A month on food stamps - CNN.com blog

And now for a different perspective on food...
CNN reporter Sean Callebs is feeding himself on $176 this month - the estimated amount he would receive if he qualified for food stamps. Income levels starting at poverty level + 30% qualify for SNAP (what the gov't calls what the rest of us call food stamps).

Anyway, Callebs has been updating readers here. I've been keeping up with it and learning quite a bit, as well as just trying to get another perspective on food and the economy.

Now for some emails. Sue writes in from South Bend, Indiana saying, "I just want to thank you for reminding me how fortunate I am. I had been taking my blessings for granted. I read your blog every few days and have actually become more conscious of my food spending and more importantly food waste." I am right there with you. I am curious what this is going to be like for me once this project ends. I can't watch people walk in and out of Whole Foods without doing quick arithmetic in my head, "let's see broiled chicken, bread, energy drink, salad, oh, he's easily dropped $24."

I know I've done that ! If I was on food stamps, that would have been FIVE DAYS worth of food, not just dinner. And, save for farmer's markets - which we're fortunate to have year round in California - forget organics (for the most part, Sue, I'm sure you'll have something to add here!) - and potentially a lot of fruits and vegetables. If you're eating so you don't feel hungry, you're going for calorically dense - not necessarily nutritionally dense (yes, there's that fiber keeps you full argument...).

Anyway, check out the blog when you've got time. If I was more budget savvy, I'd track how much I spend on food in a month... but I know for sure that it's >>$176.

The Bunny Project, part I

Some coworkers and I are doing a little experiment in self-improvement we're calling "The Bunny Project" (because we're doing it during Lent because of the convenient timing and Lent ends on Easter... and Easter has the bunny association).

1. No cheese
2. Push-ups & sit-ups daily (we were going to do 40 push-ups a day, but that may be a little extreme - TBD before Wednesday)

The no cheese part really shouldn't be so tough for me. I try to limit my dairy anyway since I have a hunch I'm somewhat lactose intolerant. I do just fine with, and enjoy the hell out of goat cheese, so that's the main cheese I'll potentially miss.

However, I'm torn on the following:
Cream cheese
Soy cream cheese
Cottage cheese
Soy/almond based cheese "products"

Cottage cheese seems silly to give up since it's so friggin healthy. I have it occasionally, but it's not a staple in my fridge. So I'm totally on the fence about this one.

Soy cream cheese, however, is part of one of my favorite snacks - rice cake + soy cream cheese + jam. I'm just whining about this because really, I think that the fake cheese should probably be avoided during T.B.P. because it's not really "good" for you - I mean, helllllo processed, non-whole food!

Oh, and I get a pass on my birthday. So if I want Chicago style pizza, I'll have it, damnit.

The push-ups and sit-ups should be interesting. We still need to iron out the details here, but I like the idea of strengthening my core - important for running & biking. I have a feeling that there will be some days that I'll forget, so we may need to come up with a make-up policy!

Anyway, if you're interested in joining, come on along... it'll be a fun, healthy ride!

Perhaps a bobcat?

Kirby is not a cougar. She just may have kissed a 25 year old last night. And made dinner plans with him for Wednesday.

If I Twittered...

I'm not super comfortable updating my Facebook status on a regular basis. I don't Twitter. And I'm not likely to do the "25 Random Things About Me" FB post. But if I did any of these things, here are some things I might have said. Most of them really vain, superficial and pithy.

I'm angry that I did a marathon and am now unable to run >3 miles without pain. It's really tough to say that the marathon was worth it. Training for the marathon just highlighted muscle imbalances that I'm now working to fix with physical therapy 2x a week and lots of stretching and strengthening.

I *finally* look like a real biker when I'm at spin class. I've been riding consistently since 2005 - I remember being pissed off that my ex had these biker-y legs after biking for a few months... four years later, my quads have finally arrived.

That ex? He was my fiance.

Peter Sagal is my icon of humor.

Kirby is tired after dragging/pushing a 100 pound box (a new desk) up three flights of stairs.

Kirby just spent ~ $600 at Sports Basement. This was *after* the 20% off coupon.

Kirby just sent her mom and sister an un-ironic gift certificate to The Olive Garden. Seriously, my mom loves their "soup, salad & breadsticks" dinner. Nothing says "Happy Valentine's Day" like a breadstick.

My dad died when in 1990. He had pancreatic cancer. While the pancreatic cancer gene is not inherited, I'm doing what I can to limit my chances. Sodium nitrite, an ingredient found in many processed meats (bacon, sausage, salami), has been linked to pancreatic cancer. Bye, bye bacon! (actually, you can get nitrite-free bacon, etc.) I'm also generally fairly conscious of other behaviors that have been linked to cancer, since my grandma had breast cancer and ovarian cancer. I'm maintaining a healthy weight, I don't smoke, don't eat that much meat and eat mostly organics. Oh, and I eat dark chocolate and drink red wine.

Kirby had fun celebrating at Grace's bachelorette party/shower! Wonderful times with girl friends. However, is it horrible to think that her short, short dress (and aforementioned biker legs) were somewhat wasted on the older/tourist crowd at the Starlight Lounge?

Kirby is selling her old desk, loft bed and daybed frame + two twin matresses. Out with the old, in with the new!

I want to go on vacation with a boyfriend. I miss that. Applications for stand-ins or temporary boytoys available at the front desk.

I feel green guilt over my shower head. I don't think it's got any sort of water saving properties and I love standing in a hot shower for way too long. But then feel guilty. I need a new shower head and a timer so I don't stay in the shower for that long.

Kirby should be studying for the LEED AP exam.

Kirby is actually looking forward to the rain this weekend because it will force her to work on her new apt furniture and the LEED AP exam.

The coffee shop next door is closing. I'm so bummed - Mike, the owner - is such a sweet old man. He accepts my FedEx & UPS deliveries, sings little songs and makes great sandwiches. I will miss him, but I hope he enjoys a vacation - he's at the shop six days a week, from open till close.

I need to have more focus when I'm at work. Damned interwebs. I could be so productive...

Kirby is moutnain biking at Annadel. It is awesome.

Kirby is operating on minimal caffiene. And operating just fine!

I did a cleanse. www.blessedherbs.com/ -> the colon cleanse. I did not feel amazing or energetic or euphoric. I did feel hungry and sick of apple juice. I dreamt of eating oatmeal and celery sticks. I am not planning to do another one any time soon.

Kirby is excited to see what is in her CSA box this week!

Kirby is bruised from falling at Annadel. Mountain biking was still awesome.

OMG WTF Hg in HFCS!?!?!!!

Taken from http://blog.eatwellguide.org/

Our Melamine: There’s Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup, and the FDA Has Known for Years

January 27th, 2009 by leslie ·

Maybe Jeremy Piven didn’t get mercury poisoning from fish at all — according to the results of this new study released by the Institute for Agriculture and Trace Policy (IATP), the actor may well have been sickened by soda or candy or anything that contains high fructose corn syrup, which, if you eat processed food in this country means, well, just about anything.

Foodies and nutritionists alike have been griping about high fructose corn syrup for years, and the industry has responded with an “astroturf” campaign and a level of secrecy generally reserved for the military officials or secret societies (see Corn Refiners’ Association president Audrae Erickson’s stonewalling performance in King Corn).

Of course, I wouldn’t want to show my hand either, if the making of my product could be described as undertaking a small “Manhattan Project” (see eye-glazing production info here). But as it turns out, the HFCS industry has been hiding some major skeletons in its closet — according to the IATP study (pdf), over 30% of products containing the substance tested positive for mercury.

What makes this news truly shocking is not just that the manufacturers of high fructose corn syrup would put consumers’ health at risk, but that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) knew about the mercury in the syrup and has been sitting on this information since 2005.

Here’s the connection, according to the IATP press release (pdf) announcing the study: The IATP study comes on the heels of another study, conducted in 2005 but only recently published by the scientific journal, Environmental Health, which revealed that nearly 50 percent of commercial HFCS samples tested positive for the heavy metal. Renee Dufault, who was working for the FDA at the time, was among the 2005 study’s authors.

Here’s how the mercury gets in there, according to Janet at the Ethicurean:

How did the heavy metal get in there? In making HFCS — that “natural” sweetener, as the Corn Refiners Associaton likes to call it — caustic soda is one ingredient used to separate corn starch from the corn kernel. Apparently most caustic soda for years has been produced in industrial chlorine (chlor-alkali) plants, where it can be contaminated with mercury that it passes on to the HFCS, and then to consumers.

And here’s more from the press release:

“While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change industry practice or conduct additional testing.”

And on why it matters:

“Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP’s David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. “Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.”

In China, heads might roll over a scandal like this one, at least if the country received global attention for its allowing corrupt health officials’ greasy palms come before, um, public health.

Of course, in this country, the FDA’s neck is safe. But what about the health of American consumers? Let’s see the Corn Refiner’s Association try to spin this one.

Ultimate bike lane coolness

From Treehugger.

So yeah, it's been a while since I've posted... and all I give you is this picture. Happy 2009 folks. It's going to be a good year.

Wal-Mart Picks Up its Fair Trade™ Game in Time for the Holidays

(Swiped from Triple Pundit)


Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart, recently announced the launch of Neu Direction, a line of Fair-Trade Certified wines from Argentina. Fair Trade Certification™ is administered by TransFair USA and “guarantees consumers that strict economic, social, and environmental criteria were met in the production and trade of an agricultural product.” This is one of the first certifications given to a wine cooperative, and the Neu Direction line will sell for about $10 in more than 450 Sam’s Club locations throughout the US.

This isn’t the first example of Wal-Mart featuring Fair Trade Certified™ products, but after the corporation came under substantial scrutiny for lobbying against carbon offset standards, this new launch seems in part like a strategic move to improve its image in time for a modestly-forecasted holiday spending season.

Champion of the… Little Guy?
Eduardo Bertona, president of Viña de la Solidaridad, one of the principle producers of Neu Direction, said: “I have been a small producer my whole life, but each year is more and more difficult to maintain the land and the quality of my grapes. To be a part of this project fills us with hope.” (Note: link directs to website in Spanish)

Neu Direction is produced by Viña de la Solidaridad in conjunction with the Furlotti Winery based out of Lujan de Cuyo, one of the most prestigious winemaking districts in Argentina. Viña de la Solidaridad is a non-profit organization that received Fair Trade Certification™ earlier this year, and is comprised of cooperative of 20 small landowners. The Furlotti Winery is a family run operation that has had a presence in the region for over 100 years.

The Soluna label, which is a wine produced by grapes from Viña de la Solidaridad, was awarded the Fairtrade Wine of the Year last month at the 2008 Fairtrade Wine Competition in the UK.

"The launch of Sam’s Club Neu Direction Fair Trade Certified wine shows tremendous leadership,” said Paul Rice, president and CEO of TransFair USA. “The company’s commitment to Fair Trade Certified wine will have a far-reaching positive impact on grape growers and vineyard workers and the communities in which they live and work throughout Argentina—it will send kids to school, bring clean water to communities, and enable struggling growers and workers to put food on the table."

The Bottom Line
For every two steps it takes forward, Wal-Mart regardless always finds a way to take one, highly visible step back. Therefore, as the corporation’s ambivalent stance towards sustainability continues, this most recent announcement re-sparks an interesting debate. Where upon the spectrum of eco-friendliness does Wal-Mart actually fall?

My thoughts? (In two seconds as I return to get, uh, some work done....)

Why not wine in a box/carton from California, or another wine-growing region in the US? Shipping glass bottles from Argentina means that while yes, these farmers are paid a fair wage, the earth is still punished by the carbon footprint of the product. Of course, one might say that CA farmers are already paid a fair wage...but yeah, not really. There are so many migrant workers in Wine Country, especially for harvest. :p

Would I try this wine? Yes, if I find myself in a Sam's Club next week when I'm in Illinois, I'll seek out New Direction. But I'd be even more excited if it were more local.

Buzzed Driving

I've seen these ads on a few bus shelters in SF and really appreciate the message. Drunk and buzzed are not really all that different when you're behind the wheel of a car.

Cab, bus, sober friend, sleepover party. Don't drive.

Bebeh Ani-pals

Awwwww. 36 pictures of pure cuteness. Enjoy.

Fashion faux pas at the gym

Spin class. It's an hour long. Hot in the room. Very sweaty. Lots of sitting and standing on these tricked-out stationary bikes.

And so, gym-goers (including short-shorts girl in yesterday's spin class):
Do not wear short shorts to spin class. Seriously. No one wants to see your butt cheeks hanging out of your shorts. Really. And especially not at the 24 Hour Fitness in the effing Castro.

Thank goodness I could not see the front of you in the mirror at yesterday's spin class, short-shorts girl. I hope you were wearing a pretty sturdy thong (definitely not briefs - as verified by the visible butt cheek skin) or at least did a good job of cleaning off the bike saddle before and after your, um, ride.


Serious rider guy in your full bike kit, I'm so sitting next to you next week. It'll be like we're in a race. Good times.