4/23 Industrial Ag Meat News
Read some news and have some thoughts.
Just as industrial, large meat production is terrible for the animals, it is also terrible for the workers in these plants. We have been seeing reports that the large Ag meat production part of our food system has been hit hard with Covid-19 outbreaks among their workers. Now Tyson has started advertisements with (IMHO) the intent of raising fears for the meat markets.
- Working conditions in meat processing plants have staff too close together, so it was/is impossible to be socially distant
- USDA meat inspectors were getting sick too, so there has been reduced safety inspections
- Reporting stated both the federal government, and these highly-profitable global meat companies, have NOT been supplying workers with PPE
- As plants shuttered, farmers were left with an over abundance of live stock, and news started to report on the killing of many animals, since they could not be processed or sold
- (4/28) By Executive Decree Trump required these plants to remain open, and said the Government will supply PPE
As this hit the chicken and pig processing plants, it was expected to eventually impact the regular meat supply. Everyone should expect some limitations in various industrial meat products, affecting large companies like Tyson. However, I did/do not anticipate this affecting smaller butchery stores that look to smaller local farms for their meat. (Although this might be a good time to stock up on meat, it might be better to learn to cook vegetarian.)
4/24 Today’s Shopping
Went shopping today and immediately noticed someone took my advice and got rid of the older, open bins. Instead, someone at the store packaged up the bin items into little bags (see photo above). The area was so packed, that while it was much easier to grab and go, it was also a bit harder to find what I wanted. One good side effect was that I no longer had to hunt for a pen to write the code on the bag closure wire. I thought this might be a good new way of doing bulk buying in local stores.
I wore a cloth mask, the store handed out food-serving gloves, and were sanitizing all returned carts or baskets near the entrance. Those staff also regulated how many people could go into the store. We stood in line until told we could go in, standing 6’ apart of course. Every staff person had gloves and masks on and it all felt very safe.
Also, throughout the store there were 6’ tape markers on the floor to help remind the few of us in the store, to keep proper distance. As shoppers, we all kept apart, and actually acted very shy of one another, almost skittish. It will be a while before we are comfortable standing close to strangers.
Walked back to my car, and noticed an elderly man having a little bit of trouble getting his bags into his car trunk. Where I would usually jump in to help, I paused and considered if he needed or even wanted me to help because I would be close to him and touch his bags. By the time this thought went through my mind, he was done.
Once home from “hunting and gathering,” I brought in the store-provided paper bags and placed them on my granite countertop. Then stopped to immediately wash my hands and cloth mask. After drying on a paper towel, I started emptying the bags and putting the food up where they belonged. Once done with that, I folded up the paper bags, and put them away in a drawer to sit for about a week before getting used again. Finally, I washed my hands again, and the counter. (WebMD says Covid viruses live on paper anywhere from a couple hours to 5 days.)
4/25 Asian Inspired Dump Dish
I heard the faint, “what’s for dinner?” question wafting on the wind. I was outside trimming herbs and my “mommy ears” were powerful enough to hear above the birds, bees, and barking dogs. I came into the house and yelled back, “beans, rice or noodles?” My spouse chose noodles.
So after cleaning my hands, I went upstairs into the kitchen to review what was in the fridge, to located the oldest, soonest to expire food. I found expired kimchee, and tofu nearing its life date. In the pantry side of my kitchen I had a partially “over ripe“ onion that I could save 2/3rds of, and a growing garlic clove. Any greens were already used up, but there were some wilted green cabbage odd-ends.
So I cooked 3 Lotus ramen noodles packets (happen to be gluten free) in water. Cooked them al dente, drained and rinsed to loosen up the noodles — I hate clumpy noodles — then set that aside while I made the mix of goodies to go with it.
I placed the following in my wok-like pan: some olive oil, diced yellow onion, minced garlic clove, and 1# ground pork. Once the meat was cooked I added ~2C rehydrated chopped mushrooms, and some Hodu tofu cut into smallish cubes. I let everything cook a bit, then added the contents of a smallish jar of kimchee along with the cabbage ends I had found.
Finally, I added the precooked noodles to the wok and stirred it all, tossing frequently. After a taste, I made adjustments by adding a bit of mirin, fish sauce, and Tamari. This made enough food for the two of us, with three more servings placed in the fridge for leftovers.
Dinner was a bit tangy, with mild heat, and also comforting. I could have done it with just the tofu or meat, but I chose to use both to bulk up the dish. I could also have made a sauce using a bit of cornstarch in water. But I chose to have it dryer.
4/26 Lasagna
I had fresh and dried mushrooms, and frozen spinach, along with a plan to make lasagna. This was and is a very easy casserole dish to make and freezes well as leftovers. Plus, while cleaning the cabinets I found a mixed assortment of gluten free and regular lasagna pasta from long ago (many were broken), just asking to be used up.
My spouse dislikes ricotta or cottage cheese, so I made the lasagna without them. Instead, I made a multi-cheese dish using up remnants of all the various cheeses I had that I thought would go well together. My list included: Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Pecorino Reggiano.
I decided that the veggies would be ~4C chopped and sautéed mushrooms, a chopped onion, remnants from a half-jar of sun dried tomatoes, and 1 bag frozen spinach. The sauce would be an herbed tomato sauce, and herbs would be fresh basil, oregano, and thyme, all from my garden.
It cooked for ~20-30 minutes in a 400F oven and came out bubbly, crusty on top, very cheesy inside, and had a great aroma of herbs. I cut more herbs to top each serving.
Made dinner for two, and had 8 leftover servings. Most of which went into the freezer. I realized this is almost an adult version of mac-n-cheese! Interesting thought.
4/27-28 Working From Home
I started my day feeding the dogs, making Earl Gray tea for me and filling up the iced tea container in the fridge for my spouse. I walked around the house and opened the window shades in the living room, then downstairs to open the back door for the dogs, then back up two flights to get dressed for work. Although these days I am wearing shorts, I do shower occasionally and dress for work, chest up anyways.
Once dressed, I took my hot tea and went downstairs to my TV/Office room and turned on the printer, laptop and my iPad. My iPhone was then plugged in to charge, and I reviewed the calendar to note all the Zoom meetings I had for the day. Then started work on my to-do list.
- I am one of the lucky, employed, white collar workers that can actually work from home, since much of my work is related to using a computer. I am also listed as an “essential staff,” so occasionally have to go to work to pick up something or do an errand, but not every week
In working, all available equipment are utilized. On this day, I listened to an IT Emergency Operations meeting on one computer, took notes on another. Petted the dogs, while reading a new update on the campus closure.
I worked on the plan for our College’s summer and fall instructional activities, and what kind of support my unit will be required to offer. To do this adequately, I soaked up data on the pandemic, tried hard to keep up with what is know and unknown. Tuned in to catch Cuomo’s and Newsom’s daily briefings, but skipped Trump’s ill-informed musings, intending to get the highlights later via the news.
Since I am lucky to own a home with a back yard, ate lunch outside. This allowed for a good break from the desk and screens.
At the end of the day I summed up what I had done and what needs to be done, and felt completely wasted. (As documented, Zoom meetings are VERY draining.) I walked upstairs to say ‘Hi,” to my family and plopped on a comfy chair. Within a short time the dogs started to look at me with those big puppy dog eyes, begging for dinner. My spouse started looking at me in a similar way, and mouthed the every day phrase, “what’s for dinner?”
4/29 Animal Rustling
England’s The Telegraph reported that, since March, sheep rustling has become a major thing in parts of the country, as people fear meat shortages or rationing due to food system disruptions (and probably Brexit). Of course, there is still a vivid and living memory of WWII and food rationing to spark these concerns.
Evidently, rustling lambs started as soon as the birthing season started, with some butchering lambs in the fields. It is reported that these people then rushed the meat to black-markets or conducted door-to-door selling. I honestly did not anticipate that rustling would occur, but as I thought about it more, it made sense.
To sum up my week, all I could think to write is two things. First, is what weird, dual-hearted creatures we humans are, embodying good and bad, and endlessly searching between the two to find the right way to live our individual lives. Second, is how grateful I am for my home, work, friends, and my dear family.
—Patty
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