They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Maybe this just isn’t true at all. For the past couple of years, (the changes have been happening over time, so slowly I hardly noticed), I’ve been changing my buying habits.
First, I wanted to avoid pesticides, so I started buying some things organic. Then, I wanted to avoid GMO’s in the food I ate, that was a little more tricky since so many foods contain GMO’s. Then I found GMO’s in my organic food. I was angry and confused. So, I started reading labels — especially the organic ones.
If we bought seafood, we don’t purchase any that comes from the Pacific Ocean or anywhere near the U.S. or Japan. To be honest, I can count the number of times I’ve purchased seafood in the last year, on one hand. The risk is just too great. The media and our government are hiding just how much radiation we are being exposed to and they can get away with it because it’s odorless, tasteless, colorless and any other kind of ‘less’ you want to use.
We don’t buy any of our food from China or Walmart. In fact, we’ve cut out Walmart entirely. It was hard learning to pay more for things — but well worth the effort and I feel good about the change. We try not to go to the grocery store. We buy our products from the farmer’s market or the co-op.
The changes have been slow over time and sometimes we go back to our old habits. I’m having a hard time cutting out fast food, but when I slip I still try to make the best choice I can. After all, we know that McDonald’s is scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as fast food goes. I get ill every time I eat there. So, I don’t.
The bottom line is that you do what you can with what you’ve got to work with. You have to start somewhere or end up in the hospital. That’s really the only choice you have, as I see it.
Eye fillet of grass-fed beef.
I’m always on the look-out for a good deal on grass-fed beef. It’s so expensive. I have managed to get it for $4.50 a pound, so I bought 40 pounds. I buy my flour 100 pounds at a time, to save money. Organic flour is expensive, but if you love breads the way my family does, it’s so worth it and I pay less than $1 a pound. Not bad.
For some customers, all they want is just better access to fresher fare and healthier ingredients. For others, it’s commitments to the environment, fair wages for farm, factory and retail workers, and for others its the absence of chemicals—be those pesticides or artificial ingredients in the finished products. But it seems the common denominator here is that consumers all want more out of their food these days, whether or not it’s coming from Big Food doesn’t seem to matter so much anymore as long as it’s Better Food. [Read more…]
To me it matters a great deal, but you decide for yourself. What is important is that you do your homework and start somewhere, especially if you are overweight or have existing health problems. You can probably fix your health and your diet in one fell swoop. Good luck. What are some steps you’re taken to improve your diet?
Interesting reading…
What I really buy at the supermarket (confessions of a real foodie) — My goal in buying food for my family is to make it work for my lifestyle, my budget, and my sanity.
