You Wouldn’t Feed Your Car Grass Fed Beef

Why would you give your body a substance developed in a lab and call it food? My passion for real food is somewhat recent. I haven’t always been so adamant about knowing where our food comes from or even understanding what is good for our bodies and why. For as long as I can remember I’ve been pretty crazy about cooking. I have memories of blending together two raw eggs, one cup of milk, a dash of cinnamon and sugar and proudly presenting it to my dad as eggnog. It was shortly after my mom passed away and I realized even at that young age that food made my dad smile. I’m sure he found a way to toss that repulsive blend, but he made me believe he loved it and couldn’t get enough. Funny, we seemed to be out of eggs a lot after that first batch. Even still, a passion was born.

My fascination with how we choose food and the powerful, far-reaching effect that those choices have started only a few years ago.  Somehow, I got on an email list for PETA and clicked on a link to an article about how pigs are raised in a factory farm setting. The article and video left me numb and sad. I am not a fan of PETA and I am not a vegetarian and never will be. I firmly believe we are omnivore’s and meat is a wonderful source of necessary fuel for our bodies. I have nothing against vegetarianism, but I do feel that the choice is a misinformed one at times. I am, however, very committed to learning everything I can about the food we eat, where it comes from, who suffers for it, why it’s produced the way it’s produced, and who stands to profit at the expense of our health. We vote with our dollars. I vote for the purist choice I can.

I am perplexed when I’m in a conversation with someone about food and they tell me they don’t want to know too much. Yes, I understand that knowledge about the what is on your plate will force you to make different choices, but plugging your ears and chanting, “na na na na na,” is not the answer. Our children have absolutely no choice about the habits they form around eating and what they put into their bodies except the choice we give them. They are exposed to environmental toxins that were unheard of 50 years ago. Once an odd occurrence, asthma is now the number one reason for childhood visits to the E.R. Obesity in children is staggering in numbers and even leading to heart disease in teenagers. The food industry stalks and exploits our children and if given enough leeway, will convince them that the lab tech, not the local farmer, supplies them with “healthy” food choices. We must take a stand in our homes. I am not suggesting drastic measures that alter your lifestyle to an unrecognizable state. Just take some time to learn a little about what food production is doing to our bodies, our children, our planet, our economy, our choices as a society, and flavor for goodness sake!

I was riding with a friend the other day when she pulled over to fill-up her gas tank. When I asked her why she requested the premium gas costing 0.20 more per gallon than the other two choices, she said, “that’s what the manual says to put in it.” Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve don’t remember ever opening the manual that came with my car to decide what gas to put in it. I can’t imagine caring more about that piece of metal that I’ll be trading for next years model more than I do my body and my planet. Yet, in later conversation when I told her that grass-fed beef has more omega-3 and CLA than it’s grain-in-gel-form-fed counter part, and that the alternative has an unhealthy amount of omega-6 and has possibly never set foot on grass (an herbivore, people …never ingesting an herb), she told me that was too much information.  Imagine if I’d gone on to tell her the rest of the ramifications of factory farming. At least her car won’t get cancer from filling-up on cheap fuel.

Tagged as: opinion, real food