Category Archives: Food

Polyculture vs. Monoculture: How Is Your Food Grown?

I used to think I was in the clear by sticking with whole fruits and vegetables instead of processed food, and felt I was providing my family with the best nutrition as a result. But, as it turns out, how produce is grown is something we should be weary of as well.

The great debate over GMO vs Non-GMO has its place here, but what I’m referring to is monoculture vs polyculture agriculture (that’s a lot of cultures!). This is something I never considered in the past,  and only felt it necessary to buy organic for the common “dirty dozen” produce. But, after reading a post by Darya on the Summer Tomato blog on why she doesn’t eat bananas, I had to know more.

In her article, Darya leaves bananas off of her plate because they are something not standard here in the U.S. and she strives to source food locally by frequenting farmer’s markets. She goes into detail on how bananas arrive in our stores, and here’s a quote from the blog:

“Virtually all of the bananas sold in the US are grown in Latin Amercia by a handful of countries including Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica. In these places bananas are grown year round, are harvested while unripe, then shipped in special refrigerated compartments until they reach their destination weeks later. The fruit is then exposed to ethylene gas which causes it to ripen and turn their characteristic yellow (not their natural color when tree-ripened).”

Source: Sciencedaily.com

As I found, after doing some digging on Google (Diggling?…. Gogging?), most of the produce we see in stores is grown in monocultures (growing one single species of crop in a wide area) which leaves the entire crop susceptible to disease. This could seriously affect a crop’s yield for a particular year since the disease can kill the entire crop in the area. Think of the Great Irish Potato Famine where the entire potato crop was wiped out and many people died because of their vast dependence on this one crop.

Source: Heirloomtomatoplants.com

For polycultures, multiple crops are grown within the same area to mimic the natural ecosystem. A good example of polycultures are the heirloom produce items like tomatoes. The funky colors and shapes are a result of different tomato species. The advantages for polycultural over monocultural farming via Wikipedia are:

  • The diversity of crops avoids the susceptibility of monocultures to disease. For example, a study in China reported in Nature showed that planting several varieties of rice in the same field increased yields by 89%, largely because of a dramatic (94%) decrease in the incidence of disease, which made pesticides redundant.
  • The greater variety of crops provides habitat for more species, increasing local biodiversity. This is one example of reconciliation ecology, or accommodating biodiversity within human landscapes. It is also a function of a biological pest control program..

 

Both polyculture and monoculture can provide huge crop yields. Polyculture provides resistance to disease which aids in the decrease of pesticide use, production of diverse foods, stronger crops. Also, the variety of crops increases local biodiversity which improves pollination and more nutrients in the soil. Monoculture practices are very efficient and can bring higher crop yields as there is no competition from other rival species.


To me, polyculture farming is the best way to produce crops as it more closely resembles how plants grow in the natural world without farming.

Will this influx of new information make me swear off the aforementioned bananas and all other monocultural produce? Probably not, but now I’ll be more mindful of the items at the store and look for ways to buy more heirloom or polyculture fruits and veggies. I enjoy bananas (see my blog from the past for proof) and other produce too much to cut them out completely, but my consumption has dropped and even if not on the the EWA’s Dirty Dozen list, I choose organic for more reasons than just pesticide exposure.

No matter what this or that study shows on the safety of some of these foods grown under less-than-ideal conditions, I choose to make what I feel is a healthier choice for our small family, and Going Mom and Avery seem happy with my choices; here they are glowing radiantly helped, somewhat, by a non-gmo diet I’m sure!

DSC_0604

How will this information affect your next grocery trip?

Do you choose food based on what’s labeled as safe or “dirty”?

“How Canned Baby Food Became King” How do you Feed your Baby?

A neighbor friend of ours shared an online article looking into how the baby food industry came to be. Here’s the link – How Canned Baby Food Became King.

It touches on the fact that there used to not be a Baby Food category, just soft foods that were deemed “okay” for babies as well as the sick and elderly. And introducing solids didn’t occur until 9-12 months of age at which they would be given mainly beef and wheat which were seen as strength-producing foods.

The article goes into detail with an industry expert explaining the origins of the baby food business and how it will remain a strong market as so many parents are willing to sacrifice control over what our kids are fed for extra time/convenience.

As the article states, and I agree, there are many healthy baby food options for parents to feed their babies, but some parents take pride in making their kids’ own food. Going Mom and I are perfectly happy and prideful for making Avery’s food. My awesome wife literally makes the main source of food by breastfeeding, and as the time rolls on, I’ve been able to get more creative in the kitchen.

Well, it's not mommy's milk, and it definitely didn't come from her boob, but it's good!
Well, it’s not mommy’s milk, and it definitely didn’t come from her boob, but it’s good!

Please, give it a read and let me know your thoughts.

Friday Foodie Fun Facts: Fennel and Fenugreek

Happy Halloween, we’re celebrating Avery’s first by trick-or-treating and saying we don’t want anything but to say hi! Although today is Halloween and I should be posting something about how to avoid over-consumption of candy by your little ones as well as yourself, I wanted to share a post from my previous blog.
Ready to roll as a pumpkin! Original, I know....
Ready to roll as a pumpkin! Original, I know….
Before I was a dad, I had another blog centered on healthy food called “Just Add Cayenne”. Obviously, you can tell I’m a fan of spicy food, but despite the name, I shared a lot of healthy dessert recipes/ideas too. You can check it out by clicking on the “Just Add Cayenne” page tab above and look around for a while.
I’m always interested in the health benefits of food and prefer to use it in place of traditional medicine whenever possible. For instance, I haven’t taken something like ibuprofen or aspirin for aches and pains in years; I use cayenne (hence the blog’s name) or ginger for their anti-inflammatory properties instead. I feel much better in doing so, and know I’m not sabotaging my gut lining or other insides as a result.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, Going Mom knows the importance of breastfeeding, and I’m extremely happy and proud that she’s giving Avery the best nutrition available. I mean, Nature’s pretty damn good at knowing what we need, and no formula or rice cereal will ever replace it! Unless you’re unable to for some reason, I see no good reason why you wouldn’t breastfeed your children.
Lately, Kelley has been concerned about her production and we’ve been looking for natural alternatives to give it a boost. She’s been drinking Traditional Medicinals Mother’s Milk herbal tea for a while now, but doesn’t always have time to brew a cup of tea with her busy work schedule on top of needing to pump. So, now I’m trying to boost things by adding fenugreek to her meals and soon we’ll have a fenugreek supplement to use too.
For the record, I think she’s doing fine and Avery doesn’t seem to complain (besides when she’s just a fussy baby), but either way, as you will see, there are plenty of other benefits to using fenugreek as well.  Below is my original post from my old blog which also includes fennel since it’s another healthy addition to you meals. Plus, it made for a lot of “F’s” in my post title!
I have two awesome foods for you to add to your meals to create functional flavors that boost nutrition.  One powder from the licorice flavored vegetable, fennel, and the other from an herb, fenugreek.  Both of these have very distinguishable flavors that stand out in dishes. For that reason, you have to be careful because too much could ruin a dish.

 

These are both new functional flavors I’ve started to add to my diet and hope to feel a difference after using for a while.  Fennel and fenugreek are known for alleviating annoying digestive issues (what? we all have them!) along with several other ailments.

Here’s a sample of fennel’s multiple health benefits, as listed on Organicfacts.net:

The health benefits of fennel include relief from anemia, indigestion, flatulenceconstipation, colic, diarrhea, respiratory disorders, menstrual disorders, eye care, etc. Fennel, bearing the scientific name Foeniculum Vulgare Miller, or its essence, is widely used around the world in mouth fresheners, toothpastes, desserts, antacids and in culinary.
 
Fennel is a diuretic, i.e. increases amount and frequency of urination, thereby helping removal of toxic substances from the body and helping in rheumatism, swelling etc. It also increases production and secretion of milk in lactating mothers and since this milk contains some properties of fennel, it is anti flatulent for the baby too. It strengthens hair, prevents hair fall, relaxes body, sharpens memory and has a marvelous cooling effect in summer if the pale greenish-yellow water, in which it is soaked, is taken with a bit of sugar and black-salt.

And no, I am not using it for production of milk in my breasts. I’m neither lactating nor a woman; the indigestion and stomach relief is what I’m after. (Edit: And to boost Kelley’s milk supply too!) Read the full benefits of fennel here.

Fenugreek’s health benefits, also listed on Organicfacts.net, are:

 

The health benefits of fenugreek include relief from anemia, pregnancy pains, increasing lactation, digestion, loss of taste, fever, hair care, dandruff, stomach disorders, biliousness, respiratory disorders, mouth ulcers, sore throat, diabetes, inflammations, wounds and insomnia..
Most of these benefits of fenugreek are due to the presence of saponins and fiber in it. Fenugreek is also used for herbal healing. Its seeds contain a gumming substance called mucilage. Mixed with water, mucilage expands and becomes a gelatinous soother for irritated tissues.
Fenugreek is used to treat wounds, inflammation and gastrointestinal ailments. Fenugreek helps in antioxidation. So, it prevents and repairs damages caused by free radicals. According to ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, fenugreek can be used for inducing labour and aiding digestion. It is also good to improve metabolism and health. Irritated skin condition can be soothed by the external application of fenugreek. Fenugreek is also used for fevers and muscle aches.

Fenugreek is considered to be a safe herbal food. It is also used as a spice and tastes oddly of bitter celery and maple syrup.

Read more of fennel’s health benefits here.

Hopefully I will share a successful outcome with Going Mom’s production, but as you see, there are many other benefits to these foods and I recommend adding them whenever possible.

Have you ever used fennel or fenugreek?

Any moms out there that have tried boosting lactation naturally?

Do you have any new herbs or spices in your diet?