Semicolon Stories

Food, Inc.

January 7, 2010 at 6:36 pm Danielle B Leave a comment

Happy New Year from the semi-colon blog!

My hubby & I kicked off 2010 snowed-in thanks to the Kansas City blizzard! These freezing temperatures kept us buried beneath several blankets and watching many movies. One movie we bought off of our In-Demand was a documentary I’ve been excited to watch, Food, Inc.

As many of you know from my second Dairy Dilemma post, I’ve recently been educating myself on our country’s food supply. Upon learning that I have a cancer-causing genetic mutation this fall, I went into high-gear to learn how to keep my body as safe as possible. While I can’t control my genes and what they do, I can try to control what I expose them to, and what I eat. Thus, I dove into learning about where our food comes from and how to stay as healthy as possible by making the right food choices.

Food, Inc. gave a great look into processed foods, high-fructose corn syrup, inhumane animal breeding and other concerns coming from our “Big Food” industry. Like An Unhealthy Truth, Food Inc., uncovered some of suspicious ties to Big Food and the FDA, and questioned the safety of trusting our government agencies to regulate the foods we eat.

I enjoyed the challenges from the movie.  While I do not plan to go 100% organic so I can still enjoy eating out and dinner at friends homes, I’ve tried to implement some of these changes in what I buy for our kitchen. To show my appreciation to the “safe food” moment and do my part, I would like to pass along the five action steps Food, Inc. recommends. Together, we can show Big Food that we want healthier, safer foods at lower prices!

1. Buy organic or sustainable food

I am trying to do this as much as our budget allows. If you’re in the KC-area, Hy-Vee has a great Health Market with the largest variety of products at the cheaper price. Walmart has at least one organic variety of most processed foods, but not much organic produce or dairy (except yogurt). For our meat and produce, we have started getting deliveries from Fresh Connect. It’s awesome.

2. Go without meat once a week

After you watch the documentary, you might even want to make it twice a week. If the purchase of meat goes down, it will give large companies a big “heads up” to the public’s demand for better quality meat.

3. Read labels – know where your food comes from.

Look at the first five ingredients – as those make up the majority of what is in the food. Whole grains are always the best (over refined grains that are stripped of nutritional value.) Be careful of those though, as eating fiber as a semi-colon isn’t always as easy as those who have long colons. Also, try to eliminate high fructose corn syrup, regardless of their recent ad campaigns telling your differently. Anything ending in “ose” is sugar, spikes blood sugar and in the end, can hurt you more than harm you.

4. Drink more water, fewer sugary beverages

This is a good rule for slimming down the waistline, anyway.

5. Support companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect.

If they are this type of company, they will be pretty open about it. Check their labels, websites, blogs, etc. if you’re interested in finding out more.

Find out more at http://www.takepart.com/foodinc

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