food

Leave a comment Posted on Health, Uncategorized, vegan

Why I’m Happy About Annie’s Homegrown Being Bought Out By General Mills

This week on Facebook, Annie’s made it public that they have been purchased by General Mills (for $820 million):

Annie’s Homegrown
September 8

Hi Annie’s Fans,Today we announced exciting news that Annie’s will join General Mills. We are thrilled because this opportunity will fuel Annie’s future growth and allow us to more rapidly expand our line of high quality, great tasting products made with organic and natural ingredients that you’ve come to love over the last 25 years. So what does this combination mean for you, our loyal fans? Expect to see Annie’s in more stores, in more categories and in more varieties.Annie’s has never been a company that compromises on its values. With General Mills’ support, we will stay true to our mission and committed to doing well by doing good. We remain dedicated to real food; simple, organic, non-GMO and natural ingredients; a clean planet and sustainable business practices. These values are part of our DNA and they will remain so.

Thanks for being a loyal Annie’s fan and celebrating this new chapter in our story.

Sincerely,
John Foraker
Annie’s CEO

Since then, the current CEO, John Foraker, has assured Annie’s supporters that Annie’s integrity will remain intact:

Annie’s Homegrown
September 8
I want you all to know that our mission, culture, and values and the things we stand for will remain the same. We’ll continue to make the same great products, more of them actually, using ingredients we are proud of, business practices that are respectful of the environment, and that make our planet a better place. We’ve spent 25 years building trust with consumers, one interaction at a time. We will continue to do that. Count on it. I always ask people to listen to what we say, but more importantly, watch what we do! We will not let you down! Our mission: We cultivate a healthier, happier world by spreading goodness through nourishing foods, honest words and conduct that is considerate and forever kind to the planet. that mission is hard won and has been built with integrity. We will never abandon it, but rather we will further it, by putting our product into millions of new homes, which will expand our positive impact even more. I have given 15 years of my life to that mission and I am not stopping now. Best, John, Annie’s CEO

In the past couple of days, I have observed the astonishment from many (but not most) Annie’s fans online, that a company like Annie’s that has pushed for mandatory government labelling of GMOs, would join forces with a company like General Mills that is known for investing money to keep mandatory GMO labels off their food products.

Why I’m Happy About Annie’s Being Bought Out By General Mills

However, that doesn’t personally bother me.

I’m simply neutral on that- I don’t see why we need the government to force companies to label whether or not their products contain GMOs.

Here’s why:

The free market will decide anyway. As long as Annie’s packaging continues to advertise itself as “non-GMO,” and that it contains no high fructose corn syrup, or artificial dyes or flavors, and it’s organic… I will continue buying Annie’s- even if it is actually now a division of General Mills.

Because I’m not caught up in the war against labelling. I represent the Annie’s fans who are actually happy for Annie’s products getting better distribution and more opportunities to get their higher quality products to the mainstream.

For those of us who are passionate about avoiding GMOs in our food, we already check for the voluntary non-GMO label on food when we are shopping.

We also know that if a company doesn’t make a deliberate effort to make it known that there are indeed no GMOs in their food, then it must be assumed their food indeed contains GMOs.

Any company that is catering to non-GMO consumers would be stupid not to flash it all over their packaging and advertisements.

Based on what the CEO of Annie’s is telling everyone on Facebook, it sounds like he’s promising that Annie’s will continue to be dedicated to staying organic, non-GMO, and free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes and flavors.

If not, he knows that families like ours would stop buying Annie’s. However, I truly do not believe that will be the outcome.

Why I’m Happy About Annie’s Being Bought Out By General Mills

Here’s why:

A huge company like General Mills sort of needs Annie’s at this point. Influential food bloggers like Food Babe are educating the general public about how unethical GMOs are.

She has been helping to inform Americans about GMOs in Cheerios, for example.

The result? General Mills gave in to the pressure, announcing their plans to start making Cheerios without the GMOs.

It appears General Mills is already losing enough money to Annie’s. It’s apparently cheaper, easier, and more efficient to just join Annie’s efforts than to try to beat them.

But… they know to be taken seriously, they have to continue the “organic, non-GMO, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors or colors” commitment that Annie’s is known and respected for.

I am remaining completely optimistic. This means that snacks that are organic, non-GMO, and have no high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors or colors will be integrated into the mainstream even more.

Personally, I’m happy about the buy-out. I’m cool with just the voluntary food labels; ones that are not mandated by the government.

organic-nongmo

I say, let the free market decide. I say, celebrate the good news that Annie’s products will be more accessible (and possibly more affordable) to those who wouldn’t normally consider buying Annie’s food and snacks.

The way I look at it, it’s what on the inside (no GMO’s) that matters, not the outside (government-mandated labels).

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

Never Talk About Politics, Religion, Or Food You Don’t Eat

July 25, 2013 at 12:20 am , by 

2 years, 8 months.

Dear Jack,

I’ve decided that in addition to writing about the funny things you do and say on a daily basis, and covering trending parenting stories, I want to start teaching you “life lessons from dad.”

So here’s the first one:

I have learned that the topics of politics, religion, and food are so interwoven into emotions, moral beliefs, and sense of identity, that to bring up a point that goes against or even questions a person’s already established viewpoint…

Well, it often ends up becoming an insult, a threat, or a display of arrogance: It could put you in danger of being perceived as self-righteous or judgmental; even if you have the purest of intentions.

While it seems most people are familiar with the fact that politics and religion are sensitive subjects, I recently learned that the topic of “food you don’t eat” is equal in regards to one’s emotions, moral beliefs, and sense of identity.

But my opinion about these topics isn’t worth dividing people. I want to connect to people and make them feel included, and I’ve learned that openly talking about, or even just asking questions about, these three topics isn’t the way to do this.

So for the past month or so, I’ve been trying something out. I’ve been very careful not to use the “V-word” to label myself in regards to my eating lifestyle or the “L-word” to label my political beliefs.

And when it comes to speaking about my religious faith, I am trying to focus on humility, more than anything; which is one of the most important aspects of what I believe anyway. What good are my religious beliefs if my personal beliefs regarding politics and/or food distract people from my faith?

This is me trying to deliberately not perpetuate America’s polarizing tendencies, especially in social media. Both CNN and Fox News are pretty good at that already. I’ll leave it to the experts.

Regarding politics, religion, and food I don’t eat, I’ll let my viewpoints remain as much of a mystery as possible… until people specifically ask, or it works its way into conversation more naturally.

I want to earn the right to have these conversations with individuals, not broadcast my lifestyle across the universe to the masses like I’m the ultimate authority on these three sensitive subjects.

Here’s to finding out if my actions can speak louder than my words.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting, Uncategorized

Review Of Toddler Mum-Mums: Apple, Banana, And Strawberry Rice Biscuits

I love reviewing food products! Today I am featuring Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits, by a brand called Hot Kid.

For the review, I was sent 2 boxes of the banana, 2 boxes of the apple, and 2 boxes of the organic strawberry.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

To meet the criteria for my review, the food could not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; which in my opinion, is the easiest ways to identify junk food.

With that being said, Toddler Mum-Mum rice biscuits do not contain artifical food dyes or flavors, or high fructose corn syrup; nor do they contain preservatives, gluten, egg, or peanuts.

If you are a strict vegan or vegetarian, please note they contain gelatin, which is an animal by-product also found in pudding and marshmallows.

My niece Calla really loved Mum-Mums… all July 4th weekend. My sister, her mom, said she wouldn’t stop eating them!

Toddler Mum-Mum review

As the name implies, Toddler Mum-Mums are especially intended for toddlers and older. (My niece just turned 3, though.)

While at the grocery store yesterday, I looked at the competition. Turns out, unless you’re at Whole Foods, most grocery stores contain mystery ingredient filled versions of Mum-Mums as the competition.

Toddler Mum-Mum review

In other words, Mum-Mums stand out in the crowd in that their brand cares enough about its consumers to not include a long paragraph of ingredients you have to Google to even find out what they are; only to find out those ingredients shouldn’t even be considered as food to begin with. Mum-Mums only contain about 6 different ingredients.

For more informations, you can check out the Mum-Mums website at mummums.com.

Thanks for visiting Family Friendly Daddy Blog today. I wonder what I’ll review next?

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

My Kid Wants To Eat The Same Few Meals For Dinner Every Night

February 6, 2013 at 10:41 pm , by 

2 years, 2 months.

Dear Jack,

After you bought groceries by swiping Mommy’s expired debit card on your high chair, you proceeded to bring a box of Annie’s macaroni and cheese to your Thomas the Train play table, along with two plates and two spoons.

“I make Jack and Daddy dinner,” you casually proclaimed.

You shook the closed orange box upside down and stirred the invisible pasta into a plate, then served me.

I ended up having seconds, then thirds.

To you, dinner means Annie’s whole wheat macaroni and cheese. Period.

It’s not that your parents haven’t tried to introduce you to other options. You’ll eat rice and beans, quesadillas, pizza, bananas, goldfish crackers, bananas, raisins, pureed fruit, cereal, and… well, actually, that’s pretty much it.

However, if we gave you macaroni and cheese every single night for dinner, you would never complain or ask for anything else.

Tonight, Mommy decided to mix things up by making Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes, based on a recipe she found online from Giada of The Food Network.

We substituted fresh carrots for the chicken that the recipe called for, meaning your macaroni and cheese for tonight was full of vegetables.

You liked the Mac and Cheese Cupcakes. We will be repeating this recipe.

So here is the takeaway:

Don’t be surprised if we start tossing broccoli, carrots, and zucchini into the other few menu items you eat, like your rice and beans, pizza, and quesadillas.

As your parents, we no longer have to feel slightly guilty about only feeding you the few select meals you will actually eat.

We will simply begin enhancing your “bread and cheese” meals with whole veggies. If you don’t like it… then you can eat cereal.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on Health, parenting

5 Pointers To Help Avoid Foods With Fillers

December 20, 2012 at 9:08 pm , by 

This post is sponsored by Little Remedies — makers of children’s medication without artificial colors, artificial flavors, or alcohol.  

2 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

I often wonder what you will think of all the seemingly obscure limitations that Mommy and I put on our family’s food choices.

There’s actually a decent chance you will think our lifestyle of avoiding processed foods is normal, since it’s mainly what you’ve been exposed to your entire life.

To avoid all processed foods completely would mean to only eat from the food we grow and prepare ourselves. Right now as at stands, Mommy and I still have full-time jobs on top of taking care of you, so I don’t see a full family garden happening anytime soon.

So for us, we make a highly concentrated effort to avoid foods with fillers, which largely refers to processed foods.

This is both extremely easy and extremely difficult to do, but Mommy and I have some pointers to help keep us on track.

1. If we can’t recognize (or pronounce) the name of any ingredient on the back of the package, it doesn’t earn the right to enter our bodies. How do we know it’s not some harmful chemical or strange animal by-product? Mystery ingredients are fillers.

2. If the food contains artificial flavors or colors, that’s a dead giveaway the product contains “non-food” ingredients. Artificial flavors and colors are often derived from petroleum (like in Red 40 dye) or random animal by-products (like in Crimson Lake dye, which is made from the powdered and boiled bodies of insects including the cochineal scale and the Polish cochineal).

3. Food in the form of nuggets, patties, and sticks is highly likely to contain fillers. These foods by their very nature (or should I say lack of nature?) must contain fillers, otherwise they would be actual slices of meat.

4. High-fructose corn syrup is a bad influence on food. It can turn a normally healthy food into a junk food. Typically, high-fructose corn syrup, as opposed to actual sugar or evaporated cane juice, has a way of associating itself with other cheap and processed ingredients. It’s like a magnet for other mystery fillers.

5. Drinks other than water and whole milk are typically filled with unnecessary extras. The name whole milkitself should be a clue that low-fat milks have been processed and replaced with extra ingredients to a higher degree than whole milk. Even 100% juice removes the fiber from the fruit, and therefore from our diets, yet gives us 100% of the sugar. It only gets worse from there in the beverage world, like with regular soda and diet soda.

I know at times these dietary restrictions on you may seem extreme, but they are restrictions that we as your parents abide by alongside you.

After all, Mommy and I drank skim milk our entire lives until I agreed to participate in an experiment where I switched to whole milk for a month. Despite doubling my intake of milk that month, I didn’t even gain one pound. So we switched to whole milk.

As for the “no juice rule,” we’ve learned to incorporate more actual fresh fruits and vegetables into our daily diets.

I can’t always promise that you can have the “fun” food the other kids at school have, but I can promise you that we will make sure you are well fed…with healthy food without fillers.

 

Love,

Daddy

 

P.S. I invite any other readers of this letter to share your additional pointers, personal stories and struggles regarding the avoidance of fillers in foods, or even voice your disagreements; feel free to leave a comment.

Photo credit: Photostock, Little Boy Biting Big Carrot.