By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Visiting one of his favorite Chicago restaurants in November, Barack Obama was asked by an excited waitress if he wanted the restaurant's special margarita made with the finest ingredients, straight up and shaken at the table.
"You know that's the way I roll," Obama replied jokingly.
Rick Bayless, the chef of that restaurant, Topolobampo, says Obama's comfortable demeanor at the table — slumped contentedly in his chair, clearly there to enjoy himself — bodes well for the nation's food policy. While former President George W. Bush rarely visited restaurants and didn't often talk about what he ate, Obama dines out frequently and enjoys exploring different foods.
"He's the kind of diner who wants to taste all sorts of things," Bayless says. "What I'm hoping is that he's going to recognize that we need to do what we can in our country to encourage real food for everyone."
Phrases like "real food" and "farm-to-table" may sound like elitist jargon tossed around at upscale restaurants. But the country's top chefs, several of whom traveled to Washington for Obama's inauguration this week, hope that Obama's flair for good food will encourage people to expand their horizons when it comes to what they eat.
These chefs tout locally grown, environmentally friendly and — most importantly — nutritious food. They urge diners, even those who may never be able to afford to eat at their restaurants, to grow their own vegetables, shop at farmer's markets and pay attention to where their food comes from.
Dan Barber, chef at New York's popular Blue Hill restaurant and a frequent critic of the country's food policy, says a few small gestures from the president and first lady Michelle Obama could accomplish what many of the chefs have been working toward for years.
"I recognize that I'm an elitist guy," says Barber, who cooked a $500-a-plate meal for incoming Obama aides and other guests at a small charity fundraiser the night before the inauguration.
"Increasingly raise awareness, but don't do it through chefs like me. ... My advice would be more of a symbolic nature, and to not underestimate what can be done through the White House."
Barber said good food needs more publicity, and he hopes Obama and his wife will advertise what they are eating and what they are feeding their children, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha.
Many high-end chefs like Barber believe that most food in the United States is over-processed, over-subsidized and grown with no regard to the environment, making it harder for small farms to make a profit selling more natural, nutritious food.
Barber cooks with food grown at his farm, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. At the pre-inauguration fundraiser, organized along with several other dinners by food guru Alice Waters, passed hors d'oeuvres included carrots, lettuce and cauliflower — untarnished and raw, delicious in their natural form. Sweet beets had been recently chiseled from Stone Barns' frozen ground, and hog snouts left over from slaughter were used as a garnish on a plate of Maine sea scallops.
Most of the chefs say they realize food policy and government support for larger corporate farms won't change any time soon. Congress, with Obama's support, overwhelmingly enacted a $290 billion farm bill last year that directs many subsidies to the largest agricultural players.
But Obama has already given chefs like Barber a small reason to hope. At his confirmation hearing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made an overture to the growing number of food groups and experts who have criticized government subsidies for large corporate farms, saying he will seek to work "with those who seek programs and practices that lead to more nutritious food produced in a sustainable way."
"There's a lot of work that can be done in this area," Vilsack said after he was sworn in.
Other chefs in town for the inauguration and Waters' dinners had many suggestions to improve food policy. Daniel Boulud, the veteran New York chef of the restaurant Daniel who has cooked for at least five former presidents, said he thinks the Department of Agriculture should form an agency that exclusively oversees small farms. Lidia Bastianich, a New York-based Italian chef who has starred in several cooking shows on public television, says the government needs to encourage regulations and incentives to small farmers to give them the opportunity to compete against the "big giants."
Chef Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on the popular cable television series "Top Chef," agrees. He says foods that are genetically engineered should be labeled as such and fewer subsidies should go to corporate farms.
But despite loftier goals, Bayless, the Chicago chef, says the Obamas could make a world of difference if they just publish what they are eating every day.
"Everyone's going to want to be like the Obamas," he said.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Only A Dietitian Would See the Irony
I said in another blog that I would rather eat 3 Thin Mints than 5 Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (before I even read the label). Looks like I was right! The Thin Mints have fewer calories per serving!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Headlines: 2 get death in China milk scandal; furor continues
By Barbara Demick
7:56 AM PST, January 22, 2009
Reporting from Beijing -- A court sentenced two men to death today and handed out stiff sentences to others, but the sentencing seemed unlikely to quell the public furor in China's largest food-tampering scandal.
Parents of babies sickened by the formula vowed to continue a legal fight over compensation.
The sentences were given by a court in Shijiazhuang, in the Hebei province, to 21 people who stood trial last month. Those sentenced to death were Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping, found guilty of endangering public security and selling poisonous foods. Another man was given a suspended death sentence, which effectively means life in prison.
The court gave a life sentence to Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old chairwoman of Sanlu Group, the manufacturer of the baby formula involved in many of the deaths. Tian, a former Communist party official, was the highest ranking of those who stood trial.
Nearly 300,000 Chinese babies were sickened and six died after drinking a formula that had been spiked with melamine, an additive that allows watered-down milk to pass quality tests. It was widely sold under the name "protein powder" in Hebei province, a center of the dairy industry, despite the fact that it was known to cause kidney disease.
Teng Biao, a lawyer for some of the parents, said that the men given the death sentence were scapegoats in a failed product-safety system.
"This involved the whole political and social system. There were politicians and bureaucrats who should have taken more responsibility as well," Teng said today. .
Although footage from the trials was aired on Chinese state television, all but a few hand-picked journalists were banned from attending the trials. Parents also were kept out, and at least two were detained today in Beijing in an apparent attempt to prevent them from traveling to Shijiazhuang for the sentencing. Many parents also are unhappy about a compensation settlement that they say the Chinese government has forced them to accept.
Chen Li, a mother of one of the sickened babies, said today she hoped the death penalty sentencings would deter others from similar crimes.
"People have to pay for the evil things they have done," Chen said. "They have to execute at least one to warn the others. Otherwise, it will be a vicious cycle and things will never get better."
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Nicole Liu of the Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
7:56 AM PST, January 22, 2009
Reporting from Beijing -- A court sentenced two men to death today and handed out stiff sentences to others, but the sentencing seemed unlikely to quell the public furor in China's largest food-tampering scandal.
Parents of babies sickened by the formula vowed to continue a legal fight over compensation.
The sentences were given by a court in Shijiazhuang, in the Hebei province, to 21 people who stood trial last month. Those sentenced to death were Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping, found guilty of endangering public security and selling poisonous foods. Another man was given a suspended death sentence, which effectively means life in prison.
The court gave a life sentence to Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old chairwoman of Sanlu Group, the manufacturer of the baby formula involved in many of the deaths. Tian, a former Communist party official, was the highest ranking of those who stood trial.
Nearly 300,000 Chinese babies were sickened and six died after drinking a formula that had been spiked with melamine, an additive that allows watered-down milk to pass quality tests. It was widely sold under the name "protein powder" in Hebei province, a center of the dairy industry, despite the fact that it was known to cause kidney disease.
Teng Biao, a lawyer for some of the parents, said that the men given the death sentence were scapegoats in a failed product-safety system.
"This involved the whole political and social system. There were politicians and bureaucrats who should have taken more responsibility as well," Teng said today. .
Although footage from the trials was aired on Chinese state television, all but a few hand-picked journalists were banned from attending the trials. Parents also were kept out, and at least two were detained today in Beijing in an apparent attempt to prevent them from traveling to Shijiazhuang for the sentencing. Many parents also are unhappy about a compensation settlement that they say the Chinese government has forced them to accept.
Chen Li, a mother of one of the sickened babies, said today she hoped the death penalty sentencings would deter others from similar crimes.
"People have to pay for the evil things they have done," Chen said. "They have to execute at least one to warn the others. Otherwise, it will be a vicious cycle and things will never get better."
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Nicole Liu of the Beijing bureau contributed to this report.
Headlines: FDA: 125-plus products recalled in peanut outbreak
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-zaldivar, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jan 21, 5:57 pm ET
WASHINGTON – More than 125 products have been recalled in a salmonella-and-peanuts investigation that keeps getting bigger, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The list ranges from goodies like cookies and ice cream to energy bars. Even food for pooches may not be entirely safe, with a national company recalling some of its dog treats.
On Tuesday, PetSmart recalled seven kinds of its Grreat Choice dog biscuits. On Wednesday, the weight loss company NutriSystem issued a recall for peanut butter granola bars. And some Asian foods made with peanut sauces are starting to turn up on the recalls list.
To help consumers, the Food and Drug Administration has set up on its Web site a searchable database of recalled peanut products. "We expect (the) number to continue to increase," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety program. No major brands of peanut butter sold in jars are implicated.
Peanut butter is not normally thought of as a high-risk product for salmonella. The bacteria, a frequent source of food poisoning, is supposed to be killed off in the roasting process.
In this investigation, the common denominator is that all the products contain peanut paste or peanut butter made at a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely, Ga.
Originally the problem appeared limited to peanut butter shipped in big tubs to institutional customers like nursing homes. But then peanut paste was implicated. Made from ground roasted peanuts, it is used as an ingredient in dozens of other products sold directly to consumers.
Last week, Kellogg recalled some of its Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers. Salmonella was later confirmed in a package of Austin crackers.
At least 486 people in more than 40 states have gotten sick since the outbreak began in the fall. Six have died.
Investigators found salmonella contamination at the PCA plant, which has suspended production. In one of the curious twists in the investigation, the salmonella strain at the plant is not an exact match to the one that has gotten people sick, the FDA said. However, the outbreak strain has been positively identified in a sample from an unopened jar of peanut produced at the Georgia plant.
Sundlof suggested it doesn't much matter whether health authorities get a perfect match at the plant. "Having salmonella in the plant is not supposed to happen," he said. "Regardless of whether it's the outbreak strain or not, that represents a violation."
Salmonella has been found in a floor crack and on the floor near a wall where pallets are stored, he said.
The manufacturer said it is cooperating with the investigation, but has received nothing in writing from health investigators to document their findings. "We trust that at some point they will share this with us and PCA will respond accordingly," said a company statement.
Although PCA is a small company, it lists more than 70 food companies as its customers. "Peanut paste is used in a huge variety of other foods," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who is directing the investigation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A noted food safety scientist said manufacturers have to be careful that peanuts don't get contaminated after roasting. That's partly because peanut butter itself can't be heated to kill the bacteria without making it unpalatable to eat.
"Once the salmonella gets into the peanut butter, you are not going to kill it," said Michael Doyle, head of the University of Georgia's food safety center. "What the processor has to rely on is the roasting process. That's a critical control point."
After roasting, peanuts can be contaminated if they somehow come into contact with tainted water, or if birds or rodents get into the plant. They can also be cross-contaminated by equipment that is used to handle raw ingredients. Raw peanuts can harbor salmonella, just like other agricultural products.
"If there are fork lifts in the raw ingredient area, they can't go into the other part of the plant, because they could be bringing in untreated material," Doyle said. Federal and state officials would not discuss details of the investigation at the Georgia plant.
The FDA's Sundlof said it's rare for dogs to get salmonella illness, but that their owners can pick up the bacteria by handling tainted biscuits. If people don't wash their hands after feeding the dog, they can transfer the bacteria to human foods.
FDA peanut products database
WASHINGTON – More than 125 products have been recalled in a salmonella-and-peanuts investigation that keeps getting bigger, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The list ranges from goodies like cookies and ice cream to energy bars. Even food for pooches may not be entirely safe, with a national company recalling some of its dog treats.
On Tuesday, PetSmart recalled seven kinds of its Grreat Choice dog biscuits. On Wednesday, the weight loss company NutriSystem issued a recall for peanut butter granola bars. And some Asian foods made with peanut sauces are starting to turn up on the recalls list.
To help consumers, the Food and Drug Administration has set up on its Web site a searchable database of recalled peanut products. "We expect (the) number to continue to increase," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety program. No major brands of peanut butter sold in jars are implicated.
Peanut butter is not normally thought of as a high-risk product for salmonella. The bacteria, a frequent source of food poisoning, is supposed to be killed off in the roasting process.
In this investigation, the common denominator is that all the products contain peanut paste or peanut butter made at a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely, Ga.
Originally the problem appeared limited to peanut butter shipped in big tubs to institutional customers like nursing homes. But then peanut paste was implicated. Made from ground roasted peanuts, it is used as an ingredient in dozens of other products sold directly to consumers.
Last week, Kellogg recalled some of its Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter crackers. Salmonella was later confirmed in a package of Austin crackers.
At least 486 people in more than 40 states have gotten sick since the outbreak began in the fall. Six have died.
Investigators found salmonella contamination at the PCA plant, which has suspended production. In one of the curious twists in the investigation, the salmonella strain at the plant is not an exact match to the one that has gotten people sick, the FDA said. However, the outbreak strain has been positively identified in a sample from an unopened jar of peanut produced at the Georgia plant.
Sundlof suggested it doesn't much matter whether health authorities get a perfect match at the plant. "Having salmonella in the plant is not supposed to happen," he said. "Regardless of whether it's the outbreak strain or not, that represents a violation."
Salmonella has been found in a floor crack and on the floor near a wall where pallets are stored, he said.
The manufacturer said it is cooperating with the investigation, but has received nothing in writing from health investigators to document their findings. "We trust that at some point they will share this with us and PCA will respond accordingly," said a company statement.
Although PCA is a small company, it lists more than 70 food companies as its customers. "Peanut paste is used in a huge variety of other foods," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who is directing the investigation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A noted food safety scientist said manufacturers have to be careful that peanuts don't get contaminated after roasting. That's partly because peanut butter itself can't be heated to kill the bacteria without making it unpalatable to eat.
"Once the salmonella gets into the peanut butter, you are not going to kill it," said Michael Doyle, head of the University of Georgia's food safety center. "What the processor has to rely on is the roasting process. That's a critical control point."
After roasting, peanuts can be contaminated if they somehow come into contact with tainted water, or if birds or rodents get into the plant. They can also be cross-contaminated by equipment that is used to handle raw ingredients. Raw peanuts can harbor salmonella, just like other agricultural products.
"If there are fork lifts in the raw ingredient area, they can't go into the other part of the plant, because they could be bringing in untreated material," Doyle said. Federal and state officials would not discuss details of the investigation at the Georgia plant.
The FDA's Sundlof said it's rare for dogs to get salmonella illness, but that their owners can pick up the bacteria by handling tainted biscuits. If people don't wash their hands after feeding the dog, they can transfer the bacteria to human foods.
FDA peanut products database
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