Food Inc

mirgss

I just got done watching Food, Inc for a class I'm taking. What a disturbing look at the agriculture industry here in America! For those who shop local/organic, any tips or tricks for a newbie? What if I want veggies in the winter?

kmfolkins

Yes, very disgusting!
We live in the country so we try to grow and preserve most of our own veggies, and and raise our own meet and eggs. Try finding an local farmers market. As for fresh veggies in winter. I will pay more for stuff grown closer to home, although sometimes in the winter it isn't that close.

dcdickerson2

See if you have a market coop in your area. It's a bit of a pot luck, but I can get a market basket for a little over $20 that has a variety of fruits and vegetables from local sources (may be several states local). If you need anything else, you can supplement, but it's a great start. At least try to shop "made in USA" foods. If you look, it is usually on the package label somewhere (frozen) or often on the store label (fresh).

Pandorian

Depending on where you are, IE might not "work" in a college dorm or something but look up "window farms" with a small aquarium pump you can have fresh lettuce or spinach year round from your own home, peppers and tomatoes do well in containers so if you have a south-facing window (if you're north of the equator) reverse otherwise :P you may be able to grow some of them. ALso depends on how warm/humid etc your place is for what will "do" well but no harm in trying out a few that you're always buying anyway.

Check for a local farmers market, someone may be running a greenhouse, I know there's someone near me growing salad greens in his spare bedroom that he brings to the market each weekend.

windowfarms.org has a great summary with some cheaply available parts.

and of course yes there's always "that option" of growing and storing the longer storage veggies as mentioned a post or 2 below mine. Some varieties don't store well so you may need to experiment. I've had trouble storing my potatoes long term, the first year they were in a container that company didn't realize what it was so they closed the lid... I lost that entire 80L tub of potatoes due to the lack of air-flow... pretty well lost the tub too since I put it in the sun to clean up and it faded and lost strength. Then another year they were put in a room for 'Cold storage' but it couldn't be as cold as it should have been as it shared a wall (the wet-wall) with the bathroom (wet-wall being the one with plumbing in it) and the window was uncovered at some point over the winter instead of being left covered, they sprouted and grew reaching for the light long before they should have been active.

Rilke

What if I want veggies in the winter?

Kale, carrots, brussels sprouts, winter squashes, potatoes, collard greens, leeks, parsnips, bok choy . . .

Now I am hungry :P

reaolliemama

I just gotta say this...Food, Inc is such a one-sided documentary, I'm surprised Michael Moore didn't make it. If you want to dig deeper into the organic vs. conventional debate, you will find that the majority of health experts agree that organics carry NO unique health advantages. The U.K.'s Food Standards Agency, for instance, says that "The weight of scientific evidence does not support claims that organic food is more nutritious or safer than conventionally produced food."

It's just more expensive.

The knee-jerk aversion to "pesticides" in the fruits and vegetables our parents fed us also ignores that organic farmers USE pesticides too. They're simply chosen from a different list. And given the lack of oversight on organic farms, there's no guarantee that those pesticides came from the "right" list at all.

Purchasing locally grown fruits and vegetables is much more important that avoiding coventionally produced ones...

CoachDMarz

Good movie.

I've heard its better to go organic on foods where you eat the skin like apples, peaches ect. and its not as much a difference on foods you don't eat the skin on like bananas, oranges ect.

Also when trying to decide on a product at the store I always try to go with the one that has the number of ingredients closest to one. I don't really like having all that extra stuff I've never even heard of in my foods.

Dauntlessness

If I see friends eating a lot of fast food I will sometimes slip "Have you seen Food Inc". "You should watch it, it is a real eye opener" and leave it at that. I will not eat most of the fast food out there. I don't think I have been to McDonalds or BK for years.
It makes me so sad how badly they treat animals. I think that if you can buy from local farmers/butchers that sell grass fed meat that's the way to go. If you don't have that option, just don't buy the "big industry" distributed meat. (Tyson, smith-field, I know there are others but I cant think of them) They will tell you which ones on the documentary...

Healthy happy eating

dvisser1

Look for a local farm doing a CSA program. Community supported agriculture programs are basically you buying direct from the farm. The program I'm part of buys from a number of area small farms, acting as a distribution point. Most of the fruits and vegetables are relatively locally grown (within the state) and what would be in season locally, but they do ship in some out of season things (tomatoes, lettuces) during the winter. The CSA I'm part of is 100% organic, but is significantly less expensive than going through the grocery for organic fruits and veg.

As for the organic vs. non-organic debate, that's up to you. To make a profit, both types of farms have a degree of industrialism to them. Both use fertilizers, though I will disagree that organic farms use pesticides. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not allowed. To become organic certified, the soil has to be sampled over a minimum 3 year period to be free of pollutants. After the certification, the soils are re-sampled every so often. Organic and non-organic farms have to meet the same USDA standards for the end product.

It is generally true that organic fruits and vegetables do NOT have more nutrients than non-organic. Why would they?

Pandorian

just don't buy the "big industry" distributed meat. (Tyson, smith-field, I know there are others but I cant think of them) They will tell you which ones on the documentary...

This one can be harder than you think sometimes, as evidenced by that recall for Maple Leaf meats back in 2008
Here's a small listing just of some of the brands (some have multiple product lines that were affected by this recall but I kept it to just one listing of each "brand" name and this isn't even everything

Canex
Great Canadian
Iqbal's Halal
Artisan Collection
Best Value
Bittners
Burns
Campfire
Compliments
Coorsh
Country Farm
Country Morning
Equality
Harmonie
Hickory Farms
Hygrade
Kirkland
King Bean
Mithcells
ML
No Name
Northern Best Value
Olympic
Overlander
Parma
Safeway
Schneider
Self Serve Lumberjack
SHopsys
Taste of Country
Butchers Cut
Western Family
Westfair
Burns
ML Louisiana

So even if you think you're not getting something from a certain company you may well find that you are in the end these days when so much of something is owned by one brand... Locally even the grocery stores, we've got one chain that has about 15 different "brands" they run stores under.

mirgss

Thanks for all the great info!

I do realize that it was a VERY one-sided movie, and before citing it in anything I would want to do some research, but seeing the way the animals were treated, how the ag industry basically runs the FDA and USDA, and how farmers can go bankrupt trying to grow for these big companies definitely didn't make me feel very good.

I will check out the CSAs - looks like there are actually a few in my area. I've been wanting to do a garden for a while, but I work and go to school so I don't have a lot of free time for yardwork in the summer. The window farms might be a great solution.

I would LOVE to find a local farmer for meat. Or, after watching the animals get slaughtered, maybe even going veggie......*shudder* I am not an animal rights activist by any stretch of the imagination but it was pretty gross.

Pandorian

if you do container gardening you can seriously cut down on the "work involved" I've salvaged stuff like old bath-tubs during renovations or kiddie wading pools that leak, put the base layer as 3" of gravel and then top with your growing medium... as long as it's clean you shouldn't have a problem with "weeds" being loaded in there and can keep up on them easier once you recognize what each plant looks like as it's coming up. Can be as involved or removed as you want to make it, I only get out once a week or sometimes every other week to look after the "containers" but because I have them near buildings that I can direct the rain runoff to the containers keeping them watered hasn't been a big issue for me.

mirgss

Great idea! Thanks for the tip!

reaolliemama

Look for a local farm doing a CSA program. Community supported agriculture programs are basically you buying direct from the farm. The program I'm part of buys from a number of area small farms, acting as a distribution point. Most of the fruits and vegetables are relatively locally grown (within the state) and what would be in season locally, but they do ship in some out of season things (tomatoes, lettuces) during the winter. The CSA I'm part of is 100% organic, but is significantly less expensive than going through the grocery for organic fruits and veg.

As for the organic vs. non-organic debate, that's up to you. To make a profit, both types of farms have a degree of industrialism to them. Both use fertilizers, though I will disagree that organic farms use pesticides. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that's not allowed. To become organic certified, the soil has to be sampled over a minimum 3 year period to be free of pollutants. After the certification, the soils are re-sampled every so often. Organic and non-organic farms have to meet the same USDA standards for the end product.

It is generally true that organic fruits and vegetables do NOT have more nutrients than non-organic. Why would they?

Yes, you are mistaken! Pesticides derived from natural sources (such as biological pesticides) may be used in producing organically grown food. (more info at http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/torg.html)

•Neem: Derived from a tree that grows in India, neem is a slow-working pesticide that is best used on crops that are not for eating. It can be used to control gypsy moths, sweet potato whiteflies, mealybugs and caterpillars, among other insects. It is not toxic to mammals.
•Nicotine sulfate: A chemical derived from tobacco, nicotine sulfate is toxic to insects and warm-blooded animals. Make sure to wear gloves when applying it. It can be used to get rid of aphids, spider mites and thrips, but should not be used on roses.
•Pyrethrum: Probably the most commonly used chemical in organic gardening is pyrethrum, a chemical that comes from chrysanthemums. It is a powerful insecticide that knocks down (but doesn't necessarily kill) insects quickly. It is one of the safest chemicals out there for humans. In fact, some say you can use it the same day you harvest vegetables. There are also synthetic versions of pyrethrum that are not used in organic farming.
•Rotenone: Rotenone comes from plants in the Leguminoceae family. It is used to control leaf-eating caterpillars, as well as beetles and aphids. It is somewhat toxic to humans and extremely toxic to fish.
•Sabadilla: Sabadilla, which comes from the seeds of a lily, is considered the least toxic organic pesticide. It is effective on caterpillars, squash bugs and stink bugs, among others. Its dust can be irritating, so wear protection when you work with it.
•Sulfur: The mineral sulfur is probably the oldest pesticide and is used to treat mildew, rust, leaf blight and fruit rot. Some insects, such as spider mites, are also sensitive to sulfur. It can be applied as a powder, paste or liquid. It can irritate the eyes, but is not otherwise harmful to humans or other mammals.

Notice that both Nicotene Sufate and Rotenone are both approved for use in organic farming, but are considered to be toxic to humans (we are warn blooded animals). It is always best to do your own research, so you are informed. I did!