What profound statements these are! And at the same time, what ridiculously simple ones. These basic principles of involving yourself in your food have been so lost today! These days, most people in the US buy the cheapest food-option, cook it in a microwave, most of our food is made primarily of corn (which is in turn made (grown) primarily using petroleum-based products), we buy our apples from Chile, and a 'small' serving in today's food market is equivalent to what used to be considered huge! Nevermind the waste, I won't even go there...
Over the weekend, Glenn Beck held his 'restoring honor' rally for all of his followers from his seat as a Fox News pundit. At one point he said something about reclaiming the values we held 100 years ago, and how we americans need to do that. While I certainly believe that it would be a very bad idea to regress back to a time when our values were racist, sexist, classist, bible-focused, capitalist (think Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
), and nature-dominating, I do love the concept of bringing back this little gem from that era. At the very least, let's try to follow the very first rule, buy your food with thought. Educate yourself as to where it comes from, and what implications that has. Know your farmer if you can! Read labels, and don't believe health claims printed on the box (they usually do that to try to convince you to eat something that is actually NOT healthy)! Learn about industrial food practices. Lastly, and most importantly, VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS!!! The market for more sustainable food options grows by 20% every year (even through the economic jumble we're in now), and the big guys are listening! Soon the price gap between organic and chemical food will close, as oil becomes more expensive and farmers need to use more and more chemicals AND as organic recognizes that with the proper care and management, growing chemical-free food is way more profitable than not.
So let us learn from history, eh?
Hi Caleb, thanks for posting. Perhaps it could be "wheat & corn". Gluten (protein in wheat, rye, barley) allergies/sensitivities are on the rise. Like corn, wheat seems to be in everything, especially if it's processed. Maybe the increased gluten intake is leading to increased allergies? I've found corn tortillas with wheat, it's hard to avoid and in my case causes some pretty bad belly aches.
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