Going Organic

For the past few months Chad and I have been trying to eat more organic food. Organic has become such a buzz word that I almost hate to use it, but basically what I mean by “organic” is food that is grown without chemicals, hormones, not genetically modified, humanely raised, etc. We planted our own vegetable garden this year and were very happy with how much food we got from it - and I know each year we’ll get better. We’ve also been trying to buy most of our meat from the local Farmer’s Market. My theory is that we can save money in other areas and that will help when we buy the more expensive local meat. But, I also think when we buy super cheap food we pay for it in other ways - at the expense of the animal’s health and well being, with our own health and the health of the environment as well. We had been trying to incorporate more organic food into our life anyway, but after watching Food, Inc. I don’t plan on going back.

Food, Inc. does more than just talk about why organic food is better - it covers a wide range of issues that impact the food world and what we eat. It talks about the government agencies that are supposed to regulate the food industry, but are really impotent, about huge conglomerates who are taking over the food industry, about how Monsanto and their genetically modified seeds could give Satan a run for his money in pure evilness, the poor animals in factory farms - I could go on and on. I would say this movie changed my life, but really it just confirmed the direction I was already moving toward. But, after seeing this movie I have decided to make some long term changes to our lifestyle:

1) I will not buy non-organic/humanely raised meat anymore.

2) I will not eat at fast food restaurants anymore (they are the main factor behind factory farming - especially of meat).

3) I will eat more meat-free meals (both for health and also to help balance the cost of the meat I’m choosing to buy).

I would highly recommend this movie and also it’s companion book of the same name edited by Karl Weber. Here are a few other books that really had an impact on me:

Farm Sanctuary by Gene Baur
The Compassionate Carnivore by Catherine Friend
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser