Convenience

I can't believe I didn't include that in the set of values in the last post. It is the value that is highly sought after (especially in the US) and also often runs contrary to the other values. How can we have convenient food that is not packed full of unnatural preservatives in packages that destroy the environment? That will probably be the most difficult to overcome.

In many ways, convenient food could be less wasteful. For example, peeled carrots weigh less than their unprocessed counterparts and therefore take less fuel to transport. Does that make up for the machines that cut them? Do they have to then be kept in more packaging and/or liquid to stay fresh? Not sure. But maybe things like this can strike a balance.

Motives

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. There has been a recent dramatic shift in the way people think about food in this country. While, that's probably the case, there are definitely several different motives for these shifts and they all seem to relate to the amount of information available. Here are some that come to mind:

1. Environmental Impact of the process and delivery
2. Health/Nutritional value of the food
3. Food safety (E-Coli, mad cow, lead, pesticides, etc.)
4. Community support (in the form of local farms, co-ops, markets, etc.)
5. Variety of food (exotic, variety for nutrition)
6. Monetary cost (to consumer)
7. Support of economies in need (not always local)
8. National security (having an adequate supply of food lest the entire world embargo us)

Sometimes these values can be mutually exclusive (e.g. 4 and 7) but they don't always have to be. I just finished reading Movable Feasts by Sarah Murray. It is an interesting tale of several food items and how they are moved from their place of origin to our dinner plates.

It's clearly a book written by a talented travel writer. But she also takes the position that long-distance travel is a good thing for us and for the world -- mainly focusing on the variety and supporting economies in need arguments. However she attempts an environmental argument as well. Part of it is completely valid in my mind and we should all consider it as we have more information about where our food comes from and we're making decisions about which of that is aligned with our values. That argument is that it is sometimes more energy efficient to import food from elsewhere than it is to grow it closer to home (with heated greenhouses, for example).

Her other argument for the environmental benefit of shipping food long distance is that driving to the farmer's market uses more energy than shipping the food in a container ship (per capita). However, she leaves out that driving to the grocery store where you buy the container-ship-provided goods uses the same amount of energy (presumably) as the grocery store. So it falls short of convincing.

Where Michael Pollan's book Omnivore's Dilemma helped me to see that it's not just organic (which has its problems) that's good, but also local, Murray's book helped me see that it's not just local either.

Making decisions about the food we eat is extremely complex if we're trying to account for the different values laid out at the beginning of this post. However, the industry is learning that we want more transparency about sources and things are getting better. If you're concerned about the food you eat, maybe you will consider asking your grocer and/or favorite brands more about the sources of the food.

Sweet Dreams

When getting ready for bed one night (with my 8-year-old sister), I turned on the ceiling fan. I immediately had second thoughts, which I expressed to her, since the fan was so loud (not to mention energy inefficient).

She assured my everything would be all right by suggesting "Just think of it as a lullaby. woo--ooo--wooo--ooo--woo"

Letter to Mommy

Dear Patti and Lori,

I know you don't believe in me.

Signed,
Santa


[I found this note written in my 8-year-old sister's (impeccable) handwriting]

Indiana is Awesome

Today, on my way to get the finishing touches done on my sister's Christmas present, I discovered a nail salon. Jimmy's Nails. It was a non-descript white plywood sign painted with red block letters. ORCA and I walked in and we looked a little different from the rest of the crew, but we were welcomed.

Not only did we get our nails painted, but we also got designs painted on. ORCA got butterflies on a blue background and I got "simple chic" black, white, and silver glitter swoops on peachy gold.

Total cost: $8 (yes, for both)
Total paid because I'm a New Yorker: $15

I'm sending mom tomorrow.

Diamante on a Tesselation

H2O

Snow
White, Fluffy
Falling, Drifting, Melting
Playing in it Rocks.
Flowing, Dripping, Splashing
Wet, Liquid
Water

Written by ORCA and Chrystina

Hangover Karma

Today I got a call from a friend, we'll call her Lady, asking me where I was. Well, I was in the basement of a Chinese junk shop called Pearl River in SoHo/Chinatown looking at curtains. She happened to be just finishing a shopping trip at Banana Republic where she had met some interesting new friends.

The women in front of her in line started chatting about how hungover they were and then asked Lady whether she liked the Knicks. She, coincidentally, had been trying to get to a game ever since taking a big exam in early December and told them that. So, since they were in no shape for a basketball game, they offered her tickets to tonight's game! And then she, being the dear, wonderful friend she is, called and asked if I would like to join her.

Let's suffice it to say that I didn't buy any curtains tonight, but I did buy a Budweiser.

Final Score: Knicks 108, Cavaliers 90

Chrystina and Lady: Totally satisfied (not to mention the spice of our row of doting men)

Fire the Litter!

It's obnoxious to me that people litter and spit on the sidewalk, in the subway, and in other public places. This morning I was nearly spattered by some dude's phlegm and spittle because he was standing in the doorway of the train (also annoying) and attempting to spit between the train and the platform. On my way home I saw this sign ironically lying on the floor of the car and thought it was fitting. Not only does litter cause fires which delay trips, but as far as I understand it, litter also clogs drains, which in NYC causes floods in the subway and disables the system, as we learned this summer.

There's really no excuse for this. There are plenty of garbage bins in the subway system and on the streets of New York. You don't need to throw stuff on the tracks and we shouldn't see trash and gum on the sidewalks either, but we do. I realize it's a free country, but the tragedy of the commons prevails I guess. If it's easier (and free) to let someone else clean up your mess, then you will.

I choose to self-regulate and mitigate my negative externalities if I can help it. At the risk of sounding preachy, I think you should too. Do you think we could come up with a cap-and-trade market for litter? I would make so much money.

Reprieve

I know what you're thinking: not another post about corn! I was tempted. I even have one drafted on the topic of ethanol subsidies since I read an Economist article about it, but I'll spare you for now. On to another grain-related consumer good: beer!

I've recently noticed a lot of traffic on my site coming from people who are searching for "buying beer in New York" or some variation thereof. I went back and read that post and other than commiseration, it doesn't really help anyone. However, in my discussions of this topic and further research, I've discovered that it's not all that impossible, and my reasoning may have lacked a little information.

Most of the difference can probably be explained by liquor laws rather than space premiums and packaging. There are several different classes of licenses broadly ranging from wholesale to retail and from beer to liquor. A liquor license, for example, is more than 10x the price of a beer (only) license.

There are fabulous places to buy beer and it doesn't have to be too expensive--especially if you expand your horizons to include Brooklyn. Here are a few ideas:

Bierkraft - Tons of selection. Reasonably priced. Amazing knowledge from the staff. Delicious cheese. Tasting classes on Tuesday. These get a lot of hype, and for good reason, but get there early because tickets go fast and if you're in the back of the room, you might not be able to hear, and it's not worth it just for the couple of sips of free beer and cheese.

Park Slope Food Coop - If you're willing to work there and invest in the cause, the beer is cheap and selection is pretty good.

Rite Aid - I know it sounds crazy, but actually, liquor licenses for drug stores are cheaper than for other places, so it makes sense. Selection leaves you wanting, however.

Brooklyn Brewery (Happy Hour on Fridays from 6-11, but either bring your own food or get ready to order from their massive menu collection. Beers are $4 a piece. Fresh, delicious, and cheap!)

There are plenty of other places to buy beer in New York, so don't get upset if you don't find what you're looking for on the first try. Of course, if you're from the west coast and you're looking for Deschutes or some other home town microbrew, well, those guys don't distribute out here, so you'll have to find something else.

Drinking local beer is a good idea anyway, if only for the reduction of fossil fuel use. Try Sixpoint! I'm not quite sure what they're up to, but their website has been under construction for a while now and from the looks of it, they have some plans for change in the rest of the organization as well.

Cheap Food

I wrote this long ago, and it's probably gotten your attention through more traditional media by now, but no point in keeping it in draft mode. It probably needs an update given the news with the farm bill, but I have to make sure I know what's going on there before updating.

Maybe you've noticed... the price of food went up drastically this year for the first time since the early 70's. An article in The Economist highlighted the issues and I've summarized them below.

Ethanol, the way we make it from corn, is not much (or maybe any) better than burning fossil fuel as far as net environmental impact is concerned. The one thing it does do is reduce our dependence on foreign oil and potentially reduce our lust after the Arctic oil, which would be a good thing to deter. However, other ethanol, particularly the sugar-based ethanol being produced in Brazil is much cleaner. But that wouldn't reduce our dependence on foreign energy, so the US slapped a whopping 54 cents per gallon tariff on it.

What does this mean? Well, the prices for corn went way up because corn became more valuable when it was used for SUVs instead of for feeding people. (The amount of corn you would use to fill up the tank on an SUV could feed a person for a year. (Not that you'd want to eat corn everyday, but still.))

This means two things: (1) products made with this commodity (like tortillas, and soft drinks, and chicken fingers) went up in price, and (2) farmers changed their plans to plant other crops like wheat and soybeans in order to make corn, since it was commanding a higher price. This reduced the supply of the crops not planted and accordingly raised their price. Net effect? More expensive food.

So expensive food could actually have some positive effects: farmers making more money and therefore able to support themselves without the government subsidies. That would reduce everyone's tax bill and that is generally a nice thing. So the folks on the production end would be doing better. In third-world economies, this is great because over 50% of the population is typically on the producing side. In our economy, that's not the case. The Economist suggests subsidizing the urban poor i.e. the folks on the consumer side rather than the farmers because it is less likely to distort the market value of the food.