Mission: Vegan » Interesting Stuff

Gluten-Freedom, an update

maida — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:03:19 +0000

This is bound to be a long post. Hang in there.

About a month ago, I decided to go gluten-free. Since the holiday’s were coming up and we were moving, I didn’t want to go cold tofurky and have been easing into it. As I reflect back on all of the dietary changes I’ve made in my lifetime (vegetarian, then vegan, now gluten-free and vegan), this really has been pretty easy for me. By far the hardest change I ever made was when I went vegetarian about 10 years ago. I was in college and living at home at the time and my whole way of eating up until then was totally S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). Meat was the center of every meal. We rarely, if ever, had vegetarian meals. I had no idea what lentils were. Aside from Mexican and Chinese foods, we never ate anything besides American foods. Once I was comfortable being vegetarian, it was really no big deal. Getting comfortable with it was the hard part. Going vegan was no sweat. Going gluten-free has also been not that big of a deal. I can see that eating out will be the hardest part; the second hardest part will be continuing to bake gluteny cakes and not being able to taste them (I have this weird phobia where I have to taste everything that leaves my kitchen). The baking business is really starting to take off. Had it not been getting any busier, I may have nixed the gluten cakes and specialized only in gluten-free, but since I’m getting busier and people are starting to hear about me, I can’t do that.

One of the first (baked) things I made was Meghan’s Oatmeal Banana Bread, with a few slight modifications:

A flax egg for the eggs (doubled the flax egg recipe to replace the 2 eggs).
A combo of brown rice syrup and agave for the honey. I’m not super strict on honey, but I never have it in my house and have not bought it in years. And since we were moving, I didn’t have enough of any one liquid sweetener on hand, otherwise I would have probably used all agave since it’s cheaper. I never think to use brown rice syrup, even though I usually have it in the fridge but it’s probably better for me than agave. I use it so seldom that I really don’t even care.

This recipe turned out fantastic and I highly recommend whether you are gluten-free or not. Emma loved it and ate an entire piece of it the first night I made it, then asked to have it for breakfast the next morning. Matt also really enjoyed it. (Meghan, if you’re reading this post, now is the time you should probably stop since you won’t like this part. )

I had some leftover vanilla frosting that I tried with it and it was sooooo good. I’ve also turned this recipe into cupcakes (below), but used canola oil in place of the coconut oil and all brown rice syrup for the sweetener. They were yummy! As a bread, I love the addition of the oats (and I was sure to use certified GF oats), but as a cupcake, it’s too much texture. I may try to swap out the oats for coconut flour next time and see what happens. I’m new to the gluten-free-baking-from-scratch-thing and am still learning what all the different flours, starches and gums do. Experimenting has been fun!

While on the subject of cupcakes, I’ve also been relying on this gluten-free vanilla cupcake recipe. My plan is to play around with it to develop a chocolate recipe. I also want to see if I can make it a lemon cake since the base for my gluten lemon cake is my vanilla cake recipe:

I’ve tried a few different variations:

Rice milk, soy milk and coconut milk for the almond milk. My favorite is coconut milk (the unsweetened So Delicious, not from a can).
I always use canola oil. This works fine for me.
Quinoa flour for the almond flour. I’ve always made it this way and it turns out great. I love that the coconut flour gives the cupcake a little coconut flavor and the quinoa flour gives it a little nuttiness.
I use certified GF vanilla extract for this one. I’ve seen vanilla both ways and thought I’d go with the certified GF one, although, I’m not sure why vanilla extract would contain gluten. Perhaps the alcohol in it could be contaminated with gluten? I just recently learned that some brands of wine may be contaminated and not considered gluten-free. It’s a good thing I don’t spend more than $3 usually since my cheap wine is unlikely to contain any gluten particles.

I actually made this batch for a rainbow themed birthday party today. Here is my little friend topped with her rainbow “hat.”

Brownies… yum…

Christmas was upon me, I was a little stressed out with getting all of our shopping done, and I knew there wouldn’t be any vegan, let alone gluten-free, treats for me on Christmas day. To keep me from really cheating, I bought the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix.

To make them vegan, I used Earth Balance for the butter and substituted 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce for the egg. These were super good and I will buy again, or else figure out how to make my own from scratch.

Pancakes

I’ve tried a couple of different pancake recipes and had the most success with this one. I’ve found that I don’t care for most gluten-free stuff like pancakes unless they have a gum in them (either xantham or guar) so I added 1/8 tsp xantham gum to the recipe. I think it could have used more like 1/4 tsp or maybe even 1/2 tsp. I thought it also could have used more salt and would suggest increasing that to 1/2 tsp. I also added blueberries because I like blueberry pancakes better than plain. These were okay. Not really like gluteny pancakes. I just purchased the Bob’s Red Mill GF Pancake Mix to try and will post a review of that once I use it.

Just this morning I made pancakes using the Gluten-Free Bisquick (above) based on a friend’s recommendation of that product. They turned out good, were kinda chewy like regular pancakes, but they still need a little something. I always make blueberry pancakes and even with the addition of the blueberries I thought they were just a little bland. Matt took 2 bites and that was it. He said they tasted like rice cereal made into a pancake. We seem to agree on this one that they are super bland. Maybe next time I’ll put in a little pinch of salt or some cinnamon, or both. The pancake recipe calls for milk and an egg. For the egg, I used Ener-G because I was too lazy to look up the ratio for the flax egg (can never remember how much flax to water) and coconut milk for the milk. I suspect that the coconut milk might have been to heavy or thick, so next time I will use half coconut milk and have rice. The insides of the pancake were a little gummy.

Muffins

These muffins are amazing! In one day, we managed to eat all but 4 (one recipe made 15). I think if I were to leave out the raisins and carrots that it would be a great base for adding in blueberries or chopped apples. Even with the raisins and carrots, this recipe is definitely a keeper. I made no modifications the first time around, but I think I will increase the cinnamon the next time. I may also add some nutmeg and allspice. Matt’s cousin came over for dinner the other night and we had these with our soup. Her comment on the photo of them that I put on Facebook: “Those muffins were soooooooooooooooo delicious .” Really, they are that good. Not just good for being gluten-free, just good in general.

Tips

While I’ve not made the jump to complete and total gluten-freedom, I have been making several small changes over the last month. The small changes have added up so that I’m pretty 100% gluten-free at home. Here are some tips that have made the transition easier:

Buy one gluten-free item every grocery shopping trip: Gluten-free flours, pastas, cereals, breads, etc. are more expensive than their gluteny counterparts. Purchasing one every shopping trip breaks up the expense a bit. Also, most gluten-free baking recipes require several different flours and starches and making sure you’re stocked up on at least a few ensures that you’ll have what you need (or at least a suitable substitute) when the baking urge strikes.
Keep some convenience foods on hand at all times: It’s so handy to have foods that can be whipped up quickly for times when you don’t have the time or the energy to cook something elaborate. Since I keep a loaf of gluten-free bread in my freezer and cereal in my pantry, I know that I will be able to have a snack at all times. I’ve also made it a point to have nuts, dried fruits, frozen fruits (for smoothies), and hummus and veggie dippers on hand most of the time for quick snacks or meals to go.
Plan ahead: This is key to sticking with any diet. Make sure your kitchen is pretty well stocked most of the time. Keep things in the freezer or pantry for ease. Plan to bring your own food or a dish to share if invited to a friend’s house for dinner (and, for that matter, don’t be afraid to tell the host of your new way of eating; most people are happy to accommodate or, if they aren’t, will tell you to bring your own food). The list goes on and on, but the bottom line is be prepared.
Don’t be offended if people don’t “get it”: Remember, most people would rather take a pill than change their diet/lifestyle. Humans are lazy like that. Many won’t understand why you’re making changes and some may not even be supportive. Don’t let it get to you; in the grand scheme of things, who cares?!

Also, don’t be surprised if one of these people is your own doctor. Doctors don’t really have a clue about nutrition and many don’t embrace alternative therapies. One of my own doctors (my OB when I was pregnant with Amanda) pretty much told me that there are more important things in life to worry about since I’m doing well on my current medication and dosage when I mentioned wanting to try the gluten-free thing to see if it helped/prevented further damage to my thyroid. I still do have thyroid symptoms despite having normal labs (insane amount of hair loss, for example– I’m not balding, but I can pull out handfuls of hair whenever I wash it to the point that I bought a hair trap for my shower drain), so I wouldn’t agree with her assessment. It didn’t bother me, but I did make it a point to find a doctor who seems to be a little more open minded when I needed to find a new family doctor. While I’m on this topic, remember that your doctor works for you. If you don’t like him/her for whatever reason and are able to switch, don’t be afraid to.
Be informed: Visit the library and do some reading about making changes. Borrow cookbooks to introduce you to your new diet. If you’re on Facebook, “like” different groups or organizations that share your interests. That’s how I came across that awesome muffin recipe. Start following blogs. The information is out there, be sure to find it. Blogs have been a great resource in helping to introduce me to new recipes and new ideas. Open a Google account and start a blog reader so you can keep track and keep up. Some of my favorite gluten-free and gluten-free-friendly blogs, in no particular order, are listed below:
There are lots of great blogs/sites out there, those are just the ones that I follow. Have any that you’d like to recommend? Please do. I love finding new blogs to follow. They need only be interesting, funny, entertaining; it doesn’t have to be vegan, gluten free or even about food.

So there’s my update on how things are going. I suspect that by the end of the month that I will be completely gluten-free. I’ve been meaning to get to the doc for another blood test and that’s the only reason I haven’t cut out gluten totally already. It could mess up the results if I were not eating gluten, I guess. Anyway, my celiac test was negative, but I want to have another one done just to see if it confirms a gluten intolerance. Seeing as how I have Hashimoto’s, it’s likely that I do have a gluten intolerance, but I’m curious to see if I can get some concrete evidence. Also, it “sounds” better to tell people that I have a gluten intolerance instead of I’m trying this new diet to see if…

What about you? Do you have any tips for people wanting to change their diet or lifestyle to improve their health?

Question & Answer Time

maida — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:37:33 +0000

I first saw this over at Vegannifer. So fun! If you want, feel free to copy and paste the questions and fill in your own answers in the comments section of this post, or onto your own blog.

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?

I thought I would miss cheese the most and, indeed, it was the thing I did have the hardest time giving up. I’ve tasted cheese since going vegan, just to see if I still liked it the way I did when I thought I was addicted to it, and it was so gross. It’s amazing how your taste buds change when you don’t have something for a long time.

And interestingly, it is possible to be addicted to cheese, as I thought I was and as I’ve heard many of my friends tell me that they are:

Well, in 1981, Eli Hazum and his colleagues at Wellcome Research Laboratories in Research Triangle Park, N.C., reported a remarkable discovery. Analyzing samples of cow’s milk, they found traces of a chemical that looked very much like morphine. They put it to one chemical test after another. And, finally, they arrived at the conclusion that, in fact, it is morphine. There is not a lot of it and not every sample had detectable levels. But there is indeed some morphine in both cow’s milk and human milk.

Morphine, of course, is an opiate and is highly addictive. So how did it get into milk? At first, the researchers theorized that it must have come from the cows’ diets. After all, morphine used in hospitals comes from poppies and is also produced naturally by a few other plants that the cows might have been eating. But it turns out that cows actually produce it within their bodies, just as poppies do. Traces of morphine, along with codeine and other opiates, are apparently produced in cows’ livers and can end up in their milk.

But that was only the beginning, as other researchers soon found. Cow’s milk-or the milk of any other species, for that matter-contains a protein, called casein, that breaks apart during digestion to release a whole host of opiates, called casomorphins. A cup of cow’s milk contains about six grams of casein. Skim milk contains a bit more, and casein is concentrated in the production of cheese.

If you examined a casein molecule under a powerful microscope, it would look like a long chain of beads (the “beads” are amino acids-simple building blocks that combine to make up all the proteins in your body). When you drink a glass of milk or eat a slice of cheese, stomach acid and intestinal bacteria snip the casein molecular chains into casomorphins of various lengths. One of them, a short string made up of just five amino acids, has about one-tenth the pain-killing potency of morphine.

What are these opiates doing there, hidden in milk proteins? It appears that the opiates from mother’s milk produce a calming effect on the infant and, in fact, may be responsible for a good measure of the mother-infant bond. No, it’s not all lullabies and cooing. Psychological bonds always have a physical underpinning. Like it or not, mother’s milk has a drug-like effect on the baby’s brain that ensures that the baby will bond with Mom and continue to nurse and get the nutrients all babies need. Like heroin or codeine, casomorphins slow intestinal movements and have a decided antidiarrheal effect. The opiate effect may be why adults often find that cheese can be constipating, just as opiate painkillers are.

So off-topic, I know, but pretty interesting. Read the full article here.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?

As a kid, I didn’t like most green vegetables and probably still don’t now. I’ll still eat them to set a good example for my kids, but I wouldn’t say I ever crave broccoli or asparagus.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?

I’m agreeing with Jennifer and going with tempeh. I’ve had it in dishes that were prepared for me and I very much liked them, but can’t seem to figure out how to like it in something that I make. It’s supposed to be super healthy for you, but I just don’t have a taste for it.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?

Water. Lately, I’ve been drinking a lot of decaf and herbal teas, but I drink more water than anything else most days. I also really like flavored coconut waters, but those are expensive and I only buy them occasionally.

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?

Dessert of any kind, but mostly cake or cupcakes.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?

I will say that I don’t like it when my food touches on the plate, but it’s more of a preference and not a rule. I also prefer to not mix cold and hot foods in one meal (e.g. hot soup with a cold salad); it hurts my teeth, but again is more just a preference.

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?

Anything sweet or baked. I have a horrible sweet tooth, which seems to have gotten worse after having Amanda. I don’t really care for candy or anything like that, but if there are extra cupcakes around, I can’t stop eating them.

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?

Bread because my bread machine makes it so easy and it tastes so good. The problem is that my bread machine makes such a small loaf that it only lasts us a day or two, so I don’t really make it myself that regularly.

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?

Coconut oil. It’s expensive, but lasts a long time so I only buy the organic, raw, unrefined kind. The funny thing is that I don’t ever cook with or eat it. I use it as lotion, put it in my hair and on my scalp, rub it all over Amanda’s dry skin and cradle cap (it really makes a difference), but I have yet to ever cook with it.

Another interesting tidbit: coconut oil is naturally antifungal (and antiviral and antibacterial) and I’ve been treating Amanda’s thrush with it. When I took her to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for her cold, she had a moderate case of thrush and her doctor said that I could continue treating with coconut oil since I was going to be back in the office for her two month visit within a week or so. When I took her back this week for that checkup, her thrush was much better and even though I was prepared to get a prescription for it, he said that it wasn’t even worth treating with a prescription since it was so improved. Coconut oil is amazing stuff!

Are you much of a snacker? What are your favorite snacks?

No, not really. Crackers and hummus is one of my favorite snacks.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?

Daiya cheese, veggie pepperoni and olives like when I made it here.

What is your favorite vegetable? Fruit?

My favorite vegetable is salad, which I understand is a mix of lots of different veggies. As I mentioned above, I don’t really like most vegetables, but I really like salad– oh, and eggplant. I’m addicted to eggplant right now. I also like any kind of fruit, my favorites being warm weather fruits like mangoes, peaches, and nectarines.

What is the best salad dressing?

My balsamic dijon is my favorite homemade salad dressing. Annie’s Goddess dressing is the best store bought one I’ve tried. These two happen to be Emma’s favorite salad dressings too.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?

Earth Balance (soy free) and jam.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?

I love vegetable soup, so long as it’s homemade. I hate canned soups of any kind.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?

My favorite cake and frosting combo is vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, but I don’t discriminate. Any kind of cake with any kind of frosting (so long as they’re both vegan) are winners in my book. I actually just made some really delicious gluten free vanilla cupcakes last week and those may be my new favorite.

What is your favorite kind of cookie?

Oreos. I never buy that brand specifically, but I’ll buy the Trader Joe’s brand sometimes.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?

Anything that can be made in my slow cooker.

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?

Eggplant. Matt hates it. Emma won’t touch it. I could eat it at every meal and still want more.

How long, in total, do you spend in the kitchen on an average day?

Maybe 1 or 2 hours. Depends on what I’ve got going on.

How many fingers am I holding up?

Uh… none?

What kind of things are you doing for VeganMofo?

I’m trying to blog more regularly, which also means cooking more regularly. I also added the Vegan Mofo blog bundle thingy to my blog reader and have been trying to keep up with everyone else’s Vegan Mofo blog posts. It’s not going well and I’m very behind, but it does give me something to do when I’m up in the middle of the night with Amanda. I’ve also been reading lots of books on vegetarianism to Emma since she’s older now and I plan to dedicate a post to that soon.

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

Milk

maida — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:34:22 +0000

I saw this video posted on Facebook and thought it worth sharing here. It turns my stomach. Ew! Cow’s milk is perfect nutrition for baby cows, just like human milk is perfect nutrition for baby humans. Why people think cow’s milk is fit for human consumption is something I still have yet to understand. Anyway, check out the video for more perspective on this. It’s informative, not graphic or gross.

Please Help Jay!

maida — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:33:35 +0000

Farm Sanctuary needs your help! They are currently collecting funds to transport Jay the bull (at left) to their shelter in New York. Jay’s story is sad but unlike his fellow passengers, he’ll soon be able to enjoy his new life:

The accident happened just before midnight, when a 1999 Peterbilt semi hauling 34 cattle headed west on I-94 crashed into a 2011 Volvo semi at State Road 49 near Chesterton, Indiana. The driver of the cattle trailer was on his citizens’ band radio talking to another driver when he hit the rear of the other truck. According to Indiana State Police, the tractor caught fire and ruptured, releasing the terrified animals onto the highway. The truck’s driver dove out his window to escape the fire, but 18 of the 34 cattle perished, and others were injured. Of the 16 cattle who survived, seven attempted to escape with their lives, but as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, all had been accounted for, except one. According to Indiana State Police Sgt. Ann Wojas, the determined 2-year-old bull attempted to jump the 3-foot concrete median into the eastbound lanes but didn’t make it. After eluding capture for 12 hours and winning the respect and admiration of local residents moved by the story of a slaughterhouse-bound bull who literally rose from the ashes to save his own life, the courageous animal was caught by local officials and taken to the Porter County Animal Shelter, where he currently awaits safe transport to Farm Sanctuary.

All of the cattle aboard the truck were bound for slaughter. The saddest part of the whole story is that all who survived the crash and fire were rounded up and sent to slaughter still, despite their injuries. All except Jay.

If you’re able to help out, please consider donating to Jay’s rescue fund. Farm Sanctuary is non-profit and counts on public support to rescue and care for animals like Jay. If you would like to donate, here is the link. No amount is too small; every little bit helps.

I guess this is good…

maida — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:07:34 +0000

Breaking: Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Landmark Egg Bill

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed A.B. 1437, a bill backed by The Humane Society of the United States that requires that starting in 2015 all shell (whole) eggs sold in California must come from hens who were able to stand up, lie down, turn around, and fully extend their limbs without touching one another or the sides of an enclosure. In other words: California will become a cage-free state.

I have to admit to having mixed feelings about this. While many of my Facebook friends are so excited over this, I’m a little sad and I have to respectfully disagree with them. Of course, I don’t want to be labeled the crazy vegan on Facebook, so I’m going to post something here instead so that I can be the “crazy vegan” blogger. On one hand, I realize that people eat eggs and I would rather those eggs come from hens who are able to move freely and who live a somewhat “normal” life. On the other hand, laws like this and Prop. 2 which we recently passed here in CA only encourage consumption of these products. It takes away the guilt involved in purchasing and eating products from animals, thus promoting the idea of “happy meat/eggs/etc.” Instead of focusing on issues like this, I really wish HSUS would do more to encourage and promote a healthy vegan diet… which in effect would stop the consumption of eggs, dairy, meat.

And once the hens stop laying eggs (maybe after a year or two), she is slaughtered. Really, I don’t think her being able to freely stretch her wings while living a life of imprisonment all to be slaughtered anyway is really much consolation.

Here’s the Deal

maida — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:26:46 +0000

EDIT: If you’re at all interested in this issue, please refer to this article that explains this case in a nutshell (and does a much better job than I did).

A couple of days ago, I posted two news articles about the same Supreme Court decision. You can find that post here and read both of the stories. It seemed that different groups, each with an interested in the case, were spinning the news about the decision in their favor. I just wanted to know the facts and what the court decided, not the story swayed to fit a certain agenda, so I read the court’s decision myself. I hope I got it right. If I didn’t, please feel free to correct me.

The Background

The Devil (Monsanto), who makes the popular herbicide Roundup, together with Forage Genetics International (FGI) developed a seed of alfalfa that is resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. So a farmer can plant this alfalfa seed (called Roundup Resistant Alfalfa or RRA) and use Roundup to control any weeds without killing the RRA. In 2004, Monsanto sought nonregulated status for this RRA. This nonregulated status refers to a section of the Plant Protection Act (PPA) that presumes genetically engineered plants to be
“plant pests” and are thus considered “regulated articles” until the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) determines otherwise. Monsanto feels that their product is not a plant pest risk and therefore not subject to the applicable regulations, so they petition APHIS to grant nonregulated status to their RRA.

In order to make such a determination, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires federal agencies (that would be APHIS) to conduct an environmental impact statement (EIS). An EIS need not be completed if the agency (again, APHIS in this case) determines based on a shorter statement known as an environmental assessment (EA) that the proposed action presents no significant environmental impact. APHIS only completed an EA and decided to approve the unconditional deregulation of RRA. No EIS is ever conducted and RRA seeds began to be sold and planted.

Conventional alfalfa farmers and environmental groups banded together and sued challenging APHIS’ decision on the grounds that it violated NEPA by not conducting the EIS. The District Court in that case sided with these alfalfa farmers and environmental groups and agreed that, indeed, APHIS violated NEPA by deregulating RRA before conducting a detailed EIS. The District Court asked each side what remedy should be imposed. In the final judgment, the District Court rejected the remedies presented by both sides and sort of split the difference down the middle so that both sides sort of got what they were asking for. Ordinarily, the remedy for failure to conduct an EIS is to vacate the permit that was unlawfully given (as in revoke the permit). In this case, that would mean that any use of RRA would be prohibited. But because Monsanto had already begun selling these RRA seeds, farmers had already begun planting them and some farmers had already purchased the RRA seeds and had intended to plant them, the District Court was going to allow those seeds to be planted and used. Essentially, the Court decided that whatever was out there already could be used, but put a stop to the sale and use of any new RRA until the EIS could be completed, in effect partially deregulating RRA.

Here We Are

Monsanto didn’t like that decision and appealed, which brings us to this case now. The Supreme Court reviewed everything and has found that the District Court erred in partially deregulating the RRA because the law states that in order to deregulate in whole or in part, the EIS must first be done. The Supreme Court felt that the District Court abused its discretion here and decided to reverse the decision of the District Court.

Now, the USDA must decide whether or not to allow the GM seeds to be planted.

What in the World Are They Spraying?

maida — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:54:21 +0000

I came across this video and found it pretty interesting. I’d also like to check out the documentary when it comes out in Fall 2010. What do you all think? Is it nonsense or a threat to our environment/human health?

Remember, the easiest thing you can do to help protect our Earth is to adopt a vegan lifestyle.

Uggghhh!!

maida — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:26:54 +0000

Once again, the only person concerned about your well-being is yourself:

Monsanto Wins Supreme Court Case: Genetically Modified Alfalfa Ban Lifted

WASHINGTON (AP)– The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a nationwide ban on the planting of genetically engineered alfalfa seeds, despite claims they might harm the environment.

[Read full article and court's decision here.]

Why this is a problem:

Alfalfa is grown on over 21 million acres, and is worth $8 billion per year (not including the value of final products, such as dairy), making it the country’s third most valuable and fourth most widely grown crop. Alfalfa is primarily used in feed for dairy cows and beef cattle, and also contributes to pork, lamb, sheep, and honey production. Consumers also eat alfalfa sprouts.

This is because alfalfa is cross pollinated by bees, and pollen will travel easily from GM alfalfa to non-GMO and organic alfalfa. “Even with the best isolation methods, you can’t control bees; they can travel several miles,” Scheele says.

[Source.]

So, all that “organic” beef and dairy won’t be so organic anymore, will it?! And who knows what health effects this will have on people who consume those products. We already know the dangers of other GM foods…

Monsanto has too much power and it totally infuriates me that they can get away with this stuff.

The World According to Monsanto:

EDIT: Here’s another article. Is it about the same court decision? A different spin on the same topic?

EDIT #2: Please refer to this post for further information on this case.

Road Trip

maida — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:50:36 +0000

Both my husband and I have family that live in various parts of Oregon. We were hoping to get a chance for a road trip in July so that we could go visit everyone, but he’s swamped right now with work and so our plans have been ditched. I was really disappointed because not only will we not get to visit our family, but I had wanted to detour a little to Farm Sanctuary during our drive north. Well, the other morning I was laying in bed thinking that this week would have actually been perfect for a trip to Farm Sanctuary because (1) Emma starts swim lessons next week and will be swimming pretty much every morning for the rest of the summer (except for two weeks in July when we were planning to take our Oregon trip) and (2) even though June is pretty hot for the area where Farm Sanctuary is located (Orland, CA– about 100 miles north of Sacramento), July and August are way hotter. So, it was decided then… I packed up that day and drove to my parents’ house in Sacramento and all four of us made the trek to Farm Sanctuary yesterday.

About Farm Sanctuary

Farm Sanctuary, located in Orland, CA rescues and rehabilitates abused and neglected farm animals from factory farms, stockyards, and slaughterhouses. Most of the animals at the sanctuary were born to be “food animals,” but are now free to live their lives comfortably and safely at Farm Sanctuary’s 300-acre farm. The California farm is home to lots of cows, a few donkeys, geese and ducks, pigs, turkeys and chickens, rabbits, and goats and sheep.

While public tours are given only on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm, from May 8 to October 31, members are invited to visit between 8 am and 4pm every day of the year. Becoming a member is very easy– all it takes (at a minimum) is a yearly pledge of $20. Members also receive Farm Sanctuary’s quarterly newsletter and a discounted rate at their cabin.

I was really interested in visiting because it’s important for Emma to understand why we don’t eat animals. She does have dairy on occasion, but is mostly vegan and my hope is that it will soon be her choice to avoid dairy (which would make her totally vegan) once she is old enough to understand what is involved in producing dairy and that it’s not really all that great for our body. Likewise, I want her to be educated about where meat comes from in the event that she chooses to eat meat later in life. I grew up thinking chicken came from the grocery store and asking questions like “are we eating the muscle of the animal?” without really getting a detailed answer. Knowing her personality, I don’t think she would ever regularly consume meat– and you can’t miss or crave something that you’ve never had– so I don’t think this will ever be an issue, but I would like her to be educated nonetheless. At this stage, everything is kept very basic and I only tell her what she needs to know in terms that are easy for her to understand. Besides that, she’s out of school for the summer and fun little educational trips like this are enjoyable for her.

Road Trip

We left Sacramento around 9 am and made it to Orland around 11am. It was quite windy yesterday, which I was thankful for because that meant it wouldn’t be so hot. I’ll take wind over heat any day when we’re farm-bound. Since there is no place to eat at the farm, we decided to first have lunch in town and then make our way to the farm. I always get nervous about traveling to small towns in the middle of nowhere surrounded by food-animal farms because I’m concerned that finding something vegetarian (let alone vegan) will be quite challenging. Thanks to Farm Sanctuary’s website, I was armed with a list of veg-friendly restaurants in Orland and I hit the jackpot with the one we stumbled upon.

The first one on the list, Alta Marie’s Bakery, was the place I chose to visit because the Farm Sanctuary description indicated that they carried vegan pastries on a regular basis. I was hoping to score some… and I liked that they were described as offering vegan items instead of “things can be made vegan upon request.” I get tired of going places where I can really only order a salad and even then I have to request that it be made without the cheese or meat that normally comes on it. It gets old.

Alta Marie’s is pretty much right off the freeway and easy to find. We strolled inside and perused the menu and I was nervous that perhaps they weren’t so vegan friendly after all. Everything on the menu was meat, meat and more meat. So I asked the person at the counter what was vegan and she consulted with the owner/baker to figure out what vegan dish could be whipped up based on what they had on hand in their kitchen. I really liked that they were so accommodating and went the extra mile to make me something as special as the rest of the dishes. They even knew enough to ask if honey was okay for me since one of their salad dressings did contain honey. I was very impressed with their knowledge of what vegans eat and don’t eat and really thrilled that they had 3 turnovers in their pastry case that were all vegan (2 pineapple and 1 cherry).

Even though the list was pretty extensive, I settled on their house salad with dried cranberries, fresh strawberries and walnuts added. I opted for the balsamic vinaigrette (the one that had honey in it because I thought it would be more appealing to my kiddo and I hoped she might want to share my salad), but they do have a raspberry vinaigrette that is all vegan. I know honey isn’t vegan and I do avoid it whenever possible, but one little cheat won’t get the vegan police after me, I hope. After lunch, I snagged all three of the turnovers– they were SO GOOD!!!

Alta Marie’s makes vegan cakes and pies if you give them a little notice. They even make vegan wedding cakes!

We Arrive At Last

The farm is located about 10 minutes outside of Orland and was really easy to find. Once we got there, I got my membership and we set off to see the animals. When I was signing up for my membership and the Farm Sanctuary gal was going over the map with me, she said something like “over here are the turkeys and chickens…” while pointing at the map. Emma then chimes in (rather loudly, as she has no volume control): “Chickens and turkeys!! We don’t eat those!!!!!!!!” It was cute. The Farm Sanctuary gal responded: “You’re in the right place then because neither do we. We just love them!” It was cute.

(Click on each image to see a larger version.)

Excited to see the cows... or happy to be out of the car?

Happy California cows. No, they aren't found on dairy farms, contrary to what the cheese commercial says.

Noisy geese!

Sleepy chicken... I interrupted her nap to take this photo.

Friendly sheep. He came right up to the gate to greet us. I think he was hoping for a treat.

Turkey. You can see that s/he's been debeaked, which means s/he probably came from a factory farm.

Turkey toes, or lack thereof. Further evidence that s/he came from a factory farm.

And here’s some video of the hungry pig who came over to say hi! Emma had a full conversation with her, but you can’t really hear anything because of the wind:

Rainbow Grocery

maida — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:52:31 +0000

Rainbow Grocery, located at 1745 Folsom Street in San Francisco is the only place to shop for groceries. I wish I lived closer (or maybe they would consider expanding and opening another location down the peninsula… say in Redwood City?) so that I could shop there all the time. I have a very sad confession to make: in the 3 years that I lived in SF, probably less than a mile away from Rainbow, I never shopped there once. Why? Because the line of cars waiting to pull into their teeny tiny parking garage was such a turnoff! Rainbow now validates parking for some of the garages in the area (or maybe it did the whole time and I never knew). Anyway, the point is that this place is awesome and you really should make a point to stop by whether you are visiting San Francisco or whether you live there/nearby.

Why is this place so great? First off, they are a worker-owned co-op, meaning that the people who work there are the owners. Pretty cool, right? Secondly, they are very vegan friendly. There is a huge selection of vegan baked stuff (from local bakeries) like cupcakes, cakes, cookies, scones, etc. They are also very Raw friendly. Third, they have the most insane bulk foods section you’ve ever seen in your life. I did happen to take my camera with me so that I could post some photos of it, but I chickened out at the last second. I didn’t want to look like a weirdo taking photos of dried beans and rice, so I used my iPhone instead so that I could look as if I were texting/emailing/Facebooking all the while casually snapping photos. Why I was concerned about looking like a weirdo in SF is anybody’s guess– the town is full of ‘em!!

Most of my pictures are blurry, but you can read some of the bin labels if you zoom in and look closely. None of these are repeats (photos of the same thing). I’m not joking when I say that the bulk section is HUGE: bulk spices, teas/coffee, beans/legumes, rice, pasta, cereals, flours, sugars, candy (lots of vegan ones too), nuts and nut butters, olives, dried fruits, oil, soy sauce…. seriously, if you can think of it, it’s probably in the bulk section.

Above: bulk candies… notice how many are vegan! Vegan gummy bear things, peanut butter cups, nut cluster things.

Above: granolas galore!

Above: more cereals

Above: any kind of flour you could ever need

Above: more flours

Above: cereals… notice how many are Raw! How cool is it that you can get raw granola in the bulk section?!

Above: Rice, rice…

Above: …and more rice!

Aside from the bulk section, Rainbow also carries lots of hard-to-find vegan goodies like Dandies marshmallows. They stock them all the time! They also have all kinds of vegan cheeses, even those soft ones that can be spread on crackers. I’ve never tried them, but I’m impressed that they carry it. The fruit/veggies section is all organic and mostly locally grown. The peaches smelled so delicious when I walked by, but I just couldn’t bring myself to shell out $3.50 per pound for them. Likewise with the plums. We did, however, stock up on bananas and in addition to being fair trade, they were so sweet and yummy (and comparable in price to my local store or Whole Foods).

The vitamin section is also out of this world, but I didn’t take the time to look through it. We had been there long enough and my kiddo was hungry and ready to leave. I could seriously waste hours in this store just looking through everything.

The price of most items was comparable to or maybe a little bit more expensive than Whole Foods. By that, I mean like the loaves of bread, boxes of cereal, etc. were comparable in price to WF. The prices on the bulk items is very reasonable, the most expensive items being the Raw cereals at $8 per pound. I know that sounds like quite a bit, but for the Raw stuff that sounds like it’s probably the going rate.

Anyway, the bottom line is– if you’re looking for something and can’t find it at any other store, chances are good that Rainbow has it. I just wish it was closer!