In Memory of #431

Here is how NOT to spend your Saturday morning: Reading an article on Smithfield Farm's "Factory Farm Horrors", then it's domino effect - combing the internet for other farm animal cruelty stories, studies, and videos (PETA is the worst, avoid them at all cost unless you want to feel like a big turd for eating meat), Public Service Announcements (Paul McCartney makes a pretty convincing argument against meat), health studies, vegetarian food pyramids and meal ideas...you get the point. Why do I do this to myself?

Some of this dates back to cow #431. That little guy (who is probably no longer with us), while not convincing me to go vegan, or even lacto-ovo vegetarian, at least made me think a lot more about my food choices. But even long before #431, I had a desire to educate myself on food, nutrition, the food industry and, more importantly and ironically, how the "food industry" cares nothing for our "nutrition".

It might be safe to say that food is one of my passions, and while I'm not the best cook in the world, preparing a healthy and tasty meal is as close to Nirvana as I'm probably going to get in this lifetime. Over the past few years, my meat and produce purchasing habits have fallen more in line with what I've learned and my own personal values. But is that enough? I'm starting to wonder....

There shouldn't really be such a "disconnect" between ourselves and our food, but this is what has happened in our "modern" society. And why wouldn't it? We don't grow our own food anymore, or know the farmers or ranchers who do. It's no fault of our own, really. It's just the way things are. But it doesn't mean we can't change the way things are. Awareness is just the first step, but it's an important one. For that reason, I would urge anyone to give more attention to what they are putting in their bodies.

Years ago, before I realized I could actually track down the source of my food, I started saying little "Thank You" prayers to my food as I was preparing it. You know, something like "Thank you for giving your life so that I can make this wonderful Chicken Gorgonzola and provide pleasure and nourishment to my family". It felt like the least I could do and, believe it or not, the food seemed to taste better!

Personally, I feel like I have to, at the very least, know where my food is coming from and how it  was raised and "harvested". Not just out of empathy for the health and well being of the animals (although I have some of that too), but for the health and well being of myself, my family, and the Earth. This isn't just another bleeding heart plea to save the animals. I'm inviting you to take a stand against Big Agriculture and the industrialization of our meat (and all other) food products. I'm not going to regale you with food industry horror stories - you can find those for yourselves if you want, if you haven't already. You probably already know as much as I do. No. Instead, I will just implore you to be curious about your food. That's all.

Here's a concept that might be hard for me to explain, but I'll try. I really believe that what we eat, and how the energy/calories consumed makes us feel, either right after we ingest it, or down the road (think health & vitality, or it's opposite; lethargy & poor health), is, in some way, the result of a much longer process that began way before we even purchased the food.

How was it grown, sown, or raised and harvested? What kind of treatment; physiologically and psychologically, did the animal/plant endure or enjoy? Whatever it was, for ill or good, I believe it will have a continued affect as it moves along the food chain. I don't want to ingest something that suffered, was sprayed with chemicals to within an inch of it's life, that was half dead before it was even harvested, that was fed poorly, shot up with medicines because of the unsanitary conditions it lived in, treated inhumanely, etc. That wasn't good for the plant/animal, it's not good for my body, it's not good for the earth. The chain is tainted, how would it suddenly transform into something healthy and positive once it becomes a part of my body? This is my own crack pot philosophy with absolutely no scientific backing whatsoever (except for the much debated pesticide-illness link  and maybe, depending on who you ask, the hormone/antibiotic aspect of it). It's a little bit "quantum physics" and a little bit common sense.

This isn't to say that if we eat perfectly healthy, we'll have perfect health. Or if we are ill, we can change our diets and heal ourselves completely. There may be some studies and some documented cases that suggest this, and I do believe there are great benefits to be found within the Ayurvedic system, among others, but there is just a whole lot going on in our bodies on a cellular/molecular level that we can't control. What I am saying is that in a very subtle and general way, good energy promotes more good energy. Bad energy promotes more bad energy.

Good food energy may be a critical part to the overall health of both our selves and the planet.
Even if it's just a thought, a prayer, or the decision to change one thing in our diets or shopping habits, we can create a better dynamic for the health of the planet and ourselves.

That's all!