Entries by Angela Herrmann

Despite my optimism after Tuesday's election, I am reminded today that Indiana has a ways to go ...

FBI investigating Elkhart cross burning

As a life-long resident of Indiana (so far), I was proud to call Indiana home Tuesday. As I reviewed the list of candidates on the Democratic ballot for my district in Marion County, the candidates represented people who are protestant, Jewish, Catholic, and Muslim; male and female; and black, white, and Hispanic (I sure hope I'm not missing anyone!) ... a little microcosm of the people I see around the city.

I engaged in a 22 hour fast Tuesday September 4. Why? To support the efforts of the U.S. Climate Emergency Council. I was not alone. In fact, nearly 1,200 people from all 50 states and 14 countries fasted. Fasting traditionally has been more of a spiritual practice for me, not political. But given the changes that I have observed in my short 40-some years on this Earth (including the change in Indiana's hardiness zone from 1990 to 2006, see www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm), to which I unknowingly and knowingly have contributed, this action seemed to be a logical extension of my spiritual practice.

Some might ask why I would do this and what difference it would make. Those are valid questions. Fasting always increases awareness of my body and how it works: a life system so complex that it has not been replicated in the lab. As I experience hunger pangs, I am reminded of some children I once encountered at a Nicaraguan gas station who swarmed our vehicle, asking for food or money, with glue bottles in hand; I am reminded of the growing numbers of homeless people around this city, left vulnerable because of rising prices of, well, everything. As I look around and see squirrels and wrens and butterflies darting around for sustenance, I am reminded that the abundance they enjoy is not shared by all humans—and we know better, don't we?

As I fill the time normally spent eating, preparing to eat, or cleaning up after eating, I am reminded of the resources that were not used to make food available to me ... no plastics, no fossil fuels, no water … I am reminded that virtually all we do happens around or in consideration of food. And yet, our food choices do indeed contribute to climate change.

How? In a study titled, "Diet, Energy and Global Warming," the writers include many statistics, such as this one: "In 2002, the [U.S.] food production system accounted for 17 percent of all fossil fuel use in the United States." The article concludes by saying that an American consuming a mixed diet (meat and vegetables) contributes 6 percent more of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions than an American who eats a plant-based diet. (The article is available online at
http://geosci.uchicago.edu/~gidon/papers/nutri/nutriEI.pdf.)


Yes, I fasted for only a day. Some have continued their fast. In the scheme of things, one person for one day probably did not make that much difference. But I was one of 1,200. Next time, maybe two to three times that number of people will voluntarily fast ... meanwhile, the opportunity, or the luxury to fast (because too many don't have a choice, they simply go hungry, even in Indianapolis) has afforded me an opportunity to more mindfully consider the choices I make and how those choices affect those around me and the climate.

Farmers' Markets rank in Grinnell, Iowa.

My recent adventures found me feasting on local food in Iowa last week. While many would not consider the middle of Iowa a vacation destination (cyclists take note: Iowa will kick your b---, Iowa has hills!), I was thrilled by what I found there ...
Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food VIII: Eating local in Iowa"

Oh yeeeeeah ... it's Thursday and Anita has delivered the box filled with corn, lettuce (not the boring heads of lettuce in a bag you buy at the grocery), tomatoes (five different varieties, if I've identified them correctly), green peppers, cucumbers, and eight-ball (round) zucchini. It's August in Indiana. It just doesn't get any better than this. With the exception of popcorn and chocolate, I've managed to eat most of my meals produced on Indiana soil in recent weeks.

I concede that when you decide to eat what's in season and available, you have to get creative. Let's take the cabbage that I've been working through. It was plentiful at the Homestead Growers farm, I saw it (and I still need to talk about that visit to the farm on the blog ...) Four days ... eight meals later ... six of those leftovers. But, I am the queen of leftovers, I can't throw out anything. Home-made cabbage rolls (with home-canned tomato sauce from 2006, onions and garlic, also raisins, but they probably came from California) and cabbage soup, with lots of other vegetables, kept me going for nearly a week!

As for dinner tonight? Corn on the cob and salad!

As one who studied journalism way back when, I take it upon myself to be specially qualified to critique a publication's news judgement.

Case in point: a week ago, July 24, when I was still in Fort Worth, as I got on the elevator with some folks I knew, I noticed that one of them held the morning's USA Today. Of course I asked, " What are the latest headlines?" To which she replied, "Drew Carey is going to take over the Price is Right." "Really," I replied ... "Now tell me some news that matters ..."

Ok, that was a little harsh, but here's the thing: Buried on page 8 of the Life section ... the LIFE section! ... next to the article on low 'health literacy' raising people's chances of death, is this headline, "Botulism scare forces wider recall."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with 90 brands affected by the botulism recall, I'm guessing that the odds of a can of bad food in the pantry just might be greater than the odds that someone is going to tune in to the Price is Right. Or am I wrong? Meanwhile, when all of those cans are stripped from the grocery store shelves, where do they go? Does anyone know?

This kind of news makes the local stuff look a little more appetizing ... even if I can't readily identify it, at least I know who grew it.

The closing message of Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko, advises viewers to "Eat your fruits and vegetables, and go for a walk."

If that's what it takes to avoid the health care system, then I'm for all
for it. Perhaps what I'm doing is working, or perhaps I was privy to a
few good genes (some farmers grace my family tree). A few years ago
when I changed dentists, the assistant asked me about my prescription
drug usage, to which I responded, "I am not taking prescription drugs."
Somehow she could not wrap her mind around my response, and asked if I
was sure I was not on prescription drugs. By the time I left that day,
I had been asked about my prescription drug usage no fewer than five
times. Apparently at my age then, around 40, not being on a
prescription drug was unusual. Wow. What is happening to us? Despite
what my 23-year-old nephew thinks, I am not old.

So, back to those fruits and vegetables ...

Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food V: "Eat your fruits and vegetables ...""

Week four delivery ... and just what is that large, green leafy "thing?" I better check the e-mail update from Homestead Growers ...

Week four into the CSA ... and it has happened: despite my experiences from last year's CSA, knowing that if I don't eat the fresh produce in time, my refrigerator can become home to amazingly colorful, fuzzy life forms.

Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food IV"

Choluteca River in souther Honduras after Hurricane Mitch (1998). Photo credit, University of Texas.

Local food is about place. I thought about this yesterday as I considered the latest delivery from Homestead Growers while paddling the White River south from Broad Ripple. Indianapolis residents are quite fortunate to have a tree-covered riparian corridor passing through the middle of the city.

And then I thought about Honduras, a place I have visited twice to do volunteer work.

Continue reading "Adventures in Local Food III"

Week two of the CSA delivery. I opted for home delivery for two reasons: pick ups weren't so convenient for me (I did that last year) and Anita Spencer, who makes the deliveries, will spew fewer CO2 emissions in the atmosphere making a round of deliveries each week than if every member drove to the pick-up sites.

In the old days -- the days before I had a clue that the source of my food should matter -- a near drought situation in Indiana, or anywhere, for that matter, was something that concerned someone else, not me. Now that I have a vested interest in the success or failure of Homestead Growers, and the farmers I've met at the farmers' markets, a severe lack of rain matters, in my vegetable garden and on their farms.

Last week when Anita dropped off the goods, I asked about the rain situation. She said they had been watering like crazy ... and according to the latest e-mail update corresponding to this week's delivery, the watering continues. Perhaps a good reason why small, diverse farms make more sense than big, industrialized, mechanized agriculture.

Meanwhile, given that I'm receiving a half share each week, and given that I am supposed to share half of that with my friend Sue who is traveling, it follows that I have leftovers of most items, except the cucumbers (which I seem to crave in this heat) and the shitake mushrooms, which I can't seem to get enough of.

I've joined a CSA ... in the upcoming weeks, I will post regular updates to the NUVO Web log about my experiences with local food as I learn how to eat that green stuff in the box ... and my updates will probably be spiced with some commentary on life. After all, food is life, life is food, in my world anyway.

Meanwhile, if you're wondering what a CSA is, you can read the NUVO
article I wrote to learn more.

http://nuvo.net/articles/community_supported_agriculture/

I'll keep this short for now so that you will return to read follow-up vegetarian-friendly posts (the pigs can rest easier now).