Show 79: Weston A. Price, Sally Fallon, Diet and Anise

judsoncarroll4

https://www.spreaker.com/user/13414994/anise

Torey

From a Canadian’s perspective, it is impossible to eat a local vegan diet on a year round basis. Unless you happen to live on the southwest coast of BC, but even then it would be very difficult, vegetarian maybe, but not vegan.

I do think that we (as a North American population) eat too much meat. Mostly because of those fast food items you mention that are pushed on us through advertising and have become 3 meals a day for some people. I’m with you on eating the whole animal. Not just a burger or the chops or steaks or breasts, but all parts. So many delicious meals left by the way side when you don’t use the whole animal. And the fabulous broths and soups made from the carcass or bones.

You mentioned ingredients in the plant based meats. Most are based on rice, soy or pea (or other vegetable) protein which have been grown using typical, commercial farming methods using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. I have yet to see any plant based meat products that are advertized as organic. I did go to one of the websites to see what the other ingredients are. Methylcellulose is one ingredient listed. It is a bulk forming laxative generally made from wood fibre (aka sawdust). Flavour is listed as another ingredient but they neglect to tell you what the “flavour” is. Canola oil is also an ingredient. Not a good fat. Canola was hybridized from the original rapeseed, but is now mostly (90% of crops) genetically engineered (to become Roundup-Ready) and again, usually farmed with lots of chemicals. One other thing about plant based fast foods. I have seen the burgers being cooked on the same grill as the beef burgers. You don’t think there aren’t meat juices running over the grill into your veggie burger? 

We need to be a lot more sensible about this. If a vegetarian or vegan diet is your thing, that's your choice, but we all need to be more aware of where our food comes from and what is in it. That includes meat products. I have seen meat being advertized as "grass-fed" that is being raised on corn silage in a feed lot, standing up to its eyeballs in you know what. Get to know where you food is coming from, regardless of what you are eating.

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/912760#Comment_912760

Very well stated Torey! My old friend, The Meat Trapper, told me once how his son had never had store bought ground beef. They mainly made burger, etc out of ground beaver meat, deer with added fat and occasional grass fed beef from a local ranch. He was around 9 when he had his first regular hamburger. He absolutely hated it! Out of desperation, because I was traveling late in a rural area, I bought a McDonald's hamburger. It was either a whopper or quarter pounder, I can't recall. I was amazed how very bland it was. The bun was sweet. The pickles were nice. Sum total though, it had almost no flavor and really didn't fill me up. It think they put something addictive in their food, because otherwise few would buy it.

Linda Bittle

@judsoncarroll4 at mcD's it's the French fries that draw us back!

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/912771#Comment_912771

I remember when they were cooked in beef fat. The coffee is pretty good though.

Torey

@judsoncarroll4 I just came across a few books on cooking the whole animal. The author is Jennifer McLagan. I haven't seen a physical copy of any of them but the way she has laid out the different titles, looks like she knows what she is talking about. Titles include: Odd Bits - How to Cook the Rest of the Animal. Fat - An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient with Recipes. Blood - with Recipe. Bones - Recipes, History & Lore. They can be found at:

https://www.jennifermclagan.com/books.php

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/912827#Comment_912827

Sounds good - thanks! I think growing up both on a farm and in a family owned grocery store that had its own little, old fashioned butcher shop, I just grew up thinking that was normal. We broke down whole animals, ate the organ meats and used the bones for soup and stock. We made head cheese and all sorts of stuff. We didn't use the blood though. SO I am failing in that regard.

Torey

What! No blood pudding! Just kidding. Not a fan myself.

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/912830#Comment_912830

I haven't found any I really like, but I don't mind it. I just haven't tried making it myself. Maybe if I tried a traditional boudin noir, it could convert me. The British version is okay, but fairly bland.

judsoncarroll4

Hey @torey , it looks like Jennifer McLagan wrote a book on bitters, too!