Recently, Common Sense media did a review on “What’s On Your Plate?” and here is what they had to say: “Parents need to know that this engaging documentary is an excellent, kid-friendly introduction to numerous complicated concepts about food, both controversial and not basic nutrition. It was seen as a non-biased film which speaks about vegetarians but did not offend meat consumers.

Whether you’ve seen the film or not, you can read a more in-depth analysis from writer; Joyce Slaton who states “Kids interested in social issues, environmentalism, film making, and activism will find some great role models in this film, and potentially some inspiration for how to turn curiosity into a tool that can really make a difference.” The film’s review and the Common Sense foundation truly safe guards the gap between media and the quality of information received by our kids.

We talk about it everyday, probably type it into Google’s search engine twice a week and order tons of books on how to live a healthier lifestyle, but the answer is right in front of your face. Your Surroundings!! Back in 2009, First lady Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move” campaign which empowers young kids to fight obesity and live a healthier lifestyle. “Let’s Move” is exactly what it sounds like, a movement. A movement to get healthy through physical and mental activities. It’s all about healthy physical activity and eating right. As cliche as it may sound, being healthy is easy, once you put your daily surroundings to good use.

[If you were in New York City, you would have to walk 3 miles from Yankee Stadium to Central Park in order to burn off the calories from a 12oz can of soda]

Eat Right:

Know the facts about the food and drinks you put into your body because not all that looks and tastes good is good for the body and your health.

Get Active:

Michelle Obama states “Kids and adults between 6 and 17 need to be active 60 minutes a day, at least 5 days a week for 6 to 8 weeks.” Did you know taking the steps instead of the elevator is a step towards limiting your chances of obesity? Taking the stairs is inexpensive, adds years to your life and adds up to a weekly exercise.

Below is a List of  Easy Steps to Living a Healthier Lifestyle:

1) Get Active! Move more and lessen the risk of obesity whether it’s by going for a twenty minute run, a bike ride or taking the stairs. If you ride the train get off a stop before your actual stop and walk the rest of the way.

2) Become Educated!  The more you know about the food you eat helps you to make better eating decisions.

3) Replace soda with water and fried foods with baked or steamed foods.

4) Maintain a positive attitude!

Caramel coloring, which gives the colas their signature brown color, is formed in heating and browning processes of sugars. It can be formed either naturally (if you’ve ever caramelized onions, you have some idea of what I’m talking about here) or in mass quantities as an added food coloring. Commercially, it’s added to pretty much every type of food and beverage you can think of, as well as some household cleaning products.

Source: glamour.com

The two soft drink giants are adjusting their manufacturing process for caramel color in the United States because otherwise they would have to slap a giant cancer warning on their California labels. See, the problem ingredient is 4-methylimidazole, also known as 4-MEI, high levels of which seems to only be a problem in commercially produced caramel color. California recently put into law that products need to have less than 29 micrograms of 4-MEI per 12 ounces, which is 1/4-1/5 of the level that Coke and Pepsi currently contain.

Since the color doesn’t add anything but aesthetic value (and since the rival Dr. Pepper Snapple group’s levels were already below that limit), the two companies decided that rather than fight the label mandate, they would just change their production of caramel coloring. Despite their decision, Coke, Pepsi, and the American Beverage Association (an organization which represents the interests of the U.S. beverage industry) still want us to know that these requirements are “scientifically unfounded” “scare tactics”, and are sure to add that “not one single regulatory agency around the world considers the exposure of the public to 4-MEI as present in caramels as an issue”. Duly noted–California is often ahead of the curve.

4-MEI has in fact been linked to cancer in rodents in lab testing, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims that you’d need to drink around 1000 cans a day to get the same dose as those mice and rats. Frankly though, I think it’s definitely possible for humans to get up to that level over a long period of time, especially for kids who grow up drinking soda like it’s water.  In a similar health case, complications from smoking cigarettes can take a good couple decades to manifest themselves but that doesn’t make cigarettes any less carcinogenic.

Regardless of the posturing, this development is yet another reason why people should really cut down on their soda intake. Water and juice might seem too bland in comparison, but if you give yourself a chance to get used to them you probably won’t even miss it. Plus, you’ll be so much healthier for it!

Source: http://knowledgeoftheday.com/category/brain/

According to a recent study out of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, good nutrition leads to better brain function. This specific study looked at biomarkers in the blood to determine the effect different levels of different vitamins had on brain health. The article I read mentioned biomarkers, but didn’t clarify what they were (true also of the reputable sources of Google and Wikipedia.) I was a bit confused as to what exactly they are, but after much research, suffice to say they are one of many forms of protein in the bloodstream that can reflect a person’s state of wellness. In this case, they would be the way by which the scientists studied the change from vitamin levels.

Previous studies in this vein have focused mainly on personal reports of subjects’ diets to judge the correlation between brain function and nutrition which tends towards unreliable and subjective evidence. What makes this study notable is that its methods are more objective.

Researchers studied the vitamin levels of 104 participants and had them take cognitive tests to measure their thinking and memory. They also performed MRIs on 42 participants to measure their brain volume. They found that those with higher levels of B family vitamins, as well as omega-3s and vitamins C, D, and E, performed better on these cognitive tests than those with lower levels.

Credit: http://uliwestphal.de/expanded.html

On the other side of things, participants with high levels of trans fats (a favorite of processed foods) in their blood had poorer performances. Their MRIs also revealed more brain shrinkage than those with low levels of trans fats in the blood.

It should, however, be noted that variances in nutrient levels did not account for 100% of the differences in scores: nutrient measurements accounted for 17%, whereas age, education, high blood pressure, and brain volume accounted for 83% of variance. 17% isn’t a big slice, but still surprisingly substantial!

This study still needs to be confirmed, but author Dr. Gene Bowman is very excited about the potential of the results. He says, “it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet”.

Source: http://blog.heartland.org/2012/01/humility-and-skepticism-in-scientific-debate/

Exciting indeed!

Yet more evidence for the importance of eating right, not just for physical health but also for your brain. Happy thinking!

Or rather, it will be.

Elysium, Credit: Jeffrey K. Bedrick

That’s right, out in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Seattle they’re devoting seven acres of land to what is likely our nation’s first food forest. It’s the next step forward in urban agriculture, a self-sustaining forest full of fresh food for the community.

The Beacon Food Forest started as a group project for a permaculture design course and with huge amounts of outreach, it’s becoming a reality. And seriously, they really care about what the community thinks–they even hired translators so that the Chinese-speaking residents of the area could have a say in the planning.

The best part, of course, is that anyone who happens to wander in can take what they like. No limit, no cost–pretty cool, eh? But Connie, you may ask, what if someone comes around and picks every single apple in the forest? Well according to lead landscape architect Margarett Harrison, “There was major discussion about it. People worried, ‘What if someone comes and takes all the blueberries?’ That could very well happen, but maybe someone needed those blueberries. We look at it this way—if we have none at the end of blueberry season, then it means we’re successful.” So for all you Seattleites out there, when the time comes strike while the iron is hot!

The Beacon Food Forest folks are hoping to break ground this summer, plant the trees in the fall, and open next July. I’m excited to see how it all turns out!

Credit: http://beaconfoodforest.weebly.com/design.html

I recently read about the Rid-All Green Partnership, an urban farm smack in the middle of Cleveland, Ohio dedicated to promoting sustainability and healthy eating as well as creating jobs for the community. The land they’re on used to be an illegal dump in the Forgotten Triangle, an area in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood which is apparently so devoid of people it might as well be Wyoming, but through hard work and a great deal of enthusiasm they were able to turn that land into the bustling farm it is today. These guys are really at the forefront of urban agriculture and have been able to do some outstanding things for their city!

Rid-All was started in 2010 by three childhood friends–Randell McShepard, Keymah Durden, and Damien Forshe–who grew up together in the Lee Miles neighborhood of Cleveland. McShepard is a corporate executive and co-founder of a public policy think tank; Durden is a mechanical engineer who had a chain of vegetarian soul food restaurants; and Damien Forshe is an independent businessman with an environmentally-friendly exterminating service, from which Rid-All borrowed their name. The three are all very passionate about urban agriculture and extremely devoted to their main goal, which is to transform Cleveland into an environmentally sustainable city. Another goal of theirs, one they find equally as important as the one for sustainability, is to help create jobs. Many of Cleveland’s low-skilled workers have suffered in the recent economic downturn, so Rid-All offers training classes and employment at their farm. I think it’s fantastic that they put the same amount of effort into this goal as they do sustainability, as farming is the sort of trade where there’ll always be jobs and that really helps to provide better opportunities for people who wouldn’t get them otherwise. Rid-All joined up with urban farming association Growing Power to become one of their 15 urban training centers, giving workers a chance to learn new skills.

Right now, Rid-All has four greenhouses at around 7000 square feet each, with each growing crops like corn, tomatoes, lettuce, zucchini, peppers, celery, collared greens, kale, broccoli, spinach, and herbs like sweet basil, thyme, and oregano. They’re able to get out 150-200 pounds of vegetables each week, distributing them among the community, and are also raising thousands of tilapia! They have quite a novel system going on to grow their plants and raise their fish, using hydroponics, aquaponics, and nutrient-rich soil courtesy of their enormous compost pile.

Photo Credit: Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

For those of you who don’t know what aquaponics is (e.g. me before I started writing this), it’s the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. Aquaculture is fish farming and hydroponics is growing of plants with water, not soil. As a hybrid of the two, aquaponics works by filtering out the fish’s waste and using it as fertilizer for plants which, by using said waste, clean up the water for the fish. Essentially, the plants keep the tilapia from getting poisoned by their own waste.  Here’s a diagram for all the visual learners out there:

Photo Credit: http://aquaponicssystemseasy.com/

Pretty clever, huh? What a great way to conserve water, take up less space, and keep everything organic!

As for composting, Rid-All gathers a whopping 4000 pounds of food waste each week from local stores and restaurant–that’s a pretty awesome way to take advantage of the seriously ridiculous amount of waste these places are known for. Since that’s an huge amount of food to turn into soil, they also use worms to speed up the process. They distribute a portion of their soil around to the community for those at risk for soil contamination from heavy metals, like lead. This is extremely common in big cities like Cleveland, and one of the easiest, cheapest solutions is to lay compost in raised beds so that plants can be still be grown on the land.

Rid-All also focuses on community outreach, teaching Clevelanders the importance of their mission of sustainability. One way they do this is by writing and publishing a comic book, “Brink City–Green in the Ghetto”. Brink City is a superhero comic where the characters fight environmental injustices and it gets handed out to local students. It’s been a big hit, even spawning a play inspired by the it, performances of which were held at Cleveland’s amazing Karamu House in January.

Looking into the future, Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc., a nonprofit development company, is helping to secure Rid-All the acre of land right across the street. Rid-All intends to build another greenhouse on it, one big enough for training classrooms and a kitchen, and they’re aiming to get started on that sometime this year. Rid-All is hoping to gain enough support that they’ll be able to generate income for the farm year-round in order to get food out to those who need it. Judging by the amount of support they’ve managed to generate so far, from organizations like the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Neighborhood Leadership Institute, the Walmart Foundation, Inner Visions of Cleveland, Farmer Jones Indoor Market, and the Cleveland Food Bank, their community truly believes in Rid-All’s mission to transform Cleveland and is more than eager to help. They should definitely be able to reach their goal!

For more information, check out these links:

Sources

• 3 childhood friends start urban farm in Cleveland’s Kinsman neighborhood
• Urban farming, and lots of it, in Cleveland: editorial

Videos

• Rid-All solar station
• Rid-All Green Partnership – An urban farm

WARNING: SCARY FOOTAGE. IF THINKING ABOUT POWERFUL CORPORATIONS AND THE THINGS THEY ARE CAPABLE OF GIVES YOU THE CREEPS, DON’T WATCH THIS. Seriously, the twist at the end is the worst, though. Scariest thing I’ve heard about the legal system in a long time. 

Good news and bad news: the good news is that the FDA is cracking down on some of the more ridiculous food labels out there. The bad news is that somebody let food labels get completely ridiculous. I mean seriously. The POM website claimed the drink could fight cancer? I have no idea why they thought that would be okay. 

A cooking blog without recipes? Impossible! But also, somehow, intriguing… 

The Child Nutrition Act won’t fix everything at once, but it’s worth it none the less. That said, my favorite part comes from Margo Wootan: “We can’t go from candy bars to apples in one fell swoop.” Actually, I bet we could. But anything that does help us get there is probably worthwhile, and knowing how congress works, this will likely be the first of many, tiny little swoops. 

Food-miles reevaluated.

Together, we’d all make a great cookbook.

The American Beverage Association makes excuses (remember, Internet, being less bad isn’t the same thing as not being bad at all, which is still different from being good)

Hunger in New York City: http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=348876&story_id=15271055

Obesity rates in America seem to be leveling out: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/health/14obese.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Tell the USDA we don’t want Genetically Engineered contamination of organic food: http://ga3.org/campaign/alfalfaEIS/forward/e3s6x36rfjejixdw

A CBS video about cafeteria food: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6050936n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Marion Nestle talks about “eco-stunts”: http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/01/the-latest-eco-stunt-school-food/

Young Adult Fiction about healthy food changing lives: http://abbylibrarian.blogspot.com/2010/01/book-review-fat-cat.html

Michael Pollan wants you to eat food not “food.”
Eating food should be healthy, whole, pure not food injected with additives and GMO’s.

The School Lunch Talk
Dishes out the best/worst menus to examining what students eat for school lunch all around the countries.

Climate Change: The Real Problems leading to False Accusations
Will the need to create cropping and livestock systems that are resilient to the climate change help to an actual solution?

School lunch meets failure
Sadly fast food is healthier than what America’s 31 million children are given at our nation’s schools.

Appropriate food marketing for children
Healthy food made to attract children should lead to benefiting them with firm advertisements.

Creative lunch ideas for your young jolly
Many yummy food ideas that attract kids of all ages while benefiting them with a happy healthy body.