cross-posted at annoyedomnivore.wordpress.com
I’m still chuckling over the Carl’s Jr. television ads featuring gorgeous women devouring monstrous hamburgers while the words “hormone-free,” “grass-fed,” and “free-range” are prominently displayed. Their latest ad, apparently shown on Super Bowl Sunday, has a well-endowed female beauty parading down the street in a bikini while chewing on one of those burgers. “This ad tells you that Carl’s Jr. sees this as enough of a mainstream issue. They’re realizing that this is something people want and not just something that a bunch of activist, doomsday folks are trying to push,” said Michael Hansen, senior scientist with Consumer’s Union. Indeed, Brad Haley, chief marketing officer for CKE Restaurants, Carl’s Jr.’s parent company, says that “sales of the burgers have exceeded projections.” And now, as many of us predicted, the trend is expanding into other food industries. The ice cream behemoth, Breyers, announced last week it will stop using milk from cows treated with rBST. Unilever, Breyers’ parent company, also owns Ben & Jerry’s, Fruttare, Good Humor, Klondike, Magnum and Popsicle, all of which they plan to include in the rBST ban in the next few years. Alessandra Bellini, vice president of brand development at Unilever North America, says that “these industry-leading changes are the latest in our commitment to do right by parents and the environment.”
Once again, Monsanto is involved. They developed this genetically engineered hormone in 1993 in order to artificially increase milk production in cows by 10 to 15 percent. The FDA, as is its wont, rapidly approved the artificial hormone, despite the fact that no study had occurred examining possible side effects in either the cows that were injected or the humans consuming the milk. The FDA accepted Monsanto’s “study,” which tested the hormone on 30 rats for 90 days, a study that was never published. In 1998, Health Canada decided this study was reason enough for a review preceding approval of the drug and banned its use. The European Union, Japan, Australia and New Zealand quickly followed suit. All of this followed a 1991 report by Rural Vermont that showed that rBST injected cows suffered serious health problems.
Monsanto is, of course, fighting against this trend in the industry to source milk from rBST-free cattle. Calling on the FDA and the Federal Trade Commission to do their bidding, Monsanto has asked that they stop “deceptive milk labeling practices [which] have misled consumers about the quality, safety, or value of milk and milk products from cows supplemented with recombinant bovine somatotropin.” In the two letters written by Monsanto and sent to the government agencies, they specifically cited twelve companies who Monsanto says are using “false or misleading advertising” when promoting rBST-free dairy products. John Thomas, present of Thomas Dairy, one of the companies named in the letters, acknowledges the power of Monsanto. “They’re a huge company, and they can put pressure on small companies like us to get in line with what they want.”
Rick North, project director for the Program for Safe Food at Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, believes Monsanto is fighting back because of lost profits. He says that “Monsanto is getting clobbered in the marketplace” because dairies nationwide are going rBST-free. In 2005, our very own Tillamook Creamery Association made the decision to ban rBST even in the face of pressure from Monsanto. Since then, the trend eventually enveloped all of Oregon’s dairy producers, as well as Safeway in Oregon and Washington. There are too many dairy producers in the country to list who have abjured the use of rBST, however Dean Foods, the nation’s largest dairy processor, is on the list, as well as a growing roster of restaurants and coffee shops. Starbucks and Chipotle Mexican Grill among them. Rick North simply said that “a hellava lot of dairies have gone organic or [rBST-free] since 2002.”
Consumer demand is obviously increasing production of organic foods and people are seemingly willing to pay more for milk. A study done by the American Journal of Agricultural Economics Association outlines why sales of organic milk are increasing across the nation. Sales of all organic food was estimated to be $35 billion in 2014. That Breyers has joined the ever-increasing list of companies promoting “clean” food is heartening. Unilever even has a “Sustainable Living” website, which also promotes the reduction of salt, fat and sugar in their products. Americans are waking up to what corporations have been doing to their food and industry is paying attention.
Recipe of the Week
There are few salads better than a Caesar Salad, and if you make your own dressing it will be extra special. Not hard to do if you own a food processor, although it can be done manually as well.
Caesar Salad
For the dressing:
2 eggs
2 TBLS lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 anchovies
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
Put all the ingredients in the bowl of the food processor except the oil. Using a drip attachment, if you have one, turn on the processor and pour the oil into the attachment until it’s gone. Taste for salt, although I don’t think it’s necessary.
For the croutons:
You’ll want some good French bread, preferably a bit stale, but fresh will work, too. Cut the bread into cubes, any size you like, and drizzle with a light coating of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and bake in a 350 degree oven until crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before storing.
Caesar Salad
Pull off the tops of a bunch of Romaine lettuce. Wash well and remove the leaves. You should leave them whole for a better presentation. Coat the lettuce with dressing, add the croutons, and shave some good parmesan over the top.