Two Americas
12-30-2009, 10:12 AM
You just can't make this stuff up.
When the Ohio river valley was first settled, farmers faced a problem. Getting grain back to the population centers required packing it on mules, and the mules would need to eat more grain to make the trip than they could carry. The solution was to distill the grain into alcohol, which could then be shipped back east. Keep that example in mind as you read about the latest food craze that has come from the "activism" by the foodies when they promote "eat local!"
As various foodie movements (otherwise known as "progressive activism") collapse and fail, and as they are shown to be absurd and illogical, the rallying cries of the activists keep evolving. Recently "eat local!" has been popular. All of these movements are oriented around the personal consumer choice model, promote free market solutions to public issues and social problems, and are always aristocratic and gentrified and reflect and serve the sentiments and whims of the relatively well-to-do.
That means that far from promoting any truly progressive change, the foodie activism moves the debate about farming and food to the right, works against progressive change, and often attacks and undermines whatever remnants of the public agriculture infrastructure still remain. It also dumbs down the public on these issues.
This article illustrates everything that is wrong with the "eat local" movement, and all of the "progressive activism" about food and farming issues.
[div class="excerpt"]Get Ready for Locavore Liquor in 2010
When you raise a glass to mark the start of a new year and new decade, will you know where your drink was made? Well, according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine, one of the top menu trends in 2010 will be local liquor. Case in point: Two "moonshiners" in Williamsburg, Brooklyn are planning to start making and selling double-distilled whiskey and bourbon.
As reported on the New York magazine blog, David Haskell (an editor at New York) and Colin Spoelman have secured a studio space at 35 Meadow Street, and are "hoping that in the coming weeks the State Liquor Authority will grant them a distilling license" at which time "they'll begin using brand-new charred-oak barrels (for bourbon) and recycled barrels (for whiskey).
3 Other Ways to Green Your New Year's Toast
1. From homemade gin to ginger ale, try some green cocktail recipes.
2. Go organic.
3. Support sustainable wineries.
http://www.alternet.org/food/144825/get_ready_for_locavore_liquor_in_2010/
[/quote]
And here are your "top ten tips" from Planet Green. (Liberals and progressives just love making lists. It gives them the feeling that they are doing something constructive.)
[div class="excerpt"]Top Green Cocktails Tips
1. Use organic liquors when you can
More and more organic spirits are coming on the market, but actually finding them in your local store is not always easy. Vodka seems to be the most commonly available of spirits, which is great for you because so many terrific cocktails have a vodka base. Producers of organic spirits often make smaller batches and some retailers are reluctant to carry a product that they cannot guarantee will always be in stock. Ask your local purveyor or spirits about stocking organic products. They won't know you want it if you don't tell them.
2. Think local
If you are lucky enough to have distillers in your state or even region, it may make more sense to buy their products. Some producers may not be "organic," per se, but some distillers are making ecologically sound efforts in their business practices. For example, Maker's Mark has just installed a new waste treatment system which allows them to recycle their waste stream and creates renewable energy. 360 Vodka has a paper reduction policy in place, uses compact fluorescent light bulbs and green cleaning supplies and has a significant recycling program in effect. And, even if your local distiller doesn't actively engage in green practices, having it shipped across a state or two sure beats the entire country and whole globe, for that matter.
3. Think seasonal
Try to choose cocktails to fit in with your locale, and local, seasonal offerings. Take advantage of local fresh fruit juices and herbs in your summer drinks. Rather than make a traditional Screwdriver with orange juice, try a recipe that highlights a fruit that grows in your area such as grape or raspberry. In the winter time use fresh cranberries or mull some apple cider. If you are making a coffee-based drink, use organic dairy products and Fair Trade, organic coffee for those warming treats.
4. Use green garnishes
Try using a pickled green bean, pickled onions or even a hot pepper in your martini instead of an olive or lemon peel. Fresh fruit such as raspberries and blueberries in the summer and cranberries in the fall and winter look beautiful floating in a cocktail glass. If you want to sprinkle a little chocolate over top over your Irish Coffee, be sure make it Fair Trade and organic.
5. Make your own cocktail mixes
If you see a margarita mix in your grocery store, resist. There are lots of mixes and pre-mixed cocktails out there on the market, but that doesn't mean you have to buy them. Making your own cocktails from scratch ensures that you know that the freshest, healthiest ingredients have gone into them, without preservatives or chemicals. Using fresh juice leaves you with pulp and skin to compost. Using mixes leaves you with unnecessary packaging to dispose of. Not only that, if you are using organic alcohol, you have a premium product. Messing it up with overly sweet mixes just seems wrong, doesn't it?
6. Make your own spirits and liqueurs
If you're up for a bit of a kitchen adventure, or you just can't find it, make your own booze. I had a bit of a conundrum because I am a gin drinker and I could only get organic vodka. So I did the next best thing and made my own. The key, or course, to making gin is procuring the juniper berries. Then you can play around with the other ingredients until you have a recipe that appeals to you. Add the juniper berries to a bottle of vodka and let it sit overnight. In the morning add the rest of the ingredients. At the end of the day, strain the botanicals from the alcohol and voila! You have a bottle of really delicious gin. And the best part is, your guests will be astonished that you made it. Check out the green cocktail recipes section of this guide for the full recipe, and you don't have to stop there. These recipes for Irish cream and Kahlua-style coffee liqueur will help you stock your bar DIY-style.
7. Try making your own non-alcoholic drinks (or additional mixers)
Making exciting, tasty, non-alcoholic beverages is fun, and even making a carbonated replacement to sugary soda isn't as hard as you think. In addition to the selection of sparkling mixers (like soda or tonic) and fruit juices I recommend you have on hand for cocktails, why not try something like ginger ale? I have tried the gin recipe, but I haven't tried this recipe for ginger ale, so I can't personally vouch for it. My suggestion would be to give this recipe a trial run before you try it out on guests. And be fairly warned: if you aren't careful, it could make for exciting explosions in your kitchen, too!
8. Reuse or recycle empty liquor bottles
Square One Vodka comes in a beautiful bottle that can be reused as a vase, or filled with shells as a decoration, or used as the age old candlestick holder. Other bottles that don't do as well doubling as vases should definitely be recycled according to your local recycling guidelines. In general, try to buy glass rather than plastic; it can be recycled infinitely, while plastic has a more limited lifespan. Stay away from bottles that have been etched, as a handful of nasty chemicals are required for that process. Companies like 360 Vodka use recycled paper and vegetable inks for their labels.
9. Be a responsible guest
Cocktails are significantly higher in alcohol than wine or beer, so be careful how much you drink. When you have a martini you know you are having a h2 drink, but other cocktails often have lots of fun tasting ingredients that mask the strength of the alcohol. Intersperse glasses of tap water or fruit juice between alcoholic drinks and be sure to partake of any nibbles that your host is offering. Barfing isn't green, so, please, enjoy your favorite cocktails responsibly.
10. Be a responsible host
As mentioned above, cocktails are h2! Set a time limit for cocktails and then stop serving them. Always have non-alcoholic drinks available for those who are driving or biking, or who just want to slow down a bit. It is essential to offer food to guests who are drinking alcohol. Simple crudite and dips or chips and salsa are great at a cocktail party. If your party is going longer into the evening, more substantial fare may be appropriate.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/cocktails/green-cocktails-tips.html[/quote]
Progressive activism is always trying to fit a very large foot - massive social collapse and a dying planet - into a very small shoe - gentrified sensibilties and sentimentality, upscale manners and customs, politeness and moderation, personal choice, personal beliefs and self-expression in lieu of politics, and trends and fads and other trivial and absurd social conventions, behaviors and habits as a means for effecting social change. Ridiculous things such as this "booze locally" idea are the inevitable result of the approach being taken.
How long will it be before we hear this idea mocked and ridiculed by people everywhere - as well it should be - and what damage will that do to any hope of the general public taking environmental issues seriously?
I am sure that talking this way about this will lead to responses such as "at least they are doing something!" and "you are alienating potential friends and allies by so viciously attacking those people, and using such a broad brush!"
What does it say about how people view politics, and the problems we are facing, if they take this seriously, give it any consideration at all, see it as part of the larger picture of taking political action? It is so clearly about lifestyle (upscale trendy lifestyle,) about personal choice and consumerism, about entrepreneurism, about fashion statements and self-expression, about feeling good about oneself. All of that crap is a serious obstacle to any real social change, can only move the discussion to the right, and can only have very negative political effects. Yet people are "open to it" and we apparently are expected to take it seriously.
One in four children in the country are on food stamps, and they are talking about drinking "artisan" boutique wine and discussing how to hold pleasant cocktail parties and feel good about it?
When the Ohio river valley was first settled, farmers faced a problem. Getting grain back to the population centers required packing it on mules, and the mules would need to eat more grain to make the trip than they could carry. The solution was to distill the grain into alcohol, which could then be shipped back east. Keep that example in mind as you read about the latest food craze that has come from the "activism" by the foodies when they promote "eat local!"
As various foodie movements (otherwise known as "progressive activism") collapse and fail, and as they are shown to be absurd and illogical, the rallying cries of the activists keep evolving. Recently "eat local!" has been popular. All of these movements are oriented around the personal consumer choice model, promote free market solutions to public issues and social problems, and are always aristocratic and gentrified and reflect and serve the sentiments and whims of the relatively well-to-do.
That means that far from promoting any truly progressive change, the foodie activism moves the debate about farming and food to the right, works against progressive change, and often attacks and undermines whatever remnants of the public agriculture infrastructure still remain. It also dumbs down the public on these issues.
This article illustrates everything that is wrong with the "eat local" movement, and all of the "progressive activism" about food and farming issues.
[div class="excerpt"]Get Ready for Locavore Liquor in 2010
When you raise a glass to mark the start of a new year and new decade, will you know where your drink was made? Well, according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine, one of the top menu trends in 2010 will be local liquor. Case in point: Two "moonshiners" in Williamsburg, Brooklyn are planning to start making and selling double-distilled whiskey and bourbon.
As reported on the New York magazine blog, David Haskell (an editor at New York) and Colin Spoelman have secured a studio space at 35 Meadow Street, and are "hoping that in the coming weeks the State Liquor Authority will grant them a distilling license" at which time "they'll begin using brand-new charred-oak barrels (for bourbon) and recycled barrels (for whiskey).
3 Other Ways to Green Your New Year's Toast
1. From homemade gin to ginger ale, try some green cocktail recipes.
2. Go organic.
3. Support sustainable wineries.
http://www.alternet.org/food/144825/get_ready_for_locavore_liquor_in_2010/
[/quote]
And here are your "top ten tips" from Planet Green. (Liberals and progressives just love making lists. It gives them the feeling that they are doing something constructive.)
[div class="excerpt"]Top Green Cocktails Tips
1. Use organic liquors when you can
More and more organic spirits are coming on the market, but actually finding them in your local store is not always easy. Vodka seems to be the most commonly available of spirits, which is great for you because so many terrific cocktails have a vodka base. Producers of organic spirits often make smaller batches and some retailers are reluctant to carry a product that they cannot guarantee will always be in stock. Ask your local purveyor or spirits about stocking organic products. They won't know you want it if you don't tell them.
2. Think local
If you are lucky enough to have distillers in your state or even region, it may make more sense to buy their products. Some producers may not be "organic," per se, but some distillers are making ecologically sound efforts in their business practices. For example, Maker's Mark has just installed a new waste treatment system which allows them to recycle their waste stream and creates renewable energy. 360 Vodka has a paper reduction policy in place, uses compact fluorescent light bulbs and green cleaning supplies and has a significant recycling program in effect. And, even if your local distiller doesn't actively engage in green practices, having it shipped across a state or two sure beats the entire country and whole globe, for that matter.
3. Think seasonal
Try to choose cocktails to fit in with your locale, and local, seasonal offerings. Take advantage of local fresh fruit juices and herbs in your summer drinks. Rather than make a traditional Screwdriver with orange juice, try a recipe that highlights a fruit that grows in your area such as grape or raspberry. In the winter time use fresh cranberries or mull some apple cider. If you are making a coffee-based drink, use organic dairy products and Fair Trade, organic coffee for those warming treats.
4. Use green garnishes
Try using a pickled green bean, pickled onions or even a hot pepper in your martini instead of an olive or lemon peel. Fresh fruit such as raspberries and blueberries in the summer and cranberries in the fall and winter look beautiful floating in a cocktail glass. If you want to sprinkle a little chocolate over top over your Irish Coffee, be sure make it Fair Trade and organic.
5. Make your own cocktail mixes
If you see a margarita mix in your grocery store, resist. There are lots of mixes and pre-mixed cocktails out there on the market, but that doesn't mean you have to buy them. Making your own cocktails from scratch ensures that you know that the freshest, healthiest ingredients have gone into them, without preservatives or chemicals. Using fresh juice leaves you with pulp and skin to compost. Using mixes leaves you with unnecessary packaging to dispose of. Not only that, if you are using organic alcohol, you have a premium product. Messing it up with overly sweet mixes just seems wrong, doesn't it?
6. Make your own spirits and liqueurs
If you're up for a bit of a kitchen adventure, or you just can't find it, make your own booze. I had a bit of a conundrum because I am a gin drinker and I could only get organic vodka. So I did the next best thing and made my own. The key, or course, to making gin is procuring the juniper berries. Then you can play around with the other ingredients until you have a recipe that appeals to you. Add the juniper berries to a bottle of vodka and let it sit overnight. In the morning add the rest of the ingredients. At the end of the day, strain the botanicals from the alcohol and voila! You have a bottle of really delicious gin. And the best part is, your guests will be astonished that you made it. Check out the green cocktail recipes section of this guide for the full recipe, and you don't have to stop there. These recipes for Irish cream and Kahlua-style coffee liqueur will help you stock your bar DIY-style.
7. Try making your own non-alcoholic drinks (or additional mixers)
Making exciting, tasty, non-alcoholic beverages is fun, and even making a carbonated replacement to sugary soda isn't as hard as you think. In addition to the selection of sparkling mixers (like soda or tonic) and fruit juices I recommend you have on hand for cocktails, why not try something like ginger ale? I have tried the gin recipe, but I haven't tried this recipe for ginger ale, so I can't personally vouch for it. My suggestion would be to give this recipe a trial run before you try it out on guests. And be fairly warned: if you aren't careful, it could make for exciting explosions in your kitchen, too!
8. Reuse or recycle empty liquor bottles
Square One Vodka comes in a beautiful bottle that can be reused as a vase, or filled with shells as a decoration, or used as the age old candlestick holder. Other bottles that don't do as well doubling as vases should definitely be recycled according to your local recycling guidelines. In general, try to buy glass rather than plastic; it can be recycled infinitely, while plastic has a more limited lifespan. Stay away from bottles that have been etched, as a handful of nasty chemicals are required for that process. Companies like 360 Vodka use recycled paper and vegetable inks for their labels.
9. Be a responsible guest
Cocktails are significantly higher in alcohol than wine or beer, so be careful how much you drink. When you have a martini you know you are having a h2 drink, but other cocktails often have lots of fun tasting ingredients that mask the strength of the alcohol. Intersperse glasses of tap water or fruit juice between alcoholic drinks and be sure to partake of any nibbles that your host is offering. Barfing isn't green, so, please, enjoy your favorite cocktails responsibly.
10. Be a responsible host
As mentioned above, cocktails are h2! Set a time limit for cocktails and then stop serving them. Always have non-alcoholic drinks available for those who are driving or biking, or who just want to slow down a bit. It is essential to offer food to guests who are drinking alcohol. Simple crudite and dips or chips and salsa are great at a cocktail party. If your party is going longer into the evening, more substantial fare may be appropriate.
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/cocktails/green-cocktails-tips.html[/quote]
Progressive activism is always trying to fit a very large foot - massive social collapse and a dying planet - into a very small shoe - gentrified sensibilties and sentimentality, upscale manners and customs, politeness and moderation, personal choice, personal beliefs and self-expression in lieu of politics, and trends and fads and other trivial and absurd social conventions, behaviors and habits as a means for effecting social change. Ridiculous things such as this "booze locally" idea are the inevitable result of the approach being taken.
How long will it be before we hear this idea mocked and ridiculed by people everywhere - as well it should be - and what damage will that do to any hope of the general public taking environmental issues seriously?
I am sure that talking this way about this will lead to responses such as "at least they are doing something!" and "you are alienating potential friends and allies by so viciously attacking those people, and using such a broad brush!"
What does it say about how people view politics, and the problems we are facing, if they take this seriously, give it any consideration at all, see it as part of the larger picture of taking political action? It is so clearly about lifestyle (upscale trendy lifestyle,) about personal choice and consumerism, about entrepreneurism, about fashion statements and self-expression, about feeling good about oneself. All of that crap is a serious obstacle to any real social change, can only move the discussion to the right, and can only have very negative political effects. Yet people are "open to it" and we apparently are expected to take it seriously.
One in four children in the country are on food stamps, and they are talking about drinking "artisan" boutique wine and discussing how to hold pleasant cocktail parties and feel good about it?