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”.

Certified Organic Human

I just spent 45 minutes picking wild black-raspberries behind our house.  Not thinking, just picking.  Wild raspberries require long pants, long sleeves and patience.  The bushes are nestled into the other brush and the thorns are not helpful.  Nature doesn’t plunk our food into nice, little, easy-to-grab containers.  Nature asks for a commitment.

There are tons of berries left to be harvested over the next couple of weeks and that’s fine with me.  Picking berries is my zen task for now.  I’m up for it.  We are finally settled at our farm, learning so much so quickly about some of the new things in our life.

We have an orchard with about 40 apple trees.  In the past, they’ve been cared for with pesticides and insecticides, but we are going to grow our apples via organic means.  Seems simple and well, organic, right?  It’s not.  We’re learning that it’s quite complicated to grow decent fruit, minus the toxic pest control.  But, we only need enough for us and the friends who’d like to share our apples, so we’ll sacrifice bounty for quality.

Organic farming is a long-term commitment.  It’s an entire eco-system that must be nurtured and developed; a 5 to 10 year plan.  Something we just don’t have time for in the modern world of instant gratification, where bigger and more is better.

Pastured chickens and lambs fertilize the crops.  Flowers are planted to bring in bees and useful insects.  The animals and crops are rotated to allow the land to replenish.  It’s a lot of work and planning and for the first few years, there is very little return on this investment.  A commitment.

So, how does this apply to all of us?  It’s worth pondering what commitment you’re making to your health and happiness.  We live in a culture of quick, fast, simple, no effort and we all know in our hearts and minds that there really is no quick fix for anything that’s important.

We are organic.  We require time and effort and patience and diligence to fully flower; nurturing our health, wellness, happiness and growth is a commitment.  Every day.  Stop with the excuses.  “I’ll lose weight when…I’ll save money when…I’ll look for a new job when…I’ll stop drinking when…I’ll take care of myself when…I’ll be nicer to people when…”

You don’t really know when ‘when’ is, do you?  I’ll tell you. It’s now.  Start.  Make a commitment and take pleasure in the nuturing; in the process.  In all honesty, there is never an end.  Forget goals, think now.  Start the process and let it unfold.

Follow nature.

Yin vs Yang

I’m conflicted.  Who isn’t, right?  There is a rumble going on between my inner hippie and my inner advocate.  At this point, the IH is winning.  The problem is, the IH wants to pick up and move to Traverse City, Michigan and live on a lake or a few acres that we can farm.  At the moment, that is somewhat impractical.

My inner advocate can live anywhere and in fact, with the internet at my fingertips, can assert herself constantly (as she is doing right now, writing this blog).  She worries and frets about current events, politics, the human condition, religious hypocrites, gay marriage, intrusive government and animal welfare.  She rants, writes, yaps on the radio and has been the dominant feature of my persona for years.  But, I can feel her shrinking, bit by bit, day by day.

It’s funny, but many women my age are just getting to know their inner advocate and allowing her to have a voice.  They’re speaking up, getting informed and involved and starting to finally ‘call bullshit’ on what they don’t like.  My personality and media career have always allowed and encouraged me to be outspoken and opinionated; in fact it’s been a requirement for many years.  Maybe it’s time for my IA to retire or at least, ratchet back to part-time status.

My inner hippie is my more holistic, spiritual side that has been somewhat dormant for most of my life, other than an occasional flutter here and there.  Now that she’s starting to flower, it’s invigorating and I feel like she needs room to grow. I suppose that the hippie and advocate can live side by side in harmony, but balance is something that I’ve never quite mastered.  I’m kind of an all or nothing gal; which has served me well professionally and in my quest for learning and knowledge, but it is probably also responsible for some of my failures.  The old saw,  “everything in moderation” isn’t even in my lexicon.

One way to handle this is to allow the inner advocate to advocate for a kinder, gentler, healthier lifestyle. I’ve noticed that more and more of my posts and opinions are moving in that direction.  My political views are moderating, softening a bit .  I no longer see things in black and white, Republican vs. Democrat terms.  My tribe vs. the other tribe.  The key is for all of us to quit relying on politicians to solve our problems, particularly since it’s obvious that they can’t and they won’t.  It’s time for a truce and to realize that each and every one of us is responsible for our own happiness and success, however you define that.

My inner hippie is kinder and more forgiving than my inner advocate; she is more willing to see the other side of an argument, more open to other viewpoints.  She believes that much of modern life, while convenient, isn’t always better or healthier or more fulfilling.  If I allow her to blossom and grow, then I think that she’ll have a positive effect on my inner advocate.  Perhaps they will meld into a more productive and evolved ‘me’.

So, the battle rages for now.  I’m back to daily meditation and gentler work-outs.  I’m eating whole, organic foods, listening to my body, getting enough sleep. The inner hippie and inner advocate will eventually work things out and move forward in harmony.  Mind follows body or body follows mind?  To be continued……