Mark's Daily Apple

5 Meats to Avoid

While we’re all about vegetables here at MDA, we have a special place in our stomachs for clean, lean meat. Yes, it’s the ultimate primal picture-caveperson (O.K.-caveman, but can we get points for trying?) returning from the hunt with dinner for the family.

Fun illustration aside, it’s more than the image. Meat, of the MDA-approved variety, means protein, omega-3s, iron, and a host of other nutrients. And, yes, there’s that gastronomical, savory satisfaction. (Apologies to the vegetarian set. We’ll stop now.)

Nonetheless, as we say here at MDA, not all meat is created equal, especially in the current era of antibiotics, hormone injections, grain feed, factory farms, and cloned animals-coming soon to a neighborhood store near you. (Yes, our friends at the FDA are expected to approve cloned meat and milk in the coming days, according to the Wall Street Journal.)

Posted By: Worker Bee

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A Food Revolution Manifesto

I am excited to introduce you to one of Mark’s Daily Apple’s favorite authors. His name is Sandor Katz (you can call him Sandorkraut), and he is a self-proclaimed fermentation fetishist, herbalist and food activist. In just two books he has inspired us to try our hand at creating our very own savory seed sauerkraut, and to (further) challenge the practices and tactics of multinational food conglomerates.

Posted By: Aaron

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Scented Bus Stops

Advertisers have been getting smart by appealing to consumers’ multiple senses.

To wit: scented bus stops. Bakeries like Mrs. Field’s have long maximized appeal by wafting sugary scents through the air, and now bus stops are following suit. For example, California’s Milk Processor Board ran a one-month campaign earlier this year that floated chocolate chip cookie aromas through several West Coast bus stops. It was cut short by – of all things – protesting San Franciscans!

And Aaron digs up another (older) case of multi-sensory marketing: move over perfume – hello, food-scented ads! (NYT Select)

Posted By: Sara

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The Daily Linky Link

Worker Bees’ Daily Bites:

What’s shakin’, Apples? I’m here to highlight the best links to get your week off to an informed and healthy start:

Big Pharma Misleads Consumers

Do you trust Big Pharma? You shouldn’t. (I know we said we’d lay off those guys for a while, but this is pretty important news. Official laying-off begins now.)

Dairy Ads Pulled

Finally! Sara practically passed out from joy at this news. (She has researched the Big Moo and Blunder Tonic diet deception extensively.) Want to lose weight? Start here.

More Scams Debunked

Deer velvet is my personal favorite. Come on, gimme a break! This site is no-frills but nicely summarizes some popular supplement scams. I disagree with the last one. What do you think?

Buy Milk in the Dark

This milk advice is one of the most odd, but useful, health tips I’ve seen yet. Buying milk that’s been exposed to fluorescent light destroys precious nutrients. (As you’ll note from reading our assorted research into Big Moo, I think your best bet is to buy raw milk from a reputable local source, but this is not recommended by the federal government.)

Mother’s Milk Vs. Nestle

To say I’m bothered by the fact that Nestle pushes baby formula on new mothers in regions that lack potable water would be an understatement. Breast-feeding is the obvious choice for nourishing infants in impoverished areas where clean water and good food are scarce for mom, let alone baby, but apparently Nestle would rather turn a quick profit and shove sugary formula (deficient in EFAs) down newborns’ throats. Thousands of babies are dying as a result. Read about it here. I for one am boycotting Nestle. They make a LOT of products – they’re the biggest food company in the world. Fortunately, they don’t typically make healthy food, so it’s easy to avoid supporting them.

Technorati Tags: oxycontin, deer velvet, Nestle, baby formula, dairy ads

Posted By: Elliott

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Monday: Evidently a Great Day to Melt

Worker Bees’ Daily Bites

Before we Bees expire from the sudden SoCal heat, Apples, we’ve brought you the best of the batch from today’s news and studies. Glaciers aren’t the only things melting around here. Where’s a walk-in freezer when you need one?

Redefining Risotto

Not that you health smarties would ever make pasta a part of your daily routine, but be warned: Target’s pasta is sauced in salmonella. Wait, Target sells pasta now? Where have we been?

This is J. Reed’s Flickr Photo

A Case for Starvation, Part 2

Strict calorie reduction: one of those very touchy, politically incorrect subjects bobbing about in health studies lately. Naturally…we’re all over it.

Want to live longer? Don’t eat much.

Food for thought: who says we need to eat three, or four, or six meals a day, every day, religiously? Why do we codify sensible health knowledge into bedrock health fundamentals not even kung fu masters could smash through? (Let alone Chuck Norris.) Will the world end if you don’t follow the three-meal-a-day rule? Will pigs fly if one day you drink two glasses of water and the next day you drink seven? Why do we like being bossed around like grade schoolers rules so much? Maybe the great philosophers were right. Maybe humans will do anything but think. Okay, enough pondering. We’re going to go dunk ourselves in a bucket of ice now. How’s the weather in your neighborhood?

Whole Grain Shenanigans

This study is incredibly irritating. First, no one ruled out other possible factors that would contribute to better cardiovascular health. Secondly, the results were based on questionnaires the folks filled out themselves. And thirdly, the reduction in heart attack risk was merely associative. But you can bet the cereal makers of America are going to brag about a bowl of sugar flakes saving you from a heart attack with more zeal than the dairy industry brags about milk being a “proven” weight reducer…

…of two whole pounds…in some people…in a study funded by Big Moo.

Yet what do we see all over magazines and television? Low-fat dairy makes you skinny. And now, Big Agra – er, cereal – keeps you from getting heart disease! They should just hop into a bowl together and save everyone’s health! Ooh, ooh, we know – how about cereal in milk? That will save everyone’s health and make them skinny! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?!

This is Peter Allen’s Flickr Photo

Thanks for the kudos!

Disclaimer: Flickr members graciously share their photos – so be sure to click the links to see their other works! They may not necessarily agree with or endorse the views expressed here at Mark’s Daily Apple.

Posted By: Worker Bee

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