You are what you eat

Have you heard the adage or saying:

A little dirt never hurt
Five second rule:
Pick it up off the floor before five seconds and its safe
You are what you eat

Not to get on my soap box but this is not always the case for our food. More specifically I am talking about all the yummy, juicy, food and produce we pick up at the local supermarket.

Did you know that they have genetically engineered tomatoes to be immune to Round Up?

GROSS right?
Can you imagine how much Round Up or other crap we ingest because farmers spray the weeds....because weeds are unsightly right? Plus those icky bugs. The bugs like bees that are becoming extinct because of insecticides, even though those bees pollinate the majority of our fruits and vegetables. Those chemicals do not dissipate, they are absorbed by the soil and the plants. Sure it may not be on the TOP of the food but what about in the dirt, in the stems, in the fruit and meat of the food we eat? Did you know that they engineer plants to bloom for one year and one year alone? Requiring high yield farmers to replant new seeds?

Our produce is so scary! Not to mention unhealthy.

I only found these facts out after attending one of my Busy Bee Twin Mom meetings and one of our moms who has a degree in Environmental Science from UC Santa Barbara, told us about all these scary and truthful facts of the food and produce we eat everyday. I mean I know that they use pesticides and etc, but I was unaware of all the genetic modifications. No wonder we all are getting cancer.

So I share this with you because I think that the information is important. The traditional food in stores is unhealthy for us and our kids. The hype on organic is not because it is organic and reduces your carbon footprint, but because overall the food IS better. Tastes better, works better with your body, does not leave unhealthy and unsafe levels of chemicals in your body.

Did you know those chemicals stay there? Yeah they don't just "go away," we don't take them out in our BM trash, they are there for life. Imagine how your body is a living chemistry lab as all these different chemicals bind, mix, and stick to every cell in your body. And we wonder why people get cancer, why our daughters start to enter puberty at 10 years old and even younger. Milk and beef are the same way, chickens, pork, all modified with hormones, fed grain, feed, grasses, and vegetables that have all been genetically modified, altered, treated, hormonally injected.

Here is the BUT, that everyone is saying, "BUT, the FDA says its safe."

Sure the FDA also said that pharmaceuticals are safe, but they are taking those off the market now too, are they not? The FDA also said that a pesticide that was so great in the 70's was safe and guess what, it is no longer used...except illegally in third world countries because the risk of in Utero deformities, abnormalities and preterm labor. The FDA also said Valium was safe....but they did a 20 year study on all the effects of Valium....so tell me....if it is SOOO safe....why a 20 year study?

The solution?

Organic! CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Organic Co-ops. Grow your Own!

Organic is tricky but not. The USDA Certified tells you that your food is USDA organic, no pesticides, the farm has been clean for many years which includes the water the non use of pesticides, insecticides, the whole array of chemical free.

There is also the OMRI Organic Certification which certifies the products are organic without the USDA and FDA taking their slice of the profitable organic pie. These farmers farm organic, but do not have the time or money to invest in the full blown organic certification. The whole enchilada of the USDA Organic takes at least five years of a clean farm plus lots more time, money, and certifications....some farms don't have that kind of time or fund.

There is also Organic Fair Trade. These are products from developing countries and farmers who again, do not have the time and resources for a full blown certification. However, they do adhere to organic farming guidelines.

Did you know that there is produce called Heirloom? Yup, these are centuries old, untouched fruits and vegetables that have been farmed for years. They taste beautiful, they look beautiful, these seeds and produce items are often found on Native American farms and European farms, old school, old farming, no new technology and products for generating a mass quantity harvest, just good old fashioned farming and foods.

CSA - A CSA is great!! I am a member of a CSA. I love them!! Fabulous is what they are!! You find a local farm in your area and you invest your monies anywhere from $100 to $300 per season to purchase vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy, you name it, whatever that farm has to offer. And guess what.....you see how they grow it! You see how they maintain their farm, you are also buying RIPE then and there, fresh! No hormones to speed the ripening process. Because other farmers have to pick early before the produce is fresh and then try to ripen the product in a store for you to buy. Because no one wants ugly produce right?

Your eggs...did you know that Grade B eggs can be stored in a fridge for up to one year before sent to the supermarket for you to buy?! Yup, why do you think they have such a short shelf life...because they have already been stored for a YEAR!! Nasty!! Your Grade A eggs yeah those are refrigerated for almost as long...SIX MONTHS before you buy them in their pretty cartons in the store. Plus those chicken...literally cooped up with their only goal is to lay those eggs. If you were cooped up like that....would you be healthy? Probably not.

Food Co-Ops. These are fantastic. Again you get all the greatness of a CSA but you also get more variety such as some farmers who also have cattle, so beef, bison, chicken, you sign up, choose your pick up spot and there you go! Better than the grocery store because you are supporting local farmers, local residents (just like you), and you are helping the environment by avoiding the obsession and use of petroleum based products such as oil, plastics, diesel.

Now that I am on and about off my soap box, look into a CSA. Meet your local farmer, check out your local farmers market, taste their food! They always let you taste the fruits of their labor. We did, we got to taste fresh cantaloupe...OMG and was it the best tasting cantaloup ever. We got a watermellon and a half dozen eggs and the eggs were beautiful. Brown and tasty with more Omega-3 fatty acids than those nasty store bought. Seriously you are what you eat and do you want all that build up of chemicals and genetically modified experiments working in your body?