Oxfam: “BEHIND THE BRANDS”

by Ben Wollam

Downtown Austin Convention Center, March 8th 2013

Everyone prepare for doomsday, it seems like Malthus was right! We live in an era of undependable crop yields and their even more volatile market prices. With one out of every seven people going to bed starving every night, food security is a huge issue. Oxfam at the University of Texas acknowledges this issue but understands that it is due to a BROKEN FOOD SYSTEM, not a lack of food. There is more than enough food to feed everybody on this planet (sorry, Malthus) but on average 50 percent goes to waste and does not get into the hands of those who most need it. You can help FIX this broken system with us, while learning more about these issues by joining us at our meetings and at our rally this Friday (discussed below).

Oxfam is a humanitarian NGO dedicated to finding sustainable solutions to poverty and hunger. On campus, we use the leverage students have to pressure the university, corporations, and the government to eliminate unjust, extractive policies and adopt more inclusive, egalitarian standards. In the past Oxfam UT succeeded in getting the university to put Fair Trade coffee and chocolate in the dining halls and convinced the company we were receiving gold from for class rings to change their abusive policies toward their workers. We also worked closely with the UT Sweatshop Free Campaign

Is Our Legacy as Important as our Future?

by Hannah Babich

I recently read an article in The New York Times discussing a new exhibit entitled “Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture” at the American Museum of Natural History (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/24/arts/design/our-global-kitchen-at-american-museum-of-natural-history.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=food). The article describes a fantastic display of food cultures around the world, from production to consumption. This grand new exhibit explores a myriad of food issues, including hunger and waste, as well as cooking lessons and growth techniques. Besides a budding desire to experience this exciting show of food, the article struck me in another way. As we are forced to examine the history of food and the ways in which we have altered and adapted our system over time, I can’t help but wonder what our food legacy will be.

While the food movement is no doubt gaining strength and momentum, there is still something missing from the equation. As Michael Pollan discussed in his interview at the Paramount earlier in November, the President has made it clear the he’s not willing to make food system reform a priority until he sees significant, undeniable demand. Additionally, in the November election, the much-anticipated California Proposition 37 that would have required the labeling of GMO products failed to pass. For those of us in the thick of the food movement, it’s hard to believe that anyone could deny the strength of the demand for a more wholesome system. But as these situations show, the demand isn’t as poignant as we’d hope.

So what’s missing? To answer this question,

An Evening with Michael Pollan

by Genesis Valdes

Going to the grocery store can be quite a challenge. You have so many products to choose from and they all  have these claims of less fat, no GMOs, organic, etc. The real question is what should I eat? For food journalist, author, and activist, Michael Pollan, the answer is quite clear: eat real food. Yes, of course, that is exactly what we do, or at least that’s what we think. This past Thursday night at the Paramount Theatre, Michael Pollan explained the difference between real food and “edible food-like substances”, better known as processed foods. He said, “If it has more than five ingredients, it is not natural.” He also explained that if it comes with health claims, it is better not to buy it because the company selling it has the money to advertise, process, and mass produce, which means it is more likely that they’re selling “edible food-like substances” and not real food. Instead, it is the quiet packaging, where the producers have less money to advertise, where you will really find more natural products. We do live in a fast pace world, but he said investing more time in the food we consume can help improve the taste and the quality. He also emphasized how important it is to cook at home. When we are able to cook our meals at home, we can start to better understand the diversity of flavors and quality of ingredients. This is not something only moms or chefs should think about, but everyone, including our young ones.

 

 

Although Michael majored English and only took a few science classes in college, he is teaching people new ways to eat healthier food. That fact impressed me so much, because we think of food as just being an everyday thing that we don’t have to worry about, or as something that only nutritionists should take the time to scrutinize. But the truth is that food is part of our culture. It is a way to socialize and find pleasure. It can be easy to forget sometimes that it is not only about the nutrients. He highlighted the fact that there is no one diet that is going to lead to a healthy life. Instead, we just have to go back to eating real food. Michael Pollan is a great story-teller and an amazing advocate of sustainable foods. He has the experience of gardening and raising his own chickens. His effort to inform and educate people about the food industry had a huge impact on me last night and I am anxious to learn more as I start reading In Defense of Food. I encourage everyone to go out and learn where their food comes from and if possible, start your own garden to support better and healthier food.

Genesis is a junior majoring in nutrition.

Meet the Local Food Leaders

The idea of “being a Food Leader” can be a bit abstract and confusing. It is definitely different from being a Food Entrepreneur, which is a leader who takes the initiative to create something that does not currently exist in their society. Being a Food Leader is more diverse, it is something everyone can be.

How to become one? Well… You don’t have to “startup” your own food project–even though that would be really awesome! Food leaders first focus on their relationship with food, make changes as they feel needed, then share and learn with others their experience. It requires is one understand why we eat the way we do and then have the motivation to make improved food decisions everyday. Every bite, every dollar, every hour has an impact on our food system.

Now don’t get me wrong, we need entrepreneurs and change makers greatly in society. Many of them begin the dialog, ask the initial question (Why doesn’t UT have an academic program to study food?!)… But not everyone can be an entrepreneur. Great teams are full of leaders with unique and individual skill sets.

Being a Food Leader doesn’t mean you have to make all of the decisions, but you will to have to understand how you play an important role in changing the food system. So begin to ask yourself, why do I eat the way I do? Am I ok with that? Why? Why not?

These were some of the questions UT Food Studies Alumni Alejandra and I decided to ask some of the Local Food Leaders at the 2012 Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) Conference. We wanted to understand what do “Food Leaders” do and more importantly why. So, we created a short video for you, the next generation of food leaders, to help inspire your food studies and projects. Share it with your friends, teachers, mentors, co-workers and everyone who loves food, because we can all become Food Leaders simply by beginning to use food as a lens to understand ourselves and the world around us.

Great thanks to all the Food Leaders that participated in the video and sharing their story.

Jerry Cunningham, Proprietor of Coyote Creek Organic Feed Mill
Alexandra Maria Landeros, Writer and Editor for Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Nick Latham, Founder of My Country Co-op
Brandi Clark, President of Austin EcoNetwork
Marla Camp, Publisher of Edible Austin
Ronda Rutledge, Executive Director of the Sustainable Food Center
Michael Olson, Author of Food Chain Radio and MetroFarm.com
Patty Lovera, Assistant Director of Food & Water Watch
Dustin Fedako, CEO of East Austin Compost Peddlers
Aurora Porter, Marketing & Communications for Vital Farms
Scott Price, Consultant for Slow Money Austin and SRP Consulting
Kathryn Hutchison, Marketing for Greenling.com & VP Austin Food Blogger Alliance
Judith McGeary, Executive Director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
Pamela Walker, Author of Growing Good Things to Eat-Texas A&M
Kelsey Coto, President of Food Studies at The University of Texas at Austin
Ellen, Blogger/Educator for The Homegrown Revival
Heather Frambach, Outreach Manager for HOPE Farmers Market
Evan Driscoll, Farm Hand at Green Gate Farms
Jessie Griffiths’, Chef/Owner of Dai Due Supper Club

Special thanks to Edible Austin, Slow Food Austin, Greenling, UT Food Studies and Alejandra Spector for sponsorship and support producing this video.

Video Produced by Daniel “Asiago” Heron

How to prepare a Food Entrepreneur

Reflecting on the success of the Food Studies Project (FSP), I am happy to call ourselves “Food Entrepreneurs”. Less than year ago, I did not have a real understanding of what the word “entrepreneur” meant. Then, at the beginning of the Spring 2012 semester, I caught myself in front of a panel of judges at the Dell Social Innovation Challenge pitch stating that I am a “social entrepreneur” for food.

We, the undergraduate students, initiated some really neat programs and resources with no financial support. We did it because we are passionate about improving the world’s relationship with food. Some of us want to create businesses, some want to educate, and others want to simply share the joy of food. In my mind, all of these students taking the initiative to create websites, food carts, magazines and journals, food tours, gardens, and campaigns, are Food Entrepreneurs. As a graduating senior, my role now in Food Studies is to inspire these students to act and create their own amazing food projects and help them connect with others in UT Food Community.

So what does it take to innovate as a Food Entrepreneur?

To make a Food Entrepreneur, you first will have to learn how to deal with ambiguity. Things change so quickly and it can be scary navigating an unknown path. You must be willing to commit to the cause and be flexible to change because creating something new brings unpredictable results. The key is to be curious about the complexity of your project and never fear the unknown; make it your mission to enjoy the journey of learning and applying your studies. Prepare yourself for change because when you can move beyond your bias and old thought process, you will find a bounty of opportunities and connections.

1) STUDENT PASSION:

We have to sacrifice for belief in the outcome. UT students can become the next generation of food entrepreneurs. We must have intensity for things that matter: health, culture… College seems to promote individualism over collaboration, which is great for self-drive, but it is a flaw to believe we can tackle everything alone. We must unite all the food initiatives on campus and share our knowledge about food. Food Studies is interdependent. We connect and share ideas, help motivate and support each other to actively engage. Together we can beneficially impact our world food system.

2) ACTIVITY ENGAGEMENT:

Get involved. We all have different understandings of food, so it is difficult to appeal to all students’ tastes, but whatever your food studies interests are in, whether it is engineering, health, government, or the arts, we all must learn about the world we have created around food in order to improve the way we eat. Food Studies is the space for food leaders to come together to EAT, LEARN, and DISCUSS about our relationship with food and the world we have created around it. We must set big goals and build a community to challenge each other’s conceptions, share our food studies projects, and research. We are the immediate future; the time to act is now.

3) SUSTAINING MOMENTUM:

Food Studies receives wonderful fan mail from both professors and students. It is really rewarding to hear a freshmen mention that our Educated Eater program arose their consciousness about the relationship they have with food. Watching students engage in discussion about food systems, expanding their conceptions about food, and sharing their food culture has been such a rewarding experience. It was undergraduate students that started connecting the dots and built the foundations of an interdisciplinary food studies program at UT; we, the students, will create the demand for food studies at the University of Texas at Austin. However, faculty & staff have the power to create the actual academics, and it is their responsibility to keep the student voice involved in the conversation and decision-making. We are the next generation of food leaders; it is important to provide us with professional opportunities to apply our food studies and create the education we want.

As Student Food Entrepreneurs, our passion comes from our studies, our experience comes from actively improving initiatives on and around campus. In the Food Studies Project’s case, we have created the foundations of a food studies program at UT and helped bring together the UT Food Community. The project has led us to a new path full of opportunities to improve our food systems. Several of graduating seniors of FSP and I have introduced our new venture, The Food Lab. The Food Lab is a non-profit organization that will develop and support innovative businesses focused on reinventing our global food system. Meanwhile, we will continue to sustain the momentum of Food Studies at UT Austin. In order to tackle world food challenges, I believe college students are the first stage of the incubating solutions. They are the immediate future… full of passion and desire to change the world. Investing into their food education will produce new and improved attitudes towards food and make for the best Food Entrepreneurs.

If I Die Far From You: Part I

Mexico, beautiful and beloved,
If I die far from you
let them say I am sleeping
and bring me back to you. 


This is the rough translation of Mexico Lindo y Querido, one of the most popular and typical songs of Mexico. It represents a common experience of the Mexican people — that of displacement and immigration. As a Jew and a Mexican I come from two cultures that have experienced forced migration and displacement. As a semi-exile, I have lived the experience. I will not relate the details of my exile in this essay, but I, like so many Mexicans, cannot return because of extenuating circumstances. I use semi-exile because I grew up in two countries and one is no longer available to me. The pain this has caused is difficult to describe, it hurts in a very deep way. I can’t imagine what it must be like for those who made their entire lives in Mexico. Home is one way we identify ourselves and losing your home is a bit like losing a piece of your soul. I often find myself getting angry. Angry that my grandmother may never see her hometown again; that I cannot visit my family, and that a government can get away with atrocities. Mostly, I miss the sights, smells and simplicity of my childhood.

Making Mole with my Grandmother

So what does this have to do with food?  Food is culture; it is the shared experience of a region.  Traditional cooking connects us to the land and customs we were raised with. The smell and taste brings back memories of meals shared with loved ones, living and dead. When I make enchiladas or mole I remember the wisdom of my grandmother, “The chef gets the first enchilada and it should be eaten with your hands” and how her breath smelled like onions when she hugged me. I think of my aunts making tamales and gossiping, and the first time I tried coffee with cinnamon and cloves on a road trip to Veracruz.

Food invokes all of the senses, it connects us, but it also distinguishes us. That is its power. When we eat the food of home we are honoring the sacredness of place.

The last few centuries has seen quite a bit of human emigration and immigration, but we still long for home. That is why we cling to traditions, even in a world that is becoming increasingly globalized. We claim Italian, Japanese, or Mexican heritage even when our families have lived in this country for generations. Our bodies contain memories of our ancestral past and it takes a long time to adjust. Forced migration affects more than individuals. It can change whole communities for generations and often it is painful.

Happy Travels: Border Crossing Bridge El Paso/Juarez

So far the best remedy to my own angst has been to break bread (tortillas) with people from my culture who share my situation. It will never taste exactly the same, but it connects me to what was lost. It also inspires me to move forward because in spite of the difficulties, people are incredibly adaptive and resourceful. Remember your home, it is part of who you are. But also remember that it is not impossible to root yourself elsewhere. It just takes time.

 

Educated Eater

Dear UT Community,

During my undergraduate years at UT, I have completely transformed my relationship with food. I have become an Educated Eater, a student who has been exposed to a diverse understanding of food and eating. I was introduced to many new foods, learned about the real cost of food, studied a little bit of nutrition, started cooking, and even took several courses about food. One summer I had the wonderful opportunity to study international nutrition and food culture in Southeast Asia, another time in Brazil where I ate rice and watered down beans with my impoverished host family. All of my studies at UT and abroad have had a food focus.

After three years, I reminisce on the adventure I have had educating myself about food in college and reflecting on my personal journey of deciding what to eat.

I remember having to travel by foot or bus with my empty backpack to purchase just enough food to hold me over for the school week. I remember my first semester eating all alone in the school cafeteria. My parents were no longer around to buy food for me, so I had to learn how to hunt down free food events around campus.

Everything I could fit into my backpack for the week

Now, as I walk around campus, I see so many students trying figure out their own food studies. Some are learning about the economics of food. Why hundreds of students line up on Gregory Plaza receive a free Wendy’s hamburger or download a Google App to get a free meal. Some are receiving a lecture about college culture as they come to class at eight in the morning to find Red Bull energy drinks taped to the bottom of their desks, and random pizza/soda drive-bys as young cheerleaders jump out vans and shove products into your hands. Some students even get an introduction to the politics of food as with the student organization that brought a cupcake truck onto campus to fundraise and now faces a violation of the Institutional Rules (Section 13-205 Solicitation).

College students have to make many new complex decisions about what to eat, but I don’t see many programs teaching them how or why we eat. Longhorns are always talking about food. So why doesn’t UT have a food-focused program that students can use to discuss food and relate it to their studies?  

The Common Agricultural Policy

Food has been traded between regions for thousands of years. The tomato plant, did not originate in Italy as one might expect, but in the Americas. The silk road was formed for the practice of bartering. The American food system, specifically the animal industries, has been heavily scrutinized over the last decade. Contemporary muckrakers such as Eric Schlosser of Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan of The Omnivore’s Dilemma have incited public interest in the quality of agriculture produced in the US. From an economic perspective, factory farming is not just useful, but necessary. The demand for meat, dairy, and agriculture forces suppliers to produce more with better efficiency, a la’ economies of scale. However, managing food from this standpoint frequently upsets the balance of nature. The management of food is a huge subject; what to produce, how much of it, the quality, and the supply chain effects. As a nutrition and business major, I am fascinated with the procurement and movement of food. Therein, managing the careful balance between producing enough food for the population in the most sustainable manner. To narrow the topic, I would first like to examine the history of the Common Agricultural Policy, the system used by the European Union.

Reverence and Love

In December I had the opportunity to attend a talk given by Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson. Though the discussion covered many topics, it was essentially about humanity’s place and influence on the natural world and how our need to control it is doing us more harm than good. Agriculture may be the biggest culprit. Wes Jackson said, “The problem with agriculture is 10,000 years old.” That is to say that it is an inherently flawed way of feeding humanity.  This may come as a surprise to some, and it certainly did for me, but this was precisely what sparked my own interest in agriculture. It was the moment I personally realized that a change in the agricultural system was our best hope for the future, and that a profound change in the way we grow food will result in profound changes in our world and how we relate to one another. We currently live in a society that values efficiency over decency and profit over people. Progress. Efficiency. Results. These were the things that were supposed to save our species, but as I look around me, I see crumbling economies, wars, hunger, and the decimation of natural resources. Is this what progress looks like? Can a machine replace a human? Does the outcome justify the means no matter how cruel? These are the questions I ask myself as I try to navigate through this insane society we have created.

(source:http://www.123people.co.uk/s/wes+jackson)

Wendell Barry linked the rise of drug abuse and addictions to the ever-increasing mechanization of the work force, especially the agricultural sector. He argues that when thinking is taken out of work, the place we spend much of our time, life has a tendency to lose meaning. We become drones filling our unsatisfying lives with substances and consumer goods. In the documentary “King Corn” the filmmakers document the typical life of American corn famers. They demonstrate exactly what Barry is talking about; the planting can be done in the span of a few hours by one or two farmers, a tractor, government subsidized seeds, and heavy pesticide use. The farmer, who is entrusted with one of the most vital jobs in the nation is so undervalued and under paid that he seeks other employment opportunities in mostly unskilled labor to supplement his income. He works in monoculture so he cannot feed his family from the farm and he becomes, in essence, a puppet of the state.  Those who pick the fruit and vegetables suffer an even worse fate. The great majority of them are undocumented, uneducated migrant workers who are often housed in near confinement, perform back breaking, monotonous labor in fields sprayed with pesticides, which causes them to suffer much higher rates of certain cancers and respiratory illnesses.

Kitchen Pimpin’ Obesity

The Lonestar State has the highest percentage of overweight adult males at 75.5%, only second to Alabama’s 75.9%. There are plenty of attempts to educate the population on how to eat — nutritional charts and dietary recommendations, for instance — but these are not solutions. The majority of us know that we need to consume more vegetables, but we are less compliant to do so because we don’t enjoy being told what to eat (maybe more so what NOT to eat). Our diet is really a personal relationship with food. We need personalized methods to improve our individual ways of eating. Instead of a massive health campaign telling people to eat healthier and exercise more, a more impacting solution would be to create a healthier environment that empowers people to learn and care for themselves. In other words: get cookin’. In particular, get young males like myself into kitchens to cook for our family and friends.
I got the idea from Coolio’s recent (and amazing) cookbook, Cookin’ with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price. The former multi-platinum rapper grew up poor with little knowledge about food, stating that he had the skill of making something out of nothing. He learned how to cook, probably something unique amongst the male youth of his childhood community. What is cool about Cookin’ with Coolio, is that it empowers young men to build confidence, take control of their health, and potentially prevent obesity by learning how to successfully cook real food at home on a tight budget. By presenting his personal story as a living example, Coolio shares his recipes and cooking techniques so that people in lower-income situations can utilize their resources to become successful “Kitchen Pimps”. Taken at face value, this cookbook might seem like a comical sales gimmick, but Cookin’ with Coolio is a masterpiece for public health and could benefit thousands suffering from malnutrition and obesity.

Click the photo to check out his cooking show!

How does Kitchen Pimpin’ prevent obesity?
Cookin’ with Coolio helped me realize that home cooking is more than a luxury; it is an approach to solving the obesity epidemic. There are many people that are too reliant on fake industrial foods, and “[Coolio] want[s] people to know that just because you’re poor, you don’t have to eat fast food every day.” Eating healthy food is more complicated when you are in a difficult economic situation. Some people insist that we need to eat only vegetables grown locally and spend a lot more for our food. Coolio argues that is not necessary for most: “Whole Foods and Gelson’s have a lot of great stuff, but [normal grocery stores] have everything you need to make haute cuisine at home.” Kitchen Pimpin’ and learning the art of “The Ghetto Gourmet” brings awareness to the more realistic problem and solution in our national obesity epidemic that people need to learn more about food and how to cook at home. Instead of focusing all of our attention on paying more for ethical foods (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), we should educate the population about food and create the environments and resources needed to get people cooking.