Food Tips, July 2026

Some practical advice:

1. We used to use Tofuky Chik'n all the time, but it hasn't been available in Tucson for years. (I still eat metric tons of Tofurky Deli Slices.) We currently use soy curls (picture of the bulk bag above; voice recognition helpfully sometimes translates as "soy girls"  😆 ). We have a dealer who sometimes gets us similar but super-cheap soy chunks from Mexico. 

But in the past year, having been veg for a combined 70+ years, Anne and I have been eating lots more tofu than ever before - specifically, Trader Joe's high-protein tofu. We freeze and thaw it, then put it in a tofu press. We'll use that in pretty much anything (except this, from 2014 - that uses soy girls). The tofu goes into everything from curry to "hash" -- normal potato, sweet potato, carrots, peas, and anything else we want to throw in (e.g., crushed tomatoes), spiced with whatever we're in the mood for....

2. It is incredible what spices and sauces are available! Berbere for an Ethiopian kick (in the winter, we'll make berbere lentils in the InstaPot - there are many recipes online; I don't even try injera); chipotle for that earthy Mexican; many curry pastes and powders. Trader Joe's has a wide variety to try (not just in meals, but sprinkled on bread or popcorn).

3. Prepared foods are quite excellent these days, speaking as someone who grew up on Salisbury "steak" TV dinners.  This red bean curry is one of our favs. Since Japan, we've also been eating a lot more ramen (generally ordered from here - you can just search on "vegan ramen;" yes, the "Hello Kitty" chicken noodle soup is vegan). We add in soy girls, peas, dried edamame, and extra siracha.  

4. We (especially Anne) eat quite a bit of Silk Soy Milk Yogurt. For some odd reason, ordering this directly from Amazon has been much cheaper than getting it directly at Whole Foods, even with delivery! 

I eat sauerkraut most days. We grow broccoli sprouts (2 minute video), too, based on our pal Ken's suggestion. We do this so much we buy 4.5 pounds of seeds at a time. We don't do any of the fancy stuff in other videos / guides - that linked short is all we do. We don't believe all the "fights / prevents cancer" claims about the sprouts, etc., but we like them well enough. They are cheap, it is easy to have them fresh (we have several containers going in sequence), and they basically taste like nothing (esp compared to kale, broccoli florets, etc.). 

5. Anne makes me overnight oats with nuts, dried fruit, protein powder, and soy milk. I add Trader Joe's frozen Wild Boreal Blueberries (the best tasting, IMO). 

6. Since I've not mentioned Trader Joe's, our friend Kari hipped us to their Thai Wheat Noodles. As per a meal she once made us, we just toss them in with sautéed tofu, veggies, ginger and garlic (TJ's has frozen garlic and ginger in little red containers) and then a teriyaki peanut sauce that Anne whips up (generally part of a bottle of store-bought teriyaki, TJ's peanut butter, and siracha). No need boil water, etc.

2025 #1: Idiot or Fanatic?

The most popular 2025 post: 

You know where to find that quote.

(Below is basically a rehash of this post.)

Several people I know badmouth alcohol as "poison." Of course, you get the same thing from many vegans about animal products, including the claim "Casein is the most relevant chemical carcinogen ever identified" - to which tobacco says, "LOLZ: Hold my beer." 

[Edit: This Freakonomics episode presents dairy as a wonder food.] 

This is the general pattern - what I do is correct. If you do less than I do, you're a "poison drinking" idiot. If you do more, you are a crazy fanatic.

My current take on the evidence is that physical fitness is the most important determinant of healthspan. Everyone has their "studies" to "prove" their personal view, but the numbers here convinced me that diet is not the single greatest factor.

Do you spend several hours every day doing optimal exercises? Do you get in just the right amount of Zone 2 activity, with regular blood draws during exercise to measure your lactate levels? Do you do perfect VO2 Max workouts? Do you do all the balance work recommended? Do you lift the right weights in the right way at the right time? Do you work walking on a treadmill, never sitting? Do you have a glucose monitor stabbing you regularly to make sure your levels stay optimal? Do you really get the optimal amount and quality of protein? Have you perfected mindfulness to keep your stress low? Do you get the optimal amount of sleep without any aid at all? Are you the perfect BMI and percentage body fat? Have you filled your life with a solid, loving social network? Do you care only about the things you can impact, and let everything else bad fall away with no impact on your mental health?* 

Wait. You don't do every single one of those things?

How can you stand yourself, you idiot?

Of course, I'm joking.

It took me a long time to get to this point, but I don't care if anyone thinks I'm an idiot. I don't care if others think or act like me. For example, I don't care if you drink alcohol, or do shrooms, or gorge on tater tots, or skydive, or worship Vishnu, or practice autoerotic asphyxiation, or run ultramarathons, or watch trashy TV.

What I do care about is suffering. 

It doesn't matter at all if another person's beliefs or actions correlate with mine.

What matters is if they are causing suffering, to themselves or (especially) to others. 

I don't know how to change anyone's mind to have them cause less suffering and suffer less themselves. But I do know that being right is clearly not the way to reduce suffering.

Genuine caring is better. True kindness is better. No judgement. We need to start there. 

It is very hard, I know. But it would be a huge advance.

Idiot or Fanatic?

You know where to find that quote.

(Below is basically a rehash of this post.)

Several people I know badmouth alcohol as "poison." Of course, you get the same thing from many vegans about animal products, including the claim "Casein is the most relevant chemical carcinogen ever identified" - to which tobacco says, "Hold my beer."

This is the general pattern - what I do is correct. If you do less, you're a "poison drinking" idiot. If you do more, you are a crazy fanatic.

My current take on the evidence is that physical fitness is the most important determinant of healthspan. Everyone has their "studies" to "prove" their personal view, but the numbers here from Dr. Peter Attia convinced me that diet is not the single greatest factor.

Do you spend several hours every day doing optimal exercises? Do you get in just the right amount of Zone 2 activity, with regular blood draws during exercise to measure your lactate levels? Do you do perfect VO2 Max workouts? Do you do all the balance work recommended? Do you lift the right weights in the right way at the right time? Do you work walking on a treadmill, never sitting? Do you have a glucose monitor stabbing you regularly to make sure your levels stay optimal? Do you really get the optimal amount and quality of protein? Have you perfected mindfulness to keep your stress low? Do you get the optimal amount of sleep without any aid at all? Are you the perfect BMI and percentage body fat? Have you filled your life with a solid, loving social network? Do you care only about the things you can impact, and let everything else bad fall away with no impact on your mental health?* 

Wait. You don't do every single one of those things (and many more)?

How can you stand yourself, you idiot?

Of course, I'm joking.

It took me a long time to get to this point, but I don't care if anyone thinks I'm an idiot. I don't care if others think or act like me. For example, I don't care if you drink alcohol, or do shrooms, or gorge on tater tots, or skydive, or worship Vishnu, or practice autoerotic asphyxiation, or run ultramarathons, or watch trashy TV.

What I do care about is suffering. 

It doesn't matter if another person's beliefs or actions correlate with mine at all. What matters is if they are causing suffering, to themselves or (especially) to others. 

I don't know how to change anyone's mind to have them cause less suffering and suffer less themselves. But I do know that being right is clearly not the way to reduce suffering.

Genuine caring and kindness are better. No judgement. We need to start there. 

It is very hard, I know. But it would be a huge advance.

*By the way, Attia's life is dedicated to optimizing all of the things in that "Do you?" paragraph. Including being stabbed all the time. And he drinks alcohol.   😜 

Ozempic is the new Prozac

Pet Shop Boys - Go West
(live at Red Square, 2015 - great on many levels) 

2023 Wasn't All Bad, Just Ask Lewis Black | The Daily Show

When I first heard the word "woke" used derogatively, I dismissed it as typical right-wing / old-man whining. Nick Offerman asked, "Would you rather be asleep?"

But over time, I've come to see "woke" as referring to a general negative viewpoint by many on the Left: Everything is terrible (e.g., you'll find someone to nitpick every Biden fact above). Everyone over 40 (or every white male) is racist / sexist / prejudiced. Disagreement is oppression. We're all doomed.  

"Better is good"

Despite my respect of and fondness for Kenny Torrella, and the often good work done by Future Perfect, Vox is my go-to to learn the "woke" take on the news. (Great example.)

I thought of this when Vox referred to "our body-fascist culture" in an article about Ozempic.* 

No.

You know what was fascist? Fascists & the Holocaust.  

Of course, our society does, in general, push for thinness. But this isn't a Scarlet Letter situation. You don't have to be thin to be successful or famous.

Many people want to lose weight. This isn't just because there are lots of thin celebrities. It isn't just because fat people are teased or bullied. 

People want to lose weight to be healthier and happier. Many people - especially in the United States - would live longer and better (lifespan and healthspan) if they weighed less. 

But: 

Evolution made it very, very difficult for us to eat healthfully and maintain an optimal weight in our modern abundance society. 

Human beings evolved in the context of caloric scarcity. Getting sweet / fatty / high-protein foods was an absolute boon for our ability to survive and pass on our genes. 

Today, however, desiring every possible calorie is simply unhealthy in a world of ubiquitous McDonald's and Starbucks and 7-Elevens.  

Sources 1, 2, 3; more recent trend

This isn't a moral judgment. This isn't mocking people as "weak" or ridiculing them for a lack of willpower. I'm the last person who would say that. Judging people for not being the weight they want to be is like jeering at someone for not understanding quantum chromodynamics, or not being able to run a 2:30 marathon, or not finding their soulmate.

I want more happiness for everyone. People have less happiness when they've binge-eaten, are suffering from diabetes, or are dead. 

It is not "body fascism" to note that most of us would have more overall happiness if we ate fewer donuts, chicken legs, and potato chips. (And it isn't normative to note we are inherently looksist. That's our world.) 

What is moralizing is to claim that people shouldn't take a drug that helps them lead the life they want. It is similar to people who say you should just tough your way out of depression. That's harmful.

If Ozempic can help us counter the pressures created by the food labs at PepsiCo and KFC and Mars-Wrigley Candy, then bravo, Ozempic! Novo Nordisk* and Eli Lili* will do far more real-world good than any diet book or motivational speaker or public health advocacy org. 

* Update: There is a new Eli Lili weight-loss drug, Zepbound, that is even more effective.

Our Ego Hurts Animals

Green Day (God's Favorite Band) / BJA - Ordinary World (live)

The deadliest food in the world.

Peter Attia, MD, has a new book*, Outlive, that discusses our best understanding of how to have the greatest healthspan - i.e., living as long as possible while healthy.**

A key takeaway is that most of us don't get enough protein, especially those of us who are older.

This inconvenient truth goes against the Vegan Dogma, which insists that people in the developed world get too much protein. Vegans don't say "too much protein" because we have done an honest, rigorous review of the latest research. Rather, we say "too much" because we can't admit that there might be any question about veganism's ease or perfection. This denial is taken to absurd and harmful extremes; e.g., one of the most common cups of Kool-Aid to consume is that even broccoli has enough protein. 

Here's a secret: 

No one has ever stopped eating animals because of that broccoli line. 

But: The vast majority of people who stop eating animals revert back. And today, the average person in the United States (and in the world) has never eaten more factory-farmed animals.

Another tenet of the Vegan Dogma is that everyone else is to blame for veganism's lack of impact. I get it - Vegans*** have their self-worth tied to the perfection of their Veganism. Yes, yes, yes, they are all much smarter and better than the rest of us.

However, those of us who care about helping animals instead of Defending the Faith must answer for our absolute failure to make the world a better place for other animals. That includes me (one of the reasons I wrote Losing****).

In addition to two other factors,***** dishonesty regarding health and nutrition drives the 80+% failure rate of new vegetarians and vegans. We are dishonest with ourselves (We Want to Believe) as well as with others. 

For example - every time I make this broccoli point, a Vegan will angrily comment: "But broccoli does have enough protein!"

<sigh>

I don't expect this column (or anything I write) to have any impact in the broader world. Humans - myself included - are fundamentally insecure and in desperate need of validation. But I would suggest you, my smart and good-looking friend, check out Dr. Attia. Here is a recommended podcast* that covers the book in depth. 

It could help to make you healthier and happier. Personally, I am working to get more protein (without increasing calories) and build up muscle, especially given my history [!] and age.

*Attia's book is wildly overwritten and could really use a Cliff Notes version. Sam Harris published an hour of his interview with Attia (we won't give Harris any of our money, so we're not subscribers and can't say anything about the last two hours). As expected, Harris used the opportunity to take a shot at vegetarians re: protein. 

**Dr. Attia says he used to think that nutrition was the most important factor to healthspan, but now thinks exercise is more important.

***Obviously, most people who don't eat animal products aren't self-centered dogmatists. But you know people who capitalize "Vegan" and can't discuss anything without saying the word "Vegan" over and over. It is why I argue in Losing that those of us who want to reduce suffering should stop using the word "vegan."

****You didn't think I'd go an entire post w/o mentioning my book, did you?

*****The two other main ways we hurt animals: lack of thoughtfulness in our messaging and anger and fanaticism. Shocking, I know.

PS: the daughter of one of the most famous vegan advocates ever is now an ex-vegan, pro-meat social media influencer. You can see her in this interview saying, "The human body can’t be vegan and healthy" and “I’m going to be eating animal protein at every single meal, because I believe that that’s how I can keep my life and my health.” On her website she touts her abandonment of vegan eating and urges meat and seafood consumption to stay well.

PPS: I'm not exempting myself from this post's title, as I hope Losing makes clear.

Tuesday Tip: Maximizing Mouth Money

Alison Krauss & Union Station - The Lucky One

Growing up, I generally didn't like what I was served. Pork chops, cheap cuts of cow, tuna-noodle casserole. [blech] Often, my bologna-and-Velveeta sandwich was the best thing I ate during the day. The only things I liked were tacos & pizza (which I often made, and only when my dad was working) and cheeseburgers & steaks (the latter were always a special occasion).

Except when we went to a seafood restaurant [double blech] going out to eat (also always a special occasion) was a fantastic reprieve for my tastebuds. 

This idea - restaurants good!** - was so ingrained that it took me decades to realize that what Anne and I ate every day was as good or better than what we would get at (or from) a restaurant. 

For example, my favorite recipe is better than nearly anything I've ever had at a restaurant. Anne prefers our green curry. (Two versions* - 1, 2 - although we don't get anywhere near that fancy: Potato, sweet potato, soy curls, carrots, peas, maybe some apple; the sauce is coconut milk, Thai Kitchen green curry paste, a bit of peanut butter, soy sauce - all to taste.)

This pie is easy and extremely tasty. Not the healthiest thing, but better than many of the ice creams out there.

*Just as restaurants aren't necessarily better than what you can cook, a fancier recipe isn't necessarily better than simple. There must be some algorithm that drives many vegans to publish such difficult and many-ingredient recipes. But: protein, veggies, sauce, carb. Loads of possibilities, minimal time and investment. Done and done.

**Heard on a podcast: "Restaurants are an expensive way to get fat."

May Day's Tuesday Tips: Crispy Lentils! (And music) (And I know it isn't a Tuesday)

I'm a sucker for potato chips and chip-like products (e.g., Pringles and Munchos) - so much so that I just can't buy them. 

But now, thanks to Trader Joe's, I can eat something not utterly terrible for me:  Papadums, lentil and chickpea crisps. Excellent - with a bit of fiber and protein (still saturated fat, though). And they come in puffy bags to prevent the chips from getting crushed.

And in music news, two quite different new sources:

Gray Days and Gold (eclectic happier mix every month, via Jane Friedman)

Merc Transmission 23 (techno, groovy playlist via Kenny Torrella) 

Tips Tuesday: Quick Protein

Song: Alana Davis, "Blame It on Me" (full album). "32 Flavors" and the title track are probably best.

 

Instant Vortex 4-in-1, 2-QT Mini Air Fryer Oven Combo

We put off giving into the air fryer hype for years. However, as Anne came to favor a new source of protein, it was much easier to crank up the air fryer than turn on the whole oven (especially during the warm months here). 

While my quick protein of choice is Tofurky Hickory-Smoked Deli Slices, Anne prefers Gardein's Seven Grain Crispy Tenders. (Not the best choice for meat-eaters, though; see here.) Pop them into the air fryer, and 12 minutes later, ready to eat!

Trader Joe's Fully-Cooked Falafel also goes into the air fryer. One of the many great things about Germany is that you can get good falafel all over the place. This falafel from TJ's is another easy fix - wrap with their herbed tahini, pickles, lettuce, and anything else...

And even quicker is Evolve Plant-Based Protein Shake, which Anne has in her coffee (along with some chocolate Oatly). I drink some before and after working out. We discovered this when my jaw was wired shut.

Every Get Fuzzy treasury is good!

Vegan food is so unsatisfying

After the fall I talk about toward the end of Losing My Religions, we were talking with the surgeon about my facial reconstruction. He told us I would lose weight during the many weeks my jaw was to be wired shut.

But ... no.

Although it was drug-needing terrible, I didn't lose a single pound the entire time. Anne would make me smoothies 'round the clock, featuring this protein drink (which we still use regularly) and Ben and Jerry's non-dairy ice cream (which we have to avoid buying) or Brave Robot ice cream (same). (But no the Ultimate Meal. Ugh.)

I totally understand that your average person considers eating plant-based to be a deprivation. ("Going vegan won't make you live longer. It will just feel that way.")

However, after 30+ years and the incredible advancements, I would have absolutely zero problems gaining 20 pounds in a few weeks. (It is actually hard to keep to a healthy body mass index, even exercising regularly.)

If Green New American Vegetarian were close to me, I'd weigh a lot more. Gawd, just LOOK at those dishes!

And:

Ronald's Donuts, Las Vegas. Real donuts, none of these "cake" things calling themselves donuts. Last time we were in Vegas, I was able to resist, believe it or not.

This is only a partial list, but obviously:

• Ice cream.
• Donuts.
• Tater tots / tachos. (OMG OMG OMG)
• Potato chips.
• Cheese / pizza.
• Impossible burgers.
• Full-sugar sodas and lemonade.
• Cookies.

To die for.

Tuesday Tips: Soy Curls, Almonds, etc.

Song: Alison Krauss "When You Say Nothing at All"

I'm going to try to make the blog more practical and useful going forward, not just my rants. I tried to put a lot of tips into Losing My Religions. Past blog tips: Money and OJ, Adblock &Tofurky & etc., Chocolate Crinkles!

Soy Curls. Simple, cheap, versatile. They separate by size in the bag; use the bigger ones like chicken strips (as in this recipe) or made into jerky, the small ones as ground meat, and the dust as extra protein in refried beans. We've ordered them from Amazon, Country Life, and directly from Butler.

Milton's Crackers. The best inexpensive cracker. EOS.

My current take on nutrition.

I have several openings for this post. They don’t really go together, so I’m just going to put all of them here because I'm lazy. Enjoy!

1. In the new book, I have a line from 1994, along the lines of:

When anyone found out Anne was pregnant, they became a nutrition expert.

2. Re-re-re-re-reading the book, I find myself continually revisiting the time when I was deep in the vegan bubble. Every problem in the world was caused by people eating animal products. Every issue could be solved by veganism. From the section of the book when I was getting ready to go in for heart surgery after thirty years of veganism:

I asked a vegan medical doctor what preparation advice they would have if someone might be having bypass surgery in a week. This person basically said not to have the surgery, but instead go vegan. I asked what to do if that wasn’t an option. I never heard back.

The surgery saved my life, BTW.

3. Here in 2022, every day is a war between my love of food and my hatred of blubber. 

4. In addition to hating blubber, the older I get and the more times I almost die, the more concerned I am with my physical health. The ideal BMI is around 21, and despite my efforts, I certainly don’t have enough muscle mass to justify being above that. Given that I want to remain attractive to and active with Anne, I need to stay healthy.

With that said, here is a brief overview of my current take on nutrition:

Americans get too much sugar and too little fiber.

Sugar here is crazy. I was looking at a fruit bar recently, and it has almost half the daily recommended added sugar. One fruit bar!

I’m not a “keto” person, but I think that simple carbohydrates are a leading cause of why Americans are so fat. When we eat these carbs (sugars, white flour), our insulin spikes and the body decides to stock that energy away in fat.

Complex carbs – whole grains – don’t seem to trigger an insulin spike.

From this article:

obesity rates remain at historic highs, despite a persistent focus on eating less and moving more, as guided by the energy balance model (EBM). This public health failure may arise from a fundamental limitation of the EBM itself. Conceptualizing obesity as a disorder of energy balance restates a principle of physics without considering the biological mechanisms that promote weight gain. An alternative paradigm, the carbohydrate-insulin model (CIM), proposes a reversal of causal direction. According to the CIM, increasing fat deposition in the body—resulting from the hormonal responses to a high-glycemic-load diet—drives positive energy balance.

Obviously, this isn’t to say exercise isn’t important, just that we can’t eat a high-glycemic-load diet and expect to stay optimally fit.

This is probably why people who go paleo (keto / Atkins / whatever is the label these days) often lose some weight. It isn’t that all carbs are bad, just the simple ones that are everywhere. Try to cut all carbs and you’ll cut the bad ones. Throwing out the baby with the bathwater, it would seem, but helpful in a way (no screaming baby).

So the first takeaway (after "do a diversity of exercises") is: Avoid sugar and other simple carbs.

I’m not sure what I think about fat. It seems there is a difference between eating five grams of fat in an avocado vs those same grams of fat in margarine. Is it just accompanying fiber? I don't know.

Protein is perhaps the most frustrating nutrient for me. Many (if not most) people justify eating meat as a way to get protein. This has led many (if not most) vegans to lose their minds when it comes to protein. Saying that Americans get too much protein and that broccoli has enough protein are probably some of the stupidest things anyone has ever said.

Ugh.

For decades and decades, a huge swath of vegetarians has waged war on protein. And people in the U.S. eat more protein than ever. 

People like protein. They crave protein. They expect it and are satisfied by it.

Vegans shouldn’t try to make protein the enemy. People love protein and hate animal cruelty. So rather than flail at protein, push on the animal side! (I started drinking this Evolve high-protein drink when my jaw was wired shut after I broke my neck and smashed my face.)

If we want to make a difference for animals, the foods we promote need to be what non-vegans are looking for, not what we prefer. Tasty, easy, satisfying, cheap.

Sorry – this was meant to be about nutrition and ended up another anti-vegan rant. Not very mindful!

In short: Cut out sugar and other simple carbs. Increase fiber and protein. If you can, exercise as much as you can. PS: Eat slowly. Food these days is so good (and generally so calorie-dense) that we can consume a lot of extra calories before our body can signal satiety.

No. Seriously: NO!

Two from Dr. Greger

After Marijuana Legalization Did Opioid Overdoses Go Up, Stay the Same, or Go Down?

• After medical marijuana laws were passed, opioid overdoses went down, about a 25 percent lower rate of opioid overdose deaths, and fewer people were filling prescriptions—not only for painkillers, but also for anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, anti-nausea drugs, antipsychotics, anti-seizure drugs, and sleeping pills.
• About half a billion dollars would be saved annually if medical marijuana laws were adopted across the United States, but the half-billion taxpayers would save is the half-billion drug companies would lose.
  
  

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Guacamole

When two milkshakes with virtually the same amounts of calories, sugar, protein, fat, saturated fat, and fiber, but one included peanuts, a whole plant food containing thousands of phytonutrients, were given to subjects, within hours of drinking the non-peanut shake, artery function was diminished by 20 percent. With the addition of peanuts, though, there was no significant drop in the ability of the arteries to relax and dilate normally, and walnuts may work even better.

Thanks Butler Foods!

Since the pandemic ended our access to Tofurky Slow-Roasted Chick'n*, we've been cooking with Butler Foods' Soy Curls (and more frozen tofu, and nooch-free plant-based chicken when it has been on sale). 

When we went to order another batch, it was up literally 50% at Amazon from December. So we ordered directly from Butler Foods this time. They included two bonus items! Taco crumbles (haven't tried) and jerky (we both like it). We're very grateful!

*Luckily, Trader Joe's still has Tofurky deli slices, my main source of protein every day!

Straight Talk About the Food We Grow and Eat

This is a most excellent book. Here is an excerpt, followed by some bits I found in reviews (apologies for transcription errors):

My research experience tells me not to yearn for an organic, local, or slow food system, since that would mean abandoning a century's worth of modern science. It would force farmers to accept more toil and less income, consumers would be given fewer nutritious food choices, and greater destruction would be done to the natural environment....

I want a food solution that works for all, including people who live on a budget and those without a lot of spare time. Dinners at Chez Panisse may be wonderful, but start at over a hundred dollars. Assembling healthy meals from fresh, unprocessed ingredients is a joy for many, but the time required for shopping, preparation, and clean up may be too much for a single parent with school-age kids....

I had seen poverty in America, mostly in cities, but the extreme rural poverty I encountered on this trip to Asia left me angered and upset, yet also motivated....

My colleagues and I who work in global food and farming can celebrate a considerable reduction in rural hunger and poverty in recent decades, especially in Asia. This progress has been sustained, in most cases, by making modern science-based farming methods available to the rural poor. This is surprisingly difficult to communicate back home, where science-based farming is routinely criticized for being too "industrial," and where a long list of nationally known food writers, journalists, and academics now promise distinctly pre-industrial alternatives....

Fertilizer use on America's farms has remained flat for the past four decades while total production was increasing more than 40%, and total insecticide use on farms is now more than 80% lower than in 1972.

With satellite positioning, drone-based sensors, big data, robotics, and now machine learning as well, a modern revolution in precision farming has made possible the production of more food by using less land, less water, less energy, and fewer chemicals, implying large benefits to the natural environment. This promising new path to environmental protection has been dubbed ecomodernism, since it works not by producing less, or returning to the past, but by using new technologies that can produce more with fewer resources.

One exciting ecomodernism project now underway is the use of molecular science to develop imitation products as substitute for meat, milk, and eggs, making it unnecessary to raise and feed so many farm animals.

And from reviews (note the one bad review is from a professor of animal science!):

-There are approximately 2,000,000 farms in the United States today, but the ones that really count in terms of food production are the 7% of US farms (150,000) which produce almost all of our food (ie. the farms which generate $500,000 or more in annual sales of crops and / or animal products).

-The pace of improvements in agricultural technology over the past century has been stunning. In 1900, nearly half the US population was required to work in agriculture in order to feed the country, mostly under very hard, primitive, and impoverished circumstances. Today, only 2% of the population work in the agricultural sector. Much of the work is still hard, but technological improvements over the years have made agriculture an incredibly more productive economic sector.

-The new technologies allow us to grow much more food per acre, while using far less water, fertilizer, pesticides, energy, and other inputs relative to outputs. Drones, robots, real-time satellite imagery and machine-learning technologies are accelerating the pace of productivity improvements even more.

Problems which need to be addressed by the food producers of the country include:

-Industrial scale animal farming is meeting with growing resistance in the larger society due to perceived cruelty and inhumane treatment of animals on a massive scale. These are not groundless charges. Perhaps the best solution in the long run will be the development of better meat substitutes or meat grown from cell cultures rather than directly from animals.

-Most farmers in the US are currently marching politically in lock-step with food manufacturing companies and lobbying groups to justify the production of the unhealthy foods which now proliferate on grocery store shelves. The author advises farmers to reverse course so that they don’t get the blame for the mounting health consequences of our current obesity epidemic, including heart disease, diabetes, and reduced life-span.

And:

In a world where half-truths and lies go around the world before the truth can get its shoes on, this book is a welcome oasis of fact-based, realistic descriptions of our food/ag problems and prescriptions for their solutions. The author does a good job of demonstrating how increasing sustainability means embracing 21st century agriculture, not regressing to 19th century agriculture. Such an embrace means producing more food with a lower footprint on the planet, wildlife, and farm animals.

I especially appreciated how though the author affirms many technologies embraced by so-called "big ag" (biotech crops, synthetic fertilizer, etc.), he doesn't withhold criticism where he thinks it's due (the routinely cruel treatment of farm animals, for example). His support for creating meat experiences without animals, via plant protein and cellular agriculture, was also refreshing.

I found myself nodding in agreement and vigorously taking notes throughout the book since there's so much in there I hope to remember. I highly recommend this book.

Vegans vs. animals: "Me me me me me me me."

The UK animal rights organization Animal Aid has been running a "Mark It Vegan" campaign since 2016. The group recently released a poll showing that some vegans, vegetarians, and self-identified meat-reducers would feel "valued" and "accepted" if grocery stores would mark their products in some specific way to signal those products are vegan.

Because, of course, vegans' feelings are the single most important concern in the world.

I also saw this headline about the poll: "Vegan Labeling May Increase Supermarket Own-Brand Sales." This headline is misleading for several reasons. The first is that the label wouldn't have to say "vegan" to signal to a certain population. It can be a subtle "V" symbol, or just say "100% plant-protein."

Worse, the survey was only of the veg / near-veg population. You can't say how overall sales would be affected without polling all shoppers. We have lots of data showing that labeling a product "vegan" or putting it in a special vegetarian section causes the product's overall sales to drop significantly (more).

So the question is: Do we want more animal-friendly products sold to the wider population, or do we want vegans to feel accepted? Sadly, loads of people fall in the latter category.

Quite Probably My Favorite Recipe

Here's the thing about my cooking: I rarely make a recipe the exact same way twice.

I'll vary it by what we have on hand, what was on sale, etc. Especially with a recipe like the below, nothing will go wrong (e.g., it isn't a soufflé that will fall if everything isn't exactly right). It is in keeping with our protein / veggies / carb / sauce approach to meals -- nothing magic, exotic, or difficult.

So here's the general recipe, and then notes / variations.

• 1 medium onion (generally red; optional-ish)
• 2 peppers (generally a red and a yellow)
• Some form of "strips" of veggie meat (we use a package of Tofurky strips, but have used half a package of Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips. You could use cut-up veggie burgers or even frozen-and-thawed extra-firm tofu; 2023 update - we now use soy curls)
• 1 apple (optional)
• Bottle of Enchilada Sauce (we generally use Trader Joe's; can use salsa)
• Oil as needed

Tortilla shells (or taco shells, or just chips)

I cut up about 1/3 of the onion into thick strips and saute them on medium heat for a few minutes. I stir in about 2/3 of a pepper (cut into thick strips) for a minute or two, then the chicken-less strips for a few minutes.

After 3-4 minutes, I add in another 1/3 of the onion, in thinner strips. After another 3-4 minutes, I add about 2/3 or a full pepper, also cut into thinner strips. After 1-2 minutes, I put in pieces of the apple and pour in the enchilada sauce; reduce heat to simmer. After a few minutes of simmering, it is good to go!

I serve on tortillas with shredded brick Daiya, along with Follow Your Hearts' vegan bleu cheese dressing, Hampton Creek's Awesome Sauce, Tofutti Sour Supreme, a homemade dip, Annie's Goddess dressing, or vegan ranch dressing. (I add habanero sauce for mine.)

We'll have any leftovers with rice and chips the next day.

By adding in the onion and pepper at different times, some will be well-cooked, and some will still be crunchy. (I generally save some onion and pepper for a future dish; e.g., Tofurky Italian Sausage w/ sauce, or for taco meat.) I also add in other vegetables, based on what we have on hand -- last time, I put in green beans -- the right size, and crunchy too! Putting the apple in at the last moment leaves those pieces crunchy as well.

Enjoy!

Simply Give People What They Want

One of the commonest questions I’ve gotten over the past 30 years is how to convince a loved one – often a spouse – to stop eating animals. It is a difficult issue, and I’ve struggled to find a satisfactory answer.

Today, though, it is much easier to answer this question. The key is to change the issue from “How do I get my partner to believe what I do?” to “How can my partner’s diet cause less harm?”

One mistake I made early on was to think that the only diet worth promoting was exactly what I ate. Spicy Thai dishes, vegetable-stuffed peppers, quinoa and mung beans – making extended family eat meals like these led to upset stomachs, resentment, and an even worse opinion of vegans and veganism than they had already.

Contrast this with people who don’t care about pushing personal philosophy, but simply want their family members to eat fewer animals. For example, we have friends who make their family’s Taco Tuesday meals with Gimme Lean Ground Beef. No one has ever noticed the change – except, of course, the cows who haven’t been killed.

Currently, most people have a negative view of vegans and veganism. Sadly, this is partially because some vegans are like I was – pushing vegan food that others might find “weird” and “unsatisfying,” all the while convincing many people that veganism is an intolerable deprivation.

Humans have been programmed by evolution to want fatty and high-protein foods. Instead of pontificating about the dangers of fat and the protein content of broccoli, we should recognize that basically no one eats meat because they want animals to suffer. They simply want familiar, tasty, satisfying foods.

We are extremely fortunate to live in a time when we have the ability to put aside our personal preferences and simply give people what they want! I have seen this work over and over and over.

For example, I was once working with MBA students at the University of Arizona on marketing research into attitudes about vegetarianism / veganism. After preliminary research, they created categories for individuals; one category was “hard core meat eater, will never consider changing.” On the last day of the research project, the owner of the local veg restaurant brought in “chicken fingers.” One of the students who had listed himself as “hard core / never change” exclaimed, with genuine surprise, “Hey, I could eat this!”

Ellen, who has never eaten “real” meat, would take Boca chicken nuggets to events in high school. These nuggets – never labeled “vegetarian” – were always scarfed down immediately. Once, a Science Olympiad teammate saw Ellen eating a nugget and exclaimed in shock, “Ellen! You’re eating meat!!” They couldn’t believe the nuggets were entirely plant-based.

So if you live with a meat eater, don’t try to convince them to “go vegan.” Just feed them what they want! If they don’t like Gardein’s Ultimate Beefless Burger, try the Beyond Burger. If they don’t like Beyond’s chicken strips, grab Tofurky’s! Tofurky’s sausage not a hit? Try Field Roast’s next. And I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like Gimme Lean’s sausage or Tofurky’s deli slices. There are so many “roasts” out there that you’re sure to find one everyone loves! My homemade seitan and gravy has satisfied the holiday demands of hard-core meat eaters, leaving everyone happy – especially the animals!

In the end, it is easier to agree on food first and worry about details like philosophy and purity later. We only care about the bottom line – that people aren’t eating animals, regardless of their reasons.