Things really took off last spring (June 2011) when I picked up a friend’s copy of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan (a read I highly recommend). Pollan confronts the question “what should we eat for dinner” by discussing the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and the bewildering (& treacherous) food landscape that is in front of us. He follows each of the food chains – industrial food, organic or alternative food – from its source to a final meal. What I learned was shocking, disconcerting, and it compelled me to action.
As a believer in the Bible and a follower of Christ, I believe that knowing the truth and having convictions are pointless unless you act upon them. This is true of what we believe about God, our priorities in life and even about what food we should eat to be healthy and properly fuel our bodies. Without action or follow-through, conviction lies dormant in the back of our minds, unknown to the rest of the world and useless.
I believe God calls me to be a steward of what He has given me – money, housing, relationships, and my body. When you think about it, we eat more than we do any other single activity (for most, usually 3-5 times a day). This also means that we spend a lot of money on food over the course of our lives. As I have recently become a wife and started thinking about how I want to build my home, I have been weighing the cost of convenience verses the cost of healthy living.
As Americans, one of the things we dread most is inconvenience. Put simply, the “food” that we buy in supermarkets and consume in restaurants is not the same food that our parents ate growing up, and it is certainly not what our ancestors ate. As Pollan said in his book, “Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.” That certainly eliminates a good portion of the supermarket, but there’s more.
The sheer novelty of the Western diet, with its seventeen thousand new food products over year, relies largely on science, journalism, government and marketing to help us decide what to eat. As Pollan says, “There's a lot of money in the Western diet. The more you process any food, the more profitable it becomes. The healthcare industry makes more money treating chronic diseases (which account for three quarters of the $2 trillion plus we spend each year on health care in this country) than preventing them. ”
While the national obesity rate is skyrocketing, the giants of the food industry are relying more and more on the river of cheap, genetically modified corn and soy that guarantees that the cheapest foods in the supermarket are the unhealthiest. It’s not only the products that contain corn and soy (you’d be surprised how many do) that can damage your health, it’s also the dairy and meat that you consume. From the antibiotics and steroids that are pumped into cows and pigs, to the overcrowded filth and inhumane practices of factory slaughterhouses, you are paying a far greater price for “cheap food” than you realize.
When you think about it, the eco-system and natural sustainability of this earth is astounding. Part of our responsibility as stewards of this earth is to respect the design of the Creator. Too many people could care less who is at the other end of their food chain, but ignorance is not bliss. I distinctly remember watching Food Inc. and Food Matters last year because of how shocked I was to learn that the food on my plate might be hurting me instead of giving me energy, health and life. These documentaries, although they can be somewhat depressing, are also wonderful reminder of the beautiful synchronized way that God created the food chain to be.
Did you realize…..
- The nonorganic farm system administers 30 million pounds of antibiotics to farm animals that aren’t even sick every year to keep them alive in extreme confinement and filthy conditions.
- The presence of antibiotics in healthy farm animals over the last few decades has created untreatable superbug infections that kill 17,000 people a year in America.
- Antibiotic misuse in farming has caused some pathogens, including Salmonella, to become more virulent and less treatable.
- Roundup and other pesticides are dumped onto field crops that are genetically modified to tolerate heavy dousings. Studies show that chronic low-level exposures to these pesticides can alter hormones, lead to obesity, cause birth defects, infertility, heart problems, diabetes, and more.
As I have been researching, I have realized that don’t want to support the companies that are contributing to our nation’s myriad of health problems, and I would like to avoid the health costs of eating those products consistently. Instead, I choose to support farmers who use sustainable farming methods to produce organic, true food that contains the nutrients God created. Not only does it taste better, but the Rodale Institute has proven that organic farming methods actually produces the highest yields for the best return on investment.
When confronted with the ugly truth about processed food, factory slaughterhouses, and the rampant health problems in our society, what should our response be? Trust God. Make wise decisions. Be good stewards of our bodies. God knew what He was doing when He made this earth and fashioned our bodies, and we are a far cry away from the sustainable food system He created to fuel our body and keep us in full service. Now that I have sufficiently rambled on (can you tell I am somewhat passionate), I’m going to wrap up my thoughts and will continue next time with a few easy tips that I have put into practice in my home!
I leave you with a few pictures that feed my ever-growing desire to have a huge garden just like my grandma’s! Some day….some day…
