Hummus Crisis

So what happened was, this morning I learned that Sabra - my favorite store-bought hummus - is owned by PepsiCo. Dammit.

PepsiCo has these great new plans to increase crop production in Ethiopia and popularize chickpeas so local people will consume them. Not that these lofty goals aren't, uh, worthwhile (at least the feeding people part), but America has a lousy track record when it comes to deciding that other countries (often African) need to increase their agricultural productivity. The underlying truth is that other countries need to do this to benefit American corporations, not indigenous farmers or economies or health.

The current land grab going on in Ethiopia? Coincidence?

Even when farmers get to keep their own land (as serfs of the corporation), they must make the irrigation system changes necessary to grow the new crop at the new volume levels, purchase the patented seeds, apply the patented fertilizers and weed killers, and ruin the soil quality of their fields. All the money they earn for the harvest goes back into the corporations' pockets for all of the above. And then some. And the raw materials are shipped halfway around the world to be processed into a product that is never sold where it's grown. And the farmers are left with debt, poverty, and hunger once again.

Saskatchewan is a high-volume producer of chickpeas. I just leaned that, too. Why couldn't New York State-based Sabra just purchase the chickpeas from Canada? Seems a hell of a lot closer and simpler. But I bet it costs more than land-grabbing and chemical manipulation of a struggling African nation. In, y'know, the short term.

Personally, I adore Sabra hummus. I eat tubloads of the stuff, especially with pretzels and carrots and cucumbers. It's soooo good. But, as with many other items I can no longer support, I'll be giving it up after I polish off what I have in the fridge and start making my own. It's not rocket science. Well, OK, it's a little like rocket science.

"Not unlike the creation of weapons grade plutonium, it's all about the order of the ingredients."

"But it is possible to put together a sublime hummus by employing a little bit of science and a little extra effort."

And that's my personal hummus crisis for today.

Foodietitian? It's a mouthful.

Welcome to my blog. Make yourself comfortable.

My name is Rene. I am a...

Foodie: A person with a special interest in or knowledge of food.

This term is often used with scorn to indicate someone who is a food snob, wanna-be gourmand, or elitist jerk. I just think about food. I read about food. Where it comes from, who grew it, who brought it to me, who benefits from it, who is harmed by it, how nutritionally dense is it, and -best of all - how it tastes. I claim this label.

I am also a...

Dietitian: An expert in food and nutrition.

This term is often used to indicate a health professional who "tells you what you should and should not eat" to become healthy. In other words, someone who sucks the joy out of a person's relationship with food and turns it into a clinical prescription. I just like to study food and nutrition. I've been doing that for over 10 years now.

Now, technically the D word also means that I am "An individual qualified by graduation from a college or university with a major in foods or nutrition or institution management and possessing either a baccalaureate or a masters degree and registered by the American Dietetic Association." Dietitian is a professional title defended vigorously by the ADA; as a nationally registered dietetic technician who has completed all of the ADA's officially sanctioned curricula as well as majoring in nutritional anthropology, I claim this label, too.