What is really Organic?

I have been dazed and confused recently each time I venture into the food store and a vast percentage of the items claim to be organic.

The term "organic" has been both a socially and a legally defined category of food that is claimed to be more natural than artificial in both its production and its preparation. Organic foods are now the central element of American Health food. It was the the Progressive Era Legislation promoted by Theodore Roosevelt that led to the pure food and Drug Act (1906) and the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most notable to its relationship to organic foods was the Delaney clause, part of the 1958 food additives amendment to the food, Drug Cosmetic act (1938). In short, the Delaney clause states that any additive in any amount that is demonstrated to cause cancer in laboratory animals will be banned from the market.

This clause introduces an organic food conundrum. If our food is deemed safe by government oversight, then why do we need to have a government oversight, then why do we need to have a separate category of organic food ? Is organic food any safer, more nutritious, or better tasting than conventional food. The answer is not a simple yes or no. The movement involved not only individuals who questioned the way food was being produced and its impact on the land, but those who were wary of the safety of the land.

Lady Eve Balfour, one of the early English founders of the organic movement, emphasized the importance of soil fertility and was concerned with the increased use of petroleum-based artificial or "artificial," chemical fertilizers. She promoted the adage that healthy soil meant healthy plants and in turn that translated into healthy people.

The National Organic Rule has very specific parameters. It should be noted that the terms "Natural" and "Organic" cannot be used interchangeably. Organic labeling laws are as follows: Labeling a product "100 percent organic requires that the product contain only organic ingredients; this product can carry the official USDA organic seal, but use it voluntary, labeling a product organic requires that 95 percent of the product by weight or by volume , contains organic ingredients.

I beg you please do not label your products organic if it really and clearly not organic. It is both misleading and companies should be fined for not following the guidelines.

Happy eating !

Sources of information
The Pleasures and Politics of Local Foods
The Organic Alliance
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America

Star Apple Diaries Remixed and Reinvented

In 2008 I started this blog called star apple diaries. It is named after my favorite fruit the Star Apple. I wanted to share my food facts food journeys and findings. I trust you will enjoy reading as much I enjoyed discovering and learning and eating.

Restaurant Awards and Guides

The first American restaurant guides were produced locally in cities with vibrant restaurant cultures, namely New York, New Orleans, and San Francisco. Among the earliest was the The Restaurants of New York (1925) by George Chappell, the architecture critic for the New Yorker magazine. The first popular national guide to restaurant across the United States was produced by Duncan Hines, a traveling salesman who mailed a list of his 167 favorite restaurants to friends as a greeting card in 1935. The following year he published Adventures in Good Eating, which, according to his introduction, "Let the public know where they might find decent food, carefully prepared by a competent chef in clean surroundings."

Sources of information Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.

My Gotham

On Friday evening September 17th 2010 I had one of the most amazing New York City experiences. It was simple and spontaneous. We were invited to the home of one of New York City's elite dining insider and cook....My first reaction after a week filled with dinner parties and fashion week overkill my last joy was to take a train to Uber cool....Williamsburg Brooklyn with all the cool kids. A place where our City is alive and has defied the homogeneity of the Island of Manhattan. What a surprise I was in for.

As I climbed the stair well to this 4 story building I was greeted by a Harvard professor who shared the story of Federico Fellini after her stint of spending many summers in Italy and a Ashtanga Yogi. We listened to Myles and Lisa Lisa and I experienced some of Mexico's amazing regional cuisine right here in our beloved Gotham. So New York City love it or hate I cannot think of a better place to get a degree in life 101 and all of it sites and taste buds that continues to challenge all my senses. I always have to remind myself to think outside the box of what this City means to me and what it has to offer. Life ! Kudos Williamsburg !

The Journey

As this weekend rolled into full force I had a moment of what labor day really means to me. Being an immigrant and watching my parents and my family working really hard to live a life filled with prosperity I had questions whether is there a life filled with prosperity left for our generation ?

So I dedicate this to all the men an women who continue to work tirelessly to enrich their families lives. To create a better future for their children and grandchildren. Happy Labor day I salute My Uncle Sunny my Aunt Ivy and Mommy and Daddy and all those who continue to inspire us to never let fear stop us from being fearless ! And to never stop perusing our dreams.

Happy Labor day !

A Time For Renewal

Cows Anjuna Beach, Goa India November 2008

"In Hinduism, the cow is so symbolic to life, the virtual sustainer of life for humans. In a society if you only had cows and no other domestic animals or agricultural pursuits, you could still survive and the children could survive with the butter, the cream and the milk to feed the children. The cow is a complete ecology, a gentle creature and a symbol of abundance."

2008 was the year of abundance. In the history of America, we have never seen young people turn out to vote as they did in the 2008 Presidential elections on November 4th. Never in the History of America have we seen the financial industry experience such volatility. And never in the history of America are we seeing people on a daily basis lose their homes, their jobs, or close and dissolve their businesses. I know as you read you ask where is the silver lining.

As we did on November 4th, we voted in record numbers because we overwhelmingly wanted change and, “yes we can!” But as the weeks go by I have witnessed that momentum dwindle. Our conversations are filled with desperation and despair and a fatalistic gloom about the future, I too at times have found myself in that repulsive conversation. So today, I made a commitment that, change and renewal starts with me.

On a micro level, as an immigrant I came to America with my family and from nothing we made something. On a macro level, we can look to England, who rebuilt their country and cities after the war. London is a shining example of what can and must be done in the face of adversity.

We look at other countries that are experiencing effects of the global meltdown. India, a land where the gap between the rich and the poor is staggering, benefited enormously in the past ten years from globalization and outsourcing from the first world. They had the opportunity to be greedy and reckless with their newfound wealth. There was potential to have been a part of the meltdown, but have continued to regulate, be humble and lean in their financial decisions and their country. A lesson we all can learn from.

What does this all mean for me as I mulled all the gloom? Like this last year we believed and set out intentionally to create change. This cannot be done by one individual but by a movement. A movement that says we are taking our communities back. Back to creating jobs inspire a new spirit of entrepreneurship and shift the mentality of the haves and the have not's. But that change must be tangible for you and for me, Nelson Mandela believed that South Africa would be a free place; he enrolled and enrolled an entire movement to make this happen. And he did it!

Like we did during the civil rights movement we came together as a community, we believed that Americans should have equal rights. What we are experiencing, no one will be immune from. The effects of this economic crisis, has penetrated every single class structure, as we have seen rich and poor become victims of this economic crisis. So today I am doing my part. Like so many, I too will have no choice but to charter a new course. But we must never give up and if we fail we start over again. So like this past year, the year of abundance. We have the opportunity to charter a new course for the year 2009. So be the change!

Happy New Year from Star Apple Diaries.
Mechel Thompson

A Tribute to a Joyful Spirit

I walked into Chelsea Market eight years ago on a clear spring afternoon. As I walked through the flower shop and eyed the birds of paradise I noticed a human bird of paradise. There amongst the foliage was an elegantly dressed elderly woman with a bright red hat, a sharp eye for flowers, and a crisp tongue.

I immediately went to the Manager whom I knew and said, “Who is that vivacious lady? I would like to meet her.” My friend said to me , “Oh, her name is the Queen of the Hudson.” I was stumped and said, “The Queen of the whom?” “Yes, her name is the Queen of Hudson,” he said. I feverishly went over and introduced myself and, she, of course, introduced herself as The Queen of the Hudson. I replied, “I am delighted to meet you.” I gave her my business card and after a long and cheerful conversation about our passion for beauty and flowers, we agreed that we would meet for lunch. The first of many.

The Queen of the Hudson’s given name is Dorismarie Welcher, and for the last eight years we have had breakfast at least four times a month. Dorismarie became my adopted Grandmother in New York City. She was married to a legendary Jazz Musician. She decided to name herself the Queen of the Hudson because her view of her home overlooks the Hudson River in Chelsea, and it was years ago when she arrived in New York City she saw this cruise ship the QE she said I am inspired so why not call me the Queen of the Hudson. We shared an amazing friendship of the young and the old and a zest for life. She loved Serena and Venus and every US Open she would be at Arthur Ashe stadium cheering them on.

She was a school teacher and had a passion for words; she marched in the civil rights movement and went to School with Coretta Scott King. She referred to me as her Hunk of a Protoplasm “The living part of a cell”. I never asked her why that was my nickname. My mailbox was filled with constant clipping of articles she felt I needed to read and should read. Every holiday, every birthday, every occasion; there would be a card and every birthday there would be a gift.

The last time I saw her we had breakfast at Pastis and she scolded me for walking too fast. I asked if she was okay. She replied in her steely way that she had just learned from her doctor that she had some water on her lungs and that she would be fine. I was concerned, but she was never the type for a pity party. She said to me you just keep doing that yoga because you are sure looking brighter and brighter. After my return from India I tried to call her as my dearest friend Nadine had gone to see her while I was away and said please call her, sooner rather than later. At this point I still did not inquire why the “sooner”, as in my world Dorismarie was invincible, she was an active New Yorker and her age never hindered her from taking a cruise, as this spring she took a cruise to Alaska, or getting on a plane to her destination. She would meet me at Bathazaar or Les Halles, or, her least favorite place, Country. She would take the bus or walk several city blocks to enjoy our breakfasts together. I laughed at her always complaining that Country never had an egg holder for the soft boiled eggs and their low seats at Country, and tried to assuage her with the great fruit salad.

I kept calling throughout the whole week I returned from India. My thought was that perhaps she was off to Colorado because she liked the mountains and spent extended periods in Aspen and knew I was away and failed to inform me she too would be away. My nightmare occurred fifteen minutes after her death when her caretaker called me to advise she was in the hospital, had passed and I was on the top of the list to be called. She was Eighty Seven years old when she passed away on Friday November 28^th, 2008. She never revealed to me she had lung cancer and deteriorated rapidly over a three week period of time while I was away. I was shattered.

As I grapple with this loss, each moment I fall into "wow" I never got to say goodbye. And my sense of loss becomes overwhelming. But each day I find ways to honor her. She was a big bright spirit and the moment I saw her all my troubles would disappear with her laughter, joy, and the most rewarding intellectual conversations. She had no time for small chatter and a big heart and a massive love for life. She has shared with me so many lessons that I use each day.

Many of you knew my sacred friendship with the Queen and have inquired about her wishes. She requested to be cremated and part of her ashes be sprinkled in the Hudson River and in the mountains of Aspen, Colorado.

My friend and my Kindred Grandmother your spirit is still here with all those lives you touched. I love you and honor you.

Namaste

MechelThompson

Transformation

A Devotee of the Guru Baba Gee Dev

"Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

George Bernard Shaw

India, whose ancient culture and mystical traditions, is a land I have always dreamed of seeing. On Wednesday November 5th, 2008 that dream became a reality when I landed at Mumbai International Airport at 9:30pm. As I left the airport my dream of this land of mysticism and spirituality was quickly diminished as I drove from the airport to my hotel in Mumbai. I was immediately overwhelmed by the sight of packs of women digging through garbage, the sounds of rickshaws constant tooting and the smell of garbage that was seemingly not removed for days. I knew, in that moment, my time here would be one filled with many experiences that I either embraced or I would hit the panic button, and I learned quickly one had to exercise patience whether using the bathrooms or crossing the streets was an experience one from the west does not take for granted.

Over the next few weeks I will share with you my time in India. Today, this post is dedicated to the people of Mumbai. A population who already have challenges that are more than that of the average human and now a city under siege. I was fortunate enough to leave India just before this occurred, but what I know and have experienced is that the people of India are fascinating, loving, and spiritual beings which will nurture their community back to some sense of normalcy.

Namaste,
Mechel Thompson