Immaculate Organic Cookies... Yumm!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/3224704164/

So since my mom broke her leg skiing, my family has been getting a meal here and there from friends and neighbors. The other night, our neighbors, the Bushes (Kristian Bush of Sugarland), made us a great dinner. Not only was it delicious, but it was also all ORGANIC!

Kristian Bush is the guy on the right! 

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The highlight of the meal was dessert, of course. The supply of brilliant organics ended with delectable, all-natural chocolate chip cookies made by the Immaculate Baking Co, an amazing company based out of NC. Made with organic flour and sugar, these suckers can be popped in the oven for a good 8 minutes for a healthier sweet!

Browsing the company's site, I found out a few other cool things. First of all, they are the current holders of the Guinness World Record for the world's biggest cookie. The cookie, at 102 ft wide and over 40,000 pounds, blew the last record of 80 ft out of the park! After having the largest cookie, the company decided to try for the largest bake sale, as they have teamed up with Cookies for Kids' Cancer in order to raise awareness and funds for pediactric cancer.

Check the two links I put above as well as Immaculate Baking Co.'s main webpage to learn more about this great passage to eating and buying smarter food!

UGA going Organic?



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The University of Georgia is starting a new program for undergraduates this fall that will teach them about local food.  The courses will be offered to every student even those with English, Math, or other majors not related to horticulture.  The University is trying to give students the oppurtunity to learn about the production of local foods.  The students in the program will work in community gardens around Athens.  In 2010 students created an on campus garden called the UGArden.  Students are becoming very interested in local and organic food which is a good sign for the future of agriculture in our country.  You can read more about this new program here.

BK EXPOSED: Part 2

Here is the second video... ewww!

BURGER KING REVEALED!!!

Now I feel proud to not have touched that sandwich. It is just disgusting how haphazardly our own food is being handled in places like Burger King. It looks like these two videos were filmed by a bunch of airheads who worked at BK and were tired of the job. I wouldn't blame them. But warning, if you EVER want to eat at a fast food restaurant, don't watch these clips. I mean, one of the employees even said he wasn't sure what kind of mayonaise they used! If the workers don't even know what they are serving, then we don't know what we are eating. Have enough dignity to demand to know the truth, and to demand to be served healthy food!

BUSTED!

Organic is better. Eating food grown locally is better. Not so fast! Just today The Atlantic reported that the USDA revoked the permits (March 2) of two organic food inspection agencies, Certified Organic Inc. (COI) and Guaranteed Organic Certification Agency (GOCA). 

USDA says COI failed to

• Communicate with hired inspectors about proper procedures or ensure they were adequately trained

• Adhere to internal procedures according to their operational manual

• Keep confidentiality agreements on file for all employees with knowledge about certification applicants or operations

• Indicate on certificates the effective dates for organic certification,

• Ensure adequate training for employees about the regulations

• Provide clients with cost estimates including inspection fees

• Clearly identify the company's responsibility to pay for any required pre- or postharvest testing

• Verify organic system plans against the actual practices of their certified operations

GOCA's reported problems included things like, "failure to require clients to use defined boundaries and border zones as required by the organic standards." 

Do we really want to allow organic certification agencies to simply ignore producer's violations of the organic standards? If these agencies do not do their job, we will be paying an "organic price" or a "locally grown price" for food that does not really fit the qualifications. An interesting and popular topic that has come up lately has been, The U.S. industry is expected to go from $21.1 billion in 2010 to $36.8 billion in 2015. How come? Because of "the government's monetary and regulatory support and increasing acceptance of organic food in the country." Overall, this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, all the food we will but now will REALLY be organic and we won't be purchasing what we think is organic yogurt but really is no different than typical Dannon yogurt. People will probably be more willing to pay a higher price if they know what they are buying is in fact organic. http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2011/03/busted-organic-food-certifiers-who-break-the-rules/72239/

Buy Local, Eat Global... Taking Action in Our Own Communities

apples

Winter Farmer's Market, Pawtucket
www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=29

Jennifer Zyman, the author of the blog Blissful Glutton, understands the beauty of buying food from local farmers. I was lucky enough to come upon Zyman's article in the Atlanta Intown Newspaper, in which she reports from the Morningside Farmers' Market in Virginia-Highland.

Zyman talks to a few people who not only see the benefits of buying food locally, but actually implement it into their lives, makinng them more happy and healthy people.


Some of the positive points given about buying from local markets such as these are:
-the quality of food is better than anywhere else
-the strong sense of community and pride in buying locally grown food
-the produce is cheaper, fresher, and more flavorful
-less of a distance traveled from your food being in the ground to when it is in your hands
-the short journey from farm to table is evident in the food's taste and freshness
-much of the food is organic (no pesticides, hormones, chemicals, antibiotics, or genetically modified seed)
-it is the best way to help support your local farmers, who are an endangered species

There are so many great reasons to start buying food locally, more healthily, and to that extent responsibly. Please read this awesome article by clicking here. On the webpage you will also find some really useful information about the different opportunities available to us in Atlanta to buy food locally.

 Happy eating!

Dekalb Farmers Market

The Dekalb Farmers Market is located in Decatur.  They support local farms and provide organic, GMO-free foods for customers.  They transport their own food from local farms so that it is fresh and on time.  They have cage free chicken and grass fed beef. In their coffee department they have machines that make fresh nut butters out of a large variety of nuts you can choose from.  They also have organic international foods so that you can experiment with new, healthy foods.  They have a great variety of foods to choose from.  Their website has information on all the foods.