below is a note that i just posted on FB. I know some of you don't FB, or don't look at your FB, so i'm posting it here as well. plus it's relevant. :) I genuinely am interested in advice, suggestions, etc.
I’m about to embark on a two month crossfitter Paleo food challenge. FYI: Paleo, AKA the Paleolithic diet, is a forever way of eating -- not a quick fix to lose weight -- that consists of meat, fish, fowl, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. People who eat Paleo do not consume processed food, grains (humans are not adapted to eat grains, which tear apart our insides and make us sick), dairy (see grains) or legumes (see grains). The Paleolithic diet consists of food that people are genetically adapted to eat. As a rule, agricultural (and technological) products are not healthy; we should eat only whole foods that are healthy in their raw state. For more information about Paleo, go to http://www.thepaleodiet.com/ and http://www.marksdailyapple.com/. I highly recommend the books, “The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson and “The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain.
On Friday night I showed the film, “Food, Inc.” at the Library, which prompted me to research nutrition and the corruption that permeates the food industry, which, of course, is controlled by the federal government. I buy grassfed, free range, hormone/antibiotic-free meat and organic vegetables and fruit for health reasons. However, I do dine out my fair share; who knows what I’m really eating at most restaurants. This represents yet another reason, in addition to savings, to NOT dine out, or at least, to dine out on a limited and informed basis.
I was a vegetarian for 14 years – from age 15, when I was forced to dissect a fetal pig in Honors Biology and listened to the Smiths – until ca. 29. I fought anemia, and one day had a hankering for a burger, which I unexpectedly enjoyed. I returned to meat and hadn't looked back, until now.
Humans need the protein, iron, and other nutrients supplied by meat. It sustains and nourishes us. Tofu, grains, and legumes, the staples of a vegan diet, ARE NOT HEALTHY FOODS. But the widespread abuse and torture of animals on factory and even free range farms is WRONG. So what do I do? And can one person really make a difference? There’s so much wrong in the world, let alone our country. Human rights violations are rampant. Genocide is ubiquitous. People suffer natural catastrophes, like the people of Haiti, which are beyond human control. Our graduated, income-based tax system is WRONG; forcing Americans to subsidize experimental and superfluous entitlement/welfare programs at gunpoint is WRONG; legal bribery – the bribes that both Democrats and Republicans regularly accept in Washington in exchange for supporting (voting for) the programs of “special interest groups” is WRONG. The extent of corruption and inhumanity in our world makes me want to bury my head in the sand. But complacency is irresponsible. How do we stop so much entrenched WRONG? How can overextended, hardworking folks be proper citizens and responsible human beings?
Just like with eating right – to eat right I must prepare healthy foods in advance, and therefore give up a half hour of sleep or leisure time – I should give up another 30 minutes to read the news EVERY DAY. We need to be aware, vote with our pocketbooks, and contact Congress about injustices. I recently wrote a slew of letters and emails to my Senators and Representatives, and even Obama, urging them to vote for the Fair/Tax Act. I didn’t hear back from Obama.
So the answer to my question above – Can one person really make a difference? – is yes, actually. One person can take direct action, AND one person can influence other people, who in turn influence other people. We must remind ourselves that in this great country, one person (more like “one persons” who had banded together over time) spearheaded the Civil Rights Movement, an event that gives students of American History, the hope and belief in the redemption of humanity that they yearn for after learning about years and years of vile injustice.
I think EVERYONE who eats meat has a civic and personal responsibility to watch documentaries like “Farm to Fridge: The Transformation of Animals to Food,” and “Undercover Poultry Slaughterhouse Investigation.” These films should disgust you, and make you weep. Is it OK to torture animals that become food? Inhumanely slaughtering animals is not OK. Sadly, no one can ENSURE that the animals they consume are humanely raised for food unless we raise and kill them ourselves. How can I care for and love my pets and be simultaneously outraged by the torture of strays – cry and seethe over the beating and setting a fire of Palooka, the kitten, rescued from the clutches of rabid boys in North Fort Myers – and turn around and eat the meat of tortured animals? It’s hypocritical. I said this to Eric, who said, “but Addie, Chingy, and Booksie wouldn’t taste as good.” In jest, of course. Although buying and consuming grassfed is more humane, I’m not sure if this is ethical…for me. I’m considering moving toward purchasing free range eggs (but I cannot control how these chickens are slaughtered, if indeed they are slaughtered for food) and wild caught fish in lieu of meat. I write this as 10 pounds of grassfed meat sits in my freezer. Thoughts? Advice?
Resources:
• Food, Inc: http://www.foodincmovie.com/
• Fresh: the Movie: http://www.freshthemovie.com/
• Farm to Fridge: The Transformation of Animals to Food: http://www.chooseveg.com/animal-cruelty.asp
• Undercover Poultry Slaughterhouse Investigation: http://mercyforanimals.org/hor/
• Grassfed Food: http://eatwild.com/products/florida.html
• Organic Consumers Organization: http://www.organicconsumers.org/
• Institute for Responsible Technology: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm
Some quick food industry corruption facts:
• The USDA provides dietary recommendations AND creates national & international markets for U.S. crops. This is a major conflict of interest.
• Primary U.S. agricultural products are wheat, corn, and milk, which should be consumed in moderation at best. We involuntarily pay U.S. farmers to produce innutritious food.
• If you consume wheat, corn, and milk on the regular, you pay for it twice: once if you pay taxes, and once at the grocery store. If you don’t consume these innutritious foods, you are still paying for them.
• The USDA recommends consuming over 70% of our calories from, wheat, milk, & high fructose corn syrup, thus prescribing hyperinsulinemia to Americans. Hyperinsulinemia is the state of chronically elevated blood sugar caused by overconsumption of carbohydrates. It is directly linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other diseases.
• The federal government forces taxpayers to subsidize U.S. farmers via the Farm Bill.
• FDR introduced the Farm Bill, i.e., farm subsidies, to secure rural and Southern support for the New Deal, to help Americans out of the Depression. FDR promoted the subsidies as a temporary emergency measure to aid farmers amid a decline in crop prices. However, the program has not only survived, but also expanded, even as its natural constituency dwindled. In 1930, 1 in 4 Americans LIVED on a farm; now only 1 in 100 Americans live on a farm. Only 1% of the U.S. population currently works as farmers!
• The farm bill pays billions of dollars to farmers, from small, independent farmers to large corporate farms that produce the holy trio of corn, wheat, and dairy per year. The farm bill is anti-free market; stifles U.S. business by blocking trade agreements and encouraging large-scale industrial agriculture that rewards farmers for growing as much as possible; damages the environment (intensive farming relies heavily on chemicals); and encourages unhealthy eating.
• Nutrition programs for the poor, such as food stamps, were added to the farm bill in the 1960s. Urban lawmakers thus agree to support farm subsidies as long as farm-state congressmen vote in favor of nutrition programs.
• A core group of long-serving lobbyists who band together, setting aside divergent interests to keep the dollars flowing to farm programs, represent farmers in Washington.
• Lawmakers use votes for the farm bill as a sort of currency: Senators from non-agricultural states agree to support subsidies as long as farm-state senators back the others' favored programs.
• A cycle of money, votes and political power has made agriculture one of Washington's most entrenched special interests.
• The Bogus food pyramid: the USDA introduced the RDA – recommended dietary allowance – under FDR’s orders, in 1941. A few years later, the USDA announced the basic seven groups of the food pyramid, which encourages people to primarily eat grains, i.e., what the government subsidizes, and NOT because grains are healthy.
• 2/3 of farmers do not receive subsidies; the benefits go only to producers of basic crops.
• Bad foods are cheap. People like cheap. Bad foods, with their high fat, sugar, and salt content, are addictive. People are addicts. Consumers generally pay full cost, i.e., MORE money, for fruits and vegetables than grains, corn, and milk. Why? Vegetables and fruits are not subsidized; neither is grass-fed meat.
• Change will not happen at the top level. Billions of dollars, a powerful farming lobby, and unethical legislators are in control. Grassroots education and individual change are the only ways to affect a diet revolution in America. We must demand free market-oriented farm programs and nutritious food.
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