Nutrition Club to analyze food origins with ‘American Meat’

Feb. 18, 2013

Eleanor Skelton
[email protected]

A hamburger may not be the most thought-provoking food, but the Nutrition Club is asking students to think about how their food is treated before it arrives in stores.

For those who wonder wheremeatproducts like the cold cut turkey on their sandwichescome from, the Nutrition Club is hosting a free screening of the documentary”American Meat.”

The film, scheduled to be released April 12, will have an advancescreeningin Berger Hall on Feb. 25 from 5-8 p.m. The club will also offer refreshments.

Tashina Dollarhide, a senior nutrition major and club member, said the film “basically just talks about raising animals outside versus … keep[ing] chickens normally caged up in dark barns.”

“They want the animals raised outside, eating foods that they are supposed to be eating, locally so that we’re not traveling as far to get our meat … they want healthy meat for consumers.”

“Farmers that are local are interviewed,” Kimberlee Fisher said, a post-baccalaureate nutrition student and club member. She said there will be a panel that the audience can ask about aspects surrounding the film.

The main farmer featured in the documentaryis Joel Salatin, whose method is “based on rotational grazing and local distribution” developed over three generations, according to the film’s website.

“The movie is also endorsed by Chipotle, which is a big deal to people,” Dollarhide said.

According to the UCCS Club and Organizations’ website, the Nutrition Club’s goal is “to allow gathering of people of common interests, educate underclassmen of future requirements for career success, and encourage bonding among Nutrition Major students.”

The Nutrition Clubpartners with the Students for Environmental Awareness and Sustainability in tending a community garden at the Heller Center past the Four Diamonds parking lot.

“A big part of nutrition is sustainability,” Dollarhide said. The clubisalsoinvolved in and supports a farmer’s market.

“[We] also like to visit restaurants that endorse local food,” Dollarhide said, adding an event is being organized in May where members will visit restaurants and sample local foods from organic farms.

The Nutrition Club meetings are onThursdays andinclude healthy snacks, but being a nutrition major is not a requirement for membership.

Fisher said, “The first meeting that we went to for the semester [had] people from biology, history, engineering, [and those who wanted] just to be part of a club.”

Dollarhide said National Nutrition Month is in March, adding the club will be placing booths near Jazzman’s Cafe throughout the month. She said that fruit and other edible items may be given away.

Those with questions regarding the screening or other upcoming events can contact Alicia Kazarian, the Nutrition Club president, at [email protected].