July 2009

GREETINGS

Good news regarding a site for this year’s PreThanksgiving Feast! A tip I got at the June potluck raised the issue of whether we might be able to again use the North Shore Presbyterian Church in Shorewood, the venue of MARV’s first few PTFs and a very nice space indeed. So I went over there and made inquiry, and learned that this is again possible, and while writing this newsletter I learned that our application was accepted. This is ideal, since it is a very pretty space with a great kitchen, it accommodates up to 200 people, has lots of good parking, and is completely handicap accessible, plus the fee for using it is enough lower than other places that we won’t have to raise our requested contribution this year.

As mentioned here last month, potluck cuisine themes are always only just suggestions, never obligations. This cheered me greatly when Jody suggested Cajun/Creole cooking as this month’s theme – since I had no idea what foods that would consist of (other than blackened catfish, which would not be an apt choice for a vegetarian group…). Jody was thinking of things like okra, jambalaya, or red beans and rice. Or tofu Creole instead of shrimp Creole? One could google it, of course. Or just relax about it bring whatever else you feel like: a theme suggestion is not (thankfully) a requirement!

In any case, now that Summer is here, we can start enjoying all the great Summer produce that’s in our gardens and CSAs and Farmers’ Markets. With all the fresh fruits and veggies, it’s the best time of year to be a vegetarian.

M.A.R.V. ACTIVITIES

Sunday, July 5, 5 PM, regular potluck at the Friends’ Meeting House, 3224 N. Gordon Pl. in Riverwest (from Humboldt Ave., go east on Auer a few short blocks to the parking lot). Food theme is Cajun/Creole cooking.

Subsequent regular potlucks will be on Aug. 2, Sept. 6, Oct. 4, and Nov. 1.

Other veg-friendly potlucks

The July macrobiotic potluck will be at Ron and Judy Strampe’s place in Muskego, S63 W15025 College Ave., on Sunday, July 12 at 3 PM (note the time). Phone 414-422-1370 if you plan on going.

The Urban Ecology Center’s vegetarian potluck will be on Thursday, July 16 at 6:30 PM at 1500 E. Park Pl. – bring plate and fork as well as your meatless dish. Phone is 414-964-8505.

Vegan Meetup: to find out about possible July events, check the Vegan Meetup website.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“According to the Journal of Applied Nutrition, organically grown fruits and vegetables have significantly higher nutritional content than conventional produce. ‘Organically grown apples, wheat, sweet corn, potatoes and pears were examined over a 2 year period and were 63% higher in calcium, 73% higher in iron, 118% higher in magnesium, 178% higher in molybdenum, 91% higher in phosphorus, 125% higher in potassium, and 60% higher in zinc than conventionally grown produce.’ ”

-- Organic Bytes, June 10, 2009

NEWS

The swine flu has continued to make news. It has now been officially labeled a pandemic, having shown up all over the Americas, Europe, Australia, and eastern Asia, although most cases continue to be so relatively mild that if people weren’t alert and getting tested, the extent of it would probably not be known. A new theory is that it actually started in Asia, not Mexico. And it was pointed out by Dr. Greger Mendel that “If you wanted to create global pandemics, you’d build as many of these [meat-animal-raising] factory farms as possible …In 2003 the American Public Health Association… called for a moratorium of factory farming because they saw something like this would happen.”

Swine flu creation is of course not the only way that the raising of food animals is bad. In Minnesota, a dairy farm’s clogged pipe caused a manure spill that closed the beach of a local state park. And a report by the US CDC found that poultry were the number one source of food poisoning (followed, alas, by spinach – but the spinach gets contaminated by polluted wash water, whereas the poultry, especially when raised in factory farms, is in itself the source of the problem). One recent suggestion on dealing with contaminated food is to turn it into biofuels – although this does not address the problem of prevention. A bill working its way through Congress would try to do so, requiring all food manufacturers to have safety plans and tracking all food distributions, and would require more inspections – but still would not keep food animals from being fed antibiotics (creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their bodies, which then get into food).

On another note, it is interesting that concern for animal welfare has apparently gotten the attention of farmers – but has resulted not in less animal-raising activity but rather in modification of how it’s done. A veterinarian with Organic Valley Coop was quoted in Wisconsin State Farmer talking about pampering cows by brushing them, and about raising veal calves in groups in barns rather than stuck alone in crates; another item reported that veal farmers’ efforts to transition all calves to group housing by 2017, following a commitment by the American Veal Association to do that, is ahead of schedule. And a Farming With Grass conference recommended raising meat and dairy cattle on grass as a way to deal with the uncertainties of climate change and the need to decrease oil dependence. None of which addresses the fact that meat cattle and veal calves are destined for slaughter (if that concerns you), nor that just by existing they make major contributions to the greenhouse gasses that are fueling climate change (which ought to concern everyone).

Nonetheless, it does also seem that the message concerning problems of meat-eating is getting out. The city of Ghent in Belgium has introduced “Veggie Thursdays” in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving public health and animal welfare. And Che Guevara’s granddaughter Lydia is using whatever notoriety her name commands to pose for a PETA vegetarianism-promoting print campaign – the organization’s first campaign in South America – wearing a beret and bandoliers of carrots.

Water is in the news again in various ways. A NY Times article reported about a switch to wind power becoming an incentive to get rid of dams and thereby restore western salmon populations. In the south, meanwhile, there is talk of breaking some dams on the lower Mississippi in order to restore Louisiana marshes and halt erosion there. And Colorado has joined the movement to undo antiquated laws that prohibit catching and using the rain that falls on your roof. Here in the Midwest too, more and more people are installing rain barrels to catch runoff and use it in the garden; in Milwaukee, every drop of rain that can be kept out of the sewers will help decrease the amount of sewage that gets dumped untreated into Lake Michigan every time we get a bad storm.

And of course, plant foods are still good for you. An article in Vegetarian Times about how much water you really need to drink pointed out that soups, many vegetables and fruits, and even oatmeal, provide some of your daily water needs, and emphatically explained that there is no set amount of water that needs to be drunk. An article in E Magazine discussed pickles as a health food; they are always a better snack than sweets or chips, and when they are cured with brine rather than vinegar the pickling process develops beneficial probiotic bacteria that help with our digestion and immune system functions. The healthiest pickles are therefore the ones made by brining and not pasteurized.

Vegetarian Voice, the magazine of the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS), ran an article on healthy herbs and spices. Turmeric, for example, has anti-inflammatory properties, seems to increase resistance to infection, improves cancer resistance, and helps control weight gain and blood cholesterol as well as fight fat and diabetes. It gives curry its yellow color. Cinnamon, traditionally used for stomach pain and gas, is now being explored as helping control blood glucose; it may also have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant functions. Sage seems to help improve cognitive functions (though large doses over long periods should be avoided). Thyme’s essential oil is a known antiseptic, and may also have antioxidant/ anti-inflammatory effects. And of course garlic aids the liver in detoxifying the body and helps reduce cholesterol, and is especially effective eaten raw.

On a similar note, a Prevention column addressed the question of whether diet can help with arthritis pain. Dr. Andrew Weil answered that anti-inflammatory foods such as ginger and turmeric, as well as foods containing omega-3 fatty acids plus 5 to 9 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables should help. He did mention that there are reports of nightshade family foods (eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers) worsening arthritis pain but that he had not seen much scientific evidence to support that. It is purely anecdotal that Chuck did heal himself of arthritis at one point by eating a macrobiotic diet for some time – which did in fact eliminate those foods. As for the omega-3s, Dr. Weil mentioned ground flaxseed, omega-3 fortified eggs, and walnuts as sources; other sources include hemp seed oil and dark green leafy veggies. And Vegetarian Times reported on an omega-3 supplement made from algae instead of fish which seemed to have all the same benefits as the fish-derived supplements.

A different Prevention item reported an Iranian study which found that ginger capsules helped reduce menstrual cramps. The white stuff between the peel and the fruit of citrus fruits is full of vitamin C and other healthy phytonutrients. And using olive oil as a substitute for other fats, plus reducing red meat in the diet, seems to help increase bone density.

Finally, an Outpost Exchange article discussed eating cooling in-season foods on hot summer days, including cucumbers, celery, watermelon, other melons, berries, leafy greens, dill, cilantro, peas, green beans, summer squash, legumes, wheat, barley, and rice.

CONNECTIONS

NAVS’ Vegetarian SummerFest is coming right up on July 8-12 (or you can go for just the weekend of July 10-12). If you’re interested, phone NAVS at 518-568-7970, or email vegfest@telenet.net

Another way to find out about Farmers’ Markets and other sources of local produce is to get a 2009 FarmFresh Atlas for Southeastern Wisconsin. This is a free publication, so you can find it at health food stores, some restaurants (I may have got mine at Beans and Barley), and other places (like some libraries) where freebies are found.

DIALOG

E Magazine reported on the debate between nutritional experts about orthorexia nervosa – ever hear of it? The term was coined by holistic physician Steven Bratman in a 1997 Yoga Journal article, and it means a condition in which people get so caught up in disciplining themselves to eat the right things and only the right things that they end up blighting their lives, emotionally and/or physically. Bratman defined it as often beginning innocently in an effort to eat more healthily than the diet one grew up with, but taking a wrong turn if the willpower needed to adopt a radically new and different diet starts to become an unhealthy obsession, or a refusal to reconsider even if one’s health is actually beginning to suffer.

Of course, as the article reported, there are also nutritionists who reject the idea, pointing out that refusal to overindulge oneself on unhealthy foods is not exactly an epidemic health concern in our society, whereas the health problems (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) that come from failing to control one’s eating are. Yet the idea that working too hard to eat correctly can be a bad thing is out there.

How does this apply to vegetarian issues? Is there a serious vegetarian who has not been told by worried relatives or annoyed acquainttances that they’re going overboard, that refusing to eat meat is life-blighting and possibly dangerous, a kind of eating disorder? Isn’t such a pejorative label exactly what meat-eaters would like to think about vegetarians (who may be making them secretly feel guilty about their own meat-eating)? On the other hand, a too-restrictive diet certainly could become inadequate over time, for example if all grains are eliminated in the effort to curb refined carbohydrates, or in some of the early over-restrictive versions of the macrobiotic diet.

As always, we need to keep a balance, in perspective as well as nutrition. If you are indeed not feeling good, you should work with a sympathetic nutritionist to figure out if there are nutrients you need more of, and then figure out which foods you can countenance eating that will fill it. If eating causes more angst than pleasure, do get help sorting yourself out. But as long as food is a social and gustatory pleasure as well as being good for you, don’t let anyone tell you that there’s anything wrong just because you refuse to put certain items (like meat) on your menu.