Understanding the Origins of what we eat.

Exploring and analyzing the exact origin and manufacturing process.

  1. Organic Food in Ohio Sucks

    So it’s been a while a since I’ve posted anything useful on this blog, in fact, I’m not sure I ever have. I set out to do the daunting and ridiculously laborious task of finding the origins of certain types of “healthy” foods. The truth is, this is nearly impossible in North East Ohio. Organic food is for the most part bullshit and overpriced. There are very few vendors who actually care.

    I would like to call Giant Eagle, Giant Bullshitters. Their premium “organic” line of food dubbed Nature’s Basket is by no means a viable alternative given the price. I set out to contact them and they did not return phone calls or emails. I had simple questions such as: “do you use pesticides on your spinach?” Their unresponsiveness leads me to believe they do in fact use pesticides and don’t give a damn about customer service. I loathe Giant Eagle, yet it’s one of the only options in this nutrition depleted town

    Bird’s Eye frozen food, good people. Given my lack of healthy options around here I decided to go the frozen veggie route. I called around and sent out emails in regards to manufacturing processes. Very simple questions. Birds Eye is the only company that responded, and despite the fact that their products are most likely mass produced garbage, I still buy them, simply because they responded. Here is the email:

    Birds Eye Letter about Frozen Food

    Birds Eye Letter about Frozen Food

    My business partner Tony said “Hey, this person has a blog like yours, @summertomato”. So I check it out, looks good, contact the owner, build a relationship. Darya Pino runs www.summertomato.com, lives in San Francisco, takes beautiful pictures of food at the farmers market, and hangs out with cool people like Kevin Rose and Tim Ferriss. When I asked her about Kevin Rose, she said yea, one of the perks of living in SF. I cried, shoveled my driveway and went to Giant Eagle to score some eco-obscene beef and a Foster 24oz.

    My good friend Philip Albrecht wrote a post about his recent slaughtering of a goat debacle. He lives in Panama and states “This is a place though where if you accidentally stick an indigenous twig in the ground you get a fruit tree” and “There is no reason living here in Bocas that you can’t eat high quality organic foods”. I asked him how much it would cost to eat there. He responds, plenty of free seafood and plantains, but the beer isn’t free. Again, I cried, scraped the ice off my car and went to Subway.

    30 pounds later, here I am in Ohio, surrounded by fat white people and no desire to seek out organic food. If you surround yourself with garbage, you begin to stink. As for the fate of this website, to be determined.


  2. Five Foods To Avoid

    There are numerous products that should be steered clear of. Most are quite obvious: cotton candy, Butterfingers, Hardee’s Monster Thickburgers. However, some foods are not as blatantly filthy. I plan to talk about those.

    1. Canned Food – Canned goods contain a nasty chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA) within their lining.1 Several studies have linked it to different diseases and cancer. It is certainly something that should be avoided. Even some self proclaimed healthy and ‘organic ‘ food suppliers use packaging produced with BPA.2 However, companies such as Nalgene3 and Eden Organics4 have recognized the health risks of BPA and have made special efforts to eliminate its use in their packaging and products.
      100-amys100-wolfgang_puck100-tomato_soup (more…)

  3. If You Can’t Pronounce It, Don’t Eat It Series – Ace not OK (Acesulfame Potassium)

    If it takes me more than seven seconds to subvocalize the ingredients of any food item, its back to the shelf buddy. Here’s a good one: Acesulfame Potassium. Someone correct my pronunciation if I am wrong. A licensed dietitian forced me to say it like that.

    Ace K was approved by the FDA in 1988. Big deal. This stuff taste like crap and has undergone minimal testing, especially human testing. (more…)


  4. Tiger Sauce on Blood Red Roast Beef with Dick’s Horseradish

    Tiger Sauce typically consists of mayonnaise and horseradish. Its primary function is to be applied to rare roast beef sandwiches. Sweet baby Jesus it’s an enchanting culinary delight.

    Dick’s Horseradish caught my attention for two reasons: Cost and Simplicity. Horseradish root, vinegar and salt are the contents of this product. Shame on all of the overpriced “horseradish” like substances charging twice as much for a mediocre product.


  5. Katiebug Soap and Taking Short Showers

    Taking showers is not only inconvenient, but detrimental to my well being. Yes I take showers, I don’t like them, but I take them. My first complaint is the harsh municipal water supply. Typically with showering there is a lot of steam involved which only potentiates the negative effects of tap water. Combine this with the chemicals in my cleaning products, my bronze summer tan will fade within 3-4 days of obligatory personal hygiene. Despite my disdain, I still clean myself, I promise.

    katiebug_soap

    (more…)


  6. Stadium Mustard – Cleveland, OH

    www.stadiummustard.com

    This mustard is delicious, cheap, and has five well defined ingredients: Water, Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, Red Pepper.

    This mini-review is a sample of what types of products I will be reviewing. Future products will be researched more in-depth and include more information. I am currently searching for suppliers of any types of products. Stay tuned, the ball will be rolling soon. Thanks!


  7. Why I Spend 30 Minutes in a Grocery Store, And Have Nothing to Show for it.

    The term All Natural in my opinion is just another bogus marketing ploy. However, it actually helps me easily make decisions on what NOT to buy very quickly. I don’t even have to pick up the over-processed piece of garage, I can simply scan the shelf and say: “Garbage”. Look at the FDA regulations for All Natural: …. oh wait, there are none. (more…)