23 April 2010

Food Inc

The Food Inc website maintains links to numerous issues raised in the movie:
  • environmental impact
  • global food crisis
  • cloning
  • farm worker protection
  • diabetes and obesity
  • factory farming
  • pesticides
  • nutritional labeling on foods
Were you able to watch the movie  or visit any of the links on the NPR website? What issues spoke to you?

I didn't watch the entire show because I fell asleep. I did watch enough to motivate me to stop eating meat and I haven't eaten it since watching the show. I had given up most meat when I was in undergrad and was really on a healthy eating regimen. I maintained this practice for a while when my children were young, making their baby food, breast-feading, watching the labels on juices... But life gets complicated. Time gets demanding, money gets tight and McDonalds gets convenient. Honestly, I think I did pretty good by my children. They have very healthy attitudes toward nutition and exercise. Unfortunately, a 'healthy attitude' isn't enough to be healthy today!

I had a friend in Taiwan who was quite adamant about eating meat and one of her concern that the animals' fear and suffering would fester in their bones and muscles. Maybe. I know what I saw on Food Inc,.

21 April 2010

Foodling

Food Inc comes on in less than an hour and I hope to stay away to watch it. Before then, I want to get back to the first post on why Americans have such a problem with food. I love the comments that were left on that post, they all re-affirmed for me why I want to do this blog and I'm glad you're here with me!
I never put all the pieces together until very recently and saw what's going on in this country. We love going to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping. We love the sales, appreciate the low prices, convenience and speed at which we can prepare a meal.
Food in this country is a business and it is produced so that someone makes a profit.
Leave the US and you will shop several times a week at markets where you will buy seasonal produce in open air markets and you will pay more for food. It will have flavor, will not last indefinitely in the refrigerator and may take some time to prepare. Sugar, sodium and words we cannot pronounce are not used to enhance what we ingest. Ingredients are real. I really believe (and I am not an expert, so please form your own opinions) our bodies have become hypersensitive to sodium, sugars... because of the hydrated, hydrogenated, high fructose stuff that is added to our food. In France, people eat their bagettes daily but the bagettes are made with fresh ingredients. Butter is real. Flavors are authentic. People are truly satisfied at the end of a meal because they've eaten real food that is delicious and tasty.
Cultures often use food to celebrate and I think there are beautiful traditions around the globe of welcoming people, observing holidays or giving thanks with special dishes. In Taiwan, the cakes and cookies are matched to specific holidays and they're not eaten throughout the year. When my children were little, I baked cookies at Christmas time and one of the recipes was the Butterball recipe my mom baked for us. But, we have cookies all the time. Desserts aren't just for special days. I think of all the big heavy dishes I've eaten that in their homeland probably aren't eaten all the time. I would imagine people haven't always eaten meats 3 times a day.

Many of these ideas were also express in Food Rules. I felt vindicated! Of course, Pollen expresses his thoughts in a manner which is much more clear and concise. 
Here's a challenge I have for all of us: find a local bakery that bakes fresh bread. Buy a loaf at least once/week. No more grocery store bread. Report back!

Now, to see what's in Food Inc!

20 April 2010

Post Inc.

Most of you know I maintain another blog. It's hosted by a different service, so I'm getting used to the format here. What do you think of this layout? Are there any gadgets, tools or buttons I'm missing?

I look forward to including all kinds of perspectives and sources as we take this road to get healthy. I already have a couple of new directions!  First, my son Rodney has agreed to co-author this blog. He posts as "Roddawg". He's an amazing young man and will be introducing himself to you in the next few days.

You may have also noticed in the posts that Zetta Elliott (author extraordinaire!) suggested we watch and discuss "Food Inc". It will be on PBS tomorrow, I think at 8pm. If you can't watch it, record it. It is also available to be viewed online at Netflix if you have a membership. If you don't have a chance to watch, visit the website for the show and go through the information there.  What do you learn from this show? What do you doubt? Question? Want to know more about? How does this re-inforce what you already know/think/believe? How will this change what you eat? We'll begin the discussion on Thursday.

So, if you have other movies to recommend, books you'd like to review or interviews you'd like to post please feel free! Just send me the information and I'll post it.

Did you see the article SteelPierce placed in the comments for the last post? The article begins: "It's not just food."

18 April 2010

First post!

I must be crazy to start another blog, but I'm becoming as passionate about food as I am about literacy.

Well, almost. My interest and knowledge about food, eating and health has yet to translate into action. I don't think it will really be a passion without the action.

And I won't be healthy!

My plan here is to get family and friends to listen to what I have to say about food, correct me. Tell me what you know. Share information, books, movies... so we can all be healthy. I don't think we realize what junk we eat in this country. In the past 10 years, I've visted as many countries if not more and while in these countries, I've never NEVER found clothes that fit my ample figure. Why not? Because there is no need for plus sized clothing in countries where few to no women are plus sized.

What's the difference? Why are Americans so big?  I'll tell you what I've come to experience, but let me ask why you think Americans are so terribly obese.

We're not going to worry about being politically correct here. But we will be polite. We're trying to save lives!