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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Chipotle- Slow Food. Fast.

So, I'm currently reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, and as I was reading tonight I read "Chipotle is one of the only national restaurant chains claiming to obtain a significant portion of its pork from animals that don't come from factory farms."

It just so happens that a Chipotle Mexican Grill opened in Columbia just last week...I had no idea about their mission, "Food with Integrity." Very cool. When I looked up Chipotle, I learned that they represent a return to organic and sustainable farming; they use only antibiotic-free, naturally-raised chicken and pork and 50% of their beef is raised this way. Chipotle calls their menu items "Slow Food. Fast."

I have not yet visited Chipotle, but this certainly makes me more excited to do so. Here, Steve Ells, the founder and CEO of Chipotle speaks about his company's mission on Nightline:


And here's an article that discusses Chipotle's intention to install solar panels in 75 of its restaurants. If only other restaurants would take notice that you can be environmentally-friendly and serve meat that wasn't raised and slaughtered on factory farms...and still make a profit, too. If only the American public was more educated about factory farms and demanded better for animals, ourselves and our children.

image via here

Chipotle's website advertises Food, Inc. View the trailer here. I haven't seen this film yet, but I really want to.

image via here

And, Fresh is coming to The Nickelodeon on Tuesday, February 9th at 6 PM. See a trailer for Fresh here.

Staying true to my promise to be more aware of what goes into my body and where it comes from, I am really interested in the Slow Food movement and educating myself about our American food sources.

image via here

Columbia has a Slow Food chapter, whose mission is to support the movement of Good, Clean and Fair Food. Check out the Slow Food Columbia blog here.

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