The Ethics of Eating Meat

The New York Times recently asked readers to write a 600 word (or less) essay on Is it Ethical to Eat Meat? Expecting a few hundred responses, editors of the NYT Magazine received thousands. They were overwhelmed with the number of readers who felt strongly enough about the topic to submit an essay. Unfortunately they didn’t choose mine, but after reading the six finalists, I can see why. I focused on grassfed beef and they were really looking for advocates of meat in general. I left out all those ethical chicken and sheep farmers I know! So, to read the excellent finalists you can go to the New York Times blog, The Ethicist. They will publish the winner in their May 6 edition. Below is my entry, focusing on grassfed beef.

Well-managed cattle play a crucial and unique part in Mother Nature’s big picture. They are fossil fuel-free plows, tractors, fertilizers, and pruners.  They act as natural tillers that build healthy soils and deep roots, preventing erosion and promoting plant “filters” that clean waterways and air. There is no question that certain practices of raising meat are not environmentally sound. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) do present challenges for water quality and humane treatment, but there are viable alternatives and that is the direction we need to be going in, on a large scale. Grassfed beef is Mother Nature’s perfect byproduct: a protein-rich food source that has the added benefits of enriching soil, promoting healthy grass and rangelands, and increasing biodiversity on the watersheds we all depend upon. Animals raised on open pastures and rangelands, with plenty of access to fresh water and abundant grasses, live good lives. They enjoy better views than many humans and are born, raised, and die in stress-free environments.

Their lives are honored further when they are harvested for good food that nourishes people’s bodies and brains. Grassfed beef is a pure source of essential nutrients including iron, Omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene, and minerals. These are the very building locks of healthy bodies. Like plants, grassfed beef is something our bodies have naturally evolved to digest and absorb – there is no waste or added calories that contribute to obesity, diabetes or osteoporosis.  Protein is needed to develop young brains and ward off Alzheimer’s in aging brains.  Amino acids, the body’s building blocks, are instrumental in forming cells, repairing tissue, making antibodies, building nucleoproteins (RNA/DNA), carrying oxygen throughout the body, assisting muscle activity, as well as being part of the enzyme and hormonal system. Another benefit of protein is helping the body fight off illness and disease and keeping the immune system functioning properly. Our bodies need the nutrients in grassfed beef.

Health benefits aside, well-managed grass and rangelands reduce global warming by sequestering carbon out of the air. Grasslands cover about one-fourth of the earth’s surface. Rangelands, unsuitable to grow other crops, account for even more, up to 70% of the earth’s surface by some estimates. In order for plants to thrive and photosynthesize they need to re-generate. What better way to plant, fertilize, water, and harvest – so it can start all over again – a blade of grass (or native vegetation) than a cow (or goat)? Again, Mother Nature is at work and we meat eaters are merely her benefactors. When managed properly and on a large scale, livestock peacefully go about their day grazing, fertilizing, and turning the soil we all depend upon.  They create healthy ecosystems which act as the earth’s largest carbon sink and actually produce the oxygen all life depends upon.  Your question should be: “Is it ethical not to eat meat?”

Birthday Food, Ranch Style

Note the crank used to adjust the grill height and built in sideboards. Nice.

Anne's three-layer sour cream cake. I spared the inferno of individual candles and went for the simplicity of 5-0.

There are advantages to living on a ranch. One of them is the custom-built barbecue, hitched to the back of a pick-up truck. I can tow it up from the barn to our front yard and I have an instant way to feed a crowd. It really makes those fancy Viking grills look pretty wimpy. We use mesquite wood chips and pieces of firewood for authentic flavor, no charcoal or lighter fluid fumes here. We celebrated Joe’s 50th birthday this week and I recalled the rule we had when our children were young: one guest per year of celebration. (I can’t say I actually ever followed this rule, but it always seemed like a good idea.) One year olds: one friend, two year-olds: two friends, etc. etc. So, we had 50 guests and a lot of California asparagus to grill. We added orange, yellow and red bell peppers, all seasoned with lemon pepper and Orsi vineyards extra virgin olive oil. Yum. The veggies went on first, followed by 40 Morris Grassfed New York steaks, done to perfection (read: rare).

Not to be outdone by the side dishes and main course, I enlisted Joe’s six sisters (that’s right: six) to each bring a cake. They reminded me that Aunt Thelma, affectionately known as “Aunt T,” used to always bring the cakes to their birthday parties and would bake anything they asked for. She is an amazing cook. So Aunt T brought her chocolate cake and Joe’s mom, Anne, brought an old favorite of his: a three layer sour cream chocolate cake. It was a bad day for a diet, but a good day to celebrate Joe … and the healthy and delicious food he is so dedicated to producing.

Richard (behind the grill), Joe, Jeff and Maurice hanging out by the grill.

Branding irons and jasmine make great center pieces.

Family style slow food.

Be Mine, Triple Chocolate Biscotti

Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays I’ve never really taken seriously, good for Hallmark and florists but a bit too fluffy for me. I’ve never expected a bouquet of red roses, in fact it almost seems too cliché to mean anything. (I just told Joe I was writing on the topic. His response: ‘Uh oh. What are we doing for it?’) If there’s one thing, though, that Valentine’s Day is good for it’s an excuse to eat chocolate. In addition to being delicious, chocolate has a long list of health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and slowing the aging process with its antioxidants.

I learned a lot the year I lived in Italy, including how to bake and enjoy biscotti. Italians dip them in a dessert wine called vin santo after dinner, but I love to dunk them in my morning cup of coffee.   So ditch the overpriced roses and bake your sweetie some of these triple chocolate biscotti this Tuesday. If you’re too busy to cook, there’s always the store-bought option. San Franciscan Italians brought biscotti to North Beach and have been baking them here for generations. My friend Steve Siranni, with whom I spent many a fun time in high school, took his grandmother’s biscotti recipe from Lucca, Italy and started Nonni’s Biscotti shortly after he graduated from college. The company has been a huge success and you can now find them at grocery stores everywhere, including Costco. So whether or not you want to bake your own or pick up a jar of Nonni’s at your local grocer, get heart healthy and celebrate this Valentine’s Day with some chocolate biscotti.

Triple-Chocolate Biscotti,  from Bon Appetit, April 2001

Makes about 30

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup of unsweetened coca powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup white baking chips

Line large baking sheet with double thickness of foil. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electirc mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl to blend, Beat in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in semi-sweet and white chips. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets in two 10-to-11 inch long strips, spacing 3 inches apart. Using metal spatula or wet fingertips, shape strips into 11-by 2 1/2 inch logs. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake logs until tops are cracked and dry and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes; cool 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Using foil as aid, lift logs onto work surface. Line baking sheets with clean foil. Using serrated knife, gently cut warm logs crosswise into 3/4 -inch thick slices. Arrange half of slices, cut side down, on each prepared baking sheet. Bake biscotti until just dry to touch, about 8 minutes. Cool on sheets and enjoy with coffee or dessert wine, and your sweetie, of course!

Anchor Steam Chili: Go Niners!

In our house football season means chili. In honor of the San Francisco 49ers NFC championship game today, I’m posting one of my favorite recipes: Anchor Steam Chili, made with San Francisco’s own Anchor Steam beer and – today – served with red and gold corn muffins. I can’t take credit for this recipe, Lucy Maytag came up with it. Because it’s printed on a 10+ year-old photo copy in my recipe file, I can’t even name the source. Apologies to the cookbook author I am stealing from! If anyone recognizes it, please let me know. Here goes … and Go Niners!

Photo courtesy of The Sensitive Epicure blog

Anchor Steam Beer Chili

At one time during the gold rush days (Go Niners!), San Francisco had more than two dozen steam breweries. (The steam beer process was developed to get around The City’s lack, at that time, of cold storage necessary for lagering the pilsner-type beer preferred by Americans.) By 1965, San Francisco’s unique steam breweries had dwindled down to one, the Anchor Steam Brewing Company, and it was about to quit business when Fritz Maytag came to the rescue.

“Meet a Maytag Who Produces Suds That Will Not Clean Duds,” the Wall Street Journal  headlined its story about Maytag’s getting into the steam beer business, describing him as the “scion of Iowa washing-machine family.”

It is only natural that Maytag and his wife, Lucy, have experimented with using steam beer in cooking. Lucy Maytag says that “cooking with steam beer is like cooking with wine. Steam beer adds a little something to the end product, but doesn’t dominate it.” Here is the result of some Maytag research into making chili with steam beer.

1 lb. Morris Grassfed ground beef

½ onion

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

 3 Tbs. tomato paste

2 dried California chiles

1 or more dried pasilla chiles

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 Tbs. cumin

 Salt to taste

1 or 2 bottles Anchor Steam beer

1 15 oz. can kidney beans

In a 4 qt. saucepan sauté chuck together with onion and garlic until meat is just brown, stirring with a fork while it is cooking. Pour off excess grease (there shouldn’t be any of you’re using grassfed beef). Add other ingredients except the beans, putting in only one bottle of Anchor Steam. Mix well. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans with their juice and, if  you like a soupy-type chili, a second bottle of Anchor Steam. Continue cooking for another 10-15 minutes.  Serve in heated bowls and top with a mound of grated cheddar cheese, dollop of sour cream and sliced fresh avocados. I also serve corn muffins and a fresh green salad with this. Enjoy!

Cook’s Notes: Use Porter House for a darker, slightly richer flavor. In California, the dried chile poblano is widely called a chile pasilla. They are dark, can be almost black, are roughly triangular in shape, and have a richer and often more pungent flavor than California or ancho chiles.

Wild Fish Caught by our Fisherman

There’s no shortage of authentic, local flavor at Mama’s Fish House, located in Kuau Cove on Maui’s north shore. We recently returned to this magical place for 10 days, celebrating the holidays and our 20th wedding anniversary. Admittedly crowded, Maui is not my favorite island, but it was the perfect getaway with two teenagers and to remember our honeymoon there in 1991. Live music, lots of buzz and Mama’s make it more of a party than some of Hawaii’s more secluded places. My daughter Sarah decided the place was cool only after we spotted Zack Braff, Donald Adeosun Faison, and their girlfriends waiting for the table ahead of us.

You know you’re in a place that appreciates fresh and local food when the menu is printed daily and reads: “Wild Fish Caught by our Fishermen.”  With descriptions like “Opah caught in local waters by Sergio Barra on the Queen Diamond II” and  ”Opakapaka caught by Layne Nakagawa bottom fishing in sheltered waters near Lana’i”  my local foodie radar was screaming.

    The waiter started us off with small ramekins of creamy asparagus   soup, followed by warm bread and caesar salads. I ordered the Opah, “Upcountry style” with carmelized Maui onions, bok choy and jasmine rice. Delicious. Joe had the deep-water ahi, seared with peppercorns and served with Hamakua mushroom sauce, also amazing. Maybe it’s the venue – stunning views and the natural high of being on vacation but every time I’ve been here, I loved it. The first time was as a teenager with my parents and my memories are just as fond. If you’re ever on Maui, make it a priority.

Mama's overlooks a light-filled cove on Maui's north shore.

 

 

Occupy Mealtime

Like millions of others, I have been watching the Occupy Wall Street protests spread to cities across the U.S. and the world. I am impressed by the overall peacefulness of the demonstrations (with a few exceptions, thanks Oakland) and simplicity of the message: “We are the 99%.”

Occupiers in the Heartland: Indianapolis, IN on October 15, 2011.

Critics will say the demonstrators have failed to articulate a clear message and have yet to tell us what it is they want, but if you read the extensive chatter on the Internet via blogs, videos, photo essays and news articles, there is a consistent theme: It’s time to stop bailing out private equity companies with public funds. People are angry. The impetus of this whole movement is the financial meltdown of 2008 when privately owned banks took lots of money from the Federal Reserve (that’s us, folks!) and kept it for themselves. No jobs were created, no public infrastructure built, no public institutions funded and no loans for small businesses that make up the fabric of the U.S. economy. They took our taxes and bought themselves fancy toys. And nobody did anything about it, at least not right away. Fast forward to Sept. 2011 and you have Occupy Wall Street. So it took little while, but these movements have to build over time.

How does the Occupy Movement relate to local food?  In addition to organizers’ commitment to feed protestors well, I see a strong connection between holding the 1% accountable for what they’ve done with taxpayers’ money and the growing movement to ask how our food is produced. Food activists have shown us how simple questions lead to change. They held the food industry accountable for questionable practices. Who wants to eat a hamburger from the ground beef of 50 different cows? Consumers  got angry about industrial farms and facilities where animals were caged and workers were paid non-livable wages. Profits trumped sanitary procedures that led to nationwide foodborne illnesses, sometimes fatal. They didn’t like that  pesticides were being dumped in waterways and that the overuse of antibiotics had become a routine practice of the beef and dairy industries. Is it too much to ask that the milk we pour our toddlers be drug free? Of course not.

The millions of Americans who have made local and organics the fastest growing segments in the food industry are de facto activists. Over the past twenty years, they have affected policy by creating the National Organic Standards and new federal dietary guidelines. Increasing awareness for labels like “grassfed” and “free range” have followed. They have fueled a resurgence of family farms and Community Supported Agriculture co-ops from Vermont to California, and made studying agriculture in colleges viable again. Their questions led to anger, which led to activism, that led to policy changes. They occupied mealtime and have established a seat at the head of the table.

Occupy Wall Street’s future is yet to be seen, but I do not see these young, intelligent, educated and passionate activists going anywhere soon. They – we! – have legitimate questions that deserve to be answered. Their anger has led to activism, that could lead to policy changes. Those who quickly write them off may want to recall the mis-attributed* Marie Antoinette’s fate when she famously wrote off the protestors outside her palace with the dismissive “Let them eat cake.”  

*Marie Antoinette is widely known as the person who said this, when in fact, it was said 100 years earlier by Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV. But you get my point.

Exit Strategy

My first idea on the theme of this blog was to write about the transition from city to country living. Growing up in San Francisco and living in San Diego, Florence, Italy, and Washington D.C., respectively, the move to San Juan Bautista, pop. 1,800, was quite the adjustment. But after a bit of research I found the whole “city girl moves to country” theme wasn’t all that original. I also realized that I didn’t want to write about myself all the time, so I decided to shift my focus to another favorite topic: food.

For the past several years I have been writing on the people and places that make great local food. It’s been a good way to ease into blogging: no deadlines, writing about things I value, taking pictures, and featuring cool friends and current events that relate to local food. About the time I started this blog, I also started writing fiction. The result is my first draft of a novel, working title: Exit Strategy. I don’t expect it to be a NYT bestseller, (although that would be nice!) but at the very least it’s been an exercise in perseverance and creativity, two things I aspire to practice.

The story is based on my five years working at one of the nation’s largest, organic salad companies. One could argue that I am sticking to my theme of local food.  Set within the walls of an industrial food production facility, Exit Strategy explores the effects of large-scale food production on its workers, its consumers, and its owners. A journalist by training, I was taught to always back up my story with at least three, named sources. In fiction, the novelist’s “sources” are the experiences and characters in her head. My experiences at the salad company included a nationwide E.coli outbreak, several failed attempts to sell the company, one successful attempt to sell it, and countless interactions with the cast of characters we all have in life.

I have a fitting analogy to this project. As a fact-checker for Thomson Newspapers’  Washington D.C. bureau in the early 1990s (my first job out of college), I had the opportunity to attend a presidential press conference at the White House. Needless to say, it was a young journalist’s dream assignment. The night before we were to meet the president, I practiced my questions in the mirror. Although I was seated just feet from the president, I was not one of the reporters he called on. Devastated that I had blown my big chance to include an interview with George Bush in my portfolio, I returned to the office and wrote a column instead on what it was like for a rookie fact-checker to attend a presidential press conference. My bureau chief loved it and sent it out to all 122 Thomson Newspapers’ dailies across the country. Some editors gave me a banner headline. My favorite: “Julie Meets the President, Well Almost!”  I still have those clips and they’re much more fun to read than the question I was going to ask him about offshore drilling. I compare my five years at the salad company to that press conference: I’m going to get a good clip out of it! This time, in the form of a novel. 

As the Stanford economist Paul Romer said: “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”  Stay tuned for occasional Exit Strategy posts to this blog, where I hope, dear readers, you will still find valuable insights about the beauty of local food.

p.s. If any of you know someone who designs book covers, let me know. I am looking for one who can beat that Thomson Newspaper editor’s banner headline!

What are you doing to change the world?

A pond on our ranch in San Juan Bautista shows how healthy grasslands capture and clean water.

At the Council on Foundations conference this week in San Francisco I listened to Singularity University’s Salim Ismail speak. He asked an audience of 1,200 of us: “What are you doing to change the world?” Ismail is a successful angel investor and entrepreneur. His last company, Angstro, was acquired by Google in August 2010. He has operated seven early-stage companies and is a frequent speaker on Internet technologies, private equity, and entrepreneurship. For the last two years he has been executive director of Singularity University, which is training a new cadre of leaders to manage exponentially growing technologies. Ismail also serves on the board of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization.

In this audience there were many people working to change the world: a gathering of Community Foundation CEOs, staff and board members. Community Foundations help local economies by matching donors with needs. As a program manager at the Community Foundation for San Benito County I have seen, first hand, the increasing role that philanthropy plays in providing basic services to residents. We are seeing this trend grow as local, state and federal funding is cut. But back to Salim’s question.

He used the example of clean water several times during his talk. According to water.org, nearly one billion people lack access to safe water and 2.5 billion do not have improved sanitation. The social and economic effects are staggering: millions of children die, wars are fought, people (mostly women) must spend hundreds of hours collecting clean water for their families.  All because we are not managing the earth’s watersheds well enough. Can you see where I’m going here? All things lead to sustainably produced food.

I couldn’t help but think of the connection between Ismail’s challenge to do good work and the work of those people who are already producing clean water: grassland managers, organic farmers, and those who buy our food all contribute to a larger issues than healthy food. We are working to build topsoil, encourage deep root systems that capture and hold water, and create natural filters along waterways that not only allow water to flow but clean it as it passes by. Singularity University focuses on the rapidly evolving world of technological innovation. There is no question that we are in an unprecedented time when it comes to new ideas and the speed at which they can be implemented. I would argue, though, that simplicity should not be overlooked and that maybe some of the earth’s natural systems can teach us something about solving the world’s big problems. Want clean water? Support responsible land management … and enjoy a plate of organic, grilled vegetables and a grassfed filet mignon while you’re at it.

Lemon ice cream, vodka, and grassfed beef

For years I’ve told friends and customers not to waste precious freezer space on Lean Cuisines, processed vegetables (we live in California!) or any dessert that calls itself  “low-fat, non-dairy.” Really, the only three things one should pay P,G&E to freeze  are 1.) high quality ice cream, 2.) Morris Grassfed Beef (or another sustainable source of protein, like wild salmon or range-free chicken) and, of course, 3.) a bottle of Absolut vodka.

So you can imagine my delight when Joe and I went over to our friends Debbie and Ken’s for dinner last night and I opened their freezer to find three things, and three things only: homemade lemon ice cream, neatly stacked various cuts of Morris Grassfed Beef, and a bottle of Absolut vodka.

a model freezer: ice cream, grassfed beef and vodka

Extra points for the Bombay gin, next to the vodka. Debbie is the longtime coordinator for Live Earth Farm CSA, and if there is anyone who walks the talk it’s Debbie.  For the past 12 years, she has “built, nurtured, and cared for” Live Earth Farm’s CSA, according to owner Tom Broz. Together, they have created one of the most successful models of Community Supported Agriculture and  introduced fresh, local produce to thousands of Californians.

 

One of her roles was to create recipes for customers wondering “What am I supposed to do with this?” as they peer into their CSA box each week.  She has built up a database on Live Earth’s website with hundreds of recipes for everything from arugula to zucchini. Joe and I were treated to several of them last night and all I can say is: Debbie, you are amazing!

 

We started with roasted Padrone peppers, heated over a cast iron skillet and tossed with olive oil and sea salt. Sweet and smoky, these treats are a popular tapas dish in Spain and the perfect introduction to Debbie’s next five courses. Next, we had fresh, local goat cheese, shaped into a beautiful floral loaf, and served on baguette slices. Paired with an orange, red onion, and Kalamata olive salad, the mellow cheese was a perfect complement. The orange slices came from a tree in the backyard. We had a Thomas Kruse 2008 Zinfandel, as sweet as a port, to sip in between.  

Next up: Morris Grassfed carpaccio. Sliced from a thawing filet mignon, Debbie created one of the most beautiful presentations of our beef that I have ever seen. Arranged on a round, glass platter, the raw slices were topped with arugula, capers, freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, ground peppercorns and lemon, also from Debbie’s backyard orchard.

Morris Grassfed filet mignon, prepared to perfection in a tasty carpaccio dish

 As if these first courses were not enough, Debbie announced that there was more to come. Pacing ourselves, we slowly finished off our salads and portions of carpaccio, also served atop baguette slices, sprinkled with capers and. topped with a slice of Parm. Next up: ricotta and dill gnocchi. Simple and light, these rolled delicacies are not as heavy as potato gnocchi and were served with Debbie’s homemade tomato sauce. If every bite was not so healthy and beautifully prepared, I would have said ”Basta!” after our fifth course. But food so close to its source, fresh, and served slowly doesn’t leave you feeling full. Onward to fresh strawberry-rhubarb pie in a Debbie’s hand rolled crust.

 

A perfect ending to a perfect meal. Photo credits go to Debbie’s husband and very lucky housemate, Ken, who tells me that she may not cook like this every night, but “it’s pretty close!” Debbie, thanks for your celebration of local food and being such an inspiration!

Know Your Food

Woke up this morning to Joe’s 6 a.m. announcement that he was headed to Paso Robles to check out our new butcher: J&R Meats. “I’ll be home by Noon.”

This is after I asked him last night: “You’re going to take a day off this weekend, right?”

Joe inspects Morris Grassfed Beef, hanging at J&R Meats in Paso Robles, Calif.

It’s our crazy busy time of the year and these little breaks (Fourth of July) really help me get through a working summer. Joe doesn’t know what a day off is. Basically, I have to get him on an airplane and land on a beach without Internet access or cell phone coverage for him to relax.

“I thought we were going to take a day off.”

Not happening. He wanted to go over our CSA customers’ cutting specs with Jim Fogle, the new co-owner of J&R  Meats. I decided to go with him so I could see the place for myself (and report back to you.) He promised me breakfast at a cafe in Paso.

J&R Meats is immaculate. It’s a brand new facility, with a state-of-the-art design that meets federal food safety standards and the beef industry’s best practices. Jim is partnering with Laird Foshay of Rangeland Wines to provide a local, custom cut facility. We’re thrilled, and we think our Morris Grassfed Beef customers will be really happy with how they cut and wrap our meat. One of the benefits of buying local is the fact that we get to know the people involved in every step of the production process. These guys are the real deal. They care about the land, the animals, their employees, and the local economy. We hope you will agree!

Morris Grassfed Beef hang for 10-12 days before being custom cut and wrapped at J&R Meats in Paso Robles, Calif.