Food Day and Occupy Wall Street

Today is Food Day and I would like to use this opportunity to link food issues and Occupy Wall Street. Many people are already doing this, as this poster and the following links from Marion Nestle’s site, Food Politics, shows.

Mother Jones: Foodies, Get Thee to Occupy Wall Street (<-If you only read one article read this one!!)

The Slow Food USA blog: Occupy Wall Street: What’s Food Got to do with it?

Civil Eats: Why the Food Movement Should Occupy Wall Street

These articles do a great job of discussing the global economy and how it affects our food choices, but you may already know this.  If you have ever worked all day and are too tired to make food or are out late and the only thing open is fast food- you probably know this intuitively. We work more and have more technology than ever yet less time to spend learning about nutrition and cooking food. Why? I think for the same reasons that Wall Street is being occupied. We work to create wealth, yet don’t benefit as much as we should. The wealth we create travels upward to those who already have more than us.  Want some proof? Business Insider compiled a fantastic set of graphs: What Wall Street Protesters Are So Angry About.

In addition to Will Potter giving us 5 Reasons Why Environmentalists and Animal Activists Should Occupy Wall Street, the Declaration of the Occupation says:

# They [Corporations] have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.

How cool is that? And at OccupyLA there is even an affinity group called Occupiers for Animals.

Why are we protesting and what does it mean? I think Chris Hedges (Pultizer Prize winning war correspondent!) says it best in this video. Someone of his caliber, who has seen wars and uprisings all over the world in the previous three decades, getting this emotional over Occupy really captures its importance. Brought tears to my eyes.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-1TdemR7_Q&]

And from today’s Democracy Now! with Michael Moore and Cornell West:

OCCUPY LONDON PROTESTER: There is a political vacuum in the country at the moment. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, doesn’t matter what party gets in. The essential decisions are made, and what’s decided really is the same, no matter if it’s Labour or left, right, middle. You know, it’s all just middle now. So when there is no real choice there, because everything is the same, the people, I believe, feel like their voice has been taken away. And when you’re in a situation where your voice has been taken away, you have to make your voice.

Or is it now Class War as Frank Rich says in this 5-page New York Times article?

This is a lot to think about and sometimes it’s hard to grasp the importance of the current situation. But a movement is here, if we want it. All of us can help in some way. Education is a part of the equation (pass these resources on to your skeptical friend!), but action is most important. Like my first post about Occupy Wall Street said, let’s stop working toward temporary solutions and cut to the root of the matter.

“If you don’t let us dream, we won’t let you sleep”

Fall is here, can you believe it?

I cannot!

First off, in case you didn’t see it on @TrueLoveHealth or in my last update, our Kickstarter for Day in the Life got fully funded! Eighty-five wonderful people kicked down money to the tune of $3,880 ($3546,58 after fees).  Check the update for the details and thank you to everyone who helped! More on our project coming soon…

Also, the Furnace Creek 508 came and went and I was not a participant for the first time in 4 years. Last year’s race wrecked me and I needed a break from ultra-cycling so I went out as an official. Chris also gave me access to @AdventureCORPS, which I used mostly responsibly. Was a pleasure to be out there watching all of those amazing cyclists make their way through the 508-mile route. Rookie solo fixed gear entrant and friend Shaun Stegosaurus Arora has a fantastic recap that gives a great perspective of the race adventure.

I'm rocking staff weight, not race weight.

Last month was the American Dietetic Association conference, FNCE, in San Diego. I am the Chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietary Practice Group and a lot of my ‘free’ time is spent working with other amazing vegetarian/vegan Registered Dietitians. This year I was in charge of our Member Reception and we took a big risk and held it off-site from the conference at a bar. Would anyone show up? Well, we secured a sponsor and lured RD’s there with free drinks and vegan food from the absolutely delightful Ocean Beach People’s Co-op, and it worked! Over 100 dietitians came, ate, drank and learned about what we do for vegetarian nutrition. Next year the conference is in Philadelphia and our Practice Group will be celebrating our 20-year anniversary. If you are an RD or Dietetics student you should be there!

And last week I had the honor of speaking at Loma Linda University, where I did my masters degree, about vegan nutrition. I love working with students; they are so engaged and hungry for knowledge. And even at a school that actively promotes vegetarianism, there is a lot to discuss. My presentation has changed over the years from the tenets of vegan nutrition to more along the lines of ‘look at all the awesome stuff I get to do as a vegan dietitian!’ I’m not interested in just convincing students that you can get enough zinc or whatever from plants, but that veganism is not about restriction, but new, bigger opportunities. And also, that is about the animals! Sometimes people forget this and I never want to fail at reminding people that this is why veganism is so important.

This Fall I am not teaching college and have more time than usual. It’s both a treat and a curse! Expect more posts and stories here. I’m also looking for more speaking opportunities at schools and other places. If you have ideas please get in touch. My current locale is Southern California, but I do travel. A lot. Ha!

Also:

-I’m working on an article about iron for vegans for No Meat Athlete, keep your eye out for that.

-I have an Instagram account now and I love sharing photos, so if you’d like to see more of what I shoot (mostly dogs, right now!), find me there. I’ve made a very special handle: MattRuscigno.

-I post to twitter with regularity and don’t forget my facebook page where I share nutrition articles and other fun stuff.

-My good friend and spectacular chef Joshua Plogue is in Southern California for the fall and is looking for cooking opportunities. He does unbelievable themed dinner parties that, with no exaggeration, I can say is the best food I have ever eaten. Hit him up and plan something awesome!

What is everyone else up to? Based on my facebook feed it seems cyclocross and cooking root vegetables, mostly.

Why Occupy Wall Street is a Health Issue Worth Supporting

I do not hide the fact that my profession, public health nutrition, is the direct result of my social justice activism. I was brought up by working class parents who instilled in me the ethics of empathy and consideration of others at all times. Very simple ideas, yet often not followed or just simply ignored. As a teenager I (unknowingly) turned them into a political analysis that quickly led to veganism, environmentalism and radical politics.

In the early 2000’s I was entrenched in the anti-globalization movement and the early anti-war protests. We didn’t ask corporations and the government to be nicer or to kill fewer people. We challenged their right to do so. Often people misunderstand this as not having demands; we did and do, they just may stand outside of what you think is possible. And that’s the point. A radically different world is possible.  Those left of the traditional left are pushing you to dream. Not just in tactics beyond marches, but in how the world can really be.

In public health nearly every issue is one of inequality. There is enough food for everyone, but it is hoarded by corporations to maintain its high expense. There’s enough space for healthy food for everyone, but the farm bill continues to subsidize companies to produce cheap unhealthy foods.  Automobiles dominate our streets not because they are the best choice, but the most profitable.  Cheap and free clinics are only necessary because most healthcare is beyond the means of millions of people.  Public Health exists mostly to address issues of economic inequality! Instead of treating the symptoms, why not address the cause?

So I ask all of you who work in my field to stop for a minute and think about the big picture. I know there are people we want to help right now. I feel it too. But what if we worked to change the system that survives on keeping people poor?

You may feel uncomfortable with this idea. Or going to protests.  You may want more structure. I feel it too.  But we have to move beyond that.  I’ve said before that most of the things worth doing in the world are hard and cause you to sweat. I’d like to add they are also uncomfortable at first. Most people reading my site are okay with discomfort. In fact, we seek it out!

So instead of persuading you to push your comfort physically, today I’m asking you to push yourself politically and support the Occupy Wall St movement.

How do you feel when you watch the footage of cops beating protesters? Or sweatshop workers making our products? Or the story of a widow whose partner died because he couldn’t afford a surgery and didn’t have health insurance? If you have any feeling toward human beings you are mad. Embrace it. Don’t make excuses for the oppressors. Stay mad. Use that anger. Fight back. It’s not useless. You do make a difference. We have power as individuals. And jail isn’t that bad, I’ve been many times.  What are you going to say when ten years from now you are asked what you did to stop the inequality that plagues our society?

Here are some resources to learn more, get involved and stay involved:

Occupy Wall St  main site

Think Occupy Wall St is a Phase? You don’t get it on CNN

The Daily Show take on how the media is wrongly portraying the protests

Sparrow Media Project is raising money to print the demands

On twitter you can follow the hashtag for the main NYC protests at #OWS. Local ones have their own, like #OccupyLA and OccupySD

Remember, you can get involved in a variety of ways. Noam Chomsky wrote that when he was young he didn’t think his time was best spent at protests so he decided to write instead. 40 books later….Or my fellow Swarm! racer just made a vegan breakfast for hundreds of OccupyLA folks this morning. There’s no one to tell you how to get involved, it’s up to you…

If you have good links please post them in the comments!

3 Photos- Boone North Carolina

The South hasn’t been on my radar much recently. But last year after racing the Shenandoah 100-mile mountain bike race I headed to Boone to see a close friend.

 

<3 green rolling mountains.

 

 

Vegan food in a small mountain town in the south? No problem. Somewhere in 'town'.

 

 

I wish I had my road bike! Around the world I'm enamored with mountain roads.