Literally. Some food for thought.

I just read this article. It is quite long, but if you have some time, it's worth a read. You can even skip to the third page or so. Very thoughtfully written, and not like those annoying, in-your-face, vegetarian vigilantes.

That being said, I'm not saying "don't eat meat." God knows, I do love meat. But while I've been on a locavore kick since the spring, and have started buying organinc foods whenever possible, the one thing related to all of the above, that I think is the most important, and makes my heart hurt more than anything, is factory farming. Don't worry, I'm not including any visual evidence why it makes my heart hurt. It's one of those situations like when pro-life advocates show people the photos of aborted fetuses (I detest that tactic, so I'll spare you guys the farm photos... But if you're curious, I'd encourage you to do a google search. I ain't sayin', I'm just sayin'. )

I've been involved with womens' issues, and I work in politics every day. I consider myself a socially aware person (whether or not I generally act or my awareness...) but I swear, there's never been an issue hit me so hard before. The whole situation just seems so desperate, mostly because so many of us are unaware of it. But, I don't wanna be one of those annoying, in-your-face vigilantes. In the book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the co-author, Camille Kingsolver, writes she learned the hard way that's not how you win people over to not eating factory-farmed meat. Nobody wants to be told what to do, or that they are eating the wrong things. Look at the healthcare crisis, for example. Doctors have been telling people for years to avoid bad foods, and it doesn't look like anybody is listening. There are more links between the healthcare crisis and not eating local than you can even imagine, but that's for another post. Ever notice how the prevalence of chronic disease follows the expansion of commercial agriculture???

Anyway, I figured if I could get one more person to be more contientious about what he or she eats, I will have accomplished something that means a lot to me. And, let's face it. The hubs is the likely target, since I do the grocery shopping and cooking. He doesn't have a lot of input in what we eat at home... But, I did have show him the movie "Fast Food Nation" so he'd quit getting fast food for lunch. So far, we're commerical ground beef-free!

I'm not saying I'll never eat factory-farmed meat again. That's impossible. People invite us over for dinner, and I try to be gracious. Sometimes you're just really hungry and can't be choosy if you're away from home. As the article points out, that factory-farmed meat is 99% of the meat consumed in the U.S. But, I do recall each time that I have eaten it since the beginning of September. These days, I'm thinking about where all the food I eat comes from. There is a saying "You're thinking about this way too much." I say that's never a bad thing.