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Behind the Plate From the Team

THE TOP 10 WAYS TO BE A GOOD EATER

April 19, 2016
Photo @diginn

Photo @diginn

One of our Behind The Plate questions that we ask interviewees is “If you could get the general population to change ONE aspect of their eating habits, what would it be?” It comes down to this—know your food, as awareness is a crucial element of eating well. Cook. Eat more plants and less animals. And don’t eat too much of anything. Here are ten of our favorite answers.

  1. Sanjay Rawal – Care about who is responsible for your food—whether it’s a farmworker, a restaurant worker or your mom!
  2. Palak Patel (@palaknyc) – Reduce their meat consumption! Even if it means replacing a single meat meal with a vegetarian option. That’s a start.
  3. Simran Sethi – Stop supersizing everything. Let’s recognize how precious food is and stop wasting 40 percent of it (here in the U.S.).
  4. Audrey Snowe (@unconventionalbaker) – Just encouraging the understanding of where your food comes from, how it has been raised/developed/handled, and using your money as a vote to help sustainable enterprise/farmers.
  5. Noni Vaughn-Pollard (@darkchocolatepeanutbutter) – I agree with Michael Pollan, that we as a society need to get back into the kitchen. There’s something magical and exciting about creating nourishment for your body with only a few simple ingredients. Whenever I cook my food, I don’t feel stress or guilt. It’s hard not to feel stress or guilt when food isn’t made by you and becomes a mystery.
  6. Emily Van Raay (@modelsforwellness) – Know where your meat comes from.
  7. Jill de Jong – To eat more whole foods!
  8. Emily Summerlin (@etsummer) – I want more people to realize that a plate doesn’t need meat to be a complete, substantial meal. That mentality is so frustrating to me. I think people are getting better about it, but I can’t tell you how many times I get the question “what do you eat?” when I say I’m a vegetarian. There are so many foods out there that don’t come from animals that are full of protein and are nourishing and filling.
  9. Matthew Preston (@diginn) – Moderation! You don’t necessarily have to cut anything out, just reduce your consumption of it to achieve a good balance.
  10. Matthew Kenney – Eat one plant-based meal a day.
Behind the Plate From the Team

DEAR MR(S). PRESIDENT

April 19, 2016

One of our favorite Behind The Plate questions that we ask interviewees is “If you could ask the future President to consider a food issue that needs to be addressed, what would it be?” What we learned is that food policy is key to the health and wellbeing of our country. From protecting the land and the workers, to keeping big business and empty calories in check—we want change, and the government can help.

  1. Jeremy Kranowitz (@SustainableAmerica) – We should change food subsidies to encourage healthy, nutritious calories and by taxing cheap calories. It has been said that obesity is the face of hunger because cheap calories are high in sugar, salt, and fat. We should still make those calories available to those that want them, but they should be harder to obtain and more expensive to buy than fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains.
  2. Emily Summerlin (@etsummer) – I would ask the future President to consider the soil! 2015 was the International Year of Soils and a lot of great things happened around that, but I want that momentum to keep going. Not only does healthy soil produce nutritious and delicious food, but it also sequesters carbon! It’s one of the keys to reducing our climate impact and it is very worth taking care of, not only for the future of farming but for the future of the the entire planet.
  3. Rebecca Sparks – At present there is a movement in the government to limit access to SNAP benefits by making it a block grant where states can make decisions of eligibility and access. This is a crime. Every American resident should be guaranteed the right to food.
  4. Matthew Preston (@diginn) – Land access and ownership. The first barrier for young people interested in the farming industry is access to land.
  5. Sanjay Rawal – About 20 million Americans work in the food sector, many of whom barely make ends meet. Without their service we have no food security. Same goes for the 3 or 4 million undocumented workers who are in the food sector (farmworkers, meatpacking, distribution, dairy, etc). Without job security and dignity much less a non-draconian immigration policy, our food system will absolutely disintegrate. I am shocked and appalled that the issue of equity in our food system isn’t being discussed in even the most basic way.
  6. Palak Patel (@palaknyc) – Addressing the increasing role that corporations have on our food system. We must understand where our food comes from. Right now, we’re headed toward a future where decisions about our food are decided in closed boardrooms by executives putting profits before people.
  7. Jill de Jong – I would ask the president to demand that companies take the chemicals OUT of our food. No colorants, preservatives or additives. That would make a huge difference.
  8. Simran Sethi – There should be a lot more scrutiny around the Trans-Pacific Partnership and implications for domestic farmers, preservation of heirloom seeds and transparency around what consumers know about their food sources.
  9. Jessica Sennett (@cheesegrotto) – What concerns me the most is farm workers’ rights and agricultural practices. Limited water resources are a present day reality in California. We have to change our practices and not let a few large food corporations and buyers determine the method and quality of our farming. They control the whole industry and subject farm workers and owners to endless cycles of debt and dependence. The framework that exists does not take into consideration resource depletion.
  10. Massimo LoBuglio – I would love for a lot of things to be addressed, but to pick one… How about an environmental impact statement included on nutrition labels! Data about the carbon pollution associated with food choices.
Behind the Plate From the Team

EXPERTS’ EPIC FOOD FAILS—IT’S NOT JUST YOU.

April 19, 2016
Photo @jfdouble

Photo @jfdouble

One of our favorite Behind The Plate questions that we ask interviewees is “What was your biggest #foodfail?” We’re all human, and even the best chefs have disastrous kitchen moments. Here are ten of our favorite answers.

  1. Audrey Snowe (@unconventionalbaker) – Broccoli cheesecake. Worst idea ever! Don’t judge! I try lots of crazy things—sky is the limit—and I often land on winners that become “cult classics” on the web. But this one was clearly out of range. When I made it at first it was absolutely delicious—tasted nothing like broccoli at all (in case you’re wondering). Just a beautiful pale green cheesecake. I left it in the freezer for a week amidst all my other frozen cakes, and when I re-tasted it later it tasted absolutely horrible. Like broccoli gone horribly wrong with sugar and roses on top.
  2. Noni Vaughn-Pollard (@darkchocolatepeanutbutter) – Homemade injera, never again.
  3. Emily Summerlin (@etsummer) – Ridiculously enough I’ve done this more than once. I make a smoothie and upon the first sip realize that I didn’t rinse the soap out of the blender well enough beforehand. No thanks to soapy smoothies.
  4. Jessica Sennett (@cheesegrotto) – My biggest #foodfail was a persimmon tart. This was before I knew how to pick persimmons that wouldn’t be cloying and drying in the mouth. (If you have tasted an underripe persimmon, you know what I mean.) I tried to cook the tart anyway, and it really wasn’t edible.
  5. Emily Van Raay (@modelsforwellness) – I have food fails all the time. I’m not an expert in the kitchen but I love making new dishes and tend to bite off far more than I can chew… Roasting acorn squash is something that I can NEVER seem to get right! I end up leaving it in for far too long or taking it out way too early and can never get it off the skin. It’s probably one of the easiest things to make. Help!
  6. Matthew Kenney – One of the first times I served raw cuisine to a group I spent a lot of time preparing our zucchini lasagna in sheet pans ahead of time. I had never served this at a large event before, and the extra moisture turned the lasagna to mush. I had to serve a group of my peers this horrible dish and was mortified. I never plated this in advance again!
  7. Jill de Jong – Cauliflower crust pizza. It drove me crazy; I was trying so many different things but I have not been able to master it and have given up!
  8. Palak Patel (@palaknyc) – Generally baking. But my biggest fool fail happened in Paris while I was attempting to make meringues for a French-Indian pop-up dinner. Meringues have a reputation for being easy to make, but that night things got surprisingly complicated for a dish containing just two ingredients! I calculated the conversions incorrectly, plus using a French oven made my meringues lifeless and flat. Needless to say, I proceeded to crumble them and presented the dessert as “deconstructed”.
  9. Margaret Gifford (@MargaretG) – My biggest food fail was the split pea soup I tried to prepare for my stepdad’s birthday. I didn’t know you had to soak the peas.
  10. Jennifer Emilson (@JenniferEmilson) – I made fish tacos. The tortillas were made with amaranth flour. They were thick, chewy, not a texture my hubby liked at all. And I didn’t marinate the cabbage long enough. All in all, too raw a meal. He said they didn’t deserve to be called fish tacos!
Behind the Plate From the Team

WHAT IS GOOD FOOD? THE TOP 10

April 19, 2016

One of our favorite Behind The Plate questions that we ask interviewees is “How do you define good food?” What we’ve learned is that while good food means something different to each of us, the underlying theme is you can’t have good food without people. Some answers focus more on flavor and what good food brings to the eater, others on process, and others even on the source—who was involved along the way. Here are ten of our favorite answers.

  1. Amanda Fuller (@RootedNY) – I’ll borrow Carlo Petrini’s definition—good food needs both taste (to be delicious to us personally) and knowledge (to tell a cultural and historical story).
  2. Audrey Snowe (@unconventionalbaker) – Easy, wholesome, fresh, vibrant, nourishing, and flavorful are all words that come to mind. And anything from my garden 🙂
  3. Ben Flanner (@brooklyngrange) – Good food utilizes and emphasizes the natural flavors of the ingredients, without preservatives.
  4. Sanjay Rawal – I don’t care if something is organic or sustainable if the people that picked, grew, manufactured or served the food aren’t treated and paid well. Too many people care too much about what goes into their bodies at the direct expense of caring about those responsible for creating that food. Should we eat organic? Sure. But organic doesn’t mean workers were treated well—there is zero correlation. Same goes for local, natural, everything that gets foodies excited. The food movement has left the worker behind. We need to fix that.
  5. Noni Vaughn-Pollard (@darkchocolatepeanutbutter) – I believe good food is any food that gives me pleasure. Whether it’s a fresh hot doughnut or a kale salad, I like food to be simple and delicious.
  6. Julie Qiu (@inahalfshell) – Good food creates value for every stakeholder: the eater, the producer, the chef, purveyor, and environment.
  7. Palak Patel (@palaknyc) – Good food is simple, but packed with flavor. To me good food also creates connections, and it’s how I show love. I grew up in a large Indian family where daily meals were the center of our day. Having grown up with Indian spices and bold ingredients, I enjoy incorporating these ideas into everyday cooking to create delectable, healthy dishes that deliver big flavors.
  8. Omar Rada (@omar) – Olive oil + garlic + salt + pepper + almost anything.
  9. Simran Sethi – Food that has been grown and prepared by people who have been treated well and paid a fair wage, coming from land that has been sustainably managed. And cooked by people who are also treated equitably and love what they do. Delicious food isn’t delicious if people or natural resources are harmed in the process.
  10. Beth Reed (@simplywithout) – Food that is thought about, cared for and loved. It is literally from the moment the seed begins to grow that the food journey starts. Everyone involved in the journey has an impact on the food and can help to make the end result good food. One of my favorite things to do is, not just cook and eat good food, but think about it. Thinking about and planning meals makes the flavors and ingredients come to life—as they take on their own place on the chopping board, pan or plate, they all become important parts of the bigger picture. To me, good food is food that nourishes you, invokes conversation and of course tastes good.
Behind the Plate

BEHIND THE PLATE: REBECCA SPARKS

April 15, 2016

behind_the_plate_rebecca_sparks

 

We were introduced to Rebecca Sparks, MS, RD by our very own Noni Vaughn-Pollard, aka @darkchocolatepeanutbutter (you can find her Behind The Plate interview here). In addition to being Noni’s Nutrition Professor at New York University, Rebecca is the Nutrition Consultant for Head Start in New York, a governmental program providing services to low-income children and their families. Considering that last month was National Nutrition Month, we were excited to follow up with Rebecca and share her take on the current situation regarding nutrition across income levels.


Tell us about Head Start.
Head Start is a government program started in the 1960’s to give low-income children a “head start” so they would be just as well prepared for school as more fortunate children. It provides services (including nutrition) and daycare for children 0-5 years old.

How do you define good food?
“Know your farmer, know your food.” Good food is grown without the use of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. The less processed the food, the better it is. The more local the food, the better it is. However certain foods cannot be grown locally, such as coffee, citrus fruit, etc. Living in a global world, we can include these in our diet but Fair Trade Sources are encouraged. It would be an ideal situation if all people could afford to eat good food. Unfortunately with income disparities, that is a big challenge for many people. I recommend families to prepare food at home and eat as many fruits and vegetables in whatever form they can afford. And for all people to eat a variety of foods and a variety of colors in moderation and eat a family meal whenever possible. Most importantly, good food includes enjoyment!

Food issues have not quite made it into the race for President. If you could ask the future President to consider a food issue that needs to be addressed, what would it be?
At present there is a movement in the government to limit access to SNAP benefits by making it a block grant where states can make decisions of eligibility and access. This is a crime. Every American resident should be guaranteed the right to food.

If you had to make (or are making) a food resolution this year, what would it be?
Support new young farmers!

What’s one of your first (and most memorable) interactions with food?
In 3rd grade I gave a report in school on scallops. They looked so good with their beautiful shapes. When I tasted them for the first time, they did not taste the way I thought they would. Now they are one of my favorite foods!

If you could get the general population to change ONE aspect of their eating habits, what would it be?
Cook and eat food at home instead of relying on takeout.

Who is your food inspiration?
Joan Gussow and Yotam Ottolenghi.

Tell us about what you’re working on right now.
I have found that many low-income mothers are still bottle-feeding their children at four years old. Children should be off the bottle and the sippy cup by one year old. To continue bottle feeding can lead to massive tooth decay, ear infections, speech delays, anemia and excess weight. With the increase in developmental delays that we are seeing among low-income children, it is essential that mothers be taught how to feed their children.

Where do you typically grocery shop?
In my garden, at farmers markets, Green Carts, Fairway, Whole Foods, and Essex Market.

March was National Nutrition Month. What’s one good-food aspect of your diet that packs some nutritious punch?
Kombucha

You work with low-income families. What is one thing you would like to see change that could help everyone eat well, regardless of income level?
The biggest challenge that I think low-income people have is the stress of poverty and not knowing if there is enough money to buy food, pay for utilities, and cover health costs. If there was a way to change that by providing a livable minimum wage and empowering people to take charge of their lives, it would open the way for them to think about a better future.

Are there any misconceptions you see surrounding nutrition about which we should be better educated?
I am concerned with trends about foods such as gluten and dairy. Though I recognize there are many people who have intolerances and allergies, I also see a lot of people limiting their intake of these foods because other people say they should. It is more important to listen to your own body to learn how to eat healthfully.

What’s your favorite meal-on-the-go?
Different homemade soups.

What’s always in your fridge?
Kombucha, onions, avocado, garlic, celeriac, carrots, ginger, and parmesan cheese.

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Who is one famous person, dead or alive, that you want to share a meal with? And where?
Amanda Cohen—near a farm or garden.

Your good food wish?
To learn how to cook the way Amanda does!

Favorite cuisine?
Mideastern

What’s your favorite indulgent treat?
Smoked salmon

Nutrition is becoming much more popular these days. Is it exciting to see more people become interested in your area of expertise?
Yes it is. I wish that people considered nutrition more for health than just for losing weight.

If you weren’t doing what you’re doing, what would you be doing?
Pottery, gardening, helping others, and traveling.

Behind the Plate

BEHIND THE PLATE: SANJAY RAWAL

April 7, 2016

 

behind_the_plate_sanjay_rawal

Documentary filmmaker Sanjay Rawal is the Director of Food Chains, a film crucial to fair labor practices in the United States. His work illuminates a previously hidden cost of food that is arguably the most important—the toll on people involved in the production of our food. Please join Sanjay and Foodstand on Friday, April 8th, for our Food Book & Film Club screening of Food Chains at the Food+Enterprise Summit in Brooklyn. Food+Enterprise is offering Foodstanders special evening entry to the screening and reception for $30. To register, leave quantity fields blank and use the discount code A47BFT. And in the meantime, get to know Sanjay!


For those unfamiliar with Food Chains, please describe the film in a few sentences.
Food Chains follows a small group of farmworkers, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, as they expose the abuse rampant in farm labor in the US. We follow their battles against the largest companies on the planet, some of which they win!

Is there current food policy that safeguards against slavery in the U.S. food supply chain?
There are ZERO government safeguards against slavery in the food industry. Yeah there are laws. But there is almost no power to enforce those laws. The only program in the US that guarantees slavery-free produce is the Fair Food Program by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the stars of Food Chains. Look for their Fair Food Label on tomatoes and strawberries at Whole Foods, Walmart, Giant and Stop&Shop.

How do you define good food?
I don’t care if something is organic or sustainable if the people that picked, grew, manufactured or served the food aren’t treated and paid well. Too many people care too much about what goes into their bodies at the direct expense of caring about those responsible for creating that food. Should we eat organic? Sure. But organic doesn’t mean workers were treated well—there is zero correlation. Same goes for local, natural, everything that gets foodies excited. The food movement has left the worker behind. We need to fix that.

What are some of the food-related revelations you had while filming?
There’s so much interest and consciousness around food these days, but it’s really focused around environmental issues and issues of animal welfare. Even when informed, very few people care about the hands that pick or serve our food. If they did, the fight for a $15 minimum wage, for example, would draw millions of protestors to the street. It doesn’t.

What was your biggest challenge while making this film?
Abuse in agriculture is our nation’s deep dark secret. Farm labor abuse began the moment the first European settlers arrived in Massachusetts and California and mushroomed through the enslavement of Africans. People think that the problems of yore have been eradicated. Sadly, that’s just not true. There is a willfulness in the agricultural sector to obscure the abuse of workers. Consumers, therefore, are not told the actual story behind their food. From Ag-gag laws that made filming a potential felony, to resistance from growers and supermarkets, we had to shake off legal risk every step of the way. This was by no means as dangerous as making a film in a war zone. But this is a story that Big Ag does not want to be told.

Food issues have not quite made it into the Presidential race. If you could ask the future President to consider a food issue that needs to be addressed, what would it be?
About 20 million Americans work in the food sector, many of whom barely make ends meet. Without their service we have no food security. Same goes for the 3 or 4 million undocumented workers who are in the food sector (farmworkers, meatpacking, distribution, dairy, etc). Without job security and dignity much less a non-draconian immigration policy, our food system will absolutely disintegrate. I am shocked and appalled that the issue of equity in our food system isn’t being discussed in even the most basic way.

If you could get the general population to change ONE aspect of their eating habits, what would it be?
Care about who is responsible for your food—whether it’s a farmworker, a restaurant worker or your mom!

What is one of your first memories of food?
Ahhhh—my parents are the best cooks of Indian food in the whole world. I would love to share those memories with anyone who wants to grab a meal with me and my folks.

Who is one famous person, dead or alive, that you would want to share a meal with? And where?
I was so lucky to have been able to spend my 20s with an Indian spiritual teacher who lived in NYC—Sri Chinmoy. He was close to all the peace-makers of his generation—from Mother Teresa to Mandela. He passed in 2007 and while I feel his presence daily, I would love to have another meal with him. He was a real New Yorker in every wonderful sense of the term—and loved diners! These days Greek omelettes with feta and spinach or a Guyanese Aloo Pie can elicit a tear or two of gratitude just for memories of time with him.

What’s always in your fridge? What do you use it for / how do you use it?
I live off frozen cherries and açaí. Açaí bowls twice a day. I am also trying to master cooking eggs every way possible. These days I’m trying to get good at Japanese omelettes—dashiki.

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You used to work in the non-profit and government sectors. How did you first become involved with film?
In the early 2000s I worked on a couple projects overseas (Haiti, Congo) where filmmakers were hovering, making feature length projects on folks I was working with. But in 2009 I helped a friend (in a very minor way) on her first feature length doc—Pray the Devil Back to Hell—about a group of Liberian women peace activists who lead the peace process in West Africa. Those women ended up getting the international credit they deserved because of the film. The film promoted their work to such an extent that the Nobel Peace Committee recognized them with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011. So I saw how powerful film could be!

What’s your favorite meal-on-the-go?
Chocolate Malt Superfood Smoothie!

In your film you discuss how much pull supermarkets have over the supply chain. Can you expand upon this?
Supermarkets earn about 500 billion dollars each year. I’ve heard the common argument that their margins are low. True, but their power is not because of their profits – it’s because of the amount of money they pour into their supply chain. It’s that dollar amount that gives them power. This power is “monopsonistic” (a monopsony). It’s like how Amazon, while not in control of the entire book industry, has enough of the book market that it can bully authors and book publishers (folks in its supply chain). This power is illegal in the US, but it’ll take a Congress with a collective IQ of greater than 500 to tackle.

How can food consumers get involved?
Consumers have to stop believing the lie the food movement is pushing—that they can vote with their credit cards or forks. No one consumer or set of consumers has any control over the supply chain. For real power, a consumer has to become a citizen—exercise your voice on the streets and at the ballot box. Support worker led movements and support an environment that allows workers the freedom to organize or unionize. Our power is in supporting democracy not in supporting commerce alone.

Your good food wish?
May we all eat healthy and live happy.