Priorities

Okay, so I've been away from the blog for a while and I'm starting to get a handle on all this information. I think I feel good about my introductory posts... now it's time to move on to the practical matters of living this out on a daily basis.

Something that has come up numerous times is a misperception of the "organic craze" as simply a hot trendy thing that has only to do with people of affluence. This needs to be corrected. I've heard shoppers at my grocery store complaining about the price of organic produce. Once again, the food industry has concerned itself only with profit, and organic food has been marketed mainly to people with higher incomes as a symbol of prestige and wealth. This portrayal is misleading and detrimental, as it overshadows more pressing concerns about the chemicals and toxins used to grow conventional produce & meat, and the effects of such methods on the land. Mass outbreaks of diseases such as salmonella and e-coli do not occur in naturally regulated settings, yet most of our food comes from unnatural and/or contaminated settings: assembly line factory farms and feed lots where these diseases can thrive and rapidly spread.

I know I can't bring down Big Media or Big Agriculture, but for my part I need to voice my concerns. The way that this misperception - of fresh, unprocessed food as luxury - affects those of us with median or lower incomes is to make quality food seem out of reach - we feel as though eating healthier is not attainable, even if we really desire to. My friends whom I've talked to about buying local and organic have all hesitated to change their grocery-buying habits due to anxiety over affordability.

If this issue grabs hold of you and sparks a desire for change in your life, I give you my personal testimony that you CAN make it happen if you have an open mind and are willing to spend time thinking about these issues. This is not a status symbol, like a BMW, this is how we feel - every day - and our future health. This is also not an easy change to make, and may involve more restructuring in one's life than simply starting to buy different groceries. My point is that if and when a person decides to make a lifestyle change in the area of food, chances are great that it will affect his lifestyle choices in other areas.

Stop listening to the media - they don't represent farmers or consumers. Forget about how it's marketed and try it out for yourself. Compare prices for individual meals for a week between an organic store or farmer's market VS. your grocery store (or just purchase the organic products at your store), and also assess how you feel after eating a meal from each source. I'll tell you, there is a difference between eating meat/dairy/produce from a factory farm (standard grocery store) and meat/dairy/produce from an organic farm. Another major outcome with eating healthier products is that you won't need hardly any fillers such as rice, pasta, bread or potatoes, which cuts down significantly on your grocery bill. Eating naturally grown food fills you up - it better satisfies your hunger so that you don't need to supplement your daily diet with things you don't need (carbs, starches & sugars). You may still want the fried rice and that sugary beverage and a side of French toast, but you won't need them to feel full, or properly nourished, or energized.