Kale Action Plan - Seeking Co-Conspirators

[homeinbuenosaires]

Most organic production here is exported - I remember that there was an entire expo of Argentine organic food in London when I was living there in 2006/07 that filled a convention center! I remember being so shocked, given the hoops I had to jump through in 2003/4/5 to get organic fruits and veggies here in BA - I'd call the farm every Monday, they'd list what they'd harvested over the phone and then a dirty pickup would pull up to my place on Tuesday with the fruits and vegetables.

I had professors at Berkeley who were involved in these things and I knew much more about what was going on there a decade and a half ago, but don't know the current status in the US. I do know that I'd trust Oregon Tilth or CCOF etc. more than I'd trust the USDA, for a variety of reasons. The certification bodies working in Argentina tend to be in the private sector and foreign (one example: http://www.oia.com.ar/ ), rather than nac y pop. Having lived here for so many years, I have to say that (given the current state of Argentina), this is a small mercy!

There are good people out there, though. The MAPO people that I have met here are great, and I know they have been facing an uphill struggle with this. I'm a vegetarian, but I asked them about the beef situation and they said that there is no reliable certification for grass fed/ hormone free here. Only chicken/ dairy/ eggs from a couple of producers for now.

ETA: my life here would be improved 1000% if I had a secret portal between my apartment and Berkeley Bowl.

 

[jantango]

Organic produce, including kale, was plentiful at the Tallo Verde stand at the Palermo hipodromo today for the Buenos Aires Market. I bought three packages of kale (two kinds) at 20 pesos each. I'm eating my first salad of sautéed kale with other vegies. Tallo Verde sell their produce every Saturday outside of MALBA.

www.talloverde.com 0800-88-TALLO

www.buenosairesmarket.com

 

[Davidglen77]

Here's my view on organic....my aunt Sara, was really careful about her health her entire life. Never smoked, drank alcohol, no candy / sweets, regular exercise swimming, tennis, did ballroom dancing, etc, only wanted "farm fresh / organic foods, etc. When she was 70 years old she started to get severe back pain and started going to a chiropractor. This didn't help much and she went to a hospital for some tests.....leukemia, she died an awful death within 1 year of her diagnosis. My grandmother, Dora took good care of herself also, but not to the extent aunt Sara did. Grandma ate well, but a little of everything, including sweets and an occasional glass of her homemade fruit liqueur, Didn't do much regular exercise, but was never larger than a size 8. Was the happiest most positive person you could ever meet, laughed at everything, even when she should have cried. Was married to my grandfather for 65 years. Never had any major illnesses except for a few aches and pains and controllable glaucoma. She lived until 93 years old, totally independent and completely sound of mind. She got sick with pneumonia on a Wednesday morning and died on Saturday afternoon all made up and hair done the lady from the beauty parlor came and did her hair the morning she died. So I don't know how important this whole organic thing is, just eat in moderation, be happy and be kind to others and your health will persevere.

 

[mjohnstone]

Sueño Verde kale should be available at Jumbo & Disco or so they said yesterday on their FB page

 

[homeinbuenosaires]

DavidGlen, I know you mean well.

Firstly, I've had cancer twice and am having to figure out my own path to wellness, which is very frustrating, especially when everyone seems to be the expert. I'm not about to start discussing these things on here though.

Secondly, there are MANY more reasons to choose organic - and to push for best practices to be upheld with regards to certification etc - beyond the potential benefits to one's own health. It's so frustrating to me to remember how long it has been since I've lived in a culture where one considers the benefits other than only to oneself before making a decision!

Those who try to be somewhat conscious of their impact on the world around them* will have other reasons to want to seek out such products and support ethical production and business models wherever reasonably possible - even when there is no direct benefit (or even a small loss) to themselves. It is much more difficult here than in some other places I've lived, and many more compromises are made on the consumer end (of course). I just finished participating in the first-ever sustainable business course here at a local university and it was kind of an eye-opener in terms of how far there is to go here. If I had any faith left in this country, I might try to start some ethical businesses here, but that is an errand for another fool I'm afraid!

Whenever I see someone trot out the old 'there isn't any benefit to eating organic' argument, I immediately know a little more about the parameters of their worldview, and I usually don't bother embarking upon what would surely become an infinitely wide-reaching and unwinnable - for both parties - argument with them!

*In terms of both environmental impact AND worker safety and health - there is plenty of information available about the deleterious effects of pesticides etc on farm workers and THEIR health, not to mention the ruinous effect on the environment over time. I'd recommend, for example The Death of Ramón González by Angus Wright.

 

[scotttswan]

Here's my view on organic....my aunt Sara, was really careful about her health her entire life. Never smoked, drank alcohol, no candy / sweets, regular exercise swimming, tennis, did ballroom dancing, etc, only wanted "farm fresh / organic foods, etc. When she was 70 years old she started to get severe back pain and started going to a chiropractor. This didn't help much and she went to a hospital for some tests.....leukemia, she died an awful death within 1 year of her diagnosis. My grandmother, Dora took good care of herself also, but not to the extent aunt Sara did. Grandma ate well, but a little of everything, including sweets and an occasional glass of her homemade fruit liqueur, Didn't do much regular exercise, but was never larger than a size 8. Was the happiest most positive person you could ever meet, laughed at everything, even when she should have cried. Was married to my grandfather for 65 years. Never had any major illnesses except for a few aches and pains and controllable glaucoma. She lived until 93 years old, totally independent and completely sound of mind. She got sick with pneumonia on a Wednesday morning and died on Saturday afternoon all made up and hair done the lady from the beauty parlor came and did her hair the morning she died. So I don't know how important this whole organic thing is, just eat in moderation, be happy and be kind to others and your health will persevere.

I think it was the BBC who had a documentary on identical twins and "good" living. Basically 1 twin was very fit, ate right and did nothing wrong, his brother died of a heart attack after doing almost the complete opposite. Healthy twin goes in for a checkup and he's VERY lucky he did as he was about to have a heart attack too.

 

[jurarol]

I buy kale at bario chino. There is a store on Mendoza, called Tina and co. or something like that. It's a big store and very neat. They even have bagels, not the best, but ok. Also other healthy goodies. Worth checking out

 

[gpop]

I think that not only is the food different, so is the medium it's grown in.
When mega-food conglomerations and mega-farms are whipping out cheap food to sell to the masses; most people don't look past the borders of their table to ask if the food they are eating is anything like the food their great-great-grand-parents ate. Businesses are not in it for the healthiness of their product. These people are making money and that's the bottom line. It's cheaper to eat processed foods without hardly a hint of anything natural in the ingredients list, than it is to eat a 'organic' diet. In the west you now have the results of that kind of diet... obesity (among other food related diseases) on a grand scale.

Davidglen mentioned the different attitudes regarding food habits, but I don't think that that is the end result of why we eat what we eat, and how we view the manner in which it comes to be available to us. I suppose that there is a lot going on behind the scenes, things that people don't know, or may want to know about just so long as it's ready for dinner. One can choose a natural diet, but what are the other factors? Longevity is not hinging on food alone.

To me, the soil is different, damaged, and does not render the same nutrients to food as it once had. This gets me wondering how much longer until there is no more that can be cultivated without chemical intervention. Like the oil industry, I think that many of these companies plan on a big profit now without regard for a future where the medium of their product is finite, or stewardship of the medium is quickly dwindling. There are going to be a lot more mouths to feed.

 

[jantango]

The documentary Voices of Transition was presented last night at Allianza Francesa during the 16th international human rights film festival. imd.org.ar/festival The documentary shows how communities in Cuba, France and Bristol, England, are growing their own food and doing so without chemicals.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2958007577


JORNADO de REPUDIO a la LEY de SEMILLAS y a la LEY de AGROTOXICOS

There will be a demonstration (with speakers) on THURSDAY, JUNE 25 at 15 hs at the Congreso de la Nacion (Callao y Rivadavia) to reject the seed and pesticide law between the national government and transnational agricultural businesses(Monsanto, Syngenta, Bunge, Cargill, Dupont, Bayer, among others) that monopolize food production where the gains are split between the multinationals, contractors, and landowners.

These multinationals take over the land, burn down the native forests in Argentina, producing floods, destroying the ancestral agriculture and regional economies. They want to legalize the practices of pesticides and GMOs, approving the investigations without an independent committee that is qualified and certified to analyze them.

 

[homeinbuenosaires]

Jan -

I was going to go to this last night but didn't make it! I'll definitely try to make it to the demonstration, however. The 'kale action plan' evolves...