It's Time to Change!

The Light Bulb goes ON:

Jake and I spent our late Sunday evening watching this documentary. I HIGHLY recommend it to all. But only if you are prepared to CHANGE the way you GROCERY SHOP and EAT (if you haven't already). Here's what I mean (get ready lol):

The whole "Food Revolution" thing has been around for quite a while now, and I always knew it was important. I have considered myself maybe a 6 or 7 on the "healthy eater" scale (this 1st trimester excluded...blah) where I made a conscience effort everyday to eat healthy and exercise a lot. But there were still areas I could definitely improve on.

Well after watching this movie, and combining it with the other snippets I've seen and read about America's food problem, (I even took a class on it in college).. IT IS TIME for a CHANGE!!

The Facts:

Jake and I both agreed we MUST make healthier choices. We fell asleep in bed discussing how to go about making this change for ourselves. I feel stupid for not making this effort much earlier. Anyway here are some nasty details the movie uncovered, which are prompting us to eat better:

1. Our first resolution was to never again purchase from the largest chicken manufacturer, starts with a "T"...can you guess?? Tyson. Yeah the way they treat their chickens is absolutely inhumane, evil and disgusting. Some people aren't bothered with that sort of animal treatment and still buy. But think about it. They way they treat their animals COMPLETELY effects the product, which you are putting into your mouth and feeding to your kids.

a. They force farmers to keep their chickens in pitch black, dirty chicken houses, walking around in their own feces. The farmer has to wear a mask when she regularly goes

in to clean up all the dead chickens. SHE has become resistant to ALL antibiotics,

due to her exposure to the antibiotics that are in the chicken feed. The chicken houses are

full of disease. Their diseases have developed an immunity to antibiotics. They are deprived of sunshine, fresh air, and normal activities.

b. Consumers like white meat better, so the company feeds their chickens hormones/drugs to make their breasts grow abnormally larger. They also figured out how to "grow" their chickens 3 times faster so a chicken will become fully grown in a very short amount of time. The problem with this is, their bones, ligaments, etc...don't have a chance to develop fast enough to support their body weight. The movie shows the chickens..they can only take 2 steps and then they fall down. Take 2 steps, fall down...

c. The baby chics, as seen below, are shoveled onto a conveyer belt...hundreds at a time,

and are thrown around by the workers. They also showed the chics getting their head

shoved into a stamper..so they were official property of Tyson..it was disturbing to see!

Anyway, the chickens are fed antibiotics and hormones that make them grow faster, and "better"...but then we are eating these substances too. And they are sick. After all, they live in horrid conditions. But since their sicknesses are immune to antibiotics...we don't really have a fighting chance when we get sick! This treatment of chickens is common to all chicken manufacturers, not just Tyson. But they are the largest, so that's who the movie focused on.

2. Beef. I'll try to make this short since I went off on the chicken haha. The cows are also kept so crowded, they literally cannot walk. They're so squished their heads overlap onto each other's backs. They stand knee deep in their own manure. The cows have EColi, and guess how the manufacturers get rid of it!? Instead of taking better care of the cows, they treat the meat with chemicals like AMMONIA to kill the EColi bacteria. The cows are fed corn. Cows don't eat corn. They are fed corn because it fattens them up faster, making them ready for the slaughterhouse sooner. Also, if they are fed corn, they don't have to graze on grass, thereby saving space. So corn is cheaper and more efficient. They are also fed antibiotics, other drugs, and growth hormones just so they can be ready for the slaughterhouse sooner. Oh and when beef if packaged, what gives it that nice pink/red color? Gases like Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. We are ingesting these substances!

Anyway, that is just a little tidbit of what the documentary goes into. The bottom line is money. Huge corporations control what we eat. People who want as much money as they can get, as soon as they can get it. They DO NOT care about the health of our nation. They develop quick fixes to the diseased, sick, deformed animals they themselves create. These solutions are chemicals that we are told to stay away from in our own lives. And hey, the world needs to eat right? So they just keep making money off of us because we have to buy food. What's even worse, many of these large corporations' CEO's, presidents, and VP's have positions in our government..I'm talking they WORK next to the president. So as they try to make money in unjust, inhumane ways (through government), we the people are suffering. They won't allow factories which are pretty much breeding EColi to be shut down. They are trying prohibit the American public from knowing the truth about our food...AKA their multi-million dollar business.

The Challenge

This change is going to be hard. It's so much easier to make a quick meal, and to buy cheap, pre-packaged food that has been treated with these substances. It is more expensive to make these changes too. But last night I honestly felt so disgusted (ok some of it was the morning sickness) with knowing about all the terrible things I am feeding my family. We are not suppose to be eating these things. I really think many of the health problems today are in direct relation to these man-made chemicals which are in our food. I want my family to be healthy. My husband & children deserve to eat well. I HAVE to make an effort to greatly improve my grocery shopping and cooking.

The Changes: (be aware of where our food is coming from, and what is in it, and how it was raised)

1. Shop for meat and poultry that is not factory farmed. Meat and poultry that is fresh, preferably local, and toxin free! Also, eat less meat.

2. Buy local foods. Less time in a factory, on a truck...etc

3. Buy what's in season.

4. Shop organically.

5. Shop the Downtown Farmers market when it's here this summer and fall..yum!

Back to Reality:

I can become healthier and food-conscience savvy in like, a couple days right!? Wrong. This transformation will take time. I am busy, Jake is busy, we are all busy. What he and I want to accomplish requires time and a little more $$ in our food budget. It takes education, research (looking for the right places to shop), and more time to create organic meals. I have a lot to learn, and it is overwhelming. But it is exciting and the end result I know will be 110% worth it. If you have any tips or suggestions, I'd love for you to share! A question still remains: will I still eat things like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? yes. Frozen Yogurt smothered in cookie dough? yes. Still get fast food here and there? yes but even way less frequently. Eat fry sauce? oh heck yes. I will still enjoy these delights. These things in good moderation I feel are ok. But they way we will be eating from here on out WILL definitely be different...Here's to healthy eating!

and now I will respectfully step off my soap box.....