Archive | FOOD AND DRINK

Hello, Friends!

I just called my Senators and Representative to tell them to support labeling of genetically engineered foods! We need to make as many calls as possible in the next 48 hours!

Today, an estimated 75 to 80% of processed food in the U.S. contains GMOs (genetically modified organisms). For the past 15 years, Americans have been denied the basic right to know what’s in our food, despite the fact that more than 50 countries around the world already require labeling of genetically engineered food.

Even communist Russia and China label GMOs, allowing their citizens the fundamental right to know what they’re eating!

Why not the U.S.? Because giant biotech and seed companies like Monsanto have written the rules for our governmental regulatory agencies and paid billions in lobbying, public relations and campaign donations over the past two decades.

Right now members of Congress are writing a letter to tell the FDA that it’s time to label genetically engineered foods. In the next 48 hours your Senators and Congressperson needs to hear from you immediately so you can have the Right to Know what you’re eating. Click here to find the number to your local representatives.

Every voice counts!

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photo via Timothy Valentine

Late last year, Campbell’s Soup found themselves under attack due to reports of higher than normal levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in their soup can linings. As you already know, Campbell’s Soup heavily markets their soups to children using fun shapes and familiar cartoon characters on their labeling. With the backing of the Breast Cancer Fund which launched it’s Cans not Cancer campaign, Campbell’s Soup has announced that it will no longer use BPA in it’s soup can linings. In the last several months, over 70,000 letters were sent by supporters, including over 20,000 from Healthy Child, Healthy World – I sent a letter, did you?

Studies have shown exposure to BPA has been linked in lab studies to breast cancer, early puberty in girls, obesity, prostate cancer and more. I am not a fan of plastics in general, however plastics containing BPA are even more frightening to me. As I have stated before, as a family we try to avoid purchasing food products that are packed in plastic or cans with linings. Remember, you vote with your dollar – if you stop purchasing these items, it will have an impact! Mr. Sweet Greens makes most of our soups from scratch and stores them in glass containers – this is one way that we can ensure that the food that we eat isn’t tainted with BPA.

What steps does your family take to remove BPA and other plastics from your foods?

via Forbes
Image via Loop_Oh

I was thinking about the ways that my eating habits have evolved over the years. I have tried many different types of eating including vegetarianism, veganism, and eating only organics and locally produced foods. I have even tried gluten-free eating for a short time. However, when I met the mister my eating habits changed – mainly because he started doing all of the cooking and I quickly realized that there are many foods that I wasn’t consuming that were amazing! And if your husband cooks – you smile, thank him and eat whatever he cooks. Ha!

So, instead of focusing solely on being vegetarian, we have for many years been eating whole, clean foods. Our menus focus on organic plant-based meals with small amounts of whole-grains and proteins mixed in. Think: half of our plates are filled with salad or fresh vegetables, a quarter is a whole grain and a quarter is a protein. Our family consumes a large quantity of beans, lentils, fruit, whole grains, and vegetables – those are the staples in our home. 

However, I have friends and family that view healthy eating in different ways too – I have a friend who eats strictly Paleo, (you only eat foods that could be hunted or gathered). I have several friends that are vegan and vegetarian. I have family members that eat completely gluten-free and others that are lactose and sugar-free. I have a friend who strictly believes in no snacking and eats only fat-free foods and an online blogger friend who eats completely raw -which I find absolutely fascinating! 

This had me wondering what types of healthy eating do you and your family enjoy? Are there any new healthy eating lifestyles that you have heard of that you would like to try? Is there a certain type of healthy eating that has worked for you over the years? I would love to hear your suggestions!

I am still reeling from the fact that McDonald’s confirmed that it has eliminated the use of ammonium hydroxide (an ingredient found in household cleaners, fertilizers and some explosives) in it’s hamburger meat, a.k.a. meat scraps. You remember ammonium hydroxide right? It’s that ‘pink slime’ that was flooding the interwebs months ago. You would like eliminating it would make me happy – right? Wrong. I am reeling because why, WHY would they EVER think this was an option in the first place?

Even though McDonald’s denies that its decision had anything to do with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s months-long food revolution campaign to remove ammonium hydroxide ‘pink slime’ meat from the United States food supply – I know better. I give props to Jamie for stepping up and making a large impact on how America views and consumes food. Bravo! According to Jamie he found the use of treated scrap meat “shocking” and that “basically we’re taking a product that would be sold in the cheapest form for dogs and making it ‘fit’ for humans.” Unbelievable.

So let’s get back to this pink slime. In case you aren’t familiar, besides being used as a household cleaner and fertilizer, it also releases flammable vapors which when added to certain acids can turn into ammonium nitrate – an ingredient found in homemade bombs. However, the Department of U.S. Agriculture classifies it as “generally recognized as safe”. Are they crazy? When would it ever be considered safe to consume chemicals found in household cleaners, fertilizers and explosives?

Making Changes at Home

Thankfully eight years ago, after watching Super Size Me – my family dramatically changed the way that we consumed packaged and fast food. Anyone who watched that documentary and saw what happened to Morgan Spurlock’s health after one month of a McDonald’s diet could see that this type of food is not not what we want our families eating. My family took it a step further and removed most of the packaged foods that we purchased and switched to organics at that time. In fact, I think Morgan Spurlock and Jamie Oliver would be happy to hear that we had our own food revolution.

Anyhow, back to McDonald’s – in a statement McDonald’s stated that it stopped using “select lean beef trimmings” – otherwise known as scrap meat soaks in ammonium hydroxide, then ground into pink “meat like” slime at the beginning of last year.

Regardless, my family has not consumed anything from McDonald’s in YEARS and will not in the future. What corners will they cut next since their pink slime cash cow has been taken away?

McDonald’s Isn’t the Only One

As you may know, McDonald’s is not the only fast-food restaurant that has used ‘pink slime’ meat. There are others including; Taco Bell and Burger King. So why am I being so tough on McDonald’s? My main issue with McDonald’s is that they aggressively market directly to children. My own son thinks he will love McDonald’s based on their advertising and I swear once in a while I hear him humming their jingle in the back seat of the car. It infuriates me! Children do not understand the impact that modified, unhealthy foods can and will have on their health – not to mention the impact on our environment. And of course, they are going to want to go to the restaurant that has the latest and greatest toy in the kids’ meal. This leaves us as parents telling our children no to something that they view as healthy and fun.

What Can You Do? 

If your family does consume meats, consider only purchasing meats that are fresh and organic and cook your own meat at home. You can find tips for saving money on organics here and coupons for organics here. Consider eating more fresh vegetarian meals and skipping fast food all together. This way you have more control over what your family is consuming – since ‘mechanically seperated’, ‘meat product’ or ‘pink slime’ will not be on the label of anything that you purchase.

Ammonia-based ‘pink slime’ meats are a HUGE disappointment. Between this, GMO’s, pesticides, artificial ingredients, colors and additives – we are poisoning ourselves and our children – I find this to be unforgivable. 

What are your thoughts?
Has your family unknowingly consumed pink slime meat?

photo credit happymealy

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