Michael Pollan Thinks $8 For a Dozen Eggs Is a Bargain
• 8/5/10 at 11:40 AM
Sustainable food guru Michael Pollan continues his quest to convince us today that spending twice as much for stuff at the farmers' market should really be the new norm. He tells the Journal, "My little rule, 'Pay more, eat less,' is followed by a lot of people in the Bay Area," even though for most everyone we know it's still pretty much "pay more, eat more." He also argues, "Eight dollars for a dozen eggs sounds outrageous, but when you think that you can make a delicious meal from two eggs, that's $1.50." OK, sure, and we'll admit those Frog Hollow peaches are damn delicious, even at $3.90 apiece, but we still choke up as we hand over the cash. Link
Only Michael Pollan would think that paying $8 for a dozen eggs is a good thing for families in this country. While paying $1.50 for a meal of two eggs sounds reasonable for one person, think about what a family would have to pay just for eggs. Our family has five people in it. That would add up to $7.50 for a family meal of just two eggs per person. Anyone with growing children knows that a meal of just two eggs isn’t going to keep them full for long. Nor is it a complete meal. The problem is that if you base food costs off $8/dozen eggs, a complete meal could easily cost $10 per person. That would make our family’s daily meals cost around $150 per day. I suppose that sounds reasonable to Pollan as well and with the salary he makes going around the country scaring people about their food he can probably afford that. But most working families in this country cannot. Safe, affordable, nutritious food is something this country has done better than any other in the history of the world. Advocating for $8 eggs show exactly how out of touch with reality Michael Pollan is. ~Troy
Showing posts with label affordable food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label affordable food. Show all posts
Monday, August 9, 2010
McDonalds Rejects HSUS
McDonald's shareholders vote down 'cage free' proposal
AVMA.org
Aug 4, 2010
Shareholders for McDonald's voted against a proposal this spring to buy at least 5 percent of the restaurant chain's eggs from cage-free facilities.
The Humane Society of the United States, which owns 101 shares in the company and sponsored the resolution, similarly proposed at the 2009 annual shareholders meeting that McDonald's start transitioning to purchasing eggs produced in cage-free facilities.
In the recent proposal, the HSUS argued that cages provide for inadequate animal welfare and that McDonald's Corp.'s U.S. operations had fallen behind competitors and the company's own European operations in transitioning toward purchases of eggs from cage-free hens.
McDonald's board of directors recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal. The board argued that there is no agreement in the scientific community on how to balance advantages and disadvantages of hen housing systems and noted that the company is part of a coalition involved in an ongoing study of hen housing. Link
This has to be really infuriating for the HSUS. They are used to marching in to the meet with heads of restaurants and having their demands met, regardless of whether or not it actually makes sense. McDonalds has decided to actually investigate this issue and use science to determine the best methods. Of course this becomes a problem for the HSUS because they rely on emotion rather than science to force their agenda’s on people.
AVMA.org
Aug 4, 2010
Shareholders for McDonald's voted against a proposal this spring to buy at least 5 percent of the restaurant chain's eggs from cage-free facilities.
The Humane Society of the United States, which owns 101 shares in the company and sponsored the resolution, similarly proposed at the 2009 annual shareholders meeting that McDonald's start transitioning to purchasing eggs produced in cage-free facilities.
In the recent proposal, the HSUS argued that cages provide for inadequate animal welfare and that McDonald's Corp.'s U.S. operations had fallen behind competitors and the company's own European operations in transitioning toward purchases of eggs from cage-free hens.
McDonald's board of directors recommended that shareholders vote against the proposal. The board argued that there is no agreement in the scientific community on how to balance advantages and disadvantages of hen housing systems and noted that the company is part of a coalition involved in an ongoing study of hen housing. Link
This has to be really infuriating for the HSUS. They are used to marching in to the meet with heads of restaurants and having their demands met, regardless of whether or not it actually makes sense. McDonalds has decided to actually investigate this issue and use science to determine the best methods. Of course this becomes a problem for the HSUS because they rely on emotion rather than science to force their agenda’s on people.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Affordable Nutrition
Cheap Foods That Are Good For You
Rebecca Ruiz, 03.16.10, 4:00 PM ET
Forbes.com
Every few months, the food cognoscenti start touting a new super food for its ability to ward off disease. Hot foods in recent years include wild salmon ($15 a pound and packed with omega-3 fatty acids), antioxidant-loaded leeks ($3 a bunch), and the exotic açaí and goji berries (as much as $20 and $40 per 16 ounces, respectively). These foods are packed with nutrients but can send your grocery bill into the stratosphere.
You can get all the nutrition you need for much less money if you shop carefully. A cup of cooked navy beans has a similar amount of protein as 3 ounces of salmon, and is loaded with more magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. One large orange has almost seven times the amount of vitamin C and more fiber than a cup of raw blueberries, at a small fraction the berries' price this time of year. A $3 bunch of dark green, leafy kale is a big nutritional improvement on watery iceberg lettuce--but broccoli has just as many nutrients at half the price.
These are comparisons that Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, has focused on in recent years. To help ordinary Americans who don't have unlimited budgets, Drewnowski has created an index ranking the most affordable healthy foods, ones that are packed with essential nutrients.
Drewnowski favors basic foods that are widely available year-round. His approach is the opposite of one taken by Omnivore's Dilemma author Michael Pollan, who has championed unprocessed, locally grown foods. “These foods give you maximum nutrition per dollar,” Drewnowski says.
Many items that rank high on his list, including milk, broccoli, beans, and tomato juice, won't surprise anyone. Others are a little more curious: Eggs make the cut despite their high cholesterol content because they are cheap and packed with protein and nutrients. Potatoes (skin on) also do well. And a few items on the index are jaw-dropping. If you believe Drewnowski, hamburger is a health food. He maintains that its high levels of protein and affordable price outweigh its huge saturated fat content. Read More
Common sense continues to show that eating a balanced diet which includes items such as meat, dairy and eggs is not only healthy but also affordable. As is typical, the reporter tries to plant a seed of doubt in everyone’s head, however no one can argue that these are very nutrient dense food. Think of them like tasty vitamins.
Rebecca Ruiz, 03.16.10, 4:00 PM ET
Forbes.com
Every few months, the food cognoscenti start touting a new super food for its ability to ward off disease. Hot foods in recent years include wild salmon ($15 a pound and packed with omega-3 fatty acids), antioxidant-loaded leeks ($3 a bunch), and the exotic açaí and goji berries (as much as $20 and $40 per 16 ounces, respectively). These foods are packed with nutrients but can send your grocery bill into the stratosphere.
You can get all the nutrition you need for much less money if you shop carefully. A cup of cooked navy beans has a similar amount of protein as 3 ounces of salmon, and is loaded with more magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. One large orange has almost seven times the amount of vitamin C and more fiber than a cup of raw blueberries, at a small fraction the berries' price this time of year. A $3 bunch of dark green, leafy kale is a big nutritional improvement on watery iceberg lettuce--but broccoli has just as many nutrients at half the price.
These are comparisons that Adam Drewnowski, the director of the Center for Public Health Nutrition at the University of Washington, has focused on in recent years. To help ordinary Americans who don't have unlimited budgets, Drewnowski has created an index ranking the most affordable healthy foods, ones that are packed with essential nutrients.
Drewnowski favors basic foods that are widely available year-round. His approach is the opposite of one taken by Omnivore's Dilemma author Michael Pollan, who has championed unprocessed, locally grown foods. “These foods give you maximum nutrition per dollar,” Drewnowski says.
Many items that rank high on his list, including milk, broccoli, beans, and tomato juice, won't surprise anyone. Others are a little more curious: Eggs make the cut despite their high cholesterol content because they are cheap and packed with protein and nutrients. Potatoes (skin on) also do well. And a few items on the index are jaw-dropping. If you believe Drewnowski, hamburger is a health food. He maintains that its high levels of protein and affordable price outweigh its huge saturated fat content. Read More
Common sense continues to show that eating a balanced diet which includes items such as meat, dairy and eggs is not only healthy but also affordable. As is typical, the reporter tries to plant a seed of doubt in everyone’s head, however no one can argue that these are very nutrient dense food. Think of them like tasty vitamins.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Our Affordable Food Supply
The $4.29 Thanksgiving Dinner
Posted by Brad Tuttle TIME Magazine
Monday, November 23, 2009 at 10:48 am
We're not talking about using coupons or tricks to throw together a random cheapie meal. We're talking about the typical Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
The American Farm Bureau (spotted via Consuming Interests, thanks) says that because prices have come down on certain foods, including turkey and milk, Thanksgiving dinner should be 4% cheaper than last year. In 2009, the average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner that feeds ten is $42.91, or about $4.29 a person. Last year, the average meal for ten was $44.61, $1.70 more expensive.
The price decrease is nice. But what stands out to me is that the day we gorge and eat and pass out and unbuckle our belts and eat some more isn't that expensive, even before food prices dropped. All you have to do is cook at home and your meals will be reasonably priced. It's as simple as that. Even if you occasionally go all out with an expensive piece of meat, cooking at home is still way cheaper than going out to eat, even at restaurants we all consider cheap.
As Jim Sartwell, an American Farm Bureau economist, says of the home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner:
Again this year, the cost per person for this special meal is less than a typical "value meal" at a fast-food outlet.
Think about that the next time you're pulling up to the drive-thru. Link
No where else on the planet can you feed so many people such a fantastic meal at such an affordable price. This is something we should be proud of, not ashamed of like some of our famous food elitists in the country try to tell you. We continue to produce this abundant, affordable food supply all the while maintaining the safest food supply in the world, growing it on less land and with less environmental impact. It’s an incredible story to tell and one that I am proud to be part of.
Posted by Brad Tuttle TIME Magazine
Monday, November 23, 2009 at 10:48 am
We're not talking about using coupons or tricks to throw together a random cheapie meal. We're talking about the typical Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
The American Farm Bureau (spotted via Consuming Interests, thanks) says that because prices have come down on certain foods, including turkey and milk, Thanksgiving dinner should be 4% cheaper than last year. In 2009, the average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner that feeds ten is $42.91, or about $4.29 a person. Last year, the average meal for ten was $44.61, $1.70 more expensive.
The price decrease is nice. But what stands out to me is that the day we gorge and eat and pass out and unbuckle our belts and eat some more isn't that expensive, even before food prices dropped. All you have to do is cook at home and your meals will be reasonably priced. It's as simple as that. Even if you occasionally go all out with an expensive piece of meat, cooking at home is still way cheaper than going out to eat, even at restaurants we all consider cheap.
As Jim Sartwell, an American Farm Bureau economist, says of the home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner:
Again this year, the cost per person for this special meal is less than a typical "value meal" at a fast-food outlet.
Think about that the next time you're pulling up to the drive-thru. Link
No where else on the planet can you feed so many people such a fantastic meal at such an affordable price. This is something we should be proud of, not ashamed of like some of our famous food elitists in the country try to tell you. We continue to produce this abundant, affordable food supply all the while maintaining the safest food supply in the world, growing it on less land and with less environmental impact. It’s an incredible story to tell and one that I am proud to be part of.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Producing Affordable Food is Key
November 21st, 2009 07:32am
Who can afford $7.50 a pound for turkey?
by Inside.Opinion
Food for thought: I got a call on Friday from Arnie Riebli, a fourth-generation Sonoma County farmer and co-owner of Petaluma-based Sunrise Farms, one of the top egg producers in the state. We talked about the front-page story about the Thode family raising heritage turkeys on their Sebastopol ranch.
“I know I’m not objective about the whole thing,” he said. “But I read the news media every day. Animal agriculture is under attack. And then I read about . . . 70 turkeys selling for $7.50 a pound and in other parts of the country people are going hungry.”
His question: Are we being realistic about our expectations of food production and what people can afford?
It’s a fair concern. At $7.50 a pound, a 15-pound turkey is going to cost $112.50. Who has that kind of money? A Safeway ad this week was offering turkeys for 88 cents a pound.
Riebli doesn’t raise turkeys, and he said he has nothing against a family that wants to raise heritage turkeys as a hobby. He just gets concerned when people see stories like this as a solution to society’s food needs. Read More
As we head into Thanksgiving this week, I am certainly grateful that my family doesn’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. It’s not because we are extremely wealthy, it’s because America’s family farmers and ranchers are producing the safest, most affordable, most abundant food supply in the history of the planet. It’s unfortunate though that this very food supply is under attack by elitists who are pushing to make it less affordable. There is no doubt that our family wouldn’t be enjoying our Thanksgiving turkey if it cost more than $100. I have absolutely no problems with those that are raising this more expensive food. If it’s a model that works for them and they are filling a demand that is there, then that’s great. I just don’t want people to think these type of systems are the way we will feed an ever growing planet.
Who can afford $7.50 a pound for turkey?
by Inside.Opinion
Food for thought: I got a call on Friday from Arnie Riebli, a fourth-generation Sonoma County farmer and co-owner of Petaluma-based Sunrise Farms, one of the top egg producers in the state. We talked about the front-page story about the Thode family raising heritage turkeys on their Sebastopol ranch.
“I know I’m not objective about the whole thing,” he said. “But I read the news media every day. Animal agriculture is under attack. And then I read about . . . 70 turkeys selling for $7.50 a pound and in other parts of the country people are going hungry.”
His question: Are we being realistic about our expectations of food production and what people can afford?
It’s a fair concern. At $7.50 a pound, a 15-pound turkey is going to cost $112.50. Who has that kind of money? A Safeway ad this week was offering turkeys for 88 cents a pound.
Riebli doesn’t raise turkeys, and he said he has nothing against a family that wants to raise heritage turkeys as a hobby. He just gets concerned when people see stories like this as a solution to society’s food needs. Read More
As we head into Thanksgiving this week, I am certainly grateful that my family doesn’t have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. It’s not because we are extremely wealthy, it’s because America’s family farmers and ranchers are producing the safest, most affordable, most abundant food supply in the history of the planet. It’s unfortunate though that this very food supply is under attack by elitists who are pushing to make it less affordable. There is no doubt that our family wouldn’t be enjoying our Thanksgiving turkey if it cost more than $100. I have absolutely no problems with those that are raising this more expensive food. If it’s a model that works for them and they are filling a demand that is there, then that’s great. I just don’t want people to think these type of systems are the way we will feed an ever growing planet.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
More Fear Tactics That Hurt Family Farmers
Food Is Power and the Powerful Are Poisoning Us
Posted on Sep 6, 2009
By Chris Hedges
Our most potent political weapon is food. If we take back our agriculture, if we buy and raise produce locally, we can begin to break the grip of corporations that control a food system as fragile, unsafe and destined for collapse as our financial system. If we continue to allow corporations to determine what we eat, as well as how food is harvested and distributed, then we will become captive to rising prices and shortages and increasingly dependent on cheap, mass-produced food filled with sugar and fat. Food, along with energy, will be the most pressing issue of our age. And if we do not build alternative food networks soon, the social and political ramifications of shortages and hunger will be devastating.
Food shortages have been tinder for social upheaval throughout history. But this time around, because we have lost the skills to feed and clothe ourselves, it will be much harder for most of us to become self-sustaining. The large agro-businesses have largely wiped out small farmers. They have poisoned our soil with pesticides and contaminated animals in filthy and overcrowded stockyards with high doses of antibiotics and steroids. They have pumped nutrients and phosphorus into water systems, causing algae bloom and fish die-off in our rivers and streams. Crop yields, under the onslaught of changing weather patterns and chemical pollution, are declining in the Northeast, where a blight has nearly wiped out the tomato crop. The draconian Food Modernization Safety Act, another gift from our governing elite to corporations, means small farms will only continue to dwindle in number. Sites such as La Via Campesina do a good job of tracking these disturbing global trends. Read More
Here’s another article trying to use fear to convince consumers that family farmers have disappeared and large corporations are forcing people to eat junk food. This article simultaneously talks of the dangers of rising food prices yet advocates for a less efficient system of producing food. Every grocery store I have ever been in, other than a Whole Foods store, has fresh meats and produce available at the most affordable prices on the planet. The biggest fallacy with this tired argument that’s been put forth again is that anything can be grown or raised anywhere and that there are people lined up to engage in subsistence farming. Neither of which is the case.
Posted on Sep 6, 2009
By Chris Hedges
Our most potent political weapon is food. If we take back our agriculture, if we buy and raise produce locally, we can begin to break the grip of corporations that control a food system as fragile, unsafe and destined for collapse as our financial system. If we continue to allow corporations to determine what we eat, as well as how food is harvested and distributed, then we will become captive to rising prices and shortages and increasingly dependent on cheap, mass-produced food filled with sugar and fat. Food, along with energy, will be the most pressing issue of our age. And if we do not build alternative food networks soon, the social and political ramifications of shortages and hunger will be devastating.
Food shortages have been tinder for social upheaval throughout history. But this time around, because we have lost the skills to feed and clothe ourselves, it will be much harder for most of us to become self-sustaining. The large agro-businesses have largely wiped out small farmers. They have poisoned our soil with pesticides and contaminated animals in filthy and overcrowded stockyards with high doses of antibiotics and steroids. They have pumped nutrients and phosphorus into water systems, causing algae bloom and fish die-off in our rivers and streams. Crop yields, under the onslaught of changing weather patterns and chemical pollution, are declining in the Northeast, where a blight has nearly wiped out the tomato crop. The draconian Food Modernization Safety Act, another gift from our governing elite to corporations, means small farms will only continue to dwindle in number. Sites such as La Via Campesina do a good job of tracking these disturbing global trends. Read More
Here’s another article trying to use fear to convince consumers that family farmers have disappeared and large corporations are forcing people to eat junk food. This article simultaneously talks of the dangers of rising food prices yet advocates for a less efficient system of producing food. Every grocery store I have ever been in, other than a Whole Foods store, has fresh meats and produce available at the most affordable prices on the planet. The biggest fallacy with this tired argument that’s been put forth again is that anything can be grown or raised anywhere and that there are people lined up to engage in subsistence farming. Neither of which is the case.
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