Hungry? You Ain’t Seen Nothin Yet!

There can be very little doubt that the defining era of human history will not be caused by nuclear destruction, energy depletion, pandemic or religious zeal – although these may indeed come to pass - as symptoms of a root cause. By the year 2050, given the current scenario, the planet earth will likely be unable to nourish more than 60% of its 9 billion people. Starvation, its consequences, and how we respond will be, for many, many reasons, by far the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. It has massive human, ecological, resource, geo-political, technical, ethical and personal implications.

We are a long way from figuring out how best to respond – and it is clear that the current model is lining up to be a train wreck of epic proportions.

The Malthusian Dilemma: 18^th century economist Thomas Malthus concluded that "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man". In very simple terms, he pointed out that, since population growth is exponential and productivity gains are incremental (geometric), food supply will always limit population growth. In other words: If there is food available, populations explode until they are limited by their ability to produce more food. In the 200 years since Malthus, we have seen proof of his theory. Periods of population growth are always preceded by a revolution in agricultural productivity.

In 1850, it took 8 people to feed 10. Today it takes 2. The four largest ‘spurts’ in population correspond to the four great agricultural productivity innovations:

·         Transportation: The late 1800’s – rail brought food to the city and goods to the farm. It also started the exodus from farm to city. Farmers began to produce more than they consumed.

·         Mechanization – The mid 1900’s tractors drove the acreage tillable by one person from under 40 to over 1,000.

·         Cheap Nitrogen – Until 1915, nitrogen (the single most important nutrient in growth rate) came from manure. The Haber-Bosch process (invented about 1915) gave us the ability to make nitrogen fertilizer from natural gas. Today, conservative estimates say that 60% of our yields are accomplished through the use of chemical fertilizers – nearly all of which come from oil and gas.

·         Genetics – In the second half of the 1900’s, genetics quadrupled corn yield and increased animal production nearly 10-fold.

World population growth rate has exceeded 2% four times throughout all of human history: 1880’s, 1940’s, 1950s and 1960’s (where it peaked at 2.3%/yr.). Since the 1970’s, it has slowed to about 1%.

A few not so fun facts:

Today we are adding the population of Germany to our planet every year (80 million).

97% of population growth is happening in agriculturally (and economically) ‘poor’ countries.

Virtually ALL population growth is occurring in cities.

When cities grow, for historical reasons, around markets and transportation, they typically displace the best agricultural land.

20% of the population consumes nearly 80% of the agricultural output – mainly caused by demand for animal protein in the ‘wealthy’ countries: US, Canada, Japan, Australia and Saudi Arabia. (It takes 18 lbs. of grain to produce 1 lb. of beef.)

As economies around the world develop, the demand for animal protein is growing 7 times faster than the demand vegetable-based foods.

The US produces 35% of the world’s wheat, 60% of the corn and 20% of the rice.

Most of the land in China, India, Africa and other areas where the population is growing will not produce food without irrigation and chemical fertilizers.

US corn yield is 155 bu/acre. In India it is 26. US milk/day/cow is 80 lbs. In India it is 8.

 

In considering the issue, a real solution exists only within a very few actions:

1.       Limit population growth: This, of course, is THE solution, but a very morally and philosophically delicate one to implement. However, since out of control birth-rates are primarily driven by ignorance, religious zeal and poor government policy, it can and should be impacted on those platforms.

2.       Limit the consumption of animals: A moral imperative for the ‘wealthy’. Meat, as a nutritional ‘need’, was born of abundance and followed by gluttony. It is not a requirement for good health – and, in fact, may be at the root of a subclass of the food crisis – malnutrition in the face of obesity. Moreover, the ‘wealthy’ have many important food choices often not available to the vast majority: organic, local, sustainable, perishable, heirloom – and access to huge variety.

3.     Drive another revolution in agricultural productivity (including sustainability and real nutrition): Take off the shackles of the techno-fearing fanatics and fund this - and it will produce results. It is our quickest way to a solution – keeping in mind that it is only a short-term fix if not done thoughtfully, with an eye to sustainability, real nutrition and population growth. (Of course, more food, without controlled population growth, just delays the inevitable.) Our past jump to technology may have created some unintended consequences - issues that need not be repeated - but, without it, the population is already too big.

No fan of government intervention, I would prefer to drive these changes at the individual level. Personal commitment and grass roots movement can (and does) go a long way. However, food supply may be one of the few things (like roads, human rights and security) that our governments should provide.

And the consequence of not taking action on any or all of the above? The US will be compelled, by moral obligation or force, to feed an insatiable world. Make no mistake: Starvation is a mighty motivator, desperation is a super-rational rule-rewriter, and envy a sure cause of resentment and violence. At the very worst, the starving hordes, having very little to lose, with take our food-wealth by force – likely resulting in what we have always feared most as the world-enders: nuclear confrontation, energy depletion, Armageddon by pandemic and/or rule by religious/political zealots. At the very least, this will dramatically change our environment, cost of living, cost of energy, cost of foreign aid, world-role, political orientation - and will grant huge power to agribusiness.

Denny's Best 25 Mile Bike Loop (Minneapolis)

For me, a summer bike ride is more about the setting than it is about the exercise. If you’re with me at all on that, this loop will quickly become one of your faves. (Plus, with this loop, you get 2 free miles: It’s actually only 23.) It takes you through some of the best places Minneapolis has to offer: The Lakes, Downtown and the Mill District, the Mississippi and Minnehaha Creek and Falls. Nearly all of it is dedicated bikeway and a fairly level grade. (Be sure to take the loop clockwise as outlined on the map. That way you will get a nice-7-mile-long-slightly-downhill run as you follow the river towards the falls.)

Google Map of Denny's Loop

Fuel Stops
 
• Start out at the Turtle Bread Company in Linden Hills: Free/easy/secure parking at a great place to get a box lunch or stop after your ride.

• Plenty of places for food and beverage along the Nicollet Mall, or take a nice break in the shade at Peavey Plaza (mile #8).

• Plan a stop at Sea Salt: Grab a bite of great food from the people that own Coastal Seafood, the area’s premier seafood distributor. They quite often have live music – and they always have Sebastian Joe’s ice cream and Surly and Summit on tap. Plus – the Minnehaha Falls are right there. (Mile #16)

Other features

• Lake Harriet Band Shell and the Bread and Pickle: Happens pretty early in the ride, but a great place to stop for a view or ice cream or ice tea. Check out the music schedule too: Band Shell Music Schedule

• If you’re new to town, you’ll want to take a picture of the famous ‘Mary Tyler-Moore house’. Just a couple of blocks off-course from the old horse-watering fountain.

• Take a picture at the ‘Dandelion’ fountain in Loring Park.

• Plan to stop and take some pictures – or at least take the time to look – around the Mill Ruins area: Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie, St. Anthony Falls, Ruins Park, the Falls Laboratory, Gold Medal Park, Old Pillsbury ‘A’ Mill, 35W Bridge Memorial, etc.

• If you’ve got time (and want to add 2 miles) cross the river at the Northern Pacific Railroad bridge (just past the 10th Avenue bridge) follow the East River Road, take a right by Yudof Hall (just before the Medical Center) and pick up the trail at the south end of the parking lot. This way you’ll get to see the U of M campus, Weismann Museum and go on the neat river cat-walk. Cross back on the Franklin Ave. bridge.

• Consider a stop at the Lock and Dam – it’ll add 45 minutes to your trip – but it’s very cool.

• If you missed it at Sea Salt, be sure to get some Sebastian Joe’s in Linden Hills – you’ve only got another 5 blocks to go, after all!

• Clean restrooms (even though some are porta-potties) are noted along the way.

Here’s a great Google Map that shows the route and features, mile-by-mile. It should work on your smart-phone too: Google Map of Denny's Loop

Obesity: A One-Two Punch from Obsolete Hard Wiring

Punch #1: Bigger is Better

Studies have shown that, when given a choice, birds will preferentially sit on the bigger of two eggs. Why? Bigger eggs have more nutrients to nurture the embryo so, when it hatches, it is more mature – and is more likely to survive. Makes perfect sense – unless you introduce an egg that is outside of their evolutionary reality: Give them a giant egg (i.e., of another species) and they will ignore their offspring to sit on it. Obviously, in this case, their hardwiring produces the wrong response. For good nutritional reasons, we are conditioned to seek out bigger fruits, plumper prey, rounder melons, and brighter colors.

Supersize Me

In study after study we find that people will chose larger portions (in some studies, up to 90% of us will) and will eat more, if given a choice between ‘regular’ and ‘super-sized’. Even if we don’t eat all of a larger portion, we eat a minimum of 30% more just by virtue of being offered a larger portion. Other studies show that, even before deciding to eat, larger is more appealing: we salivate more, pay more attention to and are willing to work harder for ‘big’ things – including cups, plates and packages – even bigger pictures get us more excited.

Punch #2: Too Much Is Never Enough

All higher order animals have some type of built-in mechanism that regulates caloric intake relative to activity and other energy needs. However, in some cases, our evolutionary reality never provided an opportunity for “too much” of some nutrients. There simply was no need to hard wire an upper limit on things like salt, sugar and fat – because the foods available to us (or the energy required to get them) meant that, in practical terms, we could never get enough.

The Land of Plenty

It is estimated that, during most of our 200,000 year developmental history, we expended significantly more than 2/3rds of our resources on feeding ourselves. At the time of the Civil War it still took 80% of the population to feed us. Today less that 3% of us are actively involved in primary food production.

On the other hand, the 3% of us that are farming allow us all to consume over 1/3 lb of pure fat, per person, per DAY (soybean, corn and animal) – and the demand has jumped 15% in the last 15 years.

At the time of Caesar, salt was scarce enough to be used as a currency (the English words salt and salary both come from the Latin root sal, or salt.) Today it is estimated that we have enough readily available salt around and under the Great Lakes to allow unbridled consumption for at least the next 70 million years.

Before Columbus introduced Europeans to sugar, normal foods simply were not sweet.  Even at that, ‘sweet’ was the exclusive parlance of the aristocracy, who would sometimes consume up to 4 lbs. of sugar in a year. It was considered a ‘fine spice’ and used sparingly. For American settlers, ‘sweet’ came from apples and sweet potatoes. Honey was the only ‘sweetener’ for most of our history. Fast forward: Last year (USDA) we consumed 156 lbs. of sugar per person.

Obsolete Hard Wiring 

Until relatively recently, it was virtually impossible to get too much fat, salt or sugar. Our brains developed ways to motivate us to find these scarce nutrients (dopamine) and enjoy them (endorphins), but had no reason to develop a mechanism for stopping us.

Combine our innate drive to find as much fat, salt and sweet as possible with our conditioned preference for bigger – with the fact that all three are cheap and incredibly available – AND with the realization that we have never before needed an ‘off’ switch - it is no wonder that the hardwiring that served us so well has not only up and left us flat – it has left us fat.

Bike-ride Eateries: Three places worth some pedal-pushing.

With the warm weather, out come our bikes – which are primarily used as transportation to and from great places to eat. This spring we’ve landed at three that are definitely worth some pedal-pushing:

Tilia 43rd St. in Linden Hills
http://www.tiliampls.com/
Opened in March, Tilia (Latin for ‘linden) is a nice cross between neighborhood tap and funky-foodie place. They maintain a nice rotation of 21 interesting draught beers and have my personal favorite – a $3 PBR Tall-boy can. Great wine-list too – not too heavy on the California’s, which I think is a plus. Good clean menu items that are nicely conceived, executed and presented - but definitely not over the top. The crowd is cool and varied – young, old, and from goth, to aging punksters, to white-bread SoMpls-ites. The main guy, Steve, plays the laid back owner-schmoozer part to a tee. It’s always crowded, even on Mondays, and they don’t take ressies.

For your bike ride: Just up the hill from the Lake Harriet band shell and take either Queen or Linden Hills Blvd a block or two south.


Yum where Mtka Blvd splits off from Lake St. on the south edge of Tyrol Hills
http://www.yumkitchen.com/
If I didn’t know better, I’d say the old Lincoln Del was reincarnated a block away as a cafeteria – and I hate cafeterias, but this one is different. Open and airy with a clean floor-plan that includes a gleaming kitchen and central bakery setup – it just feels like quality. The food is not fancy and has a deli orientation. But - it is definitely not deep-fried or Sysco-inspired. It’s all house-from-scratch and authentic - and incredibly good. Crowd is upscale: mahjong ladies, neighborhood princesses and meet-dad-after-soccer families.

For your bike ride: Peel off from the Cedar Lake bike path onto Sunset Blvd and turn left on Glenhurst.


Sea Salt on the Grand Rounds at Minnehaha Falls
http://www.seasalteatery.com/
In the old park refectory building, Sea Salt is sort of fish shack meets the state fair. It has great outdoor seating and a ‘20s park-pavilion feel. Food offerings range from oysters on the half shell to deep fried fish’n chips-type choices – with tacos and red beans and rice in between. Good quality and FRESH (Coastal Seafood) – but no chefs here! The only real down-side: You need to wait in a (often long) line to place your order and then wait again for the food-runner to call your name. For sure, though - a really enjoyable place to soak in the afternoon sun and have a beer while watching the tourists give Hiawatha’s sculpture and the falls a look-see.

For your bike ride: Just follow the signs to the falls. I can’t even imagine driving to Sea Salt. It’s the perfect bike destination!

So, in the words of Queen: "Get on your bikes and ride..."

Lactose Intolerant? Which Dairy Products Contain Lactose? How Much?

Milk, the starting point for all dairy products, basically has four components.

Two components that don't mix with water:
     • Casein – the protein used to make cheese.
     • Fat - the butter (Cheese is basically fat and casein)
Two components that do dissolve in water:
     • Whey Protein – the protein found in whey, the by-product from making cheese. (Remember Little Miss Muffet? Curds (cheese) and Whey.)
     • Lactose – the sugar in milk (from the Greek: lact=milk, ose=Sugar)

The amount of lactose in any given dairy product has to do with which and how much of these components is present. In order from the most lactose to the least:

1. Whey – 76%
     Remove the cheese (fat and casein) and you’re left w/ mostly lactose and some whey protein.
2. American (process) Cheese – 10%
     While cheese is low in lactose, process cheese often has lactose added back in as filler.
3. Whey Protein Powder – 7%
     The concentrated proteins for this product are actually made by removing lactose.
4. Soft Serve Ice cream – 7%
     Based on skim milk, which has more lactose.
5. Skim Milk – 5.8%
     Removing the fat doesn’t create any lactose, but lactose does become a higher percentage of the total as a result.
6. 2% Milk – 4.9%
     Same as skim, just less fat is removed, so lactose is a slightly less, as a percentage.
7. Buttermilk – 4.5%
     Butter milk is cream with the fat removed (the fat becomes butter) – so, as a result, the lactose level is higher than cream.
8. Whole Milk – 4%
     Less lactose as a percentage than 2% or skim because, in effect, the lactose is diluted down by the fat.
9. Yogurt – 4%
     Generally made with skim milk.
10. Ice Cream – 3.5%
     In general, the better the ice cream (i.e, higher fat content), the less lactose.
11. Half-and-Half – 3.3%
     The way to get cream is to take out the proteins and lactose (leaving the fat). The higher the fat content, the more lactose has been removed.
12. Cottage Cheese – 3.3%
13. Sour Cream – 3.3%
14. Cheese – 2.5%
     Most of the lactose goes with the whey, so cheese is low in lactose.
15. Cream – 2.5%
     Same idea as for half-and-half – just more extreme.
16. Whipped Cream – 2%
     Same as for cream, except the added sugar (sucrose in this case) reduces the % lactose.
17. Premium Ice Cream – 2%
     Recurring theme: more fat, less room for lactose.
18. Milk Chocolate – 1.5%
19. Aged or Sharp Cheese – 1%
     As cheese ages, the bacteria that give it the ‘sharp’ flavor do that by ‘eating’ the remaining lactose. Aged, strong, sharp, hard cheeses hardly contain any lactose.
20. Ranch Dressing – 1%
21. Dark Chocolate – near 0%
22. Butter – near 0%
     Butter is nearly all fat (plus a little water and a tiny bit of protein).
23. Eggs – 0%

Unlike allergies, which are not very dependent on amounts (what you are allergic to is either there, or it isn't), lactose intolerance has to do with your ability to digest lactose – so how much is a big factor. (You can be allergic to milk, but, in that case, it is the milk proteins that are of concern.)

Evolution: Your Handy Guide to Nutrition

In the process of ‘evolving’, we developed capabilities and relationships that gave us a continuously improving competitive edge. So, we stood up and walked, got opposing thumbs and a big cortex. We also developed an inscrutable set of nutritional complexities. However, complex as they are, when viewed through the lens of evolution, we get some great insights into what we should eat.

To answer the question “Should I eat it?” ask yourself “Did I evolve eating it?” You’ll get a "yes" to fruits, vegetables, meat and fish (yes, even the fats). You’ll get a resounding "no" to hydrogenated oils, high fructose and flavorings (even ‘natural’ ones). There might also be some surprises: A little dirt, bacteria and pollen might go a long way – and where would we have eaten ‘low-fat’ 10,000 years ago? You can even use this idea to ask “What combination of foods should I eat?” We evolved eating a lot of plants - and were only able to supplement our diets with hard to catch animals.

There is no altruism in nature. The plants and animals that provide the calories and nutrients we require always get something in return. The apple makes fruit as a way to drop its seeds further from the tree. Who needs the anti-oxidants (CHONS CaFe: Antioxidants) in blueberries more: us, to ward off cancer? - or the blueberry so it can stay brightly colored? Once we learned to care for and feed cows – and then started milking them before eating them - we eventually developed an ability to metabolize the sugar in their milk (CHONS CaFe: Lactose Intolerance).

We are also opportunistic. We ‘learned’ to use building materials from the things readily available for eating. Ever wonder what the ‘Essential Amino Acids” are? They are the nine protein building blocks that we can’t make ourselves – so we have to eat them. It's not that we couldn't make them, we just never needed to - so we didn't waste evolutionary resources developing that particular ability. Here’s another interesting one: We never bothered to produce Vitamin ‘C’ because we could eat it. Chickens, on the other hand can produce vitamin ‘C’, because it typically wasn't found in the foods that where readily available to them.

There is even a school of thought that says marijuana ‘learned’ to make humans feel good in return for propagation of its genetic material. This “cultivation evolutionary strategy” has put cows, goats, weed, corn and soybeans on the top of the ‘successful species’ list.

This all adds up to a time-tested symbiotic relationship that, even if we can’t unravel it enough to understand it, gives us great insights into what foods we need.

Next time you’re wondering if you should eat it, let your inner-caveman provide the answer.

Five Must-Visit Restaurants

We've been asked for our 'list' so often, we thought it'd be a good idea to start publishing our picks on CHONS CaFe. Our top five were posted last month (see Blog Archive in the right-hand column).

Here's a list of the five restaurants that we believe put Minneapolis on the culinary 'map'. All of these are inspired, chef driven, foodie-worthy eateries that can hold their own along side any restaurant on the planet.

If for no other reason than to say you've been there, these need to be on your bucket list.

Five Must-Visit Restaurants

Heartland (Meers Park)
A new incarnation of the restaurant near Macalester College, the ‘new’ Heartland is in a cavernous old warehouse, not accidentally across from St. Paul’s farmers market. Chef Lenny Russo has evolved from his start at the MN Horse and Hunt Club (which maybe explains things like Boar everything and other ‘wild’ offerings) to a true ‘local-vore’ master.

We found the recycled industrial motif to be a bit cold – but ‘eco-chic’ is in, right? Chef was very visible, involved, and approachable the night we visited. The menu was fantastically ambitious, but we found that, while many items sounded exotic (Mangalitsa Ribs or Duck Prosciutto), some of the items were pretty ordinary once they showed up.

The highlights: A phenomenal cheese plate and, especially, the home-made vermouth the mixologist used for our martinis (worth the trip alone).

Meritage (Downtown St Paul)
St. Paul’s best restaurant, by far. Although it’s pretty traditional French Brasserie stuff (not my favorite), the execution makes it happen. – And, now that they have a nice big new bar, we don’t have to sit at those little marble tables!

To be honest, we had a pretty bad experience with the service on about our fifth visit. (We accidentally went out on Valentine’s Day, which didn’t help.) The next day we got a personal e-mail from Chef Kline, who made good by personally cooking for us the next week “sans menu” – our own personal chef for a night – he even picked up the tab.

I also like the pedestrian feel of that part of St. Paul. Make the St. Paul Hotel your home base for the week-end and you’re within blocks of the Ordway and at least a dozen great restaurants, bars and other music/theater venues.

Le Belle Vie (Loring Park)
Here, more than any of our other 4 picks, it’s all about the food. ’09 James Beard winner Tim McKee’s Mediterranean creations are phenomenally well thought out, meticulously presented and breathtakingly great tasting! This is the one place I would definitely spring for the chef’s tasting menu.

We actually like the bar area better than the dining room, which seems pretty formal, stuffy and full of ‘old’ people. (It really requires the use of your best ‘inside voice’.) The bar area, on the other hand, has a warm Ralph Lauren/club feel - with some nice sitting areas and a big fireplace. It’s an expensive place to eat, but the two of you can do just fine for under $125 by working your way through the small plates, splitting an entrée and enjoying the very nice wine-by-the-glass list.

Alma (U of M area)
Probably on more “best” lists that any other local restaurant; the most telling is chef/owner Alex Roberts 2010 James Beard Award. Alex is a true Minneapolitan – but with a genuine New York pedigree.

The menu rotates often, so it is limited. (Actually, it’s often hard to find things that appeal to both of us.) The décor is sparse but not cold. There’s a perfect spot ‘upstairs’ for a group of 8-12 people.

Vincent (Downtown Mpls)
There actually is a ‘Vincent’ in the kitchen – and he’s a for-real French guy. From France. Go figure! (He followed his wife here when she went to work for NWA.) The food is definitely French, but not the pretentious kind. It’s of the very solid/savory variety, like a burger, steak, scallops - even a Hebrew National at the bar – and all definitely ‘award winning’.

The best place to go before or after Orchestra Hall: Before - for the very-reasonably-priced happy hour – the best steak tartar anywhere (capers and worcestershire) or the burger stuffed with short ribs and smoked gouda. Or, after - to see who comes in after the show and to enjoy some of the best food in Minneapolis.