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Setting a good example

Jill

It makes me really happy that the Obamas are planting a vegetable garden. (It makes me less happy that it’s being billed as Michelle’s project, because gardening is for ladies). Consuming locally-grown food is good for your health, great for the environment, and often less exploitative of other human beings. It’s not possible for all of us to have our own little plot of land to grow food on (or to afford organic locally-grown produce at Whole Foods), but as Michelle Obama points out, we can all make small changes by cooking a little bit more or trying to avoid processed foods or eating more vegetables. For those of us who live in cities, farmers’ markets are good options for affordable, local food. For people in the suburbs or more rural communities with the luxury of extra time, gardening may be an option. I try to buy locally-grown produce at the green market; this spring, I’m going to plant a small herb garden; when I eat meat, which is relatively rare, I make an effort to buy free-range and grass-fed; I’m trying to eat out less and cook more. Those are the small changes I’ve made. What do you all do? Any other suggestions for how we can promote environmentally and ethically responsible food consumption practices?

72 thoughts on Setting a good example

  2. It’s been said a million times, but give up buying water in plastic bottles, and use refillable non-plastic containers to lug around. A big step in the right direction.

  3. I know a lot of people don’t like to hear “reduce portion sizes” and “cut out junk food” but really, that can have a great environmental impact, especially if you cut down your meat portions…from an 8 oz serving to a 4 oz, for example. If our meat consumption was cut in half, half the animals would die for our nourishment, as well as greatly lessening the environmental impact of meat consumption (not to mention for what our bodies are made (evolved) to run on, we in the US eat waaaaaay too much meat and not enough root veggies). As for junk food, the raw ingredients usually come from big corporate farms, so reducing that can also help, especially considering junk food is not a necessity.

  4. I have the (good?) fortune to live somewhere that is rather lacking in restaurants (the McDonalds is in the next town over), and car-less as I am I cook for myself nearly 100% of the time. It is a rather rural area, and actually one of the schools I teach at uses locally-grown produce at lunch every day, complete with a little explanation about what it is/what dish it was used in/where it came from. I think it’s great, definitely a practice that deserves to catch on.

    So yeah, cooking for yourself is one of the best things you can do. I like being more in control of what I eat and it’s not as hard as you think. I’ve even been making my own tomato sauce and salsa from fresh tomatoes. It started from necessity, because it’s hard to find such novelty items as canned tomato sauce and salsa here, but it was much easier than I thought, and I’ll continue to do it out of preference, now.

    The water bottle thing is an awesome suggestion, though I frequently forget to refill mine and wind up buying a new one from a vending machine because I’m out and get thirsty.

  5. Now that I have a house with a yard, I’ve been able to start a compost pile and a container garden. Hopefully with time, the composting will result in enough improvement in soil quality–it’s really terrible right now–that I can go with a regular garden (more plants, better fruiting), but in the drought-ridden meantime, container gardens are a little easier to keep watered and mulched than bed gardens.

    Right now the only real difference is how much trash we’re hauling to the curb thanks to the composting. The container garden is producing enough fresh produce that it can be enjoyed, but not nearly enough to really make any difference in the grocery bill. Same with the herb garden. I’ve got some blueberry and blackberry plantlets that I’m hoping will be a good source of free berries next year, because those things are honking expensive at the store and never seem to be from this continent.

  7. Oops, accidentally hit “submit comment”.

    I have some basil, rosemary and chives germinating in pots on my windowsill. When I move house in June, hopefully I’ll be able to set up a compost bin and make enough compost for small container garden on my balcony or outside my front door.

    There is so much you can recycle in the garden — kitchen waste and paper can be composted, toilet paper tubes make great seed plugs, plastic water bottles are good as cloches or as waterers…

  8. It’s not being billed as Michelle’s project because she’s a woman and therefore gardening must be her thing — It’s being billed as Michelle’s project because healthy foods ARE her thing. She has stated more than once that she is trying to raises awareness about healthy eating and the importance of nutritious foods. She helped serve food at a local shelter to raise awareness about the importance of vegetables and fruits in EVERYONE’S diet. I eat at a local non-profit restaurant that serves the poor, and I have to tell you, the food is terribly fatty with no fresh fruits and veggies. I am happy that the First Lady is taking on eating right as a cause.

  9. There is so much you can recycle in the garden — kitchen waste and paper can be composted, toilet paper tubes make great seed plugs, plastic water bottles are good as cloches or as waterers…

    Along these lines, my family recently started putting our food scraps and even some paper products into yard waste instead of the garbage. In addition to recycling everything we can it has gotten the total garbage produced by our family of 5 down to about 1 small grocery bag’s worth a week. We keep a bin with a biodegradable bag in it and all the food waste and odds and ends from cooking end up in it.

  10. brew your own coffee. seriously, people, a coffee maker from target is around $15. you put the water/grounds/filter in it and push a button.

    or, at least ask your coffee shop to use your travel mug instead of a throw-away cup. (it may not save you money, but it will cut down on needless trash).

  11. Any other suggestions for how we can promote environmentally and ethically responsible food consumption practices?

    Promote economic growth so that more people can afford to eat this way.

  12. I try to buy things with minimal packaging and bring cloth grocery bags to the store. I also reuse those paper coffee bags at the bin and buy the milk from our coop that comes in glass bottles with a deposit. Shopping at places that allow me to bring ziploc bags or old quart-size yogurt containers (not recyclable in my city) and fill them with bulk rice, nuts, whatever, has helped cut down on packaging that we throw away.

  13. If our meat consumption was cut in half, half the animals would die for our nourishment, as well as greatly lessening the environmental impact of meat consumption…

    Amen! The typical U.S. diet, about 28 percent of which comes from animal sources, generates the equivalent of nearly 1.5 tonnes more carbon dioxide per person each year than a vegan diet with the same number of calories. To put it in perspective, gases from animals destined for dinner plates account for nearly a quarter of all emissions worldwide.

  14. “you put the water/grounds/filter in it and push a button.”

    And the grounds can be dried and used to deter ants and a few other pests in areas where you can’t/don’t want to use commercial pesticides, like garden beds or pet runs.

  15. Not to piss on the parade or anything, but I do very little and refuse to feel bad about it. I live in a big city with a high cost of living, don’t have enough room for a window box much less a root garden, and go to graduate school. ADM-style produce is cheap and plentiful, factory farmed meat stretches further, and farmer’s markets in my area tend towards the gentrified and come with the significant price bump to reflect the smug sense of self-satisfaction their patrons are really buying. I’m 6’1″, 270 pounds, and maintenance is close to 3000 calories a day for me.

    What I do do is refuse to buy bottled water, avoid processed snack foods as much as is possible, read the labels of the foods I do buy, and try to learn new tricks in the kitchen to keep myself and my wife happy. The way I see it, if we saved a little money and enjoyed a good homecooked meal devoid of corn syrup I’ve done just about the best I can hope to do. Sometimes I even manage to cook enough extra to cover a couple of lunches for us.

    I know a lot of people don’t like to hear “reduce portion sizes” and “cut out junk food” but really, that can have a great environmental impact, especially if you cut down your meat portions…from an 8 oz serving to a 4 oz, for example. If our meat consumption was cut in half, half the animals would die for our nourishment, as well as greatly lessening the environmental impact of meat consumption (not to mention for what our bodies are made (evolved) to run on, we in the US eat waaaaaay too much meat and not enough root veggies).

    Reducing portion sizes doesn’t work for everyone, and not every person has genetic endowment which allows them to trade meat for roots. 4 ounces of meat simply isn’t going to do it for someone who would have a BMI in the obese range if they dropped down to 1% body fat. Even 8 ounces of meat per serving is going to be difficult for someone with 54 inch shoulders. To get down to a “normal” portion size I’d have to lose not only all of the fat on my body but also a good bit of bone and muscle mass. So don’t tell me that I eat too much meat and not enough of what you think I ought to be eating, don’t tell me I ought to control my portion sizes for the good of the environment, don’t try to subtly shame me because I have a gut and don’t feel horrible/hideous/guilty.

  17. William, you make a really good point. I’m often hesitant to post about things like this, because there are serious class issues involved, as well as body-shaming and fat-phobia. I tried to avoid that in the post, but given that those issues are almost always entrenched in discussions of food policy and environmentally-friendly and healthy choices, it’s hard to avoid sounding like a moral scold. You’re right that no one should feel guilty for not having their own personal organic garden or shopping at farmer’s markets or doing whatever. Part of the point of the post was to open up discussion for people to share ideas about what they can manage in their own lives. That’s going to be different depending on income, location, family make-up, etc etc. As you say yourself, doing small things like cutting out junk food, reading labels, and cooking more is what works for you. That’s exactly the kind of suggestion I was looking for — reasonable life accommodations. Eating smaller portion sizes isn’t going to work for everyone; growing a windowsill herb garden isn’t going to work for everyone; buying free-range chicken isn’t going to work for everyone. Someone else may make their own coffee, but that may not work with my lifestyle — it’s still an idea worth sharing, because maybe it will work for someone else. And as long as the coffee-maker isn’t telling me I’m a huge jackass for buying my Americanos, I’m cool with it. I’m hoping the comment section here can be a place to pool ideas about what we’ve done as individuals, not about what others SHOULD or MUST do in order to be responsible/healthy/whatever human beings.

  18. Eat less packaged and processed food, buy organic & local – these are obvious suggestions, but so many people feel completely unable to do them because they just don’t have the money & time. I know so many people who don’t try, because they can’t afford prepared organic foods, and coming home and cooking a from scratch meal every night is an exhausting prospect – they may have kids to take care of, they may have a physically taxing job, etc.

    But by you strategize, there are so many ways I have found to be eco and poor or working class, or a busy student.

    -cook ahead. Take one afternoon/evening to do your cooking for the week. I eat vegan, which can be done very cheaply, so examples of things I make ahead are casseroles, frozen pizzas, veggie meatballs, marinated tofu/tempeh, soups, seitan, pre-chopped veggies, burrito filling, tomato sauce, granola, etc. Most of this can be frozen easily. I usually make a 1-3 meals that keep in the fridge and can be baked in the first few days, then a bunch of frozen stuff that will be ready to go whenever – cooking on the day usually takes less than 15 minutes of time, sometimes just popping something into the oven, sometimes throwing my own frozen stir fry veggies and tofu into a wok. This is even easier if you split the work with a partner. Or what I often do is do this weekly with a group of friends, everyone makes a lot of something, you split the costs and share the food, and have a lot of fun. Or especially if you live close, get a group of friends to take turns cooking a meal different nights of the week/month and ‘go out’ for dinner.

    -buy in bulk. If you buy a can of organic beans, it’s like an insane $3. If you use dry organic beans in bulk, it’s around $1.50. If you team up with some friends and order 10lb bags of organic beans, rice, lentils, flour, sugar, etc. the same amount of organic beans is about $0.50. I asked the health food store in my area where they got their bulk food, called the supplier and placed an order as a ‘non-profit co-op’ with 10 friends and have saved 100’s of dollars with each order. We also get things cases of frozen tempeh & veggie burgers, canned organic tomatoes – all for less than half what you’d buy in the store. Many people don’t realize how easy this is – even if you don’t have a car like us, renting/borrowing a car, or getting a local business to accept a delivery for you – it’s still worth the amount of money you save. (Another tip: if you soak a ton of beans overnight, then drain and freeze portions in reusable ziplocks, they cook in 20-30 minutes instead of 1.5-2 hours, which is how I find the time to use dry beans).

    I’m sure others have more ideas. I also recommend CSAs (community supported agriculture) if you can afford it – you pay ahead for a share of a farm and get regular deliveries through the growing season of a variety of local organic produce. It’s usually a lot cheaper than buying from stores because you’re getting things straight from the farm, it’s convenient, and it really gets you in touch with where your food comes from and gets you eating local.

  19. I think its being billed as Michelle’s project because he’s the President and he’s got stuff to do. I’m not minimizing the garden, I think its important, I think its a political statement and I think its an amazing step in the right direction. But he is the most powerful person in the world, and I that the this literally groundbreaking step is left to his brilliant, capable spouse. He’s not a normal husband; he’s the president.

  20. I thought of more things…

    My city also has a number of urban gardens started up by and in communities of poor folks in what used to be abandoned lots or unused space – yes, it can take some serious energy to start something like this, props to the amazing people who do, but something may already exist that you could get involved in. (Many community gardens you can buy space in if you have money, but these ones are free and you get food based on the work you put in. Plus the food compensation wouldn’t count against social assistance income, and you may qualify as a ‘volunteer’ and be able to apply for additional welfare benefits. This could work really well for unemployed people who have some time. Some gardens are even wheelchair accessible or built for people with different physical disabilities.)

    There are some amazing food security groups out there, I only know about ones in my area, but some provide healthy produce boxes at a considerable discount over store bought to anyone who requests them. I live in a poorer area, and there are numerous drop points for these boxes where you can pick them up.

    I do think the mental strain of being very poor, which I have known too well at times in my life, can make it difficult to have even the energy to think about these things. And I totally don’t expect poor people to be the ones to take all this stuff on. But I also can’t tell you how many times relatively wealthy people have complained to my partner and I, knowing our financial situation, that they can’t afford to eat organic for example (people/couples with incomes between 70 000 and 120 000). Most of the time when I hear ‘I can’t afford it…’ the people make minimum 2-3 times what I do. And the people I know who do make a serious effort are often not so well off. It’s interesting. (Not that this is anyone on this board, just something I’ve come across IRL!)

    Bottom line: don’t use not being able to be 100% ‘perfect’ as an excuse to do nothing, don’t get defensive – push yourself do what you can even if it’s only a little sometimes, and if you know you are doing what you can feel good about it!

  21. Not to piss on the parade or anything, but

    If you find yourself typing these words, you should probably stop and think about why you’re even bothering to post.

    I do very little and refuse to feel bad about it.

    Bully for you, then.

    I live in a big city

    Me, too. It’s especially easy to find good affordable local produce in big cities, because there are a lot of likeminded people around, and increased demand creates both better, cheaper, and more supply.

    …with a high cost of living,

    Me, too. I find that cooking from scratch, eating vegetarian, and shopping judiciously at greenmarkets (as well as being a part of my local CSA) is actually cheaper than buying processed garbage at the supermarket. I spend a lot less on food than my friends who eat out twice a week, at the very least.

    don’t have enough room for a window box much less a root garden

    Me, too. You don’t have to do every. little. thing. It’s a tradeoff. You do what you can.

    …and go to graduate school.

    Oh no! Somebody call a WAHHHH-mbulance! Seriously, I know most people in grad school are broke, but as I said above, if you learn how to do it well, local produce is actually cheaper than buying processed supermarket junk. And as a student, you have the advantage of time. Which is a lot more valuable than disposable income when it comes to this sort of thing. Besides, imagine what it might be like if you were like me, both broke and working your ass off in 9-5 7-whenever job.

    ADM-style produce is cheap and plentiful

    I don’t know what “plentiful” has to do with it. This isn’t proverbial Soviet Russia – the issue at hand isn’t produce availability. It’s also not really that cheap compared to locally grown equivalents. The main difference, really, is in shopping seasonally, as well as keeping your eyes open.

    factory farmed meat stretches further

    This makes no sense. Seriously. I have no idea what you even mean by this. Stretches further than what? The great thing about learning a more sustainable approach to meat is that you learn to make it “stretch” further. You use it as one ingredient among many, one dish out of many, one meal out of many. You don’t need to eat 3 lbs of nasty fatty ground beef every day in order to keep your system functioning correctly.

    and farmer’s markets in my area tend towards the gentrified and come with the significant price bump to reflect the smug sense of self-satisfaction their patrons are really buying.

    Again, UR DOIN IT RONG. Shop in the markets in less trendy parts of town, if that’s an option. Check out the less flashy booths which stock less trendy items. Go all year round, too, rather than only stopping by at the height of tomato season or the first crisp weekend of fall. Open your fricken eyes. Look at the prices on every item at every booth. Comparison shop from booth to booth (and be realistic about the price of items of the same quality at your supermarket – sure, you can probably get a sack of Red Delicious apples at the supermarket. Red Delicious apples taste like ass.).

    Talk to the farmers. You might be able to get them to come down on the price of tomatoes if you buy 10lbs to can. Become a regular at a particular booth, make small talk, and you’ll get a little lagniappe thrown into your sack and/or they’ll round down on your total. It’s usually easy to get deals if you go later in the day, when the farmers know they’re just going to have to pack the remainders up and haul them back home. Especially with very perishable items or delicate things that won’t travel well.

    Shop sparingly and sensibly. Rather than griping about the high price of exotic mushrooms, buy a dollar or two worth and put it into a risotto. Be willing to spend more on something that goes a long way — every year I buy a big $10 jar of raw honey from local bees. It probably costs 5 times as much as it would at the supermarket, but the jar will last all year. And if you think about it, it’s cheaper than going to the movies or out for a few beers.

    I’m 6′1″, 270 pounds, and maintenance is close to 3000 calories a day for me.

    I’d like to introduce you to your new best friend: root vegetables.

  22. cook ahead. Take one afternoon/evening to do your cooking for the week.

    Yes. This. Total lifesaver. And another thing that makes it much cheaper to eat local/sustainable.

  23. I’m excited that my city is starting a backyard gardening initiative. They are asking 40 families to lease their backyards for gardening by 5 workers and a bunch of volunteers. The family and volunteers will get a share of the vegetables and the rest will be sold to local businesses.

    Things I do:

    – Use a reusable water bottle
    – Buy little packaged food
    – Save peanut butter containers and others to hold rice, flour etc that I buy in bulk
    – Buy from the Farmer’s Market whenever I can
    – Buy fair trade chocolate
    – Almost never eat meat

    I should have some room to garden this summer.

    “Any other suggestions for how we can promote environmentally and ethically responsible food consumption practices?”

    Ask cafes if they accept travel mugs. Inquire at grocery stores if they don’t sell and promote reusable bags. Ask cafes without fair trade products if they have considered fair trade products. Buy from local cafes and restaurants that tend to be more ethical or at least might answer suggestions and that will keep money in the community.

  24. There are some amazing food security groups out there, I only know about ones in my area, but some provide healthy produce boxes at a considerable discount over store bought to anyone who requests them.

    My local CSA gives everything left over at the end of the night (which ends up being quite a lot, especially at the height of the season) to the neighborhood food bank. If you are in need and interested in fresh local foods, putting in calls to the local CSAs and farmers’ markets might give you a sense of which food pantries they give to, and on what days.

    My CSA has a sliding scale for households with incomes below a certain threshold, and you can also look into putting in with a group of people to split a share. Quite a few of the NYC-area greenmarkets accept WIC, as well.

  25. I didn’t really realize gardening was “women’s work.” My father does all the gardening in my parent’s household. But at this stage in his life, he’s more of a gardening manager than a gardener.

  26. If you cook ahead, freeze things in single serving containers so they are easy to take for lunches. I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure this out.

  27. Yeah, Tom, growing food has been Dude Turf in my family as long as I can remember, too — I’ve always chalked it up to coming from a long line of farmers. My grandfather never farmed for a living, but it was always his main hobby. He passed that down to my dad, and I’m hoping my brothers will be avid gardeners, too.

    The women in my family have trended more towards gardening of the flowerbed variety.

  29. 4 ounces of meat simply isn’t going to do it for someone who would have a BMI in the obese range if they dropped down to 1% body fat. Even 8 ounces of meat per serving is going to be difficult for someone with 54 inch shoulder

    Individuals having a BMI in the obese range at values approaching 1% body fat are nearly nonexistent among non-bodybuilders (and if you are one, then ignore me)

    Also, no one is 4 and a half feet wide at the shoulders without having some sort of disease/genetic defect like acromegaly.

    I get your point at being annoyed with the sometimes unrealistic expectations heaped upon people by some eco-concious folks, but I think that at 6’1″ 270, your long term health is of far greater concern than being ‘green-shamed’ or ‘fat-shamed’ into doing the ‘right’ thing.

  30. Sid, I’m going to take a wild guess here and suggest that you are not William’s doctor, or even someone who knows anything about his personal health history. So let’s curb the armchair doctoring, yeah?

    FYI for everyone on this thread: It’s intended as a space to share ideas and to talk about YOUR OWN strategies and choices. It is not the place to police the habits, health or size of anyone else. Comments that are not in the spirit of productive discussion will be deleted.

  31. I just thought of something else that is key in all of this.

    It’s not an all or nothing proposition. I’ve been really “bad”* about eating local all winter, been eating out more than I’d really like to, been resorting to pre-prepared dinners like pasta with “semi-homemade” tomato sauce, etc. etc. etc. I’ve even eaten more meat than I’d like to lately.

    But it’s winter. In New York. My local, sustainable, vegetarian food options consist of potatoes, turnips, and beets. From December through at least April. Under the circumstances, I think some exceptions can be made. It’s canned tomatoes and eggs benedict, not Kobe beef or raspberries imported from Chile.

  32. Ugh, sorry, didn’t mean to hit send yet.

    the asterisk was supposed to lead to:

    * I know, I know, calling certain food choices “bad” is not PC. Sometimes my own baggage about food is not PC. We do what we can, as I said…

  33. “This makes no sense. Seriously. I have no idea what you even mean by this. Stretches further than what?”

    I’m guessing it’s that you get more meat for your money, as in “you can stretch your dollar more with regular meat than organic/free-range/fancypants meat.”

    “I didn’t really realize gardening was “women’s work.””

    Well, duh. When men do it, it’s called farming, and you know it’s Serious Business because it’s what men do.

  34. It doesn’t surprise me that this job goes to Michelle Obama rather than the President. It’s not exactly the kind of project I think of a President doing. If he were, you know there would be people screaming about how he’s not focusing on the important things such as getting the economy back into shape.

    That said, around here the garden is my husband’s job. He’s much more into it than I am.

  35. Sometimes it can actually be more cost effective to eat less meat, less often, and think of it as an occasional splurge rather than something you will die if you do without.

    I’m obviously nobody’s doctor, and really don’t want to pressure anybody into making choices about food that they know would be wrong for them, but the bottom line is that Americans quite frankly eat an absurdly high amount of meat. The entire rest of the planet is capable of getting protein by eating meat as an occasional treat rather than a diet staple. There is nothing physiologically different about Americans that causes us to need to consume meat at the rate we do. Obviously this isn’t exactly the same for every man, woman, and child in this country, but seriously, unless your doctor has prescribed a meat-heavy diet for you, chances are you could cut down without risking your life.

  36. I’m planting my own vegetable garden this year for the FIRST TIME EVAR. We’ve also been thinking about keeping some chickens and/or mini fish farm when we have a bit more capital to invest. We’ve been doing our best to eat local shopping at co-op and the farmers’ market, buying bulk at local organic food stores (when it’s cheaper than co-op supermarket). It not only makes you feel good about yourself but it really saves on teh cash. I’m making at least one vegetarian meal a week; not giving up meat but it does feel good to cut down a bit. Also my partner and I regularly bathe together to save water ;).

  37. On a bit of a tangent, I find it interesting that at the same time Michelle is promoting her garden Congress is considering the Food Modernization Act of 2009 (HR 875), which according to one source I read is so loosely written that it could be used to outlaw home gardens (probably an exaggeration, but still an interesting indicator of some possible linguistic loopholes). It was introduced by Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) who apparently has some close ties to Monsanto. So if you love your local farmer’s market & CSA you might want to research this bill and give those reps a call. They won’t get my tomatoes without a fight!

    http://www.ftcldf.org/news/news-02mar2009.htm

    http://blog.friendseat.com/rosa-delauro-hates-small-farms1/

  38. The exploits of the Dervaes Family http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/

    have been incredibly inspiring to me. Three tons of produce in a year from their garden and animals (eggs from chickens and ducks, milk from two mini goats) produced on 1/5 of an acre (normal suburban yard), in Pasadena, smack dab in LA.

    As it is, my family home cooks all the time and once we get into a house with a proper backyard, I’m raring for chickens and gardening. We can’t get enough of onions.

    As for the seasonal limitation issue; canning. Grow tomatoes willy nilly and preserve them so that you can get tomato sauce in winter; that’s apparently a huge strategy.

    I’m fortunate enough to cowork with my family and we carpool to work together and we live fifteen minutes away from work. After the move, we will be five minutes away from work. Other than that, we just don’t drive very much at all, besides grocery shopping because we are homebodies and entertain ourselves with the internet and tv or library books.

    We recycle, use reusable bags, and we don’t use air conditioning; we use the windows and bundle up when necessary.

    We live in Hawaii, so we dry our clothes on a clothesline; everybody does that here. Huge energy savings.

  39. which according to one source I read is so loosely written that it could be used to outlaw home gardens (probably an exaggeration, but still an interesting indicator of some possible linguistic loopholes).

    I’m not so sure it’s that much of an exaggeration. You can read the full text of the bill here, if you’re a masochist.

    Basically, the law looks at two kinds of food sources — “Food Establishments,” which are slaughterhouses or other places that processes, holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients; and “Food Production Facilities,” which includes any “any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation.” And down in Section 401, it states it’s prohibited “for a food establishment or foreign food establishment to fail to register under section 202, or to operate without a valid registration.”

    Penalties for violating these provisions, even if your food doesn’t do any harm to anyone, are up to $1,000,000 in fines, per offense, per day the offense goes on. The civil penalties are assessed by the Food Safety Administration itself, not a court, so sucks to your due process.

  40. Does anyone have any suggestions for DIY recycled pots and planters? I’ve been getting tin cans and cut-up juice cartons ready for my seedlings (hammer & nails are so useful for making drainage holes!) but I’m at a loss for what to make larger pots out of, and would rather not buy new plastic ones.

  41. does it freak anyone out that in the article, michelle talks so freely about the obama kids’ weight? to the national news media! i’m all about growing your own stuff if you have the time/resources (and the presidential family DEFINITELY does). but i REALLY worry about using the kids’ weight as a means for describing the urgency of sustainable food economies… especially since they are young, they are girls, and they are people of color. they’re gonna deal with enough body image stuff already, given the sick state of racist/misogynist media in the word. AND they’re the president’s kids, so they’re under a serious microscope. i generally think michelle obama is pretty damn smart and fantastic but i don’t trust this way of framing the issue. for all the aforementioned reasons PLUS the reality that fat phobia so deeply entrenched in this nation’s media, beauty standards, medical institutions, etc. (a phobia which, as mentioned by other posters, has a lot of classism attached to it… and often a lot of sexism, too).

  43. Fran – I saw a great DIY planter idea online last summer made from those big olive oil canisters (and presumably adaptable for any aluminum/tin container you might have around). It’s the same basic idea as the tin can, but bigger. You can get the top off the canister with a can opener, just like opening a can of soup but on a larger scale.

  44. Restaurants often have large plastic buckets that they receive food in. If you ask they will probably be happy to give them to you. We get an unlimited supply of ‘planters’ from an ice cream store around the corner. We also use ones with lids as air-tight, food-safe containers for all our bulk food.

    Goodwill and other thrift shops often have planters as well, or things that could be made into them.

    Also, in my neighbourhood, once growing season gets started and people buy plants, they put the plastic pots out for garbage collection.

  45. I’m in the dorms, so the extent to which I can choose where my food comes from is limited. That said, I have cut out industrial meat from my diet. When I can eat local meat, I will, but otherwise I’m a vegetarian.

  47. I’m sure the White House’s previous occupant, in contrast, “maintained” a pantry full of pork rinds. This’ll be a refreshing change!

    It’s good to see I’m not the only one who’s cut out a lot of meat and doesn’t miss it in the least; TVP in pasta sauce rocks, y’all!

    My contribution: When I’m on day shift at work (I alternate at two-week intervals), I typically get a bowl of oatmeal from the cafeteria. I had been doing this for a few months, until I realized just how many styrofoam bowls and plastic lids/spoons I was pitching in the trash. I started bringing my own bowl and my own steel spoon, and the girls behind the counter don’t even bat an eye.

  48. I don’t think the steps you’re taking are small at all. Just think what a difference it would make if most Americans adopted them. Meanwhile, I’m convinced the the lack of cooking knowledge is a major impediment for a lot of people. I’m doing what I can to address that situation. Meanwhile: eat beans, and cooking them couldn’t be easier.

  50. For William and others:
    Average human beings can live off potatoes. It’s one of the only foods we can survive on without requiring many additional foods.

    “It provides more calories, more quickly, using less land and in a wider range of climate than any other plant. It is, of course, the potato.”
    – “Spud We Like”, The Economist, March 1st, 2008.

    Take the stereotypical American meal: meat and potatoes, side vegetable and salad. Now take the meat out and add some more potatoes. Now you have a healthy meal, that’s not only satisfying, but also very cheap and easy.

    Now take William’s caloric needs (he says 4000 calories/ day) and say he got 1/4 of his calories from potatoes, the other 3/4 from other plants (side vegetables like carrots, peas, and broccoli, salads with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, and sometimes legumes like lentils or kidney beans).

    From the potatoes alone, William would get about:
    40 grams of protein
    15 mg of iron
    420 mg of vitamin C
    62 mcg of vitamin K
    90 mcg of beta carotene
    36 grams of fiber
    other nutrients
    and NO cholesterol

    As you can see, William’s excuse that he has to eat factory farmed meat just doesn’t hold up.

    (nutrition info from USDA via: http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/p/potatoes.htm )

  51. Pingback: William’s 4000 Calorie, Factory Farmed Diet

  52. And as a student, you have the advantage of time.

    Sorry, but I lol’d at this. As a student studying what, may I ask? ‘Cause that is likely not going to be my experience next year…

    More to the point, ease up on the attacks, okay? I enjoyed hearing about what you do to be green, and some of it is stuff I’d like to try out myself. But bludgeoning people with your lifestyle choices is obnoxious. You wrote some good advice; William seems perfectly literate to me, and I’m sure he can go ahead and read the suggestions on this blog without your opinion of his personal life included. If he wants to change his eating habits that’s his business. Personally, I appreciated hearing his point of view, because considerations of access and time are things I’m thinking about too.

  53. I take cloth bags to the grocery store, drink tap water and use a refillable bottle to carry it around, wear layers instead of turning the heat up really really high, walk to the store instead of driving if its nice outside, I use the green bin* because I have to, umm, thats all. I don’t really do much. I buy local fruit and veg in the summertime. That’s all..

    *Green bin is this compost program toronto has. You have to put all your kitchen scraps in this plastic bag and then they collect it every week. And then they burn it, or so the paper just revealed. So yea. I think that’s a strike against me, for the whole environmentally-helpful thing.

  54. I got a little personal mainly because I’m sick and goddamn tired of countering the same lies over and over. Which I’ll admit inspired me to be pretty hard on William.

    What especially tends to annoy me is that a lot of people get very knee-jerk about the whole thing. If they can’t drop out of life and start a biodynamic farm off the grid, they might as well keep eating Hot Pockets for dinner every night. When of course it doesn’t work like that. As William should know, since he seems to have at least started down the road of doing things differently.

    Look, none of us are perfect on this stuff. We’re all on various points on the continuum, trying to find a way to do things better in a way that works for us. Which is a hell of a lot better than just shutting down and saying “no, nuh uh, I can’t!” We have to open our eyes and get a little creative. So I guess it just disappoints me when I see people sell themselves short on that.

  55. Jenny, re the compost – my neighborhood is having the same problem. More people want to contribute compost to our park’s bins than they have room to actually turn into compost (or maybe it’s that they’re creating more compost than they know what to do with? not entirely clear on the details).

    Then again, while burning it isn’t exactly the most brilliantest option, incinerating food scraps is probably a lot less environmentally terrible than incinerating other garbage. And it’s probably less bad than just putting it in the landfill with everything else.

  56. Organize, unionize, and attack corporatist imperialism and global white supremacism. Conspicuously liberal consumption practices aren’t gonna cut it; it’s the systemic corruption of the production and distribution side that needs to be transformed. I realize this is kinda off-topic; but I just had to throw it in there for the helluvit.

  57. What do I do? I’m an entomologist that specializes in pests of field crops. Beat that, hippies!

  58. I’ve been following these developments for a long time now and what bothers me is not that this is Michelle’s project (flowers is right- she IS the one interested in healthy food), but that no one working on the project is interested in giving any credit to the urban ag movement, which has been lobbying for a white house garden for at least 10 years.

    I love Michelle, but this one wasn’t her great idea. In addition to positioning the farm as a family-friendly alternative, the white house should have linked it to a huge community of people working for the same types of change- not just for the first family, but for families across the country. Such a missed opportunity.

  59. Kai, I don’t think that’s off-topic at all! In fact part of why I tend to roll my eyes at people who scoff at thinking outside the supermarket is what you said here:

    it’s the systemic corruption of the production and distribution side that needs to be transformed.

    Being able to go down to the farm stand and talk to the guy who grew the mushrooms in your risotto is HUGE. Not just in the sense of getting a good price, or knowing for sure how it was grown, but in the sense of revolutionizing how food is produced in this country. I like that my carrots aren’t picked by some faceless laborer halfway around the world, but this same guy (or one of his relatives, neighbors, or friends) who is weighing them and taking my cash and telling me the best way to cook them. And he’s the same guy who decides what to plant, how much to charge, and even whether to come to my neighborhood at all.

    I like that there’s a restaurant in my neighborhood where the chef/owner happened to go apple picking upstate, saw that the farmer was raising nice fat healthy pigs, and started a conversation that resulted in a guaranteed buyer for those pigs at the end of the season. And now the same farm is able to run a side business in sustainably raised pork. Which creates competition for the butcher a couple booths down at our market, driving down prices into the range of someone like William.

  60. I am reading Deep Economy by Bill McKibbon and one chapter is especially relevant to this post. He writes that one study found that ten times more conversations happen at Farmer’s Markets than at typical grocery stores. Farmer’s Markets are great at forming a community. The Farmer’s Market in my city doesn’t only sell stuff but there is a booth where people have Amnesty International petitions, another booth with petitions for more local issues run by a woman who encourages people to sign and get involved, a booth selling jewelery made by women in Uganda who get all the profit and now a booth informing people about the city’s new urban gardening initiative. So basically, Farmer’s Markets are great for informing people about issues and getting people involved in their community.

  61. Being able to go down to the farm stand and talk to the guy who grew the mushrooms in your risotto is HUGE.

    Pretty huge commitment of time and energy and emotional effort for the anti-social types out there, too, though. I don’t even like talking to the cashier, let alone striking up extended conversations with every stand owner. :p Not that it doesn’t sound lovely for the talkative types, of course, but seemingly simple things like initiating a chat can be more difficult for some people than for others… I kinda like the impersonality of the grocery store sometimes.

  63. Great suggestions from everyone so far! I really like the spirit of “let’s all do what we can.” Every little change counts, no matter how small. 🙂

    But I did want to make one comment.

    I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years and I have found that my grocery bill is consistently higher than that of the meat eaters I know. Yes, vegetarianism it is better for the planet, but is it a less expensive diet? No way. UNLESS….you have the time to cook everything from scratch, which, quite frankly is impossible for many of us. So please keep this in mind.

  64. Lyndsay, I thought what you brought up was really interesting. I never thought about how little communication goes on at the local supermarket when compared to the farmer’s market. Wow!

  65. I don’t even like talking to the cashier, let alone striking up extended conversations with every stand owner.

    You don’t really need to go that far, though. I have minor small talk relationships with maybe 2-3 vendors at my greenmarket. The bottom line is that they’re there. You can ask questions, and they will actually be able to answer you. They will usually tell you straight about things, too, because that whole “The Customer Is Always Right!” thing doesn’t really exist in this kind of relationship.

    And it’s not even something that every single person has to do on the individual level every week. Twenty people asking for grass-fed butter can get the farmer thinking about trying it out, and fifty people buying the butter keep it in the repertoire and maybe even bring down the price. Then the dairy guy at the other end of the market starts doing yogurt. Maybe somebody else sees all this and decides to look into renting a booth to sell farmstead cheeses. Or maybe the first dairy guy is able to expand into selling his butter in a few local stores. Supermarkets have their moments, but they just can’t do this kind of stuff.

  66. “If they can’t drop out of life and start a biodynamic farm off the grid, they might as well keep eating Hot Pockets for dinner every night. When of course it doesn’t work like that.”

    There’s also a lot of little things, like taking cloth bags to the grocery store, that aren’t difficult and help the environment while improving your own experience. When oil prices spiked, the plastic bags our local grocery stores started getting in were super-thin and broke at the drop of a hat. Cloth bags? Not so much.

  67. “For those of us who live in cities, farmers’ markets are good options for affordable, local food”

    Actually, urban farms and community gardens are really huge right now in cities like Detroit, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, and Chicago. Besides all the usual benefits of local food, it’s also a wonderful way neighborhoods are reclaiming vacant land, remedying creating an ‘oasis’ in areas known as ‘food deserts,’ creating safe spaces and transforming the relationship city people have with their own land–that is, remembering that it is in fact LAND in the first place!

    I believe this next food (re)evolution is starting in the cities. I see it happening and its so inspiring.

  68. Other suggestions, from a gal living in a Detroit apartment:

    VERMICOMPOSTING. I have a bin with worms in it that I can put my compost materials in it. The worms help transform it into wonderful, rich soil. People are often afraid of this, thinking it smells bad but it really doesn’t–it smells like soil! And it’s super easy–even if I don’t have a garden to use the soil, I can donate it to neighbors and local farms/gardens (maybe in exchange for fresh produce!)

    For more on worm composting: http://your.kingcounty.gov/solidwaste/composting/wormbins.asp

    SWAPS.
    Friends and I have had clothing swaps, trading clothes instead of shopping for news ones. We’ve also had book swaps when we’re ready for something new to read. Reusing is fun, especially when served with wine …

    POTLUCKS.
    Yum. And a good opportunity to learn recipes from friends, solving that ol’ how-do-i-cook-for-myself hurdle …

    TRYING NEW THINGS.
    I challenge myself at a local farmer’s market to try out at least one new food item each time I visit. It helps me to slowly integrate unfamiliar items into my cooking and diet, a way to work with the learning curve. I’m happy to welcome spelt bread and rutabegas into my life …

    EATING WHEN I’M READY TO EAT
    I’m trying to no longer eat when it’s a habit, or after I’m full. I’m trying to eat more slowly, savoring it. I think treasuring food more will do a great deal for my local food habits and sustainability, to say nothing of my increased joy.

  69. bongobunny,
    You’re not eating enough potatoes, rice and beans, corn, and other staples. You must be eating lots of processed foods. Living as a vegetarian or vegan can be cheap and easy.

    Listen, it doesn’t take much time to nuke a potato. A baked potato can be had in about 4-6 minutes. Just wash a potato, cut out the eyes, stab it with a fork a couple times, microwave it for a few minutes, and stick it on a plate. Top it with salsa and eat it with a simple side salad and steamed veggies. Total meal in under 10 minutes and WAY under 10 bucks.

    Or… how about a can of black beans, rinsed, in a med. pot with a can of diced tomatoes, some hot sauce, and frozen corn. Bam! You have a black bean soup in about 10 minutes. Eat it with a side salad or bread.

    You could even do what I did in college: take some soba noodles, add a bag of frozen veggies and your favorite spice mix (Mrs. Dash, Spike, Tony Chatchere’s…whatever) to make a soup and eat that with a couple pieces of fruit for dessert.

    Or hell, just order a veggie pizza without the cheese.
    Or get a bean burrito from your favorite Mexican place.
    Or take a boxed rice mix and add veggies and tofu to the rice cooker with it: a meal in 20 minutes that only took 2 minutes to prepare because the rice cooker does the rest.

    It’s not that hard to be vegetarian or vegan on a budget. Just think a little more creatively than how they taught you in elementary school. yeah, I know our public school lunches and nutrition programs sucked, but don’t be a whiner. Be an adult and suck it up. Do it for your health, the environment, animals.. whatever, I don’t care, just do it. GO VEGAN NOW.

  70. Elaine, this thread isn’t about brow-beating other people into veganism. Feel free to share tips, but don’t talk down to people or tell them how to eat.

  71. Thanks, Jill. Elaine, while I do appreciate your tips, I am a bit offended by your tone. Did you not catch that I have been vegetarian for twentyyears? Believe me, I have seen all the horrible factory-farming videos. Over the years, I have tried but at this point I feel that strict veganism is not for me.

    My point was exactly that when I have to eat processed food, which unfortunately I find myself having to do more and more these days with a 50-hour workweek, it is always a lot more expensive. (But Trader Joe’s does help!)

    I also do not think it is helpful to try to bully people into going vegan. I personally encourage people to try to cut down their meat consumption as much as they can and just to think about their choices, but most people, quite frankly, instantly “turn off” if you just tell them to “go vegan.”

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