Thursday's Thinking of Food (a day late)

Sorry this is late, but here is some food news, a freebie, and an upcoming foodie event in Columbia:

*The FDA has drafted guidance on "The Judicious Use of Medically Important Anti-Microbial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals."  Woohoo--finally, a step in the right direction to ending, or at least controlling, the antibiotics used in factory farms.  Questions remain about the next steps, but you can help by not waiting for the FDA to take action, but by asking your legislator to pass the Prevention of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act, which would withdraw the routine use of 7 classes of antibiotics vitally important to human health from food animal production.  I read about this here.

image via here

*Earth Fare is giving away FREE watermelons this 4th of July weekend!  Click here for a printable coupon.

image via here

*Palmetto Palate is July 22nd, 6-9 PM, at 701 Whaley Street.  This event is sponsored by the SC Farm Bureau, and will include great local food prepared by local chefs, an open bar, and a silent auction to benefit Friends of Farm Bureau PAC.  For tickets, ($50 each), call my friend Kristin Lavender at 803.936.4219.

I hope everyone has an amazing 4th of July weekend--what are your plans?
I am leaving this evening for Boca Grande, FL, and will return hopefully well-rested,  tanned, and ready to host my 3-year old nephew's birthday party in my back yard next weekend!

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Shouldn't We All Care What We're Putting In Our Bodies?

As I explained it to my Social Policy class Monday night, I have a new "passion," if you will...educating myself and others about the food, namely meat, that we are putting into our bodies--and the bodies of our children. #1 on my 31 Things for my 31st Year List was to become more aware of what I eat, where it comes from, and how it affects my health.

The first thing I did towards this end was to read Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. This promptly had me not eating animals...if you haven't read it, you should. I have since watched Food, Inc. and investigated a few of the local meat producers, Caw Caw Creek Farms and Wil-Moore Farms. I have also begun shopping more at the All-Local Farmers' Market at 701 Whaley St. in Columbia.

Today I came across two articles that are valid pieces of investigative journalism questioning the safety of the meat we eat in this country--the safety of beef processing as well as the antibiotics fed to the animals.

Here is an article I found on the blog Grits and Gravy: Adventures of a South Carolina Foodie. The article by Michael Moss of the New York Times questions the safety of beef-processing methods in America.

This article I found in my Pew Charitable Trusts weekly e-mail, Pew News Now. It is a report by Katie Couric of CBS investigating if feeding farm animals antibiotics is producing drug-resistant bacteria. (I think, how could it not be?!) Here is the video report, aired on the CBS Evening News on February 9, 2010.

In the midst of all of this educating and investigating and finding out things I never wanted to find out about the meat that is raised and slaughtered in this country, I am also learning about people who are doing the right thing. The right thing not only for the people they are feeding, but also for the animals they raise for meat. Two of those people, locally, are Emile DeFelice, of Caw Caw Creek, and Kristian Niemi of Rosso Trattoria Italia (and Gervais & Vine). Niemi does his best to serve local ingredients when possible, as well as humanely and organically raised meats, such as pork from Caw Caw Creek Farm. See the video below, Episode 1 of a new series called Off Menu with Kristian, where he takes a tour of Caw Caw Creek and then demonstrates a recipe of Grilled Pork Chops with Apple Chutney.



Stayed tuned for more posts highlighting local restaurateurs and farmers doing their best to serve healthy, humanely treated, and locally-grown meats and vegetables.

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