Authors of a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tested for carbon and nitrogen isotopes in 480 servings of beef, chicken, and french fries. From these tests, the authors could tell that the animals were kept in confinement, ate a mostly-corn diet, and maybe even ate their own poo. Very interesting. Check it out.
“Because the food chain has become so long now, and it’s a global industry, we want to know the origin of our food as consumers,” says Monahan. “Consumers nowadays want to know the story of their food.”
-Dr. Frank Monahan, a scientist at University College Dublin, from the Forbes article: “What’s Really In Your Fast Food?“
Speaking of long food chains. Source: Oklahoma State University Extension
Wow — I knew it was more complicated than “Farm — Slaughterhouse — Grocery Store” but I usually don’t think of the trucks, the other assemblers, etc.
Now that I think about it, it’s pretty amazing how many outlets are available to me as a food shopper, and how many are NOT available to millions of people around the world and in my own country that can’t afford to go to specialty food stores or even regular grocery stores.
I read Kingsolver’s book last year and got fired up about being more hands-on with my food. After a failed vegetable crop and my ever-long and difficult struggle with time management, I admit to eating more processed foods than ever.
Perhaps ’09 will be the Year I Finally Pay Attention to Food?