With its vibrant health food scene, robust organic farming sector and tradition of self-sufficiency, Maine can easily be viewed as an oasis of natural eats.
However, the wider world does creep into our local affairs, meaning it never hurts to occasionally take a peek at the latest national and international food happenings. So, in the spirit of “think globally, act locally,” today I examine three recent food-related news items and explore what, if any, effect they’ll have in the Pine Tree State.
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THE GOOD: LATEST DIETARY GUIDELINES
Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services release a set of dietary guidelines. The latest document (clocking in at a hefty 112 pages) came out in January and talks bluntly about the toll a poor diet is taking on the country in the form of obesity and its associated diseases.
“Americans currently consume too much sodium and too many calories from solid fats, added sugars, and refined grains,” the report says.
It goes on to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables (particularly leafy greens, red and orange vegetables, beans and peas), more whole grains, fewer sugar-sweetened beverages and fewer trans fats.
Somewhat surprisingly, the new guidelines also take a few jabs at processed foods. The guidelines never advise people to avoid these foods, but they do say things such as “consume more fresh foods and fewer processed foods that are high in sodium.”
“I’m definitely impressed overall,” said Kendall Scott of Kendall Scott Wellness, a health and nutrition coaching business in Durham. “It’s a little bit more holistic (than past guidelines).”
For the first time, the guidelines include vegetarian and vegan versions of its recommendations and state clearly that people who follow plant-based diets tend to have better health.
Scott said the guidelines are likely to have little impact on professionals in the health and nutrition fields. But she said we may see school lunch programs adding more whole grains and reducing the amount of meat they serve.
“I think the focus should really be on whole foods no matter what,” Scott said. “Stay away from the foods that come in a box, and get most of your food from plants. And the guidelines are doing a good job at that.”
THE BAD: BAYER PESTICIDES AND COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
Roughly one-third of the foods we eat depend on bee pollination, which makes the news of colony collapse disorder devastating bees around the world a serious concern for farmers and beekeepers.
The disappearance of bees has spawned many theories to explain the mystery, including viruses, parasitic mites and lack of food. But the most prevalent theory has centered on pesticide exposure.
In recent months, the pesticide theory received added credence. First, a leaked Environmental Protection Agency memo turned up in December expressing concerns about the affects of Bayer CropScience’s pesticide clothianidin on bees.
The next month, the United Kingdom’s Independent newspaper reported on a soon-to-be-published report from Jeffrey Pettis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lead bee researcher, linking another Bayer pesticide, this time imidacloprid, to colony collapse disorder. His research shows that bees’ immune systems are weakened and they become more susceptible to disease when exposed to even miniscule amounts of imidacloprid.
Both imidacloprid and clothianidin are part of the neonicotinoid class of chemicals, which are neurotoxins with a structure similar to nicotine.
“While there haven’t been any documented cases of colony collapse disorder in Maine, we’ve definitely been experiencing higher-than-expected losses,” said Erin MacGregor-Forbes, president of the Maine State Beekeepers Association.
MacGregor-Forbes said that in Maine, the threat from these pesticides comes from homeowners rather than large-scale agricultural operations.
“A lot of people in Maine use them in the form of Japanese beetle killers, grub killers and weed and feed products,” she said. “Spraying flowering plants with any kind of chemical is going to kill bees, it’s going to kill moths and many other beneficial insects.
“Last year, it was impossible to go to Home Depot and buy a lawn fertilizer that didn’t contain these chemicals. From the Maine Beekeepers Association point of view, the message is that people need to move toward organics.”
THE UGLY: ROUNDUP READY ALFALFA
Despite ongoing issues with genetically modified crops contaminating neighboring fields, a variety of bans on GMOs around the world, a lack of independent research on the safety of GMO crops and a sharp decline in GMO crop cultivation in Europe, the Obama administration bowed to well-heeled special interests and recently approved Monsanto’s Roundup Ready alfalfa for unrestricted use.
This transgenic version of alfalfa allows it to survive being sprayed with Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, which has been linked to reproductive disorders in independent studies. Other previously approved Roundup Ready crops (such as corn, soybeans and cotton) have caused a huge jump in the amount of this herbicide applied to U.S. crop land.
Alfalfa is the third-largest commodity crop cultivated across the nation, and is most commonly used as feed for dairy cows.
The cross-contamination issue is sure to affect organic dairy farmers, because alfalfa is pollinated by bees who don’t discriminate between normal alfalfa plants and those that have been genetically modified. This means that many organic alfalfa fields and seed crops will likely become contaminated with GMO strains.
Organic certifications prohibit the use of GMO crops as feed, and so such contamination has the potential to adversely affect these farmers.
“If you’re buying seed and you want a non-GE seed, it’s going to be harder and harder to find that,” said Russell Libby, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
However, Libby pointed out that alfalfa doesn’t grow well in Maine, so most dairy farmers – both organic and conventional – grow red clover mixes instead.
Libby said people who produce their own organic alfalfa sprouts or purchase them in the grocery store will be the first to be affected by Roundup Ready alfalfa.
“That’s where the biggest impact in Maine is going to be in the short term,” he said.
Staff Writer Avery Yale Kamila can be contacted at 791-6297 or at: akamila@pressherald.com
Follow her on Twitter at: Twitter.com/AveryYaleKamila
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