Food Recipes

Why should you use olive oil? Well there are several reasons. Substituting olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, for saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats can:
• Reduce blood pressure
• Inhibit the growth of some cancers
• Benefit people at risk for or with diabetes
• Lessen the severity of asthma and arthritis
• Actually help your body maintain a lower weight

HEALTHY HEART BENEFITS
Atherosclerosis, also called hardening of the arteries, occurs when particles of LDL cholesterol stick to the walls of the arteries. Eventually these particles build up and form plaque. This plaque narrows the blood vessels and increases the work load of the heart in an effort to get oxygenated blood to the entire body. The result can be a heart attack or stroke.
Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fat and antioxidants like chlorophyll, carotenoids and vitamin E. Scientists have identified a compound in olive oil called oleuropein which prevents the LDL cholesterol from oxidizing. It is the oxidized cholesterol that sticks to the walls of the arteries and forms plaque. Replacing other fats in your diet with olive oil can significantly lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart attack. 

CANCER INHIBITOR
A study published in the January 2005 issue of Annals of Oncology has identified oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil, as having the ability to reduce the affect of an oncogene (a gene that will turn a host cell into a cancer cell). This particular oncogene is associated with the rapid growth of breast cancer tumors. The conclusion of the researchers was that oleic acid when combined with drug therapy encouraged the self-destruction of aggressive, treatment-resistant cancer cells thus destroying the cancer. Olive oil has been positively indicated in studies on prostate and endometrial cancers as well.
Unlike other fats, which are associated with a higher risk of colon cancer, olive oil helps protect the cells of the colon from carcinogens. A study published in the November 2003 issue of Food Chemistry Toxicology suggests that the antioxidants in olive oil reduce the amount of carcinogens formed when meat is cooked. 

BLOOD SUGAR CONTROLLER
Diabetics or those at risk for diabetes are advised to combine a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet with olive oil. Studies show this combination is superior at controlling blood sugar levels compared to a diet that consists entirely of low-fat meals. Adding olive oil is also linked to lower triglyceride levels. Many diabetics live with high triglyceride levels which put them at risk for heart disease. 

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES
The body uses the healthy fats in olive oil to produce natural anti-inflammatory agents. These anti-inflammatory agents can help reduce the severity of both arthritis and asthma. Uninflammed cell membranes are more fluid and better able to move healthy nutrients into the cells and move waste products out. A lower incidence of osteoporosis and dementia is found in areas where people consume large quantities of olive oil. 

A FAT THAT HELPS YOU LOSE FAT
Sounds impossible, right? A study conducted on eight over-weight men published in the September 2003 issue of the British Journal of Nutrition yielded results that indicate a significant loss of body weight and fat mass can be achieved without increasing physical activity and making only one change in eating habits: the substitution of olive oil for saturated fats. The eight men were divided into two groups and for four weeks ate similar foods with the exception that the first group ate more saturated than unsaturated fats. The second group consumed the same number of calories as the first group, but the fats were mostly monounsaturated fat (olive oil). At the end of four weeks, the men from the second group were lighter and had a lower body-fat index than the men who ate the saturated fats.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON BUYING AND STORING OLIVE OIL
Exposure to light and heat can turn olive oil rancid. This destroys the healthy, antioxidant properties of the oil. Look for olive oil that is sold in darkly tinted bottles. Also, look carefully at the display in the grocery store. Are there glaring lights or sunny windows nearby? If so, you will want to check out some different stores. My favorite grocery store keeps the olive oil on the shelves closest to the floor and away from the fluorescent lights.
When you get home, find a dark, cool cupboard for storage. One suggestion is to pour some of the oil from the original container into a smaller container. The original container can be kept in the refrigerator for maximum protection. (The oil will become cloudy and more solid in the refrigerator.) The smaller container you select for your weekly supply of olive oil should be opaque and have a tight-sealing lid. Exposure to air is another enemy of the fragile antioxidants.
Confused about the different grades of olive oil? Extra-virgin olive oil is produced from the first pressing of the olives. It has the lightest flavor and contains the richest array of antioxidants. The next pressing of the olives produces fine virgin oil. Refined means that chemicals were used to extract the oil instead of pressing. Avoid refined olive oils. Pure olive oil is a blend of refined and virgin olive oils. I don’t recommend pure grade either. If you see the words cold pressed on a bottle of olive oil that means heat was not used when extracting the oil. Remember, heat destroys antioxidants, so cold pressed is a good thing.
One last thought on this subject. If you are considering switching to olive oil from other oils, you might be shocked when you first look at the differences in price. I’m a serious bargain hunter. I always buy generic and look for bulk discounts whenever possible. But even the most determined penny pincher understands that there are simply some things that are worth the extra money. Olive oil is one of them.

Dietary considerations can present a Hobson’s choice in diabetes. Even when the intake is nutritious, assimilating it can be another matter. Then there is the problem of progression of diabetic complications if one ends up with excess glucose or fat in the system. Excess carbohydrates in a meal, and the resulting uncontrolled blood sugar levels can be detrimental to any number of tissues, from the lens of the eye, to the neurons, small blood vessels and the kidneys. Fat is also a problem with increase incidences of atherosclerosis, large vessel disease and cardiac complications. What, then is the appropriate macronutrient for the diabetic population? Enough medical literature exists to suggest that in diabetes, proteins are probably the best bet.

Proteins are the natural choice of the body when faced with diabetes. In uncontrolled diabetes, muscle protein is broken down into amino acids to be converted into glucose by the liver. If left to fend for itself, this can create a commotion within the body. Since proteins have to supply enough energy to substitute for carbohydrates, proteins are broken down faster than they are made. The body ends up with a protein deficit, a situation with subtle, yet far-reaching effects on normal body functions. Importantly, for diabetics, a protein deficit has been shown to impair resistance to infections (Ganong WF). Replenishing the depleting protein stores is a vital requirement of all diabetic diets.

Importance of proteins in a diabetic has been well documented. The American Associations of Clinical Endocrinologists have made it clear that not much evidence exists to indicate that the patients with diabetes need to reduce their intake of dietary proteins. The AACE recommends that 10-20% of the calorie intake in diabetes should come from proteins (AACE Diabetes Guidelines). It is in fact believed that this is one nutrient that does not increase blood glucose levels in both diabetics and healthy subjects (Gannon et al).

Nutrition therapy for diabetes has progressed from prevention of obesity or weight gain to improving insulin’s effectiveness and contributing to improved metabolic control (Franz MJ). In this new role, a high protein diet (30% of total food energy) forms a very pertinent part of nutrition therapy. One of the most important causes for type II diabetes is obesity. Excess body fat raises insulin resistance and higher levels of insulin are required to bring down blood sugars as the weight increases (Ganong WF). Another problem with excess fat is the clogging of arteries with atherosclerotic plaques that is responsible for a wide range of diabetic complications. Any mechanism that reduces body fat decreases insulin resistance and improves blood glucose control. Parker et al have also shown that a high protein diet decreased abdominal and total fat mass in women with type II diabetes. Other studies by Gannon et al. and Nuttall et al have verified that blood glucose levels and glycosylated hemoglobin (a marker of long term diabetic control) reduce after 5 weeks on a diet containing 30% of the total food energy in the form of proteins and low carbohydrate content. It is speculated that a high protein diet has a favorable effect in diabetes due to the ability of proteins and amino acids to stimulate insulin release from the pancreas. Thus, a high protein diet is not only safe in diabetes, but can also be therapeutic, resulting in improved glycemic control, and decreased risk of complications related to diabetes.

The benefits of a high protein diet do not end here. Individual protein components of such a diet, when aptly chosen, can have other advantages as well. Dietary supplements containing proteins like whey and casein come highly recommended. Casein is a milk protein and has the ability to form a gel or clot in the stomach. The ability to form this clot makes it very efficient in nutrient supply. The clot is able to provide a sustained, slow release of amino acids into the blood stream, sometimes lasting for several hours (Boirie et al. 1997). A slow sustained release of nutrients matches well with the limited amount of insulin that can be produced by the pancreas in diabetes. A protein supplement containing casein can thus increase the amount of energy assimilated from every meal and, at the same time, reduce the need for pharmacological interventions to control blood sugar.

Whey proteins and caseins also contain “casokinins” and “lactokinins’, (FitzGerald) which have been found to decrease both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive humans (Seppo). In addition, whey protein forms bio active amine in the gut that promotes immunity. Whey protein contains an ample supply of the amino acid cysteine. Cysteine appears to enhance glutathione levels, which has been shown to have strong antioxidant properties -- antioxidants mop up free radicals that induce cell death and play a role in aging.

Thus, development of a protein supplement containing casein and whey can provide an apt high protein diet and its health benefits to individuals suffering from diabetes, obesity and hypercholesterolemia.

Everyone at one point in his or her life needs or wants to loose weight. Whether it is for health reason, or just to feel better about you, deciding on a weight loss plan is not as easy as it sounds.

There are literally thousands of plans and products on the market today designed to help the overweight shed unwanted pounds.

One such plan is the low carb diet plan. On this plan, carbohydrate intake is limited to a few grams per day. By limiting breads and pastas, the body uses the fat that stored and there by the dieter starts to loose weight within weeks. Some of the foods that should be avoided when on a low carb diet are; Candy, Donuts, Cakes and Pastries. Anything containing white flour such as bread, rolls, bagels, pasta and white rice should also be avoided.

Although this may seem like a lot of choices to give up, all of these foods are very high in carbohydrates. This is particularly dangerous for those suffering from diabetes. Health expert theorize that a high carbohydrate diet could raise their blood sugar levels to life threatening levels.

There are good carbohydrate choices. Meat is naturally low in carbohydrates. Liver is the exception to this rule. Egg’s, poultry, fish, shellfish are good menu choices. They are easy to prepare and are full of vitamins. Green vegetables that are low starch include broccoli, asparagus, spinach, salad vegetables; cauliflower, green beans, Brussels sprouts and celery are also good choice foods that compliment any meal.

There are so many good choice foods to choose from, and so many ways to prepare them that the bad choice foods will not be missed when on a low carb diet.

Fiber is another essential part of dieting. Fiber helps the body in many different ways. When you do not get enough fiber it defeats the purpose of a diet.

Some of the health benefits that come from a low carb diet are; Lower insulin levels and stabilized blood sugar, which is a great health benefit to diabetics. Lower blood pressure, Lower Cholesterol, more energy, and perhaps the most important reason for dieting, keeping the weight off.

Unlike other diets, the low carb diet is safe for everyone. There are no side effects from being on this diet as there are not any food limit restrictions for a low carb dieter.

There are so many menu choices that a different meal can be prepared every day and the dieter would not have the same meal twice. For someone who has made a serious commitment to loose weight, a low carb lifestyle should be seriously considered.

Holiday meals can be prepared following low carb diet recipes that are easy, elegant, and very tasty. With all of the sites on the Internet dedicated to low carb cooking, there is no reason to fear dieting any longer.

Gone are the days when dieters had to starve themselves and suffer the pains of hunger all for the sake of loosing weight. The low carb offer a healthy alternative to dieting.

Exercise is an important tool in managing your diabetes in order to live a longer, healthier life.

1. Exercise increase insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. The key problem of Type 2 diabetics is insulin insensitivity, or insulin resistance. By exercising you can improve how well your insulin works; this helps you to control your blood glucose level.

2. Exercise improves your cholesterol levels. Exercise helps by raising the good kind of cholesterol (HDL) and lowering the bad kind of cholesterol (LDL). Exercise can also lower triglyceride levels. This is good news for diabetics as diabetics are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease. I myself have had cholesterol problems, but between proper diet and exercise and no drugs, I now have a much healthier cholesterol levels.

3. Exercise can decrease blood pressure. Many diabetics also have hypertension or high blood pressure. Exercising can reduce both your resting blood pressure and your blood pressure during effort (including exercise). This is very important for reducing your chances of heart disease and stroke. I also used be on blood pressure medication, and have been able to get off the drugs. Because of the strong genetic component, this took more than just diet and exercise; I take several supplements specifically to help keep my blood pressure in the healthy ranges. I also work on stress management and meditate, but exercise is a key ingredient to lowering it in most people.

4. Exercise can also improve heart efficiency, and help it work less. This also helps with the cardiovascular risk factors. You will be able to exercise harder and it does not feel harder. This will make performing your daily tasks easier. Many people do not exercise because they think they do not have the energy. They need to exercise to get the energy. Your resting heart rate can also lower.

5. Exercise can improve your mood. Diabetes can be a stressful disease, exercising can help you feel better mentally. Exercise can even improve depression which can be an issue with a disease like diabetes.

6. Exercise aids dramatically in weight-loss and maintaining weight-loss. Specifically, the right kind and right amount of exercise aids in fat-loss and preservation of muscle tissue. Losing weight can improve blood pressure, insulin resistance, glucose levels, and cholesterol levels above and beyond what exercise alone does.

7. Exercise helps you to reduce your chances of diabetic complications. Better control of your blood glucose helps prevent serious complications of diabetes, including blindness, neuropathy, and kidney failure.

Please talk to your doctor and start exercising! You will feel so much better!

Raw vegetables are dangerous and must be thoroughly fried, steamed, and boiled into submission. So thought our ancestors. The original sin of a recalcitrant vegetable was of course lessened by heat, but the conscientious nineteenth-century cook continued to boil it long after it had sogged into a jelly-like mass, just in case some evil remained.

In the nineteenth century an hour’s cooking barely sufficed for cabbage and for corn on the cob. They did not fix broccoli at all, and I can understand why. I have tried to imagine broccoli after an hour of cooking, but the mind rares back and refuses even to approach the sheer horror.

Which reminds me of an event in the summer of 1956, when my classmate Patsy Sutherland and I lived with Grandpa Hess while we went to business college in Missoula, Montana. Grandpa was a crusty old widower, set in his own way of housekeeping, but he tried to be gracious. In midsummer he bought a whole crate of tomatoes. Luscious, red, ripe tomatoes. They sat in the cellarway for two days, and each time Patsy and I passed them our mouths watered. Each evening we thought he’d invite us to have a tomato or two, but he didn’t. When we arrived home on the third evening, he said, “Girls! I fixed the tomatoes today. Help yourselves!”

He had stewed every last one of them.

Some of those old tomato recipes are good, though. The originator of Tomatoes Maryland probably had an old-fashioned wood stove that could gently simmer something all afternoon on a back burner or in the oven. Which means this was most likely a fall or winter dish rather than a summer one, as people let the cookstove fire go out on summer afternoons.

TOMATOES MARYLAND

Break into bits 2 slices of stale bread. Add to 4 cups canned or fresh tomatoes, peeled and quartered, with half an onion, chopped, and about 2/3 cup brown sugar. Salt lightly.

Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer gently for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

My notes say, “It does need three hours to cook, even with the pan lid off most of the time. Perhaps some of the thin tomato juices could be poured off at the beginning, shortening the cooking time.”

Tomatoes Maryland is the kind of sweet side dish American cooks like to serve with chicken or pork. I was going to say, “cooks from regions other than the Northeast.” Then I remembered applesauce with pork, cranberry sauce with turkey, mint jelly with lamb, and baked beans with salt pork. Not to mention pancakes and syrup with sausages cuddled up close. And mincemeat pie, that ultimate mixture of meat and sweet. (And, yes, real mincemeat, as opposed to a packaged mix, does contain meat.)

I will add that some people of Grandpa’s generation did eat diced raw garden tomatoes for breakfast, just as one would eat strawberries, with sugar and cream. You see, it was safe to eat them raw with sugar and cream, because the tomatoes then ceased to be a vegetable and became a fruit.

And actually those old-time breakfasters were right. Fresh vine-ripened tomatoes are good with sugar and cream. Let’s face it, most things are good with sugar and cream. And of course tomatoes really are a fruit.

In my 'un-biased' opinion, the crockpot / slow cooker is one of the most convenient and easy to use appliances in my kitchen. The time savings features of the slow cooker and the delicious dinners that have resulted more than offset any minor drawbacks.
Before I list my top reasons why the crockpot is the most useful appliance in any kitchen, I will list a few of the areas where it does not perform as well.

- Large cuts of meat such as boneless prime rib or leg of lamb are still best when oven roasted.

- Except for stews and chowders, the slow cooker does not cook fish very well.

- The slow cooker collects a lot of the juices since the steam does not escape during cooking and these juices can become diluted and watery, which can affect the flavoring of the food.

- If not careful, a slow cooker can overcook food -especially some of the more tender meats and poultry.

These drawbacks are relatively minor compared to the positives which I will list now.

- The slow cooker needs virtually no tending while it cooks, freeing you up to do other chores or recipes.

- The slow cooker will tenderize less expensive, tough cuts of meat and make great stews out of them.

- The slow cooker allows you to be out of the kitchen for extended periods of time -sometimes even all day.

- Burning your food is rarely a problem. The slow cooker will make many dishes for you better than any other appliance -especially those that tend to stick to the bottom of a pan.

In my opinion the slow cooker is one of the most under-utilized and yet superior of kitchen appliances. When used for what it does best, you will find that you are able to prepare great dishes in less time than you thought
possible!

Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. A great meal of lobster tails might seem like a gourmet feast to your guests, but they are actually quite easy to prepare. Add a little sprig of garnish and a fancy side dish and you’re sure to impress even your mother in law.

Your lobster tails might start off a fresh or frozen, being in New England, fresh lobster is easy to come by but frozen might be all you can get in some parts of the country and in the off season. If your lobster tails are frozen, you need to thaw them out (you can cook them frozen but they will not be as tender). Put them in the fridge for 10 hours or so or thaw them in the microwave on defrost – be very careful if you choose this method as you don’t want them to start cooking in the microwave.

After they are thawed, remove the meat from the shell by cutting open the back of the shell – split it down the middle and open it up to reveal the meat. Lift the meat out – you can leave the fan part of the tail on for show or not. Remove the vein.

Boiling Lobster Tails

Boil a pot of water large enough for all the tails to float in, add 1 tsp salt for each quart of water. Drop the tails in the boiling water and cook for about 1 minute per oz thawed (so 10 0z of tails needs to cook for 10 minutes). If you are cooking a lot of tails, add a minute or two on to the total time.

Cooking Lobster Tails in the Oven
Lobster tails can be baked or broiled in the oven. To cook thawed lobster in the oven,set the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the tails with butter and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. If broiling, place the tails 4 or 5 inches from the heat and broil for 2 – 5 minutes. When broiling keep a very close eye on them so that they don’t burn on the tops.

Cooking Lobster Tails On The Grill
Oil the grill to keep the lobsters from sticking. Put the grill on medium heat. Brush the lobster tails with butter and place on the grill. Make sure that the tails do not burn – if there are any flames on the grill move the lobster away from it. Grill on each side for 4-5 minutes.

Take care not to overcook your lobster or it will be rubbery and tasteless. Lobster is cooked when it is no longer transparent.

I agree that too much technology isn't healthy. It leads people to be more sedentary.
I also find it difficult to believe that being surrounded by and in close proximity to radio and electromagnetic waves isn't harmful.
Unfortunately, there are a wide variety of suspected causes of many other things you mention, which are too many to go into here, but I will point out a few. Don't forget that there is tonnes of pollution in the skies.
Also, due to widespread travel, we are exposed to viruses and other germs at a much higher frequency than in the past.
I am a food allergy sufferer. So are many of my relatives. It goes back generations. I had friends who had had anaphylaxis, growing up in the 60s, including one who had an allergy to peanuts.
What has changed historically is the amount of exposure to allergens on a regular basis. Go to the store and look at the ingredients in cookies, crackers, soups and sauces. You will find soy, wheat, corn or corn syrup in almost everything. Look at chilled cookie dough. It will have these as well as several types of nuts and other things you would never imagine.
I have found cheeses to contain soy or other unusual products. Many cereals, candy and other items warn they may contain traces of nuts. Any exposure to trace amounts of an allergen can trigger an immune response that prepares for a severe response to subsequent exposures.
Other things that have changed with our food supply are the quality and types of substances added to food.
For example, the types of oils used. Butter was more widely used as an ingredient. Then hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils were popular, but turned out to be bad for health. Now palm oil and palm kernel oil are becoming popular and are unhealthy. Cottonseed oil, used for industrial purposes, is being used as edible oil. It is linked to lower sperm counts in men.
We have genetically modified (GM) foods, where let's say, a gene from a sea plant or some other organism is imbedded into the DNA of a plant to ward off pests, fungi, or resist drought.
Sounds reasonable, but why are food and chemical companies spending lots of money to prevent legislation requiring labelling of GM foods?
Something else that older folks will recognise that has changed with our food supply is its containment.
Prior to the 70s, I can't remember anything being sold in plastic containers. Everything was in glass, cans, or waxed boxes. Grocery bags were paper. Plastics has a lot of good points. It doesn't break easily and is much lighter, but some plastics can leach chemicals into food. Some of these chemicals affect hormones in humans.
People should be careful about what types of plastics they use for food storage.
Health awareness has increased awareness and diagnosis of some conditions, so comparing statistics of now and then might be misleading.
A lot of 'problem children' probably had attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder back then, but would never have been diagnosed. Who would have known if they had Type 2 diabetes or heart disease? Things like that used to be normal, and people didn't always know why someone died.
Don't you think artificial lighting has something to do with sleep disorders? Is it natural for most people to be up so late? Light affects one's biorhythms, which affect one's health.
It has only been a little more than a century that humans have been staying up so late on such a wide scale. Anyhow, think about it.

Scientists face many obstacles on the path to greater knowledge. But new research suggests how to avoid one of the more common pitfalls: spilled coffee.
"I cannot say for sure if coffee spilling has been detrimental to scientific research to any significant extent," says study author Rouslan Krechetnikov, a mechanical engineer at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "But it can certainly be disruptive for a train of thought."
Krechetnikov and his graduate student Hans Mayer decided to investigate coffee spilling at a fluid dynamics conference last year when they watched overburdened participants trying to carry their drinks to and fro. They quickly realized that the physics wasn't simple. Aside from the mechanics of human walking, which depends on a person's age, health, and gender, there is the highly involved science of liquid sloshing, which depends on a complex interplay of accelerations, torques, and forces.    
{Let's not forget the physical characteristics of the fluid e.g. temperature and viscosity. Perhaps there are produce development applications for convenience beverages designed to be consumed on the go!}

As a software engineer descended from three generations of butchers, I might be uniquely qualified to answer this question. My perspective as a programmer and general hacker gives me the ability to decompose complex problems into structured solutions; creating an algorithm is almost no different than creating a recipe. And while I’m not a butcher by profession, my overall familiarity with the butchering, preparing, and cooking of meat in its various forms may give me some insight into the “problem domain.”
In order to consider the future of meat, we must first look at its current state. So I’ll start with my “State of the Meat Union,” which may be controversial to some, but I’ll take you through my thinking step by step.
In the United States, ConAgra – and two or three other companies to a much lesser extent – process 80 percent or more of all meat. All meat! If you’re eating meat in this country, there’s a high probability that the animal came from a particular factory feedlot, ConAgra processed it into products, and you bought the end result at a Wal-Mart. This is the lifecycle of what most people eat as “meat”: a consolidated, monolithic supply chain controlled by a literal handful of special interests concerned only with making profits. The resulting meat products lack taste, are unhealthy, and are chock-ful of preservatives, additives, antibiotics and artificial flavoring.
This is why I say: the mass production of processed meats is not the future of meat. It’s the future of something that might resemble meat if you squint your eyes, but it’s not what I call meat. It may be classified as food, but it’s not meat.
Does that make me a “meat purist”? Absolutely.
The future of meat I want to see is one where sustainable farming practices, increased diversity of livestock and an emphasis on quality at all levels of production creates incredible meats that more people can enjoy. I experienced this firsthand when I purchased my first “quarter of a pig” share from a community shared agriculture hog farm in upstate New York. I have eaten a lot of meat in my life, and I am here to tell you that I have never had anything before or since that’s come anywhere close to the exceptional quality of the meat they produced for me. Pulled pork, bacon, ribs, ham, sausage – it was all addictively delicious. Now that I know what I’ve been missing, I don’t want anything else!
It’s the kind of thing you just can’t buy in a big-box grocery store, because it’s simply impossible for the mass producers to achieve that level of farm-to-table quality. It’s not profitable enough for them, and it’s too hard for them to do in a factory. Put plainly: I don’t want a future where “meatfood” that’s cloned or genetically modified, grown, synthesized, and processed in a factory laboratory is the norm. Their unsustainable mass production techniques have generated a multiplicity of severe problems in animal health, human health, environmental health, created and exacerbated terrible diseases, perpetrated unbelievable and outright criminal wastes of medicines and other resources… I could go on and on and on, but their worst atrocity is simply that their “food” tastes nothing like real meat, and to me that’s what matters most.
I therefore propose that we limit the problem domain to small-scale meat production and consumption. This should include protecting industrious small farms from the predation of the big agribusiness mafia and their paid enforcers, the United States government. If we can’t protect them, there is no future of meat! Legislation has been and will continue to be handcrafted by Big Ag lobbyists and then given directly to the best Congress their money can buy. These laws will continue to be unevenly enforced, killing their smaller competitors in the market and placing undue burdens on the artisans and small business folk who are bringing us the future of real meat. If we care about that future, we need to make sure this doesn’t happen.
I’ve identified the following areas where I believe we can use information and technology to create hacks for small-scale meat production and consumption. Each of these in turn can be broken down further into more specific solutions in their particular areas, hopefully guided by our “steakholders.” I also pose a few questions to get the brainstorming started:

• Husbandry and cultivation of livestock – How can we help small farmers adhere to sustainable practices? How do we get them greater yields, better and faster distribution? What data do farmers need to do their job better?

• Storage, preservation and preparation, consumption – Can we use technology to measure production and consumption, monitor quality? What can crowdsourcing do to help consumers find / prepare meat?

• Government corruption – See above; what do we need to do to protect the future of meat? Can we do data visualizations that reveal uncompetitive business practices or unfairness in the laws? Do we need systems that can monitor prices, report bad practices?

• Education – How do we inform people how great real meat tastes? What can we do to teach people to “take meat back”, learn home butchery (everyone should be able to bone a chicken and know how to make chicken stock), no longer be afraid of meat?

Serial entrepreneur and investor Michael Arrington and popular technology blog TechCrunch both covered the debate over California’s Proposition 37, which would require the labeling of foods that have been genetically engineered or contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Why? Tech investor and entrepreneur Ali Partovi launched a provocative video (below) and IndieGoGo campaign to raise funds for Facebook ads that counter anti-Prop 37 corporate advertising.
Many of the big agricultural chemical and CPG companies like Monsanto, DuPont, Coke, Pepsi and General Mills have collectively spent more than $35.6 million on anti-Prop 37 advertising. So, Partovi is hoping to level the playing field, or “democratize democracy,” as he says, by crowdfunding $50,000 which he is matching for a total of $100,000. With these funds, Partovi is running Facebook ads “where you can’t you can’t fool people with deceptive ads, because the community’s opinions speak louder,” he writes.
TechCrunch reports the ads are already a big success, garnering a click-thru rate of 4 percent at $0.15 per click, which is reportedly 20 times better than the internet average. Partovi is also encouraging people to use Facebook’s new Promoted Posts feature, which allows anyone to pay $7 to improve their visibility in their friends news feeds, to spread the word.
Sure, technology as a democratizer is interesting, but there is another reason why the technology community might care about Prop 37.
Currently, information asymmetry puts consumers at a disadvantage. The science behind GMOs is inconclusive on both sides and, without regulation, the food industry gets away with labeling foods “all natural.” These products can command a premium and thus allow companies to unfairly increase prices, which is deceptive to the free market. Enacting Prop 37 would “return us to a baseline of basic transparency from which a free market can thrive,” says Partovi. Free markets only work when there is transparency and people are able to make decisions based on information, which does not exist in the case of GMOs. If Prop 37 is enacted, and, armed with this information, a significant enough number of consumers decide not to buy these products, the onus will be on the companies to conduct more research and produce better data.
“You know, not all engineering is created equal. Like with Google maps versus Apple maps, sometimes engineers make mistakes. But Apple let their customers know they were releasing new maps for iPhone and then their customers have been left to decide whether they like it or not. Similarly, Prop 37 is not a warning label, it’s just an informative label.”