Michael Sandler clinic in Central Park

Okay, below are a bunch of photos from the big barefoot running clinic with Michael Sandler a few weeks ago.  Michael's a great a coach and a smart guy, so if he comes through your area on his cross-country road trip, stop by.  Soon I'll be reviewing his book, Barefoot Running.

We had a few kids there running around too.  They loved it.  Of course, they didn't see what the big deal was.  It was just the adults who were a little self-conscious about it.

If you're in NYC or passing through, our meetup runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Come join us, even if you're a total beginner.

Assorted links

1. "When in a sour mood, stop everything and ask if you are in need of food, sleep, a potty break, fresh air, or exercise."  From Justin Wehr via Ben Casnocha.  I agree, but would point out that if you're getting upset because you're hungry, it's probably because your body is addicted to sugar and carbs.

 

2. Government panel of experts releasing new health guidelines and updating the USDA Food Pyramid.  Get this:

"Congress mandates that the guidelines be revised every five years."

Is this revision going to go on indefinitely, or at some point are we going to know what's good for us?  What happens when the foundation of the food pyramid, grain consumption, crumbles?  Does the whole structure collapse?  Don't get your health information from the government, they don't have the incentives or the knowledge to get it right.

 

3. Is ecological (i.e., organic) agriculture productive?  This research says yes.  

"A variety of resource conserving technologies and practices were used, including integrated pest management, integrated nutrient management, conservation tillage, agroforestry, water harvesting in dryland areas, and livestock and aquaculture integration into farming systems."

We should see these agricultural practices as entrepreneurial innovations, not Luddite alternatives to modern farming.  The problem with research like this is that they always embed broader environmental values into their conclusions that don't always relate to to how well we can feed people over the long run (including direct environmental effects that affect our ability to do so).

"These practices not only increased yields, but also reduced adverse effects on the environment and contributed to important environmental goods and services (e.g., climate change mitigation), as evidenced by increased water use efficiency and carbon sequestration, and reduced pesticide use."

The relationship between these agricultural methods, global warming, and long term agricultural productivity is so complex that it would be better to treat separately and just focus on yields.  There's also the inconvenient truth that plants love CO2, and they thrive in environments where CO2 levels are high.

Michael Pollan's new website

Michael Pollan just released a brand new website. 

Love the nice clean site design.  He's got a ton of great content too -- here's a curated selection:

  • The Botany of Desire is less well known than The Omnivore's Dilemma, but just as good.  It takes a "plant's-eye view" and explores how in some sense, plants have domesticated humans, not the other way around. 

"Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?"

  • You can find all of Pollan's articles on the site, including The Modern Hunter-Gatherer, a fascinating description of Pollan's experience hunting -- excerpted from Omnivore's Dilemma.  The first line:

"Walking with a loaded rifle in an unfamiliar forest bristling with the signs of your prey is thrilling. It embarrasses me to write that, but it is true."

Read the whole thing, particularly if you're not a hunter.

  • Pollan also has an excellent Resources section covering six topics: Sustainable Eating & Nutrition, Growing Food, Politics & Policy, Animal Welfare, Journalism & Writing, and For Parents & Kids. 
  • A (very) frequently asked question:

"Why aren't you a vegetarian?  I'm not a vegetarian because I enjoy eating meat, meat is nutritious food, and I believe there are ways to eat meat that are in keeping with my environmental and ethical values. "

Full answer here.  Pollan has done more to influence vegetarian attitudes than any outsider would be able to do.  (Just like Ted Nugent will always be more influential in the hook and bullet crowd.)

 

My first CSA meat share

I received my first ever CSA box yesterday.  I bought a meat and egg share from High Point Farms.  Every two weeks through the summer they deliver two dozen eggs and 3 cuts of meat.  There's a cheese share too.

My first box had the eggs, a couple pounds of grass-fed ground beef, pastured pork bacon, and italian sausage made from the grass fed beef.  Yumm.  We ate the sausage last night -- pretty delicious.  Pictures below.

The farm is located in upstate New York, about four hours away.  I believe they still have a couple shares available, which they pro-rate if you're interested.  They drop-off at Jimmy's 43 in the East Village every other Monday.

Parasites on the rise at farmers markets

Wherever there is growth and vitality, parasites start to show up.  So too with the growth of farmers markets -- it hasn't taken long for the food regulators and health inspectors to appear.

This article details regulatory crack-downs in Atlanta, Dallas, and Cleveland.  Permits, fees, mandates for expensive refrigeration equipment.  But don't worry, it's for your own good.  This example in Illinois is particularly absurd:

"Several Illinois state statutes point toward persons baking in their homes are not allowed to sell for business purposes because of public health and safety complications. They can only do it through non-profit activities like fundraising."

Wait, so public health is the ostensible purpose of the statutes banning sales of homemade goods, unless you're a non-profit, in which case, have at it.  Makes a lot of sense.

I'm proud of my home state of Michigan for "legalizing the sale of certain homemade foods at farmers markets and roadside stands."  

The two bills, if passed by the House of Representatives and the state Senate, would grant an exemption to "a cottage food operation" from licensing and inspection laws previously required.
 
Currently, any prepared food, such as pies and pastries, must come from a Michigan Department of Agriculture certified kitchen, Proos said. He estimated the cost of such a kitchen at "between $15,000 and $25,000."
 
With the rise of the regulatory state, it's often the case that business activity is illegal unless you follow a prescribed set of dictates.  Here's a complaint from an obscure, antiquated document:
 

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their substance."

 Sounds like the framers had locusts in mind when they wrote that brilliant line.  Farmers have taken it up as a battle cry.

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