My mother came for Christmas this year armed with gifts, advice and a movie called, "Food Inc." To say that it was disturbing is a huge understatement. Once I had disseminated the information presented in the movie, I couldn't revert back to the way that we had been purchasing and consuming food.
I don't want to come across as a screechy, preachy so all that I am going to say is try to get your hands on the movie and give it a few hours of your time.
A week ago over at RudeCactus, Chris posted about the movie. A ton of people commented and one of them turned me on to Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma".
Oh.My.God.
I don't even know where to begin except that I feel compelled to tell everyone who will give me the time of day about this book.
Sunday, Dallas and I traveled twenty eight miles (just over 60 kms) to do our weekly grocery shop at a local co-op that offers a great selection of organic product. Better yet, they try to purchase as much produce, meat and dairy as they can from local farmers who adhere to sustainable practices. We most definitely spent more money but I'd gladly sacrifice other lifestyle expenses rather than go back to shopping at a traditional grocery store. Knowledge is troublesome like that.
We've also given up bottled water.
For good.
Dallas had a harder time getting his head around the perceived inconvenience of this decision because we were consuming about thirty, 20oz bottles a week. But big surprise,it turned out to be a remarkably easy transition. With our new stainless steel water canteens, the switch didn't even cause a blip.
We most definitely do not belong on a soapbox because frankly, we can't cast a bunch of stones from our glass house. But we have the information now.
And there is no turning back.
2 comments:
Hey Beth,
Kenny and I watched Food Inc., about a month ago. Very eye-opening. The one that got me was how one fast food hamburger can contain the beef from up to 20 different cows. Gross. Do not eat them anymore. We have a farmer next door that raises hormone-free, grass fed cattle. There's a local organic chicken place nearby too..and eggs. But this is the rural Ontario country and this has been a way of life out here for hundreds of years.
I read Michael Pollan's book back in 07, I think it came out in 06. He is amazing too. (Side bit of trivia, he is the brother of Tracy Pollan, the actress that is married to Michael J. Fox.)
Also, you might be interested in The 100 Mile Diet. They are a BC couple and the guy, James MacKinnon is related to my mom, who was a MacKinnon. My third cousin I think. Anyway, he wrote a book about her uncle Father Artruro, a missionary,(his great unlce) who was killed by revolutionaries in the Dominican Republic in the 60's. Then he wrote the 100 mile diet book after he and his gf did it for a year. The Food Network gave him and his gf Alisa (I think) a special on their 100 Mile Diet book. Watched it. Was good. It was where a whole town got challenged to follow the program of sourcing food locally for three months I think. Anyway, here is his website, lots of cool info there about living by the philosophy of Michael Pollan. http://100milediet.org/
One of the joys of veterinary training is learning about food animal production, and food production. Tough to swallow, and I think I gave up meat for years. We buy organic potatos, apples, and milk...and will try to grow the potatos this year. Whenever someone tells me that they feed their dog a raw diet, I have three words- E.coli, Salmonella and Parasites. Cook it all and cook it well! And know thy cow/chicken/pig/turkey personally.
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