If the old adage is true, "you are what you eat," it is a miracle in my twenties I did not turn into cookie dough, corn dogs, or gelato. Maybe it is not meant literally, but I still think there is meaning behind those words. If you eat crap, you feel crappy. If you eat healthy, you feel healthy. Basic cause and effect.
I was an agriculture major in college. I started doing my own research on restaurants and eating at a much younger age. (Lots of practical research :) I have always enjoyed eating food, producing food, and learning about food. I learned about Monsanto/IBP/etc in college and it inspired me to change my shopping habits. I read Fast Food Nation 10 years ago when it first came out and it inspired me to change my eating habits. I know I am a little bit late to the party, but I just watched Food, Inc., and it has inspired me yet again. I want to make sure people know what is happening to our food. Because if you are paying attention, it is just plain nasty. (And there are a lot of people who would prefer you didn't see what's going on.)
I like pork. I like bacon, pork tenderloin, sausage, and pork chops. I could never get on the chicken bandwagon, so I have always eaten more beef and pork. In the course of my food education I have learned factory pig farms can be one of the most disturbing animal processing facilities out there. (Not saying chicken houses, dairies, or beef feed lots are Club Med...) Pigs live in dark sheds filled with inches of disease laden manure; they are abused (some of the videos of this make me absolutely ill); their growth has been unnaturally accelerated by hormones (chickens often can't stand on their own two legs); they are fed animal by-products, crowded on top of one another, and traumatized frequently.
There are countless reasons this kind of farming sucks. When you traumatize an animal it releases toxins into their body. Then we eat the meat from that animal, thus eating the toxins. No bueno. (Never mind the disrespect of another life.) Diseases spread rapidly in these environments and pass from pig to pig and then from pig to us. Gross. And not to sound like a tree hugger, but I don't like the idea of eating something that has been treated so poorly it's whole life. It makes me feel bad.
I don't think we need to stop eating meat. (Remember, I love bacon.) There are many animals that are raised on healthy, small farms. Supporting small farms is better for the animal, better for the environment, better for people, and they taste better. As consumers, we have the ultimate power to dictate what is available in the marketplace. If everyone stopped eating factory farmed pigs, factory pig farms wouldn't exist. I love the free market. (I will save my monologue on how the big ag companies are oligopolies and are violating anti-trust laws.)
Good food costs a little bit more. The Dollar Menu may seem like a bargain. Wal Marts prices may seem unbeatable. But I think the ultimate cost for this system remains to be seen. Our country is fat. Really, really fat. We have cancer, and Mad Cow, and all sorts of diseases we can't quite figure out. We might be rejoicing about a cheap gallon of milk or being able to afford to eat meat everyday, but I think the worst is yet to come if we don't start making some changes.
Like many social problems, change can seem daunting. Check out http://www.foodincmovie.com/get-involved.php for 10 Simple Things You Can Do To Change Our Food System. Do one of them. (Shopping at a co-op or farmer's market takes the guess work out of it.) I am a live and let live libertarian, but if there is one thing I can get on a soap box about (let's be honest, there's more than one :) it is this. We are poisoning ourselves, our animals, and our landscape. Consumers have the ultimate power. Let's change it.
Because, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.
