Where does your food come from?

Kev and I watched Food, Inc. this weekend.

Wow.

I had to turn away when they were slaughtering the animals...good thing Kev was around to tell me when it was okay to look again!

That's not the point. It's interesting to me how our nation has become so removed from our food sources. How the fast food industries have changed the way in which our farmers and ranchers grow our food and send them to our tables.

My dad grew up on a cotton farm in Tahoka, TX. A dry land cotton farm that his family worked. They were, you know, poor. I don't think he even had a television until he was in high school.

He talks about how they raised their own chickens from baby chicks bought in the Sears catalog. He had to kill these chickens (you should ask him how he did it...it's quite terrifying) so that his mother could fry them up and they would have a meal. I'm sure they grew their own vegetables as well, but I know that they ate a lot of fried chicken. That man can pick a chicken bone like no one else! (If you are hungry enough, you can learn to do anything...)

It's interesting to me that Tyson Foods has modified how the basic chicken is raised and brought to our tables. They have shortened their growing time significantly and increased the amount of breast meat these hens produce.

Basically, they changed God's plan on how much meat is to be had on a living being. Changed it with genetics and science and basically made these birds miserable. They can't walk. Their rate of growth is so great that their organs can't keep up and they are forced to just sit there.

I know, gross. You don't want to think about where your food comes from? I don't either. But we SHOULD know about where our food comes from. For the sake of the health of our families, if anything.

Why should we eat meat at every meal? I used to be a vegetarian, you know. This movie kind of made me want to go back to being a vegetarian, but our vegetables aren't treated much differently than our meat.

Did you know that the tomatoes you buy at the grocery store are harvested when they are green and ripened with ethylene gas? I think I might try my hand at growing my own 'maters this year. Plus, homegrown tomatoes taste better!

They have even modified the seeds that grow our vegetables. CHANGED THE SEEDS. Some farmers refuse to use these modified seeds, but that doesn't mean that those modified plants don't end up in his or her planting fields, growing amongst their non-modified plants. And, if a farmer refuses to use the modified seeds, they get sued by the company that modified these seeds.

Hmm...what's a girl to eat these days? Air? Even that is contaminated.

So, I challenge you with this.

Try to cut out meat one day a week. You know, they say Meatless Mondays? Well, it's Lent right now...why not Meatless Fridays?

Also, try and shop at your local farmers' market. You might pay a little more for your food, but you can bet that those animals and vegetables aren't as processed as the foods you buy at your grocery store and are treated much nicer.

Kev and I headed to our local farmers' market this Saturday. We are lucky that our farmers' market takes place three times a week. They had beautiful produce and flowers and even meat. Trust me, fresh tastes better.

Plus, shopping at the farmers' markets keep your hard earned dollars in your local economy and ensures that your local farmer can eat something besides fried chicken 7 days a week! Ask my dad, he knows!

Just food for thought...do your part. Protect our earth and local economy and waistline. Processed food = bad (even though I like me a good Cheeto from time to time!)

Watch this movie. It WILL change how you look at your food, and probably for the better. Because, if everyone makes small changes, then we will see a HUGE change! Just you wait, y'all...

*Stepping off my soap box*

Have a great day!