Foodies for Dean

2004-03-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

FOODIES FOR DEMOCRACY

Still touring the tastes of France, our fifth week here....The French are the best fed and kindest people we know. We are in Basque country exploring peppers, ham, chocolate and Basque cake, cherries, cheese and wine. Did you know the Jews were the chocolate makers of Spain, once kicked out, set up shop in Basque France, in Bayonne. We enjoyed the Bayonne hot chocolate and buttered toast ceremony today.

We are enthusiastic about doing Foodies for Democracy when we return home. We had hoped Dean would do Democracy for America and he has.....

2004-02-23T02:03:00.000-08:00

Report from Menton, France---

We are hosted here by Tourisme de Menton, in the lemon town on the Cote d'Azur, in rain and clouds---amazing parade yesterday, part of the Lemon Festival--scantily clad dames from Brazil, floats covered in citrus from Spain, oops, and ample bosomed babes from Latvia, and a fantastic band of people of all ages from a town in France--middle aged dames on trumpets, kids on drums, absolutely wild and lively, playing Abba, and Rolling Stones, etc but with a southern , samba kind of feel. Tomorrow we are guests in Nice, viewing parade, fireworks etc of their huge Carnival, and eating ourselves into oblivion--they make a chickpea pancake there, seasoned with pepper, called socca, and the local famous vendeuse is an exotic darkhaired woman with so much eye makeup she can hardly see.
By the by, every other French woman dyes her hair, and almost every dyed hair woman is using a wild color between maroon and rust. Truly remarkable. Au naturel is waaay out, except for a few blondes.

Today we meet a famous retired Formula One driver who now supplies Menton lemons to all the posh restaurants of France.

2004-02-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

FOODIES FOR DEAN TOURING THE TASTES OF FRANCE

We foodies have been deep in the mountainous heart of Provence researching a book on food history and traditions, and we did not hear for two days the news about our campaign.

We shall continue to do some version of Foodies for Dean...perhaps Foodies for Democracy?

First we eat and talk about food each day here in France, but ,of course, it being France, the conversation moves easily to politics, and we explain to all, Deaniacism and the fall of Buuush, as they put it.

We are drinking, eating well and doing good work...we wish the same to you, mes amis-Dean.

We will keep in touch, we are off to taste some figs, see about an historic olive mill, lunch on the coast, baby octopus in parsley, garlic and oil etc.

We are touring all the nation for the next six weeks, our hearts are broken....but we are pleasureably distracted, as you can imagine.

2004-02-10T00:20:00.000-08:00

DEAN PRESS GETS CHEESEHEADS

Anyone know the origin of these foam cheese wedge headgear?

Check out the cheesy merchandise. I like the cheesehead top hat. They've branched out to include ice cream cone and corncob hats. Only in Wisconsin?

Go Dean.

2004-02-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

MOST FAVORED MEETUP LOCATION IN ALBUQUERQUE---Yes, it's Cafe Milagro, on the west side, at Coors and Alameda. Last night we gathered to lick our wounds and celebrate democracy among friends. Some of us also licked blueberry muffins, biscotti, and lapped up a perfect macchiato coffee.
We plan to go on, come what may, discussing issues, sharing experiences, and working for candidates we believe in.

2004-02-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

BEST POLITICAL CAFES AND RESTAURANTS

Still seeking to recognize the best places for politicians and diners to converge in all 50 states. We hope to acknowledge the owners of such important grassroots meeting places.

As an example---Manchester, NH's Political Diners: Come Primary time; you never know which national political leader or journalist you may be sitting next to at any of Manchester’s political diners. They are great places to meet and view the folks who would be our next president. The top viewing spots are:

Red Arrow Diner, The Merrimack, and Chez Vachon.

Please email us with your nominations and testimonials.

2004-02-02T10:34:00.000-08:00

CHILE RELLENOS WITH DEAN VOLS--

Last night vols from CA, AZ and Texas gathered with hard core Albuquerque Deaniacs at the Bandido Inn for chat, Tecates, and decent eats. Oh--and a look at the Super Bowl. (The red sauce in particular was superb, the Margaritas, poor, and rejected. )
The extraordinary dedication of Dean people continues to unite us all. One Texas canvasser said she had found an undecided voter who had seen the Gov on Meet the Press that morning and, bingo, he was voting for Dean after waffling for weeks.
Tomorrow many of us hunker down as poll watchers, drivers, and phone bankers.

Vote early, vote often, but vote for Dean. NM polls open from 12 noon until 7 pm, Tues.

2004-01-31T08:48:00.000-08:00

POLITICAL CAFES AND RESTAURANTS
Nominate your favorites....traditional eateries where voters and politicians share meals and issues.

We just saw Gert Clark, wife of Democratic Presidential hopeful Wes Clark, speaking to voters gathered in Florence, SC's Westside Cafe. Is this the friendly, spacious, nothing fancy kind of place where all politicians hunt for votes?

Wes Clark's first appearance after declaring in Little Rock, was in Iowa City's Hamburg Inn #2, a favorite political cafe, for sure, to see all the photos on the wall.

Dean made Hamburg Inn #2, his first stop the day of the Iowa caucus to thank the management and patrons for the "coffee bean caucus" he won.

In New Mexico we have many such cafes, but none more important than "El Comedor de Anayas" in Moriarty, east of Albuquerque. It's been a political schmoozing den for decades. Over enchiladas and coffee a lot of political horsetrading and meeting voters has taken place. The Anaya family are staunch Democrats and have willingly made room to be one of NM voting sites this Tuesday.

So what places do you know about in your city and state?

I know is is not that easy to leave comments here, but you can email us your nominations.

We will announce the results of our poll here. Get your favorite political cafe listed.

2004-01-30T12:26:00.000-08:00

SUPER SEVEN STATES AND THEIR MOST FAMOUS FOOD ID

Quick what foods come to mind when you think of the seven states holding Democractic Presidential elections on Feb 3rd?

New Mexico is easy=chile pepper everything.

What about Delaware, South Carolina, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Arizona?

2004-01-30T12:19:00.000-08:00

KERRY'S BOTOX DENIALS
What is botox? How does it relate to the deadly food toxin botulism?

Rumors have circulated that John Kerry, allegedly, has had botox injections to clear up his aging brow. He has denied any knowledge of the technique or having had the treatments.

This despite the fact that his outspoken wife, Theresa Heinz Kerry, has boasted of her own success with the cosmetic surgical procedure.

So, for those of you, like Sen. Kerry who are clueless about all this, here is a brief explanation of how botox and botulism are linked.

2004-01-30T12:10:00.000-08:00

VOTE, EAT IN ONE STOP
New Mexico's restaurants figure as caucus voting sites

Albuquerque Journal article (Jan 10, 20040 by Leslie Linthicum) highlights the unusual voting locations around the state, selected by the Democratic party to hold their caucus voting on Feb. 3rd.

The party tried to pick the usual voting venues, but since the caucus replaces the usual primary election, the party had some flexibility.

Among the eateries making room for the voting are:

Cafe Rio in Williamsburg, Iron Skillet truck stop on I-40 in Milan, Miguel's Room of El Comedor de Anayas in Moriarty, Chef Bernie's Fine Foods in Farmington, Martha's Place B&B in Columbus (on the Mexican border) and Rick's Back Door restaurant in Los Lunas

2004-01-29T18:04:00.000-08:00

NOTE from HOME---Yes, Foodie Spouse is back, rested, fed, the cold still in his bones, but, we await the arrival of Gov Dean here tomorrow night for a rally.
The Gov is authentic, down to his toes. He is solid, grounded, pragmatic and effective. He is that rare combo of practical and impassioned.

Lentil soup was the foodie choice in recent days, in the relative cold, with a view towards bolstering our resolve. We know "the real deal" when we see it.

2004-01-23T08:38:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM DODGE CITY---ALL BEEF, ALL THE TIME

Foodie Spouse stayed here last night in a town once bustling with commerce, fabled for Wyatt Earp, and now a decaying center for meat packing, its multiiple plants staffed almost exclusively with hard working Mexicans hired at low wages to do one of the nation's most dangerous jobs.
30,000 cattle a day arrive here and move out quickly as hamburger and other meat cuts, 24 hours a day, all year long.
Downtown is empty storefronts with plenty of parking--local schools make use of some main street businesses to house the overflow of students. Meanwhile, the parking lot at the outlying Walmart is jammed.
A long time resident, well driller and sometime rancher in his late 70's told FS that the aquifer is being drained at an alarming rate. Within a few years there will be no water either for ranchers who supply the cattle nor the packing plants that rely on it. "There's a dwindling tax base, layoffs are coming due to Mad Cow, none of this is sustainable, " said the man. "It's an economic disaster about to happen."

2004-01-21T14:54:00.000-08:00

OF COURSE WE HAVE NO MORE MAD COWS HERE!---OOPS, MORE MAD COWS IN WASHINGTON STATE.

CNN Reports:Quarantine for more mad cow herds
Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Posted: 8:36 PM EST (0136 GMT)

RELATED
• Special Report: The outbreak in Europe
• Canada nears end of mad cow probe
• FDA:Q&A about mad cow disease

THE HUMAN LINK
•Mad cow disease was first reported in the United Kingdom in 1986, peaking in 1993 with almost 1,000 new cases per week.
•In 1996, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) was detected in humans and linked to the mad cow epidemic. Eating contaminated meat and cattle products is presumed to be the cause.
•Both are fatal brain diseases with unusually long incubation periods, often lasting years.
Source: CDC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Two more herds in Washington state have been quarantined as the number of cattle linked to a cow infected with mad cow disease increases, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Tuesday.

Investigators are still searching for 58 of the 81 cattle that were the herdmates of a Holstein cow found infected with the disease last month.

The animals were shipped to the United States from a Canadian dairy farm in September 2001.

Agriculture Department investigators believe the herdmates may have shared the same source of contaminated feed that was the source of the disease, properly known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

Six American herds have now been quarantined since the first U.S. case of mad cow disease was announced on December 23 in Mabton, Washington.

The news sparked blanket bans of U.S. beef from importers in Europe and across Asia, angering American trade officials.

Mad cow disease first surfaced in the United Kingdom and is believed to come from contaminated feed. The fatal disease is passed from cows to humans through the consumption of beef.

It has been linked to 140 deaths, mostly in Europe.

American officials said at least three herdmates of the infected cow were sent to a dairy farm in Tenino, Washington and another six went to a farm in Connell, Washington.

DNA tests confirm the infected cow was born in Alberta, Canada, more than six years ago. The farm where the animal was born went out of business in 2001. The herd was sold off in several transactions.

The Agriculture Department said it completed on Monday the killing of 129 animals from the quarantined herd in Mabton.

Earlier this month, investigators destroyed some 450 bull calves at a quarantined herd in Sunnyside, Washington.

Consumer and animal-health groups, working with some members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will renew on Wednesday their call for broad prohibitions on so-called downer animals entering the food chain.

USDA recently banned downer cattle -- those that arrive at slaughterhouses unable to walk -- from being processed into meat.

The ban represented a reversal for the USDA and for the U.S. cattle industry.

2004-01-21T14:51:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM THE ROAD--Kimchi and dumplings at a Korean place, Scallions, In Ames, and then fish cakes and fish soup at a Malay Place the following day.
Today's tourist spot--The Harry Truman Library in Independence, MO.

2004-01-20T07:11:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA--Ames and then KS

The final report from FS last night was from the loud, cheering environs of Dean's
last big venue, as he acknowledged his third place finish. A few folks were drinking beer and weeping along the edges, but the main crowd was still up, and clapping . FS talked over the din with one of the career diplomats who resigned from the State Dept under Bush in protest of US policies.

Does the public get most all its info from the opinions and chatter of our media's talking heads? Remember years back when there was no 24 hour tv, no endless yammer, remember that? Anyone?

Eat well and be well.

2004-01-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA CITY--AND THE GOV. WALKS IN!

So there's Foodie Spouse, schmoozing at his now favorite ( and only) hangout in Iowa City, the Hamburg Inn No.2, waiting for his sweet potato pancake order, when he vaguely notices a heck of a lot of Dean stickers, signs, and Dean-encrusted people. Suddenly Zephyr Teachout is at his elbow, taking notes on a napkin--Hello, VT HQ--Can you buy this gal a notebook, already?--and then in walks the former Governor of Vermont, followed by about 50-100 photojournalists.
Yes, friends, Howard wanted to visit the scene of his first Iowa victory, yesterday at the Coffee Bean Caucus. ( Last night at the warmup to the rally, FS had shown the crowd the bean count sign, as well as the mason jar containing the winning Dean beans.) Hugs, photos, laughs with all the staff, ensue. Biggest hug for the Gov comes from Foodie Spouse, finally up on his feet, and noticing what's happening.

Foodie Spouse has hugged the Gov. It happened this morning in Iowa City, moments ago.

Life is good.

2004-01-18T13:29:00.000-08:00

ADDENDUM TO ONE BEAN, ONE VOTE--DEAN WINS BIG

Our reporter, Foodies Spouse, was so jazzed on sweet potato pancakes at the Hamburg Inn No. 2 that he neglected a few details.
The restaurant is famous among pols but the Coffee Bean Caucus is in its first year.
Owners are Dave and Roma Panther, Manager, and Fearless Leader, is Steve Fugate.

Voting began Jan 7, and ended today. 3084 votes cast.

Dean 21%
Kucinich 17.7%
Kerry 13.8%
Edwards 8.6%
Clark 7.1%
Geppy 4.2%
Sharpton 2.4%
Lieberman 1.1%

Undecided (.3%

Bush 12.3%

2004-01-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA CITY, PART TWO---EXCLUSIVE--FIRST VOTE--

Results just in from the Coffee Bean Caucus, at the famous Hamburg Inn No.2 , Iowa City, featured in Time Mag when Clark entered the race. Foodie Spouse was there along with Dutch TV and the BBC.

Dean 654
Kucinich 546
Kerry 427
Edwards 265
Clark 219
Geppy 131
Sharpton 74
Lieberman 33

Bush 379

Our guy wins!

2004-01-18T08:23:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA CITY--EAT IT AND WEEP

Foodie Spouse, a man known to weep over the perfect breakfast, has found one in this upscale university town. He is eating a poached egg with veggie casserole, rosemary/olive oil roasted spuds on the side, and a piece of sublime coffee cake the size of the New England states. And, in the high ceilinged, stained glass, antique quilt-filled environs of The Cottage Bakery and Cafe, a string quartet is playing Vivaldi. FS is inhaling his coffee, it's cold outside, finally, and he is off to do Dean in Iowa City once he finishes eating and wipes his eyes.

2004-01-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM WEST BRANCH, IOWA--HOOVER, MRS KERRY, ET AL

After a good look around the Hoover Presidential Library, Foodie Spouse is hungry. After all Herbert Hoover won international fame for his leadership in coordinating massive relief efforts that first helped feed starving Belgians in 1914 and eventually provided food for 350 million people in 21 countries after World War I.
Normally, a visitor to West Branch would seek out a local cafe or restaurant and have a meal. But this is caucus time, and FS heads to a Kerry gathering he sees about to begin at the Town Hall. He walks past a plaque listing numerous West Branch citizens killed in World Wars One and Two. Then he spots some delicious-looking bean dips and just beyond, a personal favorite, Lemon Bundt Cake! Teresa Heinz Kerry is speaking to a group of about 20 people. FS chows down quietly and reflects that earlier that day he made a Dean convert of a woman who had voted for Bush--"Never again. He misrepresented himself!"--but was leaning towards Kerry this time.
The day before, at Smokey Joe's Coffee Shop in Pella, FS ate a spectacular basil tomato soup that featured tiny cheese raviolis. The high school kid behind the counter was a Dean supporter who wanted to caucus but didn't know where to go. FS spent over half an hour tracking down the caucus site for this young voter.

Bite by bite and bit by bit.

2004-01-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

RETHINK THAT HUGE STEAK, PEOPLE

Marian Burros reports in tomorrow's NY Times that the Atkins weight loss people are trying to stress that only 20% of calories should come from saturated fat, such as that found in steak.

2004-01-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA--BARFLY TO BLOGGER BREAKFAST-GOER

So this guy walks into a bar, as the hoary joke goes, and in this case, the guy is Foodie Spouse. Normally, he would rather wrestle greased gators than spend a minute in a smoke-filled environment. But this is for DEAN, dammit, so in he goes. $1 beers at Lucky's, a friendly dive situated pleasantly between the Edwards HQ and a girlie place called the Blue Nude or the Nude Dude
or whatnot. Foodie S. engages some Edwards people in chat, feels them out, and senses , though they do not say so, that they know their guy cannot win past here, if at all, however well positioned, intentioned, etc.
The barkeep says the Dean people are the best, whether best drinkers or tippers FS does not discover, but the waitstaff seems positive on Dean.

Earlier in the day, FS was in search of a towel..draw the veil on the subject of showering over the past five days.... So he is in a supermarket, towel having been located, when he starts lookling for some Iowa beers to bring back to Foodie in NM. Another man arrives at the beer display, notes Dean buttons, and deduces cleverly, " So you're for Dean." "And who is your guy?," asks FS.
"My guy's the one in the White House."
"Ah, " says FS. What ensues is a lively chat that suddenly centers on gun control, wherein Dean comes out smelling good to the gentleman, as Dean favors current Federal legislation and letting states decide the rest themselves.

No one emerges with any Iowa beer.

This morning Foodie S met many of the top stars of The Blog, including a pair from Tokyo, one of whom, Lauren Shannon, is the director of Fujimamas Restaurant and Cafe in Tokyo. Lauren and Tory (sp?) are being followed around in Iowa by a Japanese film crew. So busy was he chatting, that FS neglected to have even a bite of the scrambled eggs and muffins laid out for the bloggers. People from 25 states were represented at breakfast.

There are so many Deaniacs converged that the campaign had to open a new venue, a YMCA camp, for the visitors.

Final note: John Kerry is whipping around Iowa in a helicopter. Dean is on his People Powered bus, with hoards of press rattling along behind. Hmmm...
One woman yesterday commented that she liked the fact that Dean stayed in cheap motels all over the state, not the big hotels.

2004-01-16T11:06:00.000-08:00

THIS JUST IN--OSKALOOSA,IOWA

Foodie Spouse has been briefly reunited with Zephyr Teachout at William Penn U, ( she leapt off the Dean bus and raced across a parking lot,) he has been photographed with Dean, had his arm around him, introduced him to one of the disabled Viet vets from the Oskaloosa coin shop, told him about daydreaming of dancing with Dr Judy and almost getting a ticket, elicited a big chuckle, and also was snuggling up to Judy Woodruff, as she tried to get her mike at Dean's mouth. Evidently she asked Dean the stale horserace question, "The others are moving up, Gov Dean, what do you think?"

BUT FS was right in her ear, in a low voice saying, "You're missing the story,
Judy. The story is all around you, masses of people from all over the country and the world, reenergized, galvanized to work for Dean and for change in this country....."etc etc Maybe she heard him....

Food note---The two guys checking in hordes of CA people just off the train at The Perfect Storm office in Des Moines were delighted when someone delivered them some tasty plates of Chinese food. But FS observed that they took one bite in 35 minutes, they were so busy.
People are working hard.

FS further reports that many Iowans are just waking up to the possibility of what Dean offers, that they feel Clinton betrayed them, that all politicians are alike, and so on. Inch by inch...

2004-01-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

PITY THE CULINARILY-DESIRED CIVET

The NYTimes reports today that recent SARS cases, traced to people eating civet cat, are few and controlled. But the civet itself is doomed either way. Chinese authorities already have killed the 10,000 caged civets found in the wild animal markets of Guangdong province. This "raccoon-like mammal" is known for its musk-like scent used in perfumes.

2004-01-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

ASSORTED NOTES FROM THE HEARTLAND--IOWA

A cozy coin and stamp shop in a small Iowa town is run by "the nicest guy in the world." It's the unofficial hangout of a small band of Vietnam vets, all disabled. Foodie Spouse met with them yesterday and got to musing on all the pain and suffering wars have caused to the combattants, on both sides, of course--and the money that the US government continues to spend, and rightly so, on the people who fight these wars and return home alive, if not at all well.

The Iowa caucus is attended by roughly 3% of registered voters, a tiny group of people bombarded by mailings and phone calls. Most Iowans keep their distance from this process, and lie low, as once every four years the circus arrives in their state. FS notes very few bumper stickers, and rarely, yard signs, as if Iowans are too polite to flash their affiliations in your face.

The Dean difference is that more young people, new voters, even high
schoolers, will be involved this time in caucusing and they understand what's at stake extremely well. Whatever the merits of the other candidates, it is unlikely that any of them will have the money and the grassroots momentum to carry the day against Bush & Co., except Howard Dean. It's that simple.

Yesterday FS visited William Penn University, Oskaloosa, a liberal arts school founded by Quakers in 1873. There he went to the library and showed the Head Librarian THE BLOG. Bit by bit by bit, friends...

2004-01-15T21:31:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA--PELLA, TOWN OF DUTCH ORIGIN

Foodie Spouse spent much of his day in this town settled by Dutch immigrants in 1847. The local meat market features real Dutch style specialties, and the town boasts a fine windmill, canals, the whole Nederlands thing.
Democrats were thin on the ground but FS worked his Deaniac magic on a few folks, evidently.

2004-01-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA--DES MOINES FAIRGROUNDS

You might have noticed a large yellow blur on your screen during the CSpan coverage of Dean's huge rally in Des Moines last night. Appearing along with Dean, Martin Sheen, Rob Reiner, and Tom Harkin was Foodie Spouse, planted in front of the American flag stretched across the wall, wearing his NM yellow sweatshirt, and waving the NM flag. ( CSpan politely asked him to move once...) After Dean boarded the campaign bus for his last 5 days of touring Iowa before the caucus, FS sought out Sheen and gave him a New Mexico Voter for Dean button, and asked if he could come to NM soon to help the campaign. He said he might. And promptly put on the vivid NM yellow button, instantly registered by Foodie watching at home, who realized that FS had swooped in.

The Intrepid Pair from NM were interviewed by a reporter for French Television and FS also talked with Margaret Warner of PBS.

Now for this food news--evidently there is a good Vietnamese restaurant near Iowa HQ where FS enjoyed paper thin spring rolls with delicate dipping sauces.
And--FS toured the nearby Living Historical Farm and met Emma, the pink-haired head cow.

2004-01-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM IOWA--DES MOINES , DEAN HQ

The Intrepid Pair, plus bear, have arrived safely in Des Moines, absorbed into the maelstrom that is volunteers for Dean at HQ. As they crossed into Iowa, they stopped to unfurl their New Mexicans for Dean banner for a photo op, and heard motorists beeping and saw them giving the "thumbs up" sign. ( No alternative digital expressions were recorded.)

Last night Foodie Spouse phoned in from a crowded room at HQ, unable to find words to describe the energy of the Dean vol beehive. FS had already done 2 hours of phone banking. He and Nance were headed out to dinner with a group, then on to a heated Girl Scout Camp, rented by Iowa for Dean to house some of the thousands of out of state vols flooding the city. Sleeping bags and earplugs the order of the day.

Earlier, FS met with execs at the World Food Prize HQ in Des Moines, an organization that awards the following. "The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing -- without regard to race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs -- the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world."
WFP is working to make their center a source for info on a wide range of food issues, a showcase for exhibitions and more.

2004-01-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM THE ROAD TO IOWA--SOMEWHERE BETWEEN PRATT AND THE KS/MO BORDER....

Yesterday Foodie Spouse and Nance survived a stop by a Kansas State Trooper--FS's defense? " I was imagining dancing with Dr Judy Steinberg at the Blogger's Ball. " (Yes, Judy, note the heavy footed reaction to dancing with you. Be warned.) The Intrepid Pair offered the officer a jar of NM salsa after he gave FS a warning, but he declined, as well a professional should. (The Dean angels were hovering overhead.)

Direct from the FS mouth:

Sitting here with ( Howard) Brush (Dean) the bear, our traveling buddy, next to me and Tucker the Wheaton Terrier (tucker means "food"
in Oz-talk) at my feet with Mark and Liz' dining room laptop. Practically
every room has a puter, but no TV's in sight. Lots of puzzles,
games, three kids, guitars, a cello, piano and Duke Blue Devils
scattered around. Mark, an Australian-American, (naturalizing this
month) went to Duke and Oxford. Liz, his wife, is still all
Aussie.

This is a Duke and Dean blue family all the way, with the kids, Molly, Spike and Matt, all Vegemite eaters. Mark has put his
work on auto pilot to organize Kansas for Dean. We are just a mile
from the MO border. A street nearby runs on the border.

Little Molly and Brush the bear just played "If you like Howard Dean, touch your toes,
clap your hands , etc."

This morning Tucker twice carefully stole the top
slice of my precious NM whole grained bread from my sandwich. Liz
said she forgot to warn me about this. They were advised by the dog
trainers to saturate bread with chile pepper, and Tucker steals even
more slices.

Howard Dean is the Dick Vermeil of Presidential candidates...both
are inspiring, popular and unconventional. ( Vermeil has a huge wine cellar, but doubt if HD does.)

Yesterday, we stopped in Pratt for film. It had a beautifully
restored art deco movie palace and one irresistable antiques mall on
Main Street. Jon, former art teacher, and Marsha, the owner, listened
carefully about Dean. Jon voted for Shrub once, won't do it again.
Marsha wants change, agreed to keep Dean info cards for her
counter. I bought a wonderful Chiquita banana doll, with a fine discount, perhaps thanks to the Dean connection.

Tomorrow morning, the promised land, Iowa.

2004-01-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

AP STORY TODAY--WILL HUNGER START TO BE AN ISSUE IN IRAQ ?

(Opening paragraph only)

Troops Disperse Iraqis Rioting for Food

Jan 12, 6:01 PM (ET)

By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD

KUT, Iraq (AP) - Ukrainian soldiers fired into the air Monday to disperse hundreds of Iraqis who rioted for jobs and food as a second southern Shiite Muslim city was rocked by unrest - a barometer of rising frustration with the U.S. led-occupation in a region of Iraq considered friendly to the Americans.

2004-01-12T07:09:00.000-08:00

NOTE FROM THE ROAD to IOWA---LIBERAL, KANSAS

Foodie Spouse reported in last night from Pancake Road in Liberal, Kansas. No sign of either Dorothy or Toto, but Foodie S and traveling Albuquerque Deaniac friend, Nance, made contact with potential Dean supporters in a local park. The motel they settled into was oozing delightful curry aromas but no dinner invites were offered to the Intrepid Pair, alas.
More as it happens. On the agenda, Iowa food sites, Dean people, and involvement in The Perfect Storm.

2004-01-11T06:47:00.000-08:00

TALK ABOUT PUT-DOWNS: WHY NOT THE FOOD STYLIST GETTING FILM CREDIT?

from today's New York Times

Who Was That Food Stylist? Film Credits Roll On

What about the Romanian Army liaison aide and the person described as the food stylist? (Both were named at the end of "Cold Mountain.")

In fact, while questions are being asked, here are two more. Is there a difference between the second second assistant director and the third assistant director, and do all these assistants really have to be named? (The answers to those questions, producers say, are "not much" and "yes.")

"I think it's monstrous," David Thomson, the critic, said. "It's one of those signs of the decadence in our film business altogether."

Mr. Thomson, author of the New Biographical Dictionary of Film, said he still kept his seat until the bitter end, when the house lights come up and most everyone has left, "but only for professional reasons."

"I find it a horrible bore," he said. "Honestly, if you train the horses, you don't need your name up there."

In the early history of motion pictures, credits were nearly always at the beginning of movies and were handed out so sparingly that they rarely took more than two minutes of screen time.

2004-01-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

Lunar New Year House Parties for Dean

Foodies, check out background on Chinese New Year foods, the Kitchen God, et al.

2004-01-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

SUSHI

"Sushi" is with rice, the raw fish alone is known as "sashimi."

Since sushi-eating has become an issue in the campaign, we thought we would include some links on the subject. Dean's opponents have tried to characterize his supporters disparagingly as "sushi-eaters," but according to his actual supporters, many have never eaten the stuff. So we here provide some information for the sushi-clueless of the Dean world.

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2004-01-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

MORE SUSHI RESTAURANTS IN TEXAS THAN VERMONT.

According to the Sushi World Guide, which reports on all things sushi, Texas has 74 sushi restaurants to Vermont's 10. Now we realize that the Bush's Texas is way bigger and more populated than Dean's Vermont. But if you look at where the restaurants are concentrated you will see that the Bush base of Houston has way more sushi eating opportunities than Burlington, 19 to 4.

The list for Texas is too long to post here but you can search the names and addresses for Sushi in the Lone Star State and all other locations worldwide by clicking here.

Here are Vermont's by the way:

Koto 792 Shelburne Road, South Burlingtno, Vermont 05403 Burlington, USA/Vermont
Loong Chats Kitchen 169 Church Street, Burlington,VT 05401 Burlington, USA/Vermont
Sakura 2 Church Street, Burlington, Vermont Burlington, USA/Vermont
Sushi Bar CLOSED ! 2403 Shelburne Road ,Burlington, VT 05482 Burlington, USA/Vermont
Sushi Yoshi 1807 Killington Road, Killington, VT Killington, USA/Vermont

2004-01-09T07:35:00.000-08:00

WE ARE DEAN FOR AMERICA : Some reactions of Dean supporters to the right wing "Club for Growth" ads running in Iowa that attempt to portray Dr. Dean's voters as an out of touch with mainstream America who are:

"latte-drinking,
sushi-eating,
Volvo-driving,
New York Times-reading,
body-piercing,
Hollywood-loving,
left-wing freak show"

Yep, That's me!

But we have a Subaru and a VW Bug (green)...
I prefer mochas, read the NYT times on-line every morning(at least the head-lines..).

Just my ears are pierced, We do love sushi - seeing that Mad-cow has started here in Washington State, that's not a bad idea...
Don't see many Hollywood films tho' mostly films from overseas.

AND I'm even a soccer(playing)mom too!
Posted by Michele in Mukilteo at January 9, 2004 01:51 AM

Let's see --

I drive a Ford pickup and and a tractor...
I don't drink coffee...
I've given up on US sushi after being spoiled in Japan...
Can't afford the NYT (and then there's the recycling)...
Body piercing? Only if you count thorns and splinters...
Hollywood? Not so much...
Freak? only a failed, over the hill freak.

Posted by marc in MD at January 8, 2004 09:52 PM

I prefer Tea
I'd never eat sushi in a landlocked state
I drive a 91 Chevy Lumina APV
I have no body piercings
Didn't Paris Hilton get better ratings than Bush?
I am the anti-freak show

Remember name calling is the first sign of desperation....
-Bryan in VT

"If you assume that there's no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, there's a chance for you to contribute to making a better world. That's your choice." (Noam Chomsky on Human Freedom)
Posted by Bryan in VT at January 8, 2004 09:41 PM

latte-drinking, -- never had coffee in my life! Dr. Pepper? Now we're talking!
sushi-eating, -- never had sushi in my life!
Volvo-driving, -- never driven a volvo! I drive a Geo Prizm.
New York Times-reading, -- I read Cooking Light.
body-piercing, -- Just one hole in each ear.
Hollywood-loving, -- I do love a good Ang Lee movie and King of Queens.
left-wing freak show -- I wear Eddie Bauer clothes, for god's sake...is that left-wing?
Posted by lisainsandiego at January 8, 2004 09:41 PM

I'm a tax-paying, Diet Coke-drinking, barbecue-eating, minivan driving, internet reading, sunscreen wearing, church loving, left-wing Texas mom working to elect Howard Dean so we can take back our government from the wacko special interests. Guess I don't fit the stereotype. Neither does my 73 year old Cadillac driving, Air Force veteran father in Kentucky.
Posted by Dallas Mom at January 8, 2004 09:41 PM

I prefer regular coffee to latte's.

Sushi is an acquired taste, and I'm not quite there yet.

I don't drive a Volvo and don't know anyone who does.

I can't read the New York Times -- it takes too long. Besides, they are anti-Dean and their reporting is shaky of late.

Body piercings? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.

I hate 97.5% of the crap that Hollywood passes off as movies.

Left wing? I'm a moderate Independent who has voted for Republicans and Libertarians as well as Democrats.

Freak show? The only freak show I've seen lately is a President misleading the country about fictional weapons of mass destruction and a shaggy old man in a dirt hole being touted as the biggest threat to the world since Adolf Hitler.

Freak show? Nope. Sorry. I don't watch Fox News for that.
Posted by Robert in Wi at January 8, 2004 09:42 PM

Let's see...
My taxes are higher,
The government is running record deficits,
I prefer Pepsi,
I love red meat,
I drive a Pontiac,
I'm able to read and don't get my news from my advisors,
Phobia of needles,
Lastly, someone needs to tell them Arnold is from Hollywood
Posted by jdent2600 at January 8, 2004 09:46 PM

Poem: "Dean Freak Mother" HA!!

I'm a simple rural Mid-western mother
With a Christian Dream of Holding Hands
With all the sisters and the brothers
Son who is twelve, daughter who is eight
PTA-going, mini-van driving,
Dean Freak Mother!
Award-winning teacher
Dedicated, passionate citizen-creature
Dean Freak Mother!
Latte making, cookie baking
holding hands with my fellow Americans
Dean Freak Mother!
Taking action in the name of our American diversity
Standing at the side of all the "Others"
Dean Freak Mother!!
My children - media conscious:
Able to spot the lies without my proddin'
Lookin' to me for hope in a real democracy
Dean Freak Mother!
Responsible, Credible,Compassionate and Powerful
Unstoppable and Prayerful
Dean Freak Mother!!
Posted by Dean Freak Mother at January 9, 2004 08:59 AM

Common Sense believing
Navy veteren standing
Homeless shelter volunteering
Bush not understanding
Church going
Corolla driving (40 MPG)
College tuition paying
property tax bill rising
Dean Supporter
Posted by Tim from Killington VT at January 9, 2004 09:18 AM

I'm a:

college ed for my kid saving
state-rights supporting
tap water drinking
Ford truck driving
Nation reading
average dressing
TV watching
middle of the road American Patriot
for Howard Dean
Posted by anon at January 9, 2004 09:25 AM

I am a

'85 Chevy van driving
Church attending
Basketball practice shuttling
Family supporting
Coffee (plain, cheap) drinking
God loving and practicing
a better life for my children wanting
middle-aging :(
plain and simple American for
Howard Dean

and I love this campaign
Posted by Carol in KY - first post!! at January 9, 2004 09:32 AM

Hmmm....

Surplus-gobbling,
Crony-rewarding,
Job-destroying,
Pretzel-choking,
Deficit-mushrooming,
Intelligence-massaging,
"Chatter"-manipulating
Ken Lay-coddling,
Limo-driven,
Hate-mongering,
Faux News-watching,
Free Republic-reading,
Gropinator-electing
Bill of Rights-trampling
Right-wing freep show.

Posted by Seabiscuit for Dean at January 8, 2004 09:51 PM

2004-01-09T06:58:00.000-08:00

"The words coming out of George Bush's mouth at any moment may have been written over a latte!"
This is how the Blog for America (scroll down to the January 8th posts and comments)summed up the tempest in a coffee mug over Republican attempts to smear Dean supporters.

Where can a guy write a State of the Union speech?
By Francine Kiefer The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON - IN the weeks leading up to the president's first State of the Union address, chief speechwriter Michael Gerson has been in need of a quiet place to think.

His West Wing basement office - coveted as it may be for its proximity to power - is not it. Cramped, windowless, and loud, it is hardly conducive to the inspiration a presidential wordsmith needs to help set the country's course for the next year.

So Mr. Gerson wanders. He steps across West Executive Avenue to a cavernous office in the Old Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex. Or after hours, he goes to the near-empty Starbucks on Pennsylvania Avenue, where, alone and anonymous, he scribbles on a yellow legal pad.

2004-01-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

WHAT'S THE MOST UNCONVENTIONAL THING YOU'VE EVER EATEN?

A Chinese waitress, 20, who works in a restaurant where civet cats are served is apparently the second confirmed case of SARS in a week. Click here to read more about this.

2004-01-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

DEAN SUPPORTERS REACT TO ATTACK ADS ABOUT THEM
A SAMPLING OF POSTINGS FROM THE DEAN BLOG TODAY

Are we back in junior high with this Club for Growth ad? ( C for G beings to mind the slew of spam we get every day, aimed at increasing our member, etc..)
Anyhoo--this stuff is funny/absurd/nuts, and also false, particularly re government expanding--hellooo???--have these people checked our govt spending and Homeland Security employee list lately?
Still---in the main it attacks intelligent people. People who read, drive safe cars, wear sensible shoes, have knowledge of the wider world, etc. It is part of the anti-intellectual tone of this country.

Watching and listening to the scientists and engineers who put us on Mars is like a fresh ocean wave. Smart people. Articulate people. Practical, problem-solving people. Boo! Bet there are acres of empty latte cups all over
the Jet Propulsion Lab.

But I digress....

How do we bloggers respond to this nonsense? Is laughing enough? Pls advise.

BTW I drive a 1978 Volvo, ate sushi last week, do not drink lattes, wear a wide variety of shoes, all much better looking than B'stocks, have NO piercings, and watch all manner of films.

Why do I support Dean? Fiscal conservatism!
Pragmatic problem-solving with people at the center.

Must go organize my Meetup stuff.

Posted by foodies for dean at January 7, 2004 03:55 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmmm...stereotype checklist for Patty in VT:

Who's the real Starbucks drinkers? Click my name to find out! Here's an excerpt of the relevant DailyKos diary entry:

"""
As noted by Atrios, there are exactly two Starbucks retail locations in the state of Vermont.

Let's do a little more research here.

There are 395 locations in Texas. There are nearly 200 times as many Starbucks locations in Texas.

Even when you work this out on a per-capita basis, there is one Starbucks location in Vermont for every 307,000 Vermonters, versus one Texas location for every 53,987 Texans. In other words, there are over five times as many Starbucks locations on a per-person basis in Texas than there are in Vermont.

Since the market would never lie to us, we can safely assume who the real latte-sippers are.
"""

Posted by maxomai at January 7, 2004 04:24 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Tax-hiking?

If it improves the lives of those less fortunate than myself, CHECK!

* Government-expanding?

Again, if it improves the lives of those less fortunate, CHECK!

* Latte drinking?

Hmmm...well, I ~am~ rather fond of Starbucks Mocha Valencia...Hell, I'll own it. CHECK!

* Sushi-eating?

Only veggie sushi. In their haste it seems they breezed right past "meat-eschewing" -- of course that assumes they even know words like "eschew"...
Anyway: CHECK!

* Volvo-driving?

Yeah -- what of it, punks? My priority is the safety of my children -- how about YOU in your gas-guzzling Republican SUV's that roll over on an icy road if you look at 'em crosseyed? Don't your "family values" dictate that you show concern for your *family* when purchasing a car? Or is that all just a buncha holier-than-thou talk? Yeah. I thought so. I *love* my Volvo and I drive it with pride, knowing that the workers in Sweden who built it did so with full health care coverage courtesy of the very socially responsible government there.

* New-York-Times-reading?

Hey -- at least WE can READ, unlike our pResident. I read the Times. I also read a lot of other things -- like Tolstoy's collection of articles called "Patriotism - Slavery of Our Times" - you should check it out, Club for Growth.

By the way -- been meaning to ask you -- growth of what? Sub-dermal fungi? Heh.

* Body-piercing?

Hmmm...maybe if I was 20 years younger. But I'll be generous and offer up my tattoo as a substitute stereotype instead. {grin}

* Hollywood-loving?

That's a very odd criticism. Aren't your beloved icons Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and Charlton Heston products of Hollywood? I'm not too keen on them if that's what you meant...

So, I guess the bottom line is that, for me anyway, your stereotype comes close to fitting. I'm just not sure what your point is with all that. :-P

Posted by Patty in VT at January 7, 2004 02:34 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2004-01-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

LATTE-DRINKING, SUSHI-EATING, VOLVO DRIVING DEAN SUPPORTERS ATTACKED ALONG WITH THEIR CANDIDATE

LA Times 1/7/04 By Nick Anderson and Janet Hook

DES MOINES — Howard Dean's economic policies — as well as his "latte-drinking, sushi-eating" supporters — will come under a round of withering fire starting today from a group that supports conservative Republican candidates.

The Club for Growth, an organization that is an advocate for tax cuts and other conservative causes, will begin airing in Iowa today a TV ad attacking the proposal by the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination to repeal all of the tax cuts enacted under President Bush.

The ad features a husband and wife and opens with an announcer asking, "What do you think about Howard Dean's proposal to raise your taxes by $1,900 a year?"

The husband replies, 'Well, I think Howard Dean should take his tax-hiking, government-expanding, latte-drinking, sushi-eating, Volvo-driving, New York Times-reading … "

The wife jumps in: "Body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freak show back to Vermont where it belongs."

Steve Moore, president of the Club for Growth, said of the ad: "What we're trying to show is Dean is supported by the cultural elite and not by anyone with middle-American values and finances."

Dean's campaign dismissed the ad as a fundraising ploy to stir up GOP activists. A spokesman for the campaign also asserted that there were far more sushi restaurants, Volvo dealerships and Starbucks outlets in northern Virginia, where Moore and many prominent Republicans live, than in all of Iowa.

2004-01-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

DAVE ANDERSON OF FAMOUS DAVE'S BAR-B-Q RESTAURANTS NEW HEAD OF BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

‘Famous Dave’ Anderson brings pluses and minuses to BIA job

Anderson, who announced Monday that he was resigning as chairman of the board of Famous Dave’s of America, lacks government experience, but his entrepreneurial background could be a valuable asset at the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

By David Knutson/St. Paul Legal Ledger
December 16, 2003

As he prepares to take control of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, observers say Dave Anderson will find no shortage of problems.

Anderson, the restaurant entrepreneur who started the Famous Dave’s of America Inc. barbecue-and-blues themed eateries, was finally confirmed for the post by the full Senate last week. He will serve as assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs under Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

On Monday, the Eden Prairie-based company announced Anderson would relinquish his post as chairman of board while running the agency.

A Minnesota native, Anderson is a member of the Chippewa and Choctaw tribes and an enrolled member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa in Wisconsin.

He’s served state and national commissions dealing with Native American issues, including the National Task Force on Reservation Gambling in 1983, the Presidential Advisory Council for Tribal Colleges and Universities in 2001 and the American Indian Education Foundation this year.

But, as Lawrence noted, he lacks any previous government experience.

“It will be a problem from the standpoint of the bureaucrats in Washington who will run end-runs around him,” said Mike Fairbanks, a retired BIA superintendent who served in Michigan, Colorado and South Dakota. “If he gets good assistants to handle the daily affairs, then I think he will be able to make things happen.”

About Dave Anderson • Age: 50 • Born: Chicago, May 1953. • Home: Lives in Edina with his wife, Kathryn.
Two sons, James, 26, and Tim, 19.

• Education: Master's degree in public administration in 1986 from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

• Business: Nine years after the first Famous Dave's barbecue opened in Hayward, Wis., the publicly traded chain now includes 87 restaurants in 23 states. Anderson stepped down in August as chief executive officer of Edina-based Famous Dave's, although he will retain majority ownership in the company.

A former chief executive of the Lac Courte Oreilles tribal enterprises, Anderson also founded Grand Casinos Inc. with partner Lyle Berman.

• Government: Anderson, who would oversee about 10,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs employees, has served on the National Task Force on Reservation Gambling, the Presidential Advisory Council for Tribal Colleges and Universities and the American Indian Educational Foundation. He also founded the LifeSkills Center for Leadership,
a program for at-risk Indian youth.

• On the Net:
LifeSkills Center for Leadership:
www.lifeskills-center.org

Bureau of Indian Affairs:
www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

2004-01-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

DEAN FLIPPING PANCAKES FOR VOTES IN IOWA

Here's a first hand report and reactions. www.dailykos.com/story/2004/1/3/221210/0813

2004-01-02T07:36:00.000-08:00

MOCHI: JAPANESE NEW YEAR RICE CAKES

Though many foods are associated with the New Year in Japan, none is as important as "mochi." In its simplest form, mochi is plain pounded rice molded into small cakes. The rice cake embodies the good essence of the rice spirit and symbolizes good fortune in the coming year.

Mochi is made from a highly glutinous type of rice that must be pounded into a paste. This calls for strong well-motivated people who swing large wooden mallets onto the rice placed in a mortar. Pounding the mochi has become as important a Japanese politician's ritual as is kissing babies to American pols.

You may have read that the Japanese see a rabbit, not a "man" in the moon. You may not have realized that the rabbit is pounding mochi.

Lobster and fish are also served at the New Year, along with oranges, fish eggs and beans. Another key item is renkon, a white radish with holes carved in it which assures the eater the ability to see into the future.

2004-01-01T07:19:00.001-08:00

WHAT'S COOKING FOR YOU IN 2004? Open thread.

2004-01-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOODIES. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? OPEN THREAD.

What were your favorite food experiences of 2003?

Favorite foodie stories?

Most memorable Dean experiences?

2003-12-31T19:26:00.000-08:00

BURGERS SAFE? EXPERTS DISAGREE
The American Burger: How Safe Is It? By Walter Nicholls and Candy Sagon
Washington Post 12/31/03

Of all of the food safety concerns raised by the discovery of mad cow disease at a Washington state dairy farm, perhaps none is more focused than that on ground beef and that staple of many an American diet, the hamburger.

"It's been said that war is the way that Americans learn about geography. Well, in the same way, food disasters are how we find out about where our food comes from," says David Cole, chairman of Sunnyside Farms.

Abstain? Some experts are so outraged by the government's slowness in dealing with mad cow concerns that they feel consumers should consider avoiding ground beef completely.

Marion Nestle, professor of public health at New York University and the author of "Safe Food," says the unfolding situation "is so shocking, it takes my breath away. I mean, the meat's in Guam and Hawaii. It's already almost halfway around the world."

An outspoken critic of the country's food industry, Nestle says part of the problem is that consumers have no idea where the ground beef in their supermarket comes from. One study, she says, showed that a single pound of ground beef could be traced to 400 animals in six states.

"Until we have a little consumer protection going on in government, consumers have to take care of themselves. They should express their distress about the current meat situation and just say no. The message will be loud and clear in a way no other message will be."

Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington consumer group, won't go quite that far, but she agrees that "ground beef [safety] is clearly a weakness."

"What's frustrating is that the USDA could have solved this problem. They've been repeatedly alerted to the risks posed to the public. The hazard is there," she says.

"You don't want to punish the industry for something that happened to one cow," says Patty Lovera of the public health group Public Citizen. On the other hand, consumers need to pressure the government to improve the food safety system, she says. "There's a lot more the USDA could be doing, like eliminating 'downer' animals [which appear sick] and expanding the testing for mad cow disease. The government says all these reassuring things, but doesn't back them up with actions."

And it's not just ground beef in hamburgers that consumers should be worried about, adds Smith DeWaal. "Taco filling, pizza toppings, hot dogs, processed meats, these are all likely products that can expose consumers to mad cow disease."

Still, other experts say avoiding ground meat completely is an overreaction.

"The chance of being infected is very small," says Paul Brown, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda and a longtime researcher of mad cow disease. "I would bet my life we won't have an epidemic."

Besides, adds Marybeth Cousin, a food microbiology professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., "I would be more worried about getting the flu this winter than getting mad cow disease."

WEIGHT-LOSS SUPPLEMENT BANNED
Bush Administration to Ban Dietary Supplement Ephedra

Click here for full article.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has decided to ban the herbal weight-loss supplement ephedra from the marketplace because of concerns about its effects on health, government officials said Tuesday.-------------

---------Ephedra has been linked to as many as 100 deaths, officials have said. And Congress gathered testimony from families of people who are believed to have died from its side effects. Among those who testified were the parents of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler, who died during spring training last February while trying to lose weight. Toxicology tests showed ephedra in his system.

Executives of several companies that make ephedra-based products have said that studies have proven that they are safe when used properly.------------

``Anyone who has read our label knows that we go to great lengths to inform our customers about the proper use of our products,'' said Russell Schreck, chief executive officer of San Diego-based nutritional supplement-maker Metabolife International. ``We make it quite clear on our label that the ephedra products are not to be sold or used by minors and that customers with certain pre-existing medical conditions should 'consult a physician before product use'.''---------------

-------------But several scientists said that it was impossible to prove whether ephedra was safe because studies screen out participants who have health problems -- the people most likely to be hurt by the product.---

-------------In 2001, the National Football League banned its players from using ephedra as a dietary supplement.

2003-12-28T12:42:00.000-08:00

YELLOW DATES IN DECEMBER AT CENTER OF SADDAM CAPTURE CONSPIRACY THEORY

The capture of Saddam Hussein two weeks ago, has prompted a rash of reporting and conspiracy theories that all was not as reported by the US authorities in Iraq. This may all be an unfortunate result of the necessity to keep such high profile capture subjects in secure custody and unavailable for examination by the public and media.

The core theory is that Saddam was actually captured earlier and elsewhere. He was drugged and put in that now famous hole "to be captured" when convenient. At the center of this arguement is that photos supposedly taken at the time of capture show a nearby cluster of yellow dates hanging from one of the ubiquitous date palms of Iraq. Normally dates are yellow in the summer and would certainly have fallen off by December. Thus the photos and capture were done earlier.

One report out of Saudi Arabia mentions that there is one variety of date, "hilali" that ripens later and is still on the trees in December in that part of the world.

Other reporting we have done here,(see 12/14/03 at 09:47:04AM) mentions that due to the start of the war, the crucial March hand pollination of the date palms was postponed or prevented from happening. So there was not expected to be much of a date crop this year. However, some trees could have been pollinated later causing an unusual late ripening. This might explain why yellow dates were on the palm hanging near Saddam's hideout in December.

I like a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person. But first let's learn more about date varieties and this year's war-interrupted crop.

2003-12-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

Mad Cow Case Clouds Bush's Political Outlook
Report of Disease Colors Spurt of Good News With a Touch of Uncertainty

By Mike Allen
Washington Post 12/28/03

CRAWFORD, Tex., Dec. 27 -- The discovery of mad cow disease in the United States could shift the political landscape at the start of President Bush's reelection year by injecting uncertainty into a fragile economy and drawing scrutiny to his handling of an industry that was a financial and political ally in the last election, analysts in both parties said yesterday.

White House officials had sounded ebullient as they headed into the holidays at a time when economic indicators were turning up, Saddam Hussein was in captivity and a new Medicare law had just been signed. Now, the administration will start 2004 under the type of sudden economic threat that Bush aides had expected would come only from a terrorist attack.

"Life is just not as good as December was for the president," Republican pollster Whit Ayres said.

Bush has closer ties to ranching than to any other industry besides oil, and Democrats seized on this new avenue for attacking Bush as a captive of business. Howard Dean, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, said that it showed "the complete lack of foresight by the Bush administration once again."

Dan Glickman, agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton and now director of Harvard University's Institute of Politics, said the White House has just weeks to develop a plan for more rigorous livestock tracing and testing. He suggested that Bush bring together representatives of science, consumers and the industry in early January -- a time when his aides had hoped to be focused on the State of the Union address.

"This will require very aggressive, proactive solutions coming from the administration," Glickman said. "You cannot monkey around with this. This is a big potential problem."

Bush donned a cowboy hat when he spoke last year to the annual convention of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and livestock interests have been among his most reliable supporters. The Center for Responsive Politics found that 79 percent of the livestock industry's $4.7 million in contributions for the 2000 elections went to Republicans. Of the $1.1 million the industry has given so far for next year's election, 84 percent went to the GOP.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been seeking a Meat Traceability and Safety Act, called the current standards "another example of the White House doing what industry wants, rather than what the consumer needs."

Dean, in an interview Friday with the Associated Press, said that the mad cow discovery "is something that easily could be predicted and was predicted" and that the administration could have softened the blow by setting up a system that provided "instant traceability." He called for "instant traceability" of meat and a federal economic aid package for the industry.

2003-12-27T09:40:00.000-08:00

MORE ABOUT CATTLE TRACKING SYSTEM, DEAN ADVOCATES

As Probe of Infected Cow Spreads, So Does Worry

By Shankar Vedantam and Blaine Harden
Washington Post Staff Writers

Cattle in other states may have eaten the same contaminated feed that infected a Washington state Holstein with mad cow disease, but investigators who want to track the infection to its source are being confounded by the lack of an organized system that would lead them to the herd where the cow was born, officials said yesterday.

The lack of a reliable tracking system, and a complex trail of clues, rumors and false leads, mean it could be days or months -- or never -- before all the links are fully explored, officials said. For a nation already jittery about the Holstein, the expanding investigation could spread worry.

"The epidemiological investigation becomes a tangled web of different possibilities," said W. Ron DeHaven, deputy administrator and chief veterinary officer at the Agriculture Department. "Some of those do lead back to Canada. Some take us into the state of Washington and other states, as well."

Already, consumers who ate meat that might have come from the sick Holstein are concerned. Grocery stores were shipped ground beef and beef patties from meat that included the infected cow 11 days before a test for mad cow disease came back positive and the meat was recalled -- it is not yet known how much of the meat was pulled off grocery shelves or has been consumed.

2003-12-27T09:14:00.000-08:00

Investigators Trace Diseased Cow to Canada

By EMILY GERSEMA
The Associated Press
Saturday, December 27, 2003; 11:28 AM

WASHINGTON - The Holstein infected with mad cow disease in Washington state was imported into the United States from Canada about two years ago, federal investigators tentatively concluded Saturday.

Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief veterinarian for the Agriculture Department, said Canadian officials have provided records that indicate the animal was one of a herd of 74 cattle that were shipped from Alberta, Canada, into this country at Eastport, Idaho.

"These animals were all dairy cattle and entered the U.S. only about two or two-and-a-half years ago, so most of them are still likely alive," DeHaven said.

He emphasized that just because the sick cow was a member of that herd, it does not mean that all 74 animals are infected.

Based on the Canadian records, the cow was 6 1/2-years-old - older than U.S. officials had thought, DeHaven said. U.S. papers on the cow said she was 4- or 4 1/2-years-old.

The age is significant because the United States and Canada have

2003-12-27T08:57:00.000-08:00

DEAN CALLS FOR NATIONAL TRACKING SYSTEM FOR CATTLE AND SUPPORT FOR BEEF INDUSTRY

Dean also weighed in on the news earlier this week that a cow in Washington state has tested positive for mad cow disease, the first such case in the United States.

The former governor, whose state has a large dairy cow population, said the Bush administration failed to aggressively set up a tracking system that would allow the government to quickly track the origins of the sick cow, quarantine other animals it came in contact with and assure the marketplace the rest of the meat supply is safe.

Asked if he supported a federal economic aid package for the industry, Dean said: "The answer is, yes, of course I do. The question is how much? And we don't know how much yet."

2003-12-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

Many Stocks Linked to Beef Continue to Fall by Jennifer Bayat, NY Times 12/26/03

The discovery of mad cow disease in the United States continued to roil the cattle markets and the beef industry yesterday as the prices of live cattle and stock in meat processors were pummeled for a second day.

On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, live cattle futures for delivery in February fell 3 cents, to 86.175 cents a pound, even after the normal limit of 1.5 cents a pound was doubled for the day because of the crisis.

Stock in Tyson Foods Inc., the largest meat processor in the nation, fell 31 cents, to $12.59 a share, after falling $1.08, or 8 percent, on Wednesday. Smithfield Foods Inc. and the Hormel Foods Corporation each fell by about 1 percent.

Standard & Poor's, the credit rating agency, said it might cut the debt ratings of companies that process beef and of restaurants that feature beef because of the uncertainty about how consumers will react.

Some restaurant chains, notably the McDonald's Corporation and Wendy's International, posted modest gains, reversing setbacks on Wednesday when the initial reaction to the mad cow scare swept the markets.

But the price of live cattle remained under pressure as countries around the world banned imports of cattle from the United States. Analysts said the United States had been on pace to export more than $3.5 billion worth of beef this year, 10 percent of the nation's production.

Faced with the uncertainty and the exchange's limit on daily changes in price, traders in the futures market were unable to determine the price, which fell the 3-cent limit as soon as trading began, essentially putting a halt to trade, because there were no buyers.

The exchange raised the limit to 3 cents for yesterday's session because the price fell the normal 1.5 cent limit on Wednesday and will expand the limit again, to 5 cents a pound, for Monday's session.

Gregg Doud, chief economist with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association in Denver, said prices in the market for options on cattle futures, where prices have fewer restrictions, indicated that the price might level off at about 75 cents a pound.

Mr. Doud said one trade was reported on the cash market in Kansas on Friday, with live cattle selling for 78 cents a pound, down from an average of 92.62 cents a pound before the mad cow news emerged.

"I am hard-pressed to think of the last time this market has done anything like this," Mr. Doud said. "And it's because we've lost our export market. We've lost at least 90 percent of a $3.5 billion export market this week."

Chuck Levitt, senior livestock analyst for the Alaron Trading Corporation in Chicago, noted that the Canadian beef industry was still reeling from the discovery of an infected cow in April.

"We are seeing an agricultural tragedy unfold as we speak," Mr. Levitt said. "How much equity will be lost by the American beef producer, I can't tell you. But chances are it won't be millions, it will be billions of dollars."

Keith Collins, chief economist with the Department of Agriculture, said the price might return to levels of a year ago, or about 72 cents a pound, which would be tolerable considering that the past year has been a good one.

"So the price declines the producers are likely going to face, while in fact will cause them some financial difficulty, will probably bring prices back to a level that they've been in the past year or so," Mr. Collins said.

2003-12-26T11:34:00.000-08:00

Mad Cow Fallout: meat eaters & USDA rethinking choices

In light of the first reported and confirmed case of Mad Cow Disease in the US, choices made by meat eaters, the USDA, and food industry investors are being reconsidered.

Even the Bush administration's strategy of relying on the economy rebounding to sweep him into a second term may have to be re-considered. Some are predicting the fallout of the first confirmed mad cow disease case in America has just begun. The beef and food industry have placed profits over prudence in light of experience in UK and other places where the disease has been transferred from cattle to humans.

And in the atmosphere of allowing big business to regulate itself, the USDA's hands-off policies will have to reconsidered.

Amidst all this are studies that say consumers are very conflicted. The public has learned that high protein diets do keep weight under control. But an increasing number of citizens don't trust large corporations to choose public health over profits.

The fallout damage of this first case is likely to be wide spread. Many have been suspected Mad Cow has been present in the US food supply for some time. The USDA has not done enough inspections to detect it before now. The US media ignores food stories until they reach a crisis proportions. They are still repeating that the diseased parts of the cow in question were removed, despite the findings of a Nobel scientist that the disease is likely to be found throughout the animal and that many animals are slaughtered before they show signs of illness.

All these reports can be found in postings in this blog for Dec 24, 25. We will continue to update this important story and provide links on a daily basis.

2003-12-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

Expert Warned That Mad Cow Was Imminent

By SANDRA BLAKESLEE NYTimes 12/25/03

Ever since he identified the bizarre brain-destroying proteins that cause mad cow disease, Dr. Stanley Prusiner, a neurologist at the University of California at San Francisco, has worried about whether the meat supply in America is safe.

He spoke over the years of the need to increase testing and safety measures. Then in May, a case of mad cow disease appeared in Canada, and he quickly sought a meeting with Ann M. Veneman, the secretary of agriculture. He was rebuffed, he said in an interview yesterday, until he ran into Karl Rove, senior adviser to President Bush.

So six weeks ago, Dr. Prusiner, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work on prions, entered Ms. Veneman's office with a message. "I went to tell her that what happened in Canada was going to happen in the United States," Dr. Prusiner said. "I told her it was just a matter of time."

The department had been willfully blind to the threat, he said. The only reason mad cow disease had not been found here, he said, is that the department's animal inspection agency was testing too few animals. Once more cows are tested, he added, "we'll be able to understand the magnitude of our problem."

This nation should immediately start testing every cow that shows signs of illness and eventually every single cow upon slaughter, he said he told Ms. Veneman. Japan has such a program and is finding the disease in young asymptomatic animals.

Fast, accurate and inexpensive tests are available, Dr. Prusiner said, including one that he has patented through his university.

Ms. Veneman's response (he said she did not share his sense of urgency) left him frustrated. That frustration soared this week after a cow in Washington State was tentatively found to have the disease. If the nation had increased testing and inspections, meat from that cow might never have entered the food chain, he said.

Ms. Veneman was not available for interviews yesterday, and the White House referred all questions to the department. A spokeswoman for Ms. Veneman, Julie Quick, said: "We have met with many experts in this area, including Dr. Prusiner. We welcome as much scientific input and insight as we can get on this very important issue. We want to make sure that our actions are based on the best available science."

In Dr. Prusiner's view, Ms. Veneman is getting poor scientific advice. "U.S.D.A. scientists and veterinarians, who grew up learning about viruses, have difficulty comprehending the novel concepts of prion biology," he said. "They treat the disease as if it were an infection that you can contain by quarantining animals on farms. It's as though my work of the last 20 years did not exist."

Scientists have long been fascinated by a group of diseases, called spongiform encephalopathies, that eat away at the brain, causing madness and death. The leading theory was that they were caused by a slow-acting virus. But in 1988, Dr. Prusiner proposed a theory that seemed heretical at the time: the infectious agent was simply a type of protein, which he called prions.

Prions (pronounced PREE-ons), he and others went on to establish, are proteins that as a matter of course can misfold — that is, fold themselves into alternative shapes that have lethal properties — and cause a runaway reaction in nervous tissue. As more misfolded proteins accumulate, they kill nerve cells.

Animals that eat infected tissues can contract the disease, setting off an epidemic as animals eat each other via rendered meats. But misfolded proteins can also arise spontaneously in cattle and other animals, Dr. Prusiner said. It is not known whether meat from animals with that form of the disease could pass the disease to humans, he said, but it is a risk that greatly worries him.

Cattle with sporadic disease are probably entering the food chain in the United States in small numbers, Dr. Prusiner and other experts say.

Brain tissue from the newly discovered dairy cow in Washington is now being tested in Britain to see if it matches prion strains that caused the mad cow epidemic there, or if it is a homegrown American sporadic strain, Dr. Prusiner said.

"The problem is we just don't know the size of the problem," he said. "We don't know the prevalence or incidence of the disease."

The Japanese experience is instructive, Dr. Prusiner said. Three and a half years ago, that country identified its first case of mad cow disease. The government then said it would begin testing all cows older than 30 months, as they do in Europe. Older animals presumably have a greater chance of showing the disease, Dr. Prusiner said.

Japanese consumer groups protested and the government then said it would test every cow upon slaughter, Dr. Prusiner said. The Japanese have 4 million cattle and slaughter 1.2 million of them each year. The United States has 100 million cattle and kills 35 million a year.

Early this fall, Japanese surveillance found two new cases of the disease in young animals, aged 21 and 23 months. "Under no testing regime except Japan would these cases ever be found," he said.

The 23-month-old cow tested borderline positive using two traditional tests. But the surveillance team then looked in a different part of the brain using an advanced research technique and found a huge signal for infectious material, Dr. Prusiner said. It was a different strain of the disease, possibly a sporadic case.

The only way to learn what the United States is facing is to test every animal, Dr. Prusiner said. Existing methods, used widely in Europe and Japan, grind up brain stem tissue and use an enzyme to measure amounts of infectious prions. Animals must have lots of bad prions to get a clear diagnosis.

Newer tests, by a variety of companies, are more sensitive, cheaper and faster. Dr. Prusiner said that his test could even detect extremely small amounts of infectious prion in very young animals with no symptoms. Sold by InPro Biotechnology in South San Francisco, a single testing operation could process 8,000 samples in 24 hours, he said.

British health officials will start using the test in February, Dr. Prusiner said. If adopted in this country, it would raise the price of a pound of meat by two to three cents, he said.

"We want to keep prions out of the mouths of humans," Dr. Prusiner said. "We don't know what they might be doing to us."

His laboratory is working on promising treatments for the human form of mad cow disease but preventing its spread is just as important, he said. "Science is capable of finding out how serious the problem is," he said, "but only government can mandate the solutions."

US beef industry arrogance
Listen to an interview with two critics of the US beef industry. They claim "big meat" has ignored best practices that have been put in place after the UK mad cow scare. And that despite all the assurances by USDA, that diseased parts of cattle are found throughout the animal.

Here's a link to Democracy Now's broadcast segment today.
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/12/24/1521256

Mad cow disease was detected in the United States for the first time ever when a cow slaughtered in Washington state earlier this month tested positive for BSE. We speak with John Stauber author of Mad Cow USA and Howard Lyman a former cattle rancher-turned-vegetarian and food safety activist.

John Stauber, co-founder of PR Watch and co-author of the book, Mad Cow USA: Could The Nightmare Happen Here? (Common Courage Press, 1997) which reveals how mad cow disease has emerged as a result of modern, intensive farming practices.

Howard Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth From the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat. A former cattle rancher-turned-vegetarian and food safety activist. In 1996, Lyman revealed, to a national television audience, how the cattle industry potentially exposed Americans to mad cow disease by feeding cows the remains of live animals - including other cows. As a result of his remarks, Lyman was named a co-defendant with Oprah Winfrey in the infamous "veggie libel" case brought by Texas ranchers in Amarillo.

2003-12-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

Mad cow report causes nations to ban US beef imports, meat industry and restaurant stocks to fall, comsumers to worry as USDA investigates origins of infected cow.

Here are some press reports and links to various mad cow information sites:

Mad Cow Disease sites:

American Meat Industry:www.meatami.com
www.organicconsumers.org
www.prwatch.org
www.mad-cow.org
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/madcow/

Press reports:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Mad-Cow.html?hp

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal officials raced on Wednesday to find out where a Washington state cow, apparently infected with mad cow disease, was born and may have been infected.

Even as the investigation continued, officials sought to reassure Americans about the safety of the nation's food supply. That didn't stop several nations from banning U.S. beef, including Japan, Taiwan and Mexico, the three largest importers.

Agriculture Department officials told a briefing that the cow joined the Washington State herd in October 2001 and was culled from other cows Dec. 9, after she became paralyzed, apparently as a result of calving.

But because the brain-wasting disease is usually transmitted through contaminated feed and has an incubation period four to five years, it is ``important to focus on the feed where she was born'' in 1999, USDA chief veterinarian Ron DeHaven said.

Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said tissue samples from the diseased cow were put aboard a commercial jet expected to arrive in England later Wednesday for conclusive tests of the preliminary diagnosis. She said results of those tests could be available in three to five days.

She said the animal fell ill on at large dairy farm with two sites and 4,000 cows in southern Washington state. All the animals on this farm have been quarantined by the state. If the preliminary testing confirms the preliminary finding, it is likely that other cows in the herd will be slaughtered.

President Bush, who is with his family at Camp David for Christmas, has been receiving regular updates on the situation, a White House spokesman said. He spoke with Veneman again on Wednesday, and will be getting briefings on the incident later in the day, the spokesman said.

The animal in question was one of 20 slaughtered Dec. 9 at Vern's Moses Lake Meat Co. in Moses Lake, Wash., and meat from those carcasses was shipped to other processing plants on Dec. 11, Kenneth Peterson of the Food Safety and Inspection Service said. Federal food safety inspectors have been sent to four locations, not immediately identified, which received some of the 10,410 pounds of meat from the 20 carcasses slaughtered Dec. 9 in Moses Lake.

All 10,410 pounds have been recalled. ``We're looking at when the carcasses were processed and what was done with them,'' Peterson said.

In the search for the birth herd, federal officials have identified two livestock markets in Washington state where the cow could have been purchased in October 2001, DeHaven said. He would not disclose the identity of the markets.

``Once we have the birth herd, we'll want to know what animals have come into that herd and what animals have left that herd and all the feeding practices for that herd,'' DeHaven said. Using records supplied by the dairy farmer and accompanying the diseased animal, inspectors hope to identify the birth herd in a day or two, DeHaven added.

The impact of the report was evident almost immediately with various nations banning imports of U.S. beef after the Agriculture Department announced that a so-called downed cow, meaning it was unable to move on its own, had tested positive for the brain-wasting disease.

The cow was from a farm near Yakima, Wash. Veneman said parts of the animal went to three processing plants. In addition to Moses Lake Meat Co. they were Willamette Valley Meats in Portland, Ore., and Interstate Meat in Clackamas, Ore.

2003-12-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

First Suspected U.S. Case of Mad Cow Disease Under Investigation
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: December 23, 2003

WASHINGTON -- The first-ever U.S. case of mad cow disease is suspected in a single cow in Washington state, but the American food supply is safe, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said Tuesday.

"We remain confident in the safety of our food supply," said Veneman.

She told a news conference that a single Holstein cow that was either sick or injured -- thus never destined for the U.S. food supply -- tested presumptively positive for the brain-wasting illness.

2003-12-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Protein Diet Craze, Thin Supply of Cattle Fatten Ranchers' Wallets

By Blaine Harden Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, December 22, 2003;

(Part of the article is included below, for the whole report copy and paste this address:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20056-2003Dec21.html)

The buzz, echoing across cattle country from Montana to Texas, comes from what the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls the highest beef prices on record. Ranchers who have endured decades of declining consumer demand for beef -- as well as five punishing years of drought -- now find that what they are herding is just what the doctor ordered. That is, the late Robert C. Atkins, along with his many imitators in the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet craze.

Dietary fashion, having long punished ranchers for their supposed role in making Americans fat, is handsomely rewarding them for their supposed role in making Americans skinny. Here on the mountain-ringed rangeland of southwest Montana, in the heart of the state's No. 1 beef-producing county, obesity is not an entirely discouraging word.

"That Atkins diet has really helped demand for beef," said Bill Garrison, 62, who, along with his two sons, raises cattle on 18,000 acres north of Dillon. He is also the immediate past president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. "Prices are higher now than I thought I would ever see."

Compared with last fall, Garrison and other ranchers around Dillon received about $100 more for each calf they sold in November for delivery to feedlots in Nebraska and Kansas. That spells a $40,000 spike in income for the average local rancher, who sells about 400 calves in the fall. It also means that Dillon, a beef-dependent town of 3,752, is suddenly swimming in cash.

"Because ranchers are spending this money in the community, it creates an influx of dollars," said Clint Rouse, president of the State Bank & Trust Co., a Dillon lender that specializes in cattle loans. "It is a real positive thing, there is no doubt about it. We have a lot more money to loan. . . . I attribute it to Dr. Atkins."

There is more, of course, to this fall's record-setting spike in beef prices -- and Dillon's infusion of cash -- than diet fads.

Part of it is weather driven. Severe drought across much of the cattle-raising West has seared rangelands since 1998, stunted grasslands, dried up reservoirs and water holes, and forced ranchers to cull herds.

The number of cattle in the United States has fallen to a seven-year low, according to the USDA. There were 103.5 million cattle in 1996; at the start of this year, there were 96.1 million. Many ranchers around Dillon have been forced to cut their herds. Five consecutive years of drought here have shattered rainfall records that date to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s.

"Nationally, this year's calf crop is the lowest since 1951," said Ronald Gustafson, chief beef analyst for the USDA in Washington. "That means prices are going to stay high for at least a couple more years." Although prices have fallen slightly since their peak in October, analysts expect them to remain high and increase in the coming years.

In addition, a ban on imports of Canadian beef and cattle -- after a single cow in Canada was confirmed in May as having bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, known as mad cow disease -- has reduced supply and helped increase prices.

What makes ranchers smile, though, is that the declining supply of cattle is coinciding with a jump in consumer demand for beef. It is up 10 percent since 1998, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, a trade group. (The association calculates demand by correlating how much beef consumers eat with how much they are willing to pay for it.) Spending on beef has increased $14 billion in the past four years.

2003-12-20T09:19:00.000-08:00

Contractor Served Troops Dirty Food in Dirty Kitchens
By Agence France Presse
The Taipei Times

Sunday 14 December 2003

The Pentagon repeatedly warned contractor Halliburton-KBR that the food it served to US troops in Iraq was "dirty," as were as the kitchens it was served in, NBC News reported on Friday.

Halliburton-Kellogg Brown and Root's promises to improve "have not been followed through," according to a Pentagon report that warned "serious repercussions may result" if the contractor did not clean up.

The Pentagon reported finding "blood all over the floor," "dirty pans," "dirty grills," "dirty salad bars" and "rotting meats ... and vegetables" in four of the military messes the company operates in Iraq, NBC said, citing Pentagon documents.

The report came as President George W. Bush fended off Pentagon reports that Halliburton-KBR overcharged US$61 million for gasoline it sold the military in Iraq. Dick Cheney ran Halliburton for five years until becoming vice president.

The company feeds 110,000 US and coalition troops daily at a cost of US$28 per troop per day, NBC said.

The Pentagon found unclean conditions at four locations in Iraq, including one in Baghdad and two in Tikrit. Even the mess hall where Bush served troops their Thanksgiving dinner was dirty in August, September and October, according to NBC.

This adds up to "a company that arrogantly is overcharging when they can get away with it and not providing the quality of service that they agreed to do," Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, told NBC.

Halliburton-Kellogg Brown and Root told NBC that "hostile conditions" pose special challenges as they served the 21 million meals so far to the troops at 45 sites in Iraq.

"We have taken quick action to improve," the company said.

-------

2003-12-18T19:25:00.000-08:00

MEALS READY TO EAT: WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN ORDER AND EAT SAME TYPES OF MEALS AS OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Copy and paste this on your address line, to see photos of the MRE's and information on their history and use:

http://www.ki4u.com/mre.htm

2003-12-18T19:19:00.000-08:00

PROJECT "ANY SOLDIER"
Supported and promoted by Dean for America campaign: http://www.anysoldier.us/

Sergeant Brian Horn from LaPlata, Maryland, is an Army Infantry Soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Kirkuk area of Iraq who has a reputation for taking care of his soldiers. He has agreed to distribute the contents of any packages that come to him addressed "Attn: Any Soldier" to the soldiers who are not getting mail. This works! Your packages get to real soldiers that need and appreciate your support!
Please note that now we have more soldiers helping with this. We ask that if you send packages and letters that you spread them across the addresses we have below. Soon there will be more, but they are all in Brian's unit, the Sky Soldiers of the 173rd.

Why you should send your support:

You may have seen the pictures of soldiers swimming in palace pools, relaxing in fancy chairs in a gold covered room, even sleeping in the beds of the tyrants. Looks pretty good. Now you know where the reporters hang out. However, the conditions our soldiers in the 173rd are under are a bit different. They are fed ONE 'hot' meal (from merimite cans) and two MREs a day, but 267 days of MREs is far too much for anybody. The soldiers for the most part don't eat the MREs anymore but buy food on the local economy or eat what you send them. Their living conditions have improved recently, they are often in a building and sleep on cots. Electricity is somewhat available, often going out, but better than nothing. This changes some of the abilities to cook food and use things like rechargeable batteries, etc. They do often go on 'mission', raids that will cause them to be away from any support.

2003-12-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

FOOD ITEMS TROOPS WILL APPRECIATE
This is part of an innovative program to support our troops. The Dean for America campaign is helping call attention to the needs of our soldiers serving in Iraq. Copy and paste these addresses below to see the website for more information.

http://www.anysoldier.us/

HeaterMeals
These are really good meals that have a heater and everything, just right for the cold weather! HeaterMeals is offering a special price to folks helping the AnySoldier effort, click here to read all about it.
Call 800-503-4483, ask for the sales department and tell them you want to send meals to the AnySoldier effort, they do the rest.
They even put a note inside saying who sent it if you want.
Send troops in the middle of nowhere the ability to have a hot meal, when they need it, at a VERY good price!!!
(Just a thought - These may seem a bit expensive at first, but if you buy a few cans of food, add the boxing and shipping cost, you will see that this really is a very cost-effective way to get a soldier a complete meal. And it's a hot meal!)

Breakfast-type foods and drinks are the most needed. They don't get that meal (they get an MRE)!
Instant and regular coffee.
Coffee makers, hot plates.
Hot chocolate packets (instant, in packets, add to water).
Campbell's chunky soups, chicken, beef, etc.
Canned tuna.
Canned Chef Boyardee ravioli, beefaroni, spaghetti & meatballs, etc.
(Note: In the 'Zip-Top' or easy to open cans.)
Canned fruit - that comes in the small flip top cans. (Put zip-top cans in a plastic bag!)
Beef jerky, Slim Jims.
Canned nuts.
Canned chips, like the potato sticks or the small canned Pringles, Doritos, etc.
Cereal bars, granola bars, Special-K bars, etc.
Pre-sweetened powdered drinks, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, etc.
Lil Debbie snacks, brownies, snack cakes, etc, nothing with icing that will melt.
Packs of candy, gum, trail mix, etc.
Home-cooked anything (that does not go bad quickly.)
Note: Due to concerns for the health and safety of the soldiers, and as much as we don't want to say this, please do not send home-cooked anything to soldiers other then to your relatives or people who know you. Factory packaged only. Sorry. The soldiers are told to throw away anything that is not in a factory package.
(Basics: Easy to open, easy to eat, quality and healthy foods are best.)

This is all an effort by folks who promise to distribute any items donated to soldiers in the field who are not getting any mail or care packages.

Copy and paste this on your address line to learn more: http://www.anysoldier.us/

2003-12-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

IT'S A FOODIE STORY! HUSSEIN'S RECENT LIFE AND CAPTURE: DOWN ON THE FARM (S)

Details on the food and farming of this region to follow. Iraq is after all, one of the birthplaces of agriculture. It is the homeland of the date palm...one of the most important food sources in desert lands all over the world.

The Iraqi date harvest is reported to be slim this year, as critical hand pollination of the crop was prevented by the March war.

Iraq used to produce 80% of the world's dates, but years of wars and sanctions have decimated the groves.

Hussein got to taste a little of what his forces endured while holed up for months during Desert Storm. Iraqi soldiers surrendered to US forces offering to exchange dates for water and other things to eat. For centuries desert dwellers have been surviving on dates and water when little else was available.

2003-12-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

LONG POST ON ONE OF OUR MAIN CONCERNS: SCHOOL LUNCH REFORM
as reported by AP via CNN.com, thanks to alert an Foodies for Dean reader.

Headline: Officials, experts grapple with school lunch problem
Faulty standards, no enforcement and cost hinder efforts

COHASSET, Massachusetts (AP) --Worried about all the fatty foods children were eating, town health officer Joseph Godzik recently ordered junk food purged from the local school lunch menu one day a week.

No pizza. No burgers. No fries.

School officials said, No way.

Eliminate such popular items and students will switch from buying to brown-bagging, school officials reasoned. Because lunch programs must pay for themselves, messing with the menu can mean losing money.

But money is only part of the problem. Three out of four schools serve too much fat; many schools undercut healthy offerings by selling junk food; there aren't enough vegetables and fruits; and not enough is done to teach good eating habits, according to government studies and nutrition experts.

Those problems persist despite a decade of federal efforts to improve school meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs the National School Lunch Program for 28 million children in 98,000 public and non-profit private schools, says it has toughened its rules and worked to get more fresh fruits and vegetables to schools.

Some schools themselves try to improve their meals, but progress is often slowed by a morass of financial, bureaucratic and social impediments.

In Cohasset, a well-to-do town of 7,300, Godzik acknowledges that even doing the right thing sometimes is wrong.

"One of the things we don't want to do is have the school cafeteria just offer healthy stuff and have the kids all bring lunch from home and have it all be junk," he said.

What are schools feeding children?
In theory, serving healthy lunches should be easy. Federal regulations dictate calories and nutrients, and the USDA provides 20 percent of school lunch food.

In reality, enforcement of the rules is spotty, and critics complain that the farm products the government buys for schools cater more to agricultural interests than healthy meal-planning.

Dr. Walter Willett, head of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, is a harsh critic of the School Lunch Program: "Their foods tend to be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of healthy nutrition."

Jean Daniel, spokeswoman for the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services program, says there have been significant improvements, however, and many schools offer healthy lunches. She believes new data in 2006 will prove that.

She also argues that involving the entire community and requiring physical fitness classes should be of equal concern.

But even federal studies show most lunches have too much fat, even after the USDA overhauled the program in 1994 and limited fat to 30 percent of a lunch's calories .Three-quarters of all schools still don't meet the new limit, according to a 2001 USDA study.

Daniel said the study analyzed what children ate, not what they were offered. She said 80 percent of schools offer combinations of foods that meet the guidelines, but children often make unhealthy choices.

Experts say choices are fine, but that children shouldn't be given unhealthy options.

Willett complains that the focus on fat has obscured an equally important issue -- the starches and refined carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta and white bread) that make up half of school lunch calories.

Others complain about the amount of meat and dairy, saying the commodity program favors those producers in part because of the USDA's other responsibility -- ensuring stable farm prices.

Two-thirds of the $939.5 million the USDA spent on lunch commodities in fiscal 2003 went toward meat and dairy products. A little more than one-quarter of the total went toward fruits and vegetables, mostly canned and frozen.

The government guidelines say meals should be based on grains (especially whole grains), fruits and vegetables, accompanied by moderate amounts of lowfat meat, fish, beans and dairy products.

Fast and junk food also complicate the healthy lunch equation. More than a fifth of lunch programs offer brand-name fast food, and nearly all high schools have vending machines selling junk food, according to a 2000 CDC study.

But the picture isn't entirely bleak. State lawmakers around the country are pushing for limits. California and New York City recently passed bans on junk food in school vending machines.

And nearly 60 percent of districts have upped fresh fruit and vegetable purchases, according to the USDA. Nearly half also are buying more lowfat and reduced-fat foods.

What should schools be feeding children?
Alison Forrest doesn't mind working hard to feed her children healthy lunches. She bakes whole-wheat bread from scratch and turns fresh tomatoes into marinara. She prepares salad greens from a neighboring farm and cottage cheese from a Vermont dairy.

The result is a welcoming kitchen filled with homey, tempting aromas.

But the kitchen isn't in her home, and the children aren't her own. Forrest is food service director at Brewster-Pierce Memorial School in rural Huntington, Vermont, where little comes from a can and nearly everything is organic.

Forrest takes a holistic approach to nutrition. She introduces new ingredients in the classroom, not on the lunch line. She says children embrace new foods when they know more about them.

What should children be eating? What the USDA regulations call for might be a good start; they're healthier than the average American diet, many nutritionists say.

Despite the gap between standards and execution, many want even tougher regulations. Willett wants more whole grains, others want soy milk and vegetarian meals, and everyone wants more fresh produce.

Antonia Demas, director of the Food Studies Institute in Trumansburg, New York, said the classroom must be part of any solution. She wants nutrition education mandated the same way New York schools are required to teach HIV prevention.

Forrest said her homegrown approach -- the children plant potatoes and shell their own beans -- is a model that can be applied anywhere. In fact, large urban schools often have better access to fresh produce because they are closer to shipping routes and can order more, she said.

Barry Sackin, spokesman for the American School Food Service Association in Alexandria, Virginia, agreed schools have a role in the obesity battle, but so do parents.

"If kids eat (school) lunches five days a week, that's still less than 25 percent of the meals that kids eat," Sackin said.

Why aren't schools feeding children better?
When ideas for better menus are rejected by schools such as Cohasset, where the lunch program has run a deficit during five of the past six years, many point to the money.

Most programs get little or no local funding, leaving them to pay their way with meal sales and federal reimbursements.

Those finances create a sometimes impossible juggle in which schools must serve meals that are cost-effective to prepare, appeal to children and meet federal guidelines.

Even with food that marries healthy, cheap and flavorful, it's more complicated than a simple menu change. Training cafeteria staff to prepare new foods and educating pupils and parents takes time and money. It's a balance that can make even small changes difficult.

Barbara Gates thought she was starting small in her battle to get more vegetables on the menu at Crest Elementary School in El Cajon, California. She wanted minestrone soup substituted for pepperoni pizza twice a month.

"Are you kidding? Pizza is our biggest seller. I'm surprised we're not selling it more," Gates said a USDA consultant told her and other parents in a meeting two years ago.

Even if money wasn't an issue, enforcement is.

The school lunch program was created in 1946 to prevent malnutrition, and the only real penalties are for schools that fail to feed children enough.

Faced with the opposite problem, the government could withhold reimbursements. It never has happened. Daniel said her agency prefers to work with schools for improvement rather than punish them. Limitations in the commodity program are another concern. The USDA says the agency isn't set up to handle large quantities of perishables.

Though she praises some commodities, Forrest said others seem a waste of taxpayer money.

She said the USDA once offered her some vanilla pudding. "They said, 'It has no nutritional value. How much do you want?'

"I didn't take any," she said.

2003-12-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

BEANS for DEAN

According to a recent Washington Post piece, adding a cup of bean or lentil soup to your dietary regime will help keep those nasty pounds off--especially coupled with an increase in protein intake and exercise. High fiber is essential over the hols. Fiber from whole grains and legumes markedly different from the high and empty carbs in white breads, cookies, cakes, etc.

2003-12-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

FOOD FORUM WITH MARION NESTLE OF NEW YORK TIMES: All week, check it out.

Dining In: A Moveable Feast
Welcome to our discussion on food culture. Your hosts are Amy Cotler and Elizabeth Field.

Note: From Dec. 10-16, Marion Nestle, professor of public health initiatives at New York University and award-winning author of "Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health" and "Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism," will be joining this forum. Ask her anything about food politics: Who controls our food supply; food safety; genetically-modified food; food-industry advertising and the future of small farmers v. agribusiness.

Check the Dining section every Wednesday. For a discussion about recipes and techniques, visit our other food forum, Cooking and Recipes. Also, watch Cooking With The Times, a series of cooking classes presented by NYTimes.com with The French Culinary Institute.

Copy and paste this on your address line to link to the forum:

http://forums.nytimes.com/webin/WebX?13@@.f0025cd

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2003-12-09T20:03:00.000-08:00

Restaurant Hiring May Lead the Way to Wider Job Gains
By SHERRI DAY of New York Times

The restaurant industry has gone on a hiring spree over the last four months, suggesting that broader gains in the job market could be on the way.

Since the beginning of August, the restaurant business, which includes everything from McDonald's to corner bars to four-star restaurants, has accounted for 18 percent of the 300,000 jobs created in the nation.

Some economists say that an increase in low-wage jobs, which include most restaurant work, indicates that the job market over all will soon bounce back. During the economic doldrums of the early 1990's, hiring began to increase in the restaurant industry about six months before job creation began taking off. The striking fact of this economic recovery, like the previous one, has been how long it has lasted without igniting job growth.

"Things appear to be picking up," said Jared Bernstein, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research group in Washington. "But given their continuing caution about labor costs, employers are more likely to hire low-wage workers, including restaurant workers, than they would be to commit to a permanent hire in the manufacturing industry or the white-collar sector."

Copy and paste on your address line for rest of article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/10/business/10FOOD.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

2003-12-08T00:05:00.000-08:00

THOSE FAMOUS OREGON FOOD BASKETS FOR DEAN, THE INSIDE STORY

Thanks Shava for sharing all this. Great advice for others hosting the Dean entourage.

Shava's email: "Hi! I just discovered your blog, Foodies for Dean, and I declare myself totally with you! I saw the mention of my food baskets on your page, and thought you might enjoy learning more about them.

Teri Mills funded and inspired the food baskets I made for the entourage travelling with the Governor here in Portland last month, and I planned and created the food baskets with a bit of help from my son Joseph, our youngest Dean volunteer in Portland.

I'm attaching the document that I printed out on a pumpkin orange paperstock and folded into the baskets so that the words "Oregon Bounty" just peeked over the edge of the basket.

The baskets were small picnic baskets lined with black calico with an overall pattern of ivy vines. I tucked a cold pac in between the calico and the basket to keep everything fresh. The baskets also included a nice washi-paper origami crane and a few red-white-blue (leftover from July 4th) Hershey's kisses for garnish.

I believe that the food of a region says a lot about the character of its people, so I took this project as an opportunity to really tell the folks travelling with Dean about my adopted state, and tie the food into the issues."

We couldn't agree with you more. Here is the information handout that Shave included in her basket:

Oregon Bounty prepared by Shava Nerad, shava@efn.org, and inspired by our National Nurse, Teri Mills!

Your basket has been carefully prepared to present some of the best of the culture and produce of Oregon. For the most part, it’s made of up local and organic and sustainable ingredients. I had a lot of fun putting this project together!

My father was the Unitarian Universalist minister in Montpelier when I was growing up, and I have been conscious of Governor Dean’s campaign for over a year, and active since late spring. As a Vermont ex-pat, I always viewed Oregon as Vermont’s sister state in the West. I hope you will enjoy the mix of east/west sensibilities as presented in your meal.

Your apples come from Mount Hood Organic Farms, who donate produce to the Portland Schools Foundation. I’ve washed the fruit but left the “school aid” stickers on. These stickers indicate that the cost of the fruit to the store goes directly to the Portland Schools Foundation, rather than to the grower.

Your drink is from Oregon Chai, a Democrat-owned business started by my neighbor Heather Howitt, her mom and her sister, in their kitchen. Al Gore stopped in my neighborhood in NW Portland in 2000 to visit with Heather, who has grown her small business to a major food company in the US and Canada since 1994.

Your cheese is Tillamook black wax extra-sharp cheddar – the best Oregon has to offer. This cheese is ages for two years, and is produced by a coop similar to the Cabot Creamery founded in 1909 in coastal Tillamook County. (I confess, I still buy Cabot extra sharp by preference, myself, but you decide!)

The founder of Golden Temple Granola in Eugene branched out to found Kettle Foods in 1978 – and they now make Kettle Chips which are sold all over the US and UK, and is privately owned while employing hundreds of people in both countries.

The squash is kabocha, sometimes known as kuri squash or japanese pumpkin. It’s grown organically here in Oregon, and prepared in a way inspired by traditional Japanese buddhist temple food, with a Vermont twist – rather than sugar, the simmering broth incorporates maple syrup and nutmeg/mace.

Salmon is incredibly important to the people of our bioregion, the Pacific Northwest, which stretches from Northern California, north to Oregon, Washington, BC, and Alaska. Dams and salmon live in a tension that is felt all the way to Washington DC. It is said that the salmon is devoted to the care of humanity – that Salmon volunteered to care for the poor helpless humans who were born without fangs or claws, and who can not eat grass. We still value it highly. In the winter, salmon is traditionally made into jerky to preserve it. This is called making a virtue of necessity. This salmon is wild salmon from the rivers of Alaska. Wild salmon is more ecologically responsible than farmed salmon.

Ocean Spray and independent growers produce cranberries in cultivated bogs on our coast too! Your sauce is made with organic berries, which are just coming into season in time for Thanksgiving. These are certified by Oregon Tilth, a world leader in organic certification from soil to store.

Almond Roca’s golden foil toffee is popular all over the world. A favorite regional gift since 1923, 800,000 pieces are shipped out every day from Brown & Haley in Tacoma, Washington.

Torani Syrups, in Italy, even makes an Almond Roca syrup for coffee, which then gets shipped back here for our coffeeshops, just as they make hazelnut syrup from the filberts they buy from us, and sell it back to us. Having heard that filberts (hazelnuts) are a favorite of the Governor from Gavin White, who brought a tin to him in NYC this month, I included a bag of organic nuts freshly roasted last night in my oven. Lane County, Oregon produces 98% of the country’s hazelnuts, about 3-5% of world production. Our nuts are prized all over the world for their uniform quality, and their ability to roast evenly due to their even size.

Your hummus is my own homemade recipe. Hummus is a favorite spread/dip throughout the Mediterranean, middle east and central Asia, and has been happily adopted by health food nuts and hippies all over the US. It’s incredibly easy to make, and is one of my favorite picnic foods.

Your bread comes from Ken’s Artisan Bakery, a local bakery in my neighborhood. Ken uses organic flour, especially in his whole grain breads, since the bran holds onto chemicals its exposed to in growing. Myself, I still use King Arthur bread flour, but Ken’s bread is better than mine! I encourage you to tear the bread and eat it by bites with the salmon, a smear of cream cheese, and/or with the hummus, as you like! We like yeast. I’d include one of our famous microbrews, but…;)

It is so hard to keep yourself strong and healthy on the road. I hope you’ll find this meal sustaining!

2003-12-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

GLIMPSE INTO DIET OF DEAN INTERNET GURUS
NY Times Magazine article by Samantha M. Shapiro: "The Dean Connection"

The cubicle where Johnson, Rosen and Brooks work looks a lot like a dot-com start-up from the mid-90's: preternaturally pale-skinned young men, crazy hours and slightly messianic rhetoric. The men take turns sleeping in an easy chair with torn upholstery and appear to subsist almost entirely on donated food. A supporter sends over a peck of apples and cider doughnuts, and Brooks soon has seven apple cores piled by his desk; when Joe Trippi returns from dinner with a journalist, takeout containers of his half-eaten soup are deposited on Brooks's desk. Brooks augments this diet with pasta that he says he doesn't have time to cook. (''Try some,'' he says, holding out a piece of raw ziti. ''If it had salt on it, you'd think it was a potato chip.'')

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/magazine/07DEAN.html?pagewanted=1&8br

2003-12-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

TURKEYGATE---MORE

Here is a report from the Sydney Morning Herald:

Who's the Turkey Now?
December 5, 2003 - 10:43AM

The tasty-looking turkey that US President George W Bush held for the cameras in his recent surprise Thanksgiving Day trip to US troops in Baghdad was reportedly just a decorative setting.

It was not a dish he served to the troops, the Washington Post reports today.

But the White House rejected criticism of pictures of the president, saying that they were not pre-arranged.

Pictures beamed around the world showed Bush smiling in a military jacket, standing in the midst of US soldiers and holding a large tray.

On the tray lay a golden-brown roast turkey garnished with fruit and vegetables -- a traditional feast served in the United States for that country's Thanksgiving celebration.

Although the pictures may have given the impression that the president himself had helped serve the traditional holiday meal, the troops were served buffet-style as in any normal military canteen.

According to Washington Post reporter Mike Allen -- the sole newspaper reporter on the trip -- the White House claims that neither the decoration or the president's action of picking up the setting had been planned beforehand, and that it was typical for such ornaments to decorate canteens on holidays.

While image consultants try to ensure the president is seen in as positive a light as possible, the US press and opposition politicians have often been critical of the strong marketing that surrounds Bush.

2003-12-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

THE BIGGEST "TURKEY" STORY OF THE CAMPAIGN, SO FAR

George Bush gets caught perpetrating a hoax on the American people.....again. Remember "Mission Accomplished?" Well the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving photo op with the troops at Baghdad airport was to supplant the failed political ploy staged on the aircraft carrier. But Washington Post reporter Mike Allen couldn't resist pointing out that the bird was not what the soldiers got and he examines the greater implications of veracity and manipulation by this White House. Soldiers got institutional, cafeteria style turkey, and not the fresh roasted bird mom would have served. So who did get to carve up and eat the food service contractor's Tom? Probably... the contractors.

Google these two words "Turkey Bush" (and click "news") to see how the press is covering this.

Copy and paste the following to see a sampling of opinions (including:" A turkey holding a turkey.") from Tacoma area: http://www.tribnet.com/news/local/story/4455021p-4440633c.html

Here's the Daily Telegraph take on it all:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/05/wspin05.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/12/05/ixnewstop.html

2003-12-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

DEAN READS FOOD BOOK TO IOWA PRE-SCHOOLERS

C-Span's "Road to the White House" aired Sunday evening Gov. Dean reading "Pizza Pat" to a group of kids in a day care center in Metro Des Moines last week. The governor talked later about his plans to fully fund early childhood education. He was supported by the actor/producer Rob Reiner who is a long time supporter of such programs.

Here's what one blogger posted on blogforamerica.com about the event:

Dean just read the Pizza That Pat Bought
to a bunch of three/four year olds.

One child complimented him on his tie, and he said he was glad to hear this since some on his staff did not want him to wear it (the tie with the smiley faces)

Dean blew a little one's nose while the cameras were rolling. (I wanted him to wash his hands right then and there, mmmmm)

When he was describing the sauce one child asked if tomatoes were in ketchup, and if the person used their hands to squish the tomatoes, hahaha, but Dean said "No they use a big machine to do this." LOL

This was a great campaign moment. Now Reiner and Dean are talking about early childhood education/headstart. :-)

Posted by Teri Mills at November 30, 2003 07:44 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is part of a review of "Pizza Pat" by Rita Golden Gelman Review by: Christina Mark

Pizza Pat is an updated version of The House That Jack Built, but instead of a house, Pat puts together a beautiful, gooey, bubbly, warm pizza. There are so many fun, descriptive adjectives used in this book and the words flow in such a rhythmic fashion that children love reciting the story, joining in with the storyteller. The story follows Pat through each step of his pizza-making process. Finally, Pat creates a delicious, steamy masterpiece. As he lets the pizza cool and cleans up the kitchen, some sneaky, hungry mice quickly carry the pizza away and devour it. Poor Pat. It looks like he is going to have to start all over again, which means you'll have to read the book again.
This book is one of those stories that children love to memorize. Each
time a new ingredient is added, the preceding ingredient is subsequently
mentioned. For example, "This is the dough, all stretchy and floppy, that lay in the the tray that Pat bought" is followed by "This is the sauce, all gooey and gloppy, that covered the dough all stretchy and floppy, that lay in the tray that Pat bought". This rhythmic pattern continues throughout the book as cheese "white and sloppy" and sausages "spicy and choppy" are added to the pizza and the pizza is cooked.

2003-12-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Doctors Urged to Treat Obesity More Aggressively
Federal Panel Recommends Intensive Counseling, Behavior Treatment

By Sally Squires
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 1, 2003; 5:00 PM

To help stem the epidemic of obesity in the United States, a government advisory group today urged for the first time that doctors weigh and measure all adults and recommend intensive counseling and behavior treatment for those found to be obese.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said that standard obesity treatment should go far beyond casual advice to shed a few pounds. Instead, the group recommended that doctors prescribe intensive behavior therapy at least twice a month in either individual or group sessions led by a team of health professionals such as psychologists, registered dietitians and exercise instructors. Treatment should continue for at least three months, the task force advised.

The new guidelines represent a major shift in how the health care system addresses obesity, said James Hill, director of the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. "It's a big deal," Hill said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26014-2003Dec1.html

2003-11-30T09:28:00.000-08:00

CORRECTION!!!
November 23 post re Texas Man doing Lean for Dean---we humbly apologise--the Leaner Person, aka Torrey, is a woman.

2003-11-30T08:51:00.000-08:00

Debate Grows Over Biotech Food
Efforts to Ease Famine in Africa Hurt by U.S., European Dispute

Read this long report in today's Washington Post: copy and paste this address: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21850-2003Nov29.html

The final paragraphs from the article are:

Indeed, people across Zambia appear determined to turn the country's agriculture around and show the world they can feed themselves -- without biotech crops. A can-do spirit has taken hold even in places like Munyama, where villagers are experimenting with irrigation and winter crops.

Environmental groups have argued that donors like the United States could easily supply non-biotech food relief to countries wary of gene-altered crops. But there's strong political resistance in the United States to letting anti-biotech forces score a symbolic victory.

American biotech advocates have asked why Zambia would let people starve to serve a tendentious objection to modern technology. But in interviews, several Zambian leaders turned that question around, asking whether in another crisis the United States would be willing to let Zambians starve to make a point.

"We have had to tell people, 'The outside world has no responsibility for our failures,' " Sikatana said. " 'They will not feed us -- we must feed ourselves with what we grow.' "

2003-11-30T08:31:00.000-08:00

MAINE LOBSTER STORY: INDUSTRY OR LOBSTERS THEMSELVES---WHICH ARE MORE ENDANGERED?

Today's Washington Post describes the boom in lobster population, while on land, Maine real estate prices are driving out the industry.

Copy and paste to read the entire article--http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21631-2003Nov29.html

Here are a few paragraphs from the article:

The future of the Maine lobsterman is wrapped inside the answer to that question. To spend even a few days along this pine-covered coast is to realize that the lobsterman's habitat is more endangered than that of the lobster. Housing prices have exploded, as the East Coast's wealth-laden seek shorefront properties, tearing down lobster cottages and replacing them with mansions.

A new five-bedroom "country gem" in Damariscotta, two hours north of Portland, is on the market for $689,000. A remote two-bedroom "schoolhouse," seven miles from the nearest town, sells at $299,000.

For now, outsize and lucrative lobster harvests have allowed the lobstermen to retain a toehold on the coast, but just barely. Far to the north, on Deer Island, a state planning map shows the island interior owned by lobstermen, and the coastline ringed by the homes of summer residents. In Friendship, a picturesque and tightknit village that tumbles down a hill toward a crystalline bay, most waterfront homeowners are lobstermen -- for now.

Diane Cason guides her skiff across Friendship Harbor, a detective hard on the trail of mystery. The 43-year-old marine biologist worked as professor and a waitress before founding the Lobster Conservancy here seven years ago. She lives alone on a roadless island in a solar-powered cottage and dives into the 40-degree waters to explore the lobster's habitat.

Her research and knowledge of local lore help her challenge conventional wisdom. Two years ago, scientists predicted a precipitous decline in the lobster harvest. She dissented. She and the lobstermen were finding a population explosion of young lobsters. "I've tagged the little buggers for years," she said. "The number of baby lobsters settling to the bottom was off the charts."

She was right -- the lobster boom continued. Now she wants to figure out what has caused that boom and what the future holds. Cason and other scientists point to three factors, each suggestive of an ecosystem out of balance.

• The precipitous decline of sea bass and cod, both of which feast on lobsters, has left the crustaceans with few natural predators. That's why lobstermen now find lobsters not just along rock reefs but on the flat and unprotected bay bottoms.

• Ocean temperatures have warmed in the Gulf of Maine, probably as a result of global warming. Lobsters, whose body temperature is the same as that of the surrounding water, typically grow slowly, taking eight years to reach legal size. Now warm water is speeding their growth. (Lobsters can reach 100 years of age and 50 pounds in size.)

• Lobstermen are baiting their traps with more fish meat than in the past. As many lobsters climb in and out of traps without getting snared, they are assured of a steady stream of high-quality dinners.

Eventually, however, these same conditions that have proved so favorable for Maine's lobsters could put them at risk. Warmer waters in southern New England already have attracted semitropical fish, which are aggressive about stalking lobsters. "There are dramatically more predators in southern New England," said Wahle of the Bigelow labs. "You look underwater there, and lobsters are all holed up in their shelters."

Warm water, too, may carry more pathogens and could account for the disfiguring shell disease found on lobsters in southern New England. The cold waters of the Gulf of Maine, in this view, act as a shield for lobsters.

2003-11-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT
An article in USA Today is a good introduction to this foodie driven international organization:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2003-11-25-slowfood_x.htm

Copy and paste these in your address lines, for more about the Slow Food movement:
http://www.slowfood.com/
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/

2003-11-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

FASTING AND FEASTING: A FIRST HAND REPORT ON RAMADAN FROM AN IRAQI BLOG

Now that our big feast of Thanksgiving is over, here's more on Islam's fasting and feasting holy month of Ramadan. This is from a blog called "Baghdad Burning." We stumbled across it when researching the date palm for a new exhibit we are planning on the subject. Copy and paste this address to read the entire report:

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/2003_10_01_riverbendblog_archive.html

"The fasting works like this: at the break of dawn, we simply stop eating and drinking. This lasts through the whole day until ‘al maghrib’ or dusk. Fasting is considered one of the ‘arkan’ of Islam, which means it is required of all Muslims. There are certain exceptions- people who are ill aren’t required to fast during Ramadhan, and people who are traveling. If the fasting affects a person’s health in any way (i.e. if the person is diabetic, or pregnant, etc.), they are excused from fasting.

Of course, the ‘moral fasting’ comes with the physical fasting. In other words, a person can break their fast without using food. Gossiping, fighting, lying, cheating, angry words and more have to be avoided during Ramadhan, otherwise your fast, or ‘siyam’ is considered useless. Prayer and Quran reading are also stepped-up during the whole of the month because it is believed to be a ‘blessed month’.

Someone might ask, but why fast? What is the point of denying yourself food and drink for over half a day? Fasting is supposed to teach tolerance, patience, and hunger. Yes, hunger. The average person forgets what it’s like to be hungry… and I don’t mean the, wow-I-could-really-use-a-burger-and-some-fries type of hunger. I mean the hunger you feel when you haven’t had anything to eat or drink for over 12 hours and your stomach feels ready to cave in and your head feels like exploding because you didn’t get that zap of caffeine you need to function.

The point of being hungry is to help you appreciate food more. It helps you realize that food and water shouldn’t be taken for granted, especially when there are people who feel like this every day regardless of it being a holy month or otherwise. Many doctors also believe fasting is healthy, as it often lowers blood pressure and keeps people from smoking or drinking. I currently have an uncle who swears he's going to give up smoking this Ramadhan (like he gave it up last Ramadhan- and the one before).

We begin preparing for the ‘futtoor’, or the meal with which we break our fast, over an hour before its time. Traditionally, most people break their fast on a date, and then proceed to whatever is on the menu. Often, people begin the meal with some sort of soup because it warms the stomach without shocking it after all those hours without food. The most popular Ramadhan soup is lentil soup, or ‘addess’. It is a pale, yellow soup that is both light and flavorful. There are dozens of different ways to make it, but I enjoy it with a squeeze of lime and ‘khubz’.

After the soup, comes a whole procession of often traditional foods… maybe I should post the recipes. There’s so much food because the ‘futtoor’ is more of a daily celebration than it is an ordinary meal. During previous years, we would spend almost every day breaking our fast with various family or friends. This year is different because the security situation doesn’t allow for traipsing around Baghdad or other provinces on a daily basis. It’s also not the same because, under normal circumstances, our ‘futtoor’ gatherings often last well into the night, sometimes past 12 am, before the group breaks up to go home. "

2003-11-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

The first multicultural "thanksgiving" in what became the US was actually in the Southwest, near El Paso in Nuevo Mexico. It was held on April 30, 1598.

Copy and paste address below to read more about the Hispanic "Dia de Gracias" thanksgiving 50 years before the Pilgrims.

http://austin.episd.org/quadgracias.htm

2003-11-27T09:15:00.000-08:00

IS THERE A THANKSGIVING SCROOGE LOOSE IN THE NATION'S MEDIA?
Why spoil the one holiday devoted to bounty...with endless reports today on obesity and diet?

These reports need to be regularly aired and published. But, please give us a break today.
Sorry, then, (we're doing it too) for the previous post on the nation's blubber belt, our fattest (and fittest) cities.

2003-11-27T09:11:00.000-08:00

BLUBBER BELT REPORT: MENS FITNESS MAGAZINE LISTS FATTEST AND FITTEST CITIES

FAT CITIES FIT CITIES
1 Houston, TX (fattest) Honolulu, HI (fittest)
2 Chicago, IL Seattle, WA
3 Detroit, MI San Francisco
4 Philadelphia, PA Colorado Springs, CO
5 St. Louis, MO San Diego, CA
6 Cleveland, OH Portland, OR
7 Atlanta, GA Denver, CO
8 Columbus, OH Virginia Beach, VA
9 Dallas, TX Tucson, AZ
10 Charlotte, NC Sacramento, CA
11 New Orleans, LA Minneapolis, MN
12 Indianapolis, IN Boston, MA
13 San Antonio, TX Austin, TX
14 Phoenix, AZ Omaha, NE
15 New York, NY Oakland, CA
16 Fort Worth, TX Wichita, KS
17 El Paso, TX Albuquerque, NM
18 Las Vegas, NV Jacksonville, FL
19 Mesa, AZ San Jose, CA
20 Baltimore, MD Long Beach, CA
21 Milwaukee, WI Memphis, TN
22 Kansas City, MO Los Angeles, CA
23 Oklahoma, OK Nashville-Davidson, TN
24 Miami, FL Fresno, CA
25 Washington, DC Tulsa, OK

Copy and paste the following address for fascinating details about the fat and fit story for each city:

http://www.mensfitness.com/mens/superfeat/010203/ranking.html

2003-11-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

EAT WELL AND SHARE THE GOOD

Bon appetit from Foodie and Co!

2003-11-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

THANKSGIVING OPEN THREAD: What's on your plate and in your thoughts?

We are certainly thankful for Howard Dean and all who are so creatively working with him to take back our country. We are grateful for the new friends we have met online and off in the Dean movement.

We are definitely having lots of parsnips. Standing in line at the supermarket, we answered questions about this unfamiliar root vegetable and Howard Dean.

We are happy to report people were more familiar and excited about Dr. Dean than parsnips.

2003-11-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

L.A. FOR DEAN COLLECTS AND DISTRIBUTES FOOD

Kudos to Dean organizers nationwide who are collecting donations for local foodbanks as they gather for Dean events. DC did the same. As did ABQ 4 DEAN here in New Mexico. Any other examples?

2003-11-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

LEAN FOR DEAN UPDATE: TEXAS MAN TAKES IT OFF FOR DEAN
As posted on Blog for America.

Five reasons to make your bat donation through Lean for Dean!:

5) Ate no fast food during a 500-mile road trip -- carried trail mix instead.

4) Went to a movie tonight (Dean visibility, of course) and ate zero candy, popcorn, or soft drinks. Drank water and then crunched on my ice.

3) Turned down an invitation to have KFC with friends yesterday.

2) I really wanted a Coke on my way home from the Dallas Grassroots Summit yesterday, but I had water.

1) At the firm Thanksgiving luncheon Friday, I had none of the approximately ten different desserts.

Click my name and show me and my bat some love!

Posted by Torrey in Texas at November 23, 2003 11:13 PM

2003-11-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

DEAN'S GRASSROOTS CAMPAIGN, FOODIE PERSPECTIVE

The grasses including rice, wheat, oats, and so on, are typified by their near-the-surface horizontal roots. Dense, and widely branching roots. Grasses evolved perfectly to meet the needs of grazing animals--grasses can be cropped low but not entirely killed off by munching animals. New growth just keeps popping up. And the branched roots hold one another up against the onslaught of wind, drought, and so on.
"Grassroots" are indeed the strength, unity and breadth of the Dean campaign thus far.

2003-11-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Food-Borne Illness From Produce on the Rise
By MARIAN BURROS

Published: November 23, 2003 NY Times

To consumers who took nutritionists' advice seriously and began eating more fruits and vegetables, word that fresh green onions could carry the hepatitis virus came as a shock.

Yet the recent outbreaks of hepatitis A linked to contaminated scallions imported from Mexico, which have killed three people and sickened hundreds, are only the latest examples in a sharp rise of food-borne illness from fruits and vegetables. In 2000, the last year for which information is complete, there were almost as many reported cases of food poisoning from produce as there were from beef, poultry, fish and eggs combined, according to an advocacy group's compilation of government data.

"It's a huge problem and not one easy to solve," said Dr. Glen Morris, chairman of the department of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and a former Agriculture Department official. "Produce is emerging as an important cause of food-borne illness in this country."

Scientists and some government officials say illnesses have risen sharply because people are eating more fresh produce and want it year-round, leading to an increase in imports from countries with less stringent sanitary standards.

Copy this into your address line to read the rest of the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/23/national/23FOOD.html?hp=&pagewanted=all&position=

2003-11-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

LET THEM EAT MUSHY PEAS--DUBYA'S PUB LUNCH WITH TONY, FOLLOWING SUMPTUOUS CHOW WITH THE QUEEN

From today's NYTimes Online, by Terence Neilan:
"Today, by stark contrast, it was a typically northeast England pub lunch: cream of leek and potato soup, fish and chips with mushy peas, followed by lemon cream broulée for dessert. "

Guess "cream broulee" is bizarre English translation of "creme brulee."
(Don't seem to be able to insert accents while in this program mode, sorry.)

2003-11-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

BEEF PRICES SOAR; CATTLE SLAUGHTERED EARLIER , FEWER PRIME CUTS, ETC

Peter T Kilborn writes in The New York Times, November 16, that the unique combo of Midwest drought, mad cow disease in Canada, and shifts in preferences, have combined to shoot up the price of beef. Ranchers are taking advantage of the rise to sell now. One reason for higher demand? High protein diets.

2003-11-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

WITH AGRICULTURE AMERICA'S LARGEST EMPLOYER, AND THE COUNTRY'S AGRIBUSINESS SO CONCENTRATED, AGROTERRORISM IS A MAJOR CONCERN--

SEN. COLLINS: AMERICA’S AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY IS VULNERABLE TO TERRORIST ATTACK
Federal Government Making Progress, But Gaps in Response Remain

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Susan Collins (R-ME) today said that while the federal government is making progress in its efforts to protect America’s vast food and agriculture industry from terrorist attack, gaps in oversight, prevention and response remain, and interagency coordination is lacking.

Read complete release at:http://www.senate.gov/~gov_affairs/index.cfm?Fuseaction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=583&Month=11&Year=2003&Affiliation=C

The committee hearing was aired on C-Span today and may be repeated. Check C-Span.org for listings.

2003-11-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

YOUR SUGGESTIONS WELCOME RE DEAN "FOOD" PLATFORM

Let us know what food issues you think the Dean campaign should address.
Write us at foodiesfordean@yahoo.com if you would like to join the Blog and begin posting your concerns. You will be issued an invitation once we receive your email.

As per Janet's recent post, Dean supports labeling of GMO products. He is also concerned about GMO seed entering non GMO fields. And thus far I believe he has said he thinks GMO foods do not pose a health risk to people. This is a complex issue that we all need to consider.

2003-11-18T16:01:00.000-08:00

ONE MAN'S CONCERN RE JOE TRIPPI, PEPSI AND ASPARTAME

(Received via NM for Dean Yahoo Group)

Hello Joe Trippi, I am very concerned that a number of items on
the Net confirm that you use Diet Pepsi. The sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet,
Equal) is 11% methanol, which converts to cumulative toxic products of
formaldehyde that gradually damage every tissue. Donald Rumsfeld was the
CEO of G.D. Searle Pharmaceuticals after 1977, responsible for manipulating
the FDA into approving aspartame in July 1981, against the vote of its own
Scientific Board of Inquiry. I suggest you make this a major issue in the Dean
campaign.

In mutual service, Rich Murray

2003-11-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

Pls note: My colleague here in Foodie Country says he will never post such a long entry (see Green Onion)on the blog again. Thank you.

2003-11-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

FDA ISSUES GREEN ONION ADVISORY

Source of Hepatitis A Carrier Tough to Pin Down
Probe Widens in Largest US Hepatitis A Outbreak

The current number of people affected by the now deadly outbreak now stands at 510, but health officials warn that number could climb even higher as the week progresses

The FDA is advising consumers to either avoid eating raw or slightly cooked green onions altogether -- or make sure to cook them thoroughly

Nov 17, 2003 3:46 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh (KDKA/AP) With green onions suspected as the source of the Hepatitis A outbreak in Beaver County, the FDA is issuing an advisory for people who eat them at home or while dining out.

Green onions, or scallions, have been linked to another hepatitis A scare that sickened over 300 people in Georgia and Tennessee in September.

While the outbreaks in Georgia and Tennessee are believed to have stemmed from green onions, Richard Quartarone, a spokesman for the Georgia Division of Public Health, says investigators don't know how the virus got there. Quartarone says both cases also involved different strains of the virus. "It's possible they're connected. It could have been a grower or a contaminated water source," he said. "Was there a sewer break at the time the onions were picked? Or was it people picking and bunching them?"

Though the state health department still hasn't pinpointed how the virus found its way into the Chi-Chi's in the Beaver Valley Mall -- killing three people and sickening over 500, the restaurant has pulled green onions, from all of its 100 locations as a precaution.

Some other area restaurants -- including Taco Bell and Mad Ex -- are also following suit, skinning scallions from the menu until further notice.

But the FDA warns -- that the potential risk isn't limited to restaurants.

Over the weekend, the FDA issued an alert, advising consumers to either eliminate using raw or slightly cooked green onions altogether -- or make sure to cook scallions or foods containing them thoroughly.

The FDA said it will monitor the safety of green onions and will take further actions if necessary.

Meanwhile, consumers who have recently eaten raw or lightly cooked green onions don't need to take any measures, but should monitor their health. Anyone experiencing symptoms that could be hepatitis A should consult their health care providers immediately

The current number of people affected by the now deadly outbreak now stands at 510 -- but health officials warn that number could climb even higher as the week progresses.

2003-11-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

HOW DID WE MISS THIS? PUMPKIN DROPPING: THE CONTEST AND SCIENCE

Better late than never, we point you to this NPR report on Ball State University's annual "Great Pumpkin Drop."

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1483627.html

And here's BSU's Technology Education web page about the pumpkin drop.

http://www.bsu.edu/cast/itech/pumpkindrop.htm

2003-11-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

"NANCE IN NM' WINS STEAK FRY RECIPE AWARD

Deaniac Nance Crow of Albuquerque just won the coveted Steak Fry Recipe Contest created by Dean supporters in Iowa. Below is her entry, as she submitted it to Linda Thielman. ( It is neither steak, nor fried.)

"Since the good Governor hates waste, Â this recipe might appeal to
him.

Two summers past, a fabulous Â backyard fruit crop was ruined by the
worst Â hailstorm in years. I didn't have the heart to throw out the
batteredÂ Â nectarines that still clung Â to the trees. Miraculously,
they ripened.

Each one looked like Rocky after the fight; they Â weren't the fruit
to put in a lunch box or offer to guests. But a sale on salmon and
a little risk taking yielded, pun intended:

Salmon in Stoned Fruit

For each pound of Â salmon:

1 cup cubed nectarines

2 TBL. Tamari

2 TBL. crystallized Â ginger

1. Soak ginger in soy sauce Â until softened. If necessary, add a
tablespoon or more water.

2. Place fruit, Tamari and ginger in Â the blender and blend until
smooth.

3. Cover salmon with mixture and Â refrigerate overnight.

4. In aluminum foil or a covered pan, Â grill on low heat until done,Â
about 25 minutes for a 5# fillet on our Â grill.

My son, even! and all who ate this asked for the recipe.

Nectarines need not be battered by hail for this to Â work!"

2003-11-16T13:41:00.000-08:00

MORE BIG TOPICS FOR FOODIES TO CHEW ON

America's Great Big Challenge
Super-Size Caskets, Arena Extra-Wides -- Business Adjusts To the Growth Spurt
By Margaret Webb Pressler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 16, 2003; Page F01

Pity Debora Senytka, a design engineer in General Motors' human/vehicle integration department. Her challenge: to create normal-looking vehicles that can accommodate the expanding derrieres of the expanding American without giving up the cup holders and consoles, the built-in DVD screens and air bags that U.S. drivers have come to expect in their vehicles.

Up until five years ago, Senytka says, America's growing obesity "was never considered," but now she calls it "a very real situation." The problem is finding the space to fit a wider passenger "because there's so much more going into a vehicle than there was 10 years ago."

GM isn't the only automaker facing this challenge, nor is the automotive industry the only type of business feeling America's weight problem.

Companies of all kinds are adjusting their designs, measurements, marketing, menus and training in an effort to find ways to prevent, accommodate -- even profit from -- growing waistlines. In fact, as obesity has become an inescapable factor in U.S. culture, it has also become a major force in American business.

But obesity's place in the culture has not been easy for many businesses to deal with. While some embrace it, others are scared of it, and some companies just won't talk about it. That is the typical reaction of American business to any "momentous sea change in the public," said Bobby J. Calder, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

For rest of article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43836-2003Nov15.html

2003-11-16T13:37:00.000-08:00

"FATLAND: HOW AMERICANS BECAME THE FATTEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD" BY GREG CRITSER; BOOK REVIEW
courtesy of www.davidscooking.com

David's review:
Greg Critser’s Fatland examines the obesity epidemic in America. What obesity epidemic, you ask? This one:

“About 61 percent of Americans are overweight—overweight enough to begin experiencing health problems as a direct result of that weight. About 20 percent of us are obese—so fat that our lives are likely be cut short by excess fat. More than 5 million Americans now meet the definition of morbid obesity” [4].

The definition of “morbid obesity”? Being more than 100 pounds overweight.

Critser dates the expanding American wasteline to the early 1970s and agricultural policies of then-Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz (who, serving the same post in the Ford Administration, proved himself a racist boor and was drummed out of office). Staples of the “Butzian Revolution” like High Fructose Corn Syrup and palm oil led to the proliferation of processed foods, turning contemporary America into a Calorie-Dense Environment.

Critser lucidly details the cultural consequences of Over Nutrition, deploying a copious amount of (well-documented) facts and statistics and carefully explaining their significance. In spite of his weighty subject matter (groan!), Critser’s prose feels light and deft.

According to Critser, “the price of abundance is restraint” a message likely lost on “the wishful-thinking, reality-denying, boundary-hating world of modern America.” (91-92).

Fatland contains seven chapters:

1. Up Up Up! (Or, Where the Calories Came From), outlines changes in the economics of food production since the early 1970s (the aforementioned “Butzian Revolution”), especially the rise of High Fructose Corn Syrup (which is far cheaper than cane sugar and acts as a preservative as well) and palm oil (also known as “tree lard” and chemically closer to beef tallow than vegetable oil), whose properties (both HFCS and palm oil have “appealing mouth feel” and they’re very stable, giving products a long shelf life) led to their widespread use in inexpensive processed foods. This cheap food, in turn, drives the economics of super-sizing, the topic of the next chapter.

2. Supersize Me (Who Got the Calories into Our Bellies)

One of the biggest contributors to overweight is our loss of control of portion size. Nowhere is this more true than in restaurants, especially fast food restaurants.

“A serving of McDonald’s French fries had ballooned from 200 calories (1960) to 320 calories (late 1970s) to 450 calories (mid-1990s) to 540 calories (late 1990s) to the present 610 calories. In fact, everything on the menu had exploded in size. What was once a 590 calorie McDonald’s meal [is] now . . . 1550 calories” (28).

Increasing portion size to increase sales is a sound business practice, because the cost of food itself it cheap compared to other costs of operating a fast food outlet.

3. World Without Boundaries (Who Let the Calories In)

The explosive growth of snack foods. The publication of bad parenting advice, recommending that children make their own food decisions. Fast food in schools: whereas the school cafeteria must meet USDA nutritional standards for portion size, the Pizza Hut cart does not. “Pouring contracts” between soda companies and schools. The enormous volume of soda consumed. The fact that the sin of gluttony has of late “somehow gotten a good name.” All contribute to the obesity epidemic. We’ve experience a loss of nutrient control:

“Nutrient control means simply that – the degree to which one exercises control over what goes into one’s food. Fast food and convenience food by their very nature preclude such control; to put it the way a French intellectual might, a Big Mac is a caloric fait accompli. So is a Swanson’s TV dinner or any boil-in-the-bag fettucine Alfredo. To be convenient—to be stable and have a long shelf-life, or to retain good ‘mouthfeel’ after an hour under the fast-food lamp—food [has] to contain larger and more condensed amounts of fats and sugars.” (33)

4. Why the Calories Stayed on Our Bodies

This chapter examines the other side of the caloric equation: why we don’t burn more of what we consume. Cristner traces the decline in physical activity in America, due to the elimination or reduction of physical education in schools and the growth in popularity of couch potato activities like TV, videos, video games, computers, &c.

5. What Fat Is, What Fat Isn’t

The identity politics of fat, surprisingly, turn out to be relatively straightforward: though obesity occurs increasingly in the middle and upper classes, it is worse by far among the lower and working classes. Race and gender also play a role, but in Cristner’s view, class is clearly primary.

6. What the Extra Calories Do to You

In addition to diabetes, the physical maladies associated with obesity include coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, orthopedic problems like arthritis, slipped hips, bowed legs. Respiratory diseases. And the “premature deaths of 280,000 Americans every year, the figure the American Medical Association now reflects the number of obesity-related mortalities” [146]

“Numb limbs, darkened skin, painful gallstones, hair sprouting from embarrassing places, fading vision—such is the lot of the obese diabetic.” [143]

Then there are the economic costs: $100 billion annually for the care and treatment of diabetics alone, “the majority of new cases being a direct result of excess weight. That boils down to one in every ten dollars devoted to health care. In terms of federal resources, diabetes alone commands one in every four Medicare dollars.” [147]

7. What Can Be Done

--Restrict or eliminate advertising that targets children

--Get fast food out of the schools, and end pouring contracts with soda companies

--Expand mandatory physical education requirements in schools

--Since the previous two actions will require funding, institute a “fat tax” on unhealthy food

Another thing you can do: read this book, then pass it along to a friend. This is an important book, and along with Fast Food Nation and The Hungry Gene, helps us understand how we became the fattest people in the world.

2003-11-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

DEAN'S POSITION ON GM FOODS DISCUSSED

Hi Foodies4Dean! I just joined to keep up with Dean's food-related policies, and have devoted lots of time and energy to Dean's campaign here in NYC. But I recently read his position on genetically modified food and was somewhat disappointed to see his position that GM foods are safe. Like Dean, I too am a scientist (working on my medical training), and have seen how many scientists oversimplify GM issues. More rigorous scientific reports- by esteemed societies including the National Academy of Sciences- concluded that questions remain regarding the safety of introducing such organisms into our environment, let alone our bodies. And Dean's position didn't speak to the potential danger such crops pose to non-GM crops (via genetic spread, transforming wild-type seeds).
Thankfully, he fully supports GM-labels on any GM-containing product, which someday could mean labeling all foods, since such crops often cross-pollinate non-GM seed and there is no way to control unintended spread. I'm hoping that mandatory labeling, as Dean has proposed (and the EU recently ratified) will effectively force agribusiness to voluntarily halt GM crop production altogether, out of concern over lost revenue! -Janet

2003-11-16T11:36:00.000-08:00

ANOTHER ISSUE FOODIES FOR DEAN INTENDS TO FOLLOW IS BACK IN THE HEADLINES:

500 Sickened in Outbreak of Hepatitis Tied to Food
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: November 16, 2003

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 15 — The number of people infected in a hepatitis A outbreak linked to a western Pennsylvania restaurant has exceeded 500 and is likely to continue rising for another week, state Health Department officials said Saturday.

Three people infected with the virus have died, and thousands have lined up for inoculations since the outbreak was reported in early November among people who ate at a Chi-Chi's Mexican restaurant.

A Chi-Chi's executive said the company had adopted "extraordinary measures" companywide, including sickness logs for employees and asking workers to sign "wellness statements" asserting they are not ill, in an effort to prevent similar outbreaks elsewhere.

As of Saturday, 510 cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in the outbreak, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Health Department.

He said more infections were expected because people who contract hepatitis A typically do not exhibit its early flu-like symptoms for 30 days.

The state started offering antibody inoculations Nov. 5 to anyone who ate at the restaurant after Oct. 22. The antibody reduces the risk of hepatitis A developing, but it must be given within two weeks of exposure. People exposed before Oct. 22 could still start showing symptoms through next weekend. In severe cases, the virus can lead to liver failure.

Health officials expect the number of new infections to level off after Nov. 22 and eventually stop, Mr. McGarvey said.

About 8,500 people have received the shots because of the outbreak linked to a Chi-Chi's at the Beaver Valley Mall, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

All 60 employees of that restaurant will remain under medical supervision until each has been cleared, said Bill Zavertnik, chief operating officer of Chi-Chi's, which is based in Louisville, Ky. The Beaver Valley branch is closed until Jan. 2.

Eleven employees who tested positive for hepatitis A remain under medical care and the rest were given antibodies, Mr. Zavertnik said.

Health investigators said they still did not know the source of the virus. They are looking at foods, including green onions, that are difficult to clean and have been linked to smaller outbreaks in other states.

Chi-Chi's has removed green onions from all of its restaurants as a precaution, Mr. Zavertnik said.