Archive for fast food
Oprah talks food rules with Michael Pollan
Posted by: | CommentsOprah Winfrey, the granddame of Daytime television, interviewed journalist Michael Pollan, who you may or may not remember as a food expert featured in the documentary Food, Inc. Pollan was on the show promote his new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. When speaking to Oprah about the documentary Food, Inc. he spoke about the difference between chickens today and what he calls “your great-grandmother’s chicken” from 100 years ago. He drew attention to the fact that today’s chicken is not an eco-friendly one, as it is being grown at a faster rate, which means more antibiotics are being used. As a result of the alarming rate of antibiotic, society is then faced with antibiotic resistant germs, known as “super germs”. This is the dilemma of factory-farmed food, which then begs the question is there a way to mass-produce an eco-friendly and sustainable version of the food we eat?
According to Pollan it is entirely possible. The hitch is that this new method for faming is unknown at the present time; yet ingenuity and perseverance will surely provide a solution. He says the problem is what he calls the ‘Western Diet’, which didn’t exist 100 years ago; it consists mostly of processed foods that contain copious amounts of sugar and fat with limited to no fruits and vegetables. The ‘Western Diet’ is not an eco-friendly or healthy one, because it inspired heart disease and diabetes to reach all time highs and alarming rates of growth.
This is where his new book Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual comes in. The publisher describes the book as an “indispensable guide for anyone concerned about health and food. Simple, sensible, and easy to use, Food Rules is a set of memorable rules for eating wisely, many drawn from a variety of ethnic or cultural traditions. Whether at the supermarket or an all-you-can-eat-buffet, this handy, pocket-size resource is the perfect guide for anyone who would like to become more mindful of the food we eat.” Building on this idea Pollan shared his thoughts on beef and dairy with Oprah. “I’m very picky about the meat I eat,” he says. “I eat grass-fed beef, which is now becoming more common. Yes, it’s still more expensive, but it’s a very sustainable product.” When he’s buying dairy, Michael looks for pastured dairy—milk from grass-fed cows. “It’s got more beta carotene, more omega-3s, all this kind of stuff.” Michael also likes to buy produce from farmer’s markets. “Getting out of the supermarket when we can is a very important part of learning where your food comes from,” he says. “Ask the farmer”. When they finally started to delve into the book, Pollan shared a few of his rules with the audience:
1) Eat food: meaning eat real whole foods, novelty in food is unhealthy for the most part.
2) Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food: his definition of this is that she would not understand the idea of yogurt in a tube, instead mistaking it for toothpaste.
3) Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce: again this is a straightforward rule, simple ingredients and no preservatives are best.
4) Eat only foods that will eventually rot: Pollan does not consider the Twinkie food, as it does not really rot.
5) Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself: he says if you enjoy French fries eat them, but make them yourself. If you go through the process of making fries, or baking a cake etc… you not have it as often because it takes time and planning, but also it will be healthier as there are not additives, dyes and preservatives in what you are making and you control the fat and sugar content.
Fast Food Revolution – Chipotle Serves Corporate Social Responsibility
Posted by: | CommentsSteve Ells was interviewed by Oprah to discuss his revolutionary ideas about fast food. Ells shared his story which illustrates how Chipotle Mexican Grill is a great example of corporate social responsibility (CSR), “in 1993, [he] opened the very first Chipotle Mexican restaurant. “I think fast food to most people means cheap, highly processed,” he says. “At Chipotle, it’s just the opposite. Everything at Chipotle is fresh, never frozen, with the exception of corn.”
Ells says 45 percent of Chipotle’s beans are organic, and restaurants buy produce from local family farmers in the months it’s available. Chipotle also serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant company in the country. In 2010, the chain expects to serve about 70 million pounds of meat. One hundred percent of its chicken and pork are naturally raised, with beef at 60 percent. “These make for better tasting meats and better for the environment,” Steve says. Steve’s dedication to fresh food is paying off. Chipotle serves 700,000 people a day and saw more than $1 billion in sales in 2009. “Access to sustainably raised food shouldn’t be a luxury,” he says. “It should be an everyday occurrence.””
Ells’ Chipotle Mexican Grill is an excellent example of corporate social responsibility because he believes in Food With Integrity™, but this is more than a mere slogan. According to the Chipotle website “the hallmarks of Food With Integrity™ includes things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. And, since embracing this philosophy, it’s had tremendous impact on how we run our restaurants and our business.”
Tags: Chipotle, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Chipotle Mexican Restaurant, Chipotle Restaurant, Corporate Responsibility, corporate social responsibility, CSR, environmental impact, fast food, FDA, Food With Integrity, local sustainable food, Oprah, Oprah Winfrey, organic fast food, Social Responsibility, Steve Ells, sustainable food, sustainable practices, vegan dining, vegan fast food, Vegetarian, vegetarian fast food, zero trans fatsGreen Gazette (Issue 17) Film Review – Food Inc.
Posted by: | CommentsGood evening hope this finds you well. Tonight, instead of bits of news for you I wanted to just offer my best Roger Ebert impression. Last night I 
watched the film Food Inc, which I must recommend even if you think you know about the (depressing) state of the food industry and the extent the corporate hold has over our food supply and supermarkets. Much of what I learned in the film was information I’d already read elsewhere but the ability to tie in the ‘progress’ to our actual risk in real terms was quite fascinating. The film also did a great job looking at the matter of corporate farming and lack of sustainable practices in an industry that has changed beyond recognition. Sadly the theme I took from the film was two-fold – 95% of the changes in the industry have been based around cost savings and convenience. What we seem to be missing is although bad food is far too cheap (which it is) we are only being conned – the long term costs in terms of diabetes and outrageous health care costs will impact us all even though perhaps we don’t realise it now. Every single item on the ‘Dollar Menu’ at fast food outlets is only a bargain for 10 minutes – it kills off your hunger but has all the nutritional value of a bowl of sugar laced with salt.
As I’m sure you’re aware ‘corn is king’ and simply put over 85% of the items in your typical supermarket contain corn in some form and it’s simply not good for you in the methods and quantity we now use it. Nor were cattle designed to eat corn, they are meant to eat grass. The film actually left me feeling a little pessimistic, traditional farming is all but dead, organic companies prosper for 5-10 years and then sell out to Kraft or Kellogg, price drives decisions before safety. While the film did a great job explaining the pickle we now find ourselves in, it failed to really show many solutions until the very end titles (too late??). Farmers markets, buying local, demanding more choice, and such were all suggested – what few people want to hear is that eating well and in a sustainable way does cost more – and depending on where you are – quite a lot more. The main reason is that lobbying and subsidies have made junk food so disastrously cheap that we don’t pay for food what we should – and haven’t done so for decades. It’s over 30 years since corn was sold above the cost of production – that’s disgusting and unethical. Chicken and cattle production/productivity is 2-3 times higher than it was 30 years ago and yet the average cattle/chicken farmer makes a salary that would make you lose your appetite. When I was a kid you only could buy tomatoes, bananas, strawberries and much more at certain times of the year. We now can buy anything at any time – but the genetic modifications made to many fruit and vegetables are working visually but not in terms of taste.
I know the issue is not limited to the USA, it’s changing everywhere. I remember being a kid (lucky enough to grow up in the countryside) and 
going to the butcher, then the baker and then the fishmonger was the normal drill with my mum on a Saturday morning (don’t recall a candlestick maker). Food wasn’t always so corporate – nor so dangerous. The most alarming fact during a film that was full of them – the outrageous reduction of inspections made by the USDA over the last 30 years. I won’t spoil it – see the film – you’ll think it’s a misprint. Please see the film, it might not change the way you eat, it should help change the way you think . As with so many issues we now face in 2009 – we have to believe that every time we reject fast food, every time we ask where our food comes from, every time we refuse to eat an animal that has been genetically modified so much that it can’t support its own weight (but we only like white meat on our chickens!) we can make a difference. The film made me angry and frustrated. My passions as far as what I read are history and economics – both of which show us what happens when we cut corners to convince those who are earning less and less each year that they aren’t becoming more impoverished. Making everything as cheap as possible (especially food) has consequences that are as deep and dark as they are obvious. If that wasn’t the case diabetes rates wouldn’t spike upwards based on the nearer you are to the poverty line. We’ve got a long way to go – but films like this should be shown in schools and living rooms as often as possible.
