I am tired of polemics.
And I am confused. Well, maybe not confused – distressed is more like it. How can so many people be so sure they are right (and everyone else is wrong) about food? How can so many people be considered right about food when our food system is sick and so many of our bodies are sicker?
We don’t know what is right. I don’t know what is right. And lately I have been thinking about arguments for vegetarianism and veganism and where dialectics end and progress begins.
Is it right for a vegan argue it is wrong, cruel, etc, etc to have domesticated cows (OK, they’re all domesticated) when cow (and other) milk is such an incredibly potent foodstuff? And has been for centuries?
Is meat bad in all forms if you consider that prehistoric man ate it? Possibly raw? Meat is not all bad for you and it IS progress that we’re not all out there hunting it on a regular basis. There go ANY gun laws, for starters. Would you rather have time to read a book (OK, OK, watch TV) or spend that time trapping your own dinner?
And my favorite example is this: an organic farmer keeps chickens that help eat the bugs on his farm and thereby minimizes other treatments he might need. The byproduct is, of course eggs. Do we not eat them? They are the result of a beneficial process, and one of the most complete and useful foods on the planet.
Progress means someone who is much better at it than I am can grow, produce, and otherwise supply my food. And dammit – bananas and pineapple make my smoothie a much, much better tasting drink and there’s no way anyone’s growing them around here. Or even in this country.
Progress and bending the locavore sensibility has given us chocolate and coffee and tea and guava and figs and hazelnuts and pignoli or pinon and rice, for goodness sake, and tofu and it lets someone other than me struggle with making pasta (which has eggs in it) and on those rare occasions when I do eat meat, it allows someone else to take care of the dirty work. And it gives me the right to have the wonderful indulgences of a peach tart (aha – sugar and butter, a milk product) and a moist hunk of sour cream coffee cake (eggs, sugar, milk products) and good old French toast. Did I mention Parmigiano- Reggiano? And papayas?
Our system – or lack thereof – of how we make all this work certainly has room for improvement. But you know, generally humankind has benefited from progress in food. Burger King is not what I had in mind, but in a lot of ways, a box of Swanson organic, free range chicken broth is.
A little simplistic? Yes, but I think the ideologues among us would do well to offer a little leeway and grace to those who think about this stuff, but think differently. Or like me, don’t know what the heck to think.
I have no answers – and if polemics (and this crummy cold weather) has you down too – try stew. This version is without meat, but it’s just as good with chicken or lamb.
Stew Braised with North African Spices
Olive oil
I very large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3-4 large cloves garlic, minced
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
1½ teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups chicken broth (you can use veggie broth – but it’s not my favorite)
1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
6 yellow flesh boiling potatoes, cleaned and cut in 1 inch pieces
5-10 medium carrots, peeled and cut in ½-inch rounds
4 medium turnips, peeled and cut in ½-inch pieces
½ cup orange juice
1 orange cut in eighths
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large can chickpeas, drained
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On stovetop, heat a large oven-proof Dutch oven over high heat. When it’s hot (a few drops of water will sizzle instantly), pour in enough oil to form a thin film. When oil shimmers – it will happen quickly – add onion, celery and garlic. Turn heat to medium and cook until just softened. Add spices a sauté briefly until aromas are released. Add tomato paste and stir in until evenly distributed. Add broth, stir up all bit from bottom of pan. Add remaining vegetable, orange juice and orange pieces. Mix vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and place in oven. Braise 1-1½ hours, until vegetables are just soft. Stir in chick peas and cook another 10 minutes. If too soupy, remove lid and let some liquid evaporate. Adjust seasoning. Lots of servings.
*If you want this to be a soup, add more broth. If you want meat stew, brown meat/chicken in oil first. Remove meat and continue with vegetables. Add browned meat to pot before braising.
As a vegetarian with vegan awareness, I think it’s a bit overboard to not have leeway in a vegan lifestyle. If I had a farm house, with a garden and some animals, I would want a chicken to eat my bugs too (eliminates pesticides) and if it layed eggs, of course I’d eat them. Why? Because it’s my chicken. I know how i treat it, i know it lives freely, and I know that it’s eggs would simply go to waste if i didn’t eat them. My reason for eating eggs less is because i dont know how these chickens are being kept. Buying cage-free eggs or organic eggs does not ensure me of these chickens’ lives. I know that producers are looking to sell their products for the best profit possible, and if they are in a chain store- even Trader Joe’s, they are being mass-produced, and most likely, are not the happiest chickens. On the other hand, if i had a farm with a couple chickens, what’s the harm in eating my chickens’ eggs? Same with a cow, i suppose. I have no qualms with soy,rice, or almond milk, but if i had my own cow, well, she needs to be milked in order to feel healthy, so why waste the natural product. Plus, milk does offer essential vitamins and proteins that the body really needs.
I think I am one of the rare-breed vegetarians that also supports hunting- in certain cases. If i lived in the woods of Maine, say, or some other area where I lived in a cabin and lived off the land, I think hunting and gathering are the main means of survival. In order to live off the land, I dont think it is safe or realistic to live solely off plants and berries. The body needs protein, B vitamins and iron to survive, and if there is no dairy, tofu, or jars of vitamins that you can buy at the local store, well, eating meat is the way to go. In this case, why not eat meat? It’s animal instinct, and it is true that in our primal stages, we, as humans, hunted all the time, just as animals hunt their food. That being said, in normal circumstances where there are local markets with many choices of foods, there is no reason to eat meat. It is easy to gain protein from tofu,tempeh, beans, and if you eat dairy- all of those products. In Connecticut, no one needs to eat meat to survive.
There has been a ton of progress with food production over the years, and I’m as thankful for it as anyone. Fresh fruit and vegetables are essential in my shopping list, and I have no idea how to make tofu from scratch, but i did see a ‘tofu-maker’ the other day, and am curious about it. In guessing, i think its all about pressing and squishing soybeans into pulp.
As for recipes with dairy or animal bi-products, there has also been a ton of progress in the vegan world. Substitutes such as vegan cheese, tofu cream cheese and sour cream, as well as egg substitutions ( flaxseed and water, or bananas) come in handy in every day recipes. Raw sugar, unbleached flour, and even seaweed gelatin for our gelatin that comes from animals can be substituted. Soy milk, rice milk, and almond milk also come in handy, and vegan margarine (with oils) is just as good as traditional butter. There is a lot of work that goes into learning about these substitutions and how to make the most of them, that i wont disagree with. But gaining information on these products is half the fun!
Vegan cheese does still need some work, i have to admit ( and that’s one reason I have not completely become vegan) However, living as vegan-conscious as possible, and educating others on how to make less impact on these animals and the earth is worth every step.
There is always room for improvement, and I think education is the core element. This stew sounds wonderful, and I’m going to make it this weekend
Im sure its just as delicious with vegetable broth!
love, Dee
Don’t stress yourself over the Parmigiano-Reggiano, at least! Italian cows have it pretty well . . .
It’s never gonna be local, unless I move to Italy. And it’s not vegan (or vegetarian, for that matter) — and I can’t imagine life without it.
Thanks – this is a refreshing read. There is so much to consider about the impacts of all of our food choices and none of it is easy. Unless it is under the fairly extreme conditions you mentioned (at least, for most of us), it is close to impossible to know the true story about every food product. To read the words “… don’t know what the heck to think” is awfully liberating as I continue to strive to make choices I feel comfortable with.
Well said, Jan! Seems food has become as touchy-a-topic as politics and religion. Hard to digest some days, the topic that is. But, that said, I suppose it’s also a good thing it’s on our radar. . . in a big way. We’re more aware, we’re all learning and experimenting. But, I do wish everyone would be a little nicer, not so defensive in protecting their personal food choices. My two cents . . . sort through your discoveries and all the rhetoric, but be calm, be open, keep learning. Especially, be nice and don’t forget to savor and enjoy the meal. You never know . . . depending on the days dogma . . . vegan today, carnivore tomorrow.