People's Grocery in Oakland

Soybeans, the not so magical fruit.

Hearing the word soybean always brings the image of a large, pale-white cube of jiggle that is packed full of nutrients that does a body good. My first encounter of soybeans left me with this impression when I was a little toddler. I had no idea at the time that I had encountered soybeans long before meeting it in its curdled, cubed form. I have always viewed soybeans as a miracle crop that provides many essential nutrients that our body needs. I would drink soy milk or eat tofu thinking “That’s right body; I’m taking good care of you”. The only negative side effect (for me) that I would constantly hear from others is that I would grow breasts in which I would respond with a roll of the eyes. After reading chapter 7 and Patel’s two cents on soybeans, growing a cup size was the least of my worries. This “magical” fruit really is quite magical if used in the right way. In fact, the American heart association recommends eating at least 30-50 grams of soy protein a day (167). This bean is way more than just magical. It is borderline witchcraft. Being able to make chocolate easier to manufacture, store, ship, and keep it on shelves is a consequence I would never think would happen if soybeans were added to the mix. “The darker story, involving environmental destruction, murder and slavery is this: through the modern food system, through its monoculture and industrial production methods, one of the finest plants on the Earth has come to be a tyranny to those who grow it, and a mystery to those who eat it” (166), this is a quote that I never thought, though true, would be associated with soybeans. The path of the soybean industry weighed heavily on Brazil and its farmers, especially during times of World War I. Patel has shown me thus far that many everyday foods have history filled with blood, sweat, and tears with soybeans being no exception. Only after El Niño did soybeans play a positive role only because other substitute resources were scarce which made soybeans good business. “It was a perfect disaster” (181). Being a bio major, it interests me to see how the development of technology can be utilized to create new advancements for society. I myself have worked with soybean oil to produce biofuels through my years at Dominican University. Reading about how soybeans are grown, processed, and used really broadens my horizons on how the resources I use end up in my hands. Were the soybeans I used really worth the damaged it has caused for others? Will the research I’m doing benefit more then the suffering the soybean industry has caused? Patel has given me a lot to think about. He also gave soy milk a funny taste from now on.

Tofu: Totally Awesome :)

"Soybean plants are rather dull looking. They don't dangle little pulpy pods of tofu - just beans in a pod on a shrub. Yet despite outward appearances, they are wondrous plants," states Raj Patel on page 167 of Stuffed & Starved. 

I do not only enjoy this quote but can relate to it a great deal. I have been raised a vegetarian/animal lover since birth. For twenty years, I have ravished the underrated bliss which is tofu. Many people insult tofu instantly at the mention of its name. The name is in fact, despite its popular Japanese usage of the product, comes from both European and Japanese origins (167).  

Tofu ,like mankind, can be easily stereotyped or misjudged by appearance alone. A lot of people tend to correlate tofu as "hippie food" for it is natural and a raw substance and is entirely vegan. Other people commonly call tofu tasteless. Although tofu does indeed have no taste on its own, it does not mean ,however, tofu never has a taste to it. In fact, it is not uncommon to mix with other food such as pasta, soups, rice, vegetable, etc. In my own experience, I enjoy mixing tofu with practically anything imaginable. I like to add tofu because of the following reasons: 1) it's healthy 2) it adds more to the meal 3) it's delicious. While adding things like salt or pepper to the meal may taste better to some, for me, it will always be tofu instead. Due to its natural tastelessness, it absorbs any flavor that I am eating with thus, it makes the meal for more filling and plentiful. In addition, I cannot get over the fact at how healthy tofu really is. There are so many things in the world that sure makes a meal great but the healthy factor is very bare in most cases. With tofu, you never have to feel guilty with pleasure. Tofu is amazing and definitely more than meets the eye, so please look closer next time at this underrated joy.

A Quick Fix

Adam Peterson

A Quick Fix

Why is it that when faced with a problem, much of the time, we have been conditioned to create a quick fix? When we are sore or aching we take an advil feeling as though it will quickly rid our symptoms. Many don’t bother to figure out what exactly is causing our aches and pains.
“Manmohan Singh has turned his attention to the rise in malnutrition in quite a different way. His solution isn’t to follow the trail blazed by the Keralans or to increase spending on rural development. As a short-term fix, he has proposed a relief system that will, in the words of journalist and analyst Devinder Sharma, benefit banks more than farmers.” (130)
This all comes down to the always-looming bait of what is easy and what will in the end bring in an extra dollar. Singh’s plan will bring in a second Green Revolution bringing support of American money and backing, most likely still offering as little freedom as the first Green Revolution. There are many more options for Singh to follow such as those brought forth by the Keralans who, although still not the wealthiest, are thriving independently. I feel as though the key word is independently, they have made steps for their people, on their own terms. Which in turn has brought wealth beyond monetary means. I feel as though of course we want to see results, and results we want to see quickly; hence the microwave, advil and quick fixes. However, we need to learn to be patient, things take time to build. The problems within our food system and hunger won’t be solved easily; they will take dismantling. Our problems will be solved over a great period of time, however there are solutions and models in which to look at such as “the trail blazed by the Keralans.”

The Extra Ingredient

All my life I grew up having soy in my everyday diet because of my parents. According to my parents, soybeans are a very important nutrient to our everyday diets. Due to their past living conditions, they grew up relying on soybeans as their only source of nutrient and a way of sustaining a reasonable diet. I didn’t believe soy was as valuable as my parents sought it out to be until I read chapter seven.

The chapter begins with the story of chocolate and the process of how it goes from a bean to the wrapper. What caught my attention was that the process included lecithin, which comes from soybeans (166). The chapter goes on to explain that it is not just chocolate that includes soybeans but many other foods that I have come to enjoy throughout the years. As a matter of fact, soybeans were more than an additive, but rather a base ingredient in a couple foods and economies (166, 168-169). I personally don’t enjoy reading this book but the themes that were highlighted in this chapter were complete eye-openers to the world of soybeans. The idea that wars and revolutions can be started from the benefits of a small bean is an example of its importance. I mean, c’mon! Even Ford himself dedicated the equivalent of a couple million dollars to make a coat made from the stuff. I will never look at soybeans the same way again.

The Road to a Green Revolution

The book does not seem to relate to my academic disciple or to an extent to my own life. Stuffed and Starved is packed with too much information and I think the author is trying to tackle too many issue all at once, which makes it an overwhelming read. There are certain sections that I enjoy reading about, because it is something I have encountered or felt, but for the most part I it is just too bias for me. I think I would like this book more if it the ideas were not pushed on you, but allows you to reflect on the issue to formulate your own opinions.

In chapter 6, the Patel describes the Green Revolution, which targets the hunger issue within our global food system, “The Green Revolution was the solution that fit the constraints, offering a package of seeds, fertilizer and spatial organization that would allow the poor to eat, without suffering the rich to be parted from their land” (124). One of the major countries that were mention was India. The United States and India had a long history in agriculture. As India was struggling with their food system, the United States stepped in and helped. This, however, had a negative effect on the farmers, “The imports of cheap wheat put Indian farmers under tremendous strain. They couldn’t compete with the subsides granted in the US to its large producers […]. So Indian farmers read the market signals correctly and didn’t increase their output” (122). With less production of food made available to the consumers, more and more of them turned to the United States for food aid imports.

Although, the Green Revolution provided people with an abundant amount of food, it came with a price. The crops that are now growing at tremendous rates were treated with pesticides to ensure that the crops are healthy. As more technology-modified processes are put into the yield of these crops, the negative the impact becomes, because the consumers will be the ones consuming most of these ‘unhealthy’ foods. Out of the producers, consumers, and technology developers, “It is pesticide companies who will benefit most directly from India’s second Green Revolution, as they benefited from the first” (135). Overall, the point of this revolution is to provide food for these countries, despite of the methods used.

-Stephanie Huynh

Where was your shirt made?

Before this class the relevancy of food production, nutrition and the global scare everyone seems to be afraid of meant nothing to me. I enjoy spending little to no money on food and snacks figuring I am a college student and all. I wouldn’t put a second thought into where my clothing was made or by who. Why? I’m here, I have the things that I have and need, so why think about those downer type issues?
That was my mentality before, that is. I was lucky enough to work on a farm this summer, a struggling one at that, which showed the perspective of how hard it truly is to grow anything in a sustainable way. The farmer, because it was still small scale, was able to do it his way. He didn’t have to sell his land or go into GM crops. “Farmers in Makhathini aren’t being given the choices they really want. Just the ones that are most profitable to those who control the food system.” (p. 158) The reason this book is applicable is because of its reality. Forcing farmers into a dead end happens everyday and unfortunately it is only the consumer who can make this stop. Consumers can buy the same product from a company, which is sustainable.
“The net effect of this, of course, is to offer farmers the following choice: choose GM seed, or don’t grow cotton at all. “ (p.158) Genetically Modified produce is becoming way too common. It is the only thing farmers are able to do to continue to make money. How would we feel if we were told we could only do an unhealthy, unproductive thing or just quit? Especially when we wouldn’t know any other way of life. We need to learn different ways of production or Raj Patel will be right and we will not be able to live.
This also touches on the lifestyle choice poor lower class people have no other options to do. “Again, the reason they are hungry is that many in Lesotho simply cannot afford to buy the food that is available.” (p. 150) The food is expensive because of all of the things the food has to go through, starting with the production. Good food is expensive. People who make no money are unable to accommodate the expense. Local food is better, cheaper, and sustainable for everyone involved.
It is sad that we are to the point of needing a radical change or failing completely. This book is greatly important because it makes the information we desperately need to hear, be raw and in our face.

Soy? Why Would I Care?

I love soy! (Emphasis on the I and love and soy) I put soy sauce on my sushi, soy milk in my cereal, and soy beans, or edamame, are just simply delicious. Soy has many forms but Raj Patel comes to attention that soy beans may not be so great after all. When I think about eating “healthy,” soy would definitely be something that I would keep in mind. Unfortunately, I stand corrected as Patel says that soy is used as an additive in foods in order to make certain foods easy to manufacture, store, ship, and keep them on the shelves (165). In other words, they are used in certain foods as a type of preservative. Similar to high fructose corn syrup, soy became a cheap replacement as an additive in foods that are not meant to be there.
But soy is not completely horrible. The American Heart Association recommends eating 35-50 grams of soy protein every day (167). Similar to daily servings of fruits and vegetables, soy can help people lead healthy lifestyles. Along with help to the consumer, soy helps farmers since they can sell soy at reasonable prices. Since the rise of Mad Cow Disease, dairy farmers needed more non-meats to feed to the cows and they found soy to be the perfect plant to feed them (185). With good business, the suicide rates in farmers can decrease, lands will be kept, and their families would be fed.
However, I had to ask, why do I care? Why would anyone care about this? Other than my love for soy, I get interested in certain topics in this book because it’s everywhere. Everyone eats food but not everyone knows where the food comes from. My food cabinet had chocolate with soy lecithin and oreos with high fructose corn syrup. These food additives are everywhere and it’s something that we have to understand and take seriously. I feel like although this book can be a challenging read, the material is very important because we can’t avoid food. If we understand what we’re putting in our mouths then we can understand how to live healthy.