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By Chris O’Hara

I have had a long association with coffee, going back to my first cup in high school. Served black and sweet, in the ubiquitous “It’s Our Pleasure to Serve You” paper container, that first cup was 25 years ago. I still drink it the same way—and preferably in that Greek takeout cup whenever I can get it.

Back when I got by first editorial job in 1995, Starbucks was three years into its IPO, and opening a few stores a day, slowly creeping over to the East Coast. My job was with a trade publisher, and one of the titles was called Tea and Coffee Trade Journal. I got to learn a lot about coffee, and even got to visit a few coffee companies in Central America and the Caribbean. I saw some of the back-end of the coffee business first hand, and it amazed me how much sweat equity went into it. With over 500 billion cups of coffee consumed every single day, it takes an estimated 25 million small producers to bring it to the market. Growing and picking coffee beans is probably one of the most back-breaking and labor-intensive jobs in the world, and it all happens in the extremely poor parts of the world. That means the potential for a lot of abuse for both the land and the people working it.

So, how to make your daily cup of Joe better for you and the planet? Here are three things to look for:

• Organic certified: Many chains (even my favorite Dunkin Donuts) are starting to make sure a portion of the whole beans and brewed coffee drinks they serve come from certified organic growers. Since the specialty coffee movement basically grew up in progressive Seattle in the early 1970s, the coffee business has always been on the forefront of the organic movement, which lessens small producers’ impact on the environment.

• Fair Trade: There is a healthy debate on how much “Fair Trade” certification is helping small producers in the 3^rd world but, for now, it’s one of the few ways to try and make sure your morning cup of coffee isn’t coming at the expensive of slave labor. Fair trade coffee is purchased at a guaranteed $1.41 per pound, which means that even tiny producers are paid a living wage.

• Bird Friendly: Want to step it up a notch, and make your coffee good for your fair feathered friends? Insist on Bird-Friendly coffee, which comes exclusively from shade coffee plantations that are friendly habitats for migratory birds.

LINKS USED IN THIS ARTICLE

http://www.retroplanet.com/PROD/23792?cpid=GDF100∏=23792

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/csrannualreport.asp

http://www.teaandcoffee.net

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateA&navID=NationalOrganicProgram&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&acct=nop

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/

In the May 2008 issue of canvas magazine, writer Elyce Neuhauser’s thought-provoking article entitled “Conscious Consumption” has had a particularly strong impact on my relationship with food.

Food is a subject that borders on obsession with me, and from the proliferation of cookbooks, culinary magazines and newsletters, and cooking shows (not to mention an entire network) that exist, I know I’m not alone. We foodies are everywhere—virtually all regions and cultures share a common interest in what we consume, and have put their own spin on creating concoctions out of essentially the same general categories of ingredients. There is an unmatched level of pride and personal identity attached to food, which interestingly is a common thread spanning the globe throughout history. Food defines us, whether it’s what we cook, or what we choose to eat.

I spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing about food: cooking, eating, reading and writing about it, watching it being prepared (I can’t get enough of Giada or the Barefoot Contessa and yes, I’ll admit that while reality TV is not usually my cup of tea, I’m hooked on Top Chef, too). Dinner is a main topic of conversation with my husband, and when we are eating we tend to talk about what the next meal will be. Add the fact that my brother is a chef to the mix, and you can imagine what my conversations with him revolve around, too.

But despite all this attention I pay to this humble subject, Elyce’s article shed new light onto my fixation: how often do I really savor each bite? Focus on the flavors, textures, aromas, colors of what I’m eating? Truth be told, unless it’s a particularly delicious dark chocolate truffle—which I’ve always eaten in tiny bites, letting each one melt on my tongue until fully dissolved—I really don’t pay as much attention to my food while consuming it as I do thinking about it the rest of the day. So thanks to her, I’m actually taking more time to enjoy what I’m eating. Just now, for example, while writing this blog, between sentences I’ve been sipping a particularly delicious cup of Darjeeling tea, forcing myself to stop and really taste it rather than simply swigging it while I type. It starts off flowery, then gets deeper and stronger as it passes over my palate, then has a lingering finish that leaves such a pleasant, delicate herbal flavor behind.

Have you ever noticed that no two cups of tea taste exactly the same? Or have you ever wondered, as I have, about how we all can follow the same exact Toll House cookie recipe and no two person’s version ever tastes the same?

Do you obsess about these things, too? We’d love to know what your relationship with food is. Do you eat simply to put hunger at bay, or take time to plan your meal, and truly focus on it while you eat it? We want to know! Please post your comments below.

-Diana Murphy, canvas editor in chief

Since I was a kid, hanging around the kitchen, eating, talking and doing some cooking, helping my Mom, Grandma, and Aunts, has been always been a safe, confortable place for me, and I have the waistline to prove it!

Last night was no different, I cooked up with the support of my wife, who likes to cook but not as much as me, this delicious Chicken with Lemon and Garlic recipe. For me coming home after an intense day, one of th best things for me to do is to cook. The aromas, the textures the colors all serve to bring me into a creative state of presence where all other concerns fall away. I also truly enjoy the time with Tara to catch up on the day, appreciate the moment, being grateful for what we have been given, listen to some great music and talk about tomorrow. I hope someday to set up my life so I can do this more than once or twice a week.

By the way, every recipe I have cooked from this book has been really great. This one I changed quite a bit but it was inspired by a book called The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook, by Jacqueline Clarke & Joanna Farrow, published by Hermes House. Its on ebay for a great price.

This is a bit different kind of ‘food’ post because it actually has to do with not eating food. At this point hopefully I didnt lose you already! I just wanted to share a pretty amazing personal experience I have had with NOT eating…and before I go any farther I just want to say that I think it is very important that before anyone experiments with not eating for any length of time more than a few waking hours it is very important that you seek the guidance of a health professional.

Just a quick note on my history of eating, I LOVE food. I love the the look, the taste, the aromas, the textures, I love food shopping, cooking and eating out. I love thinking about the energy and health of the food as I am chewing it and visualizing the vitamins and all around good things it is bringing to my body.

So, please know that not eating, and doing a cleanse of any kind feels like a tremendous sacrifice before I start it, which I think it would be to most people. However, I have done it not to punish myself or try to hinder one of life’s greatest pleasures but just the opposite. I have found that this type of conscious effort actually increases my enjoyment, appreciation and love of food. A quick note on my cleansing history: I have done several cleanses, from herbal teas, juice and just overall not eating anything but I have always had WATER and lots of it, and think that is a very integral piece to having a successful cleanse experience.

After the holidays I had felt very ‘over-full’ of rich, heavy, sweet, spicy meaty foods. I decided I was going to do a cleanse and as I started my research I kept coming across the ‘Master Cleanse’, which in all honesty I first heard about over 10 years ago while going to holistic college in San Diego. I thought it was pretty ridiculous back then even though people I knew and respected thought well of it. I’d like to think I have matured quite a bit and I have a much more open mind since those days! As I took a closer look at it, and I read the testimonials that are all over the web (btw, just google ‘master cleanse’) I was impressed with how many people talked about the amazing results that they had experienced, such as increased energy, feeling lighter, more alive, healthier and not hungry believe or not!

Well I must admit after following it for 4 days, I have had a very similar experience. However I had some other experiences that I am going to share, but before I get ahead of myself I want to share what I drank each day. I started the day off with 25 oz of salt water, and then throughout the day I drank the concoction of maple syrup, lemon and cayenne pepper (if you try this go light on the cayenne until you get used to it, its HOT!) I had about 60-80 oz of this per day along with my weight in oz’s of water and without going details was about 200 ounces per day! At night I also had some smooth move tea and that was what I consumed everyday for over 80+ hours. On the 4th day I had some vegetable broth and an orange at night and then came back the 5th day with some organic multi grain bread to warm my belly up and lots more fruit and broth.

I had not gone on any sort of real cleanse or fast in about 6 years, the experience for me is always one of trepidation and at times actual fear. The food addictions in me are so strong to meat, eggs, cheese and of course my cookies and milk at night! (No wonder I am 200+ lbs on a 5′ 10″ frame!) However, that is just the experience leading up to the cleanse, not the actual doing of it. During the actual doing of this cleanse I was happy as a clam(pun intended)! I was shocked by how much TIME I had, not thinking, planning meals, shopping, making lists of food, spending time at restaurants, eating at a family member or friends house……There was an absolute abundance of TIME, and that is a very precious commodity as I think we can probably all agree on. With that time I also was able to add in things that I love to do such as being grateful, writing, meditating, yoga, chi kung, reading Rumi, Hafiz, Eckhart Tolle, Emmet Fox, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and watching great movies such as Ben Hur. It was as if all of sudden I added about 6-8 hours in my day, oh yeah thats because I had!

As some of my friends would be happy to attest to (shut up, Lenn), I do eat abnormally slow, but that taken account I really did have much more time than usual on the wknd and during the morning and evening after work. I was thinking I need to do this more often just for the time it creates alone! I also saved a bunch of money, my wife joined me on this adventure and we marveled at how little $ it took to ‘feed’ us on this cleanse. $6 on organic maple syrup, $11 on a case of spring water, $8 on organic lemons, cayenne we already had, but even so its like $4, uniodized salt we already had too but its really just a few cents worth really and smooth move tea another $4, so you can live on this cleanse for 4 days for only $33 for 2 people! Hey its a great way to do some quick saving in a crunch, haha.

Another piece of this adventure I found so interesting was the absolute lack of refuse we had. I looked in the garbage can after 2 days and I couldn’t believe how little trash we had accumulated. So even beyond the health benefits there were some other great lessons in this cleanse for me, not to mention I noticed I could see more clearly and hear more acutely, not sure what that is connected to but it was quite evident to me. Would love to hear any thoughts, ideas or responses you may have as well as any cleansing/fasting experiences you would be interested to share. Happy Cleansing!

Regular canvas contributor Laura Collins-Hughes takes an herbal food tour through Chinatown and makes some observations on the way we eat and the way we heal.

In Western culture, the divide between medicine and food is generally unambiguous. Not so in Chinese culture, nor in New York’s Chinatown, where tradition recognizes herbs as medicine but also as food.

“There’s no distinction in many of the Chinese herb shops,” Letha Hadady said the other morning, leading a small gaggle of reporters and publicists through stores on Canal and Mulberry streets and the winding lanes beyond. Bins were stocked with medicinal mushrooms and fat twigs of ginseng root; jars were filled with fragrant loose teas and flower blossoms; packets of seeds promised a trip down a different garden path, lined with Chinese kale, bitter melon, Chinese cabbage, amaranth. Out on the sidewalk, women sold gingko nuts near a greengrocer offering fresh lotus and Chinese okra.

To people who do their grocery shopping in standard-issue American supermarkets, all of this is not just exotic but entirely unfamiliar. If you shop in health-food stores, you’ve been seeing many of these items for years, even if it’s only now that they’re creeping into the mainstream. But in Chinatown, the prices reflect familiarity: You’ll pay only a small fraction of what you’d pay for the same herb – maybe processed and packaged, but the same herb – in the vitamin aisle at your local health-food store.

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