A man tries to blow up a plane in the last hour of a flight. Hence, no one can move for the last hour of a flight from now on. Who is that going to fool?
I was actually going to write about this anyway, because I have been reading up on the food industry in this country and I am trying to figure out: What the hell should I be eating?
It all started about a year ago when I read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food.
“Eat food, mostly vegetables. Not a lot. ” Sounds like good advice.
Then I saw Food, Inc.
Then I went a step further and read the book of Polyface Farm’s owner Joel Salatin “Everything I want to do is illegal.”
This book subtitled “War stories from the local food front” is his description of the complete and utter backwardness of the government and bureaucracies involving our food. And this guy might be the single most innovative and successful small farmer around.
Now, if there is one thing we have all learned in the past year its this: The people who run the government are idiots. They seem like they are running things with our best interests in mind. The economy: ha. The food industry: double ha.
We are trained since childhood into thinking the people in charge are smarter than us and know whats best for us ie parents, teachers, rabbis, presidents, cops etc…. What happens as you become an adult and you can look at the people in charge as equals is you realize: remember in the sixth grade when you thought you were smarter than your teacher? you probably were.
The problem is, we are rarely ever treated like adults by our government. We are treated like bovines being herded to the slaughter and it sucks… You should see how many agricultural systems are in place to correct problems that arose because of some other industrial and artificial intervention… (Ex: Cows fed corn are more susceptible to Ecoli bacteria. these same cows usually live knee deep in their own excrement, and are executed in plants with thousands of other cows and any given hamburger can contain the meet of hundreds of different animals. A simple solution would be: feed cows grass. even if just for five days prior to the slaughter to clean out their digestive systems. The solution instituted: Bleach the cow filler (the fat and the bones they grind into the chop meat) with chlorine to kill the bacteria.) Do you see how they solve every problem with a dumb band-aid instead of trying to fix what is really the problem?
Anway, if you are trying to eat natural local food, real food, in NYC in winter, it isn’t that easy. Do you know the amount of reading I do at the grocery store to try to figure out which eggs and which milk is not only “organic” since that seems to be a bullshit label these days like so many others, but also LOCAL, and free range, with no hormones etc etc etc…. My baby drinks that milk, eats those eggs and that cheese, and excuse me if I want to make sure that the food I am feeding her is not a “food product” but real freakin food!!!!
Now the veggies. Maybe I shouldnt be buying tomatoes in January that were grown who knows where and ripened with gases. My supermarket does not have a section labled local,so I have to look at each label to make sure that I am not buying avocados from Mexico or China. If all else fails and there is no state printed on the tiny sticker, I look for a USA stamp. I do know some local brands and I try to buy those as much as possible. But it isnt easy to figure out. Not at all.
I think I can probably join a CSA or go to the farmers market downtown a few days a week… But then I would have to travel home with huge bags full of groceries and in NYC that aint easy. ( I dont go home with one grocery bag filled with italian bread like the movies. I am in the sky high, 2x a week, wagon stage of life!) Another option is FreshDirect, which divides the food into local and organic categories. I like this. It works.
Yesterday, I bought some grapes from my supermarket. My husband’s and my throat almost closed up when we ate them. Why? Pesticides, maybe? Who the hell knows!!!
Bottom line is: For someone who wants it and is willing to pay for it, why is it so hard to find food I actually want to eat? In most countries eating local and natural food is a given, and in America, a place where we have so much, we have to seek it out like criminals. Strange.
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i totally agree. we here at the MFAMB house are mostly vegan and always organic. and we are mostly always flat broke as a result. i always try to buy as locally as possible and almost never buy fruits or veg out of season. simply b.c they aren’t as nutritious. if everyone ate this way it would all be a lot cheaper and readily available. it’s kinda like saying, “why should i recycle…1 person won’t make a difference in global warming”. so if we all keep asking and trying to get more local ingredients it will get easier. plus if we don’t eat tomatoes for 6 months no one will die of malnutrition. besides tomatoes are a nightshade veg and not really that good for you. in fact the negatives outweigh the positives in that one. they should be eaten in moderation. but that’s a whole other topic not isn’t it…
You know what the thing is, there is no one to explain the rules to you when you suddenly wake up and realize that you aren’t satisfied with what they are giving you.
There are so many things that I dont know about this topic! How do you figure out what to eat? Do you keep any frozen or canned products in the house? Do you cook pasta? What are some good snacks that you feed the hubs and kid?
Its crazy! What do you do outside the home?
Heres my thoughts: I have to be as practical as possible with this, and not turn into a nutcase because: I dont know anyone who has died of malnutrition and I barely know anyone obese, BUT, I know a lot of people who have “food issues” whose parents were wacky with what they let their kids eat. So my theory is ” everything in moderation” for the baby. Im not going to flip out if she eats oreos at a friends house. In fact, I have no problem with junk food being junky. We know its not great for you and are able to moderate our intake based on that knowledge. But stuff that is supposed to be healthy like fruit and veggies, not being nutritious, thats bullshit!!!
thanks for your post…you write exactly what my experiences have been with food. i was raised by parents from the old country (i.e., they grew, raised, killed (sorry vegs), made and preserved whatever they ate). also, remember back in the day, there were bakers, butchers, fish-mongers, local farmers (more of them anyway), etc…people who actually took pride and had knowledge about the food they sold? now everything is produced and sold en masse with very little knowledge or care. and you have to pay through the nose for anything “artisanal” i saw a $8 loaf of bread the other day….$8!!!!! ok, i’m starting to rant…i don’t know why this issue isn’t resolved when the right solutions are out there. sigh.
Was amist this post when you commented. It’s been cold for sure. Your MIL isn’t lying. Cold for Floridian standards. This Boston girl is still truckin in shorts and a tee…wonder if the luster of living down here will ever fade. You’re lookin at highs in the 70s this week which, as much as the Canadian tourists would like to think, isn’t bikini weather….yet.
This is also coming from a crazylady who was just in the beach in sweats on Thursday reading a book.
Thanks that was a fantastic article!
Your blog is inspirational and I really enjoyed reading it, we have started a “green directory” and would really appreciate and enjoy if you added your site to it at http://www.everygreenthing.net/green-business-blog-directory/ Thanks!