Home on the range
The Big Four vs. The Rest of Us
Posted on March 4, 2015 by Annoyed Omnivore
There’s still about a month left for the public and industry to weigh in, but the 8th edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans will most likely be published intact after April 8th. It has received more significant attention than previous guidelines as it veers closely to the notion that there’s a connection between the food we consume and subsequent environmental degradation. The guidelines are a bit under the radar for most of us, but they are still employed in the development of federal nutrition policy, as well as in the schools, food assistance programs and the food stamp program. The 2015 guidelines state the usual, that a diet concentrating on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low dairy and low sugar is the most healthy. Where the report varies from previous guidelines is in its suggestion that the consumption of red and processed meat is inherently unhealthy. And it calls for health professionals to provide preventive nutrition services which the report sees as “largely unavailable in the U.S. health system.” Simply put, the report recommends doctors actively discuss the types of foods their patients are eating.
I find the report to be benign and rational. The meat industry, however, and as is to be expected, is loudly protesting the conclusions of the report, and are mainly in opposition to a section on “Food Sustainability and Safety.” This section ties the American diet and environmental impact, the first such time the federal government has ever made this connection public. In particular, the guidelines state that “sustainable diets were…higher in plant-based foods, [which] is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet.” The guidelines promote plant-based diets because, as they state, “current evidence shows that the average American diet has a larger environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and energy use.” However, the authors also emphasize that “no food groups need to be eliminated completely to improve sustainability outcomes over the current status.” And so off we go.
Yum.
The meat industry has tied its knickers into knots over these guidelines, and is loudly protesting what the North American Institute calls a “flawed” and “nonsensical” report. Simply put, they believe Obama is trying to kill an entire industry. The North American Meat Institute and other powerful corporate lobbies plan an all out assault against the report and hope to prevent the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services from adopting the recommendations as national guidelines. These groups intend to extend the comment period to 120 days in order to quash the implementation of the guidelines. According to an
article in the Washington Post, the meat industry attacks “the notion that meat production is environmentally unfriendly and discredit the idea that environmental concerns should influence the dietary guidelines.” The meat industry also stands by a statement made by Mary Soukup, the editor of Drovers/Cattle Network, that “in the past 30 years, thanks to advancements in production, genetics and processing, beef has 34 percent less total fat and 17 percent less saturated fat [and] is recognized as an excellent source of…nutrients.”
While it may be true that beef provides essential nutrients (although vegetarians would argue, and correctly, that all necessary nutrients can be obtained from a plant based diet), there is an elephant in the industry’s lobby. Nowhere do the industrial meat producers allow that environmental degradation is part and parcel of their operations. And they continue to assert, as do industrial soy and corn farmers, that in order to feed the world, large scale production is essential. In fact, as EcoWatch points out, “feeding huge numbers of confined animals actually uses more food in the form of grains that could feed humans, than it produces. For every 100 food calories of edible crops fed to livestock, we get back just 30 calories in the form of meat and dairy. That’s a 70 percent loss.” Moreover, much research has been done in the last decade proving that a meat based diet is, in fact, radically unhealthy.
The bottom line, so to speak, is that what Americans eat (and how much) needs to be addressed if we are to successfully battle the obesity/diabetes epidemic. If a small dose of education eventually leads people to understand the connections between a healthy diet, better health and a cleaner environment, then more power to reports like the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Given the power of agribusiness lobbyists over the federal government, that this relatively small voice of reason and science should appear is an excellent sign that we are awakening to the dangers, not only to ourselves but to the planet as well, of industrial ranching and farming.
The Big Four, Cargill, Tyson, JBS USA and the National Beef Packing Co., together slaughter 86,300 cows a day. Perhaps we can put a small dent in that figure.
Recipe of the Week
I tend to use only small amounts of meat to season a dish, or eat vegetarian meals. However, I do like to boost the flavors of some soups, such as black bean, with homemade chicken stock. It’s easy, basically free, and only requires a couple of days to make. This recipe differs from most in the cooking time, which I’ve found increases the richness of the broth. When I cook chicken, I freeze the raw backs, wings and gizzards for use in the stock, and usually make a full batch of stock from the remains of three chickens (or four). I also freeze the skins of any onions I use, as well as cuttings from celery and carrots, or leeks, which is rare. Don’t use too many onion skins, though, as their flavor can override all others.
Put the chicken pieces and vegetable leftovers in a large pot. I use a 16 quart pot, but you could also use two 8 quart pots. Add about 1 Tbls. whole black peppercorns. Cover with cold water and turn on the heat. Just when the water begins to bubble, turn the heat to the lowest possible setting and leave overnight, or about 12 hours. The idea is that you should only see a bubble every ninety seconds. In the morning, turn off the heat, let cool some and then drain. Put the broth in containers in the refrigerator overnight to allow the fat to cohere on the top. Skim off the fat and pour stock into containers and freeze. I usually get about 8 quarts of stock.