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(Cross-posted in Food Geeks)
Vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, 'anthroposophical' cuisine, etc. *ugh*
Seems to me that the most pragmatic, ecologic and economic approach toward cuisine would be bio-regional. If it's grown, farmed, ranched, harvested within 100 miles of you, then it ought to be 'fair game'. If your personal politics are getting in the way of this, and you find yourself purchasing goods imported from gawd only knows where, then you're supporting several rather ugly and imperialistic methodologies that more or less negate your intended principles.
If you don't eat red meat because large scale cattle ranches are depleting our global resources, then I suggest you check out how mass produced soy is doing exactly the same thing! And if you think farm raised fish are any better than wild caught fish, then do a little more research. Sure, you might be saving yourself higher levels of mercury but you're only adding to the problem of over-farmed waters (too many fish in the pond syndrome).
Look folks, it's not that complicated. If you want to participate in having a thriving and mutually supportive global economy (which by necessity must start at home) as well as a healthy agricultural cycle that gives right back to YOU- the consumer- then go local. Go ahead and pay a little bit more for your local mom & pop pesticide-free farmer, rancher, gardener. At least you know that $ will come back to you in some form, as opposed to the few bucks you spend on cheap tofu, tempeh or seitan that's been brought to your table via crude oil and gasoline, refrigerated ships/planes/trucks and slave wages.
Oh, and "pesticide-free" is the term used for organic farmers that don't have the $50,000+ needed to get certified. I'd trust a "pesticide-free" farmer over a certified organic farmer these days. Produce born viral infections (from nearby feedlots) simply don't happen on small, family owned, local farms.
So yeah, I'd eat guinea pig if I lived in South America. Pineapple and tuna if I lived in Hawaii. Rice and soy if I lived in Asia proper. I live in Montana...so I eat moose, elk, deer, pheasant, buffalo, plums, cherries, apples, sage, etc. Unless you live in a bonafide desert, there's always a cornucopia of local goods to choose from.
-K
Vegetarian, vegan, macrobiotic, 'anthroposophical' cuisine, etc. *ugh*
Seems to me that the most pragmatic, ecologic and economic approach toward cuisine would be bio-regional. If it's grown, farmed, ranched, harvested within 100 miles of you, then it ought to be 'fair game'. If your personal politics are getting in the way of this, and you find yourself purchasing goods imported from gawd only knows where, then you're supporting several rather ugly and imperialistic methodologies that more or less negate your intended principles.
If you don't eat red meat because large scale cattle ranches are depleting our global resources, then I suggest you check out how mass produced soy is doing exactly the same thing! And if you think farm raised fish are any better than wild caught fish, then do a little more research. Sure, you might be saving yourself higher levels of mercury but you're only adding to the problem of over-farmed waters (too many fish in the pond syndrome).
Look folks, it's not that complicated. If you want to participate in having a thriving and mutually supportive global economy (which by necessity must start at home) as well as a healthy agricultural cycle that gives right back to YOU- the consumer- then go local. Go ahead and pay a little bit more for your local mom & pop pesticide-free farmer, rancher, gardener. At least you know that $ will come back to you in some form, as opposed to the few bucks you spend on cheap tofu, tempeh or seitan that's been brought to your table via crude oil and gasoline, refrigerated ships/planes/trucks and slave wages.
Oh, and "pesticide-free" is the term used for organic farmers that don't have the $50,000+ needed to get certified. I'd trust a "pesticide-free" farmer over a certified organic farmer these days. Produce born viral infections (from nearby feedlots) simply don't happen on small, family owned, local farms.
So yeah, I'd eat guinea pig if I lived in South America. Pineapple and tuna if I lived in Hawaii. Rice and soy if I lived in Asia proper. I live in Montana...so I eat moose, elk, deer, pheasant, buffalo, plums, cherries, apples, sage, etc. Unless you live in a bonafide desert, there's always a cornucopia of local goods to choose from.
-K
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Re: Get your politics out of MY kitchen!
Fri, September 14, 2007 - 7:38 PMi certainly agree about emphasizing local foods!
The overwhelming majority of soy is grown to feed animals and industrial purposes not humans.
As a vegetarian chef i use a lot of soy and purchase 25 or 50 pound organic beans grown near Sacramento (about an 90 minute drive from my home) and use that to make my own tempeh, tofu and soymilk, and vegan ice cream, of course :)
Curious why you are so biased against vegetarians and vegans.
phil -
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Unsu...
Re: Get your politics out of MY kitchen!
Fri, September 14, 2007 - 9:36 PMPhillip, I'm not at all biased against people who eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. I ate a vegetarian diet for 13 years myself. I also managed the kitchen of a small vegetarian cafe for about a year in Baltimore and have had several clients that adhere to some semblance of a vegetarian diet.
However, I am biased towards those who consider their diet to be the main defining characteristic of their entire identity-- and then further use it to alienate others with their self-righteous indignation.
And I would take equal issue with meat eaters if I'd ever run into one that attempted to shove their rhetoric down my not-so-proverbial palate, but thus far I haven't run into any meat eaters that do this. Fact is, the only folks I've ever run into that demand that I adhere to some strict qualification of my diet-equals-my-identity are those that identify themselves in this limited, somewhat two dimensional way. When I was a vegetarian I didn't advertise this fact anymore than I advertise the fact that I now include locally grown and hunted meats in my diet...there's so much more to me as a person than what I choose to consume.
However, because I create personalized meals for my clients I must be well versed in all sorts of cuisine's, and macrobiotic is just one of them.
-K -
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Unsu...
Re: Get your politics out of MY kitchen!
Fri, September 14, 2007 - 9:38 PM"However, because I create personalized meals for my clients I must be well versed in all sorts of cuisine's, and macrobiotic is just one of them. "
oops. Phillip had cross posted his response in another tribe and asked me about my macrobiotic affiliation. I copied and pasted my response and neglected to remove this last sentence. So, if it seems out of place here it's because it is. My apologies.
-K
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