Making Great Sauerkraut
By Stanley A. Fishman, Author of Tender Grassfed Meat
Sauerkraut is one of the oldest foods. It was used by the ancient Chinese, the Romans, the steppe nomads, and many others. “Sauerkraut” means sour cabbage. In its purest form, it consists of cabbage and salt that has been lacto-fermented. The fermentation process uses beneficial bacteria to transform the cabbage into a nutritional powerhouse that is an excellent source of Vitamin C, minerals, B vitamins, and many other nutrients. Sauerkraut is loaded with beneficial bacteria. These beneficial bacteria improve digestion, strengthen the immune system, and protect against many diseases. Alternative physicians in Germany use sauerkraut to treat many illnesses.
Making sauerkraut used to literally be a matter of life or death for many people in Europe and Asia. For most of these people, sauerkraut was the only source of vitamin C available during the long cold winters. If people do not get enough vitamin C, they will develop scurvy, a disease that first causes the teeth to fall out and which will eventually kill the victim.
Sauerkraut was traditionally eaten in small quantities, as part of a larger meal. I eat 3 to 4 tablespoons a day, as part of a larger meal. In fact, my body craves some sauerkraut with every meal. Traditional peoples usually had some form of fermented vegetable with every meal.
Traditional sauerkraut is a live food, whose nutritional value is dependent on the beneficial bacteria it should contain. Unfortunately, most of the “sauerkraut” found in the supermarket is a dead food, where the beneficial bacteria have been killed by vinegar and other ingredients. This allows the “sauerkraut” to stay on the shelves indefinitely, but I see little point in eating it. There are some brands of sauerkraut that can be found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. These brands have some live cultures, which is why they must be refrigerated. You can also order traditionally made sauerkraut over the Internet, and some of it is very good, especially the sauerkraut made by Amish farmers. This sauerkraut tends to be very expensive, both in price and in shipping cost.
What sauerkraut do I recommend? Well, the best sauerkraut I ever had, by far, is the sauerkraut we make ourselves. I found that making sauerkraut is much simpler than I thought. I only know how to make sauerkraut using a Harsch Crock, which is a stoneware container that has been specifically designed for making sauerkraut. The crock is not cheap, but it should last a lifetime if you are careful with it. Harsch Crocks are widely available over the Internet and you can often find a deal.
Equipment
I recommend the following equipment for making sauerkraut:
•Harsch Crock, 7.5 liters
•Weight stones, (these come with the Harsch Crock)
•Stainless steel tongs
•Stainless steel potato masher
•Large stainless steel bowl
•Cabbage slicer, (you can use a food processor or anything that can shred cabbage)
Sauerkraut
If your Harsch Crock is a different size than 7.5 liters, adjust the amount the amount of cabbage and salt proportionately.
7 medium organic cabbages, about 12 pounds.
Approximately 5 tablespoons coarse grey French sea salt, (we use Celtic Sea Salt®)
1.Remove the core and outer leaves from the cabbage, and then wash well with filtered water, preferably reverse osmosis. Dry the cabbage. Save a few of the outer leaves.
2.Do the following steps, one cabbage at a time:
a. Shred the cabbage into a large bowl. (We use a cabbage slicer, but I think most food processors could be used for this.)
b.Use tongs to pick up enough cabbage to form a layer in the bottom of the Harsch Crock. (I use three large tongs full, but you might need more, depending on the width of your crock.)
c.Sprinkle between ½ to 1 teaspoon of salt over the layer.
d.Use a potato masher to crush and compress the cabbage layer as much as you reasonably can. This is very important, as it is crucial for the cabbage to release some of its liquid. You usually won’t see much liquid in the first few layers, but don’t worry, the repeated compressing will eventually give you enough liquid.
e.When the layer is well compressed, repeat steps b through d until you have used all of the shredded cabbage in the bowl. When you have used all the shredded cabbage in the bowl, shred the next cabbage, and repeat steps b through d until all the cabbages have been shredded and compressed into the crock.
3.Place a couple of the outer leaves you saved on top of the compressed cabbage. Place the weight stones on the leaves and press down gently but firmly on the stones (we press with the tongs) until they are covered with liquid. Put the cover on the crock. Move the crock to a convenient place in your kitchen (not next to the oven or stove), where it can rest for three days. Fill the gutter at the top of the crock with filtered water (preferably reverse osmosis).
4.Let the crock rest in the kitchen for three days. Check each day to make sure the gutter is fairly full of water. Do not open the crock, not even once.
5.After three days, remove some of the water from the gutter, so the crock can be carried without spilling. Move the crock to a cool place. We use our garage, but a basement or root cellar would be even better. Fill the gutter with filtered water. Let the crock rest for 21 days. Do not open the crock before then, not even once. Check each day to make sure the water gutter is full. How much water you will need is totally unpredictable. Don’t panic if the water gutter is empty, just fill with filtered water. We never check more than once a day and every batch has been great.
6.After 21 days, the sauerkraut should be ready. Use tongs and a ladle to put the sauerkraut and its juice into Mason jars. It will keep in the refrigerator for many months. Then get started on the next batch.
Now you have my secret recipe for sauerkraut. It gets much easier each time we make it. Making sauerkraut is a job for at least two people, but the rewards are great.
Stanley kindly sent us some of his Sauerkraut last month and it was the best we’ve ever tasted. So good we bought a crock (see a great resource on the links page) and have made our own. We can’t wait until it’s ready! Stanley’s amazing cookbook, Tender Grassfed Meat is available at Amazon, link below.
Read more great Pennywise Platter Thursday posts here: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/01/pennywise-platter-thursday-12710.html
Read more great Real Food Wednesday posts here: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/01/real-food-wednesday-12710.html
Red Lentil Soup
Now that it’s cold and rainy – it’s soup season. We make a lot of broth, both chicken and beef and it’s nice to use them in other soups too. This is a great one. It’s my own personal mix of an Indian style and a Lebanese style red lentil soup.
As usual, things always taste better if they’re fresh and organic.
Ingredients:
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock, preferable organic & homemade
2 ½ cups organic red lentils
3 tablespoons organic olive oil
1 tablespoon minced organic garlic, about 3 cloves
1 large organic onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon celtic or sea salt, or to taste
1 or 2 bunches organic spinach, washed and dried
2 medium young organic potatoes, white or red, cubed
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 lemon cut into 6-8 wedges
Directions:
Sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil, over medium heat, until softened, about 3-5 minutes.
Add lentils, broth & spices. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes. If the soup is too thick you can add 1 – 2 cups of water.
Add potatoes and simmer for another 30 minutes or so until the lentils and potatoes are getting tender. Add spinach and let simmer another 10-15 minutes.
Just before serving add chopped cilantro and a wedge of lemon. People can add a squeeze to their bowl, as desired. You can also add a spoonful of plain yogurt on top, just before serving. Makes 6-8 servings.
Serve with homemade naan or any type of artesian, whole grain bread.
Read more great Pennywise Platter Thursday posts here: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/01/pennywise-platter-thursday-12110.html
Read more great Real Food Wednesday posts here: http://www.cheeseslave.com/2010/01/20/real-food-wednesday-january-20-2010/
GMOs in the News
Non-GMO label getting a local push by Lundberg Family Farms
By HEATHER HACKING – Staff Writer
Posted Jan. 11th
RICHVALE — Lundberg Family Farms is among the leaders in a trend to label foods as non-GMO.
GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, which are created through transferring genes from one organism to another.
Most Americans consume genetically modified foods every day. The majority of soy, cotton, corn and canola grown in the United States contains genetically modified crops, most of which have been altered to resist pests and weeds.
Other genetically modified foods may contain higher nutrients, are more tolerant to adverse growing conditions or produce higher yields.
Previously there has been no organized system in the United States for people to know whether the foods they buy contain GMOs.
Over the past two years, Lundberg Family Farms, which produces organic rice products, and others in the organic industry have created a new labeling system and verification process to label foods as “non-GMO.”
The group is a nonprofit organization called the Non-GMO project.
Grant Lundberg, chief executive officer of his family’s business in Richvale, said Lundberg Family Farms has long been opposed to genetically modified foods, created through biotechnology.
Some genetically modified crops, such as corn and soybeans, spread pollen easily and can cross-pollinate with other crops, Lundberg explained.
“There is the potential to lose a lot of genetic history because when a product is released, it is very hard to keep it contained,” Lundberg said.
Some food consumers have also had difficulty if they want to buy foods that do not contain genetic modifications.
About two years ago, the company that specializes in organic rice products joined other natural food companies to develop a nonprofit group to label non-GMO products, “to give the consumers an informed choice about what they are eating,” Lundberg said.
The program has set up a “supply chain from seed breeders all the way through to retailers and consumers,” he continued.
The program includes a third-party verification process, followed by inclusion of the non-GMO label.
“We know our customers have those concerns,” Lundberg said. “The person who goes into the natural food store has certain expectations of their food. Our hope for the project is that we’re creating a standard.”
Other companies that helped fund the labeling project include Whole Foods Market, Eden Organic, Nature’s Path and United Natural Foods.
Lundberg said many foreign countries, including Japan, Australia and the European Union, require labeling if products contain genetically modified foods, which creates a trade barrier for some U.S. products.
“The general U.S. ag policy has been pro-GMO,” Lundberg said.
Currently, 50 brands in the United States and Canada have signed up for the new non-GMO project, he said, accounting for about 3,000 products.
Part of the labeling criteria includes a protocol to trace, test and segregate foods used, said Megan Westgate, executive director for the Non-GMO Project, based in Southern California.
The standard chosen by the group is 0.9 percent or less GMOs in foods — the same standards used in the European Union, Westgate explained.
The goal of the program is to make testing very efficient, so companies that do not use genetically modified foods don’t end up spending a lot of money on testing.
For example, Westgate said, 91 percent of soy grown in the United States is genetically modified. If a company uses soy oil, testing each truckload could cost up to $16,000 a year.
But if the soy oil is tested further up the supply chain, the cost for testing is greatly reduced, she said.
“We’re creating a structure in making non-GMO an affordable and practical thing.
“The most efficient place to test is when a crop is processed,” Westgate said.
In the next couple of months, companies will be using up the remainder of their packaging material and rolling out with the redesigned containers that include the non-GMO seal.
She said the hope is that people will see the labels and become more informed about GMOs.
From: http://www.chicoer.com/news/ci_14163467
Supermarket News Forecasts Non-GMO uprising
By Jeffrey Smith
Author and founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology
Posted: January 8, 2010 05:26 PM
For a couple of years, the Institute for Responsible Technology has predicted that the US would soon experience a tipping point of consumer rejection against genetically modified foods; a change we’re all helping to bring about. Now a December article in Supermarket News supports both our prediction and the role the Institute is playing.
“The coming year promises to bring about a greater, more pervasive awarenes” of the genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in our food supply, wrote Group Editor Robert Vosburgh, in a trade publication that conventional food executives and retailers use as a primary source of news and trends in the industry. Vosburgh describes how previous food “culprits” like fat and carbs “can even define the decade in which they were topical,” and suggests that GMOs may finally burst through into the public awareness and join their ranks.
Vosburgh credits two recent launches with “the potential to spark a new round of concern among shoppers who are today much more attuned to the ways their food is produced.” One is our Institute’s new non-GMO website, which, he says, “provides consumers with a directory of non-GMO brands . . . developed for the 53% of Americans who say they would avoid GMOs if labeled.'”
The other launch is the Non-GMO Project, offering “the country’s first consensus-based guidelines, which include third-party certification and a uniform seal for approved products. . . . The organization also requires documented traceability and segregation to ensure the tested ingredients are what go into the final product.”
He alerts supermarket executives that, “the growth of the organic (which bans GMO ingredients), local and green product categories reflects a generation of consumers who could be less tolerant of genetic modification.”
Please allow me to sit back with an I-told-you-so grin of satisfaction. Two years ago, I wrote a newsletter article describing three components that would move the market on GMOs:
1. The Non-GMO Project’s new “widely accepted definition for non-GMO” would spark a GMO cleanout, starting with the brands in the natural food industry.
Our Institute endorses the Non-GMO Project and encourages food companies to enroll their products with this excellent nonprofit organization. Their official seal was introduced in October 2009 and has quickly become the national standard for meaningful non-GMO claims.
2. “Providing clear Non-GMO product choices” with our Non-GMO Shopping Guide would make it easier for consumers to select “non-GMO products by brand and category.”
The same Guide is available as a website, a spread in magazines, a pocket guide, a two-sided download, and coming soon, a mobile phone application.
3. “Educating Health-Conscious Shoppers” about the health effects of GMOs is the key means by which GMOs will become a marketing liability—the next culprit.
From, and read the rest here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/emsupermarket-newsem-fore_b_416861.html
Will Organic farmers embrace GM crops to help feed the world?
Posted on: January 14, 2010 12:19 PM, by Pamela Ronald
In an interview with The Times, Gordon Conway, Professor of International Development at Imperial College London and a former government adviser said that the ban on organic farmers using GM crops was based on an excessively rigid rejection of synthetic approaches to farming and a misconception that natural ways were safer and more environment- friendly than man-made ones.
I completely agree with Gordon Conway that it makes sense for farmers to use the most powerful tools available to make their production more sustainable. Still, I think it unlikely in the short term that organic farmers will embrace the concept.
It is not that feeding the world, health of the consumers or care of the land are unimportant issues, it is just that the organic “brand” is now making a lot of money for all in the industry (Farmers, food processors, large corporate retailers such as Whole Foods, etc) and so there is zero incentive to change certification rules.
If you go to the link above, there are some great comments and I’m sure we could all add some more! – Mom
Read more, great Real Food Friday posts here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-january-22nd/
Food Fight Documentary Review
Food Fight is a great new documentary that we watched over the holidays. It’s a bit different than some of the other documentaries that we’ve reviewed in that it shows the history of food production in our country and gives detailed answers about what is wrong with our food supply and how we can fix it.
There are a number of wonderful interviews with Alice Waters, Michael Pollan & Marion Nestle, among others.
One quote from Michael Pollan says, “The industrial food system is not doing what a food system is supposed to do – which is to keep a population healthy. Our food system is making us sick”
The original farm bills were created to help feed the hungry and when women went into the workplace during World War 2, they wanted convenient ways to prepare foods and so the start of processed foods was born.
The goal of farms used to be feeding people with good food at a reasonable price. When Earl Butz became head of the USDA his goal changed to profit and creating cheap food. “Grow as much food as you can”, he said, “We’ll sell it.” Then food production changed to quantity, instead of quality.
Our farmers did not benefit from the subsidies, the buyers do. The big corporations who buy the corn and soy cheaply and use it to make the processed food that’s destroying people’s health and well-being. Fruits and vegetables – that we need for good health are considered specialty crops. Those are the farmers we need to subsidize, corn and soy are not what we should be eating and don’t support us being healthy.
During the early 1970’s Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse and through her restaurant she supported a network of local and organic farmers. She set a whole new food economy into motion, because she found that local and organic food just tasted better.
We have of course since learned that aside from taste it’s better for our health, our farmers health, and the environment as well. The movie really brings home how the choices we make every day for every meal really make a difference in our food supply.
This is a great movie, interesting and informative too.
Before you prepare your next meal – watch this movie!
Sheri – Moms for Safe Food.org
You can find out more, or buy the movie here: http://www.foodfightthedoc.com
Read more great, Fight Back Friday posts here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-january-15th/
Read more great, Pennywise Platter Thursday posts here: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2010/01/pennywise-platter-thursday-11410.html
Read more great, Real Food Wednesday posts here: http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/01/real-food-wednesday-11310.html
Three Approved GMOs Linked to Organ Damage
Three Approved GMOs Linked to Organ Damage
by Rady Ananda
In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption of Monsanto’s GM maize.
All three varieties of GM corn, Mon 810, Mon 863 and NK 603, were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities. Made public by European authorities in 2005, Monsanto’s confidential raw data of its 2002 feeding trials on rats that these researchers analyzed is the same data, ironically, that was used to approve them in different parts of the world.
The Committee of Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN) and Universities of Caen and Rouen studied Monsanto’s 90-day feeding trials data of insecticide producing Mon 810, Mon 863 and Roundup® herbicide absorbing NK 603 varieties of GM maize.
The data “clearly underlines adverse impacts on kidneys and liver, the dietary detoxifying organs, as well as different levels of damages to heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system,” reported Gilles-Eric Séralini, a molecular biologist at the University of Caen.
Although different levels of adverse impact on vital organs were noticed between the three GMOs, the 2009 research shows specific effects associated with consumption of each GMO, differentiated by sex and dose.
Their December 2009 study appears in the International Journal of Biological Sciences (IJBS). This latest study conforms with a 2007 analysis by CRIIGEN on Mon 863, published in Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, using the same data.
Monsanto rejected the 2007 conclusions, stating: “The analyses conducted by these authors are not consistent with what has been traditionally accepted for use by regulatory toxicologists for analysis of rat toxicology data.”1
In an email to me, Séralini explained that their study goes beyond Monsanto’s analysis by exploring the sex-differentiated health effects on mammals, which Doull, et al. ignored:
“Our study contradicts Monsanto conclusions because Monsanto systematically neglects significant health effects in mammals that are different in males and females eating GMOs, or not proportional to the dose. This is a very serious mistake, dramatic for public health. This is the major conclusion revealed by our work, the only careful reanalysis of Monsanto crude statistical data.”
Other problems with Monsanto’s conclusions
When testing for drug or pesticide safety, the standard protocol is to use three mammalian species. The subject studies only used rats, yet won GMO approval in more than a dozen nations.
Chronic problems are rarely discovered in 90 days; most often such tests run for up to two years. Tests “lasting longer than three months give more chances to reveal metabolic, nervous, immune, hormonal or cancer diseases,” wrote Seralini et al. in their Doull rebuttal.2
Further, Monsanto’s analysis compared unrelated feeding groups, muddying the results. The June 2009 rebuttal explains, “In order to isolate the effect of the GM transformation process from other variables, it is only valid to compare the GMO … with its isogenic non-GM equivalent.”
The researchers conclude that the raw data from all three GMO studies reveal novel pesticide residues will be present in food and feed and may pose grave health risks to those consuming them.
They have called for “an immediate ban on the import and cultivation of these GMOs and strongly recommend additional long-term (up to two years) and multi-generational animal feeding studies on at least three species to provide true scientifically valid data on the acute and chronic toxic effects of GM crops, feed and foods.”
Human health, of course, is of primary import to us, but ecological effects are also in play. Ninety-nine percent of GMO crops either tolerate or produce insecticide. This may be the reason we see bee colony collapse disorder and massive butterfly deaths. If GMOs are wiping out Earth’s pollinators, they are far more disastrous than the threat they pose to humans and other mammals.
From: http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/01/three-approved-gmos-linked-to-organ-damage/
Read more, great, Real Food Friday posts here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-january-8th/
Tapioca Pudding
Tapioca Pudding
As three of our four chickens are now laying eggs, I was looking around for some egg recipes and remembered how much my husband loves tapioca pudding. I had organic pearls in the cupboard so I decided to make pudding. It’s easy to make pudding from scratch and so good!
Look at the instructions on the package of tapioca that you buy. Some small pearl tapioca requires overnight soaking in water. If your package has that requirement, reduce the milk in the recipe to 2 1/2 cups from 3 cups.
Ingredients
* 1/2 cup organic small pearl tapioca (Do not use instant tapioca)
* 3 cups whole real, raw milk
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs, preferably organic and pasture – or backyard – raised
* 1/2 cup of organic sugar or Rapadura sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon of organic vanilla
* 1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg
Directions:
1 – Combine tapioca, milk, and salt in 1 1/2 quart pan on medium high heat. Stir until boiling. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered at the lowest possible heat, adding sugar gradually.
2 – Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Mix in some of the hot tapioca very slowly to equalize the temperature of the two mixtures (to avoid curdling).
3 – Return eggs to pan with tapioca. Slowly bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir several minutes at a low simmer, stirring constantly until you get a nice thick pudding consistency. Cool 15 minutes. Add vanilla and nutmeg. You can spoon the pudding into individual serving bowls or into a covered casserole. We like to chill it in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving, but you can serve it either warm or chilled.
Serves 4-6.
Read more great, Real Food Wednesday Posts here: http://www.cheeseslave.com/2010/01/06/real-food-wednesday-january-6-2010/
Smore Cookie Bars
This is my last post of 2009. I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy New Year.
We’ve had a cold going around the family. I think (fingers crossed) that we’re finally all doing better. We had tremendous success using some of the suggestions Stanley made in his wonderful post on Fighting the Flu with Real Food. I’ll re-link to it below. Both my husband and I had bad coughs, and the recipe for the raw honey-organic turmeric mixture was amazing in how fast it cleared the cough. https://www.momsforsafefood.org/Blog/Entries/2009/10/16_Entry_1.html
I’ve been going to a yearly cookie exchange for a number of years now. It’s hosted by a good friends mother and it’s a great group of women. I made S’more Cookie bars this year. I don’t remember where I got the original recipe but I found the greatest Organic Marshmallow fluff. I’ll post a link below. This was a BIG hit with the kids.
S’More Cookie Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
1/2 cup organic sugar
1 large egg, preferable free-range and organic
1 tsp organic vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic graham cracker crumbs*
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized organic milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized chocolate bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick.
Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff.
Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned.
Cool completely before cutting into bars
Makes 16 cookie bars.
*Note: 3/4 cup crumbs is approx 7 full-sized graham cracker sheets, whizzed in the food processor until fine.
Soy in prison diets prompts lawsuit
Soy in Illinois prison diets prompts lawsuit over health effects
Group says plant protein causes problems for inmates
By Monica Eng
December 21, 2009
Soy-enhanced chili mac, turkey patties with soy, soy-studded country gravy, soy-blend hot dogs, soy-spiked sloppy joes, Polish sausages packed with soy, soy chicken patties.
These aren’t items from the latest vegetarian diet, but rather dishes served over a week at Danville
Correctional Center, according to a recent menu. They’re also the basis of a lawsuit filed in U.S. District
Court this summer by nine plaintiffs who allege that the Illinois Department of Corrections is endangering
the health of the inmates — especially those with allergies, sensitivities and existing gastrointestinal and
thyroid problems — by serving them too much soy.
Tens of thousands of inmates in Illinois prisons are being fed “up to 100 grams” of soy protein a day,
according to the Weston A. Price Foundation, which is funding the lawsuit. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration recommends consuming about 25 grams of soy protein per day.
Based in Washington, D.C., the foundation promotes the consumption of whole, traditional and
largely unprocessed foods. Foundation president Sally Fallon called the soy diet served in Illinois
prisons “the Tuskegee of the 21st century,” referring to the syphilis experiments performed on
African-Americans from the 1930s to ’70s. “Never before have we had a large population like this being served such a high level of soy with almost no other choice,” she said.
The plaintiffs are “suffering irreparable, actual harm by being forced to continue to eat food that has
too much soy in it,” according to an amended complaint filed in June.
The effects have ranged from acute allergic reactions and heart problems to gastrointestinal distress
and thyroid dysfunction, it says. Fallon said the foundation got involved after inmates from various Illinois facilities contacted her. Last month, the foundation hosted a local panel on the soy issue before its annual national conference in Schaumburg.
The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would stop the Department of Corrections from serving
soy in Illinois prisons as well as damages from the prisons’ contracted health care provider.
The department says it started serving soy-enhanced foods in March 2004 as a cost-cutting measure.
But it declined to comment on most aspects of the pending litigation and is awaiting a ruling on its
motion to dismiss the suit.
Nancy Chapman, executive director of the Soyfoods Association of North America, said she doubts
prisoners are consuming as much soy as the foundation alleges. “One hundred grams of any protein from plants or animals would not be economically feasible and would be an enormous load on the kidneys,” Chapman said.
Prison menus indicate inmates are served as many as seven soy-enhanced “meat” entrees a week. But
the foundation contends the inmates consume more soy through cooking oils and soy cheeses as well
as baked products enhanced with soy protein concentrates.
Once the darling of the health-food community, soy — especially non-fermented and genetically
modified soy — has fallen out of favor in some health circles. Last year the American Heart
Association urged the FDA to stop recommending soy as a way to reduce heart disease risk, saying
“direct cardiovascular benefits of soy protein or isoflavones are minimal at best.”
Scientific studies have volleyed back and forth on whether high soy consumption reduces or increases
cancer risk, inhibits mineral absorption and affects sperm concentrations.
But most agree that soy, especially unfermented varieties, can cause problems with the thyroid
function and digestion.
Recommendations vary on how much soy is healthy to consume. The American Dietetic Association
“believes that up to two servings of soy per day for adults could be part of a healthy diet,” said
spokeswoman Christine Gerbstadt. Examples of a serving include a half-cup of edamame, a cup of
soy milk, a half-cup of tofu or a slice of bread in which soy flour is a component.
United Soybean Board consultant and researcher Mark Messina similarly recommends 15 to 20 grams
of soy protein per day. Eating one soy burger (14 grams) and a cup of soy milk (7 grams) would
exceed that level.
Thomas Salonis, a former inmate who is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he nearly passed out in
2008 from gastrointestinal pain at the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg.
He was diagnosed by a prison doctor as being allergic to soy — one of the eight most common food
allergies in the U.S., according to the FDA.
The doctor even wrote out a note, obtained by the Tribune, saying Salonis was allergic to soy. But the
prison made no changes, according to Salonis. Finally, after a hunger strike, he was offered work that
allowed him to buy instant soup from the commissary for his meals, he said.
The Department of Corrections says it accommodates medical diets but did not provide details as to
how.
At the panel the Weston A. Price Foundation hosted in Rogers Park, Salonis spoke about suffering
soy-induced stomach pain and bloating in prison. “Gas was really an issue,” said Salonis, who was released from prison last fall. “And most of my (cellmates) were real big, and they were like, ‘Hey man you gotta take that somewhere else.’ But I was like, ‘Where am I gonna take it?’ The whole thing was just offensive.”
The legal complaint alleges that tests show all nine plaintiffs have hormone, lipid and enzyme levels
consistent with thyroid damage caused by soy. Messina said soy intake is an issue only for those with
pre-existing thyroid conditions and/or iodine deficiencies. All agree that people with soy allergies
should not eat it.
The foundation says the Department of Corrections obtains most of its soy from Archer Daniels
Midland through its contracts with Central Management Services, which oversees food procurement
for the prisons. ADM said it has a contract to provide texturized vegetable protein and soy protein
concentrates to the department, but neither party would disclose the amounts.
The foundation also contends prisons are serving genetically modified soy, which it says can further
aggravate allergic reactions and mineral absorption.
Research by Monsanto, which developed herbicide-resistant soy, has found that the genetically
modified product has up to 27 percent more of a potential allergen called trypsin inhibitor than other
soy, said Jeffrey Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception,” a book that criticizes genetically modified
foods.
ADM said it cannot determine whether the soy products they supply to the Department of Corrections
come from genetically modified beans. The foundation has received nearly 200 letters about soy from prisoners in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Florida, according to Fallon, who urges a return to older food-service models. “Ten years ago many prisoners grew their own food,” she said. “They raised their beef, their chicken,
their vegetables and there was enough left over to sell it on the open market. … We need to go back to
that at prisons all over the country, teach them skills, get them outdoors in the sunlight with animals,
eating real nutritious foods so they can truly be rehabilitated back into society.”
When Fallon hears from families of soy-sensitive inmates, she urges them to send their incarcerated
relatives money so they can purchase foods from the commissary.
“We recommend sardines, summer sausage and, of all things, SPAM,” said Fallon, who usually
advocates eating chemical-free meat from pastured animals. “They supply good protein, stable fats,
vitamins A and D, and good minerals. They are in general very nutritious foods and provide just what
they are missing in their prison diet.” Fallon said the foundation also is concerned about the growing use of soy in institutions serving children and the elderly.
“Illinois has a pilot program to bring this kind of diet to the schools, to growing children,” she said.
Indeed, Chicago Public Schools menus incorporate soy-based texturized vegetable protein into their
meat products and regularly serve doughnuts made with soy flour. Despite the alleged suffering of inmates, Fallon says the diet in Illinois prisons presents an opportunity “to see what happens when you feed people soy with no other choices. This situation has brought it out into the open.”
Soy in Illinois prison diets prompts lawsuit over health effects – … http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-soy-prison-diet-dec21…
Real Food Heals
Real Food Heals—How I Used Real Food to Restore My Health
By Stanley A. Fishman, Author of Tender Grassfed Meat
I was about to see “The Doctor” after surviving an asthma attack that almost killed me. The news was grim. The Doctor spoke with total confidence and authority as he pronounced my death sentence. I had severe COPD and emphysema. My lungs had suffered severe damage—damage so severe that they would never get better. In fact, they would get worse. I could slow the deterioration somewhat by taking heavy doses of steroids, which would have “side effects.” But this would only slow down the inevitable. Maybe I could get a lung transplant, but the waiting list was long. The anti-rejection drugs I would have to take would lower my immunity, and I was already having trouble fighting off frequent respiratory infections, even with antibiotics.
Eleven years later, I am healthier than I have ever been in my life. Asthma is no longer a problem. Actually, nothing is a problem. I have not taken any medication (prescription, or over-the-counter), for over five years. The lungs that would never heal—work fine.
After The Doctor pronounced sentence, I walked to my car. The short walk left me exhausted. I sat and thought. After much life experience, I had come to realize that we are often invited to participate in certain “dramas” that are common to our society. I had also learned that we often have the power to refuse to take part in the “drama,” and take another path. The Doctor had invited me to participate in an emphysema “drama.” The script was clear. I would get sicker and weaker, as the drugs that gave me temporary relief destroyed my body. I would suffer for a few years, turn into a complete invalid, and then die in some crummy hospital, struggling to breathe as the medication no longer worked. My family would suffer emotionally. It would be so sad, so tragic. I decided right there and then that I would have no part of that “drama.” I would reject it completely, and take another path.
But how? I had been brought up to believe in The Doctor. The Doctor was never wrong. The Doctor knew everything there was to know about health and sickness, life and death. The Doctor was to be obeyed completely, because he or she was The Doctor. But I had learned something about doctors in my years as an attorney. Many of them did great harm to their patients, through ignorance, harmful medical practices, carelessness, greed, exhaustion, or all of the above. Very often they did not know what to do.
I Had to Find Another Way
My great strength as an attorney was research. I decided I would use that ability to find another way. I had a client who had been trying for years to get me interested in alternative medicine. I would start there.
It was hard at first. For a while, I had to stop working. I had to sleep in a chair. (Luckily it was a very comfortable, huge, overstuffed armchair.) I could not climb stairs, or blow out a candle. It was a struggle to get out of bed. Every time I caught a cold or flu, it turned into bronchitis or pneumonia. I had various skin, digestive, and sinus problems. But things got better. I took as little medication as I could, despite the orders of The Doctor to take medication every day. I refused to take steroids. I tried a number of alternative remedies. Some helped, many were useless, and a few made things worse. I stuck with what worked and discarded the rest.
Several years later, my health had improved and stabilized. I could work, though not as much as I wanted. The asthma was not very active, unless I caught a cold. I could live a somewhat normal life. I had learned how to control asthma attacks without medication. But I still got bronchitis or pneumonia every time I got a cold or flu. Several times a year I had to resort to antibiotics, which dealt with the infection, but did great damage to my digestive system. I could not exercise. I could not climb stairs. I could not blow out a candle. I was exhausted most of the time. I still had various skin and digestive problems. I still had sinus problems. I would get depressed about my health. My hearing and eyesight had deteriorated, and I had almost no sense of smell. And I was not getting better.
My client got me to subscribe to an alternative doctor’s newsletter. One of his newsletters had a short summary of the research of Dr. Weston A. Price. And it had a reference to the Weston A. Price Foundation. I felt a thrill, as if I somehow knew that this was the answer. And it was.
Dr. Price Taught the Benefit of Real Food
I consider Dr. Price’s research to be the single most important scientific discovery ever made. Some of his most important findings were:
People who only eat traditional foods that have been valued and used for thousands of years do not have chronic disease. They do not have cancer, heart disease, asthma, tooth decay, diabetes, or any of the other diseases that plague modern life. They have no crime. They are calm and cheerful. They are fertile, and free of birth defects. People who eat modern processed, adulterated and chemicalized foods are vulnerable to every one of these chronic diseases, are often depressed or violent, and suffer from even more illnesses.
I spent many hours on the website of the Weston A. Price Foundation. I bought Nourishing Traditions and read it cover to cover. I learned the wisdom of Sally Fallon and Dr. Mary Enig, and others. I learned what to eat and what not to eat. I learned how to avoid toxic foods, oils, and cooking utensils. I learned of the blessings of lacto-fermented foods, and how to make some of them.
How I Changed My Diet
I stopped eating processed foods, unless they were organic. I stopped eating fast food. I gave up all soft drinks, including the cokes I used to drink every day. I stopped using polyunsaturated vegetable oils, and switched to traditional saturated fats. I avoided all unfermented soy. I gave up desserts and reduced my consumption of sweeteners to almost nothing. I started to eat pastured butter, pure organic milk, yogurt, and cheese, organic vegetables, lacto-fermented vegetables such as real sauerkraut, homemade bone broths, and hormone-free meats, including hormone-free liver, and other organ meats. I got a reverse osmosis system to purify our water. I avoided chemical toxins as much as I could. And my body slowly started to heal.
Then I got a cold and developed bronchitis. But I felt a strength and confidence in my body that I just did not have before. I drank a lot of homemade bone broth and got well. No antibiotics! Since that day, I have never taken any kind of medication. To paraphrase Hippocrates of Cos, the greatest of ancient physicians—my medicine was my food and my food was my medicine.
The final step was when I switched to grassfed meat and fat. Unfortunately, I ruined the first grassfed meat I cooked. It was tough and terrible. I put my research skills to work once again. I learned how traditional peoples cooked grassfed meat, and through trial and error, adapted their methods to the modern kitchen. This research became the basis of my cookbook, Tender Grassfed Meat: Traditional Ways to Cook Healthy Meat. Once I got grassfed meat to taste great, we switched completely to grassfed and grass finished meat. Every part of my body began to regenerate. I could feel it.
After years of eating only real food, every chronic illness I had is gone. I have no symptoms of anything. I sleep well, and wake up full of energy every morning, eager for the joys of the day. I am cheerful and optimistic. My eyesight and hearing have improved greatly, and my sense of smell has returned. I can easily climb stairs, blow out candles, leap out of bed, and do everything I could before I got sick. I have a powerful immune system that fights off everything.
Real food restored my health. Real food maintains my health.
I am not a doctor, and the above is not intended to be medical advice. The above is a description of how I improved my health with real food.
Thank you Stan for another wonderful post. You can buy Stan’s cookbook at Amazon, link below. It’s one of my most used cookbooks – Mom
Organic Chocolate Cupcakes with Mocha Frosting
It’s birthday month here. Three of our four kids had their birthdays last week and the fourth is in a few weeks. I let everyone pick what kind of cupcakes they’d like and bake them from scratch.
These were the best, so I’m sharing the recipes. Enjoy!
Chocolate Cupcakes, Makes 12:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened organic cocoa powder
3/4 cup organic all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon organic baking powder
1/4 teaspoon celtic salt or sea salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted organic butter, room temperature
1 cup organic sugar
3 large organic, free-range eggs
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk yogurt, or Greek yogurt or sour cream
Sprinkles (optional)
Directions:
- 1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with yogurt and beginning and ending with flour.
3. Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 20 to 25
minutes.
4. Cool in pan 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, then spread with Mocha Icing using a table
knife or small offset spatula. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
Mocha Frosting, this recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups. Perfect for 12 cupcakes.
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup organic powered sugar
2 tbs. organic cocoa power
½ cup organic butter
1/8 tsp Celtic or sea salt
3 tbs. hot, strong, organic coffee
1 tsp. organic vanilla extract
Directions:
Sift sugar and cocoa power together.
Beat butter until soft. Add the sugar gradually. Mix until creamy.
Add salt and coffee and mix for another two minutes.
When the frosting is cool add the vanilla, mix well and spread.
Read more great Fight Back Friday posts here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/fight-back-friday-december-18th/