White House serves heart attack on a plate

[SteveGrenard]

Not only possibly ?? unhealthy, it is expensive, very expensive and it's uusally imported from Japan. At the very least if the White House wants to serve steak it should be from American cattle farms. Three strikes with the price being the biggest complaint. Here's what Wikipedia says about this steak:

Wagyu (和牛, wagyū?) refers to several breeds of cattle genetically predisposed to intense marbling and to producing a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. The meat from wagyu cattle is known worldwide for its marbling characteristics, increased eating quality through a naturally enhanced flavor, tenderness and juiciness, and thus a high market value. Several areas in Japan are famous for the quality of their Wagyu cattle, and ship beef bearing their areas' names. Some examples are Kobe, Mishima and Ohmi beef.

The wagyu cattle's genetic predisposition yields a beef that contains a higher percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids[1] than typical beef. The increased marbling also improves the ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats.

It just looks like a lot of fat to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu


Wagyu Steak Gets Obama in Hot Water
January 29, 2009
by Hartley Engel

Wagyu steak was served at a "Stimulus Package" White House cocktail party hosted by President Obama last night, and, as a result, something of an uproar has ensued. Why? Perhaps the fact that Wagyu steak costs at least $59 a pound has something to do with it, but that's just a guess. It's unclear whether any of the distinguished members of Congress who were in attendance voiced any complaints, but the news has certainly raised eyebrows in the blogosphere.

 

[ARubberChickenWithAPulley]

Chance you could link to the whole article?

Wagyu beef is not produced exclusively in Japan. Although U.S. producers use a slightly difference cow (cross-bread with Angus), it is still marketed as Wagyu Beef here. It's also typically considerably less expensive than its Japanese counterpart.

Did they confirm that the wagyu beef was from Japan, or is that an assumption?

On a side note, I've had actual Kobe beef. It was good. Not anywhere near worth the price though, IMO. Not any better than a good filet, really.

 

[SteveGrenard]

Sorry about that. Here are all the links:

Article from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyu

The major news organizations seem to be giving a pass to Obama/White House and the reports of his having served Wagyu beef at the stimulus cocktail party seem to be coming from secondary sources… e.g. bloggers. There is silence from the White House on this report. Here are the only two blogs I could find on this, although the second is sourced from ABC news and elsewhere:

http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2009/01/29/white-house-cocktail-party-must-have-been-awk-ward/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1431204/wagyu_steak_gets_obama_in_hot_water.html?cat=9

And here’s the recipe:

http://food.rightpundits.com/?p=513

There is no indication whether the beef was domestic (U.S. Wagyu) or imported. But I am sure inquiring minds are gonna want to know.

They, whoever they are, say Wagyu is healthier than U.S. beef. I just can’t fathom that after looking at pictures of the very best Kobe beef such as this one…but that’s just me. It looks like mostly fat, healthy or not, with a little protein in between.

 

[Cleon]

This is an issue?! You've got to be frakking kidding me.

Of all the things to get pissed off about, "White house serves fatty, expensive dinner" doesn't exactly rank near the top.

 

[BigAl]

My local foodie says this is the same as Kobe beef.

Why do I suspect that the recent Texan in the White House served AAA-prime-fat-saturated beef at some point over the last 8 years.

 

[SteveGrenard]

This is an issue?! You've got to be frakking kidding me.

Of all the things to get pissed off about, "White house serves fatty, expensive dinner" doesn't exactly rank near the top.

The relevant term for being concerned in this instance is "hypocrisy."

 

[Darat]

What hypocrisy?

 

[SteveGrenard]

The hypocrisy of serving meat that probably costs a hundred dollars US$ per pound + if imported the carbon footprint it leaves .... at a reception to discuss saving the economy while at the same time homeless people, people made homeless by the plummeting economy, are living in tents and being arrested outside the White House gates. I wonder if any of those folks wouldn't appreciate a dollar hamburger from MacDonalds......

Serving ridiculously expensive steak at a White House party that was held in order to ensure smooth passage of an economic stimulus package reflects very poor judgment.

Source Post#3 above, 3rd link.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I realized that presidents had a lot of responsibilities, but I never knew they personally planned the menus for meals served at the White House.

Does Obama do the grocery shopping for everybody, too?

And what detergent does he buy for the laundry? The store brands are cheaper than the name brands. If I find out he bought Tide instead of Food Lion brand imitation, I'm going to vote Republican for the rest of my life.

 

[SteveGrenard]

I realized that presidents had a lot of responsibilities, but I never knew they personally planned the menus for meals served at the White House.

Does Obama do the grocery shopping for everybody, too?

And what detergent does he buy for the laundry? The store brands are cheaper than the name brands. If I find out he bought Tide instead of Food Lion brand imitation, I'm going to vote Republican for the rest of my life.

Of course others, with instruction, are responsible for planning menus and buying food and household goods. This incident, hopefully, will cause President and Mrs. Obama to pay more attention to the instructions they give to such staff. It's possible that the Obamas requested this meal, or possibly not. So unless they come forward and explain whether they did or not and instruct their staff to be more prudent in the future we will probably never know.

 

[Jimbo07]

So unless they come forward and explain whether they did or not and instruct their staff to be more prudent in the future we will probably never know.

And just how much scrutiny did you apply to meal planning under the Bush administration? Clinton? Bush? Reagan? etc.?

 

[TragicMonkey]

I've tried for about five minutes to formulate a response that won't get me in trouble for "personal attacks".

So I think I'll just let this thread and your own comments stand by themselves. I think they pretty well in themselves illustrate everything I was going to say.

 

[RandFan]

It looks like mostly fat, healthy or not, with a little protein in between.

"Mostly"? I'm not sure about that but it is clearly a lot of fat. From my experience fat in steak is a very good thing. Fat is an interesting thing. Eat a spoon of crisco or animal lard and you will find that it's not all that tasty.

But mix some of that fat with sugar or something savory like beef and you get something truly amazing. Fat is very satisfying when it is combined with other foods and it has the ability to blend and distribute various flavors to the tastebuds in ways that they cannot be distrubted without fat. Again, sugar is not something that most people will eat plain. Not much of it anyway. But mix it with fat and you've got frosting.

The Wagyu Steak looks awsome.

 

[SteveGrenard]

ok.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/586553

This is accurate, according to a Newsweek story published January 17, 2009.
Though Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl and Danny Meyer, among others, callled for a new White House chef who would serve locally grown, organic products, little did they know that the current White House chef, Cristeta Comerford, had been doing exactly that since 2005.

"It turns out the gastronomers didn't have their facts straight, so they ended up with egg on their faces. While Bush never hid his love for hot dogs and burgers, Comerford had actually been serving organic meals to the outgoing family for years. 'It's too bad we didn't know that,' says Reichl, though she insists that she and her comrades were never calling for Comerford's head. That said, Reichl hopes that the Obamas will be more forthcoming about what's on their plates than the Bushes were."

That will probably not happen. The White House maintains a firm privacy rule about the living habits of the First Family, and most likely will continue to do so unless the Obamas themselves want to be more open about their eating habits.
Read the entire story here:
Why the Obamas Kept Bush's Chef: No White House Food Fight
http://www.newsweek.com/id/180097

But I read more recently somewhere that Obama “stole” a chef from a restaurant he favored in Chicago and brought him in…. so much for the above. Apparently food and meal planning is something the Obama’s are concerned about.

Traditionally and in the recent past it was mainly the first lady and her staff that are involved in planning social occasions including official meals, cocktail parties and what’s served at them. The White House chef is also very much involved in those decisions.

Frankly I have never been to a cocktail party that served Kobe beef but then I am not a member of the in-crowd.Laura Bush, I have read, liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I suppose the Carters favored peanut butter dishes as well.

I suppose the question is, is it appropriate with tens and tens of thousands losing their jobs and an economy that is in the toilet whether the White House, which is trying to remedy the downturn, should be serving such expensive meals at cocktail parties for our representatives in Congress?
And ironically the purpose of the reception was to discuss that very problem. This all came on the same day Obama chastized Wall Street CEOs foir their excessive bonuses. Heck, they want to eat Kobe beef also.

 

[SteveGrenard]

"Mostly"? I'm not sure about that but it is clearly a lot of fat. From my experience fat in steak is a very good thing. Fat is an interesting thing. Eat a spoon of crisco or animal lard and you will find that it's not all that tasty.

But mix some of that fat with sugar or something savory like beef and you get something truly amazing. Fat is very satisfying when it is combined with other foods and it has the ability to blend and distribute various flavors to the tastebuds in ways that they cannot be distrubted without fat. Again, sugar is not something that most people will eat plain. Not much of it anyway. But mix it with fat and you've got frosting.

The Wagyu Steak looks awsome.

I am sure your avatar felt the same way. We lost him much too soon.



John Candy
AKA John Franklin Candy

Born: 31-Oct-1950
Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died: 4-Mar-1994
Location of death: Durango, Mexico
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Buried, Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, CA

 

[The Atheist]

The hypocrisy of serving meat that probably costs a hundred dollars US$ per pound + if imported the carbon footprint it leaves .... at a reception to discuss saving the economy while at the same time homeless people, people made homeless by the plummeting economy, are living in tents and being arrested outside the White House gates. I wonder if any of those folks wouldn't appreciate a dollar hamburger from MacDonalds.......

Wow.

I am astonished at the defensiveness of some people here. It looks exactly like the response I get from Catholics when I rubbish their pope. Has Obama been beatified already?

Tragic Monkey not replying in case he gets warned for personal attack?

Steve, I think you're raising a 100% valid criticism. (Aside from whether the beef's imported or not - I believe USA has an unenviable reputation for protectionism at the wrong time.)

I see the master of weak replies has questioned your take on the hypocrisy, so I'll officially confirm for you that you're right on that as well. Obama's message has been loud & clear on the economy, spending and the environment [and health] and the meal is contrary to most of the principles he's been shouting about lately. That is what hypocrisy is, and a President who is serious about living his own message would have found 15 seconds to get one his staffers to make sure the caterers work to reality, not oligarchy.

I'm reasonably sure that he'll realise this, because he's not stupid, and it's not something he's probably had much time to worry about.

In the meantime, the attitude of responses to you is a hell of lot more interesting than the article, however.

Skeptics; gotta love 'em.

 

[RandFan]

Of course others, with instruction, are responsible for planning menus and buying food and household goods. This incident, hopefully, will cause President and Mrs. Obama to pay more attention to the instructions they give to such staff. It's possible that the Obamas requested this meal, or possibly not. So unless they come forward and explain whether they did or not and instruct their staff to be more prudent in the future we will probably never know.

Being obese I'm easily dismissed I suppose.

I'm obese and I have three children. All three have had weight problems. I did not want them to be like me so I did some research and it seems that extreme taboos when it comes to food tends to lead to bad outcomes. Telling people that their desires are bad are more likely to lead to unhealthy attitudes. So, I tried to instill in them the idea that there are no bad foods only bad habits. It's ok to have foods high in fat from time to time. Foods high in processed fats and sugar aren't bad. Eating too much of these foods is bad. I've been pretty successful. Two of my children are at their goal weight and have been there for years. They don't appear to have unhealthy attitudes about food. No starvation (anorexia) or (bulimia) that I can tell and they are comfortable with food and there is no anxiety or neurosis caused from a conflict of what they want and what they believe is "bad".

The French eat a lot of saturated fats and they have less heart disease than Americans. It's believed that red wine along with natural unprocessed foods and daily trips to the store to purchase fresh foods and diets high in vegetables is part of the answer.

The notion that there are "bad" foods is silly. I realize that this is coming from someone who is obese but I think the research and current consensus bears me out.

I don't know if this dinner has any persuasive power for American diets. I kinda doubt it but I'll concede that Americans have a real problem and it could be beneficial for the White house to set an example of better choices but I think the idea that social stigma and labeling foods high in fats or processed foodstuffs as bad isn't the answer and will itself cause other problems.

JMO.

 

[SteveGrenard]

Being obese I'm easily dismissed I suppose.

Not by me. I spend my professional life off this forum trying to help obese people on several different levels which is way off topic for this thread. I am glad your kids are at their "goal" weight; but telling yourself that there are no bad foods is serious denial.

The problem with such foods is that we like them so much we keep on eating them so we self-actualize your realization that too much of them is what's bad.

 

[INRM]

Of course they're going to eat this kind of beef. The Japanese screen all cows at slaughter for BSE. We don't.

You think the President want want to risk contracting mad-cow disease? Especially when you consider that he's in bed with the cattle-industry, and the FDA actually threatened to prosecute a cattle-company (wanting to do business with Japan) for testing every cow for BSE...


INRM

 

[RandFan]

Not by me. I spend my professional life off this forum trying to help obese people on several different levels which is way off topic for this thread.

In all sincerity let me say thank you.

I am glad your kids are at their "goal" weight; but telling yourself that there are no bad foods is serious denial.

What does it mean by "bad"? From a scientific perspective? Let's assume for the sake of argument that we can come to a conclusion that certain things are "bad" (though I would sincerely like an answer as to what is meant by "bad").

Wouldn't alcohol fit the model of "bad"? Is it healthy to tell people that alcohol is bad? Isn't it better to simply educate people as to the costs and benefits and teach them how to make informed choices?

The problem with such foods is that we like them so much we keep on eating them so we self-actualize your realization that too much of them is what's bad.

Sounds like alcohol.

I have rum and coke every Friday night. Would our society be better off if we as a society declared that alcohol is taboo and instilled into people fear of the potential consequences?

And how do we determine what is the line? Is most if not all candy "bad"? Are you really going to convince children that empty calories should never ever be eaten and if they do they do so at great risk? Wouldn't it be better to teach good eating habits?

What about anorexia and bulimia? Isn't telling people that there are taboo foods akin to telling young boys that masturbating is bad? Or that premarital sex is "bad"? Doesn't this create neurosis (if that word is still in vogue). If you prefer, doesn't this create conflict that can have inverse consequences?

You've not convinced me at all that there is anything to be gained by declaring any food "bad". I concede that there is a potential for people to abuse foods like sweets and stake but isn't that part and parcel of the human experience?

Unless of course we are talking about foods that are lethal. A person who takes a drink of alcohol could become alcoholic. A person who goes skydiving could die due to his parachute failing but these activities are not as lethal as poisonous mushrooms.

Human activities are inherently risky. That's life. Telling people that sky-jumping is "bad" or that candy bars are "bad" is rather odd given the history of Prohibition (AKA the Noble Experiment). It might be noble to instill in people that certain things are "bad" in an attempt to make their lives better but I'm not sure if it is A.) effective or B.) doesn't create more problems than it solves.

I'm sorry to wax rhetorical but you propose a brave new world that I don't find comforting.