One big question I've had in the back of my mind as I've been doing all this learning is how far I go with this. I mean, I learned pretty quickly that organic food is better for our environment and our health in numerous ways and that eating locally when possible only deepens the benefit. I made some changes to my buying habits and our diet that reflect that new learning, but all the while, I've been keeping in mind all the other issues that go along with eating consciously. I just don't know how much I want to pursue them!
For example, the movie Food Inc. raises all sorts of issues about eating, including GMOs and agribusiness, food safety, and the safety of those working in fields and processing plants. I'm now reading the companion book to that film, also called Food Inc., and those issues are being brought up again and again. It's making me realize how much we vote with our forks, and I hate that I've been 'voting' unconsciously all these years. There was a powerful quote from Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation in the first essay: "I don't see any point in having heirloom, organic tomatoes if they're harvested by slave labor." That really struck me.
Of course, I have a lot more learning to do as I go along, about businesses and their practices. I want to make sure I'm making the right vote with my fork as well as making the right decisions for my family. Who knew that the simple act of eating could be so complicated? So I guess I'm back to the chaos from the clarity. It's not quite as simple as "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.", huh?
One thing that might help is that the FDA has issued draft guidelines for limiting antibiotic use in animals that are to be eaten. This is a huge step in the right direction!
Showing posts with label GMOs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GMOs. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Now that's just gross!
I pretty much have a cast-iron stomach and seem to be immune to most gross-out types of things. I dissected cats in Anatomy lab no problem, and happily watch programs on the Body Farm and other gross delights, usually while eating something. Suffice it to say I have a pretty high tolerance for the gross.
Last night, though, I read something that really, truly grossed me out. So much so that I swear my stomach actually turned over in disgust. Where did I find this gem of a fact? Organic Manifesto. Ready for it?
It comes from a section describing the cycle of chemical farming and how so many farmers end up in a cycle of debt with poorer and poorer soil quality and eventually smaller yields. Coming from a family of farmers, this made me quite sad. Even farmers that want to go organic can't, because it's too expensive to break the cycle of debt and difficult to break the relationship with Monsanto and/or Cargill, the companies that create the GMOs and the weedkillers that farmers need. Add to that that it takes 3 years to purify the soil to become certified organic, and most farmers don't do it. No wonder there aren't organic farms popping up more often!
That's not the gross part, though. That comes in a section about the products of the chemical farming, including the food itself and the waste from the farm. Are you ready for this?
"Most farm waste (including dead animals) is fed to animals or sold for fuel. Some farmers fertilize their fields with sewage sludge, or municipal waste. It contains human waste, which is contaminated by pharmaceutical drugs and cleaning supplies that have literally been flushed down the toilet, as well as industrial waste."
!!!
I swear, every unwashed grape or other bit of produce I have even eaten flashed through my mind in that moment. Why in the world is this okay? Why are we not only intentionally putting chemicals on our food, but growing them in human waste that contains other nasties? Is this some subconscious masochist trend we have going on? Because it seems to be working.
This latest nugget just once again reaffirmed my belief in eating organic. I need to know where my food is coming from and in what it was grown. The health benefits are great, sure, but it's the control freak in me that needs to be watching over what my family is putting in its mouths. I've abdicated responsibility too long and I need to wrest that control back.
This whole food business has gotten me thinking in a larger sense about how we're living and how we can be better stewards of the earth and of our bodies. I saw this article today about alternative food containers and I love them! I'm kind of an organization nut anyway, and these all look so pretty and neat. I've been suspicious of our Gladware for a while (even though it's better) and I think when that wears out, I may need to buy some of these.
In the comments section of that blog, there's a link to another blog with a wider look at living green. The quote “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 100 oz. petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with our 100 oz. vegetable-based product, we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year” really gave me pause.
Last night, though, I read something that really, truly grossed me out. So much so that I swear my stomach actually turned over in disgust. Where did I find this gem of a fact? Organic Manifesto. Ready for it?
It comes from a section describing the cycle of chemical farming and how so many farmers end up in a cycle of debt with poorer and poorer soil quality and eventually smaller yields. Coming from a family of farmers, this made me quite sad. Even farmers that want to go organic can't, because it's too expensive to break the cycle of debt and difficult to break the relationship with Monsanto and/or Cargill, the companies that create the GMOs and the weedkillers that farmers need. Add to that that it takes 3 years to purify the soil to become certified organic, and most farmers don't do it. No wonder there aren't organic farms popping up more often!
That's not the gross part, though. That comes in a section about the products of the chemical farming, including the food itself and the waste from the farm. Are you ready for this?
"Most farm waste (including dead animals) is fed to animals or sold for fuel. Some farmers fertilize their fields with sewage sludge, or municipal waste. It contains human waste, which is contaminated by pharmaceutical drugs and cleaning supplies that have literally been flushed down the toilet, as well as industrial waste."
!!!
I swear, every unwashed grape or other bit of produce I have even eaten flashed through my mind in that moment. Why in the world is this okay? Why are we not only intentionally putting chemicals on our food, but growing them in human waste that contains other nasties? Is this some subconscious masochist trend we have going on? Because it seems to be working.
This latest nugget just once again reaffirmed my belief in eating organic. I need to know where my food is coming from and in what it was grown. The health benefits are great, sure, but it's the control freak in me that needs to be watching over what my family is putting in its mouths. I've abdicated responsibility too long and I need to wrest that control back.
This whole food business has gotten me thinking in a larger sense about how we're living and how we can be better stewards of the earth and of our bodies. I saw this article today about alternative food containers and I love them! I'm kind of an organization nut anyway, and these all look so pretty and neat. I've been suspicious of our Gladware for a while (even though it's better) and I think when that wears out, I may need to buy some of these.
In the comments section of that blog, there's a link to another blog with a wider look at living green. The quote “If every household in the U.S. replaced just one bottle of 100 oz. petroleum-based liquid laundry detergent with our 100 oz. vegetable-based product, we could save 460,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 27,000 U.S. homes for a year” really gave me pause.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Remember When Eating Was Easy?
Okay, so maybe it never was truly easy, but ignorance is bliss, perhaps? The more I learn about what we eat as a nation and the multitude of effects that diet has, the more confused and concerned I am. As my friend Marci said, "Sometimes it's exhausting to give a crap..."
Today's dose of irritation comes courtesy of the New York Times.
The first article I read was about the new growth of Round-up resistant weeds in our farmland. Basically, farmers have been using these "Round-up ready" seeds for years, ones that will allow you to spray a field with Round-up to get rid of weeds without affecting the crops. Farmers will do anything for a big yield, and this seemed just a gift from heaven. (Or Monsanto. Whatever.) Of course, Nature is smarter than we and has now begun growing these behemoth weeds that Round-up can't kill. Farmers are having to use even meaner, scarier weedkillers and old-school techniques of plowing and (gasp!) pulling weeds by hand. We've genetically engineered ourselves into a bit of a corner, haven't we?
I'm being flip, but it is sad that in our quest to produce more more quickly, we've messed with nature and it's fighting back. The even more ridiculous part is that we really don't need all the corn and soybeans being produced, so as I mentioned yesterday, we're doing all these unnatural things with the products. Hence the next article:
My second read is called,"For Corn Syrup, Sweet Talk Gets Harder". The gist of it is that corn syrup has gotten a bad rap in the media as of late and the corn industry is seeking to deal with that. For example, they're creating a new version of Hunt's ketchup that uses actual sugar, with a prominent banner on the bottle, I'm sure.
My irritation with this article was twofold. First, the article was one where I couldn't quite put my finger on what side the author was on, but I'm thinking they come down as not anti-HFCS, if that makes sense. There was an attempt to appear balanced, though it largely failed. They kept citing studies and quotes that say that HFCS is no worse than sugar. They also had more quotes of folks from the corn industry saying, "It's not us!!11! The consumers are just begging for it!!1!" (That's a direct quote, clearly.) Also, it's interesting that the header on the browser says "For High Fructose Corn Syrup..."
My second irritation is the underlying message. We are all so hung up on whether HFCS is bad or sugar is good that we're missing the big point: no sweetener is good for you in large quantities! Sweeteners have no business being in 90% of the foods they're in, much less in the quantities we're receiving. Instead of panicking over whether they should be eating Stevia or pure cane sugar or HFCS, people really need to just slow down, look at labels and really think about what they're putting into their bodies. If there's too much of something that's questionable, don't buy it! There are always alternatives. In fact, buying things that don't need labels (e.g., fruits and veggies) is always the best route.
Rant over. I'm going to go clutch my copy of Food Rules now and do some slow breathing exercises.
Today's dose of irritation comes courtesy of the New York Times.
The first article I read was about the new growth of Round-up resistant weeds in our farmland. Basically, farmers have been using these "Round-up ready" seeds for years, ones that will allow you to spray a field with Round-up to get rid of weeds without affecting the crops. Farmers will do anything for a big yield, and this seemed just a gift from heaven. (Or Monsanto. Whatever.) Of course, Nature is smarter than we and has now begun growing these behemoth weeds that Round-up can't kill. Farmers are having to use even meaner, scarier weedkillers and old-school techniques of plowing and (gasp!) pulling weeds by hand. We've genetically engineered ourselves into a bit of a corner, haven't we?
I'm being flip, but it is sad that in our quest to produce more more quickly, we've messed with nature and it's fighting back. The even more ridiculous part is that we really don't need all the corn and soybeans being produced, so as I mentioned yesterday, we're doing all these unnatural things with the products. Hence the next article:
My second read is called,"For Corn Syrup, Sweet Talk Gets Harder". The gist of it is that corn syrup has gotten a bad rap in the media as of late and the corn industry is seeking to deal with that. For example, they're creating a new version of Hunt's ketchup that uses actual sugar, with a prominent banner on the bottle, I'm sure.
My irritation with this article was twofold. First, the article was one where I couldn't quite put my finger on what side the author was on, but I'm thinking they come down as not anti-HFCS, if that makes sense. There was an attempt to appear balanced, though it largely failed. They kept citing studies and quotes that say that HFCS is no worse than sugar. They also had more quotes of folks from the corn industry saying, "It's not us!!11! The consumers are just begging for it!!1!" (That's a direct quote, clearly.) Also, it's interesting that the header on the browser says "For High Fructose Corn Syrup..."
My second irritation is the underlying message. We are all so hung up on whether HFCS is bad or sugar is good that we're missing the big point: no sweetener is good for you in large quantities! Sweeteners have no business being in 90% of the foods they're in, much less in the quantities we're receiving. Instead of panicking over whether they should be eating Stevia or pure cane sugar or HFCS, people really need to just slow down, look at labels and really think about what they're putting into their bodies. If there's too much of something that's questionable, don't buy it! There are always alternatives. In fact, buying things that don't need labels (e.g., fruits and veggies) is always the best route.
Rant over. I'm going to go clutch my copy of Food Rules now and do some slow breathing exercises.
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