This video is called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and it's a large part of what started my investigation into food and how it could work with my body. It's also where I got the idea of a juice-fast from. And this guy is impressive for what he does and the other people he inspires. It's very challenging to do something like this from home and without stopping life around you. Everyone wants to hang out and get together, and let me tell you, there are FEW occasions when Americans gather without gathering around food. It's like trying to run and having tons of little threads tied to you. It's much harder.
There's also "The Future of Food" which gives a lot of information, actually, about the history of food and how we've gotten to where we are today. I love this documentary because it makes a lot of pieces fit together better. Again, this is an excerpt, but I think the whole video can be found on Hulu.com or Amazon.com in instant videos. Definitely worth the time it takes to watch. Very informative.
Okay, yes, now I am learning about myself that I am a food nerd. I love learning new things about food and nutrition and applying those things to my diet. My recent discoveries revolve around dairy and eggs. I have grown frustrated lately walking into the store and seeing products that are made by animals and having no idea where those animals come from, what the labels on the products really mean, and what the practices are at those places, let alone how long things have been idling on store shelves. Somehow, buying natural products in a climate-controlled, flourescent-light-filled building has started to feel really weird to me. It makes sense to do that in the winter when produce cannot be locally grown, but in the summer? And certain products have just begun to make so little sense to me, I can't keep it up. We've been avoiding buying milk and eggs at the store lately because I've asked to have a little time to do some research before we start up again.
Well, the research has been done, and of course, there will always be more, but for now, a satisfactory verdict has been reached. So, I wanted to know what the chickens were being fed, where they lived, and how they were handled. I did just enough research to become thoroughly mentally scarred and determined to gain a better understanding. I learned that organic chicken farmers usually don't raise their own chicks from eggs. They buy them from chick farmers who sort out the boy chicks. The boys are then either thrown (alive) into a grinder and ground up for meat in dog foods and such, or are put in a plastic bag and just thrown out with the trash. I also learned that "cage free" just means that the chickens are given a certain amount of floor space per chicken, not that they're free-range. They are usually kept in an indoor area and are given very little in the way of space (I think it's something like 3 square feet per bird) and live their entire life indoors.
Then we get to cows (used for milk). What they're fed is incredibly important. Many American dairy and meat cattle are fed grains and corn. While that sounds fine, their bodies aren't made to handle it. Thus, all the talk about cattle with or without antibiotics. So, often, our meat and dairy products will be labeled as antibiotic-free. The important piece of the puzzle, then, becomes what they eat. If the animals are eating mostly grains and soy and corn, but they are not being given antibiotics, it's really cruel because they will get sick, but won't be given antibiotics. So, someone who is very intent on eliminating excess antibiotics from their diet and doing so in the healthiest way will do best by finding cattle that are fed a grass diet. An all-grass diet is best, but hard to find. Mostly grass is also good. Free-range cattle are best, but often hard to find because the farmer would need to own a decent bit of land and specialize in more than just cattle. There's an excellent farmer who sets an example in "Food Inc."--a movie I strongly recommend everyone watch. We are all eaters, we vote 3 times a day with our food choices. This video exposes how mono-cultural our diet has become. Very intriguing.
I believe that information is very powerful. This information sent me on a journey to find a solution. I no longer wanted to reach out and take a gallon of milk with no idea of its actual source. I no longer wanted to feel completely blind behind the mask of marketing and the claims made on labels. I scoured local dairies in Northern Colorado, I called the top few I found and have some interesting findings. I'll intersperse my information with some really interesting food information resources.
Another food documentary that is not so much shocking as it is empowering is "Food Matters." Included here is just an excerpt, but I would highly recommend watching the entire thing. It's really excellent. Not every opinion in here jives with what I think makes sense, but it is very interesting to consider, nonetheless.
My top-pick local dairy for the Denver area is Johnson Acres. They are local, they deliver to ten areas in the Denver Metro area, one of which is just 2 miles from my home. All cattle are always completely grass-fed. (Many people who keep cattle will raise them on grass and "finish" them with corn or soy which means at least 6 months to a year of corn or soy to "fatten them up" or give them the calories to produce more milk.) Johnson Acres cattle are alternated through different pasture areas to allow the pasture to re-grow and keep the cattle healthy (they don't end up consuming their own waste as a result of being left in the same pasture too long). This dairy is fantastic. There are two reasons we're not ordering milk from them right now. 1) There is a waiting list for getting onto their delivery route. To me, that's a good sign, being able to stop obtaining new customers when they are at capacity. But sad, because we can't even try their stuff yet. 2) Their milk is only delivered raw. There is not pasteurization. In my opinion, that's a fine thing if the milk is handled very carefully. This dairy farm has certain very strict guidelines for the quality of their milk. This dairy also sells poultry raised on the farm and beef, etc. Jason is not so sure. So, for now, we're using a different dairy.
We got our first delivery from Longmont Dairy yesterday. The milk is delivered in glass containers that are reusable. It tastes amazing! The cattle are fed a majority of their diet in hay and grasses, which is excellent, and they are not left hooked up to milking machines all day, but spend all their free time in a large pen with plenty of space. It's not the same a large, grassy fields, but much better than cattle that can't walk because they spend literally all their time stuck in the milk farm. We're really pleased with this dairy. They do pasteurize their milk and deliver directly to our house. We can add things to our order whenever we want, and they deliver our favorite yogurt, Noosa. Eventually, I think we'll go the route of pursuing a milk share (where you buy into ownership of a cow with a one-time fee, and therefore it is legal for you to obtain raw milk from those cows). For now, however, this works excellently.
As far as eggs go, I found a guy just a couple miles down the road from us who raises chickens from eggs in his yard and sells the eggs. We went and toured his egg facility and were able to see all the hens, roosters, turkeys, quail, pheasant, etc. that he keeps. It was really excellent to be able to actually see the birds and to know that the eggs are fresh. Upon getting them home, we found that the eggs were blue, green, white, brown, and slightly speckled. It was lovely. They cook up really nicely and have very orange yolks that stand up a bit taller and are larger than others I have had before. The farmer's name is Rick and his phone number is (303) 324-3567. I found him on Craigslist and contacted him. He's looking to sell about 20 dozen more eggs per week. If anyone would like me to pick up eggs for them, I am happy to do so and you can pick them up from my house. They're $4 per dozen. I am actually on my way out the door now to go pick up some more eggs for the coming week.
I also found useful the documentary, "Forks Over Knives" which states the importance of a plant-based diet. I don't think I'll be becoming a vegetarian any time, but this really suggests the critical role of moderation and appropriate portions where animal-based foods are concerned. Animal-based food is not necessary to live, though it does round out our omnivorous diets nicely. This has made me re-evaluate how much meat and animal products I use on a regular basis. A very interesting documentary. I've taken to watching things I agree with and don't agree with. I certainly don't agree with everything that's said in these videos, but find it thought-provoking. I really enjoy researching things, and especially familiarizing myself with other people's opinions (provided they are well-thought-out and well-presented). This documentary also gives some good information about how food affects our health. We spend SO much money (as a country) on medical treatments and prescriptions, but want to get cheap food. Perhaps it should be the other way around.
This next video is "The Gerson Miracle." It was recommended to me by my upstairs neighbor who follows these principles. It started me thinking about food as more than just something to do, or something that tastes good. I think the entire philosophy in this video is a bit hard to swallow, but the idea is very thought-provoking. I am leery of anything that calls itself a "miracle" just because it smacks a bit of Snake Juice or something along those lines. And yet...it's quite something to think about.
The final video for thought today is called "Vegucated." It's about some people who decide to take a challenge to live a vegan lifestyle for a while and what they learn through this experience. I honestly don't think I would ever become vegan, but still found the information that is presented to be very interesting. Hope you do, too. Just "food for thought," hope you enjoy perusing it. And check out the dairy and egg farms we've discovered.
Where do I land on these ideas? I think I line up well with author and researcher, Michael Pollan, who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food, The Botany of Desire, and many other books. His main point is this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." I think that is very sensible, but much more difficult than it should be. What is food? Well, if you've watched even one of the above videos, you are probably a bit shell-shocked about what food is. I did this research (and am continuing by reading about ten different books--yes I read more than one book at a time), while I started a garden in my back yard. Gardening and healthy eating are good friends; concepts that get along with each other well. I am continuing this and my goal is that I will become more conscious of what my food choices are, why I make the ones I do, and re-evaluate them as necessary. Also, as Michael Pollan says, I won't be afraid of food. I won't become afraid of making the wrong choices and get caught up in that fear. I will just become conscious. It's like waking up. It feels good.
I'll probably be adding a page to my blog soon about the different resources I have found and used to help me understand food better.
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