Finding Balance

My thoughts today kept finding their way to a class I had in college on business ethics.  I minored in entrepreneurship and management.  In the class we read case studies and examined the choices that businesses made.  One case was for a major car manufacturer.  Do not quote me here because I am going from memory on this topic but the bottom line was that the car had problems and the fuel tank could explode causing an accident or potentially killing the occupants.   The car manufacturer was aware of these problems.  On one hand ethically speaking this company should have recalled all the cars because any risk to human life is too much.  But as black and white as it seems ethics should be they tend to be more like a murky grey.  From the company's perspective the chance of the car exploding was X%. The cost of recalling all the cars $Y and the cost of paying the families affected by the malfunctioning cars was $Z.    $Y was SOOOOO much greater than $Z and the chance of the car malfunctioning was low so they made a calculated decision and left the cars out on the road.  People died.

There were more factors that also played into the decision such as who would ultimately pay for the recall and such.  Muddying the decision even further.

On a separate thought, I was at the grocery store today examining juice drinks that would satisfy my new 'no apple juice concentrate from China' rule.  There were other rules to follow in my head too such as:
* no high fructose corn syrup
* organic
* environmentally friendly packaging
* made in the USA (even better: made locally)
* price
* 100% juice
* carbon footprint or carbon offset

And all that was outside of any flavor consideration.  Some of these criteria carried more weight than others and that rubric had to be worked out in my head before I could make my choice.  Honestly, water was sounding pretty darned good because there wasn't one juice that satisfied all my criteria even remotely well.  The best drink that I have found to satisfy these criteria is apple cider from Lohr's Orchard, which I can purchase locally, is made locally, contains no apple juice concentrate from China, is not organic but is from a small diverse farm, the price is right but as far as I know they do not do carbon offsetting and they do not use sustainable packaging.

It is a balance.  For each decision I make at the store regarding the food my family eats and the products we bring into our home, I have to find this balance.  The connection to the story I shared regarding the car manufacturer is that, to me, it is business ethics for my home.  I have to weigh the possibility, even if it is small, of slow poisoning by arsenic or possibly harming a family or endangered species in South America due to slash and burn agriculture.  The black and white decision is that all food should be absolutely safe and cause no harm to the environment.  But the reality is that it is a balancing act of risk and cost.  Some of that information is shared with us, the consumers, but I would say the majority is not and is left to the manufacturers to share with us as they feel it (or the government feels it) is relevant.

Going completely off-grid food-wise is one way to circumvent a number of these problems, but not all and it is mostly unrealistic for my family.  So we are back to balancing the risks versus the outcomes and costs.  No answers here tonight, just a thought process.  I would love to hear yours.

Arsenic in Apple Juice

Studies are showing that apple juice concentrate found in many foods is extremely high in arsenic.  Mostly, the problematic concentrate is from China but labeling makes it unclear where most juice concentrate is from.  Buying organic is apparently not a safe bet as some of the highest levels were found in organic juice.  Even small amounts of arsenic build up over time causing problems similar to lead poisoning especially in children.

I just threw out the juice that we have in the house that has apple juice concentrate.  The labels show it to be from either the US, Argentina or China.  I will be sending juice to school with my children so that they will have juice that I know is safe. 

Here are two studies you can refer to:

http://www.comingalongside.org/Apple_Juice.html

http://www.consumerreports.org/content/dam/cro/magazine-articles/January%202012/Consumer%20Reports%20Arsenic%20Test%20Results%20January%202012.pdf

Note that even juices that are not specifically 'apple juice' could have apple juice concentrate as the sweetener and the same problem applies. 

PLEASE share this with your friends, especially those that have children.  Just another reason to buy local from locally grown sources when possible!

Turkey

I picked up my first turkey of the season from Sunny Hill Farm on Sunday along with sweet potatoes, cheese, honey, butternut squash and a few other things.  I am mourning the end of the season with very little opportunity, because of our kitchen remodel, to preserve food for the winter.  I did manage applesauce and a batch of of salsa along with freezing some of the extras that we received.  Sometimes you just have to rely on the grocery store.  Thankfully, some of the farm markets are open into the winter.  You just have to know where to go!

My second turkey, a heritage breed, I purchased from Rumbleway tonight.  While not quite as big as my 25lb bird from Sunny Hill it did come in at 19 lbs.  Not bad at all.  This turkey will grace our Thanksgiving table on Thursday.  I love that it will not only provide for the meal at hand but plenty of additional meat, a large batch of stock and of course a wish bone for the kids.

I try to keep my Thanksgiving choices as local as possible.  It seems appropriate to honor and value those people in our community that sustain us.  However, I also deeply appreciate a meal prepared by and enjoyed by all the guests attending and feel it is inappropriate to set restrictions on what each individual offers to bring.   So for the most part, I will be setting out local Harford County fare and will anticipate with mouth watering suspense the delicious things my guests have prepared. 

Wishing all a wonderful, thankful day on Thursday.

World Ark - "What a Waste"

World Arc a magazine published by Heifer International included information in their 'Facts and Figures' section of the Holiday 2011 issue regarding the amount of food we waste.  It was truly amazing.  You can view the magazine through this link http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/heifer/worldark_2011holiday/

I think purchasing our food locally and paying a more realistic price for our food has definitely made my family appreciate what we eat a bit more.  It did pain me today to throw out a substantial amount of soup that I made and then left on the stove, forgotten, as the day progressed.  But throwing out wasted food is not the norm in our house.  We try to put the right amount of food on our children's plates.  But still that is probably our biggest area of waste.  EPA estimates that in the US 40% of food gets thrown away and that worldwide 1/3 of the food produced is never eaten.  These figures truly amaze me in light of the fact that hunger and starvation exist.  We are certainly doing SOMETHING wrong. I only wish enough people knew the answer to fixing it that it might actually happen.

Know Your Honey

This is a long article but worth reading regarding honey, it's origins and why you should care.  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/  You can solve the issue of tainted and illegal honey but shopping at local apiaries and farmer's markets.  I can think of 5 places here in Harford County that sell local honey, it is not hard to come by.  

We when made bigger efforts to buy local food two years ago now we began eating a lot more honey.  There are issues surrounding many foods that we consume but sugar, like coffee, tea, and cocoa, has not only the normal food concerns but also issues of fair trade.  Honey was a switch we could make to reduce the amount of sugar we were importing.  But as you can see, it is only a good switch if you are purchasing it from an apiary you know.

Cooking Pumpkin and Quinoa

Using fresh pumpkin is easy and you can preserve some for later if you cook up too much.  My simple method is to preheat the oven to 350.  Wash your pumpkin, leave it whole.  Use a sharp knife to poke several holes in your pumpkin to allow steam to escape.  Place your pumpkin on a pan with sides all around (a roasting pan works well) and place in the oven.  Cook for at least 1 hour.  It is done when the skin gives to the touch and starts to wrinkle.  You'll have to use your judgement.  Remove and let cool.  The whole thing may slump in on itself and that is ok.

When you are ready, peel off the skin, it should just fall away from the flesh.  scoop out the seeds and then puree the flesh in a food processor.  I like to freeze in 1 c. increments for later.  Here is a great high nutrition dish you can make with your fresh pumpkin: pumpkin quinoa.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

4 c. water, bring to a boil
Add 2 c. oatmeal, 1 t pumpkin pie spice, 1/4-1/2 c. pumpkin puree and 1/4 c. maple syrup. - cook 5 min
Meanwhile - heat a cast iron skillet on low heat.  Add 2 T butter, 1 t salt and 1 c. pecans - roast 'til fragrant - remove, chop and add desired amount to pumpkin oatmeal.

Enjoy!  We like adding raisins, too!