Help Your Kids Choose What to Eat

Attention Parents:  This article was brought to my attention and there's one quote that applies to all of us.  ‘Step up’ on obesity before regulators bite, says Mars chief  
Candy makers must take responsibility to tackle obesity and should act before regulators force their hands, says Mars Chocolate North America's president.
http://www.confectionerynews.com/Manufacturers/Step-up-on-obesity-before-regulators-bite-says-Mars-chief

Debra Sandler, president of Mars Chocolate North America said, "If we don't [act], I worry that someone else will do it for us.....don't wait for regulators to tell us what to do".

I have never met this woman and I know nothing about her business ethics but I think this is perhaps the best advice for all of us.  Do we really need government telling us that a 48 ounce cup of soda is bad for our health?  How many of us have investigated our kid's school lunch program or know what vending machine snacks are available for purchase?

In the article, Ms. Sandler's comments focus on product labeling, innovating to give consumers more choices and reformulating candy products to be more nutritionally sound.  All excellent ideas - I think the calorie count label on the front of the package is a good start.

I love Mars candy and I'm a firm believer that candy, soda and other treats enjoyed in moderation are just fine.  But treats are treats and not a substitute for healthy, nutritious food.

So get involved, take action and find out what your kids are eating.  If you know what they are eating and it's not a healthy choice, don't wait for regulators to tell you what to do.  Keep your parental right to choose alive.

Michigan State University Organic Reporting Session

Our friend, Vicki Morrone of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, has asked us to share this opportunity with you.  The Organic Reporting Session at Michigan State University, to be held this Friday, March 1, is a chance to have your voice be heard.  There will be a facilitated discussion to identify areas of interest to organic farmers, a presentation by Maureen Wilmot from Organic Farming and Research Foundation, an on-site lunch featuring MSU Organic Farm greens and if there is interest, a tour of the new MSU hoophouse.  See Vicki’s note and all the details below:

Hope all of you can come and join in this inaugural event-we need your experience at the table and ideas!! Please share too-we need all types of organic farmers!

Hey Friends-

YOU WILL Not want to miss this! March 1-Friday is the Organic Reporting Session at Michigan State University. This year we are offering a special chance to have YOUR voice heard!!!

We are offering a facilitated discussion with farmers like you-researchers and ag resource folks  to identify priority areas for future organic Research! The program starts at 9:00 with research reports and a presentation by Maureen Wilmot from Organic Farming and Research Foundation. She will share with us, "Where have all the dollars gone?"- fill us in on what is happening on the Farm Bill development and how we can engage to find support for organic research with farmers.  

Visit:

Www.ofrf.org <http://www.ofrf.org/> for info on her organization.

Whether you see a need for crop production, harvest, storage, scale, transport, marketing or distribution whether you are an urban farmer in  Flint or a 500 ac bean farmer in Caro, we want to hear from YOU!!

The venue is at Michigan State University campus, Brody Hall, located just off Harrison Rd across from the conference center. Of course there is also the chance to catch up on what research and results are happening at MSU and visit with our Graduate students as they share their work via posters. Lunch is at Brody Café- featuring MSU's own Student Organic farms greens. If there is interest we will offer a tour of the new on-campus hoophouse growing organic herbs for the MSU kitchens. Social time will offer a Taste of Michigan.

All of this wonderfulness for $15 for students and farmers and $25 for others.

Register at www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu

<http://www.michiganorganic.msu.edu/> TODAY! 

Event will be from 9-5 and the discussion/priority setting will be from 1:30-3:00

Please share this with others via your newsletters and listservs.

We want to make this a great event to identify great research.

Please contact me with any questions.

All the best,

Vicki

Contact Information:

Vicki Morrone

Organic Farming Specialist

Center For Regional Food Systems at MSU

480 Wilson Rd. Room 303

East Lansing, MI 48824

517-353-3542/517-282-3557 (cell)

Sorrone@msu.edu

Www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu

What Should You Look for in a Reusable Bag?

Eat Local Food "Odette" Bag

We originally talked about what you should look for in a reusable bag in the following post from January 2011, when USA Today reported about the high levels of lead found in some reusable grocery bags.  We’re reposting now as a good reminder of what to look for in a reusable bag:

A news story was published this week (January 2011) regarding tests finding high levels of lead in reusable bags. According to the story, "the non-woven-polypropylene bags, sold by chains including Safeway, Walgreen's and Bloom, all had lead content above 100 parts per million — the highest level that many states allow in consumer packaging. The tests were conducted by Frontier Global Sciences for the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), which plans to release the results Monday."

Here's a link to the article in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2011-01-23-reusable-bags_N.htm

While we've never been a fan of the non-woven-polypropylene bag, it's been for the following reasons:
1) They are usually not made in the USA
2) Lots of fuel is used transporting them to the USA
3) They are recyclable but not biodegradable
4) The material typically lacks strength and the bags do not withstand heavy loads

And now there is a claim that these bags have a high lead content. We've also heard that the Center for Consumer Freedom - the organization that paid for the funding - is not an environmental or consumer protection group. The Center for Consumer Freedom website describes the group as "a nonprofit coalition of restaurants, food companies, and consumers working together to promote personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices". But there's more! CCF's website goes on to say: "A growing cabal of activists has meddled in Americans’ lives in recent years. They include self-anointed "food police," health campaigners, trial lawyers, personal-finance do-gooders, animal-rights misanthropes, and meddling bureaucrats."

We all know we should always consider who is funding the study and for what purpose. We don't know the purpose behind The Center for Consumer Freedom's study. But if there are high levels of lead in these imported non-woven-polypropylene bags, let's get them out of our U.S. grocery stores.

Here's what we know about our Eat Local Food reusable tote bags:
1) They are made in the USA
2) They are reusable
3) They are made of cotton
4) Cotton is biodegradable
5) They are sturdy and hold up to heavy loads

6) They are washable! (See our related post on washing your reusable bags)
7) They all have beautiful, original fine art designs!

Interested in ordering an Eat Local Food USA made tote bag?  Please call or e-mail to place an order.  Thank you!

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

Eat Local Food

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Don't Blame the Bags: Carry, Clean and Carry Again

Eat Local Food Apple Tote

Using a reusable grocery bag is a habit.  In order to establish that habit, you might have put your reusable bags by the door, or in your car or bike so you remember to take them to the grocery store.  After a time, you didn't have to think about it much anymore, you just remembered the bags.  Much like brushing your teeth or washing your hands, right?

A story was brought to our attention today about how the plastic bag ban is responsible for the increase in E. Coli infections.  We're providing a link to the Huffington Post story here, originally published on February 7, 2013.  

To quote from the article, researchers found "a spike in San Francisco hospital emergency room treatment due to E. coli infections and a 46 percent increase in deaths from foodborne illness in the three months after the bag ban went into effect in 2007. E. coli bacteria, common in the human intestine and frequent suspects in food poisoning, can range from harmless to lethal."

Let's not blame the bags.  Cotton, bamboo or other natural fiber grocery bags are probably the most environmentally friendly way to carry your groceries.   Disposable bags take 100 years to break down, they litter our roadways and cause harmful effects to wildlife.   It's a habit to wash our hands, our dishes and our pots and pans.   Please remember to wash your reusable bags.   It's another healthy habit, and the environment will thank you, too!

Interested in ordering an Eat Local Food USA made tote bag?  Please call or e-mail to place an order.  Thank you!

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

Eat Local Food

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com

Up for a Challenge? Enter the 2013 Michigan Junior Chef Competition

The Challenge is back!  The Michigan Junior Chef Competition has returned for 2013.  The official rules have been posted, so get your teams ready!  The deadline? Team applications and recipes must be e-mailed by March 26, 2013.    Here are the official rules, from the Michigan Junior Chef website:

The goal of the Michigan Junior Chef Competition is to provide youth participants hands-on cooking experience and knowledge of healthy food choices. It is made up of two parts, a Recipe Contest and a Cook-off Competition. Recipes for the Recipe Contest must include fresh, local, and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) foods (federal commodity foods) and should be practical and easy for school food service operations to offer as part of their meal programs. Finalists from the Recipe Contest will be eligible to prepare their meals on-site at the Cook-off Competition at Michigan State University on May 9, 2013. Top recipes will be shared with schools throughout the state in a Michigan Junior Chef Cookbook.

I. Teams

• Teams should consist of 3-4 students in grades 7-12 and 1-2 adults. Youth team members must be enrolled in Michigan schools and may be any combination of 7-12th graders.
• Each team must have at least 1 adult coach to participate in team meetings/practice and to chaperone the team to the Cook-off Competition, if eligible. The coach can be a school food service director, teacher, other school employee, or parent/guardian.
• Adult coaches are not allowed to cook with the students during the Cook-off Competition, but they may provide guidance in cooking techniques and food safety.

Teams must submit a  Team Application  and Recipe Entry Form  for the Recipe Contest by March 26^th, 2013. Finalists will be announced by April 11^th, 2013.

For complete rules and more information, including videos of past competitions, please visit the Michigan Junior Chef website.  Sponsors of this year's competition include:

• Michigan Team Nutrition
• Michigan Department of Education
• United Dairy Industry of Michigan
• MSU Center for Regional Food Systems

Eat Local Food is proud to have designed the Michigan Junior Chef logo, website and promotional materials.  

Contact information:

Joan Rozelle

734.341.7028

jrozelle@eatlocalfood.com