foodmuseumblog

Cote d'Ivoire: Cacao and Unions/Child Slavery, Coffee, Cashews, Corruption...

A man who later would be accused of ruling the Ivory Coast with a firm "paternal" hand, was a rebel who stood up to the French colonialists in 1944, founding the country's first union for African cacao farmers.  Félix Houphouët-Boigny pushed for independence from France, having established that indigenous plantation owners had the right to hire migrant workers for their own spreads. He himself was a cacao farmer who became the first President of independent Ivory Coast, after holding several offices in the French government.

Of course the French had established the cacao, coffee and cashew plantations that contributed to the Ivory Coast's vibrant economy. ( Only coffee is native to the African continent.)

But at what cost?  Child slavery is endemic to cocoa production in West Africa even today.  In the late 1990's, the issue finally came to global attention. ( Another source of information re slave labor and cacao is  Chocolate Work.)

The finally-ousted-today Ivory Coast politician Laurent Gbago clung to power by nationalizing his country's cocoa and coffee plantations. Those opposed to him halted export of the country's production of cashews--second largest producer in Africa--in an effort to cut off financing for Gbago.

Food--it's always there, underpinning everything.

( Thanks to Raw Living Food for photo of cacao pod with beans.)

If I Eat Pumpkin Pie with Pomegranate/Vanilla Ice Cream During the President's Address, Am I a Frivolous Foodie?

Well, yes, but I am paying close attention. Not just to the pie/ice cream combo, either. I like the speech, the " we are not doing this alone," theme.  The world as a group of nations may finally be getting together to stand up to the bullies.

The ice cream, back to that, is a combo of vanilla, pomegranate, and fruit called ( I did not know this,) Freedom!, and it's produced by a company called Sheer Bliss, out of Florida, of all places.  ( Did not know that, either.) My favorite flavors are pomegranate dark choc chip, and dark choc itself.  SB declares it is the first ice cream company ( real) to produce pomegranate ice cream. 

And--get this--this is Ultra Super Premium ice cream, my friends! ( Whatevah, it is fab....) And the most unique unique-tude of this brand is that the i.cream is sold in tins. Yes. We hover over them, debating whether to save for leftovers, or recycle. It's a nifty tossup.

Now, as to the pie. There it was, with no nasty additives, unbleached flour, punkin, calling to me from a display at Whole Foods. Reasonably priced!   Maybe the baker suddenly went all pumpkin pie-y, during the March Madness/Mud season, not your usual p. pie season, and the Whole Foodsians had to flog the pies as best they could. So, I bought one.

And now, having eaten a slice with Freedom! a la mode, and having approved the Prez' remarks, noting his oddly fatigued-looking right eye---Michelle?---I am a happy patriot, a peacenik in favor of Special Ops, the targeting of bullies, and the American public library system. 

 

Eating Matters: Food Issues in Tripoli

From the AP, dateline Tripoli, this morning:

"One resident said pro-Gadhafi security forces man checkpoints around the city of 2 million and prowl the city for any sign of unrest. She told The Associated Press that the price of rice, a main staple, has gone up 500 percent amid the crisis, reaching the equivalent of $40 for a five-kilogram (10-pound) bag.

Bakeries are limited to selling five loaves of bread per family, and most butcher shops are closed, she said."

 

Food Issues: Benghazi, Libya

CNN reporter Ben Wedeman tweets: "Food supplies not reaching Benghazi because of unrest. City has two month's reserves. Benghazi businessmen feeding thousands of South Asian, African migrant workers waiting to be evacuated."

Commodity Price Spikes | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR

In this June 12, 2008, file photo, a combine cuts winter wheat in a field near Tucker, Ark. Farmers in Arkansas have planted nearly two-thirds fewer acres of soft red winter wheat this fall, as high fertilizer costs and falling wheat prices have put a strain on growers.

via thedianerehmshow.org

Go directly to the transcript.

FYI  Check out the comments on line in reaction to this show that aired yesterday. None of Diane Rehm's guests represents much of the sustainable or eco-friendly side, dare I say. Modest enthusiasm for GMO, lack of support for organic... World Bank president Robert Zoellick is among them. Ouch.

 

Genetically Modified/Engineered?

The "new" NYTimes food commentator, Mark Bittman, asks "Why Aren't G. M. O. Foods Labeled?"  The short answer is obvious. Because of profits to be made, come what may.  ( Lobbyists, too, are involved.)  These products are labeled in Europe, but not in the US and Canada, although some U.S. companies and natural food chains have been labeling their products as Non GMO since at least 2005.

In the forefront of opposition to GE alfalfa, which the government recently approved for planting in the US, is one of my favorite yogurt producers, Straus Family Creamery. Albert Straus described his company's opposition to GE foods in a recent Food Democracy Now! post. He wrote:

The decision to deregulate GM alfalfa hurts both organic and conventional farmers who choose not to use genetically modified organism technologies. Alfalfa’s anchor at the base of the dairy supply chain puts the entire organic food chain in peril: Contaminated alfalfa leads to contaminated milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, as well as any other products containing dairy ingredients.

Straus Creamery is the first and only Non-GMO Verified dairy brand in the US.

For the consumer, it's a minefield. The Institute for Responsible Technology has taken on the GE topic on bigtime, and worked to create a free iPhone App named ShopNoGMO as a guide to shoppers.

The app came out just about one year ago, which leads me to this point: it's really up to us as consumers to aks questions of growers, producers, stores, to become as informed as possible even if we have little knowledge of the science involved. Commercial farmers and supermarkets always have said, "it's what the consumer wants," while actually laboring to create in the mind of the hapless American consumer that she/he wants perfectly-shaped, obscenely sweet apples, for example. Or only two varieties of sweet potato, both incorrectly labeled yams.

( A neighbor in New Mexico bought a house with a backyard group of a pear, apple and peach tree. The family never picks or eats the fruit, saying, when I asked about it, "We buy everything at the supermarket.")

Back in September 2010, a piece in the WaPo about labeling GMO salmon ( or not) underscored the notion that business wants to keep consumers "barefoot and pregnant," as that hideous old saw goes.

"The biotechnology industry is opposed to mandatory labeling, saying it will only bewilder a public that is not well informed about genetic engineering.

"Extra labeling only confuses the consumer," said David Edwards, director of animal biotechnology at the Biotechnology Industry Organization. "It differentiates products that are not different."

Opposition to incursions on our food chains from Monsanto and others have been vigorously opposed by groups, companies, institutions and individuals, across the country. But not in large enough numbers. 

We Americans have been distracted, of course, in recent months, losing jobs, homes, medical coverage, two wars, and so on. We have not yet massed in protest to any number of worthy issues, including the proposed $107 billion in tax-payer $$ slated to slide into the slippery pockets of the corrupt Karzai government in Afghanistan. 

But I digress. Resources on this tough food topic exist. Here are a few:

----Many states have organic organizations. The country's largest and oldest is MOFGA in Maine.

----Consumers, get with the program! The Organic Consumers Association, established in 1998 in Minnesota, is loaded with materials.

----Veritable Vegetable, based in California, says it is the nation's oldest distributor of organic produce. Many links re sustainable agriculture on its website.

----The Non GMO Project--needs to be renamed. Its upcoming portion of the Natural Products Expo West conference in Anaheim opens March 10.

----Multiple links from ecobusinesslinks.

 

 

 

 

BBC News - Food prices at dangerous levels, says World Bank

15 February 2011 Last updated at 12:07 ET

The World Bank says food prices are at "dangerous levels" and have pushed 44 million more people into poverty since last June. According to the latest edition of its Food Price Watch, prices rose by 15% in the four months between October 2010 and January this year.Food price inflation is felt disproportionately by the poor, who spend over half their income on food.

The Bank called on this week's G20 meeting to address the problem.The World Bank's president, Robert Zoellick, said in a statement: "Global food prices are rising to dangerous levels and threaten tens of millions of poor people around the world."He also said that rising food prices were an aggravating factor of the unrest in the Middle East, although not its primary cause.

Rapid food price inflation in 2008 sparked riots in a number of countries. At that time, the World Bank estimated 125 million people were in extreme poverty. The World Bank says prices are not quite back at those levels - just 3% below - although they are 27% higher than a year ago.A separate report earlier this month from the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that world food prices had hit a record high in January. Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 group of developed and developing nations are meeting later this week in Paris.

via www.bbc.co.uk

Foodie Praises the First Lady of Food, Michelle Obama

 

Fava Beans, and Egypt's "Ful Medames."

Fava beans, one of the oldest cultivated "peas," and along with the soy bean, the only two beans original to the Eastern Hemisphere. What better ingredient on which to focus, directly following the young Egyptian "winter revolution."

"Ful medames is an ancient Egyptian dish with origins that reach back to the time of the pharaohs. This simple dish of slow-simmered fava beans seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices is the daily breakfast meal for millions of Egyptians. To do ful medames right takes some time, most of it spent soaking and simmering. Start this recipe in the morning to have it ready for breakfast the next day. Especially popular during Ramadan."

Ful Medames---Egyptian Slow-Cooked Fava Beans 

4 to 6 servings

• Dried, peeled fava beans -- 1 pound
• Red lentils -- 1/2 cup
• Garlic -- 3 to 4 cloves
• Cumin -- 1 teaspoon
• Salt -- to taste
• Olive oil or melted butter -- 3 tablespoons

Method

1. Soak the fava beans in water to cover for 8 to 12 hours. Start in the morning to have you fool medames for breakfast the next day.
2. After they have soaked, drain the beans. Place the favas, red lentils, onion, garlic and cumin in a large saucepan and add enough fresh water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, cover and simmer for 8 to 10 hours, skimming the scum off the top occasionally.
3. Remove from heat and mash lightly with a potato masher or the back of a spoon. Stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste.
4. Place the beans in a serving bowl and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil or melted butter. Serve with fried or hard-boiled eggs and pita bread.

Barack O in Sweets Shop in Marquette, Michigan? Say What?

What are the chances? Two sweets ( candy) shops in the news in the space of two days!

Food, Again: "Sweets," and Cairo Sweets Shop Key to Initial Protest, January 25.

According to a piece in today's Wall Street Journal, protest rally organizers selected 21 centers from which activists would begin to walk to Tharir Square. The 21st cite was kept utterly secret.

"They sent small teams to do reconnaissance on the secret 21st site. It was the Bulaq al-Dakrour neighborhood's Hayiss Sweet Shop, whose storefront and tiled sidewalk plaza—meant to accommodate outdoor tables in warmer months—would make an easy-to-find rallying point in an otherwise tangled neighborhood no different from countless others around the city.

The plotters say they knew that the demonstrations' success would depend on the participation of ordinary Egyptians in working-class districts like this one, where the Internet and Facebook aren't as widely used. They distributed fliers around the city in the days leading up to the demonstration, concentrating efforts on Bulaq al-Dakrour."

Protesters in small groups made for the sweet shop, with no police oversight.Then, the article goes on to say:

"The lack of security prompted neighborhood residents to stream by the hundreds out of the neighborhood's cramped alleyways, swelling the crowd into the thousands, say sweet-shop employees who watched the scene unfold."

What exactly are Egyptian sweets? Here is what Egypt Sweets has to say:

 

 

Assorted Egypt Sweets: (6 pieces)
1 piece of semsemia (sesame, sugar, glucose).
1 piece of homosia (chickpea, sugar, glucose).
1 piece of fouleya (peanut, sugar, glucose).
1 piece of bassima (coconut, butter, sugar, glucose).
2 pieces of malban with walnut (starch, sugar, glucose, walnut).

 

Food! Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Asks for Toast

Honestly, an AP report just brought tears to my eyes, and a giddy delight that food once again is an underlying factor in so many things.

Apparently when Giffords first spoke, she asked for toast---not the remote, not world peace, not clean jammies, TOAST.  The FOOD Museum's motto, uttered by writter M.F.K. Fisher is this: "First we eat, then we do everything else."

"In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Giffords' husband Mark Kelly said his wife had her appetite back and was eating three times a day, "even though it's hospital food.""

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition » Archive » GMO Alfalfa Approved With No Restrictions? Stay Informed & Take Action

The Obama Administration’s recent decision to allow unlimited, non-restricted commercial planting of genetically-engineered (GE) alfalfa resistant to the herbicide commercially known as Roundup was a huge disappointment to the sustainable and organic agriculture community.

via sustainableagriculture.net

And apparently sugar beets, too.

Tks to Summit Springs Farm, Maine, for the link.

Egypt: Rural Support for Urban Protesters?

From Reuters Africa this morning:

"Scraping a meagre living from the land, farmers and rural workers in Egypt's agricultural heartland have watched the largely urban uprising that has shaken the ruling system and many back the web-savvy youths who galvanised the nation.

A few have turned up in Cairo in their galabiyas, the robes worn in the fields, although most are too busy trying to feed their families. But many believe it is time for a new era..."

 

Revolutionary Food

His death by fire sparked a massive revolution in Tunisia. Mohammed Bouazizi bought fruit at a night market, to sell from his handcart by day, in a small town in the middle of Tunisia. His primary goal was to start a business that would be profitable enough to support sending his sisters to University---apparently his frustrations over bribes and bullying from police, random shutting down of his tiny business, led him to burn himself up as a protest.

Two weeks after Bouazizi died, Tunisians had ousted their president, in power for 23 years. One major cause of discontent beyond  unresponsive and repressive governments there and in Egypt, Algeria, Yemen --- a rapid rise in food prices. Egypt is a major importer of wheat, currently selling "at historic highs," according to the USDA. Some fear a reprise of the "bread riots"of 1977, when  thousands of the poor in Egypt protested government removal of subsidies on flour, bread and oil.

In April 1863 Southern women in Richmond, struggling to find enough food for their families during the Civil War, began looting stores, shouting, "Bread, bread!" Similarly, women living in what was then called Petrograd--St Petersburg, Russia--in Februrary 1917 were fed up waiting on bread lines 40 hours a week, due to bakery failures and shortages. Their occupation of the city over two days, demanding more bread, was broken up by the army, and the violence that ensued helped propel Vladimir Lenin to the top in Russia a few months later.

Bread!  Imagine America's thin-o-scenti, in fast flight from bread and pasta, inspired by such a rallying cry.

Notes: http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/historian/hist_figes_04_bread.html; http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/HomeFront/breadriot.html

 

 

Let Them Eat Tasty Food

"...Denise Snow, the school cafeteria manager, said that children can be taught to eat better. “When we went to whole-wheat pizza, the kids fussed for a while and we lost some of them,” Ms. Snow said. “But now they don’t say a thing, and pretty much everyone is back to eating them.”"

Ms Snow works for Orange County High School. She gets it. Offer people, even teens--OMG!-- decent food and they will eat it. 

The piece by Gardiner Harris in the NYTimes quoting Ms Snow begins this way:

WASHINGTON — "The Obama administration will begin a drive this week to expel Pepsi, French fries and Snickers bars from the nation’s schools in hopes of reducing the number of children who get fat during their school years." Hubba hubba.

Back in the day, when little American students were not obese, one had to hit the local Mom and Pop store or in my case, Mrs. Neustedt's, to buy a 3 Musketeers bar, or an orange Tru-Ade, with $$ begged  from home. The family larder did not include these items, dare I say. Mrs. N was a tiny dark-haired woman with dirty fingernails who could barely see over her counter, and 8 year-olds figured she was a gypsy, because while we were hemming and hawing over what to buy, she often disappeared behind the dark red velvet drapes behind her, possibly to shake her crystal ball, or rattle her dice.

So now crappy food is almost unavoidable at many schools---I hate to see my beloved potato lumped in with syrupy soft drinks and candy bars, truly, because the potato itself is a powerful, healthy food, ideal for people of any age. No one is supposed to live on fries, 3 x day, people. And one can make fries--we all love them--so that they are not mere vehicles for oil and salt infusions.

That said, reading that Orange County High wheels a candy wagon around the school, as a fund-raising device, casts a chill, indeed. But we have a national defense budget a zillion times larger than that of any other country, and, no surprise, schools sell candy to supply student basic school things.

Hey-- no health care for the citizens of the US!  Way, way, WAAAY  too costly, of course. And  those people  rolling into hospitals with diabetes ?? Gosh and golly--what to do?

It's About Cooking Fuel: Haiti

You may have read that Haiti has been almost completely deforested, that it battles erosion as well as pollution of its Caribbean waters. At its most simplistic---Haitians have cut down the country's trees over decades in order to make charcoal, charcoal to be used as an inexpensive, usable cooking fuel. Gas? Electricity? Propane? Apparently, not even kerosene stoves have been readily available or practical for the poorest of Haitians.

Deforestation is nothing new--the Greek isles of legend  once were filled with forests. But today? Slash and burn agriculture still goes on, regrettably, in tropical rain forests, but this is not being done in Haiti in order to produce more agricultural output. It's just so short term. To cook food. Tomorrow and the day after.

(Haitian charcoal-seller from http://bonsamaritan.org/haitian_marketplace.)

Cans Nixed: Further Proof That Fresh ( Or Frozen?) Is Better

The self-described "food politics" website Civil Eats has posted this by Naomi Starkman:

"Consumer Reports’ latest tests of canned foods, including soups, juice, tuna, and green beans, have found that almost all of the 19 name-brand foods tested contain measurable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA). The results are reported in the December 2009 issue and also available online. BPA, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because it has been linked to a wide array of health effects including reproductive abnormalities, heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. I’ve reported on BPA here, here, and here."

My pantry, which I just checked, contains a few cans--tomatoes, white beans, black beans, and pumpkin. I stared hard at them just now. A can of green beans never has entered my larder but, yes, tuna has, sardines have, along with the odd cans of beans. As a spontaneous, non recipe-based cook, those beans are vital and always ready to go.  Soaking dry beans overnight-- of course I have done that, but usually when I know that I am preparing a massive portion of black bean soup the next day.

I am sure many of you soak and cook beans ahead, and then freeze them in handy sized amounts, right?  But in what? Plastic bins! Baggies?  Chemical-laden somethings?

Help!

( Tks to http://www.thehungrymouse.com/home/2008/10/24/white-beans-two-ways-garlicky-dip-creamy-soup/ for can pix. It's a site that looks lively and informative, BTW.)

Scary Sweet Alarms Young Gardener Before Halloween

A student assisting First Lady Michelle Obama and others dig up root veggies at the White House Garden today recoiled from the alarming sight of a giant sweet potato, dirt still clinging to its nether parts.

The fate of the sub-terrestrial beastly batata is unknown.

G-18 Spouses Dine Down on the Farm

Michelle Obama just hosted the 18 wives of the economic summit G20 leaders meeting in Pittsburgh----the 2 male spouses were not on hand-- at the working farm of Teresa Heinz, head of the Heinz Endowments, and the wife of Senator John Kerry. The visitors have apparently enjoyed a meal the details of which have been kept under wraps, or perhaps, en papillotte.

Here's the food story according to Sandra McElwaine in The Daily Beast: "The meal, catered by super chef Bob Sendall of All in Good Taste, who is known for foolproof soufflés and jumbo lump crab cakes, is top secret. No one will spill the beans—literally—except some of Heinz’s fresh organic veggies or free-range chicken might make it to the table. Or maybe Michelle will opt for Sendall’s most sought-after item: Toffee Taboo—thin sheets of Belgian dark chocolate with toffee cashews and almonds, a salty sweet dessert he has been concocting for years. (Before the summit even started, one unidentified dignitary requested pancakes from Pamela’s Diner. During a campaign stop in 2008, the president made a pit stop at Pamela’s and called the pancakes “outstanding.” Because of the massive security, the restaurant hasn’t a clue about how it will manage to get the pancakes to the customer, but they’ll be ready for delivery, as requested, on Friday morning.)"