Monday Moaning

This is not so much a ‘Moan’ as something to think about even though it may go against the grain.

We have it drilled into us that fresh produce is the best, and nothing else will suffice.

But is it?

I read this article on NerdSteak last week, and it set me to thinking.

Reblogged.

Frozen Foods Can Be Fresher Than Fresh…

Some times you gotta be fresh…and other times, frozen may be fresher than fresh.  Some studies have shown that frozen fruits and vegetables can contain higher levels of vitamins and antioxidants compared to the fresh varieties from stores or farmers markets.

This is due to the fact that many frozen fruits and vegetables are processed and frozen right at the source, from minutes to hours after being picked or harvested during their peak ripeness.  On the other hand, fresh produce maybe be held for days, weeks, or even months before being sold to consumers, then held at the home for even more time before being used. When these products are held at ambient temperatures or even refrigerated, they slowly and naturally lose some of their healthy properties over time.  When product is frozen, it inhibits the loss of these volatile compounds, and provides more health benefits.  Some fresh produce is also picked before being fully ripened to handle the delay in consumption, which reduces the overall health advantages even more.

Supermarkets and even farmers markets have a list of ways to make their foods look fresh, such as water misting and trimming.  While these practices are normal, the overall health profile of these foods can often time be less than the frozen counterparts. There are even instances that refrigeration will INCREASE degradation of healthy compounds in certain food items, specifically soft fruits.  It is still recommended that foods picked right from the ground are the best, but frozen can be just as good of an option.

And as a side note, if you do want to cook your fruits and vegetables while keeping the most nutritional value in the products, steaming is the optimal way to insure the least about of benefit loss.  This is of course second to eating them raw.

Opinion:

This post ticked off a long lost story.

Millions of years ago, when I had hair and didn’t have a beer pot, wasn’t married and my kids were still just a distant gleam in my eyes, I worked in a Bird’s Eye factory. I was the night shift supervisor, which is a fancy title for anyone stupid enough to do permanent night shift.

We processed peas, principally, then French beans, asparagus and broccoli.

Take the peas for example. Harvested by machine and transported in big bins direct to the factory where they were processed within an hour of harvesting.

Our best peas, export grade, were  the aim. When the peas arrived we put samples through a ‘tender-o-meter’ to measure their hardness. Every half hour delay, the peas became harder, so reduced the grade, white, green, then orange which was considered ‘commercial grade’. White and green being for domestic sales. The peas were washed, cooked and inspected in twenty minutes, before going through the blast freezer and being snap frozen. and bagged in bulk for later domestic packaging.

So the frozen peas you buy in the supermarket were in the same condition as they were two hours from harvesting.

Now when I see fresh peas in the supermarket, I wonder how long since they were picked, one day, two days, more? How long did they stay in the field before being transported? How long between the grower and the market? How long between the market and the supermarket? How long in the supermarket before they went on display in the vege section?

The above post rings true.

In some cases, frozen can be better.

Of course, if you have peas in the garden, picked and within minutes in the pot is always best.

Do you ever think about…

Ghana?

Sometimes, maybe…

What about Ghana and Farmer’s Markets…

Isn’t that an oxymoron, you know like ‘military intelligence’?

Apparently not.

Well… no never!

Better think again because the idea of famer’s markets is spreading.

Ghana’s first farmers’ market: ‘We need more like this’

A fair in Accra selling local, organic sustainably grown produce is proving a hit among the growing middle class

Moco’s Savannah Honey is on sale at Accra Green Market for 10 Ghana cedis, and also exported to the UK. Photograph: Edison Gbenga Abe/Phosmic Impressions

There are some things about public gatherings in Ghana‘s capital Accra that are guaranteed. A certain amount of dust and Atlantic spray on the breeze, a sound system blaring Azonto – a local music sensation – just a bit too loud, fearless children lining up to show off their moves, and an orderly row of canopies where the hot and the tired sit down on plastic chairs and take stock.

But if you looked a little closer at the fair in Ako Adjei park on Saturday, you would have found that what appeared a typical Accra event was quietly masking something quite unusual: a farmers’ market. The dozen or so small-scale producers selling their wares at The Accra Green Market were busily making history as participants in Ghana’s first ever fair for locally grown, sustainable, organic produce. “This is a great way to give exposure to organic, local products,” says Jeffrey Mouganie, 22, founder of Moco Foods, an organic company that produces local forest honey and fiery chilli sauce, guaranteeing a traceable supply chain and hiring workers with disabilities. “The only space we usually get to market our products are at the bazaars of international schools, where we sell to a lot of expats,” he says. “But we need more markets like this – the best feedback we have had for our products is from Ghanaians.”

Displaying produce at Accra Green Market. Photograph: Edison Gbenga Abe/Phosmic Impressions

Moco’s Savannah Honey, on sale here for 10 Ghana cedis – approximately £3 – is being exported to the UK where it will go on sale at Harrods and Selfridges for what the producers expect to be around five times that price. Also on sale, organic mushroom wine – said to be a treatment for practically every medical condition from sclerosis to high blood pressure, asthma and “sexual weakness” – pak choi, gloriously frothy-leaved heads of broccoli, watermelon, small, knobbly carrots, and tough-skinned, tangy nectarines full of seeds and sweet-sour juice.

The organisers of the market believe they are part of a new trend towards sustainable, organic and local food, which they say goes hand in hand with the growth of Ghana’s new middle class. “Things in Ghana are changing – it is no longer a poor country but a middle-income country. And because of that, people are more interested in what they eat,” says Edison Gbenga Abe, 29, founder of Agripro – a mobile application company that provides farmers with access to marketplaces and which organised the Accra Green Market. “In East Africa, farmers’ markets are already really popular, but in West Africa, there is nothing like this. We plan to take it to different locations in Ghana, and we have had interest from Nigeria too.”

Constance Korkoi Tengey, founder of Immaculate Gold Beads, Mushrooms and Snails, is typical of the kind of small-scale grower whose products the market is designed to showcase. An energetic 62-year-old who carefully dishes out mushroom sandwiches, mushroom salad and mushroom gari foto – a veggie version of a popular Ghanaian dish made from cassava tubers – Tengey began growing mushrooms in her back garden seven years ago and says sales are on the rise. “I eat a lot of mushrooms as a substitute for meat, and I’ve noticed that I don’t gain as much weight, and it keeps me looking younger,” Tengey says. “People in Ghana are becoming more health-conscious these days, they are really showing an interest in my products. It’s a profitable business for me.”

Read more

Monday Moaning

Once upon a time we used to get milk from farms, those of us in the city had milk delivered to their gate by the milkman.

It was milk. Lovely milk with that layer of cream at the top of a glass bottle.

Bottle milk was pasteurised, but nothing other ‘ised’.

Then came homogenised milk, the layer of cream disappeared, although we were told it was still there.

Cream also came in the bottle, smaller with a different coloured top. It could be whipped into the most delicious whipped cream.

.

.

Then the milk companies took over, and it has been downhill ever since.

The rich cream attracted the birds, they would peck a hole in the foil tops to get it. Today you won’t see birds interested in milk, so what has happened?

Today, milk comes in boxes, the delightful tetrapak, and plastic bottles, gone is the cream, as we have ultraheat treated crap.

On the box they advertise ‘whole milk’ 3% butterfat – I say bullshit!

What happened to the other 0.5 – 1% butterfat? Without that it is not ‘whole’ milk. But the population today are so worried about obesity, that they think the milk companies are doing them a favour.

FAVOUR, my arse! They’re doing it to cheat you and make more profit!

The milk companies lobbied the governments and the laws became that you could only buy company milk. If you bought your milk from the farmer, the companies would make less profit, couldn’t have that now, could we? So buying milk from the source became illegal.

Many people didn’t like it, they wanted their whole fresh milk back. So some stores and farmers bucked the law.

Selfridges raw milk sales prompts FSA prosecution on food safety charges

The Food Standards Agency is to charge the retailer over its vending machines that sold unpasteurised milk

Untreated milk from dairy cows can contain E coli and salmonella bacteria. Photograph: Getty Images Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Selfridges is being taken to court for potentially putting public health at risk by selling raw milk at its flagship London store, the government’s food watchdog has announced.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) began an investigation last year after Selfridges installed vending machines selling unpasteurised milk supplied by Sussex farmer Stephen Hook in December 2011.

Unpasteurised milk may contain bacteria such as salmonella and E coli, which can cause food poisoning, and the FSA warned at the time that the move was in breach of food hygiene regulations designed to protect consumer health. Westminster City Council was also monitoring what was regarded as a highly unusual situation.

Today the FSA confirmed it would be prosecuting Selfridges and Hook for potentially putting public health at risk. It said in a statement: “Summons have been served to both parties and a hearing date has been set for 6 February at Westminster magistrates court.”

Raw milk dispensers are hugely popular on the continent, allowing customers to fill their own glass bottles. But in Britain the sale of raw milk is much more tightly regulated. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, unpasteurised cows’ milk can only be sold direct to consumers from farms or the farmer, including farmers’ markets; in Scotland its sale is banned outright.

Hook, of Longleys Farm, has been selling raw milk since 2007 and says his customers like the taste of the product as well as the perceived health benefits – he claims beneficial bacteria usually destroyed by pasteurisation can reduce childhood illnesses such as hay fever and eczema.

Read more

Opinion:

A threat to public health!!!

I was brought up on raw milk as a baby and a child, my kids were brought up on raw milk.

In 61+ years I have never seen a case of where a person got sick from drinking raw unpasteurised milk. There may have been, but not in my knowledge.

Is this a case of the companies scaremongering to make ONLY their product available to the people. Is the government being sucked in by the companies?

Stores like Selfridges should be applauded for giving the public what they want.

Real milk!

Not being prosecuted.

“food hygiene regulations designed to protect consumer health” should read… “food hygiene regulations designed to protect company wealth“.

People around the world should be giving their governments a clear message:

We want real milk!

And if you don’t take steps to give it to us, then get out of government!

Change the World Wednesday – Special VII

I am really annoyed, actually, make that a tad more than pissed off.

I had a FaceBook acct more than a year ago, decided after two months that it didn’t suit my purpose and closed the acct.

About two months ago I decided to give it another try. So I opened a new acct.

I just liked a page and went to refresh my page and they want me to confirm by a phone number my acct. There are no other options.

I refuse to divulge my phone number on the net for anybody.

I can’t even get into my acct to shut the damned thing….. Arrrrrggggghhhhh!

My FaceBloodyBook acct is inactive!

Rant over, now on with our regular programme…

.

On with Reduce Footprints‘ Change the World Wednesday Daily Lenten challenges.

CTWW Daily Challenge – 29th March

Address your “standby” habits. Unplug cell phone chargers, coffee makers, space heaters and other appliances and devices when not in use.

No vampires in my house, I keep plenty of garlic on hand. Actually, I do have one, the TV, but I switch that off manually every night. The remote control is too dicky and doesn’t always work, so it’s easier not to bother.

CTWW Daily Challenge –  30th March

Take some time to read Huff Post Climate Change, which includes blogs, news, and community conversations about Climate Change.

Huff post is a valuable source of information and I have used it as a source here on Eco-Crap in the past. If you want to keep abreast of national and international eco-concerns, then Huff Post is good.

CTWW Daily Challenge –  31st March

Celebrate Earth Hour TODAY with millions of people around the globe by turning off your lights for one hour, beginning at 8:30 pm.

A contentious issue with me. Turning off your house lights for one hour makes you use another light source, an electric lantern or candles. I have read that to replace a light with just one candle increases your carbon footprint. It is a different story for monuments and government or civil structures to do the same because they do not use an alternative light source.

I do bow to the fact, that Earth Hour does make people conscious of green issues, therefore does have a positive effect.

CTWW Daily Challenge – 1st April

Find the lowest carbon impact method of getting around today (walk, bike, take public transportation or carpool).

No car, no choice. I walk or bus everywhere.

CTWW Daily Challenge – 2nd April

Reflect on, and discuss, the fact that the richest 20% of the world’s population consumes 80% of the world’s resources, and those who contribute least to the causes suffer most from the effects of climate change.

The haves, and the have nots. This can be translated as the 1% against 99%, this is a part of what Occupy Wall Street is about. Many think that OWS is about banking and and raping the country financially; it’s not. It is about all inequalities.

The haves have always trampled on the have nots. It is the have nots that have suffered throughout history. And, it won’t change, unless YOU do something about it. This is not something that can be left to the neighbours, because they are leaving it to the neighbours, so nobody is doing anything. Everybody just sits back thinking “Someone will do it!” But they WON’T because YOU are the ‘someone’ who is supposed to be doing it! The only people trying were the ones from OWS, and YOU stayed at home, so they have become a non-event because YOU didn’t support them.

Americans spend eight months of their lives with junk mail

CTWW Daily Challenge – 3rd April

End junk mail that wastes resources. Stop unwanted catalogs

I take my junk mail back to the shops and supermarkets when I pass them. Or if I catch the delivery people, I refuse to accept. One of the biggest sources of junk mail in my box is the evangelical churches; I hate it.

In Brazil we do not have any orgs that will help reduce junk mail. I do wish they would print it on paper that you could at least light the BBQ with, then it could be recycled eventually as ash on my garden.

Farmer's Markets, the way to go. Brings communities back together too.

CTWW Daily Challenge – 4th April

Buy food that’s being grown or produced locally, using local farms and local farmers’ markets where possible – . Bonus: Grow some of your own food and herbs in your garden, allotment or window sill, or join a community garden.

We’ve discussed this before. In Brazil that’s difficult. I used to sell veges and herbs at my front gate, but I don’t have the garden I had then. I have found a place that sells fresh milk from the gate. It is on the way to work. But to stop and get 2ltres (about 3 pints+) for R$6 ($4) it would cost me an extra R$5 in bus fares, in effect doubling the price of the milk. But oh, what a luxury to have real milk, not pasturised, not homogenised, not adulterated, nor sold in a cardboard box. They are reforming at the moment, but I have resolved that when things are underway again, I will stop and get some. As for the bonus, I do grow a little, peppers and herbs, sometimes tomatoes and passionfruit.

Well, that’s it for this week. Can’t wait to see what Small Footprints has lined up for Monday 9th April. See you there.

Change the World Wednesday – 11th Jan

I am having withdrawal symptoms…

No Change the World Wednesdays since 30th November, and I have to wait until the 30th January still…

Yikes!

I am a blathering mess, I’ve tried coffee, I’ve tried sleeping, I’ve tried ignoring the problem, I even tried doing the dishes, even therapy shopping doesn’t help. Nothing works, it’s always there, haunting me, teasing me, threatening me… NO CTWW.

Last night I had a nightmare about it. I wrote a CTWW post, the best I’ve ever written, and there was no CTWW when I woke up.

@GiveTreeGifts tweeted about it, and included my name. My gorge rose in my throat. I have to have a CTWW, I just can’t do without it. Two whole months of deprivation, I’m losing it, I’m losing weight, my hair is falling out… oh wait, that is just old age, all the dishes are done… again, I’m losing sleep, I just sit here and stare at a blank screen every Wednesday morning, hoping, waiting, dribbling from one corner of the mouth

I tried reading past CTWW posts, but it wasn’t the same, even my passionfruit project has failed me; and I am sure that is a result too. Last year I had a bumper crop, harvested more than 200, this year, I have 1. Yes, only 1 lonely passionfruit growing over the front door, hanging there, taunting me.

I have even regressed, yes, regressed. I had a packaged 4-cheese lasagna last week; it was wrapped in plastic!

I can’t even recycle my grey-water, we have had two weeks of torrential rain, if I give my plants any more water, they’ll drown.

I will add, on a slightly more serious note, that Smallfootprints has worked hard over the past year in bringing us all CTWW, she deserves a break. Personally, I would just like to say a big…

Thank you

and we’ll see you at the end of January.

So I am going to finish here with this…

Farmer's Market

I hope you are all supporting your local Farmers’ Market