Simplifying nutrition and using food as medicine - one bite at a time.

My goal with this blog is to set folks straight about what good nutrition really is! Starting by discarding the info we get every day from 'sponsors' that do not really have our best interests at heart, I want to inspire you to eat better AND realize it is much easier than you thought it would be!

Just about any health issues can be addressed with nutrition (and meditation), from mild to chronic to acute. We truly have the ability to heal ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually...

And you can use your daily routine as your vehicle to drive that change :)


Join me...

Quote of the Month

"When food, in the minds of eaters, is no longer associated with farming and with the land, then the eaters are suffering a kind of cultural amnesia that is misleading and dangerous"
~Wendell Berry

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

An Omnivore's Dilemma

I recently took part in an online discussion about eating habits.  Some folks believe that veganism or vegetarianism is the only ethical and environmentally responsible way to eat.  Others think that being strictly herbivore is too extreme and do not fare well on such a 'restricted' diet.  And others dislike any 'self-righteous' people telling the what's best for them whether it's to eat meat or not.

I respect each person's right to choose what suits them best.  I've never believed in a 'one size fits all' diet and likely never will.  I think we should be choosing our food from ethical and sustainable sources that also serve our personal needs.  This, inevitably, is going to promote a variety of diets.
That is why I choose to be an omnivore.  I was once a vegetarian (in college after learning about the disgusting treatment of factory farmed animals) an adamently swore off any conventionally-raised chicken, pork or beef. The thought disgusted me due to ethical reasons and due to the by-product content of the meat.  Over time my carnivorous tendencies returned (old habits die hard) but I slowly adopted what I call a more responsible way of eating.  Sometimes I call myself a 'part-time vegetarian' but most accurately I'd call myself an 'Ethical Omnivore'.

I can sincerely understand the plight of vegans and vegetarians when they witness the horrible conditions of conventional farming. However, I believe that there is a middle-ground means to produce 'meat' in a sustainable way and appease those who choose to eat it as well as those who have concern for its animals.

I often find myself stating the phrase, " the singlemost effective way to affect positive change in the world today is choosing food that is minimally refined/processed, raised or grown locally and seasonally without pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or synthetic fertilizer's and supports a sustainable food system."  Our choice has such a far reaching effect; politically, environmentally, socially, ethically, economically, etc 
 
I do not believe that our current food system is sustainable...at all.  For those of you who have not yet seen the film Food Inc.  I urge you to watch it.  It is a very revealing film about the prevailing industrialized food system on this continent.  Sustainable, chemical-free farming can feed everyone, despite what we are often told.

We must make better choices when it comes to nourishing ourselves.  We must be conscious of the fact that each and every time we make a decision about what we are going to eat we suppport the system behind it.  So please, everyone, choose wisely and if you omnivore's out there cannot afford to eat locally-raised free-range, non medicated grass-fed meat every day, then don't.  Eat it only a couple of times a week and feel really good about it (in every way)!

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