The Devastatingly Deadly Disconnect

Since this blog seems to revolve heavily around food at the moment, I decided I should probably be a bit more defining in my position as a Food Renegade. That's right....I just said it. I'm a Food Renegade. I am no longer one of the trusting mass of people who think industry and the government are out to help and would NEVER intentionally produce something that KNOWINGLY causes harm to humans or animals. For those still in that category, the Food Industry and Pharmaceutical Industry are the new Cigarette Company from the 50's. Think about it.

Please do not misunderstand. I was one of those trusting souls just a few years ago. I bought mass-produced meat with no thought to the health of the animal I was consuming or the conditions that animal lived in to give it's life for me to have life. I bought Oreos. Oh.....I do love Oreos. I can't buy them now because they would be gone in less than 24 hours even though I KNOW how bad they are for me above and beyond the standard 'knowledge' everyone thinks they have regarding food --"Oh, I really shouldn't....*gobbling it down*". The transition I've made has been a process over the course of a few years filled with research on my own. That's the key. Knowledge really is power, and as long as you don't even think about the repercussions of what you do in regards to food --let alone anything else-- you'll continue to be the giant experiment for someone's monetary benefit. Yep....I went there too. I should also mention, I'm not against Capitalism. I understand that for our country to function as it does, Capitalism must live on. I do not agree with Big Business in bed with the government, nor big companies lobbying against individual rights of each and every American Citizen. It's the perversion of these things that I don't agree with.

Back on topic though, since this is about food --even though this disconnect is, in part, the fault of the government...and those who elected said government and allowed them to grow uncontrolled-- and our ever-growing dilemma.

The title of my post is the Devastatingly Deadly Disconnect. The disconnect is something I acknowledged this past week as I spoke to my husband about the importance of the animals you eat being raised humanely. As mentioned in previous post, I'm not a vegan or vegetarian, but I do think that ethically raised animals are more than just about the animals themselves. I believe all things, including the dreaded spider *shudder* should maintain a quality of life. ALL life, in my opinion, has the right to quality, especially under the care of human beings. This is not discounting how 'cruel' Mother Nature can seem, but are we not more humane? How you treat the things you put in your body determines how your body treats you. For whatever reason, maybe because we don't actually hunt or forage for our own food anymore, a loss of respect has been brewing for generations. Most of us, go to work --not because we enjoy it mind you-- to earn a paycheck. One of the things we buy with said paycheck is our heart's content of whatever colorfully prepackaged, convenient food we want to make our lives as easy as possible. The less time we spend making our own food is the more time we.....spend in front of the TV?! I completely get NOT wanting to spend an hour or so every day as soon as you get home from work preparing a homemade meal. I get it. I'm in the same boat, but even if that was the only solution to the chemical laden, genetically modified solutions you wouldn't even CALL food if you really knew what all was in it --a McDonald's Chicken Nugget is approximately 50% chicken-- don't you OWE it to yourself and those you care for?

We all seem to readily forget the FACT that your body uses the food you put in it as fuel. All calories are not created equal, even when you compare apples to apples. Now, for those who like a 'good deal', maybe all of those 'extras' you get with store-bought, mass-produced food is your idea of the epitome of savings. You get beef, bone, marrow, and other less savory mentionables, antibiotics, corn, rBGH (growth hormone), and really, anything else the production facility wanted to pump into the feed trough. That sounds dramatic, but put it in this perspective...... What do you do personally to get the most bang for your buck without having to work hard for it? We all do cut corners, so why would a company, which only exists by making money, not do the same thing? A company run by people, you say? Those people don't know you and don't care. Don't think they are eating the same hamburger their workers pump out into tubes and sell to you. You are a 'people', so how much do you care about how your driving affects every one's life in the cars around you on the road? Really. If you can't care enough when you can actually SEE people without knowing them, how much less would you care if you didn't see those people at all?

Do you really wonder why things like early puberty (I don't know about 9 being the new average, but I was almost 14...can't imagine having a period at 9), type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a host of other issues is on the rise? It's because we are lacking RESPECT. You don't respect the animals providing their lives to supply YOU food to keep living, you don't respect your body by filling it with these animal products --this isn't just about animal products either....SOY-- and you don't respect the land providing not just life to you and the animals but to every other living thing, be it plant, arachnid, reptile, *insert example*. There is a general lack of respect, even for the person next to you or in the car behind or in front of you at the checkout --I truly hope you don't think my blog so important that you would read while driving. We have become so self-absorbed that we've forgotten what's important on so many levels beyond food, and forgetting what is truly important is what is slowly killing all of us, even those not willingly participating.

We've all forgotten the power we have with each choice we make, be it food, consumption, that pair of shoes, or whether or not to flip the person off behind you. I do not exclude myself. I'm just as guilty as anyone else. Most people truly do not realize the choices they are making for themselves AND the generations to follow. We've forgotten how important we are in the scheme of life itself. I'm not talking 'center of the universe' selfishness. I'm talking about we've forgotten how valuable our own lives are, and that makes it almost impossible to value any other life or the lives or animals, plants, spiders...

People who disagree often think someone like me wants us to revert back to where we came from. In some ways, yes. I think it would be great to turn off the TV and make a dinner together while talking instead of being on autopilot every second of every day, turning on the TV, and zoning out until bedtime. I completely understand --and personally do not want-- that society may not be able to become little homesteads again, but we can all make meaningful changes in our own lives that are impacting in the lives of people you don't know and people not even born yet. You are a good person and deserve better than a handful of Cheetos or a Lean Cuisine meal or Instant Rice or Instant Potatoes. You've just forgotten how important and meaningful you are, and how each choice you make really does affect more than just you, your life and those in your life. Society, as a whole, has moved into an almost mind-numbing expression of self-hate where ego has taken over and made each person more important than the whole of humanity. Each person is important, but ultimately none of us have the right to dishonor life or the home --read 'planet'-- we've been given. We're only hurting ourselves and those who come after us. All that being said, I should also point out that I believe the government has no right in mandating you live as I suggest, but in the same token, I don't want to be mandated either.

So this isn't some call to not sweeping your floors, never having anything of 'convenience', or going off the grid. I read a quote but do not recall the originator. It said, "In nature, there is no reward or punishment just consequences", and that is exactly it. What people are reaping now is a consequence of EVERY choice they've made and some choices they didn't make. This is a call to responsibility, and if that makes me a 'Tree Hugger', 'Hippie', or any other label you'd like to ascribe to feel superior to me, then so be it. Truth is truth, regardless of whether you believe it or not, and the evidence is growing around us, literally. Don't live on autopilot and remain disconnected because the consequences you'll receive are far worse than any extra time or money you would spend ensuring you're a conscious consumer.