The meat I eat these days is usually organic free-range poultry, such as turkey burgers, or similar things like mahi-mahi, Buffalo Burgers are great. Ruggles Green makes an awesome Buffalo burger. I still eat beef occasionally, but as rhad stated earlier... it is quite pricey, so not very often. Central Market is amazing, I just hate how crowded it gets in there sometimes, I'm the type of shopper who likes to take my time and read labels and such. Whole Foods is ok, they have some stuff I really like, but Central Market organics seem like cheaper alternatives.
Central Market is not exactly on the beaten path for everybody, with their 1 location in town. I also don't find them any cheaper the Whole Foods, especially if you know what you're shopping for. Also, I don't eat meat, so can't comment on the deli as a whole, but prefer the Whole Foods sandwich making section for their field roast and egg salad. I do wish we had some Trader Joe's or something like that in town.
I don't have a problem with eating meat as long as its decently ethical. I hate that factory farm **** and animals injected with all sorts of drugs. But I believe we evolved as omnivores and meat consumption when had in moderation doesn't seem to have too many adverse effects on health. Compare the diet of Argentinians with the diet of Americans. They eat a lot of meat there, and I mean a lot... tons of red meat. But its grass fed. I think the main problem in American diets is too much fat, too many chemicals, huge portions, loads of refined sugars, High Fructose Corn Syrup, ridiculous amounts of sodium, etc. Cutting out meat doesn't seem like it would effect my diet hardly at all, and I enjoy eating it.
Yeah, that one is good. The Bali BBQ tofu is a little different, but equally good. The soy nugget dish is way different, and better.
http://www.fieldroast.com/ Some products are better than others. At the sandwich station many Whole Foods will typically have the Hazelnut Herb Cutlet, which I basically use as a replacement to turkey on a typical deli sandwich. Tastes fantastic. I've had the celebration roast before on a holiday...it was ok.
I want to defend factory farms for a minute: Factory farms (combined with global warming lengthening growing seasons and expanding arable land on earth) have done more to help the poor in the world than anything else. We have 6 Billion people in the world now, and there's less starvation than ever. The most prevelant dietary problem among the world's poor is obesity, not hunger. The heart disease and diabetes epidemics are partially because our food is worse, and partially because we're living longer. Organic food is certainly better for you, but it isn't a viable option for the whole world. To feed 6 Billion people, we need corn that produces 3-times what organic corn does. (Thank you, Monsanto.) We need chickens that mature twice as fast and grow twice as big. (Thank you, Tyson.) We need preservatives that allow us to ship food from the Americas to Africa and Asia. If you can afford to buy organic, non-genetically modified, and local food, good for you. You'll be healthier and your food will taste better. But genetically-modified, chemically-processed, and preserved food is much, much better than starvation.
I don't buy that. I've heard the same thing, but I think they are looking at the arable tropical land lost and not counting for arable land gained in cold climates. Global warming has opened up large amounts of new land for farming in Canada, and really increased the production of what they had. I'm sure the same thing has happened in Eurasia.
Leave it to the reasonable conservative voice to bring up the best points. This is the problem we face today. However, Tyson and Monsanto are not aiming to cure world hunger, I'm not naive enough to believe that their motives are anything but profit-based. Producing more and more at an efficient rate equals profit. Its not humanitarianism, a corporation's goal is to become as efficient as possible at making money. The corporation is good at what it does. Proponents of organic food are at times indirectly implicated as hippies who are too short-sighted and selfish to care about world hunger. I understand your sentiments, people whose opinions I value seem to bring up the same things when presented with facts about the state of our food industry. Feed the world? Yes. If the technology is available, genetically altered corn is absolutely better than starvation. I don't know how anyone could argue that it isn't. But I've seen evidence of Monsanto acting like the bully at school, pressuring all small-time farmers into buying their brand of seed or be threatened with legal action. Monsanto has a barrage of political power and everything it does is kept out of the public eye. They answer to no one. I hate to think that our world has turned into one where the rich and educated are the only ones who can eat healthy organic food while the less fortunate are forced to eat processed food loaded with chemicals and meat churned out of factory farms. At point does Biotechnology become screwing around with nature? My head is going to explode now.
moes, I don't necessarily disagree. I don't like a lot of things that Monsanto does: Patenting a seed and then suing someone who's seed was freely pollinated from their patented seed is wrong. And they are way too embedded with our government. And Tyson brings in illegal immigrant workers and treats them like crap. But on balance, technological advancements in agriculture have made the world a better place, and in our efforts to eat better, we shouldn't lose sight of that.
I doubt you can really back that up. Heart disease and diabetes are diseases that are increased by poor diet. Starvation cannot be inherited. The only risk factor is lack of food.
you would have to put a % of "blame" on diet for heart disease and diabetes. Then compare that with deaths by starvation and it would still be murky.
I couldn't find a source for that exact stat, but here's an article that talks about it in depth: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/356/3/213 Basically, if you are born in a very poor country, starvation is still your biggest food worry. If you are born in poor in a medium income or wealthy nation, obesity is a bigger risk.
Correct, Monsanto loves you and would gladly give up its yearly earnings to insure you and your loved ones' good health. I really hope this post is a level, god forbid we just give Africans heirloom seeds and the knowledge to be able to grow their own food naturally. Corporations are the ones raping Africa and stealing their natural resources and infiltrating their culture, if you believe they are there to do good (talking about the agenda from the VERY top of the pyramid), then I have some bad news for you. Most of what Moe is saying is spot on, fast food is the absolute bane of American society, and fast food indoctrination is right on par with big tobacco, and is arguably worse. Anyone who has traveled extensively to other countries would probably tell you that American food ranks amongst the worst. Spend a month in Italy (or Greece) and see if you want to come back. Italians only eat fresh, organic food for the most part, and drink water that contains almost no fluoride (omg what about their teeths!), and smoke constantly. Yet they produce some of the most beautiful people on the planet, go figure. But seriously, if you give your kids fast food and soda, or really 99% of food items found at a generic supermarket, you are poisoning them. Shop at farmers markets and support your local community, please.
