Do you care where your food comes from? Do you eat local?

[npmommie]

We have all been talking about Food Inc so much, and eating organic healthy "real" food.
well I have been vegetarian, striving to go vegan, but I have begun to rethink some things.
I tend to use some of the "fake" products in my cooking, not always but sometimes, because hubby is not veg so it makes it easier for me to make something he will like if it appears to include "meat"

sometimes I do get him grass fed beef, and local chicken at a farmers market,

but my dilemma that I am thinking about now is, is it better to be meat free because really it is so much better for the future of our planet to not patronize factory farmed products,
but on the other hand a lot of the "fake" stuff is highly processed, and travels a great distance from production to market.
or is the ideal diet to eat real food, from local sources as much as possible, even if that includes animal products too?

I went vegetarian originally for animal rights, but now it is more of a conservation issue for me.

any thoughts?

 

[AKL_Megs]

I don't care where it comes from, for the most part.

I DO like to visit the Farmer's Market in the summer for tomatoes and other veggies. I tend to buy MI apples, because they are better , and I like my oranges from Florida.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You are speaking of a macrobiotic (sp?) diet it. It is doable, but you have to be in a region conducive to that.

Where I live--it would be very difficult to get all of your nutrients throughout the year. Even local farms that try to have as much variety as possible--the pickings can be very slim.

Vegetarianism/Veganism due utilize less land to sustain life.

To be a meat eater or animal product consumer--there has to be land set aside for the rearing of those animals. This land cannot be used for "growing" anything other than livestock.

I'm not convinced that being a meat eater is bad for the planet. There are many species that are meat eaters. But what is different about our species--we don't hunt what already exists like the lions for example. Someone has to raise that livestock.

One can reduce their meat consumption and still do well for the plant though.

But to further look into what you are talking about--macrobiotic would be something that you might wish to research. I know that Gwynth Paltrow is well know to try and eat that way.

ETA: Just looked it up--for some reason I thought it was local eating. They do emphasize local eating, but it is quite different than what I thought it was.

 

[MosMom]

I've been trying to find a local farmer that raises healthy animals. I found one but he charges $7 lb for some of his meats. If you buy in bulk it goes down to around $4 a lb. which isn't horrible but I don't have a deep freeze yet to store that much meat. His hogs are raised out in pasture, his beef is grass fed and has access to pasture and his chickens are kept in pasture with access to shelter once they are big enough to be out.

We average $2 - $4 a pound for the meat we buy from the grocery store so it isn't that much more. Just need a place to put it all.

 

[npmommie]

I'm not convinced that being a meat eater is bad for the planet.

factory farms are the biggest producers of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
more than all the cars suvs etc on the road
not wanting to start a debate about it,
as my deep thoughts for tuesday were more toward eating local raised chicken, as opposed to morningstar farms vegetarian chicken strips that come from across the country.
which is better, health and planet wise.

 

[monkeybug]

I have no idea!
My great grandparents on both sides lived well into their nineties, and some of their siblings made it past 100. They were farmers, and they ate everything. Carbs, meat, veggies, sugar...we have a family cookbook full of literally everything under the sun.
Now I know that their longevity could be due to a number of things, genes, good luck, or lifestyle, but I admit I do try to model what my family eats a bit after them.
I cook from scratch when ever possible, and try not to use food made from chemicals. I use butter, not margarine. I make chicken nuggets by breading cut up chicken, not by pouring frozen nuggets onto a baking sheet (well I did buy frozen nuggets a few months ago because I was pregnant and nauseous, but they were gross and nobody ate them). I make bread out of wheat flour, white flour, yeast, milk, butter or oil, and sugar or honey.
I grow my own veggies in the summer (well I grow what I don't kill ) and buy from farmers markets when possible. We pick our own apples, peaches, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and blackberries from local u-picks, and I can my own food when possible.
I also make sure we are active every day. My kids play outside, we walk, bike, geochache...that sort of thing.
I just think when it comes down it the things that seem to work for most people in the long run is eating real food, a variety of foods, and staying active.
We do try to eat more veggies and grains than meat, and we rarely eat beef.

 

[monkeybug]

I've been trying to find a local farmer that raises healthy animals. I found one but he charges $7 lb for some of his meats. If you buy in bulk it goes down to around $4 a lb. which isn't horrible but I don't have a deep freeze yet to store that much meat. His hogs are raised out in pasture, his beef is grass fed and has access to pasture and his chickens are kept in pasture with access to shelter once they are big enough to be out.

We average $2 - $4 a pound for the meat we buy from the grocery store so it isn't that much more. Just need a place to put it all.

We have friends who buy meat from local farmers, they just find another family to split the order with (so each family get's 1/2 the cow). They do it to save money, so I know they pay less than at the grocery store.

 

[eliza61]

Yes, I do care where my food comes from but I try to maintain a healthy balance on the issue.
Factory farming especially in regards to our meat supply is so ungodly healthy and it's a relative new invention (when I say relative, I speaking generation wise).

A gentleman by the name of Michael Pollen wrote a good book called "In defense of food" and he has a very simple test that I use. With my food I ask myself "would my grandmother or great grandmother recognize it or how it was prepared?"

So for example, strawberries. I live in NJ so if I see strawberries in my supermarket in the middle of February, there's a better than good chance they have been sprayed to death with pesticides and preservatives and flown in from some where else. I skip.

We are big meat eaters in my house, but a funny thing is happening. When I buy grass feed steaks , it's more filling and flavorful than the hormone injected farm raised steaks. So I find my family is satisfied on smaller sized portions.

I do believe there is a connection to what we ate and the shockingly high number of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholosetrol cases we are seeing.

I always wonder why my parents and grandparents generation who always talk about going to the "hamburger joint" getting burgers and malts don't see the explosion of health issues we do.

 

[npmommie]

healthy [/B]and it's a relative new invention (when I say relative, I speaking generation wise).

A gentleman by the name of Michael Pollen wrote a good book called "In defense of food" and he has a very simple test that I use. With my food I ask myself "would my grandmother or great grandmother recognize it or how it was prepared?"

So for example, strawberries. I live in NJ so if I see strawberries in my supermarket in the middle of February, there's a better than good chance they have been sprayed to death with pesticides and preservatives and flown in from some where else. I skip.

We are big meat eaters in my house, but a funny thing is happening. When I buy grass feed steaks , it's more filling and flavorful than the hormone injected farm raised steaks. So I find my family is satisfied on smaller sized portions.

I do believe there is a connection to what we ate and the shockingly high number of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholosetrol cases we are seeing.

I always wonder why my parents and grandparents generation who always talk about going to the "hamburger joint" getting burgers and malts don't see the explosion of health issues we do.

you meant UN healthy right?

I totally agree with your post.
I have In Defense of Food too, great read, and I try to use the tests too, but that is where my dilemma about the vegetarian products come in, they don't meet the micheal pollen test ( ie the great grandmother test)....LOL

I love local strawberries, they don't even compare to the strawberries in the market in february.......
I get so excited when strawberry season hits......LOL

 

[PaulaSB12]

I have 2 1/2 allotment plots on which I indend to grow as much vegetables as possible. Next year I will be using part of one 1/2 to put chickens and a few ducks so I get fresh eggs and chickens. IN the UK meat is labelled where it comes from which I like. My local butcher says which farms his meat comes from.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

npmommie, you are absolutely right in your concern regarding the distance the food has to travel from grow site to your table.

If the "organic" food comes from a place that requires trucking, excess packaging, energy consuming storage... is that better for the planet?

My doc told me to stick with grass fed beef if I were going to continue to eat beef. It is (as you say) not only better tasting but has less impact on ldl cholesterol.

I hate the produce grown in Florida. The strawberries, and tomatoes in particular taste like nothing. The only corn that has any flavor is that from one farm that grows it organically.

How food is grown and processed does matter. The government (USDA anyone?) has a long history of misleading the consumer. Remember the "all fats are bad for you" years? That was because they didn't think the US citizen was capable of understanding the difference between saturated fat and polyunsaturated, and mono... the difference between animal fat and olive oil for instance. They've lost much credibility.

Nutritionists and Registered Dieticians can be as useless as the USDA. I've seen them over and over again "approve" diets for seniors with diabetes that have done nothing other than increase the need for insulin, spike blood glucose levels and contribute to the advancement of the disease.

So, all that to say, yes. Eat as locally grown as possible, as little meat as you can manage, and then make it local and grass fed any time it's possible, and do your own (thorough) research.

Research will, if nothing else, bring questions to light for which your doctor will have the answers, or be able to find them for you. (At least my doc does. She's incredible and totally wholistic).

 

[mykidsand_i]

We are big meat eaters in my house, but a funny thing is happening. When I buy grass feed steaks , it's more filling and flavorful than the hormone injected farm raised steaks. So I find my family is satisfied on smaller sized portions.
.

Yeah, we've noticed that here in my house too! I've looked into it- and because of the food, inc. movie AND from articles that I've read I found out that the reason why it happens is this...Processed foods- beef, chickens and the like are injected with a hormone or chemical of some sort that actually CAUSES PEOPLE TO THINK THEY ARE STILL HUNGRY!!!! (so, they eat more)...this hormone or chemical or what ever it is makes our bodies process "you're full" a lot SLOWER than it does naturally. It's a dirty trick that was started by the processing plants.

Don't get me wrong- I am not a veg. or vegan- but I have started to purchase meat locally. It can't get any more local for me, because the farmer lives 2 miles away. He raises all of his pigs, chickens and cows on their NATURAL foods- and doesn't inject them with chemicals and hormones. His chickens RUN AROUND and live healthy lives, his pigs roll in the grass, in the mud, they have lots of space...his cows are allowed to roam in a large area with green grass. The meat we get from him is wonderful!!!!

The people who say "the meat is too expensive" when it's local have to think of it this way- When you eat it local and with out chemicals and hormones, YOU GET FULL ON LESS.

example: The average adult eats a 10 oz. or more steak. That is A LOT MORE than we should be eating, but our bodies tell us we won't be full with the serving size we should be eating. This comes from years of eating meat with hormones and chemicals that tells us were going to need a bigger piece to get full.

We just had steak last night for dinner and I was full with a 4 oz. piece. My husband had a 6 oz and he almost couldn't finish it all. We have lost weight, because we're eating less. We are BIG eaters. We grew up in the midwest on meat and potatoes.

 

[alexandria674]

Generally, no I do not care where I get it or if it is organic however I will sometimes buy foods that I can get at certain stores. For instance, I like the packaged sushi sold in the grocery shop but I stopped buying from there once I had Trader Joe's stuff, the same goes for the hamburger meat they sell, I tend to like Trader Joe's stuff a little better. I am trying to eat somewhat more organically because I believe that some of the stuff is a bit better then the normal items but I do not wish to make a full organic grocery list.

Nearby there is a small farm where they sell the most sweetest, biggest strawberries I have ever known and after eating those it is kind of hard to go to the Stater Bros and buy their brand because it kind of seems waxy and fruitless.

 

[Planogirl]

I would love to buy everything locally grown and that includes beef. But it is often very expensive and hard to find. I don't have the space or funds for half a grass-fed cow. Plus there are of course items that we love that are not grown in this area.

We do try to get most of our fruit and veggies locally at the very least. I think it helps.

 

[Sparx]

I was watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution the other day, and he said that frozen produce is better than fresh in most cases, since it is frozen within hours after being picked, whereas the stuff on the produce shelf at walmart has (in some cases) traveled the world before making it to your table.

I had no idea that frozen was better than fresh before that, I guess I'd never thought about it, but now I'm making a conscious decision to pick frozen over fresh.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

Thanks to Michael Pollan, my family now puts a lot of thought into where our food is coming from. I think about all those people who care so much about where every part of their car is made, yet they never seem to worry about what is contained in the food going into their bodies?!?!?

Since we started our own food "revolution" we are now getting our meats from a grass farm within 5 minutes of our house. All our veggies are now coming from local growers/farmer's markets. It's actually a lot of fun.

The thing is, we're not really doing it for "health" reasons, but for the conservation aspect of it. Also for the fact that for every family that removes themselves from the industrial food complex, that's another vote AGAINST all of their practices. I may not make a difference on my own, but I'm amazed at how quickly the words of Mr. Pollan are spreading, and soon there may be enough of us to make an impact.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I was watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution the other day, and he said that frozen produce is better than fresh in most cases, since it is frozen within hours after being picked, whereas the stuff on the produce shelf at walmart has (in some cases) traveled the world before making it to your table.

I had no idea that frozen was better than fresh before that, I guess I'd never thought about it, but now I'm making a conscious decision to pick frozen over fresh.

Even better than frozen would be to find a local grower, farmer's market, or a farm co-op (if you're in a city) and you will get veggies that are fresh and haven't been consuming fossil fuels on the way to your stomach!

 

[FireDancer]

I try to buy locally grown organic produce. I don't do it for the environment, I do it for my health. I would rather have good food driven in from 3 states away then chemically infused Frankenfood from next door. I am also not above buying frozen fruit (for smoothies) or vegetables because they can be quite healthy if they are grown and frozen properly.

I don't eat a lot of meat and get a combination of frozen and local grass fed. When I do buy frozen is has to be wild caught and not farm raised.

In the end I do like locally grown but the method is more important to me then the location. When the world aligns I can do both. There are also things I am more picky about then others. Food with a harder skin (bananas for example) I am less concerned with.

I like to eat like the caveman. By this I mean only things that occur naturally and not things invented in labs. Evolutionarily speaking we are pretty much the same as we were when we were hunters/gatherers. The way we store and burn energy is optimized for a lifestyle that is active and full of natural food that requires time and effort to catch and grow. Our bodies just aren't designed for the "normal" modern lifestyle that involves sitting around all day and eating foods that are processed beyond recognition by chemicals that didn't exist.

This of course, is merely my opinion since I am not a doctor but my own research and deductive reasoning lead me to this conclusion.

 

[eliza61]

I would love to buy everything locally grown and that includes beef. But it is often very expensive and hard to find. I don't have the space or funds for half a grass-fed cow. Plus there are of course items that we love that are not grown in this area.

We do try to get most of our fruit and veggies locally at the very least. I think it helps.

It can be very expensive. I think a great place to start is just being a lot more aware of what we eat and how it's made.

For us, I try to find grass feed steaks but when I make beef sauce for spaghetti I use regular supermarket stuff.

Fruits and vegetables are a great place to start. Heck, we started with Bread actually. LOL. simply switching from processed white bread to natural whole wheat is great.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

It can be very expensive. I think a great place to start is just being a lot more aware of what we eat and how it's made.

For us, I try to find grass feed steaks but when I make beef sauce for spaghetti I use regular supermarket stuff.

Fruits and vegetables are a great place to start. Heck, we started with Bread actually. LOL. simply switching from processed white bread to natural whole wheat is great.

We do that too, sometimes. To us, though, we figure even if we're still getting 5% of our meat, etc. from the food "factories," that's still 95% less than before.