On Food: A Manifesto

In a sure sign that spring will eventually arrive, I received an email and order form from a local farmer that we buy beef from. Time to order for the fall harvest. I sent in my deposit and I’m in for a side of his locally produced beef.

Food. We all need it. We all eat it. It seems to me that many of us spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about it. I know I do. Not in the way you might think; I’m sort of obsessed about our food chain. I believe that our food is the biggest cause of disease and ill health in the U.S. I’m not alone. You can do your own research.

Start with the movie “Food, Inc”  or “Fed Up” and many others that you can watch for free on Netflix and Amazon Prime, etc. Maybe you’ll climb on my bandwagon after doing a little research.

One of the reasons that I wanted to move to northern Michigan was because it’s a foodie heaven. Tons of locally grown produce, fruit, meats, cheese, honey, maple syrup and on and on. Almost anything you need for sustenance is grown and produced here. Much of it organic or chemical-free. There are so many farm stands in the summer and fall, that I constantly carry $1 bills so that I can stop and buy great food.

We also grow our own food. We have a garden, an orchard with 30 apple trees, wild blackberries and raspberries, a huge asparagus patch and now my husband has resumed his hobby of beekeeping.

We buy our beef, poultry, fish, lamb and eggs from locals. We see how those animals are raised; outside, foraging with plenty of room. They are healthy and strong and I’m mostly convinced that they have pretty good lives. I’m still considering cutting animals out of my diet, but as long as I can get the protein that’s raised in this way, I’m at peace with eating them. My moral and humane apple cart is not upset.

Now, I understand that we are blessed to live in a place where this is possible. But, then again, we chose this place for that reason, so it’s not luck; it’s planning and foresight.  Most everyone can find a supply of organic or humanely raised meat no matter where you live, if you take the time.

My husband and I still argue about organic vs. conventionally grown food and I tend to choose organic and items that are labeled as non-GMO. Obviously for health, but also because the mega-food industry pisses me off so much.

It’s my personal, activist protest against the way that our food is grown and produced, with so many chemicals and toxins and mostly, the way that these huge companies will NOT allow accurate labeling. The movement to force them to label GMO products has been crushed under corporate money and lobbying and again, that pisses me off.

We should be able to accurately assess what we are buying and eating. We cannot and that’s why I spend a lot of time procuring, growing and preserving the food that is consumed in our house.

The way that animals are grown and harvested for mass consumption is evil and immoral. They are caged, force fed, kept in the dark and shot full of hormones and anti-biotics to produce more meat, more quickly. Then, they are slaughtered in ways that give me nightmares.

In my airy-fairy belief system, I think that when animals are treated this way, negative and violent energy remains in their flesh, meaning that when it is consumed, that bad mojo then transfers to the eater.  Crazy?  Hey, we’re all energy; we exchange good and bad energy all day, every day.  Violence begets violence.  That’s probably a whole other post, though.

I understand that we need food and I understand that we want inexpensive food and that is the problem. Cost. We are not willing to spend a little more for a superior and more moral product. Even though food is the very foundation of our health and well-being, we’d rather spend that money on more data for our phones.

So, this is my manifesto on food. Meat that is labeled “all natural” at a fancy supermarket is not organic or humanely raised. That label means nothing, other than to make you feel better. Educate yourself, commit to spending a little more and eating a little less. Give up the processed crap. Read any of Michael Pollan’s books on food. Don’t just give up and consume environmental toxins because it’s easy and convenient. This kind of apathy is making us fat and sick. That’s not what the creator intended.

Stake out a little area in your lawn and grow something that you can eat.  Quit spending time and money on useless grass and the care and the toxic sprays that keep it green.  It’s not that hard to care for a small garden and you’ll be part of the solution.  I also suspect you’ll feel pretty damned good when you harvest that first healthy salad that you grew. We rely too much on others for our personal care and feeding.  Take back some control and feed your body, soul and spirit with your own hands.

Be well. As Michael Pollan says: “Eat real food; mostly plants”.

A new day….everyday

I was informed by my sister that my last post was a little too maudlin and that I needed to perk up and be a tad less morose.  We lovingly refer to her as ‘the general’ and so when she speaks, I listen.  She’s a middle child, as is my husband and they are known for looking out for everyone else in the family.  As a youngest child, I am somewhat self-absorbed, although I do have that youngest child charisma and “march to a different drummer’ thing going for me.

So, how do you drag yourself out of the doldrums or bad habits or a case of the blues? Do you have strategies?  One of the first things that I do is get myself right, physically.  A routine is key for me, particularly since I’ve spent most of the last 3 decades getting up in the middle of the night to do a morning radio show.  It requires a fair amount of discipline just to get out of bed and then a regimented plan for the rest of the day in order to ensure that I’m functional.

My approach is quite basic and the foundation is diet.  If you haven’t read Michael Pollan’s bestseller, “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto”, get a copy and read it….today. It’ll change the way you look at food and your diet and what you think is ‘conventional wisdom’.  Our diets and eating habits are crap in this country and I’m convinced it’s the biggest health issue of our time.  The government and the food and farming industries have colluded to addict us to lousy, unhealthy food. Obesity and obesity-related disease is an epidemic, as are emotional afflictions.  The foundation of good physical and emotional health is what you eat.  Period.

I’ve also been following Mark Sisson’s “The Primal Blueprint” and his website www.marksdailyapple.com, which is basically a less-restrictive Paleo diet.  I started eating this way to see if it would help alleviate the horrible, miserable allergy symptoms that have ruined the past 3 summers for me.  So far, allergy symptoms are minor, I’ve lost all cravings for junk food, I am slimmer and have developed much more muscle tone.

I do 25 minutes of yoga every morning and 20 minutes of meditation in the evening. I do a bit of weight training most days and I walk a few miles everyday. Sharing a house with two rowdy Jack Russell Terriers ensures that we never miss a walk.

My point is this:  we all go through phases where things just aren’t clicking in our lives.  Many times, it’s based on our unproductive or unhealthy reactions to things that are out of our control.  It can be health issues or family issues or work issues or money issues or political issues or blah, blah, blah. We can always find something to hang our depression and disappointment on.  Particularly, if you are like me and have a tendency to focus on those gnarly things in your life, rather than the good stuff.

Look, for some of us, being happy or content or grateful is hard.  It takes work and discipline and commitment.  We allow daily stresses to run our lives, which is unhealthy and it compounds the problem.  I know it’s so much easier to come home, pour a few glasses of wine and veg on the couch to a lousy TV show.  I get it.  But, tell me how you feel after that?  Invigorated?  Inspired? Content?  Strong?  Doubtful.  You drag yourself off to bed and do it again the next day.

I’m far from perfect.  Any of you who’ve read just a few of my posts know that.  But, if I didn’t make these commitments to my physical well-being I’m convinced that my emotional health would be in shambles.  We get a new shot at our lives every single day; it’s a string of new starts and new opportunities to alter our behavior and our mindset.  Yeah, it’s hard to change old habits.  It’s hard to change your diet.  It’s hard to turn off the TV or the computer and move after a long day.  I get it.  But, you have to.  Simple as that.

One more thing:  you have to feed your soul.  What stirs you emotionally?  Art, music, dance, nature, great books, playing, learning, cooking healthy meals, volunteering, writing.  Find some time everyday for these things.  Again, it’s simple:  diet, exercise, feed your soul.  Start now.