Today is one of those days where I dont have any real pressing issues that need to be addressed. No papers to fax or bills to pay. Just a little down time. And what did I do with this "down time" you ask...I watched Food, Inc.
This is a movie that I have wanted to see for some time. I have a very hard time with these types of movies. When I went to see Fast Food Nation in theaters, I spent the last 10 minutes of the movie with my eyes shut tight as tears streamed down my face. This movie spurred in me the same reaction. By the end of it I think I cried 5 different times, and was left with the biggest pit in my stomach and a huge knot in my throat.
I am in no way perfect. While I consider myself vegetarian, I am times will eat fish and still wear leather shoes or purchase a leather bag on occasion. I often find myself buying food out of convenience instead of nutrition or impact to the environment. I feel compelled to blog only because in watching this movie I was reminded of something someone said to me in India while at a lecture on nutrition. While paraphrasing, the jest of the statement was that our energy goes into all that we do. The example he used was that if an animal is scared, in pain, or suffering, this goes into our food. The energy of the person that slaughters that animal goes into our food. We then eat this animal and absorb all this negativity.
I am sure that you can see the larger implications of this statement in most things in our lives. It is not about not eating meat, but about the energy that fuels what we put into our body and bring into our lives. I was so taken aback by the grand scope of impact that our American food culture has had. From animal abuse, to people falling ill from hyper-resistant strains of e-coli, to exploitation of immigrants, to obesity. How is this good for us? How does this help us?
At this moment I feel hugely overwhelmed. I feel like this is a topic I keep revisiting in my life and always end up falling back into old habits. I change where I shop for food only to realize that I am having difficulty affording it. I buy organic only to find out it may not make a difference. I buy one brand over another, only to find out they were bought out by some mega-company. It is so deeply confusing and hard. I am not sure where to re-start or how to do it differently this time around. Suggestions very welcome.
To be continued...
Hi Kadie! Yes, that film really does make you feel sick to your stomach. I remember not wanting to eat ANYTHING for a long time after I saw it. I don't know if any of this will help, but here are some things that I do. I've tried to cut back on shopping anywhere except my CSA/farmers' market/produce shops as much as I can. I avoid buying anything canned or packaged and try to get all my beans, grains, nuts, etc. in bulk. I'm FAR from perfect too, and don't manage to do all of this stuff, but these are my goals. I've been making my own almond milk, nut butters, hummus, and many other things that I used to buy prepared. Tomatoes are the main thing I still buy canned, but I'm hoping to can my own (from my CSA) at the end of the summer (I first did this with a friend a couple of years ago and I loved it - I like avoiding the plastic liners with BPA in canned foods too). I've especially been enjoying cooking beans from scratch. They are so much prettier and more flavorful than canned ones. And if you cook them with things like onion, garlic, and parsley you end up with a great veggie stock too - another thing I no longer buy.
ReplyDeleteI've had the luxury of having a lighter than usual work load this year, so we'll see how much of this I'll be able to continue doing in the fall when things get busy for me again...
I do hate it that organic food is often so expensive, and the farmers' markets here seem more expensive than in other places I've lived. Certainly for many years I really couldn't afford it. But it helps to remind myself that I'm saving a lot of money by not eating meat, by cutting back on cheese and alcohol, and by forgoing some of the more glamorous organic items in favor of things like cabbage or squash, or getting green leaf lettuce instead of spring mix. And dried organic chickpeas are cheaper than canned non-organic ones.
Hi there- came across your blog on accident but we have so much in common! I am a midwifery student and love, love, love Ashtanga yoga. I have been to India but not to Mysore yet - that is next on my list!
ReplyDeleteI hear you about this movie. My dh and I buy almost 100% organic and are both vegans. We feel we are doing the most we can possibly do to help the planet and the animals, but then I watch a movie like this or others and am so disappointed in our food system. I do not know what we can do to stop companies like Monsanto or to change our food system. It is really quite frustrating, and to be honest, depressing. I feel as one person - how can I affect change? We also just returned from living abroad for 4 years and it is such a different story over there. The EU bans tons of unhealthy things (HFCS, trans fats, BPA in baby bottles) and I just cannot figure out why we are so deficient in protecting the public's health.
Please post if you find out any ways normal people like us can help out. I'd really like to make a difference, but I am not sure how.