Knucklehead: “I think all people should get their eggs and all their food from within 10 miles of their homes.”
Witty undercover NPE employee: “78% of our population lives in urban areas. Do you plan to starve all the people in the cities like Stalin or march them to the countryside like Pol Pot? I wouldn’t wait too long for the latter, because after a few months the rickets and scurvy would prevent them from walking very far.”
No, we’re not part of the egg recall. This is the kind of thing we prevent. This is why we do what we do.
And, before anyone says it — your organic, pasture-raised, local, farmer’s market eggs are not automatically free of bacteria. They come from an animal for heaven’s sake. Animals have bacteria.
Remember the last egg recall? It was in March 2009 — ORGANIC EGGS in California.
I’ve been spending some time in the chemotherapy treatment centers, and it is amazing the variation among the professionals there in terms of their understanding of salmonella and eggs. They fall into three categories:
1.) Those who not only get the danger part but who also get the nutrition part. Whole, natural (unprocessed) foods are really important for patients as they not only are a ‘non-negative’ i.e. they won’t hurt the patient, but are key to recovery and wellness. These people love to talk to me and I love to talk with them. Oh we do go on…
2.) Those who don’t really think about it, or haven’t in a while. I guess because they are so focused on the specific treatment parts they are responsible for. Strangely enough, this seems to be younger professionals. Maybe they are growing into their jobs and are a little overwhelmed. But they are interested in the information.
3) Those, just a couple, who are not only unaware but obstinately so. They have tended to be a little older and it is funny because they will push back when you give them data or statistics from government sources. I am guessing they are hard-core about doctors/nurses/hospital parts and don’t really think in terms of health and wellness and prevention.
All in all they have been very nice, even the ones who don’t get it. When I start talking about pasteurized eggs, none of them look at me like I am a weirdo. I know that look.
The Buddha walks into a pizza parlor and says “make me one with everything.”
This is Beth. Jay’s been pretty busy lately, so I thought I’d fill in with a story of my own.
Some months ago, I was sitting on a plane returning from a trade show. I was tired of talking to people and sat wearily in my seat, ready to get home. The seat next to me was empty and I was glad. One last guy rushed onto the plane before the door was shut, chatting to no one in particular all the way down the aisle. He got the last seat. Next to me.
Unfortunately, I don’t recall his name. We’ll call him Bob.
Bob looked at the logo on my shirt and said, “Pasteurized shell eggs. What a great idea!” I was pretty sure he didn’t get it; most people need an explanation. But he went on to tell me this story:
“Several years ago when I lived in California, we raised some chickens in our backyard. My family ate the eggs and we sold the extras. There was one guy who bought eggs from me who ate a raw egg every day. I’m not sure why. Anyway, one day his wife called me. She said her husband was very sick and in the hospital. He had salmonella poisoning from eggs. Needless to say, we didn’t sell any more eggs.”
Wow. Bob understood because of a very unfortunate incident. It illustrates one of the biggest myths I hear being repeated over and over. Backyard, local food isn’t necessarily safer than food you buy at the grocery store.
Thanks, Bob, for sitting next to me.
We have concluded the development process on our new retail carton label. Here it is. We are very happy about and I am proud of the teaminess it took to complete it.labels — FINAL
I had to change flights yesterday. I hate that because it removes certainty about where I am going to sit. Leg room is important to me. And of course this is the seat I ended up with.
Thanks to a USA Today article, I just visited this site – www.realrawmilkfacts.com – which has great information about raw milk. There are a small group of people in this country who are convinced that drinking raw milk is good for you. They are wrong. I hope they stop or some of them will find them selves very sick or worse.
Most of the reasons are based on pseudo science, though there is some data from Europe that suggests the enzymes in raw milk may help babies avoid asthma. However exposing a baby with an undeveloped immune system to a product known to have campylobacter, salmonella and E coli is just plain stupid.
Another oft-cited reason for drinking milk raw is the belief that nutrients get destroyed during pasteurization. And this is partially true; vitamin C for instance is reduced by heat. Milk is not a great source of Vitamin C anyway. Nutrients like calcium are unchanged. Pasteurization also kills enzymes in milk, although the fact that these enzymes have no proven role in human nutrition doesn’t stop advocates from decrying their destruction.
This is important for us because it fuels a small segment of goofuses who think pasteurization is generally bad. And I occasionally run into them at shows. Here is how it goes:
Me: Are you familiar with safe eggs?
Nice, Mis-Informed Person: No (looks at booth curiously)
Me: We have an all natural process that kills bacteria, like salmonella, in eggs.
NMIP: How do you do it?
Me: We pasteurize them in a water bath.
NMIP: I don’t believe in pasteurization.
Me: (trying my best not to sigh): Oh really, why not?
NMIP: (trying to remember why they don’t believe in pasteurization) But it’s not natural.
Me: Well it is natural. We just heat them up in warm water.
NMIP: Because pasteurization kills enzymes and lowers nutritional content (kind of proud they spit that out).
Me: So how do you eat your eggs?
NMIP: Sunny-side up
Me: And how make your sunny-side up eggs; on a stove or do you use magic?
NMIP: (Eyes me warily) A stove.
Me: So you use heat?
NMIP: Yes.
Me: Like we do when we pasteurize it?
NMIP: (somewhere behind their eyes, a light bulb is tries to go on)
It feels like we have been waiting for an economic recovery for just about ever. If you look at the chart below, things really are improving. Consumer demand drives our economy and when people have jobs they spend money.
The recovery from the recessions since World War II tended to be general; that is the whole economy recovered together. But this one, like 2000-01, has some sectors that will rebound more strongly than others. Economists argue why this is – the complexity of the economy, the fact that bubbles preceded the downturns, monetary policy, others – I won’t even venture a guess. But there will be some industries like real estate that will take a long time to recover.
Sectors we work in:
We are enthusiastic about the future.
“Go at it boldly, and you’ll find unexpected forces closing round you and coming to your aid” – Basil King
Spoke to a new friend today. Jim is 76 years old and lives in Schaumburg, Illinois. He called last week just to tell us that ours were the best tasting eggs he had ever had. He understood the safety thing, but the flavor made him really happy.
We always appreciate kind words. I also appreciate that he kept calling me son. It made me feel just a little younger; just in time for spring. It also made me think of Foghorn Leghorn.
