When I was pregnant with my first child, it began to dawn on me that I had the tremendous responsibility of making sure I ate healthy because my choices no longer affected just me. Once I had my daughter, I decided to nurse because I knew that was best for her. I continue to be mindful of what I ate out of my concern and love for her. When she began to eat solid foods, it became apparent that she had a serious allergy to dairy and a life threatening allergy to peanuts. Because of this, I began to make more and more meals and baked goods from scratch as it was the only way to ensure that the food she ate was safe for her.
I have definitely fallen off the wagon on trying to eat clean using whole food ingredients now that it is only me I have to consider. I was a stay at home mom when my kids were younger, and now that I work, I find that I don't have the time or energy to make balanced meals, homemade bread, and homemade cookies for snacks and school lunches. I admit, I purchase fast food or pizza at least once a week. I have gotten in the habit of just scanning labels to make sure there are no peanut warnings, without checking to see if the item has nutritional value and free of additives, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. I have backslid into familiar habits.
Over the Christmas break, I watched the movie "Food, Inc." It affected me and made me think about where my food comes from and how so much of it is factory processed. It made me hate corporations like Monsanto and Smithfield who have turned farming corporate and made it nearly impossible for the family farms to survive. The message of the movie was that if you think this is wrong, you can vote by choosing to buy local and organic from family farms. I took this to heart. I looked online and found a grocer specializing in local organic produce and meat from small independent farms. Even better, they deliver. So I ordered one whole chicken, kale, chard, parsley, organic whole grain bagels, sweet potatoes, a cabbage, and mushrooms. It was $77.00. The chicken alone, which came frozen by the way, was $30.00, five times what I would pay for a name brand chicken at the supermarket. If I had ordered hamburger, that would have been $8.99 per pound, double the cost of grocery store meat.
One of the scenes that stuck with me the most from "Food, Inc." was the story of a family who could not afford to buy fruit at the supermarket because that would be the equivalent of one snack, yet cost more than a meal from a dollar menu. Fast food and unhealthy food is subsidized which makes it cost less. It is more affordable to buy McDonalds than it is to buy whole foods from the store. I can afford the occasional $30 chicken, but it is not practical for me to spend that much on one component of a meal on a daily basis.
At our local farmer's markets, the prices are no better. I want to be able to support small businesses and independent farms, but when I purchased one heirloom variety tomato and a small watermelon that was the size of a large grapefruit at a stand last summer, my price was over $8. At many of the stands, produce is two to three times the cost of the same items at the grocery store. I understand that the farmers need to make money, but these costs are prohibitive for many people.
I do not know what the answer is, nor do I think one person or even a large group of people can make a difference. The large corporations are too powerful and their lobbyists are too adept at influencing our lawmakers. I will try to make healthier choices for me and my family, but the ease of packaged foods and the lure of fast food can be hard to ignore. Kermit was right, it's not easy being green.
