Is Access to Good Food a Basic Human Right?

I watched the documentary Food, Inc. last night.  My reactions were to be stunned, moved, appalled, angry, sad, and more committed than ever to choosing locally produced foods.

Yesterday, I also learned that FDA doesn't trust me to make the best decisions about my food choices.  The article "The FDA vs. Raw Milk and the Constitution" asserts that the FDA does not take the position that we, the public, have any right to choose what we eat or drink.  The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FCLDF) sued the FDA, challenging the FDA ban on interstate raw milk sales.  The FCLDF believes the ban to be un-Constitutional.

Today, I read that there is yet another outbreak of E. coli 0145 is beginning to sweep across the country.  Watch Food, Inc. and you'll learn why this keeps happening.

Today, I am wondering if my idea of what America is and what it means to be an American has been a horrible ruse.  The actions of our elected and appointed government leaders do not show to be in the best interests of actual people - the individual.  The interests seem to be totally on the side of multi-national corporations because that is where the money is.  Is access to good, healthy, non-altered food a basic human right?  Or is eating simply a luxury?

Abraham Maslow's Theory of Human Motivation gave us his "Hierarchy of Needs".  At the very bottom of the hierarchy are the physiological needs of humans:  water, air, food, and sleep.  I am not aware of anyone challenging his theory or his hierarchy.  Does anyone think that humans can survive long without any one of those needs being met?  If food is a physiological need, underpinning our ability to work our way up that hierarchy to the need for safety and security, the need for love and belonging, to obtain self-esteem and achieve self-actualization, how can we not be allowed to choose what food we eat?

I think we are becoming the inhabitants of the ship Axiom from the movie Wall-E without having to leave the planet.  The foods we eat are not fostering a healthy, responsible society.  We are lulled into complacency by not knowing what is really going on behind the scenes and not knowing who is controlling our food supply.

Ask yourself, does it matter to you that the food choices that are put before us are not as nutritious as food was just 50 years ago?  The broccoli might look the same, but the vitamin and mineral content is lower in density than the broccoli your grandparents ate.  And I wonder if the broccoli looks the same?  I'll bet it's unnaturally green or unnaturally large.  I know the meat from grass-fed animals is different in color and odor than the corn-fed, corporate giant meats.   For more information about the nutrition differences in organic v. non-organic vegetables, read Victoria Boutenko's article "Why is Organic Produce Important" on her Green Smoothie Revolution blog.

Do you really know where the meat you buy is raised? Where it lives? How it is treated? How it is processed? Do you know how the plants you eat are raised? How they are processed? Do you care?

Do you care that our sons and daughters are eating foods that have been genetically altered for economic reasons and not to provide better health for the population?

Does it bother you that children are eating meats laden with hormones and antibiotics?

And do you care that cows don't graze on fresh grass, they way G-d intended, but eat corn instead?

What about the chickens raised by large corporations that grow preternaturally large in about half the time as chickens that are allowed to grow and mature on Nature's schedule?  Apparently, the Almighty did not make the chicken good enough, so we mortals have had to "re-engineer" it.  It seems that a preference for large breasts extends to the chicken we eat, too.

The more I learn, the more committed I am to the food choices we are making in our family.   The more I learn, the more concerned I become about the welfare of our nation.  The more I learn, the more I feel that America has subtly and quietly changed into something far removed from what our Founding Fathers hoped to build.

We have allowed these changes to take place without paying attention to what we are doing to our own bodies, our families, our communities, our Nation.  We gave the government, government agencies, and corporations the power they have over our food supply.  We will have to be the ones to take back control over our basic right to the food we want to eat.

I will vote every time I buy locally produced foods.  I will cast my ballot with each vegetable that comes from my garden.  I will renew my commitment with each bite I take.  What will you do?


Additional Recommended Reading:
Green Eyes On:  Your Doctor Says, "Eat Local, Eat Organic" - even the AMA has changed their tune!

Handy Guide to Buying Organic - great card to keep in your wallet!

Update on Siggi's!

First an update on Siggi's: the Orange/Ginger is my favorite flavor! You really MUST try it!

Siggi's Icelandic Skyr - YUM!

Always looking for new dairy options, I decided to try Siggi's today.  It is a Icelandic-style skyr yogurt made with skim milk from grass-fed cows, agave nectar for sweetness, fruit, active cultures, and vegetable rennet.

I bought the pomegranate/passion fruit flavor at my local Fresh Market.

Let me say - OH MY!  To be made with skim milk and having 0 fat, it tastes pretty dang "fat-full".  And it is SO tangy.  If you have tried Greek-style yogurt, the Icelandic version is MUCH tangier than that.  Tangy, sour, sweet, creamy, and good for you!

I attempted to eat a single serving after lunch and could only eat half of it.  It was a much more intense taste than I expected but I plan on finishing it as a mid-afternoon snack.  I will try the orange/ginger flavor next.  Actually, it's on sale at Fresh Market, so I may just stop by on my way home and get several more!

Siggi also packages the yogurt in plastic containers that use 40%-50% less plastic than most yogurt containers and they come in a little cardboard sleeve that can be recycled.

Go to the Siggi's site to learn more about Icelandic skyr and about Siggi!

Today is a Struggle

OK - time for a little TMI. I am stressed at work. I've had to stop taking birth control for health reasons so I'm no longer getting hormones I need to alleviate fatigue. On top of that, I've added a new daily medicine that can cause fatigue. There's nothing quite like fatigue with a side of fatigue! This week marks my first cycle since stopping birth control and it's a doozy.

I'm an emotional and hormonal terror. Do not cut me off in traffic today. And do not argue with me about ANYTHING. I'm on the verge of tears and about to snap.

I know this will pass and the only reason I'm sharing it is because of the bad habits I've lovingly and carefully cultivated for the past 25 years: emotional and stress-based eating. When my hormones took me on a roller coaster, a trip to Sonic or Chick-fil-A made the ride somehow less harrowing. When stressed and agitated for any reason, a processed food snack and soda calmed the raving monster. Maybe that is not what really happened. Maybe I was using food to distract myself from the emotions and stress. I distracted myself into obesity who brought along no self-confidence, extreme self-consciousness, and self-deprecating humor so the party could be complete! My own little entourage! I am fortunate that I have not had any serious obesity-related health issues (so far). However, I do know that I have been damaging my body for years and, one day, I may have to pay the piper for the years of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Only time will tell. I cannot take back all those years, but I can stop adding to them.

Today, as so many of my "old friends" are ganging up on me at once, the pull of the vending machines is strong! Those "friends" know about the one dollar bills in my wallet, too.

I do not have a plan for thwarting my foes. I had a banana and a handful of almonds. My "friends" were not impressed. I may have heard some giggling and scoffing.

As much as I have posted about the success and the joyful revelations I have been experiencing since deciding to eat only good, real, healthy foods, I felt I should share the struggle I'm having today. It's not all rosy. It's not always easy. I am committed to my new eating lifestyle, though. I will just have to ride it out today. And probably tomorrow. As long as it takes.

Maybe I'll have a little bit of a cry (woman's prerogative). I will do my best to remain non-violent (in words and deeds) to the innocents around me. I will find some other way to deal with the raging emotions and hormones. I will take a deep breath and remember that my job is not my life - let it go.

I will get through this without the "help" of potato chips, candy, soda, waffle fries, or a Sonic burger. With "friends" like that, I am my own worst enemy.

Hallelujah!

My husband found organic macaroni and cheese at our local Kroger tonight! We haven't actually tried it yet, but I was in a mild state of mourning about giving up the blue box. I don't eat mac n' cheese often. It is a comfort food that I just want occasionally. Hubby doesn't care for homemade mac n' cheese so that wasn't an option. When we try the organic variety, I'll let you know how it tastes and if I can make the switch from the blue box to the organic stuff.

The real food journey is getting a little easier now that we have "sourced" which stores have what. We have discovered that the SuperTarget has the largest variety of organic produce. Our local Kroger has a large variety of organic and all natural cereals, granola, dairy, and canned goods. They also carry a small, but nice, selection of organic produce. With gas prices expected to go up, that extra $0.10/gal discount for shopping at Kroger will come in handy this summer! So, we have realized we can continue to shop at our local Kroger more often than originally expected.

We are still looking for meat options. West Wood Farms is a clear winner in taste and quality! It helps that they deliver so close to our house, too. We have found good items at Costco and SuperTarget. This week we took an exploratory trip to the Schnuck's closest to our house and found they have all natural beef, pork, and chicken. We will give those items a try.

Maybe one of the biggest things is that I cannot remember the last time I had a soft drink of any kind. It has been maybe two months?!?!?!? That is CRAZY! I am actually drinking mostly water. That is also CRAZY! I won't lie and say "I really love water now," because it wouldn't be true. I just know that I can't keep drinking sodas. I have my coffee, espresso, or latte in the morning and then drink water the rest of the day. It has to be done. So, I'm doing it.

Both the husband and I are eating more fruits than before and maybe a little more vegetables. We have not eaten a lot of fish. We are still working on that.

For now, we feel better and we sleep better. That is an improvement in our quality of life we are already enjoying!

Farm Raised Chicken from West Wind Farms

Our order from West Wind Farms in East Tennessee was delivered this past Saturday. The "free with purchase over $15" beef jerky was very good! The ingredient list was not too long and did not contain a bunch of stuff we couldn't indentify.

Some of the items were put in the freezer for later but I did put the whole chicken in the fridge to thaw. The chicken went into the crock pot around noon on Sunday covered in Penzey's Mural of Flavor spice blend and stuffed with a half a lemon and some fresh basil. I did not notice a strong odor from the chicken when I took it out of the plastic bag it was in. Normally, the chicken from the local grocery has a distinct odor that I don't find too appetizing, so I don't care to eat chicken very much. I was very pleased that the chicken did not have that same odor!

While the chicken cooked, we went out to enjoy the gorgeous weather.

When we arrived back home some 6+ hours later, the most delicious aroma greeted us at the door! I used some of the organic butter we bought from WWF and cooked onions, yellow summer squash, and zucchini in a skillet until the squashes were cooked but still firm. Although I usually steam squash, Sunday felt like a good old fashioned meal day, so I cooked 'em up in butter like my grandmother does!

We sat down to a beautiful dinner. The chicken was superb! The lemon and basil came through just perfectly and matched well with the Mural of Flavor spices. The squashes were not too mushy, which was just luck since I did not time how long they cooked.

We were very pleased with the chicken from West Wind Farms and look forward to trying the boneless pork chops with rice tonight!

Organic in Bulk

The hubby and I went to our local Costco yesterday and were pleasantly surprised at the number of organic items available! From tomato sauce to peanut butter to milk, we discovered many items that we are now consuming at a good prices. We also discovered grass-fed ground beef and natural sausages without antibiotics and added hormones. We will definitely be going to Costco more often for some of our grocery needs!

Thanks, Costco, for helping folks who want to eat better do so at competitive prices!

A Little Detour.....

On Friday, March 19, my husband and I attempted for the second time to take a little honeymoon trip. That evening, after arriving in southern Louisiana, I was admitted to the hospital and remained there for 9 days. I only returned home this past Sunday.

Hospitals do not serve much "real food". I quickly realized that the fried egg resembled a real egg more than the scrambled egg, which seemed to be an egg-like substance. Other than fresh fruit and some of the raw veggies available in the "salad" section of the menu, I did not have many "real food" choices. I did the best I could with what was offered. All in all, it wasn't the end of the world and my health issues (which were not food or diet related) were paramount, so I did what I could to eat well.

I will say the food I was served seemed to be better than the fare at the cafeteria that my family "enjoyed". The portions were reasonable and even on the small side, which was helpful. Milk, coffee, and iced tea were available with all meals. I went easy on the salad dressing, if I used any at all. I tried to have raw/fresh fruits and/or veggies at each meal.

The hubby was not able to stay with me and had to return home for work. He fared much better. He continued the real food lifestyle at home and without my prompting. He has determined that no one sells organic yellow squash - it just doesn't exist. I assured him that I'll grow some in the garden so we will have our own. He has also compared selection and prices to discover that our Super Target has most of what we want to buy at good prices.

Before being admitted to the hospital, I had lost about 8 pounds. I gained about 4-5 in the hospital. I've lost 1 since being discharged. Hubby says his pants are fitting better but he thinks he has hit a plateau. Exercise will be our next lifestyle addition, I suspect.

West Wind Farms

I found West Wind Farms on the internet while searching for locally raised and grass-fed beef, pork, and chicken. The farm is not really close to us, but they do deliver to a location about a mile from our house. I took that as a sign! Today I placed my first order with them for boneless pork chops, a boston butt roast, a whole chicken, split chicken breasts, salted cultured butter, organic grassfed medium cheddar, one dozen farm fresh eggs, and smoked pork bacon.

West Wind also offers a veggie CSA, along with other CSAs for their meat products.

Since I do not know if I am ready for the financial commitment of a CSA and I know I don't have any storage for that much meat (yet), I am glad West Wind sells meat in individual cuts. It also allows us to "try before we buy". We can sample the various meat products and decide if signing up for a CSA is right for us.

I'm looking forward to trying the sure-to-be tasty items from West Wind - delivery is this Saturday! I can't wait!

Two Weeks of Life Changing Actions

I suppose I should stop calling the change in eating an "experiment" because we are not experimenting. We are actually DOING it and have no plans to stop. I've decided to call our decision to eat real food our "Life Changing Actions".

Finding real foods is still challenging but it just requires a little more research and the willingness to go where the food is.

I will say I was quite shocked at the prices at Whole Foods (and the maddening crowd). A friend said someone he knows calls it "Whole Paycheck" and I have to agree with that description. However, our Whole Foods carries grass-fed beef from Georgia (as opposed to Australia or Uruguay). I bought a large rib eye and a shoulder roast. I also picked up a large wild-caught tuna steak and some yummy sauce. I found whole milk kefir, too, as well, as whipped organic butter. We tried some caseless organic sausages that were very flavorful while having a short ingredient list on the package. So, I bought 2 beef items, 1 tuna steak, 3 dairy products, 2 packages of sausage, and a jar of store-brand organic peanut butter for $80. Yep, EIGHTY BUCKS.

Hubby grilled the rib eye last night and it was DEVINE! Tuna steak is marinating in the yummy sauce for tonight. The whole milk kefir is extremely tangy and so good with fruit and sprinkling of turbinado sugar. The organic peanut butter has a wonderful nutty flavor and is not oily.

So, for $80, I don't think I wasted any money. I do have to wonder how people with less monetary resources could afford to eat "real food" when the overly processed stuff is so much cheaper?

My husband and I stopped at Kroger on our way home last night and we both noticed the processed food-laden cart of the lady in front of us. We watched as the cashier scanned yogurts, packaged mass-produced meats, pre-made cookie dough, and other "middle of the store" items. Later we discussed how we both noticed what she was buying and how we used to have the same items in our cart.

It really does not take long for your body to go back to real foods. I would argue that our bodies crave real foods and we don't realize it. We eat more and more of the processed stuff because our bodies are craving the nutrients the collective "we" don't get from food any longer.

We, as a couple, are eating less food. We are eating smaller portions. We are eating a greater variety of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Despite the smaller portions, we are not hungry. We are putting good food in our bodies and our bodies are responding in kind.

My desire for snacks - especially sugary snacks - had diminished. My desire for sodas is gone. My desire for a big, greasy hamburger is gone. In fact, the thought of my formerly-beloved Sonic burger makes me feel a little queasy. Processed items that once seemed delicious are lacking now.

I have lost 7 pounds since we started this new eating lifestyle. I have not counted a calorie, worried about a carbohydrate, thought about sodium or fat content. It's not that those things are not important, but 100 years ago the nutritional breakdown of the foods people ate were not commonly known and people simply didn't worry about it. People lived healthy lives and eat healthy foods without knowing the nutritional breakdown of what they were eating.

I have started planning for a vegetable garden. I will plant blueberries and blackberries this year so I can have my own fruit in a few years. I am contemplating dwarf apple trees. I am still sourcing local grass-fed beef.

The change is really not that difficult. It is more a change in how we think about what we eat and where that food comes from and what has been done to it before it gets to us. Pretty simple stuff, really. Basic and simple.

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." - Michael Pollan

Real Food for the Weekend

Eating real foods is much easier on the weekend. Being at home, we have the opportunity to control the menu and prepare the food.

Saturday morning the hubby and I got up and went to Fresh Market and Easy Way to see what we could find.

Fresh Market has an impressive meat department! We decided to get some prepared (gasp!) sausages, hamburger patties, and stuffed chicken breasts. There are somethings that I may try to make at home but I don't think I'll always be able to make everything myself. If we are going to eat prepared foods, at least we can choose items we feel are fresher and made with better ingredients.

The sausages contained chicken or turkey with various seasonings (spinach, feta, asiago, garlic, etc). The burgers consisted of high grade, less fat ground beef mixed with (1) bleu cheese, (2) bacon, sundried tomatoes, and cheese, and (3) swiss-steak style. Hubby grilled all those and we all tried some of each item. They were all really, really good!

The chicken breasts were stuffed with (1) crab and shrimp, (2) asparagus and crab, and (3) feta and chives. Those were all excellent, too.

Last night we had more grilled meat. Hubby grilled salmon that had been in a marinade overnight. He doesn't care much for salmon but declared it was good and the marinade had taken away the "fishy" taste that he doesn't like so much.

Our side dishes were steamed broccoli, orzo with onions and garlic, steamed baby carrots, steamed summer squash/zucchini, and balsamic vinegar rosemary roasted fingerling potatoes. We did have canned corn. That was the only commercially canned/prepared vegetable we ate this weekend.

I made a chocolate cake from scratch this weekend with homemade cream cheese frosting. It turned out extremely well! The cake is dense and rich and the cream cheese frosting goes really well with it! We haven't gobbled it up yet, either! The cake recipe is from the Country Living website and they call it "Basic Chocolate Cake".

So far, so good!!!

Eating Out - Non-Western Diet-Style

The hubby and I went to an IMAX movie last night with his mom. Afterwards we thought we would stop somewhere for a bite to eat.

Since he and I are making an effort to eat less (much, much less) processed foods, we found ourselves in a dilemma. Where the heck do you go when you want to eat out in America and are trying to avoid the "Western Diet"? We live in the Memphis, TN area. Southern-style food abounds! Fried this, fried that, super-sized portions of everything are the norm.

After much discussion about the matter, we realized that if we wanted more vegetables than meat and fresher vegetables at that, our choices were Greek/Mediterranean or Oriental (and NOT the oriental buffet). Hubby hasn't gotten on board with the Greek/Mediterranean yet, so we opted for Thai.

We decided to go to Thai Bistro in Cordova, TN. We all have been there before but don't go there often enough. As we assumed, the menu options and ingredients were quite appropriate for our goals! He had broccoli with chicken in oyster sauce. I had Pad Woonsen with no added meat. It had veggies, sprouts, rice noodles, and eggs in a light sauce. (They do not over-sauce their dishes at Thai Bistro.) The broccoli in my husband's dish looked like someone had just gotten it from the garden to put it in his dinner.

What he left on his plate, his mom took home for her lunch today. What I had left on mine came to work with me for my lunch.

Since Monday, our dinners have consisted of:

• Shrimp in a homemade creamy tomato soup (Italian-style with Ancini de Pepe pasta)


• Crab-stuffed flounder (the Flomlette) with steamed zucchini/yellow squash/onions, sauteed baby portobello mushrooms.


• Tuna curry (made by my mother-in-law - one of hubby's all-time favorites)


• And our Thai last night.

I have salmon thawing in the fridge for tomorrow. The weather should be nice so hubby will grill that!

We have taken left-overs for lunch most days. We have each had one pre-packaged frozen entree for lunch because they were already in the freezer. Once those are gone, we will buy them less frequently (if at all). I will be exploring ways to create good lunches for us that are in keeping with our "real food" commitment.

I'm really amazed that my husband has taken to this change so well. He really wants to change how he eats and that means he must change what he eats. I don't think he has had more than one Coca-Cola this week. As a result, he said he has lost some weight. I'm really proud of his willingness to try new things and to participate in making changes in how we eat. When everyone in the family is on board, things are so much easier!

Day 4 of the 28-Day Real Food Challenge

It is very interesting how the same idea is circulating all over.

Last weekend, I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan. I really like his plain-spoken writing style and what he put in that book made a lot of sense to me.

I remember eating veggies grown in my grandparents' and my parents' gardens as a kid. I also remember how much I hate cutting okra and how much I still don't like to eat it.

I remember the fruits my grandparents grew: strawberries, blueberries, pears, peaches, apples, and figs while wild blackberries grew on their property for cobblers and jams.

My grandfather raised beef cattle and when I was a tot, he owned a dairy farm. Fresh milk - raw milk - straight from the cow is something most Americans have never had the opportunity to try. That is a shame!

I was raised on REAL foods but I have stopped eating real foods. My grandmother is 88 years old and may be in better health that I am. She's definitely in pretty amazing shape compared to her counterparts!

Today, I read an article on CNN.com by Madison Park entitled An Inconvenient Challenge: Eat "Real Food" for a Month. The article features nourishedkitchen.com's challenge to eat non-processed foods for a month. I decided to sign up for the challenge. Yes, it is four days into the month, but my husband and I actually started trying to eat only "real foods" on Monday, March 1. We were doing it before we knew about the challenge.

So, how's it going? Well, honestly, I spent twice as much at the grocery store on Sunday than I normally do. I loaded the basket with veggies and meats. I selected organic milk produced on a farm where cows get to eat grass and organic grains. I bought FISH. We don't typically eat fish. I bought shrimp, flounder, and salmon.

I did buy processed pasta. I am not ready to make everything we eat from scratch quite yet!

Thus far, the week has gone well. We have eaten more fruits and vegetables than normal. We have reduced our portion sizes of meat and increased portion sizes of veggies at meals. We are not drinking soft drinks (except for that diet dr pepper I had on Monday). We are drinking coffee, but the hubby has started using agave sweetner instead of refined white sugar.

We will not cut out all processed foods immediately. I don't think it's practical and I do not want to waste foods we have already purchased. Unopened items can be donated, but opened bags of pasta, rice, etc will be consumed in smaller portions and less frequently, perhaps, but throwing things out is not something I can do.

I have been researching bread recipes so I can make bread. I have gathered some "from scratch" dessert recipes, too. I don't know that I've ever made a cake from scratch before, but I will give it a try!

I'll keep posting our experiences with eating real foods and finding real foods. I have called my mother to ask if she can come up after the last freeze and help me plant a vegetable garden. Of course, she said she would. I'll post about that experience and what I am able to produce for my family myself. It should be interesting to see how my lifestyle changes and what impact these changes make on our health.