Warning: This post contains some hard-to-swallow information about the food industry that you may make you nauseous, and that you may not want young children to read. I do not usually share such disturbing information, but I feel my readers have the right to know.
In order to create positive change, we all need to make informed choices. Unfortunately, the only way to do that is to arm ourselves with the necessary information, no matter how ugly it may be...
And no matter how busy we may be.
We will return to our regularly scheduled posting shortly.
It may sound overly dramatic, but really, just think about how billions of our little, everyday choices can really add up. Seriously, the power of numbers will outweigh even the most powerful few. When you stop and think about it, all it comes down to is basic math and politics.
That's a combination that's often hard to understand, though, especially if you're too busy to think about the relationship between the two. So, that's why I'm sharing some of what I've learned. You don't want to know it all. Not yet, anyway.
The food marketing world has become a symbol of the silent war we currently have going on between money and power hungry corporations and those who are trying to earn a living and heal the planet by putting tremendous time and effort into bringing you the highest quality, nutrient rich food available.
Environmental advocates and "green" companies have been fighting this fierce battle for decades, and they're slowly catching up to those who put dollars over sense. It's like the race between the Tortoise and the Hare. The Tortoise will win out eventually. It's a slow process and an uphill battle, considering the considerable resources the Hare has.
But s/he needs all the help she can get! And there's a powerful way - or should I say a powerful word - that can make it easy to do just that.
If you've been reading this blog for a while, you already know the word I'm talking about.
Out of all the words and phrases I listed yesterday, the one that can literally save the world, one consumer and one farm at a time, is...
ORGANIC.
If more products and farms were certified as such, then the insides of our bodies and the living soil we depend upon to nourish us would not be under constant attack by foreign substances that were, quite frankly, created to kill living things.
It's the most powerful way to reverse the major damage that the repeated spraying of chemicals has done to our internal and external worlds.
And yet, so many consumers have the false impression that it's just another marketing tactic to get people to pay more for the food they eat.
Oh, how that myth could not be any further from the truth. It spread like wildfire because cost is the only factor many people are using to make choices these days, and "conventional" seems like a pretty harmless word, right? Hmmm...now that's clever advertising. And it works.
In these difficult economic times, many people are hurting. When someone can barely pay for food at all, it makes perfect sense that s/he would base a choice upon cost alone. Hopefully, the person is not relying on processed and fast food (which also contains such harmful substances), which will cost her a lot more in the long term than in the short term.
However, for those who can afford the extra few cents it costs to gradually transition to organic and "real food" choices, it is well worth the price differential. And I must add that organic food absolutely does NOT cost more because it's a marketing scheme. Our government heavily subsidizes conventional (I call them chemical-laden) farming methods, which truly are detrimental to our people and our planet. In the meantime, "big Ag (riculture)" is using every resource available to convince consumers that the short-sighted methods it uses are the only way to feed the growing population as the climate gets ever hotter! All while the chemicals and genetically modified seeds the system relies upon are major contributors to that climate change. Sounds crazy, right? Well, if you don't believe me, I have resources for you in my next post that back up my case.
I started eating organic food every chance I could when my husband and I started to think about having a family. I didn't need any research to tell me that minimizing my exposure to potentially harmful chemicals was one of the single most important gifts I could ever give to my children. I've always been a "nature girl," and have not hesitated to go against the grain with a lot of things.
Other people need to see a problem right before their very eyes before they will make a change. I'm not saying that's the wrong way to live, but unfortunately, the chemicals that cover most of our fruit, vegetables, and packaged goods are invisible. So is the pollution in the air we breathe. Well, most of the time, anyway...
And don't get me started on the factory farmed meat. Pure horror stories. But again, ones that are invisible to most people. Please know that all meat is not processed equally, and there will be a future post about what some innovative and hard working farmers are doing to treat their animals well and living the way nature intended. Their stories inspire me.
I'd better wrap this up before I make you want to curl up into a ball in a dark closet, like I wanted to do when I first heard all of this! And it's just the tip of the melting iceberg, unfortunately.
I'm not trying to scare you, but sharing this information is the only way to help people to make the informed and healthy choices that will change their world and THE world for the better.
We all want a clean planet and home, right? We all may be busy, but we can't afford to look the other way on this. Not anymore.
We have to do this for our children.
There IS a light at the end of the tunnel, but it will take many of us to travel the distance necessary.
It's a long road, but we can do it!
Tomorrow is another day, and another chance to make the healthy choices that will echo around the world.
Did I mention that organic food tastes better and has more nutrients, too? And that organic farming can create more jobs?
That's not all, folks. The future is bright, if we support those who hold the candles.
