According to Wikipedia:
Composting is the process of producing compost through aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter. The decomposition is performed primarily by aerobes, although larger creatures such as ants, nematodes, and oligochaete worms also contribute. This decomposition occurs naturally in all but the most hostile environments, such as within landfills, extremely arid deserts or cold weather such as boreal winters or polar regions, which prevent the microbes and other decomposers from thriving.
Composting can be divided into the two areas of home composting and industrial composting. Both scales of composting use the same biological processes, however techniques and different factors must be taken into account.
Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Rather than allowing nature to take its slow course, a composter provides an optimal environment in which decomposers can thrive. To encourage the most active microbes, a compost pile needs the correct mix of the following ingredients:
Carbon
Nitrogen
Oxygen (in the case of aerobic composting)
Water
Decomposition happens even in the absence of some of these ingredients, but not as quickly or as pleasantly. (For example, vegetables in a plastic bag will decompose, but the absence of air encourages the growth of anaerobic microbes, which produce disagreeable odors. Degradation under anaerobic conditions is called anaerobic digestion.)
The goal of a composting system
The goal in a composting system is to provide a healthy environment and nutrition for the rapid decomposers, the bacteria. The most rapid composting occurs with the ideal carbon to nitrogen ratio of between 25 and 30 to 1 by dry chemical weight. In other words, the ingredients placed in the pile should contain 25 to 30 times as much carbon as nitrogen. For example, grass clippings average about 19 to 1 and dry autumn leaves average about 55 to 1. Mixing equal parts by volume approximates the ideal range. Commercial-grade composting operations pay strict attention to this ratio. For backyard composters, however, the charts of carbon and nitrogen ratios in various ingredients and the calculations required to get the ideal mixture can be intimidating, so many rules of thumb exist to guide composters in approximating this mixture.
Materials for composting
Given enough time, all biodegradable material will compost. However, not all compost feedstocks are appropriate for backyard composting. Most backyard systems will not reach high enough temperatures to kill pathogens and deter vermin, so pet droppings, non-vegetarian animal manure, meat scraps, and dairy products are best left to operators of high-rate, thermophilic composting systems.
Certain substances should not be composted by the average homeowner, as they require more sophisticated systems.
These substances include non-vegetarian animal manures and bedding, by-products of food production and processing, restaurant grease and cooking oils, and residuals from the treatment of wastewater and drinking water. Composting will also break down petroleum hydrocarbons and some toxic compounds for recycling and beneficial reuse. The use of composting for such purposes is most commonly referred to as a form of bioremediation.
High-carbon sources provide the cellulose needed by the composting bacteria for conversion to sugars and heat, while high-nitrogen sources provide the most concentrated protein, which allow the compost bacteria to thrive.
Some ingredients with higher carbon content:
Dry, straw-type material, such as cereal straws
Autumn leaves
Sawdust and wood chips
Some paper and cardboard (such as corrugated cardboard or newsprint with soy-based inks)
Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content:
Green plant material (fresh or wilted) such as crop residues, hay, grass clippings, weeds
Animal manures (choose vegetarian horse manure, cow manure, llama manure, etc.)
Fruit and vegetable trimmings
Seaweeds
Coffee grounds
Poultry manure provides lots of nitrogen but little carbon. Horse manure provides both. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.
Mixing the materials as they are added increases the rate of decomposition, but it can be easier to place the materials in alternating layers, approximately 15 cm (6 in) thick, to help estimate the quantities. Keeping carbon and nitrogen sources separated in the pile can slow down the process, but decomposition will occur in any event.
Greasy food waste and wastes from meat, dairy products, and eggs should not be used in household compost because they tend to attract unwanted vermin and they do not appropriately decompose in the time required. However, eggshells are a good source of nutrients for the compost pile and the soil although they typically take more than one year to decompose. If recycling of meat and dairy products is desirable, Bokashi is a suitable alternative, which uses fermentation. However, even in Bokashi, liquids like milk and oil should not be used. Manure from non-vegetarian animals should never be used, and neither should human or pet waste.
Composting techniques
There are a number of different techniques for composting, all employing the two primary methods of aerobic composting:
Active (or hot) composting allows aerobic bacteria to thrive, kills most pathogens and seeds, and rapidly produces usable compost. Aerobic bacteria produce less odour and fewer destructive greenhouse gases than their anaerobic counterparts. In addition, they are usually faster at breaking down material and the faster material is broken down, the faster compost is created for your garden.
Pasteurisation in a hot compost (such as the Compost Oven) will occur in any garden compost bin if the temperature reaches above 55 C (131°F) for three or more days. To achieve it, you need to keep your garden compost bin warm, insulated and damp since this encourages the cultivation of actinomycetes, a vital bacteria in the pasteurisation process.
The pasteurised soil naturally created through heat in the garden compost is valuable for the composting home gardener, since the pasteurisation process is otherwise both expensive and complicated, and adding chemicals to produce the pasteurisation effect makes the compost less healthy.
Passive (or cold) composting allows Nature to take its course in a more leisurely manner, while leaving many pathogens and seeds dormant in the pile.
Cold composting is the type of composting done in most domestic garden compost bins in which temperatures never reach above 30 C (86°F). Cold composting is characterised by individuals putting their kitchen scraps in the garden compost bin and leaving them untended. This "scrap bin," having a very high moisture content and without aeration, is likely to turn anaerobic and generate foul odours, including significant adverse greenhouse gas emissions.
When composting this way, a gardener can improve the process by adding some wood chips or small pieces of bark, leaves, twigs or a combination of these materials distributed throughout the mixture. This material helps to improve drainage and airflow.
Such composting systems may be either enclosed (home container composting, industrial in-vessel composting) or in exposed piles (industrial windrow composting).
Home composting
Home composters use a range of techniques, varying from extremely passive composting (throw everything in a pile in a corner and leave it alone for a year or two) to extremely active (monitoring the temperature, turning the pile regularly, and adjusting the ingredients over time). Some composters use mineral powders to absorb smells, although a well-maintained pile seldom has bad odors.
Microbes and heating the pile
An effective compost pile is kept about as damp as a well wrung-out sponge. This provides the moisture that all life needs to survive. Bacteria and other microorganisms fall into a variety of groups in terms of what their ideal temperature is and how much heat they generate as they do their work. Mesophilic bacteria enjoy midrange temperatures, from about 20 to 40°C (70 to 110°F). As they decompose the organic matter they generate heat, and the inner part of a compost pile heats up the most.
The heap should be about 1 m (3 ft) wide, 1 m (3 ft) tall, and as long as is practicable. This provides a suitable insulating mass to allow a good heat build-up as the material decays. The ideal temperature is around 60°C (140°F), which kills most pathogens and weed seeds while providing a suitable environment for thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria, which are the fastest acting decomposers. The centre of the heap can get too warm, possibly hot enough to burn a bare hand. If this fails to happen, common reasons include the following:
The heap is too wet, thus excluding the oxygen required by the compost bacteria
The heap is too dry, so that the bacteria do not have the moisture needed to survive and reproduce
There is insufficient protein (nitrogen-rich material)
The solution is to add material, if necessary, and/or to turn the pile to aerate it.
Depending on how quickly the compost is required, the heap can be turned one or more times to bring the outer layers to the inside of the heap and vice versa, as well as to aerate the mixture. Adding water at this time helps keep the pile damp. One guideline is to turn the pile when the high temperature has begun to drop, indicating that the food source for the fastest-acting bacteria (in the center of the pile) has been largely consumed. When turning the pile does not result in a temperature rise, there is no further advantage in turning the pile. When all the material has turned into dark brown or nearly black crumbly matter, it is ready to use.
Worm Composting
Recycling the organic waste of a household into compost allows us to return badly needed organic matter to the soil. In this way, we participate in nature's cycle, and cut down on garbage going into burgeoning landfills. Worm composting or vermicomposting is a method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. The great advantage of worm composting is that this can be done indoors and outdoors, thus allowing year round composting. It also provides apartment dwellers with a means of composting. The worm then excretes a soil-nutrient material called worm castings. This is why wise farmers have historically wanted to have healthy worm populations living in their fields. Worms are at the bottom level of the food chain, and thus are critical to healthy soil. In a nutshell, worm compost is made in a container filled with moistened bedding and redworms. Add your food waste for a period of time, and the worms and micro-organisms will eventually convert the entire contents into rich compost. Some good gardeners have developed a radical composting product, made through a brewing process which runs distilled water through Red Wiggler worm castings. The nutritious elements and microorganisms of the castings are captured in a concentrated liquid form, named worm tea. By using worm tea on your plants and gardens, you put healthy microorganisms back into the soil where they thrive and multiply, creating a much healthier growing environment for your plants.
Industrial composting
Industrial composting systems are being increasingly installed as an alternative form of waste management to landfill along with other advanced waste processing systems. The industrial composting or anaerobic digestion can be combined with mechanical sorting of mixed waste streams and is given the term mechanical biological treatment. Industrial composting helps prevent global warming by treatment of biodegradable waste before it enters landfill. If this waste is landfilled it breaks down anaerobically producing landfill gas that contains methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Most commercial and industrial composting operations use active composting techniques. This ensures a higher quality product and produces results in the shortest time (see compost windrow turner). The greatest control, and therefore the highest quality, is generally achieved by composting inside an enclosed vessel which is monitored and adjusted continuously for optimal temperature, air flow, moisture, and other parameters. See In-vessel (also en-vessel).
Large scale composting systems are used by a few urban centers around the world. Co-composting is a technique which combines solid waste with de-watered bio-solids. The world's largest co-composter is in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which turns 220,000 tonnes of residential solid waste and 22,500 dry tonnes of biosolids per year into 80,000 tonnes of compost using a facility 38,690 square metres in size (equivalent to 8 football fields). The aeration building alone is the largest stainless steel building in North America (the size of 14 NHL rinks).
Other ingredients
Some users like to put special materials and activators into their compost. Adding commercially available Effective MicroorganismsTM helps to keep the balance between "good" and "bad" bacteria. A light dusting of agricultural lime (not on the animal manure layers) can curb excessive acidity that can slow down the fermentation. Seaweed meal can provide a ready source of trace elements. Finely pulverized rock (rock flour or rock dust) can also provide needed minerals, as opposed to clay (which is trace mineral-poor and/or leached rock dust).
Animal manure should only be collected from vegetarian animals, such as horses, cows, sheep, llamas, etc. Pet waste, human waste, and non-vegetarian animal waste should not be used in the average compost heap.
Human waste can be collected by composting toilets (in this case, human feces). However, such compost is usually not used as a fertilizer for plants that are directly edible (e.g., salad crops). Most composting toilets do not allow for the thermophilic activity needed to completely kill off the pathogens and bacteria. However, if these high temperatures are reached, there is no danger of contamination, and the resulting compost can be safely used on food crops. Most composts heaps are unable to reach those temperatures. Composting toilets should only be used as a way to reduce waste in the environment, not as a fertilizer; in the case that they are used with crops, they should only use human waste for non-food crops, or with careful filteration, food based crops.
And from the G Living Network, comes more insight (http://gliving.tv/theroots.php):
Container Composting
There are sound reasons for composting in containers, although there is debate as to whether slatted or closed sided bins are preferable, for this will affect air circulation within the compost pile, as well as the potential for heat loss. The Indore method developed by Sir Albert Howard and the Shewell Cooper method favour slats, while the New Zealand Box method advocates the use of closed sides.
Mike Morrison's (Australia)approach has been a departure from traditional methods with the Compost Oven comprising of patented bubble film with an embedded self aerating and heating device to keep the compost warm, damp and insulated against heat loss.
There are also differences between these techniques in terms of activators (that is, high nitrogen content organic substances to stimulate high bacterial activity within the heap, e.g., urine, grass mowings, comfrey leaves, etc.) and materials used. However, most agree that a good mixture of carbon and nitrogenous materials, usually created in layers and on a base consisting of rougher, stemmy material (to encourage air circulation) that is in contact with the soil are essential to all successful composting processes.
For those who do not have a lot of space, composting can be carried out with good results by using cylindrical bins provided that attention is paid to the all-important issues of aeration and C:N ratios. Such bins are available proprietarily, and are often supplied by local authorities at low cost to encourage recycling.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom
A NEW DAWN
GRAIN OF SAND
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
GO WITHIN
GRAIN OF SAND
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
GO WITHIN
Prem Rawat-Maharaji: Words of Wisdom
A NEW DAWN
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
POWERFUL LITTLE STATEMENT
THE POWER THAT WE HAVE
THE FEELING MACHINE
FIND THE MIRACLE
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Friday, May 18, 2007
Concerned about childhood obesity? The Media Isn't!
From Campaign for a Commerical Free Childhood:
Today, the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Digital Democracy released a new report that documents how major food, soft drink and fast food brands are deploying a panoply of new techniques--including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video, and three-dimensional virtual worlds--to target children and adolescents, often under the radar of parents. The report - "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age" - is available at http://www.digitalads.org/
The report is a wake-up call for policymakers and anyone concerned by the escalating epidemic of childhood obesity. Even as junk food marketers claim to be cleaning up their act, the food industry is exploiting the latest technologies to target children in new and insidious ways.
A coalition of advocacy groups - including CCFC -- submitted the report to the Federal Trade Commission today, calling on the agency to expand its investigation of food and beverage marketing to include the full of range of digital marketing to children and adolescents.
Examples cited in the report include:
To "create a compelling way to connect with the younger demographic," 600 McDonald's restaurants in California launched a mobile marketing campaign, urging young cell phone users to text-message to a special phone number to receive an instant electronic coupon for a free McFlurry dessert.
Coca-Cola's "My Coke Rewards" program offers special codes in its products that enable young people to access a website, where they can earn such rewards as downloadable ring tones and "amazing sports and entertainment experiences." This technique is part of a strategy for behavioral profiling, where marketers compile a detailed profile of each customer, including demographic data, purchasing behavior, responses to advertising messages, and even the extent and nature of social networks.
Food marketers are commercializing online communities by aggressively moving into MySpace and other social networking sites. One technique is to create "branded profiles" that invite children and teens to become "friends" with popular spokescharacters. "Welcome to the King's Court," beckons the Burger KingMySpace profile. "The virtual home of the Burger King. He's giving away free episodes of the Fox shows '24,' 'Pinks,' and 'First Friend.'"
Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one viral video, "Molly Grows Up"--which generated more than 300,000 views--a young girl is shown ordering "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty."
The Mars candy company enlisted the musical group Black Eyed Peas to make a series of "webisodes" called "Instant Def," in order to promote Snickers bars to teens, an example of brand-saturated environments that weave products seamlessly into interactive entertainment content.
To learn more, please visit http://www.digitalads.org/.
Thanks,
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=347609204&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialfreechildhood.org%2F
Today, the Berkeley Media Studies Group and the Center for Digital Democracy released a new report that documents how major food, soft drink and fast food brands are deploying a panoply of new techniques--including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video, and three-dimensional virtual worlds--to target children and adolescents, often under the radar of parents. The report - "Interactive Food & Beverage Marketing: Targeting Children and Youth in the Digital Age" - is available at http://www.digitalads.org/
The report is a wake-up call for policymakers and anyone concerned by the escalating epidemic of childhood obesity. Even as junk food marketers claim to be cleaning up their act, the food industry is exploiting the latest technologies to target children in new and insidious ways.
A coalition of advocacy groups - including CCFC -- submitted the report to the Federal Trade Commission today, calling on the agency to expand its investigation of food and beverage marketing to include the full of range of digital marketing to children and adolescents.
Examples cited in the report include:
To "create a compelling way to connect with the younger demographic," 600 McDonald's restaurants in California launched a mobile marketing campaign, urging young cell phone users to text-message to a special phone number to receive an instant electronic coupon for a free McFlurry dessert.
Coca-Cola's "My Coke Rewards" program offers special codes in its products that enable young people to access a website, where they can earn such rewards as downloadable ring tones and "amazing sports and entertainment experiences." This technique is part of a strategy for behavioral profiling, where marketers compile a detailed profile of each customer, including demographic data, purchasing behavior, responses to advertising messages, and even the extent and nature of social networks.
Food marketers are commercializing online communities by aggressively moving into MySpace and other social networking sites. One technique is to create "branded profiles" that invite children and teens to become "friends" with popular spokescharacters. "Welcome to the King's Court," beckons the Burger KingMySpace profile. "The virtual home of the Burger King. He's giving away free episodes of the Fox shows '24,' 'Pinks,' and 'First Friend.'"
Wendy's placed several "commercials masquerading as videos" on YouTube, specifically designed to attract "young consumers." In one viral video, "Molly Grows Up"--which generated more than 300,000 views--a young girl is shown ordering "her first 99-cent Junior Bacon cheeseburger and Frosty."
The Mars candy company enlisted the musical group Black Eyed Peas to make a series of "webisodes" called "Instant Def," in order to promote Snickers bars to teens, an example of brand-saturated environments that weave products seamlessly into interactive entertainment content.
To learn more, please visit http://www.digitalads.org/.
Thanks,
The Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=347609204&url_num=3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.commercialfreechildhood.org%2F
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Two Angry Moms Talk about School Lunch
FOOD FIGHT
THE SCHOOL LUNCH REVOLTION WILL BE TELEVISED
www.thefamilygroove.com (May 2007)
Asthma. Allergies. Type II diabetes. Obesity. Behavioral issues. Many of us are aware of these conditions because children we know are afflicted by one or more of them. And while it seems like we as parents have no control over these conditions affecting our children, in reality, we do. We know that by paying attention to what our children are eating and helping them to make healthier choices at home, we can make a difference in our children’s health. But what happens when your kids aren't at home?
In their documentary, Two Angry Moms, about the battle to change school lunch programs across the nation Dr. Susan Rubin, a dentist, holistic nutritionist, founder of Better School Food (www.betterschoolfood.com) and mother of three, and Amy Kalafa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, health counselor and mother of two, have drawn a line in the cafeteria sand, exposing what your children are being served five days a week, the long-term effects of such poor nutrition and the fight they've encountered while seeking to foster a school lunch revolution.
Additionally, these two angry moms traveled across the country filming examples of school food programs that do work, proving that change is possible. The movie highlights the fact that when communities support local farms, when kids get connected to where their food comes from, when school buying power is used to promote educated, healthy children, there is a positive effect not only on our children, but on the environment and on everyone in the community.
Here our resident nutrition expert, holistic health counselor Kelly Scotti talks to Dr. Susan Rubin, one of two women on the front lines of our children's future.
Why should parents care about the food served in school?
Schools have a responsibility to create a healthy, supportive environment for kids. Schools that model better food on campus report higher test scores, fewer behavioral problems and less absenteeism.
Studies have shown that what kids eat now will impact their lifetime eating habits. Since one to two meals a day, five days a week for nine months of the year are eaten at school, there is a significant connection to the what children are served at school and their overall health and nutrition for the rest of their lives.
If those school-based habits are poor, then our children could suffer from ill health, nutritional deficiencies, depression, disease and more, especially if those habits are not counteracted in the home. Additionally, the sad reality is that even if children have healthy habits at home, many times they have no healthy options in school. The fact is that most schools buy the cheapest food they can, so even the healthiest at-home eaters are forced to eat poorly for a quarter of their childhood (notwithstanding those that bring their lunches).
“We need to flood our schools with fresh whole fruits and vegetables. Partner with the local farms and get fresh, inexpensive produce for schools. Limit the processed foods that are allowed to be served at school. And maybe even outfit school kitchens with cooks and appliances so things can be made from scratch with quality ingredients. At a minimum, mandate full nutritional disclosure for school foods to allow for informed parental decisions,” says Dr. Rubin.
Dr. Rubin also tells us that many children suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, where there is a disconnect between a child’s understanding of food and where it comes from, causing them to make poor nutritional choices. Many children nowadays don't know that meat comes from animals like the cows they see on the way to school, salad leaves grow in the ground or that apples grow on trees. Only when that disconnect is addressed through education and hands-on experience can we see children taking more of an active role in making good food choices. In schools and at home, we can teach our children about planting their own food and let them take ownership for helping to feed themselves and their families.
What is so bad about school food?
School foods have lots of harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated or poor quality oils, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified fillers and tons of sugar. Schools are not required to disclose the ingredients or additives in the food they serve. Nowhere on the weekly lunch menu in an average school in America is an ingredient list provided for each (or any) of the food choices offered daily, so many parents choose their kids' meals blindly, not knowing if the choice they make is a healthy one. For most parents, the only way to ensure their kids’ meals are healthy is to pack lunches for them; however, brown bag lunch is a luxury not afforded to many children in America.
In addition to the obvious lack of nutrients and overabundance of junk food our children are being plied with on a daily basis, one must consider the message all this poor nutrition is sending to our impressionable youth. (What does a 10 to 15-minute lunch period tell them about the importance of proper eating habits?)
Dr. Rubin emphasizes that this movie-come-movement is not about taking cupcakes away from school parties, it's about ensuring that a core basis of nutrition is available to our children in schools. Rubin says “it’s not just about taking out the bad stuff. You’ve got to put good food in, along with food education. The food IQ of parents, children and the schools needs to be raised.”
Why can’t someone else change the system?
As Rubin and Kalafa have found through experience, the system is hard to change for a number of reasons. State and federal legislation is too slow and food industry lobbyists have too much clout. Food service companies make too much money serving poor quality, nutritionally deficient food. And school boards don't feel that the school lunch program is a priority, as they have so many other issues with which to deal.
What can you do?
So then, it comes down to the parents to foster the school lunch evolution. Contact your congressman and tell him to support the Farm Bill (click here to find out about the Farm bill). Contact your school board and let them know you want healthy, fresh food served at your children’s school. Let your demands be known and make your voice be heard.
Texas Agriculture Secretary Susan Combs said it’s going to take two million angry moms to change school food. Rubin and Kalafa were the first two to wage the fight—now it's up to you to join the battle.
Want to be one of the two million Angry Moms? Go to www.angrymoms.org.
Two Angry Moms will be in select theaters this summer and available everywhere via DVD.
THE SCHOOL LUNCH REVOLTION WILL BE TELEVISED
www.thefamilygroove.com (May 2007)
Asthma. Allergies. Type II diabetes. Obesity. Behavioral issues. Many of us are aware of these conditions because children we know are afflicted by one or more of them. And while it seems like we as parents have no control over these conditions affecting our children, in reality, we do. We know that by paying attention to what our children are eating and helping them to make healthier choices at home, we can make a difference in our children’s health. But what happens when your kids aren't at home?
In their documentary, Two Angry Moms, about the battle to change school lunch programs across the nation Dr. Susan Rubin, a dentist, holistic nutritionist, founder of Better School Food (www.betterschoolfood.com) and mother of three, and Amy Kalafa, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, health counselor and mother of two, have drawn a line in the cafeteria sand, exposing what your children are being served five days a week, the long-term effects of such poor nutrition and the fight they've encountered while seeking to foster a school lunch revolution.
Additionally, these two angry moms traveled across the country filming examples of school food programs that do work, proving that change is possible. The movie highlights the fact that when communities support local farms, when kids get connected to where their food comes from, when school buying power is used to promote educated, healthy children, there is a positive effect not only on our children, but on the environment and on everyone in the community.
Here our resident nutrition expert, holistic health counselor Kelly Scotti talks to Dr. Susan Rubin, one of two women on the front lines of our children's future.
Why should parents care about the food served in school?
Schools have a responsibility to create a healthy, supportive environment for kids. Schools that model better food on campus report higher test scores, fewer behavioral problems and less absenteeism.
Studies have shown that what kids eat now will impact their lifetime eating habits. Since one to two meals a day, five days a week for nine months of the year are eaten at school, there is a significant connection to the what children are served at school and their overall health and nutrition for the rest of their lives.
If those school-based habits are poor, then our children could suffer from ill health, nutritional deficiencies, depression, disease and more, especially if those habits are not counteracted in the home. Additionally, the sad reality is that even if children have healthy habits at home, many times they have no healthy options in school. The fact is that most schools buy the cheapest food they can, so even the healthiest at-home eaters are forced to eat poorly for a quarter of their childhood (notwithstanding those that bring their lunches).
“We need to flood our schools with fresh whole fruits and vegetables. Partner with the local farms and get fresh, inexpensive produce for schools. Limit the processed foods that are allowed to be served at school. And maybe even outfit school kitchens with cooks and appliances so things can be made from scratch with quality ingredients. At a minimum, mandate full nutritional disclosure for school foods to allow for informed parental decisions,” says Dr. Rubin.
Dr. Rubin also tells us that many children suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder, where there is a disconnect between a child’s understanding of food and where it comes from, causing them to make poor nutritional choices. Many children nowadays don't know that meat comes from animals like the cows they see on the way to school, salad leaves grow in the ground or that apples grow on trees. Only when that disconnect is addressed through education and hands-on experience can we see children taking more of an active role in making good food choices. In schools and at home, we can teach our children about planting their own food and let them take ownership for helping to feed themselves and their families.
What is so bad about school food?
School foods have lots of harmful ingredients, such as hydrogenated or poor quality oils, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified fillers and tons of sugar. Schools are not required to disclose the ingredients or additives in the food they serve. Nowhere on the weekly lunch menu in an average school in America is an ingredient list provided for each (or any) of the food choices offered daily, so many parents choose their kids' meals blindly, not knowing if the choice they make is a healthy one. For most parents, the only way to ensure their kids’ meals are healthy is to pack lunches for them; however, brown bag lunch is a luxury not afforded to many children in America.
In addition to the obvious lack of nutrients and overabundance of junk food our children are being plied with on a daily basis, one must consider the message all this poor nutrition is sending to our impressionable youth. (What does a 10 to 15-minute lunch period tell them about the importance of proper eating habits?)
Dr. Rubin emphasizes that this movie-come-movement is not about taking cupcakes away from school parties, it's about ensuring that a core basis of nutrition is available to our children in schools. Rubin says “it’s not just about taking out the bad stuff. You’ve got to put good food in, along with food education. The food IQ of parents, children and the schools needs to be raised.”
Why can’t someone else change the system?
As Rubin and Kalafa have found through experience, the system is hard to change for a number of reasons. State and federal legislation is too slow and food industry lobbyists have too much clout. Food service companies make too much money serving poor quality, nutritionally deficient food. And school boards don't feel that the school lunch program is a priority, as they have so many other issues with which to deal.
What can you do?
So then, it comes down to the parents to foster the school lunch evolution. Contact your congressman and tell him to support the Farm Bill (click here to find out about the Farm bill). Contact your school board and let them know you want healthy, fresh food served at your children’s school. Let your demands be known and make your voice be heard.
Texas Agriculture Secretary Susan Combs said it’s going to take two million angry moms to change school food. Rubin and Kalafa were the first two to wage the fight—now it's up to you to join the battle.
Want to be one of the two million Angry Moms? Go to www.angrymoms.org.
Two Angry Moms will be in select theaters this summer and available everywhere via DVD.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Everything I needed to know about eating I learned from my son
Before my son was born, I imagined all of the wonderful foods to which I would introduce him. First, I imagined him
drinking from my breast and getting all of his initial nourishment from my body. Then I imagined his first spoonful of solid
food and his reaction to it. I even imagined teaching him about how to use a fork and spoon. However, not once in my
imaginings did I picture him teaching me about food and eating—but he has, and in doing so, has taught me about life and
how to live.
A little less than a year after my son was born, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to learn about nutrition, dietary theory, how to feed my son a healthy diet and how to teach him lifelong healthy eating habits. During my studies, I also learned about pesticides, genetically modified foods, dangerous food additives, labeling laws that side with the food manufacturers, the perils of processed foods, mercury and PCBs in farmed fished, factory farming and on and on. For the first time in my life, I was truly frightened by the current state of our food. I was also really confused as to what I should feed my son to protect him for all of the aforementioned dangers and how to give him the nutrients required for his growing body.
I begin to eat rigidly, avoiding all processed foods, all fish that wasn’t wild Alaskan, all beef that wasn’t grass-fed, all chicken that wasn’t free range and antibiotic free. I obsessed about food and how to protect my family from its many insidious dangers. I no longer enjoyed food because I was afraid of it. I no longer savored the smells from the kitchen because I would think about unlabeled additives that might be in it causing the food to smell that way or the coloring added to the meat to make it look the way it does. How could I teach my son to love all aspects of eating—food shopping, preparing, cooking and then sharing an amazing meal with family and friends—when I couldn’t do that myself?
Little by little, he taught me how to teach him. By paying attention to how he explores the world, I was able to recognize the things he needs from me to make good choices and feel safe about those choices. Here are some of the things I learned from my son:
Forget the scary, food should be fun
It's fun to smell food, to let it run down your chin, to throw it at the dog. It's fun to experiment with different tastes, textures, smells and combinations. It's fun to put a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. It's fun to throw caution to the wind with recipes and see what happens. How do you have fun with your food?
Exploring your food adds to your enjoyment of it
My son loves to put things in his mouth, especially food. He loves to experience what things taste like and how things feel on his tongue. He explores the shape of things, the texture of it, the soft or hardness of it. He looks at it and plays with it. My son reminds me that food can be a joy for all the senses.
He also loves to expand his abilities and create new things. He helps me in the kitchen by stirring the meal, adding in vegetables and spices and even by naming a new dish. And he is much more willing to eat something he has helped prepare.
Be consistent
Most of us know that our children thrive on routine and that applies to eating as well. I have found that that my son feels most safe and free to try new foods when I stick with the routine of cooking with him close by, allowing him to help with food preparation and then eating with him at the dining room table, rather than in front of the TV or in the car. When his routine is consistent, he is able to explore his boundaries, learn what behavior is permitted and what is not and feel comfortable asking questions and trying new things.
Be a good role model
At this stage of my son’s young life, my husband and I are his primary role models. It is important that we live up to that responsibility. Rather than disparage the state of food in this country, I need to talk about all of the amazing options we have for food in our area, including community farms, breeders of organic meat and food cooperatives. I need to show him how food is grown and let him grow his own food in our garden. I need to use positive words when I talk about food and all that it encompasses. I need to be able to put aside my food fears and show him that food can be nourishing and fun.
Lighten Up
If I continue to feel negative about food, my actions and thoughts may teach my son to be scared of food, to abuse it or to use it for more than the nutrients and calories it provides. I need to trust that the experiences my son has with food will teach him to enjoy it and to explore it without fear or baggage. I need to be his guide, to teach him what I know, and to allow him to choose the direction he takes. No matter what his age, it is important that I provide him with respect for his decisions and his intelligence rather than force my opinions on him (outside of sticking that fork in the outlet, that is).
Have Patience and Fortitude
My son’s attitude about food and his willingness to experiment with it is variable depending on his mood. I have learned that it is important frequently present those good-for-him foods that he refuses to eat, since he will actually eat them every now and again. Yes, I get frustrated when my son throws his food or spits it out or smacks it away, but that’s where patience comes into play. As parents, we need to be willing to keep trying and not assume the worst (he’s not going to eat it no matter what). I only give up after 10 exposures, which is the time is takes for the palate to change. If he still refuses it then, I can feel more confident that he really does not like it and that it is not just his willfulness.
No matter what, though, I do not reward my son’s food behavior with more food, like dessert. If a child learns that he can only get dessert after he eats his veggies, then he will know that dessert is a treat and veggies are not and that can be counterproductive to his eating healthy. Heck, why not make vegetables dessert?
Be Prepared
My son cannot choose to eat well unless I have healthy choices on hand when he gets hungry. Toddlers have smaller stomachs than adults and need to eat less at each sitting, but more frequently than adults. Because of that, I always carry healthy snacks with me wherever we go. My son loves raisins and dried cherries, trans fat free wheat crackers, chopped carrots and peppers, mixed fresh fruit (apples, oranges, applesauce cups), veggie chips and, of course, sippy cups filled with filtered water to keep him hydrated.
I also make sure that I have healthy food on hand at home that it is easily and quickly prepared once we arrive home from our day. I like to cook with my slow cooker, so a fresh meal is prepared every day and the time preparing the food is easily accomplished in the morning. I also like to cook a big batch of the staples I use all week in my cooking, such as quinoa and chicken, as well as cut and wash all the vegetables at once, so the preparation of the foods that do not go in the slow cooker is done ahead of time. That stops my son’s hunger tantrums and allows us time to have a nice meal as a family before his bedtime.
Most of all, my son has taught me to trust my instincts. Deep down, each one of us knows that we are good parents. Why would you be reading this article if you weren’t? We love our children and instintively we know what is good and bad for them. Just as they know the same about themselves, though we need to guide them to that knowing. We know what foods will nourish us and them and commit ourselves to learning everything we can in order to make this world a place that is satisfying, sane and healthy for our children.
drinking from my breast and getting all of his initial nourishment from my body. Then I imagined his first spoonful of solid
food and his reaction to it. I even imagined teaching him about how to use a fork and spoon. However, not once in my
imaginings did I picture him teaching me about food and eating—but he has, and in doing so, has taught me about life and
how to live.
A little less than a year after my son was born, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City to learn about nutrition, dietary theory, how to feed my son a healthy diet and how to teach him lifelong healthy eating habits. During my studies, I also learned about pesticides, genetically modified foods, dangerous food additives, labeling laws that side with the food manufacturers, the perils of processed foods, mercury and PCBs in farmed fished, factory farming and on and on. For the first time in my life, I was truly frightened by the current state of our food. I was also really confused as to what I should feed my son to protect him for all of the aforementioned dangers and how to give him the nutrients required for his growing body.
I begin to eat rigidly, avoiding all processed foods, all fish that wasn’t wild Alaskan, all beef that wasn’t grass-fed, all chicken that wasn’t free range and antibiotic free. I obsessed about food and how to protect my family from its many insidious dangers. I no longer enjoyed food because I was afraid of it. I no longer savored the smells from the kitchen because I would think about unlabeled additives that might be in it causing the food to smell that way or the coloring added to the meat to make it look the way it does. How could I teach my son to love all aspects of eating—food shopping, preparing, cooking and then sharing an amazing meal with family and friends—when I couldn’t do that myself?
Little by little, he taught me how to teach him. By paying attention to how he explores the world, I was able to recognize the things he needs from me to make good choices and feel safe about those choices. Here are some of the things I learned from my son:
Forget the scary, food should be fun
It's fun to smell food, to let it run down your chin, to throw it at the dog. It's fun to experiment with different tastes, textures, smells and combinations. It's fun to put a blanket on the floor and have a picnic. It's fun to throw caution to the wind with recipes and see what happens. How do you have fun with your food?
Exploring your food adds to your enjoyment of it
My son loves to put things in his mouth, especially food. He loves to experience what things taste like and how things feel on his tongue. He explores the shape of things, the texture of it, the soft or hardness of it. He looks at it and plays with it. My son reminds me that food can be a joy for all the senses.
He also loves to expand his abilities and create new things. He helps me in the kitchen by stirring the meal, adding in vegetables and spices and even by naming a new dish. And he is much more willing to eat something he has helped prepare.
Be consistent
Most of us know that our children thrive on routine and that applies to eating as well. I have found that that my son feels most safe and free to try new foods when I stick with the routine of cooking with him close by, allowing him to help with food preparation and then eating with him at the dining room table, rather than in front of the TV or in the car. When his routine is consistent, he is able to explore his boundaries, learn what behavior is permitted and what is not and feel comfortable asking questions and trying new things.
Be a good role model
At this stage of my son’s young life, my husband and I are his primary role models. It is important that we live up to that responsibility. Rather than disparage the state of food in this country, I need to talk about all of the amazing options we have for food in our area, including community farms, breeders of organic meat and food cooperatives. I need to show him how food is grown and let him grow his own food in our garden. I need to use positive words when I talk about food and all that it encompasses. I need to be able to put aside my food fears and show him that food can be nourishing and fun.
Lighten Up
If I continue to feel negative about food, my actions and thoughts may teach my son to be scared of food, to abuse it or to use it for more than the nutrients and calories it provides. I need to trust that the experiences my son has with food will teach him to enjoy it and to explore it without fear or baggage. I need to be his guide, to teach him what I know, and to allow him to choose the direction he takes. No matter what his age, it is important that I provide him with respect for his decisions and his intelligence rather than force my opinions on him (outside of sticking that fork in the outlet, that is).
Have Patience and Fortitude
My son’s attitude about food and his willingness to experiment with it is variable depending on his mood. I have learned that it is important frequently present those good-for-him foods that he refuses to eat, since he will actually eat them every now and again. Yes, I get frustrated when my son throws his food or spits it out or smacks it away, but that’s where patience comes into play. As parents, we need to be willing to keep trying and not assume the worst (he’s not going to eat it no matter what). I only give up after 10 exposures, which is the time is takes for the palate to change. If he still refuses it then, I can feel more confident that he really does not like it and that it is not just his willfulness.
No matter what, though, I do not reward my son’s food behavior with more food, like dessert. If a child learns that he can only get dessert after he eats his veggies, then he will know that dessert is a treat and veggies are not and that can be counterproductive to his eating healthy. Heck, why not make vegetables dessert?
Be Prepared
My son cannot choose to eat well unless I have healthy choices on hand when he gets hungry. Toddlers have smaller stomachs than adults and need to eat less at each sitting, but more frequently than adults. Because of that, I always carry healthy snacks with me wherever we go. My son loves raisins and dried cherries, trans fat free wheat crackers, chopped carrots and peppers, mixed fresh fruit (apples, oranges, applesauce cups), veggie chips and, of course, sippy cups filled with filtered water to keep him hydrated.
I also make sure that I have healthy food on hand at home that it is easily and quickly prepared once we arrive home from our day. I like to cook with my slow cooker, so a fresh meal is prepared every day and the time preparing the food is easily accomplished in the morning. I also like to cook a big batch of the staples I use all week in my cooking, such as quinoa and chicken, as well as cut and wash all the vegetables at once, so the preparation of the foods that do not go in the slow cooker is done ahead of time. That stops my son’s hunger tantrums and allows us time to have a nice meal as a family before his bedtime.
Most of all, my son has taught me to trust my instincts. Deep down, each one of us knows that we are good parents. Why would you be reading this article if you weren’t? We love our children and instintively we know what is good and bad for them. Just as they know the same about themselves, though we need to guide them to that knowing. We know what foods will nourish us and them and commit ourselves to learning everything we can in order to make this world a place that is satisfying, sane and healthy for our children.
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