Book Review: Eating Animals

Disclaimer: I am predisposed to like something by Jonathan Safran Foer, and therefore to find him more persuasive. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was wonderfully written and so moving that I would find probably any non-fiction work by him if not compelling, than at least trustworthy.

I picked up Eating Animals from the local library knowing that it would probably sway me to maintain a vegetarian diet (which I had tried for 6 months sometime in college). Interestingly, Foer makes the point that most people when hearing about the book assumed that it would be a cry for vegetarianism, even though Foer went into the project simply looking to get the facts and make educated decisions about what he and his family should eat. Why would a book about eating animals necessarily be vegetarian-minded? It implies that we know already that there is something wrong about eating animals; that learning more about it will give evidence not for being omnivorous but for swearing off meat.

This book was eye-opening. Thorough. Personal. When I last tried not eating animals, I did it just to try. I hadn't had any particular experience or learned anything specific that made me want to be a vegetarian. I just felt that it was a morally preferable choice, and wanted to see what it would feel like to do it (and if I could sustain it). In the end, I went back to meat. In recent months, I've been cutting back chicken and beef in favor of pescatarian options, though not seriously making an effort to be pescatarian.

After reading this book, I decided I no longer want to eat meat. I believe that this time, my vegetarianism will last. I'm no longer ignorant about factory farming and the cruel conditions animals I eat have faced in their short, unnatural lifetimes. I'm no longer 'just trying it.' I enjoy the taste of meat, but knowing what I know after reading this book, I just don't want to eat it. It's not even just the gruesome descriptions of what happens at factory farms. It's a culmination of knowing that environmentally, vegetarianism is a more sustainable option. It's knowing that we eat too much meat anyway. It's knowing that I don't have to eat meat, and that this is probably the easiest time to be a vegetarian (for me, at least) ever.

Some excerpts from the book that I found particularly interesting and compelling:
"The choice-obsessed modern West is probably more accommodating to individuals who choose to eat differently than any culture has ever been, but ironically, the utterly unselective omnivore--"I'm easy; I'll eat anything"--can appear more socially sensitive than the individual who tries to eat in a way that is good for society."

A farmer who raises turkeys naturally, quoted by Foer: "People care about animals. I believe that. They just don't want to know or to pay. A fourth of all chickens have stress fractures. It's wrong. They're packed body to body, and can't escape their waste, and never see the sun. Their nails grow around the bars of their cages. It's wrong. They feel their slaughters. It's wrong, and people know it's wrong. They don't have to be convinced. They just have to act differently. I'm not better than anyone, and I'm not trying to convince people to live by my own standards of what's right. I'm trying to convince them to live by their own."

I'm going to try to live by my own standards.



One question that remains unanswered for me is whether to try and be completely vegan. Foer does all of the legwork I needed to see that a vegetarian lifestyle is best for me, but he didn't do as much digging (or writing, at least) about eating other animal products. I'm thinking of weaning myself into veganism, but don't want to make changes so suddenly that I find it too overwhelming to keep up with it. I want to do it right. I think I'll start by buying some vegan snacks and looking into vegan alternatives to products like eggs cooking-wise. I've already switched to soy milk (and it's delicious, and basically the same price as cow's milk!). Thankfully, I have a lot of vegan friends that I can look to for advice and recipes.

I still have questions about balancing being veg/vegan and trying to not eat as many processed foods. So many veg/vegan substitutes are highly processed. I was mostly swayed toward vegetarianism by Foer's arguments about animal cruelty, but I also want to make healthy choices for myself and limit my intake of highly processed foods. This is going to require some more research and legwork on my part.

Next steps for me:
1. Get more veg/vegan recipes to try, so that it's easier to have a healthy, varied, satisfying veg diet.
2. Get to the local farmer's market to see what products are available to cut back on processed foods.
3. Talk with veg/vegan friends about their advice and food recommendations.
4. Shop for more veg/vegan alternatives. Try new things.
5. Finish the fish, cheese, eggs, and butter that I've already purchased, but also be looking for items that can replace these once I finish them.

Movie Review: Hungry for Change

I saw this title and thought - maybe this will give me some information about processed foods and how to make healthier and more informed food choices! And it sort of did, but it was way overdone, too long for its message, and used scare tactics like comparing sugar to heroine and showing how much sugar elementary students consume just from milk. (My issue with the latter is that generally people don't understand or can't comprehend large quantities or how a small quantity over time always becomes a large 'shocking' quantity).

The documentary makes some important points. Ones that stuck out to me include:
1. the food industry doesn't care about your health; it cares about maximizing profits.
2. dieting is generally not done well.
3. diet cola is not a good alternative to non-diet cola.
 I would have preferred reading a more neutral article about this issue than watching people being interviewed about it. (In fact: I'm going to read this article soon and compare it to the movie). The film also fell into the trap of putting 'weight loss' as one of the ultimate pay-offs of eating right. Again...can we not conflate obesity / being overweight to being unhealthy? Isn't health its own reward?

I guess ultimately I prefer the more monotonous, balanced tone of NPR or similar reporting when it comes to nutrition, dieting, and food choices. This documentary didn't do it for me.

Movie Review: Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

This documentary was an interesting look at two men who decide to juice cleanse to lose weight and gain health. However, I had a few issues with the film:

1. I finished the movie without understanding the scientific justifications for 'juice cleansing.' There was clear anecdotal evidence that the cleanse was healthful and rejuvenating, but the film lacked any sort of serious discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of juice cleansing for various populations. I was therefore unconvinced that this was a healthy thing for a typical person to try. My reluctance to accept the filmmaker's word as truth was solidified while I was listening to a Science Friday podcast recently. In the podcast, an author who researched nutrition and eating was explaining how putting vegetables through a juicer removes a good deal of their nutritional content by essentially changing insoluble fiber to soluble fiber. (Side note: I'm on the waiting list at the library for that author's book "Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease.") I am not an expert on chemistry, biology, or nutrition, so this sort of scientific and accurate information is what I'm looking for more than a "Look how healthy I feel now!" fad.

2. The filmmaker too often conflated obesity with being unhealthy. This is not a scientifically accurate connection, and it is an all-too-often insulting one for people who are "overweight." In fairness, it seemed to me that there was a stronger emphasis in the documentary on being healthy than on losing weight, but there was too much camera time spent discussing the weight loss that resulted from the juice cleanse as opposed to the overall health effects (see complaint #1).

Overall: An interesting documentary, but more akin to an inspiring A&E show than to a really educational way to get information about healthy eating.

Movie Review: Vegucated

To make a documentary about food is necessarily to be a little preachy. Vegucated doesn't manage to fully shake off this preachiness, but it does manage to make itself personal and even funny.

The filmmaker's approach is really what manages to pull this off. Instead of exclusively barraging the viewer with impersonal facts and statistics, the film shows three omnivorous New Yorkers living a vegan lifestyle over a period of weeks, as they come to learn what it means to be vegan and why people choose to not consume animal products. The viewer is brought along the journey of trying to be vegan, making the path to veganism seem like a real possibility instead of an idealistic endeavor that no one would seriously successfully try.

This film was one of the first I watched in an attempt to educate myself about my own food choices. Some of the questions it made me think about include:
1. Why do I make the food choices I do? What influences my food choices - culture, tradition, price, packaging, marketing, etc. - and what other things should be influencing my food choices?
2. Why do I continue to eat meat and other animal products if they aren't nutritionally necessary? What would a vegan life look and feel like? Would it be difficult to become a vegan (prices, willpower, socially, etc.) ?
3. Where do the animal products I consume come from? What information can I get about how they are produced and processed? How can I educate myself so that I can make informed decisions about eating animal products?
4. It seems like a lot of vegan products or meat substitutes are highly processed. How could a person strike a balance between eating less meat and eating less processed food?
5. Of the reasons to become veg/vegan, which would be most important to me? Environmentalism, animal welfare, personal health...?

White Bean TOFU Chili

I got this recipe from my friend Amanda. It's very tasty! I assume that it would be easy to substitute tofu or something for the chicken. I've used fish instead of chicken and it turned out fine. I love recipes that only have one step!

Ingredients
1.25 pounds chicken tofu
2 cups chicken vegetable broth
11 oz can white corn, drained
2 12 oz cans Great Northern Beans, drained
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1 small white onion, chopped
4 oz can green chiles, chopped
14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 packet White Bean Chili Seasoning mix (not gluten free) OR 1-2 tbsp chili seasoning (gluten free)

Directions
Combine in large pot on medium heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Welcome! Let's eat.

As a twenty-something whippersnapper who recently started cooking for herself, I, very simply, am trying to cook healthy and simple meals. I want to wean myself off of the boxed foods I've lived on for so long and expand my cooking horizons into more fresh and varied territories.

Why, and why now?
-I finally have free time to cook.
-I want to treat my body right. Obligatory statement about how processed foods aren't as nutritious, how animals are mistreated in the food industry, how vegetables are important, etc.
-I've become interested in thinking about why I eat what I do and how my food choices impact not only my body but also everything else (food industry, agriculture, global warming, possibly apocalypses, etc.). I'm certainly not super-well informed but I watched a few leftist documentaries recently that inspired me to keep track of the healthy recipes I like.
-Currently, recipes that I like and re-use are on torn out pieces of notebook paper. This seems more reliable.
-I bring my lunch to work each day. Leftovers are generally better for me and cheaper than the frozen meals or pb&j that I bring.

I'm jaded enough to know that I'll eventually get tired of posting, but for now, I have a week off and am trying a bunch of new recipes, so welcome, dear reader!

Quick Cauliflower and Potato Curry

This is another one from Get Vegucated, who got it from Laurie Endicott, Where Do Gorillas Get Their Protein.
It turned out really good, though it needs more spices! I'm going to triple the curry powder and turmeric for next time, and maybe add some sriracha as well. Pro-tip from my friend R: Kale is good just sauteed in olive oil.

Dietary restrictions: Vegan, and to my knowledge gluten free

Ingredients

• 2 onions, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• About 3 medium potatoes, diced
• Nearly half a head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 3 tsp curry powder
• 1 3 tsp turmeric
• A little bit of sriracha
• Parsley or kale (saute in olive oil) 
• Optional: Add hard-boiled eggs or tofu

Directions
Stir-fry the diced onions in a dry skillet (no oil) until they are very brown. You can add a little bit of water from time to time if they start to stick. Add the minced garlic and fry that for about 30 seconds. Then add about 3 cups of water and the potatoes, cauliflower, and diced tomatoes. Add the spices and sriracha. Cover and simmer until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender. Serve with rice. Garnish with parsley or kale.
A note from Laurie: It’s hard to give an exact quantity for the potatoes and cauliflower, because their sizes vary, and some skillets are bigger than others. If I fill my skillet with vegetables, it yields about 6 servings.

Pictured below: My 2nd time making this, I substituted garbanzo beans for the diced tomatoes and cabbage and carrots for the cauliflower. It was better with the added seasoning but I think I might use even more sriracha next time.

Polenta with Mushrooms & Greens

From Get Vegucated, who got it from Kelsey Rowley, Vegan nursing student, Seattle, WA. I haven't tried this yet, but I'll update this with a review when I do. I haven't been able to try it yet because the 4 employees I asked at the grocery store did not know where I could find their polenta. (One asked me: Oh, for your coffee? Me: Uh...no. It's probably by the quinoa or something. Employee: What's that? Me: ...I'll just go check the produce section again.)

Update: Review! First and foremost, oyster mushrooms look freaky. In a cool science-y way. But unfortunately, I did not really like how this dish turned out. I think there were a few problems with my approach. First, I couldn't find a tube of pre-cooked polenta so I just used a whole box (found by the "Italian" foods), so the polenta dominated the other ingredients. Second, I used already-minced garlic instead of fresh garlic, which may have contributed to how 'blah' the overall flavor turned out. I also wasn't sure how to place the lemons on, and so put some directly on the polenta/onions/mushrooms and some on top of the vegetables. It turns out you should definitely put them directly on the polenta/onions/mushrooms to really get the flavor of the lemons into the dish. Even then, I wouldn't really recommend this dish without some major modifications (like adding that vegan sausage that was suggested). Edit: It turns out that smothering the leftovers in melty cheese and sriracha makes them much more tasty.

Dietary restrictions: Vegan.

Ingredients

• one tube of pre-cooked polenta
• one medium onion
• oyster mushrooms
• one handful spinach
• one handful arugula
• 2 cloves fresh garlic
• olive oil
• fresh lemon

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350. Cut polenta into 1/4 inch slices to make circles. Coat casserole dish with light olive oil, place polenta on dish. chop onion, sauté onions in olive oil. Add a little brown sugar to caramelize, if desired. Chop oyster mushrooms and garlic, add to onions, cook for 1 minute with onions. Add to polenta dish. Bake for ten minutes. Add spinach, arugula, and lemon on top. Continue to bake for 2 minutes. Ready!
A note from Kelsey: Feel free to add any ingredients. I added vegan sausages, rosemary, pepper. I’ve made it a bunch of times in various ways. Always tastes good, but the lemon is key.

Fiesta Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from Get Vegucated who got it from Amie Valpone, The Healthy Apple. I'll be honest - I didn't use GF pasta, since I'm not GF. Next time I make this I am going to cut the recipe in half, since even though it turned out great, I don't care to eat the same meal about 5 times in a row. I'm also going to make the dressing a bit more substantial, so...I'll keep that the way it is and cut everything else in half. The olive oil concoction is amazing. This is one of those fresh and light recipes that would work well for summer.

Recipe type: Entree • Prep time: 10 mins • Cook time: 10 mins • Total time: 20 mins • Serves: 4

Dietary restrictions: Gluten-Free and Vegan

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound gluten-free penne pasta
• 1 large zucchini, thinly sliced crosswise
• 6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 (10oz.) package frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
• 4 cups fresh spinach
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 chives, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with zucchini, mushrooms, corn and spinach. Set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine lemon zest, juice, olive oil, chives, red pepper, sea salt and black pepper; whisk well to combine.
3. Pour olive oil mixture over cooked pasta mixture; gently toss to combine.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Spinach with Garbanzo Beans

Sometimes, people I know flee the country and leave me with whatever is left of their stash of food. This provides some interesting fodder for cooking, since I end up with ingredients I haven't used before. For example: garbanzo beans! To find this recipe I entered "Garbanzo beans recipe" into The Google Machine and came out with this. I'll let you know how it turns out once I actually try it.

UPDATE: This is sooooo good and soooo easy to make! Amazing. I will be cooking this so much!

Dietary restrictions: Vegan, gluten-free.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 diced onion
• 10 ozs spinach (frozen chopped, thawed and drained)
• 12 ozs garbanzo beans (drained)
• 1/2 tsp cumin 
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Cook the garlic and onion in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spinach, garbanzo beans, cumin, and salt. Use your stirring spoon to lightly mash the beans as the mixture cooks. Allow to cook until thoroughly heated. 

Indonesian Peanut Saute

Once upon a time, I ordered Indonesian Peanut Saute at Noodles & Co. It gave me a nosebleed, but also a happy heart, so I went online and found a recipe to re-create it. It has more ingredients than I'm used to working with (for now), but is pretty simple to make and absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it. Spicy and delicious.

Variations: The toppings are totally optional. I've found before that I buy too many sprouts and cilantro to use in this recipe, so they end up going to waste. I just omit them if I know I won't use all that I buy. You can also easily switch out the veggies for other veggies, and adjust the level of sriracha to fit your taste.

Dietary restrictions: Vegetarian, can be made GF relatively easily

THE RECIPE
1 pound rice noodles

Sauce
1 cup vegetable broth
6 heaping tablespoons creamy peanut butter
4 teaspoons sriracha
3 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
5 cloves garlic minced

Veggies
1 cup chopped brocoli
1/2 of a red cabbage, sliced
1 cup shoestring carrots

Toppings

limes wedges
cilantro
sprouts
more Siracha

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. While the pasta is cooking, mix all the sauce ingredients and cook over medium low heat until combined.
3. In a large sauté pan, cook the vegetables until they begin to soften.
4. Turn off the heat, add the sauce and noodles to the sauté pan and combine.
5. Top with a lime wedge, Sriracha, cilantro and sprouts.