I have been putting off watching Food, Inc for quite some time now. I’ve heard how amazing it is, but the thing is, I had a feeling it’d get me all riled up. And likely, grossed out. And, dude, I dig a fast food burger on a fairly regular basis. (I know, how hypocritical of me. Shut up.) But seriously, mostly I knew that I was going to get so angry with the food industry and feel so helpless to change anything. I hate feeling helpless, it’s my least favorite feeling. Next to being wrong. (Wait, I don’t know what that one is like!)
Now, if you’ve been reading me for a while, you kind of know how I feel about how important it is to make sure we know what we’re eating. And most of us are somewhat aware, or we have an idea of what’s going on anyway. I knew what I thought to be quite a bit about the food industry but for some reason, I’ve long been able to ignore that knowledge. Convenience? Cost? I don’t know and I’m not going to make excuses for myself. Laziness, I’m sure, has a lot to do with it. Yeah yeah slaughterhouses are bad, but fast food is so easy. Looking at it now, it seems so callous. Yeah, they’re treating the animals badly but so what? Worth it for my kids $3 happy meals! Our healthy eating has been on a downward spiral, since my surgery. My energy level hasn’t been up and convenience foods have been my go-to.
I knew it was time for a change and I knew I needed a catalyst. I knew it was time to sit down and watch Food, Inc. I have netflix and it was available immediately to watch on the computer. So, I watched it.
And I cried.
Yes, I cried over food.
I gritted my teeth in rage. I said bad words at the screen. I cried some more. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much over a movie. (Ok, maybe Titanic the first time I saw it. Don’t judge me!)
Please, please watch Food, Inc. Please. I am going to make sure Tim watches it soon. We’ve got changes to make around here. Tell people you know to watch it. The message is so powerful and so very important.
They start off with the meat industry. I was crying by twelve minutes into the movie- not just at the harsh conditions the chickens were subjected to, but with guilt that I’ve been feeding that stuff TO MY FAMILY. To my small children! And then I cried at the helplessness of the growers being squashed down by the food industry. And then I got mad. Seething mad, that this is two thousand and fricking TEN and we have all the technology that we do and our standards for food have sunken lower than ever before- and the amount of food-borne disease has risen! That the most important thing in the world for humans- the fuel our bodies run on- has become so out of control! And that the government agencies put in place to protect the standards are failing to do so! ARRRGHHH! This re-occurred each segment.
We’re making some changes around here, starting now. We will only be eating organic, free-range meat from here on out. Seeing as to how we live in a small, very rural community with extremely limited access to organic selections, this is going to take some effort on our part. I intend to research organic meat growers and if I have to drive to buy it in bulk and stow it away in my freezer I will do just that. I will be buying only in-season produce, organic when I can (again, small selection- but getting bigger at our local Raley’s!). We already don’t eat much soy at all, and Food, Inc. reinforced my feelings there by about a thousand times. Actually, I’d like to go punch the big boys of the soy industry in the crotch right now… oooh food-induced rage is back! *deep, cleansing breath*
Where was I? Oh yes.. buying organic. I will be buying as much as I physically can, organic. Think of it this way: when you buy any item in a grocery store, you’re casting a vote for that item. Items that get lots of votes, stay. Items that don’t get many votes, go. If more people buy organic items, your organic selection is going to increase.
The Food, Inc. site gives ten tips on how each of us can do our part in changing the food industry, check those out right here. You bet your bum that I’m going to be doing all ten of those.
I know, this was long and I could go on for another thousand years about this, I’m pretty sure. Obviously, this cause is close to my heart. I think it is so important for every person to watch this movie. I will shut up now so you can go watch Food, Inc.
 Here's a picture I totally swiped from their site. For a couple of years now, we have been using Zum Bar soap made by Indigo Wild and we love it! We discovered it in Kansas City, which is where it is made, and where my husband is from. On a trip to visit his parents in KC, his mom left a Clove-Mint Zum Bar in the bathroom for us to use, and it’s been love ever since. They smell amazing, they lather up nice and rich and are super moisturizing. And? They’re made of all natural ingredients. What’s not to love? My favorite scent is Sandalwood-Citrus. My husband likes the Cedar. I have to order them, as no stores here sell them (though.. I have been working on that!). The coolest thing ever is when I get an order and unpack it and line up all the bars in my bathroom and then my whole bathroom and bedroom smell of awesomeness!
If you’re not into bar soap, you’re still in luck because they make a ton of other, all-natural products like liquid soap, massage oil, lotion, chapstick, bath salts, body scrub, room and body spray, house cleaning products, and even dog cleaning products! They have a baby line too. So far, I have not bought a single thing from Indigo Wild that I didn’t love.
OK, so you’re cruising through the dairy section at the store. There’s regular milk at $2 a carton or there’s organic milk at $4 a carton. Which one do you pick?
I always, always pick organic. I once read a blurb in a publication saying that if you can only afford to buy one item organic, make it be milk. That intrigued me, so I did a little more research on it on my own and found that:
- cows that produce organic milk do not ingest any toxic fertilizers or pesticides
- which is clearly better for the earth in general. Less chemicals = good!
- cows that produce organic milk are not subjected to hormones or antibiotics
- these things mean that the milk is free of trace chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics
- cows that produce organic milk are allowed free grazing time
- which means they get to wander around instead of stand in a stall. Obviously, grazing is a nicer way to treat a cow- think about it, which would YOU prefer to do?
- cows that produce organic milk are not fed any animal by-products (remember the mad cow disease thing?) or anything genetically altered
- organic milk is ultra-pasteurized, so it has a much longer shelf life (also, some of it doesn’t have to be refrigerated, if it’s had a UltraHigh Temp treatment which means it’s been heated to 275 degrees, which is a weird concept isn’t it? Who knew?)
- the USDA and FDA claim that there really are not any major health differences between organic and regular milk BUT there are some studies that show that organic milk has a higher content of beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamins- especially in the summer months, when conjugated linoleic acid is found to be 60% higher in organic milk
So, why does organic cost more? Simple: it costs more to maintain organic dairy cows. For me this is a no-brainer. I’ll pay double the price of regular milk any day for these benefits. If your main concern is the health benefits, organic milk may feel like an unnecessary cost for you since it hasn’t been proven that organic is ‘healthier’ than regular- but even the thought that maybe some trace chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics could pass into the milk and thus into my kids? I’m not down with that at all. sources:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Organic-Milk–Is-It-Worth-Your-Money
http://organic.lovetoknow.com/Why_Organic_Milk_Is_Better_than_Regular_Milk
http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=370
Last week, I started noticing something really really gross. I’d get a clean set of workout clothes out of my dresser, put them on, start my workout… and then as I began to sweat, my clothes would start to smell really musty and weird. SO GROSS. I can stink on my own, thank you clothes, I don’t need any help! When I work out, I sweat. Seriously. Like, you know when you watch Biggest Loser and you start to get kind of grossed out during the Last Chance Workouts because there’s just grunting and sweat flying everywhere? Yeah, that’s pretty much me. I work out hard. I drip. When I get done, my clothes are saturated. And apparently my ‘normal’, leading brand name detergent just isn’t cutting it for stuff like that. (I intend to switch to a natural detergent for everyday use but I’m having some technical difficulties with that.. namely that we don’t have much to choose from around here, small town and all.)
Then I remembered… back in the cloth diapering days I used Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out Stain & Odor Eliminator with Live Enzyme Cultures  on the diapers to get the tough stink out. So… why not on workout clothes? So I bought a bottle (my local grocery store actually has it, HOORAY!!), and added it to my workout clothes load along with my normal detergent and hot water. And guess what?! It actually worked. I have been able to exercise without knocking myself out with stink for the past two days. Yay!
BioKleen is all natural and uses live enzymes to actually eat away stains and odors. It works on pet odors, food stains, and obivously, even cloth diapers and really nasty sweaty workout clothes. Plus, it smells nice! No nasty chemical or bleachy smell at all, it’s fresh and citrusy. Their site even says it works on carpets AND it can get rid of mold and mildew. Awesome! I did notice that my grocery store has the Bi-O-Kleen Laundry Liquid also, so I am excited to try that once I am out of my other stuff.
As you may have noticed in that last entry, I dropped the words “new blog”. If you didn’t head over and check it out already, go now… I’ll wait for you.
Click right here!
Ok, so if you read my introductory post, you learned that it is going to be a natural products review blog. That means there will be giveaways, who doesn’t like to win stuff?! It will also include lots of recipes (you know me!) and a TON about gardening and canning, which is our new venture this summer.
Also, if you read that then you know a little bit about WHY I am venturing into this. (I’m not going to tell you here! If you missed it, go back and see for yourself!) So there will definitely be more over there about that little issue.
This does NOT mean that I am getting rid of this blog! I certainly don’t want to swamp everyone with reviews if that’s not what they are here for. Around here, you can still expect to see pictures of and stories about my kids, as well as recipes (you know… when I’m not being quite so natural/healthy… haha!)
I have been on a little hiatus, which you may or may not have noticed, but I am back in full force! I miss blogging and I have a lot to say! So, follow me over there if you want to, and stick around because I think this is going to be fun. 
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