America DOES Have an Eating Disorder

Michael Pollen, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, discusses in his introduction how America has an eating disorder. There are always the new fad diets like the Atkins diet, which limits bread intake. Americans follow these diets religiously, never questioning where the information comes from. We over think being trying to be healthy and instead end up with a huge problem. Pollen brings up the question of what are we eating for dinner and where does it come from? Why is it that America is the most obese country when other countries like France, eat “unhealthy” foods and are still healthier than us? These are all very important questions Pollen addresses in the book.

Pollen sets out to solve these questions by exploring the three food chains: industrial, organic, and hunter-gather. He finds that there are benefits and disadvantages from each chain.

I cannot say I have not tried eating less “unhealthy” food to try and lose weight. I have tried many diet tips and sometimes they may work, but not always. After reading this book I have been more concerned as to where my food is coming from and what is in it. Knowing this information can make a huge difference on whether the food is bad for me or not. For example, I would have never wanted to eat all-natural yogurt, which was not fat-free, a year ago. I wanted the Dannon eighty-calorie and one hundred percent fat-free yogurt. I was completely unaware of the chemicals like aspartame, which some believe to be a carcinogen, is contained in my fat-free yogurt. Now I’m starting to understand the importance of what is in the food because what I may think is healthy, could be harmful.


Most Americans have no idea where their food comes from and what is in it. They are completely unaware the cow they are eating was given antibiotics not meant for it, or the pesticide put in the soil of their produce can be harmful. Americans would not be the most obese country if they understood the importance of where their food comes from. If Americans would stop worrying about how many calories are in a bag of chips and instead start wondering what are in these chips?, things would be much different. Most do not even take the time to read the labels on a food can. For example, I picked up a can of BBQ Smoked Sausage and was startled when it said it contained chicken, pork, and beef. Isn’t sausage just supposed to come from pork?

It is important to know where your food comes from because it is important to take care of oneself. When one knows where food comes from and what has been done to it, they know exactly what is going into their body. We were not meant to be able to eat all the preservatives we consume when we eat McDonalds French fries. We are suppose to be able to eat plants that grow from the ground naturally and animals that eat plants which have not been sprayed with chemicals. Instead we are completely oblivious to what is in our food, and many Americans could care less. The irony in this is that Americans want to be “healthy” but are not recognizing the how to go about this.


Another point Pollen hits on is the art of food. Why should we demean food by not eating it because it is not “healthy”? Food is a beautiful and cultural aspect that we should respect. Just because a certain food might be high in fat, does not mean it is bad for you. Countries like France and Italy eat unhealthy food and are still healthier than us because they care more about the taste and quality as opposed to the calorie content.

If America wants to decrease the number of obese people in the country, it is going to need to realize that understanding where your food comes from and what is it in is more important than the percentage of fat in it. Industrial food is boring and not the best. Organic can have great results on ones health from eating it. Hunting and gathering food is supposed to come naturally for us, and when eating the correct food can also have tremendous benefits on our health. Food is a wonderful thing we have in our lives, and it should be respected at all levels.

Pro's of Eating Organic

At the Arboretum we have an organic garden. There are numerous reasons why it is good to be organic and reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbra Kingsolver, has enlightened me on some of these reasons.

Many people do not know exactly what it means to be “organic” or why it is considered healthy. When a plant or garden is organic, it means no chemicals or herbicides have been added to the soil or plant. Everything is in its natural state and is able to decompose.

But what are the benefits of growing and eating organic? Organic produce gives more nutritional value then those that are “conventional”. These fruits and vegetables have to fight off predators themselves. They are not able to hide themselves when a rodent comes along because they have roots in the ground. Whatever a plant has to go through, it endures it on its own, with no help.

Plants also build up their own immunity to diseases and pest-fighting compounds when they have not been sprayed with chemicals. When plants are not sprayed with chemicals, they typically have higher levels of antioxidants. These antioxidants are not supposed to be for us, but for the plants. We like to take advantage of the fact they can produce this. Antioxidants can help prevent certain diseases, cell aging, and tumor growth.

Organic food is great in taste and I feel like I can tell the difference when I eat organic produce versus conventional. I typically have more energy and feel happier when I eat organic food. This could be because I am aware of eating it and know the benefits of eating it; however, I am happy to know that when I eat organic produce I putting good things in my body.

Even though it may be pricey to buy organic produce, it may be worth it in the end with the health benefits.

Weeding It Out

Every time I go out to the garden, the one thing I usually always do is weed. I sit in the rows and pull the weeds out of the beds. By the end of the hour, I will have a huge pile of weeds which I take and put in the compost pile.

Weeds compete with the crop one is growing by taking the water, nutrients, and sunlight. A weed is a plant and just like any plant, it needs water, sun, and nutrients to grow. They can lower crop quality and produce harmful chemicals like allelopathy. They can also increase the number of insects in the area they are growing.

We only use tools and our hands at the garden to remove weeds. Instruments we use are action hoes, and trovels.

There are some ways to prevent weeds. At the garden we use hay which is our mulch, to help prevent weeds. We also allow our friends, worms, to help cultivate for us.

Some farmers use herbicides to reduce weeds. In an article written in The New York Times, it discusses how herbicides, like Roundup, have created superweeds. Farmers are having to go back to pulling weeds and other labor-induced work to get rid of the weeds. Thankfully, we do not have to worry this, because we do not use herbicides.

When we pull weeds from out of the ground, we try not to take a lot of soil from the ground. Soil is usually stuck in the roots, so to try and save it, we shake the roots and the soil usually falls.

Different plants can attract different weeds so it is important to be able to identify them.

If They Come, You Will Build It

I had never seen so many eager faces in our garden as the day of the Double-Digging Potluck event. In mid-April, we found that we had several tomato plants that were ready to be transplanted into the ground, but no space for them. So we made plans to create a few new nicely sized beds for them to go in. The way we go about creating new beds at the garden is a method called double-digging, which involves breaking up ground, shoveling it out, breaking up the ground beneath the foot-or-so that was shoveled out, and then filling the hole in with all the removed dirt mixed with compost. This method is thorough and provides the plants with lots of room to extend their roots through the now-loose soil, while also ensuring that the nutrient-rich compost is present at lower levels in the ground, too. Double-digging, however is also very labor-intensive!

So Nicole, Matthew, Ann and I, feeling like the four of us atetmpting to prepare more than one bed in this way over the span of just a few hours was, though surely possible, likely to leave us with a soreness that might last days, decided to extend an invitation for help! Through a Facebook event, we invited the Students for Sustainability group along with some of our friends to come out on a Saturday morning to help us double-dig out some beds, and encouraged for everyone to bring a dish or drinks to share for an afternoon picnic.

The response was great! There were about fifteen people who came out, and so for every person working hard, there was another ready to take over when things got too tiring. We worked for about three hours or so, and then enjoyed a delicious meal together. I figured out that Matthew's got a knack for guacamole, and Nicole makes a mean hummus. It was a very fun time, and to me, extremely encouraging to see all of those people ready to help out with the garden effort.

For some of the people who attended, they shared that it was their first time to ever come out to the garden, or even to the arboretum! It made me realize the importance of having events at the garden that extend out to the community. In the future, I expect to host several more group building and planting days, complete with good food and even better company such as this one. Anytime I see someone new in the garden, I get a really good feeling, and it seems to be something that we share.

Transplanting

Reading from The New Organic Farmer, I was better able to understand the importance of transplanting. Transplanting is when one starts seedlings in one area and then moving them to another.

Transplanting can be very beneficial to a garden and there are many reasons why it is important and helpful. First from the reading I found that seedlings are better able to be under controlled temperatures in a green house. This is very important because different plants like a tropical tomato require different temperatures and in a greenhouse one can control the cultural conditions for a plant. The author recommends a thermostatically controlled bottom-heating propagation mat in the greenhouse. We use one of these in our greenhouse at the Arboretum.

He says that transplanting is typically used for crops that regrow roots easily like tomato, lettuce, celery, and onion.

When transplanting it is important to make sure the roots of the plants are lease disturbed as possible so they are not harmed. If mistreated, the plants could not grow properly or die. Transplanting is a value for crops that are less tolerant of root disturbance, so the transplanting must be done in the best way possible.

One most be considerate with the type of containers used for transplanting. Single pots may be difficult and awkward for a big group of plants. Large containers with trays may be problematic because of root circling. At the garden we use big trays with portable, single containers for the seeds.

Kick Off The Summer At The Homegrown Market

If all this talk about the garden has got you thinking about muching on a delicious heirloom tomato, or maybe cooking up some savory greens, a trip to the market is essential!

Our friends at Homegrown Alabama have organized another season's worth of weekly markets, the first of which will be this week! The kick-off market will be Thursday, May 6th from 3-6 in the afternoon, on the lawn of the Canterbury Chapel. That's right on the corner of Hackberry and University, for those who aren't familiar.

Last year, my first year as a student here, I made an effort to come out to several of the markets, and was excited to find a wide array of vendors, selling everything from pickles and jellies to baked goods, and of course ample amounts of fresh veggies, fruits and flowers. Local food vendors and live music add to the excitment, making a trip to the Homegrown Market more like an event than a shopping run.

But besides being a whole lot of fun, the market allows local growers and the people of our community a chance to meet together in one place and exchange not only food and money, but also conversations, stories, and laughs. It's very meaningful and rare to be able to get to know the people who have made it possible, through hours of labor and awesome care, for us to have delicious and healthy food.

If you can't make it out on this coming Thursday, the market will be held all season, from May to October, same place, same day of the week, same time! A slightly different vendor line-up and selection of purchasables and music is to be had each time, though, so try not to miss a single one!

Hope to see you out there!

For more info, visit the Homegrown Alabama website at: http://www.homegrownalabama.org/index.html

also, add them on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2208642872&ref=ts

Importance of Crop Rotation

If one wants to have a successful garden filled with different vegetables and plants, it is important to learn about crop rotation. Reading from The New Organic Grower, crop rotation is defined as the “practice of changing the crop each year on the same piece of ground”(Hawken 50).


The main reason to do this is because certain plants restore nutrients back in the ground that other plants can use and vice versa. All plants respond to diverse fertilization patterns. For example, it is good to plant beans one season and then switch to corn the next. The reason for this is because beans give off a bunch of nitrogen in the soil which corn needs a lot.

“Two successive crops do not make the same demands on soil for nutrients, nor do they share disease or insect pests”(51).

Besides not needing the same nutrients, rotating crops can reduce the amount of weeds and insects in a garden. When a crop is grown in the same place, the insects and weeds attracted to the certain plant will start to grow and build up. Weeds and insects are attracted to certain plants, so rotating crops is a good way to stop this problem. A good example of this are rotating potatoes with winter squash.


The book also states rotations need the best of "organic soil amendments”(54).
Manure is incredibly important to the soil and it is important it is rotated as well. Some plants need new compost every year like squash, corn, peas, and beans. While others are better grown on a ground manured the previous year like tomatos, cabbages, and potatos.