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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
**Alisha_A** and others who have a "won't eat" list
Alisha_A, you mentioned in a post below that you added sugar to you list of foods you can't eat with a clear conscience. I was wondering if you would share the rest of your "list," possibly with a short explanation of why?
I am really trying to cut out foods that are hard on the environment and those that are really susceptible to being affected by pesticides, but am unsure of which foods to exclude.
Re: **Alisha_A** and others who have a "won't eat" list
I'm sure Alisha's list will be very informative, I thought I would share some of mine.
Anything made with the Big 4 GMO: Corn, Canola, Cotton, and Soy. I also only buy products made with cane sugar since there's GMO beet sugar on the market. We've had lots of posts here about the health and environmental impacts of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), aka Frankenfood. I read labels carefully and if it has one of those items and it's not organic, I don't buy it. This gets hard with chips and processed foods like indian or thai cooking sauces. I've found brands that don't thicken with cornstarch and use sunflower or safflower oil.
Bananas. After Alisha's passionate posts about banana farming and deforestation, I haven't had a banana since.
Meat. DH and I went vegetarian in July. He's veg for ethical reasons, I'm veg for environmental reasons. A recent Worldwatch Institute Study shows that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32,564 million tons of CO2 per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Here's a Slate article on how meat harms the planet. Red meat is so resource-intensive, in fact, that if we all cut our consumption of it by one-quarter, the reduction in GHGs would be the same as shifting to a 100 percent locally sourced diet.
Grocery store eggs. If I run out of eggs before I make it to the Farmer's Market, we don't eat eggs. Laying hens are treated the worst out of any farmed animals. Hens are stuffed into cages (called battery cages, Google it) so small they can't stand up, turn around, or spread their wings, with no light or access to the outdoors. Factory farmed hens also have their beaks cut off without painkillers because they would peck each other from being so squished together.
Any produce of the Dirty Dozen. The Dirty Dozen are the 12 types of produce with the most pesticides. They are (in order from most): Peaches, apple, bell pepper, celery, nectarine, strawberry, cherries, kale, lettuce, imported grapes, carrots, and pears. I always buy these organic. If I can't get them organic I buy something else.
Non-organic dairy. I'm still working hard on all dairy because our local grocery store only has organic milk, butter, and half & half. So if I need ricotta or sour cream and I can't make it Whole Foods, I do buy conventional and it really bothers me. Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) is given to conventional cows to increase milk production. Milk from rBGH-treated cows contains higher levels of IGF-1 (Insulin Growth Factor-1). Humans also naturally have IGF-1, and increased levels in humans have been linked to colon and breast cancer. Even though no direct connection has been made between elevated IGF-1 levels in milk and elevated IGF-1 levels or cancer in humans, some scientists have expressed concern over the possibility of this relationship. I just don't like the ideas of ANY hormones in my food, so I only drink organic milk.
Anything from Monsanto. Ah, Monsanto (link to Wikipedia page), the DEVIL. They brought us rBGH, GMO food, and is now the largest seed company in the world. So your food will be Frankenfood whether you like it or not. I know firsthand, it took me a lot of research to find a seed company for my backyard garden that didn't get at least part of their supply from Seminis, the seed branch of Monsanto. Here is just part of the table of contents from their Wikipedia page. I still can't believe they're Forbes 2009 company of the year:
Environmental and health record
-Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)
-Terminator seed controversy
-rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone)
-Pollution in Anniston, Alabama
Legal issues
-Monsanto vs Andhra Pradesh Government in India
-Dumping of toxic waste in the UK
-Indonesian bribing convictions
-Monsanto fined in France for false advertising
Non-local food. DH and I are trying really, really hard to eat local. We both feel that the industrial food chain is iirevocably broken, and can't sustain the population. It's also incredibly polluting as discussed under meat above. Why exactly do we need strawberries from Chile in November, asparagus from Argentina in October, and spinach from China in July? We've lost all contact with the earth and it's seasons. DH and I shop predominately at the Farmer's Market. We've started freezing the market's bounty and will can like crazy this year too.
SuperGreen, thank you! I have been looking into finding a local farmer for eggs and milk because I have heard about the terrible conditions that the animals are raised in. I am also vegetarian (DH is at home, but not always when eating out). I will look into the other items on the list too!
Do you have a link to the banana post?
Meat, eggs, milk and cheese: I'm a vegetarian for ethical and health reasons, DH isn't. We will only buy animal products from farmers at the farmer's market (or from the co-op) who we can talk to about how they raise and slaughter their animals. If my money is going towards meat, I'd rather it be from companies - preferably local ones - that treat animals humanely.
GMO's: I'm in the early stages of avoiding GMO's and it's pretty overwhelming for me. I try to read labels carefully and look for brands that say they don't use GMO ingredients. We don't buy much processed food so I think that helps but who knows. Until I read SuperGreen's post, I didn't realize I had to watch out for GMO's in canola oil and sugar.
Conventional fruit and veggies: I'd say 99% of the produce we buy is either certified organic or is organic but not certified because it's from small local farms that can't afford to be certified. If my only option is conventional, chances are I won't buy it and we'll adjust the menu for the week. I've had allergic reactions to some conventional fruits and veggies and I'm pretty sure it was from the pesticides/herbicides/whatever on them because I'm okay when I eat organic of the same food. Regardless of that, I feel strongly that I do not want to ingest chemicals and that food grown in healthy soil (as opposed to soil that has to be loaded with chemicals) has more nutrients.
Non-local food: I can't say I only eat local food but I do strive towards that, especially when it comes to produce and animal products. It's harder when you talk about flour, beans, rice, etc.
Soy: I don't eat soy for health reasons. I did an elimination diet and discovered I'm sensitive to it. If I have even a little bit I am horribly exhausted the next day and feel sluggish, which is just not fun. I also have hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) and there is a lot of research that shows soy can negatively impact thyroid function. I find the whole thing fascinating because I ate a lot of soy being a vegetarian and I wonder if it played a part in me developing hypothyroidism.
Cochineal: I can't remember who posted that list of food ingredients a while back but this one absolutely disgusted me. It's basically ground insects that are processed for red food coloring. Any time I am tempted to buy anything reddish, I check for this.Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
Factory farmed meat/eggs. This is the biggie for me. We buy all our meat/eggs from local farms, except chicken, which we don't currently have a local farmer for. I buy humane-certified chx at the grocery until we can get better...our local egg farmer plans to start selling meat chickens in the spring. I find myself eating vegetarian meals at restaurants that are questionable.
Conventional fruits, vegs, milk/milk products- These are all organic, unless, as Jenny said, they are from a small local farm that has not been certified but is adhering to the practices.
FSC-certified wood - We plan to do an addition on our home in a couple years, and in calculating estimated costs, we are planning on either reclaimed wood floors or, at minimum, FSC-certified. I ain't paying someone to take my floors from the rainforest! I am trying to buy reclaimed/sustainable wood products in other areas too, but the floors are the biggie.
This is so awesome! There are a couple places near me that sell reclaimed wood for floors, tables, counter tops and fireplace mantles and it is absolutely gorgeous. I'm curious if you're planning on using FSC-certified or reclaimed wood for building the structural part of the addition? Is the cost significantly more expensive than standard wood? Are you finding resources pretty easily? DH and I are planning on building a house in a couple years and would love to do it all eco-friendly so stuff like this fascinates me.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
There's a follow-up post at the top of the page, but anyone who wants to avoid GMO food can use my pocket guide. It's really great, it not only gives general categories to avoid, like the Big 4, but also specific brand names that are GMO. Over time, I've learned what brands are okay (like Amy's Kitchen) and which aren't (like Boca). E-mail me at elaine dot dubin at gmail dot com if you'd like the guide.
Well, I hope so. I would love to use old barn beams (and have them exposed)... The original part of our house was built in 1851 and we have a big stone bank barn in the back so it would match amazingly as well as being more eco friendly. We have not gotten that far yet; We are going to start looking for more local retailers soon to inquire - the ones I have received samples/ information from so far are pretty far away. They make cabinetry from reclaimed wood too...amazing, gorgeous stuff. It is super expensive from what I have seen, though, so we will have to prioritize. There are some companies that claim to be "sustainable" even if not FSC-certified that will deserve more inquiry. I think once we get more into it (prob a year or so) I will do a separate blog...
(I would also like to agree that SuperG's pocket guide is great!)
I'm still wrestling with my 'won't eat' list. I've been eating local and seasonal for a while, so adding foods for reasons of environmental or human rights violations to that becomes big! I hadn't had citrus for quite a long time, but lately I've been having some US grown citrus. I'm not sure I'll continue though. Like SG said, we get so out of touch with the seasons. I've actually liked eating seasonally, and the citrus seems weird.
So let's see..
Bananas Huge black marks for inhumane treatment of the workers, who are practically enslaved, even children, and are sickened by the high doses of chemicals they work with. The chemicals and transportation involved are a huge blow environmentally -- did you know per American, our individual gas 'usage' is actually higher in our food cycle than our cars? And the conversion of all the farming to the one species of banana that does well for transport is creating a huge problem. Not only are the other species going extinct, the one species most grown is very susceptible to disease and insects.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2664373.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/18/opinion/18koeppel.html
I understand that bananas can be grown in the continental US, so I'd be interested in learning where I could buy those, but otherwise, I'll just wait for a trip to Hawaii where I can have delicious, local apple bananas, which are better anyway! There are also, supposedly, fair trade bananas, but I've never seen them.
Info on banana workers:
http://www.iufdocuments.org/www/documents/DoleReport-e.pdf
http://www.panna.org/legacy/gpc/gpc_200404.14.1.06.dv.html
Pineapple Mostly for its transportation costs but also because of the domination of the market by Dole, and its treatment of workers worldwide.
Sugar I had heard of some human rights issues, but mostly I added this for environmental reasons. Sugar is highly processed and pollutes groundwater around the mills, and that's after its been shipped there. Then I learned more about how the workers are treated. Its like bananas. Either one, I just see human suffering eating it, and I don't want to be part of that. And its not like we need it.
This is obviously hard to avoid, but I don't buy any sugar, and try to avoid products with sugar in it. I switched to agave syrup, but it turns out that may be just as processed, so I'm sticking with honey.
Non-local tomatoes This is easy. They taste like crap anyway, but they're either from Mexico or farther, and who knows what its like there, or Florida, where the tomato industry is horrific. (Just one article of many http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800835.html)
GMO I pretty much stick to organic for this reason. I understand most corn, soy, canola/rapeseed, rice, papayas and lettuce to be GM. Dairy and beef cattle are given hormones and fed GM food. Organic foods cannot have GMO. As Supergreen pointed out this also includes beet sugar, which I didn't list because all sugar is on my blacklist now, but fyi Kellogg has decided to replace all the cane sugar in their foods with GMO beet sugar.
Non-fair trade chocolate/cocoa (or coffee, although I don't drink coffee) Same as sugar really, and bad environmental impact
Overall, I try to buy things that support sustainability and local economies rather than big agribusiness, for environmental and other reasons, and try to avoid things that have been shipped far. Other than the citrus I've been eating locally for quite some time, although I'm not perfect on it (ie when I buy locally made bread, I can't say I research where they bought their wheat!), I primarily stick to this with produce and animal products.
For the most part I avoid branded foods, unless its local. Most everything is made by the same giant companies over and over. Everything else aside, I'm sick of the same 4-5 companies dominating the food markets. But I love finding smaller brands that are truly independent and trying to put out better products -- EVOL burritos is one that comes to mind.
For animal products I buy humane certified eggs (if I'm not buying from a small local 'farmer'). I buy mostly Organic Valley dairy, and cheeses from small producers. Organic Valley is an awesome group, a co-op of small farms and it actually has higher standards than USDA organic requires, such as required pasture times.
I also try to make humane choices, for both the animals and the workers, thus Florida tomatoes, sugar and bananas, and then I try to find the most humane animal products -- Organic Valley dairy, and I buy Steibr eggs.
Eggs are something that really get me. The conditions chickens are in are disgusting! Even if you don't care about the cruelty -- and truthfully, I don't love chickens. My dad has a farm, and well, I'm just not a chicken fan. But I don't want to eat products from torturous conditions. Anyway, it amazes me how people gripe about paying $3.50 or so for a carton of eggs. That's .30 an egg! We are such a culture of demanding cheap food at any costs, and we don't look at what those costs really are, what's in our food, and what it does to our environment. I think it was Joel Salatin's book "Everything I want to do is Illegal" that really disgusted me describing the pollution around factory farming operations. And this is totally out there, but I can't help but think how odd it is to fill your body with the products of suffering. I'm really, really! generally not all that into spirtuality and whatnot, but it just seems awful.
For meat I try to find local producers that give the animals a decent life. Unfortunately free range is really meaningless. As far as certifications go humane certified is the best but not all that common. Grass-fed even is tricky, because the cattle can then be 'finished' in a regular, nasty feed lot.
I have a lot of choices around me, but I think if you look, most people do, especially if you're willing to alter how you do things, like buying in bulk and freezing, if getting say humanely-raised grass-fed beef is a longer trip, and cutting back on meat consumption. An easy way to do this is by making it more of a guest star than the main attraction like in soups, stirfries, etc.
Wow, this got rambly and I'm sure it seems overwhelming. I really just made changes to my diet as I came across things. I think looking at it all at once, if you have a typical diet, must look like a huge change, but it really hasn't been for me. I'm also not super strict. If I'm at someone's house, I'll eat just about anything. Ok, maybe I'll pass on the banana, but then, who serves banana for dinner?? But if someone gifted me some banana bread, I'd accept it graciously. And I'm going to happy hour later. I've not yet delved into the horrors of how my booze is made (there is organic vodka and beer, and a lot of local beers and wines, but going out, you get what they have) and I'm not going to worry about it, at least not today.
And I'll eat whatever I feel like, for the most part. I probably wouldn't get a burger (a burger of suffering!), but say something has prosciutto on it, alright. I wouldn't generally buy it at a regular grocery, but I really doubt the prosciutto industry is the heart of factory farming.
As much as my diet may seem restrictive to others, to me its not. I don't want to eat these things, and I'm not incredibly strict on anything. I honestly can't want a banana. I grew up vegetarian and was vegan for quite some time, and then ate a very typical American diet with my (now ex) husband. I've gone back to much more of the way I ate before, but I'm not cutting out animal products entirely. I just find it simpler not to, and to make good choices and not eat much of it.
One last thing I'm adding to my no-list Palm Oil. This may be the mother of all challenges. Its in everything. And its killing orangutans and other species, not just by eradicating their habitats, but workers are actually orphaning baby orangutans by beating their mothers to death! This is another one of those 'just sucks all around' items... killing off awesome animals, devastating to the environment, not even good for our health. Boo palm oil.
http://www.cspinet.org/palm/
http://endangered-species.suite101.com/article.cfm/indonesias_endangered_orangutan
Oh and specific produce wasn't really on my list as far as pesticides and such because I buy almost entirely organic.
Thank you all for the replies! I am planning on doing a lot of shopping at farmers' markets this spring and summer and store things for next winter. I am really excited about it!!
I am going to start eliminating these things from my diet. DH may feel like he is dying without his Kellogg frosted flakes, but he will survive.
Uggghhh Alisha I know how you feel about Palm Oil. Since I don't do GMO oils, that leaves predominately palm oil, and little-used oils like sunflower if I can find that. I finally, *finally* got DH off of fully hydrogenated vegetable oil Jiff, and all organic no-stir PB has palm oil in it, including Whole Foods! UGH! There's a brand I saw recently that the ingredient list was "organic roasted peanuts" and it didn't say it had to be refridgerated, so I'm doing that next.
Corn oil was really hard for DH, since he uses it to make stovetop popcorn, one of our favorite treats. Since we're TTC, I decided no more GMO, period. Not even popcorn made with corn oil once a week or so. DH finally listened to me and we threw out our ConAgra corn oil a few days ago. Here's to hoping popcorn tastes as good with Spectrum non-GMO canola oil.
We also don't do conventional chocolate. I do admit, I eat pineapple and several kinds of citrus, mostly lemons and limes. So many of our recipes require lemon or lime juice, and it's more important for me to maintain lots of recipes for meal planning so DH doesn't get sick of the same things (and go back to eating cheese pasta & pizza) than it is to cut out citrus.
This is our first season eating really locally, and I miss green beans! And I'm getting a little tired of apples (I'm having an apple and apple cider for lunch as I type). But I'll deal until spring. I also can't wait for okra. Mmmmm okra! I've never liked tomatoes so avoiding those is easy, although we do eat a fair amount of diced tomatoes in recipes. We're planning lots of tomato plants in our kitchen garden so we can can diced tomatoes ourselves.
Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemna had a good paragraph on how people for some reason can't pay the real value for good eggs. A man in a BMW came to Joel Salatin's Polyface Farm and complained about the price of their eggs. He asked why they cost so much. Joel pointed to his car and said "sir, clearly you understand quality and are willing to pay for it." Eggs at our market are $5 a dozen now because it's winter and egg laying is sunlight-dependent, so you have to have an established, good laying herd to get free-range eggs in the winter. But I'm happy to pay that to not have eggs from battery-caged hens. It's horrific.
Have you tried making peanut butter? This recipe is fantastic and easy to make. DH thinks it tastes like the peanut butter in Reese's peanut butter cups. I store it in the fridge and it doesn't separate and stays pretty soft so it's easy to spread. I've kept it out of the fridge for a day before without any separating. Also, the recipe says to mix with a stand mixer but I use our cheapie hand mixer and it's fine.
ETA: If you try it, don't roast them for that long or they will be scorched. I just road them until they're browning slightly and a little shiny looking.
Tired after a long morning of hiking and swimming.
But if you just buy organic you can have any oil that's not GMO! I am pretty sure there's organic canola oil, and probably corn.
I admit I don't make most of these things or eat like most people so its easier for me to make changes, and I'm making them only for myself and no one else. Growing up, my mom and I did a lot of snacking, rather than the traditional main and two sides sort of meals.
I hate popcorn, but I tried liking it again and made it with olive oil and sea salt. This was the closest I've come to liking it. You might try that instead of corn oil.
I don't feel like I eat the same things over and over, even without lemon/lime or varied oils (although that's just because I don't think I need any others, I think there are plenty of organic non GMO options).
I bought a few citrus for Christmas and have gotten some more grapefruit, but after this I think I'm going back to eating seasonally, at least predominately. I too have been a little sick of apples (oddly, this week not as much, but maybe its the citrus? still though I eat at least 4 a week), and omg was I sick of kale, but I think eating this way makes you appreciate the seasons.
Lemon and lime juice are definitely hard! That's actually how I got into lemon basil this summer! That works great for me to give that lemony kick, but lime and thai food.... or mexican food... hmmm... I don't know, but CA isn't exactly far. I think its definitely more important to limit things for other countries, and not just because of the transportation. Our importation of vast amounts of certain crops is changing the landscape of tropical nations, killing off diversity, and changing their economies. I really don't think food coming to WA from CA is the worst thing ever!
I actually don't know as much about their eggs as their milk, and haven't bought their eggs because the Stiebrs Farm eggs are 'more' local to me, certified humane, and lower-priced!
If you sign up for mail from Organic Valley you get a pretty interesting news magazine every few months that also has coupons. At least one of those editions had a graph of conventional, USDA organic, and Organic Valley 'requirements' for dairy, which was really cool, but I'm not clear on their egg policies.
On their site it says:
"The chickens raised on Organic Valley's family farms are free to roam both inside their sunny, airy hen houses and outdoors as weather permits. Each strong brown egg is nest-laid and hand-gathered, and is a dense package of essential vitamins, minerals and proteins. So while our chickens may have it good, you'll have it even better when you use our delicious, nutritious farm-fresh organic eggs in your cooking!"
Sounds great but I'd like to know for sure what the standards are and I couldn't find them, but Organic Valley is a very reputable company and if I couldn't get Steibrs or local farm eggs (at the farmers market or more often, at the feed store! -- these are kinda fun 'cause every egg is different!), Organic Valley would be my next choice.
I'm marking this for future review as its really late and I can't even read straight but MUST read this thread! Thank you to the contributors!