Eat to live, live to eat
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of research about food. Yes, food. I love food and hate to give up things that I love but, with some of the stuff I have read, I think I may have to stop eating and survive solely on pranna alone. I just finished Food Inc. (the book) and just saw the movie on DVD the other night (I’ve watched it twice now). So, a review will be coming as soon as I can find words to describe why it is such an important film to see at least once. I finished Barbara Kingsolver’s, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life and Michael Pollen’s,The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals not too long ago, so I owe you a couple of book reviews also. Michael Pollen is my new hero. I have some awesome videos that I will be posting soon and are so worth a look-see. I just watched “King Corn” and have been recommending it to everyone I know. It’s really simple and yet the message will change the way you look at food, especially corn. I think the simplest way to bring about a change as far as food is concerned is to read the labels. I cannot stress this enough. Seriously, read the labels, if you can’t pronounce it and you have no idea what it is, put it back on the shelf. We vote with our dollars and in this economy, we really need to take that seriously. Buy organic, buy local, it really should be a mantra when you enter the supermarket. My veggie drawer looks pretty empty these days because I am only trying to buy what’s in season and there isn’t much right now. I am lucky that I froze and canned a lot of stuff from my garden and the CSA this season and I am hoping that gets me through the winter until spring. Of course, we do have the greenhouse and I will discuss that more in a later post. But I digress, send the message that healthy food is what you want and they will be forced to supply it. The best way to send the message is the choices you make as a consumer. Be conscious, always.
Because I am a mama, I will have a section for our little green ones, fun ways to educate your children and show them how to be conscious and earth-considerate little bundles of joy. Our friends over at Progressive Kid are doing an incredible job keeping us informed with their online mag and they even have a kids section. Do yourself a favor and check them out and use your Nexyoo discount!
Tried to get Food, inc. on dvd the other night and they were all out… good thing! We will keep trying. It’s amazing to think of the petroleum avoided by buying local and what’s in season. Eating in season is a great way to pay attention the natural evolution of our bodies. All of this goes towards supporting people in your own community who are endeavoring not only to protect the Planet for all but pursue a means of supporting themselves and their families that are in harmony with the Earth. This should resonate with all of us on many different levels.
These all sound good. I’ve learned so much about food in the last couple years, from natural to organic, vegetarian, vegan and raw. And I’m still learning every day about the way food comes to us. One of the best experiences I ever had was WWOOFing. It is such a great program, and really helps out small farmers. Plus you get lots of yummy organic food for free!
My 8 yo son and I are watching BBC’s The Future of Food right now. I love the way BBC explains things in detail, yet makes them interesting. My son’s even enjoying it, and has been asking me things about where our dinner came from and what this and that is good fore.
I’ve come a long way from my momma’s shortening fried hot dogs and potatoes.
Oh, and I had never heard of that Barbara Kingsolver book. I’ve put it on my wishlist. I loved the Poisonwood Bible. What a masterpiece. I also like the Bean Trees. But Poisonwood is epic.
You’ll love Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I just finished Prodigal Summer by Kingsolver also, she is amazing. I have Bean Trees and a few others on the way. What I love most about her writing, and especially with Prodigal Summer, is the way she makes Nature a main character as opposed to just the background setting for a scene. I am going to check out The Future of Food, it is incredible for children to realize that food comes from dirt and that anyone can grow it. I only wish that instead of spending years switching majors in college, I had studied agriculture instead. I am encouraging my daughter to be a farmer in the same respect that my parents encouraged me to be a doctor. WWOOFing looks like an awesome idea, I’m going to look into that in my area. Thanks!
Very attractive blog and some good info. i notice you mention omnivore several times, but why not mention the many health and environmental benefits to going vegan or at least vegetarian? According to a report recently published by World Watch Institute 51% of greenhouse gasses come from animal agriculture. ♥ Nan
Thanks Nan! Actually, I am a vegetarian, bordering on vegan, I just feel I can reach more people by not separating myself according to my dietary preferences. I agree that a vegetarian diet is healthier however, a lot of people still eat meat and if they are going to continue to do so they should know about the right meat to eat. That’s what I loved most about Food Inc., they opened right up with Eric Schlosser eating a burger, setting the tone for the movie and not offending a whole percentage of the populace.