In My Garden

On a rainy day in our yard, the birds and animals are very ordinary. A real birder would scoff…

The world’s least interesting bird?

Bad bunnies eat our hostas.

I think this is the cardinal’s nest in the bush by the front door.

 

A Coming Famine?

“When war is waged, people go hungry”, said António Guterres, Secretary‑General of the United Nations, noting that 60 per cent of the world’s undernourished people live in areas affected by conflict. In 2021, most of the 140 million people suffering acute hunger lived in just 10 countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. “When this Council debates conflict, you debate hunger,” he stressed. “And when you fail to reach consensus, hungry people pay a high price.” (UN Press Release, May 19, 2022)

A Ukrainian farmer, from "How Russia’s war in Ukraine upended the breadbasket of Europe"

Food scarcity has been increasing drastically as the war in Ukraine reduces production and distribution of grain and cooking oil from the war-torn region. Russian troops have targeted farms, warehouses, and shipping channels, threatening famine in a number of countries that rely on Ukrainian supplies of grain and oil. Ukrainian farmers who should be planting crops cannot do so as buildings, equipment, and fields have been destroyed by military action. Hunger is a major problem for the Ukrainians, whose homes have been destroyed and whose lives are totally disrupted. Because Ukraine is a major exporter, the war also threatens millions of people in other countries with starvation.

At the economic summit in Davos this week, the European Commission president pointed out that Russia is intentionally destroying Ukrainian ability to supply grain and cooking oil to many countries, which depend on these supplies. Essential shipments of grain from Russia have also been disrupted, further contributing to the looming catastrophe.

Earlier this week, statements by UN representatives and by the head of the European Commission have highlighted the crisis, which has sent prices soaring in many places, and is already causing famine. Some quotes from the last few days:

• "The head of the United Nations has said there is a looming global food crisis because of the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine." (Sky News)
• "The world’s food distribution network was already strained by pandemic-related disruptions, and exports from Ukraine, ordinarily among the world’s biggest suppliers, have plummeted because of the war. Russia has seized some the country’s Black Sea ports and blockaded the rest, trapping cargo vessels laden with corn, wheat, sunflower seeds, barley and oats." (New York Times)
• "In Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, the number of people facing extreme hunger has more than doubled since last year, from roughly 10 million to more than 23 million today... . Across the three countries, the report notes, one person is likely dying every 48 seconds from acute hunger-related causes stemming from armed conflict, COVID-19, climate change and inflationary pressures worsened by the war in Ukraine." (NPR News)
• In Iran last week public protests and violence were a reaction when, "prices for cooking oil quadrupled and for chicken and eggs doubled. The price of flat bread increased fivefold this month, and that of baguettes and sandwich rolls as much as tenfold." (New York Times)
• India, the world's second biggest producer of wheat after China, banned export of grain on May 16. The impact will be widespread: 
• "In the 12 months to March, India cashed in on soaring global prices, exporting a record 7 million metric tons of the grain. That was up more than 250% on the previous year's volumes. It had also set record export targets for the coming year." (CNN)
• "Top destinations for Indian exports included Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal and Turkey, and top global buyer Egypt recently agreed to make a first ever purchase of Indian wheat as Cairo tried to replace lost shipments from the Black Sea." (Reuters)
• "The World Food Programme estimates about 49 million people face emergency levels of hunger. About 811 million go to bed hungry each night. The  number of people on the brink of starvation across Africa’s Sahel region, for example, is at least 10 times higher than in pre-Covid 2019." (The Guardian)

I feel totally helpless as I watch the news of this global disaster. I know how lucky I am to live in a prosperous country that produces its own food. Americans are experiencing price increases in most food products as well as other commodities, but we don't face the same fate as the Africans and other people facing these shortages. 

Blog post © 2022 mae sander.

What is Impossible Meat?

From Burger King's Menu, May 2022: Impossible Whoppers.
I have tried them and they are fine.

 

"Beyond and Impossible meats are two different brands of plant-based meats that taste exactly like real meat—or close enough. The Impossible Burger even "bleeds" like meat, and is made mostly from soy, coconut oil, sunflower oil and natural flavors. Beyond Meat's key ingredients include water, pea protein, expeller-pressed canola oil, refined coconut oil and rice protein." (Source: Is Impossible Meat Bad for You?)

Home-made Impossible Meatballs.
Some comments last week asked about what they are.

Last week I wrote about preparing and eating Impossible meatballs. I had found the key ingredient, Impossible Beef, at Trader Joe's -- it's popular so they do not always have it in stock. We've also tried Beyond Burgers; however, after using them for a while, I no longer enjoyed them. So far, I do like Impossible Meat, which I find a very convincing meat substitute, and better than vegetarian patties. While some people find just the idea of such products repellant, I am open to experiments!

A less-meat-like meat substitute: veggie burgers.
Not bad, just not like meat.

I’ve written before about our decision to buy less meat, and how we have switched our diet to a combination of plant-based foods, dairy products, some fish, and occasionally chicken. I’ve described how our reasons originally involved concern for human rights violations and inhumane treatment of workers in slaughter houses and meat-packing plants, which were especially abusive during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic. We also considered other reasons to eat less meat, including the negative impact of cattle and hog raising on the global environment, the effect of eating meat on our health, and issues of cruelty to animals throughout the industrial meat-farming and slaughtering process. Switching to imitation meat addresses most of these problems.

One thing we try to give up: Fast Food like In-N-Out Burgers.
Shown here with lemonade to share with Elizabeth's blog party.

There are no perfect decisions! Only compromises. But here are some thoughts about the new very-meat-like meat substitutes, Impossible Meat and Beyond Meat.

Impossible Meat or Beyond Meat and Health

Beyond Burgers on our grill, May, 2020.
We decided to reduce our meat consumption two years ago.

The indisputable fact: Impossible Meat is ultra-processed. I've written about industrial food processing dozens of times, and generally explain why I avoid such products -- ultra-processing implies the use of numerous unfamiliar additives, and such foods couldn't be made in a home kitchen. This is all the more true of the lab-grown meat substitute, though the imitations are slightly lower in calories and much lower in fat content. I choose to eat Impossible meat occasionally, though, because the risk isn't high, and our avoidance of meat for ethical reasons is strong. I would especially be pleased if it was more commonly available at the fast-food places where I go when driving cross country! 

I'm not eating this product often enough to worry about whether it supplies the same nutrients as meat, though it has some of them:  

"Impossible Meats have been fortified with vitamins and minerals and do contain some micronutrients, but the reality is that processed foods are not as nutritious as unprocessed foods." (Source: Is Impossible Meat Bad for You?)

A bit more on the question of eating ultra-processed meat substitutes: 

"Critics of plant-based meat have also pointed out that it tends to be highly processed. No doubt, most plant-based meats are not health foods, due to their high saturated fat and salt (though beef and pork, too, are high in saturated fat). But “processed foods” is a vague and often ill-defined term that encompasses everything from high-fructose corn syrup to whole-grain pasta to yogurt, and has little bearing on foods’ environmental impact. As Vox’s Kelsey Piper has written, the term 'processed food' 'can obscure more than it clarifies' when it comes to the debate over plant-based meat." (Source: Yes, Plant-based meat is better for the planet)

I agree with the following statement from an article in Gizmodo: 

"If you’re wanting a nutritious, heart-healthy meal, you can and should eat vegetables and whole grains and fruits and all the other stuff that everyone knows they should be eating.... The nutritional status of the Impossible Burger doesn’t matter, because, like a regular hamburger, it’s a treat. You shouldn’t eat an Impossible Burger every day, just like you shouldn’t eat a hamburger every day." (source: "Impossible Burgers Aren’t Healthy")

What these products are NOT: a more controversial type of imitation meat is not yet available: this extreme method employs cell cultures to grow meat and seafood in a lab (also to grow dairy products). These products are in development, but none of them is yet on the market, and the USDA is in process of considering how to regulate them to protect consumers and avoid misrepresentation of the product. (Cell-based meat and milk: wonders of modern food technology?)

The Health of the Planet

First, the claims for ecological responsibility: "Impossible Foods claims its soy-based burger uses 87 percent less water, takes 96 percent less land, and has 89 percent lower greenhouse gas emissions than a beef burger. Beyond Meat makes similar claims about its pea-based burgers." 

Then some analysis: "But years of research on the environmental impact of food make one thing clear: Plant proteins, even if processed into imitation burgers, have smaller climate, water, and land impacts than conventional meats. Apart from environmental impact, reducing meat production would also reduce animal suffering and the risk of both animal-borne disease and antibiotic resistance. The criticisms against the new wave of meatless meat appear to be more rooted in broad opposition to food technology rather than a true environmental accounting — and they muddy the waters in the search for climate solutions at a time when clarity is sorely needed." 

And a few statistics about meat growing: "Even the lowest-emitting beef from dedicated beef herds (34 kg carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2e) and lower-emitting beef from dairy cow herds (15 kg CO2e) came in far above the highest-emitting tofu (4 kg CO2e) and plant-based meat (7 kg)." 

Will highly processed meat substitutes become more common and more acceptable while remaining ecologically responsible? At the moment, Impossible Meat and Beyond Beef are more expensive than ground beef: will the price difference decrease? Can the successes of these small start-up companies be scaled up to feed many more people and actually lead to a reduction in demand for beef? These are ongoing questions and I have not seen credible answers.

Source of quotes for this section: Yes, Plant-based meat is better for the planet.

Ethics: The Welfare of Meat-Packing Workers

Concern about meatpacking workers, especially about the risks that they were forced to take during the pandemic, was our original reason for greatly reducing our meat consumption. The abuses in industrial meat plants, which produce 99% of the country's meat supply, were already outrageous prior to the pandemic. High incidence of injuries and long hours without breaks were consistent, and many of the workers were immigrants (legal or not) or otherwise vulnerable to exploitation. My belief that mistreatment of workers is a central feature of American meat production gives me an incentive to continue avoiding meat. Substitutes like Impossible meat make it easier for me to do so. 

We read in the spring of 2020, as the coronavirus was raging, about how the meatpacking industry giants (virtually the only source of retail meat available) forced workers to stay on the job and risk illness and death for themselves and their families. Abuse of workers is unchanged now, after two years of public awareness of the vast cruelty of the meat industry. A newly published report offers many facts about this:

"How the Trump Administration Helped the Meatpacking
Industry Block Pandemic Worker Protections," May 2020.
An official report on recent Congressional hearings by the
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. (Online version here)

The major finding of this report:

"Last year, the Select Subcommittee found that during the first year of the pandemic, infections and deaths among workers for five of the largest meatpacking companies—Tyson Foods, Inc. (Tyson), JBS USA Holdings, Inc. (JBS), Smithfield Foods (Smithfield), Cargill, Inc. (Cargill), and National Beef Packing Company LLC (National Beef)—were significantly higher than previously estimated, with over 59,000 workers for these companies being infected with the coronavirus and at least 269 dying. Internal meatpacking industry documents reviewed by the Select Subcommittee now illustrate that despite awareness of the high risks of coronavirus spread in their plants, meatpacking companies engaged in a concerted effort with Trump Administration political officials to insulate themselves from coronavirus-related oversight, to force workers to continue working in dangerous conditions, and to shield themselves from legal liability for any resulting worker illness or death."

The vile behavior of meatpacking corporations, and the vile corruption of the Trump administration in abetting them, is no surprise, but the facts are still shocking. The report details the existing  abuses of the major suppliers of meat to the country, and how they continue to mistreat workers. And I'm convinced that I want to continue avoiding their products whenever I can.

Blog post © mae sander 2022. 

Remembering What We Did Ten Years Ago

Ten years ago this weekend we arrived in Santa Barbara for a month's stay -- a vivid memory. We went to lunch at a little burrito shop in a shopping center, and then bought some groceries for our temporary apartment. A weekly farmers' market was in the parking lot, which we really enjoyed -- especially the piles of ripe apricots. Here's what I wrote back then.

• You know you are in California when you are smiling at your burrito out in the sunshine.
• You know you are in California when a farmer at the farmers' market explains that he sells three types of artichokes, and another farmer has two kinds of avocados, some ripe, some hard. And a third farmer says that last year's tomato plants still have some tomatoes on them. 
• You know you are in California when girls wear short shorts with Uggs. It's hardly worth mentioning the sight of surf boards, but they're here too.
• You know you are in California when you see flights of pelicans, sea fog, lagoons, tidal sloughs, and rolling waves.
• You know you are in California when you smell the eucalyptus trees.

Blog post © 2012, 2022, mae sander.

Our Week In Food

Continuing to try Ethiopian recipes.
Above: shiro, recipe by Samin Nosrat (recipe link)
In casserole dish: Chicken in Tej Sauce with Oranges.
From Ethiopia by Yohanis Gebreysus.

Lunch without a recipe:
Fried mushrooms and toasted cheese on English Muffins.

Curried cauliflower with green peas (recipe inspiration)

Outdoor lunch: chips, salsa, salad.

First time grilling in 2022.
Len grilled a sliced eggplant, served with fresh tomatoes and cheese.
Side dish: couscous with parmesan and herbs.

And we are growing herbs for summer meals.

Blog post © 2022 mae sander.

A fascinating plant

 

Birding at Magee Marsh

 

Seeing an owl always makes a birding day into a good birding day.
We spent much of Tuesday at Magee Marsh on the shore of Lake Erie.

There were swallows everywhere.

This woodpecker was looking out of his hole.

The woodpecker soon flew away.

A Yellow Warbler: one of many.
Numerous species of warbler migrate through Magee Marsh each May.

A Tennessee warbler.

A family of Killdeer chicks.

A Baltimore Oriole.

 An Eastern Kingbird.

A Magnolia Warbler.

Other birders at the marsh.

 More birders.

All photos © 2022 mae sander

Dining Outdoors This Week

The weather this week has been glorious! Just a bit of weekend rain.

Perfect for eating and drinking outdoors.

A New Patio Table

Inspired, we went to Ace Hardware and bought a new table for the patio:
one that doesn’t wobble!

I made some Impossible meatballs. On a lucky day,
Trader Joe’s has Impossible meat, which I bought.
Impossible meat runs out of stock quickly.

We brought the meatballs outside to eat at the new table.
Now for new chairs...

To Ikea for Chairs

Ikea seemed like the right place to buy some chairs for the patio table.
The sign makes me laugh: surely everyone fills their marketplace cart
with impulse purchases of kitchen toys.

Ikea uses symbols everywhere.

A new Ikea chair at the new table. Also, a new tray: an impulse purchase. 
(The red tray is an older Ikea impulse purchase).
The lunchtime drink is Trader Joe’s sparkling water, in honor of Elizabeth’s weekly blog party.

New wine glasses -- also from Ikea.

While I didn't try any dramatic new recipes this week, we had some very nice lunches and dinners outdoors, and enjoyed several walks in the sunshine (and one in the rain, or at least in the drizzle).

UPDATE: to those who asked what is Impossible Meat -- it's a lab-grown imitation meat. It's vegan, but tastes like meat. Burger King offers an Impossible Whopper which is amazing. Some people might have objections, but I do not.

Blog post and photos © 2022 mae sander

 

Downtown Street Art

 

Maybe I’ve photographed this Downtown Ann Arbor building before. I’m not sure.
But it’s a great mural.

This tea shop called TeaHaus is raising money for Ukraine.

The beautiful sunflower and teacup window design is adverting the fundraising effort of this shop owner, who has family in Ukraine. A number of hand-made and donated items are on sale as a benefit inside the shop, along with the shop’s usual tea and pastry. In cooperation with the local Zen Buddhist Temple, they are raising funds and collecting food and supplies for a refugee camp in Western Ukraine. The refugee camp, which used to be a summer recreational camp, is in the region where I believe my maternal ancestors lived until 1905 when they came to the US. All my relatives who didn’t leave the area in time perished in the Holocaust, so I have no direct connection to anyone in the region now.

I learned about the benefit from this item in the local monthly magazine, the Ann Arbor Observer:

Along with selling local artworks (and cookies!) to benefit Ukraine, TeaHaus is working with the Zen Buddhist Temple and United Help Ukraine to organize a food drive for the Rivne refugee camp in Ukraine's midwest. Website goes live Friday. Photo: John Hilton. Source: Ann Arbor Observer A2View, May 12, 2022.

Original photos and post © 2022 mae sander.