Here’s something I don’t approve of one bit; social security, the program responsible for most of my tax burden.  75 years into practice it is clearly more madoffian than useful.  Just today I got a newsletter from my buddies at the Social Security Administration!  In the top left corner of my mailing, there’s a cute little logo claiming that the SSA “Benefits America!”

“Will Social Security still be around when I retire?,” the missive proceeds to boldly query. In a convoluted response to its own question the update reads,“Yes… The Social Security Board of Trustees now estimates that based on current law, in 2037, the Trust Funds will be depleted… Even if modifications to the program are not made, there would still be enough funds in 2037 from taxes paid by workers to pay about $760 for every $1,000 in benefits scheduled.”

Only organizations with way too much power can get away with saying such ridiculous things and continue to exist.

Allow me to paraphrase, “By investing in social security you can expect to see less of a return than if you put that same principal in a basic savings account.  Not that you have a choice.  By the time you want to retire, there is a good chance we will have lost at least some of your money.  Above all, it is important that everyone in a given age group lose equally (except for that generation’s religious leaders, who can opt out completely if they so choose)!  In general, we assume you are not capable of intelligent financial planning.  We are more than your government, we are your fiduciary!  Cheers, your fair and fiscally responsible federal facilitators!”

Clearly, if I wrote a newsletter on behalf of Franktuary with a statement akin to the one the SSA has just sent me I wouldn’t have a business for very long.  “Pay for a full frankfurter today and maybe we’ll give you about three-quarters of a future frankfurter 27 years from now!  If you have any hope of eventually seeing more than three-fourths of a frank, you’ll have to pay us further installments in increasingly large amounts, as dictated by us, in the near future.  Franktuary ‘benefits’ America!”

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a choice about participating in such a poorly structured program?  You have a choice of where to eat lunch.  There’s a lot of bad food out there, but at least nobody makes you eat it.  Furthermore, if you want to eat bad food you can.  This is a good thing.  There are a lot of bad investments out there, but you’re only forced to participate in one.  I will never understand why a specific bad investment being forced upon an entire nation’s workforce is looked at as a positive by so many individuals.

As an entrepreneur, I’m always looking for ways to generate supplemental income.  I’m not writing for pity points, but I have a low income level and, because I’m self-employed, a relatively high tax burden.  So, I do what I have to do, knowing full well that my involvement with my business is entirely voluntary.  Since Franktuary has opened I’ve recycled tens of tons of newspaper using only a minivan. I’ve painted Steelers logos on the faces of heavily inebriated people.  I’ve even served as the official bodyguard of a larger than life PJ Sparkles.  And I’ve had A LOT of roommates, primarily to cut down on living expenses.

Over the past few months I’ve looked into the world of tutoring for standardized tests.  In a depressed employment market it seems that well-paid tutoring jobs are there for the taking if you have the right skill-set.  The system works like this:

Tutors are hired through a selection criteria that places most of its emphasis on an applicant’s testing ability.  Virtually all applicants are highly-educated.  Multiple degrees are not uncommon.

Students hire a tutor so as to do well on a certain standardized test because it will help them get into a “better” program, which will help them get a “better” job.  Yet many people don’t want the job they seek so much as the money they anticipate will come with the career.

In fact, a significant number of people dislike their work, but cannot justify the abandonment of their post because of the income they associate with it.  All the while, if you look at the path the tutors have taken college appears to have been an entirely unnecessary (and expensive) step… if you can score well enough on your college entrance exam.  Irony, anyone?

Of course, had I not gone to college I would have never met my fabulous business partner.  Overall, I approve of college, just not the motivation many people seem to have for attending.

With our CORO fellows departed, I’m afraid you blog readers are stuck with me.  While they’ve been busy writing I had the opportunity to visit the Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA in NYC.  If you’re passing through the area, it’s worth the trip.  While viewing Burton’s art I had the realization that my name is Tim and I have a jacket made by the winter apparel company Burton.  Therefore, it’s almost as if I have an exhibit at MOMA.  Never fear, this brush with celebrity will NOT go to my head.

So, recently all of us at Franktuary have had the opportunity to see a film called FRESH.  It’s really something every one of you should watch.  It’s amazing what happens when things in nature eat what they’re designed to eat, and we’re no exception.  In fact, since we’re at the top of the food chain, it’s of particular importance.  Whether plant or animal, everything that we eat (and everything its consumed) needs to have itself been properly fed if we have any chance of eating as we should.  And since we provide the nourishment for virtually everything we eat before it becomes food, it’s safe to say we reap what we sow.  It’s a heavy topic.  I invite you to give a film like FRESH a chance, do some research, and draw your own conclusion!

Also, you still have a few days to vote for us in Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Poll.  Help us become “Best Downtown Lunch Spot” three years in a row!  Stop reading and vote!  Really, why are you still here?

Finally, as a hockey fan, I am endorsing Jamie Langenbrunner and Chris Drury as a Presidential ticket.  Sounds crazy, until you check out my sound logic:

Langenbrunner-Drury 2012! These men know about successfully skating on thin ice while routinely crossing red lines and blue lines for the sake of a common goal. Proven ability to come from opposing camps and work together as one.  Solid foreign relations experience, forward-minded yet strong on defense, and proven leadership skills, too. Plus, with Tortorella in the cabinet there is guaranteed Torts Reform.  Sounds like a big improvement to me!  GO USA (at least the contingent in Vancouver)!

Written by CORO Fellow Mykia Long on February 15, 2010.

Sadly, the time has come and we must say our good-byes. The last six weeks in this enlightening and frank-ful environment has been a tremendous learning experience for my partner Jon and me on so many levels.

As Coro Fellows, we’re always learning about the relationships within the sectors of public affairs (business, nonprofit, and government). The business sector is usually distinct from the others since it seeks to fulfill a single bottom-line, a profit. However, Franktuary’s double bottom-line of educating their consumers as well as making a profit sets them apart from many others in the sector. Their role as a business highlights the many responsibilities they must juggle, such as business expansion and waste sorter effectiveness, while trying to make a profit and promote healthy lifestyles.

Our projects and conversations with farmers, Franktuary’s staff, and others have given us a great opportunity to observe the workings of a small for-profit business and gain some expertise in food systems and sustainability to articulate to others. These experiences have also provided a deeper understanding of food creation processes, sustainable agricultural practices, and other means to encourage a healthful community.

Through our research, interviews, and film/reading assignments, we leave Franktuary having developed a nutrition manual for Franktuary’s staff, assisted in the transition to all recyclable/compostable products, and helped to develop a full-scale recycling composting program for their restaurant.

As we move forward in our next endeavors, we’ll always be grateful for our exposure to a profitable and honest business promoting a healthy community.

We’ll miss you Franktuary…

If you love Franktuary, say so here: http://lovealocalbusiness.com/.

Written by CORO Fellow Jon Harmatz on February 7, 2010.

Do cows eat grass? Is it important to have “fresh” foods in one’s diet? Why has our food become processed?

Yesterday at Franktuary we watched the movie Fresh. Fresh provided answers to those three questions above. Many Americans don’t seem to care about what is in their food or how their food is raised. All they seem to care about is both how quick and easy it is and how cheap it is. The movie discussed how even though we are looking for cheap, quick, and easy food to consume we actually do get what we pay for. Foods that are as cheap as McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s do not have as much nutritional value as when you buy organic, free-range, hormone-free food.

For example, cows are not carnivores, and are not created to eat dead matter like vultures do. Yet many feedlots feed their cows dead cow parts mixed with sugar and molasses. Cows are supposed to be able to graze the land. When I was five years old, in kindergarten, I was taught that cows say “moo” and eat grass; they eat grass because they have four stomachs that are made to digest grass. However, we now feed them dead cow parts and corn-based sweeteners. I guess my kindergarten teacher was only partially correct: cows do say “moo” but now they are cannibals, or at least human beings are turning them into cannibals.

Humans are now feeding chickens dead chicken scraps, the leftovers of industrial chicken processing. The very reason chickens have beaks and claws is because their appendages are made to scratch bugs from the grass and eat insect larva from cow manure, thereby cleansing the pasture of harmful bacteria. Chickens are not meant to eat leftover chicken parts; they are designed to be “nature’s clean up crew”, and they perform their job remarkably well on farms where healthy practices are in effect.

Humans also pump our food with too many antibiotics. Every time I go to the doctor and receive antibiotics (I get chronic ear infections) I am told to complete all of the antibiotics because if I don’t the bacteria will create a resistance to the antibiotic and it will not work for me anymore in the future. I am worried that we will make antibiotics become obsolete within society because we put antibiotics in our food. If we keep eating antibiotic pumped foods we will prevent our bodies from using those antibiotics to fight off our own infections.

We are not smart enough to outsmart nature but we are smart enough to work with nature and change the way food is currently produced. Some individuals already are doing this within their own communities. Fresh takes a tour of Growing Power Farm, free of antibiotics and pesticides in inner city Milwaukee, which is helping to feed and educate the community.

Right now America’s mainstream farming practices do not treat animals and the earth with respect. It is important that we let animals eat their natural diets with plenty of outdoor living space and not overuse antibiotics; otherwise, Mother Nature will take care of the situation for us, and we won’t like that.

Pittsburgh was swamped with 21 inches of snow this weekend. (We’re pretty sure you already know this!) Due to the un-plowed roads and sketchy public transit, Franktuary is closed today. If you trekked in to work and tried to come see us, drop an email to megan@franktuary.com for a consolation prize. See you tomorrow for $2 Tuesday!

Written by CORO Fellow Mykia Long on January 31, 2010.

As Franktuary works towards its mission “redeeming fast food one frankfurter at a time”, I’m on my own journey of discovering the importance of healthy eating and living. But I must say, I feel entitled to some overwhelming responsibilities since I’m learning so much about the manufacturing of foods consumed by so many Americans. Should I?

Let’s face it. Americans eat more than many other nationalities and much of our processed food is unhealthy; this contributes to the current obesity epidemic. Recent statistics show that up to 66% of the U.S. population is overweight or obese. These weight trends are even more pronounced among African Americans with 60% of African American men and 78% of African American women identified as overweight. (SOURCE: Netwellness.org)

As a Black woman from a lower class family, I can certainly understand the challenges of cultural and environmental influences on an individual’s diet. The availability, convenience, and cost of food plays a crucial role in a person’s health, as well as the eating habits we’re taught as children. The struggle continues on how to make nutrition a top priority, culturally and personally. Where do you start?

Through a light cloud of skepticism, I’m reading Michael Pollan’s #1 New York Times Bestseller The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I don’t doubt the fact that America is suffering from a national eating disorder, nor the despicable conspiracies between modern warfare and industrial agriculture. But the conflicts between the economical and biological logic of the production of such harmful products leave me with an overwhelming angst. Are these commercial food vendors really that greedy? How am I supposed to avoid all that Pollan claims is bad?? What do I do with all this knowledge now???

A trip to Garfield Community Farm provided some clarity on how I can serve as a valuable resource on my new-found journey. The neighborhood of Garfield in east Pittsburgh is over 80% Black and even with the emergence of residential developments and art initiatives, the low-income neighborhood still suffers from drugs, crime, and students falling behind on national tests. John Creasy and Kelly Dee lead the Garfield Community Farm and its mission is “to learn, teach and practice organic gardening and farming in the places that have been neglected and abandoned in and with the neighborhood of Garfield”.

This organization provides organic foods for the Garfield community at prices much cheaper than the closest grocers; but local families aren’t flocking to this accessible and affordable alternative. I plan to work with this organization with community education and see how I can use this knowledge and fulfill my moral responsibilities. However, I do understand that the logic behind this outcome goes far beyond the scope of eating healthy and supporting sustainable food practices, trust me. And it isn’t just Garfield; families across the nation are contributing to the unhealthy side of the food industry.

This example is a microcosm of a larger issue: our nation’s values don’t support healthy eating or a healthy planet. Efficiency, convenience, and a low price all trump biological wellness, from the industrial farmers with corn-fed cattle to the 13-year old boy in Garfield having Cheetos and pop for lunch. It has to stop somewhere…

We need an intervention.

Written by CORO Fellow Jon Harmatz on January 25, 2010.

Today at Franktuary we watched the movie Food Inc by filmmaker Robert Kenner. During the film, which specifically focused on the meatpacking industry and how cattle are raised, I was disgusted by the way food is produced in America. Along with raising cattle the movie discussed how human beings are being raised in a society where they have a perceived sense of choice at the supermarket. In today’s grocery store, we can get any type of food all year long but the days of the small family farm are almost gone. The food found in our supermarkets comes an average of 1500 miles away from large factory farms before it arrives at our table.

The misconception that large food companies want you to believe is that the food comes from local farms right to you. In order to emphasize this point, I just went to my refrigerator and looked at the margarine container that I used earlier this morning on my bread. The container said “country fresh” and there was a picture of a farm. I know for a fact that margarine is not a natural product so how could it come straight from a farm? Of course, this is not true. The margarine was made in a factory, not on a local farm near me and it’s certainly not “country fresh.”

Along with learning that most of the food products in a grocery store are not as fresh as I would like to believe, the workers are not treated as well as we would imagine. The movie specifically talks about how the meatpacking industry uses undocumented and illegal immigrants to work in their factories. The meatpacking plants send buses to Mexico in order to bring these workers to the United States to work in their facilities. Talk about herding cattle! Food Inc shows the industry herding people and treating people like they are just the dispensable property of the company they are working for.

The majority of the food that we eat nowadays is not healthy for us; it is not grown locally nor is it antibiotic free. I am worried that I will have diabetes by the time I am 30 years old. When I was younger diabetes was a rare disease: now, according to the statistics in the movie, one in three people born in the year 2000 will have diabetes by the end of their life. Diabetes is the inability for your body to process sugars because you overload your body with too much sugar. We can, however, do some things to change our eating habits and our food culture: we can buy local, buy fresh, buy organic, buy grass-fed beef and cut out all of the corn starches in our diets. Franktuary is working towards getting rid of all of the high fructose corn syrup products in their store in order to create a happier and healthier you.

Remember: Eat smart. Buy fresh and local. Your body will thank you for it.

If you haven’t noticed, our Locavore is talked about a lot.  Recently Mykia, one of our two CORO fellows, wrote a fabulous post about the importance of a diversified diet for beef and dairy cows.  Just yesterday, one of Pittsburgh’s finest food blogs, Burghilicious, higlighted Franktuary and the Locavore.

Surely, some of you are wondering what all the fuss is about.  “Does it really make sense to pay that much more for a hot dog, or is it just a marketing ploy?,” you might be wondering.  Well, friends, I believe it does make sense.  The reasons are many.

The following is the first of what I hope to develop into a series on the benefits of grass-fed beef.  This initial entry focuses on human health:

Franktuary’s relationship with Ron Gargasz Organic Farm enables the restaurant to offer an organic nitrate-free grass-fed all-beef frankfurter. Cattle raised entirely on field grasses produce a healthful balance of Omega-6 and Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs), while their grain-fed counterparts do not.  The end result is a healthier steer, a healthier frankfurter, and a healthier customer.

Many people believe they should maintain a diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids by eating seafood or using fish-oil as a supplement.  They’re absolutely right, but they’re only seeing part of the picture.  More important than the amount of Omega-3 consumed is the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 digested.  The human body requires both of these EFAs, but does not produce them on its own. Trouble begins when they are consumed in skewed proportions.  Experts agree that a healthy Omega-6 to Omega-3 dietary ratio is about 2:1, yet the average American eats to a tune of 25:1!  This is because vegetable oils such as corn, safflower, and sunflower, found in almost all processed foods, are rich in Omega-6 EFAs with virtually no Omega-3 content.

At the same time American livestock is routinely fed corn in place of its natural diet resulting in suppressed Omega-3 content and poor animal health.  Wild caught seafood is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids because this type of fish eats its natural diet.  Sadly, salmon, a carnivorous creature, is beginning to be fed corn in farm-raised situations.  It’s only a matter of time before fish is pronounced less healthy than previously thought.

When EFAs are consumed in proper balance the human body is less likely to experience inflammatory diseases ranging from stroke to Crohn’s disease to cancer. Ron Gargasz, a 30-year veteran of organic farming, has studied the EFA content of his beef in conjunction with Penn State University and knows its healthful ratio to be the direct result of raising cattle entirely on their natural diet of field grasses. In doing so he is also able to keep his herd free of antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides.  You know the adage, “We are what we eat.”  Simply put, pasture-raised meats and their grain-fed counterparts are different foods entirely.

Additional Information:
Print: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, Chapter 14, Section 2
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, Chapters 10 and 14
The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith or Anticancer: A New Way of Life, By David Servan-Schreiber
Film: Food, Inc. or King Corn
Television: “Get Fresh with Sara Snow”, Episode 21: “Back to Basics”
Web: www.rongargasz.com – Pie chart data taken from this website
www.marksdailyapple.com/concentrated-animal-feeding-operations