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 Mykia Long on January 18, 2010.

If you’re like most people, you probably eat lots of different foods: asparagus, bread, Skittles…just to name a few. But if you want to be a conscious carnivore, answer this question: what does your beef eat? Do you know its diet? What about your milk? Do you know if it’s healthy? I would hope so, because that’s a pretty intimate process – making the decision to ingest, savoring each particle, and then allowing those ingredients to serve as sustenance for your being.

I hadn’t thought much about this before visiting Ron Gargasz Organic Farm in Volant, PA (home of Franktuary’s famous Locavore). It makes sense though…what goes into the cow makes up its flesh and in turn goes into me (and many other meat and dairy consumers). What blew my mind was the fact that most beef in our country has a concentrated high-corn diet. Burgers in restaurants and steaks in supermarkets come from grain-fed cows housed in feedlots. A high-corn diet helps to produce rapid weight gain and isn’t that expensive since the government pays for part of its production; hence, farmers can get more bang for their buck with their cows solely eating corn and grains.

But there’s one big problem. Cows can’t digest corn.

Cows are ruminants, which means their stomach ferments grass and converts it into protein and fats. They are not physically equipped to digest grain. Replacing a cow’s diet with grain instead of corn poses a host of serious maladies, like the presence of E. coli, which can only be interrupted by a constant diet of antibiotics. Ugh.

Ron eliminates this problem, and feeds his cows on a poly-culture diet. Not only does he avoid corn and grain diets, which is surely boring to the cows and lacks a wide range of nutrients, he also feeds them with hay crops consisting of multiple grasses.

“I try to give them a mixed salad of forages…alfalfas, orchards, and drier hay when they’re near processing,” says Ron. “The more diverse I make their diet, the more minerals [are present in the products].”

All in all, grass-fed beef and dairy with a varied diet is better – for the animal, and for us meat eaters and dairy consumers.

P.S.: Happy MLK Day – it was intriguing to see the influence of diversity in another part of life.

Happy G-20 week! Come try some of our fabulous local products and introduce yourself to a taste of the Steel City. Our organic grass-fed frank, soda from the Natrona Bottling Company, and pierogies are a great place to start.

Franktuary is downtown, only blocks from the convention center. 325 Oliver Avenue, between Wood and Smithfield Streets. We’re open from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. 10:00 am to 3:00 pm tomorrow. Visitors most definitely welcome!

Debuting tomorrow, the Locavore is an organic, nitrate-free, grass-finished, locally-raised, fifth-of-a-pound frankfurter. Simply said, it’s one sensational sausage!

During the month of July the Locavore can be purchased for a special introductory price of only $4.25. Supplies are limited in the early-going, so visit sooner than later and be among the first folks in Pittsburgh to experience this very special tubesteak!

Unfamiliar with the benefits of organic grass-finished beef? Check out this link:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/concentrated-animal-feeding-operations/