Sustainable Dictionary and Meat Production Guide

Here's a fantastic resource that defines a lot of sustainable/healthy food jargon: http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/dictionary/

Here are some examples of words on the list:

Cage-Free
Birds are raised without cages. What this doesn’t explain is if the birds were raised outdoors on pasture, if they had access to outside, or if they were raised indoors in overcrowded conditions. If you are looking to buy eggs, poultry or meat that was raised outdoors, look for a label that says “Pastured” or “Pasture-raised”.

Factory farm
A large-scale industrial site where many animals (generally chickens, turkeys, cattle, or pigs) are confined and treated with hormones and antibiotics to maximize growth and prevent disease. The animals produce much more waste than the surrounding land can handle. These operations are associated with various environmental hazards as well as cruelty to animals. The government calls these facilities Concentrated (or Confined) Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a CAFO as "new and existing operations which stable or confine and feed or maintain for a total of 45 days or more in any 12-month period more than the number of animals specified" in categories that they list out. In addition, "there's no grass or other vegetation in the confinement area during the normal growing season."

Free range
This term refers to animals (usually poultry, and the eggs that they produce) that are not confined, meaning that these animals are able to go outdoors to engage in natural behaviors. It does not necessarily mean that the products are cruelty-free or antibiotic-free, or that the animals spend the majority of their time outdoors. The use of the term "free range" is only defined by the USDA for poultry production, and need only mean that the bird has had some access to the outdoors each day, which could be a dirty or concrete feedlot. USDA considers five minutes of open-air access each day to be adequate. Claims are defined by USDA, but are not verified by third party inspectors.

GMO
Genetically Modified Organism. This is a plant or animal that has been genetically engineered. Many industries support the development and use of GMOs while many consumers and organizations question their safety and have called for adequate and independent testing of GMO products. It is legal for farmers in the U.S. and some other countries like Argentina to produce and sell certain GMOs for human and animal consumption, but in other places like Europe and Japan, they are banned until further testing can be done to prove they are safe.

Grain-fed
The animal was raised on a diet of grain and the grain could be supplemented with animal byproducts and other miscellaneous matter such as cement dust and/or euthanized cats and dogs. Since mad cow disease is thought to be transmitted through animal byproducts added to cattle feed, cows raised on a strictly vegetarian diet are preferred by many consumers. However, unless the label says “100 Percent Vegetarian Diet,” there is no guarantee that the animal’s feed was not supplemented with animal byproducts or is organic. In addition, cattle are ruminants and eat grass; they cannot digest grains properly and can become sick if fed a diet of only grain. Although large-scale, confined grain feedlots enable industrial meat producers to fatten their animals quickly, they also foster disease within the cattle population, creating the need for antibiotics and increasing the risk of E. Coli contamination. Grain-fed animals tend to be raised on factory farms and should be avoided.

Grass-fed
Animals graze on pasture and eat grasses. They should not be supplemented with grain, animal by-products, synthetic hormones, or be given antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease (though they might be given antibiotics to treat disease). This is the same as pastured or pasture raised.

Natural
Currently, no standards exist for this label except when used on meat and poultry products. USDA guidelines state that “Natural” meat and poultry products can only undergo minimal processing and cannot contain artificial colors, artificial flavors, preservatives, or other artificial ingredients. However, “natural” foods are not necessarily sustainable, organic, humanely raised, or free of hormones and antibiotics. The label “natural” is virtually meaningless.

Nitrates
Chemicals made up of oxygen, nitrogen and other elements. When chemicals containing nitrogen (for example, ammonia) combine with water, nitrates are usually formed, and these nitrates can cause serious illness or even death if large amounts are consumed. Nitrate poisoning is usually caused by drinking water contaminated with nitrates. The primary sources of nitrate pollution are human waste and manure, especially runoff from factory farms. Processed meat also often contains nitrates, which are used to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria and to enhance the color. Eating meat that has been treated with nitrates may cause health problems including cancer, migraines, high cholesterol and hyperactivity.

Organic
In order to be labeled “organic,” a product, its producer, and the farmer must meet the USDA’s organic standards and must be certified by a USDA-approved food-certifying agency. Organic foods cannot be grown using synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, or sewage sludge, cannot be genetically modified, and cannot be irradiated. Organic meat and poultry must be fed only organically-grown feed (without any animal byproducts) and cannot be treated with hormones or antibiotics. Furthermore, the animals must have access to the outdoors, and ruminants must have access to pasture (which doesn’t mean they actually have to go outdoors and graze on pasture to be considered organic. See also "USDA Certified Organic".) For more information, read the Organic page in the Issues section.

Sustainable
A product can be considered sustainable if its production enables the resources from which it was made to continue to be available for future generations. A sustainable product can thus be created repeatedly without generating negative environmental effects, without causing waste products to accumulate as pollution, and without compromising the wellbeing of workers or communities. Many different agricultural techniques can be utilized to help make food production more sustainable. The drawback of the term ‘sustainable’ is that the term lacks a clear-cut, universally-accepted, enforceable definition - thus it can be interpreted in different ways. It is more of a philosophy or way of life than a label. See the Introduction to Sustainability section for more information.

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You can also go here to print a wallet-sized guide of meat production methods (very cool resource):
http://www.sustainabletable.org/2009/01/new-handy-wallet-size-glossary-of-meat-production-methods/

Happy Earth Day! Get Paid for Being Green

Ways to Get Paid for Protecting the Environment

Going Green: Make Money, Earn Points for Recycling Household Items, Electronics

By KI MAE HEUSSNER

April 9, 2010—

Did you know that you can make some green by going green?
While recycling, saving energy and other kinds of eco-friendly actions are good habits on their own, a growing number of organizations are offering economic incentives to those who opt for greener ways to live their lives.

Here are some programs you might want to check out:

RecycleBank

In more than 300 communities in 26 states, RecycleBank rewards recyclers by the pound.
A microchip attached to recycling bins tracks how much each household recycles. Those pounds of recycled material translate into points that can be redeemed at a variety of retail partners, including Bed, Bath & Beyond and CVS pharmacies.

Each pound of recycled material equals 2.5 points and the average household accumulates about $400 worth of points in one year.

RecycleBank already partners with Chicago, Phoenix, Houston and Hartford and will launch a pilot program with Los Angeles later this month. The service has already diverted 208,317 tons from the waste stream and saved 5.1 million trees, Serafino said.

Recycle Electronics for Cash

Is an old iPod or computer gathering dust in a closet? Are you hoping to retire a cell phone?
You can make some money off those electronics by recycling them through sites like YouRenew, BuyMyTronics or Gazelle.

According to the EPA, more than 40 million computers alone became obsolete in 2007, and the numbers keep rising. But electronics recycling services make it easy to help keep those numbers down.

YouRenew, for example, covers the cost of shipping your electronics, and, depending on the condition of the item, will send you a check that could be upwards of $100.

EarthAid

If you want an incentive to save energy and water at home, take a look at EarthAid.
The Washington-based service uses software to track your electricity, natural gas and water consumption. After it determines a baseline for you (using past consumption), the service awards points for each kilowatt-hour of electricity, ten cubic feet of natural gas or 20 gallons of water saved relative to that baseline.

Those points can be redeemed at local businesses across the country. (The service is free of charge, but EarthAid says it must track your consumption for a year (to establish a baseline) before it can start awarding points.)

Greenopolis

Greenopolis gives green-leaning consumers a range of ways to earn rewards for recycling.
The interactive Web site lets anyone contribute blog posts and ideas to the site for points that can be redeemed at local restaurants and entertainment venues.
But it also has an "on-street" element to complement the online piece.
Through its GreenOps program, people can take beverage containers to select Whole Foods stores to earn Greenopolis points or coupons that can be redeemed at some WholeFoods locations.
About 68 Whole Foods across the country currently host GreenOps kiosks, but in the next six months, the company said hundreds of kiosks are expected to launch in Whole Foods and other locations nationwide.
"Putting stuff curbside is great -- it's fantastic. We think it's got to be a huge part of the solution," said Paul Ligon, managing director of GreenOps. But about 40 percent of the U.S. population doesn't have access to curbside recycling, he said.
For those communities and the rest of us who could benefit from more on-the-go recycling options  he said Greenopolis provides another approach.
"It's an open platform for consumers, producers and any others interested in moving the dial on recycling," said Ligon.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Green/ways-paid-recycling-saving-energy/story?id=10324910&page=2

Ebay's 30 Days of Green Challenge

Earth Day is coming up very soon - April 22nd. There are many ways to get involved in improving the environment and many functions to attend for Earth Day. One cool initiative is the Ebay 30 Days of Green. The point of this initiative is to encourage buyers to shop for items that already exist on earth, in an effort to save energy and resources. For those who take the Green Team Challenge, ebay will protect one acre of forest in exchange. You can visit this site for more info: http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/

Here are some guidelines for shopping green on ebay:

1. Look for pre-owned products. When you choose to reuse an item, you aren't asking the planet to come up with the raw materials required to make a new one. Extending the useful life of an item is one of the most sustainable choices you can make. In most cases, the greenest product is the one that already exists. 2. Check whether an item is sustainably made. Products that are made from sustainable materials - organic fibers, renewable materials like bamboo, or "upcycled" from found or salvage items - are always a great choice for the planet. Also, selecting items that support micro-entrepreneurs and help develop local communities can really make a difference. Labels like "organic", "natural", and "Fair Trade" are helpful here in identifying products that generate a positive impact. 3. Choose products that save energy and other resources. Whether you're selecting an Energy Star rated appliance or something reusable that replaces a disposable - water bottle anyone? - resource-saving products leave a lighter footprint on the planet.

EARTH HOUR

Earth Hour is tomorrow (03/27/10) at 8:30pm. The request is that everyone turn off their lights for an hour. Please consider taking part in this endeavor: http://www.myearthhour.org/

The Miracle of Green Tea

"Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

Is any food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

What makes green tea so special?

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011400a.htm

Recently I've been experiencing stomach pain and assumed it was related to my food. My doc ran a few tests and found nothing. Then I tried a lactose free diet and didn't notice improvement. Finally, I decided to see a GI doc and guess what....he decided the cause was stress! It's a common joke that docs blame everything on stress and I must say, I did not believe him at first. I was convinced that the pain was directly related to the food I eat. The doc didn't believe me and was convinced it was stress. I mentioned that come to think of it, I had experienced a few stressful situations recently and he had that "aha...I was right" look on his face. The docs formula for stress was: 3 fruits/day, 3 veggies/day, 8 glasses of water and exercise at least 4 times a week.

A few days after seeing the doc I was having a discussion with someone and the person shared news about something that really upset me. Almost immediately after I started experiencing stomach pain and my shoulder started aching (which often happens when I'm under distress). At that moment I realized the doc was right - it was stress that was causing my stomach pain. After reflecting further, I remembered that I almost always get this pain when I'm traveling alone with my kids (very stressful!).

It feels good to know the cause of my problem but the downside is, it's difficult to fix "stress" since stress is a part of life. The doc said that while I cannot necessarily eliminate stress from my life, I could learn how to manage it buy eating right and blowing off steam regularly through exercise. I'm thankful to have a doc who took the time to really understand me and what I have been going through rather than medicate me as a quick fix.

I am still supposed to go in for further testing since my doc wants to make sure that nothing else is wrong. In the meantime, I will try to follow the docs orders. I hope that those of you reading this will gain some insight on the potential negative effects stress can have on an individual. I never imagined stress could be related to my stomach pain and completed denied it at first - I wasn't stressed...I was just fine! Lesson learned...don't underestimate the effects of stress and take a break once in a while to take care of myself and my body....do more yoga, get a massage, meditate...whatever it takes to relax.

Let's Talk Eggs

There are so may egg options out there it's hard to figure out what everything means! Many eggs are advertised as "cage free" or "vegetarian". These labels are often deceiving and don't say much about the quality of the egg. For example, "vegetarian" chickens are almost definitely raised in cooped up cages since the average free range chicken will have a diet that contains insects - a nutritious snack for chickens. The following is a break down of some of the labels and what they mean (www.lowcarbdiets.about.com): 

 

What is a cage-free egg?

This simply means that the hens are not kept in cages, though there are no regulations to govern care beyond that.

 

What is a free-range egg?

Free-range chickens are (according to voluntary regulations) supposed to have "access to the outdoors" -- however, by many reports, the care of many of these hens is structured so that they are very unlikely to go outside. The doors are not opened until the hens are of an age where they are likely to keep doing what they are used to doing, and when the (usually small) doors are opened, they usually don't go outside. Michael Pollan, in his best-selling book The Omnivore's Dilemma, describes one farm producing organic, free-range chickens for meat. He says that the chickens are "given outside access" at 5 weeks, then killed at 7 weeks. He never saw a chicken go outside during his visit.

 

What are organic eggs?

There are regulations to govern what can be called organic. The chickens must be fed organic feed (grown without commercial fertilizers or pesticides), and not given hormones or antibiotics. This has nothing to do with how the animals are kept, however. The sad truth is, birds can still be crowded into a warehouse, and still made to endure “forced molting,” the practice of denying hens food and water to “shock” their bodies into a new egg-laying cycle... and be labeled 'organic.'

What is "humanely-raised"?

This is a totally unregulated definition, although organizations are springing up to try to come up with common definitions. The most prominent organization, Humane Farm Animal Care, has a certification process, which includes no cages, and hens having at least 1.5 square feet of floor space. Free-range hens must have outside access, and doors to the outside "must allow more than one hen at a time to exit". De-beaking is allowed, but some of the more barbaric practices common to traditionally-raised hens (such as "forced moulting" where hens nearly at the end of their laying are deprived to food, water, and light for days to weeks to produce one more bout of egg-laying) are not.

 

What are "pastured" or "pasture-raised" hens?

According to the USDA Trade Descriptions, "birds are raised outdoors using movable enclosures located on grass and fed an organic diet (without hormones or non-organic additives) and/or raised without antibiotics (drugs that are intended to prevent or treat animal illnesses)".

The advantage to pasture-raised eggs is that the hens are able to eat a wide variety of the natural food of chickens -- greens, grubs, etc. Not only do many people find these eggs to be much tastier, but there is accumulating evidence that the eggs from these hens have better nutritional profiles -- less cholesterol, less fat but more healthy Omega-3 fat, and more of other nutrients such as Vitamin A, lutein, vitamin E, and beta-carotene. 

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In conclusion, it appears "pastured" eggs are the way to go! Chickens that are pastured are generally more nutritious, much tastier and over all have the best of all the egg categories.