Many people associate monosodium glutamate (MSG) with Chinese food, but it’s actually in a lot of what we eat, whether it is added to processed foods or naturally occurring in more umami foods, like cheese, fish, and mushrooms. While it gets a bad rap, recent studies indicate that it’s probably not the villain it has been painted to be over the years.
This post marks five years of Radical Moderate! I had a lot of choices for topics related to the fifth anniversary gift of wood, but my recent examination of ‘90s nostalgia reminded me of an important cause I encountered as a young environmentalist: deforestation. There are many contributing factors to this big issue, but there are also some things we can do to help.
It’s been a long year, and I was feeling too burned out for resolutions (of which I usually make at least 10). But what if I made a resolution to have more fun… and backed it up with my own data on how to do that… and employed a color-coded spreadsheet? I’m embarking on something I’ve never done before: committing to one single resolution.
After eating many amazing, truffle-filled meals in Italy last fall, Christian decided to get me a truffle for Christmas. Despite the rapid expiration date and mile-high carbon footprint of this tiny fungus, I loved every bite of pasta, pizza, and eggs graced with its presence. I also wanted to know how I could get the flavor without repeating such an expensive and impactful purchase.
I arrived at vegetarianism 20 years ago to support animal welfare; I upped the stakes to vegan this month to decrease my carbon footprint. Cutting animal products out of your diet is one of the best things you can do for the environment, and more people are taking steps in that direction for just one meal a day or one day a week, rather than going cold-turkey.
A vegan diet can be healthier than one high in animal products, but it isn’t inherently healthier. There are a lot of nutrition factors to consider when removing animal products from your diet, which is why this second installment on vegan health was an unexpected overflow from the previous week and still only represents the tip of the iceberg of nutrition information for vegans.
The first question any vegan or vegetarian is likely to hear is “where do you get your protein?” During almost 20 years of being a vegetarian, I got sick of that question, but when going vegan for the month of January, I had to ask it of myself in earnest. Turns out there are more protein sources in the plant world than I ever knew.
Compassion for animals is often cited as the most important reason to go vegan. It is why I originally went vegetarian, but the extra step toward veganism seems unnecessary if the animals are treated well as they produce milk, lay eggs, or make honey. In fact, there are some foods that are vegan by definition but that can have some unpleasant effects on animals.
I usually head into January with a commitment to eat fewer animal products. While I am full vegetarian, I love dairy products, particularly cheese. In my carbon footprint research a year ago, I discovered that cheese is the third-worst food you can eat, after beef and lamb. With a heavy heart I recommitted to cutting back on dairy, starting with a full-vegan January.
Some of my most controversial, infamous, and still-talked-about Facebook posts of all time involve something that seems to draw opinions from even the most reserved people I know: expiration dates. Many people believe that the “sell by” or “best by” dates stamped on food are the end-all, be-all, definitive line between “safe” and “not safe” for food, and in almost every case that is not accurate.