Question of the Week: Why Do We Waste Food in America?

The photograph is stunning. There is bread, chicken and beef, bacon, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, olive oil and much more. If you haven't seen the graphic, and haven't read the article it accompanied, go on-line to the May 18th New York Times Magazine story on the amount of food we waste in America. The photograph represents the food a family of four throws out each month, an astounding 122 pounds. People around the world are starving. Food banks in America report that donations of food are down, yet the number of people showing up for food has increased. Yet, according to the Times article, reported by Andrew Martin, a study on food waste (from 1997) found that 27 percent of the food available for consumption - or 96.4 billion pounds of food - ends up in landfills. In some cities, including New York, 'food rescue organizations' work to get donated food from cafeterias and restaurants and to people who are hungry - not table scraps, but food that was never served.

What can we do to cut down on food waste? I'll admit, there is a banana sitting on my drainboard right now that I would rather toss than eat mushy, and I can't bake tonight. How can we waste less food?

Question of the Week: How Far Will We Go To Include Seafood In Our Diet?

The government and nutritionists have been telling us for years that eating fish and shellfish will make us healthier and smarter. But supplies are shrinking, and farmed fish is said to lack some of the health benefits of wild fish. On KUOW May 13, Taras Grescoe, author of "Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood" recommended....jellyfish. Dried and salted, it is high in iron (and sodium) and protein. There's a lot of jellyfish around the world, so there will be no problem with supplies. And it is low in calories. So what do you think are alternatives to the wild fish we've taken for granted? Let us know, and take the poll. Is jellyfish in your future?

Question of the Week: What Can I Grow On the Deck of a Condo?

I hope to be the owner soon (well, the bank and me) of a condo in Greenwood. It has a deck, and as I told my Realtor, I've waited 25 years to be able to sit outside at my home and have a cup of coffee in the morning. For those 25 years, I lived in what my brother calls 'sardine cans' in New York and Seattle, with no deck and no yard. Yes, I could walk a couple of blocks and be in Central Park, but I just want to be able to stay in my pajamas and at the same time be outside.
I haven't measured the deck (we're still negotiating with the seller on a final price) but I should be able to have flowers plus pots of.....this is where I need your help. What can I realistically grow? What can I grow if I'm not realistic?

Question of the Week: When Do the Farmers Markets Open?

It's cool and rainy. It's warm and sunny. It's spring. And that means Seattle's farmers markets are opening. If you want a handy place to find out where they're located and when they're open, check out the website of The Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance (NFMA). It is a non-profit organization, it says, "dedicated to supporting local farmers and helping to keep local farmland in production. " It helps organize seven farmers markets in Seattle, where farmers direct-sell their produce to shoppers.
They are:
Broadway - open Sundays 11 a.m. -3 p.m. starting May 11
Phinney - open Fridays 3 p.m. -7 p.m. starting May 16
Lake City - open Thursdays 3 p.m. -7 p.m. starting June 5
Magnolia - open Saturdays 10 a.m. -2 p.m. starting June 7
Columbia City - open Wednesdays 3 p.m. -7 p.m. open now - Oct. 22
U-District - open Saturdays 9 a.m. -2 p.m. year-round
West Seattle - open Sundays 10 a.m. -2 p.m. year-round

There are other farmers markets, including on Wednesdays in my neighborhood, Wallingford. Maybe someone can explain how it, and others, are different. Just not part of the NFMA?

What do you most look forward to buying, once the markets open?

Question of the Day: May 5

Well, here's some news we could have lived without.
Obesity researchers in Sweden say that when our fat cells die (and the good news is, they do!) they are replaced with...new fat cells!
Whether we are fat or thin, or lose or gain weight, 10 percent of our fat cells die every year. The scientists say that the total number of fat cells remains the same through our adult lives. They say that losing or gaining weight "affects only the amount of fat stored in the cells, not the number of cells." Now they're trying to learn if it is possible to intervene, and treat obesity by making fat cells die faster than they are born.
Something to ponder as we try and eat healthy.
The finding is published in the journal "Nature."

Question of the Weekend: May 2-4

Do Calories Matter When We're Eating Real Food?

I'm eating real food, cooking, spending too much money at Whole Foods, keeping a food journal and trying to kick sugar. I'm even contemplating exercise! But I'm not losing weight. Much to my frustration - and the frustration of friends I hear from - we still have to consider calories.

This week a rule was to go into effect in New York City, requiring calorie counts to be posted alongside prices in some restaurants. The rule has been delayed by a court challenge brought by the New York State Restaurant Association.

City officials maintain that consumers will make healthier choices if they know how many calories are in each item. Any chain with at least 15 outlets nationwide would have to display calorie counts on menu boards, menus or food tags. Some restaurants in New York City — among them Starbucks, Subway, Quiznos and Chipotle — have already posted calorie counts.

Do you count calories? Do you find it helpful, or only another reminder of 'dieting?' If a restaurant displayed calorie counts, would you read them?

Question of the Day, April 28-29

Are You Worried About the Cost of Food?

There was another great radio hour Monday morning on KUOW (94.9 fm). If you missed it, you can hear it at kuow.org. The discussion was about the cost of food, and I found it truly scary. While food shortages approach a critical point in many poor countries, the World Bank says global food prices have gone up 83 percent in the past three years putting huge stress on some of the world's poorest nations. In Haiti there has been rioting over higher prices for staples like rice and beans. Food prices in America went up four percent in 2007 (although you wouldn't know there's a problem by looking at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's website; a January, 2008 news release is titled: American Food: Still the Best Deal in the World - it probably is). Costco is rationing rice, and speaking of prices, there's a new record for the price of a gallon of gas in Seattle ($3.71 as of Saturday, although I paid $3.83 in Wallingford).

As the Boston Globe reported on March 9, 2008: After nearly two decades of low food inflation, prices for staples such as bread, milk, eggs, and flour are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates, according to the Labor Department. Milk prices, for example, increased 26 percent over the year. Egg prices jumped 40 percent.
Escalating food costs could present a greater problem than soaring oil prices for the national economy because the average household spends three times as much for food as for gasoline. Food accounts for about 13 percent of household spending compared with about 4 percent for gas.

Are you worried about the cost of food? Will food staples price us out of being able to buy organic?