The Ultimate Comfort Food

Honestly, I don't know what comes close to a slow roasted pot of pork hocks and feet for its sheer yumminess.  By slow roasting, you end up with incredibly tender, moist meat.  The gelatin released from this yummy dish, is incredibly beneficial for bones and joint health.  My farmer friends assured me that this dish was to die-for.  I'll admit that when I first cooked pig's feet, I was a little apprehensive.  Um, they're feet.  But, one bite and any apprehension was gone.  And, yes indeed, my kid's love this dish, too.

It couldn't be easier to make either. Just slow roast hocks and/or feet with some butter or some bacon fat that you have on reserve, some salt, and a couple of glugs of wine or homemade red wine vinegar.  Let it roast in a 250 degree oven for approximately 10 hours. We like to eat ours with cauliflower rice because it does a great job of soaking up all of the wonderful drippings.

It shouldn't be too difficult to find pork hocks and feet. While I wouldn't use commercial sources, local farmers may have some for sale. We always make sure we ask the butcher to include all these juicy bits when we are giving our cutting instructions.

Oops, we made a mistake

Scientific American explores the folly of blaming fat for heart disease.  Yet more evidence that it's the donuts after all.

Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does....  

Continue reading "Carbs against Cardio: More Evidence that Refined Carbohydrates, not Fats, Threaten the Heart".

Bill C-474 Passes and David Sweet is a Dud

The good news:  Bill C-474 passed which means that it now goes to the Agriculture Committee for review. But, hold on, the biotech companies are not ready to lay down and die. There's a lot of money on the line and they want it. As the biotech industry gets louder, so to must we. CBAN offers ways that you can take action now.

The bad news:  Well, it depends. Maybe you have a better MP than we do.  Mr. David Sweet, Dud Extraordinaire, voted against Bill C-474.  What Who did your MP vote for?  Mosey on over to the House of Commons site and check out the vote for yourself.

p.s. Dear Mama, I'm sorry to confirm your suspicions about your MP, Mr. Russ Hiebert. You were right all along, he is as big a disappointment as ole' Dave Sweet.

HISTORIC NDP GMO BILL PASSES CRUCIAL VOTE

Source: Boundary Sentinel 

MP Alex Atamanenko, B.C. Southern Interior

A private members bill to protect farmers by calling for an analysis of potential harm to export markets prior to approving new genetically engineered seeds has passed second reading in the House of Commons. Bill C-474, proposed by New Democrat Agriculture Critic Alex Atamanenko (BC-Southern Interior), will move to committee for further study.

“Despite intense lobbying efforts by the biotech industry and the Conservative government to nip this bill in the bud, the opposition parties voted instead to protect the economic interests of farmers,” said Atamanenko. “I couldn’t be happier that Parliament has made this historic decision.”

This is the first time a bill to change the rules on GMOs has passed second reading in the House.

Atamanenko believes that the government‘s science-only approach to how GMO’s are regulated is irresponsible because it completely ignores market considerations.

“It was the government’s lax regulatory process that allowed GE Triffid flax to shut out Canadian flax exports from its key markets and hurt farmers,” explained Atamanenko. “For the first time, Parliament has a chance to seriously consider a regulatory mechanism that will ensure farmers are never again faced with rejection in our export markets because we allow the introduction of GE technologies that they have not approved.”

Take Action - Your MP Votes This April 14

Bill C-474 would "require that an analysis of potential harm to export markets be conducted before the sale of any new genetically engineered seed is permitted." There's no time to spare, the Conservatives are opposing the bill.  Without the Liberals support, the release of GMO strains of food will be relentless. Let Michael Ignatieff, the ruler of the Liberal party, know that you want them to vote for the Bill.

The Canadian Biotechnology Action Network has more ways that you can take action. Call your MP and find out how they are voting on this important Bill and hold them accountable!

Aw, look!  It's Mr. David Sweet, our local MP.  Mr. Sweet voted against the mandatory labeling of GMO foods. Let's hope he's educated himself a bit more since then. 

It's GMO Tuesday! Fun!

• Foreign Aid Bill Mandates Genetic Engineering
• Zambia's Conservation Farming Success
• Herbicide Resistance in Western Canada
• GE Seeds Creating Barriers to Exports for Canadian Farmers (but don't worry, if you're in Canada or the U.S., you can have all the GE foodstuffs you want!)
• Check out Greenpeace's GMO guide to see if your favourite grocery store items are harboring GMOs. It's heartbreaking to see that infant formula, in addition to being such a poor substitute for breast milk, is also contaminated with GMOs. 

If you are consuming meat or dairy products and the farmer is using non-organic sources for his/her feed, you are consuming GMOs. Locally sourcing your food is great, but it has to go beyond that. Ask your farmer about her farming practices. What are the animals eating? Where and how does he grow his feed? What about the farmers around him? At present, GMO canola, corn, and soy are being used in animal feed with the possibility of alfalfa looming on the horizon.