tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post1023514487884237132..comments2024-01-30T10:17:24.879-05:00Comments on Girl In An Apron: Thoughts On The New USDA My Plate GuidelinesGirl In An Apronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11935086534482015065noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-10083626000674213432012-02-26T17:16:50.187-05:002012-02-26T17:16:50.187-05:00You go, Jen! We're cheering for you over here...You go, Jen! We're cheering for you over here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-5744275428213441652011-06-16T09:59:25.637-04:002011-06-16T09:59:25.637-04:00Let me agree with Dana, this is a lucid argument a...Let me agree with Dana, this is a lucid argument and I hope you'll take the time to cross-post it as a guest blog or article anywhere and everywhere you can. Edited for length (I guess!) it would be excellent as a guest editorial for the Asheville Citizen-Times.<br /><br />Thanks Rachel.middlemachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12094804195041571333noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-10685470729697199962011-06-15T23:26:10.029-04:002011-06-15T23:26:10.029-04:00New to your page, found you through Jenny at Nouri...New to your page, found you through Jenny at Nourished Kitchen. What a terrific post and reading through all the various comments was equally compelling. I am really happy to have found you and look forward to following your blog! Keep up the great work – you are a blessing! :) KellyKelly @ The Nourishing Homehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07847506101491828984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-30919800412333211592011-06-14T02:44:30.782-04:002011-06-14T02:44:30.782-04:00All the points are really descriptive, inspiration...All the points are really descriptive, inspirational and informative. Thanks for the post.hire web developerhttp://www.hire-web-developers.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-76272582839536217912011-06-12T08:36:58.385-04:002011-06-12T08:36:58.385-04:00The concept of "who profits" really is a...The concept of "who profits" really is at the core of this problem. And the huge corporate interests involved devote crazy resources to protecting those profits; the USDA could never win the war against junk and processed food. The only solution I see (for me) is separating from that food system completely. The more of us who make that choice, the more of a stir we'll make. Thank you for another thought-provoking post.<br />EleanorNourishing Wordshttp://www.nourishingwords.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-54947049551973731922011-06-11T17:10:58.685-04:002011-06-11T17:10:58.685-04:00Extremely well-put! Found this link via Musings o...Extremely well-put! Found this link via Musings of a Housewife. It's ridiculous and sickening to think of how much of what we eat as a culture has been determined simply by politics, not for any good reason such as availability, location, or nutrition.Jessica @ This Blessed Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00465333299613687298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-74632297497968556722011-06-11T04:49:49.735-04:002011-06-11T04:49:49.735-04:00Great post! Aren't "what is" and &qu...Great post! Aren't "what is" and "what is not" on my plate lists inverted?citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15626748414996501757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-49747178795228022082011-06-10T16:35:56.915-04:002011-06-10T16:35:56.915-04:00Just discovered your blog through this post. Thank...Just discovered your blog through this post. Thanks so much for sharing! Everything you've said here is very right-on, and until we give up thinking we're "too busy" or not well off enough to eat good, non-processed foods, we're not going to get any better. Truly, last night it took me less than 30 minutes to steam some real broccoli and cook a chicken breast for dinner. And I spent about what I'd have spent on a garbage meal at McDonalds. <br /><br />Thanks for adding your say to re-orienting our food thinking!<br /><br />Lynne @ Jesus-Based HealthLynnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00735592779833677291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-19212642482263018372011-06-10T16:07:23.350-04:002011-06-10T16:07:23.350-04:00Well said all! And I agree with those of you who w...Well said all! And I agree with those of you who wish the government was less involved. I think this is what ruffled my feathers in the first place. I am opposed to advice from the government when they appear to be at the root of many of the problems with the food system. <br />I am very glad to hear how many of you are able to choose healthy foods with food stamps, they were a great help to my family as I was growing up. <br />Miriam- I appreciate your statement: "So, I eat as good food as I can within my means." This is the very essence of doing the best we can for ourselves. Thank you for sharing.Girl In An Apronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11935086534482015065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-38080469742003905252011-06-10T15:45:43.677-04:002011-06-10T15:45:43.677-04:00I am personally a person who utilizes food stamps ...I am personally a person who utilizes food stamps and WIC (actually I am in VT and this is the last state in which they deliver WIC to my door instead of having me pick it up at the supermarket). I do have an advantage since I grew up in a household with parents that owned a health food store, but I have found that I can afford to have fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grain items without going too over budget. I wish that more local farmers could take food stamps, I looked for a CSA that did this year, but to no avail. They are just starting to accept food stamps at Farmer's Markets, so that is a step in the right direction. I wish I could afford to buy local meat, organic foods, and such but it just isn't a possibility for me. So, I eat as good food as I can within my means. Right now I am eating strawberries out of my own garden and I am growing as many veggies as I can. I am expanding my garden by pulling up the sod from my front yard. I have a feeling this summer I will be harvest more organic vegetables than my family can eat. I've gotta learn to can so that I can benefit from this during the winter too. <br /><br />I agree with people saying that it is not the governments job to inform us about what is healthy to eat, but I do appreciate the information they have out there about whole grains and other healthy choices. It is too bad that they don't have similar information out there informing us of grass fed beef and raw milk. However, I think if people are interested in making sure they are healthy they will do the research on their own, and posts like this one go a long way in informing the public. Unfortunately, many people just don't care enough about their own health. Perhaps we could, and should, encourage organizations that support REAL healthy eating to do more active education, like billboards and such.Miriamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06575309815891876311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-2451881516317977482011-06-10T14:30:20.769-04:002011-06-10T14:30:20.769-04:00Outstanding post! Thank you so much for sharing t...Outstanding post! Thank you so much for sharing this!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16817587491261494334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-63026443141398014832011-06-10T12:53:38.287-04:002011-06-10T12:53:38.287-04:00Thank you for this thoughtful post.Thank you for this thoughtful post.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12778726298936996932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-84586765964940939492011-06-10T12:33:32.425-04:002011-06-10T12:33:32.425-04:00Very well said! I fear the oncoming health crisis...Very well said! I fear the oncoming health crisis - all of Americas children will be obese smokers with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. How the mighty have fallen...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-18927204667225868772011-06-10T11:43:23.495-04:002011-06-10T11:43:23.495-04:00I agree with most of what you are saying, but I do...I agree with most of what you are saying, but I don't think that it is the government's job to nudge us into making the right decisions... so I disagree with heavily taxing soda. They could probably achieve similar ends if they would stop subsidizing their pet agricultural products (stop subsidizing corn, soda companies would have to raise prices or change their formula).<br /><br />The government being in our business is mostly what is making us unhealthy in the first place. They need to get out entirely. It is our job as we the people to do what we can to tell others about health. If the government wasn't telling us how to eat, then they wouldn't be drowning out the voices of the people that have a clue.Brooke Lorrenhttp://www.brookelorren.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-37409762494891446092011-06-10T11:43:21.521-04:002011-06-10T11:43:21.521-04:00Just as dairy farmers are slowly switching to orga...Just as dairy farmers are slowly switching to organic to meet consumer demand and willingness to pay higher prices, so might ...someday!... meat farmers respond to consumers asking -- at their local market, at Costco! -- for more organic, pastured animal products, meat and organs!Deborahhttp://wwwmadronahomeopathy.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-2667850026234214922011-06-10T07:17:35.279-04:002011-06-10T07:17:35.279-04:00Another piece worth bringing up is that adults are...Another piece worth bringing up is that adults are more likely to make healthy eating choices if they have positive experiences as children with preparing and eating healthy food. We as adults- as parents, mentors, teachers, government officials, whomever- are responsible for providing these experiences for the children in our lives. Family and neighborhood experiences are the most important, I think. However, some children, for a plethora of reasons, are not having experiences with healthy eating in their homes and communities. I think the USDA should continue to expand its support of school programs which provide higher quality food in the schools and teach both the educators and the students about healthy eating and exercise. Thankfully, some school gardens and farm-to-school programs are beginning to get the support they need to hopefully become standard parts of our children's childhood experience. If you care about this topic, I encourage you to support your community's school garden programs.<br />Thank you for this thought provoking forum, Rachel.Danahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06903041643054527415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-901486127628968722011-06-09T23:14:23.679-04:002011-06-09T23:14:23.679-04:00I'm so thankful my friend Natalie @ www.sudden...I'm so thankful my friend Natalie @ www.suddenlyitsreal.com shared this tonight! Just the kind of read we all need :)Anne Elizabeth Carmackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06391799381470141572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-22491013239062745272011-06-09T14:56:33.576-04:002011-06-09T14:56:33.576-04:00Good one Kyle. . .Good one Kyle. . .Girl In An Apronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11935086534482015065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-53725914816314872542011-06-09T14:11:38.089-04:002011-06-09T14:11:38.089-04:00some people call eating their community cannibalis...some people call eating their community cannibalism.kylehttp://www.google.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-38291535727760837212011-06-09T13:57:57.276-04:002011-06-09T13:57:57.276-04:00I think the post was well thought out, kudos! Whom...I think the post was well thought out, kudos! Whomever said it above about 25% of income on food, that's us! That is because we currently have a small income and we have two kids. I'm tempted to lower our nutrition standards. After all, you can, with coupons, eat the junk quite cheaply, which goes back to subsidizing (and it makes me mad!). We used food stamps last year in a major pinch, which was unbelievably helpful, and I was able to use it on fresh foods, even at our co-op, which is where I would get raw milk.<br /><br />We do the best we can with what we have, like anyone. I splurge on raw milk when I can (at $7 a half gallon, it's a splurge but I'm so happy I can get it at all!) I buy grass fed butter and yogurt, at a reasonable price at Trader Joe's, but grass fed meat and some organic produce is out of the price range at the moment (I haven't been to the farmer's market yet but since I live near one now I plan to go). I am learning about gardening so that next year I can tackle that in the community garden, and I use as many coupons as I can without compromising health standards. To save money I shop at three different grcoery stores and buy what's on sale at each one. It's possible, with effort and learning (thanks to blogs like this)to make it work! We can all vote with our pocketbooks in whatever measure we can. <br /><br />Side note: saw on the news how grain prices are going up and it's affecting the price of meat. I yelled at the tv: ever heard of feeding an animal GRASS?! lol.Kristinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-52460355098917686902011-06-09T13:36:55.928-04:002011-06-09T13:36:55.928-04:00Great thoughts all!
I want to make sure you all u...Great thoughts all! <br />I want to make sure you all understand that I agree each consumer has to take their personal health into their own hands. Absolutely. Unfortunately, agribusiness has taken over the vast majority of this nation's food supply, advertises freely, and hopes to hide much of how it is operated from the public, and has the $$ to do so. With the government making it their business to hand us guidelines, I find it frustrating what they allow on the shelves while telling us to stay healthy and fit. If they decided not to give us guidelines, and clearly stated "to each their own," it would be a different story.<br />However, this is the reality of food today. Many of us here already are tuned into what is healthy and what is not. Sadly, the vast majority of individuals are not and fall victim to campaigning and government recommendations. <br />Thank you for all the passionate responses. And yes, let's all continue to vote with our forks!Girl In An Apronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11935086534482015065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-4137002079321692922011-06-09T11:42:58.942-04:002011-06-09T11:42:58.942-04:00I have a different perspective on this. Everyone ...I have a different perspective on this. Everyone says buy local. I live in coastal Alaska. There is no road out, everything comes in by plane or boat. We have incredibly abundant seafood and berries. Amazingly enough, I rarely eat seafood. It is so expensive that I cannot justify it. The fishermen are getting paid premium prices at the dock, why should they sell it to me for less? I could go get my own, but then you need a boat and if you get a boat that can handle the seas instead of a floating deathtrap you have a $5-800/month boat payment plus insurance and fuel costs that can cripple even the most financially set (it is shipped in too). I live in Juneau, the capital. There is no where that you can get anything but ultra-pastuerized milk products. I dream of one day trying raw milk. On a trip I did find a farmers market in Mississippi that had pastuerized but not homogenized chocolate milk and it was sooooo good. We get last years produce. When even Fuji apples are wrinkled and turn brown within seconds of taking a bite, you know they are old. So our food choices are limited from the start. And then there is the costs. We are lucky. We only pay $6 for a gallon of organic milk. When you get out inthe rural villages, many are paying in excess of $9 per gallon for non-organic milk. When you go in the villages, you can see baby bottles filled with Coke, because its cheaper, and there is no food education. Then you have the well meaning state, who goes out and distributes free soy formula. I think its a toss up which is worse, soy formula or coke. We cant even figure out what is healthy eating to teach. I know my views and they follow most on this blog, but I have ultra healthy friends who barely eat meat, drink soy milk, eat no fat or salt, and have poor health. I watch people "eating healthy" by buying organic oreos. Outside the cities up here, many are drinking canned milk or powdered milk, powdered eggs and at least real good meat from hunting. Vegetable are rare unless they get good air service. It was interesting to talk to a woman from Kotzeue. She gets her organic produce flown in from a CSA in Seattle as it is cheaper and fresher and comes in bulk. These are other considerations that the new "My Plate" doesnt take into consideration.<br /><br />Sorry for the rant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-35717783008602841722011-06-09T11:28:29.205-04:002011-06-09T11:28:29.205-04:00I agree that industry needs to change. We have ma...I agree that industry needs to change. We have made it our priority to get pastured meat and chicken, raw butter and organic veges, and boy is it expensive. I know a lot of people who say that they couldn't spend what we do, and there are only two of us right now. <br /><br />Sometimes, I want the cheaper cuts of meat, but I know the more expensive grass fed is better for me. And, this is where we decide to spend our money. <br /><br />Could you imagine if doctors became health coaches instead of "fix-it" people! <br /><br />Thanks for your post! <br /><br />www.lorisfoodandotherstuff.comLorihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13035111027133454557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-63602213737612584052011-06-09T11:10:22.227-04:002011-06-09T11:10:22.227-04:00Thank you for this reflection. I think that many ...Thank you for this reflection. I think that many are over looking the politics of responsible eating these days. Great point on $$$, Brandislee.a girl and a crockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15287329328979226648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6305328694649842650.post-18271446000433643522011-06-09T10:56:51.680-04:002011-06-09T10:56:51.680-04:00As with anonymous (the anonymous that can spell an...As with anonymous (the anonymous that can spell and form a coherent thought, not the one directly preceding me) I agree with you EXCEPT the bit about it not being the consumer's responsibility. It is absolutely our responsibility. And while the media side of food, like Nutella or Frosted Flakes advertising in a way that makes them sound healthy, makes me livid, it is NOT that hard to figure out what is healthy and what is not.<br /><br />I also think that taking companies that produce things like oreos and frosted flakes to court would be a very slippery slope. Yes, these products cause harm in the long run if consumed as more than a very occasional treat, but I think we as a country are already a little sue-happy. At what point do we stop blaming the big corporations and start taking responsibility for our own actions? If I eat a package of oreos every day and get fat I shouldn't be able to turn around and sue Nabisco for making me that way- they didn't make me eat them. And unless we want to change the entire economic system in our country, there is no way to really change the way the corporations operate EXCEPT educating consumers and expressing ourselves with our wallets. They don't make oreos because they WANT to make us all fat (I'm not saying they care, just that no one was sitting around brainstorming and said "hey, let's make America fat")- they make oreos because people BUY oreos. So it's not the government's place to come in and tell them to stop making oreos, it is our place as the consumer to stop buying them. <br /><br />And I also think that we all need to stop complaining about the high price of healthy food. Only 50 years ago it was totally average for a family to spend 25% of their income on food. Stop for a minute and figure out what 25% of your monthly take home income is. I'll bet you don't spend near that- I know I don't, even buying organic, humanely raised, local foods. However, we have become spoiled by the other things we feel we need to pay for monthly- our ridiculous credit card bills, our outrageous cell phone, cable, and internet payments... what is more important, your internet connection, or feeding your family responsibly? I know what I pick.Brandisleehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12302913633451638028noreply@blogger.com