A few years back, Christien Meindertsma did a 3 year study on what happens to a 228-pound (104-kilogram) pig, known only as number 05049 when it’s finally sent to the slaughter house.

The results were startling.

Among the uses of pig 05049, according to Meindertsma, are certain varieties of the following products:

• Soap, shampoo, conditioner, cosmetics and toothpaste;

• Dough improver, which uses proteins from pig hair;

• Gelatin, which is used in low-fat foods as well as in cheesecake, vanilla pudding, chocolate mousse and tiramisu;

• Beer, wine and fruit juice, which can be filtered by using a gelatin sieve to clear out impurities;

• Bone china and paint, paintbrushes and sandpaper;

• Collagen to remove wrinkles and pig heart valves to replace defective human valves.

“What I learned from doing it is that the product world is more complicated then you can imagine and that we have no clue of what is in the products that surround us,” she told CNN. “Even if you are genuinely interested in what is in your products, it is extremely difficult and often impossible to find out.”

“The reason that I find this important is because I think we have a responsibility in what we consume, but it is hard to make a good choice when you have no idea of what is in a product.

“But, even without this knowledge, consumers could have a lot of power to change these systems if they wanted to. Companies just want to make a profit so if the demand changes they will start making other products.

“If consumers would make a choice to buy products that are transparent in what they are and who made them, that could be the standard.”

PIG 05049 from Christien Meindertsma on Vimeo.

After it’s death, Pig number 05049 was shipped in parts throughout the world. Some products remain close to their original form and function while others diverge dramatically. In an almost surgical way a pig is dissected in the pages of the book – resulting in a startling photo book where all the products are shown at their true scale.

Check out more of Christien Meindertsma’s work at http://www.christienmeindertsma.com/

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Interesting things you may not have heard of

• Mr PM. Are Malaysians being used as medical guinea pigs?
• About 90% of the human population has some sort of parasite, one time or another. Do you have parasites?
• Jason Mraz’s Travel Tip #3: Bring a Big Fucking Knife. What else would a half naked raw foodie do?
• Using safe, home made garbage enzymes instead of chemical detergents to clean your plates!

I love writing about food, so let me tell you about this cute festivities we have in Malaysia where Mandarin oranges play a huge role in getting masses of single men and women hooked up.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Hokkien Chinese celebrated the 15th day of the Chinese New Year festivities with what is considered their version of the Valentine’s Day. More than 50,000 people headed towards the Penang Island Esplanade, where the Chap Goh Mei (15th day) celebration was held last night to mark the end of the Chinese New Year festivities.

Telephone numbers, names and even email are written on the oranges

What the women singletons do on this particular day is to grab a couple of fresh Mandarin oranges, write down their names in ink on the oranges and throw them into the sea or a lake, hoping some young handsome, and we hope, single men (not dirty minded lecherous guys) will get hold of the oranges and give them a call.

Young people in yellow selling oranges for charity

Women throwing oranges

More women getting ready to throw oranges

No sex discrimination here as you can see because lots of men are throwing oranges as well into the lake

I’ve been told that this was a form of flirting in the old days as eligible young women were usually not allowed outside their homes. This is the only day throughout the whole year where the young maidens would be allowed to walk the streets but they must be accompanied by a chaperon. The young men would also go out and in hopes of catching a glimpse of the young maiden and taking their hand in marriage. Obviously this does not happen anymore but the concept of match-making still lives on.

Modern style Nonya outfit

This is how the chaperons would have dressed

Old fashion marriage costumes

In the old days, restaurants used to buy blocks of ice from ice vendors who would make ice probably from tap water. And once the blocks of ice is made, they would wrap the ice in saw dust before transporting them over to the restaurants in motorbikes and bicycles. Once the guys get the ice blocks, the would bring out the ice picks and hack away to make smaller pieces of ice to put into drinks.

Thankfully, that’s all in the past. Today, vendors are very professional. Their crew members run around all over town carrying clean ice cubes in large clear plastic bags stored in refrigerated vehicles. These guys bring in ice, once a day, twice a day, or even more, based on the quantity and frequency required.We may take things for granted, but they really provide an important service to the community. By offering clean ice to street vendors, for example, they are really reducing the level of food poisoning in the community. Think about it. I would cringe if I saw restaurant workers breaking up ice in kitchen sinks, and who knows, even at floor level if someone allowed them, at the back of the kitchen. It’s unsanitary, and you know, in the old days, nobody would have bat an eyelid because it was pretty much the norm.

Anyways, I’m just reminiscing, for it’s nice to look back and remember how it was done in the old days.

Some of the Atlas Edible Ice crew members. Atlas is one of the biggest ice manufacturers in Malaysia.
That’s one of the vehicles that carry ice, shown in the background.

Video of the Taman Universiti Sathya Sai Baba Centre celebrating pongal in 2007.

Two days ago, Tamil Indians all over celebrated the start of the Thai Pongal festival. The Thai Pongal is a harvest festival event which coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated in various other parts of India. Pongal in Tamil means “boiling over or spill over.” The act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future wishes for the family.

Traditionally Thai Ponggal is celebrated at harvest time, it’s a celebration of the prosperity associated with the harvest by thanking the sun god, rain and the farm animals that have helped in the harvest. In villages, new clothes are worn and people owning cows find this festival more important.

The saying “Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum” (தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்) meaning “the birth of the month of Thai will pave the way for new opportunities” is often quoted regarding the Ponggal festival.

The Ponggal festival is at least 1000 years old although some believe that the festival is older. As per epigraphic evidence, it used to be celebrated as Puthiyeedu during Medieval Chola empire days. It is thought that Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year. Tamils refer to Pongal as “Tamizhar Thirunal” (meaning “the festival of Tamils”).

The moment the rice boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, the tradition is to shout of “Ponggalo Ponggal!” and blowing the sangu (a conch), a custom practiced during the Ponggal festival to announce it was going to be a year blessed with good tidings. For Tamils, it is considered a good sign to watch it boil over, …since it means that good luck and prosperity is forthcoming.

Quoted from Mr. Sivakumar Varatharaju, the first ethnic Indian to become the speaker of a Malaysian legislative body.

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Jasmin says,

The cooking of milk in the claypot with a variety of ingredients is an important part of the Pongal tradition. The end result is the yummiest (eggless) rice dessert ever. Here an easy recipe which can be recreated at home over the stove.

Ingredients :

Rice – 1 cup
Fresh milk – 3 cups
Jaggery (A traditional Indian sweetener) or Brown sugar – 1/2 cup (I don’t like it so sweet but you can adjust to taste)
Cashew nuts – 1/4 cup
Raisins – 2 tbsp
1 Cardamom pod – pound the cardamom pod to get the seeds. Pound the seeds to powder using a mortar and pestle
Ghee (clarified butter) or butter if you can’t find ghee – 4 tbsp
A spash of Rose water (you can get this from an Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store or you can omit if you don’t have it)

Method :

1. Wash the rice.
2. Boil the milk, add rice.
3. Add sugar and stir for few minutes until sugar is dissolved. Add cardamoms powder, stir for few minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a frying pan, add the cashew nuts and raisins. Fry till fragrant.
5. Pour into the rice mixture. Add little rose water to the rice and stir gently. Keep simmer in low flame.
6. When the rice mixture looks like it’s almost dry, turn off the fire and close the lid for another 5 mins. The secret to this dish is that the dish is not sticky but shiny looking.
7. Serve hot.

I always liked President Obama and his message of change. He’s always come across as a serious guy, ya know, but of course, if he doesn’t, then who would take him seriously, right?

Then, this evening, my husband saw this modified President Obama picture that was just totally outrageous, and I thought so cool looking, I knew I had to share it with you guys.

Check out his bling-bling!

Whoever created this must have had way too much time on his / her hands. But thanks a million, whoever you are. It really made my day.

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Read about

President Obama on getting people to eat healthful food

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Ever since I found out that my 2nd son was highly allergic to lots of stuff, we have literally stopped eating out much.

The bonus is of course, we now eat healthier food, no artificial flavorings, no artificial coloring, no preservatives and no additives if I can help it.  More importantly, we saved tons of money, which pleases the cheapskate part of me to no end.

Recently, I have been very inspired by a Singaporean mum, Angela, who creates beautiful Bento (lunch box) meals for her son to bring to school. She says, although it looks complicated and looks like it took a lot of effort to make the meals, it actually didn’t take that long a time at all.

Here’s what she says “it didn’t take a lot of time cos I try to make use of what I have on hand. When I didn’t have much stuff, then it would be really simple, like PBJ sandwich. But I tried to work on the presentation, like cutting the PBJ sandwich into dino shapes. Also, have fruits like grapes and cherries on hand makes it easy to add colour and contrast.”

If you are thinking of bringing a packed meal from home to school, office or whatever, I hope Angela’s photos will inspire you to do it tomorrow.