8:42 p.m. - 2008-03-02
animal friendly
I have been becoming increasingly interested in food. I don't mean like I want to eat more of it or anything - trust me, I spend copious amounts of time trying to figure out how to eat less of it or choose foods that will not add any numbers to my weight, BMI, cholesterol level, waist circumference, clothing size, blood pressure, risk of getting breast cancer or having a stroke, chances of not being able to get pregant or not being able to live to be 100.
While I have been and continue to be interested in the above, what I am increasingly interested in is stuff like where my food comes from, the effect it has on the environment, economy and what happened to the animal I am eating if we are talking about meat.
I am not a vegetarian but I often think that is probably the easiest way to avoid buying into the things that bother me - mistreatment of animals, weird chemicals or hormones injected into the animal and the depletion of our natural resources due to the amount of water (for the animals and for the food THEY eat) used up and also amount of fuel used to get said food from wherever point A is to point B (being my mouth.)
While being a vegetarian may end up being the inevitable end of these concerns, I am really interested in the other possible options, especially because 1. I like meat and 2. I am sort of supposed to have a protein heavy diet because carbs in excess are kind of bad for me and 3. my husband is in love with meat (athough he is a good sport in most things including food, it is important to note.)
I have had thoughts about these issues for many years and have kind of fluctuated in my paying attention to the issues and responding to them. Part of my problem is that I care about EVERYTHING. The problems of the world from factory farms to african american children with incarnerated fathers to human trafficking to global warming to AIDS in Africa. I really do care deeply about all of these things and feel desperate to want to work to do my part to research them and find solutions for all of them and many other issues. Some people just kind if choose their issue and run with it, working tirelessly on one thing. The problem that I have seen with many of my peers and their confusion in declaring a college major and pursuing an ambitious career in a chosen field - which I haven't really struggled with - arises similarly in me in a related way. I can't choose my issue!! The issue I will be committed to and dedicate my life to it. I have had full time jobs in 8 different positions, serving 6 different populations - homeless people, the homebound disabled, people living in long-term care, people with debilitating arthritis, small business owners and homebond elders. I feel very settled in my current job and I will probably remain in it for at least the next 2-3 years. But I can't imagine I will work in after school and summer programming for low income children much longer than that. I think I have bigger fish to fry.
Ha! Little meat-eating pun there...sort of.
OK, so the point is that I am concerned about MANY issues and really committing to them takes well, committment and sacrifice and time and focus. Which, I guess, is why I have not just up and turned vegetarian/vegan/animal activist.
But. I think that outside of that, there are lots of relatively painless things that I can do to be a smaller part of the damage.
Recently, I have decided that I am going to see how far I can go with this, without drastically altering our currrent lifestyle or having to spend any more money than we already spend on groceries. This plays out most prominently in the grocery store. And what it has showed me is that I need to change grocery stores.
I already shop at Trader Joes once or twice a month. It is not located close enough to where I live or work to conveniently go there all of the time. I am able to buy cheap, fair trade coffee there as well as some produce (whatever they have) and numerous side dishes for less than 3 dollars each (that is my upper limit for side dish prices. However, while the food at TJs is generally healthy and interesting and good and cheap, their meats are not across the boards free range, hormone free, cage free, etc. I still think it's better than most places but this bugs me.
Whole Foods is soooo expensive, it is almost prohibitive. Giant Eagle has these new stores and sections in old stores called Market District and they have a few options.
I am currently researching the option of either buying a 1/4 cow or something like that from a butcher that gets it from a farmer that raises and slaughters their animals humanely - when I lived in Michigan, the family I lived with did this - they bought all of their meat from a family down the road - their kids went to school with the farmer's kids which defines local, if you ask me. They did this more to support a local business and to get meat for cheap than for the environment or the animals. For all I know, that farmer did not treat his animals well, but I think if I can figure out how to go this route and investigate the local providers, I might find what I'm looking for.
Farmer's markets don't ramp up for another month or two, but I think this is a good option April-November.
This whole issue makes me miss Athens terribly because it was so easy to live like this. Everyone in Athens cares about this stuff and they don't think you're crazy. Sometimes when I'm in the grocery store, reading label after label, weighing all of the various factors - I chuckle to myself as I imagine turning to the soccer mom with the frosted hair and the Prada bag next to me and saying "Do you think if this one is cage free and hormone free but this one is local, not grain fed and antibiotic free I should just go with the one that is cheaper?" Ha ha! I love those little fantasies. (Did you know that "grain-fed" is bad???)
I spend a really crazy amount of time in the grocery store. I take into acount so many things from trying to find the most cruelty free products, the one with the highest fiber, only whole grain carbs, no or low sugar, depending on the product - it seems to me that if you are going to eat ice cream, you should expect some sugar to be involved, wheras peanut butter should probably not have sugar in it, low fat, no transfats, nothing with a ton of preservatives or anything overly processed. No white flour. No chemicals like saccharine or aspartame. Definitely no corn syrup. Now add in the coupons and all of the coupon sorting and fuguring out if the item on sale or the item that I have a coupon for is cheaper. Sometimes I also look at packaging - some products have a ridiculous amount of packaging, like everything inside being individually wrapped and then the whole thing wrapped in a plastic bag and then a plastic container encasing all of that. Wasteful! (I do like this about trader joes - any frozen meal type thing they have from frozen fish fillets to enchiladas just come in a disposable or savable dish with a lid or plastic wrap over it or the whole thing is vaccum sealed in platic with a label on it - no superfluous cardboard box.) Also, Kevin hates mushrooms, tomatoes, mustard, olives and moderately dislikes most fish - so these items must be avoided entirely.
I think i have decided that I am going to avoid buying pork, beef and chicken that come from factory farms. That is the one thing I am going to commit to. I am willing to add other committments but let's start with this.
I realize how this could become a full fledged obsession and I am, believe it or not, trying to avoid that too. I just want to be as socially and environmentally responsible and animal friendly as possible without being crazy or going bankrupt. I have read a lot about this stuff. Yes, I have seen Supersize Me and Fast Food Nation and various horrifying hidden camera footage of factory farms. But - if you have read an INTERESTING and NON-CRAZY book or seen a similar web site about this sort of thing, please let me know.
On the topic of books, I and about 30 of my friends have joined a great web site called GoodReads where you can post your reviews of books you read and read about the books your friends recommend. If you want an invite let me know or just sign up on your own. Much positive feedback from the friends I have had who have joined.
