In my continuing quest to eat healthier and ensure the products I purchase are environmentally sustainable and safe, I've made some recent changes to my food purchases and diet which I outlined in a recent blog entry. For this blog, I'd like to delve a little further into the reasons behind these choices, the research I've done over the years, and the decisions I've made. Mainly doing this follow up because today I picked up my first purchases from my new farm & ranch... woohoo!
First, let me start by saying there's a lot of information that was collected prior to making these decisions. I'm hoping this entry doesn't get too overwhelming with facts & info - but, be prepared, it might. Secondly, most of my adult life I've tried to eat well and learn more about where my food comes from, how healthy (or dangerous - or fake) it may be, and my purchasing habits have continually evolved over the years.
During the first years (decade?) of this journey, that generally meant the following:
Whole Grains - because at this point we've all heard highly-processed & refined grains aren't as healthy, right?
Reading Labels - oh yeah, you gotta read 'em! Only because laws/regulations often allow many hidden ingredients, including chemicals or "natural" products in our food.
Opting for Cage Free/Free Range/Organic Meats: We probably all agree that antibiotic/hormone free meats are healthier and the livestock are treated better than animals locked up in pens or cages.
Then, during the second decade, I learned a few other things:
Products labeled as "whole grain" may be misleading. They may still contain other refined grains and/or fillers. And, for things like bread, they can still use high-fructose corn syrups instead of more natural alternatives like honey, molasses, or even real sugar.
Some products are labeled as organic or natural because, well, technically they are. A few examples... Cheese. Natural cheese comes from the milk of cows and some natural enzymes, right? Much better than that stuff like "American" cheese slices which can be mostly vegetable oil & fillers. Until you read the label. That cheese you're buying might be 1/3 potato starch. It's "natural" and it's definitely not an official chemical. The same holds true for lunch meats, whole-grain pastas, hot dogs, and even spices. Yep. Potato starch. Nothing more than sugar and carbs... and they can be labeled as organic if the potatoes are grown without chemical pesticides.
Cage Free/Free Range/Organic Meats, Eggs & Dairy products: Again, technically not a lie. A cage free chicken isn't kept in a 3ft. x 2ft. cage. That doesn't mean it hasn't spent it's entire life living on top of - or under (hey, someone's gotta be the bottom) - a bunch of other chickens in a big chicken coop. Free range could just mean that this same chicken coop had some access, however limited, to the outdoors. Organic. Well, this one's the most important and easiest to quantify. If you're going to make any improvements in the meat products you purchase, ensure they're organic. That at least means they aren't treated with hormones or antibiotics and the food they're fed (even if it's not their natural diet) comes from organic sources.
The chickens at Quail Hollow Farms
Now, more recently, I've discovered even more to be worried about:
Even "fresh, organic produce" may be neither truly fresh nor organic. Have you heard about the methods they use to ensure you can get apples year-round? No? They keep them in a refrigerator - filled with nitrogen. It brings the process of decay to a near-halt. So that beautiful, organic apple you're eating may actually be ten months old. But exposed to some weird chemical processes too.
Olive Oil: Oh, this is probably the one that most pissed me off. I have relied on olive oil for many, many years as a superior option to other oils like canola & vegetable. It has healthier fats and is less processed. Recently, my friend Marco informed me that it's all a scam. Most of the "100% Pure, Organic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil" we purchase is cut with things like canola oil or vegetable oil (yes, cutting it like they cut drugs - adding inferior products in order to get the most bang for their buck). Or, even using rotten oils they've "deodorized" to remove the bad smell. Seriously? I switched from canola oil to olive oil only to be fed with more canola oil? Or oil from rotten olives? No f'g way!
Meats. Oy. This one is crazy. The meat you buy from the local grocery store may have gone through 2 or 5 or 8 or 12 owners/handlers. Most likely the latter. The meat you buy from your local butcher probably went through five handlers. Each one not knowing/caring what the one prior to them or the next one did. And some of that "processing" is inhumane (a humanely treated, pastured pig may still be slaughtered in a very horrific way). And some of that stuff is just plain gross. Like, even the most prime cuts of pastured, grass-fed, humanely slaughtered beef - they may still go through the final process which uses carbon monoxide to make meat look fresh as shown in this video:
So, in the end, I've been leaning toward the Italian ideal of the "slow food movement." Keep it local. Keep it documented. Know who grew/raised it. Lower the carbon footprint of the processing/transportation/development. But, most important of all - Keep. It. Real.
Due to this, my olive oil is now purchased from a farm in California. No cutting there. And it's close enough that the carbon footprint isn't terribly out of hand. And this week, I became a shareholder in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm which means the produce I'm eating is local, fresh-harvested, and organic. On top of that, as I've been adding meat back into my diet, I wanted to ensure it was the healthiest available. So I found a ranch not too far from Vegas which offers pastured, grass-fed beef that is slaughtered humanely, and dry aged in the old-school ways. The chickens and eggs I purchase will be through my CSA and will have lived on a farm like our great-grandparents once tended.
I haven't found the answers to everything. I use other dairy products far less frequently than in the past, but I still use them. And I'd like to find products from cows raised in a way similar to the meat products I consume. Whole grain foods, even purchased in bulk, may have some hidden secrets in the way they were processed or where they were transported from (does it make sense to purchase rice from China instead of Louisiana when the fossil-fuel output for shipping across an ocean negates any cost benefits?). And,I even plan to have a discussion with my CSA about switching from plastic bags for produce to washable, reusable mesh bags. Because, to me, it makes little sense to buy organic veggies, picked yesterday, from a local farm when they're putting it in a single-use plastic baggie which was probably purchased from overseas. I'm asking for too much, aren't I?
The Heaton Family Ranchers
In the end, this isn't the end. I'm only 41.. well, almost 42. I still have a very long, full life ahead of me. I probably have a long way to go on this journey with food. But, I now know the family that grows my vegetables and raises the hens for my eggs and chicken products (Laura & Monte Bledsoe - I've talked with Laura on the phone and met Monte today). I've also met the ranchers who raise the cows that were made into the steaks in my freezer (The Heaton Family). And I'm determined to continue this focus on eco-friendly, humane, and safe food products. Not just for me. But for the benefit of every living thing on this beautiful planet.
Now, the funniest thing in all of this is that I experienced something I never thought I'd be donig.... I actually just bought my produce and beef from the back of a truck. Literally. A truck hauling a refrigerated trailer was waiting for me at both locations. Both Monte (farmer) & Ryan (rancher) were friendly, chatted for a bit while getting my order together, asked if I had any questions or would like to visit the farm/ranch, shook my hand. Not something I ever expected to do but it was pretty darn cool!
That's Monte, my farmer, getting a basket from the truck.
In my continuing quest to eat healthier and ensure the products I purchase are environmentally sustainable and safe, I've made some recent changes to my food purchases and diet which I outlined in a recent blog entry. For this blog, I'd like to delve a little further into the reasons behind these choices, the research I've done over the years, and the decisions I've made. Mainly doing this follow up because today I picked up my first purchases from my new farm & ranch... woohoo!
Due to this, my olive oil is now purchased from a farm in California. No cutting there. And it's close enough that the carbon footprint isn't terribly out of hand. And this week, I became a shareholder in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm which means the produce I'm eating is local, fresh-harvested, and organic. On top of that, as I've been adding meat back into my diet, I wanted to ensure it was the healthiest available. So I found a ranch not too far from Vegas which offers pastured, grass-fed beef that is slaughtered humanely, and dry aged in the old-school ways. The chickens and eggs I purchase will be through my CSA and will have lived on a farm like our great-grandparents once tended.
I haven't found the answers to everything. I use other dairy products far less frequently than in the past, but I still use them. And I'd like to find products from cows raised in a way similar to the meat products I consume. Whole grain foods, even purchased in bulk, may have some hidden secrets in the way they were processed or where they were transported from (does it make sense to purchase rice from China instead of Louisiana when the fossil-fuel output for shipping across an ocean negates any cost benefits?). And,I even plan to have a discussion with my CSA about switching from plastic bags for produce to washable, reusable mesh bags. Because, to me, it makes little sense to buy organic veggies, picked yesterday, from a local farm when they're putting it in a single-use plastic baggie which was probably purchased from overseas. I'm asking for too much, aren't I?
No comments:
Post a Comment