Update on Michael Pollan's talk at the Opera House

Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore's Dimemma and various other books, spoke last Tuesday night at the Opera House in a sold-out facilitated Q and A session. For those not familiar with this legend in the wholefoods world check out his biography here.  He was voted Top 10 New Thought Leaders via Newsweek. I unfortunately could not make it so I have asked my friend Sylvia Tarchalska to write a guest post on her thoughts of the discussion:

"In summary, it was wonderful seeing Michael Pollan as he is such a good presenter but if you have read his books, you probably would not have learnt anything new and 1.5 hours just wasn't long enough to delve into his theories.

 

Having said that, it was an inspiring night:

Michael was interviewed by Rebecca Huntley so he covered various topics raised by her questions with no overall themes.

Topics included what is wrong with the western diet and how it leads to chronic disease. My favourite line was that it's a "historical paradox yet we continue to eat it".

He critiqued the current form of nutritional science and he believes that it has failed us so we must seek alternatives.

He was also surprised that in Australia, approximately 80% of the supermarket is controlled by two companies. Similar to the States, we focus on labelling and not on food itself - it's all about labelling "nutrients" which takes the pleasure out of food.

If the US subsidise corn/wheat and soybeans, aren't they in fact subsidising the fast food industry?

Michael also covered GM crops and the fact that as promised, GM has not in fact increased the yield of crops so you can't in fact feed the world on GM. It has however increased the use of pesticides including Round UP. He doesn't believe that it has a predictable or sustainable future as manipulating a gene has many unintended consequences....Basically the promised wave of "wonder crops" hasn't and seems unlikely to emerge so it looks unlikely that we will be discussing this 10 years from now.

 

When asked about children and how to instil food ethics early, Michael stressed the importance of kids being in the kitchen cooking with parents. He believes that teaching them how food is grown and prepared and spending time in a garden increases their curiosity. Children generally eat food that they prepare themselves so if you start educating on a sensory level, the battle is half won.

 

Someone asked a question about how to sell quality in a world obsessed with quantity:

 - we should pay farmers 

 - pay more for quality

 - eat less

 - continue down the path with chefs teaching about the "food experience"

 - focus on home gardens

 - Use Joel Salatins farm model to create more soil/biodiversity and sustainability

 

Soulla, I thought of you when he said "asking annoying questions at the butcher leads to change".

 

Summary: We all have to devote more time, more money and more effort to food."

Did anyone else go see Michael Pollan? If so, what did you think?

Restaurant review - Porteno

I love eating out but the 2 main concerns I have are:

(a) the providence of the meat-  is it from wild or  grass fed animals on the one hand or from industrialised feedlots, battery farms or fish farms on the other  (there is a world of difference and for more information refer to one of my earlier posts here); and

(b) the processing of the fats/oils used to cook the food- can they accommodate using natural unadulterated fats and oils (e.g. butter, coconut oil, beef tallow or I'd settle for olive oil) as opposed to vegetable oils or trans fats (e.g. canola, cottonseed, margarine)?

I often get asked for restaurant recommendations so I'm going to do a restaurant review on a regular basis.

First cab off the rank is Porteno - its been on my hit list since it opened in Surry Hills about 2 years ago.

Food type: traditional Argentinian.... so lots of meat! Not a good options for vegetarians (but hey I doubt any hard core vegetarians are following my blog!). Meat source: loads of grass-fed meats on the mains (you'll recognise the providence of the meat if you buy from Feather & Bone). Fats/oils: for many of the entrees and a couple of the side dishes they do use processed oils (vegetable oil from memory) so you need to ask the waiter to point these out and choose the dishes that don't contain these oils or ask whether they can accommodate using olive oil instead which is a much healthier option than vegetable oils. All of the meat dishes on the mains were free of vegetable oils- and there are plenty of choices. What we ordered: for entree: smoked mackerel, braised octopus, and blood sausages for entree. For mains: 8 hour wood fired pig with crispy crackling and 8 hour wood fired lamb. Other enticing options were veal tongue and quail eggs. Sadly, we had no room for dessert. Taste and presentation: All delicious, especially the pork with crispy crackling. Food portions: huge! 1 main feeds 2 people. We over-ordered and took home a doggy bag which rarely happens. Atmosphere:  great vibe - large, open space with traditional South Amercican decor Price: approx $24-26 for an entree; approx $38 for a main. Service: wait staff were excellent and made good suggestions (esp for South American wines). Value for money: thumbs up. I'll be back.... Large groups: yes- they had a massive table that could fit about 20 people (at a guess). Kid friendly: yes. Caution:  they do not take bookings for less than 5 people so if there's a party of 4 or less you need to start queuing from about 5:30pm to get a table when the restaurant opens at 6pm. Don't forget to ask the waiter to point out which dishes contain processed oils. And then there's the usual parking issues in Surry Hills.

Contact details: 358 Cleveland Street, Surry Hills, ph 02 8399 1440, enquiries@porteno.com.au, www.porteno.com.au

Have you been to Porteno? What did you think? If you've been to a great restaurant lately where consideration is given to the source and processing of their food (esp meats and fats/oils), then I'd love tohear about it. Kali Orexi  (that's Greek for Good Appetite)!!

The past 10 days....

No rest for the wicked. The past 10 days have proved pretty exciting for me and Star Anise Organic Wholefoods. Now that I have come up for air I would love to share with you what I've been up to.... Growing Healthy Babies...naturally! Workshop

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I've spent the past 2 Saturday mornings running a 2 part workshop on "Growing Healthy Babies...Naturally!". It was very well received with over a dozen people attending both sessions. It was the first time I had run this workshop after I saw a need in the community.  I am frequently being asked questions by parents not just on dietary matters but all things relating to parenting (from what products to use on baby's skin, why didn't I childproof my house, why I don't apply my kids with sunscreen, where do I turn for support, why did I breastfeed for 3 years, what should a baby's first solids be, what do I think of co-sleeping, what's the best baby carrier or pram or high chair etc etc). So I wanted to pool together all of my learnings and experiences as a mother over the past 8 years.... what's worked and not worked for me, what I advocate and recommend, and how did our ancestors manage to give birth easily and raise healthy robust content children for millennia.

As I said to the group, I'm not an expert on all of the topics we covered but I see my role in the community as someone who knows who the experts are (be they laypeople or professional, local or international) and where people can find further information if they want it.  The workshop was directed to parents of young children and prospective parents or those who wanted to connect with like-minded people.

I brought in paediatrician friend Dr Chloe Baxter from the Sydney Children's Hospital to co-present on topics such as various birthing options, attachment parenting and co-sleeping. The inspirational Roni Rutland showcased baby carriers and elimination communication, and Sylvia Tarcharlska gave her views on why she is choosing to home birth her second child.

We spent a lot of time myth-busting (i.e. turning many mainstream dietary and parenting practices on their head), and trying to reconnect women with their innate parenting intuition. Mankind took a bit of a detour in the last century ....we got lost and some of us want to find the right path again.

Here's what a few people thought about the workshops:

"Hi Soulla, I just wanted t

o say how much I enjoyed the workshops, and how invaluable the information you gave us was.I'm so glad I had the opportunity to do it. Thank you so much. Rebecca"

"Hi Soulla,  Just a quick message to thank you for the workshop! It was fantastic!  I am so glad I met you and so happy to see that I am not the only one who believes and wants to promote the health benefits of eating a nutrient dense diet including traditional foods. I have been eating without sugar, grains and legumes for one year and I truly believe it helps my body to fight inflammation. Many thanks. Nathalie". 

"There is such a gaping hole in the market for this product, especially something as well collated as this - it took me freaking months of research/blogging/podcasts/facebooking/$$ to source half this stuff and i would have killed to have it all in the one spot whilst pregnant. Sylvia"

Given the feedback and response, I propose to run this workshop every year (and make each session longer!).

Conscious Club

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I was delighted to be asked to showcase some of my products at the last Conscious Club on Monday 18 June in Paddington. It was a great night - we were entertained by a local reggae band, inspired by internationally-renowned motivational speaker Thom Knoles, enlightened by a short film "The Story of Stuff" regarding our obsession with and the perils of consumerism, and mellowed by a 20 minute group mediation (have you meditated with 400 people before?!?!?). All followed by socialising and eating. My chocolate balls, coconut date balls and activated nuts were very well received - we came home empty handed and I must give a huge thanks to my close friends Natasha and Simon who helped me carry around platters of food and spread the word on what I'm all about.

For more information about The Conscious Club refer to one of my recent posts here.

Here's what one person thought about my products:

"Hi Soulla! Just thought I'd drop you a line to say I Loved your date, nut and coconut balls last night! I'm still in raptures! Well done & keep up the great work! Lise. xo"

And not that it has anything to do with raising healthy babies or traditional wholefoods BUT having FUN is just as important SO it would be remiss of me to omit to mention my attendance at the Lady GaGa concert amidst all of the above. Cherry Cherry Boom Boom...

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So now....I make a beeline to the kitchen for some culinary creation.... so stay tuned for lots of new recipes, and upcoming cooking classes and workshops. In the meantime if you would like to place an order for heart-warming and immune-building broth, probiotic-rich sauerkraut, iron-building chicken liver pate, moorish activated nuts, mouth-watering raw dark chocolate balls and other sugar-free gluten-free snacks, or to meet me for a nutrition consultation,  just give me a call on 0407 871 884 or drop me an email. I'll be away 2-12 July in warmer climes for a little fun in the sun (you can take the girl out of Queensland but....).