What do you think are the biggest issues in food today?
Is it in food production? Distribution? Access? Waste? Consumer education? Legislation? Something else entirely? Would love to hear what you guys think.
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katewilson 8yr I'm voting food waste but I'm thrilled to see how much efforts are being put behind it now -
darkchocolatepeanutbutter 8yr I still feel the dietary guidelines are inadequate. If the USDA could consider the public over corporations, we'd have better direction. -
sugardetoxme 8yr It's two parts for me. Food waste is obviously huge. If good food was about actually feeding people then we wouldn't have hunger, but food has become a business. But let's also talk about the big elephant in the room, which is agriculture production ... Meat production ... Sourcing (palm oil) ... Which is responsible for over half of our emissions due to forest destruction. I'm not a raging vegan, but man, we can do better than this. A couple years back I read a statistic out of Stockholm that if we continued to eat meat the way we are, (20% of diet), we would bankrupt our world of potable water. It makes me look at constraints in our system (even 1 avocado takes 78 gal of water to grow). We need to appreciate food more. End of soap box! -
DietID_TeamDietitians 8yr Waste of course but I think the ag industry and its control over government. People don't wake up and say "I want to eat crappy food" they eat what is available and affordable. The real cost of crappy food is much higher than subsidies and incentives allow us to see, so we need to get profit-only focused "food" businesses out of government -
mirasingh 8yr I've been hearing a lot about transparency. I definitely want to know more about what's in my food, but I feel like it's getting harder, or when I find out what's in it, I'm just more confused. Anyone else feel like that? -
annefood 8yr Man what a question! @sugardetoxme and @Rachna nailed it for me with lack of transparency in agriculture and production - do we really understand the ramifications of our consumption, ingredient sourcing etc. And a lack of transparency in the role big ag plays in our food system overall. Luckily with regard to sourcing we have organizations like Rainforest Action Network who succeeded in getting Cargill to stop using conflict Palm oil in their snack products. They illuminate some of the otherwise invisible problems we face. -
tinabeans 8yr @Rachna yes I agree wholeheartedly. Personally I think access is huge, and I see so many communities in NYC w/o the option of even buying fresh local produce that I've taken for granted for so long. If we want more people to fight to get big ag out of government, we need to find ways to involve marginalized communities in the "good food" scene. @darkchocolatepeanutbutter good point about federal guidelines too! So much of this relates back to consumer understanding. -
DietID_TeamDietitians 8yr Yea this is why we have this community! These issues are complex so the more we can do to raise them within our own communities and friend circles, the easier it will be to make a lot of small changes and eventually make good food the default!
What is your quick go-to dinner?
Mine is whatever veggies are in the fridge + salt + olive oil + heat. Or toss raw veg in some kind of sauce. Yay sides for dinner!
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lauren Funny you say that, I *just* ate a giant bowl of roasted kale sprouts for dinner!
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marynfulton2 Mine is some kind of stir-fry. Leftover grain, tofu/chickpea/egg, whatever veggies are in the fridge, and rice vinegar, tamari, ginger, and sriracha (all staples in my fridge) topped with cashews,...
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DietID_TeamDietitians Best fast dinner - sautéed edamame, greens, and garlic topped with a pouched egg, hot sauce, and hummus or avocado.
Food friends! How do you talk to non-food friends about meat?
I like to cook large hunks of (humanely raised) meat for celebratory gatherings (a consequence of my Chinese upbringing- rarely cook meat otherwise). But I always find myself stymied as to how to t...
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DietID_TeamDietitians Great question! I usually bring it up as a part of explaining the menu including where the veggies came from, so it's not a political statement but rather just a statement of fact. Sometimes I...
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tinabeans Great points all around @Rachna! Usually i just bring food to the table and let all have at it! But marking the start of the meal in a more intentional way may be in order :)
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DietID_TeamDietitians Yea but @akhilg2002 would know if I sound preachy... I might! :/
Giving this paleo thing a try.
I think paleo might just be a secret conspiracy to eat more interesting things... if you can't fill your plate with a staple starch, it forces you to get creative with the veg!