mundane, painful lives of animals in the overcrowded pens (Pollan’s book and The Meatrix) have stirred a passion in me that is changing my life.

I am much more aware of what I buy and who I will support. No longer will I buy meat from Tyson’s, Foster Farms, or other companies like that. Where my food comes from means so much more to me because I know that I am not contributing to the torture of animals just to get a meal. I am inspired to let more people know about this issue as well, for I had no idea that things were this bad in our food system and I suspect that only a very small percentage of people are aware.

Just a Country Girl

(Painting by Dean Teegarden)

We have read about how different cultures are identified through different foods, different ways of preparing foods, and different ways of eating foods. This concept that food is a part of my own personal identity is a relatively new concept for me. The only thing I have ever really thought of in terms of a regional food that I grew up with is potatoes. After all, Idaho is the land of spuds. Perhaps I am a meat and potatoes girl? Growing up in farm country that sounds plausible. I have never thought of having a specific type of food that defines who I am such as those we read about in Rouse and Hoskins. With some further thought however, I came up with a food that I do associate myself with- not culturally or religiously or even regionally, but strictly through experience and childhood.

This food comes in many different varieties, shapes, colors, sizes and tastes, but there is one type in particular that resonates with me. Fish is what I am referring to, and the Rainbow Trout is the type I am most familiar with. This may sound strange, but I grew up on a fish hatchery. Everything about my life was fish: fertilizing the eggs; incubating the eggs; the hatchlings; feeding, vaccinating and grading the fish; and getting the fish ready for processing. It was a fascinating life for a little girl and one that not too many people get to experience.
Not only was I lucky enough to grow up learning how food is grown and the importance of farming, but I was lucky enough to grow up at the bottom of the Snake River Canyon isolated from pretty much everything. Across the river I could see the orchards, up on top of the canyon there were fields of alfalfa, potatoes, corn and other crops for miles as well as dairy farms littered across the land. It was an amazing place to grow up in- so close to so many kinds of agriculture.

So perhaps it is unfair to say that my food identity relates to fish specifically. I think it is better, and more on target, to say that agriculture in general is my food identity. With the multitude of growth I was surrounded by, I developed a great appreciation for everything hand grown. I remember going to the local Green Giant plant to get fresh corn, straight out of the fields- nothing better than that, let me tell you!!

And so, just as Rouse and Hoskins tie in foods like macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken, potatoes and other things to the Sunni Islam culture, I tie in fish, dairy, corn and potatoes to my country/agricultural upbringing.