PETA, Mexicans, and the Problem of Chile Colorado

“We think that Mexicans and other immigrants should be warned if they cross into the U.S. they are putting their health at risk by leaving behind a healthier, staple diet of corn tortillas, beans, rice, fruits and vegetables,” —Lindsay Rajt, assistant manager of PETA’s vegan campaigns.

Umm, as a Mexican American, I can safely say you are being a bit judgemental of the impoverished Mexican stereotype.  Mexicans love meat.

Last time I saw her my grandma made chile colorado and carnitas.  They have pork in them.  And that is the tip of the iceberg:

I love carnitas for lunch.

And chorizo for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner).

And carne asada cut up and placed in tortillas.

And a big tamal with pork.

And chicken mole (PETA, I don’t know if you can tell, but chicken mole has chicken in it…).

And don’t forget about flan, which has eggs and milk in it, which come from the chickens in the mole and the cattle in the carne asada.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I agree with a lot of what PETA stands for.  Have you ever seen a CAFO?  I don’t think you can be a civilized human after seeing them—stare at one, look at the thousands of chickens cooped up unable to move and wonder at the audacity of agribusiness to treat animals like bricks stacked at Home Depot.

I understand there are problems and inabilities for people, especially people in the suburbs like me, to always get CAFO-free, Organic, grass fed, Fair Trade, etc.  But my wife and I try to, we really do.  And we have drastically cut our meat intake to once a week (if that) because we feel that until we can live in a place where we can eat well raised happy chickens we cannot actively support the agricultural-industrial conglomerate continue to choke the health and welfare of our country.

But come on PETA, some Mexicans have enough money to buy meat before they move to this country.

Build a Garden In Your Backyard (or have someone do it for you)

Allison Arieff at the “By Design” New York Times Blog wrote a great post, “Grow Your Own,” which chronicles how she paid a company to replace her backyard lawn with a garden that now produces two boxes of produce each week.

A quote:

Urban agriculture has been around since at least the 18th century, but it’s an idea whose time has truly come — now — in the United States. The reasons range from the fact that our hands are always found glued to computer keys and not even occasionally in the dirt, to the scary existence of industrially grown tomatoes that may (or may not) cause salmonella, to the fact that a drive to the market can now cost more than the food you purchase there.

Though some may see this as a “lazy locavore” trend — wherein couch potato clients, glass of biodynamic Syrah in hand, observe the hard labor of city farmers while lounging with their laptops — the urban agriculture movement seems to me to be slowly transcending its elitist associations. It is truly growing into something that is wholly about collaboration, community and connection to food, to neighbors, to land.

Great things are happening in sustainability!

Eco-Design and What You Aren’t Eating

The New York Times ran two articles that highlights the direct and indirect ways the turning economy is effecting how we eat.

First, big-box companies are finding new, economic and ecological ways to package and transport food. Funny how in an oil-based economy the economic and ecological factors of design are beginning to merge. Milk has never looked so different!

The way we consume food is changing indirectly as well.  11 Best Foods You Aren’t Eating is the most blogged about NYT article right now. Why this has more to do with nutrition and less with the economy, it is worth noting that the exploration of foods that are dried, cured, or root vegetables (which are prevalent on the list) is a nod toward the food production of our grandparents. The foods mentioned on the list are for the most part cheaper, less in vogue, in less demand, and capable of being stored for longer periods of time than the staple foods that people are eating regularly. In a tight economy, spend-thriftiness and storage are great ways to counter rising food prices, and people are beginning to factor this into their lives, even if subconciously at first.