food, inc

Since cutting back on meats, I’d like to think I am more aware of the foods I eat in terms of:

1) how good it is for my body
2) how good it is for the environment, and,
3) how good it is for the animals themselves.

So, I admit, that maybe I was a little off for believing this. There is definitely way more to it than that.

The eye opener:

[source]

After just watching it, I’m already convinced that everyone else should see it. Perhaps why I’ve already made a point of posting a link on my Facebook. And now onto the blog! Just spreading the word one post at a time ;). Here are a few questions I’d like to summarize for you, so you can be more informed in terms of what the movie covered.

Why was this so captivating for how we eat?

You honestly have no idea where your food is coming from, who is producing it and what companies are busy trying to get rich while hurting others for this food.

This movie brilliantly informs you on where the control is coming from and in what areas (ie: what companies). Let’s just say, that from seeing this, I was shocked at who controls the majority of the meat market. Those farmers you see working away are most likely not working for themselves to sell-off to big companies. Those big companies have the farmers working for them. It really is sad.

What’s so wrong about ‘big’ companies being in control?

Not only are the mass producers of the chicken, beef, poultry and pork taking over control of the whole meat industry, they are trying to shut down anyone who goes against what they’re doing. Introduce the lovely corruption of power, money and more power and money. And, it doesn’t stop in the meat industry, it also applies to honest farmers in other areas as well.

I’m really trying to stress the importance of the flood of information that this movie delivers.

Note: Just to show how corrupt the big meat manufacturers are, they declined interviews for this movie. That alone shows how they can’t ‘man up’ to discuss what they’re doing, because they know it’s wrong…and kind of sad.

How can we make changes?

I know a lot of people may think, ‘oh well, the damage is done.’ No, it’s not – this can be changed. Look at the tobacco industry (which they also referenced to in the movie); they used to have major control, but, look how that industry has dramatically decreased. So, there is hope for our food in the future.

Ten steps you can make today to change the food system (as per the Food, Inc website):

1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.
2. Eat at home instead of eating out.
3. Bring food labeling into the 21st century.
4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk foods and sport drinks.
5. Meatless Mondays – Go without meat one day a week. –>AGREE, AGREE, AGREE!!!
6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.
7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmers’ market.
8). Make a point to know where your food comes from – READ LABELS!
9. Tell congress that food safety is important to you.
10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

**These facts and all other information can be found on the actual Food, Inc website, just click here.**

Maybe it will make you want to see the movie, or maybe it won’t. Maybe it will make you want to make certain changes, and again, maybe it won’t. I know that learning more about the food, the food industry and production of food is something that is important to me an the future of everyone we know and love, so why wouldn’t you want to try and make changes that may lead to a healthier and happier future?

And for those of you who have seen the movie, you know what I mean.

So maybe change a few things? Start checking out that Farmers’ Market that graces your town every Saturday morning. Buy organic when you can…

So we can all live healthily ever after. 🙂 The End.

cutting out meats

Posted: July 10, 2011 | Author: char on a mission | Filed under: food, meat-free journey | Tags: feeling great!, hubby, meat-free, pancakes, peanut butter, smoothie | 16 Comments

Food is something that has become very important to me over the years. So important that it’s actually encouraged me to go back to school.

I’ve talked about cutting meat (but not seafood) out of my diet before, and I wanted to explain why this has made me so much happier.

I actually left a novel comment on Averie’s post earlier on meat, which inspired me to write an actual post about it on my own blog 😀

My decision: I’ve never been a big beef or steak eater to begin with. If I did eat it, it was because I was stealing a bite from the hubby or this was my last option on earth to eat (ie: rarely ever happened). I did choose to eat chicken, turkey, pork tenderloin, bison and seafood.

A while back (around mid-May), I had no desire to eat chicken anymore, so I figured, ‘why eat it, if it doesn’t appeal to me?’ Right then and there, I made the decision to try and go meat-free and see how I felt.

Becoming a vegan has been a lingering thought in the back of my mind for a while now and although I still eat seafood, it is something that intrigues me, and perhaps I will one day become. Overall, I like the idea of a vegan diet, but I’m not to the point (yet) where I’m passing up foods that ‘may contain eggs’.

The ‘Serious’ factor: At first I felt that I wasn’t being taken seriously. My husband came home from work one night with a chicken stir-fry and I asked him if he was joking, thinking I was going to eat it. This was only about a week in that this happened, and I figured if I had gone a week without chicken/pork/turkey/etc, then how much longer could I go?

Well, this has turned into nearly 2 months so far, and I’m still loving it!

Note: I am not doing this as a ‘challenge’ to myself, but as a way to eat what feels right for me and feels good for my body. In no way do I encourage you to try this to ‘see how far you can go.’

Since then, my husband knows how I feel about meat and has not tried to ~~force~~ feed me anymore chicken! He’s actually loving the vegetarian/vegan stuff I prepare!

The changes: So far, I feel fantastic. I’ve made sure to include the right supplements so that I have the energy and nutrients I need for my body.

This may sound super tacky, but since I’ve cut out meat, my ‘fat days’ have decreased significantly. Before I would honestly have some serious self-loathing days for what I ate. Overall, not eating meats has made me more aware of what I am eating and my food choices in general. So hello to feeling better about myself!

Also, I’ve definitely lost some weight. I don’t know if it’s from cutting out meat or from eating better or from both. Either way, I’m at the weight that I wanted to be for my wedding day, that I never made it to. Not that I was disappointed at all on my wedding day, but I am just super shocked that I’m at that weight now.

Overall: I’m honestly glad that back in May chicken started grossing me out (I know this sounds weird to say). But if it hadn’t, then I would probably still be eating meat wondering why my body isn’t looking and feeling the way I want it to. I was always afraid that not eating meat would be hard to do in terms of getting protein or even finding valuable food sources!

I used to joke that vegans have nothing to eat – boy was I wrong! There are so many great food options out there and I sincerely take back that statement!

The foods: Like I said above, I’m not completely checking every ingredient to make sure there are no traces of egg or dairy, but am choosing meatless items. I don’t want to ‘limit’ myself (in a sense), then I might feel overwhelmed with trying to decide on what to eat. So…

I still enjoy bruschetta on Saturday night outings with my good friend.