The Bisbee Cooking School

     Recent news tells us that some ground beef has been treated with ammonia.  What? I did some research and this is WHY YOU SHOULD NOT EAT ammoniated beef.  Avoid it like the plague.

    Beef Product Inc. developed a technique for killing e-coli and salmonella with ammonia. Good. Maybe.

     Unfortunately their technology went a lot further, and has some seriously disturbing problems. BPI melts highly contaminated beef fat slaughter house scrap, puts it through a centrifuge to extract the small amount of protein in the fat, runs this, what one USDA inspector called "pink slime", through pipes in order to ammoniate it, dries it into slabs or chips and sells it to hamburger processors to add cheap protein to their 100% beef.  Most of this ammonia treated product goes to manufacturers of frozen hamburger, taco meats, low-fat hot dogs, beef-stick snacks, and to major fast food chains like McDonalds and Burger King  as well as to the federal Child Nutrition Program for school lunches nationwide.

     The first problem: the uniformity of ammonia levels used is not set in concrete – too high a percentage makes the product unpalatable, while too small a percentage does not eliminate the bacteria, making it potentially lethal.  Secondly, according to a study at the University of Oregon, ammonia ingested may be harmful to the bodies entire organ system; it is also known to interfere with oxygen utilization in the blood. 

 You can read an extensive report in The New York Times

BPA Still In Your Children's Food

     We thought this terrible chemical used to harden plastics was gone when it was banned from baby bottles and sippy cups, and many plastic bottles containing beverages.  But, folks, it is still around - a lot.

     BPA is routinely used to line food and beverage cans.   The amount varies widely depending on the food. Condensed milk, for instance, has relatively little BPA, while infant formula has a lot more.

     Bisphenol-A is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones. Early development appears to be the period of greatest sensitivity to its effects.   BPA has been linked directly to obesity and interference with brain cell connections vital to memory, learning and mood.   BPA could be involved in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

What Can You Do?

     Prepare meals from unprocessed fresh produce and grow your own food.                               

     Buy tomato sauce and other high acid foods like fruits in glass jars. The acidity causes the chemical to leach from the lining of the cans.

     Consume frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned.

      Purchase beverages in glass bottles. Canned soda and juice often contain some BPA.

     Use powdered infant formula instead of ready-to-serve liquid. 

     DO NOT cook or reheat foods in plastic containers in the microwave.

     You can read more about BPA here.

LIKE TO EAT FISH?   PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

To meet the ever-growing demand for seafood, current fishing practices include methods that also catch a very high number of unwanted animals - known as bycatch -- that are thrown back into the ocean dead or dying. For example, for every pound of shrimp caught, four to 10 pounds of bycatch are also hauled up in the trawling nets. Bycatch includes other fishes, turtles, marine mammals, crabs - even birds.

Raising fish on fish farms can take pressure off wild populations, but some aquaculture practices destroy habitat and pollute. Shrimp farming often destroys mangroves where other commercial fish might breed. Salmon farming can release wastes into rivers or the ocean. In addition, it takes fish to feed these fish, which can result in a net loss in protein production. Good aquaculture systems are closed off from the wild, preventing pollution and escapes.

Striped bass are raised in closed systems, making them a good seafood choice. Farm-raised catfish and tilapia are other good choices because they eat vegetable matter, eliminating the need to fish another species just to feed them.

Next time you go shopping remember to help our environment, protect our fish, and select the right fish.

Why to Get Rid of Your Microwave Oven

A high school student recently won a Science Fair award for his most interesting experiment. He planted cuttings from the same plant in two containers of potting soil. Then he watered them with water, one with regular boiled water, one with microwave boiled water (after the water had cooled). Can you guess what happened? Yes, the microwaved water fed plant died. The other thrived.

Ten Reasons to Throw out your Microwave Oven
From the conclusions of Swiss, Russian and German scientific clinical studies, we can no longer ignore the dangers of the microwave oven. Based on this research one must conclude that:

1). Continually eating food processed from a microwave oven causes long term - permanent - brain damage by "shorting out" electrical impulses in the brain [de-polarizing or de-magnetizing the brain tissue].
2). The human body cannot metabolize [break down] the unknown by-products created in microwaved food.
3). Male and female hormone production is shut down and/or altered by continually eating microwaved foods.
4). The effects of microwaved food by-products are residual [long term, permanent] within the human body.
5). Minerals, vitamins, and nutrients of all microwaved food are reduced or altered so that the human body gets little or no benefit, or the human body absorbs altered compounds that cannot be broken down.
6). The minerals in vegetables are altered into cancerous free radicals when cooked in microwave ovens.
7). Microwaved foods may cause stomach and intestinal cancerous growths [tumors]. This may explain the rapidly increased rate of colon cancer in America.
8). The prolonged eating of microwaved foods causes cancerous cells to increase in human blood.
9). Continual ingestion of microwaved food causes immune system deficiencies through lymph gland and blood serum alterations.
10). Eating microwaved food may cause loss of memory, concentration, emotional instability, and a decrease of intelligence.

Have you tossed out your microwave oven yet?
After you throw out your microwave you can use a toaster oven as a replacement. It works well for most and is nearly as quick.
You can read about the research in detail here.