Pandemic sees resurgence of family meals, but much of the food we eat makes us sick

McDonald's, Pringles, SPAM and other processed and junk food are featured prominently in the illustration that ran with the article on how we eat in the August/September 2020 issue of AARP The Magazine.

 

AARP article salutes

 rise of industrial farms, 

processed food, multicookers

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The only upside to the Covid-19 pandemic is that Americans in quarantine or lockdown began to cook again and "the family meal -- long threatened -- returned in earnest."

That's the upbeat conclusion of a sweeping review of how we eat by Ruth Reichl, a cookbook author and onetime restaurant critic for The New York Times.  

But in "The Changing American Table" for AARP The Magazine, Reichl acknowledges that Americans' obsession with baking and desserts pushed the percentage of us who are overweight or obese to about 72 percent today, compared to only 10 percent in 1950.

She discusses the rise of factory farms, the widespread use of human antibiotics to make farm animals grow faster, salmonella outbreaks, processed food and even a best seller, "The Can-Opener Cook Book."

Eating is learned behavior

Reichl, who has written about food for 50 years, acknowledges her own articles about eating fewer carbohydrates, exercising more and drinking less or not at all.

"The real answer, I think, is staring us in the face," Reichl says. "Eating is learned behavior, and from the moment our children are born, we began teaching them that the most delicious foods are filled with fat, sugar and salt."

Organic farming

Although Reichl is one of the most respected food writers in the nation, her AARP article is weak when it comes to discussing the benefits of eating organic food, and the harm of pesticides and the antibiotics used to raise poultry, meat and farmed fish.

"People who care about the environment ... have driven the cause of organic farms, whose numbers have doubled in the past 10 years," she says, adding:

"But the most revolutionary changes in food production revolve around meat. Research has shown that a meat-based diet increases the risk of heart diseases and cancer."

Excerpts

Here are excerpts from Reichl's article for older Americans, and I think you can assume that the "average Americans" she mentions aren't eating pricier organics, antibiotic-free food, wild-caught fish or 100% grass-fed beef:

• "The food on my table -- and yours -- does not resemble in any way what our ancestors ate."
• "Food prices have come down so dramatically that average Americans spend a mere 7 percent of their budget on it -- less than people spend in any other nation on earth."
• "Three-quarters of us are overweight, and 6 out of 10 of us suffer from chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma and hepatitis."
• "Does our cheap food have anything to do with that?" (Her answer is yes.)
• "After the war [World War II] ended and the Cold War began, our government decided that growing bigger, better and substantially more food than the Soviets ... would be a great way to spread democracy."
• On family summer road trips, regional specialties were replaced by fast food.
• "By the mid '50s ... housewives filled their freezers with three iconic foods of that moment: TV dinners, fish sticks and Tater Tots."
• "Instant mashed potatoes, freeze-dried instant coffee, Pop-Tarts, Tang and, of course, Carnation Instant Breakfast began to line our cupboard shelves."
• "Mom bragged she could get dinner on the table in 15 minutes flat."

The coronavirus

"The coronavirus disrupted the American food supply, and it changed the way I shop, cook and eat," Reichl says.

"Indeed, across the country, people in lockdown began to cook again" and "many who had never before put their hands into dirt planted gardens ...," she says.

"People like me, who live in rural parts of the country, began buying our food straight from the farm, just like my mother once did," Reichl adds. "I know I'll be doing that for the rest of my life."

To read Reichl's piece in its entirety, click on the following link:

A foodie reflects on 50 years of change

Shopping for organics

During most of the year, the closest my family and others in northern New Jersey get to the farm is Whole Foods Market in Paramus, where I buy as many organics as possible.

Costco Wholesale in Teterboro and ShopRite supermarkets also are good sources for organic produce, organic pasta and other organically grown food.

I grew up in a kosher household in Brooklyn, N.Y., where the family meal was sacred, and I've been cooking all my life, both when I was single and after I married.

That has continued during the pandemic.

I'm a pescatarian living with a wife, son and mother-in-law who eat meat and poultry, so we cook more than most families and find it challenging to order takeout once a week.

For ideas on preparing family meals, see my cooking and food shopping videos:

Victor's Healthy Kitchen

'Don't Panic, Eat Organic' are wise words to live by during the pandemic or any time

DIRTY DOZEN: I buy organic strawberries at Whole Foods Market in Paramus because conventionally grown strawberries top the Dirty Dozen, 12 crops that farmers typically use the most pesticides on, according to the Environmental Working Group. And they are most likely to contain pesticide residue even after they are washed, AARP says.

CHEAPER THAN AT COSTCO:  I also buy Organic Carrots at Whole Foods Market because they are cheaper by the pound at the Paramus supermarket than they are at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

AARP article distills new book

on organic food, eating local

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- With the U.S. death toll from the Covid-19 virus passing 50,000, many of us are spending more time at home preparing our own meals and taking another look at what we eat.

Many people in quarantine are stocking up and binging on cookies, cakes and other sweets, according to news reports.

But in my home, we are pretty much staying the course, trying to buy as many organics as possible and eating only wild-caught seafood, and meat and poultry free of harmful antibiotics.

Now, AARP, the nonprofit interest group for older Americans, is exploring whether the health benefits of eating organic and locally grown food are worth the cost.

The short answer is yes.

Eating organic

"Why Eating Organic Matters" is the main headline over an article in the March 2020 issue of AARP Bulletin, a glossy tabloid, adapted from a book by Mark Bittman and Dr. David L. Katz.

The book, "How to Eat: All Your Food and Diet Questions Answered," cites a recent study in France, where researchers found "a significant difference in cancer incidence between those who eat organic routinely versus those who don't," AARP reports.

"Those people who ate organic had the least cancer, as you'd expect," according to the article.

ORGANIC V. NON-ORGANIC: Organic apples can have no more than 5% of the pesticides in conventional produce, but 80 percent of non-organic apples are treated with diphenylamine, which is banned by the European Union as a potential carcinogen, AARP says.

If you can't afford organic?

"A non-organic apple is better than no apple, and better than most other choices," the AARP article reports.

"So, yes, get the non-organic apples and wash them well [to reduce pesticide residue]. It's almost safe to say, 'Never pass up an apple.'"

As for eating local, AARP says, "No one but a fanatic could eat only local food, but concentrating on these attributes would mean you are eating better, more ethically, more sustainably."

"If you know your produce is being grown on a local farm where chemicals are not being used, you know that you are avoiding those chemicals," AARP reports.

Grass-fed animals

"When animals graze on grass, as opposed to grains, they keep the soil healthy and produce better meat."

"And pasture-raised animals may have lower risks of industrial food-borne scourges, like E. coli 0157:H7, a strain that can cause severe infection and even kidney failure," the AARP article says.

The article concludes:

"It's ... important to have a plant-dominant diet, along with balance and variety."

Costco Wholesale carries 100% grass-fed burgers (beef or lamb), Polish sausage and sirloin steak.

AARP headlines

Thanks to AARP Bulletin for the headline on this post, "Don't Panic, Eat Organic."

But I disagree with a subheadline that says "organic and locally grown foods are all the rage."

The organic movement began decades ago, and residents of New Jersey (and many other states) have always prized local food, including Jersey tomatoes, corn, wild-caught fish and other seafood.

I'd also like to point out the Your Health article on why eating organic matters contrasts with others AARP has published in recent years on food of dubious quality:

Read: The last place seniors

 should go for nutrition advice 

MORE AFFORDABLE: On Thursday, I shopped for organics at Whole Foods Market in Paramus during the senior hour -- 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.  Above, as an Amazon Prime member, this woman, like me, gets special deals and an extra 10% off on sale items. I also get 5% cash back by using the Amazon Prime credit card to pay for my purchases.

LINING UP TO SHOP: At 9 a.m., a long line of shoppers under 60 year old began to enter the natural and organic food supermarket.

TURNING A CORNER: The line wrapped around the corner of the building at the Bergen Town Center.

A few of AARP's 'great ways to save' sound stupid, but others may actually harm you

The July/August 2019 issue of AARP Bulletin includes a 10th anniversary list of 99 ways to save money.

Buying cheapest meat and poultry

could affect health of older Americans

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- At first glance, many of AARP's great, favorite or timeless ways to save money seem to make sense.

For example, getting dental work for less from dentist-supervised students at a dental school is a practical way to save money, as I discovered using Hackensack University Medical Center's dental clinic in Hackensack.

But I take exception to AARP claiming you can do so "for a fraction of the cost."

Travel savings

See national parks free is another tip, this one listed under "Travel" in the July/August 2019 issue of AARP Bulletin.

But then you'd have to coordinate your vacation with "free entrance days" listed at nps.org, where you'd find only 5 free days listed, and no free entrance days available in February, March, May, June, July, October or December.

Another travel tip is looking for Restaurant Week promotions "during a slack season for tourism," but again, you'd have to coordinate your vacation to take advantage of the savings.

I've long enjoyed the steep lunch discounts during Restaurant Weeks in Manhattan in winter and summer.

And on a recent 4-day vacation in Miami, I was delighted to discover the Miami Spice restaurant promotion there runs for 2 whole months (Aug. 1 through Sept. 30).

Another travel tip is to use ATMs overseas for the lowest exchange fees on foreign currency, but AARP doesn't mention you can get the best exchange rate by charging your purchases to a credit card with no foreign-currency exchange fee.

Auto savings

"Buy gas on Mondays," AARP says, claiming "it's the cheapest day in 29 states," according to GasBuddy.

What do you do in the 21 other states? Walk?

AARP doesn't tell you Costco Wholesale gas stations in every state sell top-tier gasoline for about 20 cents less per gallon every day, and if you use a no-fee Costco Visa credit card to pay for fuel, you get another 4% back on each dollar.

In New Jersey, you don't have to be a Costco member to use the gas station at warehouses in Teterboro, Clifton and Wayne.

A wildly exaggerated illustration from the AARP article on saving money. No. The money you might save won't come anywhere near filling a real shopping cart.

Food savings

Eating healthy doesn't figure into AARP's tips on saving money in restaurants and at supermarkets.

AARP members are urged to get discounts of 10% at Bonefish Grill on food and non-alcoholic beverages, and 15% on their check at Denny's, but the latter sells mostly crappy, low-quality food, so that's no bargain.

Under "Slow Cooker Savings" on Page 17 of the AARP Bulletin, you are urged "to make tough cuts of meat tender and flavorful," noting "stew meat" averages $5.60 a pound vs. $8.30 for sirloin steak.

But what you save at the market you might have to spend at the doctor's office after many years of eating "mystery meat" raised on harmful antibiotics and growth hormones.

You're also urged to "max out couponing," but the vast majority of grocery coupons are for food of questionable quality or with lots of salt and sugar, and few are for organics or antibiotic-free meat and poultry.

AARP also suggests you only buy organic produce after looking at the annual Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists from the Environmental Working Group.

This advice ignores year-round discounts on organics, wild-caught fish and many other items at Whole Foods Markets, if you are an Amazon Prime member.

And when you use your Amazon Prime credit card at Whole Foods, you get 5% cash back.

Money savings 

The July/August issue of AARP Bulletin repeats advice from Allan Roth, a so-called financial planner, about "a friend with over $200,000 in a bank account that paid no interest."

Roth urges his friend to move the money to a "high-paying ... savings account ... paying 2.25%" and make about $4,500 a year."

Really? How many AARP Bulletin readers have $200,000 just laying around to park in a savings account for an entire year?

Roth's advice is useless to the vast majority of AARP members, and to call him a "financial planner" is a disservice to older Americans who belong to AARP.

And the same exact Roth advice appeared in the December 2018/January 2019 issue of AARP The Magazine. 

It wasn't worth repeating.

And AARP doesn't mention such cash-back credit cards as the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, which returns 6% cash back at supermarkets; or Citi's Double Cash Card, good for 2% back on all your purchases.

Travel advice

Pauline Frommer is quoted as saying "travelers who buy airline tickets on Sundays save some 20% over those who buy midweek, according to a study by the Airlines Reporting Corp.

Gee. How many times have you seen advice to save money by buying airline tickets on Tuesday?

Members' advice

An AARP member in Atlanta, Ga., urges others to "butcher the meat bill" by buying family size packages of mystery beef, pork and chicken.

Again, if you're eating meat and poultry raised with harmful antibiotics and growth hormones, you're health might suffer because you could become resistant to antibiotics prescribed to cure an infection. 

An AARP member in Idaho urges you to do without cable TV by buying a $20 antenna and getting "27 channels for free."

An AARP member in New Mexico claims "our 14 solar panels can produce more electricity than we use," but in the Northeast and many other parts of the country without sunshine nearly every day, 14 solar panels would be far too few.

Another member, this one in Minnesota, says she called the manufacturer after her bathroom faucet corroded within 10 years of use, and she was sent a brand-new faucet free of charge, saving $152.

But she didn't mention most manufacturers only warrant the faucet to the original homeowner.

READ: AARP thinks we're clueless

At AARP The Magazine, older Americans are treated as clueless about saving money

CLUCK, CLUCK: The December 2018/January 2019 issue of AARP The Magazine offered older Americans a lot of advice about their finances and how to save money. But one of the suggestions -- renting chickens and a coop for "really fresh eggs" -- was laughable, wouldn't save you money and would likely be barred by health ordinances.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Judging from the endless stream of articles about money -- how to save it, how to invest it and how to keep it -- the editors of AARP publications must think their older readers are brain dead.

An article about money appears in just about every bimonthly issue of AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin, a tabloid issued 11 times a year.

Both are sent free to members of AARP, a U.S.-based interest group whose stated mission is "to empower people to choose how they live as they age."

Rent chickens?

In  the December 2018/January 2019 issue of the magazine, three pages are devoted to saving money, including an article called "Rent, Don't Buy!"

Readers are urged to "live it up and keep costs down by leasing" instead of buying a 19-foot RV, camping gear, a telephoto camera lens (when going on a safari), chickens and a coop, and jewelry "for your special event."

I crave the creature comforts of a hotel room -- not to mention the free buffet breakfast that comes with many of them -- and would never rent an RV for $1,300 a week or buy one and get eaten alive by insects at campgrounds.

Karen Cheney, whose byline is on the article, says you'd spend $16 on 4 dozen organic, cage-free eggs from a store, and $240 on 2 egg-laying hens, feed and gear for 4 weeks, but get about a dozen "really fresh eggs" each week.

Well, you can buy 2 dozen organic eggs at Costco Wholesale for $5.99 or 4 dozen for $11.98 so neither of her options passes the smell test.

Save thousands?

In a second article, Allan Roth outlines 8 ways you can "save thousands without being a Scrooge!"

Roth, identified as a financial planner for more than 20 years, discusses purchasing a car, picking good credit cards and uncovering a "hotel bargain," among other suggestions, but I believe I can save more money.

What really galls me is his selfish car-buying advice, which ignores many reasonably priced gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars that can save older Americans money on fuel, help ease climate change and cut premature deaths from auto emissions.

"I take the time to shop for a good, small, modest sedan -- say, for $30,000 -- and drive it for a decade, more or less," Roth says. 

"It depreciates less than a $75,000 luxury sedan, I pay less sales tax, and my insurance is cheaper."

But in New Jersey and other states, you'll pay no sales tax when you purchase an EV or get other incentives, and you'll receive federal tax credits on many models, too.

The Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt EV and other moderately priced all-electric cars are ideal for the limited driving many older Americans do.

Cash-back credit cards

Roth urges readers to use "credit cards such as mine, which charge no annual fee and pay 2 percent cash back," so "you'll get $180 more a year" (after spending $1,500 a month) than with a 1 percent cash back card. 

I also have a 2% cash-back card, but use other cards that pay more cash back, including the Costco Anywhere Visa Card, which gives you 4% back on gasoline, 3% back on restaurant meals, and 2% back on purchases at Costco Wholesale warehouses and Costco.com.

There is no annual fee, but a Costco membership costs $60 a year -- which you'll get back many times over.

I have a friend who uses the card "for everything" and who received $1,100 cash back after one year. I received $450 cash back this year.

The Costco Anywhere Visa Card also has no foreign- currency exchange fee (usually 3%) when you are traveling outside the United States, and charging hotels, meals and other expenses in Canadian dollars, euros or other currencies.

6% back on groceries

And the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express gives you 6% back on groceries from ShopRite, Aldi and other supermarkets (but not on food bought at warehouse stores like Costco).

At my level of spending at supermarkets, the annual fee of $95 reduces my cash back to 5% -- still higher than any other cash-back card.

Hotel bargains?

Roth claims he uncovers "hotel bargains" by using BetterBidding and other sites, but ignores joining a hotel loyalty program that allows you to turn spending into points for your next vacation, getting free hotel nights or reduced rates.

For example, as a member of the Hyatt loyalty program, I'm guaranteed the lowest rates in Hyatt Regency, Hyatt House and Hyatt Place hotels, and receive a free night each year.

Both Hyatt House and Hyatt Place offer free buffet breakfasts of fresh fruit, juice, cereal, pancakes, eggs and made-to-order omelets.

As relatively new members of the loyalty program, my wife and I received two free nights at the Park Hyatt in Manhattan, where the average daily rate is $675 a night, after we spent $1,000 on the Hyatt Credit Card.

Read: A luxury hotel, dinner at Per Se

 and other superlatives

BIG REWARDS? I'm skeptical about much of the advice on saving money offered by Allan Roth, a financial planner.

BUGS ARE FREE: Renting a 19-foot RV  -- a "home on wheels" --had me thinking about being eaten alive by mosquitos at campsites, and missing the free buffet breakfast that comes with many hotel rooms.

Am I the only older American watching his cholesterol, and his salt and sugar intake?

WOULD YOU EAT THIS? The ingredients label on these holiday cookies I saw at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro on Nov. 27 lists sugar, butter, soybean oil, canola oil, palm oil, eggs, cocoa, chocolate liquor, unsweetened chocolate, butter oil, high fructose syrup, corn syrup, brown sugar, artificial colors, beeswax, carnauba wax, shellac and gum arabic.

SUGARLAND: The bakery in the Teterboro Costco does sell a pair of decent baguettes, the only reason I ever venture there. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- "Thanks, but we don't eat dessert."

My wife and I say that or something similar every time a server in a fine-dining restaurant approaches our table with the dessert and coffee menu.

Sugar -- whether natural or added, plus high-fructose corn syrup and other cheap sugar substitutes -- can be found in so much processed food, ranging from pasta sauces to soda to cereals to sliced bread to 100% juices.

So, I certainly don't need more sugar from cookies, cakes, puddings and other desserts, including the the 67 holiday recipes from The New York Times' Cooking editors this week. 

Excessive sodium

Also lurking in pasta sauces and other processed food is excessive sodium, so I make my own low-sodium pasta sauce, and might add a pinch of salt to the pasta water.

Excessive sodium can lead to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. 

I stopped eating meat and poultry -- but love wild-caught fish and other seafood -- and long ago stopped using butter, which is loaded with saturated fat, in favor of spreading pesto on bread or dipping my bread in extra-virgin olive oil.

When we eat out, I make sure the kitchen doesn't use butter or cream in a dish I want to order, and if they can't eliminate it, I order something else.

Yes. I love to eat, but from what I see in newspapers, magazines and on TV, I sometimes feel like I'm the only older American watching my cholesterol, and salt and sugar intake. 

SUGAR OVERLOAD: I saw this 3 Layer Coffee Cake studded with cookies at Paris Baguette, a Korean bakery and coffee shop in Hackensack's Home Depot Shopping Center.

Glorifying pie

Sugar plays a major role in heart disease, and like saturated fat, the sweet stuff can clog arteries, one reason you see so many diabetics recovering in cardiac step-down units.

It's a full time job to avoid sugar by reading nutrition labels, which supply only partial information about natural and added sugar in food.

Lobbyists have successfully prevented government regulators from listing the number of teaspoons of sugar in food and juices.

For example, the Kirkland Signature Organic Orange Juice I buy at Costco Wholesale lists 21 grams of sugar in an 8-ounce serving, but not how many teaspoons that is. 

A teaspoon contains roughly 4 grams of sugar -- or 5 teaspoons in an 8-ounce serving of that organic OJ.

Yet, The New York Times recently devoted an entire section glorifying Thanksgiving pies, and The Record, the local daily newspaper I once read, devoted a section front and a full inside page to "New Jersey['s] Best Pies" in early November.

Read: Look for salt and sugar in processed food

Read: Exposing excessive salt and sugar

Syrian pastries

One reason I get queasy when looking at photos of pies, cakes and other desserts loaded with sugar, butter and cream are the pastries I ate growing up in a Syrian Jewish home in Brooklyn, including baklava.

For the most part, those pastries used very little butter and no cream. Honey and pistachio nuts predominated.

Today, I rarely eat them. 

My mother put a salad on the table every night. We ate fresh, wild fish at least once a week, and on Saturday nights, she served only dairy.

AARP advice

The editors at AARP The Magazine have come a long way from an article in the April/May 2016 issue that was headlined, "Eat This, Not That!"

For example, the article listed only chain and fast-food restaurants, and recommended older Americans eat Arby's roast turkey and bacon sandwich over a roast beef and cheddar cheese sandwich, arguing the latter has fewer calories and less fat.

Who in their right mind would eat either sandwich, stuffed as they are with harmful antibiotics, preservatives and cholesterol?

Read: The last place seniors 

should go for nutrition advice

There was no mention of fast food or chain restaurants in the August/September 2018 issue of AARP The Magazine, with Rita Moreno on the cover.

An article, "What to Eat When You're 70+," was good advice for people in their 50s and 60s, too.

Older Americans were urged to eat more lean meat, fish and dairy; more protein at breakfast, more brightly colored vegetables; more oily fish, olive oil and avocados; and more bran cereals.

I'll drink to that.

CHOLESTEROL ON SALE: On Nov. 27, Costco was offering $2 off ready to cook packages of Mac and Cheese, which contains lots of cheese, milk and some sugar, below. Nutrition labels on Costco's cookies and Mac and Cheese don't indicate the percentage of the recommended daily maximum of any ingredient. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stick to organic pasta in a homemade, low-sodium red sauce.